The pain dragged my consciousness from the depths of wherever it had been, pulling it up to the surface.
Light once again began to seep into my vision, which had been pitch black.
The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was Lir. As soon as she saw start to stir, she rushed over, asking if I was okay, and wiped the cold sweat from my forehead.
I had no idea how many hours had passed before I regained consciousness. Lir’s robe, soaked in her sweat, was now dry, and Trian was busy working on the arrows he had pulled from the corpses of the spiders.
“Phew...”
My whole body scread with pain. Turning my head was difficult, but I forced myself to sit up and observe the condition of my party mbers.
Trian’s hands were stained with the bright blue blood of the spiders, but it seed like he had not sustained any serious injuries.
“Lir, bring so bread and water for Bin to eat.”
As soon as I sat up, Trian pointed to the bag in the middle of the room. It contained about a week’s worth of food and water. I forced myself to chew on the dry bread Lir gave .
I felt nauseous, the taste was unbearable, but I had to force the food down to bring so strength back to this garbage of a body.
Clink!
As I was forcing the food and water down, I heard the sharp sound of steel hitting the floor.
The sound ca from Rex’s prosthetic arm. His chanically damaged arm, corroded by the explosion and poison, was beginning to shed pieces onto the floor.
“Phew... Huu...”
Rex, sitting on the ground, stared at his deteriorating prosthetic with a dazed expression.
I noticed only then that his breathing was very erratic.
“Rex.”
I called to him with concern.
“...Yes, General.”
His back had been completely lted away. He had thrown himself into the explosion to save Lir and .
“The explosion itself was bad, but it’s the demon blood that seeped into the wound that’s the real problem. He’s been poisoned.”
Trian explained Rex’s condition in my stead. His hands were busy sharpening the arrowheads, but his eyes and mouth showed clear concern for Rex.
“...”
Lir, too, seed at a loss for words as she bit her lip, but ultimately fell silent.
“This isn’t the ti to be lying down.”
Ignoring the screams of pain from my body, I forced myself to stand up.
The poison from the demon and mutated blood was spreading through Rex’s body through the wounds on his back.
Healing this with simple herbs or potions wouldn’t do. If it was demon poison, only a proper priest could heal him with a prayer to completely remove it.
“Rex, how long do you think you can last?”
“...I’m fine.”
Rex, scraping off the dried spider blood from his body, responded. It was clear from his tone that he was putting on a brave face.
“Be honest, Rex. Now is the ti to assess your condition calmly and make a plan accordingly.”
Even the greatest of barbarians have their limits.
And he had clearly reached his.
What I wanted to hear wasn’t bravado or a motivational cry to raise morale.
It was a cold, objective assessnt.
“...The poison is spreading through my body. It’s probably the demon’s blood mixing into the wound. I can probably last one more day, but after that, I’ll barely be able to move my legs. By the third day... you may have to leave behind.”
Even though demon blood had been poured into his wound, Rex said he could still fight for one more day. To be honest, I couldn’t help but feel that was more bravado.
If I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t last five minutes, let alone a day.
“...This is bad.”
Rex’s body was far bigger and heavier than any elf or human. If, after a couple of days, Rex collapses, who will carry him?
Neither Lir nor I could manage such a feat, and even Trian, with his well-developed muscles from years of combat, couldn’t possibly carry that huge body around all day.
If we carried Rex on our backs, our movents would slow down, and the longer we take to move, the longer it’ll take to find an exit.
If we’re delayed finding an exit, Rex will die.
No matter how skilled a barbarian is, he wouldn’t survive for days while poisoned by demon blood.
“...Trian, how long do you think it will take to find the exit from the dungeon?”
“We’re only on the second day. Don’t rush .”
“I don’t want to rush either, but you see the situation, right?”
“...I’ll do my best. But finding an exit in just a day or two is highly unlikely.”
Trian spoke coldly, having assessed the situation. It was essentially a death sentence for Rex, but the brave orc’s face didn’t show an ounce of despair.
“...We don’t have much ti left. While my body still listens to , it’s best you use as much as possible.”
Speaking in cold, steady tones, Rex stood up again, despite his labored breath and the sweat running down his body. He couldn’t stop now.
In two days, his body would no longer listen to him. Before that, he had to help his comrades as much as possible.
“...”
I watched Rex as he began clearing the spider corpses with his trembling hands and sweating arms.
I already owed this orc two lives.
What had I done for him in return?
“...”
