Side story: Entering the Dungeon for the first time II

Not far from them, following the lead Ghost Mist Dungeon the first adventurer team, more and more teams were encouraged and followed behind.

The first team often faces the greatest pressure and risks, but tempted by the rewards announced by the association, they still decided to take the plunge and try their luck.

Gradually, the number of teams remaining in the open space outside also decreased.

Let's go.

Seeing that the group had become one of the last few teams, Clinton got up and prepared to lead the group off.

Normally, when faced with this kind of commission, their team would definitely be among the first to rush in.

But now that Galan is involved, their goal for this trip has changed.

Regardless of the circumstances, ensuring the other party's safety is paramount, even if it means forfeiting the reward of conquering the Dungeon.

In any case, the reward for this mission is already generous enough, so not having to work as hard as other teams is probably a good thing.

As Galan drew closer to the Dungeon's gate, he could clearly feel a strange sensation spreading around him.

"Is it a [Mana Barrier]? We haven't even gone in yet, and we've already encountered something so troublesome..."

This wasn't the first time Galan had encountered such a troublesome situation with this special binding that could nullify Mana Detection.

"So we can only rely on our senses now..."

Lucina, who was walking ahead, also felt very uncomfortable with this situation.

For these Mages, the situation is even worse; losing [Mana Detection] is tantamount to losing their ears.

Without this means of obtaining information, they are no different from ordinary people in the Dungeon.

"Everyone be careful, I can't use magic to detect danger reactions anymore!"

After trying repeatedly and confirming that she could no longer use perception-based magic, she spoke loudly to the crowd.

"Tighten formation"

Clinton, however, remained calm and gave orders to the group.

As soon as everyone entered the gate and stepped into the Dungeon, a strong, truly dense Dense Fog completely enveloped them.

No wonder it's called the [Ghost Mist Dungeon]

The group looked around and, realizing that their vision was almost limited to a radius of one meter around them in the fog, they became somewhat nervous.

"[A spell to dispel the mist]!"

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Lucina raised her Staff, channeled her Mana, and cast the spell on the surrounding Dense Fog.

But the result was as she expected; it was almost completely useless.

The Dense Fog in this Dungeon is not just simple fog; it cannot be dispelled by ordinary magic.

If one could dispel this fog with just one spell, then all the other teams that came in earlier would have already cleared Dense Fog away long ago.

Yes... the line that came in earlier.

As if struck by a sudden realization, the group noticed something eerie about the place.

When they came in, there was a team in front of them and a team behind them, but now they were all alone. They couldn't hear a sound from the other teams, only their own figures.

Something's not right here.

Clinton had his weapon in hand early on—a gleaming golden longsword, incredibly sharp and inflicting a [burn] effect, capable of causing unexpected damage to enemies and even their weapons during combat.

"We feel completely isolated... I guess the other teams are the same, as if this Dungeon was intentional..."

"Captain, what you're saying sounds weird. It's like this Dungeon is alive."

Pass held a gleaming silver axe in his hand, his sharp eyes scanning his surroundings as he heightened his senses to a state of heightened arousal.

"It might actually be alive... Nothing is impossible in this world."

After listening to the two of them, Galan, who was walking in the middle of the crowd, also shared his thoughts.

"Young Master Galan is no ordinary person. I wonder if he has any way to break through this damned fog?"

Pass seemed to want to rebuild his relationship with Galan, so he started a conversation with him.

"How could that be...? Even if someone did have a way, it would be something only Mage could do, right? I'm a warrior just like you."

"Hmm... that's true. By the way, just how strong are you, bro?"

As if he wasn't very good at dealing with people, after thinking it over and over, Pass could only steer the conversation back to combat strength.

"It's hard for me to say... but I guess... there's still a pretty good chance of winning against a weaker Demons."

"Really? You can defeat the Great Demons?"

Upon hearing this, Pass turned his head in a daze, looking at Galan with some disbelief.

"Dude, you're not bragging, are you?"

That's a powerful Demons! Even if their entire team encountered it, they'd have a hard time escaping. And this seemingly delicate young man claims he can take on a powerful Demons single-handedly?

"To be honest, before this, my friends and I had already defeated several Demons, including a few high-ranking Demons."

Recalling his past experiences with wolves and foxes, Galan couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

Back then, to defeat a Demons, we had to use all our trump cards and fight to the death.

If we were in the same situation again, it certainly wouldn't be this bad.

The group walked on like this for a while. Although the journey was quite oppressive under the shroud of the dark fog, surprisingly, they didn't encounter any other troubles, not even the most ordinary traps.

It seemed that the greatest magic of this Dungeon was the fog that blocked their vision and the restraint that limited their [Mana Detection].

"Lia, stay close to me, hold my hand."

At this moment, Galan was still somewhat worried that Lia would get separated from him.

He reached out his hand behind him, wanting to grab the other person's arm. After all, the fog was so thick, and who knew when an accident might happen? It would be reassuring to hold hands.

"Lia?"

There was still no response. The moment he realized something was wrong, Galan's body turned icy cold, a chill running from his toes all the way to the top of his head.

He turned his head, only to find that Lia was nowhere to be seen behind him, and neither was Lucina, the Mage in the party.

When did they stop disappearing?

The people walking in front also noticed something was wrong. They stopped and looked back, and their faces showed panic after they saw the situation.