Chapter 46: Guild Quest
Chapter 46: Guild Quest
“Dammit! Diana! No!”
Guwon roared.
He swung his fist desperately, knowing it wouldn't reach.
Thrashing about like that was all he could do.
Just as the werewolf was about to tear into Diana, an arrow glowing with blue light, fired by Sara, pierced through its torso.
Simultaneously, a transparent wall materialized in front of Diana, blocking the werewolf and sending it flying back.
Guwon’s wild punch landed a clean hit right on the spine of the recoiling werewolf. It let out a scream of agony and collapsed to the ground.
…Huh?
Diana, with a surprised expression, looked at Guwon, whose face was frozen in a horrified shout. She quickly dismissed the transparent wall in front of her, then gently fell backward and said.
“Aah! That was a close call. Thank you, Guwon. You saved my life.”
…Thanks for trying to spare my feelings.
It was the most atrocious acting I had ever seen in my life, but I guess that was you trying your best.
Guwon was overcome with a fierce desire to die of embarrassment.
“That was a paper-thin margin. I don’t know what would have happened if you weren’t here.”
…Thanks.
I’m really grateful, but could you please stop?
You’re just making it more awkward.
Right now, I feel like I could cringe-kick my way through my mattress.
As if on cue, I looked down and saw something perfect for kicking rolling around at my feet.
To heal his wounded psyche, Guwon began kicking it with all his might.
In the end, Guwon’s cringe-kicking—or should I say, wolf-kicking?—was how the werewolf was so anticlimactically defeated.
Though it was a humiliating experience, it taught me one clear lesson.
Get a grip. This isn’t the entrance to the dungeon.
This was no place to be wandering around with my head in the clouds.
And on top of that, we were currently stranded.
If I had just been paying proper attention, a situation like that never would have happened. And even if it had, I could have calmly responded by putting my bonus stats into Agility.
Thankfully, we got through the crisis this time with no one getting hurt, but if I kept on in this state, it wouldn't be strange if Sara or Diana ended up in real danger at any moment.
Guwon fought to rein in his mind, which kept drifting toward Sara, and decided to focus on exploring the dungeon.
“Still, I never knew you could make a face like that. Were you that scared this old girl would get hurt? Hmm? You little rascal. You little rascal.”
Perhaps thinking I had gotten my mental state back in order, Diana started slyly poking me in the ribs. I really wanted to smack her one.
Next time we have sex, I’m going to make you cry for sure.
Having no confidence he could win against her during the day, Guwon made the vow only in his heart.
Once Guwon focused, the dungeon exploration proceeded safely, without much danger.
But just because it was safe didn't mean it was going smoothly.
In the first place, we had no idea of our destination.
With no clue where to go, the situation of aimlessly revealing the map weighed heavily on the party’s steps.
And there was another fact that made their steps even heavier.
“Still, isn’t it strange that we haven’t met a single other adventurer?”
“You’re right…”
That was it.
I knew it was rare to see adventurers in the dungeon.
But this was taking it to another level.
Besides, we were in what we presumed to be the end of a layer.
Since the atmosphere and difficulty change drastically between layers, there should have been a considerable number of adventurers fighting at the edge of this layer, unable to advance to the next.
An unwelcome hypothesis surfaced in Guwon’s mind.
What if… this area isn’t connected to the main route?
Even if it was, there was a chance it was only connected through a hidden path, like the goblin encampment.
If that was the case, it was the worst-case scenario.
The probability of our party finding the proper way up would become infinitesimally small.
It wasn’t like we could see any specific monster encampments either, so the chances of finding a Transcendent Species weren’t high.
The phrase ‘stuck between a rock and a hard place’ fit the situation perfectly.
Fortunately, we had a nearly infinite supply of food, so we could hold out indefinitely, but…
I was at the point where I’d rather face a little danger if it meant we could just find the entrance to the next layer.
“Hmph. Don’t get so worked up. It’s ridiculous to expect to escape within a day or two after getting lost in a dungeon. Just take it easy.”
Diana, being the eldest, soothed Guwon and Sara.
Right. The one with the least stamina is holding up just fine, so what am I doing getting so anxious? Let’s not be hasty.
“By any chance, have there ever been any monster settlements or anything like that discovered at the end of the 1st floor?”
“Hmm. I’ve heard that clusters of Orcs have been found here and there. But none as large as that goblin gathering we found.”
I asked just in case, but it wasn’t a very hopeful answer.
If only one such settlement had been discovered, then just finding it would mean we had a chance of connecting to the main route.
Just then, another werewolf appeared up ahead.
By now, we were used to fighting werewolves, so there was no need for Diana to launch a grand magic spell as an opening attack.
Diana seemed to know this too, and perhaps to conserve mana, she was now only using magic of a moderate level.
“Wait a moment.”
Just as Diana was about to casually open with a Mana Sphere, Sara suddenly stopped her.
“Hmm? What is it?”
“What if we try tailing it instead?”
Sara said with a bright smile, as if she’d had a great idea.
“Tailing it?”
“Yes. Wouldn’t that be more efficient than just wandering around aimlessly like this? That werewolf has to sleep, so it might go to some kind of den. And who knows, it might even pass through a secret passage.”
Of course! Why didn’t I think of that!
Guwon had been overconfident in his own map.
