The Exhausted Man's Cave (4): The Otherworld Knight

The entrance to the Exhausted Man's Cave was cleaner than I expected. It looked like someone had tidied up recently. Supplies that appeared to have been cleared away by people were stacked neatly in the corners, and the scorch marks on the surrounding walls suggested a simple extermination sweep had taken place.

"This might go smoother than I thought."

"I hope so too~ But something still feels off."

Dorothy kept her guard up and slowly swept the area around the entrance. Her movements weren't those of a student—they belonged to a soldier or veteran adventurer. I watched her work with wide eyes.

After scanning every inch for threats with her mana detection, she nodded, satisfied it was safe, and beckoned me over.

"Doesn't look like there's anything at the entrance or along the initial path. I don't know how far the patrol teams went, but... there are signs of combat, so we can relax for now."

Hearing that, I pulled out a tent to establish a base camp. From my memories, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cave's depth required two to three hours of walking. Factoring in monster encounters along the way, six hours should be more than enough.

When I shared what I knew, Dorothy's eyes filled with growing suspicion. I tried to brush it off with an awkward laugh, but she simply let out a small sigh and quietly arranged the tent's interior.

"Uh... Was I really that well-prepared?"

"Information on restricted zones is strictly protected. Just how did you obtain it?"

"Hahaha. Well... Let's just say I have my own information network. We're business partners, aren't we? I'm not doing this with any ill intent, so please just bear with me a little longer."

I had already revealed that my energy source was life force and even confessed my growth limitations. What more did she want? I needed to survive too!

I looked at Dorothy with the most wronged expression I could muster. If I gave her even this, our business would be finished!

"Business partners. Right. You'll tell me when the chance comes later... Just follow carefully and don't get hurt."

"Oh. So you do trust me?"

"Vermillion Vermon. Preston Crypsto."

"Huh?"

Why the hell was she bringing up those bastards?

"For now, they're the ones who've clashed with you, correct? Vermillion Vermon was disciplined thanks to Panzy Vlad's testimony. As for Preston, there was a personal dispute before enrollment."

"Ah, that's right. He approached Eve with impure intentions."

"Impure intentions, huh. Well... That would make the Crypsto family lose their minds. It's already causing quite the commotion."

"Does the student council even know about things like that?"

"It's all politics in the end, junior. You'd better watch yourself. You have no idea how fiercely the Vermon and Crypsto families are sharpening their blades..."

In the end, she was telling me to take care of myself because shit was going to hit the fan. But why were those assholes taking their anger out on me when they were the ones who caused the problems?

I couldn't hide my displeasure; my face twisted into a deep scowl. Dorothy observed my expression for a moment before speaking.

"You look like an angry Maltese. You have a cute side to you, junior~"

"I've never been called cute anywhere before."

"Even a Maltese is scary when it's angry~"

"..."

This is exactly why people need to become strong. If you're weak, even your anger gets dismissed as 'angry Maltese' or 'pissed-off Chihuahua.' Wait, did they even have Maltese dogs in this world? They really just threw in every dog breed they could think of because it was convenient.

I seriously reconsidered the 'individual growth' Dorothy had mentioned back in the jungle.

The spirits I had contracted with so far were wind, fire, and earth. There was probably a water spirit waiting quietly somewhere for me. At least those were the four attributes I knew about.

'Let's think about it after I find the water spirit.'

I hadn't forgotten Dorothy's method for growing 'heterogeneous power,' but I could afford to put it on the back burner for now.

"Stop spacing out and stick close behind me, Maltese."

"It's Cain."

"Sure. Maltese."

"..."

She really was an annoying senior.

"Oh, that reminds me—last time you mentioned a gate would open soon. Remember~?"

"Yes. You couldn't pinpoint the location, only that it would open soon... Now that I think about it, how do you know these things?"

"Like I said before, when a gate is about to open, the mana waves become extremely unstable. That's something only I can sense, so you probably wouldn't understand."

The way she shrugged her shoulders while speaking proudly made it seem true. But who was I? The one and only king-god-emperor-general-unique spirit contractor. If the mana was becoming unstable, the spirits should be able to sense it too.

-Yeah.

-Um... As expected, only Silph answered. Thanks, Silph! Thumbs up!

-Cain. We. Are low-tier spirits. We don't know. Such difficult things.

[...Then who would?]

-Aish! I told you! We're like regular soldiers who only know how to swing a sword!

In the end, they were completely useless.

"You're making the face of a Maltese who failed to get a snack this time~"

"It's not like that. And I don't stake my life on snacks."

"I never said you staked your life on them~"

We continued forward, exchanging lighthearted banter at a leisurely pace. Crossroads kept appearing, but having played this game countless times, I had every path memorized. There was no issue.

