First Outer World Story Series: The Black Mist that Devours - Chapter 15

Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

Before my eyes tumbled two goblins with their heads severed.

This was the “Ogre’s Fortress,” a dungeon that had cropped up in the capital of this country. And I was Hisano Ichiko, a Kirijin. At present, I was under the command of damn Kurokiri, which was to slay demons and humans in another Demon King’s dungeon for the purpose of raising my level.

It may sound as though I was effortlessly leveling up, but that was not the case.

After all, this wasn’t a dungeon where I belonged, which meant that my status, which had been elevated by my conversion to a kin, had reverted to that of a regular human being, while there were only enemies around me.

When recollecting, infiltrating the “Ogre’s Fortress” was a daunting challenge…

————–

“Still, those goblins, they just keep popping up one after another…”

“You are right. I wonder how on earth such a multitude of goblins manages to reside in that place.”

It was during the night that when I approached the dungeon, the two soldiers in front of me were conversing and monitoring the dungeon with vigilance.

As one would expect from soldiers stationed on the front lines of my country, their proficiency appeared to be well-developed.

Incidentally, if I may answer their question, I reckoned that each time the goblins were eliminated, their Demon King would summon a fresh batch. And the goblins in this dungeon were likely equivalent to the Fogs from the “White Mist and Black Swamp Forest”.

And I had to intrude into this dungeon at the earliest opportunity since I can hardly gain any experience outside of the dungeon.

(Activating ?Mist Cloak? at its maximum output.)

As the mist enveloped my surroundings, coupled with the darkness of the night, I was scarcely detectable by those around me.

I then approached the dungeon by weaving my way past the soldiers’ blind spots, and when I inevitably could not evade their detection, I misled them with the clothes I borrowed from Kurokiri.

Thus, I successfully infiltrated the dungeon.

————–

After infiltrating the labyrinth, the first thing I did was to check my equipment under the cover of a shady spot close at hand.

For this mission, Kurokiri provided the attire and helmet, which were identical to the official military uniforms. I dared to not dwell on the source of the equipment, since it was likely as I had speculated how it came to Kurokiri’s hand.

The weapon was also created by Kurokiri, a dagger made from the jaw of the Disarray Dragonfly. This one was accompanied by a description all the way to the top.

?Fang Blade of the Disarray Dragonfly

This small dagger is constructed from the fangs of Kurokiri’s handmade dragonfly. In principle, it is designed for piercing, and its force can penetrate ordinary sheet metal armor like a piece of paper. Even when used in the form of cutting, it possesses a sharpness unrivaled by knives commonly found all over the world.

It can occasionally deprive the target of their sense of equilibrium.

The next step I took was to ascertain my surroundings. There was a mass of goblins nearby that had assembled to mobilize at dawn. However, they did not seem to be aware of me.

Or rather, they lacked the motivation and training level to the extent that even a bystander can evidently distinguish it. The goblins were most likely not that motivated unless the leader, the Ogre, was in the vicinity.

With this… shall I have a go?

Then I fixed my sights on the two goblins who had broken away from the rest of the pack, and when there were no other demons in sight, I drew near them discreetly with ?Short-range Teleportation? and decapitated them from behind.

————–

And now back to the present time.

According to what Kurokiri shared with me when the level rises, a fanfare will ring in my head, so I suppose I was not quite there yet.

Well, although I didn’t have a clue how many goblins I need to defeat, I should keep bringing them down to the point where they don’t upset the battlefront.

And that goblin looked like it would be an excellent candidate for retiring next.

————–

(Ogre King POV)

Something is off. The number of goblins alive is lesser than what I noticed earlier.

However, no trace of a military incursion could be discovered. To begin with, the military would not have broken in, but instead would have assaulted the goblins as soon as they stepped outside.

“What the hell is going on? Damn. I don’t have sufficient manpower to conduct a patrol inside the fortress.”

I involuntarily let out a snide remark. Yet, this did not remedy the situation. For the last few weeks, I had been reminded of such things.

It all kicked off a year ago. The woman with that infuriating voice transformed me into the Demon King, the “Ogre King of Dominating Herculean Strength”.

Until that point, I was a mere junior high school student, attending inconsequential classes daily. But on that day, I was empowered, and I utilized that power to create this labyrinth, “Ogre’s Fortress”.

After the dungeon was released a few weeks ago, I decided to launch forth into the outside world. I would crush this wretched world and claim it for my own.

But this was what it came down to! The military forces proved to be more formidable than I had anticipated. Furthermore, when I attempted to entice them into the labyrinth, they wouldn’t go along. To make matters worse, I was suddenly informed that I personally was not authorized to leave the labyrinth! It was a true goddamn scenario of catastrophe.

And now, another goblin count dropped off before me without warning.

“Dammit. Whoever the hell this guy is, I’m going to find out and finish them off…”