Chapter 63: Mage and Alchemist (Rare) (2)
Chapter 63: Mage and Alchemist (Rare) (2)
“This is the last warning I'm giving you all. From now on, I won't pay you any mind, nor will I say a word.”
“……”
“Just… Hah. Never mind.”
The words “Just let them face whatever happens” rose to the tip of my tongue, but I managed to swallow them back down. After all, we'd developed a bond while traveling together, and saying that would have been a bit too harsh. I also felt a sense of disgust at how I had unknowingly started changing, little by little, while looking after them.
The sharpness that once enveloped me, my unwavering heart, was beginning to tremble. I hadn't regressed just to play house like this. The time being wasted in a dungeon like this was a terrible shame. I wanted to get a grip on myself, on the part of me that was unknowingly growing complacent.
The kids held their breath, staring at me with blank faces. The sound of their soft breathing and their hurt eyes made my heart waver, but I immediately steeled myself. I opened my mouth and spoke in a firm voice.
“The voice you just heard belonged to Ramic. Yoojung already explained it, so I’ll skip that part. However, there should be two statues, one on each side. Those are the trap. Destroy them before they activate. Don’t hold back.”
Instead of waiting for the trap to spring just to give them experience, I chose the most effective tactic. After speaking, I strode forward at a brisk pace. The kids scrambled to follow me, but I paid them no mind and picked up my pace even more.
My brisk walk became a run. Once I felt I had closed enough distance, I drew my sword. A clear metallic ring sounded as a cold flash of sword light swept through the area. From this point on, I intended to take a more active role in resolving things myself.
As I advanced in silence, another passage came into view. I passed through it without hesitation and, just as expected, found a User collapsed in the clearing, their right arm sprawled beside them and tears streaming down their face. It seemed the sword wave I had unleashed had struck cleanly.
“H-Help me… Gack!”
Before the others even had a chance to move, I shot forward and sliced off Ramic's head. On either side of the headless Ramic stood two imposing statues. They weren't gargoyles or other monsters, but humanoid figures clad in plate armor.
Killing Ramic didn't mean the trap wouldn't activate, so I immediately thrust my sword at one of the statues. With a grinding sound, the statue began to raise its arm slightly, its eyes flashing as my sword came at it. But that was all it managed. My sword cleanly pierced its center and shattered its core. I gave the blade a twist before pulling it out, and the statue stopped moving.
“Hah!”
Ahn Hyun had not stood idle either. A cold aura quietly emanated from him, showing that he had steeled himself again. Following my lead, he drove his spear deep into the remaining statue. The spear, evidently filled with Magic Power, broke through the stone plating with ease. After hearing the stone crack and confirming the large hole left in the statue’s center when he withdrew his spear, I immediately turned away.
“Next. We're moving now.”
We hadn't lost much stamina this time, so I decided to head to the next clearing right away. Ahn Hyun fell in behind me, but Yoojung and Sol just looked dazed. They glanced back and forth between the slimy remains of Ramic and the statues, then I sensed them scrambling to catch up as we pulled away.
“Next up… a goblin horde. Manageable. Everyone, get in formation. We'll approach this similarly to how we handled the Rengas.”
The next clearing was a goblin den. But we couldn't underestimate them; there was a goblin shaman and several hobgoblins guarding it. A goblin horde with that kind of composition would have given new Users a tough time, but unfortunately for them, that didn't apply to me.
After entering the clearing, I quickly broke from the formation and cut down the goblin shaman and the hobgoblins guarding it. Then I lured the remaining goblins toward us, rejoined the formation, and charged. There were quite a few of them, but our earlier experience fighting difficult monsters such as Black Scorpions and Black Wolves helped considerably. Besides, wiping out a leaderless goblin horde was almost effortless.
After the battle, we rested while Sol treated Ahn Hyun for a goblin poison-dart wound. While she healed him, Yoojung and I searched the clearing and rummaged through the goblins’ belongings. Since they liked shiny objects, there was a good chance they possessed something valuable. Their weapons and armor were useless to us, but the search still produced a definite profit.
The mood among the kids had sunk. To boost their flagging morale, I showed them what I'd found. There weren't many gold coins, only about 30 gold, but we found three gems: two opals stashed in a pouch and one red sapphire pried from the goblin shaman's staff.
I tossed one of the small opals in the air and caught it as I spoke.
