Ch.1717. Patience

As Shiro approached her twentieth birthday, she began having dreams.

The dreams were always the same.

When she had just turned ten, men came to her house and killed the grandfather who had raised her since she was little.

Each time, she would flee through the back door of the kitchen, clutching a necklace tightly in her hand.

The necklace was a gift she had received just before escaping from home. Her grandfather had told her it contained mysterious magic and that she should always wear it.

Well, it was the kind of content she would magically forget once she woke up from the dream.

Anyway, in the dream, Shiro traveled alone through a long forest.

The elven sanctuary was so vast that there were monsters they couldn’t bring themselves to eliminate.

She felt a bit afraid, but her grandfather had earnestly instructed her when giving her the necklace.

Once she went through the back door, she should never look back and keep running until she saw a large fountain.

Fortunately, Shiro was an obedient child.

Occasionally, she encountered people trying to put the girl in a cage or violent monsters, but when the girl closed her eyes briefly, they would all be sound asleep.

Perhaps they were tired after traveling through the forest for so long?

She wanted to cover them with blankets to prevent them from catching colds, but she fled in fear of the unidentifiable red liquid.

The forest was too chaotic a place for Shiro to notice the changes in her necklace.

And so, after dream-Shiro ran for days and walked for days until she reached the fountain, always—

***

—Shiro opened her eyes.

Had she fainted briefly after being hit by the thorns falling from the sky?

“Ugh…”

Her head hurt, as if the poison from the thorns still remained.

She groaned and pushed Adel’s body off of her.

Right after the basilisk initiated its attack, Adel had thrown himself over her.

At first, she was confused by his inexplicable action, but,

“…You protected me.”

She realized it now.

Even with his body covered in blood, he had tried to protect her until the end.

Even now, while unconscious, he was still holding onto the antidote vial he had received from the priest.

He must have poured the antidote into her mouth, allowing her to wake up.

‘The basilisk…’

Sensing a strange atmosphere, Shiro looked toward where the basilisk had been.

For some reason, its head and body were already decomposed.

The wounds looked somehow familiar, but that wasn’t important right now.

‘…Could it be.’

Even though the basilisk they thought was the boss had died, they hadn’t returned to their original location.

If that was the case,

“…Ugh!”

A sharp sensation shot through her leg when she tried to move it. No matter how much antidote she used, the basilisk’s poison couldn’t be completely eliminated.

Nevertheless, she moved as quickly as possible. This was no time to hesitate because of pain.

Shiro entered the basilisk’s corpse and searched for the Lizard King. It was still in a paralyzed state, which meant it wasn’t counted as dead.

Without hesitation, she swung her sword and finished off the Lizard King.

[The boss monster has been defeated.]

[Due to an unconscious party member, reward selection will take place later.]

Simultaneously, a pure white light enveloped the space.

…

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the middle of a forest.

They had truly returned to the second floor.

Shiro could hardly believe what had just happened, but there was only one important thing now.

‘Adel.’

He couldn’t die.

In Shiro’s mind, Adel was a far more valuable person than herself.

Normally, he made those around him laugh, and when dangerous situations arose, he calmly and seriously navigated through crises.

He didn’t mind sacrificing himself in the process.

If it was to save others, and this time for her, he threw himself in harm’s way without hesitation.

Blood was flowing from Adel’s body. There wasn’t a limb that remained uninjured.

She poured all the high-grade potions he had on his body, but it was far from enough to heal his wounds.

‘It’s dangerous.’

It was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

She pushed forward with her body that wouldn’t move easily.

If she could just reach the base camp, she could definitely save Adel. No matter what, she had to arrive before he died.

She moved.

She simply moved, moved forward.

She couldn’t stop. He couldn’t die.

The thought of him dying was too painful to bear.

Along the way, fearing he might die from an arrow that could fly at any moment, she tried to shield his head with her shield.

