Chapter 365 Volume V - Chapter 83: After the Dungeon
Lucia on my right and Sue on my right, the first thing I saw when we made it out of the gate was the bright light of the sun hitting my face.
It was such a strange feeling that it took me a while to come to my senses.
When we were on the plain, we were always under the green sky. And... it didn't have a sun. So there was never a source of warm light that could shine so directly on my face. And our last week in the dungeon was... completely underground. I had never seen proper light, let alone the sun. Just... darkness.
So I took it for granted and enjoyed the sun to the fullest. But then... my ears started to process different information.
For example... the sounds of the photographs being taken.
I opened my eyes and looked around.
We were... right in the middle of the street where we entered the dungeon. Our position was a little different, though... but we were quite close.
We were surrounded by almost hundreds of people, traffic was stopped. There were people everywhere using their phones and watches.
It was extremely disturbing.
But after a short while, out of the crowd, a man who was obviously a policeman walked slowly toward us. Sue moved behind us while Lucia continued to stand next to me as she helped me to stand properly.
The officed had short cropped black hair and a well-built body. He was in his late thirties. Though... he did have a slight paunch.
"I'm Michael, Michael Unsternam. I'm a police chief..."
After revealing his identity, he looked at the gate closing behind us, then back at us.
"You seem to be out of a... dungeon, the ambulance will be here soon. But, for now... can you please tell me your name?"
Lucia was the one who answered him quickly.
"Lucia Quie, Adrian Caleo, and Olivia Sue Gemma. We have been in the dungeon for about two weeks, but we are not sure what the timeline was... The day we entered the dungeon was July 7, 2044."
The police chief's eyes widened as the date came out of Lucia's mouth.
"There were three people who were attacked and disappeared on this street... You...?"
Lucia nodded her head in confirmation. But when she remembered the attack, her brow furrowed as if she had lost her nerve, and her voice lowered a little.
"Yes... we were among those attacked."
"W- wait a moment, please..."
The police chief quickly turned around, raised his arm, and tapped his watch, opening a holographic screen in front of him.
The next few hours, maybe even days... were going to be a bit troubling, apparently.
But I didn't care... I just... continued to enjoy the sun smiling down on us from above, because I knew I didn't have much time. And it turned out as I expected.
Soon, the paramedics who came to us through the crowd separated the three of us from each other. They put us all on stretchers and placed us one by one in separate ambulances.
We headed straight to the hospital.
*******
The testimony took place at the hospital. Which... didn't take very long.
I was asked how I had survived the attack and my answer was that I had gone into the dungeon that had appeared 'out of nowhere' with Lucia and Sue. We had already talked about it beforehand, all three of us were going to give exactly the same testimony, at least in that respect. So I had no worries.
We were also asked about what we went through inside. But... when I said that I didn't want to talk about that, there was no problem.
No one was under any obligation to talk about what happened inside the dungeons. It was a law that I didn't fully understand why it existed, but I didn't hesitate to use it because it suited me.
So, I was at peace again. My hospital room was quiet, and there was not much wrong with my body. It was just... I had lost a lot of weight due to lack of food and water. I needed to gain it back and I would have no other problems.
So, I enjoyed the comfortable hospital bed, I didn't think about anything, I just waited. It was a good feeling... to be back, to be alive.
~knock! ~knock! ~knock!
But, of course, it had to be interrupted.
Sighing, I sat up in my bed, put myself in a straight position, and turned my head toward the door. At that very moment, the door slowly opened, and in walked... exactly the people I was expecting.
A well-built man, one hundred and ninety centimeters tall, with black hair and equally black eyes, and next to him, a middle-aged woman with blond hair and clear blue eyes...
Calvin Gladio and Melany Quie.
"I take it you were expecting us...?"
Professor Calvin was the first to speak. His lips curled up slightly, he seemed pleased to see me.
And Melany Quie, who was right next to him... she was so happy that she was practically bursting with smiles.
It's because she had finally found her daughter, I think... She must have been looking for her non-stop for ten days. She probably ran to the hospital as soon as she found out we were out of the dungeon.
"Yes, I've been waiting."
"Then we'll be done quickly."
Professor Calvin closed the door to the room and turned back to me. His expression was a little more serious now.
"I heard you managed to get out of a B grade dungeon, and according to Lucia and Olivia, you took care of all the creatures."
