Benny, in a chaotic confusion, cast countless exploration spells from his basic magic book, mumbling something ridiculous like, “Is this really a high-ranking artifact that I can’t even notice…?”
Aside from that, the labyrinth exploration was going smoothly.
Rustle.
As he swung the Unicorn Dagger, a kobold frantically digging in the ground met its demise right there.
“Ko-Kobold?”
The guy next to him straightened his back in surprise.
“…Intense Flame!”
Whoosh.
“Koohk!”
As soon as he stood up, he was engulfed in fierce flames, screaming before collapsing.
“Tsk. The power is subtler than I thought, and the dying part is too noisy.”
“That dagger is unusually strong! The magic power isn’t lacking. The kobold that just fell is at least your level or higher.”
With Shadow beneath him, Benny shook his head disapprovingly from a distance.
“Well, if you put it that way, it’s a kind of finishing move.”
“Well, you could say that it didn’t suit the match-up. Since they’re creatures that evolved with an excellent sense of hearing and smell but have poor eyesight, it makes sense to avoid such flashy magic against them.”
The screams of the kobold, the smell of soot on their clothes—everything made it easier for the enemy to notice them first, triggering an ambush.
Not that it mattered much to me, since I could easily conceal my scent.
“In that sense, Jonah, your usual style is well-suited for the second floor.”
“It’s basically stealthy, after all.”
I shrugged, but honestly, Benny too had a knack for stealth.
Shadow could swim through the ground while riding on Benny’s shadow. If you hopped onto Shadow’s back…
Not only could you reduce sound, but you could completely eliminate it too.
That was impossible for Lydia, whose armor clinked every time she moved, no matter how careful she was.
With a snicker, I tossed the kobold’s corpse to Shadow, who promptly devoured it, spitting out only byproducts and magic stones.
I stuffed the loot I picked up into my backpack and spoke.
“Let’s dive deeper today. Kobolds are okay, but… we can’t just keep hunting kobolds.”
“Exactly. If that were the case, we wouldn’t be leveling up. Hey, did you know? If you keep catching the same type of monster, the growth rewards from the dungeon decrease exponentially.”
“I know. It’s less about catching the same kind of monster and more about easily hunting them in a predetermined manner. The Goddess loves adventurers who explore.”
“Smart of you to know. But be careful. Your life always comes first. There are plenty of stronger and gifted ones than me, but….”
“In the end, the one who survived is Benny, right? Only Benny became a high-ranking adventurer. I know. Of course, my survival comes first. The Goddess probably doesn’t wish for me to get hurt or die while pushing myself.”
Though I had never asked, I was sure that much was true. She wouldn’t have given me that four-star rating right before the showdown with the One Who Devours the Twilight and the King of Thorns for no reason.
If I hadn’t had that, I would have been in quite a bit of danger, and since the Goddess wouldn’t want that, she must have twisted my fate to get me through.
…That might be why from then on, I’ve only been getting one or two stars.
“Regardless, if we’re going deeper, we should reassess the route. Let’s see… should we aim for the Fallen Gnome area first?”
“That’s probably better than the Spider Queen. From what I can see, Jonah, you seem to excel in one-on-one fights rather than against multiple foes.”
All monsters were beings corrupted by madness. Take the kobolds, for example—they were fanatically focused on digging.
There was no particular reason for it. They simply started digging with pickaxes instead of swords to survive.
Given that the kobolds had built most of the second-floor labyrinth, it was pretty much a given.
However, at some point, they stopped digging to survive and began to dig just for the sake of digging.
They had succumbed to madness.
But dig they did. They kept going. If something got in their way, they killed it.
That had become the only principle behind the kobolds’ actions.
And it was the Fallen Gnomes who utilized these kobolds for their benefit.
If you provided them with iron and various minerals, they would craft excellent pickaxes and shovels for digging.
Kobolds, bound by the singular goal of digging, toiled away like slaves, while the gnomes grew their power through the minerals they obtained.
That was the peculiar symbiosis occurring on this second floor.
“I’m sure we’ll be bringing home plenty of iron at the very least.”
“Take it easy. If you grab too much, your body will end up weighed down.”
“…Can’t we trust Shadow to carry the load?”
“No way! From what Lydia told me, it’s to help you grow quickly, Jonah. Managing weight is also a virtue of being an adventurer. If you don’t like it, buy a lighter backpack enchanted with weight-reduction magic.”
