I Am Not Goblin Slayer
Chapter 85: The End of the Dungeon

The night sky was sprinkled with stars, and tonight was cloudless. The silver-white moonlight poured down unrestrained, without any obstruction.

On the open ground, orange-red flames roared fiercely, and the wood in the campfire crackled and popped crisply.

The firelight stretched the shadows of the people sitting around the campfire.

The warrior Liam used a dagger to poke the embers, setting up the grill. The wild rabbit on the fork slowly roasted over the flames, fat continuously dripping into the fire, sparking embers and releasing bursts of savory aroma.

Gauss’s slightly tired eyes flickered with a hint of anticipation.

This might just be the last night of this dungeon exploration trip.

According to the estimated progress, the dungeon should be completely explored by tomorrow.

So, Lawrence suggested they rest and recuperate tonight, gathering around the fire for a meal as an early celebration for the upcoming successful conclusion of the dungeon exploration. This trip had been quite fruitful, and everyone found it hard to hide their joy.

After a busy day, delicious food—especially meat dripping with fat—was the best comfort.

Unfortunately, the traps set up in the morning only caught one wild rabbit, barely enough for everyone to have a small portion and savor some meat flavor.

Faced with Lawrence’s proposal, Gauss felt a bit strange inside, inexplicably reminded of popping champagne halfway through a game, but after hesitating, he didn’t spoil the mood.

By the campfire, priest apprentice Adrian couldn’t help but admire,

“Lawrence, you really know how to enjoy life.”

The spices used for roasting the wild rabbit were kindly sponsored by Young Master Lawrence.

Good spices were not cheap.

Even for adventurers like them, they didn’t always splurge on seasoning for every meal.

“If you’re alive to see it, not being able to enjoy even basic good food would truly mean you wasted your time in this world,” Lawrence waved his hand dismissively.

Gauss gave him a warning glance.

That statement was like a map-wide AOE insult.

Even without considering others, among the few here, at least half were ordinary people born in poverty.

Many ordinary folks would be happy just to have enough to eat, let alone enjoy gourmet meals.

At least the original body never had such conditions.

Besides the roasted wild rabbit, everyone also brought some emergency food. After all, the small portion of meat on the grill wasn’t enough for seven adventurers who all ate more than ordinary people.

Gauss carried coarse wheat cakes, dried meat strips, and meat paste.

The others also took out food they could heat up themselves.

Gauss glanced around and took note of everyone’s provisions.

Only the food that the half-orc warrior Sork brought puzzled him.

Had this guy really been eating black bread for several days straight?

Watching him, as usual, let boiled hot water cool slightly before eating the black bread.

Gauss raised an eyebrow, his gaze flickering with doubt.

Logically, with his strength, even relying on the money earned from daily commissions, he shouldn’t have to survive on black bread alone.

Moreover, could black bread provide sufficient nutrition?

Was it just a preference for black bread? Or was he poor?

Gauss found it hard to imagine anyone really loving black bread. But if it was poverty, it was rare for an adventurer with decent strength to be in such a state.

Sork quickly finished his food in just a few bites.

“Want some of my bread?” Gauss silently slid his own food closer to Sork.

He wasn’t suddenly showing goodwill without reason.

During the past few days of dungeon exploration, Sork instinctively stood in front of him to provide protection.

Although most of the time, those dangers couldn’t really threaten him since he had Mage Armor.

Still, it was this half-orc warrior’s good intentions.

“Forget it. My bread is enough.” Sork shook his head.

“Keep it then.”

Gauss noticed the cloth bag storing Sork’s black bread was already empty.

He handed over some of his extra coarse wheat cakes and meat strips.

“The exploration should end tomorrow. This is just extra stuff I brought. It’s not worth much.”

Sork hesitated for a moment, then wiped his hands on his clothes and accepted Gauss’s food.

“Thanks then.”

After thanking him, Sork tore the wheat cakes and meat strips into pieces and chewed.

Seeing him accept his kindness, Gauss finally relaxed.

In the past few days, others had also shared their food with Sork, but he stubbornly refused.

Perhaps it was because it was the last night, or maybe seeing that Gauss’s food was indeed not valuable, he finally accepted it this time.

“Sork, are you really short on money?” Gauss hesitated a bit but asked softly.

“Yeah.” Sork was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I’ve sent all my money back home. There are more than a dozen brothers and sisters at home. I’m the eldest.”

“Once this exploration ends, it should be enough.”

“Stop, stop! Let’s talk about this after the exploration is done.” Gauss felt increasingly uneasy and quickly interrupted.

“Oh, okay.” Sork nodded without understanding.

This low-voice little side conversation didn’t attract the attention of others around the campfire roasting the wild rabbit.

Gauss finished his own food.

He moved closer to the fire to warm himself while recalling the events of the past few days.

Tonight was the fifth day since they began exploring the dungeon.

In these past five days, he had killed a total of 68 monsters.

An average of 13 or 14 per day, which didn’t sound like much.

