Great, we're doomed now!

"Because of dragon's breath. Knights who go to fight dragons while wearing armor are easily turned into hot plates—is that hard to understand?"

"...I shouldn't have asked you!"

Chilchak imagined it for a moment, then stuffed a small piece of roasted meat into his mouth with a livid expression.

Leos deserves to be criticized, but food shouldn't be wasted.

"Is anyone having any physical problems?" Ye Shou, who was sitting at the head of the table as a matter of course, looked around and said, "If possible, let's rest for a while after dinner and then set off back."

"Huh? In such a hurry, aren't you going to rest here for the night?"

Everyone was a little surprised. Marushir said, "There are buildings here to hide from monsters, and there are beds ready to sleep in. Other floors don't have these facilities."

"Of course, you could sleep overnight before leaving... but I'm a little worried."

Ye Shou crossed his hands below his nose, making him look somewhat gloomy.

"This fire dragon is not normal."

"...To be honest, there is indeed a problem."

Leos put down his knife and fork. Although the dragon meat feast gave him a sense of satisfaction, this man's greatest strength was that when he ate, all the blood didn't go to his stomach—his mind remained sharp.

"We encountered the Flame Dragon on the sixth floor. Judging from the timeline, it came to the fifth floor immediately after eating Farin. There is no nest here, and it doesn't seem to be building a nest... It never sleeps but patrols around its territory, which is not the norm for large monsters."

"That's right, dragons are homing creatures. If they weren't looking for food, they wouldn't stray far from their nests for long."

The labyrinth provides dragons with a large amount of magic, so their need for food is not that great, and they would never enter the narrow passages to reach the fifth level, which is not suitable for hunting.

Ye Shou said with certainty, "We can only conclude that there is a reason why it is acting in ways that defy common sense!"

"reason……"

Leos fell into deep thought, and the first thing that came to his mind was a monster—the Dire Wolf!

The dire wolf pack that appeared around the passage earlier!

It seems they were frightened by the Flame Dragon, so they migrated to the upper levels... So, was the Flame Dragon also driven up by something?

"Okay, let's pack our things now!"

Leos didn't hesitate much; when exploring a maze, one cannot ignore even the slightest sign.

"Fallen, can your body hold up?"

"It's alright, brother."

"Ok!"

Leios knew that his sister wasn't just putting on a brave face. Although she had just been resurrected, she had a good foundation from her "previous life," and even though she was a bit thinner now, she was still much stronger than Marushir.

“I’ll get your staff… Everyone, please bear with us. Let’s rest on the fourth floor. The terrain there is different from the other floors. The large body of water will block the large monsters on the lower floors, and the view is expansive, so we can retreat in time if there are any problems.”

"Well, your concerns are not unfounded."

"I wanted to study the dragon's marrow more... Although it's a bit of a pity, let's go."

After all, they were adventurers, so enduring hardship was nothing to them. They quickly packed their things and embarked on their return journey.

Thanks to Yanlong's diligent patrols, there were hardly any groups of monsters on this floor. The few that did appear were dealt with, and the group quickly arrived at the ascending staircase area.

But at that moment—

boom!!!

A violent explosion was heard, the ground trembled slightly, and a large cloud of black smoke mixed with flames rose from the distant city!

This startled everyone, especially Marushir: "W-What happened?"

"Calm down, it's far away from us. That location... oh, it might be the dragon's stomach that exploded." Ye Shou squinted and looked around.

"Self-destruction?"

"Although the dragon is dead, some parts will heat up due to decay... It's possible that the dragon's stomach was accidentally ignited."

"Could such a thing really happen?" Marushir blinked her clear, large eyes and looked to the person next to her for help.

Farin shook her head. Leos glanced at Ye Shou but didn't say anything. Sensi also spread his hands. Chilchak seemed to have some recollection of him.

"I have heard that in certain circumstances, corpses must be disposed of promptly, otherwise they may explode due to decomposition... but this is the first time I've seen something like this."

"The world is full of wonders!" Marushir, a mage, felt she had learned something new.

Farine was still a little scared: "Luckily we left in time, otherwise everyone would have gotten hurt."

Yeah~

"It's nothing, let's go quickly~"

Ye Shou urged everyone to move forward, then glanced back casually.

Why did the dragon's stomach explode? That's amazing!

whee!

Oh dear~ I hope something happens to him~

Ding!

Ding!

Ding!

[Destiny Coin (Chilcuck) +1]

[Destiny Coin (Senshi) +1]

【Destiny Coin (Leos +2)】

[Fate Coins (Marusir) +3]

[Fallen's Fate Coins +2]

Destiny Coin (Heath)

Different characters drop varying amounts of gold coins... It seems the situation hasn't completely turned around yet, and there's still potential to be tapped.

After all, given Leos's obsession with monsters and the peculiarity of his desires, the Winged Lion must have already noticed him.

