As soon as Dion spoke, a notification popped up at my side.
[The character Dion Athamas has activated the bonded ability: Maenad's ecstasy.]
Suddenly, all three ghouls froze in place. It was as if a paralyzing wave of heavy liquor had simultaneously struck their nervous systems, locking them mid-stride.
Then…
The leading ghoul immediately swayed, struggling desperately to maintain balance, its huge claws grasping at empty air. When the effort failed, it pitched sideways and slammed against the bamboo wall with a dull thwack before tumbling face-first to the floor with a loud, sickening thud.
Simultaneously, the other two ghouls staggered backward, their heavy bodies swinging wildly like tall weeds in a sudden gale. One let out a choked, wet hiccup and began foaming at the mouth before losing all control and colliding heavily with its comrade.
They crumpled together, their limbs tangled and slack, collapsing into a quiet, drunken slumber on the dusty floor.
While this was happening, the two girls scrambled around to avoid the monsters falling on them, while I leaned a fair bit away from the doorway. Dion, on the other hand, hadn't moved; his arms were still outstretched, holding that wicked drunken grin on his face.
When all the ghouls had fallen into slumber and the prison had fallen into stunned silence, Dion exhaled loudly, then said exasperatedly, "Gah, I'm sober again!"
He shook his head as if shedding a heavy coat of vertigo, then almost immediately, he opened another bottle of wine and began hurriedly drinking it as he needed to be drunk again.
Dion's bonded ability, Maenad's ecstasy, allowed him to pass on some or all of his drunkenness to any or every one he sets his eyes on. Seeing the speed with which he rushed to get drunk again, he had clearly dumped his entire sobriety-shattering load onto the ghouls.
To be honest, I expected a fight even after he used his ability, but luckily for us, it turned out that these goat-headed ghouls had zero tolerance for intoxication, as they were all sleeping on the floor right now. That was really great because if we were to fight, it would have been extremely difficult as we had nothing to fight them with.
'Damn…'
I watched Dion stumble out of the cell, then he turned back. "Hey, what are you waiting for? Aren't you coming?"
'Huh?'
My gaze shifted from him back to the unconscious ghouls littering the floor. "Are we just leaving them like this?"
A confused look crossed Dion's face. "Why not? They're asleep. They won't be waking up anytime soon."
That's not what I meant!
I walked over to the nearest ghoul, then, with a lot of effort, grabbed its bone knife. There was absolutely no way in hell I was going to pass up this chance of getting free EXP.
Dion arched a brow, his confusion deepening. "Why waste time? You don't need to do that, you know? Come on, we need to get out of here."
I looked at him and offered my excuse: "I have trust issues. I need to make sure these ghouls can never come after us."
'I need the EXP!'
I raised the bone knife high, then plunged it as hard as I could into the neck of the collapsed ghoul. It jerked as dark blood erupted, but when I didn't get a notification, I raised the knife again and plunged it down a second time.
[EXP: +200]
'Ha!'
Despite the horrible, bloody sight, and ignoring the stares of the three cadets, I dragged myself to the second ghoul. I raised the knife and killed it in the same manner, then moved to the last one and finished the task.
By the time I was done, my clothes were smeared with the dark stinking blood of the ghouls. I threw the bone knife away and grinned as the notification popped up, confirming the kill. Then I tilted my head to Dion. "Now, we can go."
Dion narrowed his eyes staring at me with questions behind them. After a brief moment, though, he took another deliberate swig of his alcohol, then turned around and began heading up the path toward the exit.
I was just about to follow behind him when suddenly, a nervous, trembling hand grabbed the sleeve of my shirt.
'Huh?'
I reflexively spun around, and then my eyes widened in surprise at the person who grabbed my shirt.
It was Celeste.
Her beautiful blue eyes were staring at me with a desperate intensity, and tears were streaming down her face. Her fingers, clasped tightly together, were anxiously fidgeting.
Looking at her, my mind began to race.
Why? Why did she stop me? What did she want?
I didn't have to wait long for the answer. She suddenly bowed low and said pleadingly, "P-please… can we come with you?"
…What?!
My confusion and shock deepened.
'What is this? She wants to come with me? Why? No, wait... Doesn't she hate me? How can she even ask this?'
My head spun with too many questions about the absurdity of the scenario. After a few seconds, those questions gave way to a new one: What should I answer?
'...Should I let her come with me?'
I mean, she never bullied me directly; it was the previous Cedric. So, even though I resented her for that fact, I should be able to tolerate her and bring her along. More cadets mean a better chance of survival, right?
But then, she was acting way too nervous for someone with a level almost twice mine.
Why was that?
It was really strange.
I couldn't help but wonder: if I let her come along with me, would she be of help? Or would she just be a burden?
Right now, I absolutely couldn't afford a burden.
Sensing my hesitation, Celeste, with her head still lowered, her body trembling, pleaded, "P-please... you don't need to worry about us, just... let us come with you."
I sighed.
As long as she doesn't get in our way, then I might as well let her tag along. We need all the help we can get.
A few seconds passed. I drew in a breath, slowly exhaled, and said expressionlessly, "Do what you want."