Chapter 118 - Dark Clouds (2)

The troll, a rank-five monster.

Practically synonymous with regeneration, but even this bastard would die if its heart or head burst.

Yet I had poured our team's entire strength into cutting off its arm.

And finally...

[GRAAAGH!!]

I immobilized it by pinning its one remaining arm.

In other words, I had created an opening for Misha to pour on damage without putting herself at risk.

Misha sprang forward. Until now, she had been painstakingly maintaining her distance, wary of the troll's long arms. For the first time, she leaped.

She landed on my shoulder, then—

SHUNK!

Drove both swords into its eyes at once.

No matter how high its Physical Resistance, it was bound to have vulnerable spots.

[GRAAGH!!!]

With swords enchanted with acidic blood buried in its delicate eyes, the troll thrashed even harder.

Fucking hell, that strength...

"B-Bjorn, nyah?"

"Don't worry about me! Keep stabbing!"

I shouted as I clamped my thighs around its arm with all my strength. Perhaps realizing we had no room to spare, Misha concentrated on her sword work instead of answering.

That was when the first complication arose.

SHUNK! SHUNK! SHUNK!

As Misha repeatedly plunged her swords into its eye sockets...

SCRAPE! SCRITCH!

I heard a scraping sound.

I had expected that much. Even humans had bone behind their eyeballs.

But...

"... B-Bjorn? It's too hard! I can't get through, nyah!"

The problem was how strong that bone was.

Its thick arm bone was one thing, but I had thought she could quickly break through this and drive a blade into its brain.

Fine. So you won't fucking die that easily.

"Keep going."

"Got it, nyah!"

Misha reversed her grip on Venomous Viper's Fang and kept stabbing down into its eye socket.

That was when the second complication arose.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

As we took longer, the troll began rampaging.

Blinded, it abandoned even its attempts to shake me off and charged in one direction on its legs—the only limbs it could still move freely.

The problem was...

"Dwalki! It's going after Dwalki!"

Somehow, the eyeless bastard was running straight toward Dwalki.

[GRAAAGH!!]

Rotmiller scooped Dwalki up and dodged this way and that, but the monster pursued them savagely, as though it could see.

"Mana! It must be sensing mana!"

I hadn't known it could do this either.

Was it really sensing mana instinctively and following it, as the dwarf said?

'Fucking hell.'

Whatever the reason, just when I had thought we had this in the bag, things went to shit in an instant.

Not even ten seconds after it began, Dwalki and Rotmiller were cornered.

Of course they were.

It might have been different for Misha, but Rotmiller's Physical stats weren't high enough to outrun a rank-five monster while carrying someone.

[GRAAAAAGH!!!]

The troll charged toward the cornered pair. The dwarf tried desperately to stop it, to no avail.

CRASH!

The troll kicked him away like a soccer ball, sending him slamming into the wall. Apparently, his MP had run dry at that exact moment, deactivating [Weight Balance]...

Damn it. Of all times.

"B-Bjorn, nyah?"

"O-Okay, nyah!"

Still, Rotmiller used the brief opening the dwarf had bought them to escape the corner.

Of course, it only bought a little time.

About three seconds, perhaps?

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Running toward the other side, Rotmiller was caught by the troll and rolled across the floor to avoid its kick.

From where I was, I could no longer see either of them.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The troll kept stomping down.

"E-Eek...!"

They must have been rolling desperately, because I heard no one being crushed...

But if I let the troll keep this up much longer, someone would definitely die.

Dwalki. Rotmiller.

No, perhaps both of them.

THOOM!

I had a choice to make.

Misha was so busy driving her sword in that she had no idea what was happening below.

The decision was mine alone.

THOOM!

If I released its arm and climbed down now, I could protect Dwalki and Rotmiller.

But ultimately, that choice would get us all killed.

Once I let go, the troll would attack Misha with its freed arm...

And we would never get another chance.

'Damn it.'

I squeezed my eyes shut.

And before I could stop myself, I thought:

Wasn't this bound to happen someday?

THOOM!

[Dungeon and Stone] wasn't a game about adventures full of hopes and dreams.

As the game progressed, companions' deaths were all but inevitable. As long as the main character survived, the adventure continued.

Yes, that was the kind of game it was.

This goddamn game—

CRUNCH!

Then I heard something being crushed below.

A sound I had heard countless times since waking up here: flesh and bone being mashed.

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, Misha stopped stabbing.

But only for a moment.

"KEEP GOING!!!"

At my shout, she resumed.

