The swamp area.
Crystals overhead cast a faint, eerie glow, and the air was thick with damp mist.
Rosie and the dwarf stopped inside a ruined building.
“Are we really just going to leave like this?”
The dwarf leaned his axe against the wall and looked back in the direction of the technology center, his tone carrying a clear reluctance to leave.
“We'll leave for now and come back later,” Rosie said.
Rosie had no intention of completing the quests triggered by the Adventure Guide.
The reason was simple: it wasn't worth it.
Purifying the radiation and turning the underground world back into a safe zone?
She wasn't some saint; she had absolutely no interest in doing charity work for others to benefit from.
Directly destroying the energy vessel and letting the radiation explode completely?
That was even worse.
Setting aside whether the radiation explosion would affect her, doing so would definitely alert the enemy. It would make Anna and the Count realize something was wrong, and they would flee immediately.
The best middle ground was to do nothing.
Just let the underground world stay stuck in its current state, maintaining the status quo.
If the Count wanted this place, he could have it for now.
Besides, this quest didn't offer any tangible rewards, so it didn't matter whether she did it or not.
She wasn't a perfectionist who absolutely needed her quest panel to be clean and clear.
Furthermore, she was quite satisfied with what she had gained from this trip.
“Let's go.”
Rosie said after they rested for a moment.
With the hunter's boots and gear, moving through the swamp became much easier for the two of them.
Although abandoning that suit of plate armor worth over a hundred gold coins pained Rosie slightly, there was no helping it; plate armor was simply too much of a hindrance in this kind of terrain.
Anyway, the dwarf had said those blueprints were very valuable. At worst, she could just buy a new suit once they got out.
The two were walking outward along a relatively safe path.
Rosie suddenly crouched down abruptly, pressing one hand onto the dwarf's shoulder.
“Something's happening,” Rosie said in a low voice.
The dwarf immediately crouched down and pricked up his ears.
Scattered voices and the squelching sound of boots stepping on rotting grass mats reached the dwarf's ears.
Rosie pulled the dwarf and hunched over, hiding in a patch of weeds nearby.
The dwarf looked in the direction of Rosie's gaze.
In the open swamp ahead, a troop was marching.
There were about a hundred people, their line stretching out long.
Walking at the very front were several men dressed as knights, and in their midst, a figure wearing a deep blue robe was particularly eye-catching.
The female mage, Anna.
The dwarf whispered, “It's the Count's troop... They got here pretty fast.”
“The previous squad must have left trail markers.”
Rosie crouched in the weeds, observing carefully through the gaps in the grass.
Her gaze remained locked onto Anna, watching her draw closer and closer.
She gently unslung the bow from her back and nocked an arrow.
Right then, Anna suddenly raised her head and looked over.
Rosie sprang up and loosed an arrow.
A sharp whoosh echoed as the arrow cut through the air, piercing the damp mist as it flew straight toward Anna.
A pale blue shield suddenly flared up around Anna. The arrow struck it and was instantly deflected, falling into the mud.
“Tch.”
Rosie clicked her tongue softly.
Anna raised her wand and began waving it rapidly.
At the same time, the Count's soldiers raised their crossbows and aimed them in Rosie's direction.
“Retreat!”
Rosie turned and bolted.
A massive explosion sounded behind her, followed closely by a sweeping wave of scorching heat.
The patch of weeds where they had just been hiding was already engulfed in flames.
Ash from the charred grass drifted through the air.
“Dammit, that woman plays rough!” the dwarf cursed as he ran.
Rosie didn't reply. She kept her body low, using the weeds as cover to advance rapidly.
The dwarf ran right behind her.
A crossbow bolt whizzed past her ear and plunged into the mud nearby.
Several more bolts shot toward them, all landing around Rosie.
The dwarf ran behind her, yet not a single arrow was aimed at him.
Rosie grimaced. She kicked off the ground forcefully and activated Charge.
She rapidly pulled away from Anna's troop.
A squad of soldiers was about to give chase, but Anna stopped them.
