What appeared were kobolds.
Mineral monsters that, for some reason, took the form of werewolves and traveled in packs.
Their bodies were harder than those of ordinary monsters.
And despite being minerals, they displayed nimble movements.
Six of them — I really didn't want to fight them alone.
"Can Wof really fight...?"
"Don't worry. I guarantee it."
"Even if you guarantee it..."
"This one's the witch's apprentice."
"Huh?"
"Huh?"
What?
My reaction threw Axe off.
"Hm? No, you're the apprentice, right? That's what the witch said."
"Y-yes. That's right."
I hurriedly nodded and told a lie.
Mineha spoke up.
"They're coming."
An apprentice? First I'd heard of it.
Haaah — I'd have a proper talk with the witch about that, and everything else, later.
*RRROOOWW!*
The kobolds howled and charged. Their growls were trembling.
How were they even producing those sounds? Being minerals, did they vibrate by striking something against themselves?
They didn't rush in right away — their steps were cautious, as if sizing us up.
"Both of you, kobolds are hard. Be careful—"
Before Axe could finish speaking, Mineha grew large, readied her spear, and charged forward.
She thrust at the nearest one.
"Haahh!"
When the spear's tip made contact, the kobold was gouged open and shattered.
Relic [Spiral]... terrifying destructive power. Like an invisible drill.
"What's up?"
Mineha turned around with a smug look.
Axe said nothing and drew his sword.
Kobolds were living minerals.
How would you fight one with a normal sword?
"Watch this, Wof."
"Y-yes."
With the second kobold falling to Mineha as my backdrop—
Axe dodged a claw strike and beheaded the kobold in a single stroke.
"What?"
The headless kobold crumbled.
Next, Axe deflected another claw strike from a second kobold and severed its head just the same.
Wh-what the—what was going on here?
Kobolds were mineral monsters.
Beheading one with a sword — that was like trying to lop the head off a stone statue.
Could anyone do that? And so effortlessly...?
"Listen. Kobolds are hard. But they have weak points — the joints. A kobold's joints have to be movable, so they're softer than the rest."
"For flexibility?"
"Right. You know fancy words. Aim for those joints."
What he said made sense.
And since he was executing it flawlessly, he couldn't be wrong.
But it wasn't that easy.
He said joints, but I couldn't see them.
Not at all.
I suspected Axe wasn't using his eyes but rather his instincts to find them.
And when he said "joints," and "softer than the rest"—
They were still minerals. Cutting them with a sword?
And severing them that cleanly?
Was it experience? Or talent?
Axe was plenty strong even without a Relic.
"Nice skills, Axe."
"I appreciate that."
"..."
Impossible for me.
So I'd take them down my own way.
The remaining two kobolds roared and charged.
They were fast. I activated [The Quiet One] and readied my knife.
The first one — Kobold A — launched a claw strike.
I aimed for the precise point where I could parry with maximum force and deflected it.
Kobold A stumbled badly. A chance.
I feinted a knife thrust and hit it with [Banish].
A hole appeared in Kobold A's body, and it crumbled.
Ah, what I really wanted to do was layer the ability onto the knife and vanish the target at the exact moment of the cut.
That was the technique I dreamed of.
But layering abilities was impossible without an OOPArt.
After watching Agaro fight, I'd gotten desperate to try it once.
And because of that — the blade of a twenty-thousand-orro knife had been accidentally erased.
Not two thousand. Twenty *thousand*.
That night was an endless flood of tears, regret, humiliation, and more.
And it still haunted me. It would probably linger in a corner of my heart forever.
So now I was always careful not to vanish my knives.
I didn't even want to count how many I'd lost since the start of the year.
*RRROOOW!*
The last one — Kobold B.
I attacked first. My target was — grapple!
I seized both of Kobold B's arms. Hooked my leg around its body and threw it.
"I got it?"
"What are you doing? At that level, a kobold won't shatter."
Right — that's why, at the same time as the throw, I feinted a knife thrust.
I drove [Banish] into Kobold B's abdomen.
That section vanished in a clean, perfect circle.
The kobold crumbled.
"Hmm... not bad."
We'd wiped out all the kobolds.
"How was that?"
"Not bad. As expected of the witch's apprentice."
"You really can fight. And you're the witch's apprentice, too."
"Right? She's the witch's apprentice, isn't she?"
"Yep. That witch's apprentice..."
"..."
I wished they'd stop calling me the witch's apprentice over and over.
(Still, Axe's swordwork — it was identical to the Master's. He never learned from her... so they really are parent and child.)
"? Mineha. What's up?"
"What?"
"Weren't you saying something just now?"
"I didn't say anything."
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing."
(Moments ago, Wof's... it looked like he wasn't using a knife at all, but oh well.)
"..."
This time it was Axe's voice I heard.
But Axe hadn't said anything.
(— I should probably tell him about that, shouldn't I, Master? That thing from ten years ago —)
Ten years ago —? The voice cut off abruptly.
At the same time, [The Quiet One] entered its cooldown.
I snapped to attention immediately.
A voice. I'd heard a voice.
It had been a mystery, but was this it?
A voice that seemed to emanate from the soul and resonate with the soul.
Could it be... a voice in the mind? Telepathy!?
I held my breath.
The Relic [The Quiet One] could read minds too.
No — it was too early to jump to conclusions.
Once the cooldown ended, I'd use it again and verify.
If that were true, then this Relic was a terrifyingly dangerous artifact.
In some ways, even more so than the Relic [Generous].
"Shall we head out?"
"Sure. Wof, any enemies?"
"No readings right now. We're fine."
We set off walking.
How far would this dungeon go?