Dungeon Tour!

 
 
 ☆
 
 
 Our group was being guided by the seniors, 4 girls and 2 boys.
 
 “Alright. And so, today our team will be guiding all of you. I, Lisbeth, will be acting as the leader this time. You can just call me Liz. ——— by the way, have any of you been in a dungeon before?”
 
 We shook our heads at Liz’s question.
 Only one person, Olga, raised her hand.
 
 “I see. Then it’ll be better for me to guide in a way that suits those whose first time it is. I’ll explain things as we go, but if there’s anything you don’t understand, feel free to ask questions.”
 
 Having said this, Liz turned around and faced the second-year students behind her.
 
 “Well then, as agreed, we’ll move forward in a 2, 2, 1, 1 formation with the first years sandwiched in between. At worst, I’ll be sure to protect the first-years, but it’d help if you could stop any from slipping past as much as possible.”
 
 One of the male seniors responded to her words with an expression that seemed 『brimming with confidence』.
 
 “Hey, hey, who’d you think you’re talking to? There’s no way I’d mess up. I’ll show my cute juniors some magnificent wand-wielding. ——— 『Lux 《Light》』.”
 
 When he said this, he took out his wand from his pocket and said a short chant which made the tip of the wand glow, which he waved around proudly.
 
 (I see. Just as they say, it has quite the activation speed. I’m looking forward to seeing how they’ll fight with this!)
 
 My curiosity began rising.
 
 “You might be feeling anxious about entering a dungeon for the first time, but the enemies on the first floor are slow-moving and weak monsters, so don’t worry too much. It’ll be more dangerous if you panic and all scatter in different directions, so remember that, ok?”
 
 ““Yes!””
 
 Renee, Anna and I replied cheerfully.
 And sure enough, the other 3 showed no reaction.
 The temperature difference is huge.
 
 While we were having this exchange, the turn for our group came.
 
 For this tour, we’ve been split into 5 groups, and each group will take their own route.
 
 “Now, let’s go!”
 
 Liz-senpai smiled at everyone as if we were going on a picnic.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 “Dungeons are surprisingly spacious inside, huh.”
 
 After entering the lighthouse entrance and descending the long, worn staircase, an expansive stoneworked space spread out.
 
 There are even what looks like giant statues, as though it were an ancient palace.
 
 By the way, the previous group was still in the same room, and were about to move on.
 
 “To be precise, it should be said that it is so for 『this room』. Although it feels this way here, the corridor isn’t that wide, and if you go down one floor the atmosphere completely changes.”
 
 Liz-senpai gave an elucidation to my mutterings.
 
 “It’s bright here thanks to the magic lamps, but is that also only true for this room?”
 
 “That depends on the location and floor. Where we’re going today is like this, but if you descend lower there are also floors where it’s pitch dark. ——— Come, the previous group has already gone through, so let’s go exploring right away!”
 
 And so, we pushed open one of the hall’s five doors and proceeded deeper within.
 
 
 ☆
 
 
 Just as our senior said, the corridor ahead wasn’t very wide.
 
 At best, it’s a little larger than a school passage.
 
 If armed warriors were to fight lined up, two or three would be the limit.
 
 “When exploring, always pay attention to the movement of magical power. Knowing when an enemy is coming will give you an advantage, and conversely, noticing too late could push you into a corner and wiped out. Also, if you’re really good at magic detection, you’ll be able to notice traps.”
 
 “Traps?”
 
 It’s strange enough that the inside of a dungeon, which was supposedly formed naturally, looks so man-made, but are there even traps???
 
 To my surprise, our senior nodded.
 
 “Yes. Things like the floor exploding when you step on it, or the ceiling collapsing as you advance. I think there are barely any traps on this floor, but if you go to the lower floors, the traps become more malicious the more you progress. Half of all adventurers’ deaths are from traps, so sorcerers who are good at magic detection are priceless. This means that sorcerers aren’t necessarily just for fights.”
 
 “So that’s how it is, huh. ——— Ah!”
 
 That moment, bzzt, a chill ran through me.
 
 After turning at the intersection ahead… I felt a flow of magic power coming from the right-hand direction.
 
 “…? What’s wrong?”
 
 Our seniors turned to look my way curiously after my voice slipped.
 
 Seeing me staring at one spot ahead, they also looked that way.
 
 “… coming.”
 
 Beside me, Reina muttered softly.
 
 “Maybe you guys———”
 
 Right as Liz-senpai was about to say something—
 
 “Unknown detected!”
 
 The female senior who had been guarding our backs shouted out in a powerful voice.
 
 
 
 “Unknown approaching. Coming from 2 o’clock, distance 30 metres.”
 
 “Also, more than 4 of them.”
 
 “Seems like a mixed group.”
 
 Reports came in at rapid fire from the senior searcher.
 
 I see.
 There sure were multiple signs of magic power, all approaching this direction at different speeds.
 
 By the way, the three moving in the front are fast-moving, and the three in the back are slow-moving.
 
 “There are too many. We’ll engage them here. This time we absolutely have to protect the first-years, so no holding back. We’ll go all-out.”
 
 “’Kay!” ““Understood””
 
 When Liz-senpai gave the order, the two in the vanguard readied small shields, and the two in the middle guard readied their wands.
 
 Our senior looked back towards us.
 
 “There are many enemies, so I too will prepare to fight. It’s dangerous, so step back and watch.”
 
 ““Yes.””
 
 Right as we responded—
 
 “They’re here!”
 
 The instant the senior behind us shouted, something humanoid showed up at the intersection 20 metres ahead.
 
 
 
 From a distance, it looked like a goblin.
 The goblin I saw in the Ainsworth territory.
 They had a very similar stature.
 
 However, upon closer inspection, the eyes are unusually large and the head was oddly shaped.
 Almost like a fish head.
 And in its hand it held not a club, but rather a primitive spear.
 
 “Water-dwelling goblins… water goblins, huh.”^[1]
 
 Liz-senpai said this as she readied her wand.
 
 The three water goblins that appeared caught sight of us, and began running this way.
 
 “『Lect Beltfraconpronusfia』!!”^[2]
 
 Along with the rapid chant, the middle guard fires a red, glowing ball of light, which flies over to the enemy, and lands.
 
 Fwoosh!
 
 Ghyiiiyii!!
 
 In an instant, the water-dwelling goblins let out shrieks of death throes, tumbling over as they were engulfed in flames.
 
 Immediately after, another one of the middle guards fired a flash of light which streaked through the air like lightning, instantly killing another goblin.
 
 One left.
 
 The goblin, who had finally reached our vanguard, swung down the spear in his hand.
 
 Bang!
 
 The shield of the cocky senior in the vanguard deflected the spear’s tip.
 
 And in the next moment,—
 
 “『Trache Gracius』!!”
 
 — A pointed spear of ice sprung from the goblin’s back.