Chapter 58
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: S-Class Adventurer, Elena (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Sticky air. A landscape that felt somehow unsettling.
Elena stepped into the portal and frowned as she surveyed her surroundings.
"This place..."
All the trees were twisted as if rotting away. The grass on the ground showed no signs of life.
The earth was cracked and split, as if struck by drought. The moonlight glowed red, like a harbinger of the world's end.
It was an utterly ominous forest. The overall color scheme was a dark crimson.
"...This doesn't seem like a low-grade dungeon."
Elena muttered, wrinkling her pretty face.
The dungeon's environment itself didn't look particularly dangerous. But that was just an illusion. It was only what it appeared at first glance.
This forest was dangerous. Extremely so.
First, the mana density was the issue.
The mana in the air was far too murky. The cave before entering the dungeon had high mana density, but it plummeted the moment she set foot inside.
Mana recovery here would be much slower than usual.
Second, on top of that, the rotting trees were devouring the mana within her body.
Even now, mana was steadily leaking from Elena's body. The trees were absorbing it like magnets.
'And that's not all.'
The cracked ground beneath her feet.
It was continuously draining her stamina. Just breathing cost as much energy as sprinting at full speed, and it was happening every second.
Elena was fine thanks to her immense stamina, but an ordinary human exposed to this environment would collapse from exhaustion in no time.
And then there was the eerie moonlight illuminating the entire dungeon from the sky.
The moonlight emitted waves that subtly weakened physical abilities. The effect was considerable.
The ground sapped stamina, the trees mana, and the moonlight physical prowess.
Such powerful debuffs were unheard of in lower-grade dungeons.
'...But I'm still okay.'
Elena nodded to herself.
No matter how strong the debuffs, she had confidence in herself.
Confidence that she wouldn't lose.
She had clawed her way to S-Class through bone-grinding effort.
The sudden emergence of the Lily Guild had dulled the impact a bit, but reaching S-Class in her twenties was an achievement beyond mere "genius"—it was utterly impossible.
She had never once lost in real combat.
And that wouldn't change now or in the future.
'I'll kill them all.'
Elena refined the rage within her and trudged along the forest path.
She considered two possibilities for the current situation.
One: Her younger sister Elrine had gotten lost in Luis Forest but was rescued by another adventurer party.
The other: Elrine had been captured alive by monsters, and the other adventurer party had suffered the same fate.
Up until she reached the Sanctuary, Elena had thought the first possibility far more likely.
After all, Elrine had stayed two days at the Sanctuary's inn, safe and sound.
But her thoughts changed while traversing Pedros Gorge.
It was because of the tracks.
The bizarre trail leading from the Gaidun Mountains.
It looked as if monsters had traveled alongside humans, extending from the Sanctuary all the way to Pedros Gorge.
When she asked around at the Sanctuary, no one reported seeing Elrine or the adventurers together with monsters.
That left only one possibility.
'Elrine and her party were captured by the monster but managed a momentary escape in Nevis Forest.'
Then, they somehow made it to the Sanctuary, explained the situation, and tried to rally help to fight the monster. But judging the Sanctuary's saintess guards too weak to be of use, they skipped the full explanation and slipped out again on their own.
Dragging unrelated people into it wouldn't help if they couldn't contribute.
They fled again but were recaptured and dragged here to this dungeon, the monster's lair.
Some monsters ate humans raw or lusted after human women.
Just thinking about them made her teeth grind, but every year, countless civilians and adventurers were captured, toyed with, and killed by such beasts.
Elrine had probably fallen to one of those monsters.
To Elena, this was the most logical conclusion.
Otherwise, the bizarre tracks suggesting monsters and humans traveling together made no sense.
Because...
Living alongside monsters 'willingly' was simply 'impossible.' Elena's mind couldn't stretch that far.
Anyway, right now, she needed to focus on rescuing Elrine.
Elena pressed on through the dungeon.
Thud, thud, thud—
Even after three hours of cautious walking, no monsters appeared.
She wanted to just rush ahead.
But dungeons were terrifying places. Unknown traps could lurk anywhere, and letting her guard down could mean death.
Rushing for speed might cost her life.
If she died here, it was truly over. For Elrine's sake, she had to prioritize her own safety. She needed to stay calm now more than ever. No room for carelessness.
'Why is this place so damn big?'
Elena let out a faint sigh.
The key to conquering a dungeon was defeating the boss.
Bosses usually resided in their lairs, which were often at the dungeon's deepest point.
