At the same time Gong Qiying and Si Telan were adventuring.
Xiu En, Ai Li, and Dan Ya, the Morning Wind Squad members waiting in the Swamp Area, encountered an incredibly absurd incident.
"Sorry, we're really sorry! We'll leave right away!"
A group of unfamiliar adventurers was currently bowing in perfect unison as they apologized to them.
"Okay, okay, you didn't do it on purpose. We forgive you," Ai Li said with a somewhat strained smile. The last time she had seen so many people bowing was at a funeral farewell ceremony. It felt strange.
"We're truly sorry!"
Gijira, the captain of the unfamiliar adventurer squad Falling Hammer, was a frail-looking mage with a dead-eyed expression. He had turned into a broken record capable of saying nothing but "sorry."
As for what had happened.
"Our entire squad is made up of newcomers. We hadn't memorized the rules yet and didn't know we needed to wait between entering the portal. We're very sorry for disturbing you."
This squad of complete rookies had lined up right behind Si Telan and the others at the dungeon portal. However, they had forgotten to wait a few minutes before entering, resulting in their current situation—they had run into the Morning Wind Squad.
It was quite a coincidence. Although the two squads had entered the dungeon less than two minutes apart, the Morning Wind Squad had taken a shortcut thanks to their extensive exploration experience and quickly traveled far ahead. Falling Hammer, meanwhile, was exploring the dungeon for the first time and was unfamiliar with the place, immediately getting lost in the vast Swamp. Despite being separated by barely a hundred seconds, the two squads had miraculously failed to encounter each other.
Dan Ya had only brought everyone to rescue them after hearing Falling Hammer's screams as they were surrounded by monsters.
Without Dan Ya and the others, this rookie squad would have been fed to the Curse Frogs.
"The portal can automatically identify whether those entering are teammates. The chance of something this ridiculous happening is only two percent." Dan Ya clicked her tongue twice. "I should go buy a lottery ticket."
"We're truly sorry."
"Alright, alright." Ai Li helped the Falling Hammer members up one by one.
"Is this really okay?" Gijira asked uneasily. Their squad had been in the wrong, and the other side consisted of Silver Rank seniors. If they did not properly express their apology, what if they were retaliated against?
With that thought, his waist trembled and he tried to bow again, only for an iron grip to press down on his shoulder.
When he looked up, he met Ai Li's dark expression.
The young woman, usually known for her gentle and pleasant temperament, now wore an expression that said, "If you bow to me one more time, just wait until you get home and your parents bow to you." She was smiling, but her smile was terrifying.
"Eek!"
The young mage snapped to attention in fright.
"Captain." A timid little girl tugged at Gijira's hem and said with a miserable expression, "Let's go."
Including Gijira, Falling Hammer had four members in total: a timid loli priest, a reserved bespectacled magic swordsman, a chubby heavy-armored warrior, and Gijira, the skinny mage. They were all Bronze Rank, and each of their faces bore the immaturity of those just starting out.
To face the Zane Dungeon right after debuting, that was really something.
They would probably lose that immaturity after just one night.
"Ah." Gijira forced a smile. "Then we'll take our leave first."
No one from Morning Wind spoke, but just as Gijira and his team turned around, Xiu En said, "Wait."
Sweat beaded on Gijira's forehead. "What do you need?"
"Since you're already here, come with us," Xiu En gave an unexpected answer.
"Huh?"
Every member of Falling Hammer was stunned. When they looked back at Morning Wind, no one's expression had changed.
"After all, if you leave now, you'll have to wait a long time before you can come back in. What a waste of time," Ai Li said with a smile. "You all have Flowers of Victory pinned to your chests. Let me guess, you bought them from that old lady selling flowers near the portal, right? She can tell at a glance who's exploring the dungeon for the first time, then runs over to peddle Flowers of Victory. She tells you that wearing one means you'll win every battle, doesn't she?"
Gijira's face reddened. She had guessed everything correctly.
