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Part 1
Ah, this was definitely the end.
This was only a D-rank dungeon; the lowest rank. The monsters here were considered relatively weak, as far as monsters go. It should’ve been the perfect place for a party of new adventurers like us to test our skills.
We had made it to the third of four sub-levels, fighting our way through small packs of goblins and giant lizards, and other such cave denizens. Thus far it had been fairly easy-going. And so we let our guard down.
Then the hobgoblin attacked.
Hobgoblins were a larger, tougher, and smarter evolution of goblin. But there were four of us, and only one of them. We should’ve been able to take it on.
We greatly underestimated just how tired we truly were.
I don’t know how long we’ve been down here. It’s hard to track the passage of time without the sky to refer to, but surely it couldn’t have been more than a couple hours since we entered the dungeon. Yet it suddenly felt like it had been days since we last rested.
We had been pushing forward non-stop, running on excitement and adrenaline. We should’ve taken more breaks, should’ve moved at a more measured pace.
We should not have come down here.
We entered this dungeon without a proper understanding of our own limits, limits which this hobgoblin was more than pleased to show us. We fought as best we could, the three men with me swinging their weapons one after the other in turn, as I fired off magic whenever I had a clear shot. But our movements were slow from exhaustion, and the hobgoblin simply danced about, effortlessly dodging or blocking our attacks, allowing us to tire ourselves even further.
This had gone on for a few minutes, minutes which seemed stretched well beyond their normally allotted sixty seconds. And before long, other goblins started to appear, both in front of and behind us. It was too much for us. So we ran.
Or, more accurately, the other three ran.
Swinging their weapons wildly to keep the assembling goblins at bay, the three men I was counting on to protect me so I could cast my magic safely all scurried away the way we came, without a single glance behind them. If they had bothered to look back, they might have noticed that I had tripped on my damn robe in my rush to follow them.
In the time it took me to regain my footing, the goblins had reformed their ranks and begun closing in on me. If I could just launch one big spell...
It was no good. I couldn’t concentrate under the circumstances. And even if I could, I didn’t have the strength left for a spell big enough to clear a path for my escape. And what if there were even more monsters I’d have to fight by myself before I caught up with those cowards who left me behind?
It was definitely the end...
Or it would have been, if my hero hadn’t suddenly appeared.
Part 2
At first I didn’t recognise her for the hero she was. Through my tears I could only make out a flash of dark fur and some very non-human ears. She moved so quickly and crushed the goblins so viciously that I thought I was about to become prey for an even greater monster.
“Oi. You OK?”
It took a moment to register that she was speaking to me.
“...Hey, anyone in there?”
And another moment to comprehend her words.
“Ah! Y-yes, I’m fine. Err, a bit sore, but not injured.”
She grunted in acknowledgement, and looked around as though she only just now noticed the dozen brutalised monster corpses littering the dungeon floor.
“So they just abandoned you here to save their own skin, huh?”
“They? ...Oh! Y-you mean you ran into my party members?”
“Three weak-lookin’ ‘tough guys’ with swords in their hands and piss in their pants? Hmm... actually I think the one had an axe...”
Well, I guess it’s a good thing if they got away safely. I wouldn’t have the chance to be cross with them later if they had died.
“Well never mind them. The urge to change their underwear probably has them making a beeline for the exit. Anyway, you look like you haven’t taken a break in hours. How about you rest up a bit.” She sniffed at the air. “Seems like I’m not in any hurry anyway.”
I took her up on that suggestion and sat down, choosing to ignore the carnage around us in favour of making a proper inspection of my saviour. She wasn’t even sweating, so I felt confident she would easily be able to protect me if the smell of blood attracted any other monsters.
Speaking of blood, there was quite a bit of it on her hands and feet. Which stood to reason, as she seemed to be unarmed; she had crushed the goblins and hobgoblin bare-handed, and was now licking the blood from her fur...
Ah! She was beastkin. That was why I mistook her for a monster in my terror. Though her build was similar to a human’s, she had the ears of a cat, and black fur covered her limbs. If not for the white bandages wrapped around her forearms and calves, I might not have even noticed the blood spattered on such dark hair.
