Chapter 14

A cave with hideous totems set up here and there.

A goblin shaman holding a staff with a skull seemed to be performing some kind of ritual, but it looked more like he was just trying to create an atmosphere.

A dungeon that has just appeared; what kind of ritual does a newborn baby have?

‘It’s as expected with a hobgoblin around.’

I clearly remember this being the first dungeon. One shaman and four ordinary goblins are fixed. There’s no way I could be wrong.

Is this a change that has occurred with reality? Well, originally, only my party entered, but now other adventurers are here too. I can understand the change in difficulty due to the change in the number of people.

Well, even if the situation changes, all I can do is trust Mirabel.

“Mirabel, can you do this?”

“Just relax, Master.”

Mirabel begins to draw upon her magical power.

Kirrururuul!

The goblin shaman, sensing something, screeches with a bizarre cry. As he hurriedly swings his skull staff and gives orders, the goblins guarding the area rush in.

And the shaman mutters an incantation that I cannot comprehend. It was the invocation of a spell.

The goblins try to stab with their chipped daggers.

Two hobgoblins are swinging their great swords and axes.

The distance between them is closing rapidly.

However, Mirabel does not react. I anxiously looked at her. It’s going to be okay, right?

To my surprise, Mirabel immediately starts to act. She lightly cast the Divine Oath onto the ground.

Boon!

A calm white ripple spreads around Mirabel.

A magic circle is inscribed on the ground. The earth writhes, transforming into a slimy swamp.

The rushing goblins sink lower. The panicked creatures flounder but only sink faster. The large hobgoblin is submerged up to its waist, while the tiny goblin has already disappeared beneath the surface.

Mirabel’s spellcasting continues.

In games, battles are turn-based, allowing for back-and-forth exchanges, but reality is unforgiving. If done well, one can attack infinitely.

Two fire arrows conjured by Mirabel are shot at the goblins, leaving behind sparks like fireworks in the night sky.

At that moment, the goblin shaman also finished the incantation. As he swayed his body like a dance while wielding his staff, a thick black mist spread out and swallowed the fire arrows.

But that wasn’t the end.

As the mist enveloped the swamp, its binding force diminished, and the area around the hobgoblin regained enough strength to stand. The hobgoblins that shook off the swamp emerged back to the ground.

By the shaman’s magic, all of Mirabel’s spells were returned to nothing.

“Anti-magic…”

Mirabel’s face twisted in frustration, as if it was offensive to be blocked by just goblins. It’s a strange situation to comment on, but her expression has become rich once again. Father feels proud.

Having reorganized, the hobgoblins rush in blindly once more for revenge. Although Mirabel’s magic was blocked by the shaman, the spells she can wield are infinite.

Moreover.

“Do you understand what you missed?”

“Yeah. I won’t make the same mistake next time.”

Mirabel must have realized just now whom to exclude first in battle.

Mirabel lightly cast the Divine Oath again. A yellow lightning bolt sprang from the glowing crystal and was shot out.

A lightning spear faster than sound.

A monster that has to perform the invocation couldn’t possibly react to a speed that far surpasses cognition. A brief flash illuminated the dark cave and pierced the shaman.

The shaman’s torso disappeared completely.

Its cross-section was blackened and smoke rose.

What remained were the two hobgoblins exposed and defenseless. With the shaman gone to protect them, the following outcome was obvious. They too ultimately fell victim to Mirabel’s magic.

Total annihilation.

A single dungeon was thoroughly cleaned out by a girl with zero combat experience.

“Phew…”

Taking a deep breath to relieve her tension, Mirabel turned to me with cautious expression and asked, “Um… did I help the Master? Do you think I showed my worth?”

Was she worried about that?

Such unnecessary worry.

Here, I should give her unreserved praise.

“You were excellent. We are a step closer to liberation.”

“Ah… I’m glad.”

Mirabel’s cheeks turned red.

Is she embarrassed by the praise?

I guess I should do it more often until she gets used to it.

I glanced around, passing by the slain monsters.

“Why is that, Master? Did I make a mistake?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. I’m looking for something…”

The skill book isn’t visible. The chances were low, and I had done infinite repeats at that time, but should I do that again this time?

That’s too unreasonable.

Now, instead of just pushing an automatic button, I have to walk directly on foot. It’s a whole different labor compared to the past when I could run it hundreds of times a day.

At most, I can only do it four times a day.

Just in case, I began examining the goblins’ corpses. [Goblin’s Ear] and other useless items dropped. After that, I rummaged through the goblin shaman’s body.

[Goblin Shaman’s Staff]

– Contains unsettling power. Slightly increases the power of dark magic.

This is also pretty useless.

