My Refrigerator Turned Into A Dungeon
Chapter 346

Food Chain

Three-dimensional maneuvering. Darting through the mountains of Kusatsu with ninja-like movements.

Not exactly something to be proud of, but this sensation is somewhat similar to weaving through traffic on a bike. Spotting a sturdy tree to shift your weight onto, instantly deciding the path through, threading between slender branches and leaves as you advance.

The trick is to maintain momentum and keep leveraging inertia without killing your speed.

Even if you end up taking a slight detour or veering off course, adjustments can always be made later. In open areas, you can extend a mucus rope for a Tarzan swing. Above all, in three-dimensional maneuvering, momentum and speed are crucial. If you dawdle midair in an unstable position, you’ll just become an easy target. Getting sniped the moment you land is practically textbook.

But when I glance back, Nina-san and Serai-san are keeping up without falling behind.

This spacing is important, too. Neither too close nor too far. Depending on the situation ahead, there are times when you need to come to a dead stop without killing your kinetic energy—like grabbing a branch and performing a full rotation to stay in place. If someone’s flying right behind you in moments like that, they won’t be able to dodge in time, leading to a collision.

So the ideal spacing is about two or three trees apart.

Now, the reason we’ve ventured this deep into the mountains is that we’ve finally managed to exterminate the mountain goblins that had been lurking near Serai-san’s family home. Patrolling the basin in a light van and conducting search-and-destroy operations was a surprisingly time-consuming task.

But here, the giant boar-hide slings proved incredibly useful.

The two of them were nailing mountain goblins perched on slopes or trees over a hundred meters away with well-aimed stones.

Stones tracing parabolas through the blue sky, dancing silently through the air.

But even if they seemed small and slow from a distance, up close, they were bullets of lethal intent, striking with startling speed. The goblins who failed to notice these projectiles had their lives reaped in an instant, collapsing without so much as a scream.

(Oh? Hostile presence detected! Goblins again?)

Mid-leap, I spot a goblin loitering in the bushes ahead, so I spread my limbs wide to signal caution and halt to those behind me.

Then, forming a mucus membrane between my limbs, I glide like a flying squirrel to change direction, sticking flat against a thick tree trunk to hide.

Looking back, Nina-san and Serai-san, having caught my intent, have also taken cover on branches. Good, good. Solid reactions. Their training’s really paying off.

And here, too, the stones come into play.

Using a sling creates a noticeable whistling sound, so at moderate distances, it’s better to throw by hand. Not that it’s any less devastating. The three of us synchronize our timing, emerging from cover to take aim and hurl our stones in unison.

Even in the unstable perch of a tree, securing your lower body with mucus provides a solid foundation. The three stones, launched with clean, stable form, bury themselves into the goblins’ heads and chests with dull thuds. This was possible because we’d prearranged our targets—Nina-san takes the left, Serai-san the right, and I handle the center.

"Letting them escape? Not a chance!"

"Take this!"

"Hah!"

The goblins, shaken by their leader’s sudden collapse, try to flee—only to be met with another volley of stones. Even in an unstable position, Nina-san, who doesn’t possess the [Iron Arm] skill, can still launch stones well over 200 kph with ease.

So when a stone lands a direct hit, it either embeds deep or shatters spectacularly.

"Haaah… I know it’s weird to say it ourselves, but that’s seriously insane firepower."

Nina-san, having dropped down from the tree, mutters this as she admires the destructive force. Meanwhile, Serai-san, who’s also landed, picks up a stone she’d thrown and proudly turns around.

"Heheh~ My little Azuki-chan. Pretty amazing, right?"

"Well, my Kintoki-chan isn’t losing either!"

Wait, they’ve even named their favorite stones? There’s a little naming trend going on here. Anyway, once the three of us regroup, we carefully move in to confirm the goblins’ deaths.

"But on the flip side, that just shows how terrifying projectiles can be. Look—this group had crude bows, too."

Approaching the fallen goblins, I spot a small bow lying nearby. Likely compact to avoid hindering movement through trees.

"Yeah, those things are no joke."

"Hm? You mean when the Self-Defense Forces shot you? That did hurt like hell."

Honestly, it’s a miracle we walked away with just pain.

"Right?—Eek! Ugh, what is that?! So gross!"

The kill count is six. But as Serai-san checks the bodies further back, she screams upon spotting something in the bushes.

"What’s wrong, Serai-san? …Wait, what is this?"

Following her, I peer into the undergrowth to find a pale, squishy mass.

"A beetle larva? So this was the white thing I glimpsed during the fight?"

Rolling on the ground is what looks like a massive beetle larva—around a meter long, as per usual for this world. And, as if for easy transport, it’s tied to a long stick with vines.

"They tied it up… Were they planning to take it back to eat?! Ugh, I can’t even believe it!!"

"Whew, that’s a big one. Masa and Yuki would’ve been over the moon."

Kneeling, I inspect the larva, but it’s already dead, not so much as twitching.

"Hmm… This thing’s probably a dungeon monster, too. But this is bad news…"

Crossing my arms, I frown. Nina-san nods in agreement, while Serai-san tilts her head, confused.

"Huh? What do you mean, Egetsu-san?"

"What she’s worried about, Machi, is that these goblins were able to live in these mountains."

"Live?"

"Yeah. If they’ve got food and a place to settle, what happens next?"

"Ehh… You mean they’d start multiplying?!"

"Exactly. It seems the monsters that woke from Stampede’s frenzy have formed a food chain in these mountains."

Alternating glances between the goblins and the larva, I explain the implications to Serai-san.

"But we took out the giant boar, which was likely at the top of that food chain. If we’re not careful, the goblins—now without a natural predator—might explode in numbers."

"No way! That can’t happen! This whole area’s my family’s mountain!!"

Whoa… Their house and fields were already huge, but they own land this deep in the mountains? Just how much property does Serai-san’s family have?!

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