Part Thirty-Five

Shit. I’m too late.

A short distance from where I fought the Saber Monkey were two mercenaries, with one hunched over the other. Another Saber Monkey lay a few feet away, grasping at the short sword driven into its throat. I decided to ignore it since it was on the verge of death. The two humans playing out a drama were far more interesting.

“Come on Mark, it’s not that much further! Just hang on a little longer.”

“Can’t. We both know I’m done fer. That dern Monkey…..cut through my intestines. I won’t make it much ferther. You should leave me be…..and make a run fer it. Yer magic's holding me togetha for now, but.”

What is up with his accent!? People actually talk like this!? My inappropriate thoughts notwithstanding, he was quite right. Even from here, I could tell that his wounds were bad. He was leaning against a tree and desperately trying to keep his intestines inside his abdomen. Kalia, who I had just realized was here, was trying to staunch the flow of blood from his abdomen.

“You can’t give up yet Mark! Didn’t we promise to see Gwyn again?”

“I’d love ta, but it’s my time. I’d just slow ya down even more now. It was bad enough…..you had to keep this wound closed…..but since it tore open… well, I ain’t afraid ta die. Just git movin.”

“No, no, no!”

Um, should I leave? They seem kinda busy, so I’ll just go over there. The awkwardness of watching such an intimate and sad scene was too much for my anti-social self.

“But how can I go on by myself? I-I can’t fight on my own!”

“Well, maybe the youngin peeping on us will help.”

“”Wha!?””

When did he notice me!? And if he had, why the hell didn’t he say anything!? He could’ve saved me so much awkwardness!

“Um……hi?”

“M-Michael!? W-when, how. W-w-what are you doing here!?”

What does she expect me to say!? That I was secretly stalking them all throughout their harrowing adventure? Ugh, whatever.

“I…followed the trail of blood? It was kinda conspicuous?”

“Why were those questions!?”

“How would I know!?”

Ergh! Enough of this farce! Fear and panic had thrown Kalia’s normal sensibilities into disarray. She was starting to act a little like Alicia and I only needed one person like her, thank you very much. So I came to a quick, but drastic decision.

*Smack!*

I’d done the easiest thing I could think of to snap her out of it. Sure, smacking her was rude and extremely uncalled for, but we were in a life-and-death situation. I didn’t have the patience to deal with someone’s panic attack. Especially when I wanted to get that person out alive.

“Are you calm now?”

“Mm-hm, mm-hm!”

Good. Now, what about him? His face had gone pale from the blood loss and it was evident even to me that he didn’t have much longer.

“Mm, yer a crude one, ain’t ya?”

Yeah, yeah. It isn’t anything I haven’t heard before. Pain is the quickest way to snap someone out of confusion, that’s all. There’s nothing else to it.

Having justified myself, I knelt down beside the guy. After a closer look, I could tell that his stomach wasn’t actually open. It just appeared so due to the angry red color of the wound. Though there were these shimmering threads crisscrossing the wound. No doubt some kind of magic Kalia had used to try and hold it closed.

This is bad. I’ve never seen a wound like this, not even in games or television. How the heck is he still conscious? This has to hurt worse than what I went through and that nearly killed me!

“Ha, ha, ha. Don’t look so glum youngster. This old man's time has come, that’s all.”

Old man? You’re middle aged at best! And why are you talking like some backwoods hillbilly!? I was beginning to think that everyone who willingly entered Dungeons had a few screws loose.

“Yeesh, you’re awfully chipper even though your insides are threatening to come outside.”

“ahaha, it’s cause my last worry was just taken care of. Would ya please get the miss back to the fort?”

I inadvertently glanced at Kalia. She’d been anxiously watching me talk to the old guy with an unreadable emotion in her eyes. I had no idea about their relationship, but I thought that Kalia was the type to treasure those close to her. She’d never willingly abandon anyone. Which means, haaah. Guess I have to play the heel.

I beckoned her closer, before taking a step back. Then I pointed at the old guy’s stomach, like I’d seen something I wanted her to look at. With her mind all scrambled, she never thought to second-guess the action. And that cost her.

*Thunk!*

The second she stepped in front of me, I used the back of my elbow to smack her head. She collapsed unconscious almost immediately.

Can’t believe that worked. I just imitated something I saw in a spy movie. I mean, I know people can actually do that, but they have martial arts training or practical experience. I’m not complaining, but this is just weird. I’m not some light novel protagonist.

“A little extreme, don’t ya think?”

“Definitely. But we both know she wouldn’t willingly leave. This is the easiest way.” Though I was certain to catch hell for it later.

“Ahahahah, cough, cough, ahem. Guess I’m about done fer. Been a good life, though the last few months took me to heck and back. Keep an eye on the girl. She’s got a good heart, unlike most people.”

He didn’t need to tell me, I’d seen it with my own eyes. Still, I had one last piece of business here. I knelt down again and slipped something into Mark's hand. And upon realizing what it was, his eyes opened wide.

“Youngin, what’re ya doing? You should hold on ta somethin like this.”

“I don’t need it. Or more like I’ve got too many as it is. Do with it as you like.”

Without waiting for his response, I hefted Kalia over my shoulder and set off. Though I had one thought as I left.

People. Are. Heavy!!

***

I might appear callous, but it was because I was focused on surviving. Not just my own, but for others as well. One glance had told me that Mark was done for and he’d agreed. If not for that, I would’ve let Kalia try to keep him alive longer. Maybe she could’ve succeeded. Maybe she would’ve had some kind of awakening, like in a light novel, but the odds of that were dismal. Some things just couldn’t be fixed.

