Extra Chapter: Olivia’s Apprentice

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter — LNCrawler · All chapters

Extra Chapter:
Olivia’s Apprentice

WHEN I FIRST FOUND the hidden dungeon, I was embarrassingly excited. Of course, once I used the password to get in, I pretty much immediately got caught in a trap on the second floor.

At first, I was kind of dismissive of the situation. It was just like: “Aw shucks, look at the pickle I got myself into this time!” I mean, I had the unusual abilities to Get Creative, Bestow, and Edit skills. In the past, I had used all of these to great effect in similar situations. I figured this would be no different.

“You’ve…gotta be kidding.”

Much to my horror, my LP was far too low to break the curse on the chains. Unable to do anything or go anywhere, I just had to wait for someone else to show up. I knew it was probably hopeless, but I kept calling out for help. As I grew weary of hoping for some kind stranger to appear, I started reminiscing about the past. I thought back over all my heart-pounding adventures, fun times, and the interesting people I’d met, but over and over again, my mind turned back to one specific person—

***

“Please take me on as your apprentice, Ms. Olivia!”

I was out strolling through town one day when a young boy sprung out in front of me. I’d had men ask me out on dates, beg for my hand in marriage, or even challenge me to duels before, but this was the first time I’d been asked for an apprenticeship.

“Hell no. Go away.”

The boy must’ve been fifteen, maybe sixteen at most. Kids are pretty brave at that age, but I immediately turned him down. The whole thing sounded like a total pain in the ass.

“Please reconsider.” He got on his knees and pressed his forehead to the ground. His skin was so smooth and clear, and his face was actually pretty cute, so it was a little sad to see it soiled with dirt.

“Oh, knock it off. I’m no good at teaching anyway. I’m all about following my instincts, that’s it. I don’t get along well with other people.”

“Still! I’ll work myself to the bone for you!”

“No. I refuse. End of discussion,” I brushed the kid off and went on my way.

I’d hoped he’d give up after that, but I severely underestimated him. He showed up again the next day, and the day after that.

“I’m busy living my own life to the fullest,” I said. “I don’t have time to look after someone else.”

“I’ll stay out of your way! I promise! So, please?!”

Every time I rejected him, he came right back. I figured he had to have a reason, so one day I asked him about it.

“I want to become the best adventurer in the world. I promised my best friend I would. She’s passed away, but I want my name to reach all the way to heaven.” His cute face concealed a strong will. You didn’t usually see that in young people these days. Ugh, that made me sound like an old crone, but it was true.

“All right, I get it. I’ll give you a chance. Come at me with all your might. If you can so much as scratch me, I’ll take you on as an apprentice. You can use whatever weapon you want.”

The boy had a nice-looking sword on his hip, but he hesitated before drawing it.

“Um, right here?”

“Yeah, right here. Don’t worry, I know the palace guards. Come on, use any strategy you want.”

There may not have been a lot of foot traffic, but we were in the middle of the street, so I wasn’t surprised that he hesitated. But that was exactly what I wanted. If he wanted to become the best adventurer in the world, he needed the wits and nerve to overcome something like this.

“U-understood. Here I come!”

I liked the look on his face when he set his mind to something.

“Hiyaa!”

I had to give him credit for actually coming at me full force. He focused on cutting my clothing, but unfortunately, he didn’t really know how to use his sword. His handling was awkward, and his stance was indistinguishable from that of a complete novice. He must have developed some odd habits by training himself.

“There!”

“Ahh?!”

I gently kicked his hand and he dropped his sword.

“All right, I’ve seen enough. You failed. I know it’s not really my place to say this, but you should give up on the adventurer thing. You’ll never make it, let alone be best in the world. People only make it to the top of their guild by having an extraordinary ability to begin with. Just like I do.”

I was sure there were plenty of exceptions, but this boy clearly didn’t have what it took.

“I’m gonna work until I get there. Even if it kills me.”

“Um, so lemme be clear here, this isn’t just an issue of skills. I was hoping you’d use the location to your advantage at least. Like throwing a sign at me or claiming I was a thief to get other people to help you.”

“But I…”

“That’s the kind of mindset you need.”

Of course, it’d be a different story if he was extremely talented, but he just wasn’t. I felt a little bad, but I figured that would be enough to put him on a more typical path. I turned my back on the kid, feeling like I’d done a good deed.

Oh, how wrong I was! He showed up again the next day. I was enjoying myself at a bar when he came in, once more begging me to make him my apprentice. He even brought a present this time, which was a real pain. Particularly because it was my favorite fruit.

“I think you’re the best adventurer in the whole world, Ms. Olivia,” he said without a shred of shame.

“You know, the world is a pretty big place, kid. There are all sorts of incredible people out there.”

“But I believe you’re the best.”

Ugh, I couldn’t take it. His eyes were so earnest. If we had been a little closer in age, I probably would have ended up in a rather dubious relationship. That said, it did feel pretty good to be called the best.

“You’ve got a way with words, kid. All right, I’ll give you a tip. You’re too direct with your sword. I bet you can’t tell a lie either.”

“No, I’m not very good at it, ma’am.”

“Thought so. You keep your eyes focused on where you’re trying to strike the whole time. You have to feint with your eyes too. Try pretending to stare at my chest and then slashing me in the stomach! That’s what a top adventurer would do.”

