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

"Hone your strengths, and they can certainly be your greatest weapon, but overcoming your weaknesses is just as important. You're not good enough at that—" Rivera continued her nagging, making even Ais, who was already expressionless, look increasingly grim. Finally—the little girl uttered the fatal sentence:

"...(Auntie)."

Jump! The moment the elf's long ears twitched, Riveria narrowed her eyes with an icy chill.

"Looks like I'll have to teach you how terrifying it is to swim... and how to respect your elders."

"—That's how it is, and that's how Riveria left an indelible nightmare (psychological trauma) in Ais's heart."

"So what exactly did Rivera do?"

"Get to the point, get to the point!"

"Oh, that's it. Like tying a whole piece of super hard metal (Durable Steel) that we just found to Ais's hands and feet and throwing her into the water. That's just the appetizer..."

"How could anyone possibly swim like that?!"

A few days after the incident in the port city (Melen) was resolved, Loki was in the main camp's (headquarters) conversation room talking about how Riveria had destined Ais to be a landlubber for life, when Tiony, Tiona, and Lefia let out screams and shrieks in turn.

"What, Ais, you still can't swim? Well, it's been a long time since we practiced together."

"!"

Just then, Rivera, who happened to be passing by the conversation room, made this suggestion, which startled Ais so much that her shoulders trembled violently and her whole body shook.

Volume 11 Prologue: The Current Situation of the Lost Children

The Taiwanese version is from the Kingdom of Light

Image source: Otonashi

Scan image: Wind

Input: kid

In the darkness-dominated passage, there are equidistant points of light.

The faint light that barely illuminated the ground stretched along the wall into the depths. On the gloomy path, the light flickered intermittently, carrying a chilling aura.

Along this passage, a group of people marched forward in formation.

Strong shoulders and thick upper arms, adorned with sheathed daggers, passed before the faint phosphorescence time and again. The metal buckles of the armor clanged, mingling with the clatter of greaves or boots.

They are adventurers.

Led by a dwarf whose helmet was pulled low, their group seemed to number at least ten. Each carried a portable magic stone lamp and carefully surveyed their surroundings.

They were not walking inside the underground city.

The tunnel-like passage was constructed of stone polished by human hands. Nearly dead magic stone lamps hung on the walls, and water gurgled through the center of the path.

This is an underground water channel, also known as a sewer.

"First come, first served, no hurt feelings, right?"

"Okay, then you can just bite your finger and watch me take care of my prey."

The entire group wore armor and protective gear emblazoned with the emblems of different "familias." They were a mixed faction squad, displaying the characteristics of a ragtag army; no one cared about coordination. At the strong-willed female warrior (Amazonian)'s tone of voice, the orc man spat and cursed, "Pah!"

These burly, thuggish-looking men were all experienced adventurers.

"Hey, Motoro," I said, "Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Huh? Those guild guys turned the entire surface upside down, and still didn't find a single clue. In that case, isn't the only thing left (this place)?"

Modo Latro's presence can also be seen within the group.

He had a fierce and menacing face, with old wounds on his forehead and cheeks. He was burly and looked like a tyrannical and unreasonable villain. In fact, about two and a half months ago, he had tried to give "a certain newcomer" a baptism of adventure.

When asked this question by his two companions (humans) who always acted with him, Modo pulled out a scroll from his pocket.

"Let's take care of these monsters before the others do, and the bounty will be ours!"

The scroll depicts some armed monsters.

It is a depiction based on information, showing a ferocious lizardman and gargoyle.

Three days ago, the commotion caused by the Ikeros Familia resulted in monsters appearing on the surface. Having escaped the adventurers' pursuit, the monsters scattered to various corners of Orario, and some still lurk somewhere in the city.

The guild takes this issue very seriously, ordering all [Families] to hunt down monsters early on and offering bounties for their heads. Seeing the high rewards, adventurers are now abandoning dungeon exploration altogether, their eyes bloodshot as they search for monsters believed to have been left on the surface.

"No, that's not what we meant." "Aren't these armed monsters incredibly powerful? I heard even the Loki Familia escaped..."

"Relax, I heard those monsters were badly beaten by [Sword Maiden] and the others, and they should be seriously injured and unable to move. The best proof is that those monsters that used to fight and cause trouble are all behaving themselves now, aren't they?"

"Easy peasy." Modo grinned maliciously, while the two men in his group exchanged uneasy glances.

"By the way... have you heard about the 'rising star' thing?"

"Yeah, people on the street seemed to be giving him the cold shoulder. He's really messed up now."

At this moment, other high-ranking adventurers from different factions than Modo suddenly remembered this and laughed.

"He probably got greedy when he saw the dragon girl (Vivel), how stupid of him."

"He got cocky after being touted as the world's fastest white rabbit (record holder), serves him right."

The adventurers treated the boy as mere gossip, belittling him and making fun of him. Hearing their veiled mockery, the others joined in the laughter.

"...Hey, you people. Don't you even look in the mirror? What kind of nonsense are you spouting?"

Modo, whose fierce face was twisted into an even more unpleasant expression, interrupted and changed the subject.

