Chapter 45

“Uwaaaaah!”

“We won! We did it!”

“We did it!”

The residents erupted in jubilant cheers.

The joy of victory was great, but the greatest joy of all was in having survived.

Survival.

That is all they’ve been struggling for in this hellish underground space.

It was only after some time that their cheers stopped.

Their gazes had shifted toward me.

The strategy I had pushed forward.

They all knew that it was my strategy that led to our great victory.

Additionally, I played a significant role in killing the monster boss.

To anyone watching, I was clearly the hero of the hour.

As if to confirm this, a reward window appeared before me.

[A perfect victory. Your wisdom and strength have led to the best outcome.]

– Your reputation has slightly increased.

– You have acquired a new title.

The thought of finally being able to shed that worthless title was like a breath of fresh air.

I quickly changed my title.

Not only did I want to get rid of that distasteful piece of garbage, but the new title also had immediate effects

– Residents of the 10th underground floor feel a strong affinity towards the owner of the title.

– Enemies of the 10th floor’s residents are wary of the title’s owner.

– Slight increase in physical adaptability to the underground environment.

Though useless on the surface and without significant effects, being able to shed the worst title of ‘massive charm decrease’ was an immense benefit in itself.

A smile crept onto my lips unknowingly.

Then Gwen spoke to me.

“It’s all thanks to you.”

A man with strong pride, but one who certainly acknowledges what needs to be acknowledged.

I shook my head.

“No, it’s everyone’s effort and everyone’s victory.”

I deflected the credit back to everyone.

After all, there was no need to boast when everyone already knew I was the hero.

“Without your strategy and help, this would have been impossible. Ah, of course, your comrades’ assistance was also a great strength.”

Gwen also expressed his gratitude towards Camian and Annette.

They, too, had played their parts well, more than fulfilling their roles.

It felt rewarding to have nurtured and leveled them up.

“You are our true comrades. We will do our best to support you as much as we can in the future.”

Gwen’s proclamation.

The residents nodded in agreement, as if to affirm their consent.

Now we could call on their help on the 10th floor in the future.

Another goal of this quest was achieved.

“That’s what I wanted to hear.”

I nodded in agreement.

“Do you desire anything?”

“Nothing at the moment, ah, but there is one thing that intrigues me.”

“What might that be?”

“This.”

I approached the body of the slain Karkar.

And cut off one of the skull decorations that were dangling from it.

A reward that could only be obtained by completing a hidden quest to defeat Karkar.

I naturally had to secure it.

“I’d like to take one as a memento.”

“Ha, I didn’t know you had such a hobby. Of course, help yourself. It’s ownerless now, anyway.”

“Indeed.”

I pocketed the skull decoration into my coat pocket.

– A nasty orc shaman’s skull decoration.

– This skull decoration is made from the bones of another orc.

– Most orcs will instinctively fear the owner of this decoration, sensing them as an orc slayer.

An item exclusively good against orcs.

Orcs are fairly common monsters to encounter.

So, when the time comes to face a horde of orcs, it will prove to be quite helpful.

With that, everything that needed to be secured was secured.

All that was left was to return.

However, there was one more thing to say.

“The power structure of the 10th floor has completely changed now.”

“That’s true.”

Gwen responded with a contemplative look.

Originally, there were three factions.

But now, only two remained.

Humans and the undead.

In some ways, this was potentially more dangerous.

The delicate balance that had been maintained by watchful eyes was broken, and one battle could potentially lead to an all-out war of extinction.

Especially since the human residents, emboldened by this great victory, might become overly ambitious and aim to wipe out the undead as well.

But I had a card to play to calm them down.

“It might be best to avoid large fights for the time being and focus solely on defense.”

My words caused the faces of the residents, who had been considering an attack, to twitch.

Gwen glanced at them and then asked me.

“Is there a reason for that?”

“We’ve managed to secure a source of food with this victory, but your conditions don’t look too good. If you’re planning to make a move, it would be best to wait until you’ve received my supplies and are in the best condition, right?”

“Huh, I certainly think so.”

Gwen smirked and turned to the other residents.

“Did you all hear that clearly? Don’t get any strange ideas and focus on defense. Receiving supplies safely is our top priority.”

“Understood, Captain.”

The residents responded.

With that, my work here was done.

“I’ll be leaving then. Stay safe, everyone.”

“May you all be safe as well.”

“Ha-ha. The surface isn’t that much of a hell.”

For now, anyway.

I smirked inwardly.

“Let’s go then, juniors.”

“Are you sure this is your first time here?”

Camian asked with a peculiar expression.

“Yes.”

“But how can you act so boldly?”

He seemed utterly baffled.

“Instinct.”

I sold the idea of having a good instinct once again.

“And desperation.”

“What?”

Camian couldn’t quite grasp the connection between my actions and desperation.

The behaviors I had shown underground were far from desperate.

I kindly explained.

“You got involved because of me. That’s why I was more desperate than usual. If something went wrong with you, it would all be on me. Fortunately, that desperate action seems to have led to a good outcome.”

“Se, Senior…”

Annette seemed touched by my words.

But that was Annette being kind-hearted. Camian was different.

He looked at me incredulously, as if questioning whether I was always like this.

I chuckled.

Regardless of what they felt, they had to acknowledge my ability now.

That was enough.

Now, my presence in the protagonist’s mind was indelible.

“Anyway, I’m thankful to you two. If it weren’t for you, things wouldn’t have turned out this well.”

