Should You Seek Romance in a Dungeon? (3)
The enemy numbered six. We were only three. On top of that, five of them were clad in heavy armor. They were most likely knights, which meant we absolutely could not allow this to turn into a close-quarters fight.
“Fire Ball!”
Boom!
My target wasn’t a knight. It was the mage. We were already outnumbered and at a disadvantage in melee. If we lost our edge at range too, we wouldn’t have even the slightest chance of winning.
“Aaaargh!”
Luckily, my aim had been true. The enemies were clearly rattled by the sudden ambush and failed to respond in time. Their mage died screaming on the spot.
Now the enemy had five knights while we had three mages… though realistically, we only had two.
“Helmut! Elena! Do not engage the enemy knights directly! Just buy time!”
“Flash!”
“Flash!”
Fizz! Fizz!
Flash was a spell I’d developed. It worked like a flashbang grenade.
The moment I gave the order, Helmut and Elena’s incantations overlapped as they cast the spell in near-perfect sync.
“Ugh!”
Whether they were still reeling from the loss of their mage or simply hadn’t processed the situation yet, the enemies were completely exposed to the blinding light. That should buy us about a minute—
Whoosh!
“You cowardly mages!”
“Pretty rich coming from the guy who tried to ambush us from behind!”
Whew. That was close. I barely managed to dodge the incoming sword. If I hadn’t read the aura wrapped around the blade and evaded in time, my head would’ve parted ways with my body right then and there.
“I won’t let you escape!”
“Goddamn it, you’re really starting to piss me off!”
Whoosh! Swish! Clang!
From the voice, I could tell this was the enemy commander I’d heard speaking deep inside the dungeon earlier. I dodged his scimitar-like blade, parried with the dagger in my right hand, and somehow held on for the moment. But fancy swordplay like this wasn’t going to last long.
Even if I could keep it up, the enemy knights would recover from the Flash in about thirty seconds and join the fight.
Shit! I need to create some kind of variable—
That was when my eyes landed on the enemy mage’s corpse. The artifact clutched in his hand—if that was the dungeon core he’d mentioned earlier, it could be the key to turning this around. It was damaged, sure, but there had to be some way to use it.
“Eyes on me, you bastard!”
Swish! Clang!
“Guh!”
Thud!
The impact felt like it stopped my heart. The dagger flew from my grip as I was sent flying into the wall.
Fuck. This reminds me of that black history from when I was eight.
It had been a long time since I’d been sent flying by a sword like this—ever since my father had done it to me all those years ago.
“Urk!”
After a brief moment of free flight, I slammed into the wall. A groan escaped through my clenched teeth.
“Filthy insect. Crawl on the ground like the bug you are and meet your end.”
He approached slowly, a vicious smile on his face as if victory was already assured.
“Cough. Hey, old man. Haven’t you ever heard that it’s not over till it’s over?”
“No matter what you say, a worm is still a worm.”
Even as he closed in, he was clearly wary of the mana I was gathering. His slow, serpentine approach felt like the shadow of death itself—
“Flash!”
Fizz!
“Ugh!”
Elena’s follow-up spell came in right on cue. The commander had been too focused on me and couldn’t react in time. He was left completely defenseless against the blinding flash.
Haha, you stupid fuck. The mana gathering was a fake-out from the start. I’d drawn all his attention to me to create an opening.
“This is my escape route, you sons of bitches!”
I snatched the dungeon core from the dead mage’s hand and sprinted toward the Altar Cannon. Then I jammed the core straight into it.
“Die, you bastards!”
I started firing Fire Balls like a madman.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!
Twenty shots. Thirty. Fifty.
It’s firing way more than I expected.
Was this thing really worthy of being called a dungeon core? I marveled at how good this “battery” was as I kept spamming Fire Balls.
The deepest part of the dungeon where the enemies had been was now completely obscured by the dust cloud kicked up by the explosive aftermath.
Did I get them…?
Once the dust settled, the enemy commander was still standing right where he’d been.
“You fucking bastards!”
Shit, I should’ve known he’d have a revival spell or something! A translucent barrier had formed around him. It looked like he was carrying some kind of protective artifact.
Damn it. I’d assumed he wouldn’t have any artifacts on him. Whether it was personal property or issued for the mission, it was an unwelcome surprise either way.
Still, there was a silver lining. Only one enemy remained. And even he couldn’t have come out completely unscathed after eating that much magical bombardment.
The commander’s body was covered in severe burns, and parts of his plate armor had melted and twisted horribly.
“Warrior’s Valor! Helmut! Elena! Get out of here!”
“What about you, sir?”
“I’ll follow right behind you! Go!”
Helmut and Elena looked worried, but they obeyed my order and quickly turned to flee the dungeon.
“Alright then. Time to finish this.”
I aimed the Altar Cannon at the enemy commander—
Crack!
Huh? Crack?
Crunch!
