LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 37
After the shocking encounter with Bearnes,
We distanced ourselves from the people’s gaze and headed toward the dungeon for our scheduled promotion examination.
Of course, Morzen was the guide.
She walked ahead, exposing half of her back, revealing the line of her spine, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.
‘Walking like that makes it easy for a Lich to pull out her vertebrae from behind.’
Skeleton soldiers are quite expendable.
No matter how many bones the human body has, if just one bone gets broken, a skeleton has to replace it like a mechanical part from magic engineering.
Especially the vertebrae are the most crucial for a skeleton.
Liches collect vertebrae not only for themselves but also for their subordinates, and they often target those with weak back defenses.
Still, what could one say…
“Surely, the Moon Goddess will protect her exposed areas, right?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“Yes.”
Rosmas was no different.
She participated in the examination wearing the ‘dark blue underwater combat high-leg suit’ and ‘white stockings’ I had seen at the clothing store.
But showing a bit of conscience, she wore a robe that barely concealed the inner section.
At first glance, one might think that Rosmas looked more dangerous than even Morzen…
“Kieeek!”
“Hmph!”
Seeing her casually deflect a monster’s strike from afar, I realized I was the most at risk.
“Wow, does a Goblin really target clothes first?”
“Isn’t that what’s happening in reality?”
“Unbelievable.”
As we went along, the monsters that attacked us all aimed for the clothing rather than the exposed skin.
It’s definitely the result of learning from fighting human adventurers for many years through experience.
“Lucius, did you just see that? They shot at Morzen’s shoulder. They could just aim for her belly.”
“If they aim for the belly, the Blessing of the Goddess would bounce it off.”
“The world’s gone mad, seriously.”
Even low-level monsters like Goblins know that ‘attacks won’t work on exposed skin.’
If not, they would have targeted the areas covered by clothing and intentionally avoided the skin.
The Blessing of the Moon Goddess was more impressive than I had imagined, and I seriously started to wonder if I needed to change my attire.
If they only aimed for the clothed parts, couldn’t I reduce the amount of clothing as much as possible and just protect those areas?
“Lucius.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Should I just strip down completely?”
“…Pardon?”
“Well, I’ll cover only what needs covering with mana for protection, and that should effectively safeguard my body, right?”
“Um, I’m sorry, but…”
Lucius pointed to my fully exposed legs.
“Master, you can’t receive the Blessing of the Goddess.”
“That’s true. But I won’t be thinking that way while doing it. I’ll be using the enemy’s perspective and stereotypes against them.”
“Perspective?”
“Exactly. Until the enemy attacks exposed skin, they won’t know I’m not under the blessing, right? So they’ll first target where I’m wearing clothes. Then I just have to block that part.”
It’s logical and reasonable.
I really am smart.
“What do you think?”
“…But what if an enemy’s attack bounces back and you get hurt?”
“Hmm. That’s a point.”
It wouldn’t necessarily mean I’d get hurt if it bounced off, but thinking of other methods…
“Oh.”
An excellent idea struck me.
“After the examination, I should head to the salon.”
“…Why the salon?”
“To get a new outfit made.”
I had a method in mind that revealed skin while simultaneously protecting the entire body.
Not for receiving the Blessing of the Goddess, but for cleverly relocating the enemy’s target areas to places where I could easily defend myself.
“Lucius, there’s a wolf beside us.”
Rustle.
Even in the midst of our conversation, a beast attacked us.
Lucius effortlessly swung his sword and sliced through the wolf.
“Sorry, I missed it while reloading.”
Morzen, who had been ahead, hurriedly rushed towards us.
She held a small, empty magic pistol with six magazines.
Magic pistol.
It’s a pistol that fires six shots infused with magical power.
The destructive power or lethality was roughly akin to that of a faster magic missile.
Rosmas’s wind arrow was definitely faster and stronger, but Morzen’s magic pistol had the advantage of being easy to handle for anyone.
“Are you okay?”
“Thanks to Master mentioning it right away, I was able to react. It seems it was a monster hiding under the rotten wood.”
“How do you know that?”
“I used to be a hunter.”
“Wow….”
Her subtle approach and wagging tail in front of Lucius were truly delightful.
Is she a judge?
It seems like anyone can be a judge, but she probably volunteered as one just to be with Lucius.
