Chương 112: 108. The Channel Expansion Technique.

Adolin's gaze locked onto the girl lying on the ground. She lay on her back, her hands raised in front of her, protecting her head and chest. Around her stood a dozen ugly creatures with long, razor-sharp claws. They stood on two legs, humanoid in shape, with brownish fur covering their bodies. They were the height of an average man. Before Adolin could even react, one of the creatures' claws was already descending toward the girl. It sliced through her arms, leaving deep gashes.

Ichor flooded from the wounds, and a startled scream escaped the girl. Adolin instinctively took a step and appeared beside her. His mana barrier spread outwardly, pushing the creature several steps back. A dozen black tendrils erupted from behind him. Every tendril found a target, piercing through a creature's chest. In less than a moment, the only sounds that remained were the girl's cries and the thuds of bodies hitting the ground around him.

Every single creature lay dead, black tendrils sticking out of their chests. As soon as he confirmed that the danger was over, he focused on the girl beside him. Her hands were still covering her chest and head, trembling as blood flowed from the four gashes that ran across both of her hands. Adolin knelt next to her, lightly touching her hand with one finger as he cast a healing spell. The wounds started closing, and within moments, only the blood remained. The girl was around Revel's age…

well, that was his best guess. Though, she could also be a few years older than her. Her face was pale, a look of terror etched across it. Her breathing was fast and uneven, and her eyes remained closed. Adolin had no clue what to do… He'd already done what he was good at, which was healing and fighting. Now came the troublesome part: he was supposed to say something, but… what? Oh, you are alive and well! Yeah, no. That really sounded bad in his head. He didn't even want to know how it would sound outside it.

He had a feeling it would scare the girl even more than she already was.

"You're safe now, girl!" Eury said loudly as he stopped a step away from her. Eurynomos really wasn't the one who should be talking to the frightened girl. He was going to make things a lot worse than even what Adolin could.

"How did you end up in my dungeon?" Eury continued. Adolin wanted to slap him, but before he could do anything, running footsteps approached them.

"Leave the poor girl alone," Xenia whispered. Adolin stood up and nodded, taking a dozen steps away from the girl. Eury looked like he was going to argue with Xenia, but after a stern look from her, he retreated faster than Adolin.

"Hey," Xenia said softly, avoiding touching the girl. The girl hadn't stopped shaking, but after a few moments, she slowly opened her eyes.

"I—I'm… alive?"

"Yes," Xenia said, softly touching the girl's arm.

"You're fine." The girl slowly lowered her hands, but the trembling continued. She didn't look like she believed a word she heard. At the same time, she looked exhausted and tired of life. She studied the area around her before her gaze met Xenia.

"I—they're dead."

"Yes, they are. They can't hurt you anymore," Xenia said, speaking each word softly. The girl was dressed in a red dress, an expensive one at that. Well, it probably had been before most of it had been ripped off or torn. Adolin found the whole situation strange. For one, what was a girl like her doing in a dungeon? She did look like a noble, or at the very least, from a very rich family. Her skin was clear and soft, her hands looked like they hadn't seen work.

The biggest problem he saw was that there was no possible explanation for how and why the girl was in a dungeon. A month ago, the first room of the dungeon had been compromised by corruption, and the effect of the corruption had been active until two days ago. At least, if Eury's research was to be believed. That meant that the girl had been trapped in the dungeon before Eury had found it, potentially for an entire month, alone in a dangerous dungeon.

She had somehow made it to the fourth room, and other than a few scratches, she hadn't suffered any serious injuries before the creature attacked her. The other possibility was that she had entered with the corrupted but somehow escaped into the later rooms while Eury was still fighting them. There was another possibility, too. She could have somehow ended up in the dungeon before Eury's party went in for the second time, or slipped past them and entered afterward. That didn't seem possible, though.

They hadn't seen any signs of anyone else passing through the dungeon after the last reset. Adolin frowned. Perhaps there were other explanations that he couldn't see at the moment, so he stopped thinking about it. The girl would answer his question once she recovered. There was no reason to dwell on something that could probably be figured out in a few hours, or a day at most. Adolin watched as Xenia took out a white blanket out of her inventory and put it over the girl.

