Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 292

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Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-Two: Dealing with the Dragon

“Shall we go at it, Julius?”

“Not yet. We wait until it comes fully through the gate. It will be more weakened by then—easier to bring down.”

Julius said it with perfect composure, and Karen frowned. He had come to understand how to cross floors so that he could follow Karen. Which meant that if Julius ever "crossed floors" to follow her, he too would be broken, just like the black dragon.

Karen kept her tone carefully casual.

“You said the black dragon is weakened from crossing floors—does it ever recover?”

“What is broken fundamentally cannot be restored. So there’s nothing to worry about, Karen.”

“…I see.”

Julius probably assumed Karen was afraid the black dragon might recover. He had smiled to reassure her as he said it—and then, seeing Karen’s expression darken, his own face shifted to one of realization. What Karen had wanted to know was whether Julius, if he ever pushed himself too far to follow her and broke in the process, would be able to heal.

“It can’t be restored. I see… I see.”

“Karen. Let’s talk about it later. The black dragon has to come first.”

Julius covered things up with a smile and tried to redirect Karen’s attention to the dragon. Frowning, Karen nevertheless went along with Julius’s intention and looked toward the black dragon.

At first, the sight of the enormous dragon’s head barely squeezing through the jaw-shaped gate between the black pillars shocked her, but once she calmed down, it no longer seemed that frightening. That probably meant the black dragon had weakened that much. Its fangs were sharp, its red tongue was lined with barbs, and every black scale looked razor-edged—yet something the true black dragon should have possessed was missing from that body.

Julius looked down at it with a relaxed expression and said:

“If it doesn’t hurry up and come out, we’ll miss the award ceremony.”

“Mr. Julius, you’re still planning to win the hunting festival in the middle of all this?”

“Of course I am, Karen. Clearing a new dungeon on top of returning to the surface with the body of a black dragon—weakened though it may be—my victory would be beyond question. And when you receive my prize, you will become the Queen of the Hunt.”

Being named Queen of the Hunt was an honor in noble society. Karen didn’t quite feel the weight of it herself, but she could tell as much from Julius’s warm smile. It was his way of showing consideration—perhaps his engagement gift to Karen. And yet even before this heartfelt offering, only one thing kept turning over and over in her mind.

A broken soul could not be restored. If Karen stayed as she was, she might one day cause Julius to break his own soul.

She wondered if asking him to stop would make any difference, and a dry laugh escaped her. After all, Karen herself had never intended to listen to Julius’s pleas for her not to do such things anymore. No matter how dangerous the place Julius was in, if Karen wanted to go and bring him back, she would go.

“Should we drag it out?”

“…If you’re with me, that might actually work. Karen! Stay back!”

Licht and Julius faced the black dragon. Karen did as Julius said and retreated quietly to the wall. Ready to respond to whatever might happen, she took out an herb she had gathered and closed her fist around it inside her glove.

“Same as in the Great Collapse Stampede, right? Attacking a monster stuck in the gate draws it out?”

“Yes. Weakening it allows it to pass through the gate.”

“Got it. I’ll match your timing.”

“Then—three, two, one—now!”

Julius and Licht drove their swords simultaneously into the dragon’s neck from either side. The black dragon screamed and writhed, then slid its enormous body through the gate—through what should have been too narrow a passage—and into the tenth floor.

“Licht, don’t let your guard—”

Down, was how it was meant to end. Since Julius had said as much, he surely had not let his guard down himself.

But in the very next instant, the black dragon slithered between Julius and Licht with a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

“Karen!”

Julius was moving before the word had left his mouth. But if the black dragon had truly been targeting Karen and had been able to understand where she was, Julius likely would not have made it in time.

Except that Karen was no longer at the wall where the dragon had crashed.

She had already made her way over to Licht’s side, leaving Julius charging past her toward the dragon, and now she broke out in a cold sweat.

Julius was sweating even more than she was, and his voice trembled when he spoke:

“How… why are you over here?”

“I suppressed my presence and moved. Even you didn’t notice—I’m rather good at this, aren’t I?”

“You suppressed your… presence?”

“Julius, talk later—deal with the dragon first!”

Julius nodded, his face gone pale, and took his stance alongside Licht, sword raised toward the dragon.

“Even weakened from crossing floors, a dragon is still a dragon. It sure knows how to scare the hell out of us.”

“…Indeed. It seems I underestimated the achievements of my ancestors.”

Licht was making light of it, but Julius’s color was terrible.

“But your girlfriend surpasses even that dragon! What the hell does ‘concealing your presence’ mean!? Explain yourself, Karen! There’s no way I can concentrate on fighting until I understand!”

It was Julius who couldn’t focus, clearly. Karen nodded and raised her voice:

“I’ve been thinking for a while that if I used up every bit of magical power in my body and reached a state of zero magical power, maybe monsters would have trouble seeing me!”

“…You tried that for the first time just now?!”

Licht’s smile went rigid, and he turned just as pale as Julius. But she had been picking up hints for some time. The people who had once been active inside dungeons with little magical power—Horst and those like him—how had they managed it? The monster-repelling magical tool she had seen at Urgo’s Magical Tool Shop had worked by generating a film of zero magical power.

