After finishing our lunch break, we resumed our exploration. From this floor onward, multiple humanoid monsters would appear simultaneously. Both Mika and Saori-chan seemed to have grown accustomed to one-on-one combat to a degree, but I was still worried about whether they could handle multiple opponents.
But well, more than that...
"You two are way too tense. Relax, relax."
"U-Uh, yeah..."
"Y-Yes..."
Mika and Saori-chan were staring ahead into the dungeon with strained expressions, staying on high alert. I wondered why they were so keyed up, but once the reason occurred to me, I spoke to them to put their minds at ease.
"Just so you know, I don't intend to make you fight a whole pack of goblins all at once, okay?"
"...Really?"
"Yeah. First, I want you to get used to fighting humanoid monsters in a two-on-one format. If we run into a group larger than two, we’ll thin the numbers to adjust the difficulty for you. Don't worry."
As I told them this, I glanced at Yuji and Hiiragi-san for confirmation. They both nodded immediately. Seeing that, Mika and Saori-chan let out sighs of relief, the tension finally leaving their faces.
Sigh. I guess I really haven't been explaining enough.
"Sorry, I should have been clearer from the start."
"No, it's fine. When I thought about it, I realized I was being silly. Knowing you, Onii-chan, you’d always take things step by step. Right, Saori-chan?"
"Yeah. Thinking about how the seniors have handled things so far, there's no way they'd just throw us to a crowd of monsters all at once."
Mika and Saori-chan shared light, sheepish smiles. It seemed they had finally relaxed just the right amount.
"Well, that’s how it is. Don't let your guard down, but there’s no need to be excessively nervous. As long as you execute everything you've learned one by one, you’ll be fine."
"Got it!"
"Yes!"
We walked through the dungeon in search of monsters for a while until we spotted a group of goblins further down the path. The goblins noticed us as well; all five readied their weapons and watched our movements warily.
Five of them, huh... Time to get to work.
"Alright, I’ll thin them out first. Mika... are you ready?"
"...Yes."
"Good. Yuji, Hiiragi-san, I’m going to circle around to cut off their retreat. I’ll leave this side to you."
"Yeah, leave it to me."
"I'll provide backup if Mika-chan looks like she's in trouble."
"Thanks."
After asking Yuji and Hiiragi-san to cover the girls, I began walking toward the wary goblins with a slow, deliberate pace. The goblins, on edge because I was approaching alone, pointed their weapons at me and let out intimidating shrieks.
Now then... let’s do this.
"Hup."
With a short exhale, I lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant. The goblins couldn't react to my speed; they remained frozen in their intimidating stances, unable to move a muscle. Taking advantage of the openings in their formation, I drew Shiranui from my waist and swung it three times, aiming for the necks of the goblins who hadn't even begun to react.
"...Phew."
I ran past the group and came to a stop a short distance away. Exhaling, I gave Shiranui a sharp flick to clear the blood from the blade. Since there wasn't much on the steel, it seemed I’d cut quite cleanly this time.
Behind me, blood sprayed like fountains from the necks of the decapitated goblins. The survivors shrieked and scrambled in a panic at the sudden, gruesome massacre.
"Hey, Mika! All set! Your turn, do your best!"
"Y-Yeah..."
When I called out that the stage was set, Mika gave a weak reply, her face pale and slightly repulsed. Saori-chan beside her looked just as unsettled, and Hiiragi-san was covering her face with one hand while letting out an exasperated sigh.
...What's wrong?
"Gi, gigi..."
"Gi..."
The goblins, who had lost their companions before they even knew what happened, began backing away slowly, staring at me—their friend's killer—with terrified eyes. Well, I suppose it’s only natural to be terrified when your friends are suddenly turned into crimson geysers.
"...Haaah."
Watching the exchange between me and the goblins, Mika took a deep breath to settle her nerves, readied her spear, and stepped forward. To the hypersensitive goblins, her footfall must have sounded like a thunderclap. They noticed her immediately and spun around, their faces masks of pure terror.
The goblins glanced back and forth, looking between Mika and me with trembling expressions.
"Gigi..."
"...Gi."
The surviving goblins suddenly seemed to reach a decision, their terrified faces hardening as they focused on Mika. They had apparently judged that their chances of survival were higher if they fought Mika to break through the other side rather than facing me....Admittedly, they had a better chance against Mika than me, but since Yuji and Hiiragi-san were waiting right behind her, they were doomed anyway. In short, I had cornered them too much.
This was going to be a bit of a problem. If they attacked with suicidal desperation, there was a chance Mika could get hurt by a reckless blow. Therefore...
"..."
I silently made a gesture toward Hiiragi-san, raising my right hand in front of my face. The message was: Sorry. Keep a close eye on her for me. I could have stepped in myself, but since we’d agreed on the roles beforehand, it was better to leave the backup to her.
Hiiragi-san let out a tired sigh and gave me an "OK" sign with her thumb and index finger.
"Gigi..."
The two resolved goblins readied their weapons and began edging toward Mika. They radiated a ghastly intensity—they had truly become death-bound soldiers.
And then...
"Gi!"
"!?"
The goblins pounced simultaneously. Mika’s eyes widened in surprise for a split second, but she regained her composure and tracked their movements. They closed in at nearly the same speed, but the one on the right was slightly ahead.
