Chapter 48: Group Assignments Are Not Easy (5)

A fireball the size of a human head streaked across the dungeon.

The fireball, trailing a blazing tail, scorched the air as it hurtled toward its enemies.

After whipping through the air, the fireball collided with the body of a monster at the forefront and exploded.

Boom!

The deafening blast instinctively made Nine cover his ears.

It wasn’t enough to fully block the noise, but he couldn’t just do nothing.

‘The smell is terrible.’

Nine frowned at the stench of flesh burning alive.

‘Ice or lightning would’ve been better.’

He had chosen the fireball for its overwhelming firepower to eliminate unexpected variables.

Nine’s eyes narrowed.

His instincts screamed that the battle wasn’t over yet.

“More are coming.”

“More, really?”

“The damage was less than I expected.”

He had thought the wide area of effect would compensate for any slight miscalibration, but apparently not.

Nine clicked his tongue and stepped forward, glaring at the enemies.

‘There are more than I thought.’

Staying put with half-hearted determination wouldn’t be enough to protect Alice and Irina.

“Prepare the next spell. You decide when to cast it.”

This was both a cue and a test.

A step toward the next level.

With those words, Nine charged at the enemies like a tiger.

The monsters all turned their gaze toward him.

They were numerous and threatening.

But Nine sneered at their menacing appearance.

‘You think you can hit me?’

For three years, he had fought to survive.

Though they were just petty skirmishes among stray cats, those experiences had taught him the essence of wild combat.

So, Nine boldly lunged at the goblin at the forefront.

“Ugh, you stink. Die.”

Claws that could tear apart a small cat dug into the goblin’s flesh.

The sensation of tearing through skin was unpleasant, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.

Nine averted his eyes from the goblin collapsing in a spray of green blood and searched for his next target.

Seven goblins.

Two orcs.

The one to stop first… the orc with a rusty, toothless axe.

Nine darted forward like lightning and slashed the orc’s face with his claws.

“!@#&(!$#!”

Three deep gashes crossed its face.

A scream erupted from the orc’s spinach-colored face.

‘Bigger body means bigger claws. Pretty useful. I guess size does matter in a fight.’

After all, a lion is just a big cat.

Realizing once again that size was crucial in combat, Nine swatted away a rock hurled at his face with his front paw.

‘I haven’t fought many monsters, but this is manageable.’

Three years.

Most of his enemies had been fellow strays fighting for survival.

Though they were relatively similar in size compared to these monsters, those three years of experience didn’t betray him.

Don’t flinch from attacks, keep your eyes on the enemy to gauge their intentions, and find a way to win.

His rough life was etched into his claws as they tore through another goblin’s face.

“…Wow, no mercy.”

“Stop yapping and shoot those bastards in the forehead!”

Nine’s furious voice echoed through the passage, drawing the monsters’ attention.

The sharp, feline voice, rare in this dungeon, was perfect for grabbing attention.

Unintentionally, Nine had become the center of the monsters’ focus.

Or perhaps…

“Cha…cha…cha…”

‘Why does their laughter sound like that?’

“Found it! Found it!”

“What?”

The absurd words momentarily froze Nine in his tracks.

‘Are my ears playing tricks on me?’

“Found it! Found it!”

“Did you just say you found me?”

Nine sighed deeply, utterly baffled.

‘Now even monsters are into me? What’s next?’

A fleeting, ridiculous thought crossed his mind—maybe in this world of 0s and 1s, even monsters had developed a fondness for cats.

‘Well, maybe…probably not.’

As his brief distraction ended, what met his eyes were the crazed, bloodshot eyes of the goblins.

‘What’s wrong with these guys?’

Suddenly, the monsters’ target shifted to Nine.

Caught off guard, Nine narrowly dodged a club aimed at his head.

But the monsters weren’t alone.

The white giant cat had more than one enemy to worry about.

“I can’t cast magic with Nine and the goblins all mixed up!”

“Why are they like this?!”

“Found it!”

‘Could it be because I’m a spirit beast that they’re drawn to me?’

Instinctively, Nine deflected or dodged incoming attacks while leaving scars on the goblins’ bodies.

One, two, three, four… With his current body, they weren’t much of a threat.

“I’ll help too!”

“Me too!”

“I, I…”

‘W-what spell should I use?’

It was overwhelming.

But to save Nine, she had to use magic.

“Damn it! More are coming!”

“Same here!”

The situation was getting more chaotic.

Her limbs felt uncoordinated.

Alice’s vision spun.

‘W-what spell should I use?’

She looked at Nine.

His body was drenched in green.

She needed the right spell.

A spell to stop the ever-growing number of enemies.

‘I need to aim precisely!’

She couldn’t afford to miss.

She couldn’t.

Amid her chaotic thoughts, a light flashed.

If precise aiming was too hard, she could use a spell that didn’t require it!

A powerful gust of wind burst from Alice’s hands.

Strong enough to blow away small goblins.

It lacked lethality, but that was exactly what was needed in this chaotic melee.

Instinctively, Nine pressed himself to the ground.

The gust of wind mercilessly slammed into him.

His lush fur fluttered, creating a white carpet. But like deep-rooted weeds, he stayed firmly on the ground.

Unlike the goblins, who were knocked over and sent flying.

“Now!”

“Got it!”

Three arrows were nocked on Irina’s bow.

Three shots.

For an average archer, hitting the mark would be difficult… but she was a hunter’s descendant.

“Die!”

Three arrows flew across the passage.

Tearing through the wind, they struck the goblins squarely between the eyes.

A feat even skilled archers would struggle to achieve.

She casually nocked another arrow and aimed at the next enemy.

The enemies were many, and their numbers were few.

Every kill counted.

With the situation escalating, they couldn’t rely on safety measures anymore.

“Alice! Lightning magic! Use lightning magic!”

“Y-yes!”

A yellow spark flickered in her hand.

A jolting force strong enough to roast anything it touched.

‘Straight ahead!’

“I’ll shoot!”

With a flick of her hand, the passage lit up.

Nine reflexively leaped out of the spell’s range.

“(!@&*(!$#!”

Screams of pain shook the passage.

“Ugh, the smell…”

‘But the effect is undeniable.’

Nine shuddered as the lightning magic chained through the surrounding monsters, electrocuting them in an instant.

‘This is why mages are great.’

A single powerful spell was like a cannon shot.

If artillery was the god of the battlefield, then mages were the gods of the dungeon!

“They’re all down!”

“This side’s clear too!”

A distant shout from Orca made everyone turn.

“…Wow.”

“This is what an orca can do… Amazing.”

“All those… Did she really…”

The floor was so drenched in blood that its original color was indiscernible.

Amid the scattered corpses stood a girl calmly shaking the blood off her sword.

A small orca.

Orca Linnaeus.

She walked toward the group with a composed expression, not even slightly out of breath.

“…I don’t know why this happened, but… I really want to wash up now.”

“Me too.”

“I need to clean the blood off my fur.”

All eyes naturally turned to Alice.

“…I-I’ll take care of it!”

“Thank goodness we have Alice.”

“I should’ve learned magic too.”

“I wholeheartedly agree.”

The group had no choice but to take a bath in the corner.