The situation keeps getting tangled.
The Marauder who planted mines here upon entering this place seemed to still be alive, judging by his persistent life force. It’s been nearly two weeks since I requested the high-ranking Marauders to withdraw from the Eccliptus Forest area, meaning this dungeon-dwelling Marauder has survived here for over two weeks.
Marauders, fundamentally, can maintain their lives without eating or drinking. Moreover, as long as their ‘core’ isn’t destroyed, they can theoretically repair any damaged parts of their bodies indefinitely, so it wasn’t entirely surprising.
However, the level of ordinary low-ranking Marauders typically ranges from about 20 and rarely exceeds 30.
Yet, considering the fact that this dungeon contains mobs over level 40 and the Marauder has survived for over two weeks, it can be inferred that this is a quite skilled Marauder.
For an average low-ranking Marauder, this dungeon is tough enough that they wouldn’t even survive for two days, let alone two weeks.
“Track the bastard immediately. There’s no room to let a Marauder live once we know he’s still out there.”
“Aye, if we leave him be, there’s no telling what he might do with the dungeon’s mutations.”
“This dungeon looks high-level at first glance. The chances that this Marauder who survived here is of a significant rank are high. If we let him recover strength, this will only get harder. We must pursue immediately.”
“How do you know he’s almost dead?”
“The mutations he created were so weak. It’s hard to believe they were created by a Marauder capable of surviving here in this dungeon.”
Indeed, the gigantic spider mutation, created by combining two large spiders, shattered instantly from a single arrow from Trian.
“It seems like he doesn’t have the energy to refine his mutations carefully. However, Marauders can recover their strength over time even without eating anything. We need to track him immediately.”
Trian reiterated his position, passing by the mutated spider corpse and heading towards the opposite door.
Based on his determined stance, it seemed that he was ready to deal with the Marauder alone, regardless of our objections.
Arthur and I ran with our heads lowered while following his back. It was impossible to stay in the same room as the shattered spider corpse.
Acidic blood splashed everywhere, dissolving self-made spider webs and the floor, prompting uncontrollable nausea for anyone who looked.
It was a sight that made the word “revolting” feel inadequate.
“Starting now, we push our pace.”
Trian immediately proceeded to open the next room’s door without delay. As expected, the traces of battle were evident in there as well.
For a well-experienced Elf Ranger with refined senses, tracking an injured Marauder was not a difficult task.
Unlike his usual cautious demeanor, he was now advancing at a pace that could be considered risky.
“Huff… Shit… Huff…”
Despite trying my best not to show it, my breathing inevitably grew heavier.
Fortunately, Trian’s sharp senses didn’t miss the fact that my breathing became heavier, looking back and forth between myself and Rex before opening the tenth door.
“Listen up.”
Damn it, isn’t this guy being unnecessarily demanding right when I’m about to collapse?
While I was mentally protesting, a thick arm suddenly hooked into my waist.
I found myself perched on the shoulder of an enormous Orc as if I were a piece of luggage.
Still, at least as a General, I should maintain some dignity…
“Fix your pathetic stamina. You’re causing disturbances. And you call yourself a soldier.”
“…”
If I could, I’d improve my stamina too, you bastard.
I gritted my teeth at the Elves’ typical, infuriating remarks.
No. Calm down. There’s plenty of time to vent my anger after we capture the Marauder and escape the dungeon.
“Let’s go, keep up the pace.”
Annoyingly, there was a significant difference in speed between actually running and being carried as cargo on Rex’s shoulder.
While it previously took about 30 to 40 seconds on average to breach a room, with Rex carrying me, it dropped significantly to a mere 20 seconds and sometimes even less than 10 seconds.
…And I couldn’t help but feel more comfortable on Rex’s shoulder than running on my own legs.
Despite the firm shoulder muscles causing some discomfort in my abdomen, it was much better than the trembling in my legs and the difficulty breathing.
I hate myself for feeling so comfortable on this brute-like, wide, and solid shoulder.
