Victory Tastes Like Slime And Ambush

Sumire looked more worried with each passing heartbeat, but the oppressive silence in the cave persisted. She stepped over dead monsters toward the carcinus, and as she did, the corpse started to move.

The carcinus mouth began to open. Its mandibles fell open one by one until its dark maw was gaping wide. Sumire gripped her sword tight, ready for anything.

From the darkness, a hand emerged. Covered in slime and ichor, the hand gripped the carcinus mouth and forced it up. Then with a sloshing splatter, Takao appeared, drenched with blood and ooze, but with a wide grin on his face.

Takao tugged his spear from the carcinus mouth to reveal a large bug monster skewered on the end. He waved it in the air triumphantly like a victory banner, and Sumire couldn’t take it. She dropped her sword and burst out laughing. Takao followed suit, and their laughter filled the cavern.

“Look at you!” Sumire laughed. “You’re disgusting!”

Takao looked over himself as if just realizing he was covered with filth. He smiled playfully.

“Let’s celebrate victory with a big hug!” He laughed, advancing on Sumire.

She jumped back, holding her hands out defensively.

“Stay back, slime ball!” She yelled, but kept smiling.

Sumire danced between piles of corpses with Takao chasing her, laughing loudly all the while. Eventually, Kenta reappeared, prompting Sumire to end the game by spraying Takao with water magic until he smelled more tolerable.

“If you're finished, I think it's best we leave before something else goes wrong.” Kenta said, limping up to them and looking bloody but otherwise intact.

After fully regaining their composure, Takao and Sumire agreed. Kenta went to retrieve his curved sword from the ceiling, while Sumire located her lightning bolt sword among the monster corpses. Takao finally removed the death mite from his spear, which Sumire promptly incinerated. They collected the still unconscious Mikami from the hole they’d hidden him in, then started the trek for the surface.

Takao felt exhausted. He felt certain they must be taking the long way, since the hike out felt much longer than the hike in. Luckily, they encountered very few monsters, so he and Sumire though battered and bruised, managed to cover for both Kenta and Mikami.

After what felt like an arduous journey, they finally reached the exit. As Sumire removed the dark vision from Takao’s eyes, he saw that the sun was just rising over the tree tops. A cool breeze blew through his hair, and he’d never been so glad to be under the open sky.

Takao and Kenta laid Mikami under a shady tree and started looking around. Something felt off.

“You see Yumiko anywhere?” Kenta asked.

That was it. The dungeon entrance was deserted. Yumiko was nowhere to be seen, and their horses were missing too. Now that he was paying attention, Takao noticed an eerie silence hanging in the air.

A sudden thud drew Takao’s attention. He spun around, spear at the ready, but nearly dropped it in shock. Sumire was lying flat on the ground, face in the dirt.

“Sumire!” He shouted with panic in his voice.

He ran to her side and flipped her over. She moaned painfully and opened her eyes.

“Ugh— I’m fine.” She groaned unconvincingly as Takao helped her shakily into a sitting position.

“Takao! Eyes front!” Kenta yelled.

Takao begrudgingly pulled himself away from Sumire to face toward Kenta. A dozen people, all armored and with weapons drawn, were exiting the woods and surrounding them. Takao gripped his spear tightly, and Kenta already had his sword drawn. He knew they were both exhausted, and Sumire was still sitting on the ground, looking pale. Their situation was not looking good.

“Whatever you all are looking for, you ain’t gonna find it here. Best just to move along.” Kenta warned.

A tall woman stepped forward from the group. She was dressed in black armor and carrying two black knives, with dark hair and eyes that matched. She looked at Kenta and Takao then her gaze fell and lingered on Sumire. She smiled.

“I disagree.” She mused mockingly. “You have exactly what we’re looking for, and out of respect for surviving that undead dungeon, I’ll give you one chance to leave with your lives.”

They wanted Sumire? Why did they want Sumire? Did they know who she was? Takao gripped his spear tighter, fury burned in the pit of his stomach. It didn’t matter. He would never let them take her.

Takao and Kenta stayed defiantly in place. The dark haired woman smiled.

“Fine. Have it your way.” She said, and waved a lazy hand at the others.

They turned in unison toward Takao and Kenta, but before anyone could move, a war cry shattered the silence.

Yumiko, screaming at the top of her lungs, leapt from the undergrowth and crashed midair into one of the assailants with her shield. She flattened him into the dirt, then used him like a springboard to flip forward, and land next to Takao and Kenta.

Takao’s joy at seeing Yumiko was short-lived. Her armor was battered and dented, and her sword was broken. Half her face was covered in blood, but she still wore a wild smile as if she was having the time of her life.

“Thought you’d killed me, didn’t you!” She bellowed.

“You again? Still haven’t learned your lesson?” The dark haired woman said, looking more amused than annoyed. She waved at the others, but again their fight was interrupted before it could begin.

A screeching bird cry sounded from above. All heads turned toward the source of the sound to find five huge birds circling overhead and descending rapidly.

“HAH! Guild reinforcements! We’ve got you now!” Yumiko boasted.

The dark haired woman frowned and whistled a single note. Within seconds, the assailants had gathered their fallen comrade and disappeared into the forest.

Takao remained fixated on the forest, refusing to relax until the guild reinforcements had landed. Eight adventurers disembarked from huge birds that shone like metal. They swarmed the injured adventurers, but Takao pushed past them to get to Sumire.

She was still sitting on the ground, looking shaky, but the color had returned to her face.

“Are you alright?” Takao asked worriedly as one of the newly arrived adventurers treated her with magic.

Sumire looked at him, her purple eyes shimmering. She looked scared and uncertain.

“There’s something you need to know.”

Sumire’s Exposé!
Adventurers rank C and up use small crystals to communicate with the guild while they are out on jobs. The crystal changes color when held, and a matching crystal at the guild changes color along with it. Each color has a different meaning, and the crystal will shatter if held for long enough, which indicates something is very wrong.