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

"Are you kidding me! We can't even finish fighting like this!"

"This quantity is unreasonable!"

"Next to, beside! And behind them too!"

Sakura and Chigusa then let out screams.

The group is currently on the 26th floor. The "Faction Alliance" narrowly escaped the collapse of the Great Hollow, but what awaits them is endless battle. Having suffered unprecedented destruction on the 25th floor, the labyrinth is in a state of chaos, as if it has become particularly sensitive to the presence of intruders, and they keep encountering monsters along the way.

Faced with the onslaught of hordes of aquatic monsters, Welf and the others were breathing erratically.

"Don't take them seriously! It'll only waste your energy!"

As Lily screamed, the arrow she fired pierced through the gap between the jostling "merfolk" and went straight into the eye of the "merfolk leader."

This was an arrow shot from outside the fighting force, or perhaps a brilliant strike from the commander's perspective over the battlefield. The merman leader, who was in the center of the group, let out a wail, and the minions (mermen) instantly lost their leadership.

Lily and the others didn't miss this opening and abandoned the horde of monsters, running away as fast as they could.

"This is no joke! How are we supposed to find the Rabbit Foot like this...!"

The group had the second-tier adventurer (Aisha) hold off the enemies on their flanks to ensure their escape route was clear; Daphne used her baton-shaped short sword to fend off the demon mosquitoes flying overhead. She ignored the hideous monsters that were spraying bodily fluids as they crashed to the ground and charged forward.

Drops of sweat, indistinguishable as cold sweat or oily sweat, slid down her slender chin.

"How can you say such a thing?! Now that we've reached the 26th floor, we must reunite with Lord Bell!"

"I know! With the 25th floor in that state, there's no way to turn back! I also know perfectly well that you can't abandon your companions! I've given up! But even so! This is just too much…!"

Daphne roared in response to Lily's shout. She scanned her surroundings quickly, her eyes seeming to betray a bitter groan.

The 26th floor also suffered damage due to the residual effects of the collapse of the 25th floor.

As if unable to withstand the immense pressure from above, the walls and the land were riddled with cracks. A torrent of water rushed through the center of the passage, flooding the ground beneath one's feet. The ceiling, sprinkling with crystal shards, evoked a terrifying thought, as if it might collapse entirely at any moment. The labyrinth appeared to be on the verge of crumbling and crumbling at any instant.

The monsters, too, whether out of confusion or excitement, howled wildly and indiscriminately, stirring up a sense of crisis among the crowd.

"Without even a single clue, how could this current team possibly find anyone?!"

"...!"

Compared to Lily, who prioritizes Belle's interests, Daphne always speaks based on realistic perspectives.

As a given, the team that had just finished the main battle on the floor was in terrible condition.

Most importantly, how can one find an adventurer from such a vast floor?

"To be honest, when facing a new floor, safety should be the top priority...!"

Although it is also part of the "Water City", the 26th floor is undoubtedly the first floor that Daphne and the others have entered.

In this situation, the group (team) completely ignored the rules of floor strategy and kept rushing forward.

Daphne, who had been chanting "Steadfast, Cautious, and Fearless" as her guiding principles for exploring the labyrinth, nearly fainted at the sight of this situation. It was tantamount to willingly jumping into the mouth of a monster called a labyrinth (dungeon).

However, despite exchanging barbs with Lily, Daphne did not stop running.

Because if we stop, it's obvious we'll be crushed by the monster army.

"Now we can only move forward! We can't go back to the 24th floor until the maze is repaired, and frankly, we don't even know if it will be repaired at all! In that case, we can only go pick up Bell Craney and make our way to the safe floor of the 'lower level'!"

Their only remaining option is to take a dangerous path.

Aisha meant this as she used her broadsword to slice the swarm of "Metal Blue Crabs" that were trying to entangle the squad into pieces. Compared to Daphne, the top student, the female warrior, whose beliefs were "boldness, breakthrough, and struggle," advocated a "quick attack."

"Given the situation, any adventurer with normal judgment would turn back along the proper route! Let's pray we run into those people!"

Their marching route is now the standard route.

Aisha kept a close eye on the team's morale and tried her best to dispel Daphne and the others' worries.

(Besides, although I don't like asking for favors, besides Bell Craney, [Swift] should also be on the 27th floor...!)

Besides that, she had other plans. That was to get herself involved with [Swift Wind], who was suspected of murder, in the inn town.

In Aisha's mind, whether Ryu had actually committed murder was no longer important. As long as she could be forced to provide help and reunite with Ryu and the boy (Bell), even this reckless and desperate journey would have a glimmer of hope. It was because of this intention that Aisha was able to switch consciousness and risk her life to participate in this reckless march.

Unfortunately, on the 27th floor, an "abnormal situation" occurred that completely shattered Aisha's predictions.

"The monster is coming again...!"

"There are just too many 'abnormal situations'!"

As Chigusa carried the unconscious Ming on her back and Cassandra carried Haruhime on her back, Sakura and Welf saw a horde of monsters appear, and their faces contorted in horror.

The two who were in the vanguard position were forced to change direction.

"It's like all the monsters have come after us...!"

Chigusa's anxious expression, tinged with the weight of her life, was by no means an exaggeration.

On the contrary, one could say it's "hitting the nail on the head".

The monsters from the entire floor... no, the entire area, have come to hunt down their "prey."