That was why she had been gripping a rooted medicinal herb inside her glove—and she had drained her magical power on purpose, timing it with Julius and Licht’s attack on the monster, just to be safe. Given how weak Karen was, even with her magical power full, she would never survive an attack from the black dragon anyway. She had figured the result would be the same either way, but it had been terrifying all the same.

Karen had already used a medium healing potion on herself. She had no idea when she would be able to use another. Besides, this was by no means a foolproof method of remaining undetected. After all, a pegasus had once located a zero-magical-power zone for the sake of its child.

“It might still be able to hear our voices, so that’s enough explanation for now!”

“Right! Now be quiet!”

Irritated by the unreasonable response, Karen nevertheless obeyed Licht and fell silent.

But why had the dragon targeted Karen in the first place? Had it simply recognized that she was the weakest in the party and gone for her—she had begun channeling magical power back into the herb to suppress her presence again and was starting to shift positions when the black dragon’s voice reached her ears.

‘Where… are… you…?’

Hearing the hoarse voice of what sounded like an old man, Karen stopped channeling magical power into the herb.

In that instant, the black dragon’s golden eyes swiveled and fixed directly on her.

Licht stepped in front of her. Julius pulled her close. This time, the defensive formation held firm.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 291

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Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety-One: Unconquered

“Karen, your face has gone completely red.”

Julius took off his glove and placed his hand against Karen’s cheek. It was a smooth, unblemished hand—nothing like Karen’s own. The large hand was almost hot to the touch, and Karen let out a soft breath of relief and leaned into it.

Then gentle warmth spread around her ear. Julius must have channeled magical power into his earring as well. Unlike Karen, he did it with careful restraint, and the warmth crept slowly through her body from the ear outward.

Tears had been welling at the corners of Karen’s eyes, and Julius quietly wiped them away with his thumb before they could freeze.

“Your lips have cracked too. Do you have a healing potion? If not, I brought some—”

“I have one, but I thought I shouldn’t drink it in case something urgent came up.”

“Drink it now. You look terrible, Karen.”

If Julius was saying that, perhaps nothing urgent was happening after all. With a sideways glance at him—clearly deeply worried—Karen took a mid-grade healing potion from her pouch and drank it down. The bitterness barely registered as the pain throughout her body faded with startling speed.

Clinging to the riding dragon had shredded the inner skin of her thighs. When she had run headlong to throw herself at Julius, she had felt countless wounds tear open all at once—and now, as they healed, she felt nothing but relief.

Healing potions—magical medicines in general—were truly incredible things. Just what exactly were medicinal herbs? As Karen drifted into pleasant contemplation, Julius spoke in a dangerous tone beside her:

“Licht, why did you bring Karen here?”

“I was the one who got brought. Right, Karen?”

“That’s right, Mr. Julius. I was the one trying to enter the dungeon because I wanted to see you, and Master Licht was kind enough to come with me.”

“You told me yourself not to get in Karen’s way, didn’t you, Julius?”

Julius stopped glaring at Licht and turned to Karen with a complicated expression.

“You don’t need to cover for him.”

“I’m not covering for him at all. I never intended to bring Master Licht in the first place—the knights happened to be free, so I negotiated and asked if someone might be willing to accompany me… I wanted to move quickly, so I left them all behind midway.”

“I’m glad you wanted to see me, but this was reckless, Karen.”

“You’re right.”

Karen grinned.

“But I just had to come and meet you, Mr. Julius!”

She deliberately left unspoken the fact that Julius had once been abandoned before this very boss room door on the tenth floor. She simply spoke her own feelings. And when Julius’s eyes went wide, and he drew a sharp breath, she deliberately chose not to ask why. Swallowing down the anger and sadness she had secretly carried inside, Karen smiled and leaned close to Julius.

“So here I am.”

“I’d like you not to do something like this again… though perhaps saying that is pointless?”

Julius had tried to caution her with a stern expression, but looking down at Karen’s smile, he gave up halfway through.

“Probably.”

Karen said that with an emphatic nod.

“Just as you support everything I do, I won’t try to stop you from doing what you want, Mr. Julius. But if I end up worrying about you as a result, I’ll go and come to meet you, or make potions to cheer you on.”

“You know there’s no need to worry. I’m the conqueror of the twentieth floor of the Ehlertt territorial capital dungeon.”

“Even so, hasn’t this taken rather long?”

“There was something I wanted to do, so I stayed behind. I defeated the wendigo several days ago, though.”

The fallen monster was apparently called a wendigo. As she recalled, it was the name of a demonic monster in a state of perpetual starvation, one that hunted and devoured people. Now that she looked more closely at it, the creature did have pale blue skin, gaunt as a hungry ghost with its ribs showing, and a strangely distended lower belly. Its monster rank was C, which amounted to a natural disaster by the standards of most ordinary people.

A chill ran down Karen’s spine at the realization she had walked right past the thing’s carcass, but Julius looked entirely untroubled.

