The entrance to the mine, which we were guided to, was blocked by a wooden fence and ropes.
To prevent giant spiders from jumping out and attacking the villages, I suppose?
It looked like a shabby barricade, so I wondered if it would even work, but I heard it actually had some effect.
Since they blocked the entrance, the number of missing people from the mining village had drastically decreased.
“Let’s go in.”
We cleared the ropes that tightly secured the fence and entered the mine.
Kikel led the way, covering his upper body with his newly bought shield while sniffing around, and I followed him along with Laute.
Wolfgang stood beside Kikel, raising a torch high to illuminate the surroundings, like an ancient primate that had just discovered fire and signaled the dawn of human history.
Fwoosh!
The brightness seemed ten times greater than usual.
The torchlight reflected off the grotesque head of the octopus-human, illuminating the inside of the mine like it was broad daylight.
It was almost blinding, like a saint had descended.
In reality, he was the farthest profession from a saint.
Unlike a saint, who inspires reverence and calmness just by being there, this baldy fighter was a creature that shouldn’t exist.
Just looking at him was a painful experience that brought forth rage.
…Anyway, relying on the torchlight, we advanced into the mine.
In reality, seasoned adventurers preferred lanterns or rechargeable illumination magic tools to torches.
Carrying a torch meant one hand was tied up for lighting.
You couldn’t properly wield dual weapons, and unless you had a shield that strapped to your arm, you’d have to give up on having a grip.
The trade-off for giving up your hands was only that torches were a bit brighter than lanterns and much cheaper than magic tools.
That’s why, normally, Kikel and I preferred using lanterns instead of torches, but… there was no reason this time.
Why waste fuel costs on a lantern when a completely empty-handed chimpanzee could just hold a torch?
It was a choice beneficial to all of us— I and Laute could see well, Kikel was warm beside us.
Even Wolfgang the chimpanzee benefited.
Swinging bare fists against a giant spider was less effective than roasting it with a torch, after all.
The damage output doubled… no, at least multiplied by ten, how could we not be happy about that?
◆◆
As is often the case inside mines, this place had very filthy air.
Stale and murky air due to poor ventilation.
The smell of rotten earth mixed with mildew, and even the faint scent of small animal droppings wafted in.
Not just the smell.
Was it because a significant period had passed since anyone set foot here?
Dust piled thick on the walls and ground, billowing up like smoke with every step, and dew-covered spider webs were everywhere, forcing us to clear them as we moved.
“…Could it be the spider webs of the giant spiders?”
Laute asked softly, swatting away the webs with a twig she picked up while walking.
“Wrong. Babies. Full-grown spider, web size. This is small.”
Kikel shook his head in response.
These webs seemed a bit too small for them to be made by giant spiders, so they were probably spun by their young.
From just observing the web size, he seemed confident it wasn’t the work of an adult, indicating he had experience dealing with full-grown ones.
After walking for about five minutes…
“Close. Ten steps. Watch your head.”
Stopping, Kikel pointed at the ceiling with his spear, warning us.
A signal to prepare for battle. Laute and I drew our weapons and loosened our shoulders slightly.
With sharp blades in hand, I felt my attack power had increased by around 20 times.
“Woo, finally!”
The baldy just stood there. Well, he probably didn’t have anything to do. He was just a fighter who didn’t understand the concept of weapons.
I didn’t get why he chose bipedal walking when he wouldn’t even use tools.
Wouldn’t it be more efficient for him to dash around using all four limbs?
Proof that evolution doesn’t always work in positive directions was right there in front of me.
“Here we go!”
Seeing that Laute and I were ready for battle, Kikel raised his voice and started running ahead at a brisk pace.
“Kiiik! Kiiick!”
Did they finally notice us?
The giant spiders that were sticking to the ceiling just a dozen meters ahead, rushed toward us with sharp cries.
Six of them. There weren’t many yet, probably because we were still at the mine’s entrance.
“Kiyaaah!”
Kikel roared back, wrapping his tail around the rocky debris of the mine and throwing it like a baseball at the rapidly approaching spiders.
Thwack!
A slingshot powered by the strength of a lizardman.
