'Tsk, gaining sympathy did not work out as well as I thought it would. That brat managed to ruin my plans.'

Keith was disappointed when Alice did nothing more than spoke words to him. She was being careful but she had been coming around to sympathize with him. But Ash had come around and ruined all his plans in a single blow.

It was frustrating to say, but Keith was not sure he would be able to sway Alice this time. He will have to come on another hunt with Alice in the future.

Currently, he was following the group inside, following them from a little further away than what was needed. His eyes were calm but his insides were a pile of frustration.

"Here it is. Our next stop on the bucket list. This is the den of the monster known as mofu-mofu. They are cute but very vicious. If they bite you, you will be in severe pain because the mana in your body will start to boil."

Everyone except Keith shivered at the explanation Alice gave them. It was tough for them to even imagine something messing with their mana.

"U-Ugh, is it deadly? Because if it is then I would like to volunteer myself out of it."

Daphney quickly raised her hand as she shivered. Her priority was her life, not some monster den. She was not willing to take unnecessary risks with her life.

Alice's eyes softened as she took in Daphney's terrified look.

"No, it's not deadly. It just hurts a little if you are not careful but I will protect you in there so do not worry. Now, don't worry, and follow me inside."

Alice assured Daphney who finally calmed down. Ash scoffed in return, not even caring how he looked rude and arrogant as he did so.

He walked toward the front of the group and entered the den without any plan. He was sure he would be able to kill these monsters but he flinched as soon as he looked at Mofu-Mofu's innocent face.

"So, aren't you going to come with us, Mr. time bomb? Your abilities might be needed inside."

Benjamin taunted Keith before he left to enter the den as well. Daphney followed behind with a hesitant expression on her face.

"Look, Noah. You do not need to let-"

Keith pushed past Alice almost as if he did not hear her. Now, he was thankful that he had read Alice's file and knew what kind of behavior she and her sister had adopted in the past.

Currency, Keith was matching his behavior with Alice's sister to ensure she felt guilt and other emotions in her heart when she looked at him. And as expected, Alice gave a barely there flinch as soon as she looked at Keith.

She looked stunned to see him acting so familiar for no reason. The more she looked, the more she was reminded of Alex and her aloof nature.

'No, do not get Noah and Alex mixed up. Now is not the time to lose your focus. You need to concentrate if you want to clear this dungeon and get back.'

Alice slapped herself in the face, startling Noah but she took the lead from there. More than half of her group had already entered the dungeon so Alice needed to enter as well.

She had promised to protect them after all.

.......

Keith sighed as he considered his bad luck. He could not believe that Alice had not fallen for his act just yet.

She was said to be a compassionate soft-hearted lady in her hospital report. She should have wanted to help Keith out once she saw him suffering.

Heck, he had even made sure he got bullied like she and her sister used to get when they were children.

'Ugh, it is so frustrating. I will need to come up with a new strategy.'

In his frustration, Keith had paid half attention to what Alice had said about the monsters in this den. Keith only knew that their bite was tough to endure for people with mana.

But that gave Keith an advantage here since he had no mana in his body. He was all but immune to these things.

Even now, everyone else was suffering because of these things while Keith could continue to walk into the den and be ignored due to his lack of natural mana.

'I can use this situation somehow but how do I use it? Should I get bitten and become an actual time bomb for these people? I can talk with Alice in private and gain her sympathy that way.'

Keith was thinking over his choices when he saw Alice being attacked from the corner of his eyes.

She was struggling to take on 4 or 5 of these Mofu-Mofu as they cornered her. Alice was even breathing harshly, her body tense but active as she shot these things down.

'I should help her out. Alice will not be able to hold on.'

And that was when Keith had a stupid but brilliant idea.

He had seen how responsible Alice was and how she cherished her position as the leader. If Keith were to get hurt in her stead, Alice would feel responsible for him and try her best to take care of him.

This way, he would be able to get closer to Alice without risking death in the process.

'This is utterly foolish on my part but this is also the only option I have left in my limited time. I hope I am not making a mistake here.'

A mofu-mofu jumped at Alice and Keith blocked her using his arm. It hurt as sharp teeth dug into Keith's arm but nothing else happened.

"Noah, why did you-"

Everyone looked at Keith with a muted expression of horror, not believing what they just witnessed.

People were selfish by nature and they hardly ever did things for others' sake. It was even more true in a dungeon where one could lose their life. This much Alice knew from experience and having heard things.

She never expected there to ever be someone who helped her out in her time of need. But here was someone who was risking his life for her.

"You idiot. You already have unstable mana, and now you decided to get yourself bitten like this? Are you sane at all? Do you want to die?"

Ash yelled from the other side of the room with a pissed face. He could not believe what he had just witnessed in front of his eyes happening. How could anyone be this foolish and reckless?

Alice looked like she was in shock. She lost control of her mana and the mofu-mofu exploded as a result. Even though she did not know how she did that, she was stunned to see these monsters die so easily.

"Well, looks like our job here is done. You did good, miss. Now, let's go back."

Alice was still shaking in her place, no longer knowing what to believe in. she wanted to say that she was alright but she was not alright. Her heart hurt and it was torn apart into different segments, each asking her to do something different.

It was then that Noah groaned in her arms and Alice realized that he needed first aid as soon as possible.

Going to the hospital would not help Noah since the mofu-mofu poison was time bound. For the next few days, Noah would be like a time bomb, ready to explode at any second.

"You guys, you go ahead. I will follow behind you with Noah. It would be better for us to maintain some distance in care of an emergency."

Alice did not come out and say what the emergency was but everyone got it. They did not argue with her once Alice said things like that.

"Alright, if that's what you want. But we won't wait for you to collect your reward before we collect ours."

Ash spoke without compassion but his eyes looked at Alice worriedly. Then Ash looked at Noah and his eyes were cold and hard. It made Alice want to shield Noah from him.

"That's enough kid. Now hurry up and follow me out. I am sure our leader would be able to find her way back."

Benjamin dragged Ash out and Daphney followed with a hesitant look. Daphney looked at Alice in pity and comfort before she left.

Alice liked this part of hers which was concerning for her but she also felt uncomfortable with the way they looked at Noah.

It was not Noah's fault he was in this condition when all he had wanted to do was to save Alice.

"I am sorry. I know you are suffering and you are unable to control your mana, right? I wish I could help you but my solution might not help you out. But if you still want to know, you have to wake up right now."

Alice waited for Noah to respond but nothing happened.