Ch. 69 Munchkin – Chapter 69
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 69
Cryfel Castle, abandoned for 300 years.
An ominous and eerie atmosphere lingered.
To describe Lucy’s impression,
‘…It’s like a haunted house.’
It felt like the haunted houses you’d find in amusement parks.
“Ugh, ugh…”
Finn trembled.
“Lucy… I’ve been hearing something since earlier… Could it be that Cryfel woman has really returned?”
Finn still seemed scared of the woman named Cryfel.
Lucy chuckled softly and patted Finn’s body.
“Don’t worry. If that woman shows up and becomes a threat, I’ll summon Amon.”
“Hmm…”
Thud. Thud.
Zeke’s party and Cecilia’s party walked ahead.
Following them, Lucy entered Cryfel Castle.
A tall, grand hall.
Cobwebs hung everywhere.
Every time the torches illuminated the walls, shadows flickered.
With each step, the broken marble tiles crumbled weakly, scattering dust.
Portraits hung here and there on the walls.
The figures in the darkened portraits seemed to watch the passersby.
Whenever the wind blew, faint cries could be heard from somewhere.
It was probably just the wind, but it sounded like someone was weeping.
A moment later,
“Here it is.”
Zeke’s party found the entrance to the staircase leading down to the castle’s basement.
The dark staircase entrance looked like the mouth of a monster.
“Let’s go.”
Zeke’s party descended the stairs without hesitation.
Cecilia’s party and Lucy’s group followed.
A tense atmosphere.
No one spoke.
Only the sound of footsteps descending the stairs echoed.
“Gah!”
Suddenly, a scream rang out.
It was Thomas.
Everyone stopped and looked around warily.
“W-what is it?”
“Is it a monster?”
Zeke’s party and Cecilia’s party turned to look at Thomas.
Thomas waved his hands.
“Ah, no… It was just a rat… Sorry…”
At Thomas’s words, people began murmuring.
“Are you kidding me…?”
“These guys are really useless.”
“Why did they even bring them along?”
“Even a kid…”
Thomas hung his head, his face red.
Because of him, Brian and Lucy were being criticized too.
“Hey, rookie.”
Zeke spoke in a cold voice.
“Don’t cause trouble.”
“…Yes.”
Thomas replied weakly.
“I’m sorry.”
As they descended into the basement, darkness greeted them.
Damp, cold air.
And an ominous aura.
Zeke gripped his sword tightly, his face tense.
Recently, monsters had been appearing around Cryfel Castle.
The source of the monsters was suspected to be the castle’s basement.
However, the identity and number of the monsters were still unknown.
That’s why the adventurer’s guild had taken on this quest.
Thud. Thud.
Zeke moved in formation with his party members.
Soon,
Growl—
In the darkness, red eyes began to approach.
“Prepare for battle!”
At Zeke’s command, the party moved swiftly.
A cleric used holy magic to illuminate the area, and two mages prepared attack spells from the rear.
Beside Zeke, a swordsman lowered his stance.
The red eyes grew closer.
“They’re coming!”
The monsters were Gorgon Hounds.
Canine monsters over two meters tall with six arms.
Their arms were jointed like a spider’s, and their claws were sharp and protruding.
“Grrr!”
The Gorgon Hounds charged.
Zeke swung his sword with all his might.
“Hah!”
Swish—!
One of the Gorgon Hound’s arms was severed.
Behind him, the mages cast their spells.
“Fire Burst!”
Boom!
An explosion erupted behind the Gorgon Hounds.
“Good, keep it up!”
Zeke shouted as he leaped into action.
One Gorgon Hound aimed for his waist with its front claws, but Zeke twisted his body to dodge and swung his sword.
Swish!
Another arm was severed, and Zeke spun, driving his sword into the Gorgon Hound’s neck.
Thud!
Blood gushed out as the monster collapsed.
It was a flawless battle.
“Wow…”
Brian, watching from behind, was impressed.
“Amazing… He might be rude, but his skills are top-notch.”
“So cool…”
Thomas also stared in awe as Zeke’s party hunted the monsters.
“…Bro, can we ever become like that?”
“Of course. If we keep working hard, we can become even stronger than them.”
“I really hope so…”
While Brian and Thomas were marveling, Lucy looked bored.
To Lucy, the Gorgon Hounds didn’t seem like particularly strong monsters.
Darcan could probably handle them with a single swing of his greatsword.
Soon, the battle ended.
“Phew…”
Zeke sheathed his sword and glanced over at them.
He didn’t say anything, but his expression was arrogant.
He was probably showing off for Lucy’s group.
