Read Novel Full Chapter 49, Tough Call
Chapter 49, Tough Call
Translator: Barnnn
The distant booms and rising screams reached their ears, drawing simultaneous sighs from both of them. They glanced at each other, then peered down at Ize’s Perception Map.
“Chestnut Bombers?”
“Looks like it,” Ize replied, her eyes narrowing. “The ground around those adventurers is completely red.”
“What do we do?”
“What IS the right move here?”
“If they’re nearby, call out to see if they need help. If they refuse, you leave. If they ask for it, we help.” Hal raised a finger for each step, counting them off. “That’s typically how it goes.”
“And if they’re hurt badly enough to need to head back up? How far do we help them?”
“That depends.” Hal shrugged. “We could sell them some Potions, help them fend off enemies, or escort them all the way to the surface. It’s case by case.”
He wiggled his three fingers for emphasis. The gesture was so absurdly casual that Ize found herself struggling to take the situation seriously. She blamed Hal’s attitude for that — and pressed on with her questions.
“This is a tough call. What do you think, Hal?”
“…Honestly? I doubt they’ve noticed us. We could just walk away… But part of me wants to see what those Chestnut Bombers look like up close.”
“What if we just watch and leave?”
“Depends on their condition. Think you could stomach that, Ize?”
“…Yes. I don’t want any unnecessary trouble.”
“Then it’s settled. Let’s go.”
Their expressions stiffened as they nodded to each other. Moving cautiously, they followed the sounds of explosions and shrieks until they came upon the scene.
Through the trees, they saw four adventurers dashing madly across a clearing. Their clothes were riddled with spiny projectiles, sticking out from their backs and legs like the quills of a hedgehog.
“Are those… burrs?” Hal muttered.
Ize squinted at the adventurers, then at the small creatures skittering around their feet — round, spiked things that burst open with a loud pop, spraying the air with needle-like burrs.
The projectiles weren’t powerful on their own, but in swarms, they clung and pierced like stubborn thorns. Ize winced as she imagined the sting of dozens of them digging into flesh.
“I don’t think their lives are in danger, at least,” Hal said.
“I think so, too — just a few more pops, and it should be over,” Ize agreed, and sure enough, the explosions began to fade.
The adventurers collapsed in exhaustion, sprawling on the ground. None of the spikes had hit critical areas like their eyes or throats, which eased Ize’s tension.
“I was hoping we could test out those chestnuts ourselves, but jumping in now would be a bad idea.”
“Yeah…” Hal nodded. “Let’s just try next time we spot some.”
Realizing the situation wasn’t as dire as she’d feared, Ize sighed quietly. Beside her, Hal did the same. She glanced at him — his posture and expression more relaxed, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“…Time to move on?” he turned to ask her.
“Yes, let’s.”
Leaving the clearing behind, they continued their walk toward the stairs. Along the way, they encountered swarms of Rainbees, falling easily into their familiar rhythm. Ize would spot the enemies, and Hal would deal with them swiftly. Between battles, they even found time to chat.
“So, Ize, how would you go about collecting Chestnut Bombers?”
“You mean how YOU would go about collecting them,” Ize teased. “And the answer is… you’d use a weak wind spell to knock them down.”
“Me? You sure I can attack them without blowing them up?”
“It wouldn’t be an attack. Oh — Rainbee, right side.”
“Got it. Hah!” Hal’s wind blade dispatched it with ease. “But it’s still magic.”
“Yes. But if you keep the spell weak, it’s just like a natural gust of wind. The Chestnut Bombers won’t explode — they’ll fall harmlessly.”
“Ah, I see…” Hal nodded, starting to see her logic. “Makes sense. Magicite, check.”
“Loot, check.” Ize continued her explanation. “Once they’re down, I’d use Fleet Foot, stab a knife into their mouths, and retreat. Rinse and repeat.”
“Sounds risky. What’s the success rate you’re looking at?”
“About eighty percent. If the explosion triggers, it’s a race to avoid ending up like those adventurers.”
“…Yeah, That’s what I thought.” Hal grimaced. “We’ll need something to cover our hands and faces.”
“A mask, maybe?”
“I’ll find a cool one for you.”
