"Lord Lloyd, are you still planning to enter that dungeon?"
"Of course."
Lloyd replied as he looked up at the sky.
It was a clear blue sky without a single cloud.
The sun should have been beating down mercilessly from all directions.
But where he and his companions stood now, there wasn't a ray of sunlight to be seen.
Everything was shrouded in dim shadows.
'This place feels oppressively gloomy.'
Lloyd unconsciously shrugged his shoulders.
Phlogia Gorge was far narrower and deeper than he'd imagined.
Thanks to that, no sunlight reached the bottom of the valley where they stood.
No, it probably hadn't for more than just now.
'It's been at least tens of thousands of years since any light has touched down here.'
There wasn't a blade of grass in sight. The surroundings were covered in damp moss and unidentifiable mushrooms.
His gaze particularly lingered on the recessed dungeon entrance ahead, which was even more so.
"But it's dangerous. As I've been telling you for the past few days."
Haviel's characteristically cold and dry voice poked at his ear from behind.
"Lord Lloyd, it's not too late yet. Our opponent is a mage."
"...."
"It would be better to return to the territory, properly prepare to face the mage, and come back."
"...."
"Lord Lloyd?"
"Yeah."
"Are you even listening to me?"
"Nope. Just letting it go in one ear and out the other."
"...."
Lloyd kept staring at the dungeon entrance as he spoke.
"Are you a parrot or something? Ever since we left the orc village, you've been repeating the exact same thing over and over."
"When have I ever...."
"Bullshit. You've been doing it nonstop. 'Lord Lloyd, it's dangerous.' 'Lord Lloyd, it's reckless.' 'Lord Lloyd, it's impossible.' 'Lord Lloyd, time to wave the white flag.' Okay, maybe not that last one. Anyway—"
Lloyd wrinkled his nose.
"I don't like your opinion."
"Why is that?"
Haviel's retort came immediately.
Lloyd fired right back.
"Because you're deliberately hiding an uncomfortable truth."
"Pardon?"
"You can't deny what I'm saying."
Lloyd had already turned around.
Haviel flinched unconsciously at the look in his eyes directed straight at him.
"Haviel? No, Sir Asrahan. Let me ask you just one thing. Suppose I follow your advice. Suppose we head back to the territory to prepare properly and then return here."
"Yes."
"In the meantime, all the soldiers trapped inside will die, right?"
"That's...."
"Right?"
"...Yes, probably."
Haviel reluctantly nodded.
A bitter smile tugged at Lloyd's lips.
"Yeah. It's an uncomfortable truth we both know. But you've already made your judgment. You think it's not worth risking the territory's heir to save a few soldiers. Right?"
"Lord Lloyd, I...."
"Save it. I'll admit your judgment is rational. But only if we have no way to break through the dungeon's defensive magic circles."
"Pardon?"
What did that mean?
Haviel's eyes narrowed.
"You've already figured out a way through, haven't you?"
"Yeah. I think we can adapt the Asrahan Heart Method for it."
"The heart method?"
"Yeah."
Lloyd nodded.
Suddenly, the contents of the novel *Iron-Blooded Knight* flashed through his mind.
'Right. You adapted the heart method. You, the swordmaster you become a few years from now.'
In the novel, the future Haviel who conquered this dungeon.
He had far more experience than he did now.
He'd devised an efficient way to breach the magic circles using that experience.
It involved leveraging the mana absorption ability of the Asrahan Heart Method.
And so, Lloyd voiced the breakthrough method that the book's future-timeline Haviel had devised.
"You've gobbled up mana from the air with the Asrahan Heart Method before, right?"
"Gobbled up?"
"Absorbed it."
"Yes, of course."
Haviel answered.
"I do it fairly often in my daily routine."
"Figured. Me too. It's good training for the heart method since you can do it anytime, anywhere."
It was true.
For that reason, Lloyd often circulated the Asrahan Heart Method whenever he had a moment.
He absorbed the natural mana dispersed in the air.
He amplified it slightly, just enough not to be noticeable.
It was decent practice.
"What does it feel like when you absorb mana from the air like that?"