As if to confirm the girl's fear, the enormous figure suddenly crashed through the water.

"Looo ...

"What—the Water Beast Horse (Kelpie)!?"

"How could this be? It's the monster from the 27th floor!?"

First Aisha stared in disbelief, but Lily's astonishment overwhelmed her.

"Kelpai" is a horse-like monster with azure fur and mane, and its finned body allows it to run through water as if on flat ground.

As Lily said, the floor where it appears is the 27th floor.

Contrary to its beautiful appearance, it belongs to a powerful race with top-class potential in the "Water City".

"They climbed up to the upper floors!? How could they choose a time like this...!?"

Lily was intimidated by the enemy's imposing presence and power, but she stopped halfway through her shout.

Because it wasn't just water beasts and horses; a chorus of monsters echoed from the depths of the labyrinth.

“Aa ...

"Roar! Roar!"

"Gua ...

The half-human, half-snake (Lamia), the giant beaver (Waterseeker), and the walrus monster all loudly proclaimed their existence.

They are all monsters that appear starting from the 27th floor.

"A monster army... no, a massive movement...!? No way!"

When Daphne saw the monster appear across the floors, she screamed in panic.

Each monster was blood red, with bits of pale red flesh stuck to its sharp teeth and claws.

All this blood and flesh came from the adventurers.

These are the high-level adventurers who participated in the battle against [Gale] but were tragically ravaged by [Calamity].

The tragedy that Aisha and the others were unaware of—the monster that greedily devoured the corpses of the main team that [Gale] had been fighting, and became intoxicated with a nectar called massive amounts of flesh and blood, its ferocity reaching an unprecedented level.

Give me more blood, more flesh, and more delicacies.

As if seeking a new "sacrifice," a large group of monsters left the 27th floor, where the adventurers had all perished, and entered the 26th floor.

"What on earth happened!?"

"Go ask the dungeon! They never want to make things easy for us adventurers...!"

Of course, Lily and the others had no way of knowing about this.

Aisha, who had originally planned to seek refuge on a safe floor, angrily cried out that she had miscalculated.

Fortunately, the priority for repairing the 25th floor of the dungeon is to prevent the emergence of new monsters in the three interconnected floors of the "Water City". However, the number of remaining monsters is still more than Aisha and her companions can handle.

The adventurers sensed the approaching aura of destruction, and knowing they were turning pale, they had no choice but to confront the "Kelpie" before them.

"────────!!"

"Ugh!?"

When faced with the Water Beast Horse, which was swinging its mane and attacking furiously, Welf's knees sank.

She is an incredibly powerful individual. Her potential abilities are probably no less than those of Welf or Sakura.

The "leveling up" that had granted them victory multiple times no longer exists.

Facing the enemies on the 27th floor, the gap in abilities that Lv.2 Welf and the others could no longer conceal began to form a high wall.

“Huh!?”

Welf was hit squarely by the monster's attack and was thrown back.

He raised his longsword to barely block the attack, but still slammed hard into the wall behind him.

The already cracked crystal wall seemed to groan as it scattered fragments that were knocked askew.

"Damn it...!"

Having fought his way up the floor and exhausted himself, Welf gritted his teeth and tried to stand up, but...

"──?"

Clatter. Clatter.

The stone that fell to the ground with a thud momentarily distracted him.

"...Minerals from the 'lower layer'?"

Its steel-gray luster is unlike the crystals that you see so often in the "City of Water".

This is a natural (underground) refined metal (ingot) that contains the brilliance of rare metal.

A fist-sized, twisted metal block, somewhat resembling a garnet, was found stuck with crystal shards. It's possible that the collapse of the building caused severe damage to the walls, allowing this metal to roll out.

Seeing the piece of mineral that had fallen into his hand, perhaps out of a blacksmith's nature, he couldn't help but stare at it for a long time.

"No, no way, could this be... 'Super Hard Metal (Durable Steel)'?"

Finally, when Welf realized the true name of the rare metal, he gasped.

"What are you doing? Aren't you cold?! Get up right now!"

"Okay, sure!"

Aisha, who had just slashed down "Kelpie" head-on, roared in extreme tension.

When Welf suddenly came to his senses and stood up, he reflexively grabbed the fine metal at hand and caught up with his comrade who was running forward.

"Ughh ...

"!!"

Just then, a loud shout rang out.

It wasn't a scream from one of the team members.

It came from a figure surrounded by monsters, ahead of Welf and the others on their regular route.

"Those were... the adventurers who went to the 27th floor before!?"

Aisha's earlier words have come true.

Welf and the others rushed forward, quickly driving away the horde of monsters and rescuing the adventurers.

"You're from 'Rivera Town'..."

"Lord Perce!"

As Welf and Lily said, the burly adventurer whose body was heaving violently and whose breathing was disordered was none other than Perth Elder himself.

His appearance was horribly appalling.

His muscular body was covered in wounds, and his combat suit was stained crimson, making it impossible to tell whether it was his own blood or blood splattered from the monster. The eyepatch he wore over his left eye was also missing.

He may have lost his weapon; he was unarmed. Incredibly, he seemed to have fought his way up there bare-handed.

As if to prove that he had been swinging his arms wildly, repeatedly hitting the monster's hard shell or scales, his hands and gloves were torn and stained dark red.

"You, you are... the Hestia Familia...? We're... saved... are we...?"