Dungeon — Ninth Floor.
As a newly registered Adventurer, LV.1 Saeko Busujima was not overly eager to quickly improve her strength, but rather proceeded gradually, slowly adapting to the combat rhythm of the Dungeon.
The current situation was completely different from the kendo competitions she had participated in before; the monsters here were fiercer and more cunning.
There were no rules, no referees, only a battle to the fullest extent of one's ability.
Although Chen Hai had said that monsters would not launch fatal attacks on Adventurers, still...!
If one's strength was insufficient, they would be treated as a punching bag by the monsters and taught a lesson.
Before Saeko Busujima came to the Dungeon, she had heard some experienced Adventurers talk about 'people having their arms broken by monsters and fleeing in disarray'.
From this, it could be confirmed that if one delved into the Dungeon with the attitude of 'I won't die anyway', the consequences would also be very severe.
After all, some monsters would launch 'more attacks if the enemy doesn't die'.
Therefore, in addition to having their limbs broken, some Adventurers would also have their equipment, food, and so on stolen by monsters.
Even if they repelled the opponent, those guys might take their 'spoils of war' back into the walls.
In this way, Adventurers would not be able to retrieve their belongings.
Knowing all this, Saeko Busujima became very cautious.
Even though it was only the relatively easy ninth floor of the Dungeon, she still advanced slowly.
Occasionally, she would encounter a few Adventurers, but both parties merely greeted each other and had no intention of forming a party.
Saeko Busujima was the same.
She preferred to act alone.
When encountering monsters, she could attack without restraint, fully revealing her true nature.
Simply put, it was — violent tendencies.
Killing was a great pleasure for Saeko Busujima.
If others knew about it, would they still treat her as they did now "537"?
Saeko Busujima felt a chill at this thought.
Parts of the cave ahead were frozen, but no ice-attributed monsters were seen active nearby.
Such special environments in the Dungeon were normal.
Before coming here, Saeko Busujima had specifically studied this kind of knowledge.
For example, besides the safe floors, the scenery and monsters on other floors were not necessarily completely fixed.
This was the best proof now.
"Would you like me to dispatch a few Adventurers to accompany you to the Dungeon?"
After providing Saeko Busujima with knowledge, an Adventurers' Guild employee also said the above sentence.
Evidently, because the person behind Saeko Busujima was Chen Hai, the owner of the labyrinth, the Adventurers' Guild intended to offer her the best service.
However, Saeko Busujima refused.
She did not want to be treated differently.
At the same time, she also wanted to explore alone.
Back to the present —
The passage she had just passed was extremely dry, but the area she had now reached was covered in ice.
The cold air reminded one of winter's chill winds.
The glowing magic stones protruding from the ceiling illuminated the ice crystals everywhere, like a dazzling galaxy in the night sky.
Looking at such a strange scene, Saeko Busujima, dressed relatively lightly, took out a cloak and hood from her backpack and put them on, which could ward off some of the cold.
At the same time, she heard footsteps coming from ahead.
The labyrinth area was a maze of passages, so it was normal for someone to emerge from another path.
However, the sound was very hurried, perhaps indicating they were being chased by monsters.
This made Saeko Busujima a little curious.
She would continue to explore the ninth floor, so learning more about this floor would be good.
Thinking this, Saeko Busujima took a step forward.
Passing through the cold cave covered with ice crystals, Saeko Busujima quickly saw two figures at the intersection ahead.
The person fleeing to the left was small in stature, while the two pursuing from the right were tall and wore face masks.
The two tall figures, not noticing Saeko Busujima, shouted at the small figure,
"Stop! You foolish little person! Those are all our things!"
"No!!!"
After the Pallum girl loudly responded, a chained dart struck the large backpack she was carrying.
"Ah!"
Pulled by the chain, the girl immediately fell backward.
Seeing this, Saeko Busujima, who had no intention of ignoring it, rushed between them.
"What are you doing?"
"??"
Faced with the sudden appearance of an outsider, the two masked men were first stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Where did this Adventurer come from? Don't get in the way!"
"Didn't you hear?! This has nothing to do with you! It's a dispute between us and her, you'd best get out of here quickly!"
