Rock Mountain's Hidden Cave
The morning after the cave incident, as soon as dawn broke, I checked Karen's empty spot—she'd already left—and finished a light morning workout before heading to the guild.
Laila, who was waiting for me ahead of time despite the early hour, looked impeccably neat from head to toe, not a hair out of place. The moment she spotted me, she urged me on with a cool expression.
"You're here. Let's go."
"Yep."
We'd been doing quests together for nearly a week under the pretext of repaying her debt, but Laila's tone was still pretty stiff. Still, it didn't feel as sharply hostile as when we first met, so it wasn't unpleasant.
By now, I should have a solid understanding of Laila built up.
Over the past few days partying with Laila and tackling quests, I'd made a real effort to learn everything I could about her. Whenever our hands or shoulders brushed by accident, I'd memorized the feel of her skin as best I could. And when strands of her purple hair would fall loose, I'd quietly tuck them away when she wasn't looking.
Even with all that, I still hadn't attempted to replicate her even once.
For the sake of one perfect night...!
Maybe she just wasn't aware of how alluring her body was, but during quests, Laila would occasionally let her guard down in ways that were utterly defenseless. Unlike Karen's revealing outfit that bared skin, Laila's long robe covered her completely—yet the way the fabric draped along her curves only fueled the imagination all the more since it hid everything.
Gazing at her like that, I'd been holding back my lust, letting it build instead of releasing it.
Like with Karen's replication last time, if it cuts off halfway at some mediocre point, the fire just dies out...
If I was going to replicate Laila and enjoy her body anyway, wouldn't it be better to make it top quality for that one indulgence? Plus, while I'd been steadily collecting, she wasn't balding or anything—her shed hairs weren't that plentiful. Better to use these precious strands wisely, ensuring the absolute best quality each time I made a copy.
That said... it's getting hard to hold back. Maybe after today's quest...
While Yuseong was scheming his lewd plans to himself,
Laila stole a sideways glance at him the moment he looked away.
What an odd guy.
Laila, now an official mage of the Magic Tower and disciple of Erna—the tower's youngest elder—had been raised as an elite. With her exceptional talent and superb mentor, she'd grown at a pace that crushed everyone else, fostering an extraordinary pride in her abilities.
But perhaps she'd advanced too quickly? A poison called "arrogance" was slowly taking root in her heart. Her speech grew haughtier bit by bit, and contempt crept into her gaze when she looked at lowlifes scraping by like F-rank adventurers.
Her mentor, Erna, noticed the change in her disciple. Judging that she'd veer off course at this rate, she decided Laila needed to learn how to mingle with people and forcibly sent her on external quests. Oh, and she added that under no circumstances was she to go alone—she had to hire other adventurers.
That's where I met him.
The man she'd run into back then was this very Yuseong walking beside her now.
At the time, he'd seemed no different from the no-account adventurers she'd quietly looked down on—selling his pride for a few silver coins, mediocre skills, and throwing her those subtle, creepy glances.
What good is learning to get along with trash like this? Even my revered master... She'd even questioned her teacher.
But then... that man she'd dismissed saved her life.
And not just any save—from a near-death situation caused by her own arrogance-fueled misjudgment.
And... what the hell is this talent?
It didn't end there. Back in Palos to recover, she'd run into him again. Her master had compensated for her blunder with 20 gold, and hating to owe anyone—especially with her strong pride—she'd taken adventurer jobs to pay it back. Somehow, that led to them forming a party...
He was definitely a nobody back then. It's only been about four... no, three weeks since. How did he grow this much?
Where had that green E-rank newbie gone? In his place stood a talented D-rank swordsman. Swordplay built on rock-solid fundamentals, a glimpse of his well-honed physique, and that insane growth rate—reviewing fights on the spot and improving in real time.
The man she'd ignored had saved her, and now he was showing talent that outshone hers—even if it wasn't in magic, her pride and joy. Her arrogance was naturally shrinking in the face of real genius.
And then...
...He bugs me.
With her arrogance and disdain fading, curiosity toward Yuseong bloomed in her heart instead.
...
Passing plains where orcs lumbered about, we pressed on for about an hour until Rock Mountain finally came into view.
What a dreary place.
I'd heard it was rocky, but I didn't expect it to be this bleak. I'd figured at least some plants would grow, but sheer cliffs dotted with a few scraggly trees were all there was. Life felt utterly absent everywhere.
Drip, drop.
But even in this Rock Mountain, monsters lived—the Rock Beetles.
"Think that's a Rock Beetle?"
I spotted a bug monster the size of a person's upper body wriggling in a gray rock crevice and called Laila over. I'd heard they ate rocks, but seeing one actually munching on stone—not fruit or anything—felt pretty novel.
"You gonna catch it or what?"
"Oh."
I'd been engrossed watching it move when Laila's wrinkled-nose grimace and prod snapped me back. I raised my sword.
