Lich (1)
After accepting the student council request, we immediately set off for the artificial dungeon. Maybe it was because it was just the two of us—Luden and me—but the atmosphere felt unbearably awkward.
“......”
“......”
Come to think of it, this was the first time we’d been alone together since that initial practical combat class. If I remembered correctly, we had gone to an artificial dungeon back then as well.
“By the way, what exactly are these mutated monsters?”
“Pardon?”
“The antler we encountered last time was a special specimen, wasn’t it?”
“It was.”
“I was just wondering where those kinds of creatures come from.”
Hmm. The being who created the artificial dungeons was none other than the Sun God. However, I didn’t recall seeing any settings related to special entities. All I knew was that the Sun God had made them.
Weren’t artificial dungeons originally created by humans to combat monsters?
In any case, pondering it now wouldn’t yield any answers. It was more important to resolve this matter quickly. Only then could I summon Ppiyak-i without feeling too burdened.
“Baran. We’ve arrived.”
At that moment, she tugged insistently at my sleeve and pointed toward the artificial dungeon. She must have done so out of consideration, since I was supposed to be blind.
“It appears there’s no one else around.”
“Yeah. The academy seems to have locked the area down so no one can enter.”
Well, since they had hired us through the adventurers’ guild, it was only natural. In fact, it was obvious that no one besides us should be allowed inside. Otherwise, the risk of additional casualties would only increase.
“Then shall we head in?”
“Yeah.”
With that, we stepped into the artificial dungeon before us.
It had the same maze-like structure as the one at the academy. Luden glanced around warily as she walked forward. But then—
Hmm?
The path ahead was suddenly blocked. That was the irritating part about maze-type dungeons. Unlike regular ones, the layout here was incredibly convoluted. Traps were likely scattered throughout as well.
“Looks like this isn’t the right way.”
“Miss Luden, could you step aside for a moment?”
“Huh?”
“From what I can tell, this is the correct path.”
She tilted her head in confusion at my words. The path was clearly blocked—what was I talking about? The moment doubt crossed her mind—
Step. Step.
I approached the wall blocking our way. At the same time—
Vwoong.
I manifested my bow, then—
Shwoook!
Nocked an arrow.
My sudden action caught Luden off guard. She clearly hadn’t expected an attack. Then—
Kyaaaaak!
Sharp teeth suddenly sprouted from the wall in front of me. Luden flinched in shock. She had never imagined a monster disguised as a wall.
The next instant—
Baaang!
The mimic was obliterated by my arrow. Fortunately, it hadn’t been particularly strong. Dying in a single strike was proof enough of that.
“How did you know?”
Luden hurried over and asked. I scratched my cheek and replied.
“I’m not sure how it appeared to you, Miss Luden, but to my eyes, the wall was composed entirely of demonic energy.”
“Ah.”
“That’s how I realized it was a mimic and responded accordingly.”
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason. In the original story, this artificial dungeon had been full of similar traps. While Mind’s Eye let me detect it instantly, I also had the game’s knowledge to thank.
That lich bastard. He really went all out with the modifications.
The mutated monster the student council had mentioned was none other than a lich. I recalled he had been a fairly renowned mage in his previous life. I hadn’t set up any sub-quest for him, but one thing was certain—he was a pervert. That was why he had freely remodeled the artificial dungeon to suit his tastes.
“Then let’s keep moving.”
“Yeah.”
We continued onward. As we advanced, monsters came into view. Sometimes they were ordinary creatures.
Kyaaaaak!
Other times, we encountered bizarre monsters that the lich must have specially engineered.
Grrrr!
Every time we slew one of those abominations, Luden’s expression grew increasingly grave. She seemed to have realized just how abnormal this dungeon truly was.
“Shall we rest for a bit?”
“Yeah. Let’s.”
She nodded at my suggestion. The two of us sat down comfortably. And then—
“......”
“......”
An incredibly awkward silence settled between us.
I quietly observed her through Mind’s Eye. Status window.
