Kumodesu

"No one wanted to scout first," someone said. Route scouting was common, but this time, the risk was too high. I hadn't planned to either—the terrain gave me no edge.

After discussion, we split into teams with commanders. This reduced casualties and eased movement, since my stone path couldn't hold everyone—especially with attacks from below.

Charlot's team led. She crossed first without protest. The path was stable—until fire lizards struck from below, collapsing parts. I tried to fix it, but couldn't keep up.

When the lizards surged, Charlot activated her Shield Aura, driving them off. Her team crossed safely, but the next wouldn't be so lucky.

She returned to escort others, keeping the aura up—draining her fast. Still, we confirmed no mutants lurked below—if there were, they wouldn't flee so easily. That eased our fears.

Muos's nobles went next. Seeing Charlot succeed, they hurried ahead. She followed to shield them, but the lizards targeted the path, not people. One of Baerin's men fell into lava—his screams echoed.

Charlot's aura helped, but only the cautious made it across. I kept repairing, but the attacks didn't stop.

Some nobles made it across, pale and shaken. Only Muos and Baerin's attendant were unharmed. Baerin, enraged, demanded her protection, but she responded half-heartedly—and got burned. Power truly corrupts.

Each group faced the same risks—despite precautions, one or two always fell to lava, either from slips or attacks beyond Charlot's shield. She did everything she could.

My group, mostly researchers and a few soldiers, crossed safely thanks to the Vice Head, who shielded us almost alone. I barely needed to act.

Once past the lava, we kept moving—fighting monsters, resting, collecting loot—until we reached the eighth layer.

There, Chain Scorpions awaited. Their venomous tails and pincers were brutal—one soldier lost an arm. Our presence provoked an attack, and the poison took a toll, forcing Charlot to call a retreat.

While the leaders planned, I crafted basic but vital Spirit Bombs.

Hours later, we returned with a strategy: shields up front, ranged fighters behind. It worked—scorpions were picked off from afar, poison blocked. I hurled bombs into their nest, triggering explosions that wiped them out.

The Vice Head warned me to be more careful—a rare show of concern.

With the threat gone, we reached the ninth layer in four days. It was rocky, with monsters but nothing major.

Three days later, we stood before the tenth layer: a cavern housing a giant arena where orcs and goblins fought. We decided to avoid it.

There were two paths forward: through the arena or a longer route beneath it along an underground stream. We chose the safer stream path.

The water housed draconic lizards—not true dragons, but close. A King variant could rival one, though unlikely in this environment. Vorsel's probe confirmed no mutants… but fate disagreed.

Two mutated lizards hid below. We planned to lure them out one at a time. But before that, swarms of smaller lizards attacked, drawn by noise. We had to move quickly—too much commotion could alert bigger threats above.

The Vice Head cast a sound barrier, giving us cover.

After dealing with the small lizards, the first mutant appeared. Charlot and Vorsel engaged, but its explosive attacks injured some of us. I shielded Seryl while analyzing its movements.

When it switched to melee, Charlot fought directly while Vorsel flanked with little effect. Spotting a weak point, I hit it with a dagger—Charlot followed up, leaving it defenseless.

At the same time, the Vice Head was already battling a second mutant after countering its ambush. I rushed to help, and with Charlot and Vorsel, we took it down.

With both mutants gone, the rest scattered. We suffered few losses and moved on to the eleventh layer.

Upon reaching the eleventh layer, we immediately looked for a place to rest and began unloading our supplies.

There wasn't much worth mentioning.

Everyone was hungry, so we took the opportunity to eat as well. Our meals mostly consisted of monster meat we'd gathered along the way—after purging any toxins and doing a simple preparation, it was edible.

I sat down to eat with Seryl and the research team.

She'd been quiet for most of the journey, so I wasn't sure how to start a conversation.

"Miss Seryl, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

Just to be safe, I asked anyway.

Seryl stopped eating and looked at me.

"What's wrong?"

Her sudden gaze startled me slightly.

I wasn't sure if I imagined it, but for a brief moment, her eyes felt... different—though that look disappeared immediately.

"It's nothing. I just feel like I haven't been able to contribute much."

Ah, so it was that.

Fair enough.

Everyone else had been fighting constantly, while she had always stayed under my protection. Naturally, that could lead to feelings of uselessness.

"Everyone has their own expertise. You don't need to blame yourself, Miss Seryl."

