abcnovels
Chapter 11 – Dungeon Strategy (2)
Chapter 11 – Dungeon Strategy (2)
Chapter 11 – Dungeon Strategy (2)
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
Chapter 11 – Dungeon Strategy (2)
Bone dust scattered on the floor like sand.
Skeletons without heads turned back into bone fragments and fell to the ground.
“Huh.”
“Hm?”
The tension in the muscles, which had been heightened for battle, relaxed.
They looked at the decapitated skeletons and the pile of bones with dumbfounded expressions.
“Oh.”
With a satisfied look on his face, Ketal observed the motionless skeletons.
“Kasan, you were right. Without their heads, they can’t move.”
“Heh, haha.”
‘That’s not exactly what I meant.’
It was about decapitating them, not turning their heads into dust.
The thief swallowed nervously as he looked at the headless skeletons lying on the ground.
Skeletons were creatures made of bones.
And bones were incredibly tough material in themselves.
Unless one was skilled in handling ores, it was nearly impossible to chop bones into pieces.
Moreover, skeletons were enhanced by the dungeon’s mana, making them much tougher than ordinary bones.
Therefore, the most effective way to deal with skeletons was to keep striking at their necks.
Target the joints between bones, repeatedly chop with a sword to weaken the neck bone.
It was akin to chopping down a tree, requiring considerable time and mental effort.
However, Ketal went beyond merely shattering the neck bones; he turned the heads into dust.
‘…Is he even human?’
He knew Ketal was strong from the moment he saw him, but he didn’t expect this level of strength.
Turning a skeleton’s head into dust with just a flick of his hand.
If anyone told him that, he’d laugh it off, but now he had to swallow his saliva at the sight of Ketal’s palm.
The gaze of the others turned towards Ketal’s hand.
If that hand were to move towards their heads…
A shiver ran down his spine.
He hadn’t just imagined such a thing.
Both the warrior and the priest trembled involuntarily.
Only Ketal spoke cheerfully.
“Well, let’s continue.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
The thief’s tone became even more polite.
Once again, led by the thief, they moved forward.
How far had they gone?
The thief raised his hand.
“Is it a monster?”
“Oh, no.”
Ketal asked with shining eyes, and the thief quickly shook his head.
“It’s a trap. I’ll disarm it and we can pass.”
“A trap!”
Ketal’s eyes shone even brighter.
The thief found his gaze terrifying.
“What kind of trap is it?”
“If you look over there, you’ll see a notch in the wall.”
The thief pointed his finger at a spot on the dungeon wall.
Indeed, there was a round notch.
“It works by detecting the weight of the dungeon floor. From the looks of it, a spear will likely shoot out. I’ll disarm it.”
The thief took out a thin wire and inserted it into the notch. With a few twists and turns, there was a click, followed by a clunking sound.
“It’s done. We can pass now.”
“Is that how you disarm it?”
“Most dungeon traps are mechanical, so disabling them by triggering or damaging the mechanism usually does the trick.”
“I see.”
Ketal chuckled to himself.
Defeating monsters, checking and disarming traps — that was the epitome of dungeon strategy.
He was living the dream he had wished for.
He felt incredibly happy.
“Well then, let’s continue.”
“Yes, sir…”
They walked a little further, and once again, they found scattered bone fragments on the floor.
Skeletons.
Ketal’s eyes sparkled.
He politely addressed his party members.
“I have one request for you.”
“W-What is it?”
“Would you mind if I faced those skeletons alone? There’s something I’d like to check.”
“I-I’m fine with it.”
Ketal looked at the priest and the warrior.
Both vigorously nodded their heads.
Ketal was touched by his party members’ consideration.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, no, it’s nothing. Please, go ahead and do as you wish.”
He had no intention of opposing the man who pulverized the skeleton’s head.
Ketal walked briskly, and the bone fragments began to rise and take shape.
The thief watched in a daze.
“What is he trying to do?”
He had a hunch.
The barbarians didn’t like teaming up with others.
Perhaps he wanted to fight alone.
He would turn their heads into dust in one blow, and they would pass without any problems.
That was the thief’s expectation.
“Fascinating. What a peculiar structure.”
Ketal looked at the skeleton with an interested expression.
Despite lacking muscles to move flesh, the skeletons moved surprisingly fast.
Skeletons.
The quintessential monster of fantasy, consisting of nothing but bone fragments.
He read hundreds of writings and documents about them, and in the process, he imagined countless scenarios involving skeletons.
And now, the real thing was right in front of him.
So, it didn’t have to end with imagination, did it?
The skeleton swung its sword, and Ketal’s hand moved.
Crunch.
The blade of the sword caught Ketal’s finger.
He squeezed his finger.
The sword shattered into pieces.
“Now, what will you do?”
Half of the sword’s hilt remained.
The skeleton took another step forward and swung its sword.
Ketal dodged it easily and laughed.
“Changing the attack range according to the shortened hilt? Quite intelligent. Or is it the dungeon’s mana that makes it so?”
Ketal reached out his palm and grabbed the hand wielding the sword.
“What will you do now?”
Crack.
The skeleton’s hand turned into dust.
The broken sword fell to the ground.
The skeleton bent down, picked up the broken sword with its remaining hand, and Ketal marveled.
“Changing hands as well! What will you do if that hand gets crushed too?”
Crack.
Both of the skeleton’s hands were shattered.
It no longer had a hand to hold a weapon.
Then the skeleton swung its arm.
The broken arm was sharp enough to tear flesh.
“Remarkable. Its intelligence is quite high.”
Ketal continued to observe with a grin.
Ketal was satisfying his curiosity.
How does the skeleton move?
How does the skeleton attack without weapons?
