Level-up Maniac, Level up in Modern Dungeons - Episode 19

　He stepped between the Goblin Knight and the woman with the injured leg. At that moment, a voice said, “Eh!?” from behind him.

 

　Unfortunately, this is no time to leisurely exchange greetings.

 

　I raised my voice and told the woman.

 

“I’ll help you! Do you have any potions or anything!?”

 

“Huh?! Ah, uh… N-no! I don’t have it!!”

 

　The Goblin Knights were wary of my sudden appearance and didn’t attack right away.

 

　And to make matters worse, or perhaps to be expected, the woman doesn’t seem to have any potions. Well, that’s to be expected for an explorer active on the third floor.

 

　However, this meant that the woman’s option of healing her leg and running away was gone. She didn’t know if she could win, but the only way to get out of this situation was to defeat the Goblin Knight – or so she thought, but…

 

“B-But! I can use healing magic!”

 

　Seriously? If he already has healing magic while struggling against the Goblin Knight, that means he probably had it from the start.

 

　This woman was apparently what they call a “talented explorer.”

 

　I was quite surprised, but it’s a good thing.

 

“Then I’ll buy you some time! Use that time to heal your injured leg!”

 

“Y-Yes!!”

 

　The moment the woman nodded, the Goblin Knight also began to move.

 

　I sprinted towards the Goblin Knight, who was closing in with his shield ready to take no chances.

 

　I didn’t have a shield, so going on the defensive wasn’t a good idea. With the same momentum as my sprint, I slammed my sword into the Goblin Knight’s shield, just like a warrior would normally do.

 

“Owwww!!!”

 

　*Bang!!* A thunderous sound like an explosion echoed.

 

My current status after being strengthened with 《Fighting Spirit》 is this.

 

————————————————–

 

Strength 63 (+28)

 

Sturdy 47 (+21)

 

Intelligence: 6

 

《Spirit》12

 

《Agility》72 (+32)

 

Dexterity: 30

 

————————————————–

 

　A four times more powerful attack launched with a strength value of 63.

 

　On the ground, the force would have been enough to easily shatter a rather large rock, but the Goblin Knight only retreated slightly.

 

　Unlike the Warrior, he doesn’t get blown away and doesn’t lose his balance.

 

“Tch!!”

 

“――――”

 

　I launched a series of slashes, one after the other. However, the Goblin Knight easily blocked them all with his shield,

 

“That was close!?”

 

　He then deflects the sword with his shield and takes advantage of the opening by thrusting his long sword.

 

　I dodged it with an exaggeratedly large leap to the side.

 

“This guy is difficult to deal with…!!”

 

“――――”

 

　He immediately approached the Goblin Knight after landing. He attacked boldly, not wanting to allow the Goblin Knight to take any unnecessary action.

 

　Every time the sword struck the shield, a thunderous explosion rang out, but the Goblin Knight didn’t seem to be holding back. On the contrary, he felt a gaze from inside his helmet, calmly observing him.

 

　Because of the full-face armor, it is impossible to read the expression or gaze of the other person. This creates an eerie illusion, as if you are facing some unknown entity.

 

　In addition–,

 

“Oww! Oww! Tsk! You’re good at this, you bastard…!!”

 

　His use of the shield, or rather, his fighting style, is skillful.

 

　Even though it was full body armor, there were parts that looked like they could be damaged by a sword due to their structure. The armor was thin on the inside of the joints, so it looked like it could be cut with a sword if aimed at those spots.

 

　However, the other side must be well aware of that. His wrists, elbows, armpits, the backs of his knees, and hips – he tried to target those parts many times, but they were easily dodged or blocked with a shield.

 

　In terms of fighting skills, the Goblin Knights were overwhelmingly superior.

 

　The reason he was able to fight now, however small, was simply because his abilities were superior.

 

　The superiority of those ability scores was also due to his fighting spirit.

 

　After fighting like this, I feel that the Goblin Knight’s ability values ​​- especially his Strength and Agility – are not that different from mine at all. They are clearly over 50.

 

　The Goblin Knights that appear on the 5th floor are between level 9 and 11, so no matter what, they shouldn’t have such high ability values. If the information on the strategy wiki is correct, they should be around 40 to 45 at most. In that case, this guy is a Goblin Knight that normally appears on the 6th floor or later.

 

　And my base strength and agility are 35 and 40, respectively.

 

If he were no longer able to maintain his fighting spirit, he would be overwhelmed in both skill and ability, and would be killed in an instant.

 

　The only silver lining to this is that, because he is wearing heavy full body armor, his reaction time is fast, but his legs are slow.

 

　Probably, if a woman learns to run, she can escape — or so she thinks!

 

　I hope that’s the case!

 

　So big sis, please hurry up!!

 

　It seems my prayers reached the heavens, as Onee-san finally speaks up.

 

“T-Treatment is over!”

