Chapter 44
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: Ruins (3)
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Should I call it fortunate? The moment an ominous light burst from the necklace, the party members sensed the danger and quickly distanced themselves from the skeleton mage. Thanks to that, they managed to escape the blast radius to some extent, but...
-Rumble!
"The ceiling!"
I had no idea what effect the necklace possessed, but its power was far greater than its explosion's range suggested. Cracks spread from the spot directly hit by the blast, and soon the ceiling came crashing down.
We hurriedly escaped through a door beside the chapel before it fully collapsed. Lena, whom I'd grabbed and run with moments ago, slipped through the door quickly as well. Through the falling rubble, I caught sight of Hiss and Hiro fleeing through a door on the opposite side.
-Boom!
"........."
After evacuating beyond the door, we stayed on alert in case this side collapsed too, but fortunately, the crumbling seemed to have stopped. The bad news was that the entrance we'd come through was now blocked by the collapse.
I pounded on it a few times, but it looked impossible to dig out the boulders by force. Tampering with it recklessly could bring more down anyway.
"Lena, can't you use magic to clear these somehow?"
I asked the somewhat exhausted Lena, but she examined the collapsed passage and shook her head.
"No way. If I'd learned earth magic, maybe, but I'm specialized in fire magic..."
Hmm... What now? We had enough rations to hold out inside, and since there were other parties exploring the ninth floor besides ours, rescue would come eventually if we waited, but...
"Ha... Let's search this side for now. There might be another exit. We could even regroup with Hiss."
With no better options, we decided to advance down the passage we'd fled into. Just in case, we left markers as we went.
Lena's expression wasn't great. Was she worried about being separated from Hiss?
I pulled out some jerky I'd made from troll meat beforehand and chewed on it. Naturally, it was from the troll I'd hunted, soaked in poison. Prepared without heat, the sharp tang of venom was exquisite. As I munched the troll meat, I kneaded various parts of my body.
[Poison Resistance Lv.3] partially resists the poison.
[Heavenly Touch Lv.1] activates healing effect.
[Regeneration Lv.2] increases regeneration speed.
Several skills activated. My resistance chewed through the sharp poison's bite, and the overlapping effects of [Regeneration] and [Heavenly Touch] slowly healed the scrapes from the fallen rocks.
"Ngh..."
"...?"
Feeling an odd gaze, I looked toward Lena. Her eyes were fixed on the jerky in my hand. Well, I made it myself, but even Lirian had raved about the taste. Plus, with her help, the flavor and aroma were top-notch.
"Sorry, but I can't share this."
"Huh? I didn't even ask!"
"No, this has poison in it..."
I tried to explain the poison, but the moment I spoke, Lena snapped back and stormed off in a huff. Ugh, seriously.
"Are you going to keep being so prickly? I did protect you back there in the fight."
"Hmph! If you're talking about the skeleton mage's attack, I already cast a barrier! That's why I wasn't hurt, but you went and yanked me away on your own. Now we're separated from Hiss because of it!"
She took zero damage at all. How was I supposed to know?
"Tch... What a mess on the ninth floor. Ruins pop up out of nowhere, and the one valuable-looking artifact just shatters..."
Once she started talking, complaints poured out of her nonstop.
"Wasn't it your attack that broke the necklace?"
"No! Even the most precious artifacts have limits based on the user's capabilities. That necklace shattered because a mere skeleton mage forced it and overloaded. I didn't break it!"
I wasn't even pressing the point. Without her attack, we wouldn't have pierced that barrier anyway. Still, why was she taking it out on me this whole time? I was trapped here too, plenty annoyed myself.
"The ruins collapsing is the same. Ruins that appear in the Labyrinth are protected by something, giving them transcendent durability. For something like that last explosion to bring it down..."
From what Lena said, even she had never seen ruins collapse like this before. Ruins didn't appear often, but those right after Labyrinth anomalies all shared one trait: exceptional durability.
"Why did it collapse this time?"
"I don't know. This is the first ruin to appear on a cave layer, after all. Maybe it's weaker?"
I ignored Lena's mumbling and checked the remaining corridor and rooms. Hmm... Too much to cover quickly.
"How about we rest here? We just fought, and it's been a while anyway."
Lena looked a bit displeased but didn't object to resting. She needed to recover mana, apparently. She seemed worried about Hiss, but rest meant proper rest.
