Show Me Your Stats!-Chapter 162

The runaway carriage pulled mercilessly by a dragon raced day and night without pause and finally reached Sobletz. When Janus opened the carriage door, Ayra, who had suffered severe motion sickness all day, stumbled out and dry-heaved. She had already emptied her stomach multiple times inside, so nothing came out.

Recalling the miserable day she’d endured, she wrinkled her nose and buried the waste bag—produced during the journey—deep into the ground. After catching her breath, she pulled out a bundle of water, jerky, and several steamed buns she’d stored in her subspace and handed them to Janus, who had worked hard. Still nauseated, she deliberately turned her head away as Janus devoured the food rapidly, then tapped the back of her hand to summon Pebble.

‘Pebble, where’s Bloom?’

[Loading.......]

As her mana drained, a map of Sobletz appeared. A blinking dot indicated Bloom’s position near the lord’s manor. Ayra was about to close the map when she suddenly stopped. The dot shifted location abruptly, as if he’d teleported. Then a moment later, it blinked back to its original position.

Frowning, Ayra stared at the map. Just then, Janus—having devoured enough food for several men in a few minutes—stood upright and glanced at her, curious.

“What are you doing?”

“Hmm, trying to locate Bloom with magic.”

Pebble edged away cautiously as Janus approached. Ayra looked back at the map—Bloom’s position had changed again. After a few more back-and-forth flickers, Pebble finally popped up a system window.

[Currently undergoing hardware update due to new component installation. Neural network unstable. :( ]

New component = the dragon’s magic stone. Hardware update = the process of becoming a dragon’s mate, right...? Still, how could it be telling its master that its neural network is unstable?

Finding Pebble’s antics somewhat cute, Ayra gave it a tight squeeze. Bored, Janus crafted a little snowman with magic to resemble Pebble and placed it next to him, scattering floating hearts. Pebble retaliated by displaying a damage number, [18], above the snow snowman. Apparently, it hadn’t forgiven him for the forced exploration of the dragon’s throat.

Like knocking a glitchy computer, Ayra pumped mana into Pebble a few more times until the bug fixed itself. She then cast preservation magic on the snow Pebble and stored it in her subspace while committing Bloom’s location to memory.

‘Also, show me if there’s another dragon in Sobletz.’

Since she was already here, Ayra figured she might as well check for the presence of a second dragon. Pebble narrowed its eyes and raised its tiny hand to its forehead.

[Loading.......]

[Neural network connection unstable.]

[Neural network connection unstable.]

[Please try again later!]

‘This little thing... is it deliberately hiding it from me?’

What, afraid I’ll lose my mind and go charging after the other dragon? ...Well, I could just take a peek, nothing more! Ayra was awkwardly justifying herself when—

<Main Quest!>

[A Woman Wandering the Forest (1)]

A woman wandering the forest? Ayra turned her eyes to read, but the quest window faded away before she could finish. Probably just another glitch. Either way, what mattered most right now was ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) Bloom. She pushed the suspicious quest to the back of her mind for now.

“Let’s go. I’ve confirmed his location. We have to sneak Bloom out quickly.”

There were still about three days left to rescue Bloom, but this kind of task was always better done sooner. Ayra couldn’t imagine Sobletz treating Bloom gently.

They leapt over the city walls with ease and reached the lord’s manor almost unimpeded. Though some security magic had been cast by local mages, they were barely apprentice-level at best. Breaking through was simple. The guards watching the prison were easily fooled with illusion magic. At the prison entrance, Janus gestured.

“Go ahead. I’ll keep watch out here to make sure no one comes.”

“Okay. Thanks.”

She didn’t really need a lookout with Pebble around, but she appreciated Janus’s thoughtfulness. Ayra stepped into the prison. The midwinter underground dungeon felt like a walk-in freezer. Frost clung to the walls and floor, and every breath came out white. Ayra pulled up the prisoners’ stat windows and went straight to Bloom’s cell without hesitation.

“Bloom!”

Her eyes widened when she reached his cell. She’d expected the worst, but even so, he was in a brutal state. His armor and sword, always worn, were gone. Bloom was shackled in chains, wearing only ragged clothes.

“My Lady!”

Hearing someone approach, Bloom lifted his head and tried to crawl forward on his knees, but he wobbled and slammed his forehead into the bars. Even then, he asked:

“Are you all right, my Lady?”

