Chapter 332 Volume V - Chapter 50: Out of the Cave
"In short... I dragged us into a B grade dungeon, I think we all can agree on that."
Sue's eyes widened. But Lucia... although she too looked surprised, her expression was completely different from Sue's.
"B... grade...?"
Sue looked at me and Lucia with genuine horror on her face. As an ordinary person, it was only natural for her to react like that.
But it wasn't her that I was concerned about, it was Lucia.
"You don't seem surprised? No, you are surprised, but... in a good way."
Lucia nodded her head in agreement.
"I thought we were in a much higher-grade dungeon because of the amount of mana in it. At least... A grade, maybe A-S, but definitely not B."
She paused after finishing her sentence, then sighed slightly.
"Of course, that doesn't change the fact that we are still in the grips of death. Just... a more optimistic death, that's all."
Sue looked at her like she was literally looking at a lunatic. Then she turned to me with a fury.
"You do realize you're talking about a B grade dungeon... don't you?"
Both Lucia and I turned to her at the same time. Sue only smiled slightly.
"You're... too calm. You know a way out, don't you? Otherwise... it would be ridiculous for you guys to be so calm."
Her eyes sparkled with great hope. The will to survive was easily felt. To die here... was something she definitely didn't want.
"Calm down, Sue. Yes, I may have dragged us into a B grade dungeon, but in that street... against that man, our chances of survival were even lower than they are now. You were unconscious so you didn't see what happened, but that man... he must have been at least S grade. Maybe even stronger, but definitely not weaker. Lucia will confirm me."
I gave her a small look and Lucia nodded her head once again. But Sue... instead of calming down, she only widened her smile.
"You mean... we were going to die all along?"
Lucia frowned. She quickly interjected.
"No, none of us seems to have any intention of dying. Besides... Adrian seems to know a way out, as you just said. So I am calm rather than accepting my situation."
As she said this, she looked at me again. It was like she wanted me to confirm her. There was hope in her eyes too. Of course, this hope was more grounded than the hope Sue had.
Finally, sighing slightly, I answered her silent question to me.
"I don't know a way out... at least not right now. But it's not impossible to find one, and that's the hope I'm clinging to. I'm C grade right now, and the dungeon boss is supposed to be B grade. Even though there is a huge difference in grades between us... you already know I'm not a normal person."
I pointed to my pointed ears and put a smile on my face.
"I have an ascension skill, and I can confirm that it is an unusually strong one. On top of that, because I'm half-elf, all my abilities with mana - sensing it, controlling it, and more - are better than they should be. So if I get a little stronger inside the dungeon... I might have a chance against the boss."
Sue didn't seem satisfied at all. And Lucia... could only nod as she thought along with what I was saying.
"What do you think your chances are?"
I answered quickly and with certainty.
"If everything goes my way... forty percent? Maybe thirty. Something in between, I guess. Unless, of course, you have a skill that can make me stronger."
Lucia shook her head from side to side. I looked past her to Sue, but she didn't seem... okay.
"Sue? Are you okay?"
She lifted her head slightly and looked into my eyes. And her eyes... they seemed a little emptier than they should have been.
I couldn't help frowning and the amount of anxiety that kept building up inside me.
Sue... she hasn't lost faith that she can survive, has she? That... that would be... one of the worst things she could do here.
"Su-"
But just as I called out to her again, she lowered her head and took a deep, really deep breath.
This time, my furrowed eyebrows rose in surprise. Sue... after a few seconds of not moving a muscle, slowly raised her head.
When her eyes met mine again... this time she had a different look. Rather than someone who had accepted death, given up hope, or looking for it... she seemed a little calmer. The emptiness in her eyes had been replaced by a light that I couldn't quite put my finger on. But the emptiness was also not completely gone.
Ah, I understand now...
It's not that she has regained hope... It's not that she has completely discarded the thought of dying. She just... trusts us, she wants to trust us. She knows that she's just an ordinary person, that she can't do much. She is fully aware that her life... is literally in our hands.
That's why she hasn't completely removed herself from the idea that she's going to die. She doesn't want to deceive herself if she's faced with a situation where she's actually going to die, but she doesn't want to lose the hope that she can hold on to.
"I have a power-up skill. But it's not extreme and it depends on the person I'm empowering."
Before repeating what she said in my mind... I couldn't help feeling guilty, thinking that I was the reason she was in such a state of mind.
If I hadn't seen that demon on the roof, or if I hadn't seen them at the station in the first place... this wouldn't have happened, right? Not only that, Lucia is here because of me too. She even got that wound in her chest trying to protect me.
Then... I have to take responsibility for getting her and Lucia out of here. I... have to make sure they survive no matter what.
