“All right! Let’s keep going!”
Makita charged toward the Black Golem again, preparing to throw a punch.
“Growl!”
The Black Golem roared and swung a powerful punch toward Makita’s stomach. He was sent flying back, clutching his belly and sliding backward.
“Ugh… That was a pretty good punch. Ptooey…“
Makita spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with saliva.
“Jin! Are you okay?”
Shiba rushed over to Makita.
“I’m fine. It’s not like I’m coughing up blood. I just bit my cheek a little.”
Makita grimaced, holding his stomach. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.
“That punch hurt quite a bit. If it had been anyone else, that punch could have ruptured their organs.”
Even with Makita’s level of defense, he couldn’t completely withstand that attack. It was clear that the dungeon’s monsters were no joke.
“All right. I’ve charged up my energy. I’ll unleash a spell all at once. Here we go! Lightning Strike!”
Daigo unleashed a lightning spell that struck the Black Golem. The Golem let out a loud thud as it crumbled into pieces.
“Phew… Quest completed.”
Thanks to Daigo’s magic, the Black Golem was defeated. A black stone fell where it had been. This must be the ore material obtained from defeating the Black Golem.
“Ah! You took my prey…!”
Makita approached Daigo with irritation.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I’ll hand the materials over to Jin.”
“I don’t want that! What value does that rock have?!”
Makita went so far as to say he didn’t want dungeon materials. Dungeon materials are quite valuable and can be traded at high prices; didn’t he know that? Even seemingly useless materials might be sold to research institutions because they could be used for something.
“Well, fine. But you have to let me have the next prey. I’ll give you the one after that.”
“Eh…”
“Are monsters really supposed to do that?
“Isn’t it fine if the one who can defeat them does?”
A stream of rational comments flowed in the chat. However, Shiba smiled at Makita.
“Well, if that’s what Makita wants, let’s do it that way. There are no clear rules or protocols for clearing dungeons. Let’s try it your way, Makita.”
“Oh, sounds good! You get it!”
Shiba was clearly catering to Makita. However, Yukiya looked visibly dissatisfied with this.
“Wait a second, Shiba. Is it really okay to do that?”
“It can’t be helped. He’s not exactly my subordinate. To avoid unnecessary friction, we should concede where we need to.”
“What about you, Daigo?”
“I’m fine… I got the materials, so I’m good.”
Daigo was holding the materials from the defeated Black Golem. Since he was the one involved in the defeat, he had ownership of them. Makita, who had dealt a blow, also had joint ownership, but he had said he didn’t want them.
As they moved deeper into the dungeon, another monster appeared. It was a squishy slime-like creature, about the size of a human and quite large.
“All right! I’m gonna blast that squishy thing with my fists!”
Having claimed priority, Makita charged forward without hesitation and threw a punch at the slime.
However, the slime effortlessly absorbed Makita’s punch. It emitted a pleasant, squishy sound as it absorbed the impact.
“What?!”
The attack had no effect on the slime at all. The slime spat out liquid toward Makita.
“Whoa!”
Makita dodged it, and the liquid splattered on the floor, sizzling as it melted away the dungeon’s floor. This was acid.
“Damn… You’re tough.”
Makita took a fighting stance and started stepping around. He was not losing his fighting spirit yet.
“Hey, Jin! What are you doing? Can’t you tell that your punches aren’t working?!”
Yukiya chimed in, his criticism coolly logical, but Makita just tilted his head.
“Huh? Didn’t you hear what I said earlier? I said the next monster is my prey. Your turn is the one after next. Don’t butt in.”
“But the situation is different! Do you have any other options besides punching?!”
Makita didn’t seem like the type to use magic. If punches didn’t work, it seemed he had no chance.
“Yukiya’s right.”
“Isn’t Jin being too overbearing?”
“Since we’re collaborating, we should cooperate a bit more.”
“This time, he’s really going to get beaten up.”
“Slime, show him what’s what!”
Everyone in the comments thought it was reckless for Makita to think he could win against the slime. However, Makita opened his fists, turning them from a clenched fist to an open hand.
“Just watch. I’m not just all talk. When it’s time to do something, I do it! Here I go!”
Makita charged at the slime, and with a whoosh, he sliced it in half. For a moment, nobody understood what had happened.
But upon closer inspection, it turned out Makita was unleashing a series of knife-hand strikes. He rapidly struck the slime, slicing its body into pieces until it vanished.
“Knife-hand?!”
“Can a knife-hand actually cut?!”
“I’ve never seen a knife-hand like that before!”
“Phew. That’s about it.”
Where the slime had been, a squishy blue substance remained. This was likely the slime’s material. However, Makita didn’t seem interested in picking it up.
“Wait, Jin. You should really pick that up.”
“Huh? This?”
After Shiba’s prompt, Makita picked up the remnants of the slime.
“What’s so special about this?”
“That’s a slime fragment. It’s a valuable material that can be sold for a pretty penny.”
“Oh? So this can turn into money? But I’m not really interested in cash.”
“Eh…
“Then give me that slime fragment!”
“Well, if you want me to take it home, I guess I can. It’ll be a hassle and just get in the way…”
Makita reluctantly decided to take the slime fragment with him.
After defeating the slime, the group encountered another monster—a small devil holding a spear. The little devil had wings and was flying around the dungeon.
“Oh, that’s your prey. I’m going to take a break.”
Makita was determined not to interfere with anything that wasn’t his prey. He stepped back to watch Shiba and the others fight.
“The opponent is flying. That means we can gain some height too!”
Shiba used his spear to jump in a pole-vaulting motion. Once he reached the same height as the little devil, he swung his spear down with all his might.
“Take that!”
The little devil was struck by the spear, causing it to lose altitude. Just before crashing, it flapped its wings to avoid a collision. However, Yukiya was lying in wait on the ground.
“All right! Team attack!”
Yukiya slashed the little devil’s body with his sword, easily slicing it in two and achieving victory.
“Oh…!”
Makita, watching the battle, began to clap.
“Well done, Shiba!”
“Yeah. Yukiya, you’re definitely getting stronger.”
“Yukiya is strong.”
“Even with Shiba’s assist, he’s moving really well.”
“Is he really a beginner?”
“Hey, you guys are really something. My blood as a Street Fighter is boiling now.”
Makita struck a fighting pose at Shiba.
“Hey, Shiba. Want to have a little spar with me?”
