Chapter 96: Womanizer (4)

I fixed my gaze straight ahead.

An open hall stretched in every direction, and right at its center, an old book lay abandoned on the ground.

Exactly as Travis had described.

This marked the second branching point of this ghost-type dungeon.

'Hmm, this place too... It's just like the original game.'

The moment I scoop up the old book resting in the heart of the room, debuff magic will activate within a certain radius from the book, followed by the appearance of small zombies from all directions.

The strategy here is pretty straightforward.

Just like the first branching point, someone takes the lead and lifts the old book at the center.

The rest of the team members only need to confront the small zombies swarming in from every direction.

I turned around and told my team,

"I'll pick up that suspicious-looking book. Just like before, stand by outside. If any monsters appear, deal with them."

They agreed, each brandishing their weapons.

Travis held a spear, Monica a one-handed mace and a shield, Piel had a rapier, and Andrew, in true flamboyant mage fashion, was unarmed.Yôur favorite stories on n/o/(v)e/lbin(.)com

A pretty solid team.

...Well then, let's go.

Step, step, step─

I approached the very center of the hall.

Then, I bent over and picked up the old book.

The moment I did, my vision blurred and quickly turned pitch black.

'······It's the [Blind] spell.'

Fumbling with my hands, I swiftly pulled out a [Debuff Recovery Potion] from my bag, opened the lid, and drank it.

Just like at the first branching point, I executed the move smoothly and cleanly.

In less than 10 seconds, I dispelled the [Blind] magic.

Then, I looked around.

From a distance, countless small zombies moved toward me with sluggish steps.

······ weren't there too many?

At least three times more than what I saw in the original game.

'Why is that? Turning White wouldn't have tampered with a regular dungeon like this.'

Soon enough, I figured out the reason.

A very simple one.

Our team had more members now than in the original game.

In the original, depending on the route, Neike entered this dungeon with a maximum of three people.

Now our team consisted of five members.

By simple calculation, a maximum of twice the number of small zombies should appear, but the original game wasn't that kind.

The more team members, the exponentially greater the number of monsters that appear.

"It's, it's zombies! They're coming from all sides!"

"There are... there are so many! What... what do we do?"

The procession of zombies, their innards trailing behind.

Overwhelmed by the sight, Travis & Monica looked at me.

Their legs quivering like those of a puppy that needs to pee.

I quickly racked my brain.

Honestly, there wasn't much time to think.

The wisest way to escape here was to break through in one direction.

In other words, it's a single-point breakthrough.

Zombies are inherently slow, so they can't keep up with our running speed.

I wanted to say, 'Thank you, Andrew! All thanks to you! Thanks to your effort, we secured an easy win!'

But I couldn't let such crude words pass my lips.

"You really pulled through, Andrew! All thanks to you! Thanks to you, we were able to get out of this!"

"Really! You're indeed a genius mage of the Hero Department! Oh, right. Andrew, you don't have a nickname yet, do you? How about [Heavenly Mage]? It seems to suit you well!"

It's as if they heard my inner thoughts.

Travis and Monica, who were standing next to me, said.

"Indeed, mages are the best when facing a large number of enemies."

Piel also chimed in.

"Ah, it was nothing, really."

Andrew's shoulders lifted, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards.

'How cute.'

While the rest of the team engaged in friendly chatter, I started to devise a new plan in my head.

Firstly, the rewards from this subjugation netted me 6 shop gold coins and 10 shop silver coins, which means I should soon be able to acquire an 'expert' level trait.

Currently, I possess a total of 16 shop gold coins and 40 shop silver coins.

'Should I go ahead and buy an expert-level trait?'

After a short contemplation, I shook my head.

Sudden quests have happened out of the blue before, and this time was no different.

There's a high likelihood that more sudden quests will pop up in the future.

Additionally, alongside these sudden quests, there are hidden and sub-quests─

'Alright.'

I've decided to keep collecting shop currency.

Indeed, a man's dream is a 'master'-level trait.

With my [Amplification Orb], if I enhance the 'expert'-level trait, it would become a 'master'-level trait.

But what if I enhance a 'master'-level trait?

In the original game, Neike handed over the [Amplification Orb] directly to the academy, so I couldn't test it.

I don't know what might happen.

However, it feels worth trying.

And with my current abilities, if nothing goes wrong, I should be ranked first in this practical evaluation.

When I hit the limit of my abilities, I'll worry then.

Having organized my thoughts, I said,

"Let's wrap up the dungeon exploration for today. Everyone must be worn out, and we've likely made the most progress. Let's head outside and rest."

It seems best to be content with this for today.

The dungeon exploration report is also shaping up nicely, and Andrew's mana is nearly depleted.

Though there is a resting place inside the dungeon, there's no way to avoid the thick, stale smell and the gloomy aura.

It's better to walk for a few hours and get outside, where it might be chilly but the environment is refreshing.

Honestly, I don't even want to eat inside this kind of dungeon. I'm constantly on edge.

"Understood!"

They all agreed.

On our way out of the dungeon, at the first branching point, we ran into Aisha and Siena's team.

Their faces were all pale, and some were aimlessly waving their hands in the air.

They must have been hit with [Confusion] magic.

Of course, they probably didn't have a countermeasure.

'Sigh, what a sight.'

I turned to my team and said,

"Wait here for a moment."