Chapter 5: Heart-Pounding Secret Friends (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 5: Heart-Pounding Secret Friends (2)
Stranded in a dark cave with a beauty.
In a way, it was a rather charming situation, but I wasn’t exactly thrilled.
To be honest, I hadn’t expected things to turn out like this, as I’d assumed only our pushover protagonist, Lilac, would be able to satisfy the second condition of this place.
“Be careful. Nothing has happened yet, but it could be dangerous if you stray from my side.”
Of course, her words were driven by her sense of duty to protect a prospective cadet. However, if her nature weren’t inherently good, she wouldn’t have been able to spare a thought for anyone else the moment we were warped into an unknown space.
Good grief.
In the original work, she died a pathetic death precisely because she was too kind, but I didn’t realize she was a pushover on par with the protagonist.
Someone truly capable of sacrificing themselves for others.
I used the derogatory term “pushover,” but in truth, it meant she was a person worthy of respect.
“Don’t worry. I may not look like much, but I’m actually an Academy professor, you know? My hero rank is quite high, and I can clear most dungeons without any trouble.”
Yes, I know how impressive you are.
As is common in modern fantasy academy stories, this world is filled with humanoids, monsters, and villains.
Those who deal with the humanoids and monsters from other worlds, or the villains who were born as superhumans but stained their hands with evil, are called heroes by the public.
The woman before me was a hero who held an A-rank license—a qualification given only to those capable of hunting high-tier species monsters single-handedly.
She’s probably stronger than the protagonist right now, isn’t she?
An ordinary reader might have been flustered, not knowing how to react to a situation that never appeared in the original work, but I am the man who memorized the Setting Book because I was the author’s friend.
Naturally, I knew the second gimmick of this dungeon as well.
The problem was that while no monsters appear when only those who “can be grateful for small things” are present, they do appear when someone who “can truly sacrifice themselves for others” enters.
This gimmick was likely intended for the protagonist, but as expected of a failed novel, this second gimmick never appeared before the hiatus.
Why? Because by that point in the story, there were plenty of things better than the rewards offered here.
“Don’t worry too much.”
“Pardon?”
“Your expression is so dark. Seeing as no monsters have appeared yet, perhaps the dungeon master has a gentle disposition.”
Ah, she must have misunderstood my despair over my friend’s failed novel as fear.
“Yes, I feel a bit better thanks to you.”
But you know what? In novels, saying something like that is the golden rule for triggering a monster spawn.
“Wait.”
And as if to prove my near-prophetic prediction, she broke into a sweat and stepped in front of me.
— Skreeee.
An eerie sound, like a mix of a frog and a human’s vocal cords, echoed through the cave.
The monsters appearing in this dungeon were Goblins, the lowest of the low-tier species.
Being the lowest of the low-tier meant they were, in fact, incredibly weak.
A Goblin’s individual ability was so pathetic that any superhuman could easily take one down as long as they overcame the mental hurdle of fighting a monster.
However, there was one very peculiar fellow mixed in among the Goblins of this dungeon, and that was the problem.
Normally, Goblins as a swarm are considered quite tricky monsters to deal with, but if that guy is in the pack, the Goblins’ rank literally skyrockets.
A Goblin Lord.
Its personal combat prowess isn’t much to look at, but it’s a unique entity classified as a high-tier species because of its ability to buff every Goblin in its swarm.
With a Lord present, every single Goblin in the pack boasts combat power similar to a Hobgoblin—a low-rank, mid-tier species.
— Skree, skrk.
Beyond the dark cave, the red glow of the monsters’ eyes became visible in the torchlight.
There appeared to be over twenty of them right in front of us.
Twenty Hobgoblins? Even most heroes would be done for if they let their guard down.
The biggest issue was that while the woman protecting me had a high A-rank, she was a specialist in one-on-one combat, making her a poor match for fighting large numbers.
“Of all things…”
Indeed, she was a martial arts-type hero.
