“Right!”
Greg shook off those terrible scenarios in his mind and looked at Nightmare with a glint of expectation and probing in his eyes. “Since your power has started to recover, then... can you transform into your catgirl form now?”
He remembered Nightmare mentioning before that her true form was extremely taxing.
But now that her power had recovered a little, was it possible...
A glint of playfulness flashed in Nightmare's eerie green eyes. She elegantly licked her paw and said unhurriedly, “If thou art willing to postpone the time thou receivest thy Divine Protection by a considerable period, I can indeed barely maintain my original... well, in thy words, catgirl form for a short time. How about it? Dost thou wish to make the trade?”
Greg: “...Never mind then.”
Although giant treasure chests were indeed tempting, after weighing his options, Greg ultimately desired power far more than oppai.
“A wise decision.”
Nightmare didn't seem surprised by this answer, even nodding with a hint of praise.
Power was the foundation of survival. As a goddess, she understood this better than anyone.
“Ah, enough chatter. Let's head back to camp first.”
Greg rolled his shoulders, pulling on a few wounds that made him suck in a sharp breath. “I feel like if I goof off here any longer, these wounds on my body are going to start hurting again.”
In his battle against the Silent Penitent, although he had avoided severe injury thanks to his LV2 Blunt Resistance and Silvia's timely healing, the surface wounds scraped by the scepter, along with his drained mana and mental energy, still required time and rest to recover.
He didn't want his injuries to flare back up just because he was showing off for a moment.
After all, his main objective right now was to rest well and regain his strength, because in a few days, the second-to-last important event of Act Two's plot would occur: Return of the Dead.
The background of the event was set in the Public Cemetery and surrounding wasteland on the outskirts of the City of Glory, where recent undead activity had suddenly grown unusually intense, far exceeding the strength and frequency of the same period in previous years.
Patrolling City Guard forces had reported sightings of multiple mid-tier undead creatures, and even suspected traces of Necromancer activity.
This had already exceeded the scope of a routine public security issue, yet it had not reached the level requiring the deployment of the kingdom's regular army or the main forces of the Holy Church of Light.
After evaluation, the city administrators decided to issue the preliminary investigation and clearing mission in the form of an official commission to Glory Cael Magic Academy—one of the Five Great Magic Academies—as a high-credit practical assessment and cooperative quest.
In the original plot, this was the first large-scale team subjugation mission accepted by the protagonist, Victoria.
Although she longed to prove herself, her cautious nature kept her from choosing to venture out alone or in a small party.
She joined a large Joint Purge Team spearheaded by several upperclassmen, aiming to fight side by side, share risks, and divide the mission rewards.
It was during this mission that Victoria seized the opportunity, relying on her gradually awakening Hero qualities and skills honed through actual combat to step forward at critical moments. She successfully rescued several party members surrounded by undead, winning widespread recognition and praise from the team for her performance.
It was precisely by building an initial reputation in this large-scale mission that she gained more attention within the academy later on, ultimately being selected as one of the First-year Representatives to participate in Chapter Three's Hundred Academy Exchange.
On the surface, this seemed like a team mission with manageable risks and good rewards.
However, Greg knew very well that in the original game, Victoria's ability to survive this crisis without real danger and ultimately reap reputation relied on a crucial prerequisite—by that time, she had already established a fair amount of friendship and tacit understanding with Lilith Kahn, so before participating in the mission, she had invited Lilith to join her.
It was precisely thanks to Lilith's powerful, wide-area high-tier fire magic taking care of rapidly clearing large numbers of low-tier undead, alongside Silvia's stable and reliable light-attribute magic for purification and support, that Victoria could focus without distraction on decapitating key targets and performing rescues at critical moments.
Under the cover and cooperation of the larger team, the core trio had ultimately completed the mission safely.
However, current reality had strayed significantly from the original game.
As far as Greg knew, the relationship between Victoria and Lilith, far from warming up into close friends as in the original game, was instead showing signs of heading toward becoming arch-rivals.
This meant that the red-haired turret who had provided Victoria with the strongest fire support and deterrence in the original game would most likely be absent from this mission.
