Chapter 331 Volume V - Chapter 49: Finally... Everyone is Awake
My eyes slowly opened. Strangely cold air caressed my skin and I saw the stone wall not far from me.
I didn't move, I didn't make any sound. I just let my eyes wander into the pit we had barely found.
Sue was lying on the floor with her back to me. She seemed to be asleep. And Lucia... she woke up before me, apparently. Because her back was against the wall behind her, just like mine. I remembered clearly that she was on the floor like Sue before I fell asleep.
My eyes reflexively went to the wound on her chest. Just above her heart, there was a scar that had torn through the white t-shirt she was wearing. Although... it was no longer possible to call the t-shirt white. It was completely covered with the blood of the person who wore it.
The wound looked fine, actually. I had no idea how long I had slept, but if Lucia's wound had belonged to a normal person... it would have taken at least two weeks to heal naturally. Lucia had a skill for healing so fast that I couldn't understand it.
Lucia paused for a moment while I examined her wound. She moved slightly. Her head, resting against the stone, fell slightly to the left. The tear in the chest of her t-shirt widened slightly as her body moved slightly. It revealed a little more of Lucia's smooth skin and chest.
I quickly tore my gaze away from her, and then all I could do was... sigh.
Lucia's mask is still on her face. That's why her charm is not as effective as it should be. But... even covered in blood like this, with her hair asymmetrical because part of it has been cut off, looking as if she had just escaped death in a battle, she is still mesmerizing.
So mesmerizing that... sometimes it even affects me. Whenever I think I'm getting used to her charm, I find myself thinking nonsense. It's as if... no matter how much time passes, she keeps getting more beautiful, more captivating, and more attractive.
It's not hard to suppress these thoughts, though. Lucia can be mesmerizing and extremely beautiful, yes... But when I think of her as my friend, when I see the way she looks at those who have succumbed to her charm with a look of... depression, I can easily ignore it.
But that doesn't mean I'm going to stare at someone with part of their skin showing... I have my own... principles.
Oh, I'm being ridiculous again. Get your head together, and think of something decent...
Oh, actually...
'Lithoa, are you awake?'
Unlike most times, this time I didn't have to wait for him to wake up. On the contrary, I got a quick answer as if he had been waiting for this moment in particular.
'What?'
'I used the disk, it sent me to a dungeon as you said, and you can also see that... But why am I in a B grade dungeon? Didn't you say that I would be sent to a dungeon that matches my strength?
Lithoa waited for a short while. It was as if he was thinking.
'You may not be able to get what you want in any of the dungeons suitable for your grade. It could also be the case that you were thinking about a place that would be safe, at least for a certain period of time, or something like that, when you used the disk. You haven't faced a single danger since you entered the dungeon, have you? You've been given plenty of time to rest, to recover a little bit.'
This... makes sense. But then another question pops into my mind. For example, why is this dungeon, which is classified as B grade, so... safe?
'No matter what happens... you can't get out of here without killing the dungeon boss. The dungeon boss should be B or B+ grade, in line with the difficulty of the dungeon. You may not be able to kill it with your current strength, lack of preparation, and condition.'
Sue is an ordinary person, Lucia is injured and although she seems to be recovering, she is weaker than me in terms of strength. And I... am only C grade on my own. Although, since I've removed my seal, I guess I can consider myself in the final stages of C+.
On top of that, if I use my ascension skill... do I really not stand a chance against a B grade enemy? Well, B+ might be a bit impossible... But if I push my ascension skill a little bit instead of using it with restraint as usual, why would it be impossible?
'I can guess what you're thinking, Adrian. And as much as what you're thinking is possible... no. As big a difference as there is between E and D grades, there is a much bigger difference between C+ and B- grades.'
Lithoa sighed slightly. He continued, this time in a more serious tone.
'The D- grade represents the full potential of the human body, which has already developed a bit with mana, without ever using mana again. B- represents the limit where people's bodies are slowly reaching their actual limit, and to reach it, they need something they don't have naturally, a mana heart and a circulatory system for it.'
I already know what he is talking about... I even know the rest.