“I’ll respectfully decline…” As they walked, Ize glanced at her Map, estimating their progress. “…Oh, we should reach the stairs in about ten more minutes.”
“All right.”
Their pace hadn’t suffered much from the diversion, and in the end, the floor had turned out to be more of a time sink than a true challenge.
Small enemies rushed them in swarms, but for sufficiently prepared adventurers, they posed little threat. The real hindrance was the tedious work of gathering loot after each encounter, which steadily chipped away at their progress. For anyone lacking crowd control abilities, it would be a tiresome, thankless grind — the kind of floor seldom revisited.
◆
“All right, tenth floor — final floor of the day. Let’s stay sharp.”
“Got it.”
“We’ll run into Twisthorn Deer here. Drops include Magicite, antlers, or–”
“Meat!”
“Exactly. Let’s do this.”
“Right!”
They paused at the stairs, taking a brief rest before their final push of the day.
Their target: Deer.
Both Ize and Hal were prepared for this. The tenth floor stretched out in a mix of grassy plains and dense forest. They knew that sticking to the plains would mean fewer encounters with Twisthorn Deer, but they wanted both the challenge and the chance to gather meat. After a quick discussion, they agreed to move along the border where the two terrains met.
“My Perception range feels like it’s expanding lately,” Ize said as they walked. “I think I’m close to getting a derived skill.”
“A new one? Since Stealth?”
“Yes. Look forward to it.”
“I sure will.”
The prospect of an evolved skill stirred quiet excitement in Ize.
Since starting their Dungeon dives, she had grown to appreciate just how useful Perception was. Sensing threats before they struck gave them a constant advantage — combined with Stealth, it allowed them to control the opening of nearly every battle they faced.
As she reflected on this, enemies appeared on her Perception Map.
“There’s one about a kilometer into the forest. Should we head in?”
“Yeah. Just be mindful of positioning during the fight.”
“Mm-hmm.”
They advanced carefully through the trees, stepping lightly over roots and fallen leaves. When the silhouette of a Twisthorn Deer finally came into view, both of them slowed and observed.
“Let’s see… Weakness: fire. Sensitive to presence. Skilled with its antlers. Fast runner,” Hal murmured.
“Targeting the legs first seems best.”
“Agreed. I’ll try opening with wind magic.”
Hal raised his hand, focusing on the beast. But the moment his spell took shape — the Twisthorn Deer’s ears flicked.
“What the — it noticed us!?”
The Deer twisted its body with a fluid grace, evading Hal’s spell entirely. In one swift motion, it lowered its twisted antlers into an attack stance and charged toward them.
“Hal! I’m going in!” Ize called out, sprinting forward.
“Ize, wait–!”
She was right on the beast’s path — then, at the last second, she veered right. The blade of her knife flashed in the dappled light as she plunged it into the beast’s left legs in succession.
“Gyuiieeehh!” The Deer’s shriek echoed through the woods.
Still, it pressed forward. The creature limped heavily on its wounded legs, but its momentum didn’t falter. Rage twisted its expression as it bore down on Hal, antlers aimed to impale.
Hal stood firm. As the Deer charged, its body listing to the right, he unleashed a pressurized blast of water directly into its exposed side.
“Hah!”
Boom!
“Gyuaaahh!”
The force of the spell sent the Twisthorn Deer flying. It tumbled violently across the forest floor before crashing into a tree with a dull thud.
It twitched once — twice, then its long neck slumped to the ground. Silence settled over the clearing as the Mystic Beast faded away.
“Whew,” Hal exhaled slowly, lowering his hands upon confirming the kill.
But his relief evaporated the moment he spotted Ize sitting on the ground, her legs splayed out awkwardly.
“Ize!”
He rushed over, crouching beside her. Her hands trembled as she propped herself up.
“H-Hal…”
“Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice edged with worry.
“I… I just lost strength in my legs,” she admitted.
“O-okay… sorry ’bout that. I didn’t think it would dodge my magic so easily.”
“It really surprised me…”
“But you know, your reaction was amazing. If you hadn’t moved when you did, I would’ve been standing there like an idiot.”
“It was just… heat of the moment.”
