[ Still, I can"t believe you guys were really able to take it down. ] [ Of course! It was easy, it won"t even compare to master"s pets! ] Lumi replied with a carefree smile on her face.
But despite what she said, it was definitely nothing that she meant.
It was a tough fight. One wrong move and their companion, Caiden, could"ve died.
They really can"t tell what his relationship with their master, but they know that he doesn"t show him hostility, unlike the other girl he was always with.
They never really had the intention to work with him but it was their master"s order. It was hard for the three of them at first, but after they had shared multiple life-threatening events, they have accepted him as a friend.
[ Haha... That was really tough... ] Caiden made an empty laugh.
Remembering what had happened...
( Just... what really happened there...? )
Just a second...
One late second and he might not be able to make the laugh he did just now.
If Sarah did not come exactly as she did in the fight, cutting off the few heads of the enemy and then blocking away the others, he might"ve been dead right now. And if Lumi and Nina did not use their strongest attacks, then both he and Sarah would not survive the relentless attacks of the enemy.
He only vaguely remembers it; an attack that shone and annihilated the enemy. And it was not able to regenerate again.
( ... )
[ I did not really see what happened, but can you tell me what that attack was? ] he asks Lumi.
[ Hmm...? Should I tell you? ] she replied with a big smirk on her face.
[ You know, I really want to brag about it, but master said that it should be a secret... ]
[ oh... ]
( A secret, huh? Just what is that guy teaching these slaves...? ) Caiden relaxes and rests his body on the floor, giving up on his curiosity.
[ Haa... ] he breathes a long sigh.
Caiden and Lumi exchange their words with Nina listening to them. The three of them are now only lying exhausted and almost lifeless on the ground, leaving Sarah staring at them in silence.
A while had already pa.s.sed and they had also used all of their remaining potions to recover their exhausted mana, they should already have enough energy to stand and continue their journey, but instead, they just laid themselves there, relaxing as if nothing had happened.
[ You guys... ]
The three wanted to rest as they are the most that got exhausted in the battle. Sarah, on the other hand, wants to continue their search for their master.
[ Now, now, Sarah-senpai, we"ve exhausted ourselves like crazy, you know? If it wasn"t for us, sacrificing ourselves, none of us would"ve survived... Can"t we at least rest for a little bit more? ] Lumi voiced as she looks at the annoyed look on Sarah"s face.
[ Do you remember what master always says to us whenever we finish training? If he"s here, he will say, "Rest is necessary after hard work, take a rest" ]
[ Can you please not imitate him? ] her shoulders down, she mutters.
[ That"s right, Sarah-san, we"ve exhausted ourselves not just physically, but also mentally, a few minutes won"t be that much. ] with his hands behind his head, Caiden supported Lumi.
[ Not you, too, Caiden-sama... ] whispers Sarah with disappointment as she looks the knight captain she respected wasting time together and being close with the laziest person she knows.
[ Let"s just relax for now and look for your master later. If we go exhausted like this to your master and danger suddenly shows up, don"t you think we"ll only cause him trouble and hold him back? I"m sure they"re also waiting for us, let"s conserve our strength first so that we can fight together with them equally when we regroup. ]
[ Well... that"s true... ] she replied with a worried look.
***
[ Haah... ]
And so, the four of them rested their tired bodies on the ground and breaths a sigh of satisfaction.
[ This is the best! ] says Lumi.
[ I never thought doing this in a dungeon would be so refreshing... This is the first time I"ve been relaxed in such a dangerous place... ] Caiden added.
[ Un... ] Nina nodded to their conversation.
Now that the battle that almost took their lives is over, it was now their time to rest.
[ ... ] Sarah, on the other hand, only stared at the rough walls with blank eyes.
( Aren"t we supposed to be looking for master...? ) Sarah mutters inside his head as she looks at the three people with her resting as if they have already forgotten what they were supposed to do.
( Haah... I say that but I also want to rest... Even though I really want to look for master... "Priorities always come first"... That"s what master always says... But even though I want to follow that... My body just won"t listen... )
[ I wonder what he would say if he sees us like this...? He would - ] - Sarah mutters to herself, but before she could finish her sentence...
[ What are you doing...? ]
[ definitely get angry... ]
( ... )
[ ... ]
Silence took over, before...
[ [ MMaster!!!? ] ]
***
It happened a few minutes after they left that particular room.
*Crack...!
*Crack!!!
The ground shook and a loud crashing sound resounded from the direction they came from.
[ What was that, Vlad-san...? ]
[ I don"t know, but I got a bad feeling about it... ] as he says that, he immediately did his Echolocation skill and check the status of Caiden and his slaves.
The direction they just came from - should be the room the other group will arrive at.
At first, he was constantly observing them, but ever since he and Alicia fought their first enemy, he removed his eyes on them.
( Just what was that sound? There should be no enemies left on those floors... )
He and Alicia had already defeated all the enemies in all the floors they walked in, because of this, Caiden"s group should be easily able to catch up to them, hence why he had also abandoned the plan of going to the other direction and regrouping with them first. But it seems like Vlad"s calculation was incorrect.
[ ... ]
It took a few seconds after his skills reached the four of them, but as soon as it did...
( This is!? )
There was an enemy. The other group is currently fighting an enemy he and Alicia had missed.
( No, we already defeated all of them, where did it come from? ) as he asks himself that question, he looks at the figure of the enemy the four are currently fighting.
He remembers it, it was one of the two figures he saw in the boss"s room; it was an ent.i.ty that never existed in the game. He realized that, but as soon as he did, another question came in his mind: just how was it able to move past them?
The only answer was it traveled underground.
[ Alicisan, we need to go back. ]
[ Huh? Why...? ]
[ Caiden and those three are in danger. ]
***
( So they gained so much level that their bodies are now adjusting, huh...? This always happens to them when I train them, I wouldn"t mind if they rest for a bit, but... )
[ ... ]
[ MMaster! This is not what it looks like! I was - I was! ] Sarah tried to deny her actions.
But Vlad only stood there, ignoring her, reason because there was Lumi, apologizing in her own way, too...
[ Master-sama! I"m really shorry-ry! It was Caiden"s fault that we rest first before we look for you! ] Lumi came apologizing with tears on her eyes, hugging and tugging his clothes, making it wet with her tears.
Looking at her only made Vlad irritated.
[ I"m really sorry I did not prioritize you, master! It was really Caiden"s idea! Then, after he was able to force me, my body started to not listen to me! Ple-please! Spare me the punishment, master! ]
The two of them apologized. Nina, on the other hand, is just quietly standing beside Vlad, waiting for her chance to brag about defeating one of her tribe"s rivals and then ask for her reward. Caiden is just smiling awkwardly on the side, scratching the top of his head as he looks at them.
[ [ MMaster...! ] ]
( ... ) and Vlad stares at his student slaves, realizing again just how abnormal they were.
( I should"ve just let them by themselves... that way they will be able to rest properly and they won"t be able to irritate me like this... I really regret coming back for them... )