Lir, too, swallowed dryly as she watched the orc moving steadily, finding sothing he could do even in the face of death.
“Don’t look at like that. The role of the infantry is to protect the mage. I’m just doing my duty.”
To look at him with pity was an insult. He seed satisfied if the mages behind him saw him as a reliable shield.
“...Rex.”
“Speak, General.”
“Clear the way. We have sowhere to go.”
I stepped over the spider corpses, staining my dark robe with dark blue blood, and moved through the room.
“Sowhere to go? What does soone who doesn’t even know the way think they can lead...”
“Just trust and follow .”
There was only one thing I could do for him.
Just as he had saved countless tis, I would save his life in return.
“...Did you sense sothing?”
Trian, who had been looking at with a puzzled expression, asked as he watched walk confidently this ti.
It seed like he thought I was so kind of shaman.
What was there to sense? I simply knew the location of the only ‘fixed exit’ in the dungeon from countless tis clearing it.
But I couldn’t say that.
“...Well, yes, there was sothing that bothered from the mont I stepped into the dungeon.”
Honestly, repeating this lie several tis didn’t sit well with .
But I couldn’t think of any excuse to convince Trian, who was doubting my actions.
Hell, I might as well play the role of a shaman.
Rex had risked his life for twice. I could give him a few lies in return.
“This is a dungeon. There’s no telling what threats are lurking. The strange energy makes it uncertain if the exit is even real.”
If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.
“When did I say the exit felt right? What I felt was the exact opposite.”
“What?”
I quietly removed Trian’s hand that was holding my shoulder and looked into his eyes. I don’t know what he saw in my eyes, but as soon as our gazes t, he closed his mouth.
“I can sense the location of the most dangerous monster in this dungeon. The filthy, sticky magic energy...”
Damn, I never imagined I would say such a thing as a mage...
“Let’s clear this dungeon. It’ll be much faster than stumbling around looking for an ergency exit.”
There are two ways to get out of a dungeon.
The first is using the ‘ergency exits’ that randomly appear throughout the dungeon.
This was the thod we had originally planned to use.
The dungeon’s level was high, and most importantly, the rewards for clearing this dungeon were useless to .
But now, this thod was no longer available. Finding an ergency exit required constant movent, and we had no ti for that.
Rex would be bedridden in two days.
Normally, it takes a skilled guide about five days to find an ergency exit. If we’re unlucky, it could take a week or more.
Rex didn’t have that kind of ti.
So, I chose the second thod of escape: ‘Clearing the dungeon.’
Every dungeon has a monster known as the ‘treasure keeper,’ a boss monster guarding the exit.
If we eliminate the treasure keeper, we can obtain great treasures, like gold or special equipnt, and the fixed exit will appear.
The treasure keeper’s location is always fixed. Unlike the randomly generated ergency exits, this fixed exit will always be accessible when we want it—assuming we defeat the keeper.
Of course, we have to defeat the treasure keeper first.
“Are you confident? You’ve seen the monsters in this dungeon. They’re not ordinary. The treasure keeper might be a tough opponent...”
I frowned as I looked at Trian, who spoke with concern.
“Why are you talking like it’s not your problem?”
“Well, should I fight too?”
“...Were you not planning to fight?”
“The treasure keeper is far stronger than regular monsters. I can barely aim at these monsters’ eyes to avoid taking damage. I don’t think I’m strong enough to take on the treasure keeper.”
He was so confidently admitting his weakness.
“Rex is the sa. He’s acting tough, but if he tries to fight the treasure keeper, he’ll just be a burden.”
Rex closed his lips tightly, as if he had nothing to say.
Trian’s cold judgnt seed to leave no room for rebuttal.
Well, Rex can’t help it. What has he done for ?
“Well, fine. The treasure keeper will handle itself. But you’ll have to do sothing else.”
“What do you want to do?”
“If I fight the treasure keeper, it’s going to get noisy. It won’t be a monster that I can take on without making a sound.”
“What do you an?”
“Just buy so ti against the monsters coming in.”
“...So you want us to die?”
“You can last five minutes, can’t you?”
Trian sighed, looking back and forth between , Rex, and Lir.
It was impossible to take on all the incoming monsters. But if we could buy five minutes, we might just make it.
It wasn’t impossible. In fact, the chances of surviving those five minutes were better than the chances of failing.
“...You’re really sure we’ll be done in five minutes?”
Heh, Trian sure worries a lot.
If I can’t finish in five minutes, then we’re all dead anyway, so there’s no need to worry about that.
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