Chapter 11: The Garbage Pit Reopened ④ – Toward the Source of Light

Base A collapsed as its right leg snapped—but then, the broken part melted like liquid.

The liquefied limb reassembled and reattached itself, forming a new right leg.

Slowly, it stood up again.

“Um, um, I definitely broke it! Woof! This is weird!”

“…A liquid-based creature?”

I remember something like this from a sequel movie about humanoid machine weapons attacking from the future.

My knife was melted, but Juicy’s hands were fine.

So… blades don’t work? I should’ve realized that. That was careless of me.

Because of my carelessness, another knife got ruined—this time, at record speed.

It’s nothing to be proud of. I’d rather erase this memory from my mind entirely.

Great, and it’s only the first of the month. I hate thinking like that.

Base A didn’t immediately attack again, but Juicy rushed at it.

She kept attacking with her bare hands while Base A tried to defend itself.

So, unarmed attacks seem to work.

“Woof! Woof woof! This monster is strong! In that case—woof! Here comes my ultimate move—!”

Juicy took a step back, then leaped into the air and spun halfway around.

What is she planning?

With that momentum, she extended her leg and twisted her toes against Base A’s neck.

“Brainstem Strike Kick!”

After landing the move, she spun gracefully and landed in a perfect pose.

“Awoooooo! Um, um, I did it! I won!”

She let out a victorious howl, looking absolutely delighted. Well, that’s good.

But that kick… It was brutal. If a human took that, they’d die instantly.

That really was a finisher.

Base A’s head was cracked open. It was kind of gruesome.

“Huh? It’s not regenerating?”

Base A remained motionless with its head destroyed. Was it dead?

Juicy spoke up.

“Woof! Wof-sama, I saw it with [Weakness Detection]! The head is its weak point!”

“Wait, [Weakness Detection]?”

“Um, um, I wasn’t supposed to say that! B-but it’s fine, because it’s you, Wof-sama!”

…On what grounds? I could only give a wry smile.

“Ah, so that’s your relic, Juicy?”

“Woof! Yes, it’s my relic!”

[Weakness Detection], huh? Sounds pretty powerful.

It’s a skill that lets her see weak points, right? That’s incredibly useful.

I’d like to ask for details, but it’s bad manners to pry into someone else’s relics outside of emergencies.

But since I accidentally learned about hers, it only seems fair to share one of mine.

The old me would’ve kept quiet.

That was the stressed-out, emotionally unstable, knife’s-edge version of Wof at thirteen.

But I’m different now.

Now, I’m the more composed, sheathed-knife version of Wof at thirteen.

“I actually have a relic too.”

“Woof? Um, um, really?”

“Yeah. It’s called [Crisis Detection]. I can see how dangerous something is based on its color.”

“Woof! That’s so useful!”

Something felt strange.

I glanced at Juicy again using [Crisis Detection], and her color had changed.

She was still white with red and black, but now there was more white.

The red and black had shrunk to about half their original size…

What does this mean?

I should ask the witch about it later.

My teacher always knows a lot, even though her smug “I-know-everything” face is so annoying.

After that, we continued taking down the bases we encountered.

All of them were humanoid, though their features varied—some had tails, others had horns, some had nothing at all.

But one thing was consistent: they were all human-shaped.

“Woof! Here comes my ultimate move! Brainstem Twisting Decapitation Kick! Woof!”

Juicy shouted another absurd attack name as she kicked over a moving mimic.

She did a backflip, spun around, and struck a perfect pose.

Yeah. Cute. She wins.

But that alone wasn’t enough to finish it off, so I stabbed the heart inside the box with my knife.

Mimics have two weak points: their hinge or their heart inside the box.

Still, I can’t get used to it. The inside of the box is packed with teeth. It’s gross and terrifying.

Honestly, when I went in for the finishing stab, I was nervous it would bite me.

But then it hit me—

As the only one here aware of the tragedy, I have to wonder…

A mimic at the bottom of a garbage dump?

