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

The compressed ball of fire shook violently before being released into the air in one breath.

(—Middle management!)

Big explosion.

How many M are left in Volume 5, Chapter 2, from life to death?

The small figure rushed into the Pantheon—the guild headquarters.

Her figure, noticeably smaller than the adventurers around her, pushed through the crowd, her black hair tied in twin ponytails swaying with each step, as she moved forward in the space made of white marble.

Sweat dripped from her fair skin, and her breath came out in rapid, intermittent gasps from her small lips, but Hestia didn't care about that and rushed toward a window of the guild.

"Miss Consultant!"

"The goddess Hestia?"

Eina, the clerk waiting at the window to process her business, blinked in surprise when she saw the little goddess running towards her almost bump into the window.

Before the half-elf girl could react, Hestia called out in an extremely anxious voice:

"Was Bell here yesterday?"

"He came here before we set off to explore the dungeon yesterday morning, but I haven't seen him since. What happened...?"

Upon hearing this answer, Hestia's expression contorted as if she were enduring pain.

Eina, who could hardly hide her surprise, managed to squeeze out a voice to explain what had happened.

"Bell hasn't returned to headquarters since yesterday."

"!"

"The support lady who was in a team with that child is also missing. She probably disappeared after entering the dungeon."

Welf belongs to the Hephaestus Familia. Lily stays at the "Goblin General Store".

She had searched both outposts early in the morning, but like Bell, no one had seen them since yesterday—or rather, since Bell and the others went to explore before noon.

After hearing the explanation, Eina's emerald-green eyes widened in astonishment, and then her face turned ashen.

"Please wait a moment," she said, then anxiously left the window temporarily.

"I contacted the money exchange. They said they didn't see anyone like Bell and his group among the adventurers who went to exchange money."

"...!"

The news that Eina brought back almost confirmed the whole thing.

That means Bell and the others who went to explore the dungeon probably didn't return from the underground city.

While it's possible they were involved in some accident after returning from the dungeon or before setting off... No, if that's the case, it would actually be better.

Unfortunately, yesterday was the day Bell and his team first challenged the middle level.

Hestia heard the boy say with her own ears, "I'm going to challenge the middle level."

Every time Hestia entered a new floor she hadn't yet reached, she made sure to contact Bell when she returned. But on the day Bell went to the more dangerous middle floor, the contact was lost.

Hestia couldn't be so oblivious as to not even understand what this represented, let alone be optimistic for the sake of temporary comfort.

Bell and his team were unable to leave the middle management.

God's intuition throbbed, as if confirming Hestia's conclusion.

"...Miss Consultant, could you please help me gather eyewitness accounts of Bell and his group?"

"I understand, I promise you. I will also try my best to contact other adventurers."

Hestia took a deep breath to calm herself down, and then made her request to Eina.

She thanked Eina for her extra efforts beyond her duties and made another request.

"Also, I have an adventurer's request to make. The request is to 'search for Bell and his party'."

Having no time to choose a method, she asked Eina to gather the assistance of adventurers.

Eina seemed to understand Hestia's idea immediately. She nodded and pulled out parchment from her desk. She quickly wrote out the request with a quill pen.

"How will the payment be made?"

"Four hundred thousand fali. This is all the property of the [family].

She stated the maximum amount she could prepare immediately, and then filled out the details of the adventurer's request with Eina.

Finally, Hestia hastily signed her name, and the power of attorney was completed.

"I'm going to get approval from higher-ups. It will take about an hour to put up the sign, please bear with me."

"Okay, thank you."

"I'll get right on it," Eina said, standing up and quickening her pace; Hestia also turned her back to her and ran outside.

Passing through the main gate of the guild headquarters, a spacious forecourt lay before you. The courtyard, paved with smooth stone slabs, bustled with adventurers coming and going from the Pantheon. Unlike Hestia's heart, churning like a stormy sea, the sky was clear and vast, and a peaceful murmur drifted from the direction of the main road.