"Everything will be fine," she said with a smile. The girl nodded and closed her eyes. She looked as if she finally was allowed to relax, and soon she fell asleep. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Everyone else was watching from a distance, giving Xenia enough space. The area fell silent, and the only sound was the girl's heavy breathing.

Adolin spread out his Mana Sense as far as he could, trying to find an ambush, or anything that would help him explain the situation. Yet even after scanning the area two hundred meters around him, he didn't find a single thing besides the footprints. They started from where the girl had been lying and led deep into the room, far beyond the range of his Mana Sense. He could follow them if he wanted to understand more before the girl woke up. Clay came up beside him, his gaze never leaving the girl.

"Hmm," he muttered.

"This really doesn't feel right," Clay said.

"How so?" Adolin asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but how does someone like her..." Clay motioned toward the girl.

"How does someone like her end up in a dungeon? Alone."

"Well, let's wait until we hear her side of the story," Adolin said. Now that he thought about it, there were ways one could end up in the dungeon by mistake. If one was lost in a forest and wanted to take shelter in a cave, it would be easy enough to enter the wrong one. Though, he was certain Clay had also realized that. How she was alive was the greater question. She didn't look like a fighter, nor did she look like she knew what she was doing.

Well, the new world kept throwing surprises at him, so that didn't really mean anything. Her level could be high even if she didn't look the part. Adolin stuck to the side, trying to decipher the mystery even though he had already decided to let go of it. The spearman had moved next to Eury, talking about the girl. Well, that was his guess. What he found interesting was that they didn't seem as awkward as a few hours ago. The swordsman soon joined them.

Adolin really had to stop referring to them by what weapons they used and learn their names. Xenia, on the other hand, sat next to the girl, holding her hand while trying not to wake her.

"Do we wait for the girl to wake up?" Clay asked. Adolin wasn't exactly sure what the best move was. Looking at Xenia, he didn't think she would appreciate it if he woke up the girl with a spell and interrogated her. Well, at least not until she was well rested. That didn't leave him with many choices. They could wait there, or he could take Clay for a stroll. Follow the footsteps and teach Clay a skill. The problem was that he had yet to find the perfect skill for Clay.

"We can scout ahead," Adolin said. Clay shrugged.

"Better than staying here." Adolin walked toward Eury, who stood a few meters away. He wanted to tell him that they would be going scouting. As soon as he got within earshot, he started hearing their whispered conversation.

"—mage a demon like you? Your general?" the spearman said as he leaned closer to Eury. Adolin slowed slightly so he could listen in for longer.

"My what? No! He is… um… well, someone I know. Wait! How did you even come to that conclusion?!" Eury wasn't really whispering anymore. At least, he wasn't trying to.

"Well… he acted too fast to save the girl. I didn't even notice what was happening before the creatures hit the ground."

"It's all thanks to me! I took care of them before they could hurt the little girl!" Eury said proudly, his head held high. The spearman didn't look like he bought it.

"You don't believe me!?" Eury shook his head.

"Well, I must admit, the mage acted a bit faster… but! That doesn't mean anything, as my tendril would have taken care of the," he glanced toward the creatures on the ground, "abominations." Adolin didn't really care too much what Eury said. It wasn't like he was dying for recognition. He was usually happier when people left him alone, and others claimed his deeds. He hoped someone would use a name, so that Adolin could learn it and stop referring to them by their weapons. Yet no one did.

As soon as he got close enough.

"So, what do we do now?" Adolin said. Eury and the other turned toward him.

"Ah, mage!" Eurynomos kept glancing awkwardly at his companions, but when he noticed they weren't going to say anything, he relaxed somewhat and regained his confidence.

"Xenia doesn't seem like she is going to allow us to carry the girl with us…" The spearman chuckled, "Not a chance. We are not leaving until the girl wakes up." Adolin nodded.

"Well, we'll scout ahead and see if there is any danger."

"Can I come as well?" Eury said with a pleading look. Adolin shook his head.

