Chapter 18: Blue Goblin

“Die!”

My right dagger thrusts into the goblin’s throat.

The goblin convulses and then vanishes into a puff of white smoke.

“What about Celia…?”

Looking back, I see that Celia’s magic had hit, causing the goblin to dissolve into white smoke as well. It seems she was able to take down a goblin on her own.

From the second floor of the dungeon onward, sometimes two monsters attack at the same time. In those cases, Celia and I handled one each, making sure to keep the monsters away from her.

In the game, setting up formations would naturally have the front line protect the rear.

But it’s not so simple in reality.

There are monsters that will ignore me and go after Celia, and protecting the rear isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

Managing hate and other complex factors is challenging for the rear line, but the front line has its own difficulties.

I wonder how other adventurers manage it?

Maybe I should ask Dominic or Eugen next time. They mentioned they were former adventurers.

“Good job, Celia.”

“Thank you, Leon-sama.”

“Yeah!”

Since it’s just the two of us in the dungeon, Celia calls me Leon-sama. That’s another point that makes me happy.

At present, Celia and I have a good relationship. However, in the game, Celia was captivated by the protagonist. I can’t let my guard down.

I’m starting to feel a bit scared about going to the academy…

“Oh?”

Celia had a curious expression on her face.

“What’s wrong?”

“That goblin… Was it that color before?”

“Eh?”

The goblin emerged from the T-junction about ten meters ahead of us. Its height was typical for a goblin, but its skin color was slightly different. Instead of green, it was blue. Also, unlike other goblins, it wielded a glowing one-handed sword instead of a club.

“Blue Goblin…!”

“GEGYA?”

My murmur and the Blue Goblin noticing us happened at the same time.

“GEGYAGYA!”

The Blue Goblin charged toward us.

It’s fast!?

“Celia, use magic!”

“Yes!”

I readied my dual daggers to confront the Blue Goblin.

But the Blue Goblin slightly veered to the left, avoiding me.

Is it targeting Celia!?

I moved to block the Blue Goblin’s path, but in the next moment, it veered right.

A feint!? A monster doing a feint!?

“Celia!”

If things continued like this, the Blue Goblin would get past me. I swung my right dagger, aiming to intercept the Blue Goblin.

However, the Blue Goblin changed its course again, charging at me with its sword.

Another feint!? Was it aiming at me all along, not Celia!?

Clang!

I managed to deflect the Blue Goblin’s sword with my left dagger.

But the Blue Goblin had a second weapon—its fangs.

The Blue Goblin’s fangs lunged toward my arm――――!

“Blaze Shot!”

“GYA!?”

The Blue Goblin was blown away by Celia”Blaze Shot,” its fangs slicing through the air.

I’m saved…

However, the Blue Goblin didn’t vanish into white smoke even after being hit by Celia’s “Blaze Shot.”

Of course, since the Blue Goblin is a rare pop monster on this floor.

Rare pop monsters are significantly stronger than other monsters of their tier. Even on the second floor, it seems that they won’t fall from a single basic spell.

“Leon-sama, are you okay?!”

“Thank you for helping me. But we can’t rely on that to save us next time.”

I took a deep breath and readied my dual daggers, preparing to face the Blue Goblin.

Indeed, the Blue Goblin did not fall from “Blaze Shot.” However, it was clearly injured; its left arm was missing, and white smoke billowed from its shoulder instead of blood.

Yet those golden eyes, which seemed to be looking nowhere in particular, were not dead.

In a situation like this, it wouldn’t be surprising for it to recognize its disadvantage and attempt to flee. However, the Blue Goblin did not run. It readied its sword and charged toward Celia.

It must have recognized Celia’s magic as a threat.

I positioned myself in front of Celia to protect her.

At that moment, the Blue Goblin slightly adjusted its course, seemingly avoiding me.

“I saw that move earlier.”

This time, I wasn’t fooled by the Blue Goblin’s maneuver. I moved forward.

Previously, I was caught off guard by the monster’s feint, but now that I knew it used such tactics, I could handle it.

The Blue Goblin tried to throw me off balance with another feint, but I didn’t take the bait.

“GEGYA!”

“Take this!”

Finally, the Blue Goblin and I crossed paths.

The Blue Goblin’s head flew through the air.

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