Ascension from Dual Professions

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Dungeons are All About Unorthodox Speedruns

This was the quest Jon triggered after bringing Reya to the mine.

The reason he hadn’t tackled it immediately was simple.

First, he needed to rest.

After all, even though Jon now had a game panel, it didn’t mean he was as tireless as a player.

He needed to eat and drink. He felt pain when injured, and he naturally needed to rest when tired.

The journey from Nomu Village to the mine wasn’t terribly far—only about twenty kilometers—but they had been delayed for a while by an ambush.

So by the time he arrived, fully armed and carrying Reya, it was already past noon.

He had been walking all morning. With his Constitution, he wasn’t exactly gasping for breath, but he was certainly a little tired.

Eating, drinking, and restoring his energy was only logical.

Second, he had to make sure Miss Reya was settled.

Otherwise, if he went into the mine and the girl woke up, ran off, and got herself killed, all his work would have been for nothing—a complete waste of effort!

In fact, Jon didn’t even plan on leaving her at the entrance when he went into the mine. He would take her with him. She could help carry small items like a Quiver, and it would also prevent her from being eaten by wandering monsters.

The monsters in this Dungeon generally didn’t eat meat, but you never know.

It was a risk he was unwilling to take.

Now that both problems were taken care of, it was time to officially begin his first Dungeon crawl in this world!

—

The dim, dry passageway seemed to stretch on endlessly. Only the flickering flames of the torches in Reya and Jon’s hands managed to tear through a small patch of the dense darkness, illuminating the rough-hewn stone walls and the pitted, uneven path below.

The red-haired girl struggled to hold her torch steady, her other arm clutching a Quiver. The unfamiliar hide leg-wraps made her steps a bit unsteady, but she pushed through the discomfort, keeping close behind Jon.

As they walked, she found her gaze drifting unconsciously to the young man’s broad back.

He would stop now and then, tapping the nearby rock walls or support beams with his knuckles or the pommel of his knife. He would then press his ear against the surface, listening to the hollow echoes, his sharp eyes scanning the shadows at every fork in the path and the loose rock formations overhead.

The professionalism and composure he displayed in this unfamiliar, dangerous place eased some of Reya’s tension and anxiety. A secret thrill even began to quietly bubble up inside her.

This place, this moment, this scene—wasn’t this the very picture of a true adventure, the kind she had always yearned for while reading tales penned by Minstrels?

Far from the scheming and tedious etiquette of the nobility, venturing deep into the unknown... Even though it was frightening, it carried a thrilling sense of freedom!

The mine was far more claustrophobic and grim than she had imagined. But with a calm, experienced companion like Jon leading the way, the wonderful taste of adventure temporarily overwhelmed her panic.

’I have to do my part. I can’t be a burden to Mr. Jon... I have to let him finish his work as quickly as possible!’

With that thought, the girl’s steps quickened.

Jon’s exploration didn’t last long.

After all, this was a place he had been to ’before.’ Once he confirmed the mine’s layout was the same as he remembered, he navigated it with ease, bypassing monster-infested areas and heading straight for what players had dubbed a ’speed-farming spot.’

It was at the end of a relatively wide tunnel.

”We’re here.”

The young Warrior’s deep, steady voice snapped Reya out of her daze.

The girl peeked out from behind Jon. She saw several dilapidated, rotten, and warped minecarts piled haphazardly, blocking most of the path.

Behind the wreckage was a large pile of rubble and splintered wooden beams from a cave-in, narrowing the passage so that only one person could pass through at a time.

”This is the place Mr. Jon was looking for?”

She didn’t quite understand the significance of this terrain.

But Jon nodded, satisfied.

”That’s right. This is the place.”

The wreckage and the cave-in formed a perfect funnel. All he had to do was lure the monsters here, block the opening, and the special little potion he’d prepared before they left would be maximally effective.

After squeezing into the passage beyond and confirming that the very back was a solid rock wall—meaning no chance of an attack from the rear—Jon quickly made his decision.

”Miss Reya, it’s safe here. You hide here for now.”

He piled all his spare equipment at Reya’s feet, the movements as crisp and efficient as a creature shedding a useless husk.

In a flash, he was stripped down to the essentials: his thick leather armor, an oak Arm Shield on his forearm, a wide belt at his waist, a chopping blade slung across his lower back, a longbow in his hand, and a full Quiver on his back.

The firelight played across his clean-shaven chin, making his jawline look exceptionally sharp and resolute.

The girl was a little bewildered, but she did as he said, scrambling to the back of the narrow passage and crouching down against the massive boulder.

She asked in a small voice,

”Mr. Jon, where are you going?”

”Just some ’prep work.’”

Jon didn’t elaborate. He just pointed to the gear he’d left on the ground.

”Watch my things. Don’t wander off. Wait for me to get back.”

No sooner had he spoken than his figure melted into the darkness like a ghost. He moved silently and swiftly toward a fork in the path they had come from. A few moments later, he vanished into the profound blackness beyond the reach of Reya’s torchlight, leaving behind only the faint, fading sound of his footsteps.

An almost suffocating silence instantly descended upon the cavern.

The girl could hear only the soft crackle of the torch and the sound of her own heartbeat, growing louder and clearer—THUMP, THUMP...

Time seemed to have frozen.

The darkness pressed in from all sides like a living creature, and the torchlight seemed to weaken before her very eyes.

When Jon had been here, his back had been a sturdy wall, shielding her from all danger and fear.

But now, he was gone.

She knew it was only temporary, but that primal, human fear of the unknown darkness still surfaced, irrepressible.

The girl could only press her back against the cold, rough rock, hugging a cloth bag so tightly her knuckles turned white.

She whispered the name of the only person she could rely on, as if trying to draw courage from the sound.

”Mr. Jon...”

An unknown amount of time passed. Just as Reya’s murmurs faded to a near-silent whisper...

...another sound began to grow clearer.

SCRABBLE... CREAK... CLATTER...

A faint, skin-crawling noise was coming from the direction Jon had disappeared!

It sounded like countless small, hard objects scraping across the stone floor. It started faint and distant, but quickly grew, layered, and intensified, swelling into a grating, rustling tide of sound!

And accompanying this terrifying wave of sound was a dense, fragmented beat, pulsing with an unsettling Life Force.

Something was approaching—fast!