Chapter 22 – Level 4, The Evading Target

 I just finished having a very strange conversation where I learned that the angels of this world aren’t really angels, but just spells made by the real angels, and that the real angels are all waiting for me in the training space after having pledged their allegiances to me.

I wondered if I should be going through the dungeon quicker if they’re waiting for my visit, but they waited for a time close to eternity before I even came to this world, so a few hundred or thousand years more shouldn’t be a problem for them. More importantly, I think the angels would be very sad if something happened to me while rushing through the dungeon.

“Of course, I would also be very sad. So, please don’t force yourself.”

That’s what Zero said.

I wonder how much time has passed since this world’s creation? When I asked Zero, who expresses hundreds or thousands of years as ‘only a hundred’ or ‘only a thousand’, he said that it has been an eternity.

He’s probably going through time with the sensation of a human being who pushes a 500,000,000 years button.

I’m glad to get these answers from Zero, but I wouldn’t feel good about making the angels wait for much longer.

So, Aura and I decided to go to floor 2 that day.

I went with a bow and arrow.

Goblins are smaller than humans, but they’re still bigger than a 5 year old human.

So, I decided to deal with them using a bow and arrow.

Under Zero’s instruction, I became able to hit marks around 30 centimeters in diameter from 10 meters away. Having said that, though, it’s not as if I can hit anything right between the brows.

I also have a short sword on my belt, of course, so I’m ready for close-combat if need be.

“Seiji, trees! There’s a lot of trees!”

“Mhm, so floor 2 is a mountain… This is gonna be pretty tough.”

The entrance was in the valley of a mountain.

Unlike the mountain trees that are common in Japan, these ones are more like boulders.

The tree Aura pointed at is also very short in stature.

The elevation here isn’t that high, so the reason these trees can’t grow much must be the lack of nutrition in the soil.

I can’t tell what our current elevation level is in relation to sea-level, but I think it’s 600 meters – about as tall as Mount Takao.

There’s no mountain roads here, however, so I don’t think I’d come here for a picnic.

“Seiji, what are we going to do now?”

“First, we’re going to secure an exit and memorize the surrounding area. After that, we’ll investigate the ecology of floor 2. This place is completely different from floor 1. Aura, look at that.”

“It’s flying!”

“Mhm, it’s a bird, and a pretty big one at that.”

The only living creatures she’s seen are slimes, fish, and me and Zero.

Even if she knows about them, she’s seeing birds for the first time.

“I guess there are birds on floor 2. Still, I don’t think I can catch that thing with a bow when it’s so far up.”

Then, Aura started growing ivies out from her shoulders.

Their range is only about 20 meters, however. That bird is flying way higher than that, so they’re not going to reach it.

They’re probably flying between mountain peaks.

I have to memorize a long-ranged spell if I want to catch those birds in flight. Setting up a trap or finding a nest would be a lot faster than doing that.

This is just my guess, but I think there’s going to be a lot of beasts and birds in this mountain that goblins use as food.

The slimes on floor 1 survived by eating the grass, so the goblins here have to eat something as well.

In that case, there might be a lot of animals here that the goblins use for food.

Worst case scenario, they might be cannibals, but I’d like to refrain from imagining that if I can.

“Seiji, we’re being watched.”

“…How many?”

“3, no, 4 now. I think they’re waiting for their friends. More will come.”

I wondered if Aura could sense presences too, but it looks like she could sense their movements in the earth under us.

I can’t tell where they are even after turning and looking around.

“It’s going to be a problem if more join them, so can we attack first?”

“Okay.”

Aura can only use two sets of ivies.

She figured that it’ll be a problem if we get crowded by the goblins, so she wanted to make the first move.

She caught a goblin.

A hairless monkey with green skin. They look just like I heard they would.

She caught two goblins and other ones came out to try and save their friends, but that’s where my bow came in.

However, I missed.

They evaded me.

The enemy can evade.

I can hit unmoving targets, but I’ve never aimed at a target that’s moving around.

“Aura! Lure the enemy this way!”

“Mhm!”

Aura pulled her ivies closer and the goblin that was trying to save its friend headed this way.

I can’t draw yet.

It’ll just evade agan.

“Seiji!”

“Not yet!”

I waited for the goblin to get closer.

Alright, now!

Then, the goblin that was chasing me crashed into another one.

Aura used a goblin she had caught and swung it into the other one like a weapon.

“…Wow.”

My arrow pierced the goblin that was stunned after it got hit by Aura.

Mhm, I can definitely hit unmoving targets.