Chapter 6: The First Dungeon (2)
Chapter 6: The First Dungeon (2)
Under normal circumstances, the man should have taken the lead to protect the woman in such a dangerous place, but right now, they had to do the exact opposite.
Until recently, Han Shin had been an ordinary person, barely able to look after himself.
While he could walk normally now, he didn't possess the strength to fight monsters.
As the two moved cautiously, the sound of water dripping in the pitch-black cave echoed through the air.
The space was thick with damp humidity and a foul, fishy stench.
This isn't the smell of fish...
This new sensory experience served as a warning to Han Shin: this place was dangerous.
Following behind Grace with his left hand covering his nose, Han Shin felt a desperate urge to escape this dungeon as quickly as possible.
Grace advanced slowly, keeping a sphere of light floating ahead of her while remaining vigilant of their surroundings.
Though she was a knight of undisputed skill, she couldn't fully utilize her abilities at the moment.
It was true that becoming a follower of a god granted one power far beyond that of a mortal...
But the source of that power was the god they served.
Normally, this was something a follower wouldn't even need to think about, let alone worry over.
However, these were not normal circumstances.
Having been summoned to the real world for the first time since becoming Tiamat’s follower, Grace could immediately feel the state of her own body.
Even back when she was a mere knight—before she had even become a follower—she could have dispatched these creatures with a casual swing of her sword. Now, she couldn't afford to let her guard down.
Above all, the fact that she had to fight while protecting Tiamat’s Proxy, Han Shin, was a significant penalty for her.
She had considered telling Han Shin to wait where they first met, but she quickly dismissed the idea.
Having been imbued with information left by Tiamat, Grace knew she had to defeat the monster acting as the center of this dungeon.
Furthermore, she couldn't leave Han Shin alone, as other monsters might attack him in her absence.
She knew that if he were to fall, she would become nothing more than a powerless scarecrow.
As Tiamat’s Proxy, Han Shin was currently acting as a conduit, transferring power to Grace on behalf of the slumbering Dragon God.
She didn't have the luxury of explaining this to him right now, but regardless, she had to clear this dungeon while keeping him safe.
About twenty minutes after they began walking.
After passing through a long tunnel, they entered a cavern roughly the size of a basketball court.
Sharp stalactites glittered in the light, casting long shadows. Han Shin looked around and saw several open tunnels branching off in every direction.
It smells a bit salty... is there seawater nearby?
Just as Han Shin recognized the distinct scent of the ocean he had smelled long ago—
Sssssss...
A faint sound reached Han Shin’s ears as he walked close behind Grace.
It was a chilling sound that made the hair on his arms stand on end.
"It seems to be a Serpent, Han Shin."
In her fallen world, the primary duty of the Order of the Peony, to which she belonged, was to exterminate monsters that plagued the common folk.
Thus, she recognized the creature immediately just by the sound.
The Serpent was a snake-like monster possessing potent acidic venom.
They usually traveled in pairs and inhabited places like caves or coastal areas.
Thank goodness.
Grace felt a secret sense of relief that it was a monster she recognized.
Not knowing your enemy was the worst possible situation.
Now that the uncertainty was gone, she felt much more at ease.
Soon, a massive black snake with gleaming yellow eyes appeared before them.
Its black tongue flickered at the edge of the light, glaring at its prey.
This Serpent had been empowered by demonic energy, serving as the core that sustained the dungeon's structure.
Overflowing with more power than usual, it had become even more ferocious.
It felt an uncontrollable murderous intent toward the beings that had intruded upon its territory.
Gulp...
A chill ran down Han Shin’s spine as the giant snake glared at him.
Experiencing the sensation of his skin crawling for the first time, Han Shin reflexively swallowed hard.
"Han Shin, stay behind me."
"Right."
His fear dissipated at Grace’s low, steady command.
The sight of the platinum-haired female knight glancing back at him before stepping forward with her shield was incredibly reassuring.
Grace’s eyes sharpened.
She knew very well that Serpents traveled in pairs.
Where is the other one?
There was no way the one in front of them was alone.
Opening her senses, Grace tilted her sword forward and pulled her shield close, settling into a combat stance.
The spot where they stood was a junction where several tunnels met.
It was a disadvantageous position, as they could be attacked from any direction.
If they were attacked simultaneously, Grace might be fine, but Han Shin would be in grave danger.
Grace decided that staying still and merely defending was a poor choice.
Tak!
Without any wasted movement, Grace lunged forward.