She was a specialist in close-quarters combat using her own body, and even with the buffs, it wouldn’t take her more than a second to crush a Goblin’s head.
Two Goblins wouldn’t be a big problem either.
The same would go for three.
But once there were ten, some would start slipping past her, and if there were twenty or thirty, the number of those she missed would only grow.
One Goblin lunged at us.
However, as she took her stance, her hand-blade severed the Goblin’s neck.
To reiterate, it wasn’t crushed; it was severed.
Purple blood began to flow from the clean cut.
But the death of a single Goblin meant little to them.
Goblins possessed no affection for their own kind to begin with.
Emitting unpleasant screeching sounds, they all charged at once.
* * *
It would have been easier if she only had to suppress a single Ogre.
Every time her fist lashed out, two Goblins died, but then four more would lunged at her.
‘There are too many…!’
Of all things, this was the type of dungeon she was least compatible with.
Judging by how the level of each individual Goblin had strangely increased, there had to be a Lord somewhere in the dungeon.
If she were alone, she might have been able to handle the situation calmly, but behind her was a sickly boy.
Every time she threw herself forward to deal with a Goblin charging past her toward him, gaps opened in her defense, and the number of wounds from the Goblins’ crude weapons increased.
It wasn’t a major problem for now, but this wouldn’t last much longer.
She had trained desperately and polished her martial arts out of a desire to save people, but in the end, her limits were clear.
A-rank.
It was a high achievement considering her meager innate talent, but while A-rank sounded good, it was proof that she was infinitely lacking and weak compared to the S-rank reached by her friend and benefactor.
If she were an S-rank, capable of overturning the tide of battle single-handedly, could she have blown away this Goblin swarm in an instant and reassured that boy?
There was no need to ask.
If it were her friend, she would have already annihilated the enemy and been comforting him with a smile, saying everything was okay now.
“Hah…!”
But even if she couldn’t save someone as magnificently as that, there was still something she could do.
“Just a little. Please wait just a little longer. There are many of them, so it might take a bit of time.”
Her smile didn’t falter, even though she might not have looked very reliable with her increasing wounds.
To never lose one’s smile in order to put someone else at ease.
This was the one thing she had learned from her friend that she could uphold.
Her breath grew increasingly ragged.
Perhaps the weapons had been coated in poison.
She had killed many Goblins, but their numbers seemed unchanged.
Just as the speed at which the Goblins were dying began to slow and she was clearly being pushed back—
— Who is the one to sacrifice?
A boy’s voice echoed through the dungeon, and a portal opened.
* * *
It was exactly as I had seen in the Setting Book.
In this dungeon, if two people enter and one of them is driven into a corner, a portal opens. This portal allows one to choose between the exit or the reward room.
Actually, looking at the speed she was killing Goblins, you couldn’t really say she was “cornered” yet, but being cornered doesn’t always mean just physical danger.
She was a kind and good person, but she also had deep-seated complexes and a worrying nature.
She was probably moping inside, comparing herself to the Chairperson.
Seeing the portal appear, she smiled and said to me, “Hurry, go inside! I’ll stay behind!”
She was a virtuous person—a truly good person.
In a situation where she could have resented me for getting her dragged into this, or at the very least abandoned me out of a desire to live, she chose to sacrifice herself.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she stood before the exit that had appeared just to protect a single student.
“I’m fine. I’m not about to be taken down by Goblins.”
She didn’t lose her smile, all to put someone else at ease.
It sounds easy, but seeing her practice her difficult ideals made her look exactly like a hero from a novel.
I made my decision.
In the original story, you meet a miserable end after being deceived by a villain, but I won’t let that happen.
A reliable supporter for the protagonist and a kind homeroom teacher who even has heroic qualities? There’s no reason to kill off such a popular character.
Without hesitation, I threw myself toward the portal.
My destination, of course, was the reward room.
As I passed through the portal, my vision shifted instantly, and I was warped into a different space.
— Are you one who can truly be grateful to someone?
A voice spoke, but I ignored it.
