EP.34 Don’t work with adventurers, please. (3)

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It was different from the way I thought it to be, but I got through the 5th floor boss in the end.

We decided to distribute the treasures we had collected before going down to the 6th floor. All the treasures in the backpacks were laid out on the floor.

Wealth, that looked about something like 3000 gold.

A goblin shaman's amulet.

A goblin knight's sword.

The goblin king's necklace.

And, other miscellaneous things.

I gave all three of them everything except for Goobriel's necklace.

Xenia was startled and asked twice for confirmation, and I nodded my head without hesitation.

These are items of floors 1-5 at most.

It would bring a good sum of money if sold outside, but it wasn't worth more than that.

While they were sharing the treasures among them with ecstasy, I inspected Goobriel's necklace.

Is it also 500 years old?

It was covered with black spots and mold.

'This item, I had never seen it in the game.'

What effect does it have?

If I take it to an appraiser and show him, will he be able to find out?

"Have you guys finished the distribution? Then we can move on to the next floor."

At the end of the 5th floor, there is a door that looks exactly like the stone gate I saw when we first entered the dungeon.

The only difference from back then is that this door has to be touched by all four of us.

After confirming that all the party members were alive, the stone door opened.

Beyond the stone gate, the portal was shining with a blue glow.

"Let's go."

""

I took a step forward.

This party will face the real problems from next floor onwards.

* * *

"From the 1st to 5th floor, you all probably didn't feel much of a threat. Your skills and experience were too strong to be threatened by goblins or anything like those."

-Crunch.

With every step taken, one could hear the rustling of grass.

Unlike the upper floors, the 6th floor had a grassy terrain. The surrounding area was blocked off by white stone walls in many directions, in the end it was same as a maze.

"First of all, the level of monsters here will be different from those upstairs. The traps are also incomparable from those above."

"Ah, anyway. How can there be too big of a difference with just one step down?"

Chris shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

Indeed, this is the spirit worthy of puberty, and in full glow.

"Unfortunately, yes. There is a big difference. Do you two know about blue wolves?"

I turned to Xenia and Kurba and said. When the words 'blue wolves' was mentioned, their faces turned serious automatically.

"Blue wolves…aren't they level 22 monsters? How can they be here?"

"They are. So from now on, you guys have to be careful. Otherwise, someone would really die."

"…Isn't that too dangerous?"

Xenia asked in a worried tone. I smiled wryly in response.

"It's a dungeon. If you have come to a dungeon, you have to take this level of risk."

High risk, high returns.

It is the principle of the world, and it also similarly applies to dungeons.

A dungeon is a place that holds treasures that anyone would covet, but it is also an equally dangerous place at the same time.

To only take the treasures without taking a single risk is no different from looting.

"That's not what I…"

She worriedly glanced at Chris.

It seems that she is worried about her son's well being, not about her own.

"Can we send this kid back? He is still too young to take such risk."

"Mom, what are you talking! Why are you making such decisions on your own?!"

"You be quiet! Even in adventurer's field of work, there is a step by step process. To you who just had a coming-of-age ceremony, the dungeon is too early!"

Another fight broke out between the two, hash.

The two didn't make any concessions, and it seemed that the quarrel would never end if they were left alone.

'No one can return, anyway.'

This dungeon can only be progressed with 4 people. It means that the moment even one person falls out, it cannot be cleared.

I had mentioned it when we came, did they really forget it in their own enthusiasm?

So, now it was time to remind Xenia of that fact and try to calm her down.

"Be quiet for a moment."

I felt something approaching.

The two, who had been arguing over each other's words, shut their mouths.

As I stood still, in an alert posture, a large wolf appeared at the fork on the right about 10 meters ahead.

"The blue wolf… no, not that."

I nodded in agreement at Xenia's words.

It wasn't a blue-haired wolf that suddenly appeared. It was a normal wolf with gray fur. The size was still unusual though.

'It's front right foot is injured.'

More appropriately, it wasn't just injured, it was completely amputated.

"Wow… the size is really big. Still, it doesn't has one leg, so wouldn't this one be worth trying on my own? Isn't it, Mom?"