"Then what's your expertise? Fighting or research?" she asked.

That question caught me off guard.

Honestly, it was strange for a researcher like me to be so good at combat. But I didn't want her to know about my darker past.

"Miss Seryl... I'll tell you someday, alright?"

"You said it first, don't forget."

Seryl smiled like she had just tricked me.

I felt like I'd been baited—but oh well.

Once we'd eaten our fill, we got moving again.

It took us another two days just to finish clearing the eleventh layer.

From this point on, mutated beasts were appearing more frequently. Almost every battle featured a mutation from some species or another, and we were struggling more and more.

It had been three days since entering this layer, and we still hadn't even reached the halfway point.

The Ebrinat Great Dungeon was unique in that its internal structure periodically shifted. For that reason, we didn't carry a fixed map and instead relied on our own judgment and experience. No one knew how often the dungeon changed—sometimes years, sometimes just a few months.

We'd been forced to choose between multiple paths many times, and while we'd made our share of mistakes, Charlot had led the group quite well.

The Vice‑Headmaster was an experienced veteran; even with structural changes, he could pick up on small clues and find a viable route.

Having people like them with us really did put my mind at ease.

If only the Commander were here, it'd be even better...

After a bit more walking, we arrived at a fork in the road.

Time to make another decision.

Some people with scouting skills went ahead but returned empty‑handed—they hadn't been able to reach the ends of either path.

It seemed that both paths held their own problems, and we'd need to clear them out before determining which was safer.

The Vice‑Headmaster personally stepped forward to investigate.

"We'll go left."

Everyone trusted his judgment, so they agreed to follow.

But then, someone objected.

"Wait."

It was Muos.

"What is it?" the Vice‑Headmaster asked.

"My Spirit just told me we should go right."

The Vice‑Headmaster furrowed his brow, and the rest of us were puzzled.

Even I was momentarily stunned.

Wait—Spirits can talk? Or is it that only contracted Spirit Users can hear them clearly?

"Be more specific. A single vague sentence like that tells us nothing," the Vice‑Headmaster replied.

Muos scoffed, "What's there to explain? The Spirits have lived here for years, they know this place better than anyone. If they say go right, it's obviously the right choice."

His tone was arrogant, but the Vice‑Headmaster remained composed.

"Without explanation, your claim is just as baseless as mine. You're free to take that path if you want."

Nice.

In terms of authority and strength, the Vice‑Headmaster wasn't below anyone here—many still placed their faith in him.

Muos's face began to twist with anger.

"If you don't follow me, you'll die."

He started threatening lower‑ranking soldiers, but they were trained to obey only direct superiors.

"My Spirit says to go right as well," another contract holder chimed in.

There were six contracted Spirit Users here, and one by one, they all began to agree with Muos.

The situation started to shift.

People who had ignored Muos earlier were now reconsidering.

"Structurally, the left path seems more open. The scout who returned from the right took longer and came back injured, while the one from the left returned smoothly.

Also, the left path appears to connect to a stream, and floor twelve in the past had multiple streams of this kind," the Vice‑Headmaster calmly explained.

Muos sneered, "So what? That's just your assumption. There's no proof. Besides, the layout's changed—what if you're wrong?"

"Then the same applies to you. You have no proof either," the Vice‑Headmaster replied flatly.

"The Spirit is proof!" Muos shouted.

My head started to ache.

When I glanced at Seryl, she was clutching her chest with a pained expression.

"Miss Seryl, what's wrong?"

"My heart hurts..."

The same symptoms again?

I glanced at Charlot—her eye was twitching slightly, though her expression didn't change.

Previously, I assumed these were coincidences—maybe we weren't used to the space down here.

But now I could be sure: we were under attack.

A spiritual one.

This kind of assault was extremely dangerous.

Looking around, I realized not everyone was affected—

So this wasn't a general attack, but a selective one.

And the ones being targeted...

I remembered the first time I had a headache like this—it was after we entered the fifth floor and came into contact with the Spirits.

Combined with the strange feeling I'd always had around them, I could now reasonably conclude:

The Spirits were behind this.

That made it even more unbelievable.

Spirits were supposed to be harmless—they only attacked when provoked and were generally friendly toward all life.

But now they were silently launching attacks on us.

I needed more evidence before acting. For now, I would continue observing.

