Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

Page 173

Bell stood before the raging inferno.

When the bright firelight illuminated his face—for less than a second, his gaze wavered.

Four dark figures broke through the wall of fire.

(Not all of them were killed!)

Four hellhounds leaped out.

The monsters are burning, and this is no metaphor. Their black hides, struck by the [Flame Lightning], have been burned through in many places; describing them as fireballs wouldn't be an exaggeration. However, perhaps because they can also breathe fire, giving them a resistance to flames, the monsters, though engulfed in flames, are still clinging to life.

The red eyes, melted by the intense heat of the flames, lost their reason, and the demonic hound vibrated its burned vocal cords.

"Roar! Ro ...

"!"

He used his short sword to slash open one of the enraged heads that lunged at him, and then used his shield to block the second one.

The remaining third and fourth heads caught up with Bell.

"Lily, Welf!"

Without looking back, the hellhound passed Bell's left and right sides and charged straight toward Lily and Welf.

When Bell let out a scream, the two who had been staring in disbelief acted hastily.

Lily spun halfway around. She deliberately turned her back to the enemy's attack, using the greatsword on her backpack as a shield.

Welf, on the other hand, was mentally prepared to "strike later" before bringing down his sword.

"—Gaa ...

“Ah!”

"Don't underestimate me!"

staggered.

Although the greatsword and shield successfully blocked the hellhound's charge, Lily herself couldn't withstand the impact from behind and was knocked to the ground.

Welf swung his greatsword to its hilt, narrowly missing the monster.

The hellhound used its front paws to step on Lily through the backpack, attempting to bite her several times. After dealing with its opponent, Bell immediately followed up with a swift, arrow-like kick.

The monster collapsed to the ground, its body bent over, while the hellhound that had brushed past Welf also fell to the ground, unable to get up.

"Are you two alright?"

“No, it’s okay…”

"Barely, I made it through... damn it."

Lily staggered to her feet, while Welf pressed his arm and laughed contemptuously, seemingly mocking his own uselessness. His skin was torn and bleeding, likely from being grazed by an enemy's claws.

Bell was filled with self-reproach, feeling that he hadn't protected the two of them properly. However, when he saw the scene behind Lily and the others, his expression changed drastically.

"Here we go again!"

Upon seeing multiple monster figures approaching from the depths of the passage, Bell warned everyone to be on high alert.

As for Lily and the others, they stared at what was behind Bell, uttering sounds of extreme distress.

"A pincer attack..."

"This is really discouraging..."

A new batch of unicorn rabbits hopped out from the one-way street where the fire had subsided.

Bell and the others immediately formed a triangular formation with their backs touching.

Despite the four burning hellhound corpses lying to one side, the three men wore tense expressions.

"Why are the monsters coming from the middle level so fast? There's no time to rest!"

"Just because he's a middle manager."

"Hahaha……"

While bickering with Welf, Lily took out some elixirs from her backpack and gave them to the two of them.

I can feel that my physical strength has indeed recovered, but the mental exhaustion and decreased concentration cannot be resolved.

My mind is groaning from the heavy fatigue.

"Lord Bell, Lord Welf, Lily believes that running away is the best option. We need to catch our breath and regroup. If we continue to fight the monster head-on like this, it will never end."

"I don't object, but how do we resolve this situation?"

"Forcefully... break through on one side?"

"Yes, this should be the best way."

Lily nodded in agreement with Bell. Soon, the monsters approached them from both the front and back.

Bell and the others, who were discussing in hushed tones, realized that time was running out, and once again mustered all their strength.

"In this case……"

"it is good."

"...Let's go!"

The dungeon is gradually eroding Bell and the others' remaining strength.

The dungeon will never let go of adventurers who have taken advantage of an opportunity just because of a miscalculation.

The dungeon is cunning. It licks its lips without revealing any greed, silently, indirectly, and intently robbing its prey of its strength.

Sometimes, monsters roar from afar.

Sometimes the ground shakes, making people mistakenly think an earthquake has occurred.

Sometimes, a vicious child is born to block the way.

Even if each one seems insignificant, the accumulation of trivial matters can become an unbearable burden.

Bending and staggering legs are easier than destroying a sandcastle. The collapse cannot be immediately reversed. By the time the adventurer notices the abnormality in their body, it's too late.

As soon as the prey begins to pant, groan in pain, and show signs of weakness, the well-prepared dungeon will immediately bare its fangs.

“——”

With a crackling sound.

A dangerous sound reached the ears of Bell and the others, who were nearing the end of their fatigue.

Fighting and fleeing, forced to engage in continuous battles with the monsters, they immediately scanned their surroundings.

Despite the ringing alarm, the walls of the dungeon remained unaffected. The womb that gave birth to the monster remained utterly silent.

However, crackling sound, crackling sound.

The voices warning of ominous signs never ceased.

(ah--)

Bell was the first to discover it.

The sound came from above. He looked up at the ceiling, and Welf and the others followed suit, then gasped.

The ceiling was covered with countless cracks, like spiderwebs. These cracks covered the entire ceiling of the passageway where Bell and the others stood. It was so vast, so incredibly extensive.

The cracking sound rang out intermittently, accumulating until the gaps between them gradually disappeared.

Rock fragments fell from the ceiling with a low growl, as if saying they were about to give up.

Bell, stiff as a statue, felt his face gradually losing its color.

——Monster.

The very next moment he thought that.

A deafening crash erupted as dozens of monsters—countless "evil bats"—emerged from the ceiling.

"Chirp! Chi ...

Sharp, overlapping cries of crashing to the ground rang out, and evil bats scattered in all directions.

Countless shadows instantly covered the rock ceiling.

Just as Bell and the others' vision was obstructed, the ceiling, which had become pitted and scarred after giving birth to the monster, lost its stability.

Then, it collapsed.

"—!"

Bell, Lily, and Welf all stared wide-eyed, their eyeballs practically bulging out of their sockets, as they sprinted and kicked the ground with all their might.

A torrential downpour of deadly rocks. The group encountered a massive landslide that seemed to be pressing down on them, and without thinking twice, they simply fled in all directions.

Large rocks struck his body, sand and soil rained down like a flood, and deafening booms echoed continuously. An unreasonable situation relentlessly assailed him from above.

From beginning to end, no one had the extra energy to worry about the safety of their companions.

The three of them struggled desperately, trying to escape the roaring sounds emanating from the dungeon.

"Ugh, ooh...!"

When the rockfall and torrential rain finally subsided...

Thick dust filled the entire passageway, and somewhere, Welf's groan could be heard.

Hearing that sound like he was sweating profusely, you knew he was injured without even checking.

In the distance came Lily's heavy breathing.

Bell wiped the dust off his face, letting the blood flow from his lacerated forehead, and tried to call out to Welf and the others to make sure they were alright.

“Mmm…”

however.

He couldn't make a sound, as if his throat had been bitten off.

“——”

The dust that had filled the surroundings faded away, and the view gradually opened up.

Deep within the rock-filled passage were many dark shadows.

They are a pack of hellhounds.

Bell was completely unable to make a sound at this moment.

"Gah...!"

Each hellhound lowered its body and lay prone on the ground.

The inside of the mouth was burning red and swollen.

White smoke and flames leaked from between the rows of sharp teeth.