After our short break, we continued clearing the dungeon.
Of course, I paid close attention to our surroundings, making sure that no more Ant Assassins could surprise us. However, I was disappointed that none appeared.
Was the one I killed the only anomaly? Or did we take the wrong turn somewhere, and the assassins don't patrol this side of the cave?
Of the two, the latter is more troublesome, so let's assume that's the case.
"Yaaah!"
Just then, Miranda finished off the last ant in this batch.
With this, she had already experienced fighting all variants: the Workers, Soldiers, and even the Prince Ants. Only the Queen Ant remained—excluding the weird ones like the Ant Assassin from before.
"Well done!" I said, clapping my hands in celebration. "But unfortunately, we've run out of time. Let's come back tomorrow instead."
Based on my pocket watch, we'd already spent 2 hours and 30 minutes reaching this point. Given that we could return in 15 minutes at a leisurely pace, keeping double that in case we encountered more ants on the way back was sufficient.
In short, we should return now.
"Master, please wait." But before I could urge her, Miranda ran to my side, wiping sweat from her forehead. "First, can you tell me what my current Fencing Level is…?"
"Hmm?"
I was puzzled at her words.
Was she really this interested in her skill levels…?
But when I appraised her, I was shocked.
---
Name: Miranda von Icarus
Age: 10 years
Title: Rex von Grendel's Slave
Status:
STR: D (4⬆), AGI: C- (2⬆), INT: B- (1⬆)
END: D+ (3⬆), MP: A (3⬆), LUK: S
Skills:
Noble's Etiquette Lv. 29 (1⬆)
Dancing Lv. 90 (5⬆)
Fencing Lv. 12 (11⬆)
Talents:
Dancing
Precision
Sword Princess
---
Her stats… underwent a huge change!
Eh?
It's only been a week—how could her stats rise so much?!
Her stats lean toward being a mage, though. But her physical stats couldn't be underestimated either. Right now, she's already on par with the weaker knights of our Viscounty!
Of course, dungeon exploration alone doesn't really increase one's stats. To do that, one should practice something regarding that stat in particular. For strength, lift something heavy; for agility, move around; and so on.
Fighting monsters in the dungeon exercises all of those at once, making it a good place to increase skill levels and stats… still, it's only one level up for every two explorations.
No matter what, this… is abnormal growth speed!
"So, Master…" Miranda called, sounding a bit nervous. "Did I… succeed?"
"Huh? Succeed in what?" I asked.
At that moment, her face paled, as if the world had ended. "N-No way…! Master, is the promise about letting me sleep on your lap a lie?!"
"Huh? Promise…?" I raised a brow, pondering hard… and recalled. "AH! The level 10 equals lap pillow promise!!!"
That had completely slipped my mind!
"The Ant Assassin's sudden appearance distracted me, so I kinda forgot. Sorry about that!" I apologized quickly, scratching my head awkwardly.
"And yes, you successfully reached level 12 in Fencing, so when we're back, I'll let you sleep on my lap as promised!"
Well, she's one weird gal, increasing her skill by seven levels in 2.5 hours… but well, it's all good since she's cute. The stronger she gets, the better it is for me~!
"Yes! I did it~!"
Miranda cheered, her lips curling into a beautiful smile.
Well… I, too, wanted to cheer. After all, letting her sleep on my lap is a boon for me too.
After watching her jump around, I stepped forward to pull her on our way back when… a new presence appeared.
I quickly tensed, raising a hand signal to Miranda.
Seeing my action, she quickly returned to normal, drawing her sword and holding it in a stance.
"More enemies…" I whispered.
The presence I felt was coming from up ahead… no, another from the side? Then from the back. One above…
"Fuck…"
It didn't take long before I realized what was happening.
"We are… completely surrounded!"
From all directions, ants were moving toward us. Their pace was relaxed, a marching speed, as if convinced that no matter what we do, we couldn't escape.
Of course, this situation was bad for three reasons.
One, I'm weak to pincer attacks. Dominator's Hand is directional, requiring my visual confirmation, and has a short range. This meant I couldn't handle enemies coming from multiple, opposite directions.
Second, among the presences, the mana I felt indicated that Ant Assassins were mixed in… along with a few new ones I hadn't felt before.
And finally…
'This dungeon shouldn't behave like this. This is practically luring us into an ambush!'
Various changes, the appearance of new monsters, and now this behavior change. With incidents piling up one after another, I couldn't ignore what was happening.
"This… is the prelude to a Stampede!"
Dungeon Stampede.
An event where monsters overflow from the dungeon, attacking the nearby settlements.
It was both dangerous and troublesome, as monsters during a stampede are usually a few levels stronger than they should be.
But worse, this dungeon is literally inside the city. If a stampede occurred now, without warning, the city could suffer catastrophic damage!
'I should've asked Father to add a door to the dungeon to delay monsters rushing out…!'
Even if I realize this now, it's too late.
Well, better luck next time… or not! There's no way I'm dying here!
"Miranda!" I shouted. "We'd be dead if we got surrounded. Before that happens, let's rush down the path back to the entrance!"
I pointed a finger to the right, the path we had just taken, and added:
"I'll lead the way, I'll leave my back to you!"
Right now was not the time to continue her training. We should prioritize returning safely first, then gather the knights, and handle the dungeon's stampede in order.
"So first, we need to return to the surface safe and sound!"
I growled, bracing myself.
After all, without a doubt, this will definitely become a fight to the death!