Chương 12: [LD-1] 11. Leaving Camp

XI Leaving Camp The anchor weighing down my chest had vanished entirely. As had the bur running through my veins. I turned over my shoulder. The girl I'd arrived with had stopped healing me partway through my meditation. Now, she was merely cuddling Kil. I inclined my head at her.

"…And I'm voting against it!" Then I turned to the rest of the room. Some ways away from me, Shota jabbed a finger in the president's face.

"Finding the others will only put us in more danger. How can you not understand that?!" He shout-whispered. Alexa sighed.

"It's exactly because I understand that I'm saying we should find others." They've been discussing for some time already, Master, a voice said in my head. I stopped myself from launching.

'Kil? Was that you?' He rolled over in the girl's arms. Master and I can communicate like this now that you've shared your soul sea with me! Kil's movement drew Alexa's gaze.

"Good, you're awake." A glance over my head.

"First, congratulations on levelling up." I lowered my head.

"Thanks." And put the new ability of my familiar behind me.

'I'll figure out how deep it goes later.' Could he read anything that was on my mind? That'd be handy…but also against my privacy guidelines. Don't worry, Master, Kil is a gentleman's gentleman! I can only read what you show me. I kept myself from responding.

"Did you catch our conversation?" Alexa said.

"Only the gist of it," I said.

"You're deciding how to move forward?" She nodded. Beside her, Shota crossed his arms. The lines on his forehead didn't suit his baby face.

"Joy, I know we've had our differences, but surely even you must agree with me on this. You nearly died moments ago." I cupped my chin as Alexa gave me the rundown. The group was deciding between scaling the dungeon and finding other students, or waiting for the school officials to rescue us. Shota was in the latter camp together with one of the two other students in the room.

"My vote is the deciding one?" I asked.

"Yes," Alexa said.

"Kiba and Emily already said they wanted to brave the dungeon."

'Emily…' I glanced over my shoulder at the healer.

'That's surprising.' She didn't seem like the type who enjoyed combat, though she was good at dodging. The other person Alexa mentioned was the boy who'd saved us. Kiba was, of course, still sleeping. [White Fang - lvl. 3] Huh. What kind of class was that supposed to be?

"Well," Shota said before I could speculate, "what's it gonna be?"

'Let's brave the dungeon,' almost flopped past my lips simply to spite the insufferable boy, but this decision was too impactful to make based on childish dislike. So I looked down and seriously considered the matter. Unless we made a lot of noise, the monsters had no reason to check a random room in one of the hallways. That made staying the safest bet. However…

'That's waiting for fate to happen to us.' If the monsters caught us, we were goners. Moreover, while we were hiding, other students would be losing their lives. We needed numbers of our own to win against an entire tribe of goblins. Alexa must understand that already… I looked up. The Student Council President was inspecting her blade. A sharp light reflected in her spectacles, which promised a swift and sharp death for those who crossed her.

We couldn't be sure that the school could save us, but we could be sure of how we acted. My jaw set.

"I vote for heading out." Alexa sheathed her weapon.

"Then let everyone prepare. We're leaving in a few minutes." Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. There wasn't anything for me to do, but I rose to my feet to stretch my legs— My view whirled, and the back of my head slammed into a hard surface.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Alexa jumped to her feet.

"What do I think I'm doing?!" Shota's spittle hit the side of my cheek.

"That's what I should be asking!" His hold on my collar tightened, and my feet lifted off the ground as he dragged me up against the closet.

"It's our lives at stake here! I won't let some dumb tramp kill us just because she's trying to get payback on me!" At the edge of my view, Kiba stealthily rose to his feet, his fingers flexing and shaping into a point. Kilrog, surprisingly, was quiet. He watched the blond as if he was looking at a turd dropped in the centre of the road; mildly annoying, but of no importance. My heart and that of my summon were aligned. The beating in my chest failed to speed up. I wondered why.

This should be a stressful situation. It's because of your race, Master. Your instincts are being altered now that you've awakened. No Nox would ever view a human as a threat. And why would they? Theirs was a noble race. A natural denizen of the realm of Death which all mortal species feared. The boy in front of me was not a threat and would never be, so echoed my inner thoughts as my hand locked around his wrist.

"You will let go of me." I stared deep into his eyes as I spoke. His pupils were the blue of a summer sky. A quiet, warm sky, which'd blessed those beneath its bough with a calm and fortuitous life. No wonder he was such a spoiled brat. What Shota saw reflected in my gaze made him drop me like he put his hands on the stove. He stepped back, trembling as he did so.

"You…you're…" I smoothed out and dusted off my collar.