"…Yeah, it would be nice to have some experience at this point. Try it."

"Oh yea! Heh heh, you bastard, you are dead meat now… Kek!"

I grabbed Chris by the back of his neck as he was troting forward in jubilation. Chris grabbed my hand and let out a groan, but I didn't care.

My gaze was still fixed on the wolf's paws.

Blood was constantly dripping down from his other front paw.

"We have to get out. You can't get close to that wolf."

"What? Why…"

Awwoo—!

Wolf howls came from all directions.

F**k, it's already too late

"W, What, what happened?!"

"What else? Wolves are coming to catch the game they missed."

"Game? Wolves are eating wolves?"

"There is not other species in the same dungeon level, so what else are they going to eat? Shut up and get ready to run. Tch, indeed, too late."

– Woo… Awoor!

The gray wolf stared at the fork on the other side of the path and howled. At that moment, a blue-haired wolf jumped out of the fork and bit the gray wolf by its neck in an clean move.

""

– grrr…gr…

Maybe that loud howling was the greatest effort it could create. The gray wolf was limp without much resistance.

When the hunt was finished, the blue wolf turned his gaze to its new game.

It looked at us with a ferocious light in its eyes.

"Follow me."

I immediately drew out my sword and bolted forward.

The blue wolf spited out the gray wolf. Recognizing me as its new prey, the guy poked out its wide open jaws.

Its jaws were large enough to swallow me in one bite.

If it could swallow me, that is.

[Wolf Buster]-!

An effective skill against beast-type monsters.

From the top of the wolf's jaw to the head, it was cleaved cleanly.

-Awoo!

At the fork on either side, a blue wolf jumped out, one from each.

No problem.

Just move the sword twice, instead of once.

[Wolf Buster]-!

[Wolf Buster]-!

Killed the two wolves and looked back. They were confused at first, but soon they came back to their senses and started speeding with me.

Okay, so that's it.

As long as the party is established, the experience points will be shared, so even if I kill the wolves by myself, they can grow too.

'Then there is nothing to be afraid of.'

Kill the monsters that stand in the way.

Wouldn't it be really easy if that was the only solution?

""

But, as always, the world didn't go the way I wanted it to.

– cruck-!

A sound that makes people uneasy.

I turned my head back.

The ground that Kurba stepped on sunk by about 10 cm.

A trap.

-click.

I quickly rolled my eyes around.

Four small holes appeared on each side of the wall.

'The distance between them and me is about 5 meters. Can I strike out all the arrows?'

Even before I could do the calculations, my body was already moving. The body is faster than the head. After two steps, I reached by their side.

– Pavak.

Eight arrows were fired at the same time I arrived.

[Strike]-!

The silver sword deflected five arrows.

'I couldn't get all of them out.'

No matter how good one's technique is, it is impossible to ignore the limitations of the body. There is a limit to the speed of the sword that this body can produce.

Can't help it.

The rest of the three shots are not much compared to the original eight, I hope that the party members will figure it out and avoid it.

I turned my head.

"My leg, agh, agh, aggh!!!!"

Chris screamed as I gazed at his skewered leg.

Oh, shit.

* * *

Chris was shot in the leg by an arrow, unable to move, so the party had to stop moving. The scattered blue wolves gathered and surrounded them in meantime.

The blue wolves and Cloud along with his new party members fell into a stalemate.

"Pick out the arrow and heal with potions."

Having said that, Cloud stood still with his sword on the floor as he stared at the wolves.

Chris felt pressure from the wolves' fierce gazes. Nevertheless, he kept his hands busy for treatment.

He picked out the arrow and applied a potion.

"Come on, workkk..!"

The potion Chris used was of low quality.

Abrasions and cuts can be easily treated, but for large wounds like penetration wounds, it's less effective. Chris will be in great pain until it heals completely.

"Chris, hold on a little… just a little bit. You'll be fine. Ugh, why, I should have been hit instead…!"

"Mom, please… be still…"

—that too while calming his restless mother.

""

Meanwhile, Kurba was going crazy.

'Shit! Shit! Shit!'

