A man carrying a large greatsword on his back.
An ominous sound came from within his hand.
Crack......
“Aaaaaagh!”
The thug screamed at the top of his lungs.
“Th-that crazy......”
His companions only flinched, unable to dare attack.
His beast-like, bright yellow eyes moved as though searching every corner of the surroundings.
It was a gaze that had no need for forced bravado or threats.
‘John Doe......’
If I thought about it carefully, he had no choice but to be wandering around near a dungeon.
The city was a route that opened after the bandit gang in the mountains was annihilated.
If one followed the main story line, it was a point reached naturally.
A place that forced one to build credit by trading items.
While at it, it was also a section where one raised stats and improved the player’s skill.
-If we go to the city, there are ways to make money.
He had even said that with a grim face.
If he was an adventurer, farming dungeons was the best option.
‘I wonder how much he’s earned.’
His growth was important.
Because he was the protagonist needed to clear the game.
But it was not important right this moment.
“......Can you let go of that guy’s arm first and then talk?”
The thug whose wrist was twisted was practically sobbing.
I did not have a hobby of listening to others suffer.
John Doe obediently released the strength from his grip.
The wrist that had finally been freed looked terrible at a glance.
It was swollen black to more than double its size.
He was a guy who did not know what restraint was.
“Kgh!”
The thug sprang away as though burned.
In the end, he fled at full speed with his group.
‘Usually, wouldn’t they at least say something like, “You’ll pay for this”?’
It seemed the momentum with which they had picked a fight had broken along with his wrist.
Whether the thug group left or not, John Doe looked at me.
“I didn’t expect to see you outside the village.”
“Really?”
“Ritak, you rarely left the shop.”
Right, that was the setting.
Ritak Methyl was an NPC who shut himself in his room and made medicine day in and day out.
Should I call it a case where a hobby became his livelihood?
“......There’s something I need.”
“You could have requested it.”
John Doe pointed at himself.
It was utterly absurd.
As if I would have requested it from you?
“I’m not trash enough to make an injured person run errands for me.”
......Probably not?
I glanced at his side.
I could not check the wound beneath his thick robe.
“Whatever it is, this place ahead is a dungeon.”
I turned my head after John Doe.
It was the direction where the thug group had run away in a hurry.
They had gone so far that even with narrowed eyes, I could barely see them.
“It is dangerous enough to make fools like those seem laughable.”
“......Well, whatever it is, it’s better than those humans.”
“So go back.”
I lightly shrugged.
“You’re worrying too much.”
“If there is something you need, I’ll bring it. I owe you a debt.”
In the end, Yoanes stepped forward.
“......That’s needless concern. I’ll be accompanying him.”
“You?”
Their gazes clashed in the air.
The air prickled in an annoying way.
‘WoI doesn’t have a system where combat starts just because your eyes meet.’
If I left them like this, there was a high chance it would develop into something tiresome.
The atmosphere said it would be better to settle things before that.
“Enough. I don’t have the room to request anything right now.”
It was a situation where I had to earn money hard within a week.
Rather than handing over money as a request fee, it was better for me to roll around myself.
“Yoanes will help me.”
She was someone I did not need to worry about profit distribution or anything like that with.
She would roll around well enough on her own.
‘After everything I did for her, she won’t try to tear off a share, right?’
Yoanes nodded several times beside me.
Her motivated appearance was reassuring.
“If so, then you entering the dungeon as well......”
“There’s also a reason I have to go, so could you move aside now?”
For me, even one hour was precious.
I swept back my cumbersome hair.
“Hoo......”
John Doe slowly exhaled.
His firm shoulders sank.
“You won’t refuse one more companion joining, will you?”
“Are you saying I’m not reliable enough?”
Yoanes clenched her fist.
“I mean we should ensure safety.”
John Doe’s gaze slipped past the fist and fixed on me.
“If you insist on setting foot in the dungeon yourself.”