“Isn’t that just being a perv?!”

“Ah ha ha ha ha! Anyway, you gotta be able to lie!”

“W-will that really make me stronger?”

I was a little drunk, so I accidentally dropped my guard a bit. Thanks to that, day after day, he kept coming back.

“You again?” I was really starting to get tired of this.

“Teach me about goblins today, Master!”

“I’m not your master, stop calling me that.”

“Okay, please teach me about them, Ms. Olivia.”

“Ugh, fine, I’m bored, so just this once. Goblins are typically easy marks, so even you and your sloppy swordsmanship could probably handle them. You have to watch out for iron goblins though, you know, those gray ones? They’re hard to kill with a blade, you have to aim right for the eyes. And, of course, feint properly to land your hit.”

The boy scribbled in a notebook. He was so sincere. I had to wonder if I was ever like that. No, definitely not. I was always a bit of a cynic.

Even after a month, his interest never waned.

“Ms. Olivia, what’s the fastest way to get stronger?”

“Eating delicious food, fooling around with members of the opposite sex, and being admired by the masses, probably.”

“Isn’t that just indulging your baser desires?!”

“Yeah, but that’s what makes me strong.”

“You really are unusual, Master. I don’t think I could follow your example, so I’m just going to focus on learning to use my sword.”

I could feel my heart waver as I watched him run off. Maybe I really should take him under my wing.

The next day, ordering a drink at my usual watering hole, the bartender asked: “Olivia, are you doing okay?”

“Doing okay? What do you mean?”

“You know, with that apprentice of yours.”

“He’s not my apprentice.”

“Really? He’s always following you around, so I just assumed. But I heard he…”

I tilted my head in anticipation.

“I heard he died yesterday,” he said.

“What…?”

“Apparently, he fought a monster outside of town and got himself killed.”

I felt something unusual. It was almost like I’d been bashed in the head. The world started to spin, but I snapped myself out of it.

“Where…are his remains?”

When he told me, I ran as fast as I could to the church. The boy was lying on a cot, surrounded by a priest, an adult man, and a girl.

“Did you know him?” the priest asked.

I nodded and looked down at the boy’s body. His throat had claw marks on it. His carotid artery was severed, so he’d probably bled out.

“Are you his father and sister?” I asked, but they shook their heads.

“He has no family to speak of. I’m her father. My daughter snuck past the gate guards to pick flowers.”

“My friends told me it was a safe spot. I’m so sorry…” The girl, who had to be about ten, started to cry over the boy’s body. “He came to save me when those grey monsters attacked…”

The boy often went outside the town walls to practice with his sword. He may have been weak, but he could handle goblins on his own. But this time, he went up against an iron goblin. I’d never heard of them appearing in that area. There wasn’t really anything to say. He must’ve had really rotten luck.

“He bought my daughter time to run back to town. She asked the soldiers for help right away, but it was too late. They found the corpse of an iron goblin next to his body.”

“He killed it?”

“Stabbed right through the eye, I hear. It probably hit back even with the fatal wound.”

I touched the boy’s cold cheek. His beautiful, smooth skin didn’t have a mark on it.

I worked with the priest to dig his grave and lay him to rest. On my way back from the church, I found myself looking up at the sky. I could have sworn I saw his face smiling back at me.

“He remembered what I taught him.”

I shouldn’t have been surprised—he wrote it all down. He shouldn’t have been any match for that goblin, but he managed to land a killing blow.

I couldn’t help but wonder whether things would have been different if I’d actually trained him. If I’d become his master and Bestowed some kind of skill on him, he might have had a different future…

***

I waited for what felt like an eternity, trapped in the hidden dungeon. It was far too long for a mere human to tolerate. I went back through all sorts of memories, but in the end that boy’s smile kept coming back to me. I was in an endless pit of guilt. I started to think that maybe the chains were penance; it made me more inclined to accept my fate.

And yet I really wanted someone to talk to. I could have used my Telepathy skill to call out, but I gave up on that. There was a 99 percent chance no one would come.

That was, until one fateful day when Noir entered the hidden dungeon. My heart pounded with anticipation of what kind of person he might be. It had been so long since I’d seen someone else, even if he had a face like an orc, I might have fallen in love with him.

When I finally laid eyes on Noir, it felt like destiny—he looked almost exactly like that boy.

***

A little while after we met, Noir asked me a strange question. “Master, why are you so nice to me?”

<Huh? Where’s this coming from?>

“I mean, you gave me your really valuable skills at the drop of a hat, and now you’re teaching me all this stuff, even though I didn’t do anything to deserve it.”

I must’ve seemed like nothing more than a meddlesome young lady—and no, that wasn’t a mistake, I’m not giving up the title of “young lady” just yet.

I may not have been able to make facial expressions anymore, thanks to the cursed chains, but I could change the sound of my voice, so I made sure to sound especially cheery.

“Oh no, I’m in danger. I’ll tell you how to get out of those chains in another two hundred years.”

Maybe I was helping him just to make myself feel better. Maybe, even though I couldn’t change the past, I could rid myself of those lingering regrets. And I was happy that Noir took everything in.

“I love what a pushover my master is.”

I wanted Noir to take his time and grow strong. Although, of course I didn’t want him to surpass me. That way, I could be his master forever!