That wasn’t some kind of test; it was merely a residual thought left by the Saint, the master of this dungeon, for the one who would carry on his will.
There were two rewards.
First was the bottle containing the “Saint’s Tears,” which had also appeared in the original work.
This was the fortuitous encounter I had originally been looking for.
And the other one.
It didn’t appear in the original work, but it sat there—a fortuitous encounter that the protagonist was likely meant to take.
The Will of the Saint.
That ring-shaped artifact possessed traits that were exactly what the protagonist needed in the early stages.
However, the protagonist wasn’t here right now. After tucking the ring into my pocket, I picked up my original objective.
— I was one who sacrificed. Yet, there was no one who was grateful to me.
As I opened the bottle’s cap, a refreshing scent wafted out.
— That in itself was fine. For I did not do it seeking a reward.
— However, it was regrettable that my sacrifice held no meaning. For in the end, I failed to protect them.
As I downed the contents of the bottle, his final words echoed in my head at the perfect moment.
— May my meager power be of even the slightest help to you.
Thump.
My heart raced.
The Saint’s Tears that flowed down my throat and into my body transformed from liquid into energy, settling within me.
In truth, although he was called a Saint, the man who served as the motif for this dungeon wasn’t anyone particularly grand.
He was someone who wanted to save people from Goblins but lacked the strength to save everyone, eventually falling victim to the Goblins himself.
His talent was also a bit unique but not exceptionally high-tier. These Saint’s Tears were a fortuitous encounter that allowed one to obtain a degraded version of his talent as a trait.
A trait, unlike an innate talent one is born with, is a power that can be acquired later.
The trait I obtained through this fortuitous encounter was “Resurrection.” Originally a talent for revival, its ability after being degraded into a trait was as follows:
The total capacity of the soul becomes vast, and life force and Innate True Qi are recovered on a daily cycle.
In truth, this ability alone wouldn’t be very useful, but for me, its meaning was different.
The sensation of new water filling an almost dried-up, empty vessel.
My body, which had been miserably heavy and difficult to move, also became slightly more comfortable.
Although I couldn’t yet feel the increase in the size of my soul since I had just obtained the trait, the second effect was more than enough for now.
Now, it was time to create a reliable supporter for the protagonist.
* * *
“Did he escape safely?”
She was already at her limit.
The poison was circulating through her body, making her movements sluggish and giving her a fever.
The poison the Goblins used was crude, but since she was a superhuman specialized in technique, she had almost no resistance to poison.
She hadn’t expected to end like this, so pathetically.
Tears fell from her eyes out of frustration.
She had kept smiling to reassure him, but she didn’t need to force it anymore.
The only ones here were herself and the Goblins.
— Skreee…!
Whatever they found so amusing, the Goblins were approaching with hideous smiles.
She was barely holding on in a defensive struggle, but soon, once her other arm became paralyzed, she wouldn’t be able to resist.
Even so, while there was frustration in her heart, there was no resentment.
It wasn’t as if he had opened this dungeon on purpose, nor had he intended to use her.
“Whew.”
Feeling her spirit weaken, she took a deep breath and looked straight ahead.
Becoming weak when cornered was a bad habit.
Even if it was only one, she could still move an arm, and her legs were still fine.
There was no reason to give up.
She braced herself, determined to take at least one more down with her, but in the next moment, an anomaly occurred.
The portal that had vanished after he passed through opened once again.
“Eh…?”
And from it walked the boy who should have escaped.
He was looking at her.
Her vision was blurry, so she couldn’t see his expression clearly.
“Why did you come back? I told you I was fine.”
One look at her current state would tell him that was a lie.
He had likely returned out of guilt.
“I’m sorry.”
As he apologized, he raised his hand.
A warm light began to gather above his palm.
In her momentarily dazed mind, his talent flickered into her thoughts.
He gave a faint smile.
“It’s okay now.”
“No!”
By the time she thought she had to stop him, it was already too late; the light had already moved from his hand toward her.
The light settled into her body.