“Look. The opals are a little small, but their color is gorgeous, right? We can get at least 20 gold for each of these. That's 40 gold for two. And this big red sapphire? It'll probably go for around 70 gold. Add the 30 gold coins, and that's 140 gold in total. The money all four of us saved over three months at the User Academy barely topped 10 gold. We just earned fourteen times that amount in a single battle.”
“So, the deeper we go…”
“Exactly. There could be even greater treasures ahead. What do you think? Now do you get why Users are so obsessed with exploring dungeons?”
Yoojung’s eyes sparkled at the sight of the gems. Ahn Hyun, stunned by the enormous profit, nodded frantically. A look of relief also appeared on all their faces, apparently because my tone had softened. Seeing their reactions, I smiled inwardly. They really did trust and follow me. Still, if I became too lenient here, the atmosphere might unravel, so I maintained a stern demeanor.
After clearing out the Rengas, Ramic, and the goblin den, we advanced without pause. We set off the moment Ahn Hyun's treatment was finished. The kids didn't show any particular complaints. Having just seen the profits firsthand, they were likely filled with anticipation for what they might find next.
After passing through another tunnel, the next clearing we encountered was a spider's nest. Seeing their shaggy black hair and the pitch-black sheen of their carapaces, they seemed to be a different breed from ordinary spiders. In particular, the fact that they were all dribbling a yellowish fluid suggested they might be venomous.
They would be tricky to deal with, but I had a feeling that once we passed this area, we would reach our destination. You could call it a kind of intuition honed after clearing countless dungeons. The long-awaited alchemist's main base. Eager to get through quickly, I had just taken a single step into the clearing.
Thud!Clatter...
“Kyaa!”
A green orb suddenly dropped from the ceiling, hit Sol on the head, and rolled across the floor. Sol let out a cute scream and started making a fuss. I quickly kicked the orb away and raised my head to the ceiling. And then…
“Ugh…”
“Wh-what… is…”
The others, who had reflexively followed my gaze, let out groans, their faces turning pale with shock. They were so stunned they could only point with their mouths agape, unable to form words.
A User was dangling from the ceiling, hanging limply in white threads that resembled spider silk. She was a woman, and the clothes covering her body had been torn to rags. Most alarming of all, her abdomen was unnaturally swollen.
Seeing her condition, I frowned. But there was nothing I could do right now. I could only watch. My Sensing was ground-based, so I hadn't been able to sense something suspended in the air. If only I had used Occupy, I would have noticed immediately…
Cursing my carelessness, I activated Third Eye. Her body had been extensively altered, but because she remained fundamentally human, I could still view her Player Status. I also intended to extract whatever useful information I could.
〈 Player Status 〉
1. Name: Jung Jiyeon (Year 2 User)
2. Class: Mage (Normal, Mage, Runner)
3. Nation: Barbara
4. Clan: -
5. True Name · Nationality: - · Republic of Korea
6. Sex: Female (20)
7. Height · Weight: 161.3cm · 54.5kg
8. Alignment: True · Neutral
[Strength 45] [Durability 26(-12)] [Agility 34] [Stamina 17(-25)] [Magic Power 28(-49)] [Luck 58]
“Ugh… ah… ahhh…”
Jiyeon groaned, her face twisting in pain. Her perineum parted slightly, and glistening green orbs dropped through the air. The eggs writhed on the ground before sharp legs tore through their shells and burst out. The kids watched the entire sequence in silence at first, but soon every one of them began radiating burning anger. Their Alignments seemed to be influencing them.
Jung Jiyeon’s swollen abdomen and the orbs—no, spider eggs—falling through the air made the situation obvious. The kids had worked out where the eggs came from and what was happening. Yoojung and Sol, perhaps because they were women as well, were radiating nearly twice their usual fury.
I found it regrettable as well—not because a twenty-year-old woman in the prime of her youth had been reduced to this, but because her Stats were quite good for a second-year User. She was also a Mage, exactly what our party currently lacked. When I added back the lost Stat points, her growth potential was high enough that, had I met her in the city, I might even have traveled with her.
But one way or another, all of that was irrelevant now. To me, she was merely a host body producing spider monsters. An Elixir briefly came to mind, but I immediately dismissed the idea. Using one here would be far too wasteful. In that case, killing her might be the kinder choice.
Of course, it wasn't that there was no way to save her if I looked hard enough, but frankly, I couldn't be bothered. Well, she was pretty enough, but I didn't like the way she looked like she had a nasty attitude. I had no desire to use a precious Elixir or go through the trouble of restoring a User who I wasn't even sure would make a good companion.
I just wanted to finish this dungeon quickly and return to the city. That was my true feeling on the matter.