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"Ugh, it\'s freezing." I rose from the chilly cave floor. Beside me, Baek Ahyeong was also getting up with a groan, squirming around.

Seemed like she was coming to as well; she stood up and scanned her surroundings. "What What on earth Random teleportation? This is an insane level of chaos"

The dungeon\'s size had gotten bigger, and the mana density was off the charts. It stood to reason that the monsters appearing would be tougher.

"Ahyeong, just take a breather for now." I met her gaze as she shook nervously, like a drenched puppy.

"Ugh, yeah I\'m here, so don\'t worry, Hoyeon."

"But combat isn\'t your forte."

"Well, that\'s true But I can heal you well!" Baek Ahyeong couldn\'t hide her trembling.

Honestly, even if I were in her shoes, being dropped into a dungeon with only a student would be quite overwhelming. And since she lacked combat abilities, her anxiety must have been even more heightened.

"For now, let\'s move. Even though I may not seem like it, I\'m actually quite strong. You saw the news about me defeating a two-horned demon, right?"

"Of course. You were even rewarded for it. But, wouldn\'t it be safer to stay put rather than wandering around? It could be dangerous."

It\'s best to stay still and ride out this chaos quietly. More about the situation would become clear when the rescue team arrives in two days. But before that, I should get closer to her. Stirring up the situation by moving around might be more beneficial.

"We don\'t have time to wait for rescue. It might be better to join up with other survivors or the healing team."

"Um, alright. Let\'s do as you say." Her expression was full of worry, yet she went along with my suggestion. Since she lacked power, she respected my judgment. However, the unease on her face couldn\'t be hidden. It felt as though she didn\'t fully trust my power. Perhaps, she was just wary of trusting people in general. To be honest, I was familiar with Baek Ahyeong from the game, but the Baek Ahyeong standing in front of me hadn\'t interacted with me much. For the moment, my priority was building trust.

With me leading and her keeping watch, we began to cautiously explore the dungeon.

"Wait."

"Hmm?"

Before long, a deafening flapping sound reverberated through the corridor.

"This sound it\'s like a swarm of cave bats. Let\'s fall back for now."

"We can\'t really escape since it\'s a straight path. I\'ll handle them."

"We should retreat, Hoyeon. I heard there\'s more than 20 of them."

"I\'ll be fine. Just stay back and watch." I reassured her as she trembled with anxiety. I drew upon some mana, conjured a fireball, and cautiously sent it forward. The sound of the softly lit fireball was followed by an overwhelming fluttering as it collided with a massive swarm of bats, dispersing them.

More than 20? No, there are over 50!

"There are more than I expected, Hoyeon! Run!"

The swarm of bats began to appear in my field of vision. It was unexpectedly a large group. Dealing with them solely by burning them wouldn\'t be efficient.

"This won\'t cut it. I\'ll have to use my full power."

Since Baek Ahyeong was the only one here, I believed it would be safe to do so.

Should I seize this opportunity to foster some trust?

I thought to myself.

"Well, looks like I don\'t have any other choice."

"Hoyeon! Run while I hold them off!" Baek Ahyeong stood in front of me, arms outstretched, and closed her eyes tightly.

Why\'s she suddenly playing hero?

The bats spotted us and swooped down. At the same time, I conjured up a whirlwind from my hand, creating a small tornado. The bats couldn\'t hit the brakes in time and got sucked right into it.

Whoosh!

With my other hand, I whipped up a bunch of fiery balls and chucked them into the vortex. It was a double casting. The bats caught in the whirlwind turned into a massive bonfire, reducing them to ashes. The few escape bats were taken out one by one with some well-aimed flame spears.

"Huh?" Baek Ahyeong, arms spread out like a guardian angel, stared at me wide-eyed. It\'s nice that she\'s trying to be all protective, but those bats didn\'t even get close; they were toast long before that. But her surprise wasn\'t about the crispy critters; it was about my magic.

