Rookie Hunting (5)

The magic sword was back in the pedestal, but the entrace was still closed.

"Why… this isn't what happened when we checked it out… it should be open…"

"Oh, that's weird. We'll be locked in here over night after withdrawing the magic sword—that's what you said though? I even took great pains to make that true."

Upon turning toward the voice he suddenly heard behind him, he saw a silver-haired woman he didn't recognize.

"Who are you!? How did you get in!?"

"How? There's obviously only one entrance to this room."

The woman let out a small laugh.

"Now. This is your end. Thank you for the meal."

"Wh-What are you…"

Snapping her fingers, the woman caused a rock to fall from the ceiling.

Just as Gesunoh recognized it as a rock trap, the rock got up—it was an iron golem.

"No way… this is a safety zone!"

"So what if it is? It's of no concern to you. You're about to die."

He looked up. Doing that, he saw that the ceiling was covered with lumps of iron.

—No way, were those all iron golems?

One of those masses of iron, the one clinging to the roof directly above Gesunoh, moved.

He hurriedly dodged out of the way. It crashed to the ground directly behind him.

"You better watch out, that spot's not safe either."

"!?"

Yet another iron golem crash landed in front of him.

Him dodging, having another golem land, and dodging yet again repeated over and over. He slowly ran out of places to escape.

"Uoh, uwaaaah!!"

"Hmm hmmm. This seems to be a fairly effective trap."

"Dammit! Help me, please! I have money! I've left a lot of it with the guild, I'll even give you all of Kiwami's toooooooo!"

Just as Gesunoh finished his plea, the golems stopped falling.

"Hah, hah… I'm, saved…?"

However, the iron golems that had fell began to surround Gesunoh. Even if they were stone golems rather than iron ones, the C-Rank Gesunoh still wouldn't be able to make it out of this.

Where would he even run to? The entrance was still blocked off by needles either way.

"Rei, why are you playing around?"

"Ah—senpai. I'm not, I'm just experimenting with this trap Master made. I'm definitely not playing around at all, okay?"

The silver-haired woman talked with the beastkin slave as though they knew each other well. Behind the slave was a wooden doll wearing Shina's clothes. On its neck was the slave collar Kiwami gave her. On her shoulder was Kiwami herself, still unconscious.

Gesunoh finally realized that they'd been set up.

"Dammit… why, why are you looking at me like that!? What did I do to you!?"

"Senpai, what is that thing talking about? You there, were you not hunting rookies?"

"Hunting people that are weaker than you is common sense! I'm not in the wrong!"

"So that's what you want to say in your current situation? Alright, then."

Hearing her say that, Gesunoh also realized that he himself was a pathetic, weak thing to the golems hounding him.

How stupid could he be to say that?

"Kiwami, wake up, Kiwamiii! Get up, save me, do somethiiing!"

Hearing his voice, Kiwami stirred.

"Uuu… darling? I… ow! Eh, what? What happened?"

"Honey! Kill theeeeem! Hurry up, don't hold baaaack!"

Gesunoh shouted four orders to the collar of the doll holding Kiwami.

With that, the collar would tighten until it broke the doll's wooden neck.

As planned, Gesunoh managed to use [Illegal Order: 5]'s effect to destroy its neck.

Its wooden head dropped to the ground. Following that, Kiwami also fell to the ground.

"Kill them! Hurry, do iiiit!!"

"Yeah, I don't really get what's happening, but die!"

She quickly cut through the cords restraining her limbs with a small knife she'd had tucked into her sleeves.

Then, following through with her movement, she similarly went at the silver-haired girl with a needle-looking weapon she'd had tucked in her other sleeve.

She's dead!

Gesunoh and Kisumi both believed that to be so, but the attack didn't hit—it missed… That is, although it had definitely hit its intended location, it passed right through her.

"That was my afterimage."

"You mean illusion?"

"Ah, no, senpai. We didn't need to tell them the truth…"

The two had a back and forth, watching Kiwami stumble forward from her attack.

"Wh-What is going on, seriously!? Why are there so many iron go—gehoh!?"

Just as Kiwami, not understanding what was happening at all, was looking looking around to try and catch up, the beastkin slave struck her in her face.

Courteously, she did it on the opposite side of her face as last time. Once again, Kiwami fell unconscious.

"I made it more quiet."

"Good job, senpai. I'm a bit surprised at how your training's progressed… but still, I wonder why the mannequin golem's neck broke?"

"I think it has to do with the slave collar's effect."

"Well, as for that magic… I've received an order from Master. We will question him about it later."

They continued talking as though nothing had happened. Kiwami's resistance turned out to be meaningless.

… There was too much of a gap in strength between them. How did this happen to him? Gesunoh felt his mind fall into the abyss.

"Oh, Golem-donos. Please hurry up and seize that thing for me."

The silver-haired girl said it as though she were telling them to pick up garbage from the ground.

Following her orders, the iron golems swarmed Gesunoh.

An indication of being a C-Rank adventurer was being able to take an iron golem on one-on-one.

Gesunoh, one of those C-Rank adventurers, was surrounded by countless iron golems. He desperately tried resisting but was beaten by their iron fists until he crumbled, blacking out.