Mih and Naza waited for her near the monument set up in the center of the forecourt.

"How is it, Hestia?"

"No, Bell and the others really didn't return from the dungeon."

Seeing Hestia shake her head, Mihe and Nazha both fell silent.

They had already discussed this matter with Hestia and were quite aware of how serious the current situation was.

The possibility of total annihilation crossed my mind.

As if to dispel the deathly silence that had descended in an instant, Hestia shouted loudly.

"Bell is alive! My 'blessing' hasn't disappeared yet!"

She bestowed "God's Grace (Pharna)" upon only one of her Familias. It was written by Hestia with her own divine blood (ichor), and she told Mih and the others that she could indeed feel its presence—her bond with Bell remained intact.

Mich and his companions' eyes regained their focus, and after nodding to indicate that they understood, they began to discuss their future plans.

"Has the goddess Hestia already issued an adventurer's request...?"

"Yes, I followed Nazha's advice and made the request."

Hestia decided to apply for an adventurer's commission when she lacked clues to determine the current situation of Bell and the others because Mihe and Naza were pushing her from behind.

If it's all in vain and becomes a joke, that would be for the best. Based on past experiences, the Mih Familia, who almost lost Nazha in the middle ranks, advised her to do everything she could before things became irreversible.

"In that case, let's go find Hephaestus and Takemikazuchi. We should try to ask as many people as possible for help."

"Um!"

She accepted Mih's offer.

Hestia and her group left the guild headquarters and wandered through the vast city.

Then, an hour later.

Just as Eina had said, Hestia's adventurer request was posted on the notice board at the guild headquarters.

When the adventurers gathered in front of the notice board to check the various commissions, one of them walked over to the newly posted adventurer's commission and read out the contents.

Finally, she tore the parchment off with a "snap" and stared at it.

"Something terrible has happened... Hermes."

◆

Let's go back twenty hours.

The labyrinth was remarkably quiet. No monsters could be sensed nearby, and the damp air, carrying the scent of stone, permeated the gray cavern.

The cavernous passageway was quite dark. A few lights near the ceiling flickered like campfires, cutting the dim scene into irregular shapes. Some footsteps, heavy on the ground, traversed the severed depths of darkness.

The silent, burning phosphorescence dimly illuminated his profile as Bell made his way through the underground city.

His face, covered in sand and dust, was tinged with a thin layer of brown. Beads of sweat slid down his chin and landed at his feet. Fresh blood congealed around the wound on his forehead, sticking to his skin.

His panting breaths echoed around him as he lifted his body, which was supported by his right shoulder, once again.

"Feel sorry……"

"Won't……"

Faced with the faint whisper in his ear, Bell could only reply with this one sentence.

Welf, leaning on his shoulder, wore a pained expression as sweat beaded on his skin. Bell turned his head slightly to look behind him and saw Lily, also panting and exhausted, following behind them. Noticing Bell's gaze, she gave him a weak, downcast smile, indicating that she was alright.

Bell and his group barely survived being simultaneously attacked by the fire breath of the hellhounds.

After surviving the terrifying explosion caused by multiple monsters, the group retreated on the spot, managing to escape death.

Of course, despite the near-death experience, they paid a heavy price. Welf, still leaning on Bell's shoulder, had his leg broken by a landslide on the 13th floor, rendering him unable to walk. Lily, though without visible injuries, revealed from her expression that the frail girl was the most exhausted member of the team during this series of escapes. Furthermore, a large section of her heavy backpack was missing, and many items, including elixirs, were lost.

Bell himself was also panting, and after looking around at his companions, he looked down at his own body.

(If it weren't for "Fire Spirit Weaving", they would have been wiped out long ago...)

The red robes were covered in particles of light. If it weren't for the "Fairy Essence Protective Cloth" they were wearing, they would have been charred corpses by now. The thought sent chills down Bell's spine.

They were able to withstand the hellhounds' fiery onslaught entirely thanks to their equipment imbued with divine essence. The "Fire Essence Cloth," possessing fire resistance, greatly reduced the power of the flames and high temperatures, protecting the wearers—Bell and the others—from head to toe.

