The Magician Alicia

“Seriously, what kind of person even does something like that?! You actually did that to me… I’m your lifesaver, you know!”

Having just woken up and pieced together what happened, Alicia immediately launched into an endless stream of complaints.

From Ye Yousheng’s actions to his ragged appearance, she criticized everything.

Meanwhile, Ye Yousheng simply leaned against the wall, closed his eyes, and pretended she didn’t exist.

“Hey! Are you even listening?!”

His physical condition was already terrible, and now this noisy girl was dragging down his mental state too.

But if he didn’t respond, she’d just keep going.

Left with no choice, he replied impatiently,

“Didn’t I already apologize? And it’s not like I actually did anything…”

“You still dare say that?!”

The moment she recalled what had happened, the anger that had just begun to settle flared up again.

She grabbed her staff and prepared to cast Fireball.

“Hey, stop. If you hit me again, I’ll actually die.”

Ye Yousheng immediately stepped back into a defensive stance.

As long as he kept his distance, he could dodge easily with his reaction speed—after all, fireballs were much slower than bullets.

That said, the previous fireball hadn’t directly hit him, but it had still grazed his side due to the suddenness of it.

It had burned his clothes and taken away 7 HP.

The HP he had barely recovered to double digits had dropped back into single digits again.

Alicia narrowed her eyes and scanned him from head to toe.

“That’s a lie! You don’t even have a single wound on you!”

“That’s just on the surface. Internally, I’m seriously injured. Didn’t you see how wrecked my clothes are?”

Calling it internal injury wasn’t entirely wrong.

With less than one digit of HP and pain radiating through his entire body, all Ye Yousheng wanted to do was lie down and rest.

“…Hmph!”

“And stop calling yourself my lifesaver. I carried you back to the safe room while you were unconscious, so we’re even.”

Both had saved each other—but the scale was completely different.

Alicia saving him had been an act of justice.

But Ye Yousheng saving her had been risking his life while already on the brink.

He could have easily abandoned her and escaped alone—it would’ve been far easier.

Yet he chose to carry her anyway.

Repaying kindness was his rule.

No matter who helped him or why, he would always return the favor.

Alicia wasn’t unreasonable.

Her earlier outburst was just because she had woken up to… that situation.

Now that she’d calmed down, she realized she hadn’t even introduced herself.

“Right… I’m Alicia. What’s your name? Judging by you, you’re an Otherworlder, right?”

“Yeah. Ye Yousheng.”

He nodded and gave his name.

“So you really are one… Guess I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong. You probably could’ve handled Death Knell easily, right? Otherworlders are always strong…”

“No. Honestly, if you hadn’t shown up, I’d be dead. Thanks for saving my life.”

“Eh? Ah—no, it’s nothing…”

Caught off guard by his sudden gratitude, Alicia waved her hands nervously.

Then she lowered her head and muttered softly,

“I should be the one thanking you… thank you.”

“Since you saved me, why not go all the way? Can you lend me a healing potion? I’ll return two when we get out.”

The mood had just softened—

And Ye Yousheng immediately ruined it.

He was still thinking about that potion.

He wanted his HP back as soon as possible so he could leave this place.

Safe room or not, who knew what might happen?

Alicia stared at him for a while, as if making up her mind.

“…Fine. I’ll give you one.”

She reached into her chest area and pulled out a cylindrical vial filled with red liquid.

In the process, her chest swayed noticeably.

Ye Yousheng?

Still completely expressionless.

Alicia puffed her cheeks slightly, clearly dissatisfied.

“Here.”

She tossed the potion to him.

“Hey—what if it broke… huh? This is… plastic?”

Catching it, Ye Yousheng was surprised to find the container wasn’t glass—it was plastic.

“Yeah. It’s one of the new materials brought by you Otherworlders. It’s not fragile like glass and super lightweight. It’s used everywhere now.”

“Convenient, huh…”

As someone from the modern world, he knew exactly how useful plastic was.

But he also knew the cost that came with that convenience.

This subtle trace of ‘science’ made him think of something far more dangerous.

A weapon he once relied on.

Guns.

If firearms existed in this world…

Then even without magic, he might still—

“By the way, I didn’t expect you to find a safe room.”

Alicia looked around the thirty-square-meter room excitedly.

“I heard there’s one every ten floors in the dungeon, but aside from the first floor, this is my first time entering one!”

Ye Yousheng refocused.

“Do you know where this room comes from?”

“Mm. I heard it’s blessed by the Goddess of Life!”

She brightened immediately.

“They say she pitied adventurers and created these rooms. Though some people think it was actually built by the dungeon’s creator… others say it’s just a resting place for the dungeon’s master. There are lots of theories, but I like the goddess blessing one—it’s more romantic~”

Once she started, she kept going.

“Oh, and the first floor of the dungeon was gradually conquered because the Adventurers’ Guild’s second president used the safe room as a base!”

“…I see.”

Ye Yousheng’s honest reaction?

Useless information.

He still had no clue where the room actually came from.

A blessing from the Goddess of Life…

He could just ask Yiwu later.

Though he doubted she had anything to do with it, considering she was sealed inside his phone.

Just like the origin of the dungeon itself, its structure was full of mysteries.

Maybe that’s why it was called a ‘labyrinth.’

Because everything about it was confusing.

The only real clue might be the blue seal engraved on the wall.

He had a feeling the monsters avoided this room because of it.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Ye Yousheng opened the plastic vial and drank the entire healing potion in one gulp.

Feeling his HP steadily recover, he wiped his mouth and said,

“Alright. Time to leave.”