“There really isn’t anything around here..”

“This utter lack of defenses almost makes me think that they could be trying to lure us in..”

Shin acknowledged Schnee’s concern and used 【Magic Sonar】, 【Search】, and 【Sign Perception】 to inspect the interior of the cave more deeply and widely.

However, there was no sign of an ambush. The terrain itself was not suitable for ambushing.

“Let’s go a little bit further, if there really is nothing dangerous we’ll call the others and proceed together. We have no way of knowing if they are aware of our movements or not, after all. Let’s keep our eyes peeled and go on.”

“That’s the only way, I suppose.”

There was no end to their suspicions, so they decided to cast them away for the moment. Using precious time and risking putting Hermie in more danger was definitely not worth it.

The two entered the cavern and proceeded, wary of any traps.

“There’s someone.”

“It appears they haven’t noticed us yet.”

After roughly 10 minutes, Shin and Schnee had reached a small clearing in the cave, which housed a small lake. The path they had followed ended at the lake, but according to the map the body of water did not lead outside the cave.

Judging from the light shining on the water and the response from 【Sign Perception】, one person was in the lake, where the water was more shallow.

Shin, who had entered the lake without noise, activated 【Hiding】 and poked his head from the surface of the lake.

There he found several globes of light floating above the lake and, with her back to Shin, a woman submerged in water up to her hips.

The light globes were produced by the Light-type magic skill 【Instant Light】. It was a skill to create simple shining globes with no offensive or defensive capabilities, used often when exploring dark caves.

The woman was naked from her waist up. She was rather short, with white hair. Her body could not be defined easily too; it’s like a thin boy or a petite girl.

Seeing her, Shin had a hunch and used 【Analyze】.

“Milt - Level 255 - Conjurer”

“Affected by : 【Charm X】, 【Sleep VIII】, 【High Confusion IX】”

(Just as I thought..but what’s going on here..?)

Not even Shin could have predicted the status ailments.

First of all, the 【Sleep】 status would force the affected to sleep, preventing any movement.

Yet Milt was moving normally, as if nothing was affecting her.

Shin, however, was not completely unfamiliar with such a state.

Cardinal Greyl, who had warped Shin and Rionne from Bayreuth to the Sacred Place, was affected with 【Charm】 and 【Confusion】 in the same way.

The cardinal had managed to operate the console even in such a state. Apparently, even under the effect of such status conditions, one’s consciousness partly remained.

Shin thought that the same thing was likely happening to Milt now.

That considered, what was the next step to take..? Shin reflected.

Milt was Hermie’s kidnapper. There was no doubt that she was a member of “Ouroboros’ Hollow”.

Unmistakably, she was to be considered an enemy.

Additionally, she did not have anything equipped now; her defensive powers were at their lowest levels.

If Shin attacked her by surprise, he would have certainly been able to finish her.

“(It’s Hermie’s kidnapper, correct? Do you think we can subdue her now, without causing a commotion?)”

“(We could probably capture her, but she’s a former player too. Is it possible to use Mind Chat even under paralysis?)”

“(Yes, it’s possible. If we leave her asleep, we could make sure she never contacts her allies, though.)”

“(The problem is, she’s already affected by 【Sleep】. Since she can move in that state, it’s probably impossible to keep her asleep. It would be difficult to keep her unconscious too. If she can use Mind Chat, restraining her would be meaningless. Which means..)”

..the only way is to kill her.

Without voicing this thought, Shin looked again at Milt.

Schnee looked at Shin, but with an uneasy look in her eyes.

(This is a situation impossible in the game, and I have no solution..then, why do I feel that there’s still time..?)

Such an inexplicable sensation left Shin uncertain on how to move for several seconds.

Killing her was only in case she was an enemy. However, Milt was clearly not lucid, so Shin couldn’t decide to regard her as an enemy.

“....who goes there?”

Just a few seconds had passed. As if she was waiting for that moment, a soprano-like voice resounded in the space previously dominated only by the sound of water.

Milt’s red eyes were unmistakably looking at Shin and Schnee. Yet even if they were looking in their direction, her gaze seemed to be lost in space.