“A lightweight backpack is expensive and also too small, you know.”
“Then get one with subspace magic.”
“…That’s way too expensive for someone who hasn’t even reached high-ranking adventurer status.”
“If you have no money, you pay with your body. That’s what being an adventurer is all about, right?”
“You want me to pay with my body…? Is that how you’ve been seeing me all along, Benny?”
I glared at Benny with disappointment written all over my face as she jumped back in shock.
“N-No! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but that’s not it!”
“Sure, you’re just trying to avoid being the bad guy until the end, aren’t you? Fine. I’ll treat this as something I’m doing on my own accord.”
With a resigned tone, I dropped the backpack I was carrying.
Then, I placed my hand on the button of my top, and Benny screamed, covering her eyes.
“W-Wait! What on earth are you doing in the labyrinth…!”
Despite saying that, Benny couldn’t help but sneak a peek through her fingers. Her expression was a mix of embarrassment and intrigue, which made me smirk as I threw the backpack in surprise.
“Ha!”
“Uh…?”
Benny wore a blank expression while Shadow, squirming beneath her, quickly reached out with its tentacles and grabbed the backpack. It then gulped it down whole.
“Good job! When I ask to spit it out later, only then should you do it, right? And ignore Benny if she tells you to spit it out!”
-Growl.
Shadow playfully growled, blinking its eyes. Benny finally realized she had been tricked, bouncing up and down in place.
“Hey! That’s not fair!”
“Here it is. Plus, if we’re going to catch gnomes, it’s best to get rid of as much metal as possible from our bodies, isn’t it?”
I shrugged off Benny’s anger.
Part of me intended to tease Shadow, but the other half was genuine.
Gnomes grow stronger by absorbing the earth energy from buried minerals.
After all, they are beings born from the lingering power of the Earth God, so it’s completely natural for them to reinforce their origin.
However, we mustn’t forget that the gnomes have also been monsterized.
It’s fine to hoard various minerals. But the monsterized gnomes began to obsess over simply stacking minerals.
Their madness manifests as greed.
While they could significantly increase their power by absorbing life energy from the minerals they hoard, they instead just choose to stack them. This is because the life energy dissipates if they absorb it.
Well, from an adventurer’s perspective, wanting to cling to minerals and remain weak is rather welcoming.
They’re a sort of treasure goblin.
But underestimating them is a mistake. Elementals are fundamentally different from ordinary fauna and flora. Their power, their perspective of the world, it’s all on a different level.
Not superior or inferior, just genuinely alien.
For example… the gnome’s ability to sense minerals is one such case.
Gnomes possess ordinary senses like any other being, but additionally, they can feel the very energy of the earth.
Naturally, metal gear infused with earth energy is impossible to hide from a gnome no matter what you do.
Perhaps my footsteps might feel a little different from what they usually consume…
But fundamentally, a gnome’s ability to sense minerals isn’t like a search ability; it’s simply recognizing part of their very own body. It might even not register sometimes if I’m unlucky.
It’s better to be cautious.
Teasing Benny in her fuming state, I kept turning all the kobolds we encountered into “ko/boulders,” repeatedly digesting the loot obtained along the way into Shadow’s belly.
Eventually, we came to the end of the narrow, cramped passage, revealing a spacious chamber.
But that didn’t mean we arrived at a safe zone.
In this space, twisted moss growing along the walls emitted a bluish glow, lighting the area.
At its center, instead of a small gravestone, there was a massive pile of unrefined mineral stones.
Even though they weren’t processed, and there weren’t many minerals that would be useful to adventurers,
With this volume, I was sure we could obtain quite a decent yield.
Still, I couldn’t honestly rejoice at this. That’s because, as always, treasures come with their guardians. It’s a rule of the labyrinth.
Atop the mound of minerals sat a small gnome, nonchalantly lounging.
It had a body made of dirt rather than flesh and bone. While human-like, its details were strangely crude.
It looked like something a child hastily scribbled and brought to life.
Observing the creature affectionately stroking the pile of stones, I quickly pulled back.
And then, I whispered softly into Benny’s ear.
“Elementals also die if you slice their necks, right?”
“Eep…!”
“???”
Come on, don’t make me tickle you with a whisper at a time like this!