And so, after what felt like an eternity,

“Injured person! Call a priest!”

She finally reached her destination.

“The injured person’s condition is more serious than expected! Call someone who’s at least a mid-level priest!”

She could hear other people’s voices, but they held no particular meaning to her.

“…”

Having already pushed her body to its limits, Shiro lost consciousness.

***

Am I alive?

That was my first thought as consciousness returned.

‘Hmm.’

I had just pushed Shiro to the ground and completely overlapped my body with hers, so it felt strange to be in this condition now.

Of course, the fact that I can think now means I’m alive.

‘Am I in a vegetative state?’

Not only did I have no sensation throughout my body, but the occasional stimuli I felt were nothing but the pain of flesh burning.

Of course, that wasn’t the most important thing in my current state.

‘I wonder if Shiro killed the basilisk.’

By the way, about 30 minutes had passed since my consciousness returned.

If she hadn’t killed it, I wouldn’t be alive in the first place. That creature doesn’t digest humans; it just kills them outright.

I had saved a lot of potions for Shiro to use when she woke up, so I wonder if she managed to escape well on her own?

‘Am I about to die?’

Even if all the potions I had were used on me, these were wounds that would kill me soon.

To treat the injuries I sustained, at least a high-level priest would be needed.

Simply regenerating limbs and reassembling internal organs while removing poison are completely different fields.

I wonder if someone from around the eighth floor could save me?

As I was thinking that, something white began to appear.

‘Am I dying?’

As I was humbly accepting death,

-Restore.

-Regeneration.

A woman murmured in a gentle voice.

Those are amazing spells that only high-level priests can use. Could there really be such a person at the second floor base camp?

‘I’m saved.’

With that thought, I felt my bodily sensations gradually returning.

There was pain so intense that I wanted to faint again in the middle of it, but as time passed, my eyes began to open.

After struggling in pain for about three hours, I could clearly see the ceiling of the tent.

“Am I alive?”

After truly hovering between life and death, I felt strangely cheerful.

Dopamine was rushing through me, making my mind clear.

However, it seemed my shattered spine hadn’t recovered yet, as trying to exert force immediately caused convulsions.

Still, at this level, it could be treated with basic healing.

‘I’ll have to ask Airi.’

I don’t know who the high-level priest who treated me was, but I didn’t care since I probably wouldn’t see their face again anyway.

“You’re awake.”

A calm voice came from beside me.

“Yes, I can move my body a bit now.”

“It’s better not to look in my direction. I’m changing clothes.”

“…My neck doesn’t turn anyway right now.”

Like my waist, my neck would convulse and deliver unimaginable pain if I tried to exert force.

Of course, it would eventually recover, but I decided to pretend for a moment because the truth might make her anxious.

“Really? Then I’ll really undress now.”

What is Shiro saying now?

-Rustle, rustle.

Was her first statement just testing me? Now I could hear the sound of clothes actually being removed.

No way. Is this really okay?

“Ms. Shiro.”

“Yes?”

“What would happen if I suddenly turned my head?”

“…”

The busy sounds stopped, and Shiro moved. Was she trying to change her position after being conscious of my words?

-Tap, tap, tap.

But what’s this?

-Tap.

The footsteps were getting closer.

“Ms. Shiro?”

The sound stopped right next to the bed where I was lying.

Is this person standing next to me naked right now? Seriously?

“It’s okay to turn your head.”

“…!”

Shiro whispered in my ear.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

She answered my question in a calm tone.

Of course, knowing it was a joke, I didn’t have a big reaction.

She must have already dressed. Does she think I’ll fall for it?

Shiro stood up and took a step back, and I turned my head toward her with a smile.

“You’re joking, right? I know.”

As expected, instead of flesh-colored skin, a white dress entered my view.

But there was something strange about it, as if it was slightly separated from Shiro’s body.

“I’m really undressed.”

As Shiro said this, she extended both arms forward, and the dress came closer to my view.