"How are we any different from him now! Stop talking bad about your peers (young rookies) behind their backs!"

"What are you doing, Modo?"

"Why did you suddenly lose your temper?"

Two human companions hurriedly tried to stop him, but Modo continued to curse, spittle flying everywhere.

The other adventurers in the group panicked when they saw him so angry.

"That brat attacked other adventurers to deal with the dragon girl? That doesn't make sense!"

"Well, that's because... because of that, we're in debt! Our [family/kin] is drowning in debt, we had no choice!"

Despite being momentarily speechless at the others' mockery and implicit condemnation of the boy, Modo still managed to retort. He abruptly turned his back to the squad and resumed his halted steps.

"What's wrong with that guy? What's wrong with him?" Modo clicked his tongue as he listened to these sounds.

"—Stop."

Just as the atmosphere in the squad was starting to become tense, the dwarf who was leading the way told everyone to stop.

The tense tone of the voice caused the advanced adventurers to react simultaneously.

In the direction the dwarf man was staring at.

In the dim light, a bright yellow light emerged.

The monster appeared, wriggling its thick tail covered in crimson scales.

"That's... a 'lizard man'!"

"Finally, you've shown up!"

Seeing the adventurers immediately assume a battle-ready stance, the armored monsters—lizardmen—charged forward.

"Roar!!"

Then, the burly dwarf who raised his shield to block the attack was knocked flying head-on.

"Huh...?"

As the dwarf and the person behind him fell to the ground, the adventurers and Mordo all gasped in shock.

Ignoring their astonishment, the lizardmen began to rampage and kill in all directions.

"Shhhhh!!"

"Woo, woooo ...

The long sword and scimitar were swung out, their tails sweeping across like a flail.

The lizardmen, with their formidable fighting abilities, left the adventurers with no chance to retaliate, and the ravaged party soon erupted in screams of agony. One orc adventurer, sent flying by a tail strike, missed his footing and fell into the flowing water.

Splash! Splash! After the water splashed violently, the adventurers finally disregarded everything and ran away.

"Didn't they say it would get weaker?!?!"

Modo and the others screamed pathetically as they fled for their lives at top speed.

"Mmm, mmm..."

The rough roar echoing from afar made the twisted, pointed ears tremble.

The dragon girl's pale blue eyelids trembled slightly as she slowly opened her eyes.

"here it is……?"

"You're awake, Winnie."

After Winnie murmured to the indistinct, dimly lit stone ceiling, a gentle voice spoke to her beside her.

She slowly turned her eyes and saw the beautiful singing bird (Sairen) with a relieved expression right there.

"Rei?...!?"

The dragon girl called out the name of her fellow Singer-Bird, "Heretical Child," and then suddenly sat up.

"Where's Bell! Where's Bell!?"

"Please calm down, Winnie, Mr. Bell is alright."

Hearing Winnie anxiously inquire about the boy's safety, the singer bird Lei Yi stretched out her wings and embraced the girl's slender body, gently comforting her.

"Really? Bell, that's great... Wait, but I'm right next to Bell..."

"Fels has brought you back to life."

Winnie subconsciously reached out to touch the red stone on her forehead, and when she heard what Lei said, she tilted her head and asked, "?"

"But I think you should sleep a little longer."

"Guros...?"

At that moment, the gargoyle Guros whispered.

Just as Winnie was looking on in confusion, Reed appeared a short while later, saying, "Hey kid, I'm back."

"Reed!"

"Oh! You're up, Winnie! That's great!"

"Hmm! Where did Reed go just now?"

"...went to chase away those adventurers."

Reed said this and began talking to Fels, the black-clad magician who came forward to greet him.

"Are you alright, Reed?"

"Yes, thanks to Fels' healing magic, my body is fully healed and I can move around completely. However, those adventurers are already nearby, so we'd better leave, kid."

"Is that so..." Fels replied heavily, and Winnie was puzzled when she heard their conversation.

She looked around. She was neither in the underground city nor in the prison the hunters had taken her to—the "artificial labyrinth (Knossos)." She could hear the sound of water from the sewers; this was a forgotten underground sewer warehouse.

Among those present were half-human, half-snake beings (Lamia) and large-scale creatures (trolls), etc. Even including Reed and the others, there were only about ten people, which even Winnie thought was few. The nearly broken magic stone lamp illuminated her profile, and she asked tremblingly:

"Where is this...? Where did everyone go?"

"...Let me explain, listen carefully, Winnie."

Fells explained kindly and concisely to Winnie, whose amber eyes were trembling with unease.

He told Winnie that this was the surface world, and that Winnie and her fellow "heretics" were being hunted by everyone in the city. Therefore, in order to avoid being caught, they were fleeing throughout the city (Oario).

She was also told that during the escape from the adventurers, they had gotten separated from some of the "heretics".

"In the end, they were unable to reunite with Asterios."

"If he were here, perhaps there would be a way..."

Upon hearing the unfamiliar name, Winnie followed Reed and Rey's gaze, and froze the moment she saw "that".

Lying on the ground was a strong, black arm. It was a severed arm.