With a violent bursting sound, the Altar Cannon exploded. …It seemed cramming the artifact inside had helped with mana supply but caused an overload.
Ah, seriously, can the universe stop screwing me over? Okay, it wasn’t exactly screwing me over, but still. I should’ve accounted for this. Did I pull the troops out too early?
No. Even if they’d stayed, they wouldn’t have been able to do much. The kind of trick Elena had pulled earlier wouldn’t work a second time. If it turned into close combat, their lives would’ve been in even greater danger.
The commander, who had been watching the situation, pulled out a potion and drank it. Then he charged at me with terrifying speed, as if his serious injuries were nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
“Wind Blast!”
I used the 4-circle spell Wind Blast. It created a compressed air explosion. I hoped it would at least slow down his charge.
“Hup!”
Boom!
The aura on his sword collided with my Wind Blast, and the shockwave spread in all directions.
Damn it. That probably didn’t do any real damage. The enemy showed no sign of stopping his charge. As he drew closer and closer, my mind accelerated as if time had briefly stopped.
I had to assess the situation objectively. If I screw up, I die. I began running through my options.
The dagger I was used to using was lying on the floor far away. As for my mana, I wasn’t sure how many more 4-circle spells I could even cast.
What about the rapid-fire magic I’d been doing earlier? That was only possible because I’d shoved the dungeon core into the Altar Cannon, which was specialized for Fire Balls. I couldn’t pull that off with my bare hands.
So the best decision here was—
“Yeah, you’re so great! Go live a long and happy life, asshole!”
Obviously, it was time to run like hell. I snatched the dungeon core from the ruined Altar Cannon and sprinted away without looking back.
“You bastard!!!! You pathetic mage! Have you no honor?! Running away like a coward!”
Whoa, he’s that badly hurt and still has a voice like that? His furious roar echoed throughout the underground chamber. Typical knight—always bringing up honor first.
“Honor can go freeze to death! Go collect your dead subordinates’ bodies! You’ve got funerals to arrange!”
“You!!!!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
With the loud clanking of armor and heavy footsteps, the enemy commander charged after me like a madman. He seemed to have completely lost his mind to rage, ignoring the state of his own body.
Did I pull too much aggro? No. Better that I keep his attention than let him go after the others.
From here on out, it was all up to my legs.
“Warrior’s Valor!”
Run like your life depends on it!!!
“Ugh, huff, huff, huff! Fuck, stop chasing me already!”
Rumble rumble rumble!
I shouted while gasping for breath, but nothing changed. The relentless, thunderous footsteps behind me showed no sign of stopping.
Wow, does this guy never get tired? I’d been pretty confident in my own stamina, but I was realizing that real knights operated on a completely different level.
The gap was so absurd it was hard to believe we were the same species. At this point, I was starting to wonder if we were from entirely different races, like some kind of human subspecies.
Still, the exit was finally in sight.
When I burst outside, the sun had already begun to set—probably because we’d spent quite a while inside the dungeon. The first thing I saw was the red glow of dusk. I quickly scanned the area and spotted my troops not far from the entrance.
The moment I saw them, I squeezed out every last bit of strength I had left and screamed.
“White Horse! White Horse, you bastards! Fire now! Right now!”
I shouted the prearranged code phrase.
Immediately, the magic tool near where Hans and Sir Levenstiel were stationed began to vibrate.
Oh shit. That vibration meant things were bad. If that thing went off here, was there even a way to deal with the knight chasing me?
Just as those complicated thoughts flashed through my mind, I saw it activate normally—and then—wait a second! Never mind “normally,” the line of fire overlaps with me!
“Flame Buster!”
The activation word rang out, and the spell fired. A massive fireball formed and shot straight toward the dungeon entrance.
“You idiots! You’re supposed to wait until I dodge first! Aaaaaah!”
Kwaaaaa—!
I threw myself sideways without hesitation. A tremendous shockwave ripped past my body. The sound cut off mid-roar because the explosion had been so close. It probably rattled my brain and gave me a mild concussion, but anyway.
Fuck. I barely made it. One wrong move and I would’ve been killed by my own troops.
When I turned to look at the dungeon entrance, all that remained was a charred human silhouette and the miserably collapsed remains of the entrance.
It seemed even the artifacts the enemy carried couldn’t stop it, but that was only natural. The Flame Buster was our unit’s trump card, after all.
Its power was equivalent to a 5-circle destructive spell. If Fire Ball was a mortar, this was more like heavy artillery fire. It was no surprise the result looked like this.
Only after confirming the enemy was down did the tension finally leave my body. Sleep came crashing over me like a wave.
Wait, this pattern again after a fight?
That thought crossed my mind, but my body—exhausted from the long chase and battle—refused to listen. The only saving grace was that my troops were right nearby.
As I fell into unconsciousness, only one thought filled my head.
When I get back, I’m definitely raising my magic to 5-circle.