I ran.

The Black Wolf leaps out in front of me. With the quickness characteristic of a sheikh, I lowered my stance, accelerated even more, and plunged my right arm, knife and all, into the large mouth he had opened. The wolf closes his mouth and my knife destroys his head from the inside at the same time.

Gah!

The Black Wolf screams out a wordless cry and dies. The fangs that had bitten deep into his right arm disappeared into mist, along with the body itself. Next!

It manages to evade a flying killer-bad bite attack--and grabs its leg.

--Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

He swung at the struggling Killer-Budd and caught the huge club wielded by Hobgoblin A with the Killer-Budd.

--The Hobgoblin A's club was caught by the Hobgoblin A.

A giant bat makes a sickening noise and stops moving. Before its form turns to mist,

--Gosh!

Hobgoblin A clubs me again. I roll over and just barely lose it, and I cut the tendon in his ankle with my knife, causing him to roll over,

'--Oh, oh, oh, oh!

I used Hob A as a springboard, jumped over the heads of the two that came thudding in from behind ( ), and plunged my knife into the brain of Hob D, who was standing there like an idiot. He died instantly. But the knife broke. One more.

--Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, oh, God, ......!

The rabid monkey behind Hob barks when he sees me. A killer that even a level 15 warrior could take down in a fight.

'..................'

I don't understand the logic. I don't know why. But I follow my instincts and read his breath. When he exhales, it turns cloudy white and the surrounding mist enters his mouth. It's a momentary blind date. The moment the rampaging monkey exhales..,

Boom!

I suck in a breath and save up my strength, and my assault pierces through the fog and strikes the rampaging monkey.

What the hell?

A living creature is most skittish immediately after exhaling. I wasn't thinking about such a thing at that time, but it was just a "feeling", but I still succeeded in making the rampaging macaque stiffen.

My knife goes into his neck as if it were being sucked into his neck. But..,

--Pakiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin

It broke easily in front of his thick, hard skin. The hardening is broken, and the rampaging monkey strikes back. A swing with his left arm, however, smashed into my side, knocking me off my feet with a loud thud.

Crack, crack, crack!

Sparks are flying in front of my eyes. Strangely enough, I'm still alive. It's a good thing I jumped backward as quickly as I did. I took less damage than I thought. Two hobbits swing their weapons down on me. I hold my breath and roll back to avoid them. Good thing I'm a sheik. But I have no weapon.

I fall back, catch my breath, and stand up. I stand up, fists open and low. Diego had taught me sword and body techniques, but I wondered how well they would work against a monster.

--I should have been a martial artist. ......!

Hob B the hatchet man in front, Hob C the cudgel man behind him, and the cudgel hob in the back, limping around with a severed tendon in his leg, with a rampaging monkey glaring at me beside him. A hopeless situation.

Still, I breathe in and out.

I can still breathe.

I am still alive.

Then I will not give up until the end.



...... I don't know yet at this time. I don't know yet that this is a space dense with magical elements. The experience gained from breathing it is incomparably higher than that of the first layer.

That the job level has already exceeded "15" with ease.

I had no way of knowing.



--Aaah!

The enemy howls.

Just in time, a hatchet-wielding hob attacks. A strange phenomenon strikes me. It seems to move slowly, as if in slow motion. I can also see the cudgel-bearer behind me attacking in unison with the guy in front of me. I jump.

--Boom!

The club grazes me and hits the front hob in the gut. I leap forward and hit the right arm of the front hob - the right arm with the hatchet.

--Give me that!

Kogiri.

I jump on Hobb's right arm in the air, twist it, and take the hatchet from him,

'......Olaaah!

He slices the brain of the cudgeled Hob in half with his hatchet, and decapitates the staggering hatchet-hob.

--Gosh!

--Oh, my God!

Hobs fell down with a thud, and soon became mist. The one that had been flailing about was put to the sword. Now all the Hobbits are dead.

Hob's hatchet is still there. It has become a drop item. That's good. Big exhale.

'Whew... ......'.

I feel a rush of power welling up in my body. If you defeat a powerful monster, you gain a lot of experience. Now, at this moment, I have the "feeling" that I am much stronger than when I was lying here earlier.

The feeling that my "level" has become stronger.

Is this it?

The rampaging monkey is roaring at me. It doesn't attack me at all. It's wary. I feel that the monkey, who just a moment ago I saw only as a prey, has suddenly become stronger.



'Let's go, Prine is waiting for us.

I told him so and charged at him again.

It was the same attack as a minute ago, and I hadn't even read his "breath" - the rampaging monkey couldn't even react, and his head was cracked open and he turned to mist.

I run with the force of the attack.

--Prine!

With my upgraded "detection" skill, I had seen "three reactions" around Prine.





'What the hell are you doing?
How did you get here, Hogekko!

I took the shortest route to Prine's place, tapped the two men who had their backs to me on the shoulders and made them turn around, and then I hit each of them in the solar plexus with my fist and elbow, knocking them out.

I would hand them over to the guild later.

Wait a minute!

He stops a man in black robes holding a prine who is walking toward the back of the room.

'............'

He paused for a moment and then started walking again.

At that moment, I had already jumped out of the way. With a hatchet in my right hand, I crawl low, low, and close. Power surged through me with each step. But more than that, what takes control of me is..,

'--Give me back my prine!

Just before the black-robed back came within striking range of the hatchet, the prine flew in. No, the man shot the prine toward us.

--What?

Immediately after I hurriedly stopped him, his black-robed left hand twisted and twisted. Reflexively, I bring my hatchet forward and rotate it with my wrist.

clang clang clang!

Knives bounced off the hatchet scatter around the room. Throwing knives!

'...... did you just see that?

A black robe muttering in a whisper. If you don't listen carefully, you can't make out what he's saying.

'...... run out,' he says.

In mid-sentence, the black robe disappears. A cold sensation on the back of my neck. A chill like I've never felt since I was born. If I turn around, I'll die. If I look back, I'll die.

Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

As quickly as I could, I felt a sharp shock from the hatchet protecting my neck. I turn around and counterattack, but the enemy is retreating like a shadow. Oh no. That really almost killed me.

Then I realize my blunder. I was in his crosshairs when I listened ( ) carefully.

'...... now, play it, or...'.

He speaks in a muffled whisper. The voice is barely audible, and the tone is muffled and featureless.

With a shudder, I became convinced as I held up my hatchet.

--This guy is an Assassin, a high-level Thief... ......!