 

　The moment that voice reached her, there was a loud bang on the Goblin Knight’s shield. The Goblin Knight retreated slightly. I also jumped behind her, putting some distance between us and quickly checking on my sister,

 

“-That’s no good!!”

 

　He yelled in a sorrowful mood, dodging a blow from an approaching Goblin Knight and returning to the battle.

 

　When he checked on the woman, she was barely able to stand with the support of a cane and was protecting her injured left leg.

 

　There was no need to lie in this situation, so she must have used healing magic to treat him, but…

 

“It’s okay!”

 

“You’re lying! And you can run like that!?”

 

“Maybe!”

 

“Maybe it isn’t good enough!!!”

 

　Why are you lying?!

 

　It seems like the pain hasn’t gone away at all!?

 

　It wasn’t my sister who answered my question.

 

『Hinata-chan’s healing magic is not yet strong enough to completely heal serious injuries in a short amount of time!!』

 

“My HP has recovered, but I still can’t run!”

 

“Recovering HP and treating injuries are not the same thing!”

 

“Serious injuries need to be treated in a calm and relaxed environment!”

 

“Please, Janki-niki! Help Hinata-chan!”

 

“Don’t abandon me!”

 

　The voice of a female Voiceroid, who for some reason I personally got the impression that she liked garlic, was coming from a drone camera floating near the girl.

 

　Apparently it was being streamed. I guess the voice of Voiceroid is a function to read out the comments.

 

　I can’t imagine that it was just suddenly turned on, so maybe she had been saying something just now, and I just hadn’t noticed.

 

　While fighting the Goblin Knight, he ponders this thought and then thinks some more.

 

　With her legs like that, Onee-san can’t escape from the Goblin Knights. Having said that, it’s also impossible for me to let Onee-san escape while I’m buying time. If Onee-san encounters other goblins alone, she’ll most likely be killed.

 

　Then, how about I pick up my sister and run away?

 

　It might be possible to make it work just fine, but the problem would be…

 

“Is that guy lying there still alive?!”

 

　Ask.

 

“……!!”

 

　Buzz buzz, the older sister shook her head with a sad look on her face, and the viewers followed suit.

 

“Unfortunately, Gouda is gone!”

 

“Gouda was a brave man!”

 

“I will never forget Gouda!”

 

　I see. So there’s no need to worry about that guy over there.

 

　Then let’s take a gamble and go for it!

 

“Jellybaaaah!!”

 

“—-!!”

 

　Bang bang!! He slammed his sword down repeatedly, forcing the Goblin Knight to retreat.

 

　At that moment, I took a big leap backwards, put some distance between us, then turned on my heels and sprinted towards my sister.

 

“I’ll grab my sister and run away!!”

 

　I won’t listen to your reply. I don’t have time for that.

 

“Huh? Kyaaaahh — ugh!”

 

　He crouched down and hugged his older sister as if tackling her, then put his left arm around her waist and lifted her onto his shoulders.

 

　He ran towards the exit of the hall, towards the passageway–

 

“–, it’s no good!!”

 

“Kyaaa?!”

 

　I was sorry, but I threw my sister down onto the floor.

 

　He quickly turned around, blocked a blow from the Goblin Knight who was closer than he had expected, and pulled him away with a front kick to put some distance between them.

 

　As I fought the Goblin Knight again, I called out to my sister.

 

“I’m sorry! I can’t run away with my sister in my arms!”

 

　As soon as we started running, I realized that she was over 40 kilograms. I don’t know how much she weighs, but even if I were to estimate it conservatively, it would be over 40 kilograms.

 

　His ability values ​​were now at a superhuman level, so he could run with ease, but that didn’t mean his speed wouldn’t drop. In addition, carrying a person on his shoulders while running was more unstable and burdensome than he had expected.

 

　It would probably be easier to run in the Goblin Knight’s full body armor, since the weight would be distributed evenly across the body.

 

　At worst, if we encounter a group of goblins while we’re running away, we’ll be pinched in front and behind and out. I judged that there was no way I could carry Onee-san on my back and pass through the side of the group of goblins in the narrow passage without getting hurt.

 

　In other words, despite what I said, it’s impossible to carry your sister and run away!!

 

“Don’t mess with me, correct it!”

 

“Hinata-chan isn’t fat! She just has big b00bs and a big butt!”

 

“Shut up! This is not the time to be saying things like that!”

 

　In this emergency, you’re babbling about irrelevant things!!

 

“Eeeeehhh!! I’m so sorry!!”

 

　And then my sister starts crying.

 

　Of course, I don’t have time to comfort her.

 

　Since there was no escape, there was only one option left.

 

“Onee-san! Do you still have any MP left?!”

 

“Y-yes!!”

 

“Then use healing magic to restore my HP!!”

 

　Make up your mind.

 

『What?! Janky-niki, are you planning to fight?!』

 

“Your opponent is a Goblin Knight!?”

 

　Viewers comment like that, but we have no choice but to do it.

 

　I gripped the hilt of my sword tightly and shouted.

 

“I’ll defeat him here!!”