NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 4 Part 1
CHAPTER 4
Two hours after Reito and his friends arrived at the fourth floor, they found a dozen adventurers standing in the passageway. They were talking with confused expressions.
“We’ve finally found other adventurers, that we did.”
“But something seems strange. Is there a problem?”
“Let’s hear what they have to say.”
Reito and his friends approached the adventurers. They were covered in mud and blood. They may have been on this floor for a long time. They looked exhausted.
“Damn… I finally found the exit.”
“Why are those guys here?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Whoa!? Wh, wha, a giant… Don’t scare me.”
When Gonzo asked one of the adventurers, the other person thought he was a monster and got defensive. However, he quickly put down his weapon. They seemed to be quite tense.
Reito asked the question on Gonzo’s behalf.
“Did something happen?”
“Are you guys adventurers too? Well, actually… we’ve finally found the hall where the teleportation crystal is.”
“Hall?”
“Sorry, I forgot to explain. This is the only floor where the building doesn’t exist. There’s an altar in a large hall, and the teleportation crystal is installed there.”
Shizune said as if she just remembered, and the adventurer pointed to a nearby passage. Curious, Reito tried to approach, but was grabbed by the shoulder and stopped.
“It’s dangerous! It’s dangerous to do that!!”
“Dangerous…”
“There’s a monster at the end of the passage. Please keep quiet and watch without being noticed.”
Following the adventurer’s words, Reito quietly approached the passage and peeked.
The passage was quite long, stretching out for at least twenty meters.
And at the end of the passage was a green giant.
Reito was surprised, thinking it was a troll, but it was much more muscular than a normal troll, and its face looked very similar to a goblin’s.
“That’s…!?”
“That’s the Goblin King. He’s the highest ranking monster among the goblin species!”
“This is bad… I never thought I’d meet such a big one in a place like this.”
A huge goblin sat at the back of the passage. Activating the “Far Sight” skill and looking further in, he found a large hall. In the center of the hall was an altar, and a teleportation crystal was floating.
“There’s a teleportation crystal at the back. That’s why everyone was stuck here.”
“That’s right. You all get it, right? If you get close, you’ll have to fight that monster. But the Goblin King is a big one, and you need at least ten A-rank adventurers to deal with him.”
“Everyone here is only C-rank, how about you guys?”
The group answered the adventurer’s question.
“I’m A rank, that I am.”
“C rank.”
“I’m B, but…”
“I’m C.”
“I’m a mercenary. There’s no concept of rank.”
“I see… well, that’s impressive for your age.”
When Reito and the others answered their ranks, the adventurers showed a strange look. Hanzo, who said she was A rank, looked nothing like an assassin, and assassins weren’t really suited to dungeon combat. Everyone still looked like children, and in fact Reito and Gonzo hadn’t even reached adulthood yet.
“What should we do? There’s no point in waiting in this passage.”
“So are we going to challenge the Goblin King?”
“You idiot! Keep your voice down… I never said we’re going to challenge him. We can just take a detour through another passage and head to that hall without being noticed.”
“That’s impossible. There’s only one passage to the hall where the teleportation crystal is. In other words, as long as this passage is controlled, we can’t enter the hall.”
“Damn it! There’s nothing we can do!”
Unable to think of a way to defeat the Goblin King, the exhausted adventurers were irritated. The Goblin King was too powerful to be challenged on a gamble.
While keeping an eye out for other monsters appearing in the passage, Reito and the others discussed whether they could come up with a good idea.
“A Goblin King… He seems stronger than a troll.”
“Normal Goblin Kings are level 3. But the Goblin Kings born in the Great Labyrinth are also called Goblin Lords. They’re level 4 formidable opponents.”
“So that means he’s a formidable opponent for an Ogre class. Well, I guess we can do something about it.”
Reito turned his gaze to the back of the passage. It certainly looked more intimidating than a normal monster, and reminded him of the Minotaur that lived in the Abyssal Forest. But strangely, Reito didn’t feel any fear right now.
“Can’t Dain’s magic stop it?”
“Well, I think I can do something if we get close…”
“Hey, stop it! Are you guys planning to challenge him?”
“Don’t do anything on your own! What will we do if he comes this way…!”
