"ROAR!!!!"
The cave shook again. With the help of Blair's familiar dragon, we made it to one of the safe zones. However, the path we came from is now blocked by the fallen boulders...
I wonder if Elise and Alisa are alright... I don't think this happened in the novel...
"Y/N! I found the source of the loud roar earlier."
I turn over to Blair who crouched down behind a rock. I walk over to her and crouch behind the boulder to get a view.
It was a Large Mutated Weretiger. It was a little strange though... It had a red aura surrounding it, and its eyes were red. Rather than trying to cause trouble, it looked more like it was experiencing... pain?
Just then, I see another pair of students draw their blades on the Weretiger.
"Die, monster!"
They slash their blades at the Weretiger.
"ROAR!!"
The Weretiger fiercely scratched at the pair. One of them was sent flying while the other narrowly dodged.
"Y-you... How could you do that to him?! I'll kill you...!"
He let out a battle cry as he charged forward recklessly.
His form is sloppy. His technique is gone. Now only remains pure rage.
"He's gonna-!"
I get up and rush towards him.
The Weretiger uses its jaws, about to devour the student.
Just then, I manage to tackle the student to the side.
Blair comes running from her hiding spot.
"Y/N! You reckless fool, what are you doing?!"
The Weretiger stares at me, not attacking.
"I...I'm not...a mon...ster...."
My eyes widened. Is it talking to me?
"Hurry...! Kill it...!"
The student shouts anxiously. Could he not hear the Weretiger?
[Host. A new quest has been assigned. Save the student and find out the truth behind the dungeon.]
Save the student..? Haven't I already... Could the system be referring to another student...?
I continue staring at the Weretiger. It doesn't seem to want to attack me. Did it only attack the student as an act of self-defence?
Furthermore... it seems this Weretiger has the ability to communicate with me...
I sheathe my blade and walk towards the Weretiger.
"Hold on- Y/N, what are you doing?! You're practically defenceless now!!"
I reach my hand out to the Weretiger. It seemed surprised, but it leaned closer and nuzzled its face into my hand.
It's as I suspected. This isn't an ordinary Weretiger. It's more intelligent than a normal Weretiger... As for the red aura around it, it must have something to do with this...
Save the student...
My eyes widen again. Could it be.. the student...
I stare at the Weretiger, who seems to be in greater pain now.
"H-help...me..."
[Host. In order to dispel the cursed places on the student, find the source of the curse and destroy it.]
The source... I glance at the mutated part of the Weretiger. It looks like a parasite...
"Batman..."
"Hm? What is it, master?"
"Do me a favour, could you destroy that mutated part of the Weretiger?"
Batman tilts his head before shrugging it off.
"Sure, master."
He gathers his magic and fires at the mutated part of the Weretiger.
The Weretiger suddenly roared in pain. That's it... that's the source...
The red aura around the Weretiger started dissipating before it completely disappeared. Only then did the Weretiger calm down with a wave of exhaustion washing over it.
After a few seconds, the Weretiger collapsed.
"Eh- What did you do?"
The student seemed surprised that the Weretiger was taken down so easily.
Blair shot me a knowing look. She knows the system had helped in stopping the Weretiger.
Not long after, the form of the Weretiger was gone, and now it was a girl who looked around my age... lying on the ground... naked...
I got out a robe from my inventory before placing it over her. I look towards the student, and Blair had already knocked him out.
I picked the girl up and brought her to the safe zone we found earlier. We made a campfire to warm the girl up and discuss our plans.
As for the two students we met earlier, we left them near the exit of the dungeon. They'd wake up eventually.
"Y/N, what do you plan on doing with the girl..."
"I'm not sure... But we have to find out what's going on with the dungeon. There's no way a human could've become a Weretiger..."
The girl begins stirring in her sleep.
"Oh, she's waking up. That saves us a lot of trouble."
The girl slowly opens her eyes, blinking a few times.
"Where... am I...?"
She glances over at Blair and I.
"I'm... human again...?"
She turns back to me. She seems to have recognised me from earlier...
"Thank you very much... for helping me."
"It's no problem. How did you end up like this?"
The girl looks down and sighs.
"It's a long story..."
She begins.
"I was a student at the academy. We were delving into the academy dungeon, it wasn't our first time, but something was odd..."
"We got to one of the lower levels, but my partner disappeared and I was alone. After that, I felt an immense pain... my bones were broken and twisted. Next thing I knew, I became a Weretiger..."
She clutches onto the robe as she says this...
"Do you know why you became a Weretiger..? Or how long you were like that?"
"I... I'm not sure how I became a Weretiger.. but it felt like forever... I was like that for a few months already."
"A few months... so before we got into the academy... The transformation must have something to do with the parasite.."
"Parasite?"
"The Weretiger you transformed into had a weird parasite mutation on it. After destroying it, you were able to revert back into a human."
Blair explains for me. Meanwhile, I'm deep in thought... the dungeon secret... the system did mention something like that... I wonder what it is...
"Oh, right! What's your name? It's awkward not having something to address you by..."
"My name... it's...Hazel... Hazel Albrecht."
"Albrecht?"
Blair seems surprised.
"As in the Albrecht noble family of knights?"
"Yes... that's right."
Seeing her reaction, Hazel must be some big shot...
"Hazel, you mentioned your partner disappearing right before you transformed, right?"
"Yes... He did."
"Do you think he might have transformed as well...?"
Hazel's eyebrows furrowed.
"It's possible... I just hope he's alright."
Our goal now is to find Hazel's partner and discover the truth behind this dungeon...
What happened to Hazel which caused her to transform? Why did her partner disappear? What is this dungeon doing to the students?
There are too many questions to answer.