"Floor Boss"
When Ron saw the gigantic goblin, this thought involuntarily surfaced in his mind.
In Soul-type games, there were usually such stage settings.
Coincidentally, the DanMachi world also had this kind of setup.
However, so-called "floor masters" only appeared on certain floors—for example, Goliath on the seventeenth floor, the two-headed dragon Amphisbaena, and so on.
They all shared one common point.
That was that the power they possessed was extremely formidable!
"Damn."
And a dungeon fused with Soul-like attributes was so insane that the possibility of assigning a floor-guarding Boss to every single floor already seemed to be laid out right in front of him.
He really needed to run.
Ron did not hesitate at all, avoiding drawing the monster's aggro.
Because within "Dungeon Hatred," there was a debuff that altered the floor environment—if, because of the goblin guard in front of him, it caused the area behind him to—produce a door that could not be opened from this side?
Being forcibly left behind to fight the monsters to the death—just thinking about it felt outrageous.
With such an enormous difference in body size, even if he had mastered the "shield-thrust style" wheelchair tactic, once real combat began, the number of Revivals would definitely not be enough to expend!
"This should be called a tactical retreat."
The Soul Shards he had accumulated with so much effort—Ron did not want to consume them on revival attempts, while the dungeon behind him was gradually being swallowed by darkness.
At this moment, the sense of unease it brought grew ever stronger.
He decisively turned around, only to discover that the goblin guard was chasing in his direction—and that even the Dungeon itself did not intend to let him off so easily.
The walls continuously collapsed, and monsters resembling elite goblins and archers gradually poured out.
"So it's Battle Royale mode, huh?"
"Dungeon Anomaly"
Ron could only think of this possibility. His expression turned extremely grim, and he decisively broke into a run to get away.
Fortunately, it went smoothly.
Retracing the path he had come from, any monsters that tried to ambush him were basically all blocked head-on by the airtight defense of the brass heavy shield.
Even goblin lunging attacks that clearly looked like attempts to lure the enemy deeper did not actively pursue.
Only the elite goblins and mutated kobolds that obstructed his return path were dealt with by Ron, conveniently, during the brief intervals while being chased by the floor boss.
When the monsters were isolated and their combat styles were familiar, he needed no more than half a minute to deal with the goblins and kobolds blocking the way. The Soul Shards he had accumulated had already reached nine, just short of the amount needed for redemption.
Only one last monster remained!
However—when Ron was considering whether he should accumulate enough to exchange for a random character card before returning, the sound of footsteps coming from behind caught his attention.
What exactly was it?
He frowned, intending to briefly observe the situation before making a decision.
But when Ron saw clearly—the unfamiliar girl running out of the passage in a panic, and the elite goblin chasing after her—
"Did I cause trouble?"
He had gone too deep exploring, and the Soul-type Dungeon could not hold back its panting.
As a result, a goblin guard was born, and even aberrant monsters were continuously surging forth. When they carried out their pursuit of him, they would also indiscriminately attack humans.
Ron's expression was ugly.
Just as he was thinking about how to deal with this mess, the elf girl running toward him waved with all her strength and shouted, "Hurry and go! These goblin monsters—they're not as simple as you think."
"..."
Listening to the unfamiliar adventurer's explanation, Ron's expression grew even more strange.
Not far behind him was the safe passage leading to the starting floor. He did not hurry to leave, and reminded her, "Once we return to Orario, it'll be safe."
"And you?"
Bending over and continuously panting heavily, the adventurer—she was an elf beautiful girl with long yamabuki-colored hair, tied behind her head into an enormous ponytail, and she was also holding an exquisite staff in her hand.
Somewhat familiar.
"Lefiya Viridis"
With this thought arising, his already strange expression became even more complicated. If he remembered correctly, this person should be a Lv.3 adventurer.
With the epithet "Thousand Elf," at the Lv.3 stage she possessed firepower output comparable to Lv.5.
Was that reasonable?
As for himself, having just become an adventurer and being unable to beat the Dungeon's monsters, Ron felt that if he was weak, then he should train more. But why was Lefiya being chased and driven by monsters?
He forcibly kept a stiff face.
"If I remember correctly—"
"You should be the 'Thousand Elf' of the Loki Familia, Miss Lefiya, right?"
"You know me?"
"There aren't that many Lv.3 adventurers in Orario. It's hard not to recognize them." Ron shook his head silently and looked at Lefiya, who seemed somewhat pleasantly surprised.
He could not suppress the thought in his heart.
"So, with your strength, why were you being chased by goblins and kobolds?"
"These goblins and kobolds are monsters from a Dungeon Anomaly. To prevent adventurer casualties, this must be reported to the Adventurers' Guild as soon as possible."
"While clearing the monsters, we also need to investigate the specific cause."
The girl looked a little embarrassed.
When answering, she subconsciously avoided Ron's gaze. She could hardly tell this guy that—actually, she had wanted to deal with them herself, but her chanting had not even finished—before it was interrupted by the aggressive elite goblins and mutated kobolds, right?
Most crucially, behind that group of monsters, there was also a goblin of unprecedented size, steadily advancing toward her position.
There was no helping it.
A mage who had left the team to act alone, facing fast-paced attacks and a large number of monsters, and being poor at close combat—most would end up like this.
What was more—she had even left the Twin-Stick Fairy Dust that could be used as a "magic swordsman" weapon at home.
"So that's how it is."
This was a lie.
Ron did not expose the girl's thoughts. He simply locked his gaze onto the elite monsters that had tracked them here, thinking of the number of Soul Shards he had accumulated.
In a calm tone, he said, "Do you want to deal with them?"
"..."
She very much wanted to tell Ron—that even if they were special monsters, as long as she could successfully cast her magic, dealing with them would be extremely easy.
But the sheer number of monsters simply did not give her any opportunity to chant.
Just as Lefiya was hesitating over how to answer, this unfamiliar, refined-looking young man seemed to know what she was thinking: "I'll draw the monsters' attention."
"Then I'll be responsible for eliminating them," the elf girl nodded firmly.
To be able to rise so quickly to a Lv.3 adventurer, of course she cared about her pride—especially since she was being witnessed firsthand by an unfamiliar adventurer. She absolutely had to save face.
Lefiya tightened her grip on the Forest's Teardrop in her hand, and the girl's delicate face gradually grew serious.
Yet just as she was about to ask the unfamiliar adventurer's name, this youth—holding a brass heavy shield in one hand—had already charged toward the monsters.
"I haven't even asked what your name is yet!"
Lefiya lightly bit her lip.
She worked hard to steady her emotions and began chanting. As magic power surged, brilliant light flowed from the tip of the staff named "Forest's Teardrop."
"Proud warriors, archers of the forest—the advancing plunderers stand before you, take up your bows."
"Answer the call of your kin, nock your arrows and kindle the flames, lights of the forest."
"By my command, loose your arrows—let elven fire arrows fall like rain, burning the barbarians in fire."
This was the elf girl's wide-area fire-attribute attack magic.
And at this very moment—heavy footsteps slammed against the ground. The seemingly stable cave passage was struck by tremendous force; after the wall stones gradually collapsed, a passage was revealed.
Immediately after—the floor boss, "Goblin Guard," joined the battle!
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