Limit Break (★★★★★)
Mana Application Lv. 4
Mana Lv. 4
She had grown tremendously. Then again, that kind of rapid progress made sense. Even if she wasn’t at the training grounds, she was hunting monsters in practical combat every single day. With her Limit Break trait, it was no wonder she was advancing so quickly. At this point, she probably wouldn’t lose badly even against Sherry during the performance evaluation.
Now that I think about it…
Thinking of Sherry suddenly brought a question to mind. I turned to Luden.
“By the way, Miss Luden.”
“Yeah?”
“How did it go when you were alone with Miss Sherry? You two seemed to have grown quite close after the field trip.”
“Ah.”
She let out a small sound of realization, then opened her mouth.
“The field trip wasn’t anything special. We just handled a few requests at the adventurers’ guild.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah.”
It hadn’t deviated much from the original story. After all, that wasn’t the main point of Sherry’s route. When I looked at her as if waiting for more, she continued.
“And we had a spar.”
“A spar?”
“Sherry said she wanted to have a proper fight.”
It was exactly the same development as the original. In Sherry’s route, the two of them always had one spar. And I remembered them reconciling afterward.
The outcome was the protagonist winning, of course.
Just as I was thinking that—
“But I lost.”
“Pardon?”
An unexpected answer slipped from Luden’s lips. I looked at her in surprise. She went on to explain.
“How should I put it… She used the same power she showed during the performance evaluation.”
“Ah…!”
I immediately understood why Luden had lost. In the original story, Sherry’s power remained amplified. Even so, she was originally supposed to lose to Luden. But—
Come to think of it, she was even stronger than in the original.
No wonder Luden had been defeated. I wasn’t sure about her current level, but during the performance evaluation, Sherry had been around level 40.
I’ve been so focused on myself lately that I haven’t checked the main cast’s status windows.
At this rate, I had no idea how much Sherry had grown. In the original story, she experienced explosive growth after the performance evaluation. As I recalled her power and felt a chill run down my spine—
“What about you?”
Luden tilted her head and asked. She was probably referring to my field trip with Lillia. But should I really tell her the truth? It wasn’t exactly the kind of story you shared with others.
“Hmm. We simply cleared a dungeon commissioned by the Eldorado Merchant Guild.”
“Hmm. And you got to carry the princess in your arms while you were at it.”
“Yes, that’s… Wait, how do you know about that?”
The unexpected words made me flinch in shock. What? How did she know? Cold sweat broke out on my back as she narrowed her eyes.
“Your reaction tells me it’s true.”
“Uh, well…”
“To think you chose Lillia for that kind of reason.”
“......”
It felt like she was seriously misunderstanding something. As I grew flustered, the corner of her mouth lifted.
“I’m joking. I just wanted to see you panic a little.”
Hmm. So this was the kind of prank people pulled these days? I nodded with a slightly sour expression, feeling dumbfounded inside.
“Ah, I see.”
“Anyway, we should get moving again. We’ve rested enough.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
With those words, we stood up and resumed our journey toward the boss room.
We continued clearing out monsters as we progressed through the dungeon. After roughly an hour, we finally succeeded in escaping the maze.
“Whew, the maze was more complicated than I expected.”
“Tell me about it.”
Any other adventurer who saw our progress would have been stunned. Clearing a maze dungeon in just a few hours was practically impossible.
“Looks like it’s over there, right?”
“Yes, it seems so.”
The moment we exited the maze, a shabby house came into view. It was obvious at a glance that the lich was living there.
Before we go in, I should check once.
With that thought, I activated Mind’s Eye. Miroel also peered into the room to see what was happening inside. And then—
No, fuck. What the hell am I looking at?
I was rendered speechless by the scene that entered my vision. Because—
“Unlike your words, your body is quite honest!”
—the lich was in the middle of molesting a female golem with a vibrator. As I stood there dumbfounded, Miroel suddenly covered her eyes and shouted.
“Disciple! There is a perverted lich right now using a pink device to molest a female golem in her most private place!”
You really didn’t have to tell me that, Master.
The timing was absolutely terrible.