The 'poison', which is a state defect, was draining my strength.

　About fifteen minutes after I began using Dimension, a battle with a rank 1 monster occurred.
　I had been avoiding the monster the whole time, but by chance I found a monster that wasn't moving. The enemy was a rank 1, and from the looks of it, it only seemed to be sleeping.

　A larger frog that didn't move slightly under the rubble, which I wouldn't have been able to recognize if I hadn't used Dimension. Since its name was also simple as Big Frog, he used his sword to crush it, thinking that he could gain the experience of the example without any danger.

　And when he crushed it, its body fluids splashed out.

　That blow killed the Big Frog itself, but the body fluid ended up on my body.
　The important thing here is that my body was now a wreck, and wounds were everywhere on my body. Thus, the fluid that entered my wounds caused me to fall into the poisoning of my abnormal status.

　After confirming the poison from my status, I paled and immediately used the antidote from my tools.
　But the poison is not lifted.

　Checking the details of the remaining antidote, I realize the seriousness of the situation.


[Antidote]
　A common antidote that is available over the counter. Formulated against Poison Bee's poisonous attacks.
　For all other poisons, there's a 5% chance of successful detoxification.


　Suddenly it's hard to breathe.

　If the indications are correct, there are different kinds of antidotes.　
　In other words, I now have only 5% of this poison to get rid of. Sure enough, I didn't hit that 5%, and I used up all of the antidote.

"--no, no, no. Oh, no, no, no.

　I could no longer afford it.
　I was sweating profusely and my strength was diminishing.
　Although I put the magic 《ice》 ice in my mouth and rehydrate myself, there is no way to recover my HP on the system.

　Unbearably, I check my status.


【Status】
　Name: Aikawa Uzumi HP17/51 MP61/72
　Level 1.
　Strength 1.12 Strength 1.01 Skill 1.03 Speed 2.02 Wisdom 4.00 Magic 2.01 Element 7.00　
　State: confusion 1.09 blood loss 0.21 poison 1.00


　HP 17/51.
　HP, which at one point had recovered naturally to nearly 30, is now 17.
　The poison, which is decreasing by 1 every few minutes, is not only reducing my realistic physical strength, but also my spirit through frustration.

''Haha, haha, haha--!

　My breath is ragged and my consciousness is blurring.

　I'm going to die if I don't.

　In the corner of my head, I ponder a solution.
　I have several ideas, but the probability of success is low for all of them.
　I choose some of them - I decide to sacrifice the extra MP and layer Dimension on top of it to make it stronger.

　This is the method I confirmed when I was rehydrating with Ice, and even if it's the same magic, the effect seems to be different depending on the conditions, and the strength of the power you put in and the amount of MP consumed seems to strengthen the effect.

''--Di, Dimension!

　The range of perceptions swells many times over.
　Amidst the abundance of characteristic monsters, I devote my attention to only those that lead to a solution.

　Then, when the perceptual range had expanded to about fifty times, I found a major difference in the corridor.

　The corridor was well maintained.
　To some extent, the floor was even and coated with some other mineral.
　There are lights at regular intervals, like an artificial path.

　This is the center of the path, which further widens our senses.
　Then, I realized that several pairs of people were walking on that well-maintained path.

　I immediately terminate the 《Dimension》.
　My remaining MP was depleted to single digits.


[Status]
　HP 16/51 MP 9/72


"Pffft!　Ha, ha, ha: ......

　I found people.
　And those people weren't in trouble when they passed another group of people.

　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of your time with us.
　I remember the content of the conversation I had when I was attacked. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to get the best out of it. In other words, the path I'm on now is outside of the controlled area, so a conflict will occur, and because that path is within the controlled area, no conflict will occur. I predict that there is a good chance of that happening. Rather, I can only bet on that possibility.

With a minimum of 《dimensioning》, we'll go all the way to that place ......!

　I walk as fast as I can towards the well-worn path.
　I stop checking my dwindling HP and just walk around looking for people.

　I get the antidote from the corpse.
　Whether I get it or not, I can't start talking about it until I meet the person first.

　My eyes bleed and I try not to let go of my consciousness and keep moving my feet.
　And then--


　◆◆◆◆◆


Shall we go up to the 10th level today?
Good. You've been on a roll lately. You should be making a lot of money going that far.
I'm with you.

