Death Iron Skeleton

"Well done, Sola!"

John shouted excitedly as he watched the Steel Slime get blasted into the air.

"Everyone, protect Sola! Let him deal with these damned monsters."

"Don't worry. As long as I, John, am here, no one will be able to hurt Sola."

Without needing much prompting, the adventurers quickly rebuilt their defensive line around Sola. With their backs against the walls, the vanguard led by John formed a wall of flesh and blood. Those protected behind them only needed to face the monsters charging from the front, without worrying about being attacked from both sides.

The adventurers, who had been somewhat frightened by the Steel Slimes' newly displayed power, rallied once more. The warriors, who made up the largest portion of the party, roared as they frantically cut down every monster that approached.

Whenever a Steel Slime came close, the shield-bearing vanguard would rush forward to absorb the impact. Then, with a powerful heave of both arms, they would fling the Steel Slime that had struck their shields into the air, leaving Sola's Fireball to finish it off.

With the coordinated cooperation of the adventurers, the Steel Slimes that had caused them so much trouble began to dwindle at a visible rate.

"This must be a newly mutated kind of slime. It'll definitely be worth a lot of money if we bring it back."

"This slime's body might make a pretty good forging material."

With victory in sight, John and the others relaxed considerably. One of the adventurers, who also worked as a blacksmith, even picked up the remains of a Steel Slime. His blacksmith's instincts told him that this slime's body was an excellent material.

It might even be used to forge magical equipment.

And as long as they brought a brand-new monster back and reported it to the Adventurers' Guild, they would receive a substantial reward and point bonus as its discoverers. Everyone present could advance by at least one adventurer rank.

Then they would be able to take on higher-paying missions.

"As expected of a new dungeon. As long as you're not afraid of dying, huge treasures are waiting for us to claim them."

"Just the first floor already has slimes this powerful. This might even be a large dungeon."

Sean's wrist flickered as he beheaded the wolf-like beast before him. His gaze remained fixed on a Steel Slime gathering strength in the distance, his voice unable to hide his excitement.

Dungeons were divided into small, medium, large, and the legendary Eternal Dungeons.

The capital of the High Rock Kingdom had been built atop a large dungeon. The extraordinary resources, magical materials, and various supplies produced within were enough to support more than half the kingdom.

"Come on, brothers! If we seize this chance, we might become legendary adventurers too!"

The adventurers encouraged one another, their hearts growing ever more fervent. Driven by greed and desire, they had long since cast aside the dangers they had encountered earlier.

Bzzzt~

Behind the adventurers, unnoticed by anyone, a suit of armor covered in mycelium and seemingly abandoned in the corner suddenly raised its head. Scarlet light ignited within its hollow helmet.

"Ah!"

"Monster! Where did that monster come from?"

"Save me! I don't want to die!"

The unprepared archer was cut in half at the waist by the suddenly appearing Death Iron Skeleton. Standing two meters tall, the Death Iron Skeleton was like a hungry wolf charging into a sheep pen. Wielding a massive sword nearly six feet long, it stirred up a bloody slaughter as it charged straight toward Sola, the mage at the center.

It was not as though no one tried to resist, but they were easily torn apart by the Death Iron Skeleton's terrifying strength. Even when someone occasionally managed to damage it, blood-red patterns would emerge across its surface the next second, devouring the blood on its body to repair the damage.

"Damn it, its target is me." Sola noticed the Death Iron Skeleton charging at him and immediately ran toward John without hesitation.

But how could a short-legged mage like him possibly outrun the Death Iron Skeleton? What was more, once the adventurers in front of him realized that Sola was its target, they all moved aside instead of protecting him.

They were not fools. At a time like this, saving their own lives came first. That monster was not targeting them anyway.

"Stop it!"

John noticed the situation as well. He shouted for the adventurers around Sola to block the Death Iron Skeleton while violent battle aura erupted from his entire body. As he stepped forward, his terrifying power cracked the ground beneath his feet.

Covering Charge!

Meanwhile, the Death Iron Skeleton, its entire body having turned dark red, had already appeared before Sola. Its greatsword sliced through the air and swung down at him without the slightest hesitation.

"Too late."

John's heart sank as he charged over like a rutting boar, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him. It was as though he could already see that greatsword, taller than Sola himself, splitting him in two.

Bang!

At the critical moment, just as everyone thought Sola was about to die beneath the Death Iron Skeleton's slash, a Magic Shield suddenly appeared before him. It held for only a few seconds before shattering like glass.

Boom!

"Well done, Sola."

The next instant, John appeared in front of Sola, battle aura surging from his body and a massive shield in hand. He firmly received the Death Iron Skeleton's strike and spoke without looking back. Thanks to the time bought by that Magic Shield, he had managed to arrive in time.

Splat.

But no reply came from behind John. Instead, there was a sound like a watermelon bursting. Spattered brains and blood struck the side of John's face. When he turned around, all he saw was Sola's headless corpse on the ground.

In a dark corner not far away, a Death Iron Skeleton holding a longbow drew another arrow and aimed at its next target.

It had been the one to kill Sola with a single shot. Taking advantage of the other Death Iron Skeleton drawing all the adventurers' attention, it had waited until Sola's Magic Shield was exhausted before delivering a fatal blow.

Bang~ Bang~ Bang~

The Illumination Spell lost its effect, and the once-bright cavern fell into darkness again. The sounds of Steel Slimes bouncing about echoed in everyone's ears. A chilly wind swept past, and dense spores enveloped them all.

"It's over."

The moment Sola died, John knew that this dungeon exploration had to end here. Without a mage's spells, aside from himself and Sean, the two formal-class professionals, the others were no match for those mutated slimes and the two monsters that had appeared afterward.

In the darkness, John swept his gaze around. Sean, the other professional, an assassin, had already vanished. Without the slightest hesitation, John threw away his massive shield, grabbed the round shield and spiked warhammer hanging on his back, and ran straight toward the passage they had entered through.

With the strength of a formal-class professional, escaping the dungeon would not be a problem for him.

Just like being chased by a tiger, he did not need to run faster than the tiger. He only needed to run faster than his companions.