Chapter 76: Dungeon Remains
ㅤ”Now, it should be around here…”
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ㅤSherry-san said.
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ㅤ”Yeah. Ahead, there’s a cave with a wide opening leading underground. It’s probably connected to the Dungeon Ruins.”
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ㅤ”You can tell even with this fog?”
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ㅤ”W-Well, I’m a Thief, so…”
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ㅤI almost let slip about the minimap information and hurriedly tried to cover it up.
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ㅤ”I don’t sense any Ether flow in the dungeon. Hmm, I do sense it further down. That’s probably the part of the dungeon that’s still alive.”
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ㅤ”We are not experts in dungeon exploration. Can we even go that far?”
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ㅤ”If the dungeon isn’t alive, it’s the same as going through a crumbling cave. Just be careful of collapses.”
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ㅤ”Considering the danger, I’d like to leave one person at the entrance…”
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ㅤ”N-No way! Alone in a place like this where I can’t see anything and the Dream Weaver might attack?”
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ㅤThe last remaining knight complained.
ㅤ…Well, I can understand how he feels.
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ㅤ”Then, we have no choice but to go in together.”
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ㅤ”We’ll turn back if it seems really dangerous. Please respect my judgment then.”
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ㅤ”Of course. I want to corner the Dream Weaver quickly, but we can’t afford to be reckless and get caught off guard.
ㅤHowever, since we’ve come this far, I’d like to capture the Dream Weaver this time if possible. Otherwise, the Dream Weaver might change its lair.”
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ㅤ”Yes, that’s right.”
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ㅤDepending on the situation, we might be forced to make some difficult decisions.
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ㅤThe Dungeon Ruins had caved in in places and many areas were filled with earth and sand. Large trees had taken root in the earth and sand, forming a part of the Mist Forest.
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ㅤ”It seems like the water flow is further down.”
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ㅤWhen I put my ear to the ground, I could hear the sound of flowing water from below.
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ㅤ”There’s no need to look for stairs since it’s collapsed all over the place.”
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ㅤEven so, I seem to have a strange connection with dungeon collapse sites.
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ㅤThe large hole in the dungeon near the town of Loft was a vertical shaft with no way to descend, but the hole in this dungeon, since it had collapsed a long time ago, was filled diagonally with earth and sand.
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ㅤWe carefully descended the slope of earth and sand.
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ㅤAfter descending several layers, we began to hear the sound of water.
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ㅤAfter proceeding a little further on that layer, we entered an area where the floor was shallowly submerged.
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ㅤ”The water is beautiful. It doesn’t feel stagnant. It’s properly circulating water.”
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ㅤ”If the Dream Weaver is hiding here, it won’t have any trouble with drinking water.”
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ㅤSherry-san had become visibly more energetic since she started to think of the Dream Weaver as a human.
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ㅤ”Sherry-san, how are your sword skills?”
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ㅤAfter asking, I thought it might have been a bit rude, but Sherry-san didn’t seem to mind and said,
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ㅤ”Awakened ones have tremendous strength, but their fighting technique is no different from an a*ateur. Considering that they fight monsters and well-built male knights, they are not that difficult to deal with.”
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ㅤ”O-Only the Captain can say something like that! That speed and power… If you fight them head-on, you’ll be overwhelmed, and because they haven’t received any proper combat training, there’s a fear of not knowing what they’ll do! Scratching, biting, they really do anything! On top of that, they charge in without fearing death…”
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ㅤThe other knight added.
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ㅤ（So, if an Awakened one appears, I don’t have to worry about Sherry-san, right?）
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ㅤI wonder how she compares to that Cre-something guy who was said to be one of the best swordsmen in the Royal Capital.
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ㅤAs I was walking along thinking about that,
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ㅤ”Hmm? The water level at our feet is rising.”
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ㅤAs Sherry-san said, the water that was flowing gently across the floor was increasing in level.
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ㅤThen, a loud rumbling sound, dodododo, came from ahead.
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ㅤI had an extremely bad feeling.
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ㅤ”Gather around me!”
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ㅤAs I said that, I manipulated the Ether and constructed a spell.
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ㅤ”Water, become a large bubble and envelop us!”
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ㅤI improvised and created a giant bubble, encasing the three of us.
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ㅤImmediately afterward, a torrent of water engulfed us.