Chapter: 41
In response to Joy’s question about where we were, I could provide an answer.
I knew exactly what kind of place this was, which monsters appeared, and at what level to start tackling the dungeon.
However, all of that felt utterly meaningless at the moment.
What does it matter if we know the monsters? We can’t defeat them.
And what good is it to know the strategy for conquering the dungeon? It’s impossible to execute it.
What we needed right now was not a pointless display of knowledge.
I knelt opposite Joy and lifted her chin with my finger.
Despite her teary-eyed look, she resembled a villainess full of betrayal and shame, making her beauty akin to a curse worthy of the Mesugaki skill.
‘You don’t have to be scared.’
“Dunce Lady, are you frightened? You were so confident just a moment ago.”
“Yes, but…”
‘It’s okay.’
“You don’t need to worry. As pathetic as you are, I’m here to help.”
“Excuse me?”
‘We’ll be able to escape just fine.’
“I’ll do my best in place of the cowardly crybaby Dunce Lady. We will make it back.”
I was grateful today for the overly confident attitude granted by the Mesugaki skill.
It somehow made my baseless confidence seem like a flicker of hope.
Joy, who had been listening quietly, had stopped her tears by now.
Once again rising to my feet, I extended my hand to Joy.
‘Let’s move.’
“Let’s go. Crybaby Lady. You’re not thinking about dying here in tears, right?”
“Who’s the crybaby lady?!”
This should be enough.
First, we needed to find Jacob.
If I couldn’t even think of tackling this dungeon, there’s no way the weak Jacob would survive alone here.
If left alone, he would undoubtedly be caught by a monster and meet a miserable end.
And if Jacob died, the responsibility would rest squarely on my shoulders.
Agra’s involvement in this dungeon was entirely my fault.
I still didn’t have the confidence to shoulder a person’s life.
I had agonized for days after killing just one monster, and even now, it still affected me.
If I were to carry another’s life, how long would I be miserable?
I refuse to entertain such notions.
Jacob had also fallen from a similar position as us, so he must have landed somewhere nearby.
I didn’t know the exact location, but I hoped he had fainted.
If he was sprawled among the debris, Argos probably wouldn’t find him.
While Joy, still holding my hand, dusted herself off, I scanned the room for anything that could pinpoint our location.
If this was ‘Where the Alchemist Stayed,’ there should be a sign indicating our position.
Ah, here it is. Buried under the wreckage.
Let’s see, A – 01; that should be near the entrance of this dungeon.
After confirming the sign’s inscription, I mentally mapped out the dungeon and our location.
Have we avoided the worst?
The entrance of this dungeon isn’t where monsters tend to appear with high frequency.
If we’re careful, we might be able to dodge most of the monster encounters and reach the safe zone.
‘Grandpa, what’s the maximum range you can sense a monster’s presence, like before?’
[Right now, I can’t pinpoint anything too far. It’s about the distance from where you’re standing to that door.]
So that means I can detect monsters approaching within approximately a 5-meter radius?
This feature wasn’t expressed in-game, but it must be some new ability that came with grandpa waking up.
What does it matter?
As long as I can use it, that’s all that counts.
I know exactly which monsters there are in this dungeon and how they move.
If I combine that knowledge with Grandpa’s sensing ability, I might be able to avoid all combat in the dungeon.
‘Joy…’
“Dunce Lady, let’s move.”
“Understood!”
The two of us kept an eye on our surroundings while scouting the rooms.
[There’s a monster just around the corner.]
‘Joy…’
“Dunce Lady. Stop. There’s a disgusting monster ahead. We’ll wait here for 12 seconds, then move forward.”
“Got it.”
Thanks to the trust we built during the entrance exam dungeon, Joy didn’t question my authority and followed my lead without a hint of doubt.
That was a relief.
If she had doubted me and asked for an explanation, it would have become a hassle.
How many rooms did we search through?
A loud noise echoed from somewhere.
The sound of metal clashing.
A man’s gruff shout.
And Argos’ howling.
I had a rough idea of what was going on.
Jacob must have woken up and started fighting with Argos.
That guy wouldn’t last long against Argos.
