[Name: Weakened Dungeon Rat

Race: Monster

Stats:

3 Strength

5 Dexterity

2 Endurance

1 Magic]

Uwaaa… It's so weak…

I mean… I get why it's this weak since this was both the first floor of the Dungeon and they have to consider the fact that this was the first Dungeon most of the students might be experiencing… Thus the principal must have intentionally put in weak monsters.

But still… I'm pretty sure even the one year old version of me could have beaten this guy…

It's only just a little bit bigger than a normal sized rat…

At least Tika and the two brothers looked excited to see the monster while Odeta seemed to share my disappointment with how weak the monster was.

She might not be able to see the monster' stats but she could tell that it was weak with how small and unthreatening it looked.

"Alright! It's our very first monster of the Dungeon! It might be one of the stronger monsters for the first level but together, we can take care of it!"

Eh? Seriously? This is one of the stronger monsters here?

Oh damn… Just how weak is this Dungeon?

I had been so excited at first since we were going to explore a new place but now my motivation for it is just gone…

I'm pretty sure that rat would just die if I even threw a stone at it… And you want our entire party to work together to fight it?

Just in case, I even went to check the stats for the other three people as well.

[Name: Henri

Title: Book Diver, Earth Mover, Brother, Muffin

Race: Mahun

Gender: Male

Current Mood: Excitement

Stats:

15 Strength

15 Dexterity

16 Endurance

45 Magic

Skills:

Business Management (Tier 1), Negotiation (Tier 1), Noble Etiquette (Tier 1), 

Magic Skills:

Geomancy (Tier 2)]

[Name: Jules

Title: Manager, Little Boss, Bro, Cupcake

Race: Mahun

Gender: Male

Current Mood: Anxious

Stats:

15 Strength

15 Dexterity

16 Endurance

45 Magic

Skills:

Business Management (Tier 1), Negotiation (Tier 1), Noble Etiquette (Tier 1)

Magic Skills:

Geomancy (Tier 2)]

Well, these two are certainly brothers who do everything together alright, seeing that their stats were exactly the same…

[Name: Tika

Title: Swordsgirl, Future Knight, Tika Tika

Race: Mahun

Gender: Futa

Current Mood: Anticipation

Stats:

20 Strength

17 Dexterity

22 Endurance

20 Magic

Skills:

Tracking (Tier 1), Hunting (Tier 1), Martial Skill-(Sword Proficiency (Tier 2), Unarmed Proficiency (Tier 1))

Magic Skills:

Hydromancy (Tier 1)]

Well… Seeing all these stats, I'm pretty sure any one of them would be able to kill this little rat by themselves… So I'm not sure why she's acting as though it's going to be a tough opponent for us?

Before I could ask, Henri had already stepped forward with his sword drawn and held with both his hands.

"Allow me to engage! Henri Heres! Charging in!!"

What is with that unnecessary call out? Was he taught to do that before engaging in a fight or something?

"Eh?! Wait! Don't go charging in alone!" Tika warned, but Henri was already in front of the rat with his sword raised above his head.

Oh come now, Tika, I'm sure he would be able to kill that monster in one hit. I mean… It's just a small rat right? How hard could it be?

The sword in Henri's hands descended upon the rat and… Made a really loud metallic 'clang' sound as it hit the floor directly to the rat's left side.

Ah… He missed…

The rat let out an angry squeak before leaping up and ramming itself into Henri's abdomen, sending him stumbling back.

It then followed up with a bite at Henri's ankles and he let out a yelp of pain before falling over on the ground. At least his pants managed to protect him from most of the monster's bite but I think there might be a bruise.

The monster skipped onto the boy's chest and looked like it was about to gnaw at his throat when Tika appeared and kicked it away from him.

It let out a pained squeak as it hit the wall of the Dungeon before falling onto the ground, dazed but still alive.

