"Hell yeah!"
Now this was the kind of fighting an adventurer was supposed to have!!
Inside the spacious cavern chamber, the walls and ceiling shuddered again and again, as if the whole place might collapse at any moment.
That enormous Goblin Guard, like a mountain of steel, brought its massive axe down with every swing—each blow detonating into a thunderous blast right before everyone's eyes.
Not only that…
Its huge body swayed with the axe. Even though its attacks were completely unrefined—just wild, messy swings—sometimes it even slammed into the walls or toppled over onto the ground.
But even so, getting grazed by that colossal bulk even once was lethal.
So Evan kept dodging.
Lefiya and the others watched as the boy—now wielding a two-handed greatsword—constantly slipped, rolled, and repositioned beneath the Goblin Guard's storm of attacks, narrowly avoiding every strike.
Only occasionally, he'd squeeze in a single swing when the timing allowed, leaving fresh marks in the gaps between the thick, filthy plates of armor.
The School District students had never seen an adventurer fight like this before.
Evan's equipment was especially bizarre.
On his back, he carried a brass greatshield, and also a sharp spear—and behind that, a huge pack, its edges hung with trophies that looked like monster drops.
At his waist was a longsword, and an Eastern-style katana.
On the other side, two symmetrical short swords.
And beyond that…
Strapped to his thigh was a hand crossbow, and he even wore leather gauntlets fitted with spiked knuckles.
No—seriously—did an adventurer need that many different weapons?!
And you can use all of them?!
And don't forget, right now Evan was still swinging a two-handed greatsword—its slab-like blade so heavy it looked less like something meant to cut and more like something meant to smash.
Each time the boy landed a hit, the Goblin Guard's thick armor warped and twisted. Dark-blue, foul-smelling blood began to seep out—only making the monster thrash even more violently.
"!!!"
The tremors from every direction mixed with the monster's roar, almost drowning out everything in the chamber.
"I'll help you!!"
Badain—the burly young bull-man warrior—surged forward first, gripping his battle axe, charging in to join the fight!!
Lefiya tried to stop him, but it was too late.
The School District students had no concept of "stealing a monster." More than a few of them even thought they were doing Evan a favor—because he spent most of the time dodging so desperately, and if he slipped up, wouldn't he be in danger?
As for whether they might be in danger…
Most of the students weren't worried at all.
They were all Level 2, after all—and they had three squads, twelve people total, with vanguards, midline, mages, and healers, everything a proper team needed.
How could a monster appearing on Floor 1 possibly threaten them?!
In the Dungeon, monsters generally clustered on fixed floors. Sure, sometimes monsters from lower levels wandered upward—but it was rare.
And even if this thing was from below…
At worst, it came from Floor 12 or 15—like an orc or a minotaur, right?
Level 2 should handle that easily.
And there was no way this monster was stronger than the Floor 17 floor boss—Goliath, the "Lone King of the Labyrinth," right?
Besides, didn't the adventurers in Rivira hunt Goliath in parties all the time? Most of them were Level 2 too—same as them!
The students had never actually seen the Labyrinth King, but their "theory knowledge" was solid—so they felt no real fear.
However…
Theory is theory. Reality is reality.
The boys and girls who lived long-term within the School District would eventually learn that.
For Badain and the others—
That moment was right now.
"Pff—!!"
The bull-man boy—also over two meters tall and built like a tank—went flying like a cannonball, and in an instant slammed into the wall, leaving a gaping hole in the chamber's side.
What just happened?!
The students hadn't even seen it clearly.
Only Evan saw it: the idiot Badain had roared and charged in—and then actually tried to block the Goblin Guard's axe with his own battle axe… even though the Guard had already whipped its axe into a full spinning swing.
Result: he got blasted away in a heartbeat.
Too young. Too naive.
These students didn't understand at all—every monster Evan ran into down here was a specialized type: ridiculous offense, low defense.
Normal "adventurer vs monster" thinking didn't work.
Frontline tanks soaking damage, midline looking for openings while protecting the backline mages… that's not how this works!
This isn't a tank-DPS-healer RPG—
It's a Souls game!!
"Badain!!"
"Save him! Healing magic!! And feed him potions!! Stop freezing up!!"
"Don't panic! Formation Three—don't scatter! Lefiya, you all prepare your magic!"
"Zell! Lock! Buy us time! I'll go get Badain back—damn it… ah!!"
"Nassen!!"
Chaos—total chaos.
With the reckless bull-man drawing the Goblin Guard's aggro, the monster's enormous body rolled and turned toward the students.
Only a few seconds later…
When the dust cleared, Lefiya—who had been dragged back a few steps by her companions—could see it:
The teammates who had been laughing and chatting beside her just moments ago were now sprawled along both sides of the passage, covered in blood.
Most of them were screaming in agony. Their Level 2 bodies had allowed them to survive that hit—
But just barely.
And that was only one hit.
Now, the huge Goblin Guard—having rolled onto the ground—slowly pushed itself upright, raised its massive axe, and was about to smash it down onto several of them.
Hurry—cast your magic!!
Lefiya screamed inside her head, but seeing such a brutal scene for the first time, the elf girl's hands shook uncontrollably around her staff.
Her lips parted—
Yet not a single sound came out.
The magic power she should have been gathering slipped completely out of her control. Just standing still took everything she had.
No… no… no…
"R-run… Lefiya… we have to—"
A teammate behind her tried to pull her away, but she couldn't move her feet.
