With the episode of his first encounter with Lili over, it was finally time for Luki to return to the natural course of things.
Now, with someone by his side, he roamed the Dungeon with greater confidence, as if simply not being alone down there was reason enough to keep moving forward.
Their first battle together, whether by coincidence or the whim of fate, was against a lone skeleton.
It was also Luki's first chance to fight one for real. Every other time, other monsters had interrupted him before he could experience the fight on his own.
And that was how he learned that, in practice, defeating skeletons was easier than he thought.
All it took was a sweeping kick to knock the enemy down, which, by the way, is quite easy considering that any blow to the legs will make them falter because they are so ligh. And then beating it to death with his sword.
It took longer than he'd like to admit, apparently, even in a fantasy world, striking stone with a blade isn't the smartest idea.
Fortunately, his sword wasn't an ordinary one, and its edge endured the abuse. Still, Luki swore to himself never to fight skeletons again.
It just wasn't worth it.
This time, he let Lili handle the loot while he kept watch around her. A support like her is already used to this kind of work, and just by observing, Luki can see how much more skilled she is than him.
Monster cores never stay in fixed places, as they are their weak points. If that pebble breaks, they die instantly regardless of the situation. While Luki had to guess where they would be based on the most likely location, like the head or cheat, Lili seemed to know exactly where she was and quickly removed it.
Which by the way, the core of this skeleton was in the waist.
So she started collecting the bones, they all serve the same purpose so there isn't really one more valuable than another. But they come in different sizes, shapes, and weights, so you need to know which bones are worth carrying and which don't get in the way of organizing your bag, allowing you to carry more items.
In these cases, these would be the bones of the upper limbs, as they have cylindrical shapes with some curvature and varying sizes. While the change bone, which is almost a dense box, is very large and heavy and takes up a lot of space in the backpack. Which could be occupied by more valuable items.
But enough talking about the dead and let's pay attention to how the Dungeon is about to kill Lili by spawning a goblin right on top of her.
Luki reacted immediately, pulling Lili out of the way before the worst could happen, and killed the monster with a quick strike.
'Definitely easier to deal with things that are still alive than those that are half-dead.'
Current goal: 34/100
...
About half an hour later, Luki encountered the last type of creature among the three that inhabited the first floor of the Dungeon: an Imp.
It was his first time seeing one up close, but Eina's instructions, along with Lili's warnings, she'd already fought a group of them earlier, helped him handle the situation well.
Knowing the monster couldn't pierce through his armor, Luki held his ground as the Imp dove at him. When it collided, he was pushed back, but he stood firm, refusing to fall.
As soon as he stopped, he grabbed the monster before it could retreat and slashed off its wings, taking away its biggest advantage.
He was careful with the creature's acidic blood, avoiding too much splatter on his armor, who knew if that stuff could corrode metal? Better safe than sorry.
Without its wings, the Imp wasn't much different from a goblin… except for the tail now whipping around like a lash.
But the outcome was inevitable. The monster was slain, and another magic stone was added to his collection.
Current goal: 35/100
...
Another half hour passed since the last fight. Three fewer monsters in Dungeon, three more mana stones in bag.
Progress was steady... until Luki noticed Lili seemed a bit tired.
— Let's take a break.
— I-I'm fine! — she protested.
But she nearly tripped after taking just two more steps.
Let's be fair, the girl had literally been betrayed and almost killed an hour ago. The fact she hadn't collapsed the moment she felt safe was an achievement in itself.
— Don't argue.
Reluctantly, she accepted and sat on the ground.
For a while, the only sounds were their heavy breathing. So it was inevitable that, at some point, the silence would break.
The conversation began hesitantly. A few words exchanged, short replies. Neither seemed to know what to say.
But little by little, it started to flow, a question here, a shy laugh there.
And then, Luki heard it.
— I'm fourteen.
Time seemed to stop.
— Fourteen...? — he repeated, frowning.
She simply nodded, as if it were perfectly normal.
Luki blinked a few times, trying to process it.
'Fourteen?! She's a kid!'
A kid.
He almost let out a nervous laugh, out of disbelief, maybe.
To be fair, she did have a small, delicate body, but pallums were like that, so it's hard to tell adults and children apart.
But as the realization settled, something began to burn deep within him.
A cold flame, unsettling, flickering in his chest.
'What kind of bastard sends a child into the Dungeon?'
The anger came along with old memories, fragments of morals Luki still carried from Earth.
He wasn't a saint, never wanted to be. Theft? Violence? He could understand. You can't judge people when you don't know their story. And everyone deserved a second chance.
But everything has limits.
There were three kinds of people he could never forgive: those who hurt the elderly, those who rape… and those who harm children.
Those ones could go straight to hell for all he cared.
'Do whatever you want, man... but don't touch a child.'
Luki's fist clenched instinctively.
— Lili, shall we get going? — he called, masking his tone
She nodded with a tired smile, unaware of what was stirring inside him.
As they resumed walking, the flame inside him didn't fade.It merely waited for the right moment.
The Soma Familia would be getting a visit soon.
Current goal: 38/100
...
Ignoring the shocking revelation, things returned to normal.
Well… almost.
Now, Luki was far more attentive to Lili, maybe too much. The mere thought of seeing her in danger made him react like an overprotective bodyguard, ready to intercept anything that moved.
Funny how affection and care can be selective, huh? The moment he learned she was still a child, his behavior completely changed, even though that fact shouldn't have made much difference.
Either way, the encounters with monsters continued routinely: goblins, imps, and skeletons.
Three types of enemies, three different levels of annoyance.
And honestly, Luki would rather face an entire army of the first two than deal with another damned "Mr. Skull from Hell."
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on the point of view, they hadn't run into any special variants yet.
