Chapter 52: Delinquent and Duelist Crush Lizardmen! I

The carriage rolled across the ground, creating a bumpy ride. Yumiko's tail lay across Ryuji's lap as if to keep him warm.

Everyone became quiet.

With Alan's departure, to meet the local lord, a heavy silence settled over the carriage.

His absence was palpable, his usual jokes and antics replaced by a heavy air of seriousness that seemed to weigh down on everyone.

'The clown should be here—otherwise, I might die of stress.'

Ryuji started feeling attached to Alan, maybe because of his past mistakes or because of how easily he got along with him.

He was curious to know why Alan hadn't entered the dungeon. Ryuji wanted to pry further, but he could wait until Alan told him.

"Ryuji and Erika, you two must be careful. It states that sometimes the fire type will cling to their enemy moments before death to ensure their explosion deals the most damage."

"Sure."

"Thank you, Sheila."

The enemies sounded quite delightful for Ryuji, who leaned back with a creak of the wooden seat.

His eyes observed the dark forest that blocked his view spread out. A flicker of wonder deep inside Ryuji's gaze as they revealed a mountain as tall as the sky. Its surroundings are a clearing of broken rock and dry earth, creating a circle of dead trees.

"The entrance is pretty cool. Look at the glowing runes."

At the entrance of the dungeon, a curved arch of well-crafted square stones held a glowing rune, the rune for fire, at the top of the archway. The black entrance felt more official than the other portals because the silky portal, which wobbled at the entrance, glowed with orange light.

"The runes are the language of the lizard men, I believe, though I don't know which mechanic the dungeon uses to create this phenomenon," Paul whispered, holding a date book with worn pages while writing or rather drawing an image of the dungeon entrance.

"I can see the rune for death and retreat. Is it a warning for those who might enter? A way to scope the danger level before having people scout it out?" He continued.

"Hmmm, we don't have the time now. Maybe you should try to decipher them after we finish, Paul?" Simon gave a smile as he stood from his seat and hopped off the carriage that came to a stop.

"That guy always tries to act cool."

"He almost fell, haha."

"Ryuji, let's go. We have some work to do."

Erika stepped off the carriage, her body almost floating through the air with a light landing. Ryuji grasped Yumiko's hand as they leapt forward with a loud thud. The trio stepped forward, with the two women cautious and Ryuji taking great strides.

The door was almost three metres tall, making them feel tiny in comparison.

"Should we wait for the others?" Erika asked, treating Ryuji as the de facto leader.

"Nope, they want us to be the vanguard. Let's go have some fun and wait for them at the first-floor exit."

"Ryuji, you seem very excited."

He turned around, curling his lips into a wicked smile, while grasping his blood-drinking axe. "I am." Then jumped into the portal.

****

Inside the dungeon, the area differed from the past ones Ryuji encountered. The walls expanded, giving Ryuji a generous amount of space and light. The scent of copper and heat flowed through the dungeon, creating a warm and humid atmosphere.

"Ryuji, don't rush ahead," Erika huffed out, wiping her blades clean on the lizard's armour before sliding them into their sheaths, before taking a small dagger and kneeling to peel the scales from their bodies.

"You're pretty powerful as a duo..."

"Eh, Ryuji!? A duo with this damn woman, don't be silly!" Yumiko protested, sneaking over to his side, her nose lifted and pouting her cheeks.

"If you work with her and perform well, I will reward you when we get back." Ryuji leaned over, whispering into her ear as they walked to the edge of the oval room, checking the two paths.

"We'll go left."

Ryuji felt a slight breeze from the left tunnel. This didn't mean his instinct was right. But he still grabbed the corpses, now without scales and a little grim, before using his dagger to write 'Left Tunnel' and tossing them in front of the left tunnel.

"Do you think they will understand?" Yumiko asked.

"Hopefully. Come on, let's go."

Ryuji nodded, and the trio set off into the left tunnel, their pace picking up speed as they entered a large hallway with various caves at the sides.

They couldn't sense any creatures around them, leaving only the stagnant air to linger in their wake as they crept in.

"I feel like there will be an ambush..." Ryuji whispered while looking at the lovely Tattoo the fire-type gave him.

He really liked the mature voice from the system, even though Erika and the others said there wasn't a voice for them, only the text display.

[Discovered New Tattoo and Dungeon Data!]

[Record Dungeon Information?]

[View New Tattoo?]

'Yes.'

***

Fire-Type Lizardman (Uncommon)

Increase All Attributes by 1

Attacks deal a bonus amount of fire damage

Dark Vision - All lizard men can see in the dark (Free passive)

---

Lizardman (Uncommon)

Increase Grit by 2

Damage taken decreased

Dark Vision - All lizard men can see in the dark (Free passive)

***

Though not enough to replace his awesome Kobold tattoo. Ryuji hoped he would soon gain another tattoo slot from levelling because the small text under dark vision stated.

(The same instances of dark vision improve the effect greatly.)