Free Web NovelThis time, Ian didn’t startle. The instant he sensed someone behind him, he knew it was Keith. By now, Keith throwing himself into protection first and asking questions later no longer felt strange.
‘Such ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) a dutiful man.’
“Another one’s coming,” Ian warned, muffled against Keith’s chest as he was held tightly in place.
“I see it.”
Even though Ian had practically swallowed sand to say it, Keith sounded utterly ungrateful.
Squinting through the storm, Ian tracked the approaching sand tornado as though he were playing a rhythm game. Almost immediately, regret hit him.
‘I should’ve brought goggles.’
Crossing a sandstorm wasn’t especially difficult for someone with enhanced physical abilities, precise body control, or enough experience. In situations like this, the only truly valuable item was something to shield the eyes from the sand. But in Ian’s reality, he hadn’t needed such low-level gear in years.
Still, experiencing a sandstorm firsthand instead of through a screen was an entirely different matter. The grit scraped at his eyes hard enough to make him feel like he’d developed an infection on the spot. They burned, dry and unbearably irritated.
“Close your eyes.”
“If I close my eyes, who’s going to watch the storm?”
“I will.”
“Then why don’t you dodge it for me?”
“Yes. That was my intention.”
“What?” Ian, already struggling just to speak through the storm, wondered if he’d misheard.
“Lord Ian, my eyesight is better than yours, and I’m faster on my feet.”
“Oh, congratulations.”
“...What I mean is that it would be more efficient if I handled your movement as well.”
“I have legs too.”
“Yes. I’m aware.”
‘Then why the hell is he carrying me?’
To shelter behind the sand pillar, they had no choice but to press tightly together. Ian’s arm was looped around Keith’s neck, while his hips rested awkwardly against Keith’s thighs.
“...Does my touching you make you uncomfortable, Lord Ian?” Keith asked quietly.
Ian immediately understood where this was coming from.
The night before, after capturing the bandits and returning to their room, they had performed their usual purification ritual. Keith’s contamination level had finally fallen into the thirties. Ian had been too exhausted to continue experimenting after that, and both of them had needed sleep. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
The problem was that contamination became far harder to reduce once it dropped below forty percent. Unlike before, progress slowed to a crawl. Which meant they had ended up sweating through entirely unnecessary exertion in the middle of the night.
And afterward, there had still only been one bed.
Ian had briefly considered telling Keith to sleep downstairs, but desert nights were freezing cold. Since Ian didn’t carry frivolous things like blankets in his inventory, they had ultimately been forced to sleep side by side.
The real issue was that desert travel had completely wrecked Ian’s sleep cycle. He’d grown accustomed to sleeping through the blazing daytime heat and staying active during the cool desert nights, so falling asleep had proven difficult. At first he’d lain rigidly on his back, but before long Keith’s steady breathing started getting on his nerves. So did the occasional brush of their arms.
Eventually, Ian had turned away.
A moment later, Keith turned toward him and asked in a low voice,
“Can’t you sleep?”
“No.”
“Is it because of me?”
“No?” Why would Keith have anything to do with Ian losing sleep?
“I thought perhaps you were uncomfortable sharing such a cramped bed with me.”
That answer had left Ian completely speechless.
Just remembering the absurd conversation soured his mood all over again.
“No?”
“Good. I was worried you might find me unpleasant.”
“...Why would I?”
Was he asking despite already knowing the answer? Ian frowned to himself. Though Keith didn’t seem calculating enough for that.
“You don’t seem like the type to lose sleep over sharing a bed,” Keith continued, “but you kept tossing and turning last night.”
“When have I ever slept well beside you?”
“Haven’t you always?”
‘...What?’
Ian genuinely couldn’t remember.
“I’m relieved it wasn’t because I forced you to read the scripture,” Keith added. “I would hate for you to resent me over that.”
“Do you think I’m a child?!”
Was that really what Keith had been worried about this entire time? Ian didn’t even know which part of it offended him most.
Keith gave a short laugh.
“Of course not. That would be... troublesome.”
Why would that be troublesome?
As the sandstorm weakened, their eyes met.
