Chapter 13
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Northern Duke (6)
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Upon arriving at the rising smoke, I spotted a woman draped in a thick robe and wearing a white mask.
A dozen monkey monsters perched in the surrounding trees were hurling stones at the woman in the white mask.
As the stones flew toward her, an interception spell activated, firing mana lasers.
The incoming stones disintegrated into powder upon contact with the lasers.
'Auto-intercept magic... Ancient magic is such a cheat. Way better than spatial magic.'
I recalled how I'd been diligently sawing away at the bound giant monkey monster just moments ago.
'My magic is closer to creation than pure spatial magic, though... Is there a better way to use it?'
Before my thoughts could continue,
I saw the white-masked woman stagger as she intercepted another stone.
Looking closer, the monkey monsters surrounding her seemed intent on draining her mana.
They kept throwing stones just enough to trigger her interception spell repeatedly.
'They've figured out her pattern and found a counter.'
Though her face was hidden by the mask, I caught sight of her hands and neck glowing with a blue hue.
Classic symptoms of mana exhaustion.
I deployed a defensive spell and charged toward her.
Her interception triggered, but it fizzled out against my barrier.
"You first, help m... Whoa."
The moment her eyes met mine, her body tilted and she collapsed.
I naturally caught her falling form and laid her gently on the ground.
Now unconscious, her interception spells no longer activated; the stones from the monkeys bounced harmlessly off my barrier instead.
"Huh? The mask was made with magic?"
As she lost consciousness, the mask began to crack and fracture.
One must respect others' privacy.
I conjured an opaque mask with spatial magic and placed it over her face.
Her already blue-tinged skin grew even paler.
"Ah. Air holes."
I quickly punched some holes in the mask.
Fortunately, she was breathing normally again.
With basic first aid done, I turned to the monkey monsters approaching from all sides.
A giant monkey monster had appeared out of nowhere, leading the others.
"The one that never showed up when I was alone... Ah! That's it?"
I suddenly remembered something from the booklet handed out by the mercenary guild: there were no records of solo entrants.
The A-rank mercenaries who entered alone during the initial exploration had all gone down underground with the Northern Duke's knights.
The parties that joined later were all teams of two or more.
"Makes sense. Going solo just puts you at a bigger disadvantage the longer it drags on."
Realizing why the giant monkey's pattern had changed, I cast fixation magic on the approaching monsters.
Unlike the ones I'd fought earlier, these were bound effortlessly.
"A fight that ends this easily... Should I drop my pride next time?"
I paused, sawing through the giant monkey's neck with my saw.
But no matter how I thought about it, I had no desire to bow to someone who started off acting all high and mighty.
Halfway through severing the giant monkey's neck, its body dissolved into light, dropping a fist-sized mana stone.
After dealing with the rest, I returned to the woman.
Through the mask, I could see sweat beading on her brow.
The dense forest canopy blocked the sun, but the high humidity trapped the heat.
Examining her quietly, I noted her robe was the thick winter variety suited for the cold north.
'She's definitely been wandering this forest for over five hours... No way.'
Looking around, I spotted spent mid-grade mana stones scattered everywhere.
'Ha, she was even using cold magic on top of everything?'
In a dungeon, the unwritten rule was to conserve mana unless absolutely necessary.
Of course, mages sometimes used spells for comfort, but
continuing to cast while mana-starved, without even shedding layers, bordered on madness.
I removed her robe and pulled a fan from my temporary sub-space.
Luckily, her inner clothes were breathable linen, so no need to strip further.
A bit of fanning, and the flush left her face.
'Why can't I make a fan or AC with magic?'
I'd used them plenty in my past life and even knew the basic designs for fans.
But replicating those effects with magic was a whole different story.
I could only create things that left a strong impression on me.
'Stuff like walls is just reinforcing medieval tech, so it works... But inventing something medieval folks didn't have? Impossible.'
A little time passed, and new monkey monsters circled nearby but
failed to spot us under the camouflage spell and eventually left.
'This spell technically twists space to conceal the interior... Not something from modern times either, huh?'
I mulled over the knowledge from the academy and what I'd gained from practical mercenary work.
Meanwhile, her complexion returned to normal, so I stopped fanning.
About six hours later, the woman stirred awake.
Still disoriented, she propped herself up and stared blankly into space.
I glanced up at the sky.
It had been around twelve hours since entering the dungeon, but the sun showed no sign of moving.
