A Mistaken Encounter: The Hero of the World

"Have you successfully joined the Loki clan? We want all the materials. We will have someone send the money later."

"Lady Hephaestus, I am already a member of Loki's Familia. As for the money, I hope you won't be so ostentatious and just give it to me here."

"You actually joined Loki's clan?!" The tiny goddess was shocked and angry.

"In fact, at first, I wanted to join your clan, but unfortunately you rejected me."

Hephaestus looked at her god friend. She was well aware of the grudge between Hestia and Loki. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but curl up slightly, "Hestia, it seems that you have missed a child with great potential."

"Hmph." Hestia hugged her chest angrily, and suddenly noticed the upturned corners of her close friend's mouth that she couldn't hide.

"Hephaestus, you are not snickering, are you?"

"I've been well trained. I just... thought of something happy."

Hestia angrily left the scene of the tragedy with Popeye's steps.

Chapter 15: Ugly

Day 24 of the adventure.

There was something wrong with the atmosphere on the 15th floor.

From the moment Serven and Lefiya stepped into this floor, they felt the quiet and oppressive atmosphere. Moreover, they did not encounter any monsters along the way.

Sort of like the calm before the storm.

"Lefiya, cheer up."

"Yeah!" Lefiya nodded heavily. She clenched her wand and subconsciously moved closer to Serven.

In the dim dungeon, countless monsters fell from the walls, and then as if they had received some kind of message, they quietly approached Serven and the other two.

Several hellhounds suddenly appeared behind the two men and without any warning, they spewed flames at them.

With his excellent swordsman's intuition, Serven sensed the danger in advance. He pounced on Lefiya, hugged her and rolled on the ground to avoid the attack, and killed them with a long-range slash.

The attacks of those hellhounds were like a clarion call for a charge, and more hellhounds surrounded the passage from the front and back.

In the dim environment, the red eyes of the hellhounds in the front and rear aisles are like the desperate and endless taillights of cars when you are stuck on the road the night before the holiday.

"Mr. Serven." This was the first time Lefiya had to face the siege of monsters on her own. Her voice trembled with nervousness. "It seems that our retreat has been cut off."

As if knowing what Serven and the others were thinking, the monsters were guarding the passage they came from very tightly, and there were more tricky Level 2 monsters like the saber-toothed tigers constantly rushing over.

Just like what Lefiya said—

The retreat route was completely cut off.

Many ants bite the elephant to death——

In a dungeon, once you are besieged by monsters, the endless stream of monsters can drag down the adventurers.

At the beginning, Lefiya cast a few spells to buy the two of them a dozen meters of retreat space, but later they were forced to flee because of the intensive attacks.

Serven protected Lefiya behind him, pressed against the wall, and concentrated on facing the attacks from monsters in all directions, killing the monsters that were approaching madly.

"Mr. Serven, we can still..." Lefiya was covered in dust and there were marks of burns on her clothes. She looked desperate.

"We can get out!" Serven replied decisively.

He released a few slashing blows, killing the monsters inside the encirclement, and then swung his sword to chop down several invading monsters at his feet.

The situation was getting worse. Although Serven killed very quickly, he was far outnumbered by the monsters that were rushing over.

Serven still did not give up the idea of ​​retreating. He killed several hellhounds with a casual slash, and after taking a blow of fire, he launched several huge slashes in the direction they came from. A large area of ​​densely packed monsters was cleared out. Just as Serven and Lefiya were about to break out, a Minotaur on all fours suddenly rushed over from the monster group.

"Why would the Minotaur use a direct collision...Mr. Serven!" Lefiya's pupils contracted and she reminded loudly.

The Minotaur would only use the extremely powerful skill [Charge] when he was in a desperate situation. He actually used it now, and it was obvious that he had already accumulated enough power.

Serven's pupils shrank, and he exerted all his strength, using all the results of his previous training without reservation at this fatal moment.

At the critical moment, Serven used his knife to jam the hard bull's horns, curbing the unstoppable momentum of the mad bull. Although he was inevitably pushed back by the powerful impact force, he successfully avoided fatal injuries.

The Minotaur suddenly threw its head back, and Serven was thrown directly into the air by the inertia of the impact. The Minotaur grinned, ready to use its sharp horns to deal a fatal blow to its prey.

Serven in the air attacked first, and his flying slash cut off the Minotaur's body first.

Amid the scattered ashes, Serven smiled victoriously.

"Mr. Serven!" Serven heard Lefiya's alarmed reminder again.

Serven, who was falling in the air, turned back in response, and had no time to do anything else.

The other Minotaur rushed over with all four legs on the ground. Its powerful inertia pushed Serven to move. Its sharp horns tore through Serven's armor and slammed him heavily against the stone wall.

The dungeon never gives adventurers any chance to breathe!

The Minotaur also shook his head from side to side, further tearing Serven's wound.

The ribs were aching - just a moment ago, Serven's eyes went dark and he almost thought he was flattened.

He endured the pain, turned around slightly, hacked the monster behind him to death, and slid down the stone wall. There was a big hole in his stomach, blood gushed out, and Serwen leaned against the wall and gasped heavily.

Lefiya ran over. Serven looked dejectedly at the road that was completely filled with endless monsters. Retreat was completely impossible.

I'll kill you while you're sick!

