Ch.14Request, Dungeon Exploration (4)

Fortunately, the unfortunate incident of zombies eating corpses didn’t happen. That was thanks to discovering a monster that resembled an animal.

Leo stepped forward confidently and said, “Everyone wait. I’ll handle that creature with a new magic I’ve recently developed.”

Leo had been deeply focused on something for a while now—was that because he was developing magic?

Anyway, several magic circles appeared on Leo’s index finger.

“Here I go! ‘Temporary Name, Magic No. 36125.'”

A beam of red light shot from Leo’s finger, piercing through the monster’s head and killing it instantly.

“Good, the test was successful. Time to name it.”

As soon as the word “name” came up, the atmosphere suddenly became extremely heavy. In that atmosphere, Leo spoke first.

“I think Arcane Light Death Spray would be good.”

“How about Death Beam? Isn’t that a rather sophisticated and cool name?”

“Forget those—let’s go with Special Beam Cannon.”

The three of them were engaged in an intense battle of wits just to come up with one name. Why would they go to such lengths?

While the three were bickering, Agath asked me for a name too.

“Lite? Do you have any good name ideas?”

“Can’t we just name it something simple?”

Whether it’s a flashy, cool name or a casually chosen one, the content is the same in the end. So I don’t think names are particularly important.

It’s absolutely not because I’m bitter about being forcibly renamed.

After I gave that answer, Leo spoke as if somewhat displeased.

“Names are very important in magic. If the magic circle is like a gun, then the name is like the trigger.”

“What about when you used magic without saying anything before?”

“That’s because it was basic magic. From intermediate magic and above, a name is absolutely necessary.”

“Why? Does the magic not activate without a name?”

“It’s designed to work only when the name is called out to prevent accidental magic activation. So, do you have any good names?”

His words were very kind, but I could clearly feel him being wary of me.

Since it’s troublesome, I’ll just suggest a name that probably won’t ever be used.

“Red Beam Attack.”

But I didn’t get the reaction I was expecting.

“…That’s actually good.”

“The name is intuitive and doesn’t overlap with other magic names.”

“You’re being sarcastic.”

“Alright, from now on this magic will be called ‘Red Beam Attack.'”

The magic’s name was decided unanimously. And with a terribly awful naming sense at that.

What kind of thought process do these people have?

“But how do we cook that?”

I pointed at the pig-like monster lying on the ground.

We don’t have cooking utensils now, nor spices. We don’t even have fire, so there’s no way to cook it properly.

“Just wait a moment.”

Leo approached the monster’s carcass and placed his hand on it.

—Sizzle!

And the monster was roasted to a nice golden brown.

“Cooking complete. Let’s eat now.”

Judging by its appearance and aroma, it’s unmistakably a roast pig. So it should be safe to eat.

***

Empty wagons make the most noise.

The outside was hard and the inside was tough. Naturally, it tasted bad. Literally, I couldn’t taste anything.

But to survive, I had to force myself to eat something this difficult to eat and tasteless. Thanks to that, my stomach was full, but my satisfaction level hit rock bottom.

Anyway, after filling our stomachs and continuing to walk, it soon became time to sleep.

“Now it’s time to decide on night watch. Anyone want to volunteer first?”

“I will.”

Originally, the first and last shifts for night watch are the most advantageous. That way you can sleep straight through without being woken up in the middle.

“Alright. Wake someone up after two hours.”

“Good luck then.”

“Sleep well.”

Strangely, no one objected. Did they just accommodate me because I’m new?

Whatever, as long as I can sleep more.

***

There was a reason everyone avoided taking the first shift. Having to stay awake for two hours with a body exhausted from walking all day without dozing off—it’s nothing short of torture.

Still, the two hours finally passed. So I immediately woke up Agath.

“Night watch… your turn…”

“Just five more minutes…”

“No… get up now…”

Agath stretched and got up.

“You can sleep now. Oh right, I might play some strange pranks on you while you’re sleeping.”

Finally, I can sleep! Agath seemed to say something, but it probably wasn’t important.