Lowering her wand, she said calmly, “No need to pursue. You won't catch up.”
The soldiers had no choice but to stand down.
Anna's gaze lingered for a moment in the direction Rosie had vanished. “Keep moving. Reach the destination as quickly as possible.”
The troop resumed its march.
On the other side, the dwarf finally caught up to Rosie.
“Why did you run so fast? They couldn't even hit us.”
“Because they only have eyes for me...” Rosie clicked her tongue.
The dwarf shrugged. “What do we do now? Keep heading back?”
“The Count isn't with Anna,” Rosie said.
The dwarf blinked. “What's that mean?”
“If I'm not mistaken, the Count must be waiting for us on the other side of the portal. Even if we go through it, we won't be able to get back up,” Rosie explained.
The pit was dozens of meters deep, and they needed to use the lift system at the top to reach the surface.
As long as the Count stationed men to guard the lift, the two of them would be trapped with no way out.
Realization dawned on the dwarf. “I completely forgot about that. What do we do then? We can't just waste away down here.”
Rosie pondered for a moment. “We go back.”
“Go back?” The dwarf couldn't quite follow her train of thought.
“In an underground world this massive, how could there only be one portal to go in and out?” Rosie said.
“Are there other portals?” The dwarf's eyes lit up.
Rosie replied, “There's only one portal—or rather, only one marked on the map.”
“What do you mean?” the dwarf asked, puzzled.
Rosie continued, “Even a rabbit has three burrows. This place must have other entrances and exits not marked on the map. Otherwise, how did the ancient gnomes get in and out?”
The dwarf nodded. “You're right, but how are we going to find another exit?”
“Find a map!” Rosie said.
“Find a map?” the dwarf repeated.
Rosie grinned. “I don't mean a regular map, but a much more detailed one.”
“Alright, where do we look for it?” the dwarf asked.
“There's a management center south of the technology center,” Rosie said. “I think we can check there.”
The dwarf nodded. “Let's go, then.”
The two set off immediately.
But just as they reached the outskirts of the management center, they noticed something.
Anna's troop had already arrived ahead of them.
Rosie and the dwarf quickly ducked behind a collapsed corner of a wall, poking out half their heads to observe stealthily.
“Why are they here too?” the dwarf asked in a low voice.
“It's a small world. It seems there's something they want here as well,” Rosie whispered back.
“Too bad they don't have the identity clearance to get in.”
Watching Anna's group circle around the management center, the corners of Rosie's mouth curled up slightly.
“This is the first time I've found it so satisfying to watch them get shut out.”
“Looks like they really can't get in,” the dwarf agreed, also smiling.
However, their smiles didn't last long.
A muffled explosion echoed from the direction of the management center.
The smile froze on Rosie's face.
Anna's group had blasted a large hole in the wall beside the main entrance, sending dust billowing into the air.
Furthermore, they had made such a commotion without triggering any defense mechanisms.
“...It seems the security system here is offline,” Rosie said with regret. “What a pity.”
“What now? They've already gone inside,” the dwarf asked.
Anna led a small squad into the management center.
The remaining knights and soldiers stood guard at the hole.
Rosie fell silent for a moment.
She looked at the guarding soldiers, then at the main entrance not far from them, and raised her bow.
“Looks like we'll just have to take them out.”
The dwarf looked down at his axe, then up at Rosie's expression, and nodded heavily. “Then let's—”
Before he could finish, a swarm of four-legged crabs suddenly rushed out from outside the management center.
Waving their large pincers, the swarm of four-legged crabs launched a direct attack on the Count's soldiers.
The ruins' defenses might have failed.
But another kind of defense mechanism had come into play.
These mutated crabs seemed exceptionally sensitive to the noise of explosions.
Seeing the Count's soldiers and the four-legged crabs locked in battle, Rosie's eyes lit up.
“Heaven is on our side. We're taking the front door!”
She dashed toward the main entrance, pulling out the Chief Engineer Identity Card at the same time.
Rate on N.U.
