Hard Decision

Dante knew he'd meet Niles again before the party left [The Lower Catacombs]. He did nothing about this issue because his party was getting stronger in the dungeon while Niles was still trying to make a fire.

By the time Niles' party caught up Dante, they would be far weaker compared to Dante's party. The later their second encounter was, the easier it would be to get rid of them.

Dante had an ugly expression on his face because seeing Niles in the same cave-path with them surprised him.

On the other hand, Niles was all smiles.

Seeing him here meant either he split his party or he had taken the leftmost path with his whole party.

Dante wasn't afraid. It was just that his plans were in vain, things have become complicated with Niles' arrival.

Even if their numbers happened to be several tens of times higher compared to them, these men were still like lambs waiting to be butchered in Dante's eye. However, their number was a problem that made him worried. If Niles didn't split his party, their stamina may not be enough for dealing with so many newcomers.

Dante's ugly expression continued just for a moment before he replaced it with a broad smile. Now both were smiling at each other.

"It seems like you had not seen the present I left for you. Otherwise, how can you end up choosing this cave-path?" Dante started his probing. He had to know more about the situation before deciding what to do.

"Oh, are you talking about the torches or the arrow you made with painstaking care?" Niles was calm. It wasn't a good sign for Dante's party.

"So you saw it?" Something was fishy. Niles wasn't even slightest bit angry upon hearing his words.

'Is this the same guy? Let's probe him further.'

"Seeing your calm expression and smiling face, I thought you couldn't see anything because of your bad eyesight. Well, since you lost your glasses, it's normal for me to think that way, right?"

This time, a few veins bulged out from Niles' forehead, but he didn't disperse his smile.

"Boss? Please stop, I beg of you." Nathaniel said from the side. He got the wrong idea about what Dante was trying to do.

"You need not to be afraid, Nat. Considering we have cleared the dungeon up to this point, these guys should be still level 1 participants, and it seems like he has split his party." Dante was looking Niles' face intently, trying to catch the small fluctuations on his expression.

He continued, "We would deal with them eventually, but since they have delivered themselves to us, we shouldn't delay our plans."

Seeing that the guy's anger gradually subside despite his words, he understood that Niles has not split his party! Otherwise, how would his rage continue to subside instead of intensifying?

Dante seemed like to an onlooker he wasn't hiding his intentions and talking in a carefree manner. However, he was feeling bitter on the inside because they wouldn't be able to use Niles' party. If they try to do so, they would probably end up in the middle of two 'army'. So it wasn't a good idea.

His best choice was to deal with Niles first!

"Heh he he. You are delusional as always, Dante. I'm sick of listening to your crap talk. There is no point in talking with you!"

As soon as Niles finished saying these lines, he made a hand gesture, and before the dumbfounded faces of Dante's party, he produced something out of his inventory!

It was a longsword!

It wasn't something special; it was ordinary but still a dream-like weapon for a newcomer!

Upon seeing the longsword Dante and the rest couldn't believe their own eyes. Niles was the guy who had spent two days of time just for a wispy fire, how could he have a sword in hand now?

"A sword? A-are you serious?" Nathaniel felt the fear rising in his heart.

Dante's dumbfounded expression gradually transformed to a hideous one. "Where did you get that sword?" He asked.

"Why should I tell you?" was the short answer Niles had given him before he gave their death sentence with no delay! "Attack! The participant who can catch Dante alive will be my right-hand man! Kill the rest!" He yelled.

Now, Dante understood why Niles didn't split his party. He had a sword, so killing the skeletons was as easy as pie for him. On the other hand, if he had chosen to split his party, except for the party that Niles was in, there would unquestionably have been meaningless deaths in the smaller parties.

Niles' party members immediately ran toward Dante's party with small bones and torches on their hands!

Now, Dante had to make a critical choice!

Against all the odds, he had intended to fight with them before seeing the sword, but Niles was giving him a life-threatening sensation now! Since the guy had a sword at his hands, there might be other unusual things about him! For example, he might have been playing the role of a newcomer from the beginning!

Dante looked at the thighbone in his hand. It was nothing compared to an actual weapon!

His instincts told him to run!

'No, we won't be able to do it! It's too dangerous! Even before the appearance of that longsword, the odds were against us! We can hold our ground against them for a long time, but our stamina eventually... Sh*t! Whatever I choose now, it's nothing but a gamble!'

A moment later Dante opened his mouth, "We will fight with them in the hall!" He said while dark clouds were hovering on his face, and sprang into action in the next moment! "Now, run to the hall!"

There was a considerable distance between Dante's party and the skeleton-filled hall.

While the party was on the run, Dante didn't forget to give instructions to his comrades.

"Ulfred, you and I will try to take down the dungeon boss! I don't know how we will do it in this situation, but that will be our goal in the fight!"

To his party members, Dante sounded like he had chosen a more dangerous path instead of the dangerous path. However, Ulfred said nothing and gave Dante a nod with a gloomy expression on his face.

The situation was dire!

"B-boss, you know, we can still run away from other cave-paths... and we can try clearing [The Lower Catacombs] again when next month arrives, o-or we can try another dungeon!" Nathaniel's voice was a little trembling. He couldn't help give voice to his deepest thoughts.

Upon hearing his words, Dante felt anger rising in him. "I hadn't thought you were a coward, Nat! If you want to run away from hardships so much, you can take Iona with you and run away, but I'm not going anywhere! I have to enter that room no matter what even if I have to do that alone! And it has to be today!"

Dante had had a strange feeling when he first saw the room which was filled with daylight. Also, because of that feeling, he had an unflinching determination now!

He had a premonition. If he could not enter that room today, he would never know what the cause of that feeling was!

"If you think you are not a coward, then instead of running away, try to reach the other end of the hall! With the chaos that will arise in the hall upon the arrival of Niles' party, you'll have the opportunity to do one of the two! If you're calling yourself my henchman, you'll make use of the chaos and reach that room!"

The words of Dante touched Nathaniel's nerves. He clenched his fists and remembered the shame he had felt in the first fight.

Now they understood why Dante chose a path like this. It had something to do with his earlier stupor! However, there was no time for asking more questions!

Dante's unwavering determination unknowingly raised the party's morale greatly. Ulfred's gloomy expression disappeared, Nathaniel didn't look like a coward anymore, even Iona seemed like determined to not to be a burden for the party!

Before long, they arrived at the skeleton filled hall!

Dante was the first one who set foot into the hall! As expected, as soon as he stepped into the hall, all the skeletons raised their heads and looked toward them with their hollow eyes!