I lay down on the ground and closed my eyes, when suddenly Agath woke me up.

“Wake up.”

“I just… lay down…”

“Six hours have already passed. We need to get up and leave now.”

Thinking it must be a lie, I checked my phone and found that six hours had indeed passed.

So I actually slept for six hours. But why do I feel as tired as if I hadn’t slept at all?

“We’ll arrive soon if we walk a bit more, so let’s eat breakfast after we finish exploring.”

“Okay…”

I tried to get up, but I couldn’t because of some rope that had tied me up in a rather suggestive way.

“…What is this?”

“Turtle binding!”

“Why did you tie me up?”

“I was bored during night watch. And how could I resist doing something to someone sleeping so defenseless?”

“You didn’t do anything else weird, right?”

“Because of those damn doctrines, I couldn’t touch you…”

Agath said with genuine regret. By the way, I clearly warned her to be moderate yesterday.

But far from being moderate, Agath once again cheerfully crossed the line today.

That’s just my life…

***

Once everyone gathered, dungeon exploration became insanely easy. When zombies or other undead appeared, Rebecca immediately purified them with light, and Leo guided us through all the paths.

Thanks to that, Agath and I just walked without having to do anything. The ride was really comfortable.

After walking for about an hour, we arrived in front of a suspicious-looking door. Leo glared at me and said,

“We finally arrived. If some idiot hadn’t destroyed the floor yesterday, we would have arrived much sooner.”

“…I’m really sorry.”

“No, let’s just finish this quickly and go.”

As we entered the obviously suspicious place, we saw a relic shaped like a skull.

“Ah, greetings, intruders.”

And the relic politely greeted us. Seeing this, Leo sighed and said,

“The relic has consciousness. No wonder the request fee was so high.”

“How much is the request fee anyway?”

“A bit over 100 million.”

“That much?!”

“Do you know how high the mortality rate for dungeon exploration is? It’s a whopping 30%, and if the relic has consciousness, it’s 70%.”

Well, even relics without consciousness summon monsters for self-defense, so ones with consciousness would be even more dangerous.

Anyway, 100 million for risking our lives… Since there are four of us, that’s 25 million won per person… Is that appropriate?

While I was contemplating the value of human life, the relic spoke again.

“I’ll let you leave peacefully if you turn back now. I don’t particularly want to fight…”

“‘Red Beam Attack!'”

The magic Leo launched suddenly was easily blocked by a green protective barrier.

“…I hate to say this, but your naming sense is truly terrible.”

“Isn’t it pretty good? The name is intuitive, the length is appropriate, and it even sounds good.”

“Are you seriously saying that?”

“Does this look like a lie to you?”

“…”

The relic looked at Leo as if he were pathetic. I didn’t expect such a stupid name to be approved either…

“So you intend to fight? Then I will sincerely…”

“‘Red Beam Attack'”

Leo cut off the relic’s words again and launched his magic. Of course, the magic bounced off the protective barrier without even making a scratch.

“As expected, since it was designed as welding magic, it’s a bit difficult to use in combat.”

“…Wasn’t that magic made for combat?”

“Combat magic needs to have a short casting time and strong power, but if you reduce the casting time, the power decreases. Conversely, if you increase the power, the casting time also increases. Is there any reason to create such a troublesome combat magic?”

As soon as he finished speaking, several layers of magic circles gathered in Leo’s right hand, forming a sphere.

“Of course there is. Now watch what real combat magic looks like.”

And at the place where the magic circle was, a blue sphere about the size of a soccer ball was created.

“‘Nyehing'”

The sphere, flying at high speed, exploded as soon as it touched the protective barrier. Of course, that doesn’t mean it broke the barrier. The barrier was still intact.

So that’s combat magic, it’s really cool.

“…The name just now looks like a fairy.”

“I agree. What was the developer thinking when he came up with such a name?”

“By the way, it’s quite unfortunate. If you had spent time on something else instead of researching magic, you could have become an excellent talent…”

“What did you just say?”

