Great, we're doomed now!

"Ok?"

Leos, who was holding a bowl, looked over. He had few friends and was particularly fond of foreign cultures, so he had been paying attention to Ye Shou, hoping to chat with him more and get closer to him. Now he finally had the chance.

"What's a pity? This giant scorpion was cooked very well."

No, that's not what I meant.

Ye Shou put down his cutlery, a hint of empathetic melancholy on his face.

"From what I heard about your ordeal, it seems you perished on the sixth floor, right? Actually, Mr. Senxi and I were on the fourth floor two days ago. If we hadn't chosen to return then and had continued deeper, we might have met you, and you wouldn't have failed due to your poor condition."

Leos… what happened to your sister is very sad. Choosing to sacrifice herself to protect her comrades must have made her a very kind woman. Please don't be too discouraged. You must pull yourself together to save her!

"..."

Marushir and Chilchak fell silent after hearing this, probably thinking of Farin's appearance, and their mood became rather low.

Leios, his blood relative, only felt sad for a moment, as if he wasn't really that heartbroken, and even fed Leios meat.

He glanced around blankly and noticed that the atmosphere was a bit strange. He suddenly realized that his companions were grieving for Farin, and he immediately became anxious.

No! As the team leader, I have to encourage everyone!

Yes, this is the time to talk about happy things—

"It is indeed a pity, but to be honest, if it weren't for Farin's accident, you guys in Marushi wouldn't have been able to bring yourselves to try monster cuisine, and you would have missed this delicious meal."

In other words... it's because Fareen wasn't here that we were able to have this wonderful experience, isn't it?

"!"

Upon hearing this, everyone at the table was shocked!

"Are you... serious?" Marushir's eyes were lifeless as she stared at Leos like a ghost. "Fallin's gone, and you're actually happy about it?"

The halfling uncle couldn't believe it: "You brat..."

"……well?"

Leos then realized his words were ambiguous and quickly explained, "No, no, I meant if..."

—How did this guy grow so big without being killed?

Ye Shou's eyebrows twitched. Although he was prepared, Leos's nonsensical remarks still shocked him.

As someone who received a good education and was raised to be a "leader," Ye Shou truly finds it hard to understand how someone can speak so thoughtlessly.

But this kind of guileless guy is unlikely to betray you; he'd be a good teammate.

"So, if you want to save Farin, you have to kill Yanlong, right?"

Ye Shou spoke up in time to help Leos out of the predicament: "In order to ensure the integrity of the body, time must be quick... two or three days?"

"No, the Flame Dragon is a territorial but lazy monster."

Upon hearing this, Leos instantly became serious, a stark contrast to his previous silly demeanor: "Because of its enormous size, it must reduce its daily physical exertion, so the Flame Dragon doesn't like to move around much and spends most of its time sleeping. This also slows down its digestion... There's still time!"

"Yes!" Marushir was also full of confidence, or rather, her attitude was very firm. "We will definitely be able to rescue Farin!"

Can someone be saved after being completely eaten by a dragon?

It sounds like a fantasy, but it's actually possible in a maze.

Because "resurrection magic" exists in this world, which can bring the dead back to life!

Normally, resurrection magic has many restrictions and requires too many preconditions to be met before it can be used, making it practically impossible under normal circumstances.

However, this "maze" is an extremely special environment that prevents the deceased from escaping, thus indirectly binding their souls to the corpses until the corpses are severely damaged and can no longer serve as a vessel.

This greatly reduces the difficulty of resurrection magic. In addition, the high concentration of magic within the labyrinth and the unique "rules" make precious miracles readily available.

It's not surprising at all that almost every adventurer gathered on the island has been resurrected!

And this magic is also the "local specialty" that Ye Shou most wants to obtain!

"With your current lineup, this is a bit difficult," Ye Shou said thoughtfully, looking them over. "Going down to the sixth floor in one go requires more supplies than can be obtained solely from monsters, and we also need to consider the issue of combat strength... You only have half your people left now, right?"

"That's right..."

Marushir said angrily, "Those heartless bastards!"

"A full squad of six is ​​now down to three. It's almost impossible for them to defeat Yanlong." Ye Shou was not optimistic about them.

“Even so, I must go,” Leos said in a low but firm voice, “because Farin is waiting for me!”

"...In that case, I have an idea."

Ye Shou glanced at Senxi, just as the dwarf also looked up.

"Does Mr. Mori have the same idea?"

"Yes, I'm very interested in the Flame Dragon."

Senxi said expectantly, "Flame Dragon... that's the most powerful monster in the labyrinth. I can't possibly hunt it alone, so I haven't tasted it yet."