I hope I wasn’t staring too long. Beastkin were an uncommon sight in this part of the continent, so I was a little excited to be able to interact with one, despite the circumstances.
Though I suppose I should start by showing the gratitude I had so rudely delayed.
“Um... t-thank you so much for rescuing me.”
“Hmm, welcome.” She waved off my tanks as though this was just business as usual for her. “Well then, if you’re rested enough, what’s your plan from here?”
“Err, my plan?” Our goal had been to conquer this dungeon, thus proving to ourselves that we had what it takes to be a proper adventurer party. This meant exploring the deepest level of the dungeon, finding the boss’ room, and defeating said boss.
It didn’t really make much sense, why dungeons always had a room in which a powerful monster was waiting. How did that monster survive, just sitting around waiting for a challenger? Why did a new monster take its place within a day of it being defeated?
In fact, there were a lot of mysteries surrounding dungeons in general, but none of that really mattered right now. What mattered was there was no way I was taking on the boss by myself. And even if those cowards I came here with did return for me, we probably weren’t ready if we had this much trouble just getting there.
Even trying to escape by myself seemed dangerous. The beastkin woman apparently agreed, for as I was gathering my thoughts, she remarked: “I have business on the floor below, so it would be a nuisance to have to escort you back to the entrance. The others probably figure you for dead by now and don’t have the guts to come check. So you might as well just follow me. We can take the teleportation circle after the boss room once I’m done here.”
Another mystery of dungeons: there was always a teleportation circle in a room that unlocked after the boss was defeated, which would transport anyone who stepped in it back outside the dungeon entrance. Then did this mean she planned on conquering the dungeon herself? Is that why she happened to be in here behind us?
With her strength, it should be an easy enough task, even by herself. Someone weak like me would only be a liability for her. But she was the one who invited me, so I should probably take her up on that offer, before she has second thoughts.
“Ah! Yes, please! My name’s Lena. I-I’ll try not to get in your way!”
Oops. Perhaps I should’ve said something more confident. Now it just sounded like I was leeching off her strength. Just because it was true, doesn’t mean I should be so blatant about it.
“Sable”, she responded with a smirk, as though acknowledging my helplessness. “C’mon then.” She adjusted her backpack and started off ahead of me.
It wouldn’t do to keep my hero waiting. I rushed to her side, and so began our journey to the dungeon’s final floor.
Part 3
And a curiously uneventful journey it was proving to be, as we hadn’t come across a single monster since pairing up. Our dungeon adventure had transformed into a peaceful stroll, punctuated by friendly conversation. Or to be more accurate: by Miss Sable calmly lecturing me about my naiveté regarding adventuring.
“Everyone gets overconfident at the start, thinking as long as they can swing a sword without chopping off their own leg or lob a fireball without burning off all their hair, then they’re ready to start tackling dungeons. Doesn’t occur to them to check their limits before making it a life-or-death situation. You ever play a sport? Practise a martial art?”
“N-no. I always had a talent for magic, so I focused entirely on that.” Indeed, I hadn’t spared a thought for my physical abilities, thinking it would be enough if I could keep up on a long walk. It was obvious to me now how foolish I was, even before Miss Sable admonished me.
“Being a mage is all the more reason to learn to be quick on your feet. Doesn’t matter how big your spells are if you’re getting interrupted while casting them. Even if you’re working with a reliable front line, you don’t want to make yourself an easy target. Especially if you’re lightly armoured. Are you wearing any armour?”
“Armour? No, I just have my robe...” The same robe that tripped me up while I was trying to run. Stories and paintings of famous mages always featured them in beautiful flowing robes, but I was already starting to suspect there was some artistic license involved.
“I get it, you need to be able to move freely to work your spells. But that much fabric is just going to get in your way worse than basic armour will. At the very least you should have some sort of leather vest and leggings. It won’t stop a determined attack, but it will keep the smaller cuts and scrapes from adding up. Though it would be good if you could get used to moving around in scale mail. And what about a weapon? What’s your backup if you’re in a situation where magic isn’t an option?”
“I... hadn’t thought about it. I guess I just assumed my party would cover for me.” The party I didn’t even know that well. We had merely bonded over all being new adventurers, with big dreams and little experience. We hadn’t been together long enough to build up trust in each other.
