Liam woke up in his own place for a change; he’d walked Melissa home after their dinner and then headed back to his inn room. Today’s plan was simple: wash up, buy supplies, and then meet up with her towards early afternoon. He was looking forward to the extended dungeon delve ahead.
Liam had the funds from yesterday’s hunt; Melissa had told him to hold onto her portion as well and to use it to buy whatever was necessary. After his morning routine, he did just that, bought a tent and some other camping supplies they’d most likely need for the couple of days they were planning to stay in the dungeon. He’d haggled pretty well, he thought, and was rather proud of the discounts he’d gotten.
The anticipated afternoon arrived, and he made his way to the gates. As promised, she was already there waiting for him. No matter how many times he’d seen the sight, it wasn’t getting old; quite the contrary, every time it felt better seeing her just waiting for him.
“I got everything we need. Are you good to go?”
He knew the question was kinda pointless; she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t ready. Still, he wanted to make sure she wasn’t having second thoughts. Her affirmative nodding was everything he needed.
“It seems you really made sure we would not be lacking anything essential. Good, it would have been a shame if we had to come out earlier than planned.”
The two headed out the gates, heading straight to the dungeon entrance without any further delays. Liam felt as if the pace was quicker than it’d previously been despite the added weight of the supplies. Perhaps it was the excitement. He wasn’t sure what made the road feel shorter than it had in the past days. He didn’t exactly care to know either.
They stepped into the first floor, making their way towards the lower floors rather swiftly. Liam was killing the goblins much faster than before, and the fact that they weren’t actively hunting for the monsters was certainly making the pace of travel faster.
It hadn’t taken long for them to arrive where they’d left off yesterday: the fourth floor.
“Here we go. Our grind officially begins now.”
Liam couldn’t help but smile as his voice betrayed the excitement he felt. He wanted to see how much they could push on, how much they could see and earn.
It didn’t take long for a hollowling to try its luck against them. Liam danced around the undead creature’s swipes, slowly baiting it away from its hiding place inside the tree trunks. This wasn’t like what happened with the goblins; the creature still felt as fast as it did yesterday and as strong. However, he’d gotten more used to its attacks, so dodging around and countering was much easier. It fell rather fast.
Time was passing, afternoon slowly turning into evening as Liam was getting better and better at killing these new foes. He was still getting hit and needing to rely on Melissa’s healing, but it definitely wasn’t as much as last time. Every kill was making him more and more accustomed to their behaviours. At least for this floor.
“You are getting much better at handling them. Nice going, Liam. At this pace, I have no doubt you will get us to the boss sooner rather than later.”
He could feel the pride swelling in his chest, the praise driving him to pick up the pace even more. The picked-up speed meant he was getting hit more to bait the creatures into giving him killing-blow openings. He didn’t care. He’d just grit his teeth and strike back.
Nightfall was fast approaching as they made it to the end of floor four. Liam’s breathing was starting to be strained. Yes, the wounds were getting closed, but the pain and the mental toll were very much real. There was a limit to how much even he could take before he needed to rest.
Liam looked at Melissa, hoping she’d agree. He really didn’t want to push forward during the nighttime with the increased spawn rates of the dungeon.
“It is; you need to rest up anyway. Start making camp, and I will start drawing the boundaries of the sanctuary spell for us to rest safely.”
Liam let out a sigh of relief. He’d push on if she’d ask, but this was definitely the preferred outcome. He didn’t need to be told twice. He quickly started making camp. His academy training came in quite handy. It didn’t take long for him to get the tent up and the campfire lit. Shortly after, Melissa joined him by the fire.
“I see you are pretty good at setting up camp as well, a man of many talents.”
She teased as she sat down with a smile.
Liam looked at her and then at the surroundings with slight confusion.
There is no light of protection around us. I thought a sanctuary spell had a visual effect on its borders.
“Isn’t there supposed to be a light faintly shimmering around us?”
He couldn’t help himself. He didn’t like questioning her, but he felt it was necessary in this situation. Their lives depended on the spell, after all.
Melissa arched an eyebrow.
“Come on, Liam. Are you really questioning whether or not I set up the very spell that we need to survive out here? Not all sanctuary spell variations have that light; it depends on the caster and the method used to put it in place. Trust me, we are perfectly safe for the night.”
Liam didn’t know if what she was saying was the truth; he didn’t really have the knowledge to question her claim, though. He wasn’t even a normal spellcaster, let alone a healer. It wasn’t exactly his place to question the woman who’d shown she was more than capable of keeping him alive through quite a bit.
“If you say so…”
His voice came out laced with doubt. He immediately felt guilty about the tone.
“I mean, I’m sure you know what you’re doing. I just haven’t seen one like this, I suppose.”
“You do not need to feel bad; you have a right to make sure I did what I said I would. You want to be assured that we will not be randomly attacked by something during the night. It is completely fair to be anxious when you cannot see the boundary. I assure you it is there.” Read the latest chapters at g.com.
The fact that she wasn’t even slightly offended relieved the anxiety and the guilt very effectively. He was much calmer now. There was no reason to not trust her claim. She’d been nothing short of a blessing for him so far.
Liam took out two packs of rations from his backpack, offering one to her.
“Well, nothing to do but eat and sleep then.”
His smile was back. His desire to adventure was slowly being replaced by a desire to just enjoy her company. Despite them being inside the dungeon, the night sky still somehow appeared to be starlit. It was undeniably at least a little romantic. He was now feeling anxious for an entirely different reason.
The rations weren’t exactly a full meal. They were meant to provide sustenance as needed, not to be a feast, meaning it was a quick meal.
“You can take the tent. I’m fine with sleeping outside.”
Melissa looked at him as if he’d grown a second head.
“Why would you sleep outside when the tent is large enough for two? We have already slept in the same bed more than once, please do not tell me you are getting shy at the thought of sharing a tent. I certainly do not mind.”
Liam gulped. It was one thing to share the bed when he was passed out and a different one to share a tent while awake.
“Besides I still need to take a look at your body and properly heal you. It simply makes more sense to share the tent. We would not want you to catch a cold right after getting healed, would we?”
Her soft chuckle and the promise of feeling that addictive healing again completely destroyed any retort he might’ve given. Not that he’d argue anyway.
“We should take care of that soon, then I’m guessing, before you’re too tired to do it.”
“Oh, Liam, I will never be too tired to make sure you are in tip-top shape. This entire outing only works if you are able to fight. I have no desire to be what holds you back. Though doing the healing soon is probably a good idea regardless. It makes sure you get a full night’s sleep, and that is very important. A tired warrior is not a warrior at his best.”
Liam was already walking towards the tent, already taking off his tunic without even being told this time. His body was already craving the euphoria her touch brought him.
Melissa smiled from behind him, not unlike someone enjoying their pet behaving exactly as they want. She followed him inside, zipping the tent closed.
He was already lying down on his sleeping bag. She sat beside him and traced his back with her touch, making him shiver in anticipation. Just like it’d been in the past healing sessions, it was absolutely euphoric. He didn’t know how he was going to fall asleep when this excited, and with the knowledge of her proximity. Unlike at her place, there was nowhere else to go. He was looking forward to the night nonetheless.