Chapter 132: Calling Long

"...I am prepared for that! Besides, if it came down to protecting Nuoya, I probably would not save you either. So we would be even!"

This is getting way too serious...

The exchange between the two was so solemn, but both Viktor’s warning and Warren’s determination felt far too heavy to Qiu Nuoya.

Please stop! You do not need to make declarations like this! It’s way too serious. Can’t we all just work together peacefully and clear the dungeon as a team?

"Do not forget what you have just said."

"I understand."

Seriously, wait! This is just a case of one thing leading to another! Stop glaring at each other like you’re about to start a fight! He could protect himself!

He was happy that the two of them loved him, in whatever form that love took, but their excessive affection was going to crush him.

Across from Viktor, Igor could not hide his exasperated expression either. But then...

"Nuoya really is popular with everyone, huh? Of course, I’ll protect you too, so you can rest easy."

Qiu Nuoya could not tell whether Igor was trying to lighten the mood with a joke or pour oil on the fire. He simply gave a small "Thank you." Honestly, he had no idea what else he was supposed to say at this point.

If he was being honest, Qiu Nuoya had spent most of his life heading straight down the path of being unpopular. Situations like this genuinely left him at a loss. The atmosphere was so uncomfortable that he wanted to disappear.

After all, everyone was fighting over him. Him! What was even happening!?

Qiu Nuoya was not the kind of person with such a flower filled mind that he could get carried away thinking, "Everyone, please don’t fight over me!" Nor was he that kind of character. More importantly, he had never wanted a situation like this in the first place.

And the fact that every single person involved in this ridiculous rivalry was a man made it feel even more wrong somehow. Where had all the female characters gone!?

By filling his party with nothing but a bunch of rough looking men, Qiu Nuoya had drastically lowered his chances of meeting any girls. On top of that, he had somehow become the party’s biggest mascot, so even when women approached them, he was somehow the one left out of the whole situation.

He understood, really. Men like Igor and Viktor were naturally popular. And Warren had become much more handsome and dignified lately, so he had apparently started attracting girls’ attention in secret as well.

Yet somehow, every single one of them was far too interested in him, and he simply could not understand why.

Would this pointless rivalry never end unless Qiu Nuoya actually got himself a lover?

He had kept putting the issue off by making excuses about his age, his sense of ethics, and various other reasons. But perhaps it was finally time for him to seriously consider dating someone.

Though, with this many overprotective busybodies around him, he doubted he could actually date anyone!

[ Nuoyaaa~ Are we going somewhere today? ]

Mochi bounced up and down at Qiu Nuoya’s feet.

Qiu Nuoya scooped Mochi up into his arms and hugged its squishy body tightly. "Mochi, you’re my source of healing!"

After all the discussion, the four of them finished preparing and arrived together at the forty eighth floor of the Dungeon Castle.

When they stepped through the teleportation magic gate leading to the forty eighth floor, they found themselves on a small sandy beach. Behind them was a staircase, while stretching out endlessly before them was exactly what they had been told to expect: a vast ocean.

"It’s really the sea..." Qiu Nuoya had understood that each floor of the dungeon was connected to another dimension, but even so, the sight of an enormous ocean spreading out before him deep underground was still impossible to comprehend.

This really is another world, isn’t it? He knew that already, but somehow, reality still hasn’t caught up with him.

"It’s quite a hopeless sight, isn’t it?"

"Definitely. After going through all that trouble to get here, seeing this would make anyone want to turn around and go home. We can’t even see any land. For that matter, does this place even have an end?"

"My exploration search can detect monsters, but it cannot detect any land." Viktor had previously told Qiu Nuoya that his exploration range was about five kilometers in areas without obstacles. If that was the case, then it seemed certain that there was nothing but ocean for at least five kilometers in every direction.

"Can I try it too?"

Even though Long could fly, Qiu Nuoya thought it would be difficult for him to keep flying for several kilometers without any rest. They also needed some idea of which direction to head in. If Qiu Nuoya could find land using his search ability, they could simply aim for that first.

With that in mind, Qiu Nuoya decided to try using his search ability.

He surrounded himself with wind and infused it with his own magic power. Since there was no need to worry about what was behind him this time, he focused entirely on the area ahead and released his magic.

A gust of wind swept over the waves, carrying Qiu Nuoya’s magic across the sea. He concentrated on detecting any changes in his magic as it spread.

He could sense the presence of monsters and their presence appeared and disappeared intermittently. Perhaps they were monsters swimming near the surface. It seemed that his search ability could not detect very far beneath the water.

"Hmm... I can’t find any land." ℴℴ𝘮

"Even Nuoya cannot detect it? Then we really are completely stuck. It would probably be best to prepare ourselves for the possibility that there is no land for at least several dozen kilometers."

At this point, Qiu Nuoya could not help agreeing with Igor’s earlier words. The situation really was hopeless.