Those were stronger, smarter versions of common monsters, usually accompanied by a small group of minions, basically the elite and boss versions of normal ones.
If one of those showed up, there'd be no heroics to save the duo. The only viable strategy was simple: throw everything they had and run like their lives depended on it.
(Which, technically, they would.)
After all, a "normal" monster already had strength equivalent to a freshly promoted Level 2 adventurer.
An elite variant, on the other hand, was practically half a level above that.
No amount of technique or skill could compensate for such a brutal power gap.
That said, the day's progress was excellent: thirteen more monster cores added to Luki's collection.
Current goal: 51/100
...
Lili stared at the small pocket watch in her hand.The cracked glass reflected the flickering torchlight as the hands marked 7:30 p.m.
One of the greatest challenges of exploring the Dungeon was keeping track of time.
The lack of sunlight and constant silence made hours blend together, a dangerous thing.Since the rise of the so-called Curses, staying too long underground had become even riskier, the longer one remained below, the more the Dungeon seemed to seep into them.
That's why carrying a clock was a matter of survival. But few in Orario could afford such a luxury, these artifacts came from faraway lands, brought in limited quantities, and usually end up in the hands of the most influential Familias.
So how had Lili gotten hers?
Let's just say she had a special talent for "borrowing" things that belonged to others.
'It's getting late... The smartest thing would be to head back.' she thought, fingers tightening around the golden edges of the watch.
She looked up and saw Luki finishing off the last goblin of the group.
An orange glow traced the blade before fading, leaving behind the metallic scent and the stench of burnt flesh.
'That was the last spare Flaming Resin... We only have one of each type left for the return trip.'
Luki, however, seemed completely unaware of fatigue, or of time passing. He moved with the same energy he'd had when the hunt began.
All thanks to his Tireless Explorer skill, which enhanced his stamina, accelerated recovery, and made him more resistant to exhaustion and etc while inside the Dungeon.
When his body got tired, a few minutes of rest were enough to bring him back to peak condition, as if he were always under the effect of some stimulant.
— That makes... fifty-four. — he muttered, personally collecting the monsters' cores.
— Luki-sama... — Lili called softly, her voice trembling slightly. She seemed to choose her words carefully.
— It's... it's already dark outside. Maybe... maybe we should return to the surface.
Luki paused.
— Huh? Already? — he scratched his neck, puzzled.
— I haven't even finished my lunch yet... we can keep going a little longer, come on.
Lili bit her lower lip.
— B-but... they say the mist gets thicker closer to midnight. And... if we stay too long down here... we could be cursed.
— Nah, relax. Even if things go bad, we'll just run. — he said, forcing a casual smile.
— But... — she lowered her gaze, clutching the cracked watch in her hands. — I don't think that's a good idea...
— Just a bit more. — he insisted, with a calmness that was almost unreasonable. — Just six more and we'll get sixty.
— Luki-sama... — her voice came out like a sigh. — We may encounter other monsters on the way back, you're just being stubborn.
— No, no, I'd be stubborn if I stuck to my 100-monster goal... but clearly that's not gonna happen yet. Meh. — he muttered, frustrated at his own limitations.
Lili took a deep breath, frowning as if fighting an internal battle.Then, for the first time, she looked him in the eyes and spoke without hesitation:
— Enough! We've done plenty for today. We're leaving. Now!
Luki blinked, surprised. — Huh? Hey, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?
Without answering, she grabbed his hand and started pulling him with all her strength. Her short, determined steps clashed with his lazy gait.
— Hey, hey, calm down! I still wanna keep going! — he protested, being dragged along the corridor.
But despite his words, his resistance was clearly fake. The fact that he was moving with her at all gave him away.
After all, the last time Lili tried this, she couldn't even make him take a single step, let alone drag him like that.
This time, he simply followed, letting her lead. Deep down, he knew she was worried, and even though he wanted to continue, he also recognized it was probably time to stop.
'Now that I think about it... I should've left the moment I found out she was a kid. Someone like her shouldn't be in a place this cruel. But in the end, I was too busy chasing my goal to notice.'
The way back was silent.No hurried footsteps, no distant growls, nothing.
It almost felt like the Dungeon was letting them go.
But then... one wrong step.
FLASH!!!
A magic circle formed beneath their feet, expanding in complex patterns of bluish light.
— Huh? What's that...? — Luki muttered, confused.
— Luki-sama...? — Lili's voice trembled with fear.
The light grew stronger, pulsing irregularly, until it became blinding.
— IT'S A TELEPORTATION TRAP! LILI!!! HOLD ON ME!!!— LUKI-SAMA!!!
They clung to each other, trying to stay together as the light swallowed them whole.
It became too bright to bear. And just as Luki's body began to fade, he heard a scream, distant, but filled with desperation:
— NOOOOOOOOO!!!
He tried to turn his head to see who it was, but his vision was overtaken by pure white before he could react.
A flash. then a boom.
BOOOOM!!!
The explosion shook the corridor. The floor, sturdy enough to withstand Level 2 monsters, shattered into pieces.
Debris flew. A thick cloud of dust filled the air.
Amid the chaos, a woman's voice echoed, trembling, yet resolute:
— Not again... I won't lose anyone else...
From the shadows, a figure appeared, a silhouette of long, flowing blonde hair, illuminated by the fading glow of the magic circle, running into the darkness and vanishing as quickly as she'd come.
Fsshhhhh...
The dust mingled with the Dungeon's mist, thickening little by little... until it completely covered the corridor.
Not just there, but throughout the upper floor, the entire level of the labyrinth was now shrouded in dense fog.
The Dungeon, silent once more, seemed to whisper through the haze.
It wasn't ready to let them go.