LSP – Chapter 23 – The Cave

Next to me, Akari stretched herself. From the wide-open sides, I catch a glimpse of something white and soft-looking thing inside her tunic.

“Alright.” (Akari)

It bounces back with a *boing*.

“Well then, shall we quickly get going?” (Akari)

“Catherine-sama, the thing is…” (Wen)

The knight speaks with a troubled expression.

“You see, only two people can cross this bridge at a time.” (Wen)

“Sharie and I are light, so maybe we can manage somehow?” (Finn)

“I tried it before, and regardless of weight, if a third person gets on, it will topple over.” (Wen)

Well, is this another fae thing?

“In that case, let’s divide into teams!” (Finn)

“I must protect Catherine-sama.” (Wen)

“Shari will protect Onii-chan!” (Shari)

“Wait a moment!” (Akari)

Akari grabs hold of me and whispers

“Are you putting me in the same group as the uncle?” (Akari)

“But…” (Finn)

I’m at Level 2, Shari is at Level 5, and the other two are at Level 4.

“In terms of level balance, wouldn’t this be better?” (Finn)

“Eh?” (Akari)

I shout towards the knight.

“Please take care of Catherine-sama!” (Finn)

“Understood!” (Wen)

◇

[Finn and Shari PoV]

I take Sharie’s hand and cross the suspension bridge which leads directly to the entrance of the cave. We cautiously enter the cave, staying alert.

The cave is dimly lit. Before proceeding further, both of us light torches and hold them in our left hands.

“It feels like an adventure, doesn’t it, Onii-chan?” (Shari)

“This conversation feels a bit déjà vu.” (Finn)

As I wait, there is no sign of the two of them coming. The suspension bridge is covered in a thick fog.

“I guess we have no choice but to move forward…” (Finn)

We walk through the cave for a while. Some parts are so narrow that they are less than 2 meters wide, while other areas are so wide that the light from our torches doesn’t reach the edges.

“Onii-chan, are you glad you picked Shari?” (Shari)

“Huh, why?” (Finn)

“Because you picked Akari before, right?” (Shari)

“Well, it wasn’t really a choice, it was just a coincidence…” (Finn)

“Hehe…” (Shari)

Shari seems to be in a good mood.

I suddenly sense a presence. It’s something big, a single entity. I grip my spear in my right hand.

A large shadow slowly emerges from the depths of the cave. It has a body height that may reach up to 3 meters, with slimy skin. Its arms are long, reaching the ground, resembling a gigantic, hairless, slimy chimpanzee-like creature. And protruding from its mouth are large fangs.

It’s a troll! So that is what they look like!

Shari has already cast <Protection> and <Attack Boost> before crossing the bridge.

“Uryahhh!” (Finn)

I thrust my spear into the troll’s body with force. The spear pierces through its torso. It does not have particularly hard skin. I twist the spear to widen the wound and then pull it out.

“Growl!” (Troll)

The troll lets out a roar and swings its arms. I duck down, avoiding its attack. As the troll’s arms pass overhead, there’s a sound of air being sliced.

I take a step back and reposition my spear.

“Phuuu…” (Troll)

I can hear the troll’s breath. The wound from where I pulled out the spear gradually begins to close.

(Seriously?!)

・・

Despite the two-on-one advantage, we are being pushed back by the troll. It’s clear that my level is not high enough. There have been several close calls, and Shari has stepped in to cover me, but we are mostly on the defensive. Neither of us is critically injured, but we are covered in cuts and bruises. Meanwhile, the troll’s wounds keep closing up. This is turning into a difficult battle.

Shari’s mace bashed into the troll’s lower shin. The troll’s movement halts. Even with its regenerative abilities, it would still feel pain. Sharie’s mace possesses the attack power to pulverize a goblin with a single strike.

I drop the torch to the ground and grip the spear with both hands. Taking aim at the motionless troll’s heart, I put my weight behind it and thrust with all my might. I twist the spear while it’s still inside.

The troll collapses to the ground as if it was crumbling.

(Did I do it?)

The troll’s arm slowly scrapes the ground. Its legs twitch and move. It’s regenerating.

(Of course not!)

Ah, that’s right. I remember the strategy I heard from Wen-san along the way.

“Trolls are weak against fire.” (Wen)

Or rather, they can’t regenerate burn wounds. It might be due to the thermal denaturation¹ of proteins. I’m not sure if faes are made of proteins, though.

I take out the oil from my backpack, the one Akari told me to buy. It’s not the regular oil for lanterns. it’s a specially processed oil that is easier to ignite. It was quite expensive, but worth it.

I pour the oil onto the troll and press the torch against it to ignite the flames. The fire spreads, and the troll begins to burn.

The troll foams and disappears. Something remains in the charred aftermath.

(Remains of the burn? Or is it…?)

I touch it, but it’s not hot. It might not be charred remains, but a dropped item. It’s long and slender. I brush off the soot from its surface.

“It’s a dagger!” (Finn)

I brush off the soot from the blackened sheath. The blade shines without a single trace of rust. I put it in my backpack for now.

