Chapter 18
Chelsea, having already been badly burned by Camon once before, still didn’t fully trust him.
Because of that…
“Elaine, magic!”
“Got it! Ice Field!”
Zzzzzzzzt!
“Melin!”
“Okay, I’ve been waiting for your orders.”
Whoosh! Screeeech!
She continued to tackle the dungeon without considering Camon’s presence.
Swish… Crunch!
“A Cave Orc warrior!”
Still, when it was necessary, she didn’t hesitate to speak up.
“Camon, right now—”
Bang!
“Bang?”
Ugh… sizzle…
Everyone watched in shock as the Cave Orc warrior was instantly killed by a small bomb Camon had thrown.
“…”
“Not magic… but a bomb?”
The others looked at him in disbelief.
“Everyone, focus!”
Chelsea shouted firmly, forcing everyone to concentrate solely on clearing the dungeon.
Why is he acting like that?
Despite her inner complaints, the result was good. They continued exploring the dungeon, handling various monsters and traps, and finally…
“A boss monster!”
A massive figure appeared in a wide clearing, asserting itself as the area’s leader.
Riiiiiip!
“Is that really the boss monster?”
“Judging by the surroundings, probably.”
“But… how can a slime be a boss monster?”
Her teammates’ voices were filled with surprise. Before them stood an enormous slime.
Chelsea bit her lower lip slightly at the sight of such a boss monster.
Damn, of all things, a slime…
“Switch to B-type formation!”
At her command, the team quickly spread out around the area.
“Slimes are immune to physical attacks. Mages in the backline, this is your fight!”
Chelsea couldn’t help but curse inwardly.
Can Elaine really handle all the damage alone?
Normally, Elaine’s magic alone would be enough against a physical-immune monster, but this massive slime might be too much for her. Naturally…
I’m going to need Camon’s strength.
Although reluctant, Chelsea pushed aside her feelings and spoke.
“Camon, in this fight, your role is half—”
At that moment…
Clack!
Camon suddenly started running straight toward the massive slime.
“Ca-Camon?”
“What’s he doing all of a sudden?”
Chelsea frowned and quickly followed after him.
Damn it… again…!
Even though she was wary of him, she wasn’t going to let him run wild this time.
“Camon Bayd! Stop! Stand still!”
Naturally, her voice was harsh and threatening.
But Camon ignored her and ran forward with a torch in hand.
“Ch-Chelsea just ran out too.”
“What do we do?”
“Why is Camon acting like this again?”
The rest of the team was flustered by his sudden actions.
Then…
“Huh?”
Camon, closing the distance to the giant slime, suddenly raised his torch.
“What’s he doing?”
“Is he… trying to set it on fire?”
Guuuuh!
The giant slime extended its tentacles as if welcoming the challenger.
“Hey, stop!”
Chelsea ran after him, shouting.
“Damn it! Camon, I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but stop! Slimes don’t catch fire like that! That’s flammable material, you idiot!”
Usually, she wouldn’t even curse, but the situation had her doing exactly that.
Clack.
Camon stopped just in front of the giant slime and turned his head.
“Ah, really?”
He smiled faintly, almost mocking her, then without hesitation…
Flare!
He plunged the torch straight into the slime.
Ssssssiiiiiiiik!
The slime’s surface immediately began to burn.
“…It’s catching fire?”
The slime’s enormous body flared up intensely.
Flare! Flare!
Guuuuh! Kssshh! Ksssh!
“It… it caught fire?”
Chelsea froze, staring at the slime engulfed in flames.
No way… how?
Amid the shock, a painful, scream-like sound came from the burning slime.
Then, a moment later…
Shhhhhkk!
“It… it’s going to… explode?”
Kaboom! Kaboom!
The massive slime shattered into hundreds, maybe thousands, of pieces, exploding violently.
Pitter-patter!
The debris rained down like a torrential downpour.
“What the…?”
Chelsea stared dumbfounded at the fragments of the giant slime falling before her.
Clack.
Camon approached her silently, chuckling.
“Flammable, huh? Well, whatever… it’s handled, so let’s move.”
Without hesitation, he continued down the path behind the exploded slime.
“…”
Chelsea could only stare at his back, speechless.
“What… how did that happen?”
“That guy just destroyed it in one go? That massive slime?”
“Slimes aren’t normally flammable… how did he set it on fire?”
“Exactly… was it some special kind?”
Her teammates naturally speculated about what had happened.
But one person wasn’t part of the conversation—she was lost in deep thought.
“Chelsea, are you okay?”
“Huh? Yeah… why?”
“Ah, nothing, you just weren’t saying anything.”
“Ah… sorry, I was just thinking.”
Melin frowned, as if misunderstanding something.
“Forget about that guy, Chelsea. Don’t waste your energy on him.”
“Hmm?”
Chelsea turned to see Camon Bayd silently advancing, having just finished off the giant slime.
“Honestly, working with that guy is impossible. Don’t worry. When the chance comes, I’ll teach him a proper lesson.”
“What?”
“You must be frustrated dealing with him, Chelsea, right?”
“No, I’m—”
“Don’t worry. We always follow your lead. You’re the real leader of our team.”
“No, Melin, it’s not like that.”
Chelsea gave a weak smile and shook her head at Melin’s misunderstanding.
“Alright, got it.”
Melin nodded without listening further.
“Don’t worry about me. Take a breather if you need to.”
As Melin stepped back slightly, Chelsea placed a hand on her forehead and sighed.
Phew…
This wasn’t what was truly troubling her. What really had her head spinning was entirely different.
That actually happened?
She had just witnessed the giant slime catching fire and exploding before her eyes.
It was a vivid scene that defied basic logic. She couldn’t deny what she saw.
It really caught fire…
How? Her thoughts were tangled until one memory from deep in her mind surfaced—something from a textbook.
“…Powder made from Graydon tree branches can ignite flammable substances.”
The dungeon studies textbook was thick and dense, and the mention of the Graydon tree was only a single line in the entire book.
“…I had completely forgotten.”
Even Chelsea, who had memorized the entire textbook, needed a moment to recall such a trivial piece of information.
Could he have known that and prepared in advance?
Unconsciously, Chelsea muttered as she watched Camon slightly apart from her.
Clack.
He was muttering something to himself in his heavy iron armor.
At the same time…
Hmph. No time. You won’t get the top score.
She recalled the time he had teased her about getting the highest score.
…What even is that guy?
Crack… tore through it.
Thinking back on what had just happened, she internally celebrated.
Even if he had prepared in advance, it was incredible how everything unfolded exactly as needed.
I was so tense back when the giant slime was right in front of me…
Phew, I survived.
Calming her pounding heart, she took a deep breath and clenched her fists.
At this pace, it should be fine.
If Kyle hadn’t cleared it thirty minutes faster, she wouldn’t have taken such a reckless approach. He would have proceeded cautiously, step by step.
Maybe… that’s actually good.
Thanks to that, they had cut down the first boss monster in less than five minutes—a remarkable achievement.
Fifty minutes, fifty-eight seconds, right?
Her plan had estimated the dungeon would take about an hour and twenty minutes. To shave off over thirty minutes, a bit of recklessness was necessary.
It’s fine, we can keep up at this pace.
Feeling slightly relaxed, she began to enjoy the moment and think creatively.
Ah, Bren should have seen this…
She remembered him whining in the city of Bellium about why this was necessary. She chuckled inwardly.
See, Bren? This is the power of one who knows the future.
Even without powerful magic or aura blades, they had completely dealt with a massive monster.
Yes! This is what a real raid feels like!