　He eavesdropped on the men's conversation from the shadows.
　From the content of the conversation, it seemed that these three men were making a living in the labyrinth.

　However, none of the three men looked like hard-hearted people in their appearance.
　If it were my world, they would be cocky men who would be yakuza.
　It was the right decision to use what MP I didn't have and pick up the conversation first with a stronger Dimension.

　By the way, I now had 4 MP left.

　I continued to think in the shadows near the well-maintained path.

　For me, one-on-one dialogue is preferable. Furthermore, I prefer someone younger, female, or good-natured looking - someone who fits one of these criteria. But we can't have high hopes. Even now, I'm still losing HP from the poison.

......-- Magic Dimension

　I use my last MP (but I'm afraid to reduce my MP to 0, so I keep 1) and start looking for someone who is close to the condition with Dimension.

　I scouted out a roughly 200 meter perimeter and found four parties.
　First, the three men from earlier. Next, a group of five men and women dressed in mixed gender disparate attire and a group of four men and women dressed in mixed gender silver armor. Finally, a pair of women.

　A quick decision is made, and we decide on the female duo.
　Since they seemed to be quiet and kind, they might be able to help us depending on what we discussed.

　However, since we have a group of five people and a group of silver armor between us on the way, we decide to pass it off in the shadows.
　I decided to hold my breath and let it pass as it was - I was ......, but

Hey. Whoever is hiding in there, come out.

　A group of silver armor detects that I'm hiding in a group of silver armor.
　The five men in disparate outfits didn't find me, but somehow this group seems to recognize me in their blind spot.

　My heart leaps out of my chest.
　However, this was the group that was second in priority. I regain my composure and assemble the conversation in my head.
　Then I put my one-handed sword in the shadows and slowly make my way out onto the well-maintained path.

'Hmm. Just stealing things?

　One of the men in silver armor asks me as if it's nothing.

　The four men in silver armor looked very wealthy, unlike the humans they had met before.
　However, only one of the four was a girl, and that caught my attention horribly.

　She was about the same age as me and close to my height. And horribly - yes, horrible is the right word - beautiful. She has long hair that looks as if gold sand is flowing through it, and a well-made face that even a doll can't seem to reproduce.

　I immediately turn away from the girl.
　The girl has a sense of unreality on her body, and she is robbing me of my sense of reality.

　I have no choice but to turn to the tallest and most sincere-looking man I can find and talk to him.

'Well, I'm not a thief ....... I wasn't feeling well, so I was taking a break.
'Then why don't you rest on the 'righteous path'? Don't tell a lie you'll soon find out.

　Immediately my story is denied by the man.
　I also feel a little bit of anger there.

　Apparently, this well-maintained path is called the "positive path" and is suitable for resting. The fact that we were so vigilant that we didn't go into a well-developed path has turned out to be our revenge.

　I made a mistake in my first move, and my blood was starting to run cold.

''There was a reason why I couldn't rest on the 'right-of-way' ....... There is no harm in it. Trust me.

　I decide that lying is counterproductive and decide to make a sincere appeal.
　In front of me, he looks angry that I lied to him.
　If he's as honest as he appears to be, I better go along with it.

'...... Hmmm. Surely you're not alone in your ambush.

　The man's face softened a bit.
　The other men agreed with his response.

'It's just one kid. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter.
'Most likely he wandered in, or tried recklessly. Or maybe the party that was helping with the luggage was wiped out and they were left alone.

　Men who take the liberty of interpreting it for their own convenience.
　In the first place, they don't seem to see me, a battered me, alone as a major threat.

　I'm going to keep an eye on them to prevent things from getting too big.

'Don't scare the kids too much, Hein. It's against our chivalry.
...... I know. But we should be very careful, shouldn't we?

　There is also an air of tomfoolery in the company.
　The word "chivalry" is heard, and I expect that these people are the good-natured kind. You can see that they have the luxury of time from their wealthy appearance. If you want to take a gamble, now might be the time.

　I was about to call out to them for advice about the poison, when

Oh, um...
'You (...) sound interesting (・・・・・・・).'

　His words were interrupted by a girl who was nearby.

　Before I knew it, the girl had come closer to me.
　And those fantastic golden eyes catch me.
　Eyes that are too beautiful, eyes that are chipping away at many things about me.　

　The men are surprised by the girl's sudden action and call out to her.

''Eh, um, miss ....... What can you request ......?
'Oh, I'm sorry. It's nothing.

