The metallic sound of the sword slicing through the air mixed with the dry cracks of bones. Luki advanced with fury, blow after blow, each movement heavy, each step a calculated risk.
This time, with the blade in hand, he finally had some hope.
The skeletons fell under the edge of his weapon, the runes on the blade flickering with each impact as if responding to his will to win.
It didn't take long for the first one to fall. The same one whose skull had been crushed under his boot before was now, legless and with a shattered torso, nothing more than a pile of broken bones on the ground.
Maybe not "dead" in the most literal sense, but certainly no longer a threat.
Luki took a deep breath. The cold, damp Dungeon air burned in his lungs.
'The problem isn't fighting… it's keeping fighting. I can't find a single moment to breathe…'
The monsters kept coming, relentless. Each new attack was a cruel reminder that he was still weak, that his strength, even with the blessing of Falna, was still far from that of a true adventurer.
His body was still that of an ordinary man, a well-trained one, sure, but nowhere near superhuman, like some Captain America of the world.
In his opinion, the frenzy of battle was more dangerous than the enemies in front of him.
He blocked a strike, spun his blade, and sliced off a skeletal arm that spiraled away into the mist. The sword grew heavier with every passing second, and his chest burned.
'Do I ever get stronger? I swear, once I get out of here, I'm putting all my points into Strength, no matter what she says.' He thought, long tired of the suffocating weakness.
One of the skeletons lunged with a hook. Luki spun his sword in a tight arc, deflecting the blow and driving the blade into the enemy's collarbone. The shrill sound of metal scraping bone rang out like a note of triumph.
He pulled the weapon free, turned his body, and barely parried another strike, the impact made his arm tremble, but he didn't retreat.
The last skeleton came from behind, fast. Luki swung his sword with both hands, executing a perfect horizontal slash, the enemy's skull was severed cleanly from its body.
With no immediate threats left, all the enemies missing one limb or another, he focused on finishing them off for good.
It took a while, but not too long before every skeleton was dead on the floor, this time, for good.
Luki stood still for a moment, chest heaving, his sword resting against the ground.
He looked around, confirming there was no movement left.
'...Heh. Finally over.'
A tired smile formed beneath his helmet.
— Wow... you really did it. — Said a timid voice.
Luki turned his head, still panting from the fight, and saw Lili standing a few meters away, half-hidden by the mist.
She was carrying an enormous bag, nearly three times her own size, her hands trembling slightly under the weight — or maybe from nervousness.
— Yeah… not thanks to you. You're welcome. — He replied with a hoarse sigh.
The plan had been simple: he would hold off the monsters, she would grab the Holy Water and finish them off. But apparently, someone had other plans and didn't tell him.
— I-I'm sorry… — Her voice faltered, weak, almost inaudible. — It's just… you fought so well that… I got… distracted…
With every word, she shrank further, head lowered, eyes fixed on the floor.
The fear wasn't of the monsters, it was of him.
Of what he might say… or do.
She already knew well what people did when she failed. That lesson had been carved into her body more times than she could count.
Luki just let out a "Hmph…" and walked toward the nearest wall.
He sat down slowly, the weight of his armor and exhaustion pressing him against the cold stone.
He didn't even bother looting the skeletons, he was far too tired for that. Let the Dungeon keep this one.
All he wanted now was to breathe.
A heavy silence lingered between them.
Until Lili took a hesitant step forward.
— Here… — She said, extending a small glass potion of glowing green liquid. — It's… for you.
Luki looked up.
— What's this?
— A… potion. — She answered softly.
— I… wanted to apologize. For leaving you alone… for making you go through that.
Her voice cracked mid-sentence, and her fingers trembled so badly the bottle nearly slipped from her grasp.
She couldn't look him in the eyes, fear and shame tangled into a suffocating knot inside her chest.
Luki stared for a moment. Silent.
Lili began to think he would yell, accuse her of poisoning him… or simply ignore her.
That was the most likely outcome. Why would he trust her now, after such a colossal blunder?
But to her surprise, he took the potion.
With a click of metal, he lifted the helmet visor, drank and closed it again.
— Wha… You drank it?! — she asked, startled.
— Yeah. Why? You want it back? Sorry but there is nothing left. — he replied, waving the empty bottle in front of her.
— N-no! It's just… after what I did, I thought… you'd be mad at me.
— Nah… relax. In the end, it all worked out, didn't it? — he said, his tone calm and almost carefree. It was obvious he wasn't taking the situation too seriously.
— Though it was still a bit frustrating. — After saying this, he leaned back and closed his eyes behind the visor, dozing off lightly.
