First, Level Up (4): A Rogue Knight's Priorities
Having quickly sorted out the situation, I began running the dungeon once more.
An obsessive urge to move faster to make up for lost time clawed at my mind.
The noticeable slowdown in my leveling speed was painful, but...
...considering the item drop rates, it was a sacrifice well worth making.
It was a guaranteed profit that more than offset the stagnation of my growth.
To the current me, even a piece of trash gear was incredibly precious.
Levels were important, of course.
But what mattered even more was the experience and skill etched into my very bones.
"Oh, you're back?"
I had just finished another full sweep of the dungeon.
The moment I returned to the base camp to organize my newly acquired loot—
"You must be exhausted. Please, sit down and rest a while."
Adelaide, whom I assumed would have left long ago, was still sitting there demurely.
As if she had been waiting for me.
The moment she sensed my presence, her gaze locked onto me with intense focus.
"...?"
It was an utterly baffling situation.
For a second, I doubted my own eyes.
"I know it might have been presumptuous of me, but I couldn't just sit idly by, so I organized the spoils scattered around."
"..."
"I sorted the valuable items on the right, and the less valuable ones on the left."
Was choosing the room where I met Adelaide as my base camp a mistake?
Or was there some other circumstance at play that I wasn't aware of?
Slowly moving my creaking armor joints,
I scanned the items Adelaide had neatly categorized.
"To be honest, I was quite surprised. I never expected to find such things in a dungeon I thought was completely empty."
It was undeniably efficient.
I never imagined she would organize the messy piles of loot I'd dumped after hunting monsters so beautifully.
Her ability to assess the value of these items so accurately couldn't be explained by mere observation.
Which meant her claim of being a duke's daughter wasn't entirely a lie.
"Oh, and I saw some meat among the spoils, so I prepared a quick meal for you to eat right away."
"You cooked too?"
"Yes. I figured proper meals are crucial for you to maintain your strength while clearing the dungeon, Sir Knight."
Adelaide spoke calmly,
unhesitatingly offering me a skewer threaded with monster meat.
"How does a noble lady know how to cook...?"
A highborn lady roasting monster meat herself.
I couldn't help but doubt my eyes.
After all, Adelaide's hands were so smooth and pale, completely unsuited to the harsh environment of a dungeon.
But my doubts were short-lived.
"..."
The moment I looked at the monster skewer she held out, I lost my words and froze in place.
The meat looked as if it had been roughly torn apart by bare hands.
And the cross-section was dripping with fresh blood, completely untouched by fire.
This was literally just raw meat shoved onto a branch.
"What is this?"
"...A skewer."
At my deadpan question, Adelaide flinched, her gaze slowly dropping to the floor.
"I-I couldn't help it... there was no fire..."
No wonder. The moment she mentioned a "meal," a strange sense of incongruity had washed over me.
Looking around, there wasn't a single trace of a campfire.
"I'm sorry. I wanted to be of help to you, Sir Knight, so I tried my best, but..."
"I don't know why you're suddenly doing this, but there's no need."
"...Pardon?"
I impassively took the raw meat skewer from her,
and tossed it aside into a corner.
"You don't need to organize my loot either. That's my job."
"Oh..."
"It seems you want my help to escape this dungeon, but unfortunately, I have no intention of leaving anytime soon."
After delivering that cold truth,
I slowly sat down, my armor joints creaking with every movement.
"I understand your situation is dire. But I have enough on my plate just looking after myself."
"Please, just to the entrance... I'll manage on my own after that..."
"No. I don't even know where the entrance is, and I have no reason to ruin my farming route just to escort you—"
Just as I was drawing a firm line between us,
"...!"
Deep inside the dungeon,
a faint monster howl echoed from somewhere a short distance away from our base camp.
"You don't know where the entrance is? How does that make any sense?!"
Adelaide's bewildered voice followed.
But ignoring her completely, I sprang to my feet.
I turned immediately toward the direction of the monster's presence.
"Even if you don't want to help, how could you tell such an obvious lie—"
"Monster."
"...?"
The mob respawn rate was much faster than expected.
