A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Naruko was startled by the intense gaze.

"..."

"Ahem, speaking of which, there are fewer and fewer people the higher you go." Naruko pretended to cough, looked around, and found that after going down some unknown floor, there was no one around anymore.

"Didn't I say that things up there are complicated, so adventurers can't go up?" Bray suspected that this guy hadn't listened to the woman's explanation.

"Is that right?"

"..." Okay, it's no longer a doubt, it's a confirmation.

"I see the blue light!" Naruko shouted again, pointing to the center of the floor.

It's incredible that they climbed to the location of the light source so quickly.

Looking up, all you see is the ceiling; there are no more stairs in sight.

"This isn't the top floor." Bray was a little puzzled; this floor didn't seem to reach the height of the stone tower at all.

Why are there no stairs here anymore?

"Just by thinking about it, I know it's not the best." Naruko looked at the dead fish eyes with disdain.

"There must be some way to get up here."

“…” Bray sighed as he looked at Naruko and Levy, who were excitedly exploring around them.

They've really started to enjoy the fun of exploration.

Bray was curious to know what the Joker was planning to do in this tower.

Having come this far, he couldn't see a single clue and was completely bewildered.

He even suspected that the mysterious person who spoke to him was just a smokescreen, and that the Joker actually had no intention of doing anything.

"Well... judging from that guy's appearance, he doesn't seem like the type to use smoke bombs."

"Hmm?" Just as Bray was muttering to himself, he found himself enveloped in a layer of blue light.

"I've found a way to go up the stairs." Naruko pressed her left hand on a gemstone and made a "V" sign with her right hand.

"Oh! Naruko is so amazing!" Levy looked at Naruko with admiration. Although Naruko was often silly, she was still very capable in crucial moments!

"Couldn't you have told me beforehand?" Bray looked at his disappearing hand, feeling a little annoyed. The sound, like the moment a bright light vanished, echoed in Bray's ears.

If you still don't understand, let's use another analogy: it's like the sound of a light being turned on.

Bray's narrowed right eye opened slightly.

His first instinct was to look down at his hands.

"Thank goodness, it's still there." Bray breathed a sigh of relief.

That idiot actually turned on the machine to go down to the next floor without saying a word.

Bray almost lost his hand.

"Ding—" Suddenly, a sound that Bree was very familiar with rang out.

When many things collide, they make a "ding" sound.

However, Bray knew very well that it was the crisp sound of swords clashing.

The continuous clanging of swords and the vibrations from casting spells made this battle feel much more intense than the one downstairs.

"Damn it, can't this thing be killed?!" a man's voice roared.

Bray looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of people fighting against a large lump of iron.

The sounds of fierce fighting were coming from their side.

That iron lump was made entirely of metal, as robust as an ox, and as big as seven or eight people.

Of course, that lump of iron didn't make a single sound related to cattle.

"Woof!" the iron lump barked.

“…” Bray’s expression instantly fell.

Is this... a dog?

"It's a puppy!" Levy jumped up cutely when she heard the "woof".

"Uh...it's a dog, isn't it?" Bray wiped non-existent cold sweat from his forehead.

"Why are more people coming up?!" Levy's cry drew the attention of those who were fighting.

“…” Bray opened his mouth, then forgot what he wanted to say.

He quickly closed his mouth again and reorganized his thoughts.

"Good afternoon." This was the most appropriate line Bray could think of.

Everyone was speechless.

"Boom!!!" And Tie Niu, who could be considered a dog for the time being, continued to act recklessly.

This iron bull fights by charging headlong into the ground.

But this simple attack left the adventurer squad unable to cope.

Because the opponent's defense and strength were all superior to theirs.

This truly demonstrates how force can overcome skill.

"Damn it, I got distracted by these newbies." The female warrior with the shield gritted her teeth and complained.

"They seem quite dissatisfied with us," Naruko remarked to Bray, noticing the other party's resentment.

“It seems like we’ve disturbed them,” Bray nodded.

"Let's go somewhere else then." Since the other party is hunting its prey, Bray might as well go somewhere else; after all, he didn't come here to fight.