A glance at his stat window showed his HP had dropped below normal, and what little she could see of his body was covered in bruises from beatings. Since he was a knight, the restraints binding his neck and limbs were all made of heavy metal.

“And you’re asking me if I’m alright, looking like that?”

She scolded him lightly, then examined the bars. The lock was simple; she unlocked it with a crisp click.

“Now how do I get these off...”

She rummaged through her subspace for a tool to cut the metal. Just then, Bloom lowered his head further and spoke in a sunken voice.

“I’m glad I got to see you again before I died. But please... leave me here. You’ll only put yourself in danger.”

Ayra paused mid-motion as she pulled out a massive saw blade. She frowned and put it away again. Bloom stayed motionless, head bowed like a stone.

She sighed and opened her mouth.

“Sir Bloom...”

She was about to ask him what exactly had happened in the past—when—

BOOM, rumble...

A low roar echoed somewhere above. The floor vibrated slightly—was it an earthquake? It also sounded like thunder. As she looked around in confusion, Pebble popped up a system alert.

[Sobletz Tower Defense Activated... 3% Destroyed]

“Tower defense?!”

Another boom shook the place, and Ayra stumbled. Dust trickled down from the ceiling of the dungeon. A moment later, a loud alarm began to ring: DENG DENG DENG DENG DENG! Guards began shouting as they rushed around.

“INTRUDER! THERE’S AN INTRUDER!”

What? But she’d even cast illusion spells—how had they already been discovered? Panicked, Ayra turned—just as Janus barreled into the dungeon.

“This the one you were looking for?”

Janus spoke as if referring to a lost item and casually grabbed Bloom with one hand. With the other, he scooped Ayra under his arm, then without waiting for questions, took off like a rocket.

The moment they emerged from the dungeon, the scenery had completely changed. The lord’s manor of Sobletz, previously pristine, was now partially in ruins. Massive chunks of stone littered the ground. Soldiers and knights poured out like ants from every corner. Ayra, who had hoped to quietly extract Bloom, raised a hand to cover her face.

“Seriously, what the hell! I told you to stand watch, not attack the entire manor!”

“Some arrogant bastard picked a fight. And shut your mouth, or you’ll bite your tongue.”

Ayra sighed and obeyed. Ugh, whatever. What’s done is done. Before escaping the manor, she cast physical magic and hurled several of the largest stone chunks at the towers. Watching the high spires crumble was oddly satisfying.

‘Still... if there is another dragon in Sobletz, it’d have to be in the manor.’

But despite all the chaos, not a single dragon appeared. Only humans were coming out of the manor. She opened her map, but the error continued. The red dots flickered, multiplied, then vanished—completely unstable.

Janus, carrying both humans like they weighed nothing, bounded from rooftop to rooftop, reaching the carriage in moments. The area was remote and sparsely populated, so no one saw. He flung open the carriage door, shoved both of them in like luggage, and grabbed the harness.

And so, the carriage of the raiding party that had attacked the Sobletz lord’s manor began racing back to Solar.

❄

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

“Never again... am I riding a carriage you’re pulling...”

Ayra staggered out of the carriage, aching like she’d been beaten black and blue. Janus replied with a straight face, “But it’s faster than a horse.” It was fast, sure—like a damn sports car—but the fact that her HP had dropped from riding in it said everything about how violent it had been. Even Bloom, who had plenty of HP left after all he’d been through, was still pale.

“Anyway... thanks.”

Still, Ayra gave her thanks—because they’d managed to rescue Bloom in time. Janus shrugged as if it were nothing and dropped the battered carriage behind him. Despite the protection spells, the thing looked like it had been torn to shreds after that breakneck sprint.

Just as Ayra was stretching her sore back, Jinas—who had been anxiously waiting for her return—ran over, face lighting up.

“My Lady, Sir Bloom! You’ve returned!”

“Yes, Jinas. Everything alright while I was gone?”

“Well...”

She’d only been gone two days. Surely nothing major... or so she thought, but Jinas’s face clearly said otherwise. After glancing around and confirming no one was listening, he leaned in and whispered in her ear.

“Sir Gretel says he has something urgent to discuss with you.”

“Gretel, huh... Alright. Then could I trouble you to get Bloom treated?”

“Yes, my Lady.”

Jinas gave Bloom a pitiful look. Still bound in chains, with his head bowed, Bloom looked every inch the fallen criminal. Ayra watched as Jinas led him away, then turned and headed to the study.