“Being in a party is a way to cover weaknesses, but it’s no excuse to stay weak. Get yourself a dagger, or something else you can wield quickly in an emergency. And an instructor who can show you how to use it properly.”
Our journey through the third and fourth levels continued in much the same fashion. Miss Sable moved on from personal admonishments to general survival advice. I did my best to pay attention to every word, but occasionally my focus would waver a bit as I wondered at the lack of resistance to our progress.
“Are there no monsters on this level?” I wondered out loud.
“Eh? Lots of ‘em,” Miss Sable responded. “Look, there’re a whole pack of goblins hiding in that rubble over there. And a few more around the corner we just came from. I was shocked to realise she was correct. Peering down one of the hallways at the crossroad we were passing, I saw at least a half-dozen goblin heads peeking from behind some boulders in the path, and a couple more sneaking around behind us. But before I could even begin the motions of a spell, they all ducked back behind cover, or ran off.
“They’re... not going to attack?”
Miss Sable snorted in response. “Most people think monsters are just mindless beasts, but they aren’t quite so stupid. At the very least, they recognise an even greater monster when they see one.”
Her smile as she said this was rather unnerving. I chose to focus instead on the fact that I was safe so long as I remained on her good side. Probably.
“But never mind them,” she said, sniffing again at the air. “Seems we’re close to our destination.”
I picked up my pace to stay close to her. “You mean we’re almost at the boss’ room?”
“The boss room is down that other hall we passed.”
I looked back in surprise. “Then, why...”
“Weren’t you listenin’ earlier? I got business down here.”
Ah, she did say that. I had simply assumed that “business” was conquering the dungeon. But thinking about it now, why would someone as strong as Miss Sable bother themselves with conquering a low-rank dungeon such as this? She had probably already done so multiple times in the past, which was why she could navigate so well without a map. But then, what did she mean by “business”?
My question would soon be answered without even asking.
Part 4
At this distance even my human nose noticed it before my eyes did. “T-that’s...”
“A corpse. Damn nuisance.”
Monster corpses, if left alone in a dungeon, would mysteriously disappear after a while. But this was a human corpse. It would remain until removed. Or, in some dungeons, be eaten.
Miss Sable set down her backpack and took out some leather gloves. Upon donning these, she began searching the body, and in no time found the poor soul’s ID plate. After a brief inspection, she replaced the plate with a sigh, and an expression that suggested she saw something she fully expected to see, but nevertheless wished she hadn’t.
“Did you... know them?”
“Never met ‘em in my life.”
She unrolled a burlap sheet that had been tied to her pack, and carefully laid the body onto it, before rolling it up and securing it with rope. “Another overconfident newbie who didn’t know what they were getting into, and wandered in here solo. Their family felt they’d been gone too long, and hired me to track them down. ‘Course no one ever has the decency to still be alive when I find them, so I have to carry them back if I want to get my full pay.”
So my hero was only here in the first place because of this unfortunate stranger. Their death is the reason I’m alive.
I have a lot of feelings about this, and I’m not wholly comfortable with any of them.
As I stood about processing my guilt, Miss Sable finished wrapping up the body, and hoist it onto her shoulder as though it weighed nothing. “Well then,” she said. “Let’s get to the boss room and get ourselves out of here. I’d rather not have to lug this one around longer than necessary.”
And so we returned back the way we came, and headed for the boss’ room.
Part 5
A bugbear.
That was what awaited us behind the door to the boss’ lair.
Bugbears were among the largest and most ferocious goblinoids, and this one was better armoured than any of the other monsters I’d seen so far in this dungeon. And I definitely didn’t want to be on the receiving end of that mace it was holding.
A rather fearsome-looking beast, but this was only a D-rank dungeon. How difficult could it truly be?
...Is what I tried to tell myself.
The experience with the hobgoblin was still quite fresh in my mind. The fear I felt at being abandoned, fear which I had yet to confront, came flooding back.
This was a dangerous monster. A monster which, even at my most confident, I could not hope to fight alone.
But I wasn’t alone. Miss Sable was here. And she would not abandon me.