Cheer up Michael. At least I’ve secured Kalia. That means I’ve kept my promise. Though it might not be worth much. After all, why was Kalia out here by herself?

Think about it. Kalia was essential to their group. She not only supported them by being a spotter, but she was also insurance for if they got seriously hurt. She would’ve been in the middle of their formation, safely guarded by all the others. It was one thing for someone like me, who stayed out on the edges, to get separated, it was another for her to be.

Something bad happened. Really, really bad. I won’t find out until she wakes up, but I have a really, really bad guess. I want to be wrong, I’m praying I’m wrong. But if I’m not, we’re in for some real shit later. Ugh, I hate this Dungeon.

Hopefully, my hunch would prove wrong. There were a dozen possible outcomes it could be, so it didn’t have to be that specific one. But knowing my luck, I should begin preparing as soon as possible. I didn’t want to get caught off-guard later on.

I should definitely focus on Grudge Magic for now. Learning a spell or two will go along way in here. Which is exactly why I want Kalia to wake up already! Seriously, you’re heavy! I really didn’t think this through. It’s all well and good to make sure she’s safe, but if a monster appears I’ll have a hard time fighting.

“Mnh!”

Oh look, sleeping beauty’s awake.

Carrying someone who was unconscious was one thing, dealing with someone rousing from slumber was another. I had to set her down out of fear of dropping her.

“Hm? What happened? Where am I? Michael!? Aahhh! Oh God, Mark! I-I have to go back, he needs help!”

*Fwooooom*

I don’t think you can help him anymore. Maybe it was the look on my face, but she quickly realized what that explosion meant and what I’d done. That realization broke her, causing her to drop to her knees weeping.

That could’ve gone better. Fuck. I didn’t think she’d break down like that. I need her to get it together, at least for now. If she wants to, she can hate me later, but we need to get moving right now!

Survival Instinct was alerting me to nearby monsters. It wasn’t an urgent report, more like the Skill was nudging me, saying hey look! Monsters. Granted, any monsters were a possible danger.

“Get. It. together! You don’t have time to grieve right now! Wait until we’re safe, then you can chew me out all you want. Neither of us are dying here.”

I’d found the monsters circling us. They were a pesky avian monster called Hunter Hawks. As large as a Doberman, these birds were dangerous threats. I’d heard a story or two about someone getting picked up and carried away. Add in their mobility and talons and you had a real pain in the ass.

Tch, not good. There’s a dozen of ‘em. Hm, guess I’ve got no choice. Let’s rampage for a bit.

The birds were hoping from branch to branch, eagerly searching for an opportunity to swoop down on us. If I wanted to keep them from attacking Kalia, I’d need to keep their attention on me. But I had just the Skill for that.

*!!!*

A single activation of Bloodthirst was enough to aggro every single bird. While a few recoiled from the blood lust, the rest all darted straight for me. But even in front of a focused assault, I was calm. After all, I still had Skanda.

This Skill is still way too broken. I mean sure, I could’ve dealt with these Hawks without it, but it makes it so much easier. The only downside is how long it takes to improve. I’ve been using it off and on for months and I’m still at E-Rank. I would really like to see the next improvement soon.

It’s slow growth was obvious though. While I was sure that that helped to balance out its broken nature, there was also the fact that I used it sparingly. I preferred to use it as a trump card, something I brought out at critical moments to tip the scales in my favor. After all, it wasn’t infallible. If something could move faster than I could follow, then Skanda wouldn’t help me at all.

But conversely, if I could follow them, then nothing would be able to hurt me. Which was exactly why I knew I could deal with the birds.

Hm, let’s see. Left sword there, right sword there and I think I’ll fire a [Rot] at that one. I’d like to throw in an extra attack or two, but I think this is my limit for now. But jeez. I’m all ready, but the birds haven’t reached me yet. What a pain.

Even though everything appears slow to me, the world was still moving at its normal pace. I was just thinking even faster than it. But since it meant that my blows carried their normal power behind them, every attack I unleashed was deadly.

“Sqwaak!”

“Caw…”

Out of the dozen birds, only seven had attacked me. Three were killed by flying into my swords while another was struck by the [Rot] I’d fired. Even though the birds had tried to evade, I could use my enhanced perception to guide my swords back on track. From an outside perspective, it would appear that the birds had flown into my attacks on purpose.

Damnit. I was hoping to get that other one on the backswing. Still, four kills is a good start, but now they’ll be wary of me. They might even target Kalia. Better end this quickly.

“Kalia, can you fight?”

“Ep! Um, um. I-I lost my short sword earlier and I don’t have any other weapons. Plus I don’t know any offensive magic. And I don’t have much mana left.”

Shit. That makes sense, but you don’t have to be that faithful to the stereotypes! It’s okay to be able to fight a little!

That made my job harder. Even with the birds being spooked by my earlier actions, they wouldn’t stay docile for long. Fighting them off with what was essentially deadweight was a daunting task. But I’m not about to admit defeat here! Come at me!

Maybe my fighting spirit caused it, but two more birds swooped down, only to meet the same fate. So long as I still had stock left for Skanda, the birds wouldn’t be able to win with such simple attacks. But, that still left six monsters. We were no longer surrounded, but I wanted to end this quick.

“Screeeech!”

“””“Sqwaak!””””

With irate squawks, the birds leaped off of their perches and soared above the treetops. The foliage had hidden them within seconds. And I knew we were fucked.

“Shit, run!”

“W-what!?”

“Those birds are calling for reinforcements! We need to get away right now.”

If they managed to attract another swarm of monsters, It would be pretty hard to keep Kalia alive. The only course of action was to get out of there as soon as possible. Getting chased yet again was not on my to-do list.