Chapter 41

The fighting was brutal. I didn’t have Lydia’s speed so I seriously thought I was going to die. In the end, the best I could do was stall one, only engaging enough to keep his attention, while Lydia finished off the other. It really made me feel a bit useless, but at least I could keep the armor off of Lydia. The only true help I provided her was the Party Status Up bonus. Lydia still managed to down the monster in about five minutes. Her injuries were superficial.

After all, from that first time we fought an armor up until now, Lydia not only was twice her level, but she also had my status bonus. Her battle wasn’t desperate. Ah, crap, I was watching her rather than paying attention to my own fight. The monster’s sword glowed menacingly as he activated a skill. I leaped out of the way and was slightly grazed, flying away and skidding across the ground painfully.

"Ow..."

“Master!” Lydia leaped over and began to polish off this monster the same way.

Like the other, it was no longer a challenge for her, but a matter of time. As for me, I laid on the ground with my face in the dirt, feeling a little bit useless. I cast the Weak Heal spell on myself, and by the time Lydia finished off the monster, I was standing back up and brushing myself off.

{Hero has increased to level 6.}

{You have unlocked the Hero skill: Charm Up.}

“Charm up?” I muttered before realizing that Lydia was eyeing me. “What is it?”

Lydia looked away, blushing. “I thought Master was seriously hurt, so I was worried.”

“Ah… sorry, I worried you.”

“I never realized Master looked so...” She muttered under her breath.

“Huh? Did you say something?” I pretended not to hear her.

“N-n-nevermind! Let’s got to the next floor!”

“Ah… of course…”

However, I did hear what she said. So, Charm Up increased my attractiveness? Well, my ‘charmingness’, at least. I supposed being well-liked and even idolized was also a part of being a Hero, huh? I knew I was a guy who typically repelled girls, so this kind of attention wasn’t something I was used to. I didn’t know if I was wanting to equip it out on the surface. Perhaps, I could use it with Haggle and make some profits bartering. Chasing after girls was still outside of my realm of comfort.

The pair of us headed down to the seventh floor. This was the moment of truth that would decide whether we lived or died. The answer to that was…

“More Living Armors.” The girl spoke sadly.

This entire level was filled with Living Armors. In fact, if there was a second mob, I didn’t see it at all. Even the zombies weren’t present. There would be no food on this floor.

“What do we do, Master?” Lydia asked, her voice clearly disappointed.

“Push on to floor 8. We can stay hydrated. We’ll just have to tighten our belts and forge forward. However, it’s late and I’m exhausted. We should find a place to sleep.”

“We both won’t be able to sleep,” Lydia explained. “Master must sleep first, and I’ll sleep after.”

I was too tired to argue with her. We found a corner hallway where Lydia could watch both corridors without having to turn around. I cast Light and a Holy Circle, just in case. This area had no armors, but the creaking noises could be heard off in the distance. Unlike the cathedral, the floor was a bit damp. I didn’t dare to set a fire and risk attracting any monsters here. The Light spell seemed to be one-directional, allowing me and my party to see out, but not the other direction, but it wasn’t the light I was worried about. I wasn’t even certain the armors could see light. However, there was also the heat and the crackling of fire that the might spell did not replicate. This was definitely the worst night since I had been to this world. It was cold, there was no food, and monsters looked around every corner. However, with Lydia sitting nearby watching over me, I quickly went to sleep, feeling that things could be worse.

When I woke up, it was clear Lydia had taken both of our shifts. She was barely keeping her eyes open, and I had to order her to get her to go to the bedroll and sleep. I could only give her a few hours. My stomach was rumbling, and things were only going to get harder.