CHAPTER 58: CH 58: HITTING LEVEL 50

"Cane, are you even alive? Darn it—! I will miss you, buddy. Your sacrifice will never be forgotten. Watch me avenge you from the heavens—!"

The monster hardened his jaw before something burst out of his mouth. Cane jumped out of the monster, and he quickly ran toward Ai’s side.

"Dani, you bastard. I almost died because of you. Do you have any idea how costly some of the items in my inventory are? Who would have compensated me for them?"

Cane asked as he huffed to catch his breath.

The smell inside the monster’s mouth was awful, and he quickly bought a refreshing pack to clean himself up.

But even after that, the feeling of saliva dripping down his body did not stop.

"Hey, don’t blame me. I just wanted you to have an experience... that is all. I never expected you to actually be in danger—! Darn it, the monster is coming. Get ready."

Dani called everyone’s attention back to the monster, and Ai fired off a blast of magic before anyone could react.

Unlike the other two, Ai had a blank look on her face, and she was not looking at the monster. Instead, her attention was on Dani and Cane.

"You both look... very close to each other. Have you known each other for a long time?"

She asked, her voice going low and dangerous. It made the other two shiver, and Dani quickly let go of Cane once he noticed where Ai was looking.

"Woah, miss—! Back down a little there. I think there has been a misunderstanding. I am not interested in Cane romantically. Actually, even if I look like this, I am a man in real life. I am more likely to be attracted to you and... please back off?"

Ai reached Dani, and she extended her hand. She placed it on Dani’s shoulder, and Dani closed his eyes, waiting for something to happen. But nothing happened.

Instead, Ai just looked at Dani with a confident look on her face.

"I am glad that you and Cane are close, but how about you try and maintain some distance from him. Not that I can tell you what to do. But it would be in your interest to pull back in time..."

Ai’s words sounded confident but also served as a warning for Dani not to try anything funny. Before Cane could say anything in his and Dani’s defence, Dani shook her head and agreed.

"Of course—! I get what you mean. Even I think I have been acting far too close to Cane right now. Here, I will keep my distance from him."

Dani raised his hand and quickly pulled back. He also gave Cane an almost amused look that Cane ignored.

The monster on the other side of the room shook off the debris and came after them once more. It was not done with them just yet.

"Tsk, looks like it is not over yet."

Cane spoke as he watched the monster hurry toward them. But Dani was ready this time and finally decided to be of use.

"I am finally done with my spell. Let me show you how a priestess catches its prey."

Dani told them, and a huge spell was cast over the area. The monster became slow as well because of it as it struggled to get away.

But it had not sustained an injury.

Cane gave Dani a stare, and Dani just gritted his teeth.

"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and end it. Do you really think a support class like mine has any attacking skills?"

Dani asked, and Ai finally relented before she blasted the monster to bits and pieces. The fallen bodies of the boss fell across the room, and the system let them know that they had leveled up.

"You want to run another round?"

Cane asked Dani, but his attention was on Ai instead. Dani reached out to grab Ai’s hands, and Ai took a step back.

The grip Dani had on Ai prevented her from being able to go too far.

"Miss, I have played a lot of female characters over the years, but I have never been able to have a character like yours. Can you tell me your secret behind your strength? Is it your level? Your weapon? Your configuration—?"

Cane pulled Dani off Ai as he realized that Ai was looking more and more uncomfortable. She was shooting Cane a few desperate looks to get him to help.

He felt sorry for her and also a little annoyed at Dani’s eagerness to get to know Ai.

"Dani, give Ai some space to breathe. You are making her feel uncomfortable."

Cane ignored the part of his brain that told him that he was feeling jealous at the moment. He ignored that part of him and instead chose to focus on the boss monster and his exp.

He was close to hitting level 50 with a few more runs.

"Alright, fine~ I guess I have no choice but to give up for now. But don’t think it’s over."

Dani yelled as they reset the domain for another run and then another until Cane hit level 50.

By the time Cane finally hit level 50, his legs felt heavy, and even Ai looked a little winded. Dani, on the other hand, seemed completely unaffected, bouncing on his feet as if he could keep going for another ten hours straight.

"Level 50, huh? Not bad. I knew you could do it."

Dani said with an annoyingly proud grin, wiping nonexistent sweat from his forehead.

Cane rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah, well... thanks. Both of you."

Ai stepped closer, her expression softening in a way that made Cane tense.

"Congratulations. You worked hard. And... thank you for helping me earlier."

Cane waved her off quickly.

"It was nothing. Dani’s the one who needs to learn boundaries."

"Hey—!"

Dani protested, but Ai’s glare shut him up instantly.

For a moment, the three of them simply stood there, the dungeon lights flickering gently around them, and Cane felt... strangely content.