LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Adela couldn’t believe her eyes.
Each slime was weak on its own, but their sheer numbers had been overwhelming.
And yet, Han Siha had popped them like popcorn in an instant.
The fact that he had done it using only basic magic was almost unbelievable.
“…Are they all gone?”
Han Siha withdrew his magic, muttering under his breath.
Despite having unleashed a tremendous amount of magic, his face showed no signs of exhaustion, which made Adela blurt out without thinking,
“Who… what exactly is this guy?”
As she stared down at the slimes that had turned to ash almost instantaneously, Adela let her now-sticky sword drop to the ground.
Of all people, it was Han Siha, the notorious failure, who had saved her.
She found it hard to believe, but…
With an effort to appear nonchalant, Adela raised her head and awkwardly extended her hand toward him.
It felt uncomfortable to approach the infamous Han Siha like this, but she figured he probably felt the same.
After all, it wasn’t typical for a noble to risk their life to save a commoner like her.
So, this needed to be said.
“You saved my life. Thank you.”
“….”
Her awkwardly extended hand still hung in the air.
“Hmm?”
Han Siha seemed too preoccupied to notice her offered handshake, as he was busily crawling around on the ground.
“What… are you doing?”
As she watched in confusion, she realized he was eagerly collecting slime orbs that had gotten caught in the barricade.
“Oh, I found them here! These are really valuable.”
What on earth was he talking about, picking up what she considered trash? They wouldn’t fetch even a single silver coin in the market.
“Uh, excuse me?”
“Hold on, Basilus. I’m gathering something important here.”
“Excuse me…?”
Adela tried to suppress her quickly hardening expression and cleared her throat.
“I said, thank you.”
“Oh.”
Only then did Han Siha finally look up, standing up abruptly, his bag now stuffed full of slime orbs.
It was good that he acknowledged her thanks, but it felt a bit too much to have her brave gesture of gratitude so blatantly ignored.
Adela glanced at Han Siha with a hint of irritation.
At that moment, Han Siha spoke in a calm voice.
“If you’re really thankful, can you do me a favor?”
A favor?
The word sounded so odd that Adela’s expression stiffened.
Oh, right.
This was Han Siha, after all.
Was he going to try to rope her into learning dark magic or something? She had heard that the necromancy students often did that.
Adela bit her lower lip anxiously.
He was her lifesaver, but refusing too harshly didn’t seem right. Then again, even if he had saved her, there were limits to what she could agree to. But if it was something really off…
After contemplating for a while, Adela cautiously opened her mouth.
“Well, if it’s something I can do… Um, but if it’s too… cult-like, I might have to say no….”
But the words that came out of Han Siha’s mouth were something she hadn’t expected at all.
“Keep it a secret.”
“What?”
“About me taking down the venomous slimes in one go, taming your Hellhound instantly, and the fact that I’m walking around with a dragon. Basically, everything that happened today.”
To sum it up:
“Keep how awesome I am a secret.”
He then brought a finger to his lips.
“Shh, okay?”
Everything he said made sense.
But something about it… something felt so irritating.
Adela frowned and muttered under her breath.
…What is this guy even talking about?
* * *
Boom.
A loud explosion that shook the dungeon walls echoed about an hour later.
The rescue team, which had been nowhere in sight, finally arrived.
“Adela! Han Siha!”
Principal Ernest, along with Selene and other professors, rushed into the scene.
With a heavy heart, Ernest pushed through the vines, fearing the worst.
“Please, let them hold on….”
But even as he spoke, he knew the chances were slim.
It had been two hours since the dungeon’s transformation began.
Could they have possibly survived the endless waves of slimes?
“There’s no sign of them here either.”
“…It looks like they might not have made it.”
In the silent dungeon, Ernest hung his head in despair.
At that moment, a frantic voice called out to him.
“Over there! Look!”
“They’re here!”
“Professor! Professor!”
That voice…?
Ernest’s eyes widened as he turned his head.
In the center of the dungeon, surrounded by the swamp, was Adela, waving her arms.
“Adela!”
So, they made it through after all.
“Professor! We’re still alive!”
