Akira walked away from the hole toward the 18th floor. Asterius's earlier attack had pierced not just through the dungeon, but also through the underground drainage system. Now all the rainwater from the rain earlier was back-flowing into it, cooling the massive lava lake on the 18th floor. Steam was blowing up through the tunnel as a result.
Akira, who had just dried himself after fighting in the cold rain, didn't want to get sick. So he returned to the tent to rest.
"I'll leave the rest to you, Raul-senpai." Akira patted Raul's shoulder and yawned, ready to sleep a little before the next fight.
"Ha… what… do I… wait… Akira-san!" Raul, still shell-shocked by how close the attack had been, looked confused. He grabbed Akira's hand. "What should I do?"
"You are Raul Nord, a Level 3 adventurer of Loki Familia. I'm sure you can reach the answer yourself." Hearing Akira's confidence in him, Raul straightened up and nodded. "Leave it to me, Akira-san."
'I'm just too tired for another meeting,' Akira thought, pulling the bedsheet up to cover his face. His expression twitched when he heard the familiar, gender-neutral monotone of the Frevius Clock Tower.
[Dadaneuph: Demon of Calamity – Defeated]
[Second Trial is over.]
[Observed: Only two participants in Second Trial.]
[Increasing difficulty for Third Trial.]
[Difficulty increased from 'Hurt Me Plenty' to 'Nightmare.']
[Time until Last Trial starts: Calculating…]
[Calculating…]
[Not enough magicules present for next trial.]
[Starting magicule collection.]
[Estimating time…]
[Time until Last Trial starts: 18 hrs 42 min 34 sec.]
'That's enough for a good rest.' Akira closed his eyes and instantly drifted into deep sleep.
Outside, a newly confident Raul was ready to take charge. Seeing the security force converging on his position, he knew it would take some time but all of Loki Familia must have seen the earlier magic and would gather here soon. He just had to hold the situation together until then.
SWISH!!
Anakitty Autumn arrived to see Raul directing the others to encircle the massive hole spewing steam. His new attitude was a surprise for her.
"Aki, thank god you're here. Lead the defense on the other side," Raul ordered.
"Defense? Against what…" Aki, taken aback by his confidence, still followed the order.
Raul pointed toward the hole. "Monsters, of course."
Gliding through the steam, three dark shadows emerged—Bad Bats. Their fleshy wings flapped, dispersing the fog before they screeched. Aki and Raul covered their ears.
"It's Bad Bats! Melee and magicians, fall back! Archers, take the shot!" Raul commanded, knowing the screeches disrupted concentration.
The five archers that were there shot hitting the two but missing the third. The third bat screamed again, diving for the archers.
PUCHI!
An arrow pierced through its wing. Unable to stay aloft, it tumbled back into the hole. Raul lowered his bow the screeching was disorienting, so he had relied entirely on muscle memory for that shot.
CLACK! CLACK!
Unsettling clicking sounds echoed as an army of Killer Ants crawled out of the hole.
Aki drew her sword, ready to strike, but Raul stopped her. "Aki, I can handle it here. You should lead the team on the other side."
The steam column obscured visibility across the fifty-meter-wide pit. The highest-level adventurer on the far side was only Level 2, which made Raul worried.
"Okay, Captain," Aki replied with a smile, running off without waiting for his response.
Hearing that, Raul felt a surge of pride. With renewed confidence and his trusted sword, Protagonista, in hand, he charged into the fight.
'I just have to hold them for a few minutes. This should be easy,' he thought.
-----------------------------------
3 Minutes Later
"Help me!!" an adventurer cried out as he smashed his sword against the hard armor of a Killer Ant, its pincers digging into his leg.
SLASH!
Raul sliced off the ant's head. The adventurer pried open the pincers, freeing his leg.
"Are you injured?" Raul asked.
The adventurer removed his leg armor to check for damage. "No, the armor held. Thanks, Raul-senpai."
"Can you still fight?" Raul offered a hand.
"Yes." He grabbed it, pulling himself up.
Hearing another cry for help, Raul spotted a Frog Shooter's tongue knocking a swordsman to the ground. In one smooth motion, he notched an arrow and fired, hitting the Frog Shooter in the eye. The brief opening allowed the swordsman to recover.
Since he had sent Aki away, there had been a steady stream of monsters climbing out of the hole. Most of the adventurers under his command were Level 1s. The higher-leveled members in the manor had been ordered to remain on guard duty around the gods and civilians—not only to protect them from monsters but also from criminals who might exploit the chaos.
That left Raul's side weaker. While coordinating the defenses, he had to run all over the place to ease the burden on the others.
'Captain really made it look easy,' Raul thought, slashing through a Dungeon Lizard. He was thankful only a few types of monsters could climb out of the nearly vertical hole.
DADUM!
The ground shook, snapping him out of his thoughts.
SWISH!
BANG!
A massive Silverback landed in front of him, crushing several Killer Ants beneath its feet. Raul bent forward and sprinted toward it—he was the only one strong enough to take it on.