"Well, of course—"
Haviel thought for a moment before replying.
"It feels serene."
"Serene? Why's that?"
"Maybe because the mana in the air is always consistent."
"Right?"
"Yes."
That was true too.
The mana in the air was always uniform.
It rarely clumped in one spot or left voids.
So absorbing the air's mana meant a steady, consistent flow into the circle.
"Exactly. Steady and even, like breathing normal air. But what if you circulate the heart method and absorb mana right next to a hidden magic circle?"
"Pardon? Well, that would... Ah."
Haviel's expression changed.
He looked at Lloyd with newfound realization.
"The abnormally dense mana concentrated by the magic circle would surge in all at once, in a lump."
"Exactly. You get what I'm saying, right?"
"Yes."
Lloyd grinned.
Haviel swallowed an inner gasp of admiration.
It was a simple idea, but one he hadn't considered.
'Lord Lloyd is right. A magic circle is a device that artificially draws in and rearranges the mana naturally spread throughout the world to produce magical effects. So naturally, there'd be an abnormal concentration of mana around it.'
Then how to find that magic circle?
Circulate the Asrahan Heart Method to absorb surrounding mana.
Maintain the absorption while moving slowly.
The mana gathered by the magic circle would then surge in as a lump.
'You could gauge the direction and distance of that mana lump. Even if the circle is hidden from sight, you could locate it purely by sensation.'
Haviel's gaze turned to Lloyd.
"Lord Lloyd."
"Yeah?"
"I think it could work."
"See?"
"Yes."
Haviel nodded.
Lloyd grinned.
"So, feeling ready to charge into the dungeon now?"
"Yes. Then please wait here, Lord Lloyd. I'll go alone."
"No thanks."
"Why not? It's dangerous inside."
"I know."
Lloyd glanced around.
"But you really think I'll feel safe if you leave me here and go in alone?"
"Pardon?"
"You think it's guaranteed safe out here?"
"That's...."
"It's not, is it?"
"...."
Haviel fell silent.
Now that he thought about it, Lloyd had a point.
They couldn't assume the only threat at the gorge bottom was that one black mage.
If he left Lloyd here and entered the dungeon alone?
If Lloyd faced some sudden danger while left behind?
He wouldn't be able to protect him.
Haviel let out a small sigh.
"Understood. Then we'll go together. But on one condition."
"Condition? Shoot."
"Promise me that if the situation turns dangerous, you'll flee without hesitation, immediately."
"If it turns dangerous?"
"Yes. I know how much you want to rescue the soldiers inside, Lord Lloyd. But your safety is the top priority. So—"
Haviel's eyes and expression grew solemn.
"If things get dangerous, flee at once. Even if it means abandoning me."
"Huh? Isn't that obvious?"
"...."
"If I'm about to die, of course I'd ditch you and run. Why state the obvious?"
"...."
"You sulking? Mad?"
"No."
"You are. I can see that look in your eyes."
"I don't know. And I don't particularly want to."
"See? You're sulking."
"...."
Haviel's eyebrow twitched.
Lloyd chuckled and picked up his shovel.
Before they knew it, the two were approaching the dungeon entrance.
They naturally tensed their bodies and heightened their senses.
Haviel stepped forward.
"I'll take the lead from here."
"Sure, go ahead. Robot vacuum."
"...What's a robot vacuum?"
"Something that exists. It's cute."
"I'm not particularly cute."
"You know it. Let's focus. This isn't the time for jokes."
"You started the jokes first... Hoo, never mind."
Haviel's expression grew icy.
He seemed to be sharpening his focus.
His steps became cautious and slow.
They advanced bit by bit, one step at a time.
Just like a robot vacuum cleaning the floor.
He began sensing the space by absorbing surrounding mana little by little.
Swipe, swiiipe.
In the cave entrance at the bottom of the windless gorge.
Only the faint sound of Haviel's footsteps echoed.
How far had they gone like that?
Haviel stopped.
"Here. Three steps ahead."
"Don't be vague. Be specific. You've seen a pocket watch, right?"
"Yes."
