[ Uhh... ]

s.h.i.+ro and Alicia are now standing on the ground without a single scratch in their bodies.

The room they're now in is dark for Alicia's eyes, but for s.h.i.+ro, the view is as bright as the day.

[ Flash. ] s.h.i.+ro muttered the name of the spell, and instantly, the room was covered in bright light, leaving no shadows behind.

s.h.i.+ro used the spell with no means of helping himself see more clearly, but to help Alicia with her vision. s.h.i.+ro thought with the room so wide and large, Alicia's light magic will not be as much of a help as it only brightens up a rather small amount of area. It would be dangerous if monsters who use range attacks approaches her as she would not be able to see them attack at all in a distance.

And now, opening her eyes to the bright room, Alicia exclaimed:

[ Thi-This is! ]

[ Yes, I've already guessed it will turn out like this. It's called "Ancient Ruins" for a reason. ] s.h.i.+ro voiced as he gazes at the view in front of his eyes.

Cracked walls of st.u.r.dy looking bricks appeared before them. In their right, left, back, and front, are entrances to large corridors, while on the ceiling is a huge hole now covered and sealed with muddy brown dirt.

( The dungeon is controlled by a master, huh? ) s.h.i.+ro guessed.

In the game, dungeons that can revive itself means that it's being controlled by one or two dungeon masters or bosses. Hence s.h.i.+ro had reached such a conclusion.

( But nevermind that... )

[ Are you okay? ] he asked Alicia he's carrying gently in his arms.

[ ... ] Alicia only stared at him, wordless.

( ... )

[ Ah! Yes, I'm fine! ] with a surprised expression on her face, she pushed her self away from s.h.i.+ro.

Realizing what she meant by her action, s.h.i.+ro immediately put her feet down onto the ground, and the soon as he did, Alicia distanced her self away from him.

( ... )

( This girl... I saved her and this is what I get... ) s.h.i.+ro muttered inside his head as he looked at the back of the girl beside him.

[ ... ]

[ ... ]

After he had put her down, neither of them said a word.

( Should I start a conversation...? This seems pretty awkward... )

[ Umm... Vlad-san... ]

[ Mm? What is it? ] hearing her suddenly call him, s.h.i.+ro immediately faced her direction.

[ Umm... I... I guess I should thank you for saving me... ]

[ ... ]

( Oho~ I'm expecting it, but it still doesn't feel real hearing her actually says it... ) s.h.i.+ro muttered inside his head together with a blank expression on his face.

[ Ju-Just know that this is not a big deal, you understand!? ] she shouted at s.h.i.+ro as she hugs her staff tight with both of her arms.

[ ... ]

( Now what is she talking about... )

[ Look, saving you is a pretty big deal for me. I ignored my companions just to save you, and you'll call that " Not a big deal"? Are you even thankful at all? Also, if you didn't fall for that trap, we wouldn't be in this situation at all; are you even feeling sorry for what you did? ]

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[ ThThat's! I... I'm thankful... And I'm also really sorry... I am... ]

( I know that this all happened because of me and I'm at fault...! I also know that I probably now caused everyone trouble and has put our lives in danger... but... )

[ But to suddenly be saved by someone I hate... ] Alicia only whispered in silence.

[ ... ]

( That's it, huh? Even though I just saved her life... Is her hate for me really just won't disappear? Or is it because of her pride...? ) s.h.i.+ro voiced inside his head as he looks at the girl beside him.

[ No, it's fine. It's not like I did it to gain your favor or something; it will be just troublesome if you just died like that. Knocking down Arthur is already giving me enough problems, letting you die here while I'm around will surely produce even more of those. ] he muttered, brus.h.i.+ng off Alicia.

[ ... ]

Hearing those words, Alicia's expression tensed and silence took over her.

( So that was it was about, huh...? ) Alicia thought as she turned her head downward.

[ Anyways... We don't have much time to waste, we need to immediately look for the others. It would be dangerous if we got separated for too long. My guess is that this ruin is huge and it would be better if we start walking and searching for our companions now. ] disrupting the silence, s.h.i.+ro turned himself around and started to walk, leaving Alicia looking behind his tall figure.

[ Ye-Yes... ]

( I hate him... I really hate him... But still... That time... That was the first time someone has hugged me so tightly yet so gently... I felt safe and comfortable... ) with this thought, she followed the back of s.h.i.+ro.

[ ... ]

~~~

[ Echolocation! Advance Appraisal! ]

( Advance Appraisal: Result: )

( Ancient Ruins: Dungeon )

( Enemies: 1897 - Humans1%/ Anthropomorphs44%/ Heteromorphs55% )

( MaximumLv: 101 MinimumLv: 5 )

[ Oh! ] s.h.i.+ro exclaimed.

( It finally worked, huh? A mid-level dungeon... This will take only a few hours if I was still in the game... I wonder how long it will take me to conquer a dungeon of this level in this world. ) looking at the map of the dungeon that is displayed in s.h.i.+ro's mind, he thought.

( This is...!? )

[ What is it, Vlad-san...? ]

Seeing the surprised expression on s.h.i.+ro's face, Alicia who's standing beside him asked with a baffled look on her face.

[ Everyone seems to be doing well... Except for Caiden... ]

[ Huh!? What happened to Caiden!? ] Alicia asked, worried.

[ No... It seems he's not in trouble yet... But he's currently alone right now... I'm confident that Sarah, Nina, and Lumi can survive for themselves... but for Caiden... I don't think he will be able to survive once he encounters a lot of enemies... ]

s.h.i.+ro had given the trio necessary for them to survive, he also taught them what to do once this kind of event happens. s.h.i.+ro is positive that the trio will be able to survive this mid-level dungeon, but for Caiden -

[ Anyway, we need to gather everyone first before we head to the end of this dungeon. ]

[ I'm... I'm really sorry... This is all my fault... ]

( So despite her att.i.tude she definitely knows she's at fault, huh...? Both her and Caiden... They're like newbies you often encounter in the game... And I feel like it's my obligation to teach them and guide them somehow when they make mistakes. Even if it's just a little... )

Reminiscing something from his previous experiences as a gamer, s.h.i.+ro felt a sense of responsibility towards the two of them: Alicia and Caiden. But despite that, s.h.i.+ro was having conflicts in his thoughts as he wants to blame them for their incompetence and punish them for it. That was the feeling that is inside his heart, which extremely contradicts to what his mind and morals are telling him.

Realizing this, s.h.i.+ro put a grip on his chest to stop the emotion that's lingering in the entirety of his being; the feeling of punis.h.i.+ng the girl behind him who has caused him trouble.

( Tsk... This body is slowly contradicting both my thoughts and actions... When will the time come that I won't be able to control it anymore...? )

***

In a dark desolate room. One figure sat on a large throne seat made of bones from clearly - different species. His appearance can't be seen as it was hidden in the darkness, but his eyes, his eyes can easily be seen because of the red s.h.i.+ning glow of its snake-like pupils.

[ Hmm... None died in that trap, huh...? ] his voice resounded throughout the room and echoed back to his ears.

[ Three years ago, when that same trap was activated, almost half of that group instantly died. Yet... Quality over quant.i.ty, eh? I wonder how really strong they are... ]

As he muttered those words with a gentle tone that can attract both women and men, one of his hands move to his side and he moved it gently as if he was caressing something.

A moment later, the rattling sound of a snake was heard, and there, in the person's back appeared the head of a large snake. Just with the look of its size, one would agree that it will be able to swallow the body of an adult human.

[ Vana, it's been a while since the humans had provided us entertainment, we'll be sure to play with them until we're satisfied. ]