Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

Chapter 94: Second Floor (4)

Do you know the ranking order of our party?

Lydia is first, Shadow is second, and Benny is only third.

For reference, I’m excluded from the ranking because I am a man. Should I say I’m not considered a competitor? If I had to say, I would be the winner’s trophy.

So what’s important is bragging rights. After all, gacha and trophies exist for that purpose, right??

With that lighthearted thought, I wrapped my arm around Lydia’s waist. The feel of bare skin on my forearm thanks to the bikini armor.

Soft and warm, Lydia’s slender waist clung to my arm, and I raised one corner of my mouth in a smirk.

As if to show Benny.

“Grrrr!”

Benny, carrying the backpack as the wager, ground her teeth as she rode on top of the shadow monster.

“Benny’s companion is amazing.”

“Guaaaah!”

Benny, ranked third in the order, almost fell while rolling around on Shadow, but the shadow monster extended a tentacle to grab her waist and lifted her up.

The shadow monster swayed Benny gently as if sighing, then placed her back on its back.

Watching this, I chuckled, but Lydia gave a wry smile and removed my arm.

“Jonah. Don’t torment Benny too much.”

“Torment? I was just trying to befriend Benny.”

I shrugged, jesting briefly. Even in the midst of playing around, something was sensed at the edge of my sharpened senses.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A faint metallic sound echoed from afar. There’s only one entity on the second floor that could make such a noise.

I tightened the slackened tension and listened carefully. The number of irregularly overlapping metallic sounds was four.

“Front. Four kobolds. I’ll take the lead.”

“…Okay.”

Lydia equips her magical device in the form of glasses that penetrate the darkness in preparation for any unforeseen events.

Benny, who had been suffering at the lowest rank until just a moment ago, also showed a change in demeanor.

She puts the backpack down on the ground and stands with her arms crossed. The shadow monster submerged back into the shadows, ready to pounce at any moment.

“This time, you don’t have to fight with just magic. Fight freely but try mixing in some magic.”

“That’s my specialty.”

Nodding, I activated the Power to silence my footsteps. A thin barrier formed between the world and me in an instant.

As I took a few steps forward, the kobolds, now not just one or two but four grouped together, revealed themselves.

A creature that seemed like a mix of a wolf and a lizard was engrossed in digging into the wall with a pickaxe, draped in a ragged cloth.

Until now, the kobolds had always discovered our presence first, but this time, since we found them first, it seemed they did not stop what they were doing.

The Underground Labryinth on the second floor is quite different from the Great Forest on the first floor, despite some similarities.

Just as the entire Great Forest is within the domain of the World Tree, the Underground Labryinth is within the domain of the Earth God.

Unlike the Great Forest, which was clearly created for the protection of the elves, the Underground Labryinth is simply a neglected land where various creatures have gathered.

The fallen sun caused rivers and seas to evaporate, and the raging blizzard extinguished even the first flame.

Yet, the land remained steadfast in its place, enduring all the miracles wrought by the gods.

Sometimes deeply furrowed, sometimes melted away, the earth never goes anywhere. It always stands firm in the same place.

Enchanted by its reliability, one by one, they dug into the ground.

Once a proud warrior but now reduced to a miner and slave, the kobold did so, as did the Spider Queen, once the mother of the legion, and the earth spirits who simply loved the land.

The steadfast earth accepted everything without discrimination. Even those who devoured its flesh.

How many times had it become a refuge during the long war?

Before long, the Underground Labryinth became a sanctuary symbolizing the God of the Earth, buried with the god’s remains.

And now, I hunt the devotee who once served the Earth God within it.

Puuuk!

The soft entry of the pure white blade of the Unicorn Dagger. A kobold pierced through the cervical spine collapses without a sound.

The surrounding kobolds, startled by the sudden death of their comrade, stop mining and panic.

“K-Kobold?!”

“Kobold, kobold!”

“Kokobold…!”

It would be great if I could handle them one by one like this…but my Power was released the moment I attacked one of them.

Though their vision had degenerated, their other senses had developed keenly. They will soon realize that I am standing behind them.

Indeed, one of the kobolds noticed my direction and swung a pickaxe at me.

Whoosh!

I twisted my waist diagonally to avoid the pickaxe. In the process, it grazed my forearm slightly, but it wasn’t enough to penetrate the armor made from the hide of an Iron Wolf.

Enduring a slight stinging sensation, I grabbed the arm of the guy who had just swung the pickaxe and pulled him towards me.

Not only did I achieve the feat of defeating the first floor Floor Guardian, but thanks to Basilieus doubling the growth rewards from the Labyrinth, my physical abilities had increased significantly over the past few days.

Of course, it still wasn’t enough to win a strength contest with the weakest kobold on the second floor…but it was enough to pull that body.