Eventually, the argument went nowhere, and the decision fell to Charlot.

She said from the beginning that she'd go with whatever path was chosen. Everyone else had just been offering opinions.

"If no one agrees with each other, then we split up," she said.

It made sense—she couldn't afford to take sides. But when it came time to divide, she chose to go left with the Vice‑Headmaster.

Some still didn't want to split up, but they had no choice but to go with the majority.

I should've gone with Charlot, but there was something I needed to confirm.

So I turned to Seryl and whispered, "You go with the Commander's group, alright?"

"What about you?"

"There's something I need to do."

I looked at her with a firm gaze, and she said nothing more.

"Whatever you're planning, don't forget—your life is the most important thing," she said.

"I know."

I brought her over and handed her off to Charlot, who nodded in acknowledgment.

Amid the chaos, I briefly spoke with Charlot and the Vice Headmaster about our symptoms—and why I chose the right path.

"Sigh... Both routes probably lead to floor twelve, but I refuse to follow that arrogant brat's lead," the Vice Headmaster said.

Though usually indifferent, he wouldn't trust a cocky Spirit-dependent to make critical decisions.

After the split, our group was smaller but stronger in quality. Strangely, most soldiers who once backed the Vice Headmaster now followed Muos.

Aside from me, our group had no researchers—just nobles and Spirit Users.

Alger was with us too.

When asked why, he said he couldn't trust that bunch. If they all died, it'd still be a loss to us overall.

Honestly, a very reasonable perspective.

This time, Charlot didn't restrict the soldiers' choices, so they didn't follow her.

I couldn't tell if their loyalty to her wasn't strong enough, or if they were being influenced by something else... That was also something I intended to find out by going with this group.

I glanced at Seryl one last time. Then the two groups departed.

On the way, I silently walked near the back beside Alger.

Though he was a noble, his status—along with how often he butted heads with the others—had earned him a kind of isolation. Like me, he was stuck trailing at the rear.

It really wasn't easy being born into wealth either.

I only had a vague grasp of noble conflicts. Marquis Klvest held dominant power, often suppressing lesser nobles—most here were just barons or viscounts. As his son, Alger drew attention. Though he wasn't arrogant, people still feared him instinctively.

Ah, I should take this chance to ask him about that strange matter.

"Alger, since we entered the Dungeon, have you experienced any strange symptoms?"

"Strange symptoms?" Alger lowered his head in thought. "Yes. For some reason, I've been getting hallucinations occasionally."

"What exactly?" I asked.

"It's like there's a voice whispering in my head," he replied. "It makes this constant sound that really gets on my nerves, and then it just disappears."

"Could you make out what it was saying?"

Alger shook his head.

"The sound is very faint, but it affects my mind. It's like… it's trying to make me do something. I couldn't understand the words, but I know for sure that voice wasn't human—it was way too clear and pure."

A voice that wasn't human...

So I was right.

"Do you have a skill that resists soul-based attacks?"

Alger looked at me in surprise.

"Lord Loyral, are you saying this is a soul attack?"

"I haven't confirmed it completely, but it's very likely."

Alger's expression stiffened. "Do you know who's behind it?"

"I suspect the Spirits—but I have no solid proof yet."

That startled Alger again.

"No way, right? That would be completely at odds with everything we know about Spirits."

I shrugged. "I'm confused too, but all the signs point to them. The symptoms started after we encountered them, and they're not like any normal creatures."

Alger looked like he wanted to argue, but the reasoning was too solid.

"So… is it possible that those who formed contracts with Spirits have already been affected?"

"It's possible. Worse—some of them may already be under their control," I said, casting my gaze ahead.

Muos was still confidently leading the group, surrounded by the other contracted Spirit users. Behind them were the nobles, followed by the regular soldiers.

"So… are you saying this path we're taking could be dangerous?" Alger asked.

I was thinking the same thing.

There were two possibilities: either the Spirits were trying to divide us internally—or they were trying to wear us down. If it was the former, this route might actually be safe. But if it was the latter… we could all be walking into a deathtrap.

"If it gets dangerous, run. You don't have anything holding you back, right?" I asked.

Alger shivered slightly but nodded.

If it really came to it, I'd run first. I might try to save Alger if I could—but I wasn't about to risk my life for it. So I figured I'd better give him a heads-up.

I glanced at my wrist.