SCRITCH! SCRITCH! SCRITCH!

Gritting my teeth, I put every ounce of strength into restraining the troll's remaining arm.

That was when it happened.

WHAM!

Dwalki came into view, sent flying by the troll's kick. His body was bent grotesquely, as though his spine had snapped.

That made me realize something.

It wasn't something I particularly wanted to know...

But that first sound must have come from Rotmiller's body.

"... Hh!"

Had Misha seen Dwalki fly up to our eye level?

She flinched, then repeatedly plunged her sword down, her expression on the verge of tears.

"Die, nyah! Die, nyah! Die! You monster! Just die, nyah!!!"

We had to watch our companions suffer in order to survive, but things took a turn for the worst.

With Dwalki down, the curse wore off.

[Hyper Regeneration] took full effect, rapidly restoring the troll's arm.

「Misha Karlstein has cast [Shatter].」

「Misha Karlstein has cast [Shatter].」

「Misha Karlstein has cast [Shatter].」

As if she knew we were running out of time, Misha stabbed down with everything she had. Each passing second felt like an eternity.

Then...

SCRITCH! SCRAPE! SCRITCH... CRUNCH!

At the same instant a strangely clear impact rang out, the troll I was clinging to with my entire body vanished.

「You have defeated a troll. EXP +5」

* * *

The dead troll's body dissolved into light and disappeared, sending Misha and me plummeting to the floor.

Normally, we would have righted ourselves in midair and landed on our feet, but neither of us had the energy.

THOOM!

As I lay sprawled on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling, a fist-sized magic crystal dropped beside my head.

TAP!

It rolled away.

That was all the loot we got.

There was no dramatic Essence drop.

Once again, it struck me that this moment was real.

Yes, this was no dream.

Neither the choice I had just made, nor the sight of Dwalki flying away in that horrific state because of it...

"Rotmiller! Dwalki!"

Pushing aside my desire to rest, I forced myself up. Misha was already running to our fallen companions.

"Rotmiller! Wake up, nyah!!!"

"D-Don't... shake me...!"

"S-Sorry, nyah!"

Amazingly, Rotmiller was alive.

One leg wasn't merely broken but crushed, yet it wasn't a life-threatening injury.

Heaven had truly helped us.

Had his head or upper body been trampled, that would have been the end.

"D-Dwalki... first, not me..."

"O-Okay, nyah!!"

While Misha ran to Dwalki, I turned to check on the dwarf.

I saw no major external injuries.

'Did he just hit his head on the wall and pass out...?'

Dwalki was the problem.

"B-Bjorn!! What do we do, nyah?! D-Dwalki isn't b-breathing..."

"Move aside."

I pushed Misha aside and checked Dwalki's pulse.

He wasn't breathing, but his heart was still beating faintly.

There was still a chance to bring him back.

HISSSSS!

First, I took out a high-grade potion and poured it into Dwalki's mouth.

I knew it was only a stopgap.

His spine was nearly folded in half, and his leg had broken from the impact of the fall. Blood kept flowing from his nose and mouth, suggesting damage to his internal organs as well.

And Dwalki was an ordinary human.

A mage, at that—a class notorious for being made of paper.

'Fuck.'

I pressed my lips together.

With injuries this severe, I wasn't even sure a high-grade potion could save him...

"Dwalki! Hang in there, nyah! You've had a potion, so you'll be all right soon, nyah!"

And even if he lived, he would surely suffer terrible lasting effects.

If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have used that Top-tier potion back—

"Po... tion..."

I turned at Rotmiller's strained voice. At first, I thought he was asking for a potion himself.

But...

"Use... this."

Even as he trembled in pain, Rotmiller was holding out a hand with a bottle of potion in it.

"It's a... Top-tier potion."

What? A Top-tier potion?

He had one...?

"Bought it... just in case. Use it... on him..."

Before I could answer, Misha ran over and fetched it. I stopped her as she tried to pour it straight into his mouth.

"Give it to him like this, and he'll never walk again."

"What, nyah?"

Potions weren't all-powerful.

Blindly giving someone a potion without setting their bones would leave them with worse lasting damage.

So—

While Misha fed him the potion little by little, I realigned his broken leg and spine. Though 'realigned' really meant I had roughly put them back where they belonged...

The potion would have to handle the rest somehow.

It was a Top-tier potion, after all. It could even restore a severed arm.

"Whew..."

After watching Dwalki in oppressive suspense, I finally released the breath I had been holding.

