Thwomp.
A chunk of dirt fell from the ceiling and onto Lloyd's face.
His itchy eyelids twitched, but he couldn't raise a hand to brush it away. He wanted to shake his head to shift it off, but this proved harder than he thought.
I feel so wasted. But it's not so bad. Everything swirled in front of his eyes. His head felt empty and distant. That probably explains the hallucinations.
What now? It feels like the CGI thingies are getting closer. Someone was in front of him. The glowing mushrooms on the walls lit it softly. Lloyd decided it couldn't be human.
It actually was a human, but Lloyd refused to consider that possibility because of the sheer out-of-the-world handsomeness of the person. Dang; he's too good-looking. Silvery hair and blue eyes. A perfectly symmetrical face, to the point that he looked like a painting. The smudges on his skin hardly affected his beauty. Though his face was peppered with drops of sweat and blobs of dirt, the man looked as handsome as ever. Heck, he even looked charming in a different way because of the dirt. He looked macho. This stood in stark contrast to his usually noble visage.
Crap. I'm getting annoyed seeing his face. It wasn't fair that a man could be that handsome. His mere existence disrupted the ecosystem. Lloyd was convinced that this guy could not be human. He was a CGI projection that could somehow eat, sleep, talk… Just keep telling yourself it's only a human or you will become too self-conscious to continue wanting to live.
"Master… Lloyd, are you okay?"
Don't talk to me, CGI. I'm dizzy. I feel like throwing up.
But CGI Javier lifted his hand, not knowing that an inferiority complex was killing Lloyd on the inside. Then he suddenly slapped Lloyd in the face. Thwack!
"Wake up."
Thwack! "You must not close your eyes here."
"Stop… Stop right there!" Lloyd said, as his senses very slowly came back to him.
There was an urgency in the way Lloyd said 'stop'. So, Javier put down his hand before he could slap Lloyd a third time. Now he looked relieved.
"Are you okay, lord?"
"No, not at all. It's all your fault."
"Pardon?"
"You're quite a slapper."
"Thank you."
"Wow."
"Do you think you can get on your feet?"
"I don't think so. Someone just slapped me with a whole lot of gusto."
"Twas simply doing what was necessary."
"Yeah, right."
"Please get to your feet." Javier held out his hand.
But Lloyd realized that Javier couldn't help him up. The reason was simple. Javier was sprawled out flat on the ground.
"Hey. Did you hurt your legs?"
"Yes."
"Which part?"
"I fear I sprained my ankle." Javier pointed at his injured ankle. Could the pain be severe?
Lloyd noticed that there was cold sweat dripping down Javier's forehead. "Does it hurt that much? To the point that you can't stand up?"
"I hurt both of my ankles."
"A-ha, so when you held out your hand a while ago, was it because you wanted me to help you out of here?"
"Yes."
What a shameless brat! "What do you think I am, a taxi service?"
"What's a 'taxi'?"
"Well, it's a thing. Never mind. Hold on for a second."
Lloyd studied the condition of his little party. Javier injured both of his legs. Bangul passed out in his arms. But Lloyd was fine, without any major fractures or wounds. He was in perfect condition… apart from the many scrapes and bruises all over his body that ached like hell. This freaking hurts so bad. His entire body was a big ball of pain.
It was like the morning after a hellish workout with an overly enthusiastic physical trainer with intimidating musculature. He felt exhausted, as though he had been thrown into a washing machine that ran all day. Quite literally every muscle and joint in his body ached. I think even my armpit hairs ache! It's a miracle that I survived this.
Lloyd looked around his surroundings with the help of the glowing mushrooms that sprouted throughout the tunnel. The first thing that caught his attention was the ruined pathway. Next, he noticed the shredded pieces of the ant queen scattered around.
That's when it dawned on him… How had they managed to survive the explosion? The ant queen acted as a shield, saving us all. The methane gas exploded behind them. However, the ant queen stood between the raging fire and the two of them.
The gigantic ant was big enough to cover the entire pathway. Her sheer size saved us, like a cork that stops a champagne bottle from popping. Her ginormous body acted as the cork and took the brunt of the explosion. Thankfully, that dispersed the flames. If she wasn't there, all of them would be dead.