Each time, Dorothy's eyes would fill with suspicion again, but I simply acted oblivious and pressed on confidently. Mana detection was clearly an advanced technique beyond what low-tier spirits could manage... Or was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it something only Dorothy could do? Since it involved sensing natural mana, I thought the spirits should be able to detect the flow as well...

"Cain. Something feels wrong."

"What?"

Dorothy suddenly stopped walking and gripped her staff tightly. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was unmistakably a combat stance. Was something about to appear ahead?

"Um... Senior? Could you please explain what's happening to me too?"

"The flow of mana is fluctuating wildly."

"What? That means..."

Could my luck really be this terrible? I looked at Dorothy with a face full of despair and called the spirits together. The silver lining was that these creatures were extremely vulnerable to natural mana.

"I don't know exactly where the gate will appear. Only that it's definitely somewhere inside this cave."

"Please, let it be only stupid ones like last time."

"I hope so too, but it's difficult to determine with just the mana gathering at the gate."

Listening to Dorothy explain that we would only know once the gate actually opened, we continued toward the end of the cave. She flinched periodically now, as if she could physically feel the mana fluctuations. That's when I finally realized why the monsters that should have inhabited this cave were gone.

"The monsters that lived here must have sensed the danger and fled already."

"Probably... and they 'coincidentally' ran into the guards while escaping."

"Hmm... This is more serious than I thought."

"I want to suggest we turn back right now, but..."

Muttering something like 'It's my mission, so I have no choice~', Dorothy pressed forward once more. We walked until we finally reached the end of the cave. The ceiling had a clean opening that let sunlight pour down, and right in the center sat a rather old but luxurious-looking box, firmly sealed shut.

"If it's not a mimic, that box must be the one containing Rhea's Ring, right?"

"Yes, that's correct, but..."

The space above the box began to twist and warp. Dorothy immediately started chanting and deploying a magic circle. I gathered the three spirits and prepared for immediate combat.

The fractured space beyond looked like shattered glass, revealing a completely dark crimson dimension where uneasy magical energy crackled with red lightning. What slowly emerged from within was not the caterpillar-like creatures from before.

A being clad in pitch-black armor, holding a heavily rusted sword, stepped through the gate. Empty helmet glowing with only red eye-lights, it scanned its surroundings.

"Single hostile entity... Mana detection results..."

Dorothy skillfully observed the enemy and began analyzing it through mana detection. This was the mark of professional training. Had this side of her ever appeared in the game? I was so captivated by her appearance—something I had never seen in the game—that I momentarily forgot how dangerous the situation was.

Her eyes suddenly widened in shock as she finished her analysis.

"Enemy mana pattern. At minimum, Aura Beginner. Cain, get back."

Dorothy swallowed hard and raised her staff, pointing it at the otherworld knight. The black-armored knight finished surveying the area, adjusted its rusted sword across its shoulder, and turned its gaze toward us.

The same phenomenon as when we faced the otherworld magical weapon last time. It seemed information on otherworld-related monsters was restricted after all.

I summoned Gnome and equipped the exoskeleton, then took a stance while facing the knight called Umbra. It gave a single nod, then raised its sword and pointed it at us.

"....!@@$$#%"

"What the hell is it saying? Fuck..."

"Cain. It's coming...!"

The knight charged at an unbelievable speed and swung its sword. Dorothy used wind to push me aside, then skillfully rode the air currents to slip behind the knight. She deployed two magic circles behind it, finished her chant, and unleashed the Flame Cutter she had shown me before.

The sharply honed blades of fire mercilessly tore into the knight's back. The monster immediately spun around and threw a punch at Dorothy. Its tattered armor revealed the creature's back without any filter—completely blackened, rotten, and decayed. The red sword wound blooming across it showed just how harshly this monster had lived.

Yet Dorothy's magic seemed to have little effect. The knight endured the spell and swung its sword at her. I couldn't just stand by and watch. I called Silph and Kasa, ordering them to imitate the same magic Dorothy had used.

-Got it.

-Okay! Cain! Riding the wind feels great!

A dizzying amount of life force drained away for just an instant. Before my eyes, the 'Flame Cutter' Dorothy had cast earlier poured forth. Blades of fire slammed into the knight's back. Natural mana, not artificially created, proved more than enough to inflict serious wounds on the creature.

"???!@$@%@%@!!!!!"

It was in pain! The knight screamed something unintelligible, turned toward me, and swiftly swung its sword. From its reaction, my attack seemed to have worked extremely well. With the exoskeleton's assistance, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠easily dodged its blade and caught sight of Dorothy looking stunned at the effective hit I had landed on the knight's back.

I met her eyes, grinned, and nodded. Not bad, right?

I wasn't sure if it was because Dorothy was here lowering the difficulty, but I had a feeling we could handle this without too much trouble. I prayed desperately that it would stay that way.