Can the skeleton still move when its limbs are shattered?
Having the fantasy creature he had longed for right in front of him, it was only natural that he wanted to know everything about it.
To him, it was an entirely natural behavior.
But to those watching him, it didn’t seem natural at all.
“Uh, ah.”
The priest stepped back with a pale face.
The warrior inadvertently tightened his grip on the sword.
The thief swallowed nervously.
Breaking the skeleton’s sword with a single blow, shattering both arms, he was playing with them like toys.
And that wide smile on his face.
Ketal was fulfilling his dream, but to the thief, it seemed like something entirely different.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
‘That’s a true barbarian.’
Playing with even the weakest for the sake of satisfying his fighting spirit.
The thief was genuinely afraid of the barbarian in front of him.
How much time had passed like that?
Eventually, only the head of the skeleton remained.
Thunk, thunk.
“Can it still move with just its head? The head seems to play a controlling role. Fascinating.”
Ketal muttered as he lifted his foot.
The head was crushed under his foot.
“Excellent.”
Ketal barely suppressed his bursting laughter.
He had learned so much about the truly moving skeleton.
He felt like he was going to die of happiness.
‘I want to at least take a note.’
He will have to buy something like a notebook later.
He planned to write down everything he learned there.
“I’m sorry for keeping you waiting.”
“No, it’s fine! You can do as you please!”
The thief shouted stiffly.
Though his attitude was strange, Ketal didn’t pay it any mind.
He was too satisfied.
“Well then, let’s continue.”
“Yes!”
The resolute shout of the thief echoed through the dungeon.
* * *
And so, the first floor ended without any issues, and they saw the stairs.
It was the beginning of the second floor.
“The second floor.”
As they descended the stairs, they saw a vast space before them.
“Umm… Would it be alright to take a short rest?”
The thief cautiously asked Ketal.
Since Ketal had done most of the fighting, there was no physical fatigue for him, but there was considerable mental fatigue.
Ketal nodded.
“Yes, taking a break would be a good idea.”
“Thank you!”
The thief bowed deeply.
They sat down and took a rest.
There was a strange distance between them and Ketal.
The barbarian, who had been staring blankly at the ceiling, spoke up.
“Kasan, I have a question.”
“Y-Yes, what is it? What do you want to know?”
“What is a dungeon?”
Kasan’s pupils dilated slightly.
“Do you not know?”
“Unfortunately, my learning is lacking.”
The barbarian spoke about learning.
If it had been another barbarian, they might have ridiculed him, saying, ‘What learning does a head-bashing brute like you need?’
But Kasan just shook his head.
“No! Having a desire to learn is a commendable attitude! But… unfortunately, I am not very knowledgeable about dungeons either.”
“I, I don’t know either.”
The warrior hastily added.
Their gaze turned to the priest.
“…Isn’t it part of a priest’s basic education?”
“Well, yes, but…”
“Oh. Then, may I ask you some questions?”
“…Of course. Refusing someone who seeks knowledge goes against the will of Kalosia.”
‘Hing.’
The priest forced a smile with a slight pout.
“What would you like to know?”
“This dungeon is quite close to the territory. Is there no problem with that?”
“Generally, dungeon monsters don’t come outside. Of course, there are exceptions… but we usually check and deal with them beforehand.”
“Hmm. Even so, something feels strange. Why does this dungeon still exist?”
Ketal ran his fingers along the wall.
There were signs of weathering on the walls.
“If it’s been this long, someone must have dealt with it.”
“Oh. This dungeon probably appeared less than a week ago.”
“Less than a week?”
Ketal was surprised.
The priest nodded.
“Dungeons occur naturally. Sometimes they are caves, sometimes towers. Most often, they appear near places where many people gather.”
“So, that’s why.”
This place was very close to the territory.
“When a dungeon appears, we check its danger level from within the territory, and then outsiders like us, mercenaries, and guards handle it.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ketal stroked his chin.
“Dungeons don’t appear within the territory?”
“No. Dungeons usually appear at a certain distance away.”
“Has there never been even one?”
“As far as I know… there hasn’t been any.”
“I see.”
Interest lit up on Ketal’s face.
“If a dungeon is conquered, there must be rewards, right?”
“Yes? Usually, there’s a boss on the last floor. Defeating the boss yields various rewards. For a dungeon of this level… the rewards should be quite good.”
The priest had never conquered a dungeon herself, but she knew through education.
Skeletons appearing meant it wasn’t a low-level dungeon.
Ketal muttered to himself.
“Sounds like a game.”
“A game?”
“Just talking to myself. Hm. Then I have one more question.”
“P-Please, go ahead.”
“Who creates these dungeons?”
“Huh?”
The priest blinked.
“Dungeons occur naturally. They aren’t created by anyone.”
“That’s what they say, but there are too many oddities. They appear near places where people gather densely, almost like they’re saying, ‘You need to check out this dungeon.’ Or like tempting people with sweet fruit inside.”
They appear near places where many people gather, and entice people with rewards.
“Naturally occurring dungeons are too artificially suggestive.”
“Is… is that so?”
The priest giggled awkwardly.
Dungeons naturally occur near places where people gather.
It was as natural as birds flying in the sky or fish swimming in the sea.
That’s why she had never approached its essence.
And it wasn’t just her; others were the same.
In fact, the warrior couldn’t understand what Ketal was talking about and just rolled his eyes.
Seeing their reaction, a smile crept onto Ketal’s face.
“Fascinating. Have you all rested enough?”
“Ah. Yes.”
“Then let’s continue.”
Ketal stood up cheerfully.
The others also got up from their seats, somewhat hesitantly.
They continued through the dungeon, and around halfway, they found it.
A treasure chest.
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]