Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

One side of the double-edged sword disappeared.

No, that's not right, even the Great Double-Edged Sword melted.

The blade, embedded in the enemy's body, was corroded by that bodily fluid, leaving no residue.

The hair around her eyes and the large double-edged sword were both smoking. Staring at the broken blade, which showed only signs of melting, Tiona was speechless.

Unexpected weapon damage.

"Ahhh!"

The monster let out an angry roar and spewed liquid from its mouth again.

Tiona panicked and dodged with large movements, while Ais and the others also avoided the purple liquid that sprayed around them.

A stream of liquid shot through the channel, instantly dissolving the ground with a "sizzle".

"How come I didn't know it would attack like that?! Why didn't you tell me first?!"

"Finn did try to stop you, you stupid woman!"

Tiona, imitating Finn and the others, cried and joined the escape. Bert, running alongside her, cursed and complained.

Tiona and her group, along with the monster. Faced with the rapidly approaching scene, Ais, Tione, and Lefia looked at each other silently, then turned around and ran away without prior arrangement.

All members of the elite group fled at top speed.

"What is that, Finn! Stop joking! Ugh, it's my weapon—!"

"I don't know. We were also attacked suddenly."

With tears in her eyes, Tiona threw away the massive double-bladed sword, the hilt of which was slowly dissolving, and forcefully pulled out her still-smoking hair. Finn answered her as he ran away.

Like Ais, they arrived at "Cadmus Spring," defeated the dragon, and encountered a group of those monsters on their way back to camp. They tried to fight them, but like Tiona earlier, they lost their weapons and had no choice but to run away.

He explained it to everyone concisely.

"You mean a group? There's more than just one of those monsters!"

"Look more closely, okay? Besides that big one, there's a whole bunch of others following behind."

"Ugh—!"

"Commander, are any of you injured?"

"We're all fine. Only Raul isn't doing so well. He was hit directly by that attack."

"He needs to receive treatment immediately, or his life will be in danger!"

Finn answered Tiony's question, and then Grace, carrying Raul, said the same thing with concern.

The human youth, carried on the broad shoulders of the dwarf, was now emitting plumes of black smoke and a foul stench. His hands hung limply at his sides, and he occasionally let out hoarse, soft moans like "Ugh, ah..." His skin, along with his light clothing, was dissolving, turning into a gruesome purplish-black.

Seeing her companion's miserable state, Lefia turned pale.

"Hey, look... that monster is attacking the black rhinoceros!"

Tiona, who had turned around, started shouting.

At the crossroads that Ais and the others had already passed, the black rhinoceros appeared from a side road, and the worm monster launched an attack without saying a word. It first dissolved the black rhinoceros's body with corrosive liquid, rendering it unable to move, and then opened its huge mouth and swallowed its upper body in one gulp.

"Besides us, that monster will react and attack any other monster that gets close."

"Does that mean you're not picky about partners at all?"

"No, that's hard to say. There are too few clues to make a judgment... but I think it might prioritize attacking monsters."

Finn looked back and squinted.

Tiony looked down at him, whose golden hair was flowing, and took out a piece of wood from his pocket.

"Captain, actually, before we arrived, 'Cadmus Fountain' had already been vandalized. The powerful dragon turned to dust, leaving only its dropped items. This piece of wood was also found there."

"Hmm...that's for sure now. I didn't expect it could even defeat a powerful dragon."

Finn took the piece of wood, examined it closely, and drew a conclusion.

The discolored wood chips and the objects that were splashed with the monster's bodily fluids both showed the same signs of corrosion.

"A monster that attacks its own kind. Hmph, that's just how these monstrous things are..."

"I don't know if it's a monster that lives on a deeper floor coming up, or a new type of monster being produced in the dungeon... Either way, it's troublesome."

Bert made no attempt to hide his contempt, while Grace sighed as he speculated.

The hurried footsteps of everyone overlapped and echoed through the maze as they continued their aimless escape.

"Finn, is there any way to defeat that monster?"

Ais's words shocked everyone around them as they ran away.

The companions fell silent for a moment.

Facing Ais, who was running ahead and only turned her face towards him, Finn paused for a moment before answering:

"The attack itself is effective. However, each attack requires sacrificing a weapon, just like Tiona did. It's not worth it."

"..."

"Trying to deal with so many groups is even more chaotic."

"However," Finn continued, "I will say."

"Magic is an exception. It might be difficult in this situation, but if we can barely buy enough time to cast a spell and unleash a powerful spell capable of annihilating a group..."

Finn's analysis concludes here.

As soon as he finished speaking, Ais and everyone else present focused their attention on him. Even Raul, who was being carried around with only half a life left, looked in her direction.

Faced with all eyes focused on her face, Lefia looked around, exclaiming, "Huh? Huh?"

