Chapter 43 43:Dungeon Exploration[2]
"Haaaaa..."Parth let out a pitiful gasp and stared at Frederick for a moment.
"I...I want a sugar mama."
Pfffffft!
Frederick, who took a sip of his coffee while waiting for Parth to speak, spurted the coffee and coughed violently. He then took out a handkerchief to wipe his lips and then glared at Parth.
"Don't give me that absurd look. You spent a million just to find this man who stole a ring."
"Your richness sickens the poor me and stabs my heart. I need a sugar mama to shower me with riches and heal my bleeding heart."Parth shook his head with a sorrowful expression shedding a few drops of imaginary tears.
Frederick wanted to say something but who knew if this bastard gonna twist his words and speak something illogical again, so he kept glaring at Parth weighing his words.
"This ring is important. You can think of it as an upgraded version of the storage ring."Frederick spoke with a serious expression.
"And why of all things do you want this? I mean do you lack money? You can buy a big space storage ring instead of wasting time and money here."Parth spoke, finding the whole matter utterly ridiculous.
"It's different. You can't understand even if I explain. You need to see it with your own eyes to feel the difference. This is an artifact so be serious."Frederick explained sincerely.
"Believe me, I am dead serious. I have never been this serious in my whole life. Except for the moment I was born, this is the second time I have become serious like this, "Parth muttered trying to maintain a profound face though there was not even a bit of gravity on his face.
"Okay, okay. I got it. Tell me what do you want?"
"I want you to help me," Frederick said, folding his arms. In a way, this was a test of Parth's reliability and to see if he divulged this information to any.
"Are the opponents strong?"Parth asked.
"Nah! They are just a bunch of thieves. It's just there are too many pests."
"Pest...You are asking me to work as a pest repellent."Parth freaked out.
"I mean to say, weak filthy thieves who are at 1-Star and 2-Star," Frederick spoke, gritting his teeth while making sure to emphasize the latter part.
"I got it. Leave it me."Parth gave thumbs up and cast a professional smile of integrity similar to political leaders.
'Did I shoot myself in the foot by bringing this guy?' Frederick for the first time in his life started to doubt his own judgement.
.........
By the time the sun was about to set, the crew had harvested a lot. Lucas also got to chew many leftovers and managed to take down 8 1-Star beasts at the cost of his stamina.
His muscles were sore, his throat was burning as if it had been set on fire still he held on. Gritting his teeth, he put strength into his hands looking at the monster in front of him with a solemn expression, watching it continue to struggle for survival.
The monster was in ragged condition and though Lucas wasn't far worse, he had got multiple scratches all over his body. He had worn cheap quality leather armor over the shirt which had managed to protect him from most of the claw attacks.
Sometimes, he failed to react on time while sometimes the monster he fought was more intelligent than he imagined and managed to break his defense, fortunately, Lucas avoided it at the very last moment using flash steps.
"It's longing to survive is even greater than mine. Even though I have managed to leave two deep cuts, it's holding onto the pain quite well. My body can't hold on longer. Aaron and others will help me in case of trouble but I don't want it."
"I need to finish this myself."Lucas confided in himself and reminded himself to push harder.
Taking a deep breath, he relaxed his tensed muscle for a bit. His body was still tense and his gaze was solemn still he tried to calm himself to execute the next move.
"Everything is flowing. There is no need to go against the fierce coercion of the flow. Let the flow carry your sword. Strike sharply and precisely, let yourself loose, and follow your instincts."Lucas muttered the Drifting Sword Technique in his mind and let his body drift.
Noticing a strange glint in Lucas's eyes, the monster utilized its sturdy legs to trudge itself forward. However, being injured and exhausted, the distance it could cover with his speed was not enough.
Lucas waited for the last moment, letting his body lose. Calmed himself and focused on the monster.
An imaginary trajectory was drawn before his eyes and trusting his instinct, he shifted his right foot a bit.
The monster noticed it and tilted his body towards the right of Lucas a bit however contrary to his expectation, Lucas at the very last moment nudged towards the left and raised his sword he stabbed at the belly portion of the four-legged monster.