The wind swept through Keith’s disheveled hair. He had removed his heavy armor for mobility, leaving him dressed only in leather gear. Sunlight had bleached his golden hair nearly pale white, and with loose strands falling across his forehead, he looked at least ten years younger than he usually did in full armor.
Anyway.
This was the moment.
Before Ian could even signal him, Keith hoisted him higher and burst forward.
He moved with the instinctive precision of someone who had spent his entire life surviving sandstorms, weaving cleanly through the chaos until they reached the tower. Not once did he misstep, leaving Ian with absolutely no excuse to climb down.
“Whew. Thought I was going to get blown away.” The elf arrived a little later, wiping sweat from his brow.
At least the team itself was solid. With these three, clearing the tower wouldn’t be difficult. Ian already knew every monster type and attack pattern inside this place by heart.
The real problem was the traps.
“Alright, we made it here safely. From now on, stay alert. There are things in this tower you absolutely must not touch.”
“Must not touch?” the elf repeated.
“Yeah. Bricks with different colors, mimics disguised as treasure chests, floors that collapse under your weight...”
“This sounds similar to the traps in Lord Ian’s dungeon.” Keith raked a hand through his hair to shake off the sand, leaving it charmingly disordered.
‘Charming?’
Well, Ian was allowed to think Keith looked charming. Keith was three years younger than him.
‘Practically a kid.’
By modern standards, it felt like the difference between an experienced office worker and a college student.
“Yeah. It’s basically another dungeon. Except this one’s a higher level than mine. So unless you want to die to some magical trap, follow my lead.”
“Will Lord Ian guide us?” Keith asked as he reattached his armor.
“Obviously. Do you know the traps here?”
“No.”
“I do.”
“I see. So that’s because...”
“Divine blessing, obviously. Let’s move.”
Ian took the lead at once.
Keith nodded, and as Ian passed by him, something strange caught his eye.
‘...Is he smiling?’
Keith’s handsome face softened into a rare smile bright enough to change the atmosphere around him.
Ian lifted an eyebrow.
‘Didn’t he usually sigh at times like this? Or at least look reluctant?’
A faint sense of satisfaction bloomed in his chest.
‘Guess all that brainwashing paid off.’
Apparently, sincerity really did move people.
Feeling oddly lighter, Ian started up the tower staircase.
The stairs spiraled along the tower wall in a narrow curve with no railing whatsoever. One wrong step meant a fatal fall. Remembering how he had once accidentally killed his own character here during a casual run, Ian decided to warn them.
“Stick close to the wall. Don’t fall and crack your skull open. And be careful touching the walls too—”
Before he could finish saying, “There are colored bricks here as well,” a startled yelp sounded behind him.
“Huh?!”
It was the elf.
One of his arms had sunk into the wall as though swallowed whole. Then, in an instant, half his body was dragged inside.
“Wh—?!”
The elf’s eyes widened in terror.
Ian clenched his jaw and thought for exactly one-tenth of a second.
‘Should I just leave him?’
Trap mechanics were infamous for dragging out the tower clear time. There was a reason the Desert Tower had such a miserable reputation among players. The entire place was practically a monument to the developers’ obsessive desire to force players into one trap after another.
At one point, Ian had become so furious that he investigated every single trap in the tower and uploaded a complete guide online.
And by “investigated,” that naturally meant triggering every trap personally with his own character.
Visible traps. Hidden traps. Every last one.
‘How long did that take again?’
Definitely more than a month.
If he hadn’t wasted time on something so idiotic, he probably could’ve cleared the ending several more times by now. Looking back, it had been unbelievably stupid. But Ian had always done stupid things whenever he got worked up. Age hadn’t changed that, and probably never would.
Old habits die hard.
And now it was happening again.
Ian was still bitter over the experience points that damned elf had stolen from him.
What were the chances the elf would survive the trap and conveniently end up back in Ian’s hands afterward?
Before the thought had even fully formed, Ian shoved his hand into the wall.
Squelch.
With a nauseating sensation, his entire body was swallowed into the trap.
“Lord Ian!”
‘Ah. Keith.’
Ian always regretted things too late. That was simply the kind of person he was.
Might as well drag him along too.
