Liam woke up, memories of the last night flooding into his mind as he glanced at the healer sleeping very close. He was having a hard time believing what happened was real and not just a dream his mind had conjured up due to being pent up. Though the pleasant sensation was still lingering, confirming the reality of the experience. The way his eyes lingered on the woman sleeping was nothing short of hungry.
He shook his head from side to side to clear his thoughts. He needed to get out and get some fresh air before doing something stupid. Her scent was dominating the tent, reminding him of things that he needed to keep buried during the day. He managed to get out, clumsy in his desperation. He breathed in the crisp early morning air, cold and fresh in contrast to the distracting, cloying aroma inside.
The sanctuary spell had held as she’d promised. Nothing had disturbed them during the night.
Can’t believe I doubted her… Obviously, she knows better than I do; she’s a healer.
It didn’t take long for Melissa to join him outside.
“I’m assuming you slept well after the little help.”
Her tone was one of merciless teasing, making his face flush as the memories flooded back despite his attempts.
“I did.”
He’d have preferred to say something witty back, but at this point in time, he was unable to do so. He started to pack up the gear instead. Perhaps if he was busy with something, she wouldn’t keep teasing him, and his thoughts wouldn’t keep swaying.
Much like his efficiency in setting up, he was rather good at repacking the supplies as well. It didn’t take him long at all to finish up. They’d have a very long day to progress. He was hopeful about making it to the lower floor, if not the boss floor.
The duo started their journey after eating another pack of rations each. The floor kept throwing more of the same undead creature. Liam by now had gotten very good at dealing with them as long as they didn’t come in packs, which was a very rare occurrence anyway. By the time it was afternoon, they’d gathered quite a bit more cores and made considerable progress towards the lower floor.
This place is so much larger than the floors above. I can see why people prefer camping inside once they travel even further down.
While it was true that camping inside wasn’t the most popular choice for those in the F and E ranks, which was the majority of the adventurers, for those of higher rank it wasn’t rare at all. The only parties that didn’t camp inside among the ones on the lower floors would be the ones with mages who can create temporary gates; a very small portion of a very small selection of the population. Liam had to admit he was jealous of those who could do it. Though, as proven last night, staying inside a tent certainly had its advantages too.
They were now basically by the entrance to the lower floor; it was within sight. Liam picked up his pace, his usual alertness abandoned in favour of reckless speed. A sharp, piercing pain shot through his right side. He’d failed to see the hollowling ambush and walked right into a group of four.
Fuck! I can handle two, maybe three of them, but four? This is just unfair.
He was mentally complaining, but he wasn’t going to give up. That wasn’t something he ever did; he’d rather die. He quickly bent his body to dodge away from a swipe from the other side; Melissa’s healing was already patching up the right side. His reactions felt faster as he dodged a claw aimed for his head from the back.
I can do this. Just like the trio of goblins from before, I just have to dodge lethal attacks and land my own when they give me surface-level ones.
He did just that. He abandoned defense as a tactic except for the deadly hits. A claw dug into his shoulder, another dug into his abdomen. He just gritted his teeth and swung at the one most open. A clean beheading of the monster quickly dwindled the number to three. This story is hosted at g.com.
I am definitely getting stronger and faster. All day, the cuts and dodges have felt easier than ever before. My hard work really is paying off; residual magic in the dungeon is speeding things up.
In his mind, the explanation made perfect sense. The dungeons were known to slowly increase the capabilities of adventurers, or rather, to speed up their journey to reaching their peak. He just assumed his peak was higher than others and therefore he was progressing faster. He couldn’t think of any other reason why his rapid improvement would’ve happened.
Another claw was barely dodged as he reprimanded himself for not paying attention and instead thinking about other stuff in the middle of combat. Melissa’s healing was keeping him up physically, but a less stubborn man would’ve called it quits by now; after all, the pain was still mentally taxing.
His blade finally managed to cleave another creature in half after a few minutes of trying to find an opening by using his openings as bait.
Down to two.
He smiled confidently. Now this was his comfort zone. It didn’t take long for him to kill the remaining two. He fell to one knee. His breath was shallow and strained. He heard her footsteps rushing towards him.
“That was a wonderful display, Liam. I am so glad you are trusting me to keep you healed enough that you are not bothering to dodge non-lethal attacks.”
Her arms wrapped around him and pulled him into a comforting embrace.
“Rest a little now before we head down; you should catch your breath.”
He didn’t argue; she was right. In his current condition, he wasn’t sure if he could pull through another combat that was as gruelling as this one, and the lower floor meant worse was likely to come.
He didn’t say anything, just leaned into her. He instinctively inhaled her scent; after last night, he couldn’t deny it anymore: he loved her company and the comfort being in her presence brought. They stayed like that for a few minutes as his breathing slowed down and returned to normal.
“I think I’m good to go now.”
She slowly pulled back. The effect was immediate. He was already craving the hug.
“Then we should start heading deeper, if you are certain, of course. I would not want to push you further than you are comfortable.”
The words that left her mouth felt nothing but kind, yet there was an expectant look in her eyes. It was clear she wanted to go deeper. The fact that she’d offered to stop just because she wanted to make sure he was fine, despite clearly wanting to do more. Her consideration only added to her already considerable charms in his eyes.
He gave her a smile and a thumbs-up. The confirmation of going lower earned him a smile of satisfaction from her. They got up from their seated positions and started to descend into the lower level. The only reason why he had pushed on wasn’t just to make her happy; he himself was also very much looking forward to making progress as far as they could.
His current target was clear: get to the boss and clear it. That way he’d show her something her old party never had, no doubt cementing himself as the superior choice. They finally stepped onto the fifth floor.
The surroundings were basically the same as the last floor, though unlike the fourth floor, here Liam could hear the sound of birds, or at least what he thought were birds.
“Should I expect more of the same, or are there new enemies on this floor?”
“Oh? I thought you would prefer if I did not ruin the surprise. Are you sure you want me to spoil the fun?”
Liam looked at her, trying to understand whether or not she was serious. He couldn’t actually tell.
“At least tell me if there are any major differences.”
He groaned. He was in an odd situation: He both wanted to find out for himself, but also wanted to be told if there were things he needed to look out for.
“Well, there are more creatures, some of which are actually edible.”
He’d heard of edible monsters, though he’d never had any. He narrowed his eyes as he kept staring at her.
“You still didn’t tell me if the new creatures are more dangerous than the ones before.”
He couldn’t help but sound amused. He was enjoying the relatively carefree conversation and how she was trying to keep up the surprise for him while still giving him information.
“It depends; some might say they are more difficult, and some might say otherwise. What you think is entirely up to you, after you get to fight them, that is.”
To him, the remark was just playful. She was just letting him enjoy the wonder of discovery that came with being an adventurer. He didn’t have any reason to suspect anything else.
A careful and more objective look at her might’ve told a story of anticipation that wasn’t entirely focused on his fun. He didn’t see it. He was neither careful nor objective when it came to trying to read her. He failed to understand that her anticipation was more about witnessing what she found to be interesting.
“Whatever things may lurk around here, I know I will beat them.”
She just smiled and nodded. She was very much looking forward to it. Her eyes were already subtly looking around the treetops for the things she knew liked to hide in there.
Author's note: After this chapter I will be switching to a more managable 3 times a week schedule. Planned days are Monday/Wednesday/Friday.