Angel Volume 3, Chapter 9

Volume 3: Chapter 9 - To the Cave Area

　The scenery changes from a bright wilderness to a dimly lit cave.

　Thanks to the level correction, my eyes adjusted quickly.

「It's quite a change in atmosphere, isn't it?」

　I looked around while muttering to myself.

　Even though it was a cave, it was not that narrow.

　The ceiling is four to five meters high, and the passageway is wide enough for three to four adults to walk side by side.

　Of course, there are some places where it narrows or twists and turns, and the visibility is poor, but at the moment, there is no sense of entrapment.

「Well, then...」

　I took out my strategy memo from my <Inventory> and looked it over.

　It seems that the 21st floor has a simple structure with very few pathways, and there are two magic circles at the back: one for the boss's room and the other for returning.

　It's a nice design that you don't have to fight the boss to return home.

「Let's go to the back.」

　Even if you want to leave, it's closer to continue beyond this floor than to go back here and go to the blue magic circle on the 20th floor.

　Besides, it is easier to fight solo in such a small place than in a large grassland area.

　As I was moving forward, a group of adventurers approached from ahead.

「Heeeyyy, turn baaaaack!」

　A middle-aged man, who appeared to be the leader of the party, waved his hand and appealed.

　I wondered what was going on, but I stayed where I was and waited for them to arrive to listen.

「What happened?」

「Oh, it's an irregular. Whatever it is, it's a minotaur, apparently.」

　The man who had just arrived answered my question.

　I think irregulars are the sudden appearance of a monster on another floor.

　The Minotaur, however, was supposed to be a boss monster in the labyrinth area, which was quite a ways ahead of this floor.

　For adventurers exploring this floor, it would be very dangerous.

「The Valkyries were getting beaten to a pulp. We thought, "Oh no, that's not good," so we turned around and retreat.」

「Valkyries, huh?」

　I believe Misaki-san, a prostitute, used to belong to this party.

　I heard they were pretty strong, but they still got beaten by the minotaur.

　Maybe the women I saw on the 20th floor were the same ones.

「Maybe it's coming this way or something?」

「That's a very good question. I didn't get any sign of that at least, but ...... maybe some unlucky guy becomes a sacrifice.」

　I am not sure why, but it is said that irregulars move toward the upper floor.

　So, if you are too slow here, you may run into them.

「I'm going to go up first for now. You, too, get the hell out of here.」

「Ah, yes. Thank you.」

　The party led by the man disappeared into the white magic circle.

　Now, what should I do?

　Normally, I would have chosen to run away.

　However, I was concerned about the women I had seen earlier who seemed to be Valkyries.

　The woman with the bow, whose eyes met mine and who looked as if she was appealing for something.

　Now that I remember, it seems that she was seeking for help.

　But she didn't speak to me and left.

　Besides, if these women had encountered irregular and fled, wouldn't it have been quite some time?

　Despite this, the party before said there was no sign of the minotaur.

　Then, as the man said earlier, is someone being attacked?

「No. Stalling, huh」

　The women I saw at that time were four people.

　Usually, a party is recommended to have about six people.

　So perhaps one or two of them stayed behind to stall the Minotaur and let their party members escape?

　And did the woman with the bow wish for the remaining members to be saved?

「Hmmm, I have no idea at all.」

　I had already started running when I said that.

　If someone is being attacked, I want to lend a hand whenever possible.

　I had enough items with me, so I might be able to stop the enemy's movement by giving them potions or inhibiting their actions, or worse, helping them escape.

　It would be bad if I turned back and found out later that there were casualties.

　So I ran through the cave, cutting down the small fry monsters that appeared.

　And then...

「――Arghhh!」

　I hear a short female scream.

「Please make it in time!」

　I raise my speed even more, shouting as if I'm praying.

　Then I see a minotaur swinging an axe at the fallen woman.

　There is still some distance to go. Even if I run in like this, I'll never make it in time.