We entered a room we'd spotted during the search. Judging by the layout, it was a kitchen. The stored tools and ingredients were long ruined, of course, but it was perfect for a fire.
As I lit a suitable blaze, I continued the excuse I hadn't finished earlier.
"You can't eat this jerky. It has poison in it."
"............Why the hell are you eating it then?"
"For [Poison Resistance] training."
Lena stared at me like I'd lost my mind. Why did everyone react like this? If you had the [Poison Resistance] skill, wouldn't anyone train it? From what Alensia said, it was rare.
"...Even with resistance, no one eats poison because they like it. In the Labyrinth, anything can happen— even with resistance, ingesting poison builds up fatigue in your body. Who'd eat poison unless it's a guaranteed safe situation?"
Really? I never felt fatigued from poison... Maybe [Heavenly Touch]? It relieved fatigue down to the cellular level... Or [Venom Mastery]. Something explained it.
Lena watched me chew the poisoned jerky with a look of disgust but soon plopped down across from me and nibbled her own rations. Conversation died between us during the meal.
"[Poison Resistance].... That's a rare skill you have."
Rarely, Lena spoke first. She seemed fascinated by my [Poison Resistance] skill. It hadn't been that hard to acquire... Anyway, it was rare.
"I know an advanced adventurer desperate to get [Poison Resistance]. And you have it..."
.......An advanced adventurer obsessed with [Poison Resistance]?
"...You mean Alensia, by any chance?"
"You know Alensia too?"
At Alensia's name, Lena's standoffish attitude shifted. Her eyes sparkled as she leaned in, chattering away. What was this?
"Lady Alensia is amazing! Her party, <Erdas>, was all women—every member an advanced adventurer! Even after it disbanded, she's still teaching as an advanced adventurer herself. Such a noble soul!"
Alensia's party... The one with Gloria? Didn't expect to hear about it from someone else.
"Did you train under Alensia?"
"Yes! Back when I was a beginner adventurer, clueless and all, she taught me. The poison-eating lessons were tough, though..."
Ah, she made them eat poison too. Lena must've failed. Everyone before me did.
"That dignified, beautiful figure! Her ironclad refusal to let men near her is just..."
Her eyes looked dangerous. I'd suspected when she said she hated men, but was Lena into women? Her expression grew riskier.
"But how did you...?"
"Oh, I trained under Alensia too."
"You trained under Lady Alensia...? Wait, then that [Poison Resistance]—?"
"Got it from her training."
Lena's gaze turned monstrous, like she was staring at a freak. Similar to the receptionist's look when I mentioned surviving Alensia's training.
"Enduring that tickling torture..."
And just like that, her gaze toward me softened ever so slightly. Sharing hardship builds bonds, after all.
"Oh, then do you know the adventurer Lady Alensia recommended?"
"That's me."
"????"
"That's. Me."
Lena blanked out for a moment, then yelled with an even sharper glare.
"No way! Lady Alensia, so lofty, recommending another adventurer?! A man, no less?!"
"Being a man the problem?"
"Lady Alensia has heightened elven senses—she instantly punishes any man approaching with lust! Famous for it! And you got her recommendation?!"
She denied it to herself, then started muttering.
"She wouldn't even recommend me, but this guy..."
"............."
Real sweet talker. Should I flick her forehead hard?
It was getting late, so we decided to camp here. I worried about Hiss and Hiro, but ruins usually had powerful bosses, and the skeleton mage seemed to be it. With it defeated, major threats were gone.
We'd finish searching after camping, so Lena and I set up our sleeping bags.
"Touch me while I'm asleep, and I'll burn you."
".............."
With those rude parting words, Lena turned in first. I'd take first watch. Ugh, that woman...
I left sleeping Lena alone and sat by the fire. Nothing pressing, so I set up simple traps with string and bells around us...
As always, I trained my mana using [Sensory Block] and [Sensory Release]. Especially after witnessing Lena's powerful spell, my thirst for mana felt even greater.
"Hoo..."
Blocking mana sensation with [Sensory Block], then slamming it open with [Sensory Release]—the flow felt more precise than before. An itchy sensation, like I could move mana any second.
But chaining it risked issues, so I paused and rummaged for other training. Poison herbs I'd packed...
"Huh."
Looking for poison herbs, I found unfamiliar grass. Wait, not mine. When did I pick this?