Every rise in monster rank meant an overwhelming leap in strength—tenfold, or even hundredfold, impossible to summarize in simple terms. The same was true of humans. For Julius, who had cleared the twentieth floor, a monster at the tenth floor level was barely worth noting.

“Hey, Julius. You defeated the dungeon boss on the tenth floor, but there’s no sign of it being cleared. What’s going on?”

“That would be—”

Julius had started to answer Licht’s question when the entire dungeon suddenly lurched like an earthquake, cutting him off.

Karen flinched. Licht drew his sword in an instant. Julius didn’t move a hair.

“A powerful monster from the lower floors is attempting to cross through the gate leading to the eleventh floor. Since a monster with magical power equivalent to S-rank is present on this floor, the dungeon likely does not recognize it as conquered.”

“An S-rank crossing over?! That’s a full-scale Great Collapse stampede! This is a serious situation! We need to call for reinforcements immediately—or wait, should we get out of here first?!”

“Calm down, Licht.”

“How am I supposed to be calm about this?!”

“It’s all right. This is different from an ordinary Great Collapse.”

Julius spoke with an air of odd composure, his tone carrying a certainty that went beyond ordinary confidence.

“The monster is forcing its way across floors in defiance of the goddess’s order. To make that crossing, it has had to destroy its own soul. When you consider how much a monster that should be on the fiftieth floor would have had to wear itself down to reach the eleventh—its strength is not something to be terrified of.”

“…Julius, when did you come to understand all this?”

Licht looked at Julius with something close to awe. Simply being told something was not enough to ascend the steps—it required genuine comprehension. Even so, those who heard Julius speak could apparently tell that his knowledge was a form of “understanding” granted by the goddess.

Karen had a good idea of when Julius had come to understand it. After resolving the incident in the royal capital dungeon, Julius had ascended a step. He had come to understand how monsters crossed floors—so that he could follow Karen wherever she went.

Julius didn’t answer Licht’s question. He looked at Karen instead.

“That said, this monster is far beyond you. We will defeat it once it crosses the gate and reaches the tenth floor, so Karen, please stay back.”

Julius’s tone remained completely unhurried. There was likely very little actual danger within the scope of his understanding. That must have been why he had told her to drink the potion too. Karen felt a wave of relief even as she asked:

“What kind of monster is it—the S-rank that’s about to cross over?”

“A black dragon. The black dragon said to have been defeated by the Ehlertt ancestors—the one that supposedly dwells beyond the Thorn Forest.”

The moment Julius said it, a flash of razor-sharp fangs burst between the two black pillars. The black dragon thrust its snout through the dungeon gate from the other side, and its roar split the air, reverberating through every wall of the tenth-floor boss room.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 290

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Chapter Two Hundred and Ninety: Reunion

Passing between the black pillars, they emerged into a pale blue ice cavern. Despite being deep inside a cave, the place was brightly lit, as though light were shining down from somewhere far above through the transparent blue ice. While Karen carefully moved forward in a crouched posture to avoid slipping, Licht strode ahead a few steps before turning back.

“Lumi? What’s wrong?”

“Kyukyu…”

Hearing the riding dragon’s cry, Karen finally noticed something was off and looked back. From the moment they had entered the tenth floor, Lumi hadn’t taken a single step. Even when Licht pulled at it bridle, it planted its feet and refused to move forward.

“…Well. It’s not unheard of for a riding dragon to do this on a floor where a dungeon boss is present. Unusual for the tenth floor, but not impossible.”

Despite calling it something that happened from time to time, Licht said it with a deep crease between his brows.

“So Mr. Julius hasn’t defeated the boss on this floor yet.”

“That would seem to be the case.”

He said it with a look that suggested he thought more was going on than that. Without stating exactly what he suspected, Licht tied Lumi’s reins to one of the gate pillars.

Karen hesitated over whether to channel magical power into the earring. Now that they were on the same floor, the magic wouldn’t be blocked. If she channeled magical power into the earring—the one in the color of Julius’s eyes—the one Julius wore in her own eye color would grow warm. She went back and forth, and in the end decided against it. If Julius were in the middle of a fight, it would break his concentration.

“Karen, I know your body is hurting.”

Karen flinched and backed away, clutching her hand instinctively. Licht gave her an exasperated look.

“Hiding it won’t do any good. Your face is completely red, for one thing.”

She had been aware of a stinging pain across her face, but hadn’t realized it was obvious to anyone who looked. Karen covered her face with her hands, but it was already too late.

“I know full well this will be hard on your body, but I want to reach Julius as fast as possible.”

Karen felt a wave of relief. Licht had been entrusted with her by Julius, but his first priority was the same as hers—Julius himself. Not being fussed over was oddly comfortable, and she nodded without hesitation.

“I feel exactly the same. It doesn’t matter what it costs me.”

“Your generous agreement is much appreciated, Karen.”

Licht smiled and thanked her—and as he spoke, he was already supporting Karen’s body as he knocked her unconscious and she began to fall.

“It’s hard on you either way, but you being unconscious is the fastest option.”

Karen clawed her way out of a dream in which she was drowning in the sea.

“Gah—cough, cough!”

