Lobsters!
Lobsters…?
Question marks practically popped over Tursey's head. Why lobsters?
It wasn't their presence that confused her. Any place with water could have lobsters—and she quite liked eating anything with "shrimp" in its name.
What baffled her was… why the saliva of mere lobsters was this powerful!
Roger still had the magic barrier she'd cast on him. How had it been blown apart so easily—?!
"I… I can still be saved…"
Roger said weakly, foaming at the mouth, his eyes gradually losing focus.
It seemed Tursey's barrier had indeed worked, blocking the fatal damage from the water cannon. Otherwise, that hit would have sent him straight back to the bonfire.
…Actually, which bonfire would he return to?
Although the lethal damage was prevented, the barrier she cast specialized in damage resistance—not impact absorption.
When the shield shattered, Roger spun a full 720 degrees midair from the sheer force before slamming into the ground in what could only be described as an extremely intimate embrace.
He had a concussion now—the kind that would genuinely kill him if not treated immediately.
"Get up and help already." Tursey shoved a nearly solidified sphere of high-tier healing magic straight into him.
He recovered visibly, finally no longer bubbling like a crab.
"I think I just saw heaven," Roger muttered, wobbling back to his feet.
"Oh? What was in heaven? Angels kissing you?"
Tursey immediately cast a semicircular magic barrier—this one layered with multiple high-tier spells that required extremely precise mana control.
Under normal circumstances, she could stack at most three layers.
This time, there were six.
Because Hades was helping.
"I saw a bunch of colorful giant dragons wagging their tails at me and licking me with wet, slippery tongues," Roger said, picking up his staff. "But then they turned into women, so I woke up in terror."
Tursey decided not to comment on his… preferences.
Another water cannon roared toward them.
Cracks instantly spread across the barrier. With a thunderous bang, one layer shattered.
Was that water cannon really this strong?!
The giant lobsters were extremely far away—far beyond the effective range of most spells—yet they could bombard endlessly.
Completely unfair.
Was there any long-range magic they could use? Or should they just wait for the Sword Saint to finish and let him deal with it?
She glanced at Gapar and saw him still entangled with the specters—but thankfully, he was about to win.
Aside from the Spectral Rider's annoying mobility and spellcasting, the other specters were little more than cannon fodder, sliced apart mercilessly by his Twin-Star Sword.
Well… aside from their insane clawing frenzy and the fact that they could still attack after being cut in half, they really were minor mobs.
Ordinary adventurers encountering a group like this would suffer heavily. It would take at least five experienced Bronze-ranked adventurers to win.
Since they couldn't rely on Gapar for the moment—and Tursey wasn't skilled in offensive magic, only unbeatable barriers and undead-style healing—she could manage no more than a few mid-tier attack spells.
Maybe the barrier could…
She looked at Roger.
"Want to charge over there under the barrier?"
"Huh?!"
"Relax. I'll go with you. I'll keep the barrier flowing continuously. You just figure out how to attack once we're close—stab their shrimp veins with a sword or shove fireballs into their mouths. Your choice."
Aren't you a professor…? Why do you sound like a frontline mercenary…?
Roger complained internally.
Just then, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air.
A glintstone pebble shot between them.
Hades had acted.
But from that distance, there was no way it would hit, right?
As expected, the pebble faded like a shooting star and vanished halfway.
"No good, I'd better use my meth—"
Before Tursey could finish, another glintstone pebble flew out—this one faster, brighter, and packed with far more mana.
Bang!
The leading giant lobster's head exploded. It staggered in fury, firing its water cannons even more violently.
Tursey blinked.
"So increasing the mana input increases the range."
She could do that too—but she often couldn't control it precisely. Too much or too little, and she'd have to adjust through repeated trial and error.
But Hades, who specialized in mana manipulation, could calculate the exact amount required for the glintstone pebble to retain destructive power across that distance.
That required extremely delicate control.
Hades nodded silently, his glintstone helm bobbing.
Since the distance had been calculated…
He raised both hands. This time, he didn't cast glintstone pebbles.
Instead, he invoked a spell he had invented himself, based on his understanding of the stars.
He called it:
"Falling Star."
If Wade were present, he would probably rename it—
"Cute Star Flying Smash!"
A meteor streaked across the sky.
The lobsters looked up—
—and saw the star descending toward them.