“Why can you run so well?”
“What?”
I picked on Lir, who was effortlessly keeping up with the Barbarian and Ranger without any apparent struggles.
‘You technically aren’t a physical job either. How can you keep up with the Barbarian and Ranger when they’re running at their full potential?’
“Why?”
Lir looked back at me with her big eyes, clearly bemused by my question.
“…Never mind.”
I couldn’t bring myself to continue being petty with her looking at me so innocently.
Sigh. I should have been born an Elf.
Not only beautiful in appearance and longevity, but also blessed with heightened agility by default, quick and flexible, with good stamina and sharp senses…
Why did I choose to be a human, thinking I’d revel in wealth and honor?
“Tension up, we’re quite close.”
While I was regretting my past foolish decision, Trian quietly warned us without stopping his stride.
Thanks to Trian’s accuracy in choosing the correct rooms based on the Marauder’s path during the past two weeks, avoiding both monsters and traps, we had successfully breached over 60 rooms.
It was unclear how Trian managed to track the Marauder’s trail with such ghostly precision and pick the correct doors one after another.
…Trian would become a perfect soldier if only he could control that damn arrogance.
“Halt.”
Having crossed nearly 80 rooms, we immediately stopped our legs upon Trian’s sudden command.
While Trian and Rex showed no signs of sweat as if this level of exercise was nothing to them, beads of sweat had gathered on Lir’s cheeks and forehead, and her robes were considerably damp as well.
“…It’s a mutation.”
Trian pressed his ear tightly against the door before quickly grabbing his longbow and moving behind Rex. Rex stuck his body tightly against the wall next to the door and gently placed me behind him.
“Stay pressed to the wall like me. That’s the line of fire.”
Rex spoke to Lir who was about to pull her wand from under her sweat-drenched robes.
“Aye.”
Lir moved behind me, tightly gripping her small wand — a bent twig with a coiled blue string wrapped around it. She began to mumble something under her breath, almost inaudible even to me. Moments later, sparks started emitting from the tip of her small wand.
“Ready.”
Trian, who had his bowstring pulled back with an arrow at the ready, positioned himself as far from the door as possible. He was fully prepared to shoot an arrow as soon as the door opened.
“…”
Rex quietly nodded as he grasped his axe with his mechanical arm and the door handle with his other hand. The fingers on his mechanical prosthetic were extended, signaling Trian by slowly folding them one at a time as he prepared to open the door.
3.
2.
1.
The moment all fingers on the prosthetic folded, the door creaked open dramatically.
Simultaneously, an immense amount of poison surged toward the entrance. It seemed the enemies were aware that we were right up against the door.
The dungeon floor was dissolved by the mysterious poison, creating a massive pit approximately one meter deep, and had Lir or I been standing directly in front of the entrance, our bones would have undoubtedly been dissolved without a trace.
Whoosh!
Past the doorway that had been drenched in poison, an arrow from Trian’s longbow now soared through.
A sound of flesh and bone splitting reached us from behind Rex’s massive back. Though I couldn’t see it clearly, it seemed Trian’s arrow had struck its target accurately.
“Still.”
Even from a distance, Trian confirmed the situation inside and ordered us to wait.
While maintaining an arrow on the string, he quickly moved his legs to check the conditions beyond the door, releasing another arrow over the threshold.
Whoosh!
Following the sound of the wind splitting, a giant mass collapsed to the ground. Clearly, something had died.
Without hesitation, Rex held his axe with both hands and peeked into the room beyond the door to assess the situation.
Moments later, as though waiting for this chance, another wave of poison aimed at Rex’s head. However, with incredible reflexes, he immediately ducked behind the wall.
“11 o’clock! Another one!”
After sticking his head into the room to assess the opposing side, Rex shouted his observations in a loud voice.
The moment Rex’s voice reached Trian, he swiftly changed positions and fired an arrow.
Around three arrows were shot over the threshold. Three consecutive sounds of flesh and bone tearing were heard, presumably from the same creature.
