ch61-ch80 · 064-ch64

Chapter 64: Forest Ogre

His back.

I can see it now.

I accelerate even more.

I catch up to the two spear-wielding Orc Knights.

I'm still using [Presence Concealment].

Aiming for the neck is second nature to me by now.

Stab, then pull out sideways.

That leaves just one spear-wielder.

Ah, he's noticed me.

But I ignore him and dash upward.

(The General. Still alive, huh.)

Despite having holes in both the front and back of his neck, he's trying to stand up.

I'd heard his HP was so high he wouldn't die easily, but this is something else.

Still, even kneeling, he's wobbling unsteadily.

One more hit.

I aim for the eye.

A running strike.

I time it so the spear gets sucked into his eye, then let go of the rental spear.

The General, taking a spear to the head while kneeling, topples over backward.

"Borrowing this... No, I'm taking it."

I pick up the halberd that had fallen near the Orc General.

The General isn't moving.

He should be dead this time.

Then the spear-wielding Orc Knight comes up.

One on one.

Even with a halberd's long reach, the orc is massive.

Going straight for the head might be difficult.

He charges in with his spear.

Just a straightforward thrust.

I can just dodge to the side.

I hop sideways and swing the halberd horizontally in passing.

Right at the back of his knee.

When I cleared Floor 20 last time, I properly observed the Knights' armor.

There's no armor on the inside of joints—the backs of elbows and knees.

A strike from behind... well, from the side really, cuts halfway through the orc's knee.

The Orc Knight doesn't just collapse—he practically rolls forward as he falls.

He dropped his spear when he fell, but even while crawling, he reaches out to grab it.

"You've got some serious determination."

But he's full of openings.

I swing the halberd down with all my might at the helmet of the Orc Knight lying on his back reaching out his hand.

Will it crack the helmet? I wanted to know.

Crunch.

Not cracked so much as crushed.

Hmm. Not dead yet.

"I'll finish you off."

This time I swing the halberd down at the base of his neck.

Not exactly clean... but his head came off.

In the end, I couldn't crack the helmet, but the halberd is pretty easy to use.

It can damage limbs even through armor.

Maybe it's the centrifugal force, or the axe-like design.

Against Orc Knights, this might be the better choice.

"Well then, time to collect the loot."

Starting with the weapons.

Spear, hammer, sword and shield, bow and arrows.

I think I'll skip the staff.

Leaving that one.

Now, the magic stones.

"Okay then. Strip, strip we go~"

I collected the magic stones and the second Orc General's armor, but I'll just report that there was no nosebleed this time.

"Should I test the nagamaki next?"

I move to the other side of the 'Left Gate' and store the halberd in the warehouse.

The rental spear too.

I draw the nagamaki from its scabbard.

I flick the blade.

It makes a nice kiiin sound.

This is a good weapon.

"Don't need the scabbard, right?"

I'll leave the scabbard in the warehouse.

Through the 'Right Gate' to Floor 20.

Then straight to the 'Gate to Floor 21.'

Against armored Orc Knights, the nagamaki probably couldn't show its true potential.

I'll test it on Floor 21.

The enemies from Floor 21 onward are an ogre subspecies called Forest Ogres.

As the name suggests, they're ogres that live in forests, and from Floor 21 onward it becomes a forest area.

Their green tiger-striped skin is supposedly as hard as iron.

Ogres are monsters that fight bare-handed without weapons, and the horn on their head is their distinguishing feature.

Their height is about the same as orcs, around two and a half meters.

They're muscular, and apparently their meat tastes terrible.

Unlike the plump pig-faced, hairy orcs, their faces are closer to humans, so unsurprisingly no one eats ogre meat.

Kensei-chan probably wouldn't eat it either.

Ogres themselves appear in some dungeons as early as Floor 10, so Forest Ogres are technically a higher-tier variant.

Like regular ogres, they attack bare-handed, but they also attack with hard claws.

But as Floor 20 monsters go, they're probably on the weaker side.

Their drops—horns and claws—are about as hard as iron, so for now they only sell to enthusiasts.

The only thing worth picking up is the magic stone.

Compared to monsters from other dungeons, they're weak but have terrible drops—the perfect Chiba Dungeon and headquarters dungeon specialty monster.

([Presence Concealment].)

I erase my presence and make my way through the forest.

My current level is 24.

Based on trends so far, I probably won't need to level up until I enter Floor 24.

I'll avoid unnecessary battles and move on immediately whenever I find the next 'Floor Gate.'

That said, I want to test the nagamaki on this floor first.

This nagamaki should be the same length as the rental spear, but the handle is shorter, so holding it somehow feels shorter.

Oh, first ogre spotted.

Ogres don't travel in groups.

They might join fights already in progress, but basically they're solo.

Hmm? He hasn't noticed me.

A wicked grin spreads across my face.

[Presence Concealment] seems to be working.

From tree to tree, I approach while hiding my form.

Rustle, rustle rustle, rustle rustle rustle.

I circle around to his back and strike from behind.

(Hard.)

I cut diagonally from upper right to lower left across his back, but it's shallower than expected.

I felt the hit, but it didn't cut deep.

"Guh, guh."

The ogre kneels, enduring the fall.

Then the neck it is.

I thrust.

It stabbed right into his throat just as he was turning around.

"..."

Both arms hang limp, and he appears to have died sitting there.

"Hmm."

Even with a surprise attack, I couldn't take him down in one hit.

I look at the nagamaki.

No blade damage.

Was my technique bad?

The diagonal cut might not have been good either.

Next time should I swing horizontally from behind to behead him?

No, before that, I should test that with [Charge・Spear]...

"I hadn't tested [Search] either. [Search]... Second ogre spotted. Three, four, five, wow, there are quite a few. Hmm? This must be the 'Gate to Floor 20.' The gate I came in from. It's nice that 'Floor Gates' show up on [Search] too. No response from the 'Gate to Floor 22.' Out of range, I guess."

I hadn't been paying attention to how 'Floor Gates' appear in [Search], but the image that came to mind just now had a strange crack in it.

Based on direction, it's definitely the 'Gate to Floor 20.'

But finding the next 'Floor Gate' from within the forest will be tough.

I'm pretty sure there was a [Ninja] making videos about fastest clears to Floor 29 in all dungeons.

They must have had videos of the Chiba Dungeon too, so maybe I can learn the locations of the 'Floor Gates' from those.

I'll download them to my smartphone when I go outside at noon.