BOOM—
The shockwave rippled across the lake, forcing the Spectral Rider's mount to rear up, giving Gapar the opening he needed to finish it in a single strike.
When the water droplets, blasted skyward, finally rained back down…
The battle was over.
Gapar shook off the water from his soaked clothes with a pulse of aura.
Hades coughed twice, his voice muffled beneath the glintstone helm.
Victory.
But no loot.
The specters turned to ash upon death. The lobsters could have yielded ingredients, but the meteor had annihilated everything.
Only souls remained.
For Roger, that was generous.
For the Sword Saint… barely an appetizer.
They couldn't farm enough souls to level up anyway, so these bonus gains were essentially useless—at least inside Sein Dungeon.
But that would change in Val Dungeon.
What the battle truly left behind were psychological scars.
Gapar now hated "marathons."
And Tursey stared silently at the dried lobster meat in her pouch.
Looking at the smoking meteor crater where the lobsters once stood, she deeply regretted not tasting them.
After another short rest, they continued in the direction the dragon had flown.
The lake still seemed endless—but moss-covered ruins began to appear.
"Trina's Lily?"
At a conspicuous patch, Tursey knelt and picked a pale-purple flower, consulting her hunting manual.
[Graceful pale-purple water lily, on the verge of withering. Very rare item.]
[Symbolic flower of Saint Trina's faith. Soothes excited minds.]
The fragrance was calming.
She sniffed twice—
—and immediately stuffed it into her pouch.
This thing was addictive.
Just a few breaths made her drowsy. If the scent were stronger… would someone fall into blissful stupor forever?
She steadied herself and sniffed again cautiously. With proper vigilance, the scent wasn't nearly as charming.
Anyone unfamiliar with it could easily be fooled.
"There are smaller ones nearby."
She picked two more—immature specimens.
[Immature Trina's Lily]
Same description, with an added note:
[An immature specimen. Effect weaker. Mature specimen can be harvested after time.]
Wait some time?
By the time they returned, Sein Dungeon might be closed and these plants refreshed.
"So you'll never grow up, huh."
She picked them anyway, intending to give them to a friend in the association's alchemy department for study.
She never imagined she might actually have time here to wait for them to mature.
"So that's what those lobsters were."
While Tursey studied flowers, Gapar casually slapped a nearby rock.
A giant lobster stood up.
Roger twitched.
He suddenly realized he had kicked a stone earlier… and attracted enemies.
Looking around, there were at least three more "rocks" within sight.
And beyond them…
Hill-shaped silhouettes that looked suspiciously like crab shells.
If giant lobsters existed, giant crabs weren't exactly shocking.
This beautiful lake was a minefield.
Once identified, though, they weren't dangerous. Gapar casually harvested magical creatures, collecting crab eggs along the way.
"Ugh—"
Seeing parasites and eggs clustered on the lobsters, Tursey gagged and instantly lost her appetite.
After about an hour of walking, the sun set over Liurnia. The moon had not yet risen.
They fought a few specters, rats, and giant wolves—nothing serious.
"Look over there," Tursey said. "Is that a town?"
In the distance, through the mist, the silhouette of a town flickered. Beyond it, atop towering cliffs, a magnificent academy loomed.
Moonlight descended softly, draping everything in a pale glow. The lake's fluorescence mirrored the stars above.
[Behold, a magnificent view ahead]
Roger triggered a message on the ground and nodded approvingly.
"There could be monsters inside. Stay alert."
They approached cautiously.
The town was mostly collapsed and uninhabited.
If repaired, it could house many people—but who would bother fixing dungeon buildings? They'd reset the next day anyway.
When they stepped onto the first intact brick road, glowing letters appeared:
Academy Gate Town.
"No monsters," Gapar said, sheathing his sword. His aura sense detected nothing hostile.
Strange. Such a large area, yet completely empty?
"Wait. There's something else."
Not violent like a monster.
Something peaceful.
Like… a person?
"Just around that corner."
They turned onto another street. The buildings here were better preserved.
When Gapar saw the lifeform he had sensed, his eyes widened.
Gentle music filled the air—played on an instrument unlike anything in this world.
"Who are you?" he asked the man dressed like Santa Claus.
The wandering merchant, Kale, lowered his instrument slightly and replied:
"Care to buy something?"