kscans

Chapter 193 - The Dragon's Tooth

"The walls and ceiling of that cave are slowly oozing an acidic liquid."

Aira-san’s voice echoed through my earring.

"The acid is too weak to have any immediate effect on the human body, so it’s fine even if you accidentally get it in your mouth or eyes. It would take a considerable amount of time for it to dissolve anything."

Her clear, sonorous voice seemed to resonate strangely within the dim cave.

"It’s like… the insides of a monster that digests its prey over a long period. That’s the defining characteristic of this dungeon."

If everything I could see was the inside of a living creature, I wondered just how enormous it must be.

The rugged rock face had a subtle, slimy sheen to it, which seemed to prove her words weren't a lie.

"Oh, wait. That was from the JSDF’s comments on the store’s website."

"Ah, right."

"What a bland reaction, Ky-chan-kun."

"W-Whoa! Th-That’s so scary!"

"Behold, Ky-chan-kun. The sight of my dear sister, reading the room and desperately pretending to be scared…! Does her wooden acting not stir anything within you!? Pity, perhaps!?"

"Sister!?"

"Look, we’re in the middle of exploring a dungeon right now," I cut in.

It’s a pain to be asked for a reaction at a time like this. She could have at least done this before we entered.

Besides, when it came to Mia-san’s deadpan acting, my first thought wasn't pity, but that she was cute.

When she isn't running wild, she really is a classic beauty.

"So serious, Ky-chan-kun."

"And you’re being the opposite… Are you, by any chance, bored?"

"Yep."

"Please just bear with it for now. When we get back, I’ll let you have all the attention you want. Mostly from Mia-san."

"Leave it to me!"

"Heh heh… How terrifying."

"More importantly, I’ve found the JSDF’s paint. We’re currently at ‘C-4’."

I reported to Aira-san while looking at the yellow lettering illuminated by my lantern.

"Right. There’s an exit ahead of you. From your position, it’s about a kilometer away."

"Roger."

"Wait."

Just as I was about to step forward, Erina-san’s quiet voice cut through the air.

I instinctively readjusted my grip on my sword and lowered my center of gravity slightly.

"Enemies?"

"Yeah. Four of them. It looks like they’ve noticed us, too. They’re coming this way."

"Got it. Byakuren, take another step forward."

"Ukon and Sakon, raise your shields and stand by in front of me and Erina-san."

Just as we finished adjusting the golems’ positions, I started to hear footsteps.

Clack, clack—the sound of hard objects striking one another. The sound echoed at a steady, unwavering rhythm.

Before long, a golden object reflecting the lantern’s light came into view.

It was a golden helmet, with a red crest, a design that looked like it could have been used in ancient Greece.

Beneath it, of course, was not a human face.

There was no flesh or skin, only exposed gray bone. At first glance, it looked like a skeleton, but its skeletal structure was different from a human’s.

A long, protruding mouth. A row of sharp fangs. And a tail that seemed to be an extension of its spine.

Other than that, the skeletal monster had a humanoid frame, as if it had been mixed with a lizard.

"Spartoi."

The fearsome soldiers from Greek mythology, born from the teeth of a dragon. They were now pointing the gleaming tips of their spears at us.

"Kakakakaka!"

With a cry like rattling bones, the Spartoi accelerated.

They closed ranks, holding oval shields in their left hands, right arms pulling back their spears. As they charged in perfect unison, Byakuren planted the bottom of its shield on the ground and braced for impact.

An instant before the collision, mana coursed through the ground between them.

"O, earth!"

In that moment, the rugged rock surface transformed into a thicket of spears. The Spartoi, now effectively diving into the trap, pushed forward forcefully without slowing in the slightest.

"Kaaah!"

Shields swung powerfully upward, shattering the rock spears. A Spartoi squeezed through the newly formed gap and thrust its spear forward.

Byakuren blocked the charge of two, leaving me to handle the other two.

Of the approaching spearheads, I severed one with an upward diagonal slash. I blocked the other with my left gauntlet.

A hard clang echoed as a shockwave shook the cave. I forcefully anchored myself with wind, not yielding a single step against the force that threatened to blow me away.

The stalemate lasted a fraction of a second. I threw up my arm, batting the spear aside, and lunged forward.

"Kah!"

The one on the right, its spear now missing a tip, aimed for my head. I struck the side of the shaft with the flat of my blade, deflecting the blow that had been swung like a simple club.

I let my blade slide along the shaft as if it were crawling and sliced off the creature's bony fingers.

Carrying my momentum forward, I was next met by the shield of the left Spartoi. The thick metal plate blocked my path like a wall.

Just before impact, I kicked off the shield with a foot accelerated by wind and leaped. In the instant I was above it, I twisted my body and swung my sword down at the crown of the left one's head.

I smashed through the golden helmet and shattered the skull beneath. As I landed, the remaining Spartoi swung its tail at me, but I took a single step back to evade it.

Next came a shield bash, delivered like a backhand, but I stopped it with my left gauntlet before it could pick up speed.

Screech! Sparks flew as metal scraped against metal. Twisting and extending my arm, I grabbed the edge of the shield. The Spartoi immediately tried to change the shield's orientation, but I pulled its body toward me with sheer force before it could.

The recoil caused us to switch places, and I brought my sword down in a flash on the back of its now-exposed head, crushing the skull, helmet and all.