For example, A- grade represents the point where the human soul can no longer keep up with the body. So it's no longer enough just to develop the body. S- represents the potential of a normal human soul, it has to be literally recreated from scratch.
It has to go beyond that. There has to be something special beyond S grade. But beyond that point is hidden from all Lunerra, and to find out how to go further, you have to reach that point first.
If I ask Lithoa, he'll tell me, won't he? Although... why did they hide it from the rest of the world in the first place? That's weird, too...
'Listen to me, I'm telling you something.'
I quickly snapped out of my thoughts. Lithoa had sounded slightly angry, after all. And I really didn't want to deal with his anger right now.
'Whether or not what I'm describing applies to the creatures, if their classification category is B- grade, it would be the biggest mistake you could make to simply see them as slightly more dangerous than C+ grade. Don't forget what you experienced in the Neutral.'
My experience in the Neutral, huh...
Past a certain point, the lowest-grade creatures I encountered were the offspring of normal creatures. And even those were at least C grade.
I've seen Kari hunt B grade and above creatures a few times, but... I've never been able to feel their true power myself, as she kills them without much difficulty.
If Lithoa is so serious about this... there's nothing else I can do.
'So what am I supposed to do? How can I get out of this dungeon?'
Lithoa paused. Even if he had been expecting this question, he waited for a few seconds as if he had not thought about it for some reason.
'You can try to reach C+ and master your ascension skill. But that would... take too long. If possible, I would prefer you to return to Lunerra before the end of the summer. But we don't know how fast or slow time moves here. So... we have to get back as fast as we can, which means...'
When Lithoa stopped again, I frowned. I waited to see what he would say, and with the answer I got... for a moment, my whole body trembled.
'I'm going to give you a taste of hell for a short time so that you have even a one percent chance against a B grade creature.'
H- hell...?
'I'm going to think about what might give you a short burst of power with what you have, so don't bother me for the next few hours. Just... try not to die.'
And just like that, without saying anything else, his presence in my mind disappeared. He left me alone as I was. After a short while, though, I was frowning again.
Why did I overreact like that? Hell, he said... In short, he's going to beat the shit out of me like he always does. Why did my whole body tremble...?
Was it a reflex...?
But in the midst of all these thoughts... I suddenly heard a sound and quickly came to my senses. I looked in the opposite direction.
Lucia slowly lifted her head, which had fallen asleep, and looked at the floor with blood-red eyes behind slightly parted eyelids. After a short while, though, her eyes refocused and looked up at me.
For a brief moment, neither of us said anything and I allowed her to do so without making a sound while Lucia waited for the side effects of the new awakening to wear off.
So, after a short while, she noticed her hair falling in front of her.
Her hair, which she normally wore in a ponytail, was now disheveled because she had dropped the hair clip somewhere. And when she realized this, she pulled her hair back in front of her face. But when she noticed the asymmetry in her hair, she couldn't help but sigh.
When I saw her come to her senses, I asked her in a low voice, curiously.
"Are you feeling a little better? How's the wound?"
Lucia turned her blood-red eyes back to mine.
For a moment, I felt the urge to avert my eyes. Her eyes were certainly one of the most... beautiful eyes I had ever seen. Maybe directly the most beautiful. But I knew she would be uncomfortable if I did that, so I restrained myself.
"I'm fine, you don't have to worry about my wound. I'll be as good as new in a day... I think."
Her healing skill... is it really good enough to completely heal a wound like that in a day?
When I think of Guardian Radiance... even if it probably can't heal the wound completely, I can get the person back to the fighting condition in a short time. But I can never heal a wound completely, and most healing skills in the world cannot 'completely' heal any wound.
The difference is that Guardian Radiance is an active skill that consumes a lot of mana. Hers is... a 'passive' skill that can heal a wound so severe to completely healed in a single day.
How many people in Lunerra have such an effective passive skill?
"I see... I'm glad you're okay."
After my last words, silence fell between us again. Second after second, we just waited, saying nothing.
What broke the silence... was that the person between us, Sue, started to move, just like Lucia had a few minutes before.
Soon, she sat up slowly. She looked at Lucia and then at me.
After that dark street and... that demon... all three of us were finally awake at the same time. And we could finally talk in detail about the situation we were in.
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