The thread that linked me to Charlot and Seryl was still intact. This skill would persist indefinitely unless both sides canceled it themselves—pretty convenient, actually.

Since the threads were still fine, that meant they weren't in any danger.

I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

If our path was safe, then the other path might hold the real danger. During scouting earlier, both paths had some minor threats—not deadly ones, but ones we'd have to deal with regardless.

They've arrived.

I muttered, just as a group of Giants appeared ahead. There were more than ten of them, each one towering two to three times taller than us.

These Giants didn't have any fancy skills. They relied purely on brute strength—a crude but deadly method.

Thankfully, none of them were mutated variants.

Honestly, if there were, this whole group would probably be wiped out. No one here had the strength to handle a mutated version of one of those.

The group was clearly uneasy, but Muos stepped up to command them—though he himself just stood back to watch.

Looks like he's been itching to grab the position of commander for a long time, but with Charlot around, he never dared. Now that no one can keep him in check, his ambitions are showing.

Alger drew his sword to join the fight, but I stopped him.

"These are just regular ones. No need to waste your strength."

Alger nodded.

"If Muos orders you to fight, will you follow?" I suddenly asked.

"First off, I'm not part of the military, so I'm not bound by strict obedience," Alger said. "And second, he's not the official commander. Plus, he can't beat me in a fight—so he has no right to order me around."

That's excellent.

He mentioned personal strength, not social status. No wonder Charlot thinks highly of him—he's clearly a different breed.

As expected, Muos approached us after seeing we weren't moving. But instead of speaking to me, he aimed his orders at Alger—hoping to pressure me through him.

But Alger kept a serious face and repeated exactly what he'd just told me, making Muos furious.

"Do you realize the situation we're in?! If we don't fight now, everyone could die—including you!"

"Didn't you just form a Spirit contract?" Alger shot back. "Why don't you go fight yourself?"

"The Spirit told me not to," Muos replied. "I'm supposed to observe the battlefield and prepare for unexpected events."

Oh, now he's completely listening to the Spirit's voice.

Alger didn't back down. "You're just doing useless things. If we're talking about battlefield observation, Lord Loyral here has way more experience than you. If you want me to fight, then fight yourself too."

Muos turned his angry eyes on me, but I shot him a death glare.

Not a skill—just the kind of look I get from years of being an assassin.

Muos, though visibly fuming, stayed out of the fight, standing off to the side and whispering with the other Spirit contractors.

Trying to rally allies because he knows he can't handle it alone?

I didn't interfere, just quietly watched.

But in the end... nothing happened. A bunch of loudmouthed cowards. They whispered and whispered and then—nothing.

The battle ended with dozens injured and two dead.

Muos didn't even blink. He simply gave a cold order to march on.

Some people tried to speak up and ask for a break, but one glare from him shut them up immediately.

Now he really looked the part of a proper villain.

Should I take this opportunity to take him out?

But if I do, I need to deal with the others too.

If the Spirit contract holders were being manipulated, I'd need to eliminate all six at once. None were stronger than me, but I didn't know how much power the Spirits had given them. A mistake could be disastrous.

Charlot and the Vice Director couldn't act openly, so everything had to be done quietly. I needed a way to provoke them into acting first.

Up ahead was a Baboon Hawk nest—numbers similar to ours, and none were mutated. Perfect.

I used my skill to subtly weaken the wall separating us. It looked normal, but a small force would bring it down.

Once done, I drifted to the back of the group—no one noticed except Alger. I signaled him, then struck the wall.

It collapsed with a crack.

Panic spread as the Baboon Hawks came into view—and charged immediately.

Muos tried to issue orders, but it was pure chaos. The beasts were too aggressive—everything fell into disarray. Even Muos and his group got surrounded and were forced to fight.

I disappeared into the background, hiding myself as I watched them struggle.

Not a bad feeling, honestly.

Ah—almost forgot about Alger.

He was fighting too, but since he'd stayed back with me, there were only a few Hawks on his end. I didn't need to help just yet.

Now then—let's see what you people are really capable of.

The Baboon Hawks were still pouring out without pause.

I had slightly miscalculated their numbers, but that just made things better. Although the contract bearers had received additional strength, they lacked combat experience and were struggling. Even so, the spirits' powers still activated in critical moments to protect them.

Hmph...

This might make it more difficult to finish them off.

Should I take advantage of this chaos?

