Chapter 23

We woke up an hour earlier this morning, finished our meal, and set off.

The soldiers seeing us off gave us strange looks, but since they didn’t say anything, they probably figured we were just heading out to goof off from the morning.

That was simply the extent of Rasta’s reputation among them.

Because of that, it had the advantage of letting us focus entirely on preparing and growing stronger, so it was a bit of a mixed bag.

Dealing with political power struggles between imperial family members was something I couldn’t possibly handle anyway.

If I was going to do anything, it would be better to figure out how to ingratiate myself with the protagonist faction or the kingdom destined to become the ultimate victors of this world.

We entered the Shoisa Cave as usual, proceeded to the right, and waited for the Kobolds to appear.

Rushing in blindly here would create the risk of getting bogged down in consecutive battles against three or more Kobolds.

I wanted to be able to handle that eventually, but for now, I still wanted to avoid it.
Two Kobold Archers showed up.

“Let’s take them one by one.”

“Yes.”

Gina nodded, pushed off the ground, and pounced on the Kobold Archer on the right.

“Wind Shot.”

By the time I released my magic, she had already taken down one of them.

I didn’t expect it to move faster than lightning magic, but it was astonishingly fast.

The wind magic I cast smashed the Kobold Archer’s head, meaning I had successfully taken down one as well.

Collecting the dropped items was Gina’s job.

“No good items dropped.”

She reported, not looking the least bit disappointed.

We hadn’t expected much to begin with, but it was just a “just in case” kind of hope.

I could understand that feeling all too well.

Ordinarily, the drop rate for good items from Kobolds and goblins was low.

Naturally, it would be even lower when it came to a beginner dungeon.

Even knowing that, someone like me was always prone to thinking, “What if?”

Must be that poverty mindset at work.

“Alright, let’s move forward.”

Rather than standing around grumbling, it was better to get moving.

The Shoisa Cave was a straight path, and soon a staircase leading downward came into view, but right before it, two more Kobold Archers appeared.

I could join in, but…

“Gina, can you quickly finish off both of them if I ask?”

“Leave it to me.”

When I asked just to be sure, Gina nodded with confidence, instantly turning into a gale and slicing through their throats right as the Kobold Archers readied their bows.

Taking on a two-on-one and leaving the enemy completely unable to do a thing—if that were caught on video, it would look insane.

I suppose that’s what happens when there’s a level gap of around ten in this world.

“I’ve been avoiding it until now, but we might actually be fine.”

It looked so effortlessly safe that it made me feel redundant.
Not that I had much of a standing to begin with, so I didn’t really care.

“Against opponents like this, please leave it to me.”

Gina said without the slightest hint of bravas.

The reason I decided to push deeper without testing the waters first was because I had anticipated this outcome.

If things had turned out differently, I would have changed plans right then and there, but it looked like we were fine.