Considering its nature, it makes sense for it to be here.

“Impressive, Juicy.”

“Um, um, Wof-sama, your knife work was impressive too! A-also, that throw from earlier against the base! Woof! That was amazing!”

“Oh, that… yeah.”

When I fought that horned base earlier, I used a self-defense move I learned from the witch.

I grabbed its arm and flipped it.

It took almost no strength—just redirecting its momentum.

It’s called the “Hidden Throw.”

Basically, it’s just Aikido.

Still, when I pulled it off, I was really happy.

I mean, who hasn’t wanted to try a move like that at least once in their life?

And it actually worked against a monster!

Internally, I was throwing a samba parade in celebration.

“……”

“Um, um, Wof-sama? You look serious!”

“No, I was just thinking about something. But it’s nothing important.”

…No, it was actually very important.

The scenery hasn’t changed—we’re still surrounded by garbage.

So, logically, this must be a dump.

But at the same time… dungeon monsters are attacking us.

This isn’t the first floor of a dungeon.

Moving mimics usually appear from the sixth floor downward.

So are we that deep underground?

Thinking about it too much seems dangerous. I’ll ignore it for now.

By the way… isn’t Juicy kinda insanely strong?

A moving mimic is at least mid-tier Bronze rank.

And yet, a thirteen-year-old beat one.

Bronze ranks don’t have relics, but still—it’s a monster.

Maybe it’s a mix of [Weakness Detection], her natural wolfkin agility, and her wild instincts?

A marquis’s daughter, yet completely ruled by instinct…

She really is all about following her gut.

That said, fighting solo would be tough for her.

She lands hits, but she can’t take them out in one blow.

That’s where I come in—I’m the finisher.

I stab the monsters Juicy knocks down. That’s my role.

Since we’re fighting so many bases, I mainly use [Vanish].

I could explain it as a relic, but since no one’s asked, I haven’t mentioned it.

I’m just glad this world doesn’t have experience points.

If it did, I’d be the ultimate XP thief.

I wonder if such a world exists…

And so, while taking occasional short breaks, we made our way toward the purple light.

I also used [Fortune’s Wheel] a few times.

There were a few green lights. No yellow or blue.

Might as well collect some of the green ones.

Just small trinkets, but they should be worth something. Hopefully.

The purple light had grown massive compared to before.

We were almost there.

What was waiting for us?

After our break, we continued forward—and the scenery abruptly changed.

Instead of endless piles of garbage, we now faced rugged rock walls.

“Um, um, Wof-sama… is this a cave?”

“Looks like it.”

Scattered around were what looked like shields and armor, along with broken swords and other discarded junk.

How far do we have to go?

After dealing with more of the humanoid creatures and taking short breaks, we finally arrived.

A powerful purple light—it was here, the source of the glow.

But just as relief washed over me, I noticed something standing before the light.

“Grrrrrrr… woof woof! Wof-sama, it’s an enemy!”

“…I see it too.”

Tension ran through me. It was blocking our path in front of the purple light.

An enemy. Its color was black. A shiver ran down my spine—this thing was strong.

It was another humanoid creature. But unlike all the others, which had been the same height, this one was different.

It was tall and massive, with a body packed with muscle—powerful, imposing.

And it was holding a weapon.

Its arms hadn’t transformed into weapons like the others. No, this one was gripping a weapon firmly in its hands.

An axe. A heavy, faded, ancient half-moon axe, the kind a dwarf might wield.

I could see decorative carvings on the blade.

This axe… it had the air of an out-of-place artifact—an OOPArt.

The creature also had majestic black horns and a long, whip-like tail.

I decided to call it Specimen Omega.

If we started with “A,” then the last should be “Z,” but I went with Alpha and Omega instead.

This would be the end. That was the meaning behind the name.

But that tail—it wasn’t reptilian. It was thin, like a whip… a cow’s tail?

