Early morning.
Yamato Mikoto hadn't chosen to rest at the dorms with her other Familia members. Instead, as usual, she ventured into the Dungeon alone to explore.
The main reason was their dire financial situation.
Even their god, Lord Takemikazuchi, had to work at a fried potato stall, scraping together as much money as possible just to cover the orphanage's expenses.
As his child, the girl felt she had no excuse to slack off.
Even though the rewards from killing monsters on the upper floors weren't much, it at least helped with daily costs and eased the burden on her god.
Then, as she passed through the Starting Path, she spotted something very strange.
A monster.
Dark green skin, a slightly hunched goblinoid figure. The girl could identify this monster's species with her eyes closed.
A Goblin.
But what truly puzzled her was this particular Goblin's appearance.
Compared to the Goblins in Mikoto's memory, those half-meter tall low-tier creatures of the Dungeon, there was a clear difference in physique.
Nearly a meter tall. A giant among Goblins.
Most importantly… this Goblin felt completely different. Unlike those stray dogs wielding wooden clubs and stone axes, this monster's equipment was practically refined.
A brown coat of unique design. A sharp curved blade.
All signs pointed to this monster being far more complex than she'd imagined!
Confusion filled the girl's eyes. She'd been developing in Orario for nearly two years and had never encountered a Goblin with such an appearance.
But then.
When Mikoto's gaze fell on the adventurer figure confronting the Goblin in the distance, a wave of unprecedented familiarity washed over her. Even through the thick chest armor, she recognized him by his silhouette.
Xyros. The new adventurer from the Hestia Familia.
"What's going on here?"
Mikoto didn't rush in.
She didn't want to disrupt Xyros's rhythm. But the situation unfolding clearly exceeded her expectations.
Because it was the special Goblin that was fiercely attacking the young guy. Its speed, power everything far surpassed any Goblin she knew.
CLANG!
The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed through the narrow tunnel.
Facing the Goblin's relentless assault, the young man with the short sword could only barely defend. He was clearly on the defensive.
Disbelief filled the girl's eyes.
Based on her assessment yesterday, with the fundamentals Xyros had shown, he shouldn't have had safety concerns until facing the newbie killer, the "War Shadow."
This wasn't a misjudgment on her part.
It was that this Goblin currently fighting Xyros possessed strength far exceeding ordinary monsters of its kind!
"A rare species monster?"
"But the Guild's intelligence reports don't mention any special Goblins."
Mikoto didn't consider a "Dungeon anomaly." The most likely scenario was that some adventurer had failed to retrieve a magic stone after killing a monster, and this Goblin had devoured it, causing its strength to mutate?
As she was thinking, the battle between Xyros and the monster intensified. The Goblin, enraged by its ineffective continuous attacks, went completely berserk.
A flurry of rapid slashes, all deftly parried by Xyros. Using the recoil, he created a momentary opening.
The young man stepped forward decisively. The short sword in his hand slashed sideways, leaving a horrific gash across the monster's chest.
Blood sprayed instantly!
"It's over."
With a fatal wound, the monster had no room left to fight.
At least, that's what Mikoto thought. But Xyros's hesitation to go in for the kill confused her. Just then, the seemingly dying monster's bloodshot eyes blazed with madness.
The Goblin roared, gathering all its remaining strength. Driven by profound hatred for the human before it, it prepared to kill him even at the cost of its own life.
The sudden burst of speed was beyond what most adventurers could react to!
But Xyros, as if expecting this, didn't get greedy. He dodged swiftly, evading the Goblin's desperate flurry of attacks completely.
Only when the monster was utterly exhausted, did he move in quickly. His sword didn't aim for the Goblin's head, but for the arm gripping the curved blade.
"That attack was unnecessary."
Dust settled.
Mikoto thought that with her strength, handling this mutated Goblin wouldn't be hard. But just as this thought crossed her mind, something unexpected happened.
The exhausted Goblin reversed its grip on the curved blade.
Aiming directly at the young man's chestplate, it used the unique technique of delayed attacks, trying to gut him!
And Xyros's seemingly chaotic slash, had cleanly severed the Goblin's sword arm just before its final desperate counter!
A trap?
The girl was dumbstruck. She never imagined a Goblin could possess such combat techniques.
But the good news was, Xyros successfully decapitated the special Goblin. He'd won through solid fundamentals and quick adaptation to the monster's counterattack.
She couldn't help but recall Lord Takemikazuchi's words:
"His Dungeon exploration probably didn't go smoothly."
Had she, as a new adventurer, ever encountered mutated monsters in the Dungeon?
Mikoto suddenly understood why Xyros, who was already outstanding for a rookie, faced such difficulties in his daily Dungeon expeditions…
His luck was just terrible!
But before she could approach,
SWOOSH!
A whistling arrow tore through the air, emitting a piercing shriek.
From the dim depths of the Dungeon, it raced toward Xyros's position. Its speed was almost unbelievable, giving Mikoto no time to react.
Let alone Xyros, who was only Level 1.
The speeding arrow struck the young man's armor with pinpoint accuracy. The sound of shattering steel, followed by the dull thud of it piercing his chest…
He crumpled to the ground instantly!
It happened so suddenly that even Mikoto couldn't react.
Her gaze fell on the young man lying on the ground. Blood pulsed steadily from the wound in his chest. It felt like something was lodged in her throat.
An incredibly complex emotion enveloped Mikoto's heart.
Just yesterday, this guy had been so confident, saying that once he reached Level 2, he'd treat her to the best restaurant.
Without hesitation, she drew the longsword from her waist.
But just as she prepared to give chase, the creature that appeared before Mikoto was a green-skinned Goblin, hiding at the turn of the dim cave, holding a bow.
It was letting out low growls.
"@#¥%…!"
Why can a Goblin even use a bow?!
She couldn't understand.
Mikoto looked at the young man on the ground, the life fading from his eyes. She realized the only thing she could do was kill this monster to avenge him.
But something even more incomprehensible happened next.
[Rebirth]
A soft light enveloped the young man entirely. Like some kind of magic, his golden eyes regained their luster. The wound on his chest healed in an instant.
Xyros stumbled, picking himself up off the ground.
Leaving the girl with the katana standing there, dumbfounded.
'Was that…
He just respawned?!'