The party moved forward, ignoring the dangers that lurked in the darkness. They were fairly certain that those were goblins trying to flank them, but there was no real threat at the moment so they pressed on.
A damp mossy smell lingered in the air, and a heavy atmosphere bore down on the party.
Quite frankly, they were expecting goblins, not this scary setting akin to a horror movie.
"Yukina, you awake?" Albrecht asked, holding the Summoner's Ring on his lips so Yukina could hear him.
"Oum~ why, master?" Yukina sleepily asked.
"If anything happens... I might ask your partner for some assistance." Albrecht whispered back. "You know, your Adamantium Goliath Cobra."
"Ahh~ sure, she's willing to help you anyway." Yukina yawned.
Beside Albrecht was Sylvia Heartcross, shaking in fear since she didn't do well with the dark. Despite her expressionless face, it was clear that she was afraid.
"Are you all right?" Albrecht asked, asserting his dominance despite being a mere porter.
"You're not afraid? Y-y-you're just a porter, you know," Sylvia stuttered as she clung tightly to Albrecht's hand. "Don't worry, I'm a healer. As long as you're not dead, I can heal you."
"I might die before you could heal me though..." Albrecht reasoned out.
Kiahk~!
Somehow, the goblins realized that the vanguard and rear side were defended pretty well, so they attacked the side instead.
With a screech, three goblins jumped at Albrecht since he seemed to be the weakest link of the group. They weren't wrong though, in a sense that he was just a porter.
Nevertheless, they were wrong to underestimate him.
Because of his heightened sense thanks to his unique skill 'Vampire Metamorphosis', he could detect the movements of every single goblin that dwelled in the dark.
Albrecht felt annoyed that the goblins were quick to target him just because he hid his true power and suppressed his Zecian Aura.
In a split second, he activated his skill 'Saddim's Touch' and equipped the 'Sariel Death Scythe'.
He could still remember Claude telling him that the scythe was his personal gift from a brother to a brother.
Albrecht swung the Sariel Death Scythe and returned it in his spatial storage space. No one saw what he did.
"Watch out!" Hex called out when he detected the three goblins who jumped at Albrecht.
However, the three goblins were all beheaded in an instant. They didn't even do anything.
"Ah-" Albrecht exclaimed when he saw the three beheaded goblins. He feigned surprise, and somehow the party believed it.
"W-wha— ?" Sylvia blinked twice.
It wasn't just Sylvia who detected that evil presence. Even Hex and Erwin felt it. A chill run up and down their spine and then it was gone.
"What happened?" Albrecht asked, pretending to be clueless even though he was the one who decapitated the three goblins.
No one saw what he just did, thanks to the dimness of the place. However, they believed that a stronger beast was the root cause of the killed goblins. The entire party was just thankful that the entity behind the killing didn't target any of them.
"I-in any case, let's move forward... this place is giving me the creeps." Hex shivered as he continued leading the way.
Fortunately, the dungeon was just a single enclosed path (just like a literal sewer) so they didn't have to worry about deviating from the normal route.
With Hex leading the way, they pressed forward. There were the occasional goblins who would jump at them, but they dealt with them easily.
Albrecht secretively helped with dealing with them, but they didn't know about it.
Pretty soon, the group got into a clearing, and there was a hint of light there so they decided to rest their legs a little bit.
The clearing had an open ceiling, so the moonlight poured into it, illuminating the ruins.
"We'll camp here for now. I think we're close to the dungeon boss's room." Hex announced, settling down on one of the broken concrete before lighting a cigarette.
"I'll set up fire." Erwin volunteered.
The group finally had time to rest, but they didn't let their guard down even when they were gathered around the makeshift campfire.
After all, the goblins could attack at any moment, and they need to be prepared for it even when they were in the middle of a meal.
"I have a couple of ingredients with me, please use them." Albrecht said. He was really too into character as a porter.
"Thanks," Hex answered just when Albrecht handed him fresh vegetables. "Whoa~" He exclaimed after seeing the freshness of the vegeratables.
"I'll cook it right away," This time, it was Natalie who volunteered to cook.
While the flames flickered and the water boiled on the pot, they felt something very odd in the place.
Nevertheless, that didn't stop them from conversing with one another.
"So, Albrecht, was it? Why were you sleeping in the First Outerlayer?" Hex asked. He was curious why Albrecht was sleeping there when a breach could occur at any moment.
"Oh, I was tired." Albrecht casually said.
For some reason, the adventurers was somewhat familiar with Albrecht's name, but they couldn't quite put a finger around where they'd heard it before.
Had they known that Albrecht was actually an ex-member of the Heroes of Relics, they'd have asked for an autograph.
"Ah, I see~" Hex let out. He couldn't figure out what's the deal with Albrecht so he just let it. "Well, let's have our meal, we can think about this dungeon later on."
As soon as Hex stopped talking, they all felt goosebumps on their skin.
The temperature had dropped, and the looming silence grew even louder.
"Something's wrong, it's too quiet." Hex stated the obvious.
A few seconds later, the threat finally revealead itself. The other entrance to the far right corner of the clearnig suddenly closed, and a barrier made from Zecian Aura was placed.
Skittering was then heard, coupled with the sound of goblin squeaks.
A minute passed, and the clearing was filled to the brim with goblins. In the middle of the clearing was the camp of the Spiderweb Party.
"Yoisho~ here we go again." Erwin lightly spoke as he stood up.
"Sylvia, Albrecht, stay back. We're going to deal with these little f's." Hex commanded, unsheathing his sword and equipping his shield.