Ten minutes after Truth and the others entered the Dungeon.
“Watch out for the water stains on the ground; those monsters can hide inside them!”
As the group delved deeper into the dungeon and reached a hallway covered in water stains, Jibusi in the lead keenly noticed ripples spreading in a corner. It looked extremely suspicious.
He carefully stepped on the water, immediately forcing a Water Sprite to reveal itself:
Click!
Three Water Sprites hidden in the puddles emerged simultaneously.
Jibusi alerted the team, though they had become somewhat accustomed to these ambushes after doing it three times.
Now, they checked every blind spot at every corner. If they took even one hit from a Water Sprite, half a bottle of Healing Potion would go to waste. That would be an absolute disaster!
After 3 minutes of combat, Eldon, rushing in the front, displayed amazing fighting spirit.
Assisted by Anderson and Alice, he quickly took down two Water Sprites, enjoying his moment of glory.
As for injuries, there was no need to worry as long as the Priestess was covering them.
In contrast, Jibusi’s trio struggled to remain unscathed, playing a long game with the last Water Sprite for fear of getting injured and wasting their supplies.
They also had to remain vigilant against Anderson potentially backstabbing them.
However, the things one fears most tend to happen.
Because Jibusi had skipped his shield to look cooler on this adventure, he failed to dodge the Water Sprite’s mid-attack shift while trying to find an opening, taking a hit to his arm that tore his skin open:
“Hiss…”
Fortunately, his teammates stepped in to finish off the monster, bringing the third encounter to an end.
Jibusi immediately leaned against the damp wall to treat his wound, using his final bottle of Advanced Healing Potion.
“I cannot keep this up for much longer…”
Jibusi began to weigh his options. Just then, a faint buzzing sound echoed from behind him.
As he touched the wall, it began to fade, revealing a 9-square-meter secret room.
Inside the secret room sat a very conspicuous Silver Treasure Chest.
“A secret reward room?!” Alice exclaimed. She started to step forward to take a closer look, but was blocked by Bulutusi.
“Don’t get close; we found this first!”
“What? I can’t even look at it?” Alice was annoyed. This bunch was so stingy!
Anderson and Eldon began to scheme as well. Back when they were fresh adventurers, they had been robbed more than once.
Once they got wise, they started robbing others too.
In their experience, this was the perfect time to strike.
They had the advantage of location, and Jibusi was injured, so…
“Cough, cough.” Truth gave a soft cough, interrupting the dangerous thoughts brewing in the two men’s minds.
Well, it seems Miss Zhendi does not want us to kill each other.
Sigh, sometimes being too kind is not a good thing…
“Heh.”
Bulutusi let out a scornful laugh and prepared to open the chest himself.
He held his weapon in front of him to probe every corner of the room.
After a while, he confirmed there were no traps and carefully opened the box.
Inside was a Fine Bronze Dagger with exquisite craftsmanship. It looked like it was worth a lot of money.
After inspecting it, Bulutusi realized it was the same weapon wielded by the Water Sprites, only this one was brand new.
“We hit the jackpot, Captain!” Bulutusi immediately took the Fine Bronze Dagger to show Jibusi.
However, Jibusi had no interest in the reward; he asked Truth in a friendly tone:
“Miss Priest, could you heal me?”
Jibusi had felt a sharp pain in his wallet just from opening that Healing Potion.
He did not want to burn through his life-saving items, and since there was a priest right there, why not try to get her to heal him?
The problem, of course, was that this priest was a member of his rival’s party.
“I am sorry, but that depends on my Captain. Captain, do you approve?” Truth did not approach immediately but asked Anderson with a sweet, obedient look. This made Anderson frown.
Wait, you never listened to me before, but you are listening now? Are you playing with me? Is Miss Zhendi trying to escalate the conflict between us and Jibusi, or is she trying to ease it?
Based on Anderson’s current understanding of “Miss Zhendi,” he felt it was not just his imagination—she was a bit dark-hearted despite her kindness.
“Give me an answer, Anderson!”
Jibusi urged. He was still bleeding, and the wound would worsen if he did not treat it soon!
“Tsk, tsk, is that the attitude of someone asking for help? Why should I heal you for free? You need to show some sincerity.” Anderson rubbed his thumb and index finger together.
The hint was obvious. Jibusi was stingy, but Anderson was stingier!
You want healing? Then pay up!
“You are taking advantage of a man in trouble! It was bad enough you targeted me at the Black Market, but now you are making things difficult for me! Miss Priest, you saw that, right? Your captain is cold, ruthless, and profits over friendship. Be careful he does not betray you next!”
“Targeted you? Do not think I don’t know how you got that noble information. You were eavesdropping while I was meeting with the informant! You wanted to sell the intel before I could so you could freeload, tsk tsk. Now you are biting back at me.”