The face of the leading giant spider was crushed like clay, oozing yellow fluid.
“Kieek?!”
“Kiiik!”
The two following spiders were also caught in the shock, crashing down to the ground.
Thus, the battle began.
◆◆
As soon as the two giant spiders hit the ground, Wolfgang dashed out with style, shouting the name of his technique.
“Aaaaaah! Receive the Dragon King’s Heavenly Strike!”
Seemingly having forgotten about the tool in his left hand, the fighter acted like he was incapable of doing better than a chimp.
Whack!
His fist, wrapped in leather gloves, slammed the giant spider’s back. The deep thud of the blow sounded like a heavy impact. The monster’s shell receded in the shape of his fist.
“Kiik?”
About 0.5 cm worth of dent, that is.
As suspected, it turned out as I thought. It was a given outcome.
If he had steel gauntlets on, it might’ve been plausible, but a punch covered only with ordinary leather gloves couldn’t break a monster’s shell.
If that were possible, he’d probably be wearing a magic collar around his neck.
“Ghh…! It’s surprisingly tough!”
Your head is surprisingly dumb.
“Then how about the Blood Suction Technique?!”
Wolfgang still couldn’t think to use the tool in his left arm and tried to kick the giant spider.
Yeah, kicking would actually be much more effective than punching. The difference in power between limbs was one thing, but his boots had protective metal plates compared to just leather gloves.
However—
“Kiiik!”
Giant spiders had legs too. Eight of them.
“Kiik!”
A giant spider the size of a human torso jumped at Wolfgang, stabbing its sharp legs toward him like a spear.
“Wha—!”
Wolfgang urgently pulled back, narrowly avoiding the giant spider’s front leg, which grazed his forearm, leaving a thin wound.
Dressed in a cloth sewn from fabric, it was impossible for him to guard against the monster’s legs.
Unlike Laute, who had leather armor alongside quilted protections, or Kikel, whose body was akin to scale armor.
“Kiiik!”
The giant spider, having missed its claw attack, twisted in mid-air and presented its rear toward Wolfgang.
What was it… a spinneret?
From the spider’s rear, a thread shot out, aiming for Wolfgang’s face.
“How cowardly to attack from a distance!”
Wolfgang quickly rolled on the ground to evade the web.
Even that didn’t seem to work, and a dust-covered web stuck to his shoulder as he got back up.
“Hah…”
A scene that seemed likely to deepen the contempt for the fighter.
“What’s that?”
Kikel, unable to watch any longer, stabbed a giant spider into the ground with his spear and swung his axe to slam another into the mine wall.
His powerful attack was a far cry from Wolfgang’s abysmal display.
“Hmm, tougher than I expected!”
Picking up the dropped torch, Wolfgang muttered, wiping away the blood running down his arm.
I had nothing to say.
Yeah, this is the average of fighter kids. I never expected anything from him in the first place.
“Ugh…”
Sighing lightly, I ran ahead to face the spiders coming down from above.
Kikel had already dealt with two, and the remaining ones included one that was writhing and unable to move with its face crushed, and three that were stuck on the ceiling.
Two of them were jumping down and swinging their claws at us, while the third was still stuck, aiming its butt at us as it spewed web.
“Ms. Laute!”
“Yes!”
I swung my longsword into the air and severed the three legs of the spider rushing toward us, while Laute raised her round shield to block the web.
“Kieeeek!”
“Kiiik!”
The giant spider, having lost its front legs, fell and rolled while leaking yellow fluid.
“Kaah!”
With a sharp yell, Laute slammed her mace down, smashing one of their heads.
Thwack!
I too lunged forward, piercing through one giant spider from its maw to its rear.
In contrast to Wolfgang’s impotent punches, my sharp blade and heavy metal piece had enough power to crush the spider’s shell.
It was truly the victory of civilization.
Kikel, pulling out his spear from a slain body, threw it like a javelin at the last remaining spider, successfully concluding our first battle.
Truth be told, it was hardly even a battle… it was an overwhelming ravishing.
“Everyone is impressive! I’m in awe!”
Except for the little chimp who almost got ravished instead.
