Chapter 101

I resumed the dungeon exploration with Emiya.

As planned, I decided to first defeat ten ogres to fulfill the quest requirements.

“Fufufu… Ando san… Please work a ton! I’m counting on you to get some good footage!”

Emiya muttered something under his breath as he followed me down the dark corridor.

“Sigh…”

I sighed quietly, in a way Emiya wouldn’t hear.

To be blunt, Emiya was plain burden.

He obviously didn’t have enough strength to survive in this area of the dungeon alone.

Which also meant I’d have to protect him as I go ahead, costing me a good amount of time.

But I couldn’t just flat-out refuse him and leave him behind.

If I abandoned an powerless Emiya here, there was no guarantee he’d even make it back to the surface safely.

Why did he come all the way here without having the necessary skills? And why has he been staring at his device in excitement since we met? I had a lot of questions, but since I had already gave up to his request, I decided to see it through—to have him accompany me until I completed the quest, just to ensure he returned to the surface unharmed.

“Well… whatever. I can make up for today’s progress tomorrow.”

Fortunately, I had the day off, so time wasn’t an issue.

Even with Emiya slowing us down, I could at least finish off ten ogres.

Tomorrow was also a day off as well, so I’d have enough time to make up for the lost hours over this two-day break.

“Ogghuuu…”

Just as I was going forward thinking that, I heard a low growl from further down the dungeon corridor.

This presence…

It had to be an ogre.

It felt like it had a slightly stronger aura than a regular ogre, so maybe this was a special variant.

“Emiya, fall back. It’s an ogre.”

I warned Emiya behind me.

“Oh! So is it!! Good luck!!”

Emiya moved to the side, eyes gleaming with anticipation, waiting for what was to come.

As usual, he kept his device pointed at me.

I was curious about what he was up to, but for now, I needed to focus on the battle ahead.

“Ogghuuuuu…”

Sure enough, the source of the growling appeared out of the darkness.

“Uhea?!”

Emiya let out a surprised sound from behind me.

Probably because the ogre emerging from the shadows didn’t look like the regular ordinary orge.

“A… red ogre?!”

“Seems like a mutant huh.”

Yes.

The creature emerging from the dark was an ogre whose entire body was dyed red.

These types of monsters were called mutants, known for having significantly higher combat abilities than the regular types.

I see now, so the stronger aura I sensed must have been because this orge is a mutant.

But to me, an ogre was an ogre, mutant or not. I couldn’t care less.

I decided to end it as fast as possible.

“T-T-This is the real deal! A seasoned mid-level explorer versus a mutant ogre… Who will win?! Ando san… All the best!”

Emiya cheered from behind, his voice trembling slightly. Welp, he probably realized that if I lost, he’d be dead too.

With Emiya’s safety in mind, I faced towards the mutant ogre once again.

“Ogghuuu…”

The ogre, now just a few meters away, glared at me, then shifted its gaze to Emiya behind me.

Its fanged mouth seemed to curl slightly for a moment.

“OGAAA!!”

“…!”

The mutant ogre vanished.

The ground tore apart as the massive creature closed the distance towards us with startling speed.

Naturally indeed, it was quite fast.

I braced myself in a passive stance for the impact.

However, the ogre’s target wasn’t me.

“Eh—?”

“OOGAAAAAAA!!!!”

The ogre bypassed me, and closed up on Emiya instead.

It seems, it intents on taking out the weaker one first.

“Eh… huh…?”

Emiya, who, as expected, couldn’t keep up at all with what was happening stood motionless as the ogre raised its huge arm to strike him down.

*Giiin!

“Don’t ignore me.”

Boom!

I leapt in between them in an instant, crossing my arms to block the ogre’s arm, which would have else-wise smashed Emiya’s head into smithereens if it had landed.

“Oggha…?!”

It must have not expected me to make it in time, as the ogre’s eyes widened in shock

“Uwaaaaaaahhhh!!”

Emiya screamed,

At last he realized just how close he was to death.