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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