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

"Huh? Huh? What's with this atmosphere...?"

"...Seeing you like this actually calms me down."

Angie couldn't do anything about him and couldn't help but smile.

"Well, Raul is unreliable, so we'll just have to be more tolerant of him."

When Angie said this to everyone, some people burst out laughing, while others gave a wry smile.

The shadow of grief had vanished from their faces.

This is one of Raul's few virtues.

He makes everyone feel: We must cheer up and support him, otherwise this person will fall.

Raul, unlike Finn, can boost his companions' morale with his unique temperament, using his directional ability to do so.

This is a talent that even great first-class adventurers like Finn, Riveria, Grace, and Ais could not possess.

Seeing the members smile again, Raul, who had been at a loss, was relieved.

"—This is 'adventure'."

then……

"Gather your energy, grip your sword, and shout until the heavens and earth are shaken."

"This is where the true value of a genuine adventurer is tested."

"—If it were the commander, he would definitely say that!"

Raul was an ordinary man, but not a fool.

He is naturally diligent and can transform the experience he gains into nourishment, imprinting the image of the great predecessors in his mind.

As Raul spoke eloquently, Angie and the other members of the group nodded with great enthusiasm and determination.

The team's eyes regained their sparkle, and they were completely energized again.

Finn watched the scene from outside the circle, his bloodied lips curving and his eyes narrowing.

"We must all brainstorm. The enemy still thinks we are easy to deal with. This is the first and last great opportunity."

Urged by Raul, the group members quickly shared their opinions in the limited time they had.

"Wandering around in this maze will only lead to getting lost... The simplest way is to just steal the 'key' from the enemy."

"But the enemy definitely outnumbers us. Otherwise, if we were to repel them, there would be no point in pursuing them. It would be very difficult to seize anything."

"In any case... since the enemy is forcing us into the depths of the maze, it means that the only way to break through is to fight our way out and return to the original path."

When the three group members shared their opinions, Angie spoke up:

"I think Valetta and the others must have brought 'something' with them to protect them from the new type of monster."

"...? What do you mean, Angie?"

"Aside from tamers... weirdos, no one can make those colorful monsters obey. If that's the case, if I let monsters roam freely in the labyrinth (secret base), I'll probably get attacked myself, right?"

Upon hearing Angie's insight, Raul and the others exclaimed in sudden realization, "Ah!"

"We've been fighting the same kind of monster from now until now... I think that new species, which looks like a water strider, will definitely not attack those people if certain conditions are met."

"In other words, that new species is a minion (monster) created for this labyrinth (secret base)..."

"Yes, and apart from the initial battle, even the carnivorous plants have stopped appearing."

When I first encountered Valetta, the carnivorous plant that appeared in the hall was indeed hiding behind a "door." Monsters that attack indiscriminately may be isolated and used as traps.

Angie straightened her cat ears, alert to her surroundings, and shared her thoughts.

"I don't know if they're exploiting the new species' habits, scent, or tools... In any case, since their opponents can't be attacked by monsters, they must be completely off guard. If we can overturn that and throw them into chaos..."

Angie's reasoning sounded like it had grasped the key points. Raul frantically racked his brains, his hand rummaging through his pouch, trying to find any clues to break the current situation.

"……ah."

At this moment, Raul touched a prop, which led him to come up with a "surprise move".

That was due to his experience of accompanying countless "expeditions".

The young man's face turned pale and stiffened. His expression changed rapidly in a short period of time. Finally, he made up his mind and began to mumble out a solution.

"What...are you serious, Raul!? I object!"

"Angie, there are no other normal solutions, and there's no time to slowly come up with a plan... probably."

The other members of the group, except for Angie, also strongly objected, but Raul turned his toes to the other side.

He walked toward the only person who hadn't joined the discussion—the little people lying on the ground.

"Commander... I would like to request that you sacrifice yourself."

Raul, his face ashen, stated his demands...

Finn simply smiled in response.

"Where did you run off to, Finn?"

Valetta led the assassins down the corridor.

There were ten people in total, including her. With this fighting force, Raul and the others, who had lost their [Hero], were no threat at all.

"Sigh..."

A new type of monster appeared before Valetta and the others—passing right in front of them.

The assassins were still getting used to it and were almost ready for battle, but countless colorful monsters ignored them and brushed past Valeta and the others time and time again.

"Hey, what are you afraid of? As long as we have this crystal, those 'crystal striders' won't attack us."

Valetta pulled out the crystal hanging around her neck with a rope and scoffed. Just as Angie had predicted, the remnants of the dark faction had a way of avoiding attacks from the new monsters.

A new type of monster called "Crystal Strider".

As long as the user possesses a crystal harvested from a special plant, the monsters will mistake the user for one of their own kind. With this item, the remnants of the dark faction can move freely within the labyrinth without being attacked by monsters.