“Then, let’s keep going.”
The extermination wasn’t over yet.
This quest was to eliminate all the monsters in the basement of Cryfel Castle.
The extermination had only just begun.
‘Hmph, not bad.’
As she walked, Cecilia thought to herself.
Zeke’s party had just taken down three Gorgon Hounds.
And they did it quite flawlessly.
‘Well, they’re not particularly strong monsters.’
Cecilia had fought Gorgon Hounds before.
Back then, it was also three of them, and they all turned to ash with a single spell from Cecilia.
That’s how powerful of a mage Cecilia was.
Not that anyone here knew that.
“Cecilia, shouldn’t we help out next time?”
Marco spoke up beside her.
“It’s a cooperative quest, after all. It feels a bit off to just let them do all the fighting.”
“Leave them be. They said they’d handle it.”
“Hmm…”
Marco looked like he wanted to fight.
It wasn’t so much that he wanted to help Zeke’s party, but more that he was itching for action.
“We’ll have our turn soon enough.”
Cecilia stared into the darkness of the underground passage as she spoke.
A faint smile appeared on her lips.
“Save your strength until then.”
“…Understood.”
Marco turned his gaze.
He wanted to check on Lucy, who was walking behind them.
‘By now, monsters have appeared, so she should be getting scared…’
But Lucy was just calmly petting the fairy in her arms.
“Hey, kid.”
Marco approached Lucy.
Since Cecilia had told him to save his strength, there was no need to maintain formation right now.
“Aren’t you scared at all?”
Marco studied Lucy’s face closely.
Maybe she was pretending not to be scared.
But Lucy’s face was completely calm.
“…This is a really scary place. Those monsters earlier were nothing. Soon, even more terrifying monsters might appear. Like a giant snake with multiple heads that could swallow a kid like you in one bite…”
“Not scared, nor interested.”
“…”
Marco was disappointed.
“Well, if you get scared, let me know. I might look like this, but I’m pretty good with a sword, you know? See that guy Zeke up there? The one acting like the boss? I’m just as good as him, I swear.”
“Get lost.”
Brian stepped in at that moment.
“Why are you getting so close to Lucy? You’re acting suspicious.”
“Ah.”
Marco waved his hands.
“I don’t have any ulterior motives. I just thought the kid might be scared.”
“Whether Lucy’s scared or not is none of your business.”
“True, but I was just worried…”
“Who are you to worry about Lucy? You just met her today.”
He had a point.
Marco had only just met Lucy today, and they had no connection.
Yet, he kept paying attention to her because,
“She’s cute… I’ve never seen a kid this cute before…”
Simply because Lucy was adorable.
“What the hell, you creep?”
Brian made a disgusted face.
“Is that your thing?”
“No, no! It’s not like that. I just…”
Just then.
“Prepare for battle!!”
Zeke’s voice rang out from the front.
Another monster had appeared.
Marco looked ahead.
“Huh.”
And his expression turned to one of surprise.
“Why is that actually…”
The monster that had appeared.
It was the very monster Marco had just described.
A giant snake with multiple heads.
Its name was Hydra.
Hydras were quite tricky to deal with.
If you cut off one head, two would grow back, making it stronger. To kill it, you had to target its body.
However, the Hydra’s body had high magic resistance and could heal quickly, so normal attacks wouldn’t work.
You needed a special method to kill it.
“Maintain formation!”
Zeke raised his sword and shouted.
The Hydra moved its multiple heads independently, attacking, but Zeke’s party members held their ground, casting defensive spells.
Meanwhile, Zeke and one swordsman charged from both sides, driving their swords into the Hydra’s body.
“Grah!”
The Hydra’s heads screamed in unison.
But it wasn’t a fatal wound.
A wound like that would heal in no time.
“Prepare magic!”
Zeke pulled the sword out of the Hydra’s body.
Then, he swung his sword with all his might, cutting off one of the Hydra’s heads.
Swish!
The Hydra’s head fell to the ground with a thud.
Smoke rose from the severed neck as two new heads began to grow.
“Attack!”
The waiting members of Zeke’s party cast their spells.
Boom!!
The Hydra’s body shattered into fragments.
The Hydra’s body had high magic resistance, but there was a moment when it became vulnerable.
That moment was when its heads were regrowing.
During that brief window, its magic resistance disappeared, so the most effective way to kill a Hydra was to cut off its heads and then target its body with magic.
Author Note
A/N (Author’s note):
Oh, I have to do a follow up…
Translator Note
T/N (Translator’s note):
Ending at a cliffhanger is devious~ What a devious author~!
Placeholders
0 Comments