Dungeon And Slave: The Lustful and Violent Slave Harem of the Guard and Students Chosen as Testers for the Succubus Dungeon

Chapter 4: First Battle

Leaving my room, I headed toward the cave-like entrance nearby.

I glanced at the fountain-like pond in the center of the plaza, where students were gathering around PE teachers and club coaches, seemingly discussing something.

The teachers appeared to be trying to organize the kids.

They’ll probably be confused at first, but there are martial arts manuals. Plus, they’re at the age where sex drive peaks. They’ll surely fight desperately. I fought like hell at 15 for the reward of women, though I nearly died.

Now, time to earn some DP before the students snag the good girls.

Stepping into the cave, it felt like the limestone caverns I visited on a school trip in elementary school.

The ceiling was high, with stalactite-like rocks faintly glowing. It was much dimmer than the plaza, but I could still see well enough.

The ground was rough and uneven, making walking tricky. The path was wide enough for five adults to stand side by side, and I noticed several side tunnels along the walls.

For now, it seemed like a straight path, so I proceeded with the machete in hand.

What’s the first monster I’ll encounter in this dungeon? If it’s following the usual template, probably a slime…

I was thinking that when, about 50 meters from the entrance, a black shadow darted out from a side tunnel.

Spotting it, I backstepped to dodge.

The shadow zipped past me, landed, and slowly turned to face me.

“A rabbit?”

The black shadow was a plump brown rabbit.

I said it like a question because it was slightly larger than a normal rabbit, and it had a splendid horn, about 30 cm in diameter, protruding from its forehead.

A horned rabbit, huh. In fantasy manga, they’re called Horn Rabbits or something like that. My enhanced guard uniform should prevent it from piercing through, but getting stabbed with that momentum would hurt like hell.

As I observed it, the Horn Rabbit tensed its legs and lunged at me again.

“Hmph!”

But knowing it was coming, a small animal flying straight at me was no big deal.

I sidestepped, and as it passed, I swung the machete down at its neck.

The Horn Rabbit’s head was cleanly severed, and as its body hit the ground, spraying blood, it dissolved into black particles and vanished.

No corpse or bloodstains left behind. Just like a game.

“Hm? Is this black stone-looking thing the magic stone?”

In the spot where the Horn Rabbit disappeared, among the other pebbles, was a black, irregularly shaped stone about the size of a fingertip. I picked it up.

“Hmm… Wonder how much this is worth.”

The Horn Rabbit was fairly fast, but it only jumped to about waist height. With the enhanced uniform, it shouldn’t cause serious injury. A bad hit might crack a bone, but it’s not life-threatening.

Considering that, maybe 30 DP? If it was 50 DP, one kill would cover breakfast, which seems too generous. At 30 DP, two kills would cover a meal. That feels about right for a starting enemy.

If I kill 10 in an hour, that’s 300 DP. An hourly wage of 3,000 yen. Better pay than guard work.

The question is whether I can encounter 10 in an hour, but since I’m the only tester out here, it’s probably fine.

“Hah!”

I dodged a Horn Rabbit that leaped from a small side tunnel too narrow for a person and slashed its neck with the machete.

Sensing something behind me, I stepped back, and as another Horn Rabbit shot past, I brought the machete down on its neck.

“Same old pattern.”

I muttered, looking down at the two Horn Rabbits dissolving into black particles.

It’d been about two hours since I entered the cave.

As I ventured deeper, they started attacking in pairs with a slight delay, always leaping from blind spots. They’d jump out the moment I passed a side tunnel or while I was fighting the first one, charging from behind with obvious killing intent.

My forest-honed sense of presence never misses such things, so I’ve been taking them down easily.

Well, they’re just horned rabbits. This is about what I expected.

“But I went and got this round shield, and I haven’t even used it.”

I glanced at the 40 cm wooden round shield strapped to my left arm with leather bands and muttered.

I found this shield in a wooden treasure chest inside a tunnel where a Horn Rabbit came from.

In the last hour and a half, I found two treasure chests in similar spots. One had 20 copper coins with unfamiliar designs, and the other had this shield.

The chests weren’t locked, but just in case of traps, I opened them from the side with my machete. No traps, though.

When I got the shield, I felt like an adventurer straight out of a manga and got pretty excited. But in actual combat, I’ve been killing Horn Rabbits without needing it. Unless three or more attack at once, I probably won’t use it.

“Whatever. The encounter rate’s high, and I’m earning well.”

In two hours, I’ve killed about 40. Since no one else is fighting ahead, the encounter rate’s great.

Still, I haven’t been able to use Physical Enhancement. My mana’s probably still too low. How many do I need to kill to make it work?

“Time for a break.”

Checking my watch, it was nearly 1 PM, so I sat against a wall in a spot with no side tunnels, my back to the rock, and ate my bento.

Fighting for the first time in four years has left me a bit tired.

My stamina’s fine since I’ve been training at the gym, but constantly sensing presences while walking might be wearing me out since it’s been a while.

Thinking that, I polished off the fried chicken bento and downed the bottled tea. After a short rest, I headed deeper into the cave.

“A dead end, huh.”

After lunch, I continued for another two hours until I hit a massive wall.

Guess it’s not just a regular cave.

There were some fairly wide side tunnels along the way, though not as big as this path.

Probably one of those tunnels, or a tunnel branching off from them.

This cave—no, dungeon—is pretty vast.

