It's Not Night - Chapter 57
“No, never…”
Hone nodded her head at Andra’s answer.
“I looked around for a while, but I couldn’t see it. Hmm, I hope this isn’t a bad sign. The fact that it’s so easy is just too good to be true.”
This time, it was Andra who was startled by Hone’s muttering. Hone put the hefty blue egg into the bag. Let’s go back for now. At Hone’s snappy remark, Zidaya nodded his head. So did the other crew members.
“The reason we entered the dungeon was because of the strategy from the beginning. Investigation will suffice after that.”
Hone stood up, carrying the heavy bag. The crew started moving again to return to the way they came. Andra followed them. But now, she was concerned about the empty altar and looked back over and over again.
“What’s wrong? Did you find anything?”
Eureas, who was rolling the candy in his mouth, gave a puzzled look when Andra glanced back from before. Andra waved her hand and hurriedly said.
“It’s just… As Miss Hone said, I think the dungeon attack is too easy.”
“Oh, you’re wondering if there’s anything else?”
“Yes. I’ve never read about something like this in any kind of book.”
This answer was not a lie, it was the truth. It’s the first dungeon she returned to after attacking it. Didn’t he and Dustin, who attacked with the help of the dragon, return to the moment they first entered the dungeon? This was something she had never read in any books or research materials.
“Sir Eureas, are you familiar with the dungeon?”
“Me? Well, I’m a forager, so I’ll know better than the general public, right? But it would be more accurate to ask Miss Hone than me.”
She’s been in this field for a very long time. Eureas continued, looking at Hone who was walking ahead.
“It is, but…”
Andra trailed off. She certainly didn’t want to, although it would have been easier and faster to ask Horne, the guide, for information. But Hone was quite quick-witted. She may notice that it has something to do with Andra, if she brings up the slightest bit of what she’s been through.
So Andra kept the next best bet, so she spoke to the friendly Eureas.
“It seems a bit rude to ask Miss Hone for something right now. There are so many things to do.”
“It is. Miss Hone is a guide… In a way, I am in charge of the attack team along with Sir Zidaya. Well, so what do you want to ask?”
Eureas asked, taking a candy from his pocket and handing it to Andra. Andra took the candy and asked cautiously in a low voice.
“Among those who entered and exited the dungeon, are there many who have gained special powers? I did a search, but there was less data than I expected.”
“That… Are you referring to Sir Airak’s case?”
Lowering his voice, Eureas glanced at Dustin following Andra. Because he remembered Andra slapping Dustin on the cheek before setting off. It showed how bitter the touch was, that his cheeks were clenched. He thought that Airak, who didn’t even blink even after being slapped twice, was dangerous.
“It’s a very rare case, but I’ve heard it was common in the old days. It’s hard to find now though. So Sir Airak is a special case. It’s because he was Awakened while all the Awakened were disappearing.”
“Can you guess what the source of that power might be, Sir Eureas? Awakened people become an Awakened regardless of their will.”
Andra frowned as she glanced at Dustin. Seeing this, Eureas laughed briefly.
Did she not like the rival who became an Awakened that much? After all, from the moment of Awakening, the only way to go was up. Her lifelong rival suddenly became better than her, so she won’t be able to hold out without burning inside. It was Eureas who had a strange misunderstanding with Andra’s question.
“Give up, Miss Avellin. The reason the Awakened is special is because it is a blessing. Ah, if you don’t like him, what to do as he’s already an Awakened?”
“Pardon?”
“It’s easier to just ignore.”
Eureas, who spoke it out as advice, looked at Andra with a sad expression.
“What are you two whispering about?”
It was then that Fyun intervened. It was an eye full of curiosity. Eureas said, pushing him with his elbow as he snuggled up to him.
“What do you mean? I was looking down on Sir Fyun.”
“Gossip is a bad habit, Sir Eureas.”
“Haa, how old-fashioned… We were just talking about dungeon attacks. Because it is full of strange things.”
It was Eureas who talked around for fear that Andra would be in trouble. Nevertheless, Fyun did not notice it and nodded his head as if sympathizing with the subject.
“That’s right, this dungeon is full of strange things. But I’m glad it was easy to attack. We were stunned as a group from the beginning, so I wondered if things would happen like the old Holdia’s dungeon…”
“Holdia’s dungeon?”
Andra looked up at the unfamiliar name. It was Eureas who answered this.