When he turns his eyes to this side, there's a wolf.

When he turns his eyes to that side, there's also a wolf.

There are only blue wolves all over.

What if these bastards attack at once?

What will happen?!

He will be ripped to pieces without a trace of humanity!

There is only one reason why these wolf cubs aren't attacking despite their numerical superiority.

'That bastard called Cloud.'

He tore apart dozens of blue wolves by himself. These cautious suckers have seen it in person, that's why they aren't rushing in. If they rush in without reason, too much damage will occur.

'At first I thought he was just a lucky bastard…'

Now it was different.

He was a f**king monster bastard. Why the hell is his grade still A?

If he comes back alive, he will definitely question the guild.

…if he comes back alive, that is.

'Damn it, I want to live!'

Like any adventurer, Kurba also had a strong desire to survive.

He looked as Chris grabbed his legs and groaned in pain.

'If it wasn't for this shitty brat…!'

If Cloud broke through the pack of wolves, he could have run after him.

Kurba resented Chris. Even though he was caught in a trap that Kurba stepped into. This is the essence of human selfishness always stuck in the heart's corner.

'When will he f**king recover?!'

He was getting impatient and couldn't keep his eyes in one place.

It was just as the time passed.

Kurba found an unusually wolf-free area among the wolves' siege circle.

Kurba saw it and his eyes widened.

'Maybe that's..?'

Are they giving us the room to run away?

Maybe it's really so. Wolves aren't stupid, otherwise why would they leave such a visibly large gap?

From their point of view, Cloud is a natural enemy that threatens the survival of the clan.

Except for him, everyone else will look like a dwarf.

They want to let go of the dwarfs who can get in the way of the fight engaged for the clan's survival. Otherwise, there's no other explanation!

'I have to go, I have to. This is my last chance.'

It was the moment Kurba was about to take a step.

"If you go, you will die."

""

Cloud spoke.

His voice was so cold that he couldn't relate with the previous gentle Cloud.

Kurba, as well as Xenia and Chris, felt the chill. The wolves lowered their heads and howled…but to some ears it sounded like weeping.

"Must go, we will die if we go, but if we don't, we will definitely die! Can't you see that empty spot with your eyes? Just how you're letting it go?! How?! If we just run up to that place, we can survive!"

"I understand your fear. But dude, keep your mind straight. What's the reason they will let you go? And even if you are lucky enough to get out of this siege, there will be a follow-up chase. Can you deal with these hungry wolf bastards alone? If yes, how many?"

"It could be up to one or two at most at a time! At least we'll have a much higher chance of surviving than just confronting them here. Don't you get it? Can you deal with all these wolf motherf**kers here? Alone?"

"Yeah."

An immediate answer without the slightest hesitation.

For a moment, Kurba was at a loss for words. Soon, his expression darkened.

"Yeah, damn you, you can do it! But we can't. If those bastards attack, you'll live, but we'll all die! Shit… It's all because of you, who brought us here in the first place. Son of a biatch!"

"Aren't you too old to be whining like a child? I clearly announced that we were going to a dungeon a few hours before we arrived. Yet you followed, smiling brightly. Then, wasn't it your own decision, don't you had any idea about risks a dungeon holds?"

"…"

Kurba bit his parched lips.

Because if he walks away with it, it will damage his pride as an adventurer.

Cloud continued.

"Still, you are not very wrong. I'm a little responsible for you guys coming here. So stay by my side. I will take responsibility and guarantee your safety."

Even for a moment, Kurba's heart moved at those confident words.

'According to the him… maybe I can really survive in this kind of situation.'

Kurba's reasoning and sense collided.

And Kurba…

"Damn it!"

He choose the opposite.

Believing that reason would spare him, as always his mind worked, he ran towards the empty plot where there were no wolves.

Following reason is a wise choice.

If it was the perfect reason that was not eaten by other emotions.

– Aaaaaah!

It wasn't long before a terrible scream was heard.

Cloud sighed.

"You brainless nuthead."

You can read fully translated chapters, including the last chapter, for $20.

p(a)treon.com/Daoist02