He was breathing again.

It would be a long while before he regained consciousness, but his pale complexion had improved considerably.

"... That's one less worry."

High-grade potions should be enough to handle the rest.

Of course, there was no time to sit and rest.

"Don't just stand there. Help."

"O-Okay, nyah. What should I do, nyah?"

"Bring Hikurod over and lay him beside us. Give him a low-grade potion too, just in case."

While Misha followed my instructions, I examined Rotmiller's leg, which we had left untreated.

"How is... Dwalki?"

"Don't worry. You saved his life. How about worrying about yourself now?"

"You're... right. Heh heh."

"This will hurt quite a bit."

"I kn... Urgh! Aaargh!!"

Once Rotmiller, having been subjected to the 'potion treatment,' finished groaning and passed out, I had done everything I could for the moment.

Perhaps Misha had finished on her end too.

"Bjorn, nyah..."

She looked at me as though seeking confirmation.

I gave a faint smile and answered.

"Yes. Everyone survived."

"Thank goodness, nyah... Really... thank goodness, nyah..."

Misha slumped as though all the strength had drained out of her.

Apparently, it only felt real after she heard my answer.

I still couldn't quite believe it myself.

'To think... no one actually died.'

Not that I had wanted anyone to die.

No, I couldn't be happier that everyone had survived.

But too much about this troubled me to simply rejoice.

After all...

We hadn't survived this crisis because I had done a good job.

Because I had planned well beforehand.

Because I had handled the unexpected complications well.

None of that was why.

'We were... lucky.'

We had simply been lucky.

Only after admitting that did it finally sink in for me too.

What it meant to live as an explorer in this goddamn world.

Today, everyone had survived, just like in a movie.

But...

'It probably... won't always be like today.'

I knew better than anyone.

Someone like me wasn't going to get this lucky time and time again.

* * *

As time passed, they regained consciousness one by one.

The dwarf was the first to open his eyes.

"... I see. Everyone survived."

After confirming that everyone was alive, he didn't let out his usual hearty laugh.

He merely repeated the same words, almost like a prayer.

"Thank goodness. Yes... truly, thank goodness..."

Well, after years as an explorer, he must have experienced his share of such things. The death of a companion was all but an explorer's fate.

"Everyone alive after encountering a troll... I'll have to make an offering at the temple when we get back..."

Rotmiller woke after the dwarf.

I approached hesitantly and began with an apology mixed with an excuse.

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect the troll to act like that while it was blind."

"... How is that your fault? We should be thanking you. Without you, none of us would have survived."

"But..."

"You made the right decision. Don't blame yourself."

Rotmiller already seemed aware that I had been prepared to sacrifice the two of them.

Of course he would be.

I had shouted so loudly for Misha to keep going.

"Urgh... Ugh..."

Some time later, Dwalki opened his eyes with a groan too.

"Don't move. Your wounds haven't fully healed yet."

"Is everyone... all right...?"

"We're all fine, nyah! Don't worry about us, nyah!"

"Ah... M-Miss Misha... I'm glad you're safe..."

"Idiot! You're in no position to say that, nyah!"

"W-Well...! Cough! I-I suppose not...? Ha ha ha."

With Dwalki, who had been in the worst condition, awake, the atmosphere finally grew a little less heavy.

"Hah! The five of us killed a troll. We can't even brag about it—no one would believe us!"

The dwarf began cracking jokes as usual, and Misha was no different.

"Ugh, it should've at least dropped an Essence, nyah! It feels so unfair, nyah. After all that trouble, we got nothing, nyah!"

"We escaped with our lives, didn't we?"

"Rotmiller, your problem is that you never want enough, nyah."

"Right, I hear you even used a Top-tier potion this time? Don't worry, of course. We'll all pitch in to cover the cost."

"That's something of a relief."

"Oh, but Bjorn. What do we do now, nyah? You're not planning to climb any higher, are you, nyah?"

"Whew... What exactly do you take me for? Of course we're going to rest for a while."

"Wait, Misha? Why are you asking Bjorn? I'm the leader of this team, aren't I?"

"Oh... Right, nyah?"

Whatever the dwarf's objections, no one opposed my suggestion that we stay on this floor until the Labyrinth closed.

We were in no condition to continue exploring, after all.

We rested in the very place we had fought that desperate battle against the troll, soothing our exhausted bodies and minds.

「The Labyrinth has closed.」

「Your character is being transported to Raphdonia.」

And so, a week passed, and my sixth expedition came to an end.