Chapter 24 - Shield Formation? Are You Kidding Me?!

As I charged forward—

"RAAK-KYEEEK!"
"RAAK-KYEEEK!"

Two gnolls attacked from the front, one wielding a mining axe, the other gripping a rusted sword. They ran side by side, flanking me from both directions.

The gnoll on the left swung his axe vertically from the top-left down—
—Whoosh!—
as if trying to smash a boulder.

Meanwhile, the one on the right slashed horizontally, aiming for my body.
—Whoosh!—

In the split second before their attacks could reach me, I stopped right in front of them. My body leaned to the left, facing the axe-wielding gnoll. My left hand gripped the hilt of the sword still sheathed at my waist.

In one smooth motion, I drew my blade and slashed upward in a vertical arc—
—Whoosh!—
just as the axe came crashing down.
—CLANG!—

The sound of metal clashing echoed loud as my strike deflected the heavy axe sideways.
The gnoll’s weapon was knocked to the right—
—clang!—
colliding with the rusted sword of the other gnoll.
—Screeech!—
Sparks flew as their weapons clashed unintentionally.

Without wasting the opportunity, I stepped forward—just one step closed the gap.
My right hand, now raised high with the blade, swung sharply—
—Whoosh!—
cutting through the air with deadly intent.

With one clean stroke—
—Slash!—
my blade struck the gnoll’s neck. One down.

The headless body stood frozen, its arm still locked with the other gnoll's weapon.
With a swift, powerful kick, I launched the lifeless corpse to the right.
—Thud!—
It crashed into the other gnoll beside it.
“GRRAA-HKK!”

They both lost their balance and were flung a few meters back.

At that moment, the last gnoll saw the blood of his fallen comrades staining the ground.
“GRRR…”
With a deep growl, his eyes widened and veins bulged—he entered a berserk state.
“KRAHH-HOOOH!”
He roared wildly, out of control.

Without hesitation, he raised his rusted sword high—then—
—Whoosh!—
swung it down with full force, aiming to cleave me in two.

I quickly raised my sword, holding it diagonally in front of me (hilt low-right, tip high-left).
—CLANK!—
—Screeech!—

The brutal blow was caught with a deafening clash of steel.
The impact pushed me slightly back, but I held my ground—feet firmly planted on the earth.

At the same time, a subtle glow lit beneath my left foot as I am activated the rune spell—[Rock].

Thunk!

With a forward kick, I am launched a magic stone straight at the gnoll’s left leg.

-THUD!-

“ GRRAA-HKK! ”

The monster howled as its knee buckled, throwing it off balance.

I didn’t waste this opportunity.

i stepped slightly back, letting the gnoll stumble and fall. my body spun left in a smooth, well-trained motion.

In one swift move, i swung my sword from the lower left to the right

-Slash!-

an aggressive horizontal slash.

My blade sliced clean through the gnoll’s neck as it fell. Blood sprayed as the creature collapsed. dead before it even hit the ground.

That was the second one.

Without even a moment’s pause, my eyes locked onto the last gnoll.

I stepped forward swiftly, then dashed ahead. My sword gleamed with the momentum of my movement.

The last gnoll, still pinned under his fallen comrade, stared wide-eyed at the death that had just occurred above him. Rage burned in his eyes.
“GRRRR!”

His muscles tensed, chest swelling as if ready to explode.
He raised his head and opened his mouth wide, preparing to unleash a furious roar.

But it was all in vain. Too late.
I was already there—still charging at full speed, my sharp gaze locked onto him.

—Whoosh!—
Without hesitation, I drove my sword straight forward.
—Stab!—
The tip of my blade pierced through his open mouth, silencing the roar before it could even be heard.
Blood burst from his throat, his body shuddered once…

Then went still.
Dead, beside the comrade who had fallen on top of him moments earlier.

I pulled my sword back with a swift motion, flicking the blood off the blade. Calmly, I slid it back into its sheath.

From behind me, Greta gave a single slow clap, a sly grin on her face.
“Why didn’t you just shoot it like you did the spider? Pew pew pew…”
She raised her hand, mimicking a toy gun, pretending to shoot like a child playing war.

As I continued walking forward, the drone on my back activated again. Its six legs moved in rhythm with sharp mechanical clicks.
Without breaking stride, I answered her question with a thoughtful hum,
“Hmm… training,”
I said, stroking my chin as if pondering something deeply.

Soon, we turned a corner and entered a short straight corridor.
There: four gnolls. Charging toward us.

I didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll take care of them again…”
I muttered casually, stepping forward with confidence.

Seconds later, the fight was over. Four bodies dropped.

But the pattern kept repeating. Five more gnolls. Taken down.
Another wave. Then another.
The battles kept coming—like the dungeon itself was trying to test me.

Finally, after cutting down yet another group, I let out a breath and said,
“Looks like they’re starting to swarm a bit more now…”

Suddenly—shff!
A chill crept up my spine. My instincts screamed.

I raised my hand to face level, fingers curled as if gripping something invisible—snap!
Clink!
An arrow was caught midair, just inches from my face.

My gaze instantly locked onto the shadows. From within the dim hallway, three gnolls emerged—bows drawn, ready to fire again.

Without hesitation, I called out,
“Greta. Now.”

Snap. Snap. Snap.
In the blink of an eye, three arrows shot past my shoulder—the wind sliced with perfect rhythm.

Thud. Thud. Thud.
Three arrows. Three gnoll heads. All dropped silently.

After confirming the area was clear, we continued our journey in a steady silence. The gnoll corpses gradually disappeared from view as we walked deeper into the damp, musty corridors of the dungeon.

Finally, Greta responded to my earlier question, stretching her arms behind her head.

“Well, obviously…” she said lazily, resting her head against her folded arms.