Miss Sable was strong. I knew it, and so, it seemed, did the bugbear. For though it was clearly resolved to fight us, it was nevertheless cautious against rushing to the attack. Nor was Miss Sable herself in any hurry as she set down her charge against the wall, that she might free up her hands for the forthcoming battle.
I could just leave everything to her.
...No. No I could not.
She didn’t need my help. Monsters feared her, and rightfully so. She could crush the bugbear in less time than it would take me to chant even the most basic spell incantation. A weakling like me would just get in her way.
But she wouldn’t always be around to protect me. A hero like her must have more important things to do than escort a coward around low-rank dungeons.
Today, however, she was my teammate. We needed to support each other. I wouldn’t let her down.
I wouldn’t lose to my fear.
“Aye, got yer resolve back? Well then, I’ll keep it busy, while you show me what you’re capable of.”
Miss Sable believed in me. It wouldn’t do to let that belief be misplaced.
She jumped into action—quite literally: she had closed the distance between herself and the bugbear in a single bound. She then began dancing around the creature, expertly dodging the wild swinging of its mace. Much like how the hobgoblin had dodged the unskilled attacks of my former party members, but with far more grace.
This was not the time to be mesmerised. She was working to provide me an opening, and I needed to prepare a spell to make use of it. But which spell?
Most of my offensive magic relied on physical impact as much as elemental effect. The bugbear's armour would mitigate some of this damage, so for maximum effectiveness, I should aim for its exposed head. In that case...
I began preparing the spell "ice arrow".
As the name suggests, ice arrow produces a small projectile of ice. It travels quickly, and shortly after impact, it explodes into a freezing cloud. The effectiveness largely depended on where it struck, but as long as it pierced the opponent's flesh, it was virtually guaranteed to cause problems.
The bugbear's hide probably wasn't strong enough to repel it.
Miss Sable seemed to recognise the spell. She goaded the bugbear into facing my direction. This did mean putting herself between the bugbear and my spell, but she kept her stance low, possibly to keep the bugbear from noticing me as much as to keep herself out of the way of my spell.
Ah, the bugbear did notice me... too late.
I fired.
The arrow shot straight ahead, directly into the bugbear's snarling maw. Striking the back of its throat, the arrow exploded, rapidly chilling its head from the inside.
The bugbear grabbed its throat, dropping its mace in the process. It appeared to be choking.
"Huh. Think you froze the blood and saliva right in its throat," Miss Sable remarked. "Probably messed up its lungs as well."
The bugbear thrashed about for a moment as Miss Sable picked up its mace. "No sense letting this drag on."
With one swing, she caved the bugbear's skull.
I reiterated to myself once more that under no circumstances should I upset this woman.
Epilogue
With the bugbear rather gruesomely defeated, the door to the teleportation circle's room unlocked. Miss Sable picked up the body of the deceased adventurer, and we left the now-conquered dungeon behind.
I followed Miss Sable to a village a half-day's walk from the dungeon, receiving further survival advice from her along the way.
At the village, we were met by the family who had hired Miss Sable to recover their child. It was... a very emotional reunion. Miss Sable did make some small attempt at comforting them, though truth be told, I thought I detected a hint of boredom in her manner, as though this was just another day like any other for her. She excused herself quickly after receiving her pay, ostensibly to give the family space to grieve, though she was most likely just exhausted by the interaction.
For me, however, the scene caused me to feel keenly just how awful things would have been had Miss Sable not rescued me. As scary as dying was, at least for me it would have been final. But for my family and friends... they were the ones who would have to live on with the memory of me, and of where my foolishness had gotten me.
I decided I would return home first thing in the morning to tell everyone I loved them.
As for the jerks who abandoned me, we hadn't encountered them since the hobgoblin incident. If they weren't still in the dungeon, they probably returned to the city we had initially set out from.
I would just have to give them a piece of my mind some other day then. Assuming nothing had happened to them.
...Upset as I was, I couldn't bring myself to wish misfortune upon them. Not after what I had just witnessed.
After spending the night in the village, Miss Sable and I parted ways. She had her own matters to attend to, and as for me, well... I intended to continue as an adventurer, but tackling dungeons could wait until I was better prepared.