As I approached, the Rock Beetle sensed me, stopped eating, and curled into a perfect round boulder shape.
They said it's tough. Let's see...
Tough, sure—but how tough? Curious, I shielded my hand from Laila's view with my body and replicated a hand axe.
Then... hurl.
Whirr!
It lacked the power of my proper sword swings but packed plenty of punch regardless—a heavy hand axe that could one-shot a goblin or drop an orc with a vital hit.
It slammed into the Rock Beetle's shell—
Clang!!
"Huh."
And bounced right off harmlessly.
"Kieee...!!"
It wasn't unscathed—the beetle groaned in pain—but the shell only had a tiny scratch and looked mostly fine.
No wonder it's unpopular.
Seeing that explained why this well-paying quest lingered. A standard D-rank adventurer would struggle hard against it. Swing a mediocre weapon, and it'd probably just shatter instead. Anyone with firepower or skill to pierce that defense would pick better quests.
Focus.
Sword raised, I concentrated, scrutinizing the Rock Beetle's carapace. Curled tight, covering all angles—but faint gaps peeked through.
Observation's my specialty from the start.
To leverage replication, I'd always been adept at studying things, grasping their traits. That was a strength from before my body changed...
"Here."
Trusting my instincts, I swung my black iron sword at the seam between carapace plates. Unlike the axe's pathetic rebound, my blade sliced smoothly into the flesh.
"Kieee..."
Unlike the armored exterior, the inside was soft. One strike, and the Rock Beetle was dead.
"...A D-rank pulling off moves like that."
I heard Laila mutter from behind—lately, she'd been eyeing me as much as I'd been studying her—but I rushed another wriggling beetle nearby to lock in that sensation.
Different size and posture from before. But... the seam's visible.
Swinging at the instinctively right spot, my black iron sword didn't just pierce—it cleaved halfway through the carapace.
Thud.
"Tch..."
Not perfect, though—the blade caught midway and halted. I clicked my tongue and yanked it free.
Can't cleave it clean through yet?
Still... definitely. Fighting these would make for solid training, as expected.
"Kieee..."
"Hm..."
Retrieving my sword, I glanced toward the new sound. A Rock Beetle huddled high up, trembling out of sword reach.
"Sword can't reach... Laila, could you get that one?"
"...Oh. Sure."
Laila, who'd been staring at my face lost in thought, snapped to at my request. She casually conjured a spell, enveloping it in small flames.
The curled beetle couldn't withstand the heat, uncurled, and ate a follow-up spell—dead.
"Got it."
"........."
Mages are broken. Watching her dispatch what I'd poured effort into so effortlessly brought a fleeting sense of futility... but a competent party member was a good thing.
Yeah.
I wanna learn magic too.
Seeing her like that stirred a desire to try magic myself. But it needed all that theoretical knowledge, so probably too late for me now.
"Let's keep going."
Shaking off the budding whim, I urged Laila on as we hunted more Rock Beetles.
But soon, we hit a snag.
The quest goal was at least ten Rock Beetle carapaces—and more meant more pay. We'd aimed for around twenty...
"...They're scarce."
Despite scouring the mountain, Rock Beetles were devilishly hard to find. We'd lucked into three near the entrance—a miracle. Two hours of searching yielded just five more between us.
Only eight total. At this rate, we'd struggle to hit even the minimum ten, let alone exceed it.
Weird? Not a hotly contested hunt, so they should be easy to find...
Their rock-like camouflage made spotting tough, sure—but my honed senses and Laila's detection magic should've caught more. And we kept finding traces like droppings. Super suspicious.
Like they all migrated somewhere recently...
Some apex predator show up? That's why they bailed? Nah. Rock Beetles don't flee predators—they hunker down right there, like earlier.
"Yuseong? Look over there."
Laila called me while I puzzled over the tracks.
There...
A cave?
A dark cave mouth yawned amid gray rock piles and cliffs. Faintly, I sensed the Rock Beetles' presence inside.
"A cave here...?"
"Hold on."
Approaching the entrance, Laila closed her eyes, focusing her detection magic to scan for threats deeper in. Not enough—she pulled out more spells.
"Those spells?"
"Vibration detection. And thermal sensing."
Extra scouting methods her master taught after that cultist fight, where she'd relied too much on mana detection.
Scanning thoroughly, she wiped a bead of sweat and nodded.
"No strong presences. Just the Rock Beetles we hunted... and a hint of orcs, maybe."
"Orcs?"
Orcs here? No prey on this barren Rock Mountain—what would draw them? Lone outcast from a tribe? Anyway, our targets were definitely inside.
No other vibes around...
After a final sweep, we had no choice—enter the cave. No point wandering till nightfall; we'd find zilch.
Laila's thorough scan seemed trustworthy.
.....Yeah. The one thing we hadn't anticipated?
Whoever else was in there might've just stepped out.