The left tunnel went deeper. The walls got rougher. The blue torchlight flickered like it was dying. The air was cold and wet and smelled like old stone and something else. Something metallic. Like blood that had dried a long time ago.
Asta was still in front. His sword was out, the black blade pushing back the shadows. "This place is creepy. Why do dungeons have to be so creepy? Why can't they have nice things? Like flowers. Or a welcome sign. 'Welcome to the dungeon, please don't die.' That would be nice."
"Dungeons aren't supposed to be nice," Luck said. He was walking behind Asta, his lightning crackling every few seconds. "They're supposed to be dangerous. That's the fun part."
"Getting killed isn't fun!"
"You're not dead yet."
"I don't want to be dead ever!"
Noelle was next to me. She was holding her grimoire against her chest like a shield. Her eyes were moving fast, looking at every shadow. "How much further? My feet hurt. And it's cold. And I think something just moved in that corner."
"Probably a rat," I said.
"That was a big shadow for a rat."
"Big rat."
"That doesn't make me feel better!"
The tunnel opened into another room. This one was different from the last. The floor was flat stone, perfectly smooth. The walls had more carvings. The ceiling was high, lost in darkness. At the far end of the room was a door. Big. Made of stone. With more wheel symbols carved into it.
"Another door," Asta said. "I bet there's treasure behind it. Or a monster. Or treasure AND a monster. That would be exciting!"
"Don't sound so happy about the monster part," Noelle said.
"Monsters mean fighting! Fighting means getting stronger! Getting stronger means becoming the Wizard King!"
"That logic has so many holes in it."
"Name one hole!"
"The part where you die before becoming Wizard King."
"I won't die! I'm too stubborn to die!"
Luck was looking at the floor. His eyes were narrow. His lightning had stopped crackling. That was a bad sign. Luck only got quiet when something was wrong.
"Wait," he said. "Don't move."
Everyone froze. Asta had one foot in the air. Noelle stopped breathing. I stayed still, my eyes scanning the room.
"The floor," Luck said. "Look at the stones. They're too smooth. Too perfect. And the cracks between them are too straight. This is a trap room."
"A trap room?" Asta looked down at his feet. "What kind of trap? Spikes? Poison? Rolling boulders? I read about rolling boulders in a book once! They're really dangerous because they roll!"
"Probably spikes," Luck said. "That's the most common. The floor gives way and spikes come up. Or the ceiling comes down. Or both."
"How do we get across?"
"We find the safe path. Most trap rooms have a pattern. You step on the right stones, nothing happens. You step on the wrong stone..." Luck made a stabbing motion with his hand. "Shish kebab."
"Shish what?"
"Skewered. Like meat on a stick."
"Oh. That's bad."
"Very bad."
Noelle was looking at the floor like it was going to eat her. "Can we go around? Maybe there's another way?"
"No," Luck said. "This is the only path. The dungeon wants us to go through here. That's how dungeons work. They test you. If you're smart, you pass. If you're dumb..." He pointed at the floor. "Spikes."
I looked at the floor. The stones were all the same size. The same shape. The same color. If there was a pattern, I couldn't see it. But my grimoire was open. The wheel was turning.
"I'll go first," I said.
"What?!" Noelle grabbed my arm. "Are you insane?! You just heard Luck! If you step on the wrong stone, you die!"
"I won't die."
"How do you know?!"
"I heal."
"That's not the same as not dying! There's a difference between healing from a cut and healing from being stabbed by fifty spikes!"
"I've healed from worse."
Noelle's mouth opened and closed. She wanted to argue more. But she didn't have the words. Her hand was still on my arm. It was shaking.
"Let him go," Luck said. "He's right. If anyone can survive a trap, it's Ouga. His body adapts to damage. Even if he gets hit, he'll heal."
"That doesn't mean we should let him get hit!" Noelle said.
"It means he's the best choice to test the floor. If it's safe for him, it's safe for us. If it's not safe for him..." Luck shrugged. "He'll heal."
Asta was looking at me with wide eyes. "Be careful, Ouga. If you die, I'll be really sad. And then I'll have to carry your body back to the base. And you're really heavy. Like, really heavy. It would take forever."
"I'm not going to die."
"You promise?"
"I promise."
I stepped onto the first stone.
Nothing happened.
I took another step. Nothing. Another step. Still nothing. The room was silent except for my footsteps and the sound of Noelle holding her breath.
Step. Step. Step. I was halfway across the room. The door was getting closer. The wheel on it was glowing faintly, like it was waiting for me.
Then I stepped on the wrong stone.
It sank under my foot. Just a little. Just enough to make a clicking sound that echoed through the room like a gunshot.
"OUGA!" Asta screamed.
The floor opened. Spikes shot up from below. Not small spikes. Big ones. Thick as my arm. Sharp as swords. They came up so fast I didn't even have time to move.
One went through my leg.
One through my stomach.
One through my chest.
One through my shoulder.
More. Too many to count. I was lifted off the ground, impaled on a forest of steel. Blood ran down the spikes and dripped onto the stone floor. The sound it made was the only sound in the room.
Noelle screamed.
It wasn't a word. It was just a sound. A raw, broken sound that came from somewhere deep. Her grimoire fell to the floor. Her hands went to her mouth. Tears were already running down her face.
"OUGA!" Asta yelled. He was running forward, his sword raised, ready to break the spikes, ready to do something, anything. "OUGA, HOLD ON! I'M COMING! I'LL GET YOU OUT! JUST HOLD ON!"
Luck didn't move. His face was white. His lightning was gone. He was just staring at me, hanging there on the spikes, blood everywhere. His mouth was open but no words came out.