Saeko Busujima listened, but did not move an inch.
Just as the two masked men were about to lay hands on the Pallum girl, Saeko Busujima, wielding a katana, knocked one of them away with her scabbard without drawing her blade.
"You bastard!"
Seeing this, the remaining masked man brandished the short sword in his hand and thrust it at Saeko Busujima, clearly intending no mercy.
Saeko deftly dodged, and her scabbard sliced through the air, accurately striking the opponent's wrist.
The man cried out in pain, his short sword flying from his grasp, and Saeko immediately kicked him in the knee, forcing him to his knees.
The man who had been knocked away now scrambled to his feet, glaring fiercely at Saeko Busujima.
"Hey! Get up! It was just a hit to the wrist!"
"I know! This guy actually looks down on us!"
The other masked man also regrouped.
Saeko Busujima didn't think she had said anything to look down on them.
Or was it that many of the Adventurers in the Dungeon were 'brainless'?
Without overthinking, Saeko Busujima took a deep breath, her gaze becoming more focused.
She knew that the upcoming battle would not be so easy.
Before, she had the advantage of a sneak attack and pre-emptive strike, but now it was different.
Even so, she showed no sign of backing down.
With a crisp clang, Saeko launched her attack.
The wooden sword carved graceful arcs through the air, each swing carrying immense power and precise direction.
She lowered her body, shifted her center of gravity, charged forward, and swung the sword down.
The moment the enemy dodged and counterattacked, Saeko Busujima immediately turned and accelerated, creating distance.
Without any pause, Saeko Busujima confirmed her safety and then exerted force a second time.
This time she moved to the left of the two men.
The moment the masked man raised his weapon to block, Saeko Busujima's swinging scabbard came loose!
The scabbard in the air struck the enemy's shoulder, disrupting his balance, while Saeko Busujima, gripping the hilt with both hands, struck with the back of her blade.
"Ugh!!!"
The first masked man took a blow to the abdomen, letting out a painful grunt, and was sent flying again.
Without any hesitation, Saeko Busujima turned to the other enemy.
A strike with the back of the blade had no cutting ability, but it possessed terrifying blunt force!
The second masked man only felt the weapon he used to block shatter his tiger's mouth, and the immense pressure caused his movements to become somewhat distorted.
As a result, facing Saeko's fierce offensive, the masked man could barely resist at first, but as time passed, after only a few seconds, the second man's defense gradually collapsed.
"It should end now."
Saeko used her speed advantage to move to the enemy's side.
Although she held back, using the back of her blade, the terrible blows could still cause considerable damage to her opponent.
Saeko Busujima recalled the scene where she had once punished that criminal... Bang!!!
She didn't want to kill, only to mete out justice!
Then a terrible impact landed, and the enemy's arm and bones shattered simultaneously, letting out an extremely painful scream.
At the same time, the high-speed movement and collision caused Saeko Busujima's hood to fall off.
Seeing her face, the injured, fallen masked duo were still thinking of revenge, but then suddenly knelt on the ground.
"Sorry! So sorry!!"
"So it's you! The friend of that Lord Chen Hai!"
"Please, be the bigger person! Spare us!"
"It's our fault!"
"We'll get out of here right now! Please don't report us! We were wrong!"
"Yes! We were wrong! We'll turn ourselves in!"
...Saeko Busujima was a little puzzled.
She knew her identity was special, but she didn't expect it to be so effective.
"What exactly did you do?"
"We were momentarily blinded by greed!"
The two masked men continued to explain.
"That Pallum was our hired Supporter. We explored for about three hours today, and the earnings weren't high, so we weren't planning to pay her this time."
"As soon as we said that, that Pallum Supporter stole our things, saying she was taking them to cover the debt!"
"It wasn't our fault!"
At these words, the Pallum was no longer silent.
She stood up, brushed off the dust, and looked at Saeko Busujima.
"I did steal their bag. It contained the payment that was supposed to be mine, but besides those things, there were also other Adventurers' jewelry, equipment, and high-value potions. They must have stolen or robbed them! Because one of the bottles even had a girl's name written on it!"
After listening to the Pallum's explanation, Saeko Busujima asked,
"Is that so?"