I\'ve got a reputation as the fire-wielding mage. Up till now, I\'ve purposely stuck with fire magic. And the skill I\'m honing in ondouble castingis a highly sought-after trick that any mage worth their spellbook would crave. It\'s an advanced technique that many current mages might still be struggling to nail down.

These were the secrets I\'ve been hiding. Granted, it\'s just a tiny slice of the whole pie, but for Baek Ahyeong, it\'s like finding a secret treasure map. No wonder she\'s bewildered. If I were some villain, I might\'ve shut her up permanently. But of course, that\'s not on my agenda.

"Ahyeong, remember when I asked you to trust me?" I offered her a reassuring smile as she struggled to find her words.

Finally, she relaxed and spoke up. "Hoyeon With this level of strength, we should be able to manage!"

She realized I was stronger than she thought and smiled with a glimmer of hope.

Great, she\'s counting on me. In other words, she\'s giving me her vote of confidence.

"Let\'s keep our little bat-blasting show our little secret." As I observed her, I maintained a serious expression.

Truthfully, revealing these sorts of secrets won\'t make much of a splash. I\'m not parading around announcing that I\'m the magic maven who can control all the elements; having a couple of standout skills isn\'t really anything to write home about. Granted, double casting might raise an eyebrow or two but Professor Im Sol can smooth things over.

Still, embracing the role of a secret sharer in the world of hunters isn\'t something you decide on a whim. Unusual skills or unique powersthese are the very things that could turn into chinks in your armor if shared among those with abilities. You can never be sure who might stab you in the back. So, it\'s wise to keep certain aspects of your power concealed. And now, Baek Ahyeong is in the loop about my secrets.

"I trust you, Ahyeong. Although we haven\'t known each other for long, I can sense that you\'re a good person."

She quietly absorbed my words. "Yes, I\'ll do my best for us to escape. So, let\'s make it through this together."

"Okay. Don\'t sweat it. I\'m giving it my all too."

Baek Ahyeong\'s big, round eyes were locked onto me. It seemed like she was putting a smidge more trust in me now.

***

How much time had elapsed? Despite exploring for quite a while, there was no hint of an exit, let alone any other people around.

"What the heck, is this normal?"

I only know that we were teleported due to the dungeon, but I wasn\'t familiar with the specifics, so I was a bit uneasy. However, since there weren\'t any monsters in this dungeon that posed a threat to me, I kept moving forward.

"Haaa Haaa" Baek Ahyeong\'s breathing behind me became increasingly labored. Healers naturally have weaker stamina. We stopped in an open area to catch our breath.

"Ahyeong, are you alright? Should we take a break here?"

"Yeah, thanks. Haa"

"No worries. I\'m feeling it too." I settled in the middle of the open area and began to meditate. The journey here involved a few battles, so I had expended a fair amount of mana. As soon as my meditation concluded, almost as if they were keeping an appointment, goblins emerged in the open area. "I just replenished my mana, and now I have to use it all again."

Whoosh!

The goblins disintegrated before they could even draw near.

"Hoyeon, are you holding up okay? Don\'t overexert yourself."

"I\'m fine, really."

Although the dungeon had become more challenging, there wasn\'t any enemies here who could threaten me. However, that\'s where the predicament arose. Baek Ahyeong\'s preferences were peculiar. She had to portray herself as a woman who had lost all strength due to healing and couldn\'t even lift a finger,\' then get attacked by the wounded male\' she had personally healed. Moreover, the situation required that, despite her treatment, the man would be unable to control his sexual desires and would act on his instincts.

Leaving aside the psychological aspect for the moment, there were physical concerns too. Baek Ahyeong had to be placed in a situation where I was severely injured, to the point where she would need to exert all her strength. At that extent, most of my internal organs should have been ruptured. Fortunately, as we ventured through the dungeon, Baek Ahyeong\'s health had significantly declined. So, one major injury should suffice but it felt strange to suddenly be struck by the same bats I had been incinerating with a single spell.

I need to ponder this a bit more.

"How did things end up like this?" Baek Ahyeong asked, her arms wrapped around her knees, sounding downcast.

