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

"From this moment on, mental strength will become our lifeline. In addition to avoiding fighting monsters as much as possible, 'magic' must also be used for self-defense as much as possible."

Even if we use "restoration magic" in sequence whenever Miss Ryu's mental strength naturally recovers to a certain level, we still need to conserve our strength and reduce the amount of our final means of attack. "Magic" or "skills" must not be used indiscriminately.

However, this is contingent on the "deep layer" being willing to let us use it sparingly.

"First of all... we need to get the equipment and tools we need to advance into the 'deep'."

Water is also needed if possible.

Miss Ryu concluded it this way.

I have no objection. In fact, there was no other choice.

So, how can we replenish the most important supplies? Just as I was about to ask that question... I unfortunately discovered something.

They noticed that Ms. Ryu had become expressionless.

"Miss Ryu...?"

Her lips, which were about to open, closed again.

Behind that cold demeanor, one could glimpse hesitation and inner turmoil.

For a moment, I felt she seemed hesitant, afraid to say what she was about to say.

It was almost like breaking a taboo.

Those sky-blue eyes momentarily drew their attention away from me.

"...?"

She glanced at the adventurers' remains.

For some reason, this gave me a bad feeling.

For some reason, at that moment, I felt a chill run down my spine.

Then, Miss Liu spoke:

"We need to strip the dead of their equipment."

These words resonated deeply with me.

"...Huh?"

I couldn't understand what she was saying to me, and I couldn't comprehend the meaning of her words.

Seeing my foolish expression, Ms. Ryu reiterated:

"...I said we should strip the corpses of their equipment so we could use it ourselves."

Her deep voice sounded like she was trying to persuade me, and herself.

The moment I understood what she was really thinking, I screamed out loud.

"Wait a minute!? Does that mean we're going to loot the corpse...?!"

This is a "blasphemy" against the dead.

As fellow adventurers, we should help bring the remains back to the surface; it's an unwritten rule among adventurers.

Yet we are violating the rules and "stealing" the belongings from the corpse. This is the most heinous "barbaric act".

Grave robbing, corpse robbery, murderers. These despicable words kept swirling in my mind.

In an instant, I was drenched in sweat, my eyes froze involuntarily, and my tongue dried up completely.

Just as I was about to retort with some unspoken thoughts, Ms. Ryu cruelly interrupted me.

"We must use these people who have been defeated by the labyrinth to ask our ancestors, who perished before us, for this method of escape... Now is not the time to be picky about the methods."

A somber resolve echoed through the labyrinth.

I gasped.

Miss Ryu is serious.

"...I'll take care of this woman. Mr. Crannie, please take care of the two of them."

After she finished speaking, she stood up in front of me.

Miss Liu, dragging her still-healing right leg, knelt down beside "her," who was wearing a long, flared combat suit, and began to search frantically.

"...!?"

She cruelly tore open her badly damaged combat suit, cut the obstructing belt with her katana, and rummaged through her crimson pouch.

The skeleton seemed to cry out as its wrists detached from the cuffs of its clothes, and golden fur scattered on the ground.

Please don't do that!

—I don't want to see you like this!

My inner cry did not become a sound.

Seeing Miss Ryu's profile with her wide, trembling eyes, I understood.

She couldn't possibly not feel hesitant, couldn't possibly not feel repulsed. Miss Liu suffered a deeper pang of conscience than I did, coughing up unseen blood.

For elves with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, "desecrating the dead" is naturally the most abhorrent act. She deliberately tramples on her own honor, donning a cruel mask to humiliate the deceased.

To survive, for myself. —No, for me?

As a senior adventurer, how do you fulfill your duties?

Seeing Ms. Ryu single-mindedly stripping her belongings from the corpse, I couldn't stop the overwhelming surge of emotions coursing through my mind.

I grimaced, tears welling in my eyes, and clenched my fist with all my might.

"!!"

Scolding my pathetic legs, I rushed forward to my companions, now reduced to bones.

The body leaning against the wall met my gaze with its pure black eye sockets, and I closed my eyes.

I reached out and grabbed the armor, tearing it off in one go.

Just that made my vision dizzy.

My breathing became erratic, and my head spun. A surge of heat rose from my abdomen to my throat.

No, you mustn't vomit. The situation is now a survival battle; unnecessary vomiting will lead to a slow death. I quickly covered my mouth with one hand and, with excruciating pain, swallowed everything that came up.

The water shimmered in my vision. I couldn't even shed tears; not a single drop of moisture could be wasted.

So, so, so, I gritted my teeth while "desecrating" the dead.