"The next time you touch me will be the last." Then I strolled towards the entrance, waving at Kil as I went.

"Let's go, Kil."

"Master!" the dutiful servant left Emily's grasp and floated behind me. Kiba was already standing beside the exit. He pushed the entrance open for me.

"Thanks," I inclined my head. The white fang stepped out after me. Our environment had changed. The unnatural luminescence of the moss had dimmed, which partially shrouded the halls in darkness.

'Did the vines grow?' They looked thicker, and pulsating lines ran along their surface.

"So much for waiting," Kiba said. It was my second time hearing him speak, and my first time hearing him say anything more than a single word. He had a deep, but smooth voice.

'He should speak more often.'

"Do you think the dungeon is evolving?" I asked.

"Maybe. Could also be a day-night cycle." Emily slipped out of our hideout and joined us. She shivered after peering down the hall.

"Gives me the creeps." Her comment made me regard her again.

"I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to have voted for fighting."

"Me too," Kiba added. Emily chuckled.

"Because of how timid I am, right? My sister scolds me for it often." Here, the scrawny girl looked down. Kiba and I were quiet. Neither one of us was certain how to respond to that, so we chose silence—"That's part of your charm, supplicant." Kil said. He'd found his way back into her arms after I stopped looking for a second. He promptly instructed her on where to scratch his back. Kiba raised his brow at me. I shrugged.

"Don't look at me." Emily followed her order to the letter, and Kil deflated audibly.

"To be honest," she said, "I really didn't want to go." We waited for the 'but'.

"Other students out there need our help," she said.

"I wouldn't be able to live with myself if we made it out without at least trying to save them." That…was noble of her. My own aspirations were quite selfish in comparison—I merely wanted to aid the others to save my own hide.

"Joy, are you alright?" Alexa entered the hallway. The change in scenery caught her off-guard like it did us.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Are the others coming?" Standing still in the hallway was a good way to get caught.

"One of the other students doesn't want to leave. Shota is convincing him at the moment."

'He is?' I knew for certain he wasn't doing so out of the goodness of his heart.

'Must be recruiting new members of his cheerleading squad.' I shook my head.

"Emily, Kiba, how about we move on ahead and see what we're dealing with?" The quiet boy fell in step beside me. Cull's edge cut through stray stalks growing from the vines. The plants were not so much a part of the vines but a second organism wrapped around them. Some kind of parasite, perhaps. Emily stifled a yell and jumped away from a shadow darting across the ground. The darkness revealed itself to be a harmless bug.

"Don't worry, supplicant," Kil said.

"Master is a benevolent person. She'll protect you!"

'Will I now?' I wanted to ask. But it wasn't like he was lying. Just putting words in my mouth.

"You can make my life easier by focusing on the dungeon, Kil," I said. He whirled to the front.

"Yes, Master!" And dutifully swept the hallway with his gaze. I sighed. Kiba had a skill that enhanced his hearing. Together with Kil, we were pretty deft at noticing enemies without them noticing us. Aside from one threat, that is. I peeked past a corner, where a group of three goblins lounged on the other side. The rags they wore for clothes barely covered their lower halves enough for me to not be considered a pervert. Lounging beside them was a four-footed creature resting its head in its paws.

It had a snout, but its features were entirely flat where its nose should be. Its fur was brown and muddy, though I couldn't tell if that was its natural colour or what it'd become due to its lack of hygiene. [Forest Hound - lvl. 5] Its snout stiffened, and I disappeared back behind the corner before it turned towards me. We retreated down the hallway, where the others were waiting for us.

"Those dogs will be a problem," I whispered. Shota snorted.

"I could've told you that before we left." Alexa spun on him and snarled: "Shut up if you don't have anything useful to say." The blond huffed and turned up his nose but didn't speak. She moved her attention to Douglas, who was standing tall behind Shota.

"You're a tank, right? Take the front. We'll keep Emily in the middle of our formation." Nothing mattered more than keeping the healer alive.

"Shota and Evans," the President continued, "stay at the rear between the other two." The two other students had classes that were a mix between ranged and melee fighters. That said, they were level one, so they weren't going to be doing much. Their job would be to keep any enemies getting through our middle from tearing into our fragile backliners. Which was why Alexa turned to me and Kiba.

"Since we're the melee fighters here, we'll have to help Douglas and blitz the important enemies before they become a problem." That would be the hounds in our case. It was a tough task. If we messed up once, those things would be able to chase us down multiple corridors. Worse, they could call for help. There'd be no hiding in a random room to save us then. …yet there was no other option but to jump into the fire.