「You bastard!」

　I quickly grabbed the 【Sling】 from my <Inventory> and took out another item.

　With a single spin and a momentum boost, I sent it flying and it reached the Minotaur, which was about to swing the poleaxe down.

　A burst of light and a roar echoes through the air.

「BUMOOAH!?」

　The minotaur's body stiffens at the sudden occurrence, and it drops the axe it was swinging.

　I threw a 【Acoustic Flashbang】, a kind of stun grenade.

　The flash and sound worked perfectly in the dimly lit cave.

　Even in such a situation, I was able to keep my eyes on the enemy and the woman, and my ears were still able to hear.

　It's a really useful item.

「Are you okay!?」

「Eh ...... Ah, kyaaa!?」

　I called out to her, but I held her body up and ran toward the back.

　The enemy's rigidity will dissipate in a few seconds.

　The Minotaur will not be so naive as to be defeated during that time.

　Then my first priority was to rescue her.

　After that, we'll wait and see while calculating to escape. Fortunately, there is a blue magic circle not too far back here.

「Take this.」

　I took out a 【Heal Potion UR】 from 【Inventory】 and handed it to her.

　On closer look, you can see that she is already in bad shape.

　So, I prepared the highest grade potion I had on hand at the moment.

「What? Um, but ......」

「Just drink it!」

「Ah, yes, ......!」

　She drank the potion as I urged her to do so.

「Amazing ...... my scars is ......」

　After being enveloped in a pale light, the wounds she had here and there were completely gone, and her complexion was much better.

　Even the scratches on her tattered equipment are still there, as you'd expect, though.

「BUMMOOOOOOAAAAAHHHHH!!!」

　The Minotaur, recovering from its rigor, picked up the pole axe it had dropped and let out a roar.

「Shut up! Take another hit!!」

　First of all, I throw another 【Acoustic Flashbang】.

「VUMOOHH!」

　The minotaur held the axe firmly in both hands and poised itself at the waist. Its body trembled slightly, but it did not show the same openings as before.

「As expected, it didn't work.」

　It must have worked because it was a surprise attack earlier.

　However, the Minotaur seemed to be wary of us and showed no sign of coming at us.

「So, what do we do?」

「Err, what do you mean by what do we do......?」

　She tilts her head at my question.

「If we run as fast as we can toward the back, we can probably escape.」

　Maybe if I hit the Minotaur with a 【Tear Gas Bomb】, I can slow it down a little.

「We can escape ......」

　She glanced behind her and then gave a thoughtful look.

「Or we could take the Minotaur down ourselves.」

「B-Beat it? That thing......?」

　There was fear in her eyes as she looked at the Minotaur.

　But deep in her eyes, I could also see a hint of anger.

　If the enemy had been in perfect condition, I would have chosen to run away as well.

　But when I looked closely, I saw that the Minotaur seemed to be wounded.

　The Minotaur had a large wound on its left shoulder. Because of this, there was a good chance that it was watching us, wary of the increased number of people.

　If the Minotaur had been in perfect condition, it would have attacked us right away, and we would have run away with whatever we could take.

「But my shield is ......」

　She looked at the battered shield.

　This is probably a Mithril, right?

　I wonder how many attacks it must have been under for it to be so battered and bruised.

　If you say you can fight if you have a shield, I'll just have to provide it.

「If its a shield, I have it」

　I told her so and pulled out a large shield from my <Inventory>.

「Wha......!?」

　She peeled her eyes and was surprised.

　It's a 【Dragon Scale Tower Shield】. It's tougher than a Mithril Shield.

　The dragon scale equipment is S (super), U (ultra), and R (rare), which are higher ranks than the Mithril.

　For me, a large shield is useless, but I'm sure she'll be able to use it.

「If we're going to beat the Minotaur here,...」

　I said and held out my hand to her.

「Just for now, come form a party with me.」

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