“Holdia’s dungeon is a dungeon created 5 years ago in the small kingdom of Eurail, and it is a dungeon that I struggled with because of various difficulties every time I entered it. It was successfully attacked very recently.”
“Is there such a dungeon? I’ve never heard of it.”
Andra read a lot of information about the dungeon before entering the dungeon. In a case like that, she should have read about Holdia’s dungeon at least once. However, what Eureas told her was unfamiliar information. Andra gave a slightly confused look, so Fyun quickly added something.
“Data related to the dungeon is organized after the attack and opened to the general public. It is difficult to get information right away unless you are a person who’s in the field like us. That’s why the Lady wouldn’t have heard of it.”
“I see. For some reason, I was a little confused because I had never heard of it. Before coming here, I have been looking for dungeons that have been attacked for a while.”
Andra agreed. Fyun continued.
“Moreover, each country has hidden information about their dungeons… It is difficult to understand everything with the information available on the market. Also, there is a lot of information that the members who participated in the attack deliberately shut their mouths.”
There was nothing more to say about Andra in response to Fyun’s answer. As he said, she and Dustin are keeping silent about what they’ve been through. In particular, they’re keeping the magic cast on them secret.
Andra couldn’t blame them as she thought there would be a lot of undisclosed information in this way.
“Actually, information is money in a way. This is how you make extra income. So, if you don’t get close to the site, you’re going to be eliminated.”
Eureas added from the side. Andra sympathized a little with the words. If she wasn’t familiar with the field of archeology she would often be pushed out by others. There were a lot of students who went to work pretending to do assistant jobs.
‘People live the same way…’
Anyway. Andra asked the question again.
“But what does Holdia’s dungeon have to do with Aslan here?”
“As I said before, every time I enter Holdia’s dungeon, a difficult problem arose. A sudden loss of consciousness like us, a monster change, a change of environment, and others. Anyway, because of those things, the strategy changed every time.”
“So he was wondering if the strategy of the Aslan dungeon here would be constantly changing like Holdia’s dungeon. That would probably make things complicated.”
Considering that it took 5 years to conquer Holdia’s dungeon… She was terrified and her body trembled. It was the same with Eureas. He also frowned with a look of boredom. From their point of view, a long dungeon attack was not the only thing that caused trouble.
“Um, but you said that there is a lot of information that has not been disclosed before. If so, is there any information that only you two know?”
At Andra’s question, the two of them smiled strangely at the same time. Then he put his index finger to his mouth and made a shushing gesture.
“Well everyone has at least one secret? Especially well… Maybe Miss Hone has the most?”
So, if you have any questions, it is best to try to persuade Miss Hone. Eureas whispered to Andra.
“As you know, Miss Hone is quite the wide footed person, right?”
Her connections are unimaginable. There’s nothing wrong with being friendly with her. Fyun added in a whisper to Andra.
Andra looked again at Hone, who was walking ahead in the distance.
‘Can I ask Miss Hone for help?’
Andra immersed herself in her thoughts as she unconsciously rubbed the glowing pattern on her wrist with her fingertips. She actually had one thing she had to deal with before she turned to Hone for help.
‘Even if I don’t like it, I should get Dustin’s opinion on this.’
She couldn’t ask Horne for help without talking to Dustin since he was on the same boat. Andra has to face Dustin as she leaves this dungeon, and she’s already having a headache as she thinks she’s going to talk about a lot of issues like this.
‘Dustin Airak, damn you.’
Andra looked back to look at Dustin, and let out a deep sigh inside. Even in the midst of this, her lower body began to ache steadily. She was going crazy.
* * *
The attack team that came out along the way could easily come out of the dungeon. Two days had passed outside.
First, the attack team told the researchers about the blue egg and they took the blue egg somewhere. After that, a simple inspection followed as before.
“See you in two days this time, Miss Avellin.”
On the way out of the examination, Andra ran into Shamune who was waiting for her.
“That’s right, what happened in the meantime?”
“Of course. While Miss Avellin was in the dungeon, it was a problem because it was so peaceful here.”
“What about Professor?”
“I think only the professor was the only one not at peace.”
Shamune said with a smile. Instead, Andra’s laughter was about to come out. If you go, everything’s really going to fall to pieces. Still, this time around, she didn’t get any significant numbers. She let out a sigh with a resigned face.
“Will I ever be able to graduate?”
In response to the bitter question, Shamune just stared at the ground without realizing it.