Dungeon Refrigerator 249

Test

Dungeon Stampede 2.0 Big Day

As Serai-san and I were walking along the riverbank, we spotted a figure surrounded by monsters at a baseball field ahead.

"Hm, is that...?"

"Looks like someone’s there."

Judging by the silhouette of the monsters, they're likely the Giant Grasshopper.

The same one that relentlessly attacked us when we were followed by refugees.

They're the size of a large dog, weighing close to 30 kilograms.

Think of them as upscaled locusts in terms of abilities, but the truly unsettling thing is their huge, grotesque faces, about the size of a dog's head.

Plus, they're omnivores and bite at people while charging.

"Hahaha! Come at me, you monsters!

Even if I descend into hell for killing you all, I’ll still take you down together!!"

"What is that? Could it be... a monk?"

"Hmm, it certainly looks that way."

The person surrounded by the giant grasshoppers was a man in a black monk's robe.

It did appear to be a monk.

And in his right hand was a rod that seemed to be made of iron.

I could see several rings attached to the end, so that must be a shakujo staff.

He was shouting something toward the monsters.

"If you do not fear the radiance of the Big Dai Nyorai... then come at me!! (Tiiing!)"

Whoa, he's saying some pretty wild stuff.

[[[BAM!]]]

In an instant, the giant grasshoppers lunged at the monk.

But the monk quickly swung his shakujo in defense.

He knocked down one of the grasshoppers that attacked from the front, and a fierce battle ensued.

"Wow, he's surprisingly capable."

"Indeed. It's rare to see a regular person fight monsters like that."

The giant grasshoppers kept attacking one after another.

However, since their attacks were straightforward body slams, as long as you could read their movements before they jumped, dodging wasn't too difficult.

But the monk was starting to get overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

The battle, which seemed evenly matched, was turning in the monsters’ favor as the monk was losing ground.

[Thud!]

"Whoa!?"

He got too focused on the front and left his back exposed, taking a direct hit from one of the giant grasshoppers’ body slams, which caused him to stumble forward.

"Oh no, isn't that bad?"

"No, he seems okay."

Instead of trying to regain his posture on the spot, he rolled forward to absorb the impact.

When the monk stood up again, I noticed he was holding something that looked like a dumbbell in both hands.

"Wait, could that be a vajra?"

"What? You know what that is, Egetsu-san?"

"Yeah. It's a ritual weapon held by statues of multi-armed deities."

Hmm, my spontaneous explanation was pretty vague.

"Eh~? That doesn't sound like you really know what it is."

"Well, I’m no expert, so cut me some slack…"

As we were talking, the monk started bashing the giant grasshoppers with that difficult-looking weapon.

"Wow, he's pretty good. Not as good as us, though."

"Still, we can’t underestimate that monk. He might even give Shark a run for her money."

Although she’s not as strong as Serai-san, Shark is incredibly powerful for a high school girl and shouldn't be taken lightly.

Besides, when Shark gets serious, she moves around like a mouse challenging a cat, darting around everywhere.

On the other hand, she’s quite aware of her lack of firepower.

She was deeply shocked when she saw Sandra obliterate a goblin with a single blow, one that Shark couldn’t defeat no matter how many hits she landed.

That’s probably why she’s started to idolize someone like Sandra, the Amazonian powerhouse.

[Slash!!]

""Whoa!! (Clap clap clap...)""

The monk managed to defeat all the giant grasshoppers.

We applauded his efforts and left the area.

Watching others fight monsters up close like that is surprisingly entertaining.

What about me, you ask?

Well, honestly, I’d probably finish it in seconds.

And I’m not joking.

I mean, I’ve handled a swarm of even stronger monsters like giant crickets and giant stink bugs in the monster houses on the 9th underground level.

Of course, having the Bug King Suit, which excels in defense, and the highly effective [Slime] skill to restrict enemies' movements helps a lot too.

"Hey, wait! Please wait for me~~!!"

Just as Serai-san and I were about to leave, the monk who had been fighting the grasshoppers started chasing after us for some reason.

Though he had just finished the battle, he looked desperate as he ran up the slope toward us.

Curious, we stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Huff... huff... huff! Wh-when did you start watching me!?"

Hearing that, Serai-san chuckled and smiled at the slightly red-faced monk.

"Hehe, you were pretty cool, you know?"

"Yeah, I agree. The way you posed with your shakujo was impressive."

"R-really!? So, you were watching the whole time!?"

Embarrassed, the monk’s face turned even redder as he raised his voice.

But hey, it’s not like we were watching on purpose.

We just happened to pass by.