Chương 103: Chapter : 103

"In fact, I bet the 9th Prince and I are exactly the same!" Ken bragged loudly, completely leaning into his clown persona.

"We both look like completely average, super messy commoners, but we actually have incredible, mind-blowing hidden talents! You guys just haven't seen my full potential yet!" Laxmi burst out laughing, slapping her knee.

"Hidden talents? You? Ken, your ultimate attack yesterday was a tiny blue spark that blew up a pile of dirt in your own face! The only thing you are talented at is making us laugh!"

"That was just a warm-up!" Ken defended himself, crossing his arms and pouting like a child.

"I have a lot of highly specialized, super-secret skills! I am like a mystery box! You never know what awesome thing I am going to do next!" Before Naomi could start yelling at him for wasting time, someone else stepped forward. It was Ira. The water magic user stopped right in front of Ken. She stood perfectly still, her posture completely rigid. She looked directly into Ken's eyes. Her face was totally blank, completely devoid of any emotion, any smile, or any anger. She looked exactly like a statue.

Ken blinked, looking back at her.

"Uh, hi Ira. Do you want to defend my honor? Because I am totally open to compliments right now." Ira stared at him for three solid seconds. Then, she opened her mouth and spoke in her signature deadpan, completely monotonous, robotic voice.

"We all fully believe that Prince Hephaestus is incredibly talented," Ira said flatly, not blinking once.

"He builds complex machinery to save the poor. However, the only real, hidden talent you possess, Ken, is your uncanny, highly documented ability to run away at the speed of sound the absolute second danger appears." The delivery was so perfectly flat, so incredibly dry, and so brutally honest that it hit the entire group like a physical shockwave. For a split second, there was total silence. Then, Laxmi absolutely lost it.

She threw her head back and shrieked with laughter, leaning heavily on Zinia's shoulder for support. Zinia was chuckling deeply, trying to hide her smile behind her hand. Even Naomi had to turn her head away, her shoulders shaking as she tried to hold in a massive laugh. Sayma covered her mouth, her polite smile breaking into a genuine, soft giggle. Princess Iris pressed her hand against her lips, her violet eyes sparkling with amusement. Ken's proud, goofy smile completely shattered.

He stood frozen, his jaw dropping open in a look of absolute, highly exaggerated devastation. He slowly placed a hand directly over his heart, acting like he had just been stabbed by a physical sword.

"Ouch," Ken whined loudly, his voice cracking with fake heartbreak. He looked at Ira with his biggest, saddest puppy-dog eyes.

"Right in the soul, Ira! That was a brutal, unprovoked attack on my character! I do not just run away! Sometimes I also hide behind trash bags! That requires a lot of tactical planning!" Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ira did not smile. She simply turned her head toward the dark cave.

"The 9th Unit is getting ahead of us. We should proceed inside."

"You are cold as ice, Ira!" Ken yelled after her, aggressively rubbing his chest like it actually hurt.

"I demand a formal apology! Or at least a candy bar to soothe my wounded pride!"

"Get moving, farm boy!" Naomi laughed, grabbing his arm and shoving him forward toward the cave.

"Your hidden talents are going to have to wait! We have a dungeon to clear!" Ken slouched his shoulders as far as they could go, letting out one final, highly dramatic sigh. He dragged his cheap shoes against the rocks as the girls pushed him toward the gaping, misty entrance of the Blood Fault Dungeon.

"I get no respect around here," Ken mumbled happily to himself, completely comfortable playing the absolute fool. The fun and jokes were over. The dark, terrifying cave was waiting for them, and the real, deadly race for the Core of Luminus had officially begun.

The heavy, damp air of the Blood Fault Dungeon was a completely different world compared to the bright, sunny morning outside. Shortly after the 13th Unit parted ways with the tired, soot-covered engineers of Prince Hephaestus's 9th Unit, they took a different tunnel deeper into the cavern. The ground was uneven, rocky, and covered in slippery patches of moss. The only light came from the magical torches Zinia and Laxmi were carrying, which cast long, dancing shadows against the jagged cave walls.

"Are we sure we couldn't just follow the mechanic guys?" Ken complained loudly, his voice echoing down the dark tunnel. He was dragging his feet as usual, making sure to avoid the small puddles of dirty water.

"They looked like they knew what they were doing. Plus, they probably have snacks in those toolbelts. Plumbers always carry snacks. It is a well-known fact of the working class." Naomi, who was walking just ahead of him, let out a loud, highly annoyed sigh. She didn't even turn her head to look at him.

"Ken, for the hundredth time, we are in a race against them. If we follow them, they will get the Core of Luminus first, and we will lose five points. Now, stop talking. Your voice echoes, and you are going to wake up everything in this cave."

"I am just expressing my natural rights as a tired citizen," Ken whined, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He looked down at his nice, perfectly tailored navy blue suit pants.

"And look at my brand-new clothes! It took me an entire hour of intense, sweaty fitting-room cardio to pick this suit out yesterday with my two sempai. This cave is totally ruining my vibe. There is a very high amount of humidity in here. It is terrible for the fabric." Laxmi, holding a bright ball of orange fire in her palm to light the way, just laughed.

"Nobody told you to wear a fancy suit to a monster dungeon, farm boy! You look like you are going to a fancy dinner party, not a battle." ()"I like to look good while I do absolutely nothing," Ken replied proudly, popping his collar with one hand.

"It is called multi-tasking." Princess Iris walked safely in the middle of the group, offering a gentle smile.

"Just stay close to the center, Ken. The deeper we go, the thicker the magical radiation becomes. The informant wasn't lying. The mana down here is very wild and untamed." Sayma walked at the absolute front of the formation, pushing her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. Her eyes scanned the dark tunnel ahead carefully.

"The Princess is correct. I can feel the ambient mana shifting. It feels heavy and highly erratic. Be prepared for anything. This is a natural breeding ground for mutated creatures." Ira, walking next to Sayma, stared blankly into the dark. Her face was completely flat and emotionless, as always.

"Statistically speaking, the chances of us running into a massive horde of highly aggressive beasts within the next five minutes is ninety-nine percent."