Chapter – 63
The conversation with Ray had ended awkwardly, and it felt a little embarrassing. To break the tension, I decided to speak to someone else.
“You said you were stranded too, right? Were you swept into the sync like Freze?”
The person I addressed wasn’t a member of the extermination squad, but another individual.
A teenager with ash-colored hair, dressed in tight black leather.
Was his name Ash?
“Ah, that… Ash…,”
The extermination squad leader stepped forward with a troubled look, as if I had asked something I shouldn’t.
Ash spoke up himself.
“No.”
His voice was slow and low, matching a mood that was more gloomy than calm.
“I was a mercenary from another extermination squad. We were attacked by beasts, and I was stranded.”
“And the others…?”
“…They were annihilated. I barely survived because my seniors told me to hide in a crevice of the cave.”
At this point, the atmosphere suggested it was time to awkwardly change the topic. I glanced at his left hip.
“Huh, you use a one-handed sword, I see.”
“Yes. My skill isn’t great, though.”
That ended the conversation, and I slowed my pace slightly. While observing Ash’s back, his pendant necklace chimed.
<Everything is a lie.>
Agnes’s opinion was completely aligned with mine.
If I had to pick the two strongest people here, excluding myself, it would be pink-haired Allergy Ray and this ash-haired boy, Ash.
He wasn’t someone who would need protection while hiding.
Moreover—
<Judging by the calluses on his hands and his gait, he’s a dual-dagger assassin. He’s hiding something, so be careful. Dangerous person.>
As expected, the keen-eyed Weapon Master Agnes, top instructor of the Sacred Shrine, never missed a detail.
I whispered back, just for Agnes to hear.
“I know.”
Because I was possessed.
Ash Night. A first-class assassin of the assassin guild “Night Eagle” and a direct disciple of the guild master.
In the original story, he was a villain hired by the Ragneif Magic Republic to relentlessly target the protagonist’s life, so I couldn’t forget him.
“The extermination of the other squad could even have been his doing. Claiming the dungeon wiped them out is a perfect excuse to cover up a contract assassination.”
Suddenly, Ash turned toward me, and I nearly flinched.
<Why is he looking at me?>
Uh… exactly.
I had been watching his back warily, so it felt embarrassing.
“It’s dangerous for the healer to stay at the very back. You should walk closer to the group.”
“Ah, yes…”
I walked alongside him. I didn’t want an assassin at my back.
“Speak comfortably. You seem older than me.”
A killer offering kindness—what a thrill.
Regardless, I had no reason to refuse.
“Alright, I will, Ash.”
“Yes, sister.”
“….”
“Is something wrong?”
“Uh, no.”
Ash was a sociable assassin.
“I don’t see the gate.”
The young magician, Seijin, who had been walking ahead, spoke up.
He was a researcher at the Ragneif Magic Tower, gathering materials for his thesis. A graduate student, basically.
Unschooled in combat, he nervously surveyed his surroundings like a timid herbivore.
“We need to get out quickly and warn the other extermination squads that the boss has awakened.”
“Cough, ahem.”
Joachim coughed awkwardly, clearly aware he had caused the boss to awaken.
By now, Freze had returned to my side, wide-eyed, and asked me,
“Can the people here handle extermination?”
“To exterminate an S-rank dungeon, you need an enormous number of strong people.”
“I see. So the people here are weak. Then why did they enter such a dangerous place?”
Children’s innocence can be cruel.
“To harvest resources.”
Seijin adjusted his glasses and explained on my behalf.
“Usually, one exterminates the boss first, then gathers resources. But this dungeon is a little different.”
“How so?”
“The main resource here is phosphorescent stones produced by the glow slimes. The slimes are being farmed by the boss. The boss emits an aura of appetite that stimulates the slimes to produce more stones. If the boss dies, the farming ends, so people usually just put the boss to sleep and harvest the resources.”
“I see.”
Having finished his “teacher” role, Seijin quickly remembered reality and shivered in fear.
“The awakened boss is probably roaming the dungeon now. We must find the exit quickly or…”
He trailed off, seeming conscious of Freze.
The boss here, the “Gullet Predator,” would surely try to devour us, having awakened hungry after a long time.
The Golden Apple Squad members shuddered.
“The boss… its appearance was horrifying. I never want to see it again.”
“Yes. I’m afraid it might appear in my dreams. The companions who were taken by it…”
“Kyle, Kana. Let’s just focus on finding the exit for now.”