There was no reason to refuse manpower that had walked in on its own.
Though there was something I had to make clear.
“I’ll divide the rewards however I want. No complaints, right?”
“......Fine.”
This was the guy who had fought with a companion over the jewel obtained in the tutorial story dungeon.
Of course I had to nail that down before going in.
So I wished he would stop looking at me like I was pathetic.
Before I truly worked him for free.
“If it’s decided, let’s go.”
“Th-this way.”
Yoanes led the way.
John Doe followed behind me.
Perhaps because our party had one more person now, no one picked a fight anymore.
Some even avoided us first.
‘It is convenient.’
Thanks to that, we quickly arrived at the dungeon entrance.
A giant ant statue was glowing white beneath the sunlight.
The large man planted firmly in front opened his eyes wide.
“Yoanes? Those people behind you are......”
“Temporary companions. H-how is it inside?”
“Quiet. This is the season when that thing holes up and sleeps, isn’t it?”
“Then we’ll go right in.”
Yoanes naturally passed through the entrance.
From the start, the passage bent steeply downward.
But even the rough path felt delightful.
Ant Nest was originally a point where one had to pay a toll.
The amount extorted was a full 300 vanus.
‘Am I really coming here without paying a single coin?’
Just as Abellana had said, it seemed Bies Guild wielded quite a bit of influence.
‘This worked out perfectly.’
I looked back.
John Doe was sliding down while bracing himself against the wall, yet his face remained indifferent.
‘I can use this guy a little too.’
I crooked a finger at him.
“You go in front.”
“Then the back is open.”
“It’s fine as long as you don’t let monsters slip through from the front, isn’t it?”
He stared at me only for a moment.
John Doe changed places with me and began descending the path first.
After walking behind him for several minutes, I slowed my steps and opened my bag.
“Lord Wer. I’ll take back the items I entrusted to you.”
“U-uh? What should I take out for you?”
Sleeping was fine, but I wished he would not soak the bag with drool.
Instead of shaking my head, I lowered my head closer to Wer.
So that the two walking ahead would not hear my voice.
“......One Broken Acidic Slime Core fragment and the Essence of Sloth.”
“Essence of Sloth? Do you mean the jewel from that fellow named Akedia?”
To be exact, it was a by-product of that jewel.
Wer’s eyes widened.
“N-no! An ominous energy has gathered on the jewel!”
“Right. Give me one of those.”
“How sinister. How sinister!”
An object that continued to leak poison that gnawed at the world even after its death.
Once it was in my hands, it was nothing but an excellent medicinal ingredient.
Wer shuddered in a small voice and took out the materials.
I quickly activated my skill.
‘Medicine Crafting.’
-Medicine Crafting skill activated. Please select mat—
The selected materials were, of course, a Broken Acidic Slime Core fragment and the Essence of Sloth.
-Please select the item to complete.
A system voice I was hearing for the first time.
But it was what I had expected.
The Essence of Sloth was a material that influenced the agility stat.
The acceleration and deceleration laid throughout the first boss’s domain.
It was an object containing the effects of both.
-One, Diligence Solvent. One......
The effect I needed was acceleration.
There was no reason to hesitate, so my selection was quick too.
Before the skill effect burst out, I quickly covered the bag.
“Kyaaaagh!”
“Wh-what was that!”
“What happened?”
The two walking ahead turned back.
Their reaction speed was terrifying.
Of course, since Wer had made a sound like he had been stepped on flat, they could not help being surprised.
“Hmm...... It seems Lord Wer had a nightmare.”
I pressed down firmly on the wriggling bag with my hand.
I felt bad for him, but what could I do?
It could not be helped if I wanted to make the medicine secretly.
Perhaps I should have taken Wer out of the bag, but it was already too late.
‘I can’t look like someone who knew what would pop out after this.’
Explaining things by fitting them together had its limits.
The medicine I had just made would become the key to clearing the dungeon.
