But things didn't go as smoothly as he had hoped.

  As Eric looked up, he saw a figure standing beside him, who knows how long it had been there. She was using the light from his staff to quietly read the Comprehensive Guide to First-Tier Elemental Magic with him.

  "Gaah!!" Eric let out a skeletal scream of surprise.

  He grabbed his staff leaning against the wall and quickly put some distance between himself and the stranger.

  And it wasn't just anybody.

  It was the purple-armored warrior who had chopped off Ponde's horn.

  "Sorry, did I scare you?" she said after a moment of silence.

  "N-no," Eric shook his head.

  Eric just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible.

  Who cared what dangers lurked here? Staying near this person was the biggest danger of all.

  He'd rather fly back and have a deathmatch with the Lizard King on the fifteenth level than stick around with this human Tyrannosaurus.

  If his skeleton identity was exposed, this chick could tear him apart twelve ways to Sunday.

  Holding his staff, he felt his way toward a direction.

  The girl silently followed.

  "..." He turned left, and she silently followed to the left.

  "..." Damn it, was he being tailed?

  He stopped, and the figure behind him stopped too.

  He turned around, and she nonchalantly pretended to clean her sword.

  "Is there something you need?" he asked.

  "My magic device broke. I'm just borrowing your light," she replied.

  "What about your cleric buddy?"

  "He's not my buddy. He's probably dead."

  How could someone with a body temperature of 98.6 say something so cold?

  "I have a light-emitting magic device here. Do you need it?" Eric took out a magic device from his backpack and handed it to her.

  "Thanks a lot," she said, taking it and pressing the button.

  There was a "click," and the magic device shattered into pieces in her hand.

  "Wow, you've got quite the grip there," Eric said, not knowing what else to say. He glanced at her hand; it could probably crush his skull just as easily.

  "So, can I hire you?" she asked.

  "No, I'm——"

  If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

  "Here's the money. Do you think it's enough?" she pulled out a bag of coins.

  "Whoa——"

  "If you don't mind," Eric decided to bow to capital. This bag of gold coins was probably enough for an ordinary person to live on for a lifetime.

  Truthfully, he wanted to refuse.

  But with such a hefty gold coin reward, refusing would just make him look like he was trying too hard to be modest.

  "Great, my name's Ile Mandelt," she said.

  "I'll keep you safe, don't worry," she added, taking off her helmet. A cascade of purple hair tumbled down, shimmering with a dreamy hue. The most striking feature was her amethyst-like eyes, sparkling under her purple eyelashes, so surreal they didn't seem human. Her porcelain face was flawless, like a fine piece of china. On her right ear, she wore a sapphire earring that gleamed with a magical luster, a high-quality magic item.

  This face was so beautiful it didn't seem human.

  It's not that there weren't humans more beautiful than her; it's just that her beauty gave off an otherworldly vibe.

  "You should put your helmet back on," Eric said, forcibly tearing his gaze away from her face.

  "Why?" she asked.

  "You're so beautiful, I feel ashamed looking at you," he replied.

  No woman would ever complain about being called beautiful, Eric thought to himself.

  Sure enough, the girl seemed a bit happier, but she didn't put her helmet back on.

  After that, neither of them spoke.

  Eric contentedly played the role of a living flashlight, following Ile's directions as they turned left and right.

  Ile was holding a drawing board, mapping out their route. Eric glanced at it; it was very precise and clear.

  After an unknown amount of time, Ile spoke up.

  "We've explored enough. Let's take a break," she said.

  "Sure," Eric replied.

  Then, following the map she had drawn, Ile led Eric to a cave and started a campfire.

  "Um, do you know where we are? This dungeon doesn't seem to have a level like this," Eric asked, puzzled, as they sat around the fire.

  "You don't know where this is? How did you get in here?" Ile was the one surprised this time.

  "I was chased by a special variant lizardman king on the fifteenth level and fell in here," Eric answered honestly. There was no need to hide it.

  "I don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky," Ile said.

  "This is a hidden special maze," she explained, without asking further questions, and continued to roast the meat they had just hunted, sprinkling it with seasonings.

  Then she handed a skewer to Eric.

  "……I'm not very hungry," he said.

  "Alright," Ile replied, and dug into the roasted meat with gusto, her eating style bold and carefree, without a hint of vanity.

  Watching her, Eric felt a long-lost sense of hunger.

  After finishing eating, Ile casually wiped her mouth with her cloak and took out a cup.

  "Got any water?" she asked.

  "Oh, yeah," Eric extended his hand, and a stream of water condensed from the air, flowing into Ile's cup.

  The two didn't speak anymore.

  After eating and drinking her fill, Ile got up and started to take off her heavy armor.

  Eric averted his gaze out of courtesy.

  Once the armor was off, Ile began to clean and maintain it.

  Eric glanced at her body under the armor, mainly out of curiosity.

  And she was fully clothed under the armor; it would be weirder if he was overly concerned.

  She was over five feet seven, with exceptionally long legs and well-toned muscles.

  You couldn't tell under the armor, but she had a great figure, curvy and shapely.

  Eric silently apologized for ever imagining her as a female gorilla.

  She sat cross-legged on the ground, squinting her eyes in the firelight, patiently and attentively maintaining her armor.

  Eric walked to the side, stuck his staff into the ground, and the magic stone on it lit up even brighter.

  "Ah, thanks," Ile looked up and smiled gratefully.

  Eric nodded in acknowledgment and returned to the stone wall, resting and conserving energy.

  When it was time to explore again, Ile had already put her armor back on.

  The Eric-brand flashlight was back online.

  They continued to explore the areas they hadn't finished earlier.

  "Don't stay so far away. There might be danger today," Ile said, pulling Eric closer when she saw him keeping a distance.

  Eric felt a strong force.

  It felt like he wasn't being pulled by a person, but by a dragon using its claws to drag him over.

  His respect for Ile grew a bit more.

  "Roar!" A tiger covered in white bones burst out from the corner and was almost on Eric before he could react.

  The pressure came straight at him; there was no doubt he would die instantly.

  But the next second, a hand clad in purple armor grabbed the white-boned tiger by the neck.

  "Crunch."

  The neck was effortlessly snapped.

  "Don't worry, I'll keep you safe," Ile said, turning to look at Eric.

  Darn it, she was so cool.

  If he were a girl, he'd probably already be smitten.