The sixth floor was a more humid place. The sounds of water droplets were frequent. The air was denser and more sinister. It was like entering a haunted house in a horror movie.
"This floor always gives me the chills…" Vulcan muttered.
"I've never been on this floor, but I have to agree," Aria said. "It feels like something scary could pop up around every corner."
Tomoya understood why they felt that way. It wasn't just a matter of a gloomy atmosphere, but rather the fact that Rank B monsters could appear on this floor.
The difference between Rank C and B monsters is stark. Mainly because almost all Rank B+ monsters have a special ability.
{A group of [Hobgoblins] appeared!}
'…What's that now, Friday?'
{Just thought it was fitting. Didn't like it, Master?}
'Weird, but fine. Just let me know if any Rank B+ show up,' Tomoya replied.
{Okay.}
Thought it was fitting… The fact that she said that made Tomoya have several thoughts about Friday. He knew from the start that this wasn't an ordinary ability, but it seemed he needed to reassess it.
Friday's detection was better than Vulcan's and Aria's. Only when the Hobgoblins emerged from one of the corridors did they notice them.
Tomoya didn't move. Though superior to goblins, they were still just Rank D monsters, and there were only eight of them. Vulcan and Aria were enough to handle them.
However, he wasn't going to just be carried by them, so he used buffs on them.
"I'm going!" Aria exclaimed spiritedly.
Vulcan laughed and followed close behind.
Though he didn't intend to attack directly, Tomoya thought for a moment and transformed his scepter into a staff. He then struck the staff on the ground and, aiming at the Hobgoblins' feet, controlled the surrounding earth, trapping their feet.
"Bagiiii!"
"Bokeeee!"
"Gababakiiii?!"
The Hobgoblins struggled, thrashing their feet.
But no matter how much they fought, it was as if their feet had been petrified in the ground.
With their swords, they struck at the earth.
Smiling with interest, Tomoya released his control over the earth, making it give way from their feet at the exact moment they struck with their swords, thus cutting their own feet.
It was an interesting test that left Aria and Vulcan slack-jawed.
"Self-mutilation – nyah?"
"That's what it looks like…"
Aria and Vulcan gave a nervous chuckle.
In the end, Hobgoblins, though an evolved version of goblins, were just as dumb as regular goblins.
Screaming as their legs were cut, even if not all of them severed their legs, Vulcan and Aria exchanged a glance and charged.
The next few seconds were straightforward, with Aria slashing them and Vulcan smashing.
There wasn't much resistance; it was a one-sided massacre.
"Nyhaha! It didn't even feel like we were fighting a group of Hobgoblins~" Vulcan said cheerfully.
"True," Aria said. "I've fought Hobgoblins before, but it was never this easy to kill them."
In her case, the experience of fighting Hobgoblins was outside the labyrinth.
"Hihihihihi!"
{A [Gold Thief Goblin] appeared!}
Tomoya already knew someone was approaching, but he didn't expect Friday to identify it before him.
As for the name Friday gave, he understood when he saw it.
Running very fast, almost as fast as Aria using 'Acceleration,' a sort of golden goblin with a large sack on its back appeared.
Its laugh had an unpleasant, echoing tone. Its eyes were different from the other labyrinth monsters, entirely yellow, just a shade lighter than its body color. Its ears were larger than those of goblins, but it was just as short.
When the 'Gold Thief Goblin' pointed its hand at Aria, one of her swords disappeared, along with her coin pouch.
"A Gold Thief Goblin – Nyahh! – That's super rare – Nyah!!" Vulcan was ecstatic. Her voice was louder than usual, her eyes sparkled, and her mouth took on a feline shape.
"Give me back my sword!" Aria ran after it.
'So, that's really the name of this golden goblin…' Tomoya thought.
She dropped the War Hammer, creating one from the ring she bought from Tomoya and shouted: "Tomoya, launch an ice attack in my direction – Nyahhh! – And if possible, try to freeze its feet!"
Without hesitating, knowing her enchantment ability, Tomoya did as she requested.
A spherical ball was shot in her direction while he pointed the staff at the Gold Thief Goblin, creating several ice arrows in the air and firing them.
Each arrow whistled through the air, heading toward the Gold Thief Goblin. However, even with his aim, the Gold Thief Goblin was fast and accustomed to escaping, dodging and laughing with a mocking 'hihihihihi' laugh mixed with some 'gigi' sounds.
Tomoya aimed at the golden goblin, but even when trying to predict its movements, it moved faster than expected, managing to accelerate even more when in danger. Unlike Aria's 'Acceleration' ability, it was something akin to a 'forward leap' that allowed it to speed up several times faster in an instant.
Even if only for a moment, this allowed it to escape their attacks.
