Dungeon (3)

"Argh!"

"What happened? I was falling into darkness earlier. "

Astroth slowly opens his eyes. His vision was blurry, and a faint voice enters his ears.

"Ash! Ash! Are you alright?"

His unstable mind refused to coordinate with his body. He lost control of most aspects of his body. Only his ears and eyes were somewhat working.

He blinks his eyes to clear his vision and focuses on the voice for its source. Slowly, he began to discern a blurry figure in front of him. The voice becomes coherent, and he recognizes that it belongs to Eli.

Gradually, his sense of touch improves, and his state of balance returns. He was lying on a rough floor, and a person, maybe Eli, was sitting beside him. Despite his efforts to touch the girl, he couldn't feel any strength in his body.

Eli lifts him, puts his arm on her shoulder, and tries to move him somewhere else. Even though she had a hard time carrying Astroth, Undoubtedly, her willpower was admirable.

She tripped many times and almost dropped him. In this relapsing and trembling state, she kept walking.

Astroth felt like a burden; his state was like that of a paralyzed person. He was awake but helpless. He knew Eli was overexerting herself and her groans entered his ears.

After some distance, Eli stops, leans him against something, and lays him down. Her panting was loud and clear to him.

She sits beside him and starts chanting something.

"Oh, spirits of the forest! Help me erase the wounds of the sufferer [Holy Heal]."

Suddenly, a warm aura surrounds Astroth, all his exhaustion fades, and his pain eases. It was like being embraced by someone dear. His heart was filled with comfort and adoration.

His vision clears, and he glances at Eli. Her swollen eyes and pale complexion were readily apparent. He noticed bruises all over her body.

She smiles with tears running down her cheeks, "I'm glad you're safe. I was afraid of losing you too."

She starts crying and becomes unconscious as the last bit of strength lefts her body. Astroth was helpless as his body didn't have any strength.

"Hehe...I told you to use chantless magic," Astroth caresses her head.

While staring lovingly at Eli, he tried to lean Eli against the support beside him. Similarly, he dozed due to exhaustion.

----

Yawn

Astroth woke up with a refreshed feeling and noticed Eli beside him. She was still sleeping due to her exhaustion, she must have used all her mana earlier.

He didn't disturb her and stood without making any noise. He checks his health before inspecting the surroundings.

Most of his scales healed due to Eli's magic. He tried to flap his wings, but they were still half burned.

"Looks like I won't be able to fly for some time."

He stretches his other body parts and finds his limbs working. While stretching, some of his bones make a cracking sound, as if they are eager for action after a long rest.

"How much did I sleep for my body to be this refreshed? I should take a break from time to time.

I'm pushing myself a lot nowadays. As a writer in my previous life, pushing myself for deadlines was my limit. However, here I'm fighting with my life on the line.

Hehe... I always thought that only Truck Kun could reincarnate people, but sometimes a thief's knife can also do the trick.

Should I write a novel in this world about 'How I reincarnate as a lizard?' hahaha.."

Astroth laughed for a while, and his eyes rolled to observe his surroundings.

There was nothing but rubble; it seemed like a cave. The fire and shaking collapsed the dungeon floor, creating a cave for them to explore. He starts inspecting as he moves forward. It was a dark and tranquil atmosphere. His throat choked as he went deeper.

"Fuck! I forgot carbon monoxide. It can easily kill us in a closed space with a fire. "

Astroth used cleanse magic to purify the atmosphere of the cave, as he moved forward the intensity of burned places increased.

Then he reached the entrance from which they entered the dungeon. The trail was closed with some big boulders. Now the only option left was to venture deeper into the dungeon.

Astroth already felt the terror of this dungeon. The level of this dungeon was higher than what the elders predicted. The first floor was enough to kill most of the intruders, so he didn't want to think about what lay ahead, and proceeded with caution.

Additionally, their condition was not good enough to face stronger monsters, and they will most certainly die in this dungeon if more traps appear like this.

Astroth returns to Eli. She was awake by now and ran towards him. She hugged him tightly and started crying.

"Why do you always cry? I'm alright. You need more care than me. Let me at least heal your wounds before you cry again. "

Eli pouts and sits beside him. Astroth used healing magic on her bruises and some burned marks. Now his small intention to clear the dungeon falters as he realizes she was hurt more than he thought.

He was more concerned about the safety of Eli than exploring the dungeon. Eli struggles to stand with wobbling legs as he asks whether she has enough strength to walk. She holds Astroth and takes some steps. After a while, she could walk on her own.

Astroth suggests she rest a bit longer, then he leaves to find some food. The cave was longer than he imagined. He moves with his guard up against any threats.

He heard a tapping sound as if someone was walking. He approached only to find a massive ant-like creature.

It looked like a black giant ant with long tentacles and sharp teeth. Astroth was startled by this creature.

Its teeth could easily grind him, and his long legs could serve as a cage to catch small creatures.

To his luck, the ant was the only one around. On Earth, he learned that ants live in colonies, suggesting they are trapped in the nest of giant ants.

He was already intimidated by one ant, so imagine what would happen if their whole army stood before him.

He observes the ant while hiding himself. The ant moved in the same direction repeatedly. Astroth himself was puzzled by its purpose, then he realized what was going on.

"Don't tell me this ant is left behind and to forget its way back."

Astroth grins sinisterly and rubs his hands. Slowly, he approaches the ant from behind. He aims from a safe location and chants [Fireball] two times. Two fire blasts hit the ant from behind, and the flames engulfed the poor beast.

"The roasted ant is ready for dinner, Ah!.. I don't know whether it's lunch or dinner in this cave. Haha... Who cares? "

Astroth transports the corpse of an ant back to Eli after destroying the evidence of the fight. He didn't want to alert other ants before he returned to his peak condition.