Lili stood frozen, her heart racing.
It wasn't just relief, it was something more.
That simple act, that trust…
To see someone treat her so naturally, so kindly, even after everything she'd done, thinking of running away, leaving him to fight alone. To her, it meant everything.
For a brief moment, she even believed that strange weight in her chest might disappear.
But it didn't.
Even after hearing his words, the knot remained. Or rather, it intensified. She felt guilt and shame for betraying his trust.
She didn't know why, but ever since she met him, Lili has for some reason cared deeply for him. Maybe it was natural affection for having been saved by him, or simply a matter of affinity; it didn't matter. What matters is that she deeply regrets what she did.
She lowered her gaze, her trembling fingers clutching her cloak.
'I should've helped…'
She bit her lip, torn between thoughts, until an idea came to her. Simple, but the least she could do for him.
Thud.
Setting the bag aside, she knelt on the ash-covered floor and began searching through it.
She moved quickly, faster than ever, after all, the monsters' remains could vanish at any moment.
The skeletons' Magic Stones were like all the others New Monster' magic stones, small and marble-shaped. But unlike the usual blue ones from goblins, the undead's were light green, like the flames that had burned in their hollow eyes.
Besides, since the bodies had disintegrated with Holy Water, not a single intact bone remained to collect.
But the dust left behind was still useful for many things, so she grabbed a container and began gathering as much as possible.
In the end, Lili managed to recover nine Magic Stones, a 64% yield, an excellent number considering the hellish battle they had just endured.
But she didn't stop there.
The bodies of the two dead adventurers, her former party members, still lay nearby. And Lili felt no remorse in looting them.
Even damaged, their gear still held value, and Lili wasn't the type to leave anything behind.
Without hesitation, she knelt beside the corpses and began stripping them piece by piece, storing everything, not even their underclothes were spared.
It's worth mentioning that, during the process, her knife may or may not have "slipped" about thirty-seven times, reducing what was left of them into a shapeless mass.
Just… maybe.
When she was done, Lili arranged everything in front of her.
Stones, vials, scraps of metal, rags… all carefully sorted.
She knelt, eyes scanning each item, lips moving as she counted silently.
Profits. Weight. Resale value. Everything spun in her mind like a living formula.
The nine Magic Stones, dense and purple, were the most valuable, small and easy to carry in bulk, can easily bring a lot of profits.
The broken weapons and armor from the dead adventurers could still fetch something if sold to a blacksmith willing to reuse the materials.
The dust and bone fragments, although preferably intact, could still serve for alchemy or fertilizer.
Lili paused.
— This should be… about twenty thousand, maybe twenty-two… — she murmured.
Not much, considering the effort and danger, but still good enough for a single day.
Lili took a deep breath, finally satisfied. For the first time in a long while, she felt… useful.
— Hey… you forgot that one.
— Ah! — Lili jumped, her heart nearly leaping out of her chest.
She turned quickly and saw Luki crouched beside her, calmly observing the pile of loot.
— How long have you been there?! — she asked, trying to hide her fright.
— Not long. — He shrugged. — Caught my breath and came to see what you were up to.
— Ah… right, yeah… — she mumbled, flustered. — So… what did you say again?
— That you forgot that one. — Luki pointed to the back of the room.
Following his gesture, Lili saw a heap of wood splinters, twisted metal, and blood. A body, or whatever was left of one.
— What?! No, no, no… please, it has to still be here! — she cried, suddenly frantic.
Without thinking twice, she ran to the carcass and dove into the blood and viscera, digging through everything with her bare hands.
Luki frowned, folowing her till he trash. — What's the rush? I doubt you'll find anything more valuable than the cores.
— Do you even know what this is? — Lili shot back, not even looking at him.
— Uhm… no? And I hope this is where you tell me we're standing on a pile of gold and shits.
— This is a Mimic, or at least was one. — her voice sounded almost reverent. — A rare monster that disguises itself as objects. Mostly treasure chests, to trick and kill adventurers.
Luki's eyes widened slightly, surprised that such a thing exists. However, once again, if gods exist and walk among mortals, then even if one day pigs start to fly, no one would find it strange. So he simply chose to ignore this matter.
— Okay… but in the end, what's so special about it? Isn't it just another monster? — he asked.
— Wrong! — Lili replied, excited, eyes still fixed on the carcass. — Even if they're not real chests, Mimics still… keep things inside them. Items, weapons, rare materials, and they're worth a lo- Found it! — she shouted suddenly, cutting off her own explanation.