The ground shook—another Minotaur rushed over from the direction it came from. Serven had no choice but to swing his sword to cut off its running limbs from a distance before killing it.

The condition has declined a lot.

After dealing with the attacks of other monsters, Lefiya took the opportunity to simply bandage Serven's wound.

Serven's face was pale and his lips had lost their color. He clenched his fists and stared at the group of monsters without saying a word. He became a little too silent.

Just now, when he was pierced by the Minotaur, he experienced death firsthand.

What is death? For him, who is still a teenager, death means countless regrets and an abyss-like emptiness that has no end and can easily swallow up his body and mind.

He doesn't want to die.

The desire to survive was stronger than ever before. Serven was like a stranded fish longing for water, greedily craving for life.

If you are alone...

Evil thoughts suddenly arose in Serven's heart.

Once the seeds of selfishness sprout, they can't be stopped.

Lefiya can't use magic and is just a burden.

Instead of telling two people off here, it’s better to escape by yourself.

Lefiya and I have no relationship in any way, so there is no need for me to do this.

In an instant, many excuses to convince himself emerged in Serven's mind.

Yes, if I had given up on Lefiya from the beginning, I wouldn't be as passive as I am now.

Seeing the unaware Lefiya, Serven felt a little pain in his heart, but he still chose to follow the excuse he found.

Ok.

Just be a coward.

He decided to survive alone.

------------

Lefiya was at a loss now.

She had always been well protected by Loki's family, so she only needed to stay in the back row and chant a few spells. Even when Serven was exploring for the first time, she only needed to cast a few spells to add icing on the cake.

This was the first time she had to deal with a life-and-death crisis on her own.

Because there were too many monsters, there was no longer an environment where she could safely cast magic. She wanted to do her part, but she was always nervous because of the monsters' intensive attacks. She didn't dare to cast magic, and only wanted to detect the attacks as soon as possible and dodge them at the first opportunity.

But now it’s no longer possible—

Serven was seriously injured.

Seeing Serven's pale face but still insisting on fighting, Lefiya blamed herself. She was clearly the elder of the clan, and clearly a Lv3 adventurer, but she was hiding behind a Lv1 younger clan member.

How shameful!

How weak!

However, when she saw the densely packed red eyes in the darkness, Lefiya couldn't help but tremble physically and mentally.

There are too many monsters!

You will die! You will be torn into pieces without leaving any residue!

Serven in front once again took the brunt of the fire.

When Lefiya saw the blood-oozing bandage on her junior's waist, she suddenly felt separated from the whole world and found herself in a peaceful place.

The boy's decisive swordsmanship reminded her of the person she had always admired -

Yes, if it were Miss Ais, she would definitely fight the monster bravely!

What would she do if, if she became a burden like me?

She will definitely -

Yes, Miss Ais' words -

Serven still stood in front of Lefiya, and the gauze soaked in blood stung her pupils.

Lefiya looked towards the endless darkness and once again met those densely packed red eyes. Although she was still timid in her heart, her gaze gradually became firm.

Goodbye, Miss Ais! Goodbye, Lady Livilia!

Lefiya said goodbye to her fellow clan members one by one in her heart and came to Serven's side.

She stared into the monsters' eyes without showing any weakness, "Mr. Serven, I will cast a spell in a moment, you should seize the opportunity to escape, I will buy you some time!"

Seeing Serven looking at her in disbelief, she forced herself to laugh, "Because I can't help you, and I can't run fast, I will only be a burden. If you were alone, you would definitely be able to escape!"

She took a few steps back, away from the intensive attacks, and stood with her back straight as if to greet some solemn moment.

She smiled at Serven, with tears in the corners of her eyes. Her smile was as warm as the first ray of sunshine seen after the long polar night of half a year in Antarctica.

"Mr. Servin, goodbye!"

Chapter 16: Labyrinth of Death

Are you kidding me!!!

As if she had seen through Serven's despicable heart, Lefiya said the opposite of what Serven said, saying that she was ready to sacrifice herself.

It hit Serven's pain point exactly.

Your life is about to be lost, please stop playing the saintly game, okay? ! !

Serven roared in his heart, and the shame that surged from the bottom of his heart completely engulfed him in an instant.

He gripped the long sword tightly and tore into pieces several monsters that rushed forward as if to vent his anger.

Solution, solution, solution!!!!!!!

As Serven continued to face the monster and think of a countermeasure, he couldn't help but put Lefiya behind him.

He suddenly recalled a scene in his memory where the Bell trio had encountered a similar dangerous situation.

"Lefiya, release magic to the other side!"

"Eh!?"

"The 18th floor, let's find the vertical hole to go to the 18th floor!!" Serven looked in another direction. There were much fewer monsters there than the way they came, and there was a smell similar to a trap called "surrounded by three and missing one".

But now there is no way to retreat, so we might as well just rush into it!!

Then, as if swearing an oath, Serven said firmly, "I will do my best to protect you, for sure!"

"Mr. Servin..."

"Get ready to break out!" Serven said, "Thank you, Lefiya!"

Lefiya smiled at the figure standing in front of her. She closed her eyes, opened them after a few seconds, and looked at the monsters without fear.

"Proud warriors, archers of the forest. The advancing marauders are ahead. Take up your bows. Answer the voice of your fellows and nock your arrows."