“You!”
“What? You thought I did not know you were eavesdropping? Do not underestimate my information network!”
Both sides fell into an endless argument. The rest of the group watched the spectacle with relish.
Truth said nothing; it was just dogs biting dogs. She figured that apart from Alice, none of them were clean.
“Fine, I surrender! I will give you the reward from that chest behind me. Bulutusi, give him the dagger!” To improve his chances of survival, Jibusi chose to bite the bullet.
“Eh~, you are too late. I don’t want it anymore.”
Anderson suddenly refused again. What are you thinking? I hope you stay injured! If not for Miss Zhendi standing in the way, I would have attacked already!
“You double-crossing rat! Then fine, in addition to the dagger, I will add the Lure Skull I have!”
“Tell me about the treasure you hid near the Crossroads outside the city, and I might consider it.”
“How did you know I hid…”
“Ha! Got you! The rumors are true; you really did hide something outside the city!” Anderson and Jibusi started arguing again.
This time, Jibusi seemed panicked. If Anderson left the Mist before him and exposed the location of his treasure, he would lose everything!
Without hesitation, Jibusi used half his remaining Healing Potion to mend his arm.
He seemed to be racing against time. Anderson immediately ordered his teammates as Captain:
“Quickly, we move ahead to find the correct exit. We need to stay ahead. Once we get Jibusi’s treasure, we will split it!”
With that, Anderson led his team forward. Alice and Eldon grew excited, jogging cautiously while tapping the walls in search of the next hidden room.
Talking about grabbing Jibusi’s treasure was a lie. Anderson simply wanted to make Jibusi anxious, hoping the dungeon’s traps would finish him off.
“No, we have to catch up!” After using the Healing Potion, Jibusi needed time for the wound to knit, but he could not afford it now. He rushed his men to follow.
Aside from pausing to check blind spots, both teams were essentially in a running race.
The monsters in this Newbie Dungeon only knew how to ambush, so as long as they were careful, they would be fine.
However, just as everyone was carefully observing the blind spots ahead, Truth, who was at the back of the group, “accidentally” stepped on a slightly protruding stone brick on the floor.
The entire cellar began to shake violently.
Damn it, the pressure plate for the trap was designed too small, so everyone ran past it without triggering it. I had to do it myself!
Hm, that is a design flaw. I need to make it bigger next time. And I should hide a Water Sprite behind that secret treasure chest…
“What is going on?” Jibusi gathered his teammates. Alice hurriedly hid behind Eldon. The next second, the ground beneath their feet collapsed!
!
BOOM!
Following the violent collapse, everyone plummeted into the second level of the dungeon.
“Ouch, my bottom hurts…”
After the dust settled, Alice rubbed her backside and observed the surroundings. They were in a narrow tunnel.
In the distance, a small, fiery red glow appeared, growing larger with every passing second.
“Damn it! We fell for a dungeon trap. Which one of you bastards triggered it? Come out!” Jibusi cursed loudly.
The fall had nearly torn his wound open; it was excruciating.
But no one came out to confess, and nobody paid Jibusi any mind, as most were distracted by the light ahead:
“Hey? What is that glowing light?”
“And why is it getting closer? Why is there a wave of heat?”
Finally, Anderson was the first to react:
“It is fire! Everyone, find somewhere safe!”
Everyone scrambled to find an exit, but they were in a dead end. The only path forward was blocked by a fire trap; there was nowhere left to run.
Until Truth suggested:
“There are grooves up ahead where you can hide.”
About 3 meters away, there were several slots on both sides of the wall where one could evade the flames.
“Get in!” Anderson rushed his team toward the grooves on the right.
He never expected this dungeon to have a trap capable of catching so many people at once. He had miscalculated!
Jibusi led his team to the left side. As long as they sprinted at full speed, they would make it just in time!
According to Truth’s design, she had given the adventurers about 10 seconds of reaction time for this trap, so even a priest could safely reach the alcove.
Soon, everyone took shelter, but Bulutusi was half a second too slow.
Because Jibusi had tasked him with carrying all the supplies, items, and half the gear dropped by Weierda earlier, his burden was incredibly heavy, so…
Just as he was about to cross into the groove, the scorching heat wave swept him directly into the flames:
“AAAAAAH!”
Bulutusi immediately triggered his [Insurance of Life].
“Bulutusi!” Jibusi and the other warrior shouted simultaneously.
But they had no time to mourn; the ones who immediately launched an ambush against them were the Second Rank Skeleton Soldiers that had been hiding in the grooves all along!
Yes, Truth had placed monsters inside the very alcoves provided for the adventurers to escape the fire.
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