Gripping his sword, he dragged his body forward cutting through the belly resulting in the organs of the monster accompanied by blood falling on the ground.
"Awoooooo!"
"Awooooo!"
"Awooo!"
The monster cried in pain and saw no way to escape from the predicament howled at Lucas with puppy eyes.
This stirred Lucas's heart a beat as it was the first time the monster had pleaded like this and the organs scattered on the ground disgusted him.
'Why the hell are all monsters in this dungeon resorting to pleading at the end moment? I mean why are they so intelligent.'
Clenching his lips, hardening his heart, he strode forward and swung his sword, sending the monster to internal rest.
"Sorry, but I have to do this," Lucas muttered, closing his eyes and then hearing a familiar chime in his head.
[You have killed a peak 1-Star. You have gained 1900 experience points.]
Lucas dragged his tired body to his crewmates only to find them munching over jerkies and chips.
"Little Angus, why are these meat sticks so rubbery?"
"Are these expired?"Did you give me the expired meat?"
Without waiting for Esper to reply, Morgana started to hit Esper's head who pleaded for mercy.
Meanwhile, Aaron was sitting on the rock and snoring loudly while Angus watched the show with a tired expression.
Lucas's jaw almost dropped on the ground seeing them.
'Did not they say they are watching my back and would interfere in the case of trouble so why do they look like they are on a picnic?'
'Or were all of those righteous words lies?'
'Khem...Khem..."
Their attention was drawn towards Lucas and they gave an expression asking what happened.
"Huh...Lucas..did you come with us...I mean you already finished."Aaron blabbered in an asleep state.
"Aren't you supposed to watch me back?"
Aaron woke up from his power nap and answered in a monotonous voice"You have already had enough experience. I am confident that you can take on any 1-Star monster in these dungeons and sometimes you need to feel the heat."
Aaron tried to maintain his solemn expression but seeing the saliva leaking from the corners of his lips and his sleepy eyes, Morgana shook his head and said"I am sure he had forgotten about you. That expression is telling me."
"Still, you don't need to be afraid."
"I have been keeping tabs on you. If you were in danger I would have thrown magic bullets from here though I already knew you will win when you used some sort of sword technique."Morgana chuckled while eyeing Aaron who shrinks back in embarrassment.
"Enough for now. Let's look for camping."Aaron clapped his hand and stood up trying to avert the topic as quickly as possible.
They searched for a place. Every time they found a place suitable for camping Aaron would use his axe to make a loud sound. Doing so warned the weaker ones to run and attracted the stronger ones.
This was Aaron's safety check causing monsters to look for them. If the sound attracts monsters then that means they would trouble them for the whole night. Camping in a dungeon is not a small matter so until you are sure about your safety in the place, you can't risk camping there.
Finally, after searching for hours, they arrived near a small water body with little vegetation around them. Aaron went for a safety check and found the area monster free.
Once Lucas sat down, his legs refused his command to stand up. His body was quite heavy.
"Sir Harris was right, nothing comes close to real-life experience. On weekends, I exercised and trained for almost 13 hours till the fatigue I felt before did not come close to this."
The experience satisfied him because he may be one of the very few first-years who take a risk and enter a dungeon.
Aaron would stay awake to watch out, followed by Morgana, Esper, and Agnus. Luckily, Lucas was exempted from this.
Lucas pulled out his sleeping bag and was about to sleep when he heard Aaron's voice.
"Lucas, the first day may be troublesome but if you keep going on, you will get used to this quickly."
"Ehhh!"Lucas spoke with a bland expression, unable to find his words.
"Good night and sleep tight."
Following Aaron, everyone wished him.
Lucas's body tensed up and as he wished Aaron back, he found a lump in his throat. This was the first time someone wished good night to him, unlike his previous life where his parents would every day wish him luck and pray to God for his safety.
A small drop fell from his eyes making his eyes moist feeling the warmth.
"Good night to you all and thanks for guiding me."Lucas rubbed his moist eyes and lay down with a sweet lingering smile lingering on his face.
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