“What do you mean it's blocked?”

“Exactly that.” Silvia returned to the inn feeling exasperated. The entrance was blocked and Ark, nowhere in sight, was probably inside. It's natural for her to grow worried. “I think Ark got trapped inside. Maybe he triggered some trap.”

“But he could sense traps with ease. He could even tell its function to some extent.” The knight from the scout team didn't sound convinced.

Not that it mattered, really.

Whether it was a trap that caught him off guard or anything else won't change the fact that he got trapped inside, and he might need their help.

The fact that it all happened due to Ark stupidly trying to damage the dungeon wall was something they couldn't know.

“Also, I couldn't break it even with my strongest attack,” She said, biting her lips.

It was natural, as the door was fortified with an enormous amount of magic power, flowing inside the weaved circuits and manifesting a spell with a tremendous level of defense.

Ark was only capable of causing damage with that level of defense because his attack was closer to a concept.

“He is a big boy,” Scarlet, who quietly listened before, spoke calmly. She seemed unconcerned. “And he is very persistent. It's hard for me to imagine him dying to some enemy.”

Inducing a sense of reassurance, she walked away.

“Where are you going?” Silvia asked.

To that, Scarlet turned around, showing a bewitching smile as her eyes were tinged with humor.

“Ark might not die, but I find it absurdly easy to imagine him on the brink of death. I need to be ready to heal him, no?”

Meanwhile, at an unknown floor of the dungeon, Ark was doing just fine.

(Damn. It. All!) he thought as he dragged his broken body, trying to escape the monsters that pursued him.

Still swearing = totally fine. Of course, he no longer had the stamina to talk with his mouth, but thinking in swears and curses is second nature for the guy with a mask for a skin.

Anyway, slimes attacked him, spitting acid that set his skin on fire.

(Who said these little bastards were weak? Shit.)

It was the first time he encountered these jelly-like monsters, and a deep sense of betrayal sprouted as it turned out slimes were nothing like the weak mob he was told about.

In reality, they were extremely formidable enemies.

As long as their core is intact, they will keep on living, effectively gaining semi-immortality. The core was also small, and their bodies were at the size of a cub bear. For their size and shape, they were incredibly nimble and agile.

The ability to move their core at great speed, making them even more troublesome.

But the worst part may be their intelligence. Smart enough not to get close, shots of acid were fired from a safe distance. Ark couldn't retaliate.

If ranked, slimes would easily reach the top of B-class monsters. Their acid was terribly potent, only held back with his spirit's defensive trait and the top notch clothes of the Solitary Wolves.

Spells for healing and recovery were cast to slowly mend the body, but the acid held these spells at bay as most of the power was used to heal the burns.

Had Ark been more capable at healing, it might not have mattered. However, healing spells were the most difficult auxiliary type of magic, and he had limited mastery despite years of practice. It was a lack of talent that irritated Ark from day one.

“Fuck you,” Ark said as he reached a wall, spitting blood.

The slimes ignored him and shot more acid.

Despite the burns on his face and hands, Ark straightened his hand, pointing on a slime, muttering, “Thunderbolt.”

Lightning struck the slime head on, causing it to be taken aback. Unfortunately, the surge of electricity does not damage it in the slightest.

(It's not conducting electricity. Well, now there really is no way to attack. Shit.)

Of the types of magic Ark could wield, only lightning and fire had the chance to kill a slime with little mana.

As demonstrated before, lightning is ineffective. Moreover, fire is dangerous to use in such a compact space. Ark might burn himself to death.

Basically, he had no effective means of long-ranged attacks.

“Ah, fuck!” he screamed, hurting his lungs. “I hate gambling!”

It was more that he hated losing, as Ark's terrible luck could award him a miraculous loss even when all odds are in his favor.

(Damn. Shit. Fuck) Ark continued to swear, gathering more mana in the process. The formula of a spell was intricately visualized down to the last detail.

“Quadra Elementum,” he inhaled, mustering the final wisp of focus, “Praesidium.”

A barrier of four colors was erected.

Exhaling, Ark smiled, his face contorting from this simple facial expression.