I readied my sword again, keeping an eye on the two I’d felled as I glanced toward where Byakuren was engaged.

Backup… didn’t seem necessary.

One of the Spartoi had been restrained by Ukon and Sakon before a flying boulder crushed its head.

The other had been entangled in wires the moment it locked up with Byakuren’s shield and weapon, and in the next instant, it was dismantled into pieces.

Less than a minute after the engagement began, the four Spartoi fell silent. All the scattered bones turned into white salt.

"No sign of enemies nearby!"

"Roger. Good work, everyone."

"Good work. Ukon, collect the drop items."

I let out a small breath and relaxed my stance.

I glanced over and saw Ukon picking up a fang, about five centimeters long, from among the salt.

The Spartoi are also known as "Dragon Tooth Warriors." In Greek mythology, there’s a legend that when the teeth of a dead dragon were sown into the ground, soldiers sprang forth from them.

I don’t know if the Atlantis people had a similar myth, but there were a lot of parallels.

What was personally important, however, was that this drop item was an extremely good golem material.

Apparently, crushing it and fusing it into a golem body dramatically increases its reaction speed. The Alchemy Enthusiasts Club, who bought this drop item from a B-Rank adventurer, said so, so it had to be true.

Their technical skill and sincere devotion to alchemy are the real deal. They would never write something false about golems.

…Although, the fact that the golem they made was just one step in their research for their so-called "ideal homunculus wife" is just so typical of that group.

I get the sentiment, but would a normal person actually do that? Their passion is bottomless.

But I digress. I brought my focus back to the dungeon.

"By the way, Aira-san. Is this dungeon actually the inside of some kind of creature?"

"Hm? What’s this, you were listening?"

"Well, sort of. It’d be a problem if it was something important."

"Nah. It just looks that way, so don’t worry about it. It does have some unusual geology, though. Oh, and try not to let that stuff drip on your head too much—it’ll make you go bald."

"Well, I am wearing a helmet."

"I’ve created a membrane of water above my head, so…"

"If it doesn’t hit you, it’s no big deal!"

"I made one over your head too, Erina-san, so don’t worry."

"What?!"

Don’t remind me… Dad used to say acid rain was scary, hair growth tonic in hand…

"Then why is this dungeon just a single, straight path?"

"There weren’t any documents left behind, so this is just a hypothesis, okay?"

"I’ll take it with a grain of salt, so it’s fine."

"Hey, at least listen seriously!"

Shut up, I’m in the middle of exploring here.

Even while talking, I couldn't completely let my guard down. I kept my hand on my sword, my awareness spread to my surroundings.

"Just tell me if it’s relevant to the exploration or not. I didn’t find anything like that when I looked it up beforehand."

"I don’t think it’s related to exploration. We suspect it’s a factory for producing and deploying soldiers… or rather, weapons. The Spartoi."

"I see."

Ukon carefully brushed the salt off the drop item and put it into Erina-san’s Item Box.

Confirming this, I slung my sword over my shoulder.

"Thank you. We’ll resume the exploration now."

"Right. Be careful."

Still, sending Spartoi out as soldiers… huh.

It was like something out of a myth. If they could supply a fighting force of this caliber limitlessly, it was no wonder the so-called Atlantis Empire came close to world domination.

There’s even the possibility that B-Rank monsters weren’t even their main fighting force.

It may be callous to say, but I’m glad that empire was destroyed. The fact that they were apparently trying to extend their reach to other worlds is no laughing matter.

*

We explored the dungeon for about two hours before returning.

We managed to get about sixty teeth—a pretty good haul. That’s twenty each, but they’d cost a fortune to buy. Erina-san said she’d use hers for the repair and modification costs of her Daisharinmaru.

Since I pushed her too hard to protect her parents during the Tokyo Incident, I plan to pay for half of it myself.

Given the reason it broke, I offered to pay the full amount, but she refused, saying, "Half is better."

She must have her own sense of attachment and responsibility for her tools. When it comes down to it, she’s a very grounded person in that respect.

Afterward, she did say, "It’s like a symbol of the Invisible Ninjas, you know!!" but I decided to pretend I didn’t hear that part. Because it makes me want to smash it to pieces.

By the way, the location of this dungeon’s boss monster is well-known, but since there’s no reason to fight it, we obviously stayed away.

Its drop item is just a bigger version of the Spartoi tooth, and there was zero merit in challenging it with the risk of having our licenses revoked or being demoted.

Well, I’m not supposed to go looking for boss fights on my own anyway, merit or not.

Shaking off my wicked thoughts, I started for home. Now, I wonder how much Byakuren’s performance will improve with this…

"Ah, that’s right."

Just as Erina-san teleported me to my front door and I’d said my goodbyes, standing before my entryway, Aira-san murmured as if she’d just remembered something.

"Ky-chan-kun. You said you wanted to punish Erina-kun for something… If you want, I could lend you the cosplay outfits we have here?"

Even through the telepathy, I could feel her lecherous grin.

Good grief. This woman… she only gets this lively when she’s teasing someone. Frankly, she’s a terrible adult.

As a friend, I should give her a piece of my mind.

"Yes, please! For all three of them, if possible!"

"Those were the words I wanted to hear…!"

Turns out I’m not such a great person either.

My wicked thoughts… are strong!!