"This is a cave-shaped dungeon."
I turned my head at the sound of Chelsea's voice echoing along with my thoughts.
Fooddeuk.
Soon after, the sound of bats' wings was heard from inside.
"First, everyone, keep your voice down and let your vision adapt to the darkness as quickly as possible."
Chelsea gave these instructions in a firm tone and began to heighten her alertness of her surroundings.
"It's a cave-shaped dungeon, so it's dark."
"Even though it's a cave, it's still so dark."
"Yeah, I really can't see anything… Aaah! Lois, my foot! You stepped on my foot!"
Lois stumbled as Elaine screamed and quickly apologized in a panicked voice.
"Uh, uh? Sorry!"
"Oh, it's okay… Ouch! Lois!"
"Oh, this is driving me crazy. I can't see anything. Why is it so dark!"
"Shhh! Lois. Just stay still and don't move. Don't bother the people around you."
Merlin, who was standing next to Elaine and Lois, quickly shouted.
Scroll.
"No, I don't want to do that too. But What can I do when I can't see anything in front of me?"
Indeed, as he said, this place was pitch-black darkness, with no visibility whatsoever.
And.
'The monster wave starts right here.'
For beginners who have just entered the dungeon, a sudden surprise attack by monsters in a situation where they cannot even see what is right in front of them will be like hell.
So.
Sizzle.
I quickly took out what I had prepared in advance from the bag I was carrying on my back.
'First of all, we need to secure the field of vision. Otherwise…'
At that moment.
Kkieeeek!
"Monsters appear ahead. Everyone, prepare your weapons and prepare for battle!"
Chelsea shouted urgently along with the sudden monster's cry.
Swoosh.
But.
"What? A monster?"
"Damn, I still can't see a single one."
"Elaine, quickly, use some light magic…"
At that moment, everyone was shouting in a panicked tone.
Chiik, hururuk!
I quickly lit the torch.
"What, what is it?"
"Fire?"
Then I immediately passed a torch to Lois.
"Take it, Lois."
"Huh? Oh, thank you."
Chiik, hwarruruk!
I lit another torch, beginning to illuminate the surrounding darkness.
It was a sudden and unexpected situation, but once the torches began to clear my surroundings, I was soon able to identify the monsters.
Kkeeek!
Kiiik.
"It's a bunch of goblins!"
The moment Lois shouted that after receiving the torch from me.
SLING—!!!
Chelsea quickly drew her sword and continued speaking.
"Everyone, don't panic. Just do as you practiced. Get in formation first!"
Kkieeeeek!
Crunch!
Then Chelsea shouted in a cold tone as she cut off the head of the goblin that was approaching her like lightning.
"We will process it as quickly as possible."
Push, squeak! Kkieeeek!
The goblins' screams continued for a while.
And.
Sling.
"Processing complete!"
Swoosh.
"It's over here too."
"Yeah. There are no more living things detected around here. It's really over."
Elaine quickly scanned her surroundings and said with a smile.
But I shouted firmly at them like that.
"What do you mean it's over? Get back into formation quickly."
"What?"
"Hey, Lucas. Who are you to give us orders…?"
Just then, Merlin frowned and was about to answer.
Krrrrrr.
Another group of monsters appeared, howling with strange noises.
"What is that sound again?"
"No, it's monster!"
"Huh? What? There was definitely nothing there?!"
"Everyone, focus again. Prepare for battle!"
Following Chelsea's instructions again, the players looked bewildered but quickly began to move.
SWOOOH—!!!
And again.
"Finished!"
"You don't know yet, don't let your guard down!"
Perhaps because of the situation a little while ago, this time Chelsea also did not let their guard down and shouted as well.
KIIIRIKKK—!!!
"More monsters?"
"Wow, what the heck? Three consecutive monster waves right from the start?"
"This time it's orcs. You all know how to deal with them, right?"
"Of course, then let's stretch our bodies properly."
Shh, sssssss!
Crunch.
Chewy!
Although the crew members were momentarily flustered by an unexpected wave of monsters in the middle, they still managed to deal with the pouring enemies without any problems.
'It seems like their skills are pretty good.'
As the top student in her class and one of the original heroines, Chelsea's skills were, of course, beyond doubt.
I didn't have high expectations for the others, but this was absolutely not bad.
"Is this the end now?"
"Are there more? The fourth one is a bit too much."
"Whew, so that's why the kids got eliminated right away."
They quickly took care of the entire group of orcs.
I quietly muttered to myself as I watched the crew members muttering with a slightly tired look on their faces.
'The first hurdle is over. I prepared a small bomb just in case there was a problem, but I don't think it will be of much use.'
By the way, the guys that appeared in this monster wave were goblins, gnolls, and orcs, respectively.
Aren't these the three like monster brothers?
Did the author do it that way on purpose?
At that moment, I was thinking such useless thoughts.
Step by step.
"Lucas."
At some point, I heard Chelsea approaching me and calling my name.
I tilted my head at the sight of her standing before me without even wiping the monster's blood still flowing from her blade.
"Huh? What is it?"
"Did you light that torch on purpose?"
"What?"
"Normally, lighting a torch without saying anything at the entrance to a dungeon could attract the attention of monsters and put you in danger."
My eyebrows rose slightly at Chelsea's sudden, inflexible, textbook-like speech.
"So?"
Swoosh—!
"Even if it wasn't a torch, if you used light magic, it would be possible to secure visibility…"
As Chelsea continued to talk on and on, I cut her off mid-sentence by slightly extending my hand.
"No, so what are you trying to say?"
"I just wanted to say that next time something like this happens, I hope you tell me in advance."
"What...?"
"Anyway, thanks to you, we were able to overcome the crisis."
Chelsea quickly avoided my gaze and muttered in a low voice. I didn't answer, just stared at her blankly before asking again.
"Is that all?"
"...."
In response to my subsequent questions, Chelsea turned her head without saying anything and shouted at the other members.
"Everyone, don't let your guard down, and if you're ready, let's go right away."