At first, he resisted my touch, but as I subtly tripped him, causing him to lose balance, the kobold was helplessly dragged towards me.

“Ko, bold?!”

With as much force as I pulled, I thrust my body forward. In an instant, the situation between me and the kobold was reversed. And then.

It was struck directly by the pickaxes swung by the kobolds who realized my position too late.

Thud! Thwack!

“Kooook…!”

The kobold had a pickaxe embedded in its forehead and shoulder. The creature, not yet dead, writhes on the ground.

“Kobolbol!”

“Kobolkobol!”

The two kobolds, realizing they’ve killed their comrade, charge in a fury. This time, side by side to avoid team killing.

Unlike the simple-minded goblins or other monsters on the first floor that are mere beasts, kobolds have considerable intelligence. But even they wouldn’t have expected this.

“Basilieus.”

A wooden crown floats above my head. The entity, having absorbed most of my divine power, turns my empty hand green. And then.

Woong-!

The pre-purchased seed rapidly grows and entangles the legs of one charging kobold.

Simultaneously, I fired a wrist crossbow at the other one’s knee.

Swaeak… Thunk!

“Ko, bolkobold?!”

“Kokobold…!”

The one whose foot was caught in the vine fell forward with a thud, and the one hit in the knee with an arrow sat down on the spot with a painful scream.

Though their situations were different, both kobolds ended up on the ground. I took out a handful of seeds I’d prepared from my dimensional ring and scattered them towards the kobolds.

Then, I squeezed out the little divine power I had left.

Wooong!

Plants grew explosively. The tangled vines firmly restrained the kobolds.

The characteristic of this plant, called Oil Vine, is that it secretes a sticky, flammable substance from its surface.

Now, only one thing remained.

I pointed my finger at the wriggling kobold.

“Weak Flame.”

A flame the size of a lighter flickered to life. I flicked my hand lightly.

Sparks scattered widely and fell upon the kobolds. And then.

Whoosh!

Flames flared up wildly.

The blaze was so intense that the kobolds’ screams were drowned out by the crackling noise.

However, high reactivity means that the fuel burns quickly.

Within less than ten seconds, the flames subsided. Inside, kobolds appeared crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

Since the burning time was so short, they were not completely dead, but due to the severe burns that charred their scales black, movement seemed impossible.

Just waiting for death, I stuck the kobold’s neck with a dagger.

Thud, roll…

The head rolled on the ground too easily. The appearance was so unrecognizable that I grimaced.

“Inefficient.”

The battles have indeed become easier. However, the seeds of the Oil Vines are quite expensive. And the consumption of holy power is greater than expected.

“Kobolds themselves aren’t worth much money…”

I let out a deep sigh and walked past the corpses, picking up the pickaxes they had wielded.

Iron from the Labyrinth. In other words, materials that can be used to make equipment for adventurers are relatively rare.

Even this pickaxe, boasting a purity close to scrap iron, is more expensive than a kobold’s Magic Stone.

…Should I just take the pickaxes and run next time?

No, given the nature of the maze, there isn’t much space to escape, so I’ll have to fight anyway.

Letting out a deep sigh inwardly, I cut the handle just below the blade of the pickaxe with a dagger.

Ssshhk.

I gathered the separated iron parts and headed to where my party was.

Somehow, Benny wore a tired expression. Smiling brightly, I held out the iron lump in my arms to her.

“This time, I brought the pickaxe head instead of the kobold head! I did well, right?!”

“Eh. Ah. Yeah.”

Benny took the pickaxe from me in a lackluster voice. While she busied herself organizing the spoils into her backpack,I extracted the kobold’s drops and Magic Stones.

“Ah, hold on a second. We’re almost at our destination and about to head up, right? The backpack is full too.”

“Seems like it, right?”

“So this time, I’ll show you my magic. You need to know what you’ll learn and what you’ll help with.”

“Okay?”

I tilted my head, puzzled at what she meant by helping, even if I understood learning.

Benny snapped her fingers while looking at the scattered kobold corpses.

Snap!

“Disassemble.”

With that one word as a signal, Benny’s shadow stretched out long. The shadow, unnaturally extended, enveloped the corpse.

It smoothly absorbed the corpse as if it were a swamp. And before long, something popped out of the shadow.

“…A horn?”

It was a small horn-like protrusion. Among kobold drops, it’s one of the pricier ones.

After that, various parts of the kobold popped out from beyond the shadow, finally even spitting out a Magic Stone.

The shadow that disassembled the kobold like deboning chicken returned to Benny. And a cute burp flowed out from between Benny’s sharp teeth.

“Urp.”

Benny reflexively covered her mouth, then confidently put her hands on her hips.

“How was that? Not bad, right?”

“Benny. Would you debone me for life?”

“Huh.”

I heard somewhere that deboning fish for someone is true love.