“See ya in a couple hours,” Ark spoke with a voice rife with killing intent, but it all dissipated as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The dungeon only opened several hours later, and by then, Silvia and Scarlet were fully prepared to speedrun it.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

“Wind Tunnel.”

A vortex of wind spun quickly, creating a thin veil that diverted the arrows. The two women flew straight into the other end.

It was bypassed at the tenth tile, but with the agility of a cat, both tore through the sand arrows and earned the qualification.

After deciphering the mechanism of the teleporting device, they reached the second floor.

“This way.” Silvia took charge and walked forward.

From this point there's no information, but it was unnecessary. Brute strength was all they needed.

Auxiliary wind spell 'Search' spreads wind created by the caster and perceived information. Its most glaring wind point is handling the influx of information, but at the hands of a genius of Silvia's caliber, it seemed effortless.

The two composed of the entire rescue party solely for the reason of efficiency. The only other S-class and the healer that can hold her ground in battle were the only ones needed.

In fact, they easily broke through every trap, to the point a conversation bloomed inside the deadly dungeon.

“I get why the Solitary Wolves was described as an elite squad,” Silvia mumbled, only speaking louder after realizing she was heard. “You are very strong for just a healer, Ms. Nylph.”

Traps on the second floor weren't a conjuration of magic, but physical mechanisms. Various traps were disabled and bypassed thanks to Scarlet's chilling ice magic.

“Thank you, Silvia,” she answered friendlyly, with a gentle and sweet voice. “It is an honor.” Watching her prideful expression, Scarlet chuckled.

“What about the other members? How skilled are they?”

“Very skilled. Well, Ark is probably the strongest one.”

This time, the pride in the Sylphids' eyes, the sparkle that shines deep inside those lavender eyes, is much greater than before.

“Of course he is. He is someone who has defeated me,” she said.

“Yes, that is right.”

“He is good at magic and swordsmanship and spirit. He even knows some healing magic and generally has a lot of knowledge of things even royalty don't tend to know or learn.” Straightening her gaze on Scarlet, Silvia continued, “Like rituals to absorb ambient mana, Calamities, and even dungeons. I think Ark explored one before.”

Maybe she was expecting a reaction about the last thing she mentioned, but that wasn't what caught Scarlet's attention.

“Rituals?” she mouthed.

“Yes? Actually, I only saw him using it against me in our first duel. Though now he found an even better method to make up for his lack of mana.”

“He... I heard about it, but I didn't know you were aware.”

“Some of it was my mana so of course I would notice.” As if stating the obvious, she tilted her head in puzzlement.

'She knows he practically cheated?' Only that thought resounded in Scarlet's mind, and she tried to not let her surprise show.

Although it was a bit roundabout, Ark had prepared something that granted him an advantage before the fight had begun, something that only worked once in a specific location. It was a clear violation of the rules.

But Silvia didn't mind it at all, and Scarlet only managed to come up with one conclusion.

'Does she not understand the implications?'

“It was amazing,” Silvia hummed. They entered the fourth floor, still no signs of Ark. “I got the feeling as if he danced in front of me for days on end, all in a flash. Even if it isn't efficient, it's something I have never felt before.”

The intent that was an unfamiliar concept in the world of mortals was touched upon by the Wind Avatar; an amazing achievement that Ark himself achieved solely due to his Phantom skill.

Slowly but surely, she was adapting, and soon, Silvia might become completely immune to deceptions of intent.

And Ark will get screwed over!

Who said karma isn't real?

'Well, best of luck.' The dhampir could only chuckle at the thought of the future.

Minutes after falling asleep, the barrier Ark placed glowed erratically, four colors clashing into each other.

In a similar fashion, the invisible elements in the atmosphere created a small storm in the area of the barrier.

Using this spell was a mistake.

Even if it was the strongest barrier magic in Ark's arsenal, relying on this spell which he had no control over was a terrible blunder giving birth to a destructive result.

Cracks soon appeared all over the dome, and the explosion that ensued woke Ark up.

Gazing down, a shard of the barrier pierced his heart, and it was now slowly dissipating.

That was even worse, as it left a hole in his chest to bleed out from

He didn't have the energy nor leisure to curse, so instead he let anxiety and fear wash him over.