That girl never holds back, does she?
Selene couldn’t help but laugh in relief as she hurried over to her.
From the outside, it was hard to tell exactly what state she was in, but given that she’d been fighting venomous slimes for hours, Adela seemed relatively unscathed.
Her clothes were soaked and muddied, and she struggled to her feet.
“Are you okay?”
“…More or less. My arms are a bit sore, though. I’ve been fighting like crazy for the past two hours.”
“Thank goodness you’re alright.”
Selene sighed in relief, taking Adela’s hand and helping her up.
But then.
She realized someone was missing.
“Where’s Han Siha?”
“Ah.”
Principal Ernest’s face turned pale at the question.
More than Adela, Han Siha was the student less likely to have adapted to the dungeon’s transformation. If he had wandered off and been caught by the slimes…
And they hadn’t even entered together.
There was a high possibility he might have met his end while alone. Selene asked urgently.
“Where is Han Siha?”
“He’s right over there.”
Adela scratched her head and pointed to a corner of the vine-covered area.
Selene gasped and quickly stood up.
“Han Siha!”
“Ugh….”
In a flash, she ran over to where Han Siha lay in the vines.
To her relief, despite the groans, he seemed more or less alright as he sat up.
Aside from his tattered pants, he didn’t appear to have any major injuries.
In fact, it was a miracle that a student of Han Siha’s level had survived in this dungeon at all.
Han Siha’s voice trembled as he spoke, perhaps from the strain.
“Hah, I really almost died….”
“Are you feeling okay?”
“Ah, Professor… I’m feeling faint….”
Thud.
With a perfectly calculated move, Han Siha dramatically collapsed to the side.
Despite his actions, his face was full of life.
Adela couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“Help, professor!”
“….”
Wasn’t he just fighting like a pro moments ago?
She had agreed to pretend she didn’t see anything after he asked, but…
This performance was a bit too much.
Unable to hold back, Adela muttered a curse under her breath.
“Idiot.”
“…!”
No, not under her breath—out loud.
* * *
The next morning, the underground dungeon incident had more or less been resolved.
After some analysis, it was determined that there had been an error in the spellwork, but the exact cause was still unknown.
Not that it was any of my business.
On the Principal’s recommendation, I made a brief visit to the infirmary, but aside from a few scratches, I was in good shape.
If there was one more thing to note, it was mild dehydration due to the sudden surge in magic usage.
And yet…
“Han Siha, come in soon!”
Today, I was summoned to the Principal’s office, apparently to receive some merit points.
If I gather enough, it might help with my advancement.
“Oof….”
I looked down at Basilus and smiled as I sat on the wooden bench in the waiting room.
Honestly, this little guy did most of the work.
In the chaos, I didn’t even manage to hide him, but I made up a story about him being a hatchling my family had provided, and everyone bought it.
After all, they probably assumed I wouldn’t have been able to tame him properly on my own.
“Basilus! Come here!”
“Kwoo!”
But I had successfully tamed him.
And not only did he pull his weight, he performed at the level of two or three people.
Considering he’s just a hatchling, his rapid growth compared to a typical dragon was making me wonder.
What the heck were they keeping locked up in that underground prison?
“Basilus!”
“Kwoo-woo!”
Well, it’s lucky for me.
While the short-haired girl was hacking away at slimes with her sword, Basilus was right there, supporting her like her tamed monster.
It wasn’t so much that they were in sync—more like his tiny mouth was spitting fire and burning the slimes left and right.
Ding!
I reached out and checked his stats.
[Basilus Atraxis]
Always cheerful Red Dragon. I’m a bit obsessed with cheese.
Has a strong affinity towards you.
Level: 5
Magic:53
Strength:63
Agility:38
Intelligence:13
[Fire Breath Lv 3] [Magic Defense Lv 1] [Poison Resistance Lv 2]
It seems that after spitting so much fire, his Fire Breath skill had leveled up twice since I first met him, and he even acquired a new defense skill to protect himself.
And poison resistance…
Well, he did spend a lot of time fighting those dangerous slimes.
