#021
“Why, should I abandon you again this time? To be honest, I’m starting to think I did something pointless. You require a lot of attention, so it’s annoying.”
“……”
I zipped my mouth shut. He was saying that he had interfered on a whim, but now that it was becoming bothersome, he wanted to abandon me. He had already abandoned me once—what was stopping him from doing it twice? What was I thinking, pestering him about wanting to understand?
I firmly resolved that I shouldn’t get on his nerves at least until we escaped this dungeon. After all, the important thing was that the cave wouldn’t collapse, right?
I cast my gaze toward the byproducts scattered chaotically from the explosion’s aftermath. Wherever Carlisle passed, truly diverse byproducts had fallen. Most were useless chunks of rock, but wild mushrooms, berries, various herbs, minerals, and monster byproducts glittered intermittently, catching my attention. Among them were even enhancement stones of better quality than what Elmer had given me.
Carlisle didn’t reach for any of them. To him, they were all worthless trash. But I swallowed my saliva. That was because for someone like me, who was practically a beggar, there were quite a few things that made my eyes light up.
I wanted to take everything except the rocks, but my inventory space was woefully insufficient, making that impossible. I had to make tearful choices, but fortunately, I had developed some discernment through my gaming experience. I decided to select and take a few items that were immediately needed or were at least the most valuable among them.
In the midst of this, I couldn’t help but be conscious of Carlisle’s reaction. Hadn’t I just resolved not to get on his nerves? Following him around doing nothing, just receiving protection and then taking unearned gains might look contemptible to him.
Carlisle did look at me with some disbelief as I cautiously selected and collected items while watching his mood, but fortunately he said nothing. Of course, even if he had said something, I probably would have taken what I could anyway. It wasn’t the time to worry about appearances. I told you, didn’t I? For me, this was a matter of life and death.
After that, we moved through countless floors. How much time had passed? It was true that progress was ridiculously smooth thanks to Carlisle’s small bombs and force, but that didn’t mean it took no time at all. Before we knew it, we had well passed dawn, and despite being able to preserve considerable stamina thanks to Carlisle, I began to feel drowsy from not sleeping.
How could my stamina drain this much from just walking?
I couldn’t possibly tell Carlisle, who was doing all the work alone, that I was tired and wanted to rest.
When I somehow endured in that half-awake state and reached the innermost corner of what must have been the umpteenth floor of the mine, Carlisle, who had been walking ahead, suddenly stopped. I stopped too and raised my head following his gaze. The largest mushroom I had seen so far was situated there. Seeing it, I realized—we had finally reached the last floor!
At first glance, it just looked like a tree shaped like a mushroom. Except for size, similar things had existed on other floors too. When you cut those down, countless baby mushrooms would fall out in a cascade. They were real mushrooms, so you could eat them without getting sick. (I actually collected quite a lot.)
But that wasn’t just a giant mushroom—it was a monster. This was my first time seeing one in person, but I knew because I had played the game.
“This seems to be the last one.”
So it was a boss mob. But it wouldn’t attack first. Its attack power was surprisingly weak, but originally it would pretend to be a mushroom and stay still, then reveal its true nature when players started swinging axes to get byproducts. I too had the experience of swinging an axe in the game without any prior information, only to be swallowed in one bite and ending my day right there.
I instinctively stepped back. Carlisle commanded me:
“Step back further. You’re in the way.”
“……”
Couldn’t he say nicely that I should step back because it was dangerous? No, I’m not complaining. No matter how rude his tone, he was offering to handle the boss mob, so I could only be grateful.
“Um, but.”
However, for my own reasons, though it was somewhat embarrassing, I had no choice but to throw an important word toward Carlisle’s back.
“Could you let me deliver the final blow?”
Carlisle paused and glanced back at me. His eyes said, ‘What kind of shameless crazy bastard is this?’ I firmly raised my chin and met Carlisle’s gaze.
I know too. How shameless my words must sound. I’m a human with a conscience, so I hate things like free rides. But I had to deliver the final blow to receive secret items and quest rewards, and to level up quickly. Given my current situation, it seemed unlikely I’d come to this mine again anytime soon, so I couldn’t just waste this precious opportunity to use the powerful item that was Carlisle.
Secret items and quest rewards weren’t given to Carlisle. Those were only given to game players. If the items were going to disappear anyway, wouldn’t it be better for me to have them? The quests I complete by leveling up and obtaining items are not only for me to survive and return safely to reality, but practically also for the reconstruction of the town. So ultimately, couldn’t it be seen as work for the NPCs who must continue living in this world, for the greater good?
Of course, Carlisle wouldn’t know such circumstances, and he would probably think I wanted to claim the credit for defeating the boss mob and monopolize the boss mob items. Whether out of desire for honor, or because farming wasn’t going to work out so I wanted to become a hunter with that experience.
As Carlisle’s stare prolonged, breathing became somewhat difficult for me. What was he thinking? Was he thinking something like ‘What did I see in this kind of human to even marry them? What a stain on my life. It’s rather fortunate I divorced quickly’?
It might have been better if my face had at least turned red. That would have meant I at least knew how shameless what I was saying was. But since taking the tranquility potion, my emotions didn’t show well on my face. No matter how ashamed, embarrassed, and troubled I was, my facial expression remained shamefully calm. Sometimes that was good, but sometimes it was regrettable like this.
Finally, Carlisle tilted his head slightly.
“Does this look like child’s play to you?”
His eyes narrowed. This time he seemed truly angry.
“No… of course not.”
I coughed once and continued ambiguously.
“I have a reason why I absolutely must do it that way. It’s hard to explain, but.”
I knew how much this would sound like bullshit, but I had nothing else to say. However I put it, it would only sound like the pathetic words of someone wanting to be a free rider. I wasn’t born with particularly good speaking skills either. I had no choice but to act like I had some unavoidable circumstances. Strictly speaking, that was also the truth.
Carlisle seemed to let out a brief scoff, then quickly turned around with a cold expression without saying anything. His attitude suggested he didn’t even want to deal with me. Brief though it was, what arose in his gray eyes was clear contempt. Even without checking favorability ratings, I could be certain it had just broken through the floor.
Not only was I intimidated, but I felt strangely depressed. I was melancholy. That I appeared to Carlisle Lightinger as a human deserving of contempt.
Well, it couldn’t be helped. I understood Carlisle’s feelings. I would have disliked someone like me too.
I didn’t get a definite answer, but when it looked like a battle was about to break out, I ran to the back with all my might. Even so, I harbored hope that Carlisle might give me a chance as I had requested, so I peeked out from behind a corner to observe the situation. My hand was gripping my only weapon—a hoe.
Carlisle stood before the giant red cap mushroom holding a splendid long sword that couldn’t even be compared to my modest hoe.
This mushroom boss mob wasn’t the type with strong attack power, but its strength lay in its hard outer shell. Like a turtle or armadillo, when it wrapped its body with its cap for protection, it couldn’t be damaged even with guns or artillery shells. You absolutely had to attack the soft flesh near the mouth under the cap at close range. If you attacked carelessly and hit the cap, bullets or shell fragments could ricochet and injure the attacker. Carlisle seemed to know this fact well.
The mushroom protected itself with its cap folded, only opening it occasionally to breathe or attack with its mouth, and Carlisle didn’t miss these moments, dealing damage with his sword. Each time an attack landed, I could see the health bar decreasing dramatically. At that rate, it wouldn’t take too long to clear.
“Watch out for the spores!”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
