Crisis Emerges, The Two Flee

"Squelch!"

The sound of a sharp blade severing flesh rang out.

With a flash of silver, the sword sliced through the neck of a Jester Demon, its grotesque head detaching and tumbling to the ground.

Liber, wielding his Broadsword, charged headlong into the swarm of Jester Demons.

The sheer number of Jester Demons surrounded Liber, their sharp claws outstretched.

Their twisted faces were filled with impatient hunger, craving Liber's flesh.

Yet, Liber ignored both the sharpness of their claws and their overwhelming numbers.

Gripping his sword, he pushed off with his legs, leaping high above the monsters and breaking free from their encirclement.

Mid-air, his figure remained perfectly still instead of falling.

He hovered above the monsters, then locked his gaze onto a gap in their perimeter.

He dove straight toward the area where the monsters were sparse.

Before even touching the ground, he sliced through the monsters at his target location.

Upon landing, a single turn of his body cleared a wide space around him.

The monsters, which had been fixated on Liber, only then reacted.

They gave chase, charging violently toward the spot where he had landed.

Liber crouched slightly.

With a burst of strength, he moved with the speed of a bullet, widening the distance between himself and the monsters.

As he wove through them, his sword flashed, carving a silver arc that severed the limbs of many monsters.

From a distance, Liber's figure appeared like a phantom, flickering in and out of existence among the swarm.

Then, a scream echoed from another direction.

His figure appeared erratically around the monsters, accompanied by flying limbs and cries of agony.

He flashed through the crowd like a streak of light, disemboweling the monsters; from afar, it looked like a one-sided slaughter, leaving any observer stunned.

Not far from this scene of carnage, a Greatsword hovered steadily above a rock, and beside it stood a delicate-looking elf girl with camellia-colored hair.

"..."

Lefiya, clutching her staff, stared blankly at the scene.

The elf girl, who had intended to chant spells to provide magical support, had completely forgotten her duty.

She stood there, dazed and foolish, watching Liber wreak havoc among the monsters.

Earlier, upon spotting the group of Jester Demons, Liber had told her to find a vantage point for support and had left his Greatsword by her side after imbuing it with magic.

He had simply said he was going to draw their attention and charged in on his own.

Watching him take the initiative to lure the monsters, she had hurried to the rock.

Just as she stood steady and prepared to chant her magic, she was met with this dazzling spectacle.

His body moved with agility, leaping everywhere, striking down heads with swift precision.

Such seasoned combat, such clean slaughter.

Is this something a rookie adventurer can do?

Even on the journey deeper into the Dungeon, she had already witnessed Liber's proficiency in battle.

But seeing him eliminate monsters so casually, as if he were bullying them, still left Lefiya deeply shocked.

Are rookies this strong nowadays? Then what is my purpose in the party?

Lefiya's thoughts were in disarray.

She stared at Liber's vigorous form, gradually sensing something familiar in his movements.

The battle ended quickly.

In that whirlwind of flashing silver, not a single monster survived.

They were all reduced to scattered limbs and remains, and as they lay strewn about, Liber sheathed his sword and stood alone in the center of the blood-soaked ground.

Seeing that the battle was over, Lefiya snapped out of her trance, jumped off the rock, and ran toward Liber.

Liber watched Lefiya approach, controlling the Greatsword to follow behind her from the rock.

When Lefiya reached him, panting slightly, he stored the Greatsword into his storage space behind her.

He scanned his surroundings, collecting the drops from the Jester Demons he had slain into his storage space, a satisfied expression appearing on his face as he felt the items accumulate within.

Lefiya looked at Liber, whose gear remained pristine save for a few splatters of monster blood.

"Um..." Lefiya hesitated.

The moment Lefiya spoke, Liber turned his gaze toward her, listening intently as he waited for her to continue.

Under his steady gaze, Lefiya swallowed the words she had intended to ask and began to stammer.

Liber watched her shy demeanor once again and couldn't help but say helplessly, "If you have something to say, just say it. Did you notice something wrong, or was there an issue with those Jester Monster earlier?"

The group of monsters they had previously wiped out were Jester Monster.

This was a type of monster in the Dungeon that was just as common as the Goblin.