That stupid relic just pressed Leo’s trigger button. We’re screwed.

“If you had trained in something else instead of academic pursuits like magic, especially something physical, you probably would have become a legendary talent.”

“…”

A large vein bulged on Leo’s forehead. And I instinctively realized:

If that relic says anything more here, Leo will completely explode.

Please make the relic apologize for the slip of the tongue, please make the relic apologize…

“It’s not too late even now. It would be a shame to kill a talent like you, so hurry back and train your body more instead of academic pursuits like magic.”

That incredibly stupid relic pressed Leo’s trigger button again.

We’re screwed. Completely and perfectly screwed.

But contrary to expectations, Leo spoke in a calm voice.

“Do you really think so?”

“I guarantee that you would become an excellent talent if you just gave up magic.”

“Then look at this magic. Your mind will surely change.”

Leo scattered scrolls with magic circles drawn around them. Is that what they call scrolls?

Anyway, Leo muttered something, and all the scrolls began to glow brightly. Then the relic urgently tried to stop Leo.

“Stop! If you use such a thing here, you’ll be caught up in it and die too!”

I don’t know what he’s preparing, but it seems like an extremely powerful magic. By the way, if Leo gets caught up in it, then obviously we who are next to him will also…

…This is bad.

“Leo? What exactly are you trying to use?”

“I’m going to use magic that can make everything within a 100-meter radius disappear without a trace.”

“…Won’t we get caught up in it too?”

“It’s okay. I’ve set up safety measures, so you won’t be caught in the magic.”

Leo’s current state seems completely devoid of reason, but fortunately, he seems capable of minimal thought.

Finally, this dungeon exploration is coming to an end…

“Come to your senses! If you use that, the dungeon will collapse and you’ll be buried alive!”

I was wrong. Leo doesn’t even have minimal thought.

“Leo! Get a grip! We’ll all be caught up in this too!”

“That’s right! Calm down and cool your head first!”

“Even if we don’t die because of fate, I’d rather not be buried in the ground. So could you please stop for now?”

The three of us desperately tried to persuade Leo, but eventually, a sphere darker than the abyss formed in Leo’s hand.

“‘Fragment of Void'”

And so Leo, consumed by madness, burst into laughter as he threw the sphere at the relic.

It’s all over now. It was a short but miserable life.

***

We survived. And for a truly absurd reason.

Just before the dungeon collapsed, the relic used its last bit of strength to spread a protective barrier and contain the black sphere.

After a few minutes, the sphere disappeared. Instead, the relic had completely lost its light.

Even in that state, the relic was painfully saying something.

“I’m already done for… You must survive… and grow splendidly…”

That relic and we were complete strangers. Nevertheless, the relic sacrificed itself to protect us.

While I was immersed in that emotion, Leo approached where the relic was.

And he trampled on the honorable relic, smashing it to pieces.

“This is the end you deserve. Oh, you’re already dead so you can’t hear me, can you?”

Leo looked at the scattered remains of the relic on the floor and smiled wickedly.

“That relic protected us… why…”

“It’s a principle to immediately destroy relics with consciousness.”

“But that relic sacrificed its life to save us… Do you have no compassion, Leo?”

“Do you remember what the request was about?”

“Relic seizure… oh.”

The original content of the request could be said to be neutralizing the dungeon. So it’s natural to immediately deal with something that has consciousness like that.

Thinking about it that way, my emotionally clouded mind began to return to reason.

“So is the request over now?”

“Yes. We can finally say goodbye to this damn dungeon.”

Freedom at last. I can eat delicious food again and sleep comfortably.

“But how do we get out of here?”

“Originally, I was going to teleport out… but I used up all the scrolls to defeat that relic.”

“…So what do we do?”

“We walk. What else can we do?”

That damn relic, if only it had died obediently from the beginning.

It may have saved us with its barrier, but it was the relic that provoked Leo to use such magic in the first place. So this is entirely the relic’s fault.

And so I grumbled as I left the dungeon.