“Tough bastard.”
Even with three arrows striking the mass directly, no sound of it falling down reached us.
The clattering footsteps beyond the wall sent shivers down my spine.
“…Damn, Lir!”
The reason Trian called out Lir’s name instead of mine in this situation was simple.
We were currently engaging in short-range combat with the enemy through the small door.
In such close quarters where every single shot is a potential fatal strike, it is crucial to shoot the attack out and then quickly duck back behind the door.
Given my clumsiness, Trian deemed me unsuitable for this kind of close-quarters combat.
“Aye!”
Lir, preoccupied with concentrating on her wand tip to cast magic, couldn’t react immediately to Trian’s words, albeit only lagging slightly.
Rex slightly pulled his body away from the entrance to create space for Lir to hide. In doing so, Lir ran past me and Rex then stuck her body as close to the door as possible.
The moment she stuck herself there, she peeked her head into the space beyond the doorframe. It appeared she was checking where to cast the lightning accurately.
“…What the hell are you doing?”
The problem was that Lir’s movements were nowhere near as professional as they could be.
When Rex peeked into the room beyond the door, only half of his head was exposed beyond the doorframe. However, when Lir leaned in to confirm the enemy’s position, her whole shoulder, even her toes, were exposed.
“What the hell? Want to die?! Don’t stick your body out like that!”
Rex pulled her robes sharply as the poison drenching once again swept in. This time, it targeted the exact spot where Lir’s shoulder, head, and toes had previously stuck out.
“Didn’t you receive basic military training?! When you expose yourself to an enemy waiting beyond the door, minimize your body exposure! Press your shoulder as far back as possible into the wall, and only let half your head peek out between the door seam!”
“Damn it! That’s why you bookworms should stick to your desks! Lir, snap out of it!”
Simultaneously, both veterancalled out in scolding high-pitched voices. For seasoned warriors who had faced endless battles and still survived, the amateurish movement from Lir moments ago was unforgivable.
“…Regardless, I accurately confirmed the position with my eyes!”
Despite the harsh scolding, Lir defended herself without faltering, perhaps due to the adrenaline rush. The image of her sitting on the spot and crying after nearly losing her life to the Tauros seemed worlds away. I marveled silently at how dramatically Lir had changed in such a short time.
“This time, I can annihilate it.”
“Damn it, remember you’ll die if you make a mistake!”
Though Rex initially grimaced at her confident glare, he decided to trust her one more time.
“First, focus on staying closer to the wall! If you stick your body out again like before, I might not be able to save you.”
While saying this, Rex gripped a good chunk of her robes in his massive hand in case he needed to pull her back quickly. Lir’s loosely-fitted robe now clung tightly to her body, but she didn’t express any discomfort.
She was focused solely on the electricity gathered at the tip of her wand and her target beyond the door.
“…Huff.”
Lir took a deep breath and once again carefully stuck her arm and face beyond the doorframe.
It was a movement that needlessly exposed too much of her arm and face. Just the tiniest mistake and her entire face and body could have melted away from the poison’s foul stench.
It was undoubtedly an amateurish movement for someone who had spent countless hours honing their skills on real battlefields.
“Tsk…”
That was why, the moment Lir stuck out her body beyond the doorframe, an arrow flew past from Trian just in time to save her.
The sharp arrow grazed her golden hair and plunged precisely into the grotesque mass, poised to spew poison.
Once struck by the arrow, the mass stumbled and the deadly poison aimed at Lir ended up spraying across the ceiling.
“Lightning Bolt.”
Even as an arrow whizzed past her ear and poison fountains erupted in front of her eyes, Lir stood firm.
The tiny light that clung to the tip of her wand expanded instantly. The space around her was swallowed by light and the air started to get warmer.
In stark contrast to the amateurish movements she showed just moments ago, the bright, white lightning bolt she unleashed was so beautiful and intense that no one here could possibly criticize it.