Considering this was reality and not a game, I thought it would take at least thirty minutes.
"A monster?"
"I'll be back."
"What do you mean 'be back'? You just got here, where are you going—"
Before Adelaide could even finish her sentence,
I snatched the greatsword from my back and bent my creaking knees.
*Boom!*
The force of my launch kicked up a thick cloud of dust from the dungeon floor.
Adelaide's panicked shouts faded into the distance in the blink of an eye.
After another full sweep of the dungeon, I returned to the base camp.
Because the mob respawn times were so erratic, this run had taken much longer than the last.
Some areas had respawned monsters,
while others remained completely empty—a bizarre imbalance.
This was incredibly inefficient hunting.
If only the respawn timers were consistent, I wouldn't be wasting time like this.
"...Welcome back."
When I dragged my exhausted body back to camp, Adelaide was glaring at me, looking thoroughly disgruntled for some reason.
"Why the long face?"
"...Are you seriously asking because you don't know?"
Adelaide let out a hollow, exasperated laugh at my question.
What on earth was her problem?
I hadn't done anything to offend her.
I couldn't understand why she was acting so petulant.
"I know this place is safe. But still, running off like that in the middle of a conversation..."
"It couldn't be helped. The respawn timers in this dungeon are highly erratic. If I don't clear them immediately, I lose out on optimal XP gain."
I replied calmly, taking a short breath.
"I value efficiency above all else. My experience gain is already dwindling, which is quite stressful, so I ask for your understanding."
"Re... spawn? XP gain...?"
She clearly didn't understand a single word.
Adelaide's eyes narrowed in confusion.
"What on earth does that mean?"
"It's just a thing."
"I really don't understand any of this... I'm trying my best to comprehend, but the more I try, the more bizarre you seem."
A deep sigh escaped Adelaide's lips.
She slumped down in front of me, letting the raw meat skewer slip from her hand onto the ground, and let out a long, weary sigh.
"Efficiency, respawn, XP loss... what language are you even speaking...?"
"I find you stranger, to be honest. I've drawn a very clear line between us, so why are you still waiting for me?"
"Because I have no choice. It's impossible for me to escape this dungeon on my own."
"So you're just going to squat here indefinitely?"
"I have to. I was barely brought back to life; I can't just die in vain again."
Adelaide spoke in a sorrowful voice,
poking the raw meat skewer on the ground with her finger.
"I want revenge. Against those who did this to me."
"..."
"At first, my mind was blank. But after dying and coming back, the memories suddenly became crystal clear."
"..."
"Those people who stripped me of everything with ridiculous false accusations, and ultimately tried to kill me..."
I slowly sat down, my armor joints creaking once more.
Then, I quietly gathered the raw meat skewers scattered on the ground and piled them in one place.
"To do that, I must escape this dungeon alive."
"I see."
"So please, just take me to the entrance... I know I'm being shameless. But right now, you are my only hope."
It had already been five minutes since I returned to base camp.
In about another five minutes, the mobs would probably respawn.
I really hope a rare item drops this time...
"I'll do anything—be your porter, your assistant, whatever—as long as I don't interfere with your 'efficiency.' Please, just give me a chance..."
"'Revenge only breeds more revenge.' Personally, I absolutely despise that saying."
Having roughly mapped out my next dungeon route in my head,
I finally gave a calm reply to Adelaide's earnest pleas, which I had been half-ignoring until now.
"W-what do you mean by that all of a sudden...?"
"You have to give back exactly what you received so they never dare to cross you again. So, I support your quest for revenge."
The moment I finished speaking, Adelaide's eyes, which had been staring at me, trembled slightly.
But paying no mind to her reaction, I continued in my usual dry tone.
"Whatever it is, having a goal is a good thing."
"..."
"I also have a goal: reaching the Max Level. And I intend to run toward it without stopping."
"No, I think you misunderstood me. What I meant was..."
As Adelaide stammered in bewilderment at my response—
"...Monster."
Deep inside the dungeon,
a faint monster howl echoed from somewhere a short distance away from our base camp.