Chapter 1: The Great Crisis of the Heavy Knight Alette

On this day, Alet faced the greatest crisis of his adventuring career.

When the Crystal Thorn Adventurers descended to the Sixth Layer of the Dungeon, they were besieged by a massive horde of monsters.

There were four people in the party, with Alet being the only man.

The leader of the adventurers was Melro, a descendant of the Blood Clan.

There was also Flav, a pure-blooded elven girl and a Bard.

Then Della, a half-dragon Mage from Silver City.

And finally, Alet, a Heavy Knight of the human race.

The sixth layer of the dungeon, commonly known as the Lava Heat Zone, was an area of blistering temperatures, with the landscape shaped by countless lakes of magma and jagged, uneven rock walls.

At this moment, the Crystal Thorn Adventurers were surrounded by a species of monsters called Lava Slugs.

These creatures moved slowly, without fangs or claws, but their squishy bodies were filled with scalding lava. Even getting near them risked severe burns.

The Crystal Thorn Adventurers had already been trapped for several hours by the encircling slugs.

The Mage’s mana was nearly depleted, the leader and the Bard were utterly exhausted. Only Alet remained, using the Sand and Gravel from the ground to build defenses and slow the slugs’ advance.

“This won’t do. If this goes on, we’ll all be dragged to death here…”

Melro’s pale, beautiful face was slick with sweat from the oppressive heat, her blood-red eyes full of fatigue and disgust toward the monsters.

The next moment, by habit, she turned her gaze to the Heavy Knight beside her.

“Alet.”

“Milady, I’m here.”

“You stay and cover our retreat. Della and I will get out first, and come back with help for you later.”

“I understand, Milady.”

With that, Alet suddenly raised his Greatshield and began striking its surface with the blade of his sword.

With several crisp clangs echoing out, the resonating sound waves instantly drew all the slugs’ attention.

Taking advantage of this opening Alet created, Melro and the other two found a gap and broke through, escaping from the Sixth Layer of the Dungeon.

How many times had he acted as the rear guard now?

Alet could hardly remember.

It seemed that whenever they encountered a life-or-death crisis, he was always the one left behind to cover the retreat.

Watching the steadily advancing Lava Slugs wriggling toward him, Alet felt the heat inside his heavy Steel Armor growing more and more unbearable.

It was as if he’d been thrown into a scorching oven.

But it didn’t matter.

He trusted Miss Melro.

As long as he could hold out, he believed that Miss Melro would return and rescue him.

Alet was a member of the adventuring party.

But at first, he had only been Melro’s Servant.

His village had been destroyed by war, and he became an Orphan wandering the lands. Melro took him in, seeing his good looks and some small potential, and raised him as her personal Servant.

Later, the Noble Lady gradually gave up her noble life and began adventuring in the dungeon.

Naturally, Alet followed her.

It was Miss Melro who gave him a second chance at life.

And so, he would use his life to protect her.

The slugs drew closer, from fifty meters to twenty.

Rolling waves of heat and flying sparks washed over him, striking his Steel Armor before bouncing away.

The temperature of his armor climbed higher and higher, almost turning it into a slab for roasting meat.

If it had been any other Heavy Knight, perhaps they would have given up in the face of such a dead end.

After all, Heavy Knight was widely known on this continent as a Wasted Class.

Obvious weaknesses, feeble attack, easily replaced—fit only to be a “tin-plated tortoise” on the defense.

But Alet was different.

Though he knew he had chosen a Wasted Class, he had never given up or tried to change class. Instead, he learned as many new abilities as possible to make up for his weaknesses.

To put it simply, he was a Unique Expert.

A Unique Expert who stubbornly persisted as a Heavy Knight.

Facing the wave of heat, Alet chose to use Water Magic.

He conjured moisture with mana to cool down his armor.

Yes, as a Heavy Knight, he could use magic.

Everyone in the party had their flaws, so it fell to him to make up for them. That was his responsibility and duty as a Servant.

Even with water for cooling, it was a drop in the bucket.

The searing steam would still seep in and scorch his skin.

Lava Slugs feared water intensely, but could not be destroyed with it.

If they touched water, they would self-destruct in a massive, deadly explosion.

If these hundreds of Lava Slugs all exploded at once, it would shake the entire upper levels.

So, Alet continued to endure the heat, flinging Sand and Gravel at the slugs inching closer.

The sand insulated him from the heat and further slowed their already sluggish advance.

Sometimes, Alet could even hurl his Greatshield and crush one or two of them.