As he reached its legs, ready to leap, a massive shadow loomed over him. Looking up, he saw another Silverback leaping over both of them—its target was the backline of adventurers struggling against the Killer Ants.
Raul instantly understood. He had to stop both here.
He skidded to a halt, twisting his waist and hurling his sword upward with full force. The blade flew straight, piercing through the Silverback's chin and out its head, killing it instantly.
"Shit—!" Raul cursed as a massive punch came flying at him. He jumped just in time to dodge.
'What is that?' Raul's eyes widened. A five-foot-tall Kobold variant stood atop the Silverback's shoulder, its entire body covered in silver fur. Its eyes glowed orange, and metallic claws gleamed like blades. It dashed down the Silverback's arm toward him.
Raul pulled his backup knife from his belt, readying himself as the Kobold's speed surged.
TING!
'Fast.' Raul blocked the claw strike with his knife, he'd learned from his earlier blunder against the dungeon rabbits.
CLANG!! CLANG!!
Raul deflected the flurry of claw strikes, finding the Kobold's strength weaker than expected.
'It ends here.' Raul went on the offensive.
The Kobold grunted, digging its claws into the Silverback's arm, making it roar in pain. The Silverback lifted its arm, tossing both of them off.
Back on the ground, they kept their distance. The Kobold's eyes glowed brighter as it leaned forward, sprinting straight toward him, accelerating with every step. Raul tracked both the Kobold and the Silverback.
A Dungeon Lizard leapt from his right. Raul turned and sliced it in half—but as the body split, a long tongue lashed out from the corpse and slammed into his chest armor, knocking him backward. He glanced at where he had stood—the Kobold blitzed through that very spot, ignoring him completely.
Raul pushed forward to pursue, but it was too late. The Kobold was too fast, racing toward the backline. Raul spun on his heels to chase it, ignoring another incoming tongue attack.
A massive punch from the Silverback was already hurling toward him—it was checkmate.
The Frog Shooter had used the Dungeon Lizard as bait, while the variant Kobold had used the Frog Shooter as bait to get to the backline.
Now Raul had two choices:
Dodge the Silverback's punch—wasting precious seconds while the Kobold slaughtered the adventurers. Or block it—still losing enough time for the same result.
Either way, he'd survive… but his team would die.
As his feet touched the ground, Raul made his choice—it was neither.
A knife plunged into the Kobold's back, its tip bursting out of its chest. The beast turned its head to see a shocked Raul with his hand stretched toward him
The Silverback's massive punch smashed into Raul's side. He felt his body buckle under the pressure, his view tilting as he was slammed into the ground.
His body bounced from the impact, and midair, his gaze locked on the still-standing Kobold.
The Kobold took one step forward… then another. As Raul crashed back to the ground, it started running again, its mouth dripping with its own blood, hungry for more.
Raul couldn't move. His heart sank in despair. 'Sorry, Captain. I failed…'
"You did good, Raul. Leave the rest to us."
A silver-haired werewolf appeared before the charging Kobold, wind swirling around his legs. He spun and kicked, releasing a tornado that tore the Kobold apart. The monster disintegrated into sand, leaving behind an orange magic crystal.
Raul looked up at the voice's owner—his captain, his idol: Finn Deimne.
Another member of Loki Familia, Line Arshe, appeared beside him and knelt, applying healing magic.
Feeling control return to his limbs, Raul sat up and hugged Finn's waist, tears welling in his eyes. "Captain… it was scary. I didn't know what to do. I almost got everyone killed…"
Finn patted his back, comforting him. "Nobody died, so I'd say you did a fantastic job."
"Really?" Raul let go, wiping his tears.
"Of course. With the strength of your squad, even I'm not sure I could've done better. I'm proud of you," Finn said with a smile, patting his shoulder. "Now rest—we'll handle the rest."
"Captain, Aki's on the other side," Raul pointed out.
"I already sent Ais there. You don't have to worry," Finn assured him.
Raul nodded, lying back down as Line's healing magic washed over him.
Moments later, the new reinforcements cleared out the remaining monsters in seconds.
"...the three severe winters—my name is Alf."
Riveria completed her chant, releasing a freezing wave. The magic froze everything in front of her, including the steam, forming an enormous ice cork that sealed the hole.
-----------------------------------
Akira closed the curtain of the tent, putting his spear back into his inventory before lying down on the bed.
He had been watching the fight since the first monster flew out of the hole—there was no way the voices outside were going to let him sleep. So, he decided to get up and fight for a while.
He was quite impressed with Raul's commanding skills, so he chose not to interfere and instead watched to see how far Raul could go.
'I hope nothing disturbs my sleep now.' Yawning, he closed his eyes.
Suddenly, he felt a jolt in his head and tilted it instinctively—just as a sword plunged into the bed right beside his face. The sword, Protagonista has landed back on the earth.
Akira turned away and went back to sleep.
...…...
You can Support me on p@treon: [email protected]/Uchiha_Itachi007 (replace @ with a)
I mainly translate other fanfics on there.