"Only rookies get tricked into buying that thing," Dan Ya mocked mercilessly before changing her tone. "But only people with passion and dreams for adventure would spend money on a good omen. And you bought flowers for your companions out of your own pocket, so you must be a good captain. It's fine if we show you the ropes."
"Huh?" Gijira looked bewildered. He really had paid for the flowers, but how had they figured that out?
Did that even need guessing? Dan Ya saw Gijira's confusion at once and thought, Look at your companions. Their clothes are plain, even tattered. They obviously don't have the money to buy flowers. Only you—even though your clothes are torn too—have a decent magic staff.
No longer dwelling on their doubts, Falling Hammer was moved to tears by gratitude. They had never expected to encounter such understanding senior adventurers!
This was a precious opportunity. Following Silver Rank adventurers into a dungeon would teach them plenty!
"Thank you very much!"
"Remember to buy me a lottery ticket after we get out. That'll repay me for saving your lives," Dan Ya said with a wave of her hand.
Ai Li breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Gijira and the others did not bow again.
Xiu En said nothing, though the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
The two squads temporarily traveled together. They lit a campfire, rested for a while, and waited for Si Telan to rejoin them.
They waited the entire morning.
Si Telan still had not returned, and they had also made Falling Hammer waste time for nothing. Xiu En and the others could not take it anymore and immediately decided to stop waiting.
Both squads were seeking the specialty ingredients that had appeared not long ago. In truth, they were looking for the area that produced those ingredients.
The Morning Wind Squad believed that area was likely located somewhere they had yet to explore, such as the middle and lower levels. It was no longer a secret that the Zane Dungeon contained levels filled entirely with forests and levels filled entirely with ore. Quite a few people had accidentally stepped on Teleportation Traps and been sent to the middle and lower levels.
Other than a very small number of lucky people like Vierde, the vast majority had been instantly killed by the Elite Monsters guarding the Teleportation Traps, without even having the chance to explore.
So adventurers knew the Zane Dungeon had three levels, but whether there were more remained unknown.
However, when the Morning Wind Squad decided to explore deeper, Falling Hammer offered a different suggestion.
"I bought this from the old man selling specialty ingredients." Gijira pulled out a filthy piece of wrapping cloth that carried a strong seafood smell, something rarely encountered near inland Bede City.
So he was the one who had bought the wrapping cloth for the ingredients from Jack that day!
Because the Morning Wind Squad had treated him kindly, he did not mind sharing this secret with them.
"You plan to use tracking magic?" Ai Li asked.
"Yes. Originally, I was worried that my magic power wouldn't be enough to sustain tracking magic for long." Gijira looked at Ai Li. "If I can't keep it up, please take over for me."
He drew a Magic Array on the ground and placed magical materials around it. After chanting for a while, a faint glow appeared across the wrapping cloth's surface. It rose into the air and flew toward one side of the Swamp, leaving a visible trail behind it.
Unexpectedly, the wrapping cloth flew toward the outskirts of the Swamp Area!
Either the tracking magic had failed, or else—
The Gourmet Area's true location was much closer than they had imagined!
After following it for only a short while, the wrapping cloth stopped in front of a mountain.
The entire Swamp Area was surrounded by towering mountains, which served as the map's borders. So far, no one had been bored enough to climb them.
"Is this the end?" Gijira looked around in confusion. The surroundings were nothing but bare mountains. Where was there any path?
Did they need to forcefully carve out a huge hole?
"I can't do this anymore. I can't walk another step."
The chubby heavy-armored warrior let out a long sigh and leaned against the mountain wall, but then—
"Ah!"
He fell flat on his back.
"What happened?"
Everyone's attention was drawn by the commotion, and then they all froze.
"Ow, that hurt. Why did I suddenly fall over?" The heavy-armored warrior sat up, rubbing his head. "Huh? Why does it smell so good?"
"Ke Luge, behind you—"
Gijira said in disbelief:
"A huge hole appeared behind you!"
Please invest a little! Just thirty more people and I can get a small recommendation, please! (kowtows)
Before you continue