These words were cold and realistic,
almost heartless.
But,
everyone present fell silent.
Because they knew the captain was right.
In the Dungeon, excessive sympathy often precedes death.
...
However,
Mei looked down, her hand gripping and releasing the hilt of her knife repeatedly.
She understood Kashima's dilemma
and the current state of the Takemikazuchi Familia.
But,
'I'll just take a look.',
After a long silence,
Mei suddenly looked up, staring straight into Kashima's eyes.
'Just one look.',
'I won't go near.',
'I'll use [Stealth] to sneak over and assess the situation.',
'If it's a danger we can't handle, or just a monster infighting,
'I'll come right back.',
'I promise not to linger.'
'Mei!'
'Kashima!'
Mei's voice rose, her eyes filled with an unusual determination.
'If we run away without even looking,'
'I can't do that.'
...
They stared at each other,
the air frozen for a few seconds.
Finally,
'Sigh...'
Kashima let out a long sigh, her stern demeanor crumbling.
She knew this childhood friend too well.
Usually gentle and polite, like a traditional Japanese woman,
but once she set her mind on something, she was as stubborn as an ox.
If she forced her to leave now, Mei would hold a grudge for a year.
'Fine.',
'Just one look.',
'And keep a safe distance.',
'If anything seems off,',
'retreat immediately!',
'Understood?'
'Yes!'
Mei quickly nodded.
'I'm going now!'
With that,
Mei lowered her stance,
silently blending into the shadows, moving towards the source of the commotion.
...
As she approached,
fifty meters.
The smell of blood in the tunnel grew stronger.
'So much blood...'
Mei hid behind a protruding rock, her brow furrowed.
'And these sounds of impact...',
'They don't sound like blades cutting through flesh.',
'More like blunt objects smashing bones.'
An ominous feeling rose in Mei's heart.
Could it be that some unfortunate Adventurer party had been wiped out?
If that were the case...
She would assess the situation, see which familia's Adventurers had died,
and report back to that familia's deity.
After all, in the Dungeon,
no one knows if tomorrow or an accident will come first.
Being able to return with the belongings or last words of the deceased
was the final mercy among Adventurers.
Mei took a deep breath,
holding it in, and slowly peeked out from behind the rock,
looking into the large cavern filled with harsh screeches.
However,
when Mei's gaze finally fell upon the center of the cavern,
her pupils suddenly contracted.
'This is...'
The expected scene
was of Adventurers surrounded by monsters, fighting desperately back to back.
Of blood-curdling screams, of death throes, of torn limbs.
But there was
nothing.
No,
to be precise,
it was not Adventurers who were screaming,
but the group of killer rabbits from the middle levels—Almiraj.
At this moment,
the vast cavern was a living hellscape.
A black-haired girl grabbed two Almiraj by their long ears,
swinging them like ragdolls
into the horde of red-eyed rabbits.
'BOOM!'
A dull thud echoed.
The two rabbits used as flails smashed into their companions.
Then,
the girl landed with a backflip, following with a sweeping kick.
'BANG!'
Two more rabbits that tried to pounce were kicked like balls,
slamming into the wall and exploding into black dust.
At the edge of the battlefield,
a young girl wearing a hannya mask—although the mask only covered the upper half of her face, revealing a delicate mouth and chin—
was currently brandishing her long sword while complaining.
"Seriously..."
"How are there so many of these rabbits!"
"I can't finish cutting them all!"
"I want to go back and eat, too!"
Although she was complaining out loud,
her hands never stopped wielding the blade.
It was a completely pitch-black long sword—the black crow.
Every swing brought forth a sharp, black arc of light.
Although her movements looked somewhat broad and sweeping, even carrying a hint of roughness,
that sheer power...
"Clang!"
An Almiraj swung its stone axe down.
The girl neither dodged nor evaded, meeting it head-on with a single strike.
Metal rang against metal.
The stone axe was cleaved directly in two!
Along with the rabbits behind it, this one strike split them diagonally from the shoulder, turning them into a shower of black ash.
"Such great strength..."
Mikoto inwardly gasped.
Although her technique was slightly raw, this pure physical strength probably didn't lose to her own, a Level 2.
And over on the other side, hidden in the shadows,
was a blonde girl holding a slender rapier.
Every thrust of her sword precisely targeted vital areas like the monster's throat or eyes.
A single, fatal blow.
No hesitation whatsoever.
What is going on?
Are these people Level 3 Adventurers?
Just as Mikoto assumed this was a team of veteran Adventurers,
her gaze swept across the edge of the battlefield.
Suddenly,
her whole body shook.
On that slightly safer high ground,
stood a figure.
The iconic red eye patch, a lazy and casual stance, and the massive red naginata resting on her shoulder.
—Tsubaki Cobrand.
The captain of the Hephaestus Familia.
The famous Level 5, First Class Adventurer of Orario.
"Lady Tsubaki?!"
Mikoto almost cried out.
Since that important figure was here...
Then the identity of this group of newcomers was obvious.
—The Familia that had been the talk of the town since last night.
—The Haimo Familia.
"It's actually them..."
Mikoto's eyes widened.
She had heard the rumors from last night.
It was said that a group of newly registered Adventurers, led by Tsubaki, had cleared the first twelve floors on their very first day.
At the time, she thought it was an exaggeration, or like everyone else, believed that Lady Tsubaki had been doing all the work.
But now...
Watching the scene where even in this situation, Lady Tsubaki was merely leaning on her naginata on the high ground watching the show, yet still managed to rout hundreds of Almiraj until they broke ranks,
Mikoto believed it.
She even felt the rumor was too conservative.
"How can these be newcomers..."
"They are practically monsters wearing human skin."
-------------------------------
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