I Have a Task Log

Though they hadn’t found anything, it was nothing to be upset about.

Colin had already prepared himself for this outcome before they even arrived.

After all, this was a path frequently trodden by Adventurers. Greedy Adventurers would have scoured every inch of the place, just like they had with that secret room they’d found.

"Alright, you two scholars, stop studying my ancestor’s tomb," Dorn called out from a short distance away. "Time to turn in for the night!"

Just like the past few nights, the group set traps, assigned watches, and then spread out to sleep.

Even though they would be heading back soon, they still had to be careful.

After politely refusing the Cloak Ale offered him, Colin crawled into his sleeping bag in his armor, just as before, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

-----------------

"Colin! Wake up! Pointy-ears!"

’Why is Kase shouting for me? Did I oversleep again?’

Colin’s mind was still groggy, but his body reacted instantly, leaping out of the sleeping bag.

He snapped his gaze toward the top of the stairs that led to the corridor.

The Half-Orc was wreathed in blue Flame, a Two-Handed Giant Axe in his grasp, looking like a god descended to the mortal realm.

By the eerie blue light of the flames, Colin could see a figure in a Cloak standing before Kase.

The figure was slender and held two beautifully curved Scimitars... ’A Drow?!’

’Damn it, those bastards actually followed us!’

Just then, a dark figure leaped up from the edge of the corridor.

Another Drow. With a thought, Colin had his Dog-faced Helmet float onto his head and lower its visor.

He drew his Elf Giant Sword and instantly entered his Sword Dance, moving to engage.

But in the next instant, several massive shadows charged up right behind the Drow.

Colin quickly halted, planting his feet firmly on the ground.

Peering through the eye slit of his helmet, Colin saw that the figures following the Drow were actually giant spiders.

The spiders were terrifyingly large, about the height of a pony, with a leg span that could reach up to three meters. They kept their distance from one another, likely to guard against area-of-effect Damage Magic.

’According to the positions we took last night, Ale and Orelia should be in the rear...’

Before Colin could finish his thought, the Drow was already upon him.

The Drow’s center of gravity was extremely low, his body nearly skimming the ground.

Colin spread his feet and gripped his Great Sword with both hands.

He angled the blade toward his opponent, tilting it diagonally downward into a perfect Iron Gate Stance.

The Drow’s feet tapped lightly on the stone, and he swung with both hands.

Thanks to his Helmet’s night vision, Colin could see his opponent’s every move, and his [Attack Prediction] Specialty gave him perfect clarity on the enemy’s actions.

He put his strength into twisting the Great Sword, raising it to build momentum while using its spine to parry the Scimitar aimed at his armpit.

Putting power into his core, he recited a Spell. The Great Sword, now burning with fierce flames from [Emerald Flame Sword], swept forward in a horizontal slash.

The Drow seemed surprised that his opponent could see him clearly.

With a light push of his toes, he dodged the attack, the tip of the sword nearly grazing him.

Colin used the momentum of his swing to steady the blade on his centerline, the tip now aimed straight at his opponent’s shoulder as he transitioned into the Long Point Stance.

He stared intently at his enemy, rapidly recovering his stamina.

His own breathing and heartbeat were loud in his ears. Behind him, the sounds of fighting rang out, punctuated by occasional bursts of golden light.

’That must be Ale and the others fighting the two spiders,’ Colin thought. In his peripheral vision, he could still see Kase locked in combat with a Drow at the top of the stairs.

Colin leaped backward, simultaneously reaching into his component pouch for Casting Materials.

The Drow froze for an instant.

He lunged forward the moment he realized the armored man was Casting, but the opportunity to interrupt the Magic was gone in a flash. Colin’s [Tasha’s Hideous Laughter] was already complete.

All Elves have resistance to Charm and hypnosis-type Magic, but [Tasha’s Hideous Laughter] was clearly neither of those.

"Hahaha..."

The Drow Warrior’s hysterical laughter echoed throughout the large hall.

’Looks like this guy’s Perception Ability isn’t so great,’ Colin muttered to himself, thrusting his sword forward in an attempt to put a hole through the Drow’s chest as quickly as possible.

However, just then, a pale blue halo burst from the Drow’s chest. A layer of purple light shimmered on its surface, and as the halo expanded, it seemed to push the purple glow outward. The Drow’s laughter came to an abrupt halt.

’That pale blue glow must be the Spiritual Light of an Abjuration Magic. Is it [Dispel Magic], or something else?’

Before Colin could figure it out, the Drow again dropped his center of gravity until he was practically hugging the ground and charged forward.

Colin was forced to abort his attack.

He aimed his sword at the enemy’s shoulder and simultaneously used [Silver Light Sharp Words], trying to halt his opponent’s charge.

The Drow’s shoulder twitched and his body tilted just enough to evade the sharp blade by a hair’s breadth, and he continued his advance.

’This guy’s coordination is absurdly good!’

As he thought this, Colin even saw the sparks fly as the tip of his sword scraped against the rivets on the Drow’s Leather Armor.

Even while under the effects of the Magic, the Drow’s assault was relentless.

He flicked his wrists, and his two Scimitars attacked from different directions—one slashing toward Colin’s thigh, the other aimed straight for the hands gripping the Great Sword’s hilt.

’Can a humanoid creature really move like that?’

Colin leaped back again, simultaneously twisting the blade with his wrist to parry the incoming Scimitar with his Sword Guard.

With one Scimitar blocked by the Sword Guard and the other having missed its mark, the Drow planted the hand from the missed attack on the ground, reversing his momentum to kick his opponent in the chest.

Already off-balance from his backward leap, Colin was sent staggering from the kick, taking several steps back before he could steady himself.

’Get clear! They’re trying to group us up! There must be a Caster hiding somewhere!’

Dorn’s voice suddenly manifested in Colin’s mind—the Spiritual Energy of his Soul Blade.

As he began to cast [Misty Step], Colin glanced to the side.

Somehow, everyone except for Kase, who was still holding the stairway, had been herded together. At the same time, the Drow Warrior he had just been fighting was rapidly backing away.

He saw the spiders in the distance suddenly turn to face them, their swollen abdomens raised high.

Then, a curtain of blackness fell from above.

Even with his night-vision Helmet, Colin couldn’t pierce the profound darkness. His sight was instantly stolen from him—and with it, his ability to use [Misty Step], which required a visible target location.

HSSS—

Several strange sounds, like air leaking from a balloon, came from the darkness.

Colin felt "ropes" suddenly cover his body. They stuck him firmly to his spot on the ground, rendering him immobile.

’From the feel of it, this must be webbing from those giant spiders!’