I patted him with a satisfied smile and set down the heavy bag I had been carrying.
There was a reason I had painstakingly gathered those sticky slime orbs by scraping away the slime liquid in the dungeon.
“Buddy, you know I went through a lot to get these, right?”
“Kwoo!”
Unlike Han Siha, Basilus was naturally talented with magic.
Not just because he was a dragon, but his rapid growth and control over his breath were impressive in every way.
So, I planned to raise him properly.
I would need his help to graduate from Ardel Academy safely.
This was the first step in raising him.
At this point in the story—still the early part of the original novel—it hadn’t been revealed yet, but…
Slime orbs are more than just cheap decorations.
The short-haired girl treated them like trash, but they’re anything but.
“Hey, these are delicious. Want to try one instead of cheese?”
“Kwoo…?”
Basilus kicked the slime orb with his left foot, clearly unimpressed, and retreated with a frown.
“No, really, they taste good.”
Not that I’ve tried them myself.
Nor do I ever plan to.
It was so easy for me to start blabbering when it wasn’t my problem.
“Just try it. You might like it so much that you won’t be able to stop eating.”
Oops, that slipped out.
Fortunately, Basilus didn’t catch my tone and swallowed the slime orb whole, his expression quickly souring.
It was either tasty or disgusting. Clearly, it was the latter.
“Kwoo! Kwoo! Kwoo-woo!”
He jumped up and grabbed my collar, seemingly furious, but…
Ding!
[Basilus Atraxis’s stats have changed.]
[Stats have changed.]
Level: 5
Magic: 54
Strength: 63
Agility: 38
Intelligence: 13
[Fire Breath Lv 3] [Magic Defense Lv 1] [Poison Resistance Lv 3]
“See? It works fast, doesn’t it?”
Even from just eating one, his poison resistance had increased noticeably, and he seemed to sense the subtle change, rolling his eyes in wonder.
Even his basic magic stat, which doesn’t usually increase easily, had gone up.
That’s the nature of slime orbs—they concentrate the abilities of the slimes they come from and transfer them to the consumer.
Since it was a venomous slime, his poison resistance naturally increased quickly.
I had read about it in the book, but seeing it in action was astonishing.
Driven by the instinct to grow stronger, Basilus waddled over, licking his lips despite his earlier displeasure.
“Want another?”
Nom nom.
“….”
Without a word, Basilus popped another orb into his mouth.
Well, he eats it without complaining now.
Ding!
Ding!
As I watched his skills and stats climb rapidly, I couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.
Suddenly, the door burst open, and the familiar short-haired girl walked in.
“Hey.”
Hmm?
I slowly looked up, surprised by the sudden call.
The short-haired girl approached, arms crossed, her eyes locked on me with an inexplicable look as she spoke brusquely.
“You’re really okay with it? Letting them think I handled the whole thing?”
Oh. So that’s what this is about.
We had both received merit points for our response, but it was reported that she was the one who had dealt with the mutated slimes directly.
As a result, the points were distributed differently.
She got 5, I got 2.
I had already heard about it.
“I don’t mind.”
I really didn’t care. Survival was much more important than a few merit points.
A regular student closing the dungeon was a decent story.
But the idea of Han Siha, a student on the brink of failure, defeating mutated slimes with basic magic was too sensational.
It would definitely spark all sorts of rumors, from using dark magic to wielding cursed tools.
I had no desire to get entangled with the main characters of this story in such a way.
If anything, keeping quiet about what happened in the dungeon was the best way she could help me.
I tilted my head and replied casually.
“You did almost all the work, didn’t you?”
“But at the end…”
“Let it go.”
Even when I offered to let her take the credit, she still seemed dissatisfied.
The short-haired girl huffed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face.
“Why? To help me get the merit points? If it’s out of pity, you can keep it…”
Pity? Really?
From the way she was talking, it seemed like she had a rough past.
But who doesn’t?
“Pity, my foot.”
I’m not in any position to pity anyone. I chuckled and shook my head.
“I don’t even know who you are.”
“What… what?”
Her eyes widened in disbelief at my words.
“You don’t know who I am?”