After a brief moment of thought, I sighed lightly, calming myself down again, but not throwing my thoughts away.
"What are the details of your skill?"
Sue was quick to explain.
"Like I said, it's not a high-grade skill. So don't expect much. But... in short, it increases the mana efficiency and magic power of the person I use it on. It does this... depending on how ambitious the person is at the time."
It's a conditional skill... but conditional skills usually provide better buffs than normal ones.
"What's the rating of the skill?"
"D- grade, that's why I told you not to expect much... Even though it's a conditional skill, it won't have much effect."
I shook my head quickly from side to side.
"No, the more help I can get, the better. Even a small boost you can give me will increase our chances of leaving here alive. But... we'll figure out what to do if we make it to the boss room. For now, let's just try to survive. And our first goal should be... to figure out exactly why this place is a B grade."
Lucia and Sue gestured curiously for me to continue, without saying anything.
"I'd like to go outside in a few minutes. I'm going to take a look around, try to get a rough map of this... plains-like place we're in, and you guys wait here for me in the meantime. Oh, also... let's form a party to communicate."
Both of their eyebrows furrowed at my words. Lucia quickly interjected.
"Are you sure you'll be all right out there on your own? You may not have encountered any creatures during the distance you carried me here, but... I don't believe a B grade dungeon is completely safe. We're not even in an Aen, we're in a Recta. Which makes it even stranger."
As I curled my lips upward, I remembered my experience in the Neutral.
A B grade dungeon, huh... I had a lot more dangers to hide from in forests full of A and S grade creatures. I don't trust myself blindly, of course. Anything can happen inside a dungeon... But I have about two months of experience in hiding from creatures much stronger than myself.
"Don't worry, I spent two months hiding from creatures much stronger than B grade ones. I have experience, I know more or less what to do and what not to do."
Neither of them seemed overly satisfied. But... eventually, they had to agree. Sue was an ordinary person and Lucia was in no condition to go out. So... I was the only one who could do what I said.
And even if I wasn't, at least in a situation like this, I would have been, even if it was by force.
Seconds and minutes passed. While I was preparing myself to go out, we also organized a dungeon party as we had discussed.
<<------------------------------
You have formed a party with Lucia Quie and Olivia Sue Gemma! After clearing the dungeon, the rewards you receive will be distributed according to your share. Since your party is smaller than the recommended team for the dungeon, the rewards you receive from the dungeon will increase!
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About five minutes after we had formed the party... I was finally ready to go outside.
The entrance to the pit, which I had blocked with my own hands, was at the end of a small tunnel that twisted about two meters above us and then continued its path, becoming more and more horizontal.
I took one last look at Lucia and Sue before I stepped out into this tunnel, out of Lucia's and Sue's sight. They were both looking at me with a mixture of concern and hope.
I smiled and waved in their direction.
"I'll be back in half or an hour. If you have any problems, contact me on party chat."
Lucia nodded slightly, and Sue did the same. I took a deep breath and turned around.
"Bye, at least for now..."
Then... I made my way out through the tunnel and pushed open the entrance, which I had blocked with stones, bushes, and a few pieces of wood, and the first thing that hit me was the comforting warm air of the dungeon.
The cave where we found the pit was not a large one. It went about three meters deeper, and the entrance to our pit was in one wall of the cave. If I had been a bit taller, my head would have hit the ceiling of the cave. And the width was... just wide enough for me to barely pass through with Lucia in my arms. There were almost five meters between me and the connection to the outside.
The first thing I did after I got myself completely out of the pit was to reseal the entrance with the things I had scattered. Once I had done that, this time I started to open things at the entrance of the cave.
The entrance to the cave was smaller than the inside. It was less than a meter long and shorter in width than it was tall. That's why I was already able to close it. It wasn't too difficult after forcibly knocking down one of the trees close to me and using the soil.
Before throwing myself out, I checked my surroundings, the sunless sky was still greener. It was still morning in the dungeon, or this part of it.
Maybe it's never night here...? Possibly, since I couldn't see the sun anywhere.
Sighing slightly, I put my thoughts aside. Once outside, I sealed the entrance to the cave as I did the entrance to the pit, and finally felt a sense of relief.
Well, now I don't have to worry too much about Lucia and Sue... they can contact me if anything happens.
I turned my back to the hidden entrance of the cave and looked out over the huge plain and the mountain range behind it. Normally, I would have smiled at such a sight, but... with the fact that this was all part of a B grade dungeon, I didn't have the luxury of enjoying the view. All I could do was focus on the dangers, never letting my guard down.
I took a deep breath, squinted my eyes, and stretched slightly as I pulled my spear from my bracelet.
Now... let's start exploring this dungeon.
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