He had been moving with the simple thought that if they kept wandering around and revealed the entire map, a path to another area would eventually appear, making it the most efficient method.
But hearing Sara’s words, that wasn’t the only way.
Of course, the werewolf might just head back the way our party came, which might be a bit inefficient in terms of revealing the map, but on the other hand, it could provide a clue to break the current stalemate.
The biggest challenge would be tailing the werewolf without getting caught, but it was an idea well worth trying.
“Alright! Sara! You’re a genius! How did you even think of that?”
Guwon, overjoyed at the thought that they might find a clue, tightly gripped both of Sara’s hands as he spoke.
“W-Well, I am a hunter, after all. And my hunter level has gone up a bit.”
Sara blushed at Guwon’s effusive praise.
“Hmph. In that case, the key will be to follow that werewolf stealthily without being discovered. It’s fine to be happy, but lower your voice and let’s follow it quietly,” Diana advised, smoothly inserting herself between Guwon and Sara.
She was right.
Sara had just proposed a brilliant idea; we couldn’t let it go to waste.
We could just think about following the next monster we met if we lost this werewolf, but there was no guarantee when we would encounter another one.
Besides, if we were going to tail something, a werewolf was a good choice.
Orcs usually moved in groups, which meant a higher chance of being discovered while following them.
Most importantly, the orc penis hadn’t worked on the secret passage that brought us here.
If the place monsters returned to for sleep was a den where a Transcendent Species resided, then our odds would be better if we caught a Transcendent werewolf and tested its penis.
After all, wolfdogs and werewolves were similar-looking creatures.
The party began to tail the werewolf as stealthily as possible.
Following a werewolf without being detected was far more difficult than I had imagined.
It was incredibly tricky to fight off monsters that could pop out from anywhere in the dungeon while simultaneously tailing our target.
It was a relief if a monster appeared from the front.
The werewolf we were following would either fight it or avoid it.
But if a monster suddenly appeared from behind or the side, we had to end the fight quickly and quietly to avoid being detected by our target, which made combat much more difficult than usual.
Guwon abandoned even the thought of trying to avoid ejaculating at the moment the monsters died and literally threw his body into the fray, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice.
It was hellish to be splattered with monster semen and not even be able to make a sound, swallowing the disgusting feeling, but Guwon choked back his tears and endured.
Guwon’s tearful sacrifice was finally rewarded when night fell.
The werewolf the party had been following arrived at a dense thicket and began to look around in all directions.
The moment I saw that, I had a feeling.
We finally found it!
Sara and Diana must have felt the same way. The three of us looked at each other, nodded silently, and immediately hid ourselves to prepare for an attack.
As expected, once the creature confirmed no one was around, it lowered its body and began to dig under the thicket.
A rather large hole was revealed from beneath the covering of leaves.
Since more than half of it was hidden by the thicket, the hole seemed surprisingly wide.
So they made a burrow like that and even camouflaged it.
I’d felt it during combat, but these things were definitely smarter than those goblins.
The moment the creature’s upper body entered the hole and was completely buried beneath the thicket, Guwon shot forward, as if to finally release all his pent-up frustration.
“Everyone, attack!”
The creature seemed to panic and tried to pull itself out in a hurry, but it struggled to get free from the thicket, only managing to flail its hind legs pathetically.
Stay right there!
Thanks to you, I had to suffer extreme mental distress all day!
I’ll make sure to pay you back for this grudge!
Ignoring the pitiful sight of Sara’s arrow and Diana’s magic striking the creature’s rear, Guwon charged forward and delivered a soccer kick straight to its groin.
“Kwahaha! Does it hurt?! We’re not done yet! This! Is! For all the suffering today!”
Under the force of Guwon’s kicks, each one packed with resentment, the werewolf’s junk was smashed, and the strength drained from its tail and legs as it went limp.
…Come to think of it, this thing didn’t even know we were following it and was just going on its way. It probably feels wronged.
Finally feeling refreshed after releasing the grudge he had been forced to suppress, Guwon felt a flicker of pity for the creature.
“We did it!”
“Hmm. It seems this is their den.”
Sara and Diana didn’t seem to care at all about the werewolf’s state.
I know I’m the one who did this to it, but don’t you feel even a little bit sorry for it?
Is it because they’re not guys, so they can’t empathize?
When I grabbed its tail and dragged the corpse out, its face was a truly pathetic sight, with its tongue lolling out, a mess of tears, snot, and drool.
…….
Guwon couldn’t say a word at the sight and quickly harvested the magic stone.
“Alright, so that means we have to go into that hole… Diana, I don’t suppose you have any magic that can let us see inside before we enter?”
“Hmm. Such magic exists, but as expected, I cannot yet use it at my level.”
I figured as much.
Werewolves weren’t bird-brained like goblins, and they were tough to deal with in a group, so I really wanted to see the situation inside first.
“Should we try setting it on fire?”
“Don’t say things you can’t handle.”
I know. I just said it out of frustration.
If a fire spread here, we’d have nowhere to run.
There’s nothing more foolish than dying in a fire you started yourself.
“Alright. I’ll go in first to check the situation. You two keep watch on the surroundings.”
“Will you be okay?”
“Don’t worry.”
If things got really tough, I could just dump all my bonus stats into Durability.
This was the payoff for deliberately saving them.
Guwon first invested some of his bonus stats into Durability and then stuck his head into the burrow.