“…What?”

I needed a moment to assess the situation.

Shiro was holding the dress in both hands, and that’s what was in my view.

Moreover, the light was hitting the dress at an odd angle, allowing me to vaguely see the silhouette of objects on the other side…

The closest thing was the naked body of a person.

-Crack!

I hurriedly turned my head in the opposite direction, causing my muscles to convulse again.

“Aagh! Agh!”

Having moved carelessly, I let out a scream from pain of a different dimension than before.

“…Are you okay?”

“I’m fi— …aaagh!”

This time, I was showing an embarrassingly ugly appearance.

I felt like dying from shame.

The thought of a silver-haired beauty watching me like this in her naked state made me want to embrace death right away.

Damn. This isn’t living.

I’d rather die as a human than live such a life.

-Ding!

As I was resolving to die, a sound like a game alert was heard.

[Confirmed that all party members who cleared the dungeon have regained consciousness.]

[Rewards will be distributed according to contribution.]

[First in survival and clear contribution: ***(Adel).]

[Second in survival and clear contribution: Shiro.]

[‘***(Adel)’ automatically absorbs the Baby Basilisk’s Source (Grade 3).]

[‘Shiro’ automatically absorbs the Ice Spirit’s Source (Grade 4).]

-Boom!

At that moment, I felt an unknown energy entering my body.

My heart was pounding, and blood was rushing through my entire body.

Normally, one would curse when forced to take an unexpected Source, but the Baby Basilisk’s Source was different.

‘It’s one I couldn’t get, so I didn’t include it in my build.’

Surprisingly, the Grade 3 Baby Basilisk’s Source has higher potential than the Grade 2 regular Basilisk’s Source.

The stats gained immediately upon equipping are naturally insufficient, but the Baby Basilisk’s Source can be combined and used until the final floor.

Even the Source that Shiro obtained was excellent.

She was already specialized in ice magic, and now she got an ice-related Source. She was lucky.

The only drawback was that it couldn’t be combined, but the Ice Spirit’s Source could be used up to the 7th or 8th floor without combination due to its synergy with other Sources.

“It hurts, but I feel good.”

“…!”

When I blurted that out, Shiro threw her dress at my face.

…Come to think of it, I probably shouldn’t have said I felt good right now.

“I don’t mind if you look, but it’s a bit awkward for me when you say it like that.”

“No, Ms. Shiro. Wait. That’s not what I meant…”

As I stammered with an aggrieved tone, she moved to where my head was facing.

Then she quickly removed the dress that was on my face.

“Actually, I was dressed from the beginning.”

Leather clothing that clung to her body, clearly revealing her figure.

“…You scared me.”

This person, Shiro, plays nerve-wracking pranks.

She seems serious with her expressionless face, but occasionally delivers critical hits.

“By the way, Adel.”

“Yes?”

“I’m going to change clothes now. Could you cover for me? I’ll change under the blanket.”

“…What?”

This was Polaris’s camp.

It wouldn’t be strange if someone walked in while she was changing clothes.

“I think we’ll rest here for a while. Give me that dress.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“…?”

She looked at me as if asking what I was asking about.

“Of course it’s a joke…”

No, it’s heart-dropping… Wait, why is she suddenly falling forward?

-Slide.

Shiro collapsed onto my abdomen mid-sentence.

“Ms. Shiro?”

Even when I called her name, only her peaceful breathing could be heard.

‘What is this, really?’

It was sudden, but I quickly assessed the situation.

Judging by her lack of response, it seemed some poison remained in her body, causing her to collapse.

Without a detoxification spell, she would likely remain collapsed like this, and I didn’t know when a priest would arrive.

“…”

Moreover, parts of Shiro’s body that shouldn’t be touching me were in contact, but I couldn’t push her away because my body wouldn’t move.

“This is crazy.”

An inescapable situation.

I had to endure until the priest arrived.