A brutal shot of alcohol had been forced into her, going up her nose and leaving a sharp sting at the back of her throat. Licht looked down at her as she coughed with tears in her eyes and held up a flask.

“This stimulant works pretty well, doesn’t it? It’s not a potion, though—just dwarven fire liquor. That means I can use it as many times as needed.”

After coughing to her heart’s content, Karen looked around.

“Where are we…?”

She didn’t know when she had lost consciousness. She didn’t remember, but it seemed they had arrived at their destination.

They had passed through the ice cavern and now stood in a place where an enormous pit yawned open all the way to the sky. The sky itself was so distant that the rim of the cliffs far above blurred and disappeared. All that was visible was a single sliver of sky, like a crack in the earth. It struck Karen as somehow familiar, though she couldn’t recall why. Inverted icicles jutted up all around like spikes.

And directly before Karen and Licht, embedded in a wall of blue ice as if it had always been there, was a door. A pair of black double doors with golden geometric patterns traced across their surface. It was the so-called “boss room” door Karen had once heard adventurers talking about in a tavern. Its official name was the Door of Trials.

“We’re going in, but don’t do anything reckless.”

“Understood.”

“If the pain gets to be too much, drink a potion. But if you do, stay back—don’t come forward.”

Karen’s entire body ached as though she’d sustained bruises all over, whatever manner of transportation had brought her here. She endured it in silence, keeping her expression neutral. If she drank a potion now, there would be nothing left in reserve. While she confirmed that the alchemy cauldron and World Tree ladle strapped to her pack were intact, she answered:

“I’m still all right.”

“If something happens to you, Julius might very well cut ties with me. …Though bringing you somewhere like this in the first place probably means I’m already done for.”

Licht looked quietly, mournfully resigned. Karen smiled at him with her reddened cheeks.

“I’m the one who brought you, Master Licht. So if Mr. Julius is angry, it’ll be at me.”

“You’ve got it easy. Julius would never hate you.”

Karen thought Julius probably wouldn’t hate Licht either. Bringing her all the way here had unmistakably been for Julius’s sake, and Julius would understand that. She chose not to say it aloud and said something else instead:

“Mr. Julius is inside, right?”

“Most likely. Stay behind me.”

“Yes.”

Karen gave a brief answer, and Licht slowly opened the door.

Beyond it was another prison-like chamber—open to the sky, surrounded by walls of ice and inverted icicles hanging down like bars.

And in the middle of that prison lay a massive humanoid monster of deep blue, easily five meters tall, sprawled on its side.

Licht pushed Karen behind him and murmured:

“Just sleeping…? No—”

Through the gap between Licht’s arm, Karen found the one she had been looking for and cried out.

“Mr. Julius!”

“— Karen?!”

On the other side of the fallen monster. Julius was standing before the two black pillars at the far end of the ice prison—the gate to the eleventh floor—and at the sound of Karen calling his name, he turned around immediately.

He looked somewhat worn, but all in one piece, healthy—and on the tenth floor of all places, his complexion was clear, even glowing, and the expression on his face at Karen’s sudden appearance was one of complete and utter disbelief.

Karen’s eyes filled with tears, and she channeled magical power into the earring with everything she had.

“Whoa—?!”

Julius gave a violent start as the earring seared with heat. Karen fixed him with a glare and broke into a run. The monster wasn’t sleeping—it was on its side in a pool of blood. She sprinted past it and threw herself at Julius.

Julius caught Karen’s body without the slightest effort as she crashed into him.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 289

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Nine: Reaching the Ninth Floor

As it turned out, the trick of dampening the vibrations enough for conversation naturally came at the cost of speed—and now that speed was everything, Karen had let Lumi the riding dragon run at full tilt wherever there was no need to talk.

Between screaming, clenching her jaw against nausea, and hovering on the edge of unconsciousness, having given up on everything, Karen had somehow found herself atop the ridge of a snowy mountain before she knew it.

And there, directly ahead of her, stood two black pillars. The dungeon gate that led to the tenth floor.

They had made it here in just over a single day. Since setting out from the sixth floor yesterday afternoon, they had pushed Lumi in a relentless forced march, with Licht killing every monster in their path on the spot.

In front of the dungeon gate, Karen collapsed flat on her back. Beside Karen, who no longer felt capable of moving even a finger, Licht lit a fire.

“…So people at your level, Master Licht, clear dungeons at this kind of speed.”

“No.”

Licht dismissed Karen’s words as she began to recover a little.

“Do you normally explore more slowly? That does make sense—you never know what might happen in a dungeon.”

But Licht dismissed that too.

“The other way around. We go faster. The first ten floors especially—we blow straight through them. That way, most of the monsters up to that point can’t keep up, so no matter what’s in there, it’s actually safer.”

“…Don’t tell me you can run faster than Lumi?”

“Of course I can. Riding dragons are lesser dragons. They’re only E-rank, you know? That means they’re weak enough for humans to tame. Still, the lesser dragons chosen as riding dragons are unusually fast for their rank. The quickest ones can move as fast as C-rank monsters—but Julius and I are stronger than C-rank monsters.”