The other adventurers try to hold Reito and the others back, but there’s no point in being stuck here, and if they take too long they’ll end up encountering other monsters.
Shizune lost patience and snapped.
“We’re going. I’m not asking you to fight with us. But please don’t get in the way.”
“You brat…!!”
“Hey, wait a second! Calm down! Do you have a strategy to beat the Goblin King?”
“Yes, I do.”
“You have one?”
“Do you?”
Shizune answered immediately, and not only the adventurers, but even Reito, who was next to her, asked her again. She said with an astonished look on her face.
“With that technique of yours, it would only take one blow, wouldn’t it?”
“Ohhh! You’re talking about that technique, that you are!”
“Ah… but it takes time to activate and leaves a big gap, so I don’t use it…”
“That’s when you fight someone who knows that technique beforehand. Do you think the Goblin King knows about you?”
“What are you guys talking about?”
“You… you know such a great technique?”
Using the true power of the Sword Demon, even the Goblin King can be easily put to death. When Shizune told Reito about this, Gonzo and Dain, who were unaware of the situation, tilted their heads, but Hanzo, who knew the true identity of Luna in the arena, was convinced.
“This is the culmination of your training so far. I’ll cover you, so you finish him off.”
“No Shizune, training… I’ve never had you train me in sword fighting.”
“I’ve at least had a match with you, right? Come on, let’s go. I’ll attack first, so follow me.”
“I’ll accompany you, that I will.”
“Oh, come on… I have no choice.”
“Wait a second!”
“It’s too dangerous! Stop it!”
The other adventurers frantically tried to stop the three from heading towards the passage, but Hanzo had already activated his skills of “Stealth”, “Soundless Walk”, and “Wall Running”, which only a ninja can use, and ran off.
“Let’s go, that I do!”
“…………⁉”
Hanzo’s voice echoed through the passage. The Goblin King, who was sitting down, looked up in surprise, but she had used “Stealth” to make her presence almost invisible, so it took him a while to recognize her. As she went further, she used her “Leap” skill to fly around the left and right walls of the passage, drawing the Goblin King’s attention as she approached.
“Follow me!”
“Got it!”
Following Shizune who immediately ran off, Reito ran through, gripping his Extermination Blade with both hands.
The Goblin King was distracted by Hanzo who had rushed in first, and didn’t notice Reito and the others approaching.
“Grrrr!”
“’Mail Carrier’!”
The Goblin King stood up. He then raised his giant’s greatsword that he had placed on the ground, and swung it down at Hanzo.
However, she kicked at the air, creating a shockwave from the sole of her foot and dodging backwards. As a result, the Goblin King greatsword slammed into the ground, sending up a spectacular dust cloud.
“Don’t worry, keep going!”
“Giiiiiiii…!?”
The dust cloud covered the passageway. The moment the Goblin King saw two shadows approaching from the front, Shizune appeared from the dust cloud, thrusting Four Seasons at him.
“’Thrust’!”
“Giiiiiiii…!?”
The longsword she thrust out pierced both of the Goblin King’s hands, gradually freezing them where they penetrated.
Not missing the opportunity, Reito appeared from behind Shizune, holding his Extermination Blade.
“I’ll leave the rest to you.”
“Leave it to me!!”
“Grrr…?!”
The moment Shizune pulled out Four Seasons and did a backflip to move behind Reito— Reito, wielding his Extermination Blade, increased his physical ability with “Limit Boost” and further activated “Gravity Strike Blade” in both hands to activate the “Strike Blade” that used all the muscles in his body to shoot out.
“Wuoooo!!”
“Huh…?!”
The Goblin King saw a boy with a demonic spirit, while still maintaining his human form.
Reito then activated his best battle technique, “Helmet Splitter”, and delivered a blow with all his heart and soul.
“Haaa!!”
The Extermination Blade collided with the Goblin King’s head.
In an instant, his torso was cut in half, and his giant body was cut in half.
The adventurers just widened their eyes, but Shizune, who had seen it up close, had a look of joy on her face.
“…As expected.”
“Phew…Ouch, that hurt my arm.”
As if nothing had happened, Reito pulled out his Extermination Blade from the ground and took out an experience stone from the Goblin King’s torn corpse.