How the hell did it survive that? Was Tika holding back? I'm pretty sure if Odeta or myself were to punt that little monster, it would just be a stain on the wall right now…

She pulled Henri back up on his feet, "Do not look down on monsters in the Dungeon! They may seem weak but they are stronger than monsters that are found outside as they are buffed by the Dungeon's magic!"

Eh? There's such a thing? Then are the stats I see the buffed stats? If it is, then its normal variant is even more pathetic…

The rat tried to leap at her but she used her sword to slash at it, cutting the monster in two.

Oh good, for a moment there I had thought her sword might have simply bounced off its belly and send it flying towards the wall instead of cutting through it.

Because damn… I was prepared to throw a stone at it if it was still alive after that…

"So cool…" Henri and Jules muttered, their eyes locked on her.

Or they were just looking at her chest that was bouncing up and down when she swung her sword, it was hard to tell.

She turned back to face us, "Now, remember to be careful! The slightest mistake could cost you your life inside a Dungeon! Always be vigilant and expect the monster you meet to be stronger than you! Understand?"

Odeta didn't look as impressed, "Ehh… But that monster was so weak though… And that's supposed to be the strongest monster here?"

Tika waved her hands quickly, "Ah! Perhaps to Dragonslayer Odeta it definitely looks weak, but this monster is hard for first timers to deal with though! It's both small and agile so it's hard to hit it!"

Odeta turned back to look at me, obviously doubting her words.

I can't blame her since I literally showed her that the first Dungeon I went to while I was younger involved fighting an Infant Frost Wyvern as the very first monster…

I think our perception of how difficult Dungeons are supposed to be have been a little skewed somewhat.

"Sorry, Tika… But is this the only Dungeon you've been to so far?" I asked.

"Eh? I suppose it is. I don't really plan on becoming a Dungeoneer after all. Why?"

Ah… So whatever she knew about Dungeons was probably taught to her from a secondary source and not from personal experience…

I shrugged, "Just that… Well… Odeta and I have gone to other Dungeons before so this really isn't anything much… If we were to fight seriously, I don't think you three might learn much… No offence…"

Henri and Jules immediately shook their heads at my words.

"Oh, none taken, Aster. We saw the challenge that Odeta fought, there's no way we would doubt that she could have taken on that rat easily," Henri explained.

Jules also nodded, "We were also made known about your exploits, Aster… Especially the one where you dealt with those bandits together with Odeta."

Huh… I would ask which bandits they were talking about but I suppose it should be the one where I stopped a bunch of our students from getting kidnapped.

Tika also seemed to agree with me, "Ah, I totally understand! In that case, could Dragonslayer Odeta just watch over us from behind? If we meet any monsters that we have trouble dealing with, you can jump in and help us!"

I thought Odeta would be happy to do that but surprisingly, she got angry instead.

"Ha? What do you think I am? Am I your bodyguard or something?"

Eh? I thought she liked showing off her strength by challenging others and defending the ones weaker than her?

That's why she follows me around, doesn't she?

Tika panicked, "A… Ah! That's not what I meant, Dragonslayer Odeta! I… I just didn't want to waste your skills on enemies this simple! There should be stronger enemies in the lower floors that might make it a challenge for you!"

In this F rank Dungeon? I really doubt it…

Both of us have gone through E rank Dungeons before so I really don't think that this Dungeon has anything that could challenge either Odeta and myself at all unless we gave ourselves a handicap…

I guess it could be a challenge for us if we were restricted to using swords since, ironically, both of us use hand to hand combat more than our weapons when we were fighting.

I also rely quite a bit on my magic so that handicap would apply more to me… But even then, a smack from my sword would be enough to kill most of the enemies in this Dungeon I believe…

Odeta mumbled but begrudgingly accepted to stay behind the group to watch their backs.

I was going to join her as well when Tika gestured to me, "Alright, Aster! You don't need to worry so much with Dragonslayer Odeta being at the back! We can still work together as a team to fight these monsters and improve your skills as well! So let's go!"

Er… What?