“So it would’ve been faster if you’d just carried me?”

“A normal human body can’t survive our top speed, so the riding dragon was the right call. They say a riding dragon’s pace is about the fastest a human can just barely endure.”

“I see…”

They were on the ridge of a snowy mountain, where the narrow path was as thin as a spine and steep cliffs dropped away on either side. Every flat surface was blanketed in thick, heavy snow—but around the open area where the dungeon gate stood, not a single flake had settled. Monsters rarely approached near the dungeon gates either, making it an ideal campsite.

Karen lay wrapped in her fluffy mantle against the bare rock, looking up at the sky. Even though they were inside a dungeon, the night sky above was a perfect jet black, brilliant with stars. Someone from her previous life who knew the movements of the stars might have understood something just from looking at them. Karen herself only knew Orion, and at least that much was true—she couldn’t find it.

“Even being able to descend this fast… why hasn’t Mr. Julius come back yet?”

“Maybe he’s just taking his time.”

“…Maybe so.”

Licht had caught Karen’s murmur, but he didn’t actually believe it—that was why they had rushed here. And Karen didn’t believe it either, not for a moment, though she wished with all her heart that it were true. That was a wish they both shared.

The tenth floor. Neither of them knew what lay beyond, and so both Karen and Licht had chosen to camp before the dungeon gate. Precisely because every moment counted, they had to be fully prepared.

“Karen, fire’s ready. Can you get up?”

“…Yes, I rested a little. I’m fine. Thank you for lighting it.”

Karen dragged herself upright, and Licht started placing his order:

“The temperature drops with every floor we descend—same as other Ehlertt-affiliated dungeons. More body-warming potions would be useful.”

“I’ll make them.”

“That’s all we need for now.”

At Licht’s words, Karen quietly breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t done a thing, and yet she was utterly exhausted and wrung out.

“We still have your handmade healing potions left. I’ve also got some magical power recovery potions in stock. And don’t use any magical power on tonight’s dinner. Save your strength for tomorrow. We’ll reach Julius tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

Gathering what was needed on the spot and making it immediately—that was the role Karen had volunteered for. No matter how tired she was, the work had to be done. She nodded at Licht’s words and reached for her gloves.

Her hands had stiffened from clinging to the riding dragon for so long, making the gloves difficult to remove. She had managed to work one halfway off when she frowned. The hands beneath the pale blue gloves Sieg had given her were bright red with chilblains. In just over a single day, the skin had cracked at every knuckle and split into bleeding chaps. The skin at the base of her nails had torn open and was oozing blood, and part of a nail had begun to lift away.

With the cold steadily deepening every time they passed through a dungeon gate, she had lost all feeling in her hands—she couldn’t even tell anymore whether they hurt or simply felt nothing—so she hadn’t realized it had come to this. Karen swallowed quietly.

There was a possibility that she might sustain serious injuries later on—injuries that would require a potion to survive. She couldn’t afford to use one on something this minor and trigger a cool-down. Karen stopped trying to remove the gloves. If her hands looked like this even with the magically enchanted gloves, what would they have looked like without them?

“What’s wrong, Karen?”

“Nothing.”

Karen gave Licht a wry smile as she answered. She had done nothing but hold on, and yet her body had already taken a beating all on its own. It seemed that merely existing in a place of magical trials was enough to wear down those who didn’t belong there.

Karen set the alchemical cauldron over the fire with her gloves still on. She started with dinner first. Being careful not to channel any magical power, she quickly boiled some herb hardtack. Into that she added what little she had gathered along the way—chunks of pumpkin and chopped daikon radish.

The boots were enchanted too, so frostbite shouldn’t have been an issue. And yet she had lost feeling in her toes some time ago. Perhaps even with the enchantments, it hadn’t been adequate gear for the dungeon’s tenth floor. But there was no point saying so now, so she kept her expression composed.

After they finished their silent dinner, Karen worked her way through the potions Licht had listed, one by one. Last of all, she began making the warmth potion.

She melted snow, brought the water to a boil, and with her gloved hands, clumsily opened a cloth bag and dropped dried ginger slices into the alchemical cauldron. She had known from the start that the Ehlertt territory’s winters were brutal, so she had brought gingermint specifically for warming the body. She also had the highly nutritious honey she had packed, hoping to suck on it if she got stranded at the hunting festival. She added a generous measure of honey, then threw in lemon rounds she had gathered along the way. It was less like brewing tea and more like making a potion. After stirring with the World Tree ladle and channeling in magical power, Karen appraised the contents of the cauldron.

Honey Lemon Ginger Tea

Warms the body.

She held out a cup, filled it generously with ginger tea, and passed it to Licht. He took a sip and let out a low groan of approval.

“The problem with your potions is that they taste too good. I want to drink two cups for no reason at all.”

After handing Licht his, Karen poured her own cup full of the steaming ginger tea and swallowed one hot mouthful deep into her throat, then exhaled a white breath of relief. The spicy ginger flavor and sweet-tart taste spread through her mouth, and the very next moment, she felt warmth spreading through her entire body. Karen asked:

“Could you conquer this dungeon without support potions, Master Licht?”

