Side Character Who Became the Pseudo-Protagonist

Chapter 13: Volcanic Quarry (1)

I’ve made a severe lapse in judgement.

Even though I knew what type of Gate we were going into, and even if the protective suit on our bodies negated the temperature somewhat...

It was so...HOT!

Volcanic Quarry—one of the Dungeons that were available in the mid-game.

But what people found out later was that Volcanic Quarry could appear as one of the options that could be chosen in the evaluations.

It was a dungeon that allowed players to farm Lattice Silver, arguably one of the strongest materials in the game.

And why was it one of the strongest?

Because it allowed players to craft a special accessory called the Lattice Chassis, which was a modification that could be added to a Spell Driver.

And this allowed the Spell Driver to be able to use way stronger Spells. It was almost mandatory that, if you wanted to progress the game—

You must farm and craft a Lattice Chassis.

So why was I jumping into a volcanic region to find this?

The reason is simple:

In exchange for ease of use and increased range from using Gun-type Spell Drivers, the major downside was that it couldn’t hold powerful spells.

You see where I’m going with this, don’t you?

In the game’s timeline, the Volcanic Quarry Gate and subsequent use of Lattice Silver won’t be discovered until two to three years later.

I knew this.

And right now?

I was planning to take full advantage of that fact.

That being said, we just barely stepped inside, and the heat was already burning us alive. Not literally, but there must be a gallon or two of sweat in our gear.

"Curse you...for...choosing this...Gate," Aidan complained while leaning forward, using one of his swords as a cane.

I replied between heavy breaths of my own. "Curse your...own luck...for being...assigned to my team."

Cecilia surveyed the surroundings before turning towards me. "Yeah, how come you chose this Gate anyway? I assumed the top scorer usually chooses a safer Gate to secure a safe score and guarantee admission."

"It’s because I want to get the top score," I lied, avoiding eye contact. "House Midgard does have a lot of expectations after all."

Cecilia nodded as if the answer made the most perfect sense. Aidan, however, seemed to catch on, staring at me intensely.

So I had to change the subject, pointing out toward the East.

The entire place was filled with blackened rocks, with the occasional black sludge slithering in between the cracks.

But the ground seemed to slope upward, and it was pretty obvious where the objective was.

"Alright, just over that hill should be where the boss, the Salamander is. If we beat it, our evaluation should be considered a success."

"So let’s hurry up and carve that thing—I mean...get rid of it..."

Trekking the mountain was even harder than I expected, and every step made me consider pressing on the rescue beacon and having someone come pick us up.

Molten sludge was everywhere, accompanied by brimstone, loose volcanic gravel, and the occasional pocket of hot sand deposits.

Honestly, it wouldn’t be too strange if one of us—

"ARGHHH!"

Speak of the devil.

I turned, only to see Colette knee-deep in one of those very sand pockets.

But the Volcanic Quarry wasn’t done messing with us yet, as just a few seconds later, figures composed of pure molten sludge and ashes emerged.

Lesser Lava Golems. Two of them.

"Aidan! Cecilia! Distract the golems for now," I yelled out instructions. "Ruby! Help me pull Colette out."

Nobody questioned my decision, nodding their heads in unison. I quickly ran towards Colette, making sure not to get caught myself.

"Grghhk—!"

Colette struggled, but all that did was cause her to sink deeper.

"Hey, stay calm and don’t move. The more you struggle, the faster you’ll sink."

It took a lot of courage in this situation, but she listened to what I said, relaxing her body and taking a deep breath to calm herself down.

I looked over the situation again. It would probably be best to wiggle her out slowly, but we were strapped for time.

Lesser Lava Golems were classified as Class-E Monsters, the same rank as the Ironmane Alpha.

Even with our protective gear and better Spell Drivers, it would still be impossible for Aidan and Cecilia to defeat them alone.

"Ruby! Any Spells loaded in your Data Drive able to pull her out?"

"No...all I’ve got loaded are either offensive-type or interference-type. I might make the situation even worse."

"Damn it...we’ll just have to make a gamble."

"What?"

I pointed my gun at the patch of sand just in front of Colette before looking at Ruby. "I’m gonna try to create a gap. Once the sand starts filling in, it’ll be enough to pull Colette out."

"Isn’t that dangerous for you?! The patch that you’re standing on would also rush to fill in..."

"It’s fine, just focus on getting Colette out of there."

Ruby frowned but otherwise didn’t say anything more, placing both hands on Colette’s wrist and bracing her feet against the blackened rocks.