　As I said this, the girl was coming closer to me.
　I wanted to scream.
　I wanted to scream at her to get away from me.
　But my throat is thirsty and sticky and I can't speak.

'Hey, wait a minute ......!　Please refrain from any contact with other adventurers!

　One of the men raised his voice.

'This is just fine. They won't let us touch anything else, so we can at least have a little chat.
'That's true, but ......

　The refutation of the girl's words is cut off, as if the men have something to agree with.
　Thus, the little girl cut it off as close as I could get to her.

You're really funny, aren't you?

　I whispered it so only I could hear.

'It's funny. I'm so jealous. Really. ....... I'm really, really jealous of .......

　That whisper is only heard by me.

　I suddenly look at the girl's face.
　Her face was twisted.
　An expression that lets me know she's really jealous of me.
　From an angle, I'm the only one who can see it.
　Hence, the men were just watching on.

I love ....... I love it, I love it, I love it ......--

　And the girl continues to whisper, as if to curse.
　I can only endure the curse that continues to be whispered from her mouth, which is prepared like a goddess.

Hey, how can I help you?　Or did you see something with 'those eyes'?

　The numbed man asks the question.

　With that, the girl's face quickly switched to a blank expression.
　The girl smiled and turned around to face the men.

'Yes, something like that.'

　The girl screams radiantly, as if the curse from earlier was a lie.

''Oh, I see. And since you have some interesting skills?
No, it's not. Apparently, this person ...... has been poisoned and has little energy. I thought I'd cast a recovery spell on him.

　I'm like, "What? I let out a voice.
　The blood began to circulate, as if the sun was shining on his frozen body.

'I see. 'I see.'
Well, that's very sweet of me, but I'm gonna help people.

　Saying that, the girl turns to me and starts chanting magic.

''Chant to the caressing sunlight,'' ''Carding water is an illusion, the blood that never returns,'' ''Hold out heaven and earth.''

　The pure white light fluffily overflows from the girl's hand and envelops my body.
　Along with that, the weariness and pain that had been clinging to my body eased.
　It's a good thing that you're able to do this in a way that will make you feel better.

　The only thing I can do is to watch.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few minutes of your time.

"--Cure Fool. Okay, it's over.

　The girl stopped the eruption of light and smiled at me.
　There doesn't seem to be any of the jealousy-like emotions I saw earlier in her expression.

　And then the girl says, 'Let's see,' and looks at me even more.

''Hmm, heh, ho. That 'confusion', it's not a bad status, is it? It's interesting. Oh, and the burns seem to have been treated too late, so they'll leave a mark.

　The girl nodded admiringly.
　'Confusion,' she said. If the word is true, I--'


[Status]
　Name: Aikawa Uzumi HP51/51 MP1/72
　Level 1.
　Strength 1.12 Strength 1.03 Skill 1.03 Speed 2.02 Wisdom 4.00 Magic 2.01 Element 7.00　
　State: confusion 1.00


　The word 'Confusion' remains.
　And is the girl also able to see this 'indication'?
　It may not be the same thing, but at least I seem to be perceiving it in some way.

　Seeing me, the girl smiles thinly and speaks softly, so that only I can hear her.

'See you again, Aikawa Kanami. My name is Rustyala.
'...... Miss?'　What's going on?

　So the knights, who had made sure that the recovery magic was finished, joined them.

'No, whatever. Oh, it feels good to help people. Now, let's go to the back. We don't have much time.

　The girl who calls herself Rustyala pulls away from me as if she has nothing more to do.
　Quickly I squeeze my voice out.

'Oh, thank you ......'
It's okay. I'll have it back soon.

　Rustyala responded with a smile like a predator aiming at its prey.
　Of course, that face is at an angle that only I can see.

'Well then, kid, see you later. Be careful.
Straight home.
It must be.

　The other men have small smiles on their faces, too.
　But I don't feel the same harm from the men as I do from Rastiara.
　It's probably a smile of relief and a sense of accomplishment for protecting the weak.

　The knights don't mind.
　But let's get away from this Rastiara and his ilk as soon as possible.

''Yes, thank you. Well then, ladies and gentlemen, see you--

　With that said, I proceeded in the opposite direction from the girls on the well-maintained path - the "right path".
　This is the right exit.
　The men looking off at me also waved their hands without question.

　I responded with an affectionate smile and parted ways with that group.