Reincarnated into a World Filled with Dungeons, But My Blessing Turned Out to Be the Most Challenging Dungeon

“Don’t move. If you try anything funny, I can’t guarantee what’ll happen to this guy.”

The men who had suddenly appeared surrounded me, and the one who seemed to be their leader pointed his sword at me.

“Ah—sorry, Master. I did sense something was around, but I let my guard down.”

Eve’s voice echoed in my mind.

(It’s not your fault. We were focused on the boss fight…)

Since this dungeon expedition was mainly Thomas and his party’s job, I hadn’t asked Eve for reconnaissance details. After all, I wasn’t planning to fight, so I had told her there was no need for any reports.

Explorers are responsible for everything that happens inside a dungeon. That includes dealing with scum like this.

“Thomas, who are these people?”

“…They’re dungeon raiders. They lurk near the boss room, waiting for someone to defeat the boss so they can steal the rewards and the core.”

Thomas explained while glaring at them with sharp intensity.

Seeing that clear hostility, a thought occurred to me.

—Could it be that they’re going to abandon me?—

To them, I was just a porter. A rookie explorer they’d only met two days ago.

There was no reason for them to risk their lives for me.

(Eve, get my weapon ready.)

In the worst case, they might even suspect that I led these bandits here. If that happened, I’d be caught between two threats.

I kept a close eye on everyone’s movements.

“Alright, first things first—drop your weapons!”

The bandit leader was prioritizing neutralizing Thomas and his party. He thought using me as a hostage would force them to comply… but that was probably a mistake.

Their gear was expensive.

They had likely gathered it piece by piece over countless dungeon explorations. Losing it would severely impact their future as explorers.

Which meant I could predict what would happen next. The moment they refused, the leader would strike.

I had to protect myself.

Bracing myself for combat—

—CLATTER! CLANG!—

“Huh?”

Everyone threw their weapons to the ground.

“Heh heh, good. You guys are smart. Now stay put.”

The bandits’ underlings gathered up the discarded weapons—the special mace that could shatter the golem, the staff that amplified magic, the well-maintained bow, the heavily used greatsword…

These weapons had fought alongside their owners. They were practically extensions of themselves.

“…Thomas, why?”

I couldn’t stop the question from slipping out.

What I really meant was: Why didn’t you abandon me?

Did he understand my meaning? Because Thomas, the mage, and the healer all smiled at me and said—

“As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters.”

“Yeah. We can always buy new gear.”

“For now, just focus on protecting yourself.”

The warrior woman, the swordsman, and the archer all responded with gestures that told me not to worry.

“Hah! What a bunch of soft-hearted fools. Thanks for making it easy for us to take your loot.”

He wasn’t wrong. Under normal circumstances, they should’ve abandoned me.

And yet… these people…

“I’m sorry, everyone.”

I lowered my head in apology.

“Oh, you should be! If not for a useless goblin-lover like you, they could’ve fought back.”

The bandits burst out laughing at my apology.

“I didn’t mean it that way.”

In the next instant, a weapon appeared in my hand.

“What, you gonna fight back now? You little brat, I’ll kill you—GUEH!”

“”””””Wha—?!””””””

Thomas and his team all gaped, mouths wide open in shock.

“Hmm, was that a pop fly?”

The leader had flown back, slammed into the wall, and collapsed to the ground. He was twitching, so he wasn’t dead.

“Wh-where did you pull that log from—GAGH!”

I closed the distance to the nearest bandit in an instant and swung my weapon.

Thanks to my blessings, my strength had increased dramatically. But I made sure not to kill anyone. My goal today was to aim for clean hits.

“H-he’s a monster!”

“Don’t panic! Everyone, take him down together!”

“That’s not a valid attack, dammit!”

I methodically took them down one by one. The bandits, unable to coordinate in their panic, soon found themselves embedded in the walls like decorative ornaments.

—

“I truly apologize.”

Once the fight was over, I bowed deeply.

Not for hiding my strength. That was a given when dealing with strangers.

“Why are you apologizing?”

Thomas asked, puzzled.

“Because, even for a moment, I doubted that you would abandon me.”

Admitting this was terrifying.

But Thomas and his team had been willing to throw everything away for me. Lying in front of such people was the last thing I wanted to do.

I braced myself for their rebuke, but…

“You really are an idiot, aren’t you?”

Thomas sighed and walked toward me.

“Eh?”

Then he ruffled my hair roughly.