Jeong Yusin sighed deeply.
“Huh. Mars, we don’t have time for nonsense. We need to move. Don’t joke around and climb on.”
“Alright… I understand.”
As Jeong Yusin hoisted Mars over his shoulder by the arm, Mars trembled like an aspen leaf.
“Uh…er. Why are you shaking?”
“It’s all because of the possession. It’ll get better with time. Right, Kubo?”
“Ri… right.”
Kubo nodded in agreement while averting his gaze from Jeong Yusin’s eyes.
Jeong Yusin brought the backpack to the front, hoisted Mars on his back, and secured him with a rope.
He picked up the fallen shield and retrieved the broken Aming Sword.
“Huh.”
At the sight of the sword broken in half, a sigh escaped him first.
It had been lightly greased, light in weight, and effortless to use.
It was inexpensively purchased but had lasted a fairly long time; it was a pity to see it break here.
Had he grown attached to it after enduring numerous battles together?
Click.
He inserted the broken sword into its sheath. He decided to take it with him, trusting that Bolon would somehow fix it.
The previously carried blue Long Sword was now strapped to his waist due to Mars’ condition.
Kubo looked on with an expression of disbelief.
“Isn’t it heavy?”
Not long after the battle and already carrying an injured party member, his comrades regarded him with a sense of awe.
“It’s doable. This much is fine.”
“If it’s tiring, let me know, and I’ll take it over.”
Iron Mask approached from the side and spoke.
Jeong Yusin shook his head.
“I’m fine.”
Jeong Yusin and the party members resumed walking through the forest path.
The party’s progress was slow.
It was because Mars, the Guide, had no strength left in his body.
Although the poison and treatment were over, it seemed his body had endured an enormous overload.
‘Well, if you could move after exerting that much strength, it would be strange.’
The fact that Mars had been forced during the possession state stung deeply.
‘Real training might be worth considering?’
He considered asking blacksmith Bolon to fabricate weight training equipment sometime.
‘Enough.’
Clang!
He raised his fist and struck his helmet.
He was contemplating trivial things amidst the labyrinth exploration. Even with the Venom Protection inscription, complacency was forbidden.
“Huh…Hugek!!!”
Mars, who was carried on his back, shivered violently.
“Why is that, Mars?”
“Why…why does seeing your fist make my head… Ugh!”
“···Let’s take a short break. Mars isn’t in good condition.”
At Jeong Yusin’s suggestion, all party members stopped by the road.
Jeong Yusin sat leaning against a tree stump and watched as Mars examined the map, groaning.
After 20 minutes.
“···It seems we’ve moved further toward the outskirts.”
Mars concluded with a frown.
“I see. Good job, Mars. By any chance, is there a nearby rest area?”
In response to Iron Mask’s question, Mars scratched his head.
“There is a place for camping.”
“Let’s head there. How long will it take?”
“About two hours of walking. However…”
“However?”
As Mars hesitated, Jeong Yusin prompted him.
“There’s a high probability the map is outdated and the rest area might be gone. Or it might be abandoned and turned into a demon’s nest.”
“Where did you buy this map?”
Jeong Yusin asked again.
“There’s a Guide Guild. They provide various kinds of education required for labyrinth exploration and also sell items. I bought the map there.”
“I see.”
Well, there’s also a Swordsmanship Guild, so it makes sense that there would be a Guide Guild as well. This isn’t an unusual matter.
Jeong Yusin strapped Mars onto his back and set off again.
The deeper they ventured, the more the forest grew lush, obscuring the smog-filled sky.
The forest road was enveloped in deep, night-like darkness.
After walking for about two hours as Mars had said, a building shrouded in darkness could be faintly seen through the bushes.
An overgrown glade filled with tall grass and plants.
An old wall stood there.
Tree roots wrapped around the cracked stone wall, and moss and mushrooms covered every gap.
The party members quietly glanced at each other and nodded.
Jeong Yusin put down Mars and the baggage and stepped forward.
“I’ll check first.”
“Be careful.”
“Don’t worry.”
Swish swish swish.
Parting the bushes carefully, he scouted around the ruins.
‘No demons. No strange objects either. All clear.’
The building was almost completely ruined, leaving nothing much to hide.
