A massive, powerfully built "Goblin Guard" charged straight through the barrier separating the floor passageways, completely cutting off Ron and Lefiya's retreat.
Chunks of rubble crashed onto the ground as dust billowed continuously from the surroundings.
The violent disturbance made the elven girl whip her head around. The spell she was in the middle of chanting, "Fusillade Fallarica," nearly collapsed entirely due to the momentary distraction.
The flames gathered behind her flickered unsteadily.
"Deal with these mutated monsters first. The Goblin Guard can wait until later!"
Ron looked in the direction of the commotion.
To be honest, he did not feel particularly surprised by the Goblin Guard's appearance. The Soul-type Dungeon, driven by hatred, had already become completely unhinged.
Facing a floor boss alone—
He admitted that, with his current strength, it was indeed something he needed to avoid head-on.
But now he had already formed a temporary cooperative relationship with Lefiya, a Lv.3 adventurer. Dealing with this giant goblin should not be too difficult.
He kept a clear head.
Ron understood the principle that "enough ants can bite an elephant to death," let alone a large number of mutated monsters that now possessed decent combat capabilities.
"Take care of these kobolds and goblins first. Once that's done, everything else will be much simpler!"
"…"
Seriously?
Because she was standing behind Ron at this moment, Lefiya was less than ten meters away from the "Goblin Guard" that had cut off their retreat.
The situation was extremely dangerous.
But when she noticed the unfamiliar adventurer facing nearly ten monsters alone, the elven girl chose to trust his judgment. While continuing her chant, she kept watch out of the corner of her eye on the distance to the giant goblin behind her.
The tremors from its bloated body striking the ground continued to draw closer.
With her back completely exposed to the enemy, Lefiya felt an inexplicable sense of unease—until she finished reciting the final line of the spell's incantation.
Blazing fire shot skyward, illuminating the dim cavern.
Just as described in the prayer—elven compatriots responded to the girl's call, and bows and arrows constructed from magic instantly took shape.
They shot toward the monsters that were facing off against Ron.
[Fusillade Fallarica]
Although the hit rate was relatively low, the arrows that fell like a rain of fiery meteors still pierced the bodies of the monsters pursuing them.
They gradually turned into gray dust and dispersed.
"Hmph."
"I told you they could be dealt with easily!"
The elven girl thought that fighting as a "Magic Swordsman" would resolve things even faster, but before she could catch her breath, a violent disturbance came from behind her.
A giant goblin like a mountain of flesh loomed forward, its dark shadow completely enveloping Lefiya.
She stiffly turned around and saw the stone axe raised high by the Goblin Guard, roaring as it lifted its arm to gather strength, preparing to hack down at her.
The pressure brought by the mutated monster was overwhelming—so much so that even its roar carried an effect akin to "forced halt".
The blow caused the girl's thoughts to freeze completely for a brief moment. She could not think of any way to respond—and just as the giant axe was about to cleave down, Lefiya only felt a powerful impact that directly knocked her flying.
'I seem to be fine?'
Although she had been sent tumbling head over heels, the girl did not feel any pain in her body. Just as she was about to figure out what had happened, she saw, not far in front of her, the figure of a young man standing between her and the danger.
The rapier he had been using earlier had already been casually thrust into the ground. In its place was a brass heavy shield held before Ron, braced firmly against his shoulder.
The dust kicked up by the violent shock made visibility extremely poor.
Yet Lefiya could still see—the unfamiliar boy's arms hanging unnaturally at his sides, and the dark red blood dripping onto the ground, where it soaked into the dust.
"This is…"
The elven girl's expression turned blank with shock.
She finally understood the situation. If Ron had not shoved her away, what would her fate have been when facing the Goblin Guard's full-force attack?
Lefiya could guess it even with her eyes closed.
It was this unfamiliar guy who, at the cost of his own injury, had secured a brief opening.
She looked at the stranger's unnaturally drooping arms, raised the "Forest's Teardrop" staff with trembling hands, and began chanting the prayer for the spiritual bow light-arrow magic.
"Arrow of liberated light, bowshaft of the sacred tree, I am the one who bears the name of the bow. Intercept them—fairy archer."
"Pierce through—sure-hit arrow!!"
Even though the girl's voice trembled slightly, the magic she had condensed showed no reduction in power at all. Pure white light arrows appeared at her side.
Then—
The "Arcs Ray", containing the majority of a Lv.3 adventurer's magic power, shot toward the direction of the Goblin Guard.
Bang!
The violently erupting burst of light momentarily dyed the cavern passage a snowy white.
When the blinding light gradually dissipated, the floor boss that had taken the full-force attack of a Lv.3 adventurer had already completely vanished before the elven girl's eyes.
Lefiya ignored the drops scattered across the ground.
She looked toward the unfamiliar boy facing her, his back braced against the brass shield. Bloodstains mixed with dust were smeared across Ron's originally clean-cut face.
Because of her own oversight—failing to consider that a colossal monster appearing on the shallow floors could actually possess a "forced halt" ability similar to that of a Minotaur from the middle floors—this outcome had come to pass.
Guilt filled the girl's heart. Unlike other elves, she did not maintain arrogance or fastidiousness toward other races. She reached out, wanting to help Ron up.
She muttered lightly as she did so: "I'll take you to the Sanatorium."
"Don't worry. I know Senior Airmid—she'll definitely be able to heal all of your injuries. And you don't need to worry about the money either."
"Hiss."
At best, the result was a dislocated arm.
When the effects brought by adrenaline wore off, Ron's face tightened from the pain. After sucking in a sharp breath, he grit his teeth and said to the girl: "There are healing potions in my box. Remember to take the blue one."
He still had remaining uses of the [Revival] skill.
Ron was not afraid of dying, but he was still somewhat afraid of pain. He had even been prepared to expose it in front of Lefiya, yet he had never imagined…
That someone as strong as the Goblin Guard would be instantly killed by her.
As a result, he could not even restart. He could not exactly ask her to kill him—if he really did that, it would probably make Lefiya feel guilty for half her life!
"The blue one…"
The elven girl's movements were frantic.
When she opened the potion box, what immediately came into view was a very familiar green "Panacea". Lefiya looked up to confirm: "It's the green Panacea, right?"
"…"
Airmid's gifted potion was actually a high-priced panacea?
This was a rare item worth 500,000 Valis…
She did not even worry that he would take the items and run. Recalling the silver-haired girl's commission, he considered it a case of returning one good turn for another, and gave the most truthful information.
Ron had no time to waste. He gently shook his head. "It's the blue potion. We won't need the Panacea for now."
"The injuries are already very serious…"
Lefiya could not understand.
But for Ron, who had saved her, she chose to follow the benefactor's wishes. After taking out the healing potion she had never seen before, she slowly poured it into the young man's mouth.
The intense burning sensation in his mouth, esophagus, and stomach made Ron—whose overall condition was already extremely poor—continually sweat coldly from his forehead. His originally rather clean-cut face turned completely pale.
The half-elf girl felt her heart wrench. She knew she had to do something.
Lefiya did not care in the slightest about the blood and grime all over him. When she bent down, wanting to carry the young man on her back, she heard Ron's reminder through clenched teeth.
The injury was already a foregone conclusion.
Even more, he could not accept that after working hard for most of the day, and finally cooperating with Lefiya to kill the mutated monsters and the Goblin Guard, it would all be for nothing!
"Since things have come to this, pick up the drops first."
"???"
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