...Perhaps Ye Shou is the same.

Okay, this phase is complete, let's continue!

Chapter 68: Pay attention, this is how you use money!

Whether they were satisfied with the "little gift" Ye Shou gave them, or simply missed it, the dungeon master, who was supposed to appear on the fifth floor and meet the main group, did not appear until the adventurers left the dungeon.

The return journey was much smoother than the descent, because after resting for a night on the fourth floor, Farin's magic power had recovered considerably. As a vital force in the team, she played a significant role, providing healing, defense, exorcism, and resurrection – making her an almost all-around magic user.

With the dual mage setup of Marushir and Farin, the logistical support of Sensi and Ye Shou, the command of Leos, and the experience and perception of Chilchak, this team's elite level is absolutely second to none in the dungeon!

With Ye Shou's encouragement, Leos also felt a little uneasy. So, apart from the necessary rest, the group did not cause any further trouble and focused on their journey. As a result, they returned to the first floor in just two days!

When they saw the bustling adventurers' market, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although they hadn't escaped the maze yet, this area was generally considered a safe zone.

“Starting from the fifth floor, there are less than three days in total… It’s frighteningly fast.” Chilchak chuckled wryly as he rubbed his neck. “I never thought I’d have to take on such an extreme challenge at my age… Oh well, I can brag about it to my grandchildren when I’m old. Thinking about it now, it’s not so bad.”

"It's all thanks to everyone working together." Ye Shou gave the halfling a thumbs up.

"That's what they say... but when you said you used magic to shield your nerves and force yourself to travel despite fatigue, I really did see you as a demon."

Chilchuk's face twitched: "Thank goodness Farine didn't agree!"

The mage girl, who was once known as "Little Sister," smiled sheepishly. Her eyesight was a little poor, so she often squinted. Her smile gave people a very healing feeling.

She is indeed very skilled in healing magic, and when treating physical injuries, she uses delicate techniques to shield the injured person from pain (this process is usually quite painful).

Ye Shou suggested that everyone use more aggressive methods to travel, and that even if they suffered physical injuries, they could be restored with magic. He could provide ample supplies and guarantee that even if someone died, they could be easily brought back to life—just like speedrunning in some games.

However, Farin did not agree, and Ye Shou did not insist any further.

He could only smile apologetically at Chilchuck's current accusations, but inwardly he was unconvinced.

What's a few days of travel? Do you even know what the daily routine is like for high school students at the East Asia Three-Volume King?!

He's obviously a brat from another world who hasn't been through the harsh realities of the imperial examinations. If there were magic in the 21st century that could block out fatigue, believe me, students would be allowed to sleep only three hours a day!

(Dongda University is only average in this respect; Koreans are truly cultivating immortality~)

"Ye Shou meant well. I also felt there was something fishy about this incident, so it's good that he came back sooner."

For the first time ever, Leos took on the role of captain and actually started to smooth things over.

"However, if we stay on edge all the time in the maze, it's easy to make mistakes and endanger the whole team. So I agree with Chilchuck's point of view: eating well and sleeping well are the foundation of adventure... Anyway, we're finally back safe and sound!"

Upon hearing this, Chilchuk showed a relieved yet slightly lonely expression:

He will be leaving the team from now on.

"Leos, what are your plans for the future? As for Senshi, needless to say, he'll probably continue exploring dungeons and collecting monster ingredients, right?"

Ye Shou looked at the dwarf chef, who confirmed: "There are still some monsters I want to eat that I haven't found yet... But this adventure was very enjoyable, so perhaps I should consider officially joining a team."

"Welcome! We'd love to!"

Leos also said excitedly, "Fallin, Marusir, and I will still be adventurers, but we lost all our luggage on the sixth floor, so we'll probably have to work for a while."

"Mmmmm~"

The team members all nodded in agreement.

They were indeed famous adventurers, but Leos had no sense of saving money—he'd even lost his voucher on the sixth floor. Farin was a bit better off, but not exactly wealthy either. Only Marusir was not short of money, but she had lost many of her beloved possessions, and getting them back would cost a fortune, which was quite a painful thought.

"Money... Speaking of which, I do have a business opportunity, I wonder if you'd be interested?" Ye Shou stroked his chin, pondering, "As for payment, gold would be fine, right?"

"Task?"

Leos asked, "Is it related to the maze? We don't want to go any further for now; everyone needs to rest."

"It's true that it's related... Don't worry, there's no need to go through a maze, and the danger is minimal."

Ye Shou turned to look at the halfling and said kindly, "Actually, I mainly wanted to ask Chilchak-san for help."

"I?"

Chilchak pointed to himself: "I don't want to be an adventurer anymore."

“Not even adventurers can do this,” Ye Shou said seriously. “You must have a lot of connections among the halflings, right?”