"If you come as well, who is going to defend the little girl?"

"Well… I don't really need to be too close to defend her," Eury said, giving him a disappointed look.

"I can protect her from-" He tilted his head slightly.

"Two hundred and sixty-four meters away!"

"Have fun," Adolin said as he turned and walked away. He wasn't letting Eury come with them. He had better things to do than entertain the Demon King and listen to him ramble about how great the dungeon would become. Adolin and Clay left the area, walking a few meters away from the tracks. He didn't want to make it too obvious where they were headed. Well, it probably didn't really matter, but the girl from Eury's party did look a tad overprotective.

Anything that would avoid an awkward situation was acceptable to him, even if it took more time. Clay kept glancing toward the tracks, making sure they were still following them so Adolin didn't need to keep his attention on that. Adolin wanted to decide what skill would fit Clay and his needs. Something that would grow with him rather than something that provided a quick increase in strength.

The first thing that came to mind was a technique that would allow him to train his Killing Intent, but he quickly gave up on that idea. Killing Intent was a powerful tool, but it was only effective against weaker enemies, and the boy had yet to experience enough life and bloodshed to develop it quickly or push it beyond what most people could achieve. Killing Intent was much more powerful and useful than he let on, but Adolin wanted to help the boy achieve the peak.

And at the peak, Killing Intent was practically useless. Everyone who achieved the peak had already gone through enough bloodshed that Killing Intent didn't have any effect on them. Would Clay ever reach the peak? He didn't really care, as that wasn't his problem. Reaching the peak wasn't something anyone could or even want to achieve. That was Clay's business. All he would do was give him the tools to reach it. Everything afterward would be his choice and his luck.

Well, he also didn't really know where the peak was in this world. Whether it was higher than his old one, or lower. That was something he was going to learn in the future. But from what he felt back at the Count's estate, from the Emperor and the one other person close to him. The peak in this world could potentially be much higher. It took him a few minutes, but he finally found the right skill. Well, it was more of a technique.

It wouldn't help Clay with cutting stones right away, but in a few months, he would be able to do it with ease. The Channel Expansion Technique. The technique did just what the name suggested. It expanded and strengthened the mana channels running through the body, making mana flow more efficiently and allowing its user to wield it with greater strength. There were also countless more benefits, but those were the main ones. Adolin frowned.

"Why did it only work on warriors?" he muttered.

"Did you say something?" Adolin sighted and turned toward the boy. As he thought about how to go about teaching him and come up with a good excuse for why he was doing it, he followed the boy's gaze. Clay was staring at a cave entrance. The same place the tracks originated from.... Revel lay on the bed, her mind in turmoil. It had been a long time since she'd felt like she did now. There were too many things happening, some worse than others, and she didn't have answers for most of them.

The situation with Clay had gone out of control, and most of it wasn't even her fault. She had just followed what Lord Varkos—Clay's father—had suggested, thinking Clay knew most of it, if not all. Yet, it turned out Clay wasn't aware of his father's plans, and Revel took most of the blame. She sighed and let her hand fall to the side. How was she going to fix it? A sharp sting of pain shot through her arm, like tiny needles piercing her skin.

"Ouch," she muttered. She glanced down at her chest and saw that the little kitten had bitten her arm.

"Meoow!"

"I'm sorry," Revel muttered as she continued petting the kitten. In a moment, the kitten was back to lying on her chest and purring. Revel shook her head. The little one was very adorable. As soon as the kitten was back to sleep, her thoughts stirred again. The other imminent issue was the information she had gotten from Ellen. The frontline had moved again, and if it wasn't fixed soon, the corrupted would start sending corrupted beasts into their territory again.

Then, there was the issue with the strange illness that had appeared in the city. The infirmary in the workers' district had already been overfilled. If that wasn't enough, dozens more ill people were showing up at the infirmary every day, and it didn't have enough space to take them in. There were countless other issues filling her mind, but those were the most important.

Tomorrow, she would need to visit the workers' district, and after confirming the situation there, she would have to visit the Temple of the Goddess. The frown returned to her face. She hated dealing with priests.