49. Dungeon

49. Dungeon

Thwack!

Claire kicked the stone wall blocking the entrance in frustration. However, the wall didn’t budge, and instead, her foot hurt.

“Ugh….”

Claire groaned, clutching her foot.

No matter what she did, the entrance showed no sign of opening again. After a few minutes, she could conclude. She was trapped here.

She couldn’t even summon her aura. It felt as if someone had sealed it.

“….”

The aura was Claire’s source of power. The reason she could fight Skadi on equal footing, and the reason she entered this dungeon with confidence, was all because she had that golden aura.

Without it, she was weak. She had trained, so she could swing her sword, but that was about it. It was far from enough to deal with monsters.

In such a situation, the safest course of action would be to wait here for rescue, but….

Her gaze fell on the torch she held in her hand.

A small torch, burning with a flicker. Because she was small, it was difficult to hold a large torch, so she chose this one, but in this situation, it was only a choice she regretted.

“I should have brought a bigger one….”

The torch wasn’t infinite. If all the burning oil was consumed, darkness would fall, and she wouldn’t be able to see an inch ahead.

For some reason, she couldn’t even summon her golden aura, so if this torch went out, she would have no light left at all.

If she waited for rescue, the torch went out, and she was attacked by monsters in the pitch blackness….

There were two options. One was to wait for Edel, who would realize she was trapped and come to rescue her. The other was to navigate this dungeon and escape on her own.

“….”

But even if Edel came, it was uncertain if she could rescue her. The dungeon walls could at least be scratched by magic armor.

It was just a ‘scratch.’ Even with the strongest magic sword, it was almost impossible to break through the dungeon walls. Of course, if she kept scratching, she might eventually make a hole.

Claire’s mind suddenly conjured the face of the white-haired wolf beastman.

“… No. Even so, it would be difficult.”

Claire shook her head to clear her thoughts and headed for the stairs. She had to escape this place before the torch’s lifespan ended.

Stairs with no end in sight.

Claire descended the stairs, covered in pitch blackness, one step at a time. With every step she took, a thudding sound echoed, filling the space like an echo.

Thud… Thud….

Claire walked down the stairs endlessly, holding the torch slightly forward. Her hands fidgeted with the collar of her clothes out of anxiety.

‘If only Edel were by my side….’

But she was the one who had left her behind. It was her own fault.

After walking for a while. Around the time her legs started to ache, the end of the stairs came into view. Claire, having reached the bottom of the stairs, cautiously poked her head out.

What was there was a large plaza. An incredibly large, domed plaza. The inside was empty.

If only the thing in the center wasn’t there.

“… What is that?”

Claire’s head tilted further upwards. Something stood in the center of the vast plaza, filling it in a spherical shape, from the floor of the dome to the ceiling.

Even the torch couldn’t illuminate it fully, so only a very small part at the bottom was visible. Claire looked at the part she could recognize.

It was a human arm. An arm so thick it could be compared to a tree that had lived for hundreds of years. It supported a giant sphere, which seemed to be its body, like a sturdy pillar.

The skin was stuck on like rags, making it impossible to describe its appearance. If she had to compare it, it looked like an undead created with the utmost effort by a malevolent necromancer.

Fuu- Woo-

It vibrated slowly up and down as if breathing. Pulsating and emitting a low hum, Claire, terrified by the sight of the monster shaking the air, backed away.

“… I, I should just go back and wait….”

Clatter.

At that moment, something behind her was stepped on.

The sound of bones colliding with something, a sound that shouldn’t have been heard from behind, where it was empty until just now. Claire turned her head stiffly like a machine.

A skeleton looking at her with a blank face.

The skeleton waved its hand in greeting.

“Hieek!”

Claire let out a loud cry and quickly covered her mouth, but it was too late. The giant sphere, alerted by Claire’s cry, finally awoke from its slumber.

Gooo- Wooo-

The giant monster that shook the dungeon… unfolded its body.

Only then did Claire realize that the monster wasn’t spherical. Countless arms, hands, legs, and feet. They were embracing each other deeply, making it appear spherical.

Thump, thump….

The monster, with dozens of limbs spread out, touched the walls like a centipede and turned its body towards Claire. The monster’s black hair, for some unknown reason, flowed down and touched the ground.

At the junction of the arms and legs, in the very center, was a mouth. A mouth filled with sharp teeth.

It was something she didn’t want to know.

Screeeeeeeeeeeech-!

A wail that filled the dungeon. The monster immediately slammed its giant hand down towards Claire.

Kwoooooong!

“Kuhk!”

Even though she managed to roll and dodge to the side, the air pressure felt like it would blow her away. Claire, instead of the entrance blocked by the monster’s palm, ran towards the exit on the opposite side of the plaza.

Kwoong, thump!

The giant monster didn’t stop its pursuit. Freely using its hands and feet, it chased her by touching the walls, its speed frighteningly fast for its size. Claire kept running.

Suddenly, the torch flickered.

“Ugh!”

BOOM!

A giant foot crushed the spot where Claire had been standing. Claire felt a chill run down her spine, realizing she would have been a flattened mess if she had been a second slower, and moved her feet.

If she could have used her aura, it would have been a short distance, but as a short-legged girl, the distance felt impossibly far. The sound of pursuit from behind grew closer, but Claire couldn’t look back.

Finally, the exit was in sight. Claire threw herself forward.

Thud-!

“Ugh!”