But considering there were seven people in the team, this number was actually quite impressive.

They couldn’t expect temporary teams to beat the monsters down and let him finish them off.

On one hand, he didn’t have that kind of reputation, and on the other, he simply couldn’t do it.

Monsters weren’t soft targets to be manipulated at will.

So Gauss was actually quite satisfied with this kill efficiency.

Mainly because it was steady, with a consistent number of kills recorded every day.

Compared to commissions that required spending a lot of time searching for monsters and traveling, the kill efficiency here was much higher.

Every day, they woke up, washed, ate, organized gear, then went into the dungeon.

Although the process was tedious and oppressive, if it could continue, he was willing to endure it.

Unfortunately, this exploration was coming to an end, and he didn’t know when such an opportunity would come again.

Exploring ancient civilization dungeons like this wasn’t something that happened often.

After roasting the rabbit, everyone shared a little, and the simple gathering meal came to an end.

Gauss watched as everyone returned to their tents to rest.

He stood up and added some unused wood to the campfire. Tonight, he would be the first to keep watch.

Boom!

After adding the wood, the flames rose even higher, burning more fiercely!

Rumble!!

The deafening rumbling behind grew louder and louder!

Tatata!

Urgent and rhythmic footsteps echoed rapidly inside the downhill passage.

In the narrow corridor, Gauss and the others ran swiftly. Sweat droplets fell from their skin, hitting the ground with a splash!

“As expected, I shouldn’t have agreed to Lawrence’s half-game champagne-style 'celebration banquet' yesterday, nor should I have asked Sork about money,” Gauss, trapped in the middle of the team and running constantly, was soaked with sweat.

But hearing the growing roar behind, he dared not stop running.

The early exploration went smoothly until entering this narrow corridor. Shortly after, as if a hidden mechanism was triggered behind, a huge rolling stone about two meters in diameter fell, gaining momentum downhill and relentlessly chasing them.

It forced the team to keep running forward in the passage.

If they stopped, they would be turned into minced meat.

“Are we close to the next exit?”

This downhill passage was terrifying.

Under the pressure of the rolling stone, everyone squeezed out all their strength, desperately accelerating.

“Almost!” Sork at the front had already spotted a faint light at the end of the passage.

“Run faster!!”

Lawrence at the back yelled loudly.

He originally thought the last position in the team was safe, but now he felt terrible about it.

If the rolling stone rolled over, he’d be the first to die.

With the team desperately running, the light at the end grew bigger!

Boom boom!!

Almost simultaneously, as the team sprinted out of the passage and jumped aside, the huge rolling stone also rolled out, scattering broken stones that struck near their feet.

Everyone’s hearts jumped.

If they were a step slower, they would have been crushed into meat pulp by the massive stone.

Unexpectedly, the first thrilling crisis of this dungeon exploration was brought by a stone.

Thud!

While the team lay on their backs, panting heavily, the giant rolling stone dropped into a groove in the center of the room.

Boom!!

A huge, thick stone wall gate then fell, blocking their retreat.

They were used to this.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened.

So, what kind of monsters would appear?

The team lying on the ground blinked and suddenly sensed something was off.

The ceiling above seemed ridiculously high, at least ten meters tall.

Glancing sideways at the room, unlike the dozens-of-square-meter small rooms before, this one was especially spacious, looking like a small plaza.

“There’s something wrong here! Everyone be careful!”

After surviving a life-and-death moment, the team’s hearts, which had just dropped, lifted again.

This place looked abnormal.

Unlike all the rooms they had experienced before.

Rumble!!

As everyone anxiously got up, the ground began to tremble.

Those who hadn’t fully stood up yet quickly braced themselves on the ground to keep their balance.

Their gaze turned to the far end of the room, the source of the shaking.

A stone cage slowly squeezed out from the tall rock wall.

Bang!!!

The stone cage shattered like an eggshell, and amidst the dust, a scraping sound of a shell was heard.

A tall humanoid monster finally stepped out of the shadows, appearing before everyone!

It was about two and a half meters tall, covered with brown chitinous hard armor gleaming metallically, with four sickle-shaped forelimbs and a pair of strong, sturdy hind legs.

On its huge mantis-like head were a pair of compound eyes glowing red and serrated blade-like jaws.

“It’s a Sliklin Mantisman!!”

Seeing its appearance, Lawrence’s pupils shrank sharply as he gasped.

No other reason—this mantisman was a level 1 challenge monster, a deadly enemy to their seven-person team!

Gauss swallowed hard.

Even from a distance, he felt an overwhelming aura of power from it.

It was like facing a huge terrifying hunter while they were the locked prey.

Suddenly, the mantisman’s long, jointed hind legs bent like a grasshopper’s, then pressed down. In the next moment, it coiled and launched itself forward with a crisp cracking of the joints, propelling its body at high speed.

Tap!

Tap!

Tap!

In the empty room, every jump echoed clearly.