"I'm sorry, forgive me, I can't die yet." I repeated my grievances to myself as I slowly stripped my companions of their equipment. When I touched their withered, skeletal fingers, I pressed down on my arm, which throbbed as if electrified, and took their swords and armor piece by piece.

This is... an adventurer.

This is also... an adventurer.

When forced into a life-or-death situation, even remains will be robbed.

I know this industry isn't all sweet talk, and I thought I understood that. But it seems I was still too naive in some ways.

(The realization I need to make now... is nothing but sophistry...)

But even so—I am determined to live on.

He vowed in his heart to live on for the sake of the dead who were robbed.

I desperately tried to say things that wouldn't comfort anyone. My fellow travelers, now reduced to remains, didn't answer.

Only the swords stolen from them say: "Adventurers must cross this threshold."

As if telling me this, the blade gleamed sharply in the darkness.

"Huff, huff...!"

I gasped for breath as I lifted my head from the ground where I was supporting myself with my hands.

Before me lay the belongings of my deceased colleagues—equipment and tools.

There were longswords and katanas with missing blades, cracked wands, several daggers, the only piece of armor—a single breastplate, a magical quill pen, several potions that had turned an eerie color, a whole piece of moldy black bread, and other small items… Despite the variety, the item that caught our eye the most was this:

"The floor plan, which was only half-drawn..."

The tough fabric, in the form of a scroll, was held in the hands of the remains against the wall.

The X mark in the corner likely represents a stronghold, in other words, this current cave. A complex maze is drawn from here using red lines.

The area they drew was quite vast. This map shows that even when they encountered several dead ends and were almost discouraged, they persisted in drawing it.

These people must have perished and are now wandering aimlessly, searching for a way out.

Then, his ambitions remained unfulfilled, and he died young.

"While I cannot fully comprehend their regret... this map will be of great help to us."

Miss Liu spread the map on the ground and looked down at it with me. I nodded firmly in response to her murmur.

We must proceed to the point where the map breaks—to continue the cartographic work and draw the route along the way.

Draw the path back to the surface.

"...Miss Ryu, do you recall any information about this map...?"

"No... The 37th floor is too vast; I couldn't grasp every corner. At least, I don't remember ever seeing the shape of this maze."

The intention behind asking this question was to at least deduce the current location from the perspective of the entire floor, but the answer was predictably not optimistic. However…

"However, I have ventured into the 'deep' several times and still remember how to follow the proper route."

"So that means..."

"Yes, as long as we can get close to the proper route... then I can take you to the passageway."

Miss Liu leaned closer and our eyes met; a glimmer of light shone in her eyes.

Although it was only a little, but...

I'm slowly starting to see hope.

"Regarding the deceased's belongings... bring as much as you can, you never know what they might need."

"OK……"

I looked up from the unfolded map and turned my eyes to the various equipment and items.

We used the shoelaces from the relic boots to repair the half-damaged backpack and put our things inside. We also crammed in some items so badly damaged they were practically unusable. Even dented and charred water bottles and empty test tubes were included. Miss Ryu tore off the woman's combat suit and wrapped it around herself in the tattered clothes. Despite the inopportune moment, I blushed and quickly looked away.

However, a closer look at their belongings reveals that although the food was moldy and rotten, there was still some left.

I don't believe their immediate cause of death was starvation or dehydration. However, while there were plenty of elixirs left, I didn't see any antidotes or similar items. I don't think a team exploring the "deeper layers" would be unprepared for such things… So, did they use them all? Could the cause of death be an "abnormal state," primarily "poisoning"?

I think it's possible. They likely perished for some reason and then used this cave as a base to search for an escape route. However, monsters poisoned them along the way, and they're barely managing to stay hidden here, without enough supplies to cure the poison...

After his companions died one by one, the last one, perhaps driven mad by the "deep" darkness, ended his own life.

I couldn't help but look at the body with a short sword stuck in its chest.

"...Mr. Craney."

Miss Ryu noticed something and flipped the map over to give it to me.

It turns out this piece of cloth is the emblem of a clan, probably their flag. They probably didn't even have paper for mapping, so they had to draw the map on their faction's honor.

The marks of intense friction made it impossible for me to determine which clan's emblem it was.

However, in the corner of the fabric, the common language (Koine) was written in red:

"I'm so sorry... Thor... I'm so sorry... Mom... We can't go back..."

I read aloud this last message, which was stained and obscured in some places.

Imagining the fate of this trio, both Ms. Ryu and I felt a deep sense of sorrow.

"..."

"..."

Just before we put on the weapons and armor we had received and were about to leave the cave.

Miss Liu and I had our three companions lie down in the center of the cave with their hands folded, and then I closed my eyes facing them.

We offer our apologies for offending them, and silent prayers.