Her palm struck the entrance. Claire was pushed by the air pressure and crashed into a solid wall. A groan escaped her lips. It seemed like a bone or two had broken.

Fortunately, the torch hadn’t gone out. Claire hastily held up the torch and illuminated the opening.

Kih-hee-

It was a door just wide enough for one person to pass. Naturally, the monster couldn’t enter, but for some reason, Claire felt as if the monster was looking at her and mocking her.

Claire moved into the passage, clutching her throbbing ribs. Even if the giant monster couldn’t reach her, this place wasn’t safe.

“Ugh….”

The spot where she had collided earlier ached. It was a wound that would have healed instantly if she could have summoned her aura, but she desperately missed the aura she had used so casually since childhood.

“What is this dungeon… why are there things like this….”

It was absurd that the Academy would use such a dungeon for training. Using monsters that were questionable even with an aura for student practice.

The passage, which she had walked down endlessly, had a fork. Claire chose one path and quickly covered her mouth at a sharp right turn.

“Hup!”

A black goblin with no eyes. A superior species of goblin adapted to dark caves, Cave Goblins. Several of them were blocking the path in a group.

Although they had no eyes, they were sensitive to sound. Claire slowly backed away….

Clatter.

Once again, a skeleton was waving its hand in greeting.

“Hieek!”

Kiiik! Kiiik!

The goblins reacted immediately to the scream. Claire, without hesitation, dashed towards the other fork. The goblins shot arrows as they chased her.

Arrows bounced off the stone floor. Stones whizzed past her. Claire kept running. She couldn’t defeat a pack of Cave Goblins without her aura.

And then….

“Why, why is it blocked?!”

The fork that had been open moments ago was now firmly blocked by the dungeon wall. Claire, suddenly facing a dead end, turned around. The goblins were advancing on her, brandishing their weapons.

“Ugh….”

Claire drew the dagger from her waist. She knew she couldn’t wield it properly, but it was her only means of defense. The dagger, gorgeously decorated with gold, gleamed in the torchlight.

However, as if sensing Claire’s weakness, the goblins chuckled and narrowed their encirclement. Finally, reaching her limit, Claire thrust her sword.

Tack!

“Ah!”

And immediately, the blade flew out. As a signal, the goblins swarmed Claire.

Kiiik! Kiiik!

“Kuhk!”

When she swung her sword, they parried, and when she left an opening, two attacked. One defended while the other attacked, and in the meantime, other goblins threw arrows and stones to fill the gaps.

They weren’t called superior goblins for nothing. Their strength was incomparable to regular goblins, and they coordinated seamlessly, inflicting wounds on Claire.

They seemed to intend to wear her down slowly, as they didn’t deliver fatal blows, but it seemed she wouldn’t last long. Claire panted heavily. On top of being at a disadvantage, having to hold the torch was a significant penalty.

“Ugh….”

Despair began to creep into her expression. As if sensing their prey weakening, the goblins laughed.

… And in that laughter, there was an opening.

Thwack!

Claire forcefully kicked a goblin in the groin. The goblin, struck in a vital spot, gasped and collapsed to the ground, while the other goblins, startled, covered their lower bodies with both hands. This was the only opening she had to escape.

Taaat, Claire immediately kicked off the ground. The goblins chased after Claire belatedly, but their speed was similar, so they couldn’t catch up easily.

Claire kept running. Stones and arrows flew past her cheeks. Without even time to wipe away the flowing blood, she ran and ran, and finally, the exit appeared.

And then, an arrow flew.

“Aak!”

Crash!

Claire fell as an arrow lodged in her leg. She rolled and rolled due to inertia before stopping. Claire could see the goblins licking their lips and approaching her.

“Ugh….”

She should have gotten up immediately, but her leg wouldn’t obey. The arrowhead was firmly lodged in her calf, showing no sign of coming out. It was painful.

Claire squeezed her eyes shut.

Krrk? Krrrk-

However, as there was no reaction, Claire slowly opened her eyes. The goblins were hesitating and backing away.

Kiiik! Krrrk!

The goblins turned and fled. Claire took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the sudden turn of events. She was covered in wounds.

“What is it? Why are they all running….”

Claire stopped speaking. The torch lying on the ground flickered. As if a wind was blowing. But there was no wind in this enclosed space.

Claire turned her head.

A giant arm was behind her.

“Ah….”

The monster, with a smile stretching across its face, approached her, its mouth agape. Countless teeth faced her.

She had to move, but her body wouldn’t obey. Her body had turned to stone.

Claire’s face was filled with despair. Her life flashed before her eyes.

… Ironically, the clearest image in her life’s review was the face of the white wolf.

The monster approached. Claire sensed her death. Tears flowed.

And then-

CRASH!

-A white flash erupted from somewhere and swept through the monster.

When Claire opened her eyes, the monster had vanished without a trace, and in its place, a large diagonal hole had been punched through the wall. A cold wind blew, and snowflakes fluttered down.

“Oh, Claire. You were here?”

Skadi emerged from the hole. Edel and Priscilla followed.

“Sob… Uwaaa!!!”

Claire burst into tears and tried to run… but then remembered the arrow in her leg and fell spectacularly. Skadi caught the falling Claire.

“It’s okay now. I’m here.”

Skadi’s expression, as she hugged her, was still impassive. But even that impassivity seemed incredibly reliable to Claire. Strong, beautiful, and….

Magnificent.

It was the moment Skadi’s image became fixed in Claire’s heart.