Her voice wavered as she recalled the split-second decision, and her hands shook more noticeably. Hal took them gently, holding her fingers between his palms, and his lips curved into a smile.
“Hey, you know what?” he said softly. “I think we got some venison out of this. We better hurry before it disappears.”
“W-wait! I still can’t stand!”
Hal grinned. “C’mon, Ize. Do you think Deer meat tastes good?”
“Of course it does! We’ve got to go get it!”
“Then hurry up!”
He crouched beside her and, with a playful smirk, poked at her knees. Ize swatted his hand away and tried to push herself up, but her legs refused to cooperate, wobbling like a newborn fawn.
Just as she was about to collapse again, Hal scooped her up without warning.
“H-hey!” she protested, glaring up at him. Her teary eyes tried to convey indignation, but Hal only chuckled.
“Shika niku, shika niku, shika niku~~” He proceeded to hum a silly tune as he carried her toward the tree where the Deer had fallen. Then, remembering something, he muttered, “By the way, those antlers are DEFINITELY deadly.”
“And so are its reflexes,” Ize added with a weary sigh. “If we don’t rethink our approach, it’s going to give me a heart attack next time.”
“Right…”
When they reached the tree, Hal gently set Ize down. Right within her reach lay the loot from the Mystic Beast — a Magicite, a pair of antlers, and a thick chunk of meat.
“Hehehe…”
Hal chuckled again. “Happy?”
“Very!”
“Nice.”
Ize grinned from ear to ear, her eyes practically sparkling. Hal chuckled, ruffling her hair in amusement before settling down beside her. He pulled a water bottle from his Magic Bag and drained it in one long drink.
For a while, they sat quietly, gazing at the spot where the Twisthorn Deer had first appeared.
The entire battle had lasted less than a minute, but the details lingered in both their minds.
Hal replayed it like a loop — his wind spell cutting through the air, the Deer twisting its body with unnatural grace to dodge, and its antlers hurtling toward him. He saw it over and over, imagining all the ways it could’ve gone wrong.
Ize, too, felt the moment replaying in her body — the split-second decision to leap forward, the resistance against her blade slicing into the Deer’s legs. Her movements had been instinctual.
The silence stretched until Hal finally spoke.
“…I’ve been thinking…”
“About what?”
“What just happened.” He tilted his head toward the clearing. “The opening wasn’t great, but after that, our coordination went well.”
“I agree.”
“I drew its attention. You crippled its mobility. And then I finished it off.”
“It was a good flow.”
“But… to make that strategy safer, we need to rethink our approach. We can’t afford to miss the opening move again.”
“Right. If we can cripple its movement earlier, we’ll be able to recover even if our first attack doesn’t land.”
“Wait a second,” Hal said, his brow furrowing, “that’s going to put you at greater risk.”
“Well… yes.”
Hal knew that Ize’s Stealth skill would be key to handling perceptive Mystic Beasts like the Twisthorn Deer. But up until now, they hadn’t used her Stealth at full capacity during their Dungeon explorations.
Usually, it was more efficient to let Mystic Beasts notice them. That way, they didn’t waste time wandering around looking for encounters. And besides, letting other adventurers catch glimpses of them in the Dungeon helped avoid unnecessary suspicion. If they moved completely unseen, people might start whispering rumors — rumors that could turn troublesome.
Still, Hal had an idea.
[If Ize fully cloaks herself and leaves my presence detectable enough… the Deer will target me.]
Turning to her, he asked, “Ize, can you adjust the level of Stealth between us? Like, completely hide yourself but leave me visible?”
She blinked, considering the question. “I’ve never tried it, but… I can feel that it’s possible.”
“Nice. Next question. Earlier, it noticed us from about five hundred meters away. If you’re fully hidden, can we get closer before it detects us?”
“Definitely.”
“All right…” Hal grinned as his mind spun with possibilities. “Let’s strategize.”
“Mm-hmm.”
This time, they wouldn’t be caught off guard. They would capitalize on their strengths and use the enemy’s weaknesses against it.
Hal’s grin sharpened into a mischievous smirk.
“Okay. Let’s go.” He stood, offering a hand to Ize. “Time to hunt us a second Twisthorn Deer!”