There was no need to show that I had manufactured it right before entering.
It was not as though I craved attention.
I glanced at the medicine, which looked like a black bead.
-Diligence Solvent Lv2. Inflicts the Diligence status ailment and 20 acid-attribute damage for 20 minutes on contact.
It was a different sort of description from what I had seen until now.
Because it was the first medicine that dealt direct damage.
The solvent was covered in a thin, soft membrane.
It was fragile enough that it would burst if squeezed even a little too hard.
‘I need to be careful until I use it.’
I put the medicine into an empty flask.
It should be fine as long as it was not shaken wildly or I did not have the bad luck to fall over.
“Ritak! Don’t fall too far behind.”
Erasing that unlucky possibility, I hurriedly moved my feet.
***
SLASH! SLASH!
John Doe swung the greatsword heavily.
Each time he swung it, four or five ants fell in heaps.
THWACK! CRUNCH!
The ants flew as though they had gained wings from Yoanes’s extended fists.
I was gradually getting tired of counting the number that burst flat as though crushed against the wall.
‘This is the sweet life.’
Was this what it felt like to ride a comfortable bus?
But I was fairly busy too.
I was losing my mind picking up dropped items.
Ding!
-Ant Pheromone. Serves as a marker for one another. Can be used as an item crafting material.
The system kept sounding notifications.
Appraisal was working diligently too.
-Ant Antenna. Detects pheromones. Can be used as an item crafting material.
Aside from crafting materials, there were many parts to collect, such as carapaces and legs.
If sold, all of them would become blood, flesh, and money.
“Just how many have you two killed? Ant Nest might have to close for a while.”
I even exclaimed in half-sincere admiration.
The sword and fists opened the way at a terrifying pace.
Krrrk, kieeeek......
In the end, even the queen ant was flattened beneath their feet.
Yoanes wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
“......That’s fairly usable swordsmanship.”
The queen ant’s head had been cleanly sent flying.
Its hard outer shell had also been completely shattered.
John Doe planted his sword into the ground.
“You throw a decent punch yourself.”
It was a warm atmosphere.
Was it because even the queen ant had been easily dealt with?
John Doe and Yoanes’s faces looked relaxed too.
‘Then there shouldn’t be any problem if they roll around a little more.’
Avoiding both their gazes, I approached behind the queen ant.
Chew, chew......
A Strength Increase Stick for the first time in a while.
Together with the bitter taste, the vitality blooming within me felt vivid.
Grab.
I seized a leg as thick as a heavy rope.
Tendons bulged on the back of my hand.
‘Damn, this is heavy!’
Grrrrrrr......
I pulled the massive corpse.
My target was a hole that looked like a cliff.
I hurled the queen ant toward the vertical passage connected to the very bottom of Ant Nest.
WHOOSH!
“Wh-why is that flying?”
“Was it alive......!”
The moment the two saw the falling ant corpse, they blocked my front.
I appreciated their desire to protect me, but still.
‘I’m the one who threw it.’
When I thought about what was about to happen, guilt poked its head up.
But the die had already been cast.
......THUD!
After the heavy sound rang out...
Rrrrrrrr......
The ground began to shake.
The sound, like rocks being scraped by a drill, grew louder and louder.
The speed at which it climbed up the hole was anything but ordinary.
“What is it?”
“......This sound, don’t tell me? I-it should have been in its dormant period.”
Unlike John Doe, who still had not grasped the situation and was watching the surroundings, Yoanes seemed to have immediately realized what was about to happen.
Because she roughly waved her arm and pointed toward the passage leading outside.
“We have to get out right now......!”
But it was too late.
A long, blunt snout abruptly appeared outside the hole.
The moment its nose twitched was very brief.
CRACK!
As it drove its black claws into the ground and climbed up, its body was enormous and supple.
Its dense carapace, like a pinecone, gleamed dully.
The true master of Ant Nest.
The pangolin revealed itself.