Chapter 39 – Captured.

Chapter 39 – Captured.

Are you sure this is safe? What if something jumps out and eats us...”

“That’s why we have hired adventurers, so stop worrying about nothing.”Nnêw n0vel chapters are published at novelhall.com

“But...”

“No buts! Let’s just focus on the task at hand and you’ll be back in your stuffy room in no time.”

“I hope you are right Alanna, I just don’t like dark places...”

Two people were talking while being accompanied by a group of adventurers. One burly warrior in chainmail was behind them, clearly keeping watch to prevent any monsters from attacking them from the rear. Two similarly dressed men flanked them on each side, while a better-armored gentleman led the group from the front. Only one person in the group looked different, wearing leather armor with a bow slung across their chest. They were also upfront, seemingly keeping watch of any movement, ready to inform his party of any incoming danger.

“Of course, I’m right Eugene, aren’t I?”

The person talking seemed to be a young woman in her late teens. Next to her was a man of similar age and thin stature. Both looked more like scholarly types and their clothes resembled something more fitting for a library than monster-infested dungeons. Despite the obvious unease in the young man's voice, his companion carried an air of confidence, though perhaps misplaced given their surroundings.

“Young miss, it would be better if you remained silent, the monsters in the Dungeon react to sounds...”

The young woman turned to one of the adventurers surrounding her for confirmation of her claim but was met with a rebuttal. The man seemed annoyed for some reason but didn’t want to voice his opinions more negatively.

“See, I told you to be quiet, that’s why we were attacked so many times already!”

“Hah, that’s why Master hired these adventurers for us, don’t worry, they will protect us from these monsters. Stop being scared, they are only F ranks, are you even a man?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

The young man glared at the young woman, but his momentary bravery was interrupted by a strange clacking of bones resounding from the side. A skeletal monster emerged from the shadows and started running toward the group. Eugene, frightened, instantly ducked behind the woman named Alanna.

The skeletal monster charged forward with unnerving speed, its bony limbs clattering against the rocky ground. However, the adventurers didn't seem perturbed by its appearance, even less as it targeted the heavily armored man at the front. The monster raised its corroded weapon and brought it down swiftly, only for it to bounce off the man's armor. In a matter of moments, the creature's body crumbled from a direct hit by the man's large two-handed blade, and its remains were now scattered on the ground.

“Looking for something back there?”

Alanna turned to Eugene who was hiding behind her like a scared rabbit. Her tone was teasing, and the young man quickly straightened himself out after realizing what he had done. His face went red from embarrassment as he stammered out an excuse, but Alanna merely chuckled and patted him on the back reassuringly.

“N-no I was just a little startled by the reflection the torches made, it made it look like there were more of them coming.”

“Sure there were. Come on, Eugene, let’s keep moving. We’ve got to finish the job Master assigned to us.”

“Yeah, sure... but couldn’t he have just bought those crimson felle roots at the next action.”

“You know how he is, he's impatient and doesn't trust adventurers to handle them correctly. If you don't dig them up in a specific way and store them instantly, they'll lose half of their potency. You won't be able to make good products with low-quality ingredients... or at least, that's probably what he would say...”

She shrugged in response to the question. The girl knew their master was a peculiar person, and perhaps had sent them here to gain more life experience. Her friend seemed quite scared and would likely learn a lot from this little expedition.

“Now, let's go, the Adventurers probably want to go back home just as much as you do.”

Eugene nodded and they ventured deeper into the dungeon cavern, the air grew thicker with the scent of damp earth and mildew. The torches lining the walls provided just enough light to illuminate their path, casting long shadows that danced eerily across the rocky terrain. Along the way, they continued to encounter more monsters but none of them proved to be much of a challenge for the experienced adventurers accompanying them.

Despite Eugene's initial fear, he began to relax slightly as they progressed, reassured by the competence of their hired protectors. Alanna, on the other hand, maintained her air of confidence, seemingly unfazed by the dangers lurking in the shadows. Eventually, they arrived at a long bridge that would bring them to the area they would find the roots.

“I wonder how deep this is...”