Noelle fell to her knees. "No, no, no, no, no..." She was crying hard now. Sobbing. Her whole body was shaking. "This can't be happening. This can't be real. Ouga, please. Please get up. Please be okay. You said you wouldn't die. You promised. YOU PROMISED!"
Asta reached the spikes. He swung his sword at one of them, trying to cut through the steel. But his anti-magic sword made a ding sound. The spikes weren't magic. They were just metal. Physical. Real. His sword couldn't touch them.
"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING?!" he screamed. "WHY CAN'T I CUT THEM?!"
"They're not magic," Luck said. His voice was hollow. "They're just traps. Physical traps. His sword only works on magic."
"THEN WHAT DO WE DO?!"
Noelle was still crying. "I can't... I can't do this... I can't lose him... not him... not after everything..."
I opened my eyes.
Everyone went silent.
"If you're going to cry," I said, my voice rough but steady, "could you do it quieter? My head hurts when you yell."
Asta's sword fell out of his hands. Noelle's crying stopped mid-sob. Luck took a step back like he'd seen a ghost.
"Ouga?" Asta whispered. "You're... you're alive?"
"I told you I wouldn't die."
"But you're... you've got... there's spikes in your..."
"I know."
I grabbed the spike through my chest with both hands. It was slippery with blood. My blood. I pulled. The spike came out with a wet sound that made Noelle turn green. Then I grabbed the one through my stomach. Then my leg. One by one, I pulled myself free.
The wounds were already closing.
Muscle knitted together. Skin stretched over holes that shouldn't have closed so fast. Bones that had been broken snapped back into place. The blood stopped flowing. The pain faded from a roar to a whisper to nothing.
By the time I dropped to the floor, I was whole again. My robe was ruined. There were holes everywhere, and the black fabric was soaked red. But underneath, my skin was smooth. No scars. No marks. Nothing to show that I had just been impaled by a dozen steel spikes.
High Mid-Tier Regeneration. It had its uses.
Noelle was still on her knees. Her face was wet with tears. Her mouth was open. Her eyes were so wide they looked like they might fall out. "You... you... how... what..."
"I heal," I said. "I told you."
"You were DEAD! You had spikes through your HEART!"
"Almost dead. Not fully dead. There's a difference."
"THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE!"
"There is when you can regenerate."
Asta ran forward and grabbed me. His arms wrapped around my waist because that was as high as he could reach. "YOU'RE ALIVE! I thought you were dead! I was going to have to carry your body back! Do you know how heavy you are?! REALLY HEAVY!"
"I know. I'm me."
"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen! And I've seen Yuno without his stoic face!"
"That is scary."
"IT'S TERRIFYING!"
Luck walked over. His face was still pale, but his grin was coming back. "That was incredible. I've never seen anyone survive a spike trap like that. Most people just die."
"I'm not most people."
"No. No, you're really not." He clapped me on the shoulder. "You okay to keep going? That must have taken a lot out of you."
"I'm fine. The regeneration handles the damage. My mana is still full."
"Good. Because I just sensed something."
I looked at him. His grin was different now. Wilder. The kind of grin he got when he was about to fight something strong.
"What is it?" Asta asked.
"Up ahead. Past that door. There's a mana signature. Really strong. Stronger than anything else in this dungeon so far." Luck's lightning was crackling again. His eyes were bright. "I'm going ahead. You guys catch up when you can."
"Wait!" Noelle said. "We're supposed to stay together! The captain said—"
"The captain said I'm the leader. And I say I'm going ahead." Luck was already moving toward the door. "Don't worry. I'll save some of the fun for you."
And then he was gone. The door opened and closed, and Luck disappeared into the darkness beyond.
Asta stared at the door. "Did he just... ditch us?"
"Yes," I said.
"Is that allowed?"
"He's the leader. He can do what he wants."
"That doesn't seem like good leadership!"
"It's not. But it's Luck."
Noelle was still on her knees. She hadn't moved. Her eyes were red from crying. Her hands were shaking. She looked at me, then at the spikes still sticking out of the floor, then back at me.
"Don't ever do that again," she said. Her voice was quiet. Not angry. Just tired. And scared. "Don't ever let yourself get hurt like that again. I thought... I thought you were dead. I thought I watched you die."
"I'm sorry," I said. And I meant it.
"You should be sorry." She stood up. Her legs were shaky. "Now help me get across this stupid floor. If I have to watch you get impaled again, I'm going to be very upset."
"I'll find the safe path."
"You better."
I turned back to the trap room. The safe stones were marked now. The ones that had triggered the spikes were lower than the others, just by a hair. I could see the pattern now. The Talent had been paying attention even while I was hanging on the spikes.
"Follow me," I said. "Step exactly where I step."
Asta picked up his sword. Noelle picked up her grimoire. They followed me across the room, stepping on the safe stones, avoiding the ones that would bring death.
When we reached the door, Noelle looked back at the spikes. The blood on them was already drying. My blood.
"Your robe is ruined," she said.
"I know."
"You look like you lost a fight with a sewing machine."
"I'll get a new one."
"You better. Walking around with holes in your clothes is indecent."
"Worried about my fashion?"
"I'm worried about you looking like a ragamuffin! It reflects badly on the squad!"
"Sure."
We pushed through the door and followed Luck into the darkness. The dungeon was still waiting. More traps. More monsters. More treasure. And somewhere ahead, a powerful enemy that Luck had gone to fight alone.
But we were still together. Asta. Noelle. And me.
The wheel turned behind my head. The holes in my robe flapped as I walked.