"Use the time on the watch face as directions. Straight ahead is 12 o'clock. Behind is 6. Like that."
That's how they had to communicate now.
Vague directions like "ahead" or "right" could lead to disaster if their signals mismatched, causing even a few centimeters' error that stepped on a magic circle.
Haviel seemed to grasp that intent.
He changed his wording right away.
"1 o'clock direction, three steps away."
"Okay."
Swipe, swiiipe.
They kept moving.
Haviel's detection continued.
"2 o'clock. Two steps away."
"What about 11 o'clock?"
"Nothing there."
"Then let's move two steps to 11."
"Understood."
"Anything detecting?"
"9 o'clock direction. Straight ahead is clear."
"Okay. Forward again."
They continued moving and detecting like that.
Of course, dangerous moments arose now and then.
Not all the traps were magic circles.
Clank, shiiiing!
A faint sound came from the floor.
At the same time, arrows shot from the walls.
Arrowheads glinting green.
Poisoned arrows.
"Where!"
Clang!
The arrow flying toward Haviel's chest was blocked by Lloyd's shovel blade.
"Phew, thank you."
"Whatever. Keep detecting as we advance. You handle the magic circles, I'll block the physical traps. Okay?"
"Understood. But...."
"But?"
"Don't push yourself too hard."
"Ah, you mean don't get hurt blocking arrows and such?"
"Exactly. If you're about to get hurt, feel free to use me as a shield."
"That was the plan all along."
"...."
"You're stating the obvious again."
"...."
"Sulking again? Let's go."
And so they pressed on.
Haviel detected the magic circles while Lloyd defended against physical trap mechanisms.
'Of course, in the novel, Haviel handled all this alone.'
But that was years later, after he'd become a swordmaster.
The current Haviel was merely an advanced sword expert.
Dealing with mana detection and physical traps simultaneously was impossible for him now.
Even absorbing mana for detection required an extremely subtle amount.
'We said the mana surges in lumps, but in reality... It's like downing a liter of ramen broth with just one tiny chunk of green onion flake mixed in. No, probably even subtler than that.'
It demanded incredibly delicate senses.
Lloyd had to help Haviel stay fully focused.
"Come on, let's keep going. Slowly. No rushing."
They proceeded carefully, step by step.
Before long, the surroundings grew steadily darker.
The light from outside vanished.
From then on, they relied on torchlight.
They kept advancing.
After 30 minutes, an hour, and now two hours of detecting countless magic circles and dodging traps.
All the while, Lloyd constantly recalled and reviewed the details from *Iron-Blooded Knight*.
Because he knew that at the end of this long trap zone lay an unavoidable type of trap.
'According to the novel's description, it should be around here.'
The passage bent sharply to the right.
Then it widened abruptly.
Across the broadened passage, far in the distance, an open space came into view.
The dungeon's deepest point.
The black mage's laboratory.
'Found it.'
The lab in the distance.
At its center table, the black-robed black mage abruptly stood.
He gestured toward them.
The moment the unavoidable trap activated.
The trap descended from the ceiling.
Creak, clank, boom—!
A massive steel barrier dropped.
It completely sealed off the entire forward passage.
The same happened behind them.
Another steel wall fell.
Boom—!
Now they were trapped squarely in the middle of the passage.
But the situation didn't end there.
A hissing sound came from the ceiling. Psssh!
Soon, a sweet, fragrant scent filled the sealed passage.
A potent sleep-inducing aroma gas.
Yet Lloyd didn't panic in the slightest.
Neither did Haviel.
The two didn't so much as twitch an eyelash—or even a single intestinal villus.
"Hey. This situation feels kinda familiar, doesn't it?"
"Hm, now that you mention it, yeah."
A dark passage.
A sealed space.
Isolated inside it.
It inevitably reminded them of the ant nest they'd overcome before.
Faced with these familiar(?) conditions, the two couldn't help but chuckle.
They began handling the situation with remarkable composure.
Thanks to that, moments later.
The black mage, who'd smugly assumed he'd trapped them, watched his own mentality evaporate while doing the seven-spotted eel ascension dance.
(End of Chapter 37)
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