He did it for valuable artifacts—no, for that Jonathan guy.

"Wait a minute!" Seeing that Bray and his group were about to leave again, the unknown ranger in the team quickly called out to Bray.

"Is there something you need?" Bray looked at the other person with a puzzled, deadpan expression.

“We…” The ranger, who was unwilling to ask for names, uttered half a sentence before rolling away to dodge the charge of the iron bull.

For some reason, this iron bull had locked onto their team tightly, and no matter how hard they tried to shake it off, they couldn't.

What's especially disgusting is that this iron ox barks "woof woof woof".

"I want you all..." the ranger said, rolling half a circle again.

“…” Watching the other person busy rolling around and not having time to talk, Bray felt a little emotional.

I'm so tired.

"help!"

“I understand.” Naruko held up a finger and pointed at the metal lump.

"They want us to lend a hand."

“…” Bray felt that Naruko’s IQ needed to be upgraded.

Well, Bray was originally thinking of imitating certain scenes and saying something like, "If you want my help, what are you willing to give in return?"

However, this thing doesn't seem particularly troublesome, so I'll pass.

"Clang—" The seemingly unremarkable longsword was drawn from its scabbard.

At that instant, the iron lump seemed to be stimulated by something, and its whole body began to emit white light.

This iron lump sensed a powerful threat from Bray and was forced to reveal its hidden form.

That was a threat of death.

Its full potential allows it to transform, and incidentally, it can also launch missiles, which is quite cool.

If it were to enter that state, the scene would probably be quite spectacular.

Of course, Bray was unaware of this, otherwise he would not have been in such a hurry to swing his sword.

"Broken Water Stream" or "Broken Waterfall"

Before the sword was sheathed, the iron lump let out one last "woof" before splitting open from the middle.

Clean and efficient, resolved with a single sword strike.

The team members fell silent again.

However, the reason for this silence is different from the last one.

"Could you be S-rank adventurers?!" The ranger who had asked for help swallowed hard.

“““?”” Bray, Naruko, and Levy all tilted their heads in unison, their faces full of confusion.

Among Bray's group, Bray has the highest rank, A-level.

However, why would they consider themselves S-class?

“It’s not an S, he didn’t take the assessment, it’s an A,” Bray said.

Actually, Bray thinks an A is already very high.

"Huh?" The opposing team exclaimed in unison.

Rank A? Isn't that the same rank as them? Why is there such a big difference in combat power among those at the same rank?!

"Then goodbye." Bray waved amicably. Although he didn't try to remember people's names, he still wanted to say goodbye politely.

This is the etiquette of the Claes family.

"Bye-bye~" Levy waved along with Bray.

Of all the remaining girls, only Naruko didn't wave goodbye.

"You have no manners." Bray looked at Naruko with disdain, his eyes like a dead fish.

"..." This time, it was Naruko's turn to be speechless.

---

"Who exactly were those people?" The surviving team began to discuss among themselves.

"I don't know, I've never heard of anyone like that."

“No, I have heard about it.” The female warrior who had been holding the shield earlier now had a serious expression.

His name is "Demon Hunter".

"A hunter of evil spirits?"

"No, no, no, he's a hunter like a demon."

"I heard that he completes his missions in a very ruthless way."

"For example?"

"For example, monsters can be cut into many pieces." As they spoke, they looked at the iron lump that had been split in two.

"..."

Just as the team was talking, the place lit up with blue light once again.

This means that more people have been teleported here.

"Someone else..."

"But it gives off a very bad feeling."

There are about five people on this floor.

All five people were shrouded in dark robes and wore different masks.

Although the robes were all dark in color, it was still possible to distinguish the different colors.

There are also some subtle patterns on it, which makes the robe look less monotonous.

This robe doesn't seem to be used to conceal one's identity; rather, it appears to be used to display it.

“Keep going, we’re going to the top.” The leader spoke in a deep voice to the other four. “Whoa—” Bray, Naruko, and Levy exclaimed in surprise at a small statue.

The statue is lifelike and translucent, like blood jade.