NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 16: - Disarming the Trap with Brute Force
“On the morning of the 8th day since my reincarnation, I felt tired. Last night, as I was preparing to sleep on the floor, Anneliese suggested sleeping on the floor as well.
“I’ve regained my original body now, so it’s fine for me to sleep on the floor,” she said.
“No, I can’t let a young girl like you sleep on the floor,” I replied.
We had this exchange several times until we reached a compromise of “sleeping together.”
So there I was, with the adorable Anneliese, who resembled a heroine from a story, sleeping right beside me. There was no way an ordinary 18-year-old guy like me could sleep in such a situation. I spent the entire night staring at her sleeping face.
Whoever said, “Beauty gets boring after three days,” was completely wrong. I could watch her for hours on end, and I was confident that I would never get tired, not even after three days.
“Good morning, Master,” Anneliese greeted me.
“Yeah, good morning.”
Our faces were close, so close that our noses almost touched. Her chest was already pressed against me, and it was quite substantial. It was incredibly voluminous and soft, more like marshmallows than anything else.
In this world, there were no bras. Panties were made of pumpkin fabric, and there was no sex appeal involved. Last night, I had used what appeared to be her well-worn panties for cleaning my armor. I wanted them to become my armor.
Despite being an old lady, I didn’t mind using Anneliese’s panties. In fact, it was a reward.
But I digress; there were no bras, which meant she wasn’t wearing one. When she was an old lady, it wasn’t very noticeable because everything was sagging, but now it was incredibly conspicuous. I didn’t want those scumbags’ eyes to see Anneliese without a bra. She was mine alone.
So, I decided to have her wear a towel like a sarashi around her chest.
“Is it too tight?” I asked.
“No, it’s fine,” Anneliese replied.
Anneliese’s chest was “oversized,” so even when she wore a sarashi, it was just “big.” I wanted a bra, but since there wasn’t one, I had to endure.
However, I decided that someday I would make her a bra. Having such a goal would motivate me.
When we went to the dining hall, the serving lady looked at us strangely. She had been giving us strange looks last night during dinner too.
Was she thinking that I had replaced the old lady with this young and cute girl? Well, it wasn’t like that. This cute girl was the same person as that old lady.
Anneliese, who had become younger, no longer ate like she did when she was an old lady. At that time, it seemed like she unconsciously ate to maintain her vitality.
On the way to the dungeon, Anneliese asked me to pull the hood of her robe low to cover her face. She probably thought that if such a cute girl was walking around, some guys might bother her.
“Master, you’re not very self-aware,” she remarked.
“Hmm?”
“Master, you’re cuter.”
Now that she mentioned it, I had a reasonably cute appearance. But I didn’t see myself as cute. Maybe it was because I hadn’t looked in a mirror since coming to this world.
“In that case, maybe I should wear a robe too,” I said.
“That would be a good idea. There are some rough people among the adventurers,” Anneliese warned.
Since we were near a clothing store, I bought a robe. It wasn’t meant for equipping, so anything that would conceal my appearance would do.
Both wearing robes with hooded faces—one gray and the other black—Anneliese and I entered the dungeon. Today, we went straight into the dungeon without stopping by the stalls.
Anneliese’s appetite had become more like that of an ordinary girl, so the consumption of the grilled pond squid and fried squid legs I had bought in advance had decreased.
As soon as we entered the dungeon, we used Dungeon Move to move to the 2nd floor. Today, we planned to face the monsters on the 2nd floor.
“I’ve spotted a monster. It’s 25 meters away.”
It seems there’s a monster around 40 to 50 meters ahead. It appeared right after leaving the boss room.
I switched to the Hero of the Two-Handed Sword job and proceeded to a location where I could see the monster.
“It’s a Gray Rat.”
It’s level 2.
I swung my Mithril two-handed sword at it. There was no resistance, and its movements seemed slow. If I didn’t struggle against Greater Rats, I wouldn’t struggle against Gray Rats at level 2 either.