And those horns—thick and powerful. Definitely bovine.

Its feet, too, had only two hooves. No doubt about it.

A humanoid bull… could this be a Minotaur variant?

Great. No wonder it was so strong.

“A boss guarding a treasure, huh? Specimen Omega.”

Dungeons aren’t supposed to have floor bosses, if I recall.

But rare treasures often attract monsters, forming nests or standing guard.

This must be one of those cases.

“Um, Wof-sama, I… I can’t see its weak points. It’s strong.”

Juicy’s relic, Weakness Perception, was incredibly useful.

But it wasn’t all-powerful.

It only worked on beings weaker than the user.

If an enemy was stronger, its weak points remained hidden—at least until it had taken enough damage to be weakened.

For inanimate objects, it showed their durability, but the key was the same: the target had to be weaker.

Since she couldn’t see any weak points…

That meant Specimen Omega was stronger than both of us.

A monster wielding an OOPArt.

It reminded me of the Hobgoblin from the Moryu grass incident.

I really hope this thing hasn’t adapted like that one.

“Juicy, this is a powerful enemy. We need a strategy.”

“Woof! Are you sure? I think it’s already noticed us!”

“It must have. But since it’s not attacking, it’s probably territorial.

It won’t move unless we get closer.”

Even though we were in its line of sight, it remained still.

It had something to protect. That’s why it wouldn’t move.

That was my guess.

“Ah! I see! Woof woof! As expected of Wof-sama—your insight is amazing!”

Juicy… this girl… she gives a lot of compliments.

I totally understand why idols can inspire their fans.

“Th-thanks. So, the enemy is a power type—a brute force fighter.”

“Ah, um, ‘brute force fighter’… That’s what Togo calls me all the time!”

“Ahaha… well, brute force fighters have incredible offensive power, but that usually means they’re slower than other types. If we keep dodging and gradually wear it down, we’ll weaken it enough for Weakness Perception to activate. That’s the best plan. What do you think?”

Juicy immediately raised her hand.

“Um, um! I really want to take it down in a one-on-one fight! But… but I’m frustrated! Its muscles, its raw power, even its pump strength—it’s all greater than mine! I’m so frustrated!”

“Pump strength?”

“When you use your muscles intensely, woof! They temporarily swell up! That Specimen Omega… even in that, it surpasses me! Woof! It’s so frustrating!”

She was genuinely upset, but honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what she was talking about.

At least she didn’t seem to have any objections to the plan.

One concern remained, though—my knife was useless.

These humanoid creatures could dissolve knives. No, more accurately, they dissolved metal.

I’d have to rely on Vanish.

Luckily, I had a new technique in mind, just for situations like this.

“Juicy, are you ready?”

“Yes! I’ll do my best!”

“Please, don’t push yourself too hard. Retreating when necessary is also a kind of courage.”

“Understood! But even so, woof! I will fight!”

She was fully determined.

Her eyes sparkled, filled with unwavering resolve.

I really didn’t want her overdoing it, though…

Honestly, bringing her this far was something I was starting to regret.

I had deliberately avoided thinking about it, but…

She wasn’t just a werewolf. She was also a Marquis’s daughter.

Grand Duke. Duke. Marquis. Count. Viscount. Baron.

Third-highest rank in the nobility.

One of the most powerful aristocrats in the country.

If anything happened to her, my life would be snuffed out like a candle.

There’s a law for disrespecting nobility, right…?

That said, Juicy’s speed was insane—fitting for a canine.

Meanwhile, our opponent was a power type. Power often came at the cost of speed.

If we played this smart, we had a chance.

Yeah. We could do this.

At least, that’s what I thought at the time.

With determination burning in our hearts, we stepped into Specimen Omega’s attack range.

『BUUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!!』

It roared in intimidation.

Undeterred, I lunged toward its feet.

Good. Now to—

Juicy was sent flying by Specimen Omega’s tackle.

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