We were lucky. It goes without saying what would've happened if most of the explosion wasn't blocked by that ant. They would have been scorched to ashes. The torn-apart remains of the ant queen made that apparent. The blast must have been terrifying, really. I mean, that ant survived even when Javier harnessed all his powers into the sword and hit her.
A chill ran down his spine. Shaking the goosebumps away, Lloyd said, "Let's get moving right away. We're gonna die here if we stick around." Luck had saved them from the blast. But it was too soon for them to let their guard down. The grim situation was as gloomy as it was before the explosion.
"Do you think the ants on the other side are dead?" Javier looked back and examined the crumbled tunnel as he got back on his feet with Lloyd's support.
Lloyd nodded his head. "Probably." It had to literally be hell where the explosion started. The beast ants would have surely burned to death in the fire. And any ants that managed to survive? "Most of the tunnel should have collapsed. They were probably buried alive under the weight of the dirt. Those that survived somehow would obviously be dying due to lack of oxygen."
The ant nest ran all through the coal deposit. The fire must have started there, producing a large volume of toxic gas. And the ants seemed to have died while surrounded by the terrible heat and fumes.
"You can comfortably assume that the ants on the other side have been exterminated."
Even with modern technology, fire and explosions are a terrifying prospect for workers underground. Regardless of advanced safety precautions and systems, workers died every year on construction sites. Giant ants were no exception. A huge gas fire would suck up all the oxygen, making it impossible for the ants to survive.
"Anyway, let's evacuate. Here we go. Aargh!"
It was time for them to leave the site alive. Lloyd flexed his arm which supported Javier and helped lift him up. Then, he turned around quickly, bent over, and said, "Ride on my back."
"Excuse me?"
"I'll give you a piggyback ride."
"Thank you."
"Wow."
Javier immediately climbed on him without any hesitation. Once he rested comfortably on Lloyd's back, he tilted his head to the side and asked, "Master Lloyd, did you…"
"What?"
"Did you think that I would hesitate?"
"Yes, out of courtesy." It was the truth. Lloyd expected that Javier would refuse once or twice. He even prepared a typical response such as any man would give, "I hate doing this for a grownup." But Lloyd failed to predict that Javier was a brash and thick-skinned man.
"You made a wise decision. It is reasonable. This allows more mobility than supporting me with both of your arms."
"Hey, I think you're mistaken to think that I'd definitely take you out of here."
"Are you going to leave me here then?"
"That depends on how you behave."
"But I am already on your back."
"And you're ridiculously heavy. Why are you so heavy when you look so thin and scrawny? It turned out that Javier weighed way more than Lloyd had expected. All the muscles in Javier's body made Lloyd feel like he was carrying a huge bale of iron.
"It could be that you have poor stamina. Not that I am heavy," Javier said.
"Woah, you're seriously making me want to throw you off and leave here alone."
"I will not let go of you."
"What are you, a leech?" Lloyd huffed.
"I bet you never saw a leech as handsome as me." Javier smiled.
"God bless you with your brazenness. Now you're just bragging."
"I shall lend you my mana."
"Yeah, I'm so thankful. Should I be grateful to you for patronizing my taxi service? I might as well bend over backward for you," Lloyd answered.
"You mentioned the 'taxi' a while ago. But now, what does bend over backward mean? How do you do that?"
"Oh, never mind. Just make sure that you hold me tight."
"Will do."
Lloyd kept moving as he bickered with Javier. But he was already exhausted. Every time he got tired, Javier blew his mana into Lloyd. He was giving him the mana of a high-level sword expert through the triple circle Asrahan Core Technique. It had a tremendous effect. Each time Javier fueled Lloyd with mana, he felt like a tractor, all fueled up and ready to go plow the fields.
"Huff! My strength is growing nicely! Huff! Huff!"
"Do you want some more?"
"Oh my, your precious mana being poured into a shabby body like mine. Shut up and give me more. Come on. I'm just seconds away from collapsing. No joke."
"I understand. But may I remind you that the technique gets less effective when you talk and breathe at the same time? It makes your breathing uneven, eventually draining your energy. Let's drop the small talk."