◇

[Akari and Wen PoV]

Akari holds the dagger in her right hand as she walks through the cave. Wen follows closely behind, holding a torch in his left hand and remaining vigilant. He has a sword drawn in his right hand.

The flickering torchlight makes it difficult for the elf’s night vision to work effectively.

“Lanterns would be better than torches.” (Akari)

“Trolls won’t die unless they are burned.” (Wen)

Well, fair enough.

“I’m going to scout ahead a bit. Wait here for me.” (Akari)

Akari activates her <Stealth>, blending into the darkness of the cave.

・・

“Without powerful magic, things are going to be tough.” (Akari)

According to Akari’s reconnaissance, there were four trolls.

“There were four of them.” (Akari)

“Hmm…” (Wen)

Wen ponders the situation. It would be much easier to defeat them if they could be separated and taken down individually. Fighting while surrounded would be challenging.

“Let’s lure them in, Catherine-sama.” (Wen)

・・

Although we wanted to lure only one, two of them have come.

“One person, one troll.” (Akari)

Wen nods.

“Don’t take my share.” (Akari)

“Understood!” (Wen)

The troll approaches. It’s big. One of them heads towards Akari. She unleashes a series of Magic Missiles, followed by another barrage. She repeatedly stabs the troll with the dagger and aims to finish it off. She relentlessly gouges at its heart, trying to prevent it from regenerating. Still, it twitches and moves.

I take out the oil from my backpack and pour it on the troll. On the other hand, Wen has already started burning one of the trolls after dousing it in oil. We ignite the flames and let them burn.

“Two more to go.” (Akari)

◇

[Finn and Shari PoV]

Further into the cave, we encounter another troll.

“Shari, can you boost my attack?” (Finn)

Sharie nods.

“How about healing?” (Finn)

“I have about half left.” (Shari)

“Alright then…” (Finn)

While keeping my eyes on the troll, I speak to Shari.

“I’m counting on you to boost my attack. Let’s take down this one without any injuries.” (Finn)

I can feel the blessing from Shari flowing into me.

・・

Since I can’t hold the spear with both hands, I can’t deal much damage. However, if I leave the torch on the ground, it will go out and we will be left in darkness.

Nevertheless, Shari and I sandwich the troll between us and take turns attacking. We dodge its attacks and parry when necessary. We proceed cautiously, aiming to avoid taking any damage…

(!!)

I sense something in my awareness. Two more trolls are approaching from deeper inside the cave.

The distance between us and the troll we are facing is about 10m, and beyond that, just within reach of the light from Sharie’s torch in her left hand, two more figures emerge.

They are about 3m tall with long arms that reach the ground. Their texture feels slimy.

The two new trolls approach from behind Shari.

“<Teleport>!” (Finn)

I instantly teleport in front of Shari. Teleport allows for a brief moment of high-speed movement. While it can’t teleport through walls, it can be used to dodge enemies right in front of me.

I grab Shari’s hand. We need to escape.

The troll we were just fighting approaches from the front, and two more trolls close in from behind. We are completely surrounded.

“<Teleport>!” (Finn)

I grab Shari’s hand and slip past the troll approaching from the front. We continue running towards the exit. However, since my level is only 2, I can no longer use <Teleport> anymore.

(?!)

The cave splits into two paths. Was this here before? Which way did I come from? When in doubt, choose the left path! I grab Sharie’s hand and run.

Suddenly, I sense something ahead. I come to a halt.

“<Presence Detection>!” (Finn)

It’s two trolls.

“Let’s go back!” (Finn)

I sense a presence behind us as well.

“Groooar!” (Troll)

It’s a troll. There are traces of blood on its body. It’s the one we were fighting earlier. Its wounds have already healed through regeneration.

“Grrrrl!” (Troll)

Trolls are approaching from the front as well. We’re surrounded!

I face the troll behind us and prepare my spear. The troll swings its long arms. I dodge and thrust my spear. It leaves a wound, but it quickly closes up.

*Clunk*

There is a sound of impact from behind. And then, the sound of something soft hitting the rocks. I quickly glance over and see Shari being slammed against the wall. This is bad.

“Shari!” (Finn)

I rush over to her. Sharie’s head moves. She seems to be alive. She tries to face me and shout something.

“Shari! Heal yourself!” (Finn)

“Onii-chan, behind you!” (Shari)

The troll swings its arm, hitting me directly in the head. There’s a sharp impact, followed by the sensation of its teeth tearing into my arm. Then, I hear the sound of the troll biting into my head.

I hear Shari’s scream, but it quickly fades away…

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Image of Akari that doesn’t fit anywhere lol

~ Link to source

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TL notes:

Thanks for reading!

Well, I guess that’s it. Series over Finn is dead. 

Of course not, It’s rewind time! Well I mean we know Finn isn’t going to die or anything. They were so underprepared for this lol. 

Well btw, chapters where the illustrations are not coherent with the actual chapter itself is usually from Syosetu or Alpha Polis.

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Footnotes:

1. Thermal denaturation = When the protein is heated, thermal motion and other factors break down the protein structure. I am not a biologist so I can’t really explain further.