It's not like killing without cause is a good thing—but then again, it's not like I consider myself a good person either, so it's not a problem.

Still hidden, I approached one of the contract bearers who was fending off a few Baboon Hawks. He was obviously struggling, so I figured I'd lend a "helping hand."

I waited for the moment the Baboon attacked and struck with my blade.

Just as he managed to block the Baboon's blow, I stabbed him in the back.

Blood gushed out as he collapsed to his knees.

I didn't follow up, simply pulled back and let the Baboon Hawks do the rest.

Moments later, his screams echoed among the monsters. The spirit's power tried to shield him again and again, but the relentless attacks of the Baboon Hawks wore it down.

Some of the other contract bearers attempted to intervene, but I lured another group of Baboon Hawks to block their way.

Finally, after a blood-curdling scream, he was dead.

I observed carefully.

As he died, a bright light emitted from his body, and the spirit inside him emerged.

So, the spirit doesn't die with the contract bearer?

The spirit looked desperate as it flew around trying to find a new host. But every time it approached someone, I knocked that person away before they could make contact.

In the end, unable to bond with anyone, the spirit slowly dissipated.

So it can be killed this way.

From this case, I could deduce that spirits can't stay on the fifth floor too long without a contract bearer.

Why that is—I don't know.

Do they use the contract bearer as a vessel or something? Still, even killing them didn't reveal any clear signs of them controlling their hosts.

Looks like I'll have to test another method.

But first, I should kill a few more of them.

Hmm…

I'll leave Muos and that maid of Baerin alone for now. Forget Muos, but the maid—maybe I can approach her.

Through various means, I managed to eliminate three more contract bearers, but only succeeded in killing two spirits.

That leaves three contract bearers remaining.

No matter. It's still within my ability to handle.

The important part is preventing them from spreading their influence too widely. If it comes to that, I'll just have to eliminate them all.

The battle soon ended. I stopped my actions and joined the fray, slashing a few Baboon Hawks to keep up appearances.

We'd lost over twenty people in that one battle.

Though the casualties were high, I managed to test the limits of the spirits.

They can't provide endless power—it comes at a cost. Spirits don't die with their hosts, but must quickly bond with someone else to survive.

Muos didn't look too good now—he'd taken a serious hit. The others too.

Normally, Charlot and the Vice Director would handle the worst of it, so these people never had to experience real pressure. This time, they got a proper taste of it.

Now, Muos had no choice but to order a rest.

With nothing to do, I started scouting the area. Mainly checking ahead for danger.

There were still a few scattered monster groups, but nothing serious. I'd let them handle it on their own.

It's almost like I'm training them. If they survive, good. If not, then so be it.

After a full day of rest, we continued forward.

This path was straightforward, so there wasn't much to worry about. At the end of the passage, we entered a wider space with two routes.

After a short wait, Muos was the first to speak: "Left path."

Just as I expected.

I had scouted both paths beforehand—neither was truly safe, but the left one had fewer risks.

That's fine. I'll just create more problems for them myself.

As time passed, we encountered new monsters, and another battle broke out.

I took this opportunity to slip away again.

This time, my target was Muos's arm.

I wanted to see just how far a spirit's healing powers could go.

When he wasn't paying attention, I activated [Super Speed], dashed forward, and drew my blade...

Slash.

Muos's scream rang out across the battlefield, catching everyone's attention. His arm was severed, blood gushing everywhere.

I didn't plan to kill him—so I stopped there. Quickly, I ran toward a group of monsters and joined the fight.

The spirit's power helped stop his bleeding, but the arm couldn't be regenerated.

Looks like even spirits have limits.

Muos gritted his teeth, trying to find who had attacked him. He knew it wasn't the monsters. But I was now the furthest from him, surrounded by a large group of monsters.

He couldn't approach me.

Muos began shouting and questioning everyone, but no one answered—everyone was too busy fighting.

Eventually, his gaze landed on me. Though I had my back turned, I could still feel his stare. But it didn't carry much killing intent, it's seems he wasn't sure it was me.

Naturally, I was the prime suspect—but without a confession, they couldn't touch me.

The battle ended, and we spent the next day recovering. With three contract bearers dead and Muos missing an arm, things looked grim.

Still, we were close to regrouping with the other team; I could sense their signal. As long as I didn't cause more trouble, we'd reach them soon.

