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“The dumbest guy ever…jpg”

(A cracked rift from the mine)

(Variant monsters getting squashed with a hammer)

(Elf archer)

Every event has a harbinger, you know.

But where can you find a rift that just blows up with no warning?

Does a rift have parents or something?

[Upvotes: 1982] [Downvotes: 102]

– What the heck is going on all of a sudden?

– That rift is massive! Whoa!

– But the dwarfs are surprisingly tough fighters.

– Look at the elf image slipped in there, lol!

The rift blew up in the Second Dwarf Mine.

Well, saying it “burst” isn’t quite right; it “appeared” more like it.

This time, a whole horde of monsters just suddenly emerged from the rift with no signs beforehand.

“Wow, they’re holding their ground pretty well.”

But the enemy was dwarfs.

In other areas, maybe that would be different, but the synergy between the dwarf characteristics and the mine was on point.

Dwarfs clad in steel wielding finely honed weapons weren’t going down easily.

The real problem was their overwhelming numbers.

[Title: I Drew a Human City!…jpg]

(Various monsters crawling out of the mine’s rift)

(Close-up of a goblin’s face)

LOL.

[Upvotes: 1011] [Downvotes: 2932]

– Ugh, wash your face or something! ^^;

Yeah, that’s all they’ve got~ haha.

Wasn’t that Elard?

When did the elves gather?

– But seriously, there are way too many of them.

– So disgusting, I feel nauseous! Just looks like they’ve got long ears and nothing else, damn.

That wasn’t just crawling; it was a massive swarm.

It was like a scene from a user map where units are just spammed in.

True to medieval times, numbers meant everything, so the dwarfs couldn’t help but be pushed back.

They were getting overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“Retreat!”

Ultimately, the dwarfs quickly fell back.

They folded up their long spears and began leaping up onto the mine above.

“Kyaek!”

The monsters seized the opportunity and dashed after them.

Just as they were chasing the dwarfs down the rugged mine path—

– BOOM!

The previously quiet mine path erupted, and countless monsters were caught up in the explosion.

“Haha, that was a clean hit!”

Of course, it wasn’t like I left the huge rift unattended without some prep.

[M14 ankle mine] – 74p

A cheap, bulk-purchase item.

Had set them up ahead of time, a favorite at the Earth Gallery.

– Wow, that feels refreshing, haha!

– Honestly, if I had worried, I’d be giving it a hard time, haha.

– Mine + dwarfs + Head of the Gallery’s magic = Just relax and enjoy the gallery work.

The explosives were small for bringing the mine down, but it was intentional.

This mine was way too vast to abandon over a single rift.

A decent explosion to shake things up and bury the monsters in the debris was all I needed.

“Now, we just have to catch the stragglers.”

If it were an open flat land, it might be different, but in a mine with only one path, the wave was too easy to handle.

– Shh!

“Kyaek!”

The dwarfs advanced and quickly dispatched the monsters left barely alive.

“Looks like I’ve received help once more.”

“Thanks, brother!”

The dwarfs laughed heartily while sipping the tension away as they eyed the screen.

This was all well within the scope of their plans.

“…Something feels off.”

The rift erupted without warning.

But can it happen like that?

It felt less like a wave bursting and more like it just casually walked out.

Maybe something had changed about the rift.

Just as I contemplated calling the dwarfs over due to that strange unease, a voice echoed from near the rift, amid a cornered group of monsters.

“Hmm… I knew it would come to this.”

A voice that was definitely not annoying like the “Kyaek!” sound; it was a clear human voice.

“Who is it!”

At the dwarfs’ cries, a woman emerged through the monsters.

With her perfect proportions, she certainly didn’t look like one of them.

She stared intently at the screen and then whispered with a smirk.

“Head of the Gallery, are you there?”

“Gasp.”

Even though she was on the other side of the screen, it felt as if she was gazing directly at me.

As I took a sharp breath in surprise, the woman chuckled softly and glanced around.

“You must’ve caused all this, huh?”

Pointing at the scorched explosion traces and the charred bodies of the half-dead monsters.

But she laughed as if finding it amusing and beckoned me closer.

“This is fun; I’ll be back.”

“You ugly elf! There’s nowhere for you to run!”

A dwarf hastily threw his spear, but it was pretty futile.

– Rumble.

Another monster nearby took the hit for her.

“But where do you plan to go?”

This was the inside of the Second Mine.

To escape, she’d have to pass by the dwarfs to get outside the kingdom.

But the woman casually walked towards the rift.

– Whooooosh.

“Huh?”

And soon, the rift welcomed her, allowing her to pass.

“No way, that’s cheating!”

Once those monsters had emerged, going back in was supposedly impossible.

Not only that, but the remaining monsters also swiftly followed her into the rift.

*

[Title: I can’t take it anymore]

(Winking while calling the Head of the Gallery)

(The naughty gif of her emerging among the monsters)

(The gif with her seductive outfit fluttering)

Seriously, it’s making me mad.

[Upvotes: 1021] [Downvotes: 59]

– For real, how tempting.