I took a deep breath as well before pulling the trigger.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Kinetic Displacement Type Spell—]

[Push]

Instantly, the ground in front of Colette caved in, leaving a massive hole where all the hot sand should’ve been.

Grains from all sides started to fill in the void, and I could already feel the ground underneath me start to move.

"Huupp!"

Ruby groaned, giving it her all before managing to pull Colette out. They both tumbled backward before colliding into a pile of blackened rocks.

Diving to the side at the same time, I landed onto solid ground just barely before the sand collapsed under my feet.

I managed to look back just in time and realized that any second later, I would’ve been swallowed whole.

Thank god...

"Grghhkk—!"

A pained yell echoed throughout the area just as Cecilia was sent flying from one of the golem’s attacks.

"Shit...Ruby, keep an eye on Colette for now. I need to go help them."

Ruby nodded quickly, helping Colette sit upright.

"Mmm, go ahead!"

Getting up to my feet, I sprinted towards the direction of the fight.

Aidan seemed to be doing alright, but Cecilia wasn’t looking so good. Her protective gear was darkened in some areas and blood was running from her mouth.

Although the golem that was fighting her seemed to have taken some damage as well. It was cracked in some places and even had molten sludge dripping out from the side.

’Heroines really are powerhouses... And to think Aidan and I were struggling on an E-Rank Monster...ugh. Can’t help it, I guess.’

[Firebolt]

[Firebolt]

[Firebolt]

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Three small explosions detonated on the golem’s body, causing it to stumble backwards, chunks of rock dropping off.

The flames themselves weren’t doing that much damage, obviously, but the impact was enough to shake it up.

The golem looked like it was barely holding itself together, which was my opportunity to strike.

Quickly maneuvering, I managed to get right behind it. And placing my gun on the back of its head, where the core was located, I pulled the trigger.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Offensive Ignition Type Spell—]

[Firebolt]

KRRKKK—!

The core shattered, and the rest of its body failed to hold onto form, crumbling into a pile of rocks and molten sludge once more.

And just on the other side of the battlefield...

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Offensive Pressure Type Spell—]

[Aqua Piercer]

A stream of compressed water shot out from between Ruby’s hands, traveling so quickly that I could barely even see it.

Aidan had pinned the golem down with his swords, allowing the water to precisely pierce through the golem’s head, dropping the monster in one go.

The battle was over, and everyone was huffing agressively, trying to catch their breaths.

’Maybe I don’t have to do much? Named characters really are cheats, aren’t they?’

"Are you okay?"

Ruby yelled out, already running towards Cecilia.

[Spell Sequence Initializing: Tier 1 Reconstruction Type Spell—]

[Heal]

The complexion on Cecilia’s face looked a lot better, but it was quite obvious that she had taken a bad hit, probably a fracture on her knee.

Colette took a look at it. "Cecil...you got hit pretty bad. Should we call the—"

"No! I—I can’t...I mean, I’m alright, we can keep going..."

Yet, during what she said, her eyes kept looking towards my direction. Like she was looking for approval.

What are you looking at me for?

Was it because my father was her superior and now she’s taking the same dynamic here? Ugh...I really don’t know how to deal with heroines...

Leon, with his happy-go-lucky personality, would probably say something like "It’ll be alright, you got this!", which was usually how the conflict occurred.

But as Nolan Midgard, I was looking for as little problems as possible!

Still, it’s not like me to tell her what to do. So I bent down to grab whatever was left of the golem’s core before putting it into my pocket.

"If you’re confident you won’t become a burden to the party, then we’ll continue."

"Gghh..."

Cecilia flinched.

Wait.

Was that too condescending?

Shit...I need to pull this back somehow.

"Uhm... we managed to survive. The target should be close now, so let’s keep moving. The faster we clear this, the sooner we can get out of here."

That should do it.

Ruby helped Colette back onto her feet, while Aidan retrieved his swords from the collapsed remains of the golem. Cecilia stood up last, placing one hand on her knee for just a moment before forcing herself straight.

"...Let’s go."

The five of us continued up the slope.

The higher we climbed, the worse the heat became.

Still, no monsters tried to ambush us out of nowhere. Which meant we had to be close.

In most Gates, that was how it worked. Small monsters guarded the outskirts, environmental traps filled the middle. And at the deepest point, where the Logos concentration was highest—

The target monster waited.

Eventually, we reached the top of the ridge.

And there it was.

[Target Monster Confirmed:]

[Class-D Variant: Latticeback Salamander]