“I could. But it’d take a toll on me.”

Licht’s answer was almost exactly what Karen had expected, and she looked down.

“I wonder if Mr. Julius brought potions like these…”

“Of course he did. If he’d decided to conquer a dungeon, he’d have prepared for it as a matter of course.”

Even the knight order, which hadn’t planned to enter any dungeon, had brought some supplies. Karen murmured with her head still bowed:

“Someone with as much magical power as Mr. Julius shouldn’t have their body wearing down so easily… but when I first met him, his skin was rough. With all that magic filling his body, it shouldn’t get like that under ordinary circumstances.”

“…Maybe it was from the strain of conquering the dungeon in the royal capital?”

“I hope that’s all it was.”

Julius loved diving into dungeons, yet hated that part of himself—so how thoroughly would he truly prepare to protect himself while doing so? It was possible he had been diving recklessly, with inadequate gear and potions—barely enough to keep himself alive.

“You worry that Julius might be in there right now without proper preparation, throwing himself in recklessly? When we conquered the Ehlertt dungeon together, he wasn’t like that—but maybe that was because he had us with him.”

Licht’s expression turned grim.

“If that’s what he’s been doing, I’ll knock some sense into him.”

Until now, Karen had always assumed Julius would have far better potions than anything she could make. So even when she had thought about giving him potions before he descended, she had only ever considered the ones only she could make—she had never prepared a full set for him from scratch.

She should have done it. She should have filled both his hands with her potions until he couldn’t move.

“I want to go get Mr. Julius. Now.”

“…Then finish putting away the potions, go to sleep, and get your strength back.”

Ignoring Karen’s murmur, Licht spoke calmly, then quickly prepared himself and lay down beside the campfire.

Karen finished bottling the warmth potions and packed them into her rucksack, then rolled over to the other side of the fire from Licht, curled up, and pulled her mantle tight around herself.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 288

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Eight: Their Respective Jobs

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Shaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

Karen was screaming.

She sensed monsters approaching from outside her field of vision, but more than that, she was screaming because she felt like she was about to be thrown off the riding dragon.

“Little Lumi! No no no no! Master Licht! I’m about to fall!”

“I won’t let you fall even if you do, so relax. That said, I’m busy dealing with the frost harpies chasing us right now, so if you fall, I’ll grab you roughly, so I recommend holding on.”

They rushed through the adamantite deposit cave on the sixth floor without encountering what seemed to be ghosts, and while she was screaming with her eyes closed, the inside of her eyelids brightened, and when she opened her eyes, they were on the seventh floor.

The seventh floor was a pale blue ice cliff. In such places, there were usually flying monsters, and sure enough, the moment they arrived on the seventh floor, they were swarmed by frost harpies.

Harpies that used ice-based magic.

A flock of them was apparently flying from behind. But Karen had no room to look back.

“Little Lumi! Sorry! I might dig in my nails!”

“Normal human nails won’t pierce a riding dragon’s hide, so you’ll be fine if you bite down and hold on. Well, if I pour magical power in, I can stab them at my level—ngh!”

Shocks ran through the riding dragon while the frost harpies shrieked in piercing voices sharp enough to tear silk.

Licht apparently swept away the harpies with his sword, as the sound of wingbeats receded, and immediately after, Karen, who had been slipping down, was pulled back up by Licht, who had finished the battle.

“See, the battle’s over, so you can fall onto me now if you want?”

“That’s somehow… unpleasant…”

“I don’t want it either. Julius wouldn’t like it either.”

Karen couldn’t even speak without keenly feeling the danger of falling after steeling herself, yet Licht was talking normally on the riding dragon.

Straddling the almost bipedally running smooth slide-like riding dragon, Licht squeezed the riding dragon’s torso with his thigh strength and held on in a posture with his upper body raised using his whole body’s muscle strength.

Meanwhile, the riding dragon continued racing at terrifying speed along the narrow protruding path, clinging to it perfectly. Karen desperately clung to the steep slope with Licht serving as a stopper behind her. If she relaxed here, rather than riding the riding dragon, she would almost be sitting on Licht.

“Could you not waste energy here, Karen? Is that your fastest?”

“Ghk…! How humiliating…”

Struck at a sore spot, Karen fell back onto Licht—and was horrified by how little vibration she felt.

“Are you making micro-adjustments to your posture matching the riding dragon’s running vibrations…?”

“Well, yeah. At our level, we can do that much.”

Even being able to talk normally, Karen swallowed her scream.

Though she had been on the verge of motion sickness just before, now it felt like riding in an abnormally fast wagon cutting through the wind.

Fearsome physical ability.

Karen understood instinctively that Licht truly was a strong person who matched Julius.

“…Thank you for your consideration.”

“You just need to do your job. We didn’t bring much food, so I’m seriously counting on you, you know?”

Karen’s luggage was just the alchemy cauldron, ladle, and the rucksack held in front, sandwiching the alchemy cauldron. Licht’s equipment wasn’t much different either. They had brought as many herb hardtacks as they could carry, but if an unexpected situation occurred in the unknown dungeon, they would be immediately done for.