"This…"
The two masked men dared not answer.
Saeko Busujima looked at the Pallum girl.
"Take out your own payment, give the remaining items back to them, and then… you two go turn yourselves in at the Adventurers' Guild."
"I have no objections."
After the Pallum girl took out the coins from the bag, she returned the remaining items to the two masked men.
The masked men picked up the items from the ground and fled, apologizing as they went.
After watching them leave, Saeko Busujima looked at the girl beside her.
The other party let out a big sigh, then sat on the ground.
"That just scared me to death… Thank you, Miss."
"I am Saeko Busujima."
"I... I am Liliruca Erde, a Supporter."
"So the backpack is full of equipment?"
"It's empty right now, because those two guys didn't do anything proper besides stealing and robbing, but… generally, no one would hire me, only guys like them would give me work."
"Why?"
After Saeko Busujima asked, Liliruca began to explain the reason.
A Supporter is a non-combatant who enters the Dungeon with an Adventurer.
They are typically responsible for luggage, backup weapons, item support, and magic stone recovery, making them a very important asset to a party.
Some new Adventurers serve as Supporters for higher-ranking Adventurers in their Familia, while others are professional Supporters hired by parties.
The latter are often individuals who, for various reasons, no longer serve as Adventurers and are looked down upon and treated ruthlessly by Adventurers.
In short, 'Supporters' who failed to become Adventurers are all seen as weaklings unqualified to explore the Dungeon.
"Although Lord Chen Hai's reforms have given 'Supporters' many opportunities, fundamentally, it hasn't had much impact, because… we lack strength."
"So you are now free?"
"Yes."
"Do you want to come with me?"
Saeko Busujima looked at the girl in front of her.
"I plan to continue exploring the Dungeon."
Saeko Busujima, who had chosen to act alone, now invited Liliruca to become her 'Supporter.'
This surprised Liliruca somewhat.
"Why does Miss Busujima want to hire me?"
"I don't think a special reason is needed."
"That's true!"
Liliruca intended to stand up.
At this moment, a hand reached out to her. Liliruca paused, then reached out and grasped it.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
"Hey…"
"What is it?"
"Miss Busujima, after those two guys spoke, I also remembered; you appeared in Orario with that Lord Chen Hai, right? What kind of person is that Lord…?"
Liliruca was referring to Chen Hai.
Understanding this, Saeko Busujima said as she walked forward,
"Our savior."
"Our?"
"That's a long story."
Deciding to talk as they walked, Saeko Busujima had Liliruca keep pace with her, and the two quickly entered the next area.
——
——
At the same time.
Dungeon, Eighth Floor.
Holding bags containing stolen and robbed items, the two masked men contemplated what to do next.
"We finally made it from the Ninth Floor to the Eighth Floor, so do we really have to turn ourselves in now?"
"Huh?! Who's going to turn themselves in?!"
"Is that so…"
"Think about it, if we turn ourselves in, we don't know how many fried potato balls we'll be fined, and we'll most likely be banned from the Dungeon."
"But we've already provoked that person, Chen Hai-kun's friend."
"That's indeed very serious, how about… we find a way to give these things to another Adventurer, and then report that guy, saying we were threatened!"
Oh, oh.
The other person seemed very much in agreement, impressed by the plan.
"Let's do that, I don't want to lose my Adventurer job in Orario."
"Of course, so…"
Bang!
Before they could finish speaking, they suddenly heard a strange sound.
They both looked back at the same time, and there stood a tall Lava Golem, its back nearly touching the ceiling.
"Does this floor… have such a behemoth?"
"No, I don't know…"
"Never mind! Run!"
Bang!
A new explosion occurred.
The ground beneath their feet shattered, turning into a spiked pit trap.
"Ah ah ah!"
"It hurts so much!!!"
The moment the two masked figures fell into the trap and let out a wail, the suddenly appearing Lava Golem stretched out its right hand, covered in high heat, its warmth distorting the space around it.
"No, don't!!!"
"Ugh ah ah!!!"
The wails turned into death cries, finally ceasing one or two seconds later.
All that remained was the slowly recovering ground and a coarse cloth bag lying on it…