From the sound alone, Hulim knew who it was.
"That giant red dragon—even after taking a beating from Little Semiris last time, it still hasn’t been scared off?"
Hulim looked toward the source of the flapping wings.
Sure enough, it was the same red giant dragon.
But unlike before, when it would chase after her shortly after appearing, this time the dragon didn’t approach immediately.
Instead, it kept a safe distance, watching Hulim cautiously—
as if checking if the thing that had attacked it last time was still with her.
"Little Semiris."
"Yes, Hulim? Is there something you need help with? Little Semiris can do anything for you!"
"Thanks. Can you drive this guy away like you did last time? It’ll be hard to move with it staring at us like this."
"Hmm——"
Little Semiris glanced at the dragon, then back at Hulim.
She scratched her head awkwardly.
"Aww Sorry, Hulim! Little Semiris can’t do that right now~!"
"Huh??!"
Hulim froze.
She stared at Little Semiris.
"But... didn’t you easily chase it away last time?"
"About that, Little Semiris forgot to tell Hulim—actually, the power Semiris gave me is limited. I used a lot of it to find you, and then I erupted again when Hulim was in danger last time. So now——"
"I don’t have enough power left! I can’t launch an attack like that anymore~!"
"......"
Hulim fell silent for a moment before speaking slowly:
"So that means......"
"......We can’t beat that giant dragon right now?"
"Mm-hmm! That’s right!"
Little Semiris nodded affirmatively, then added:
"Little Semiris suggests——"
"Hulim should run quickly~!"
"......""......"
"Roar——!!!"
The dragon’s roar echoed across the safe zone’s plains again,
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mingled with a girl’s shout.
"Little Semiris! You should’ve said that earlier——!!"
......
"Hah! Hah! Hah......"
In an underground passage, Hulim panted heavily as she collapsed inside.
Behind her, at the passage entrance—
"Roar——!!!"
A huge dragon’s head squeezed into the opening, roaring threateningly at her.
Its golden vertical pupils, bigger than a human’s fist, locked onto her firmly.
"Aww, aww! I almost thought we couldn’t escape!"
Beside her, despite having just narrowly escaped death, Little Semiris still spoke in her usual carefree, lighthearted tone.
Hulim turned to look at the dragon, meeting its golden eyes head-on.
"......"
The dragon stopped roaring, staring back at her as if in a standoff.
"Sorry, lizard. We have things to do, so we won’t be coming out for a while. You can go back now."
The dragon’s golden pupils constricted.
It bared its sharp fangs in anger.
"Roar——!!!"
A gale-force roar swept through the entire passage.
"You should gargle—your breath stinks!"
"Roar——!!!"
The dragon roared even louder.
"Really, you never listen to reason. Little Semiris, let’s ignore it and go."
"Okay! Little Semiris will lead the way for Hulim!"
With that, Little Semiris fluttered her wings and flew deeper into the passage.
Hulim followed closely behind.
As for the dragon stuck outside the passage, it continued roaring relentlessly.
Even after Hulim and Little Semiris had gone far away, its roars could still be heard.
......
Drip, drip......
Water droplets fell continuously from the stalactite-covered ceiling.
In the dim cave—
a girl and a palm-sized humanoid creature flying in the air ventured deeper and deeper.
The flying creature glowed, illuminating the path ahead.
"Hulim, we’re here~!"
Hulim stopped and looked up.
There was no path left.
A huge stone door blocked their way.
Little Semiris flew toward the stone door,
then activated it somehow.
A complex magic circle appeared above the door.
Shortly after—
Boom!
A tremor shook the cave, and the stone door slowly slid open to both sides.
"Come on, Hulim—follow Little Semiris inside! Oh, and there will be some dangers inside, so Hulim must be careful!"
Hulim followed Little Semiris through the stone door.
Boom!
Another tremor sounded behind her.
Hulim turned around to find the stone door had closed again, leaving only a wall in its place.
She turned back, looking around.
This place seemed to be an underground city.
So that’s what the shortcut was.
It must be deep in the underground city......
"Little Semiris, which way do we go now?"
"Hmm......"
Little Semiris flew in circles, carefully checking the surrounding environment.
"This way~!"
Having confirmed the direction, she led Hulim forward.
But they hadn’t gone far—
Little Semiris’ glow suddenly faded, and she plummeted onto Hulim’s head.
"Hide, Hulim! Quick, find a place to hide! A dangerous guy is approaching!"
Hulim quickly found a nearby spot to conceal herself,
casting both a Stealth Magic and Natural Attribute Magic on herself.
Shortly after she hid—
Thump! Thump! Thump......
Heavy footsteps approached gradually from the dark distance.
Hulim, hiding behind a rock, caught a vague glimpse of a huge figure appearing nearby.
The creature stopped not far away,
lifted its head to sniff the air, letting out heavy breaths.
It seemed to have detected an unfamiliar scent.
But after sniffing for a long time, it still couldn’t find the source of the scent and eventually gave up.
Thump, thump, thump......
The heavy footsteps faded into the darkness, disappearing completely.
Only after confirming the creature was gone did Hulim and Little Semiris emerge from hiding.
"Little Semiris... isn’t this place a bit too dangerous?"
The aura emanating from that thing was definitely not that of an ordinary Rank B creature......
"Well, there are indeed many dangerous guys here!"
"???"
"Then why did you say we could come once I recovered to Rank C?"
"Don’t worry! Even if Hulim fully recovers, it’s impossible to storm through this underground city head-on!"
"......"
"As long as Hulim and Little Semiris are careful, we can reach the final destination without fighting! The reason you need to recover to Rank C is just because that’s the minimum requirement to obtain the Seven Luminaries!"
"......Is this plan not a bit too risky?"
"Don’t worry! With Little Semiris here, everything will be fine!"
"......"
There’s nothing reassuring about this at all......
