The black fire and crimson lightning exploded. With an earth-shaking roar, the terrifying blast swept through the entire passage. The unconscious Fron was blasted away.
As for the saber-toothed tiger — the instant it was hit by the "Explosion Flame," it turned to ash, not even the magic stone left intact.
Fron's broken body slammed into the rock wall and fell from midair.
Lying face-down, his blurred vision gradually faded into darkness.
Only his ears, in those final moments of consciousness, caught a series of startled cries—
--------------------------------------
Dungeon, Sixth Floor.
"Ah—finally going home. I miss the sunshine on the surface."
"Yeah, this 'expedition' took over a month, and we still failed—"
"The 58th floor was just disgusting, and the flying dragons further down weren't easy to handle either. Damn it."
The ones speaking were a pair of Amazoness girls with brown skin. Aside from their clothing, their faces were nearly identical.
They were twins.
"Alright, Tione, Tiona, stop complaining. The failure of this expedition was my responsibility. I didn't expect the pressure to be that intense."
"Finn is right. With the experience we gained this time, once we regroup and revise our tactics, the next attempt has a high chance of success."
Hearing both the captain Finn and vice-captain, the green-haired elf Riveria, say this, the other members stopped complaining.
"By the way, you guys—next time, don't let the vanguard line stretch too far. The failure this time is also your responsibility as leaders. Reflect on it properly when we return."
"!"
The taller Amazonian sister twisted with a lovestruck expression at the words of the small, blonde Pallum captain.
"Captain~~~~ I got it~ Did you hear that, you dumb wolf?"
"Huh?????? Why are you dragging me into this! Weren't you the one who rushed forward too? What does this have to do with me!"
"Nani? You were the one who charged so fast, before I knew it—"
"Alright, enough of your arguing. By the way, do you hear something?"
Interrupting their quarrel was a burly dwarf named Gareth Landrock, a dwarf warrior.
"Ah?? A sound? Who could be here at this time in the dungeon?"
The grumpy werewolf Bete twitched his wolf ears and listened carefully.
"Tch, probably some weakling getting chased by monsters again. Weaklings shouldn't be in the dungeon, it's so damn annoying."
Upon hearing Bete's words, Finn, Riveria, Gareth exchanged glances:
"An adventurer's in trouble—let's go check it out!"
The moment he said it, golden hair flashed past—he had already dashed off.
"Let's follow!"
Climbing the stairs to a regular floor, passing through a narrow corridor, their view suddenly opened up.
There, a one-sided deadly battle was nearing its end.
The group was stunned by the sight before them.
A figure completely drenched in blood was fighting an obviously abnormal saber-toothed tiger.
Just as they arrived, both sides launched their final attack—
"——"
A strange atmosphere spread through the group. No one spoke.
It wasn't until the blonde female swordsman knelt beside the unconscious adventurer that everyone snapped out of it.
"Hey hey hey, that intensity—are we sure this is the fifth floor?"
The werewolf youth Bete widened his eyes, unable to believe it.
The small, blonde Pallum captain Finn bit his thumb, eyes scanning the battlefield.
"With that level of destruction, it's not just me—everyone here can see it—it's not something a Level 1 could possibly cause, not even most Level 2s."
The green-haired elf Riveria nodded:
"That destructive force is undoubtedly that of a Level 2. And—that black flame."
"The key point is—that young man—"
Finn smiled:
"Yeah, an adventurer found on the fifth floor… Judging from the destruction, he must have had an 'adventure.'"
Hearing that conclusion, even the usually foul-tempered Bete was left speechless.
Because it meant one thing: that young man—
"Defeated a Level 2 mutated species of an 'Irregular' while being only Level 1??? Finn, that's not funny! Even Ais couldn't—"
"Enough, Bete—"
The werewolf had his hands in his pockets, gray tail swaying restlessly, betraying his inner turmoil.
"Wow, I wonder what Familia this guy is from. He's definitely going to be famous now!"
The innocent Tiona, hands behind her back, eagerly walked over to the adventurer.
Beside the unconscious Fron, the golden-haired, golden-eyed beautiful swordswoman knelt by his side, looking utterly lost.
"Ais, leave it to me."
The elven royal, their "mama-san," gently nodded at Ais and called over a daydreaming fairy girl with yamabuki-colored hair in a ponytail.
[ T / N : "Yamabuki-colored" refers to the bright golden yellow color derived from the flowers of the Yamabuki shrub, a type of Japanese rose. The color is known for its warm, vibrant tone. ]
"Lefiya, bring the 'Advanced Healing Potion.' Who knows how many bones this child has broken—and so much blood. The fact that he's alive and even won is a miracle."
Everyone gathered around, carefully examining his injuries.
Finn glanced at Fron's hands, frowning slightly.
"Something's off—look at his hands. The bones are exposed, obviously worn down by some force. As far as I know, saber-toothed tigers don't attack that way."
The blonde swordswoman's doll-like expression shifted slightly.
"He—was attacking the monster with his fists?"
The werewolf smirked.
"Hah? Ais, that joke's not funny. Fighting barehanded without a weapon—"
"Bete—don't tell me you didn't notice."
Finn cut off the incredulous werewolf.
Gareth, shouldering his massive axe, stroked his beard and turned toward the battlefield, and the broken short sword in the corner.
"There, that's the shattered weapon."
Everyone saw the cheap blade, now reduced to just a hilt.
Tiona tilted her head and blinked:
"A short sword? And it looks super cheap."
"What kind of weapons do you think rookies can use?"
"True."
"Idiot."
"But—having a backup weapon is common sense, right?"
Her sister landed the fatal blow.
"..."
That question choked everyone. As adventurers, isn't carrying backup weapons just common sense—what the hell.
"Ugh, maybe—it's because he couldn't afford one? That's probably the only explanation."
Tione, the older sister, bluntly concluded the awkward topic.
Even Finn could only laugh bitterly at that.
"This is really—"
The dwarf warrior laughed heartily:
"Bwahahaha! So, a Level 1 rookie defeated a Level 2 mutated species barehanded? Hahahaha! This is amazing! I've never heard of a rookie like this!"
"Th-that—how is this possible?!"
The yamabuki-colored elven girl Lefiya widened her eyes, shaking her head in disbelief, her expression collapsing.
For elves, defeating a higher-level enemy barehanded was like something out of a fairy tale.
Especially for a fresh adventurer, one who didn't even have a backup weapon.
The dazed Ais stared at the heavily injured and unconscious young adventurer, muttering:
"So strong—"
She spoke everyone's thoughts.
The body drenched with "Advanced Healing Potion" slowly healed, but broken bones and damaged organs couldn't be fixed in an instant—even with a 500,000 valis bottle of "Elixir", it would take a while.
Whether in stamina or spirit, Fron was completely spent—his body in shambles from the inside out.
Even with a god's blessing, he would have to spend a few days in bed.