Fighting back tears, she finally—finally—forced herself to recite the chant, trembling word by word.
"Light of release… arrow… sacred bough of the holy tree, I… I… I, the famed archer… strike… strike them down! Fairy's archer…"
"Pierce! Unerring arrow!!"
"Spirit Bow Light Arrow!!"
In that instant, the girl unleashed an unbelievable burst of will and completed the spell.
A pure white arrow of light slammed straight into the Goblin Guard's raised axe—
Then a roaring flash exploded, turning everything into blinding white.
However…
It only made the Goblin Guard's raised arm pause—for just a moment.
Her hurried, fear-choked chant had gathered chaotic, insufficient magic—less than one-tenth of her normal power.
Worse, the blast wave from the explosion sent Lefiya and her companions flying backward.
Too close.
In training, a backline mage would never be this close to an enemy!!
Dungeon monsters are completely different from surface monsters. You must be extremely careful.
Her teacher's words echoed in her ears.
As School District students traveling the world, they'd taken part in plenty of monster subjugations—most of them earned Level 2 that way.
But it wasn't the same.
A commissioned hunt with teachers watching over you… and a life-or-death brawl inside the Dungeon were two completely different things.
We're finished.
A suffocating helplessness climbed up Lefiya's body.
And just before that pure white glare fully faded—
She saw it.
A boy's figure leaping high.
The greatsword had already been driven into the wall to the side.
In its place—
Both of Evan's hands gripped a massive bronze shield.
Combat Art—
Shield Bash!!
-------
Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!
Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA
I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (114 Chapter (Simulpub-Full) )
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (400 Chapter)
Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (254 Chapter)
MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (140 Chapter)
BLEACH: Blade of Purification (158 Chapter)
Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (400 Chapter)
My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (140 Chapter)
The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (172 Chapter)
Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(80 Chapter)
Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (200 Chapter)
Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (200 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (120 Chapter)
Naruto: I Can Synthesize Summoning Beasts (96 Chapter)
Demon Slayer: The Great Swordsman's System, Disciple of Yoriichi (140 Chapter)
My Wife is a General, but I'm an Emanator of Abundance! (160 Chapter)
Type-Moon: My Nine-Fold Path (140 Chapter)
Uma Musume: They're Peeking at My Diary, and All of Tracen is Panickin (Ending)
The Wild History of Type-Moon world (70 Chapter)
Reborn in Conan, But I Refuse to Be the Bad Guy (80 Chapter)
Ruan Mei is begging me to go back? But there's no going back anymore (140 Chapter)
Just a Slacker at Tracen Academy (165 Chapter)
Survival in Blue Archive (70 Chapter)
Kimetsu no Yaiba: Doma Wasn't Hated Today, Either (100 Chapter)
The Vibe of This Chat Group is a Little Off (100 Chapter)
Heartbreak Simulator: I Broke Them and Made Them Cry (80 Chapter)
The Talentless Trainer Doesn't Want to Restart (80 Chapter)
A Journey Starting as a Quincy (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: The Master of Romance Obstruction (80 Chapter)
Uma Musume: You Can't Be a Hero Without a Little Chemical Enhancement (40 Chapter)
Honkai Impact 3rd Your Boyfriend is Really Amazing (40 Chapter)
Warhammer 40K: My Fiancée, Fulgrim (180 Chapter)
Classroom of the Elite: Trying to Capture Me! (120 Chapter)
Genshin Impact My Named Senji Muramas (150 Chapter)
A Chef, the Vice-Captain of the Rocks Pirates? (160 Chapter)
Naruto : My Uchiha Girlfriend is Too Tsundere (130 Chapter)
Type-Moon: Reincarnated in a Lostbelt, I Became the Alien God (90 Chapter)
The Way These Horse Girls Look at Me Is Terrifying! (160 Chapter)
Naruto: Tsunade's Deskmate (130 Chapter)
I Just Want to Live a Normal (50 Chapter).
Genshin Impact: A Hundred Confessions? It's Just a System Task (70 Chapter)
OnePiece : Starting as a Veteran of the Roger Pirates (60 Chapter)
Uma Musume : I Have Special Horse Taming Techniques (180 Chapter)
Uma Musume : My other self is a Horse Girl (110 Chapter)
Jujutsu Kaisen : All Affection Stats Maxed Out (190 Chapter)
Satou Kazuma's Decision to Live by Swindling, Starting from Re:Zero (60 Chapter)
Bleach : Ichigo! Take Over the Soul Society (78 Chapter)
Crossover Anime: The Master of Plagiarism with a 'Love Obstacle (130 Chapter)
Arknights Succubus Nurturing System, But I'm a Quiet Office Worker (80 Chapter)
Genshin Impact: Using My Personas to Break the Hearts of Players (50 Chapter)
One Punch Man : i am King? (140 Chapter)
Genshin: My Stats Are Irresistible (50 Chapter)
Naruto: Master of Dream Fulfillment! (60 Chapter)
Why Are All My Chat Group Friends Spin-Off Characters? (80 Chapter)
Arknights : Batman System (30 Chapter)
Chat Group: Swapping Bodies with the Bad-Ending Herta from the Start (37 Chapter)
Losing Money on Uma Musume...What Do You Mean You Actually Won? (54 Chapter)
DanMachi: Why Did My Dungeon Turn Into a Soulslike Game? (40 Chapter)
If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it