“Let’s keep going!”
“Yes.”
While I was the one pushing forward, today I wanted to defeat the boss on the 2nd floor as quickly as possible.
“There are other monsters on the 2nd floor, like the Ash Golem, right?”
In the guild-purchased book, it mentioned that the Wood Golem appeared.
“Yes, Gray Rats and Ash Golems come together.”
This would be my first time facing multiple opponents.
“When dealing with two, how should I go about it?”
“Should I take care of one for you?”
“No, I’d like to try handling it myself for now, without relying on you.”
Information is separate. That’s part of the preparation.
“First, we’ll defeat the fast-moving Gray Rat. In the meantime, don’t forget to watch out for the Ash Golem.”
“Okay, got it.”
After walking for about two minutes, Anneliese’s magic sense detected a response.
“This time it’s two of them. They’re 30 meters away.”
It’s my first time facing multiple opponents, and I’m nervous.
The Ash Golem that appeared with the Gray Rat has several flexible roots that it uses like whips. It has four branches and a head covered in leafy fronds.
“This isn’t a good spot.”
The Ash Golem is in the front, with the Gray Rat behind it. It’s not easy to defeat the Gray Rat first in this situation.
The Ash Golem’s attack method involves using its four branches like whips. I can try to get close and defeat the Gray Rat while avoiding its attacks.
No, I’ll go against the theory here and defeat the Ash Golem in front. I should be able to dodge the Gray Rat’s attacks.
“If it looks dangerous, I’ll rely on you.”
“Yes, please be careful.”
“Haah!”
I quickly closed the distance and slashed at the Ash Golem. There was little resistance.
Without stopping, I evaded the Gray Rat’s attacks, which had turned hostile, and counterattacked.
Both opponents disappeared.
The Ash Golem may have been tough, but it was no match for my Mithril two-handed sword. I had become considerably stronger myself. The Hero of the Two-Handed Sword is no slouch.
“Your attack power is abnormal.”
I don’t like being called “abnormal.”
“I apologize, but it’s reassuring.”
I’ll show them how well I can handle the two-handed sword to earn their confidence.
Is there anything else you’d like to know or any specific part of the story you’d like to continue with?
As we continued forward, Anneliese pulled my arm.
“It’s a trap.”
“What? Where?”
Even though she said it was a trap, I couldn’t see or feel anything.
“When you step on that floor, the trap will activate.”
Even when she pointed at that floor, I still had no idea.
“Can you disarm it?”
“No problem.”
Since she said she could, I asked her to do it.
“Mana Hand.”
An almost transparent arm appeared and pressed down on the floor.
*Clank*. *Thud*.
I thought part of the wall disappeared, but an arrow flew and hit the opposite wall before falling to the floor.
“It’s disarmed.”
It was a bit of brute force, but if it worked, it was fine.
After cutting down the Gray Rat, I crouched low to dodge the Ash Golem’s branches. The Gray Rat disappeared, but more branches came closer. I jumped backward to avoid them.
I raised my Mithril two-handed sword high and assumed a stance for a powerful skill.
I envisioned the activation of the skill.
“Take this! Buster Slash!”
The Mithril two-handed sword became imbued with power.
“Haahhh!”
A faintly glowing, nearly transparent blade shot out from the swung Mithril two-handed sword.
The Ash Golem attempted to deflect the blade with its branches, but the blade sliced through both the branches and the trunk.
The skill took about 1.5 seconds to charge, and there was about a 2-second recovery time afterward. Having this much vulnerability before and after using it made it challenging to find the right moment.
Right now, it was fine, but eventually, there would likely be monsters that Buster Slash wouldn’t defeat. Thinking about that, I needed to carefully consider when to use Buster Slash.
“I’m getting used to fighting against two opponents.”
“Yes, your fighting style has become quite stable.”
“What about your swordsmanship?”
“To be honest for your sake, Master, there’s still a long way to go.”
She’s being very honest. It’s better than being overly praised, though.