"Here I go!" Vulcan, who predicted the golden goblin's movements, attacked toward the ground.
The golden goblin, caught by surprise upon seeing her in front of it, striking in its direction, managed to change its path at the last second and narrowly dodged.
"What the heck – Nyahhhh!"
Vulcan lamented as the golden goblin fled down a corridor.
"If that's how it is…" Tomoya murmured softly, striking his staff on the ground.
As he murmured, "Thorn Walls," hundreds of stone spikes were created around the golden goblin, trapping it inside.
Using 'Distance Shrink,' Tomoya appeared inside the area surrounded by stone spikes.
"Gikikiki?"
When it saw him, the golden goblin broke out in a cold sweat. It faced him, backing up until it bumped into the stone spikes with the sack on its back.
"Now, how do you plan to escape?" Tomoya asked with a playful smile.
Being the Tom in a cat-and-mouse fight got him a bit fired up. Now that he had cornered the 'mouse,' seeing its panic brought him satisfaction.
The golden goblin had no combat power. It was a natural thief. It was only good at stealing, and its Thief ability aided in that, granting speed, even a variant that allowed it to steal objects from a distance.
Pointing the staff at the golden goblin, the corners of Tomoya's lips curled upward. Soon, ten water arrows were created in the air.
Each arrow instilled a sense of fear in the golden goblin.
Like a cornered rat, the golden goblin ran along the sides. But that was exactly what Tomoya wanted.
By limiting its movement space, he also made the golden goblin an easy target.
Predicting the golden goblin's movements, he fired the first two arrows, followed by another two, and then six more.
Each arrow was precisely calculated.
The moment the first two came close to the golden goblin, it surged forward with its ability to increase speed several times, gaining distance and managing to dodge, but its movements were read, and another two arrows were already close to hitting its feet.
The golden goblin, somehow, in a moment of panic fearing death, managed to jump backward and activate its ability, gaining distance. However, Tomoya had also predicted something like this could happen, and the six water arrows that were thrown last hit exactly where it jumped.
"Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
A loud scream echoed the moment the golden goblin's two arms and two legs were struck.
The other two arrows missed the target, but from the start, they only served as a distraction to prevent the golden goblin from dodging to the left or right.
Approaching the golden goblin, he first picked up the large sack that fell to the ground.
This sack itself was a dimensional item.
With three times the space of the sack's size.
A golden goblin is classified as Rank A, though it has no combat power. The mere fact of its escape and possessing so many treasures with it, including its storage item that, though it appeared as a large sack, could shrink to the size of a coin pouch, makes it even more valuable than killing a Rank A monster.
Its body itself is a rare material.
'I'll still sell its body at the shop,' he thought.
As for the dimensional sack, he kept it.
Looking at it with its shining golden eyes, Tomoya pointed the staff at the golden goblin, and an ice arrow pierced its head.
[Level Up!]
The corners of his lips curled up, and Tomoya cut off the golden goblin's ears and sold it.
[+523 Gold Coins!]
'It's way more than I expected,' he thought.
{A [Demi-human] appeared!}
Hearing Friday's warning, Tomoya went on alert.
Although it says it's a 'Demi-human,' it doesn't necessarily mean it's someone friendly.
**
**
Before, Tasuku was an adventurer who fought against the Demon King's army. After being killed, he thought it was his end, but he didn't expect to reincarnate as a 'cat'… Or rather, as a Behemoth cub, a monster classified as Rank S.
Even considering himself a knight, believing that all evil monsters needed to be exterminated, upon becoming one of the monsters he thought needed to die, he still accepted it and decided to give this new life a chance.
However, fate plays strange tricks. While in a labyrinth, he kept advancing until he faced an earth dragon, an adult Rank S monster.
Escaping by a hair, he still lost a lot of blood and nearly fainted. At that moment, once again, he felt it was his end, and it really was.
He didn't see who the attacker was, but someone captured him and didn't hesitate before twisting his neck, killing him.
This time, he felt it was truly his end, but, once again, fate played with him in an even stranger way.
When he opened his eyes again, he found himself lying face down in a cave. At that very moment, he guessed where he was.
That's not all. He had gained a human form upon reincarnating again, but… He was now a she!
At first, he was stunned, confused, and sad. But, motivating herself, believing it was better than being a monster, Tasuku managed to move forward.
And, this time, she didn't try to advance further in the labyrinth to become stronger before leaving, but instead began climbing the floors.
An interesting fact that made her eyes sparkle was… She still had her Behemoth abilities. Thanks to that, she managed to kill a Rank A golem, some Wyverns, and other monsters that appeared in her path, eating them and gaining some of their abilities.
"There's someone nearby…" She murmured softly and hid.