Looking at his skin, which had only suffered minor burns, Bell silently thanked the half-elf advisor.

Eina saved Bell and the others' lives.

"Lily, what items are left...?"

"Four elixirs, two antidotes, and the high potion is gone..."

After hearing Lily's answer, Bell, who was trying to escape from the middle level, felt a significant sense of crisis.

He racked his brains for a long time, trying to figure out how to get through the current situation, but the items he had on hand were simply not enough. Weapons and items were already consumed at a high rate in the middle levels, and now Belle and Lily's stamina had been greatly reduced, and Welf's foot was seriously injured.

The primary effect of common elixirs is to restore physical strength. Restoring missing flesh, stopping bleeding, and repairing broken bones—these magical healing effects require higher-grade elixirs or even elixirs of immortality (elixir). Welf's left foot, which had undergone hemostasis—was almost completely crushed below the knee, a bloody mess, and it was clear the bone inside was shattered. With the items Bell and his companions currently possessed, his red and black foot couldn't be healed.

It has to be said that for a team that is currently missing a striker, escaping the mid-levels is virtually impossible.

(And... we also fell down a vertical cave.)

Bell's eyes twisted as he looked up at the vertical hole that appeared in the ceiling as he moved through the passage.

The current location is presumed to be the 14th floor.

Bell and the others fell. After the ceiling of the 13th floor collapsed, the group desperately fled from a large pack of hellhounds, only to fall into a large opening in the passageway ahead, which was a vertical cave leading to the lower floors.

Being chased by the monster made them realize too late that the pitfall meant they had truly fallen into it. After what felt like an exceptionally long fall, the impact from their feet was enough to make Bell break out in a sweat.

All the vertical caves, like the ones currently above Bell's head, extend perfectly vertically. The smooth rock surfaces have neither protrusions nor indentations, making them impossible to climb. One can sense the malice emanating from the underground city.

Bell and his companions have become prey to the dungeon gimmick, and are currently in the worst-case scenario imaginable.

"Bell, Riko... if there's really no other way, just leave me behind..."

"What nonsense are you talking about...?"

"I absolutely cannot do it..."

The group talked listlessly. All three of them dragged their bodies along. Bell picked up Welf, who had offered unnecessary advice, and carried him again.

They hadn't encountered the monster yet, and the dungeon remained silent. Only the voices of Bell, Lily, and Welf echoed throughout the dark cavern. The only source of light, phosphorescence, illuminated Bell and the others from above in an irregular pattern, coldly surveying the anxious group.

The heavy pounding of a heart against the body echoed loudly.

Bell felt his emotions becoming more tense with each step he took forward.

He fell through a vertical cave to the floor below. It was easy to imagine that the monsters in this area were far more powerful than those on the originally planned 13th floor. The horizontal cave ahead, and the walls of the passage he was currently traversing—these places might see monsters appearing with terrifying roars. Such images constantly tormented Bell's heart. His tongue grew dry without him noticing, and his throat yearned for water.

They climbed up the sloping ramp, turning left and right through the maze-like passage. A "crack" sounded as a small pebble fell from the wall, causing all three to turn around in unison, then breathe a sigh of relief, their spirits once again weakening.

The sound of one's own breathing can affect hearing. Rapid breathing is not just caused by fatigue.

There's also an intense unease that can make you feel pathetic.

The unease stems from this situation, from this underground city where darkness has spread.

The dungeon's actions seemed to mock Bell, who had joined the ranks of high-level adventurers and was overjoyed at gaining some fame. "It's precisely because everything went smoothly that you suffered such a painful lesson in the labyrinth," seemed to be a quote from Eina.

The situation took a sharp turn for the worse, and he was pushed to the very bottom of hell. A pit called Absurdity.

In the dark underground labyrinth where sunlight cannot reach, one's spirit is on the verge of collapse.

"...A dead end..."