“…….”
Look, Rosmas seems quite uncomfortable.
– Rosmas, I’ll talk about the exam with the judge, so you and Lucius can chat alone.
– C-can I do that?
– Of course.
We planned this—though I didn’t tell Rosmas, trying to maintain a natural atmosphere!—but Morzen clung to Lucius and my plan was ruined.
‘Dungeon, please show up soon.’
I honestly hoped we could quickly arrive at the problem exam site.
With a sincere heart, I pushed through the forest path.
And then.
“The Abandoned Dungeon of the Dark Magician?”
“Yes.”
Morzen introduced a place that used to be the workshop of a Necromancer, a spot the Dark Magician unlawfully used as a workshop within a forest cave.
“The Dark Magician conducted research here on resurrecting corpses.”
“So we just need to deal with that Dark Magician?”
“No, Arthur. The Dark Magician has already left the dungeon.”
“Oh, I see.”
I grasped what the quest was about.
“The corpses are rising due to the traces the Dark Magician left behind in his workshop.”
“That’s right, Witch. This mission is….”
Morzen took out papers with missions written on them and handed them to Lucius and me, respectively.
“Cleaning the abandoned laboratory. What we mean by ‘cleaning’ is not just wiping and scrubbing; it’s about dealing with the monsters that have infiltrated the laboratory or any undead that may have come to life.”
“This is a D-rank mission…?”
Lucius looked somewhat perplexed.
At first glance, this task sounded like a mere test of courage, as if we’d just go in and come out if nothing was inside the abandoned dungeon.
“Just cleaning…?”
“Lucius, are you disappointed?”
“No, Master.”
“Lying while looking disappointed.”
I lightly tapped Lucius’s head with my staff.
“D-rank missions have their reasons. There’s a chance that there could be monsters inside that you can’t handle. Do you think you can handle a D-rank mission with just swordsmanship?”
“…….”
Lucius lowered his head with a complicated expression.
He would continue to agonize over this.
His own power was above A-rank, especially after seeing the Mercenary King with the Holy Sword, who was praised by others as an S-rank, while he himself was a pathetic E-rank.
“There’s never been an existence that was normal from the beginning. It’s all about struggling in unseen places to rise to normalcy. So don’t be too disappointed for doing something like this for now. One day, you might participate in slaying a giant monster or in a large-scale dungeon raid.”
“I understand, Master.”
Every man wants to wield the power he possesses.
Right now, Lucius is frustrated with this easy mission because he’s the Master of the Holy Sword.
Without the Holy Sword, he would probably have been shaking with fear and tension by now.
“Well, just to make sure, Morzen. If nothing comes out inside the abandoned laboratory, we won’t be disqualified, right?”
“Yes. That’s why I’m here as the judge. To ensure you really went and checked. Over there.”
Morzen pointed to a small cave at the bottom of a cliff.
It was dark inside and hard to see, so I lit the lamp I had prepared.
‘Gotta save mana.’
It would be more convenient to use light magic, but that would shorten my lifespan.
The best plan is to solve what can be resolved with resources.
The light wasn’t that dim; it was enough to proceed into the dark cave.
“Rosmas, you’ll just follow behind me. Just so we’re clear, until you shout ‘Help!’ I’ll just be judging from behind.”
“Got it.”
I don’t know if there will be a need to shout for help.
No, rather, there might be a situation where Morzen needs to shout for help.
“Master, let me lead.”
“Lucius.”
I took off Lucius’s gloves.
“You should go without the ring.”
“…Ah.”
Lucius looked stunned and I stuffed his gloves into his inside pocket.
“In case of an emergency, you might need them. I’ll leave the judgment to you.”
“Ah, understood. But…”
“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll handle it.”
Something feels uneasy right now.
*
“……Oh?”
The old man held his skull-topped staff at the sound from outside.
“…Customers? Tch, I’ve left it abandoned for too long.”
Click, click.
“How dare you, a male and three maidens… dare to intrude upon someone else’s home? Hmm….”
Click, click.
“I should kill them first and then offer them as sacrifices to that individual.”
Click, click.
“The Demon King, Bel Pegor, will surely appreciate it. Hehehe.”
The old man readied his shotgun.
“Welcome to the dungeon of the demon, Shax. Fledglings.”