“Yes, captain…”
[“If the ‘Trial Skyscraper Architect’ knew, they’d probably tell us to hurry up.”]
The straight path we had been walking ended. At the end of the cave passage was a huge hall-like cavity.
It was filled with natural phosphorescent stones, and many colorful farmed slimes.
“Wow, how much is all this worth?”
Just as I stepped into the area, greedy thoughts overtook me.
“Danger!”
Five jet-black slimes suddenly appeared. As before, they extended part of their bodies into multiple tentacles.
Ray blocked the ambush, buying the others time to form a battle line.
Three Golden Apple Squad members, Allergy Ray, and the graduate student handled the slimes.
“Five variants…!”
“They are caretakers, not prey. The boss has awakened, so that’s why they’re aggressive.”
Seijin, adjusting his glasses, tried to show off his knowledge.
“Ahhh! S-save me!”
Joachim was wrapped by black tentacles, screaming so loudly the hall echoed.
Ray cut the tentacles to save him, but it caused another problem: the variant slimes multiplied.
“Damn it! Completely useless as always…”
“I’m sorry, captain! I should have left you!”
“Joachim, you idiot! Heal from behind, don’t panic!”
With the number of slimes increasing, the battle became chaotic.
“Uh, sister…”
“It’s okay, Freze.”
I reassured the frightened child while healing everyone’s injuries immediately.
Amidst the chaos, a bundle of black tentacles rushed toward me.
Before I could react, they were cut off. Ash, who had been observing from behind, had stepped in.
“You are the highest priority.”
“I can handle it.”
I grabbed the tentacle aimed at me and tied it up with a ribbon before throwing it away.
Surprise and interest flashed across Ash’s eyes.
“You’ve trained your body well, haven’t you?”
“Yes. I was often teased for being weak as a child.”
I remembered the scolding from the Scales, the Critic, and the Architect.
[“The ‘Trial Skyscraper Architect’ only said it out of affection.”]
“Of course, of course.”
I responded with just enough defense without using my aura. Of course, I kept healing intermittently.
Joachim, despite claiming he would handle all the healing, was useless in his panic.
“Thank you, Aylet.”
The Golden Apple Squad wasn’t holding back either, and thanks to Ray and the strong Ash, the number of black slimes steadily decreased.
When about ten enemies remained, Ray, wiping sweat from his jaw, said suspiciously,
“Why are they acting like this all of a sudden?”
Until a moment ago, the slimes had been recklessly attacking regardless of the power gap, but now they shifted their stance.
They trembled and gradually retreated to the corners, as if giving way to someone.
That meant…
“Fall back!”
The moment I shouted,
Creak… Crrrk… Creak…
The ground cracked and melted. A huge abyss opened in the center of the cavity, and from it emerged black, sinister heads.
Uooooh…!
Thousands upon thousands of wraiths screamed, performing a macabre symphony. The being that had just appeared was…
[<System> Dungeon Owner, Demon World Rank 711 “Gullet Predator Obscuria” has appeared!]
Ah, the boss had appeared.
[“The ‘Trial Skyscraper Architect’ is screaming in despair.”]
The wraiths, with only eyelids and mouths, writhed like larvae. The huge mass of Gullet Wraiths was the boss Obscuria.
<Disgusting.>
I agreed.
The Gullet Wraiths extended their necks and devoured the farmed slimes stuck to the walls.
The eaten slimes were stored inside Obscuria’s translucent black body.
It swallowed them like a boa constrictor, digesting them slowly later.
Looking closely, there were also humans inside.
“Ricie! Gentis!”
Captain Anne’s shout revealed that they were comrades of the Golden Apple Squad.
<They’re still alive. Won’t last long, though.>
Obscuria, as expected of a gullet, wasn’t satisfied with just the slimes.
<Not enough…>
<I’m hungry…>
<Master… feed…>
<Please…>
Obscuria then locked onto us, countless eyes flashing.
<Feed…!>
The Gullet Wraiths swarmed like a torrent.
“Eek!”
Obscuria used overwhelming numbers to surround us. We were trapped inside a black vortex.
“Protect the healer first…!”
“Argh!”
“Joachim, priest!”
One of the swirling Gullet Wraiths bit Joachim and swallowed him whole.
Next, it was my turn. A huge black maw was rushing straight at me.