I hesitated but decided to check the rags the shaman had been wearing.

“Oh?”

From deep within the shaman’s robe, something rectangular was palpable. It felt just like a book in terms of texture and size. With my heart racing, I pulled it out.

[Goblin Shaman’s Magic Book]

– This is the magic book that belonged to the goblin shaman.

It appeared!

Of course, it should. There was an oddity where a hobgoblin appeared in a boss room that should only summon the shaman. If the difficulty goes up, it’s only natural that the chances of rewards increase significantly.

“Is that what you were looking for?”

“Yes. This is a gift for Mirabel.”

“……”

Mirabel shot me that look again.

I wondered why, but it made sense. The Divine Oath is a relic of the deceased. And this time, it was obtained from the goblin’s corpse.

It seems I only end up giving Mirabel items of the dead. It’s strange if I feel good about that.

“It’s an essential item for revenge.”

“If that’s the case… then since it’s from you, Master, I will gratefully accept it.”

Mirabel reluctantly accepted when I framed it as revenge.

I sighed and put the magic book into my inner pocket. In the game, when you wanted to learn a skill, it was immediate, but I wonder how it will be here.

Since there’s still time, I can take it slow and learn.

‘That’s odd, though.’

As far as I know, the original name is [Soul Magic Book], but now it’s [Goblins Shaman’s Magic Book].

Well, it’s probably something I don’t need to worry about too much. The item that the goblin shaman drops is the immutable Soul Magic Book.

I’ll figure out the details while resting at the inn──

Bang!

A massive explosion echoed throughout the cave at that moment. The cave shook as if an earthquake had struck, and bats hanging from the ceiling fled in droves.

Boom! Bang!

The explosions didn’t stop there. The sounds grew closer. Something was approaching from the direction we came.

‘What is it? Are there still monsters left?’

Mirabel, who had dropped her earlier tension, lifted it back up in an instant and became wary. Eventually, just as the last wall I had set up shattered.

“Who the hell is causing such a mess in the dungeon? If I find whoever is doing this, I’ll grind them to dust.”

A somewhat irate voice could be heard.

It was a familiar voice.

Through the swirling dust, the silhouettes of two figures came into view, getting closer to us.

Soon, they appeared beyond the dust, and despite being covered in dirt, they were wearing immaculate white robes.

“Eep.”

Mirabel instinctively recoiled with a squeak. They were the clerics we had encountered at the tavern.

“Huh? What? That rude one from before?”

The female cleric recited lines like they were from a weekend drama. When our eyes met, she looked surprised and pointed at me.

“And hey, there’s that cute little girl too. Were both of you adventurers?”

“Haha, we’re doing some adventuring as a side job as well. But what brings you here, Cleric?”

As the priestess approached us, Mirabel began to tremble even more. I pulled her behind me.

“…We received reports that every path has been blocked. The Guild wants us to respond to the unusual situation.”

The priestess noticed that I was on guard. She frowned slightly, seemingly displeased, but thanks to our previous encounter, she didn’t openly complain.

Rather, was the blockage of walls a helping hand?

I had been thinking hard that I would be in big trouble if I couldn’t obtain the Soul Magic Book. I never expected the clerics to show up.

“You’re the ones who made these walls, aren’t you?”

A tone filled with conviction. There’s no way to deny it. So I just responded as a slave merchant would.

“Yes. By any chance, did you encounter any new adventurers along the way?”

“The party made up of kids? Yeah, we met them at the rest area on the way.”

“The boy in charge of the front line tried to abandon his party and come over to us. He was quite insistent. It was a real hassle for both us and that party.”

“And?”

“No matter how many times we tried to drop him, he kept chasing. We needed to drop him. We were fine, but we judged that the boy’s party could be annihilated if they lost their front line.”

The priestess stroked her chin, contemplating.

“Was it necessary to block all paths, though? There are other parties in this dungeon besides them. They were all affected because you blocked the paths. There must have been other ways.”

“Hm, that may be. My thoughts were shortsighted. If I meet those individuals, I will formally apologize and present compensation. It won’t be insufficient.”

In a world where money can even persuade soldiers, how hard could it be to persuade a few newbies without proper equipment?

A little sweetening up could have them bowing their heads in gratitude for breaking those walls.

“Um… if you agree to negotiate with the affected parties, I have nothing more to say.”

Having acknowledged my mistake and even proposed a countermeasure, the priestess could not pursue the matter further.

“I apologize for having you come all the way for our sake. We’ll treat you to a meal outside. Well then, we’ll be on our way….”

“Before that.”

The priestess interrupted me.

The atmosphere that felt relieved became cold in an instant. The look she gave me was filled with hostility.

“You, what did you pick up here.”