“It’ll be fine… probably. At the very least, I should be able to find food.”

“You sound confident? I haven’t heard you’re knowledgeable about dungeons.”

“What I’m knowledgeable about isn’t dungeons, but the seasons of ingredients.”

“Seasons?”

In this world—or rather inside dungeons—what you sought could eventually be found if you looked.

Though things were said to be easier to find in the deeper layers of dungeons, they weren’t impossible to find in shallow layers either.

In Karen’s hypothesis, they spawned based on probability.

Monsters too.

Monsters were born from eggs or viviparously, but fundamentally, dungeons generated them. This was the common understanding of people in this world. After all, monsters were positioned in roughly the same places every time people entered a dungeon.

Of course, they moved within the floor, but they were concentrated enough that adventurers had their own hunting grounds. Even dungeon bosses on every tenth floor, once defeated, wouldn’t appear for a while, but then the same type of monster with the same strength would reign as boss again.

It was natural to think dungeons generated them. And Karen’s idea was that the various plants and animals found inside dungeons were also spawning in the same way.

But this wasn’t a common understanding among people in this world, probably because, unlike monsters, the way they appeared seemed random. If the probability were constant, it wouldn’t be strange for some people to notice the pattern. But most likely, the appearance probability also differed by person. The probabilities were surely affected by factors such as the goddess’s favor, one’s rank, magical power, personal understanding, and various other influences.

And if Karen’s theory was correct, she could increase those spawn probabilities. If she looked for things that seemed likely to be in the dungeon, wouldn’t they be easier to find?

For example, things likely to be in a rich forest were easier to find in a rich forest environment dungeon, and things likely to be in a winter forest were easier to find in a winter forest environment dungeon. Things likely to be in the sea were, of course, found in the sea, and things likely to be in rivers were found in rivers.

To Karen, this felt perfectly natural. But most people in this world spent their entire lives in towns, and there were people who didn’t know forests or seas outside of dungeons.

Naturally, nobody tried searching for fish in a forest, but some people searched in ways not far removed from that. Most people didn’t understand that summer fruits couldn’t be found in winter forests.

But in the winter forest inside a dungeon, even summer fruits could occasionally appear, making people even more confused about the relationship between seasons and vegetation.

If there were forests or rivers within a dungeon’s sphere of influence, natural activities could be observed there. But places easily accessible to people were valuable territory. They were quickly cleared and became areas where people lived.

Outside dungeons’ spheres of influence, the environment became almost the same as inside dungeons.

“Deepening ‘understanding’ is difficult, so it’s no wonder you don’t understand, Master Licht.”

“Are you making fun of me?”

“Not at all. This is the view of a B-rank alchemist.”

Licht’s eyes widened slightly.

How on earth could people in this world know that daikon radishes were in season in winter and cucumbers in summer? Even the ordinary knowledge from her previous life was surely helping Karen understand ingredients better. Thanks to this knowledge, Karen could surely reach Julius.

Looking down at Karen, who gazed into the distance unfazed by the freezing wind striking her cheeks, Licht too narrowed his eyes, gazing at what lay ahead on the road.

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Alchemist Karen No Longer Compromises, Chapter 287

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Chapter Two Hundred and Eighty-Seven: Fastest Rescue 3

“When people who became confused here become greedy, trying to take at least the adamantite back, they fall into the ice crevasse on the fifth floor and become food for the monsters below—it feels designed that way.”

“Why do you think that?”

“There was a person who panicked, clutched adamantite, ran back to the fifth floor, and fell into the dungeon’s trap.”

“Ah, that guy.”

Licht glanced at the knight, who was shrinking uncomfortably. Now that he was calm, he could probably reflect on what he’d done, and when he noticed Karen’s gaze, he awkwardly lowered his eyes.

“When we used a calming potion on him, he calmed down.”

“You realized monsters were involved from just that? Just by looking at us?”

“I didn’t realize there were monsters involved. I only considered it a possibility; I also thought everyone might just be upset about Mr. Julius not returning.”

“Then why did you make a panacea and make me eat it?”

For some reason, Licht’s gaze grew increasingly sharp.

However, Karen answered his’s questions without hesitation:

“Regardless, I believed the fastest way to rescue Mr. Julius was to help everyone calm down first. I planned to restore your composure with a panacea that cures all status abnormalities while also letting you eat at the same time.”

“…You’re calm. A hair’s breadth from cold-blooded, but extremely reliable. That’s a compliment, you know?”

Even as he said this, perhaps displeased with Karen’s calmness, his words had an ironic ring to them.

When Karen inadvertently glared at such a Licht, he glared back.

“What is it?”

“Nothing. In other words, if this is a trap built into the design, there’s a high possibility that monsters aren’t overflowing.”

“…I see.”

Licht said this, then took a deep breath and continued.

“I’ll trust your words, Karen. I have no choice but to trust them. There’s no time to waste thinking ‘what if.’ If it’s mental interference without a visible form, is it a ghost type?”

“I’m not knowledgeable about dungeon monsters, so please consult with our adventurers who are staying silent in front of the irritated nobles. The others don’t seem to be in a state where they can talk right now.”

