Not only that.
"There's one more~"
A Goblin that had been lurking in the shadows of a rock crevice, clutching a sharpened leg bone torn from some corpse or other, stared at Onigawara Rin's defenseless back with cruel light flickering in its beady, mung-bean-sized eyes.
It saw an opportunity.
Clearly, it wanted to pick off a straggler.
It grinned, revealing a mouth full of yellow teeth, and was just about to exert force to pounce.
However.
It did not notice.
The breath of death was already blowing against the back of its neck.
Until—
"Swish."
A gray arc of light silently swept past its body.
Fast.
Too fast.
That Goblin even maintained its posture preparing for the attack, its toes just having left the ground.
But its vision suddenly began to misalign.
The scene seen by the left eye flew upwards, while the scene seen by the right eye fell downwards.
The world disintegrated before its eyes.
"Splurt—"
A line of blood extended from the center of its head all the way down to its crotch.
Immediately following that.
The entire Goblin was precisely sliced into two halves.
"Bang."
It didn't even have time to let out a scream.
Those two halves of the body turned into black ash in mid-air, leaving behind only a Magic Stone the size of a thumb.
With a clink, it fell to the ground.
Behind that pile of black ash.
Nomura Satori stood there daintily.
In her hand, she gripped that dull, lightless tachi, [Gray Snake]. Her emerald green long hair fluttered slightly in the Dungeon's gloomy wind, and that harmless, sweet smile still hung on her face.
"Oh my~ This blade really is quite handy~"
Nomura Satori smiled and flicked the blood off the blade, then sheathed the sword with graceful movements.
"Click."
Silky smooth.
"This...!"
Hearing the commotion behind her, Onigawara Rin turned her head sharply. Seeing the Magic Stone on the ground, a layer of cold sweat finally rose on her back.
"Don't be so surprised~"
"We are companions, you know. Isn't covering each other what we should do?"
Nomura Satori tilted her head, seemingly completely unaware of how terrifying her movements were just now.
"Hmph, don't get happy too early."
"There's more."
Hanasaka Warabi looked at the last few Goblins and snorted disdainfully.
"Kyoubou! Clear the field!"
"Roar—!"
The giant black bear let out a roar and charged out like a heavy tank.
That heavy armor emitted dull metallic clashing sounds during the charge.
Facing this kind of behemoth, the Goblins' fragile little frames were simply like paper constructs.
"Bang!"
One Goblin was slapped against the wall by a bear paw, directly becoming a wall painting.
"Splat!"
Another was sat upon by a giant butt; it didn't even have time to scatter into ash before being crushed.
"Beautiful work, Kyoubou!"
Hanasaka Warabi stood on her tiptoes and patted the black bear's thick, fleshy bottom hard, looking pleased with herself.
...
"..."
Seeing scene after scene of this.
Tsubaki, who had been standing in the rear watching the whole process, looked at the Magic Stones scattered all over the ground. She straightened up, clapped her hands, and pulled everyone's attention back.
"For rookies, you guys did pretty well this time."
Although on the surface she was still suppressing the newcomers' arrogance.
In Tsubaki's heart, however.
She had actually completely put away her disdain.
After all.
The strength of this group of young girls was indeed not bad.
Their movements were clean, without any superfluous nonsense, and certainly without the discomfort reaction newcomers usually had when seeing blood for the first time.
Moreover.
Whether it was Amou Kirukiru's almost beast-like physical intensity.
Or Onigawara Rin's solid foundation in swordsmanship.
Or perhaps Kikakujou Mary's precise and lethal technique, and Nomura Satori's assassination methods that were impossible to guard against.
Even that little loli who looked the weakest possessed considerable combat power.
Everyone had the potential to stand on their own.
Thus.
Since this bunch could fight so well.
Then the originally formulated plan definitely had to be scrapped.
After all.
With this kind of strength, bullying weaklings on the first five floors was purely a waste of time.
So.
For the journey that followed.
Tsubaki led everyone straight down, continuing to push forward.
The 2nd Floor.
The 3rd Floor.
The 4th Floor.
As the floor count deepened.
The surrounding environment began to undergo subtle changes.