If the armor grew too hot, he cooled it again.

If his wounds worsened, he endured through sheer willpower.

Whenever there was a lull, he dug up more sand with both hands and flung it at the monsters.

On and on the cycle repeated, until a full day and night had passed.

Indeed, by sheer will, Alet had achieved the feat of holding off the Lava Slug horde alone for a day and a night.

During that time, the original horde of a hundred was whittled down by Alet until only a dozen or so remained.

But he himself was now on the verge of death.

“No… I can’t die, I have to… wait until Milady comes back for me.”

For two days and nights, Alet hadn’t closed his eyes.

No rest, no food.

Only dwindling stamina and worsening injuries.

“So long and still no sign of them… Could Milady and the others have run into danger on their way back?”

“Mother Goddess, please keep them safe.”

Even as he was about to perish from heat, injuries, and exhaustion, Alet still worried about Melro.

In this situation, though he tried to stay alert, his body simply couldn’t take it anymore.

And so, amid such mortal peril, Alet fell asleep standing up.

He dreamed of his first meeting with Melro.

Back then, his homeland had been destroyed by war.

Alet had no companions, no food. In his daze, all he could think was “I must get out of here.”

Before he knew it, he had wandered into the Blood Clan Territory.

Just as he was about to die from exhaustion, a woman more beautiful than any he had ever seen descended like a goddess from the sky.

“I’ve been watching you for a while, refugee child.”

“To have made it here from so far away—you’re rather talented.”

“But since you’ve entered Blood Clan Territory, your fate is mine to decide.”

As she spoke, Melro reached out her slender white fingers and lifted Alet’s chin.

“Not bad looking at all.”

“How about this? I, your lady… shall bestow an honor upon you.”

“What do you say? Will you become my Servant and attendant, or die here?”

Those crimson eyes gazed at the young Alet, and her sly, bewitching smile was seared into his heart.

……

When Alet awoke from the heat, the situation was irreversible.

The Lava Slugs, which had kept a safe distance, were now almost on top of him.

He wanted to act, but it was already too late.

The relentless waves of heat burrowed through his armor, roasting his wounded skin pale.

But luckily, after all this time, he had grown numb to the pain.

“No.”

“I can’t die…”

“Milady still needs my protection…”

“She must have run into trouble, that’s why she hasn’t come back…”

Even as his mind clung to these thoughts, his body could no longer move.

If nothing changed, he would soon die from the heat.

But just as death loomed—

A swirling cold current suddenly erupted from among the Lava Slugs.

The broiling dungeon, filled with burning air, instantly cooled to a normal outdoor temperature.

The rapid chill stopped the crawling Lava Slugs dead in their tracks. The orange fire patterns on their bodies flickered out in an instant.

The remaining dozen Lava Slugs perished on the spot.

A bewitching figure stepped out, treading on that snowy-white current of cold.

She wore a Witch’s Hat several times larger than her head and a pitch-black Black Cloak.

The fabric was drawn tight against her body by a belt at her waist, accentuating a devilish, exquisite figure.

“…Vivian? Is that you?”

The moment he saw her face, Alet called her name.

“Yo, little knight, still alive and kicking~”

The woman called Vivian waved her pale hand twice beside her ear.

She was a witch of considerable power.

When the Crystal Thorn Adventurers passed through a town, they had once teamed up with her and gotten acquainted.

From the moment she met Alet, she’d shown great interest in him, repeatedly asking Melro if she could borrow him for some fun.

On their later journeys, whether by chance or on purpose, her Moth Adventurers kept bumping into the Crystal Thorn Adventurers.

As a result, Alet remembered her very clearly.

He didn’t know why she had chosen to help him this time, but he still offered his thanks.

“Thank you for your help. As for a reward, I will discuss it with you another time.”

“Oh my, little knight, what’s with the formality? Saving you was just a trifle.”

“How about this, I don’t want anything as a reward—just call me ‘Milady’ and that’ll do, alright?”

Vivian propped her cheek on her hand, gazing teasingly at Alet and awaiting his response.

“Sorry, Miss Vivian.”

“The title ‘Milady’ is reserved for Miss Melro alone. That’s my principle—please don’t push it.”

“I still don’t know if Milady and the others are safe. I’ll be going now. Thank you again.”

With that, Alet turned to leave.

But in that instant, Vivian’s next words made his whole body shudder.

“Ah, as always, little knight, you’re so loyal.”

Vivian tilted her head, her face full of regret and disappointment.

“In that case, what if I told you…”

“They’ve already abandoned you?”