“Ah—hey!”

After appraising the finished curry with her appraisal mirror, Karen walked away from Licht.

“Everyone! The potion is complete. —It’s a potion to reach Mr. Julius at the fastest speed. A potion for walking at maximum speed to prevent this dungeon’s collapse!”

Karen announced the potion’s completion to the knights with murky eyes, then served a portion of curry into a bowl.

She took it to Gottfried, whose face looked terrifyingly irritated.

“Sir Gottfried, please eat.”

“—So I’m in a state where I need a panacea right now?”

Karen nodded, her eyes widening slightly at Gottfried, who could realize this on his own.

“Yes, Sir Gottfried.”

“You have my thanks.”

Gottfried said with an expression like he was suppressing anger in a vise and a low voice, then received the bowl from Karen and drank the curry almost all at once.

“Curry is a drink…”

Karen muttered quietly.

Immediately after downing the curry in one go, Gottfried visibly regained a calm expression.

“…Phew. I’m in your debt, Miss Karen. I’ve finally regained my composure.”

“You just said ‘in your debt,’ didn’t you?”

“Mm?”

Before Gottfried could retract his previous statement, Karen demanded repayment of that debt.

“Could you please lend me the riding dragon that pulls the wagon? Sir Gottfried.”

“…Mm? Do you have something you want it to pull?”

“Master Licht and I will ride it and go ahead.”

Riding dragons were originally meant to pull wagons, but one could also ride on their backs. Their speed easily surpassed horses. As domesticated monsters, their rank was designated as F, but their speed was said to be at the level of D-rank monsters.

However, because their bodies weren’t shaped for people to easily ride on their backs, it apparently made for the worst riding experience.

But of course, for someone as strong as a B-rank adventurer, it was no great issue.

Karen probably couldn’t ride it alone. So she needed Licht’s help.

“I see. However, you’ll have to abandon most of the luggage, you know? Information on unexplored dungeons is scarce. There may come a situation where the supplies here are needed.”

Naturally, the wagon carried far more than just Karen and wine. Food, magic potions, and magical tools, supplies needed for dungeon conquering, were piled high.

“If we need any supplies, I’ll alchemize everything on the spot.”

“…I see. If you can do that, then indeed, that would be fastest.”

At Karen’s words, Gottfried nodded as if overwhelmed.

“I don’t mind, but it will be life-threatening.”

“Thank you, Sir Gottfried.”

“Hey, I get informed after the fact?”

Getting caught up as a matter of course, Licht interjected, and Karen smiled faintly.

“If you dislike it, Master Licht, I’ll go alone.”

“There’s no way I could let you go alone. Obviously, I’m going.”

“I won’t say ‘please.’ This is a golden opportunity for you too, isn’t it, Master Licht?”

At Karen’s provocative words, Licht’s eyes widened.

“…Hey, Karen. Could it be you’re actually not calm? Pretty angry?”

“If getting irritated or upset would let us dive into the dungeon faster, I’d do that too, but that’s not the case, is it? If being cold-blooded lets me reach Mr. Julius at the fastest speed, I’ll be as cold-blooded as needed.”

“Ah, sorry, what I said earlier—”

“The woman trying to become Mr. Julius’s partner, being calm when Mr. Julius might be in danger, felt unpleasant to you as his friend, didn’t it? I understand your feelings, Master Licht.”

Smirking coldly, Karen transferred the finished curry into another pot and quickly wiped down the alchemy cauldron. She tied the now-empty alchemy cauldron to her body with rope under her fluffy cloak.

She also strapped the ladle to herself like a splint for a broken arm. She put on the light blue gloves she’d received from Sieg.

At the sight of Karen steadily making preparations, Licht surrendered.

“…Ah, damn it, I was wrong! You’re a hundred times better than a woman who cries and screams hysterically!”

“Please prepare yourself too, Master Licht. We’re leaving now.”

Karen casually ignored Licht’s surrender as she spoke.

Looking slightly irritated, Licht teased Karen back:

“I can move anytime, though? Do you have experience riding a riding dragon yourself, Karen?”

“Forget riding dragons, I don’t even have horseback riding experience. So please don’t worry about me and run the riding dragon even if I vomit or scream.”

At Karen, who spoke spiritedly despite her pale face, Licht smiled brightly.

“If you end up in too pitiful a state, I’ll knock you unconscious. You’ll cry tears of gratitude, right?”

“…Such reassuring words, I’m deeply grateful.”

When Karen answered with an expression as if she’d bitten into a bitter insect, Licht chuckled deep in his throat.

After preparing, Karen and Licht clung to the gentle slope-like back of the riding dragon that had been unhitched from the wagon.

She keenly felt it wasn’t a creature shaped for people to ride.

If Licht wasn’t riding behind her, even if it was just walking at a regular pace, Karen would eventually slide off.

“We’ll catch up.”

After Karen nodded at Gottfried’s words, Licht signaled the riding dragon.

In that instant, the riding dragon carrying Karen and Licht, which had been on all fours until just before, almost shifted into a bipedal sprint and launched forward like a rocket.

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