To Han Shin, watching from behind, she was so fast his eyes could barely track her.
In her current state, Grace was a sort of Divine Knight wielding Tiamat’s holy power.
She understood that if the battle dragged on, variables could arise since she couldn't yet exert her full strength.
Shiaaaaaak!
As the Serpent’s hiss echoed low through the cave, Grace swung her sword.
The strike, bolstered by the momentum of her acceleration, was both razor-sharp and perfectly executed.
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of swordsmanship would have marveled at her flawless form.
As creatures that lived in the dark, Serpents had incredibly keen senses.
If Grace had been at her peak, the snake would have been decapitated before it even realized she was there, dying as it bled green blood.
However, Grace was currently weakened.
Thus, the black snake was able to perceive the platinum-haired knight charging toward it and anticipate the attack.
Retracting its flickering tongue, the Serpent prepared to retaliate.
Grace saw the area below the Serpent’s head begin to swell.
It was preparing to spit a powerful acidic venom capable of easily dissolving a human body and corroding metal.
Having encountered this many times since her days as a trainee knight, Grace caught the sign instantly.
Chwah!
A violent stream of dark green acid erupted from the black snake’s mouth like a high-pressure hose.
Swinging her left hand forward as if parrying, she blocked the acid with her silver round shield.
Sssssss!
The acid splashed onto the surrounding stalactites and the cave floor, the sound of melting rock filling the air.
Most creatures the Serpent encountered would try to dodge its acid; it had never faced an opponent that blocked it head-on.
The snake’s vertical yellow pupils dilated slightly.
It tried to pull back quickly to look for another opening.
But the massive black snake, large enough to swallow a calf whole, didn't get the chance.
A flash of silver swept across the Serpent’s neck.
Grace had already moved to the Serpent’s flank and perfectly severed its head.
She was able to land the blow because she knew the Serpent’s habit of trying to retreat and regroup immediately after spitting acid.
Thump!
The Serpent’s head, cut with a clean cross-section, tumbled onto the cave floor.
Though it couldn't make a sound, its body writhed in post-mortem spasms as green blood sprayed out.
A green pool formed on the cave floor, growing larger until it began to submerge the now lifeless head of the black snake.
Han Shin clenched his fists the moment he saw Grace burst forward like a bullet and decapitate the Serpent in an instant.
Seeing her incredible athletic ability, he truly realized that she was a powerful knight.
It was only after she had put some distance between them that he could finally track her movements.
Huh?
But then, Grace suddenly vanished.
Just as Han Shin began to wonder where she went—
He instinctively rolled to the side.
His survival instinct screamed at him to move or die, and his body reacted before he could even think.
Boom!
"Kyack!!"
When he looked up from the ground, he saw Grace had appeared beside him, slamming her shield into the head of another black snake.
Standing beneath the sphere of faint light, the platinum-haired knight looked breathtakingly beautiful to Han Shin.
Squelch!
Grace immediately finished it off by severing the second Serpent’s neck.
Steam began to rise from Grace’s body as the battle ended.
Her physical form was overheated, like an engine that had burned through its fuel.
"Huff... huff..."
Grace had experienced this kind of heavy breathing many times during desperate battles in her dying world...
But this was the first time it had happened after killing a mere pair of Serpents.
Even during her days as a trainee knight, she had never struggled like this.
Her mind knew exactly how to move, but her body couldn't keep up.
That was Grace’s current reality.
"Are you okay?"
Han Shin, who had stood up in the meantime, approached the panting Grace and asked after her well-being.
"...Yes. I am fine..."
Grace replied after catching her breath.
She looked visibly drained and exhausted.
Han Shin realized belatedly that Grace wasn't as invincible as he had thought.
In a way, he had taken things too lightly; though he told himself to be nervous, a part of him had remained complacent.
Just then, a notification sound chimed from the smartphone in his pocket.
Han Shin pulled it out and saw a message stating that the dungeon had been cleared, along with a prompt to absorb the core.
How am I supposed to absorb it?
Naturally, Han Shin felt a bit lost, not knowing the method.
Then, as if answering his question, the screen displayed:
[Would you like to absorb the core?]
Han Shin, of course, pressed 'Yes.'
At that moment, a white light flared on the back of his left hand, and a crest shaped like a dragon's head appeared.
Tiamat had prepared this in advance, ensuring the core would be absorbed automatically for Han Shin, who lacked magical knowledge.
Whirrr!
The body of the last Serpent glowed, and mana began to flow into Han Shin’s left hand.