Dangerous Situation

Dungeons are mirror dimensions.

It means that they reflect the real world. Whatever exists in the real world, exists inside a dungeon.

Of course, it's a bit more complicated than that. After all, dungeons are mirror dimensions of not just one, but two worlds. At the same time, there are other factors that influence the situation inside a dungeon besides the outside world. But in general, something that exists in the location where the dungeon appeared exists inside the dungeon as well.

In other words, documents, money, and valuable resources that exist in the real world can appear inside dungeons.

Actually, some stable dungeons are used to mine for resources that can be useful in the real world. It's one of the few advantages of a dungeon.

But it doesn't mean that the things inside a dungeon can be taken out just like that.

The government will definitively not allow it. The entry and exit of every dungeon are strictly controlled, and everything that is taken out of a dungeon must be reviewed by the government before it's returned to the owner.

Moreover, there are some objects that are forbidden to take out of a dungeon. Money is one of them. Becoming rich after finding a stash of money inside a dungeon is a pipe dream. And if the Awakened Association discovers an Awakened trying to smuggle one of these forbidden objects out of the dungeon, then that Awakened will be severely punished.

In the best case, the punishment will be losing the license as Awakened. And in the worst case, the punishment is going to prison.

Of course, many people still attempt to do it even if it's forbidden. There are several stories of people that became rich after smuggling valuables out of a dungeon.

However, I never thought that I would see it with my own eyes.

Andrew, Karime, Jessica, and I (plus the little girl) were attracted here by the explosions, and we expected to find a group of humans facing the dungeon monsters. But instead, we were meet with a group of Awakened robbing a bank.

We were stunned.

The Awakened that were robbing the bank were two men and a woman. The three of them were in their twenties, and judging from their mana fluctuations, they were around Tier 4, with one of the men at Tier 5.

This is bad…!

I was about to signal my friends that we needed to leave, but just then, the woman noticed us.

"Fuck." She cursed, attracting the attention of the two men.

As soon as they saw us, they frowned.

"What bad luck." Said one of the men as the other man, the one that seemed to be the leader, narrowed his eyes and stared at us carefully before smiling.

"What a surprise. We did not expect to meet four Awakened here… No, five counting the little girl. Did you fell inside the dungeon as well?"

"Y-Yes, we are searching for survivors," Andrew replied flustered.

I cursed in my mind. Fuck, why did you reply?

Now they will know that we are not Awakened sent by the government.

As expected, the man's smile became bigger.

"Is it so? Let me see… Tier 2, Tier 3, Tier 3, oh? A Tier 4. Such young talents… Ah, the little girl is still Tier 1. Well, that is normal. She is still a kid after all."

I frowned hard, and my expression turned solemn.

This man... He is assessing our combat strength.

Most likely, he thinks that only Andrew is dangerous among us. I'm a Tier 2 Awakened after all, and Karime and Jessica are only at Tier 3.

Realizing that my worst fears were about to turn into reality, I spoke at the man with an ice-cold expression.

"Don't worry. We will leave and pretend that we saw nothing."

"Oh? You are a smart kid. What should I do…?"

"Brother, we should kill them. They saw us. If they report us, we will be fucked up."

"Yes, Gil. nobody will know that it was us. We can throw their bodies to the beasts to not leave any trace behind."

Hearing our conversation, my friends finally realized that something was wrong.

"You… Are you planning to kill us?"

"What do you think, boy?" The leader asked Andrew with a smirk.

Andrew and Jessica became pale, and Karime gritted her teeth in rage.

"Despicable!"

"Hahaha, sorry about it. But don't worry, I'll try to make it fast."

As soon as his words finished, the man suddenly moved and attacked Andrew!

'Fast!' I exclaimed in my mind. If not for the demon's training, I would have failed to react!

Fortunately, I had experienced the demon's much faster speed. When the man's punch was about to hit Andrew's head, I thrust my spear towards his heart.

The man was surprised. He hurriedly avoided my spear and jumped back, but it meant that his attack missed Andrew.

"H-Huh?"

Only then Andrew reacted. He immediately realized how close to death he had been, and his face turned pale.

"Stop dozing off and get ready to fight!" I shouted to him with a serious expression.

Andrew immediately snapped off his daze and nodded, holding the pipe in his hands firmly and taking a sword stance.

The leader looked at me curiously and frowned.

"What a surprise. To think that the weakest ended being the strongest. Was it a skill?"

I did not reply. Instead, I spoke to the two girls behind me.

"Jessica, at my signal, take the little girl and run away. Karime, you will support us from behind. Our goal is not to fight, but to escape."

The two of them nodded in a fluster.

The leader just smiled while hearing our conversation, like a cat teasing a mouse.

However, despite his relaxed expression, he was not underestimating us.

Through the corner of my eyes, I could see his two companions flanking us. Obviously, they wanted to stop us from escaping.

'… This is bad.' I thought to myself.

These three were strong. Definitively stronger than us. If we fought them, we could die.

[You should escape boy. You can do nothing for your friends.]

Shut up, demon. I won't do that.

I don't plan to leave my friends behind.

Plus, it's not as though we don't stand a chance. If we play our cards right, we can get out of this alive.

… I just need an opportunity. An opportunity to turn the situation around.

Just at that moment, another person, a young man, arrived at the bank.

"Huh? What is happening?" He was confused when he saw the situation.

My eyes immediately lit up.

"Run! They were robbing the bank and want to silence us!"

The leader's expression changed.

"Dammit, stop him!"

But it was too late.

As soon as he heard my words, the man understood the situation and turned around to run.

The second man of the group immediately ran after him, but it gave us the opportunity we needed.

"Jessica, now!"

"But–"

"Hurry up!"

"I understand!" Jessica bit her lips and ran away with the little girl in her arms. "Promise me that none of you will die!"

I nodded with a determined expression.

Don't worry, nobody will die.

...

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