– I can’t just let this slide.

– As a knight, I can’t forgive this!

So you’re mad because she insulted the Head of the Gallery, right?

[Title: Did I really see that right?]

(Monsters pouring out from the rift)

(Monsters rushing into the rift)

This is some serious cheating, isn’t it?

If just that rift is like this, what will happen later with any rift?

[Upvotes: 2391] [Downvotes: 12]

– (Hmmm… I don’t know! Elf Con)

It’s a definite disaster.

– Author: Why so calm?

– Right now, things are already a total mess, after all.

The rift was supposed to be one-way.

There was always a warning before monsters came out, and once they did, going back wasn’t an option.

But that rule for rifts had just been shattered.

So far, only this rift had been different, but having exceptions meant it could happen anytime.

“And how did she know me?”

This was the first monster I had ever seen.

She could speak and looked more human than anything else.

Not only that, she knew information about me.

“Do monsters share information or something?”

It was a plausible possibility.

I had seen the outside world once.

It wasn’t some incomprehensible domain of monsters.

There had been traces of civilization, and it looked like a grim world.

“It seemed like everything was destroyed.”

Of course, there were no humans around.

The outside world had only been left dilapidated or ruined.

So if there were high-ranking monsters that could talk…

“I really need to be more cautious.”

From their perspective, I was likely the prime target to deal with first.

That’s probably where the monster woman got her intel about me.

“…Head of the Gallery.”

Just then, Penny called out to me.

Not using the alias Malfight, but “Head of the Gallery.”

“That woman knows who I am.”

“Huh?”

“She’s one of my kind.”

Now that I think about it, Penny was also a monster, right?

And from what I heard, a pretty high-ranking one at that.

Penny pointed at the woman in the gif hanging around the gallery with a serious face.

“Jealousy.”

“Jealousy, as in the Seven Deadly Sins one?”

Vanity, Greed, Jealousy, Wrath, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth.

The Seven Deadly Sins flew into my mind naturally.

Penny had previously mentioned something about lust or whatever.

Back then, I wondered if it was just some hellish theme, but now, hearing “Jealousy,” I was certain.

Then, Penny’s eyes widened, and she hesitated before asking.

“…How did you know?”

“Well, it’s pretty common knowledge, isn’t it?”

The Seven Deadly Sins have been used so often in modern subculture.

It’s brought up all the time.

Anyone who watched TV wouldn’t be unaware of them.

So as I answered, Penny looked at me in sheer shock and muttered.

“Is this… considered common?”

She looked incredibly stunned for a moment before giving me a knowing look that said she understood.

“Well, true.”

“Huh.”

“Anyhow, if you already know, this should go quickly. She’s really dangerous.”

Penny indicated the Jealousy in the gif.

The attire was indeed dangerously alluring, but Penny added with a disgusted expression.

“Very vicious and cruel. Her jealousy is so intense that once she targets you, you can never escape.”

“Really, is she that bad?”

“She’s basically immortal.”

She can recover from injuries at an abnormal speed, just like I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire.

And on top of that, she has a jealous personality that lives up to the name.

“Was it that I came over first…?”

“Huh?”

“Also, Head of the Gallery, you’ve been looking after me, haven’t you?”

She suddenly brought that up, making me wonder what she was getting at.

“Could it be that she’s jealous of that?”

“…Yeah. That’s Jealousy for you.”

She crossed over before me.

And now, she received my care first.

“…I’ve been a loner outside.”

At that, Penny paused in thought and said.

“She probably didn’t like that I was happier than her.”

It was really such a trivial reason.

“So what about the rift? Why could she suddenly come and go like it was nothing?”

Jealousy might be one thing.

The real problem was the rift.

Then Penny looked at me with an expression more serious than before.

“That is…”

“That is?”

“I don’t know…”

“What?”

“I was a loner, remember? No one would play with me, so I came this far…”

Seeing Penny looking suddenly gloomy, I decided not to ask any further.

If Penny didn’t know, I certainly wouldn’t find the answer either.

Right now, I thought I should focus on how to deal with that woman called Jealousy in front of me.

“If only she broke through the rift like Penny did.”

She seemed to be in prime condition.

Also, just like I Will Not Die Even If I Am a Vampire, she was immortal.

“I need to subdue her, not kill her.”

Penny mentioned that killing would be futile.

Since I needed to find out more about the rift as well, if I could just catch her and ask some questions, that would be ideal.

“…But she fights really well.”

“How tough?”

“She might be unbeatable even against dozens of skilled knights.”

“Really?”

Just one skilled knight could take down a variant monster.

If dozens couldn’t handle her, that was alarming.

I asked with a tense face.

“Yeah?”

“Is she faster than a bullet?”

Penny stared blankly at me without answering.

Then she turned it around and asked me.

“Is there anything faster than that…?”

“Well, that works then.”

[Anaesthetic Gun (STN-312N)] – 1,350p

Count to ten.

Are we going to play tag again?

It was time for sedation and then binding.

 

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