Two hours since lunch, four hours total. Moving cautiously and fighting has slowed me down, but I’ve still covered over 5 km.

Seeing a dead end, I thought I’d reached a goal, but there’s nothing here.

“Might as well head back for today. Still couldn’t activate Physical Enhancement, though.”

I’ve killed at least 100 by now. In a game, I’d have leveled up three times for sure.

Is there no leveling up? That’d be a problem.

Hmm, I’ll keep an eye on it for now.

At least I earned plenty of magic stones and found two more treasure chests. One had two throwing knives, and the other had a small vial of pale green liquid. I recognized it as a potion right away since I’d planned to buy one once I had enough DP.

The cheapest Grade 5 potion costs 2,000 DP and has hemostatic effects, healing shallow cuts or bruises. I thought it sounded underwhelming, but if it stops bleeding instantly, that’s a game-changer.

For a deep wound, even if it doesn’t heal, quick hemostasis can drastically improve survival odds. So, I’ll keep this instead of selling it. If someone gets injured, I’ll learn its exact effects. Hopefully, it’s not me.

I’ll just sell the magic stones and copper coins. If my guess is right and each stone is 30 DP, 100 stones would be 3,000 DP, over 30,000 yen.

I’ll probably encounter more Horn Rabbits on the way back. I don’t know the respawn rate, but even if it’s half, that’s 1,500 DP. Together, 4,500 DP, or 45,000 yen.

A daily wage of 4,500 DP? Not bad for killing weaklings. The lower floors should yield even more.

Gotta find the stairs to the next floor soon.

For now, I’ll call today a warm-up and head back.

Leaning against the dead-end wall, I rested my tired body, took out my sports drink, hydrated, and rested for about 10 minutes.

Then, machete in hand, I started back the way I came.

“Oh? Looks like some guys entered the dungeon after me.”

As expected, I fought fewer monsters on the return trip. While heading back, I spotted a group of about 10 students walking toward me. Judging by their tie colors, they’re second- and third-years. Clubmates forming a party?

Six with swords, four with spears. Pretty standard choices.

As I observed them while walking, the guy in front, watching the side tunnels, noticed me. He hurriedly whispered to his group.

“H-Hey, isn’t that the guard guy?”

“Ugh, the violent jerk?”

“Scary as hell. That face, walking with a machete? Total psycho.”

“Shh! Idiot, don’t make eye contact. That guy’s bad news. Stay away.”

I can hear you, you know?

As I approached, the students quickly moved to the wall to let me pass.

Only one third-year with sharp, hawk-like eyes watched me warily. The rest averted their gazes.

Oh, I recognize a few. They’re from the Battle Sports Club, the ones practicing late in the gym.

I heard it’s a sport popular in Europe, fighting with medieval European swords and spears. It’s got some traction in Japan too. The academy’s Battle Sports Club won the national championship this summer and was set to compete in a world tournament in the UK, with talks of being upgraded to a full club.

Recalling that, I passed by their wary and frightened stares.

Calling me a violent jerk is rude. I don’t recall doing anything to them.

Maybe they’re talking about when I caught a bullying incident during patrol and punched the bullies to stop it? Oh, I avoided their faces and recorded evidence, threatening to leak it online with their names if they reported me, so it didn’t become an issue. Online mob justice is brutal.

There was also a time I intervened when a martial arts club was doing “training” that looked like bullying.

I didn’t report the bullying to the academy because, early in my guard job, I had a similar incident. I reported it with video evidence, and the culprits were suspended. But the homeroom teacher held a grudge. Apparently, having both a bully and victim in their class led to a heated meeting with the victim’s parents, and they blamed me.

I was dumbfounded—watch your students better, right? After that, they glared at me every time we crossed paths, so I decided it was pointless and started handling things myself. I’d beat up the bullies, tell the victims to stay away, and warn that if they messed with them again or reported me, I’d leak the evidence online. Less hassle that way.

Somehow, word got out, and the rumor that I beat people up spread. They probably think I got away with it because of the chairman’s connections. Whatever.

Enough sidetracking.

Still, it’s impressive that high schoolers raised in this peaceful country, thrown into a bizarre situation and told to fight, decided to arm up and battle on the same day. Even if they’re used to swords and spears from their club, real weapons are heavier than competition ones.

Maybe it feels like a game to them. The way enemies dissolve into black particles is game-like, and there’s magic too.

“This could be trouble.”

I’m solo, so I keep all the magic stones, which maximizes my income. But if the students get used to fighting, their numbers will give them an advantage.

If someone strong decides to go solo, it could be a problem. The academy’s kendo and martial arts clubs are supposedly pretty good.

I can’t afford to slack off, or the good girls might get taken, and the guys I punched might come for revenge. Believing in level-ups, I’ll pick up the pace tomorrow.

Passing more familiar martial arts club students, getting glares or scared looks, I took about three hours to return to the safe zone plaza.

Entering the plaza, I saw several groups clustered around, each surrounding a few armed individuals.

They seemed to be questioning teachers or students who’d gone inside about monsters and combat strategies, making it quite noisy.

I made eye contact with a group near the entrance, but they all looked away.

I’d answer if they asked, but man, what a lonely feeling.

Then again, I’d ignore the head guard if he talked to me. Oh, wait, he got disposed of for being too old. Rest in peace.

Glad I picked the room closest to the dungeon entrance, I thought, opening my door and stepping inside.

Now, time to cash in these magic stones. Wonder how much I’ll get. Can’t wait to find out.