So, Mika...
"Ha!"
"Gi!?"
She stepped diagonally backward to evade the first strike, then kicked the second goblin in the stomach the moment it landed and exposed an opening. The kick sent it tumbling away, separating the two. Incidentally, the goblin she kicked came rolling toward me, so I stopped it with my foot and lightly kicked it back toward her. It was already on the verge of being knocked out, but... well, whatever.
In any case, she had successfully turned it into a one-on-one.
"Gi, gigi..."
Realizing that Mika was also stronger than it—even if not as overwhelmingly so as me—the goblin lost its resolve. It let out a weak, frightened cry and retreated a step.
Mika frowned at the goblin’s pathetic display, but she didn't lower her guard. She lunged forward with her spear. Paralyzed by fear, the goblin was a beat late to react. It tried to dodge in a panic, but the spearhead pierced through its right chest.
"Gigi!?"
"Tsk!"
Mika clicked her tongue at failing to kill it in one blow. Before the screaming goblin could move, she wrenched the spear back toward her and delivered a front kick to its stomach. The impact sent the goblin flying against the wall. It slumped into a pool of blood, showing no sign of getting back up.
Remaining wary of the one by the wall, Mika turned back toward the first goblin.
"Gi..."
The goblin that had been kicked away first managed to wobble to its feet, only to see its companion sinking into a sea of blood. It stood there, trembling. Mika pointed her spear at it and slowly closed the distance with a blank expression.
And then...
"Ha!"
Whether it had lost the will to fight or simply couldn't move, the goblin didn't even try to dodge. It stood like a statue as her spear pierced its throat. It convulsed once, violently, then collapsed as the strength left its knees.
Mika pulled her spear out and retreated a few paces, keeping both fallen enemies in her sight as she stayed on guard.
"..."
After a few moments, the goblin she’d stabbed in the throat began to undergo particleization, but the one by the wall did not. That meant it was still alive. Mika looked between the goblin and me, her eyes asking for advice on whether to finish it or leave it.
"Finish it off. But be careful; it might have one last struggle left in it. Don't drop your guard."
Judging by the blood, the wound was fatal, but I told her to deliver the coup de grâce anyway. If we just stood around waiting for it to particleize, there was no telling when we could move on.
Mika hesitated for a second, then nodded.
"..."
She readied her spear and approached the goblin lying face-down against the wall, watching for a counter-attack.
And then...
"Ei!"
There was no resistance. Mika’s spear pierced the center of its back. The goblin’s body jolted from the impact, but it didn't even scream. It must have already been at death's door.
She pulled the spear out and stepped back. Within seconds, particleization began.
Once the battle was over, we collected the drop items and held a review meeting while staying alert for other monsters.
"Well, for now, we got three Core Crystals..."
"And those were all from the goblins Daiki defeated."
"Kokonoe-kun..."
"I'm... sorry, Mika."
I watched Saori-chan comfort the dejected Mika while Yuji and Hiiragi-san stared at me with exasperated eyes.
Once Mika had recovered her spirits, we started the actual review.
"Regarding the points to reflect on for this battle... first, we should start with the very beginning."
"Right. Kokonoe-kun, you were a bit too enthusiastic."
"...It was a bit much, wasn't it?"
"So that’s what people mean by 'red fountains'..."
"..."
I scratched the back of my head and looked away. I knew they weren't exactly blaming me, but it was incredibly uncomfortable.
"Taking this into account, when we're thinning out monsters to adjust the numbers, we should avoid attack methods that highlight the level gap so extremely. I never expected the monsters to fall into a panic state and turn into death-bound soldiers like that."
"True," Hiiragi-san agreed. "Lately, we’ve been wiping out any monsters in our path so quickly that we didn't realize they would panic when they saw their friends killed like that."
"Yeah," Yuji added. "If you think about it, dungeon monsters aren't like game enemies. They don't have to fight to the death against someone they can't possibly beat. They're allowed to run away."
"In that case, blocking their retreat was also a mistake," Hiiragi-san noted. "If there's no escape and you're sandwiched by high-level enemies you know you can't beat... of course you'd panic and attack with suicidal desperation."
"Which means," Yuji summarized, "when we thin the numbers, we need to do it without blocking their exit and without making the level difference feel so overwhelming. We have to make it look like a more even fight."
"That sounds like a bit of a hassle..." Hiiragi-san murmured.
"Well, yeah."
Listening to Yuji and Hiiragi-san analyze the fight, the goblins’ behavior finally made sense. Humanoid monsters clearly had higher intelligence than beast-types; creating the right environment for the novices without causing the enemies to flee or panic was going to be more work than I thought.
As I let out a small sigh at the thought of the extra effort, Mika tugged on my sleeve with a worried expression.
"Um, Onii-chan? Is that okay? Isn't it dangerous for you?"
"Hmm? Oh, it’s fine. It’s a hassle, sure, but basically, I just have to defeat them with hand-to-hand combat while keeping them distracted. If I take my time and knock them out one by one, we can avoid another mess like this."
Though if I mess up the strength adjustment, their heads will pop off. Red fountains versus red water balloons... I wonder which one is better?
With those morbid thoughts in mind, we finished the review meeting and resumed our search for more goblins.