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

I had just made up my mind with Ms. Ryu to overcome this predicament together when this happened.

A thread of hope hung before them, only to be pushed to the bottom of the valley.

If this is the work of the labyrinth, then the dungeon is indeed both cunning and vicious.

It used the best methods to break my will.

The labyrinth's mocking laughter echoed deep within my ears.

—You will become like that too.

—Like the adventurers who lost to their dreams and were abandoned by fate.

"Mr. Crannie..."

Miss Ryu's voice sounded dejected.

I couldn't react. I couldn't imagine how bad my complexion looked.

The magic stone lamp, which had been flashing, seemed to say, "I have done all I can," and turned off its light.

The tool that guided us to our master has come to the end of its life.

Darkness enters the cave.

This is the umpteenth time that darkness has descended upon us, a darkness known only as despair.

then……

It's like dragging us, who are sinking into despair and darkness, directly into the abyss of death—click-click-click…

"────"

I turned my head away, having the unsettling feeling that someone was holding a sickle to my neck.

At the entrance to the only passage in the cave, the skulls of three demonic goats emerged from the depths of darkness.

It is a "skeleton sheep" that comes by tracking the tracks of its prey.

Fear returned to my stalled mind. The darkness forced out my desperate thoughts.

Click-clack-clack-clack, click-clack-clack-clack.

Death calls to us from the darkness ahead.

"……No……"

I used all my strength to pull Miss Liu, whose expression was distorted, into my arms, my eyes trembling.

The mask, emerging from the darkness, slowly drew closer.

"Don't come any closer..."

I managed to squeeze out a faint sound.

It seemed like a refusal, a fear, a plea.

"Don't come any closer!..."

The enemy showed no mercy, and my prayers were cruelly trampled upon.

A flock of dead sheep emerged from the darkness.

The nerves, stretched to their limit, snapped.

"Don't come any closer!?"

The moment I succumbed to my overwhelming fear and screamed, the "Skeleton Sheep" kicked the ground.

Three skeletal beasts attempted to invade the cave at an alarming speed.

I raised my right hand and stretched it straight forward.

"【Flame Lightning】!!"

Using all my mental strength, I roared out the sound of a cannon.

In an attempt to ward off the approaching "death," I haphazardly unleashed five bolts of fiery lightning.

Two of the flaming spears missed and destroyed the maze wall, while the other three exploded on the "skeleton sheep".

"────────!?"

The direct hit of the "Quick Attack Magic" caused the monster to let out a shrill scream.

Piercing through their dark robes and shattering their bones, the monsters fell to the ground, writhing in agony.

They fled from us as if they were afraid of wildly flying sparks.

“—Ah…”

At the same time, my body also lost its strength.

"Mental exhaustion." A side effect of abusing magic.

Finally, even his mental energy was depleted.

Although he could barely maintain consciousness, he was unable to move even a single finger.

I couldn't even bask in the relief of having driven away the threat; I could only savor the despair of being on the verge of defeat.

"Mr. Crannie..."

Someone called out to me.

But who is it? Who is the person next to me?

Not good.

I can't hear anything, I can't think of anything, I can't feel anything.

Why am I here?

I can't remember what I'm supposed to do.

"Mr. Crannie!..."

I wander in a maze, a maze with no exit, an endless maze buried in darkness.

Unable to distinguish front from back, left from right, or even where their own people are.

The sensation in my hands and feet gradually disappeared.

The short, rapid breathing gradually faded into the distance.

The line between reality and fantasy has disappeared.

"Mr. Crannie! --"

The eternal darkness gradually erased my existence.

Both body and mind were gradually painted with a dark color.

I am gradually losing myself.

—Then, "smack!"

A clear voice sounded.

It took me a moment to realize that it was coming from my cheeks.

"Calm down."

My right cheek, hot and burning, brought me back to myself from the darkness.

I looked up in a daze.

Before me were a pair of sky-blue eyes.

Right in front of me, she stared at me with a commanding presence.

"...Ryu, Miss?"

I regained my hearing, regained my senses, and returned to reality.

I remembered her name and called out to her.

Miss Liu, who slapped me, nodded in response.

"I know you're feeling terrible, but I need you to listen to me. First, you need to calm down and breathe slowly."

As I felt the warmth of the hand resting on my shoulder, I did as she said.

Inhale, exhale.

One more time.

The lungs, which had nearly succumbed to hyperventilation, have returned to calm.

The cool air penetrated my brain, helping to cool my thoughts.

The thick fog that had enveloped my mind slowly dissipated.

"Mr. Crannie, you don't need to keep lamenting like this."

Miss Liu quietly observed my reactions, and after I calmed down, she told me:

"Even if you encounter the remains of some of your colleagues, their condition will remain completely unchanged. So you don't need to feel sad at all."

Hearing her assertion like that, my eyes widened.

It was the worst situation from the very beginning, the absolute lowest point. It neither improved nor worsened.

Rather than saying that they had reached the cave they were initially looking for, it was a significant step forward.

Ms. Liu firmly told me that there was no need to feel disappointed.

...She was absolutely right.

But I can't help but doubt Miss Ryu's rationality... no, the strength of her will.

Witnessing fellow adventurers turn into skeletons, their minds remain so unshaken.

"Mr. Crannie, five minutes."

“Eh…”

"I need you to sleep for 'five minutes'."

Faced with my astonishment, Miss Ryu spoke repeatedly as if to leave me speechless.

She opened her palm and held it up in front of my eyes.

"Wait, wait a minute! What does that mean...!?"

"I mean, I'll be on guard duty, so you can take a nap while I do so."

"...!?"

"Then, you must use these 'five minutes' to recover your strength as much as possible."

Hearing her say it so clearly, I finally understood what she meant.

Ms. Ryu wants me to rest under these circumstances.

But "five minutes" is way too long...!?

"Given the current situation and the 'deep' depths... 'Five minutes' is the limit."

It's impossible to spend more time.

Given our current situation where we must be on guard against monster attacks, we cannot afford to have a break of more than five minutes.

Her tone, which left no room for argument, made me gasp.

I know her request is unreasonable. How much stamina can be restored in "five minutes"? Even if adventurers who have reached a higher level possess superhuman physical abilities, is resting for such a short time meaningful?

Just when I didn't know how to express my thoughts, Miss Ryu gave me the answer first.

"Being able to fall asleep anytime, anywhere, and diligently recover one's strength... that's one of the adventurer's talents."

"!"

I suddenly felt enlightened.

Hearing these words reminded me of what that admired person once said when I trained on the city wall.

"Because in the dungeon, you need to be able to sleep anytime, anywhere."