Turning my head, I met her gaze as she surveyed our surroundings.
"Why'd you help me?"
Her words made the blood rush to my head.
"You asked for help first."
I pointed to the charred remains of the signal flare.
"I..."
As her eyes landed on it, something clicked, and she froze.
Lowering her head to the ground, she picked up her robe with trembling hands.
Clutching it to her chest, she asked me again.
"Why'd you take it off?"
"Haa... You were dying of heatstroke. Should I have just left you?"
My tone grew sharper by the word.
Honestly, I hadn't expected lavish thanks for saving her.
She came off as incredibly prideful in the original story too.
I hadn't done anything to her, yet she'd been the first to act aggressively, so I wasn't even expecting gratitude.
But her grilling me like I'd done something wrong was pushing it; my professional patience was wearing thin.
"Right now..."
"Thank you."
"Huh?"
She straightened her robe and stood.
"Thank you... No, I mean, thank you for saving me."
She bowed deeply.
'Hmm, makes sense. Mana exhaustion can muddle memories. And waking up half-undressed after passing out would freak anyone out.'
The tension left my head, and my mind eased.
Gazing at her as she lifted her head, a mischievous impulse struck me.
"So, that means I win the bet, right?"
"Ah."
I could sense her expression twist behind the mask.
She fidgeted, chewing her nails inside the mask for a moment, then her shoulders slumped in resignation.
"It's still 2 to 1. Not over yet."
"No, 2 to 1 means I win."
After a brief deliberation, she rummaged in her robe pocket with renewed resolve.
She pulled out a badge.
Her shoulders lifted again.
"You wouldn't happen to not recognize this, would you?"
The badge symbolizing a disciple of the 8th Circle Archmage Khalid von Everrund.
I could feel her beaming happily behind the mask.
Of course, I had one too, but
feeling like I was committing a crime, I quietly set aside the badge I'd been toying with in my pocket.
'Mine wasn't given as a disciple anyway.'
With my internal compromise made, her voice rose confidently.
"Now it's 2 to 2! No mage would deny this, right?"
"Uh... Yeah, sure..."
I could sense her grinning brightly behind the mask.
Suddenly, it hit me: the mask she was wearing was the one I'd made.
Oblivious, she started to move elsewhere.
"That mask is mine. Make your own."
She immediately reached up and felt the mask.
The texture was different from usual.
Freezing for a second, she asked in a trembling voice,
"D-did you... see?"
"No. I don't do things people hate."
Despite my firm reassurance, she didn't seem convinced and conjured a new mask with shaking hands.
"Hey, I don't know how ugly you are, but seriously, I didn't look. Don't worry."
"Yeah. You really didn't see."
Nodding at my words, she turned and donned the new mask.
Truth be told, I was curious about her face.
She was a character with no illustrations even in the original.
Her role vanished after the Northern Duke arc ended.
But mere curiosity wasn't enough to invade someone's privacy.
As I rummaged for the item to head to the next floor, she spoke up.
"Ray."
"Huh?"
"My name's Ray. Not 'hey.'"
"Hah, I'm Eric. Here, take this."
I handed her a mana stone for the next floor.
"You know it drops you in the same spot on the next floor if used within a 10-meter radius, right? So..."
"Y-yeah! I know."
Her bizarre reaction twisted my expression.
"Hey... You didn't read the guild booklet, did you?"
"My name isn't 'hey'..."
"Hey, Miss Ray, don't tell me you came to a dungeon without studying up?"
"I did study! I know you need to take down the giant monkey monster for the next floor to appear..."
Her shocking words made me slap my forehead.
"So that's why you couldn't reach the next floor with that amazing ancient magic..."
"If only the giant monkey had shown up..."
Dungeons operated on rules unlike the real world.
Unexplored dungeons always demanded caution, and gathering intel from vanguard teams before entry was Dungeon Diving 101.
"Miss Ray, how many times have you been in a dungeon?"
"This is my second..."
"Excluding promotion exams, it's your first, isn't it?"
Mercenary guild requests varied widely; plenty didn't involve dungeon clears.
Promotion exams rarely required them too.
I grabbed Ray's hand and infused mana into both stones.
"Kid, forget the bet. Just stick close behind me."
"Huh? Kid?"
The mana stones flashed, and we descended to the next floor.
The trash-tier status certified by this romance fantasy was more serious than I'd imagined.