Chapter 99

I was running forward while being careful not to crush the tomato in my hand.

If I crushed it, the tomato would stick to my hand, and the centaur would take my hand—such a future flashed through my mind.

It’s a pitiful story that the most terrifying thing for me, who has faced numerous monsters like the Goblin King, Minotaur, and giant lizards, is now a donkey.

Honestly, I think I could win against a centaur in a fair fight. However, the centaur’s eyes were even more frightening.

I was overwhelmed by the donkey’s presence.

The fact that the tomatoes are so good makes me proud as the one who grew them, but the effect is too immediate.

I try to quickly throw away the tomato, but what if the centaur stops here?

After all, I and the centaur have been clearing the way through a horde of monsters.

Since there’s no time to fight with a sword, I knock them down with my feet and fists.

It’s not a one-hit kill, but it’s good enough. I deflect attacks from the enemies, knock them down, and build a barricade of monsters.

The centaur easily broke through the barricade.

I can see Haru desperately following from behind, but there’s no sign of Suzuki.

He’s probably holding the rear.

Should I just keep going?

With that resolve,

“Slash!”

I crossed my arms and swung them down.

It’s not as powerful as Suzuki’s Grand Cross, but it still creates wounds on the monsters within sight.

The monsters start to frenzy from the smell of blood, which is actually convenient.

Since they’re rampaging in such a narrow space, they can’t move properly.

In such a state, they can’t attack me properly, so I jump high and run, kicking the backs of red bull-like monsters, black and white tigers, and green bears.

The centaur charges through, ignoring everything behind me.

I can see Haru finishing off the remaining monsters.

He’s hogging all the good parts.

Well, as a party member, I get a quarter of the experience, but the level-up call hasn’t come yet because the battle has been ongoing.

When will this fight end?

Moreover, even if we reach the statue of the goddess, I’m not sure if we can solve the problem.

But—I’ll do what I can.

I’m not interested in saving the country or the world, but if the people in front of me are in danger, I want to protect them.

“Joe! That’s the boss room!”

I heard Jofle’s voice from behind as I entered a large room.

Indeed, I saw a large door open when I entered the room.

In the center of the room was a huge, hairy monster that looked like a brown elephant, no, a mammoth.

When it spotted me, it flared its trunk and tried to kill me along with the other monsters in the room.

“You’re going to become mammoth meat right away!”

I drew my sword, cut off the mammoth’s trunk, and before it could die from the bleeding, I pierced its forehead with my sword. It left behind a particularly large magic stone, mammoth tusks, and, as if materializing my wish, mammoth meat.

...I’ll put the mammoth meat in the item bag.

I’ve always wanted to try it.

...That’s when it happened. Just a moment, a brief moment of carelessness.

I was blown away from behind due to the carelessness of defeating the strongest enemy.

As I was being blown away, I saw the centaur eating the tomato I had dropped.

...If that guy was the enemy, it would have been tough.

While thinking that, I reached my left hand back, cast a heal, and came up with a plan.

“Haru, sorry, but I’m going to use this!”

I scattered tomatoes from my item bag.

The scent of tomatoes is so alluring to the centaur that other herbivorous monsters should also want to eat them.

As expected, the herbivorous monsters started to fight over the tomatoes.

I found a protrusion on the wall, grabbed it, and observed from a distance.

A kangaroo-like bipedal rat (without a pouch) won the fight and grabbed the tomato with its front paws... right then.

The centaur, not wanting to lose the tomato, delivered a powerful kick with its hind legs.

Not only that, the centaur kicked away all the monsters trying to eat the tomatoes.

It was in a state of absolute dominance.

“I can’t let the donkey take all the good parts.”

With that, I jumped down and swept through the remaining monsters at full speed.

Along the way, Haru and Suzuki joined the battle, and the three of us eliminated the monsters.

[Level of Ichinojo has increased]

[Class: Samurai has been unlocked]

[Swordsman Skill: Tornado Slash has been obtained]

[Swordsman Skill: Sky Break has been obtained]

[Class: Sword Saint has been unlocked]

[Swordsman level cannot increase further]

[Title: Master Swordsman has been obtained]

[Title: Master Swordsman and Apprentice Master Swordsman have been integrated into the Way of the Sword]

[Title Skill: Pulse of the Sword has been obtained]

[Brawler Skill: HP Boost (Minor) has been upgraded to HP Boost (Small)]

[Brawler Skill: Physical Boost has been obtained]

[Class: Brawler has been unlocked]

[Brawler level cannot increase further]

[Title: Master Brawler has been obtained]

[Mace User Skill: Spinning Mace has been obtained]

[Class: Mace User has been unlocked]

[Mace User Skill: Piko Piko Hammer has been obtained]

[Mace User level cannot increase further]

[Title: Master Mace User has been obtained]

[Apprentice Blacksmith Skill: Infusion of Fighting Spirit has been obtained]

[Apprentice Blacksmith level cannot increase further]

[Title: Master Apprentice Blacksmith has been obtained]

[Class: Blacksmith has been unlocked]

[Recipe has been obtained]

...Is it over...?

The level-up message signaling the end of the battle.

I was surprised to see all my classes maxed out, considering the number of monsters I had defeated to get here.

But I couldn’t be too surprised.

Because the room where the statue of the goddess should be was shrouded in darkness.

During the battle, monsters occasionally emerged from that darkness.

As I stared into the darkness, a shiver ran down my spine.

Then, the mammoth monster I had just defeated reappeared from the darkness.