Only a single thought ran in his mind, (I will not die.)

Lacking energy, yet filled with unwavering determination. Ark had clinged onto this thought like a man hanging on a rope between life and death.

Summoning his Phantom, it strongly expresses his intent to live. To survive. No matter what it takes.

Ark grasped his heart with his own hand, ignoring the strange sensations and deploying his spirit, desperately trying to stop the stream of blood.

Even at the verge of death, he found this whole situation absurdly laughable.

Starting from the mistake of letting his emotions get the better of him, being terribly wounded by the dungeon's defenses, to the teleportation mechanism malfunctioning, causing him to drop into god-knows-which-floor, and ending up with his own barrier hurting him.

(I really shouldn't gamble,) a small part of him whispered.

Every gamble he took resulted in a magnificent failure.

Numbly struggling for his life, Ark ignored the acid the slimes kept spewing at him and counted time using his own heartbeats as reference.

20 beats and the acid started to eat through his skin into the flesh.

21 beats and the smiles were dead. Ark couldn't perceive what he did, just knew it was him.

No one was there for his rescue.

109 beats and his focus slipped, more blood gushing out.

235 beats was when his body started to feel cold. It didn't have the energy to shiver, though.

At the 385th beat, Ark lost consciousness.

Silvia's Perspective

It was at the seventh floor that my Search detected a human lifeform: Ark.

We rushed at once, fighting off the strange jelly monsters that came in our path.

Remembering Scarlet's ominous words, I may have let my anxiety take over me. My every step became the waltz of fairies as I donned the technique through Origin Return.

Since my element is wind, I specialize in speed, and Scarlet lagged behind.

I found Ark first.

Bleeding from the chest.

So much blood.

“Ark!” I called, wanting to take a step forward, only to freeze.

A vivid image of my corpse appeared in my mind.

The premonition of getting cut pricked my skin like a thousand needles all over my body. My body refused to listen, as if it thought that getting any closer would get me killed.

It was surely an illusion, yet I found myself suffocated, unable to do anything.

Our eyes met. The black eyes that I likened to a raven yet always gleamed with confidence now appeared ravenous. It was the gaze of a wounded beast driven into a corner.

Right. I shook my momentary daze and attempted to dissipate the odd sensation by spreading my Primordial Wind. The silver energy erased the prickles on my skin and eased my mind.

Scarlet then arrived and wordlessly started to examine Ark. She did not sense anything dangerous as I erased it all.

“He should be dead,” she whispered, mostly to herself. “These aren't wounds a human could survive.”

But the proof was right in front of us, and she immediately started treatment, chanting spells to close the wounds.

“Everything is fine. He will be fine.”

I didn't answer.

Even if Ark was fine, I couldn't shake this sense of unease that permeated me. He had shown a temperament I had never seen before, a different self, almost. It was scarier than anything I'd ever faced or imagined.

It was my first glimpse into Ark's darkness.

Ark laid on something soft yet hard. He recognized this sensation, making him giggle.

(I'm giggling?) he questioned himself, suddenly confused. (Maybe I'm drunk?)

Nevermind that, he tried to open his eyes. His vision still swarmed, and he felt giddy.

“Did you wake?” a gentle voice asked him.

“When did I fall asleep?”

“You didn't. You got hurt.” The voice became slightly shaky. “I was worried.”

“Same old same old.” Strands of hair tickled his nose. “What are you doing? Stop neglecting your training. And didn't I say that lap pillow is uselessly romantizice... romanticized?” he stuttered, then broke into a sleazy grin.

“Well, guess I can be magnanimous enough to forgive you this time. Maybe five more minutes?”

Ark was being delirious due to the loss of blood. It resulted in a severe disorientation sending him years into the past, to times he hadn't thought of in a long time.

Unfortunately for him, it wasn't where he thought it was, and the person he talked to wasn't who he thought it was.

Realization rushed at him, and Ark rapidly stood up.

Silvia looked at him, worry no longer reflected in her eyes. Instead, she seemed disappointed. Hurt. Jealous. Sad.

(Oh shit.)

It didn't take a genius to realize he fucked up.