Once there, she couldn’t help but look down into the chasm, where nothing but darkness awaited them. The abyss seemed endless and no one had yet confirmed if there was anything valuable down there, due to the monsters occupying its side walls. People had tried already and sometimes people ended up falling to their death.

“We are almost there, let’s just get it over with Alanna.”

“Yeah, I’m coming.”

There was nothing down there and she knew it but right as she was about to turn away from the depths she noticed something. A little glint of light shone from below and her curiosity was piqued.

“Come on, let’s go help it! Oh, gosh, I can’t believe that this is happening!”

The ant was able to crawl up the chasm but it didn’t look good. From up close, its body looked dented in a few regions and it seemed to be struggling to move. Alanna attempted to rush to the creature but she was stopped by one of the adventurers.

“Stop, it's still a monster and is dangerous.”

It was heavily injured, its status screen indicating that its hit points were in the single digits. At first, it seemed that the monster wanted to retaliate. Its antennae started wiggling around in an attempt to cast a spell. The adventurers surrounded the young woman to stop her from going any further, but before the monster could continue casting, it just flopped forward.

“I told you that there was no danger, it just ran out of mana and stamina. If we don’t help it, it might die! Now let me through!”

The adventurers reluctantly let the young woman through. Their biggest concern was her safety as if they allowed her to be harmed, then their heads would roll. Alanna carefully approached the injured ant and could barely hide her excitement. This was a rare opportunity to interact with such a unique creature, one that could potentially hold valuable insights into the world of monsters. As she knelt down beside it, she could see its silvery exoskeleton shimmering faintly in the torchlight.

“Hey there, little one.”

Alanna spoke softly, extending a hand toward the barely moving ant.

“It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you.”

The shimmering monster didn’t react as it was fully passed out from exhaustion. She knew that the small creature wouldn’t last long and if it wasn’t taken out of this dungeon, then its life would probably end.

“How did this thing come here, it doesn’t look to be a dungeon spawn but an independent monster.”

“Interesting isn't it? Perhaps there is an ant colony down there... but how did it even survive? This variant usually gets eaten right after birth or is unable to hatch by itself. It needs to absorb a lot of light which is usually non-existen in the ant made tunnels, very interesting.”

“You’re quite knowledgeable about this stuff, are you trying to become a tamer or something?”

“This is just simple monsterology, you should know this too!”

“We don’t all have time to read obscure knowledge in our free time...”

Eugene seemed annoyed by the claim but also interested in the creature's origins. It was a known fact that dungeons could connect to outside spaces where other monsters resided. This seemed to be the case here too as within one dungeon, monsters that were created there would not attack each other.

“Young Miss, what are you planning to do with that?”

“We are going to take it with us, of course.”

She quickly replied while also moving behind her friend Eugene. The young man was wearing a rather large backpack, and from within it, she pulled out a rectangular box. After placing it on the ground, she pressed her thumb against a strange symbol, which soon began glowing with the same magical light as her spyglass earlier. The box started to expand in size, transforming into something that resembled a cage with a handle on top.

“It’s good that I took the monster cage with me, now we can bring this ant back and show it to Master! This is much better than those boring roots!”

“Master will punish us if we don’t bring them back though.”

“You’re right... I suppose you’ll have to carry this little for the time being.”

“Huh? Why me?”

“Because we can’t have the adventurers do it, they need their hands for the weapons. Don’t worry, I’ll take the backpack.”

Alanna's quick decision left Eugene with no room to argue. With a resigned sigh, he accepted the cage and placed the ant inside. To help it regain health, a potion of healing was poured over its form. While it would not restore the missing leg, it would take care of some of the injuries.

The ant stirred slightly as the healing potion took effect, its once-lifeless antennae twitching faintly. Eugene secured the cage's lid and, with some effort, lifted it, the weight surprising him despite the ant's small size.

"Careful now, Eugene."

Alanna cautioned, a hint of amusement in her voice.

"You don't want to drop our new friend."

"Yeah, yeah. Let's just get this over with."

He nodded, though his annoyance was clear. Soon the group resumed their trek through the dungeon. Meanwhile, in another location, a different scene was unfolding. A suit of bronze armor had finally reached a safe ledge, which led into an illuminated tunnel...