I\'m aware that it shouldn\'t take more than two days for us to be rescued, but from her perspective, she must be feeling quite uneasy. At present, we\'re without any food, so hunger is going to be our companion.

I had intended to be prepared by bringing some food for this situation, but I couldn\'t manage that due to a baggage inspection.

"It\'s okay. I\'m the future Archmage, after all. We\'ll figure out a way to survive."

"Yeah Alright. I\'ll put my trust in you. Sorry for revealing such an immature side of me."

"No worries. If I were on my own, I\'d likely be just as anxious. Thanks to you, Ahyeong, I don\'t feel lonely." She still appeared a bit fatigued, struggling with her breath.

I can\'t allow her to fully regain her strength here. She needs to heal me and then reach a point of exhaustion. To achieve that, I need to lower my health a bit.

"Shall we start moving again? I can\'t determine the time without a watch, but it\'s best to get going soon. It seems like the monsters are making their way towards us."

"Yeah, let\'s go." Baek Ahyeong got up without showing signs of weariness. We resumed our journey. As we proceeded, the recurring sight was the same cave walls. Though I couldn\'t pinpoint the exact time, it had probably been a few hours.

Hmm, is it even possible to not come across anyone? The dungeon seems to have expanded significantly, or maybe there\'s something I\'m unaware of. Not sure.

Our once flowing conversations have vanished. The cave had bestowed upon us a tranquil atmosphere. During that interval, when the only audible sound was our breathing

"Aaaaargh!" Suddenly, a distant scream reverberated. I turned to Baek Ahyeong, locking eyes with her, then hastened towards the source of the sound.

"Aaaah! Aaaargh!" Accompanying the horrifying scream was a sound akin to something being crushed. After a moment, the dreadful screams ceased. However, a different sound reached our ears.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The heavy footfalls of a colossal creature grew nearer. The rhythmic beat hinted at a humanoid monster. The path was straight ahead, and the sound was rapidly approaching. Baek Ahyeong seemed to pick up on it too, right behind me.

"Rooaarr!"

"Oh, it\'s an ogre." An unsightly, massive figure filled my view. It wasn\'t winning any beauty contests, but it was definitely a high-level monster with muscles and a mean streak. In one hand, it had the shredded remains of a student I\'d never seen before. The sight was gruesome, yet my mental strength held steady. The ogre\'s crude force surged my way.

Shwoosh!

It hurled the lifeless body toward me.

[Cotton Guard] I deflected the grim remains and checked on Baek Ahyeong.

"Ho-Hoyeon are you okay?!" Being an active hunter herself, she didn\'t flinch at the corpse. Instead, her concern seemed directed at my mental state. But trust me, I was more focused than ever.

Thump!

It\'s a familiar sensation.

Thump!

Battle Sense activated, coursing through my veins. "The ogre is packing a punch."

Thump! Thump!

As intense as facing Felix, maybe even more. My body heated up. This ogre was definitely stronger than Felix, the two-horned demon. In the game, ogres are oddly tough cookies. Who\'d think those dumbasses could be a threat? Encountering them in the flesh was terrifying. The pressure from their massive build and fierce appearance was no joke. If I got hit, I\'d probably be squished flat.

Darn it. Why make them so damn strong and complicate things? They could\'ve been pushovers!

"Ho-Hoyeon, this time we really need to flee. Seriously!"

"Will running even work?"

"I\'ll distract it. Just run for now. You\'re young, you have to live!"

"What are you saying?" This woman\'s really playing the mature card, despite not being that old. I gently pushed her back and stepped up in front of her.

"Ho-Hoyeon!"

Why in the world an ogre\'s here was beyond me. Maybe the dungeon\'s mana mix was churning out tougher monsters. Anyway, I couldn\'t just run off and ditch Baek Ahyeong. If a heroine bit the dust, it\'s game over for me. So, it\'s time to fight.

"Just hang tight. I\'ll wrap this up quick."

Vision Enhancement.

Mana was surging through me, top to toe.

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