Yet after three hours weaving through, she couldn't even guess where the lair was.
Still, Elena kept moving.
Whether it took hours or days.
She crossed the forest.
Forded the river.
Pushed through the swamp.
Scaled the mountain.
One week.
After over a week of vigilant travel, a clue to the lair finally appeared.
The final mountain.
Crossing that peak should lead to the lair.
'How has no monster shown up in a whole week? This dungeon is unprecedented.'
Elena took a deep breath and prepared to climb the last mountain.
That was when it happened.
"Hic... No......! Don't......"
'Huh......?'
It was faint.
But Elena didn't miss it.
A small but definite 'human voice' brushed her senses.
'This is...!'
In this dungeon devoid of any life, it was the first trace of a living being.
Elena's heart raced.
More than that, it wasn't an unfamiliar voice.
'Elrine!'
It was a high-pitched moan-like sound, so she didn't recognize it immediately, but the more she thought, the surer she was—it was Elrine.
'E-Elrine! You're safe......!?'
Elena bolted toward the sound at full speed.
She kept her guard up, ready for ambushes, but raced to check on her sister.
She rounded the mountain at her maximum speed.
And finally...
"Hic... Hn, ha, don't do it... I-I hate it...! Please......!"
Squelch—
'Ah......!'
She witnessed a monster apparently trying to rape Elrine.
The monster was groping Elrine's breasts.
Elrine's clothes were torn to rags, exposing her nipples and private parts.
The monster sucked on her nipples with what looked like a mouth-like organ. Not just that—it was licking her privates with a tongue-like appendage.
Elrine was bound to a rock with some strange mucus.
"N-Nooo... P-Please don't do it, don't— Mmph......! Mmm, slurp, smack, slurrrp, suck..."
The monster even kissed her lips.
Elrine hated it desperately (though her voice dripped with feigned ecstasy, Elena, clueless in such matters, didn't notice), but the monster forced its way in, tangling tongues.
"E-Elrine..."
Elena froze in place.
Her little sister in such a state—it was unbearable to watch.
Thump thump—
Her heart felt like it would burst.
Her mind filled with rage, limbs trembling. She wanted to unleash all her mana and tear that disgusting monster apart.
But she held back.
Excessive rage and excitement bred mistakes.
'Hoo, stay calm, Elena... Stay calm...'
Elena took deep breaths.
She who never lost composure even at gruesome sights now desperately needed to steady herself.
Cool her head, refine the burning fury within.
Elena composed herself in an instant and glared at the monster with blazing eyes.
The monster, oblivious to her presence, pulled out a horrific, repulsive phallus, aiming to take Elrine's precious virginity.
'Like hell I'll let you.'
"Elrine!"
Elena shouted loudly.
Elrine, unaware of anyone nearby until then, turned at the sound.
"Huh...? S-Sis!?"
"I'll save you now! Don't worry!"
"S-Sis......!"
Elrine's face lit up with joy.
Elena felt proud seeing it. Elrine was thrilled that she had come to rescue her.
To defile such an adorable little sister with those filthy tentacles!
Unforgivable.
Boom—!
Elena charged.
Her form shot like a beam of light.
Aiming only at the monster's position to avoid harming Elrine, she thrust her fist.
Crackle—!
She wanted to inflict every torment on the world on this monster, but her current fury surpassed even that. She couldn't bear seeing it alive for another second.
'Hm?'
But the monster was gone from that spot. It hadn't been hit and vaporized in one blow.
There was no sensation of contact at her fingertips.
"S-Sis, watch out! It's our tentacle— N-No! This tentacle monster is insanely strong......!"
Elrine even gave helpful advice. Elena smiled back.
"It's fine. Sis will win."
"If you need help, say so! I'll assist......!"
"No need. Just stay safe and still."
"Mmm, no. I'll definitely help you soon, Sis......"
That was when the monster suddenly appeared from thin air. Elena's eyes widened.
'Teleportation.'
Then it was the boss of this dungeon. Only bosses could teleport freely within.
Elena instantly drew her two favored daggers.
Daggers she hadn't needed to unsheathe even once while piercing Nevis Forest and Pedros Gorge.
She hadn't needed them before, but now her instincts screamed for weapons.
Fwoosh—
Flames enveloped the dagger in her left hand, lightning her right.
The monster descending from the air unleashed dozens of menacing tentacles from its body.
Whoosh—!
Elena swung her daggers, and the tentacle monster fired its tentacles fiercely.
Boom—!
And finally, they clashed.