In a few flickering moments, it darted past as a brown shadow, and when it reached the center, it suddenly stomped on the ground, using the bounce to leap onto a huge stone ball in the center of the room, standing tall and looking down at the seven.

Gauss gripped his Bone Staff tightly. He could feel the cold, emotionless murderous intent conveyed from its compound eyes.

“Watch out!”

The team slowly dispersed.

Holding weapons, they cautiously faced the mantisman.

No denying it—the pressure this mantisman put on the team was immense.

Whether its exaggerated large size or the fierce speed it just showed, it was clearly a terrifying opponent, essentially a killing machine easily slaughtering ordinary people.

Ranger apprentice Bianca’s bowstring twanged taut. The next moment, she released an arrow with terrifying speed spinning toward the mantisman.

Whoosh!!

With skill enhancement, this arrow’s speed was at least twice that of a normal archer’s shot.

The arrow tore through the air, forming a black streak aimed straight at the mantisman perched on the giant stone.

The mantisman’s compound eyes flared red!

In an instant, its hind legs sank slightly, and its body flickered sideways a short distance.

“!!”

The arrow was dodged, grazing its body and flying into the rock wall, breaking apart.

Not a scratch!

Gauss swallowed saliva.

Thanks to Bianca’s attack, he deeply felt the agility that completely contradicted the mantisman’s large physique.

The arrow shot after Bianca used her skill was extremely fast, almost matching the speed of his Magic Missile.

In other words, the mantisman could react to Bianca’s arrows and even track and see his Magic Missile!

“It’s coming.”

Gauss suddenly noticed the mantisman’s coiling and lowering motion.

He quickly warned his teammates.

Everyone sprang into action. The team arranged themselves with melee fighters in front and ranged behind in a fan shape to provide support.

No sooner had Gauss spoken than the mantisman launched itself again, flying forward with several bounces and landing heavily where the team had just been.

Boom!!

The sound struck the hearts of the team members.

Such speed.

For a moment, unease filled their hearts.

“Damn monster!”

Two warriors held their weapons and shields, their hands trembling slightly but still remembering their duties.

They raised their shields to face the mantisman, shouting loudly to attract its hatred.

Sure enough, after noticing the movements of the two “little guys” nearby, the mantisman turned its head, its compound eyes coldly fixing on them.

Its hind legs sank, and in the next moment, it appeared right in front of Liam.

So fast!

The mantis claw slashed through the air.

Swish!

Liam’s shield was slapped aside by a secondary limb, and the main forelimb followed with a fierce claw strike, knocking Liam flying.

Pfft!!!

Liam was knocked two or three meters away, rolling twice. His face suddenly turned pale, blood drained.

*Cough cough!*

Blood spilled from Liam’s mouth. He looked at the towering mantisman, pupils trembling wildly!

Just one hit, and the team’s warrior lost combat capability!

“Magic Missile!”

Taking advantage of the mantisman pausing to attack again, Gauss finally locked onto its figure.

If the target was too far or moved too fast, locking on was difficult, but luckily, the mantisman had to pause briefly when attacking.

A deep blue missile shot from the tip of his staff!

The mantisman, originally preparing a second attack to finish him off, felt the threatening attack wave from the side and had to shift its body.

Its agile forelimb chopped the trajectory of the Magic Missile!

*Crunch!!!*

The moment the Magic Missile contacted the sharp claw blade, a heavy force was immediately added to the mantisman’s forelimb.

*Ding ding ding!*

Compared to the arrow, this Magic Missile was much closer and caught it off guard.

Boom!!

The mantisman’s figure staggered backward onto its knees, forced back a few steps.

But before the Magic Missile exploded, it used a quick claw strike to slightly deflect its path.

Using the gained space, it jumped backward a short distance.

The deflected Magic Missile exploded midair, making a loud noise.

“Are its claws very tough? Or is my magic power quality insufficient?” Gauss recalled the contact moment.

“But it couldn’t take my Magic Missile head-on, and it needs some time to coil and prepare before long jumps, while short-distance moves require shorter reaction times.”

Gauss noticed the mantisman’s trembling forelimb and silently analyzed.

After being pushed back several meters, the mantisman’s gaze locked onto Gauss from afar.

But at this moment, except for the priest who stepped forward to rescue Liam, others who had arranged their formation finally provided support.

Though the mantisman’s sudden attack speed was too fast for anyone but Gauss to help Liam immediately, now they had to restrain it!

They couldn’t let it keep hitting the team’s members one by one.

Almost none of the team members had the strength to fight it one-on-one.

“Chill Touch!”

A blue ghostly skeletal hand shot out, attempting to grab the mantisman’s forelimb and inject necrotic energy into its body.

“Stare!”

The skeletal hand was too slow.

Before it could hit, the mantisman stepped back a few steps to dodge.

As long as it focused, with its developed leg muscles, it could evade most attacks from low-level adventurers.

At the same time, its gaze remained fixed tightly on Gauss.

It seemed determined that only he in this team could threaten it.