CH 6

6: First-Time Partnering!

Author’s Recap: Sophia sent a strange dog flying.

“So you see, Wolf, there are hardly any safe areas in dungeons, so to preserve your stamina, it’s good practice to avoid any unnecessary fights.”

“Hah? Why do I gotta follow some ‘good practice’? I’m gonna fight everything!”

“Ahahaha, you have so much energy, Wolf.”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks!”

I wasn’t complimenting him… With that head of his, it was no wonder why he caused so much trouble and died in my previous round.

In the dim dungeon, I let out another sigh inside my mind. The cause was, of course, the black-haired, hooligan prince Wolf who was excitedly walking next to me.

He had been restrained by the adventurer’s guild for attempting to illegally enter the dungeon, but immediately afterward, someone calling himself the king’s butler arrived and told the guild this.

“His Majesty was greatly looking forward to the day Wolf becomes an adventurer and meets his demise. Yet it pains His Majesty to see it all end from a blunder at the very start. For His Majesty’s sake, may I ask that you please overlook this indiscretion, just this once?”

The butler said as he took out a bag stuffed with gold from inside his coat. I see, he was going to use shush money. Now, the guild was hard-pressed to refute since they couldn’t ignore the wishes of the king, the most powerful person in this land.

Thus, Wolf was released… but things got weird from then on. The butler suddenly called out to me who had been just observing.

“You truly can’t believe in only what you see. From what I heard, you knocked out the Mad Dog in a single hit, correct? I would like to purchase your strength. Just for today is fine, but can I ask that you teach this one the rules and standards of entering a dungeon? Feel free to beat him if he disobeys.”

The butler put a bag of money in my hands after saying that. Wait! He was totally taking advantage of the poor! I didn’t want to babysit the hooligan prince, but well, if he was going to pay me… guh…

Thus, I buckled under the weight of money and formed a party with Wolf.

Buuut…

“Oh, found a goblin! Hit-it-before-it-realizes Punch!”

“Gobu?!”

“Stop that!”

No matter how many times I told him that he should avoid unnecessary fights, my words went in through one ear and out the other! Wolf energetically sent the goblin, a monster resembling a green monkey, flying with a punch. As a beastman, his physical abilities were superb. He could defeat all kinds of monsters with punches or kicks. He didn’t need swords or magic. Or rather, this guy was strong. He was infamous in my previous round for causing trouble, but he was also well-known for his strength.

And… how can I put it? He looked all around the dungeon with sparkling eyes and cheerfully announced comments like “The stones are glowing!” and “There’s some weird grass growing!” Seeing him like that made me feel restless for some reason.

“Hm? Hey, woman! There are these huge goblin-looking monsters over there! Are they the trolls we’ve been looking for?”

“Oh, you’re right. There’s… wow, more than 14 of them…”

The two of us peeked our heads out from behind a corner and watched a group of humanoid monsters carrying clubs patrol the area. Hmm, there were too many of them for us to handle. Maybe we could lure some over and split them up.

After putting in some thought, I was about to strategize with Wolf when—

“Those guys are all squishy…like your chest. Alright, let’s go and defeat them already!”

“Huh? Why are you sexually harassing me now?! —Wait, Wolf!”

Wolf dashes out, his tattered coat fluttering behind. He lunged at one of the trolls, raised his fist, and howled.

“Hit-it-before-it-realizes Punch!!!”

“Gugo?!”

His fist made contact with the troll’s face, and the monster was sent flying through the air before lying still on the ground. The other trolls were surprised. Wolf took this chance to attack another one among the confusion.

But…

“Die!!! …Huh?!”

“Gugoooh!”

One of the trolls wore a wicked grin. Wolf’s fist was caught by the troll’s thick lumps of fat. While Wolf was confused, another troll approached, raised its club, and swung it at Wolf. Wolf’s body crashed into the wall.

“Gah!”

“W-Wolf!”

I rushed over to him and raised his limp body. It seemed that he fortunately didn’t have any broken bones. His tough muscles seemed to have protected his body.

“Gugooh! Kill… Eat…you!”

“ngh!”

The group of trolls slowly drew closer, their heavy footsteps echoing. Except for the first one that was incapacitated by Wolf, they could all still fight.

I wracked my brain. Unlike my opponents, my comrade was in no condition to fight. It’ll be difficult to run away while carrying him on my back, and it’ll be tough to fight while trying to protect him.

“What should I do…? What can I do…?”

I thought hard about my options as the trolls slowly approached. At that moment, a scar-covered hand clumsily plopped down on my head.

“Huh? Wolf?”

“Hehe, sorry ‘bout this. It looks like I’ve caused you a lot of trouble. Woman…no, your name’s Sophia, right? I promise to listen more to you next time!”

He said, stood up, and got ready to punch the trolls again. He suffered from heavy injuries, but it seemed that his fighting spirit was still strong. Rather, it seemed to burn even hotter now, enough for me to feel the heat coming from his whole body.

Oh, I see now. He was even enjoying things in this kind of predicament. Unlike my previous self who could no longer move from the pain and died like that, Wolf had an insane smile on.

I revised my view. This guy was an idiot. He saw the world differently from the gloomy coward I was. He was an idiot adventurer who rushed ahead with sheer energy and enthusiasm.

Yet I found myself standing next to him.

“Huh? Sophia? You wanna have a go too?”

“Of course. My original plan was to hunt these guys, remember? Also, their fat absorbs physical attacks, so if you’re still going that route, aim for their heads. They can’t protect themselves there.”

“…Gotcha! Then, let’s go all out!!!”

Wolf and I simultaneously charged at the group of trolls. My previous self wouldn’t have been able to do anything against them, but I was different this round! For these 15 years, I diligently trained… to earn money! I drew the two swords at my waist and unleashed my sword techniques as I rushed ahead.

“Enraged flames, dwell in my blades! [Fire Enchant]!”

At that moment, the blades of the two swords in my hands released a violent flame. This was an intermediate-level magic I learned during my 15 years of training. I further concentrated mana at my feet and unleashed another new skill.

“Raging waves, open the way! [Aqua Splash]!”

This was another intermediate-level magic. It produced a torrent of water from my feet and carried me right towards the trolls.

“Haaaah!!!”

“Guoooh?!”

I brandished my flaming swords and jumped right at a troll’s neck. Its thick fat was useless before my scorching blades. I sped up again thanks to the water magic and defeated the other trolls who were confused.

“Heh, you really are strong! As a man, I can’t lose either!”

“Fufu, make sure you don’t mess up this time, Wolf.”

“S-shaddup!”

Wolf blushed as he punched another troll up in the air. It appeared that the hooligan prince really did reflect on his actions. He had quite a cute side to him. We stood back to back and glared at the trolls around us.

“Gugoooh! Damn you!!!”

It seemed that the troll was finally serious. It raised its club and rushed right at us. But I had no intention of losing. I noticed that both Wolf and I were smiling at the same time. I tightened my grip on my swords.

“Alright, let’s do this! Don’t die on me, Sophia!”

“I could say the same to you, Wolf!”

Sensing each other, the two of us jumped at the troll.

Several quick minutes later. We defeated all our targets and we high-fived with smiles on our faces after the battle.