"Hey! They're here too!"

A huge, yellowish-green body approached from the front.

As Tiona issued her warning, Finn also gave instructions.

"Everyone, rush to the right fork in the road!"

Ais and the others changed direction and crawled into the only remaining passage.

They formed one or two lines and rushed into the one-way street, which was even narrower than the previous passage.

"Tione, how many weapons and tools do you have left?"

"Huh... Ah, yes, none of them were used. Everything is fine except for Tiona's weapon."

"Alright, give the weapons to Grace and the others. The cave ahead is a dead end. Take Raul and retreat deeper into the cave, then use the healing items."

Upon hearing that the leader of the little people had memorized the entire structure of the 51st floor, which was larger than a city, without even looking at a map, Tione was amazed and immediately acted according to the instructions.

Finn and the rest of the second group had their belongings melted down along with their supporter, Raul, and all their weapons destroyed. They then retrieved the prepared swords and daggers from the long cylindrical backpack Lefia was carrying and equipped themselves with them.

"Hey, what good will it do me to get this stuff? It'll just melt away anyway!"

Holding a recurve knife that wasn't his forte, Bert roared and yelled.

Finn licked the pad of his right thumb.

My thumb is itchy. — It's probably coming.

He uttered a meaningful mutter to himself, and soon saw a wide dead-end alley.

It was a square cavern, with the only entrance and exit being the passage they were now walking through.

When everyone stepped into that space, cracks appeared on the walls in three directions—front, left, and right.

"!"

Bert and the others' expressions changed drastically.

They'd seen it many times. It was a harbinger of monsters being born in the labyrinth.

Not only that, but it's also enormous. It's obvious that monsters are about to appear in every corner of the cave.

"Monster Party".

A sudden, massive influx of monsters has formed a U-shaped encirclement, except at the entrance to the passage. This vicious labyrinthine trap plunges adventurers into an abyss of despair.

It was as if it had been planned all along; the dungeon had set off an unreasonable trap.

"Bert, Grace, Tiona! Protect Raul and the others while driving away the enemy! Ais and I will handle the new species—everyone, let's go!"

Finn seemed to have anticipated this situation and issued the order accordingly.

Having obtained the strategy and thus avoiding chaos, Bert and the others rushed towards the wall in an attempt to confront the enemy.

Just as instructions and their actions have a chain reaction.

More than thirty black rhinos emerged from the wall, letting out ferocious cries as they crashed to the ground.

"Lefia, step back and begin your incantation. The outcome of this battle depends on you; be quick."

"……!I see!"

Lefia nodded vigorously, accepting this important responsibility.

Those azure eyes shed the shadows and confusion of excessive tension, and then she stepped back.

Without even looking at her back, Finn ended up standing next to the blonde girl.

"Ais".

"I see."

Ais nodded in response to Finn's gaze.

She stared intently at the entrance to the passageway where a loud rumble was coming from, and then let out a sound.

"【Awaken (Tempest)】."

The "magic" was activated using a very short incantation as the trigger.

"【Wind Spirit Swiftness】".

The wind has formed.

The atmospheric currents visible to the naked eye danced around Ais.

Her golden hair, radiating a dazzling brilliance like sand gold, billowed and rippled in the wind.

【Wind Spirit Sprints】.

The only magic Ais can use.

Enchantment is the ability to let wind entwine the body and weapons for protection, thereby aiding in attacks and increasing speed.

With the aid of a cool breeze strong enough to ward off the stagnant air of the labyrinth, Ais drew the sword from her waist, but instead of equipping it, she said "Finn" and handed the sword to the boy beside her for safekeeping.

"'Indestructible attribute,' is that it...? I don't mean to doubt it, but do you think it will be useful?"

"should……"

"This is really disturbing."

Finn smiled wryly, gripped the Sword of Despair, which was almost as tall as him, and handed the spare one-handed sword to Ais instead.

Ais took the sword, and as she turned to move forward, her massive, chariot-like body simultaneously crashed through the entrance to the passage.

"——!"

The monster let out a roar like a broken gong, and its eyeless face turned toward Ais and the others.

The yellowish-green body, which evokes immediate disgust, continuously oozes bodily fluids from its torso, dissolving the ground beneath its feet as it drags itself forward.

It was the large monster that Tiona wounded at the cost of her weapon.

"If you can't use wind to defend against that corrosive liquid, don't force it. Just buy some time for Lefia to prepare."

"Um."

"Perhaps I don't need to worry about it."

Worm-like monsters also began to enter the cave one after another.

They vary in size; some are as large as the one we just saw, while others are about the same size as Finn.

Tiona and the others had already started fighting, while Ais faced the terrifying army of monsters and swung her sword with a "whoosh".