"Yes, sort of..."
"When you are only C grade."
"Yes..."
It was like he was trying to push me. But... he had no bad intentions. I could feel it, so I continued without saying anything.
And the professor... finally decided to ask the question he really wanted to ask.
"Did you learn to use ordea? No matter how much I think about it, it would take a real miracle for you to survive. You can't keep fighting creatures a whole grade higher than you and come out unscathed, and there is no one among you who has a healing skill. You healed yourself using ordea all the time, didn't you?"
I didn't answer, I just nodded my head in confirmation.
The professor... although he seemed to be expecting it, was not good at hiding his surprise.
"Can you try using it? I'm curious to see how much you've learned."
I took a deep breath, let out my desires freely as usual, reached for the ordea, and... as always, it responded.
I slowly gathered it into my hand, then onto my fingertip, as a bluish glow covered my body. Then, I looked at the professor. He certainly seemed impressed. But... not overly surprised.
"Not bad. Considering you haven't even had a teacher yet... definitely not bad. You've done well."
The blue glow I had collected on the tip of my finger disappeared, and my eyes shifted to Rector Melany this time.
That's when she decided to speak up.
"We don't have much to say, Adrian. Once you're discharged from the hospital, you won't have any problems, we'll take care of most things anyway... But... forget the formalities for now."
She bowed her head respectfully, her words almost sounded like tears.
"I... thank you as a mother. For keeping my daughter alive, for cleaning the whole dungeon by yourself. I... have nothing more to say."
My lips curled upward and a smile formed on my face.
She was really fond of her daughter, Rector Melany. So much so... that she could throw away all her image and bow her head like this.
"What am I going to do if not try to keep my friend alive?"
Rector Melany slowly raised her head, smiling again.
"Then... let's talk again when you are discharged from the hospital, I don't want my thanks to stop here, so... when the time comes, ask me for anything! I will try to help you as much as I can."
The professor nodded his head next to her. The two talked a few more things about the future, and then... it was finally time for them to leave the room.
It was at this point that, for the first time today, instead of answering a question, I spoke directly.
"Can I have a second...?"
The Professor and the Rector turned to me at the same time. Their eyebrows were slightly raised.
"There are two things I want to talk about."
Actually, it was three. I... I wanted to ask them something about Sue too. But, then, I decided not to, it would be better to leave her alone for a while. She needed time, at least I thought so. Almost her whole life had changed, after all. And quite suddenly...
So, when we met again, I would ask her myself what had happened, what she was going to do. Not through an intermediary.
"First... about the attack on the street. I know the name and face of the man who attacked us."
There was a brief silence between us, as if they had to work a bit to process what I had said. But then... their eyes suddenly widened. And I quickly continued.
"Before the dungeon gate appeared, he took off his mask, thinking he was going to kill us anyway. He was in his early twenties, with black hair and black eyes."
The Rector quickly recorded everything I said on the holographic screen in front of him, really listening attentively.
"His name was Revon Scelas, at least that's what he told us. It seemed a bit... important, so I wanted to tell you, not the police, and I apologize if I made a mistake."
The Rector quickly shook her head from side to side.
"No, you did the best. Believe me, this is going to be a real help to us. Especially the fact that you gave his name."
She paused, as if realizing there was nothing more I could say on the subject. Nevertheless, she did not turn off the holographic screen in front of her.
"You said you had two things to say, what's the other?"
I took a deep breath, and the two in front of me noticed it. They realized I had something even more important to say than what I had just said.
"It... has to do with one of the rewards I received after cleaning the dungeon."
I imagined the system window opening in front of me. The dungeon rewards were still waiting in the reward inventory, I hadn't taken any of them out, and I still had no intention of doing so. Because... one of them was too special.
And that's what I was going to talk about.
"Aiden didn't wake up during our time in the dungeon, did he? Please be honest..."
The two looked at each other and waited for a short while as if they could speak telepathically. Then, they turned back to me. They both shook their heads at the same time.
A smile appeared on my face.
"In that case... I would like to make quick use of the wish you have granted me, Rector Melany."
As if they understood what I was going to say, their eyes widened, just as they had when I spoke about Revon Scelas. But this time... this was even bigger and more important than that.
"I... have something that can wake him up. Can you find a way to get me to him?"
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