"Uh-huh."

Ye Shou nodded and turned around: "So, how about we cooperate?"

"...Huh? Can you guys help me?!"

Marushir and Chilchak realized there was a glimmer of hope and stood up excitedly: "But we don't have the money to hire you right now!"

"Don't worry about the money. Mr. Mori isn't interested in those things, and I... accept other forms of payment."

"Other forms?"

“That’s right, for example…” Ye Shou stared intently at the blonde elf.

"I?"

Marushiel pointed to herself, tilting her head blankly, unable to understand Ye Shou's meaning.

Chilchak's expression became subtle. He took half a step in front of the elf, as if to protect her, but the height difference made it ineffective.

Ye Shou's next words relieved the halfling:

"I'm very interested in magic, but I've heard it's very difficult to learn. If an elf could teach me, I should be able to get the hang of it quickly!"

Learn magic?

There's no prejudice in this world, and Marushir has no objection to it. If she can gain assistance by getting something for nothing, that would be best.

However, out of a serious academic attitude, she still said to Ye Shou very seriously: "Magic cannot be learned overnight. I may not have much time to teach you on the way... I can only do so after we rescue Farin."

If you can accept delayed payment, I have no objection; any kind of magic will do.

"Alright, the contract is complete." Ye Shou was secretly overjoyed. "Please take care of me, Teacher Marusir."

"it is good!"

The elf happily shook hands with the boy. At first, she was a little wary of this person because of his sudden appearance and his inexplicable affinity with Leos. But now it seems he's not a bad person!

"Then let's not delay. If everyone is rested, let's set off now."

Ye Shou was even more enthusiastic than Leos: "None of us are newbies. Although I'm new here, I've already been to the fourth underground level. I'll strictly follow the rules and schedule on the way and try to reach the sixth level within four days!"

"Four days!"

"It would be even better if it were shorter."

"Isn't it too fast?"

Chilchuck objected: "Underestimating the maze will be a mistake. If we die now, no one can bring us back to life!"

We don't have the money to pay for resurrection!

When he said this, he subconsciously ignored Marshiel, because in the past, it was Leios's sister who was in charge of resurrection and healing, and Marshiel gave the impression that she was not good at this.

—But in reality, Marushir is a master of deception.

"I will try my best, but of course, it depends on the specific situation. I will not force anyone to break through. No matter which level you are on, if you object, we will stop and reorganize."

Ye Shou smiled slightly: "I just have a lot of confidence in this team."

“You make it sound so easy… never mind.” Chilchuk stroked his chin. “Anyway, let’s make this clear first: if any of you are just going to your deaths, I won’t be following you.”

"of course."

Leos looked around, then bowed his head deeply: "No matter what, thank you! Once we rescue Farin, I'll treat everyone to a big meal!"

"Don't say that, Farin is also my close friend."

"Haha! Don't mind it, helping others is the source of happiness!"

Forget about the grand feast, I'm just curious what kind of dish that fire dragon will turn into!

"Ye Shou... Although we just met, you'll be my good friend from now on!"

Leos made a face like a dog wagging its tail, looking so eager that he wanted to stick close to Ye Shou, which made Chilchak roll his eyes at him.

'Hmm...it seems like this team has a new leader?'

The halfling glanced thoughtfully at Ye Shou, but ultimately decided not to comment.

This team is already at their wits' end; even a con artist wouldn't bother with a team like this. To go and eat a monster just to scam a few coins from Leos... that's incredibly dedicated!

Let's assume for now that this man is the type who has natural leadership qualities.

"Okay, let's set off now!"

Leos roused himself, hung his sword back at his waist, and reached out to help Ye Shou up.

"We'll entrust our backs to each other on this journey!"

Who would have thought that such an ordinary-looking man would eventually achieve great things? Ye Shou followed behind Leos with deep emotion.

He had his own plan: to amass a large amount of gold coins, he had to change the fate of the Leos Squad at "that point in time."

Moreover, although Leos and his companions encountered the Flame Dragon on the sixth floor, that monster had actually already gone to the fifth floor. If they could quickly reach the fifth floor and achieve their goal ahead of time, the time saved would be enough for him to do something else. If he succeeded, he could completely change the course of the story!

Therefore, he had ulterior motives towards Leos and the others, and Chilchuck's premonition was correct.

But putting aside personal interests, he had no intention of harming these people; in fact, it was a good thing for them.

On the other hand, he personally admires Leos—not because of his peculiar thought process, of course.

Leos, a man with average combat skills but a very active mind.