Without Lilith, a key combatant, relying solely on Victoria and Silvia—even if they joined a large party—would cause the risk to shoot up exponentially when facing a sudden, high-intensity undead wave or elite undead units.
They might be able to protect themselves, but doing as they had in the original game—rescuing others with ease and building reputation—would become exceptionally difficult, and they might even fall into danger themselves.
It was based on this judgment that Greg decided to intervene in this "Return of the Dead" event.
After all, since Victoria had put so much effort into helping him clear the dungeon, it was only right for him to give her a hand at a critical moment.
Therefore, for his next surface operation, he needed to adjust his body to peak condition as much as possible to deal with any other unexpected events that his bad luck might trigger.
Greg turned around first and unhurriedly walked toward the camp.
Nightmare leaped gracefully off the rock and followed by his side with light catsteps.
This outing was merely to stretch his muscles in the shallow layers, not far from the camp.
Before long, the familiar outline of the tent and the cleared open space came into view.
However, just as Greg was about to step out from the final cluster of stalagmites and officially return to his territory, his footsteps abruptly froze, his pupils contracting sharply.
There was movement inside the camp!
A sneaky, hooded figure was bent over, pacing back and forth near the entrance of his tent, the pile of miscellaneous items, and his crude stove. The figure touched here and looked there, moving cautiously yet swiftly, as if searching for something or trying to confirm something.
“A thief?!”
Greg's first thought was that a student exploring the dungeon had stumbled upon this relatively hidden camp and, seeing that the owner wasn't around, decided to sneak in and pilfer some valuable items or useful supplies.
After all, he did have a fair amount of valuable materials collected from monsters piled up here.
“My place is already so crude, yet someone actually dares to rob me?”
A surge of anger instantly flared up inside him.
Without hesitation, Greg lowered his stance like a hunting leopard and quickly approached, silently using the shadows of the surrounding rock walls and stalagmites.
His movements were swift and precise, showcasing the physical capabilities honed through long-term survival and combat in the dungeon.
The thief seemed completely unaware of the danger behind them.
The instant the intruder squatted down and tried to lift a corner of the tent to peek inside—
Greg struck!
Leaping out of the shadows like an arrow released from a bow, his right hand clamped down on the intruder's shoulder like an iron vise. Simultaneously, he tripped them with a clever sweep of his foot while bringing his left hand around to cover any potential scream!
It was a textbook grappling takedown, executed seamlessly to completely subdue the intruder before they could react.
“Waaah!”
The figure clearly hadn't expected an attack and let out a short scream. Losing their balance, they were slammed firmly to the ground by Greg, landing face-down on the cold, damp earth.
Greg pinned his knee against the small of their back, controlling their primary point of leverage.
“H-Help! There's a monster here...!”
The subdued intruder was clearly terrified, her voice laced with tears as her body trembled slightly with fear.
However, the very next sentence brought Greg, who was about to harshly interrogate her, to a sudden halt.
“...Greg Sass! It's—it's all your fault! Even if I die, I'll haunt you for the rest of your life!!”
It was a woman's voice—young and clear. Even tinged with crying and panic, it couldn't hide its distinct sense of arrogance.
Greg: “???”
The petty thief knows me?
But what does she mean, it's all my fault? What does she mean by haunting me even if she dies?
Muttering inwardly, Greg unconsciously eased the pressure in his grip.
He shifted his knee and turned his body to see who he was pressing down on.
Sensing the weakening of the pressure, the intruder seized the opportunity to struggle and twist her head around, trying to make out the attacker's face.
The hood slipped off during her struggles, revealing a pair of red eyes brimmed with tears of terror and anger, glaring intently at Greg.
Their eyes met.
The air seemed to freeze.
Greg's eyes widened instantly, his expression freezing on his face.
Lily?! No, it was Lilith!
Why did she come to my camp again in this disguised form?!
Oh, right. It must be because of that.
Greg realized in an instant.
She was definitely here to demand an explanation about what happened on the academy's tree-lined path, where he had publicly exposed her admiration for her sister and made those easily misunderstood, passionate statements!
He just hadn't expected that the Princess's infiltration skills were so atrocious that before even finding her target, she had been caught and tackled to the ground like a thief by the home's owner returning home.
The scene was exceedingly awkward for a moment.
Rate on N.U.
