Chapter 15
「「Picked up~」」
Allen and Elena collect drop items and run up to me with their small hands full.
They seem to properly remember what I was doing in the seven floors until now.
「Thank you. Are you unhurt?」
I receive the items and pat the two children’s head who nod.
「Oniichan will go and have a talk with these people, can you two go and pick up more in the meantime?」
「「Un!」」
There are still many drop items the two weren’t able to carry so when I request them to pick them up, the two energetically answer me. They look overjoyed. To think they would be so happy just because of my request, these children are seriously cute! I pa.s.s a jute bag to the kids, tell them to put the items in that and send them off.
Then, I turn around and look back at the boys and girls adventurers who were escaping.
「Now then, have you activated a trap?」
「We are terribly sorry!」
They are not prostrating as Syl normally does, but the boys and girls are bowing down enough that their body height halved.
They seem to understand correctly.
The adventurers have unspoken rules.
To explain it simply――
・The monster priority goes to the party/adventurer who attacked it first.
・Drop item belongs to the one who defeats the monster. However, if he leaves it without picking it up, it’s considered as abandoned and other adventurers can pick it up without a complaint.
・Interfering is prohibited unless asked for help.
These are the unspoken rules.
In addition to these, there’s one more important thing. Only this one unlike other is considered a crime.
That is――
・Monster scapegoating act.
It’s considered the most vicious act.
The scapegoating act these boys and girls did――is a crime.
The act of running away from a monster and involving a nearby person on the way happened quite frequently in the past.
That is still not that bad.
What is even worse is, pulling an aggro and deliberately scapegoating another person. The case of where the scapegoat died are many. With the scapegoat dying, they will then defeat the wounded monster themselves.
Because these things occurred so frequently, it’s now being treated as a crime.
「Maa, I understand you didn’t do it on purpose」
These boys and girls probably ran away because they really felt in danger. The monsters weren’t that strong, but these children couldn’t handle it because there were dozens of them.
Besides, I wouldn’t be so forgiving if they escaped after pa.s.sing us, but they properly stopped and told us to run away. That earned them a good evaluation from me.
「…… Yes. There was a hidden room and when we opened it to take a look……」
「Hidden room, huh. That has triggered the defense mechanism… You seem to be reflecting on your mistake, so I won’t pursue this matter anymore. I will overlook it this time, but be more careful in the future, okay?」
It’s not like we suffered any damage, and they seem to be reflecting on it. Therefore I won’t noisily nag them anymore.
At any rate, to
「「Many~!」」
Just when we finished speaking, Allen and Elena trotted over with bag full of materials.
「Thanks you. Are you not tired?」
「「We al~right」」
I receive the bag full of materials and pat the children’s heads.
「「Ah! There~」」
「N?」
「Uwaaa! A Poison Spider!!」
Allen and Elena point at the ceiling while having their heads patted.
I look up and see a Poison Spider hanging there.
The boys and girls look towards the place Allen and Elena are pointing and make a fuss.
As the name suggest Poison Spider is a 1m dark red venomous spider. It doesn’t have a lethal poison, but it’s poison will inflict strong paralyzation.
This spider excels at stealth, it will bite a person from behind, once the person stops moving it will capture him/her in its thread, and it will bring the person back to its nest still alive.
The poison can be immediately detoxified if there are companions around, but if alone, the venomous bite will become fatal. Therefore, this monster is responsible for many adventurer fatalities.
「《Air Shot》」
I hit the Poison Spider hanging from the ceiling with magic. The crushed Poison Spider falls to the ground and turns into a drop item. The Poison Spider’s drop item seems to be its poison. For some reason, it was already in a bottle when it fell to the ground.
Dungeon is really a mysterious place. Just where did this bottle appeared from……
「…… It was defeated immediately」
「N? The Poison Spider doesn’t have that much fighting ability if you are careful of its stealth, right?」
「Nono, you can’t defeat it that quickly. Fist, we can’t even reach it!」
「Well, it’s impossible with a sword, but don’t you have someone who can use magic in the party? If you don’t, you should have someone with a bow or throwing knives, right?」
「That is……」
There may not be anyone who can use magic by the swords hanging from everyone’s waist. However, if done right, even these boys and girls should be able to defeat a Poison Spider.
Even if they can’t beat it in one blow, it’s possible to defeat the Poison Spider with a well-placed arrow or a knife.
「I don’t see anyone carrying a bow which leaves throwing…… do you perhaps lack a long distance attack?」
「As expected, is that bad?」
Children of this age probably think that magic and bow is too dull compared to a sword.
「No. It’s not like it’s absolutely indispensable. But, I believe it will increase the broadness of attacks you can use. The offensive power may be certainly lower than that of a sword, but it has a potential to shoot stuff down just like I did earlier, and it’s also usable to distract the opponent. Besides, you don’t need to abandon your primary weapon with throwing knives. It’s also all right to use stones instead of throwing knives」
「…… Stones. I see!」
「Arrows and Throwing Knives are consumables, after all. Purchasing them at lower ranks is hard」
Arrows and Throwing knives are cheap but fragile. They may get ruined after a single use. Their costs would then start piling up.
Of course, there are more durable ones, but they are something that low ranked adventurers can’t possibly get.
In comparison, stones on the ground are free. Depending on the size and hardness, a stone can become a satisfactory weapon.
「Ah, again~」
「Kita~」
Allen and Elena found another Poison Spider on the ceiling.
「Allen will throw~」
「Elena too~」
「N?」
Saying that, both Allen and Elena pick up a baseball size stone from the ground…… and throw.
――Dokon!
Eh!?
A loud noise of a direct hit resounds.
It doesn’t look like it was enough to finish it, but the Poison Spider falls on the ground while twitching.
「「It fell~!」」
『Eeeh!?』
The boys and girls let out shocked voices at the sight of the Poison Spider getting hit by children younger than them.
Ah, this reminds me, the two have a throwing skill… it also seems to have a reasonable proficiency.
The twitching Poison Spider stops moving and transforms into a drop item. It died.
「These children……」
The boys and girls are in a great shock.
Un. Allen and Elena are extraordinary. You must not compare yourselves to them!
We parted from the boys and girls who returned to the surface and resumed the capturing.