As Molly's voice faded, the only sound left in their ears was the clash of battle.
The three of them had different thoughts at that moment, but they all fell silent in unspoken agreement.
High atop the giant tree, the silence continued for who knew how long.
"...J-join, join the battle?!"
Rick's frantic cry suddenly rang out. He had finally recovered from Molly's shocking idea.
He abruptly turned toward the bloody battlefield that resembled a meat grinder, his dry throat bobbing as he swallowed.
Then he turned back toward Molly, who had already begun warming up in silence, and asked with a stammer:
"W-wait... us?!"
Molly stopped stretching her legs and looked up at Rick, who wore the face of a complete coward. She immediately laughed, stood up, and said:
"Hahaha, don't worry, don't worry!"
"That's what I said, but in reality, we'll only be passing through the battlefield."
She raised a hand and pointed at the thick smoke rising from the battlefield, drawing a straight line through the air with her finger.
"Our goal is to reach the fifth floor as quickly as possible and find your guild members, right?"
"Then we have to reach the fifth-floor entrance near the mining town at top speed."
"If we take the long way around, judging by the number of goblins, the distance will cost us at least half a day more."
"Fortunately, those goblins happened to create such a vast cloud of smoke. As long as we use it for cover..."
After speaking, Molly smiled at Rick and waved her hand reassuringly.
"So relax. If we're lucky, we might not have to fight at all!"
"After all, we don't have enough time."
Rick looked at Molly's regretful expression as she said that, and the corner of his mouth twitched as he