"It's much quieter now. Are they hiding? Or... is Finn, who's not quite dead yet, giving them advice?"

Valeta hadn't heard any sounds of fighting from Raul and the others since the beginning, and she had been frowning, but when she saw something at her feet, she couldn't help but laugh.

"Hehehe, your blood is dripping all over the floor, Finn~"

Bloodstains dripped onto the paving stones, like footprints indicating the prey, stretching intermittently forward into the passage.

Valetta licked her lips and followed the trail of blood.

(...The bloodstains are increasing. Just now it felt like they were just occasional drops on the floor... but now it's practically saying, "Please follow me.")

The bloodstains stretched out, almost as if luring them forward. The assassins were already on high alert. "Setting a trap," Valeta whispered, a cold smile playing on her lips.

The group slowed their pace to prepare for an enemy ambush, cautiously following the trail of blood until they reached a junction of multiple passageways that intersected like a spider web.

Then, ahead of the trail of blood... a dwarf was sitting on the ground with his back against a corner of the wall.

It's Finn.

He was the only one who was "abandoned and ignored".

"Heh... Hahaha! Yaha ...

Due to the characteristics of the Lilliputian race, it looked like a discarded doll.

Seeing Finn's pitiful state of being left alone, Valetta burst into laughter.

"You've been abandoned by your good comrades!? You're expected to sacrifice yourself for them, huh!? Hahahaha! This is truly spectacular, Finn!!"

Facing the woman laughing heartily, Finn seemed to be struggling to breathe, his chest rising and falling weakly. Looking at the blood-soaked hero, Valetta narrowed her eyes and slowly approached him.

— Right in her blind spot, in the shadowy part of the passageway.

The young man, who had been hiding in the shadows, charged out like a wild beast the moment the woman stood in front of Finn.

"!!"

Raul gripped a short sword in both hands and launched an attack on Valetta.

"--Well, I knew it would be like this."

“Huh!?”

However, Valetta easily dodged both the body charge and the thrusting attack.

Towards the ground.

The overwhelming force of the impact caused the young man lying on his back to open his eyes wide.

"Ah, uh...!?"

Grabbing Raul's body, he slammed it viciously.

"Have you forgotten my LV·5? [Superhuman]! How could your cleverness possibly work on me at LV·5?"

Watching Raul's body convulse in agony like a fish pulled from the water, Valetta called him by his nickname and spat at him. Even the previously expressionless assassins mocked the young man's pathetic state.

Valetta snorted. In her memory, this mediocre adventurer was nothing more than a lackey of her hateful enemy (Finn).

"Fin~, your men are really all incompetent. That's the only thing I pity you for, hahahahahahahahahaha!"

The laughter was extremely grating.

Hearing her mocking remarks, Finn, who was leaning against the wall, slowly looked up at her and smiled.

It was just a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth, extremely minor, but it was definitely a smile.

"What are you laughing at... Finn?"

That was the smile of the hero that always lingered in Valetta's memory, making her grit her teeth in hatred.

Seeing her smile vanish and her face harden with murderous intent, Finn murmured:

"...My subordinates...none...are incompetent..."

Valette scoffed at this statement.

"To say something like that after seeing his ugly appearance, I think you've really lost your mind...?"

Valette's laughter suddenly stopped.

She looked down at the young man who was lying on the ground in an unsightly spread-eagled position.

The person being mocked had tears in their eyes and was muttering to themselves:

"Ah, it probably still won't work... This time it's really over... I'm sorry, Commander, for dragging you into this... Mom, I'm sorry... But I still don't want to die...!"

In his hand, which had just discarded the dagger, lay a bag the size of a fist.

"Hey, [Superhuman], what exactly have you prepared—"

Just as Valeta was about to ask for clarification...

"Lady Valetta, their accomplices have arrived!"

"!"

Hearing the assassin shout, I turned around and saw a cat-man rushing towards me from a side road.

Not only that, three members from other passages also rushed in and launched an attack on them.

Valeta, unaware of the other party's intentions, was on high alert, but then froze in place.

“——————”

As Angie poured out her sweat and cast aside all other thoughts, a large group of monsters appeared behind her.

While Valetta's attention was focused on the bait (Finn), the adventurers ran around the passageway, catching every monster they could find. A large horde of monsters also followed behind the other three members of the group.

Witnessing this scene, the enemy began to doubt their own eyes; Raul seized the opportunity, got up, and threw the contents of the bag in his hand at Valetta and the others.

"Wh...it stinks! What is this...!?"

That was "magic powder" that they hadn't even received in Hong Kong.

It was the fishery god (Njord) who crushed the "magic stone" and mixed it in to attract the powder of the man-eating flower.

The "magic powder" stuck to Valetta and the others caused the colorful monster's attack priority to increase dramatically.

Valetta understood everything, her eyes bloodshot; Angela sped up, the other three members of the group had tears in their eyes, and a large group of monsters were attacking from all directions.