Chapter – 61
“Hmm… just to be safe.”
I decided to be extra cautious and took some time to read. I cast a barrier around myself and opened the Unified Library to run a search for the dungeon name.
[Bookmark 291 ― The Tale of Potato #Slime Breeding Cave #Sweet Potato Friend Potato #Baron von Valenshtein #Marking Curse]
“Ah, it’s the dungeon from the episode where the baron ends up at odds with the protagonist.”
Baron von Valenshtein.
He was a character who, due to the unjust orders of the first prince he served, was forced to raise his sword against the protagonist.
The baron had a personal fondness for the protagonist and was someone who fundamentally valued chivalry.
Caught between his beliefs and his orders, he eventually yielded to the protagonist’s persuasion and lowered his sword.
So readers were pleasantly surprised to see the author finally give a sweet resolution without “making Potato eat the bitter root,” but…
“Unfortunately, the curse the baron received during his knightly training trip activated at that moment, causing an S-rank dungeon sync.”
As a result, this character ended up sacrificing himself for the protagonist and died.
The dungeon I was currently in—the Slime Breeding Cave—was where Baron von Valenshtein acquired his curse and where the S-rank dungeon sync occurred at the decisive moment when he was about to reconcile with the protagonist.
Having read the Segue Society multiple times, I had noted all the critical information separately. Thanks to that, I could quickly understand what the boss looked like and what dangers awaited in the dungeon.
[“Why are you checking the guide when the ‘Skyward Architect of Trials’ decided not to fight the boss?”]
Under the architect’s pressure, I closed the Unified Library.
Thump, thump, thump!
No sooner had I lifted the barrier than the slimes attacked again, clueless as ever.
Smash!
I struck a slime flying straight at my face, sending it into the tunnel where it knocked down the others like bowling pins.
“Ah, what a pain. Divine Punishment!”
Since it was an underground tunnel, I summoned electricity from my hands instead of looking for the sky. A weaker output Lightning Strike shot straight forward, electrocuting the slimes in the line.
The remaining slimes panicked and fled, clearing a path.
Rumble!
<The cave might collapse.>
“I’ll be more careful. Now, let’s find the exit…”
I quickly stepped back three paces.
Crash!
The ceiling where I had just stood collapsed.
Gasp. Could it have been because I used my ultimate skill earlier?!
Thankfully, that wasn’t the case.
Cough, cough!
“Everyone okay?!”
From the dust cloud caused by falling rocks, four figures emerged.
‘Wow! People!’
It was my first time encountering other adventurers—but the mood wasn’t suitable for greetings.
Soon, a monster fell from the ceiling.
It wriggled and oozed like ink, completely blocking the tunnel—a massive black slime.
[“The Skyward Architect of Trials” breathes a sigh of relief that this isn’t the boss.]
The black slime stretched its body like tentacles and attacked the four.
“Everyone, behind me!”
A handsome young man with platinum hair stepped forward with his sword and blocked the attack. He cut through a cluster of the tentacles with Aura.
Hoho, quite skilled.
Suddenly, I realized his uniform looked familiar. It was the one Prinz wore during school vacations at the Knight Academy.
<Ah, an academy cadet. To think I’d meet a junior here.>
The other three seemed to be mercenaries. One was a mage, and the other two wielded melee weapons. Except for the cadet, none of them appeared to be Aura users.
The cadet handled everything alone without my intervention, displaying his Aura prowess as he danced with the sword, slicing through the slime’s tentacles.
The ink slime seemed to realize it couldn’t win and slithered through the ceiling hole to escape upstairs.
“Are you all right?!”
Voices came from above the floor the monster had fled to. There were more people in the party.
“There are no monsters on this path. We should head down.”
The cadet assessed the path I had pre-cleared and led the party downward. Naturally, he seemed to be nobility.
The gentle-looking young mage floated the rest of the party down with magic.
<They’re in serious condition.>
That was Agness’ assessment, and I agreed.
Eight people in total.
Only one seemed to be a healer. Aside from two, the rest didn’t seem particularly strong, and there was a roughly ten-year-old child among them.
[“The Skyward Architect of Trials” urges you to move along rather than getting distracted by meeting people.]
But an interesting scene was unfolding before my eyes.
A man in his late twenties wearing priest robes began scolding the party.
“Ha, what kind of extermination squad is this, a bunch of amateurs! Squad leader, we need to talk.”
“Yohakim, priest…”
“Because you failed to command properly, the backup healer dispatched from the Holy Authority got eaten by the boss. How will you take responsibility?!”
“That’s…”
The squad leader, a woman in her forties, looked flustered.
“That accident occurred because you woke the boss using a low-level sleep skill unnecessarily… It was supposed to be a safe area for resource collection.”
Typical troll.
“Quiet! How dare you blame me after losing the Holy Authority’s healer? Don’t you know it’s the party’s responsibility if the healer gets hurt?”
Citing the rules in this situation is cowardly.
“…Sorry.”
“‘Sorry’ won’t do. When I return to the church, I’ll ensure you never get backup healers from us again!”
“Y-Yohakim!”
The leader bowed and pleaded for leniency, but it was useless.
Yohakim, the troll healer, continued complaining as if everyone should hear him.
“Ha, the more I think about it, the more annoying it gets. I’m going to have to heal everyone here by myself now.”
It seemed Yohakim was mostly upset because the accident affected him personally.
Everyone else’s gazes toward him were sharp. A sense of deadly intent could even be felt from one side.
Still, in a dungeon, a healer is a prized position—especially if there’s only one.
The party members managed their expressions and tried to calm Yohakim.
“Yohakim, we’ll try not to give you many opportunities to heal.”
“Of course, we’ll prioritize your safety first.”
“You’re the most important role here, so please calm down.”
Since healers are rare, the dynamic naturally establishes a hierarchy—but this was excessive.
“Can we get out of here? Our numbers are down, there’s no backup healer, and we have two heavy packs!”
Yohakim pointed toward two silent figures in the corner—a young girl and a gray-haired boy.
<They weren’t originally part of the squad. They were stranded here.>
Agness’ observation confirmed it.
Yohakim impatiently corrected himself.
“No, now it’s three, the girl too!”
Huh? Me?
“Clearly, she’s caught in the dungeon sync too. I’ll be asked to bring her along, of course.”
“….”
“Squad leader, are you planning to make me heal all eight people along with yourself and her?!”
“….”
“Choose now! Me, or the girl? One of the two!”
“…What is this?”
Suddenly, I was thrown into the lineup of choices alongside the demanding troll healer.
“Y-Yohakim…”
Everyone looked awkwardly at me, as if about to commit some misdeed, apologizing with their eyes.
“Well, we should choose what’s best.”
“Of course, we’ll go with the healer.”
“Right, they’re struggling.”
“Agreed.”
Most of the party clung to Yohakim. I was just standing there, doing nothing, yet somehow caught up in this chaos.
I had to quickly resolve this situation!
At that moment, the handsome cadet, angry, stood up to Yohakim.
“This is unbelievable. You’re not asking for sacrifice, just generosity, yet you’re this stingy? Do you even serve God?”
Justice exists in a place like this?
“If the priest insists, then I’ll step out. I won’t partake in actions that violate chivalry!”
I restrained my urge to applaud and gently tapped his shoulder.
“Excuse me, cadet.”
“Hm?”
“I like your attitude. So, I’d like a moment of your time.”
“What?”
I grabbed his wrist. He had an injury on his left arm.
Confirming everyone’s gaze was on us, I smiled.
“Heal.”
“…!”