After checking thoroughly, he returned to the party members.
“No issues. No signs of demon activity or strange objects.”
“Understood.”
The party members entered the ruins, unpacked their gear by the stone wall, and tidied up the surroundings. They cut down the weeds and spread out their cloaks.
They gathered firewood and lit a campfire, sitting around it.
The fire crackled, casting flickering shadows on the party members’ faces.
Leaning against the wall, Jeong Yusin lifted his helmet, loosened his boots and armor straps, and began.
“Let’s eat.”
“Alright.”
“Got it.”
Without formal prompts, members pulled out their rations and water, eating and drinking.
Jeong Yusin picked up a stick, skewered some jerky, and fixed it diagonally over the fire.
Seeing this, Mars and Kubo followed suit, skewering their jerky on sticks and holding them over the fire.
“…”
Jeong Yusin took out some teddy bear biscuits from his backpack, passing them around the party—excluding Breen.
Upon receiving the biscuit, Mars started shedding tears profusely.
‘Why is this?’
“Mars, eat it. Don’t cry.”
“Guh…alright!”
The rodent guide shoved the teddy biscuit into his mouth and began munching vigorously.
Kubo scratched his head.
“It’s good, but it’s not worth crying over, right?”
“Leave it. Having been freed from possession, it must taste especially wonderful, no?”
Jeong Yusin’s response caused Kubo to scratch his head again.
“Yeah, that’s reasonable.”
As Jeong Yusin tore into his meat skewer, he looked over his party members.
From days of continuous exploration, most appeared rather disheveled. Greasy hair and foul sweat smell. The result of not having a proper wash over the past few days.
Nevertheless, no one seemed to care, focusing solely on eating.
After finishing meals, Jeong Yusin turned to Breen.
“Shall we hear the story then?”
“…”
Until now, Breen hadn’t uttered a single word.
It was time to inquire.
“So, the incident occurred right after entering the sixth floor forest zone…”
Breen began haltingly to recount what had transpired on the sixth floor.
After about an hour, Breen’s narrative came to its end.
Jeong Yusin retrieved more firewood from his backpack and threw it into the flames.
Gazing at the rising sparks a while, he reorganized his thoughts, then spoke.
“You transferred to the sixth floor and landed in a demon’s den. While Lett was battling madly from the front, the rear was attacked, and the party was dispersed, correct?”
“Yes.”
“And how did you manage to escape from there? Not to sound too harsh, but you don’t appear to be that strong.”
“I guess…because I tried really hard?”
“…”
Breen broke into a cold sweat under Jeong Yusin’s gaze and turned away.
Does that even make sense?
If trying hard is all it takes, even a dog wouldn’t believe it. The longer he listened, the more his doubts deepened.
“Iron Mask, is this one trustworthy?”
“He doesn’t seem to harbor malice. The Kallione family is the Chancellor family of Lionel Kingdom. They must have a line or two of lifelines.”
Jeong Yusin’s head snapped around. As expected, Breen was turning away, streaming sweat.
It makes sense now.
Iron Mask bringing this woman along had its own reasons.
Being the Crown Prince of Lionel Kingdom, he couldn’t just leave the Chancellor’s daughter behind.
“…”
Mars and Kubo looked at Breen with astonished eyes. But they said nothing more.
“The daughter of the Chancellor family, a student due to graduate from Dungeon Academy—what business did you have coming here to the dungeon?”
“It… It’s because I lacked the graduation credits…”
“…”
Words failed him in exasperation.
“What a guild. Sending an under-credited student into the dungeon—it’s outrageous.”
“No… It’s not that. Dad said if I don’t graduate this year, he would throw me out of the house, so I volunteered for this dungeon exploration which grants substantial bonus points.”
“Didn’t you study?”
“…”
Breen turned away again.
There’s no excuse.
“Is it usual for students to come here alone?”
“·Well… They come with friends.”
“Did you not have friends?”
“…”
Breen bowed her head.
“Scath, why pour salt on old wounds? Can’t you see?”
Kubo spoke up on her defense.
Jeong Yusin scratched his head.
‘Hikikomori, was she?’
“Alright. Since Iron Mask took her in, I won’t comment further.”