The color of the walls gradually became deeper, the humidity in the air increased, carrying a faint smell of mold.
The spawn rate of monsters became visibly higher.
Besides the swarms of Goblins, agile Kobolds began to appear, as well as Dungeon Lizards that liked to hide perfectly in the cave walls to launch sneak attacks.
However.
This did not hinder the girls' footsteps in the slightest.
Along this way.
Whether it was the swarms of Goblins, Kobolds, or Dungeon Lizards.
In front of Amou Kirukiru and Onigawara Rin and the others.
They didn't even count as a challenge.
Wherever they passed, nothing was left alive.
Basically, as long as a monster poked its head out, it would instantly be greeted by several weapons simultaneously.
Especially towards the end.
In order to steal kills, a faint smell of gunpowder from competition even emerged among this group of girls.
"That one is mine!"
"Whoever grabs it keeps it!"
"Ah! Mary, you're cheating! Little Satori saw that one first!"
"..."
Smashing through like splitting bamboo.
Very quickly.
Before they knew it.
The surrounding environment began to change.
The group had already arrived near the entrance to the 6th Floor.
The light here was even dimmer than above; the glowing moss on the walls became sparse, and large patches of shadows occupied their field of vision.
"Rest for a bit."
Tsubaki raised her hand to signal the team to stop.
Fighting all the way down here, although the monsters weren't strong, the high-intensity march had still consumed quite a bit of stamina.
The girls each found a place to sit and rest.
Tsubaki took a sip from her water flask, her gaze involuntarily falling upon the figure sitting properly on a rock to rest.
It was precisely that blind girl with long white hair and sightless eyes.
——Inaba Tsukuyo.
Tsubaki noticed.
Ever since entering the Dungeon.
The long sword named [White Heron] that this blind girl wore had not been drawn from its sheath even once.
She had been quietly following in the very center of the team.
Just like a bystander.
Whenever a monster wanted to sneak attack her.
Before the monster could even get close.
The other girls, or that black bear, would immediately rush over and resolve the monster.
It was as if there was a silent tacit understanding.
Everyone was intentionally or unintentionally protecting her.
If one didn't look at that stunning display of locating position by sound in the Guild earlier.
Just looking at her appearance.
She indeed looked like an object that needed close protection.
But this wasn't right.
As a Lv.5 First-Class Adventurer.
Intuition told Tsubaki—
This sharp blade that had been hidden in the white scabbard all along was probably the sharpest one in this entire team.
After all.
As a blind person.
This girl's performance while marching.
She walked far too steadily.
Along this journey, the Dungeon ground was uneven, covered in loose gravel, and filled with various unpredictable pitfalls.
A normal person would trip over stones from time to time.
Yet her body's center of gravity hadn't wavered even once.
Moreover.
There were several times.
When those Dungeon Lizards lurking in the rock crevices just revealed a hint of killing intent, before their figures were even fully revealed.
Tsubaki had noticed.
This blind girl's hand had already rested on her sword hilt early on.
Assuming a posture ready to slash at any moment.
This kind of control over the environment was simply terrifying.
And that composure of having already prepared a certain kill before the crisis even occurred.
Rather than saying she was being protected by everyone.
It would be better to say...
It was because the others were too anxious to act, giving her absolutely no chance to draw her sword.
Thinking of this.
Tsubaki screwed the cap back onto her water flask, hung it casually at her waist, strode forward with her long legs, and walked straight up to Inaba Tsukuyo, who was resting with her eyes closed due to the long hike.
"Tsukuyo..."
"Can I call you that?"
Tsubaki looked down at this girl who was as exquisite as a porcelain doll, her tone surprisingly softening a bit.
"Of course, Tsubaki... senpai."
Inaba Tsukuyo raised her head.
Although those blood-red pupils had no focal point.
They gave Tsubaki the illusion of being precisely locked onto by the other party.
"I see you haven't made a move this entire way."
"Is it because you can't see, or..."
"Is it because you feel that battles of that level aren't worth drawing your blade?"
Tsubaki didn't beat around the bush; she simply sat cross-legged opposite Inaba Tsukuyo, her voice carrying a sense of probing inquiry.
The question was overly direct.
But it also fit her usual habit.
____
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