Chapter 36. Speed = Life.

"When I accidentally uttered my phrase, attracting the attention of everyone, especially Arman."

"Wait, did you find it?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Let's move away a bit." I said with a serious expression on my face.

Moving away from the gathered group, we began to discuss the pressing issue.

"Why delay, speak faster, did you find it?" he asked a bit rudely. I understand him because we have a serious problem right now.

"Yes, wait. Let's talk quieter," I said and continued.

"My birds can transmit to me an approximate picture of what they see. Essentially, the entire dungeon is an improvised game board consisting of swampy and earthy cells. As far as I understand, a cell of earth, from turning into a swamp, is reliably stopped by tightly connected trees, and they are connected by a web. Therefore, each of our movements on the plot of land is transmitted to it as a signal."

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, calming down but with a serious tone.

"Yes, I'm sure. So the wounded will have to run without looking back, constantly showing me safe cells. While they will be running between the cells, we'll have to deal with Arachna," I said.

"Well... Then let's do it this way. Seven of us came to help this group. Adel is a healer, so she won't be able to help us in the fight against Arachna, leaving us six. Let's split into two groups and act from different sides. If your birds can convey information, leave one bird for each group. Let your birds show the location of Arachna for the two attacking groups and a safe direction for the wounded group," Arman gave me the command. He said all this slowly and confidently, firmly believing that his plan is reliable.

"No problem. I'm only concerned about the question of forming teams," I said, scratching my head. It's natural for me to worry about this, considering that I'm only familiar with Arman, and that's because of the memory of the previous "Temir," and I know nothing about the others except for rough information.

"As far as I understand, you have now become a universal fighter," Arman said after a few seconds of contemplation.

"Really?" I said hesitantly. In my head, the thought came up that he wants to send me to another group; I hope it's not true.

"Then it will be even easier. You will go with Adil and Sasha, and I will take Dauren and Kirill with me. I hope it's not too late to talk about it, but I hope for you and your help for my group. Adil has a lot of experience, so you don't have to worry about him, but try to keep an eye on Sasha; she is strong, but the dungeon seems to be against her," Arman said with all his inherent seriousness. I don't know why, but from the very beginning, I felt something akin to fraternal care from him, as if he was trying to be the older brother for everyone.

"Yes, of course, I'll keep an eye on her. Although I thought we would be in the same group," I said with a little offense, but thinking about it, it's not so important for me to be in a group with whom.

"I'm counting on you," he said with a smile, heading towards the group, but after taking a few steps, he stopped and added. "When we get out, we'll need to eat a lot of meat," he said with a broad smile.

"Of course," I replied, also smiling.

The organization of groups and the explanation of Arman's plan to them took only a few minutes. He quickly and briefly explained the essence of the plan, and I called the birds back. Although the birds had been studying the sky all this time, they still couldn't find Arachna, which bothered me a little. But since Arman decided to use the birds as navigators, I had to return them, leaving one bird for each group. Just in case, I left a blue bird (Blue Arrow) with the wounded group; it can help them in a difficult situation, although it will require more mana to use my abilities.

Having divided into groups, we immediately went in three different directions. As two attacking groups, we initially headed to the central area of the dungeon, from where, after some time, we went in opposite directions. The group with the wounded, however, was sent to circle the outer circle of the dungeon. They should stay as far away from us as possible while we fight with Arachna.

When we parted, I noticed Adil's unfriendly look. It seemed like he didn't trust me, though maybe it wasn't that; it seemed like he didn't take me seriously. I didn't take his attitude to heart, especially since he was a stranger to me, quite literally. As I pondered this, Ever addressed me.

"He was there when you arrived in this world. He was with Arman and Aynagul," she said, seemingly casually.

"Well, even if he's familiar with the former 'Temir,' he's not mine. Besides, I essentially use Arman to make life easier in this world. Although maybe I've grown a bit attached to him," I added at the end, perhaps revealing my genuine feelings.

"Perhaps, but I think you're trying to convince yourself that you're using him, while in reality, you're trying to assimilate into this world," she remarked.

"No matter what I..." I began to argue with her, but Red Arrow signaled. Arachna attacked another group. The problem was that it was a group of wounded people, the very ones we came to protect.

"Adil, Sasha, we need to urgently head towards the group with Adel," I said, remembering that Adel was with them.

"Our task is to find Arachna, not to help you hide in that group," Adil said aggressively.

"What? When did I say I want to hide there? Are you out of your mind?" I exclaimed in anger. I understand that I'm a stranger to him, but to say such things...

"And what? Are you trying to say that you didn't come with us just to see everything? You're a burden to us," he shouted.

"Deer! The wounded group is under attack. You idiot, who doesn't use his brain. Didn't Arman tell you that these birds can communicate with each other?" I said, forcefully calming myself.

"How am I supposed to know that it's not your invention? I've never heard of such an ability before," he replied.

"You know what? Go to hell. You stay with him, Sasha?" I asked the archer. Her eyes quickly ran over the two of us in confusion, but I didn't see the same disgust in her eyes as in Adil's. So, I proposed.

"I'll leave Red Arrow with you. She'll be by your side and will cover you in case of need," I said, mentally summoning the bird. The bird gently landed on the archer's shoulder.

"I don't know why you're such a stubborn idiot and why you hate me, but I hope you'll change your character in the future. I'm leaving," I said, turning away from them. Though I promised Arman that I would watch over them, but... Well, I left Red Arrow with them, and that's already assistance and supervision.

When I turned away from them, I immediately tried to sense the direction of Blue Arrow. After a few seconds, understanding their location, I applied "shadow leap" to the maximum distance. Not sure if Adil and Sasha saw my ability, although I wanted to hide it, but I had no choice. Unfortunately, I miscalculated a bit and found myself in the middle of a swamp. Fortunately, the ability to hide in the shadow for a few seconds won me time, and I immediately used the next "shadow leap."

It took me only 4 "shadow leaps" to reach them. By that time, most of the people in the group were lying on the ground. While my bird was creating bullets with which it was shooting the huge spider, I confidently rushed towards the wounded. Although I spent quite a bit of mana, I had enough for a small healing of the injured people. I think a little over a hundred mana I can allocate for this. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to check if those I was trying to help were alive. I had to start a solo battle against a spider that resembled the size of my house.