But I still aimed to eliminate one last contract bearer—leaving only two alive.

I watched him closely. He'd once been part of Vorsel's team, so he was skilled and alert, usually staying near Muos. I had to separate them.

Eventually, we reached a narrow cliffside path above a deep drop.

The path was mostly intact, though parts were worn.

I reinforced a few areas—but subtly weakened others.

Just enough for an "accident."

Like that section up ahead.

I severed a hidden link—just enough for it to give way.

A contract bearer, unaware, stepped there and slipped. Another quickly grabbed his hand to pull him back.

Too bad…

I weakened the stone beneath the helper's feet, and both of them lost balance—plunging into the abyss together.

On the way down, they used their skills to try clinging to the cliffside. But each time they latched onto a surface, I broke it apart.

Eventually, I summoned my chain and pulled the one who had tried to help back up.

He wasn't my target. No need to kill him.

He gratefully thanked me as I dragged him back up.

"Why didn't you save the other one?" Muos asked.

I shrugged: "I was too injured from earlier battles—didn't have the strength to lift two."

I had no intention of offering more explanation.

Muos knew I was lying but had no proof, so he stayed silent. Ever since losing his arm, he'd grown quieter.

As for the one who fell, I knew he wasn't dead—but it would take him time to catch up to us.

Plenty of time for me to finish him off.

After witnessing the incident, the group became more alert and quickened their pace. That worked well for me—I didn't need to do anything else to push them along.

Once they were out of the cliff path, everyone stopped in a cave to rest and eat.

Perfect timing.

I summoned my special dagger.

This skill allowed me to share its vision for a limited time. But it's also has a drawback. While active, I couldn't see through my own eyes.

That made it a hassle in battle—so I rarely used it.

But this time was different.

Through the dagger's view, I saw him still climbing, covered in some wounds but nothing fatal.

I waited until he was halfway up—then sent the dagger flying. It pierced through his neck, sending him plummeting again.

He quickly healed himself, trying to recover. But I sent the dagger after him again—this time aiming for his heart.

A clean, fatal strike.

The moment he died, the spirit emerged from his body, desperately searching for a new host.

I couldn't interfere, so I simply watched.

It looked sluggish—probably from having used its power to heal him. It struggled to ascend the cliff, but as it passed the rim of the abyss, it dissipated.

What a shame!

If it had held on just a bit longer... maybe it would've made it.

So everything went exactly as I planned.

Everyone rested at the spot for a relatively long time, mainly because Muos wanted to save that contract holder.

He sent a few people to search, but no one was willing to go down that deep, dangerous cliff, so Muos could only angrily scold them.

Muos argued with the soldiers, but they pushed back—he wasn't their commander and had no real achievements. His noble title meant little here, only drawing resentment.

Alger stayed silent, clearly indifferent.

When Muos struck one soldier, he got hit back, sparking a scuffle. The other nobles tried to assert authority, but battle-hardened soldiers weren't intimidated.

In Lubberia, only the King family commands the army. Nobles hold no sway—especially outside the capital.

The soldiers knew Charlot wouldn't punish them, and they were right.

I let them argue to their heart's content while I continued scouting ahead. I could already feel that Charlot's group was a bit closer.

If we kept moving this way, I estimated that we could meet them again on the twelfth floor in about two days.

There was nothing particularly dangerous ahead—just needed to avoid a few key areas and we'd be safe.

Of course, that was assuming I didn't stir up more trouble.

But I didn't intend to, since we'd already taken quite a bit of damage. If I kept pushing, we might not even make it to floor 15.

The argument kept escalating, with both sides ready to start fighting when Alger finally stepped in to stop them.

Throughout this journey, Alger had contributed a lot and was powerful, so the soldiers listened to him even though he was a noble.

The other nobles didn't want to follow his orders but couldn't defeat him either, so they had no choice but to shut up.

That was for the best.

We continued on, with Muos repeatedly warning about dangers. Thanks to that, we advanced smoothly.

With only hours left before the twelfth floor, I wanted to leave a parting impression—so I subtly weakened the path again.

At a cliff bridge, I crossed first. Muos was annoyed but stayed quiet when he saw it was me. Once all crossed safely, I collapsed the bridge—not to harm, but to shake off their growing complacency.

It worked—people grew wary. Muos rushed them forward to avoid panic.