"You want me to shut up and just walk? No way. Huff!"
Thwack!
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"Giddyap."
"I'll seriously throw you off…"
Prattling and bickering like that, they used each other to mutual benefit. Javier was using Lloyd for transportation while Lloyd was using Javier as a fueling station. And the chattering worked to comfort them both.
If I was stuck down here alone, I'd have lost my marbles. Lloyd shuddered at the thought, his shoulders trembling. They were hundreds of feet below the surface. Even the fires from the explosion had dissipated. The only source of light was the glowing mushrooms that grew along the walls. If Lloyd was all alone with no one to talk to, fear would have eaten him alive. He realized later that carrying Javier piggyback had a generous payoff.
A message dinged in front of him.
Ding Dong.
Javier Asrahan is very grateful for what you are doing for him.
Javier Asrahan is developing feelings of trust for you for the first time.
Your approval rating with Javier Asrahan has increased by six points.
Current RP with Javier Asrahan: -14.
[You have earned 108 RP by improving relationships with main characters.]
[Current RP: 157.]
Still carrying Javier on his back and shoulders, Lloyd glanced over his shoulder and chuckled. "You scamp, are you grateful?"
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind. Hey, I think I'm starting to see a familiar path."
"I see it too."
Thankfully, the path that led aboveground could be found easily. The countless battles with the giant ants left breadcrumbs, making a trail they could follow. They saw the sliced and severed body parts of the ants on the ground. Lloyd simply needed to follow the bits of dead ants. A familiar route started to appear, filling them with hope. That is until they saw that the tunnel had collapsed and the path was blocked.
"Hmm."
Lloyd wondered if the explosion caused this. He wiped the sweat off his forehead and studied the blocked path. He used the surveying skill to find out what was on the other side. But he didn't see any open space beyond the sixteen-foot limit. This meant that he had to burrow at least sixteen feet to make it out to the other side. Sixteen feet? Could be 160 for all I know. If that were the case, it'd be faster for him to find another path than to stick with this one.
Lloyd whipped around. They didn't have much time. I gotta hurry…
Just then.
Rumble! Rumble!
A booming sound rang out. The entire cave shook. A gust of sand blew in his direction. But instead of running away from it, he jumped into it. And there, he saw the path behind them had completely collapsed. This meant only one thing.
"Are we seriously trapped in here?"
"It appears so." He couldn't laugh it off this time. Lloyd looked down at Javier. Then he studied the collapsed path behind them. It was as thick as the one in front. He saw nothing beyond sixteen feet. We're screwed.
They were completely trapped. Lloyd's heart pounded. He was losing hope. The dire worst-case scenario he yearned to avoid had happened. How long can we survive here?
Lloyd quickly read the space he was doomed in. It was small. Barely a couple dozen square feet. They would run out of oxygen soon. I say thirty minutes? Maybe less.
After that, oxygen would grow scarce in the place. That meant the end for both of them. But Lloyd couldn't just stand still. He brought out Bangul and handed her to Javier.
"Can you please wake her up? Slap her or something. Okay? We need her right now."
"Will do."
Javier seemed to have understood the situation as he took the snake-like animal without any complaints.
Lloyd racked his brain for a solution. It's a do-or-die situation. There's nowhere else to go.
Everything would end if he gave up here. He needed to try his best, using every means possible. He had 157 RP in his hands right now, and the time had come for him to employ it to maximum effect.
Lloyd opened up his skill window.
TL' s Note:
Sorry guys for not being able to post recently. It was literally impossible for me to do so and I'd like to apologize for being unable to keep a constant schedule. I hope that will change in the upcoming days. So to sum it up, know that I'm back and we're still doing this.
Also guys I might rush the upcoming chapters in order to compensate for my absence so if you see any mistakes don't hesitate to let me know in comments.
Last thing, a little show of support will really encourage me guys, even a thanks for the chap in the comment, what you thought of the chapter, if you liked it would mean a lot to me or a comment on novelupdates too. Not only would I be more pumped to post more chapters but that would also make the novel more visible so more people can read it.
That's it, thank you guys for reading my translation.
(P.S. : I posted that twice, once for each novel)
Translator: https://bettertranslation9.wordpress.com