New chapter of Ordinary Person is out! (2/3 chapters)

 

 

Chapter 28

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

Since I arrived too early for the promised time, I did a quick sweep of the first floor of the dungeon. I knew I had plenty of MP, so I kept Support Magic activated at all times. If I slacked off while I still had MP to spare and ended up getting injured, I wouldn’t be able to bear it. I re-cast Support Magic just before it expired. I made it a habit as soon as possible and be careful not to make mistakes when providing support.

I ran around lightly and tried out that “search & destroy” thing. Since I didn’t have much time anyway, I figured it would be good practice. It was surprisingly difficult.

When I ran off in a random direction, I sometimes ran into other people. I didn’t want to awkwardly pass them, so I’d change directions. Then, after a while, I’d see someone else fighting a monster and have to change direction again. Just when I thought I finally found a goblin, I realized I had only circled back in a narrow loop. Since I had been coming to the dungeon’s first floor every day, I had learned to recognize where I was based on the surrounding scenery.

After wiping out the goblins, I sat down and thought about how to walk through this floor. My current location was right in the center of the floor. Perhaps, it was called a basin. It was a shallow valley between two hills. Thanks to that, no one could see me from the surroundings. Even if I rested here, no one would care.

“…If I try to avoid people completely, I can’t make any progress… So, I guess a detour, maybe…?” (Kouta)

Since I started living alone, I developed the habit of talking to myself.

It’s still a mild case, but I should fix it before people start thinking I’m weird.

I was looking down, lost in thought, but when I looked up, an unfamiliar monster had entered my field of view.

A rabbit. No, it’s a rabbit, but a blue rabbit!! I had never heard of such a monster appearing on the first floor of the Toyoda Dungeon… But no matter how I look at it, it is a blue rabbit.

A rare monster!? This is purely from my knowledge of the game, and I have no idea that such things exist in the dungeons of this world. But since it isn’t even listed in the Toyoda Dungeon guide, it was definitely an unconfirmed monster!!

A huge discovery!!

I got so excited I almost shouted, but I desperately held it in. My fingers trembled. My breathing grew heavy. My mouth was dry. My heart pounded so loudly it was distracting. My feet felt so light I couldn’t even be sure they were touching the ground.

So, this is how hard it is to suppress happiness… I never knew.

I held my breath and shifted into combat stance. It was fine, I hadn’t been noticed yet. I prioritized staying hidden over closing the distance as I moved. My mind was sharp, more exhilarated than tense.

That clears my biggest worry too.

I hesitated briefly, but I decided my first strike would be an overhead stab with my knife in reverse grip.

If I hesitate at the last second, I’ll mess it up. Better to decide now.

15 meters to go.

The rabbit was digging around the ground, probably looking for food. Its cute behavior slightly dulled my will to fight.

12 meters…

That’s meat, that’s meat, that’s meat! Alright, my killing intent is back!

9 meters.

The rabbit suddenly raised its head.

Did it notice me…?

I froze and tried to erase my presence to the point of not even breathing. Time stretched endlessly.

Should I just charge now…?

I barely resisted the temptation of that sweet, foolish thought. The rabbit lowered its head again and resumed sniffing the ground. I carefully exhaled the breath I had been holding back and closed the distance further.

7 meters.

The rabbit was practically right in front of me.

I took a final breath and held it… then, dashed in. An overhead thrust. It rolled to the side like a bounce to dodge. Immediately, I followed with a horizontal slash. It barely avoided it with a forward roll. I stepped in and slashed with a returning blade.

With that rabbit leg strength, it took off running.

“No way…! It dodged all of that…?” (Kouta)

I managed a few more slashes after that, but in the end, I couldn’t land a hit. It escaped into its burrow.

“Hnnnnnngh!!” (Kouta)

I was so frustrated and annoyed that I wanted to scream. But since I was in the dungeon, I somehow held myself back.

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)