I kept triggering small hazards to keep them alert. Muos tried using the spirits to calm them, but no one listened.

Losing control, he lashed out again—only to be shut down.

Before another fight broke out, distant noise startled the group. Relief came when they realized it was Charlot's team waiting ahead.

Alger stepped forward to report the journey along this section, while I returned to Seryl's side.

Seeing the wounded and the fact that Muos had lost an arm, Charlot cast me a sharp glance, but I just smiled at her.

Charlot looked away, nodded after Alger's report.

At that moment, Muos walked up to the Vice director.

"I need my arm restored," he said bluntly.

The Vice Director ignored him.

"Did you not hear me? I said I need my arm restored—"

Before Muos could finish, the Vice Director slapped him, sending him flying, then calmly said,

"Since when did you think you could speak to me as an equal?"

Just that one sentence, and his aura alone was enough to suppress everyone.

Muos coughed up blood, struggling to get up, staring at the Vice Director with hatred in his eyes.

"Sorry… Vice Director , please help me recover my arm."

The Vice Director nodded and replied, "That's much better."

Muos's eyes lit up and he continued, "Then—"

But the Vice Director cut him off again.

"Sorry, I can't do that."

Muos was stunned, then burst out, "Why!? Didn't you restore that guy's arm before?"

"That guy" must be referring to me, huh? But I didn't pay attention and kept chatting with Seryl.

"Got injured during combat earlier, so I don't have the energy now."

Pfft!

Everyone was dumbfounded at the Vice director's excuse.

Those who traveled with him knew that although he had fought along the way, it was only against minor threats. Plus, since they arrived early, he'd had plenty of time to rest.

I knew this because Seryl had told me.

Now he was saying he was injured? Even a child wouldn't buy that.

Of course, Muos wasn't fooled and got angry again—but got slapped a second time.

With one arm gone and two slaps in a row, Muos no longer had the strength to resist.

Frustrated, he dared not speak further.

As expected, the Vice director's authority was absolute.

Charlot, from start to finish, just sat quietly with her eyes closed, resting.

A few other nobles wanted to speak to the Vice director, but each of them got slapped in turn, silencing the whole bunch.

After regrouping, the expedition confirmed the previous situation and discussed their next steps before setting off again.

The following days weren't too eventful—just battles and rest.

Since getting slapped twice, Muos had gone completely quiet.

Those around him wanted to speak up for him, but they were all silenced.

Looks like there's still some sense left in them.

After more than ten days of traveling, we finally reached the thirteenth floor.

It wasn't easy at all.

This could be considered a major milestone, because from here we would start to find Uranium and Ranturium to mine.

The group no longer moved quickly but began exploring the area to locate mining spots.

A few were found rather quickly, but they were only small to medium in size. If we wanted the greatest yield, we had to reach the twenty-fifth floor, a special zone said to be entirely composed of those two ores.

At least, that's what the available documents said.

But actually getting there... is a different story.

Even ignoring everything else, our current strength was no longer sufficient. In terms of numbers alone, we were down to only 124 people. Our top fighters were now just Charlot and the Vice director.

It's exhausting...

Two dangerous anomaly floors still lay ahead: a lava lake swarming with fire lizards, and a floor ruled by violent monkey tribes—both meant heavy casualties.

So we paused to fully mine floors 13 and 14 before deciding on floor 15.

Progress was slow due to constant attacks—now always involving one or two mutants.

Luckily, Alger's teleportation skill still worked, easing transport—until halfway through floor 13, when it lost range.

We then split: Alger's group stayed to set up a camp and handle resources, while the rest pushed forward. Injured members would rotate back through the camp.

With fewer people, the pressure in battle only increased.

I initially planned to leave Seryl behind, since Alger was there and I'd be more at ease.

But she insisted on coming with me.

Fine.

If that's the case, I'll be the one to protect her.

Seryl didn't stay idle during battle—she used her healing and SP recovery skills nonstop until she turned pale and had to stop.

I stepped up my efforts, fighting seriously to share the load.

When mutants appeared, Charlot and the Vice Director handled them while I guarded against flanking attacks.

Ironically, the only sneak attack came from one of our own.

Whether it was on purpose or not, he apologized after failing. I didn't care—I decked him.

He looked like he wanted to argue, but shut up when he saw my dagger.

Obviously Muos's doing—mad at the Vice Director, so he targeted me instead.

How childish!