Hearing Jeong Yusin’s words, Mars looked utterly disbelieving.
“···Scath, you’ve done enough already. Look at that kid’s face. She looks like she might die immediately.”
“And by the way, while I’m asking, if by any chance you see your former party, would you help them?”
Jeong Yusin ignored Mars’ comment and questioned Breen.
“Ah… no. We weren’t that close, and watching those three indulge in their clique was rather repulsive anyway. I’m sure they’ll be fine on their own.”
Jeong Yusin nodded.
From her recount of past events, she seemed to genuinely dislike Lett and the group.
After all, trying to make up for academic failures while watching an elite group socialize for several days must not have been easy.
And still, Lionel Kingdom is quite grim.
The daughter of the Chancellor without a single friend, a complete reclusive loner.
“Iron Mask, thank you for your efforts.”
“…”
Iron Mask stared intensely at Jeong Yusin before sighing.
“Scath, stop with the nonsense and rather assign watch duties.”
“Alright.”
The party gathered together, drew lots, set the watch schedules, and retired for the night.
*
“Scath, wake up.”
“Mm.”
Awoken by someone nudging his shoulder, the smell of chemicals. It’s Iron Mask.
“How long have I slept?”
“About 8 hours.”
Jeong Yusin got up, stretched, and moved closer to the fire to sit.
Last night, thanks to his comrades’ consideration, he managed the first watch, giving him a bit of rest to alleviate the fatigue from combat.
He took out a biscuit from his storage and nibbled while surveying his companions.
Mars was gnawing on jerky, staring intently at the map.
Kubo was quietly seated, meditating.
Breen was dozing off against the wall.
Iron Mask was perusing a stack of request parchments.
Jeong Yusin chewed away on his jerky and positioned himself beside Iron Mask.
“Any idea how much we’ve earned?”
“···We can fulfill three herb requests. The mining and slaying requests haven’t been completed yet.”
“And those mushroom men?”
“They aren’t part of the request list.”
“…”
Jeong Yusin’s mouth watered.
“There’s no need to regret. This time we’ve gathered some good herbs. We’ll earn at least three gold coins.”
“For each person?”
“No. The party has to split three gold coins among four.”
“75 coins each… Not bad, right?”
“Lucky. Scath, stop loitering and get ready. Mars seems to have found the path.”
“Alright.”
The party members packed up and gathered around Mars.
“As you can see, we’re on the outskirts. To get to the transfer stone leading to the seventh floor, we’ll need to walk steadily for at least three days.”
“We must be on the far outskirts, huh.”
“That’s right. And about the Lett party…”
Mars hesitated a moment.
“Spit it out.”
“Considering what happened to the Lett party, there’s likely a demon den nearby.”
Jeong Yusin nodded.
That’s true.
The reason Breen caught his eye immediately while with Lett was because of that.
“Careful passage will suffice. Also, while the Lett party was attacked, we don’t know for sure if they’re all dead.”
“···Correct.”
Mars glanced at Breen and replied.
“Good. Then let’s get moving.”
Iron Mask stood up, spoke, and nodded as the party members strapped on their gear.
Thanks to the half-day rest, Mars quickly regained his energy and found the path.
The party advanced through the forest road for about half a day.
Mars, who was leading ahead, stopped and perked up his ears.
“Halt. I hear groaning nearby.”
“Is it something we should get involved with?”
Jeong Yusin asked.
“If we can, we should rescue them. Naturally, assuming our strength allows it. Mars, reconnaissance duty.”
Iron Mask answered on his behalf.
“Understood.”
Mars dropped into a crouched stance and moved quietly.
After waiting briefly, Mars returned.
“Uh… Do you remember that human swordsman party we encountered last time?”
Mars’ question stiffened Jeong Yusin’s expression.
Could it be?
He’s talking about the Lett party, is he?
The nodding heads of the party confirmed it, and the rodent guide reluctantly opened his mouth.
“Caught in the territory of Giant Spiders.”
“…”
The party fell silent.
“Uh…”
Breen hesitantly spoke up.
“Well… Honestly, I don’t think we should rescue this harem party.”
Jeong Yusin lost his words and stared blankly at Breen’s face.
Rejecting even before knowing the full story?
‘This one doesn’t act human after all?’