These monsters were not strong individually, lived in groups, and possessed strange, frightening appearances and sharp claws.

Their loot, the Jester Monster Claw, actually had a wider range of uses and higher value than the teeth commonly dropped by Goblin.

Like the Goblin, they were primarily distributed across the first five floors of the Dungeon.

"Liber, that movement technique you used earlier... was it taught to you by Ais?"

Hearing Liber's urging question, Lefiya gritted her teeth and gathered her courage to voice the question that had been on her mind.

Seeing Lefiya's somewhat agitated state, Liber scratched the back of his head in confusion.

He responded casually, "I suppose so. I watched her movements and imitated them while training with Ais before."

"That's wonderful." Hearing this, Lefiya remembered the scene she had witnessed in the familia courtyard and said with a hint of envy.

Liber was a bit puzzled by Lefiya's envy: "I'm not sure about the others, but as for you, if you ask the executives, you could probably have Ais train with you too."

"Is that really okay?" Lefiya was pleasantly surprised at first, but then grew worried: "Never mind, I'm afraid of disturbing Ais. Besides, the training for a mage is quite different from everyone else's methods."

He spread his hands and shrugged, indicating there was nothing he could do to help.

The two rested for a moment before continuing their exploration.

As they moved forward, Liber observed their surroundings and asked Lefiya, "By the way, seeing how fixated you are on Ais, are you two very close?"

"H-how... how could that be!" Upon hearing this, Lefiya's face flushed red again, and she answered in a panic.

Liber had grown accustomed to Lefiya's tendency to become nervous whenever she was shy throughout their journey.

He was no longer as flustered as before, so he ignored her panic and waited for her to calm down on her own.

After walking a bit further, Lefiya seemed to recover, composed herself, and responded to Liber's previous question.

"I really admire Ais," she said, a happy expression blooming on her face.

"Even though we're about the same age, compared to a timid and fearful person like me, Ais is always so strong and brave."

"She's powerful and so cute, and she was always protecting everyone during our short expeditions into the Dungeon."

"I want to be like her, to become someone everyone looks up to," Lefiya said, cheering herself on as she spoke.

Listening to her words from the side, Liber felt he had underestimated Ais; it seemed she held a different kind of significance for the others in the familia.

In the dim Dungeon, the two communicated and learned more about each other.

Suddenly, Liber sensed strange movement ahead and reached out to stop Lefiya, who was about to continue forward.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Ignoring her reaction, Liber pulled his Broadsword from his storage space, gripped it, and held it in front of his chest.

Beside him, Lefiya also tightened her grip on her staff and swallowed hard.

A figure was approaching Liber rapidly from the front, the sound of footsteps growing louder.

As the noise of the movement intensified, the figure became clearer before the two of them.

They saw an adventurer who looked like a young man appear before them.

Seeing the two people on guard in front of him, he slowed his pace.

However, suddenly remembering something, he accelerated again and ran toward the area near them.

His face was full of tension as he silently sprinted past them.

Watching him pass by, Lefiya let out the breath she had been holding.

Just as she was about to continue forward, she was stopped by Liber once again.

She looked at Liber with some confusion, only to see him still in a defensive stance, squinting his eyes as he looked ahead.

Just as she was about to ask, a sense of vibration gradually traveled along the quiet path ahead.

First to enter their vision was a large cloud of dust, followed by various figures of different heights.

Liber's squinted eyes suddenly widened; he turned, scooped Lefiya up, and sprinted back the way they had come.

"Hey!!"

Lefiya cried out in shock as she was suddenly hoisted onto Liber's shoulder.

Feeling his arms around her legs, she struggled in embarrassment.

"Don't move."

With Lefiya slung over his shoulder, Liber focused on his sprint and barked a command at her, feeling her struggle.

"Look closely at what's in front."

Scolded by Liber, Lefiya stopped struggling and squinted, trying her best to look at the dust-filled scene behind them.

"Ah!!" she shrieked in panic once more.

Enveloped by the dust behind them were several small Goblin running wildly.

Following closely behind them were dozens of tall, black monsters.

They watched as the black monsters reached out their arms, cruelly tearing the Goblin in front of them to shreds, and continued to charge toward the two without pausing.