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"GRAAAHHH!"
A Minotaur, its entire body glowing crimson, charged forward with a roar that shook the cavern. Its sheer presence demanded attention.
"A variant, huh."
Ronen's face didn't even twitch. In fact, he almost wanted to laugh.
Flying swords whirled around the beast, carving shallow but relentless wounds. One blade alone wasn't lethal, but more than five acting in unison, unleashing Wind Blades in a steady rhythm, reduced the so-called strengthened Minotaur to ashes before it even reached him.
"S-so strong…"
The blue-haired girl whispered in disbelief.
As the Variant fell, the surrounding monsters surged forward in a desperate last assault.
Ronen slowly raised his hand.
"Shockwave."
A focused blast erupted, tailored for maximum destructive force. In an instant, the horde was overturned—monsters crumpled like paper, and even the ground itself cracked beneath the spell's pressure.
The flying swords darted through what remained, finishing the job.
In less than thirty seconds, silence fell, and the cavern floor glittered with scattered magic stones.
With a casual gesture, Ronen summoned them. The stones lifted into the air, streaming neatly into his pack.
The blue-haired girl's eyes widened. She had never seen someone loot magic stone with such ease.
"…Shouldn't we introduce ourselves?" Ronen asked, turning toward her.
The older girl straightened her posture despite the fatigue.
"I am Shakti Varma, a high-ranking adventurer of the Ganesha Familia. This is my younger sister."
The smaller girl gave a soft nod.
"Hello, I'm Adi Varma, also of the Ganesha Familia. I'm… only a lower-ranking adventurer."
Relief softened her cute, childlike features. She looked as if she had just narrowly escaped death.
The contrast between the sisters was striking.
Shakti carried herself with sharp precision, like a consummate professional—a woman of steel.
Adi, on the other hand, was warm and gentle, her personality soft and endearing.
"My name is Ronen."
He inclined his head slightly. He already knew who these two were.
In the future, Shakti would rise to become Captain of the Ganesha Familia, the one hailed as the Scepter of the Elephant head God—a First-Class Adventurer, the strongest human in Orario.
She would be one of the rare pure-blooded humans to ever reach the pinnacle, rather than demi-humans or other races.
Her sister, however, would suffer a cruel fate. Despite her talent and potential, Adi would meet her end in the "Seven Days of Death," blown apart by a Flame Stone explosion.
No doubt, these two were worth befriending. And for Ronen, this rescue was… quite satisfying.
"Thank you for saving our lives," Shakti said, bowing her head deeply. Then, after a pause, she added, "I apologize, but I must ask a favor… Could you help me recover the bodies of my fallen companions?"
"Of course. It's nothing." Ronen nodded.
In the Dungeon, it was an unspoken rule: if one had the strength to spare, they should help return the bodies of fallen adventurers.
Of course, being unspoken meant it wasn't always followed—more a courtesy than a law.
As Shakti had said, it was a request for help, not a demand.
More often than not, adventurers simply vanished in the Dungeon, leaving not even bones behind.
"Thank you for your kindness."
Shakti bowed again.
"Thank you," Adi echoed, following her sister with a tiny bow of her own—small and adorably earnest.
"Alright then. Let's move."
Ronen looked to Shakti, clearly intending for her to lead the way.
The three advanced deeper into the floor.
Along the way, they encountered several more monsters, but Shakti dispatched them with ease. As a Level 2 high-rank adventurer, her skill was undeniable.
Of course, compared to Ronen, the difference was like heaven and earth—especially in group combat, where Ronen excelled alone against hordes.
From the perspective of life force, Shakti's strength was slightly weaker than that of the red Variant Minotaur he had just slain. Yet adventurers possessed more than brute strength—they had weapons, magic, battle experience, and skills.
With all of these combined, it was no exaggeration to say Shakti could still overcome a Variant Minotaur in fair combat.
But that was all—when it came to overall combat strength, there wasn't much difference.
And monsters of that level… even if Ronen couldn't kill them instantly, five seconds was all he needed to tear them into pieces.
Before long, the group came upon a grisly sight.
A pack of monsters had gathered around something—ripping, gnawing, fighting over it.
Blood splattered across the stone floor, soaking the earth in crimson.
"Damn it!"
Shakti's eyes turned sharp as steel. Her spear shot forward like a dragon, skewering several monsters in one clean motion.
What remained of the victim was a mangled body—only the upper torso and a single leg were left.
Such was the malice of the Dungeon.
"…Rest in peace."
Forcing down her nausea, Shakti gently closed her fallen comrade's eyes with her hand. Then she picked up the pack lying beside what was left.
There were gaps—missing supplies—but the essentials were still there. She emptied the contents, separating the critical items into Adi's waist pouch.
The larger pack… she repurposed it. To carry what remained of the body.
Hoisting it onto her back, the crimson blood leaked through, soaking into her clothes and skin.
Ronen watched silently—Shakti drenched in blood, Adi's face tight with grief. For a moment, he felt the cruelty of life itself.
But only for a moment.
Though it was his first time seeing a human body so fragmented, he felt no disgust.
Perhaps he was simply too used to slaughtering monsters.
To Ronen's tempered mind, there was no true distinction between man and monster.
If they weren't someone close to him, then even in the face of tragedy, his reaction was limited to a fleeting ripple of emotion—and no more.
"…We need to go one floor deeper."
Shakti looked at him apologetically.
"Since I've started, I'll see it through," Ronen replied calmly.
"Thank you."
Once again, she bowed her head. Together, the three of them descended to the seventeenth floor.
They searched the area, but all they could find were fading bloodstains on the ground.
Shakti gathered what she could—bloodstained weapons, scraps of cloth—and placed them into the pack. Staring at the crimson remnants, her expression went blank, her body stiff with silent grief.
"…So cruel."
Adi lowered her head, voice trembling.
She wasn't afraid—only crushed by sorrow. To fight shoulder to shoulder with comrades one moment, only for them to vanish the next, leaving nothing behind… that was a cruelty beyond words.
"Life itself is fragile," Ronen said evenly. "If you want to protect your companions—your loved ones—then there is only one path. Grow stronger. That is the only way."
This expedition of the Ganesha Familia had been a large one: two Level 2 adventurers, and five Level 1.
Now, only the sisters survived.
Call it misfortune.
The sixteenth floor was already dangerously deep. Even with two Level 2s, annihilation was always a possibility—especially if fate chose to curse them with a Monster Feast.
Over a hundred monsters attacking at once… escaping with their lives was a miracle.
"Strength, huh…"
Adi whispered the word, her eyes clouded with confusion.
"Whether it's to protect, to chase your ambitions, or uphold your convictions… strength is what makes it possible," Ronen continued, glancing toward the shadows. "The stench of blood is thick. We should move."
"…Forgive me."
Shakti bit her lip, realization dawning. It was her comrade's blood that had drawn more monsters to the area. She had been so consumed by grief she had forgotten.
Frustration and guilt welled in her chest, but Ronen said nothing.
If it were possible… even if it brought far more trouble, Shakti would have carried every last fragment of her companions back to the surface, to grant them peace in burial.
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