He struggled to overpower the golem we faced during the entrance exam, so there was no way he could handle a monster from a higher dungeon.
We need to get there quickly.
In a rush, we moved, and before long, we found Jacob facing off against Argos.
Jacob was in bad shape.
His left arm bent at a grotesque angle.
His legs looked like they could buckle at any moment.
His eyes were filled with despair, sensing death looming near.
There was no way anyone could withstand such conditions for long.
‘Joy, can you use the flash magic?’
“Dunce Lady, can you use flash magic?”
“Yes, I can.”
‘Prepare it…’
“I’ll be ready and let you know as soon as I can! Be careful not to get blinded by your own flash, you idiot!”
I instructed Joy to prepare her magic and bolted inside.
Argos swung his weapon at Jacob, seemingly uninterested in me as an intruder, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Hey you, pathetic pile of eyeballs ♡ Do you not notice the person right behind you? ♡ If that’s the case, you might as well pluck out those useless eyes ♡”
Countless eyes embedded in Argos’s body turned to me.
Good, I had their attention.
‘Jacob!…’
“Kid! Are you alright?!”
“Lady.”
He seemed to have the presence of mind to respond.
Thank goodness. It’s not too late.
As I called out to Jacob, Argos charged at me.
Damn, for a monster with that many eyes, it moves incredibly fast.
Argos’ fist, which looked to be at least twice the size of my head, came swinging toward me.
Thud!
The iron wall commands.
Grab the shield.
My body, with its shield skill maxed out, obeyed the command effortlessly, successfully blocking Argos’ attack.
“Graaah!”
Just because I blocked it doesn’t mean I cancelled out the attack.
The arm holding the shield trembled.
There was a strain in my legs from absorbing the impact.
I gritted my teeth and held my ground, but I could feel myself being pushed back slowly.
If this standoff continued, I’d definitely be beaten by Argos.
Only if this standoff continued.
“Dunce Lady!”
“Light!”
Argos is a defective monster so overloaded with eyes that it can’t even see straight, but still, all those countless eyes function perfectly.
So, what happens when those countless eyes encounter a flash?
This was a tactic I used while enjoying Soul Academy as a game.
Argos has much lower resistance to flash magic than others, and it stuns for a longer time than other monsters.
As soon as Argos took the hit from the flash, staggering backward, I dashed straight toward Jacob.
There was no way this guy, who could barely stand, would be able to run, so if I wanted to save Jacob, I had to carry him.
‘Jacob, it’s going to hurt, but bear with it!’
“Kid, it’s going to hurt but don’t scream like a baby!”
“Eh?!”
Without waiting for his reply, I threw him onto my shoulder like a sack and sprinted toward Joy.
‘Joy! Run!’
“Dunce Lady! Run as fast as you can with these pathetic legs!”
Cue dramatic escape music!
After racing desperately, I finally arrived at a spot in the dungeon where the frequency of Argos appeared the least. I stopped running and set Jacob down on the ground.
[Looks like you took quite the beating from that monster. You’re not doing so well.]
‘Can we heal him with Armadi’s mercy?’
[It should be possible.]
After receiving grandpa’s confirmation, I approached Jacob.
I placed my hand on his heart and prayed to Armadi.
Hoping that he could get back on his feet again.
The moment my will surged, a stream of magic flowed through me, and slowly Jacob’s wounds began to heal.
“What on Earth?”
Jacob stumbled up, astonished at his own rapid recovery, and began checking out his body.
He might not be fully healed, but at least he could move now.
Good. I had achieved my goal of saving Jacob for now.
Now, we just need to endure until help from Soul Academy arrives.
That shouldn’t be too difficult.
As long as I avoid battles, combining my knowledge with Grandpa’s detection should keep us safe.
Even if an unexpected variable occurs, we could just run away using Joy’s flash magic.
The real question is, how long will it take for Soul Academy to come rescue us…
Nah, no need to worry about that. They’ll come to save us eventually.
Believing that is what keeps me at ease.
It’s fine. There’s no problem at all.
We will absolutely escape from this dungeon unscathed.
[Girl, there’s a monster approaching again.]
‘I got it, Grandpa.’
So for now, let’s just focus on surviving.
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