On the first floor, Keisuke's group of five, Hiroshi and his four companions, and Haruto with his classmates were locked in combat. Haruka observed her students with concern, the unsettling realization that there was a fifty percent chance of their demise burdening her mind. She deeply regretted bringing them to this dangerous place. While she could easily defy the demands of school authorities, the harsh reality of the situation struck her when she learned who was responsible.
Haruka sighed, acknowledging her own vulnerability, and continued to vigilantly watch over her students.
Keisuke wielded his sword with precision, cutting down the encircling goblins. Despite being surrounded, he remained composed, his gaze fixed on their every move as they sought to exploit any vulnerability. The goblins' attempts to find openings in his defense proved futile with each passing moment. Suddenly, one goblin crept up behind him, wielding a crude stone knife aimed at his neck. Sensing the impending danger, Keisuke swiftly sidestepped, narrowly evading the lethal strike. In a swift counterattack, he swung his sword, severing the goblin's hand, causing it to shriek in agony as blood spurted from the wound.
Swoosh!
With a single, decisive thrust of his sword, he drove it through the goblin's head, instantly killing it. Completing this action, Keisuke pivoted and swung his sword at the oncoming goblins. The heads of two goblins were sent flying from their bodies, their torsos suspended momentarily in midair before collapsing to the ground, blood gushing in all directions. The surrounding goblins, witnessing the swift demise of their brethren, quivered in fear. Some, fueled by anger, charged at him with fierce roars.
"AAAAH!" Keisuke surged ahead, his blade cutting through the goblins and cleaving them in two. With only two foes remaining by his side, he grinned, relishing the newfound strength coursing through him. Confident in his ability to protect others, he swiftly dispatched the remaining goblins, leaving none standing on his side.
Meanwhile, Fuji unleashed a relentless barrage upon the goblins with his gauntlet-clad fists. Each roar from him was met with a punishing blow, causing blood to spew from their mouths and injuring their organs. His resolve unwavering, he continued his assault, snapping one goblin's neck, sending another flying with a powerful kick to the stomach, and rendering a third unconscious with a forceful punch to the face. Leaping forward, he let out another roar and delivered a charged fist, sending the surrounding goblins crashing into the walls before collapsing to the ground. Unfazed, Fuji grinned boldly and joined Keisuke, who was observing Mio and Ichika's ongoing battle.
Mio and Ichika stood side by side, fighting in perfect synchronization. Ichika's concern for Mio's safety prompted her to fight alongside her, swiftly stepping in whenever Mio faced danger. With her katana, Ichika expertly dispatched the goblins, ensuring Mio remained unharmed. Grateful for Ichika's protective presence, Mio continued to battle, her grip on her sword unwavering. Despite only beginning her sword training a few days earlier, Mio quickly mastered the basics, impressing even Ichika. However, in a recent friendly duel, Mio was decisively defeated by her skilled friend with just a few strikes.
Determined to improve, Mio trained tirelessly throughout the night, recognizing her own weaknesses and making rapid progress that astonished Ichika. As their blades flashed through the air, the number of goblins surrounding them dwindled. When Mio first ended the life of a monster, she felt deeply disturbed. It was her initial encounter with taking a living creature's existence. In contrast, the monsters seemed unaffected, treating killing as instinctual as breathing. Witnessing this indifference strengthened Mio's determination to confront and eliminate the monsters.
As time passed, she noticed her classmates growing accustomed to the act of killing monsters. This normalization brought her a sense of relief amidst the chaos of battle.
Ichika smiled as she began to defeat the goblins, swiftly moving around Mio and slicing her katana to cut them into pieces. Maneuvering into Mio's blind spot, she swiftly struck at a goblin, carving its chest open before severing its head from its body. Blood spurted from the neck like a fountain, causing Ichika to leap backward. Despite her exhaustion, she found dispatching the goblins almost effortless; her strikes cleaved through them like butter. Her desire for a worthy opponent burned within her. Moving swiftly to Mio's side, Ichika swung her katana vertically, swiftly dispatching a goblin that had been stealthily approaching her friend. The creature was cleaved from its lower extremities to its head, its body splitting apart in opposite directions. With Mio's help, Ichika continued to fight, reducing the number of goblins on the first floor of the dungeon.
Meanwhile, Haruto utilized his skills to merge into Hinata's shadow, allowing him to observe Hinata's combat. Recognizing Hinata's focus, Haruto watched as Hinata employed martial arts techniques. With a swift series of moves, Hinata kicked a goblin in front, sending both the goblin and its club flying. Following up with a roundhouse kick, Hinata shattered another goblin's body, causing its remains to spray onto nearby goblins. Hinata couldn't help but smile at the sight of the goblins covered in the remnants of their own kind.
Clasping his fists, Hinata delivered an upward swing, connecting with the chin of a goblin. The force of the uppercut sent the goblin's body soaring two meters into the air. With a powerful leap, Hinata appeared in front of the screaming goblin, delivering a swift kick that sent it hurtling back down to the ground.
BAAAAAANG!!
The goblin's body hit the ground, forming a crater upon impact, its lifeless form lying motionless. The force of the fall had been enough to shatter its internal organs, sealing its fate. Landing beside it, Hinata extended his hands in a claw-like gesture. A meter away, a group of goblins suddenly sported gaping claw-shaped wounds on their chests. Blood spilled from the wounds as they cried out in agony, before collapsing, their breaths stilled. Hinata had unleashed a skill derived from his job and attribute, known as "Wind Claws," utilizing the power of wind.
Amidst the ongoing battle, Haruto remained vigilant, biding his time for the perfect opportunity. The battlefield became littered with goblin corpses as the skirmish between his classmates and the goblins persisted. Keisuke and Fuji demonstrated impressive efficiency, dispatching goblins one after another. Meanwhile, Mio and Ichika, surrounded by an aura of mana, engaged successive groups of goblins. With smiles adorning their faces, they moved swiftly, their blades imbued with mana, each strike cleaving through multiple goblins. It was then that Haruto pinpointed the shaman's location. Nestled in a corner, dangerously close to Mio and Ichika, the shaman was in the midst of casting a spell aimed at both of them.
Haruto gestured to Hinata and quickly departed, leaping out of the shadows and swiftly moving from one to another. He intentionally concealed his true strength, relying on a low-level skill from his job known as "Shadow Walk." Goblins whose shadows he traversed unknowingly met their demise, as Haruto punctured their hearts with precision. Landing just in time before the shaman, he swiftly slashed at its head, splitting it in two. Blood sprayed from the wound as the shaman crumpled to the ground. However, the spell it had cast went haywire, hurtling towards Mio and Ichika.
"Damn! It's still causing trouble even in death," Haruto thought inwardly as he raced towards Mio and Ichika. The two stood frozen in fear, unable to defend themselves. Ichika tightly grasped Mio's hands, offering a reassuring smile. Despite doubting their ability to withstand the spell, she resolved silently that if she bore the brunt of it, at least Mio would be spared. Mio returned the smile, clutching Ichika's hand firmly, ready to face the spell head-on with her friend by her side.
In an instant, the destructive mana materialized before them. As they braced themselves to confront it, a black shadow suddenly landed in front of them, catching the berserk mana with its palm, leaving them astounded. Taking on the form of a human with its silhouette enveloped in black mist, the shadow puzzled Ichika, who wondered why it was intervening to save them. However, Mio's eyes remained clear, and a happy smile adorned her face as she gazed at the silhouette. To Ichika's surprise, Mio called out the name of someone familiar.
"Haruto...!"