“This is a mid-level dungeon… and we’re already on the seventh floor,” she added, tone drowsy.

Just as she finished speaking, we came upon a descending spiral staircase—worn stone steps fading into the shadows below.

Without hesitation, we began to descend.

Our footsteps echoed softly against the walls, a rhythmic sound of boots tapping aged stone.

In a casual tone, I asked,
“How many monsters do you think are on floor eight?”

Greta let out a long sigh, her voice tired and slow,
“No idea… but definitely more.”

I sighed lightly.
More monsters. Of course.

8th Floor of the Dungeon

As usual, when we arrived on the eighth floor, we were greeted by a dimly lit chamber with several branching paths ahead. I glanced at Greta for directions. She sighed, visibly bored, then muttered lazily,
“Second left.”

Without another word, we followed the indicated path. The stone corridor curved gently, and the air grew heavier with each step.

Then, in the distance, I spotted movement.

Five Kobold Dragonshields stood ahead. Each was slightly larger than a regular kobold, their scales thicker, clad in crude yet functional armor. The moment they spotted us, they immediately formed a tight, disciplined formation.

Their large round shields locked together, forming a solid wall. From behind that shield wall, five spears protruded forward and upward—ready to impale anything that approached. Their positioning was tight and methodical, like a trained infantry unit.

Seeing how solid their stance was, I tilted my head back slightly, exhaled slowly, and muttered toward the dungeon ceiling,
“Oh… this might be tiring. Time to get serious.”

Without wasting a moment, I dashed forward, my boots pounding against the stone floor. The kobolds responded immediately; their formation held firm, their spears aimed at me with military precision.

As I entered their range, all five spears lunged simultaneously—a well-timed, coordinated strike.

—Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!—

In a split second, I leapt left, twisted, and ducked low. After dodging the second thrust, I spun sharply and activated the [Fast] skill.

—Whoosh!—
My left leg swung wide—perfectly timed.
—Whoosh!—

I reached the far left flank and kicked the back of the kobold who hadn’t yet turned its shield properly. At the same time, I activated the [Weight] rune on my foot, and…

—BAM!—
“Greeeek!”

My foot slammed into the kobold with explosive force. Its shield cracked instantly, and its body was launched sideways like a sledgehammer blow.

—BANG! BANG! BANG! CRASH!—
“Greeeek! Greeeek! Greeeek!”

The kobold crashed into the others, breaking their formation like a row of falling dominoes. Their shield wall shattered, and their bodies tumbled to the dungeon floor in disarray.

Without pause, I dashed forward—my blade already drawn.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

Slash.

One by one, the kobolds’ throats were slashed cleanly before they could even rise. The air fell silent again, their lifeless bodies scattered behind me.

After finishing off the last of the five, I sheathed my sword with a metallic
—shhk!—
and muttered with a tired face,
"Huh... such a hassle."

My eyes briefly lingered on a shield lying on the ground—until it shimmered and dissolved into fading particles of light.

My mind replayed the kobolds’ formation. Too structured. Too defensive. Too damn annoying.

Noticing my expression, Renya stepped beside me with a teasing smile.
“What’s wrong, Prince? Isn’t this part of your training too?”

Greta and Kruger, walking leisurely behind us, nodded in agreement, their faces clearly saying, "Well... she’s not wrong."

I exhaled sharply through my nose.
“At the very least, give me enemies without shields…”

My shoulders drooped a little in irritation as I started walking again. The sound of my boots echoed softly along the dungeon’s stone floor.

We turned a corner.
And of course...
There they were.
Eight Kobold Dragonshields.
Shields raised. Spears gleaming.
Formation locked. Again.

I came to a halt. Blinked once.
Then muttered dryly,
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Behind me, Greta struggled to hold in her laughter. Renya just sighed.
“Seems like your wish got flipped on you.”

The kobolds had formed two tight rings—an inner and outer circle—shields locked, spears pointing outward like the spines of a hedgehog.

I let out a deep groan and growled in frustration,
“Aaaa… even this kind of formation?!”

I yelled, gripping my head like I was trying to squeeze the frustration out of my skull. My voice echoed through the cold dungeon halls, bouncing back with the mocking emptiness only a deep dungeon could provide.

Everyone behind me tried—and failed—to suppress their laughter. Even Kruger chuckled softly.

Renya, still calm, unsheathed her dagger with a soft shiiing and asked with a playful tone,
“Need a hand, Prince?”

Her tone was casual, but her eyes were as sharp as ever.

I simply waved her off and stepped forward. My tone was firm and resolute:
“No need. I’ll end this quickly... and use it to train my mana control.”

Then I dashed forward.

Halfway to the formation, I spotted a split-second gap in their coordination. Instantly, I activated:
[Fast]... [Fast]...
—Boom!—

A sudden burst of speed blurred my silhouette.

In a flash, I was right in front of the kobold formation.

Without hesitation, I activated [Weight] on my shield and smashed forward with all my strength—combining momentum and mana-enhanced mass.

—BAM!! CRASH!!—
“Greeeek! Greeeek! Greeeek!”

It hit like a runaway train.
Their shield wall cracked.
Kobolds flew like bowling pins.
Weapons scattered. Formation shattered.

Even before they could groan or stand—
Slash! Slash! Slash!
—I cut them down one by one with clean, precise strikes.

When it was over, I sheathed my sword with a smooth motion—click—and exhaled slowly.

“Let’s move on,” I said calmly, my tone flat again as if the fierce battle had just been part of a normal routine.

Without waiting for a response, I moved to the front again. My steps were steady, posture straight, eyes forward. The soft clink of my boots echoed in the cold stone corridor.

Renya, walking right behind me, smiled faintly and whispered,
“You never stop moving forward, huh…”

And with that, the party continued walking—deeper into the shadows of the dungeon.