“No, if Senior hadn’t seen through that strange woman’s trick in the central square earlier, we would have been in big trouble.”

We exchanged warm words.

That’s the good thing about talking with nice folks.

Camian just stared at me with a look that said, “What’s gotten into him?”

Well, I’m unpredictable, kid.

Are we done?

Clang!

I opened the lift’s door.

“Let’s go up.”

The elevator opened.

A forest lay before me.

Only I knew where it was.

A nameless forest located outside of City of saint Lepheria.

By the time we had walked from the underground to the central square, we had already covered enough distance to get outside the city.

And the location of this elevator was exactly in this forest.

Thinking about the distance, it would be tight to make it back before curfew.

But it doesn’t really matter.

It’s not like anything serious happens if you’re late for curfew just once.

“It’s getting dark.”

Annette said.

As she said, the sky was growing dim.

“Yes, it’s about that time. “

“Should I light it up?”

“Yeah.”

“Light.”

Whoosh.

Annette lit up the place with light magic.

And at that moment.

“Kyaaaak?”

Annette screamed in surprise as if she had discovered something.

“Kugh?”

Camian also picked up his sword in surprise.

They had discovered an armored person.

Anyone would be startled if they saw a monster over 2m tall, completely covered in armor.

‘I guess they didn’t see it earlier.’

I thought to myself.

Although I urged them to come down immediately in case the situation changed, it was ultimately up to the armored person’s discretion.

If they had decided to hide their presence, we would never be able to find them with our current abilities.

It was because they decided to reveal themselves that we saw them.

“Kugh. What the heck is that monster?”

Camian asked with a trembling voice out of tension.

He seemed to instinctively realize that this being was incredibly powerful.

Annette was also shivering with fear.

“I don’t know. But it seems like it has something to say to us.”

“Ha. It has something to say?”

Annette stepped back behind me as if hiding.

It seemed that even more than her favorite childhood friend, my back felt just a little safer.

It seems that people instinctively seek safety when faced with danger.

I chuckled at the absurdity of it.

“Yeah. Seems like it.”

As if waiting for my cue, the armored person moved their hand.

Click-click, click, click-click.

The movements were mechanical and stiff.

It was doubtful whether a human body could really be inside.

Regardless, the meaning was somehow conveyed.

It was sign language.

“What, what is that supposed to mean?”

Annette blinked her frightened eyes.

“It’s sign language.”

“What?”

“Sign language.”

I kindly interpreted for them.

“If you disclose what you have seen and heard here, you will die.”

A chilling message.

It must have felt more ominous because I said it in a nonchalant voice.

Annette shivered, and Camian flinched.

“Is that message really correct?”

Camian asked for confirmation.

There was no need for me to answer.

The large face of the armored person nodded down.

Camian and Annette’s expressions hardened.

Click-click, click-click.

The armored person signed again.

I immediately interpreted.

“The individual clearly warned you. Remember this if you wish to live.”

Thump!

As soon as I finished interpreting, the armored figure kicked off the ground and disappeared in an instant.

It seemed there was no further business with us.

Only then did Camian and Annette’s expressions relax a bit.

“It seems he really appeared to give us a warning.”

I murmured.

“Ha…. I thought I was going to die.”

Annette let out a sigh of relief.

“Truly a terrifying being… I’m not even sure if it’s human.”

Camian said, his hand still trembling as he put his sword away.

His gaze turned to me.

“…But how do you even know sign language?”

Camian looked genuinely surprised.

“Somehow I just do.”

I replied shortly, not wanting to explain.

I had learned it for smoother gameplay.

That’s right.

This insane game features two major characters who use sign language.

And the crazier part is that the game doesn’t translate it into text.

So unless you’re guessing by intuition, you’d have to look at sign language books in the academy library and learn the movements and meanings one by one to interpret correctly.

It’s truly a mad game.

But thanks to that, my efforts weren’t in vain as they became helpful in such a situation.

“What’s important now isn’t that. It’s that there are others outside who know the identity of this underground space. And they do not want its secrets to spread.”

I quickly summed up the situation.

It was an easy summary for me, but it wouldn’t have felt that way to Camian and Annette.

They looked at me with admiration.

Then they came to their senses.

“It seems even more serious than expected.”

Camian bit his lip.

“Yeah, I can’t even begin to guess what kind of forces are behind this.”

That was the truth.

It was a secret I had never uncovered myself.

“What should we do?”

Annette was panicking.

“First of all, keep this warning a secret. It’s definitely not a bluff. If you slip up and say something, you could really die.”

I stated emphatically.

Camian and Annette seemed to feel the warning was not an empty threat.

“That seems wise.”

Camian agreed.

“Okay, I understand. Senpai.”

Annette responded.

“Right, this is our secret. But I don’t plan to just stay quiet. I’ll find out more about this underground space in coordination with the underground people.”

It could be a dangerous move.

But Camian and Annette were not against it.

They were the main character and the childhood friend heroine, after all.

“I agree. We can’t just sit idly by.”

“And I do too. I’m worried about the people below as well.”

Pleased with their response, I smiled.

“Then let’s leave this discussion for later and get moving. Before it gets any darker.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to know the direction before moving?”

Camian made a valid point.

But.

“It’s okay. I didn’t know before, but now I see it’s a way I know.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, just follow me. I’ve been here a few times, so I’m sure.”

Under my guidance, we safely reached the dormitory.