“What did you do? Of course, I poisoned your food! Haven’t you thought of that until now?”
Joina had already collapsed to the ground, barely able to speak. Meilin and the others were in a similar state, with only Leanna half-propping herself up, her eyes fixed unwaveringly on Isavel.
“You—you’re a monster?!”
Covering her mouth with a smile, Isavel shed her adventurer disguise.
But what appeared was not the true Saintess form; instead, she revealed herself as a monster with long green hair and two horns protruding from her head.
Her features resembled those of a human, yet they radiated an unsettling, sinister aura.
“Of course. You inexperienced humans are so easy to deceive. Pretending to be a distressed adventurer is enough to gain your trust. It’s laughable.”
“Do you really think you can slay the monster dens? What can you do other than fill our stomachs?”
“Oh, I almost forgot. Beautiful girls like you can also serve as incubators for our kind, giving birth to our children.”
With that, she stepped in front of Leanna and pinched her face with her fingers, as if inspecting her carefully, a satisfied expression on her face.
“Damn it…”
“Next time, pay attention. There’s no such thing as unknown human adventurers who would worship you as saviors. You’re far too naive.”
Her words were like sharp knives piercing deep into Leanna’s heart. Summoning her last bit of strength, she crushed the talisman in her hand out of Isavel’s sight.
“We… will come back for revenge!”
With her defiant words and the stunned look on the monster’s face, she and the unconscious Joina and the others began to glow, and the next moment they were all teleported out of the dungeon together.
Warm sunlight dispelled the cold darkness of the dungeon.
Leanna hadn’t even managed to get a clear look at her surroundings before the poison coursing through her body completely overtook her consciousness, and she fainted.
But before her awareness slipped away, she vaguely saw a familiar white figure.
“Quick, save her!”
……
When Leanna woke again, she found herself inside a simple tent.
Though she didn’t know how long she had been unconscious, she clearly remembered the time she entered the dungeon.
She had gone in hoping to fully conquer it, but was forced out as soon as she reached the second floor due to a monster attack. Thinking about that, she felt deeply ashamed.
After stepping out of the tent, she saw that she wasn’t the only one who had escaped by breaking their talisman.
Two or three other teams had also encountered danger and been sent out.
They gathered in small groups, their expressions filled with frustration.
“Damn it! The monsters here are way too cunning, using the terrain to ambush us. If I hadn’t destroyed the talisman fast enough, we would have died inside!”
“Yeah, didn’t they say the monsters here were weak? Why does it feel so different? Monsters setting traps?”
“Weak monsters? Who spread that rumor? Could it be… that it was the monsters themselves?”
Someone’s words silenced the previously lively atmosphere instantly. Everyone exchanged uneasy glances as a cold, eerie chill crept up their spines.
If those rumors really came from the monsters…
They had seriously underestimated the monsters’ cunning.
But that was the reality. Only the low-tier monsters were mindless. The high-tier or noble-blooded monsters had intelligence no less than humans.
The reason they fell for the trap was pure overconfidence.
Leanna thought of the green-haired monster and clenched her right fist tightly.
After a while, a young girl approached her.
“Captain Anna, without talismans, everyone’s too afraid to enter the dungeon again. Could you find Lady Isavel and ask her to give us another chance?”
…How was that possible?
From what Leanna knew of Saintess Isavel, she would never grant them another chance.
She had wanted to refuse but seeing the fear in the girls’ eyes softened her resolve.
“…I’ll try.”
……
On the raised platform, Isavel stood with arms crossed, a hint of pity in her expression.
Before her, Leanna knelt silently.
“Another chance? Oh, if I had more talismans, I’d gladly give you another. But sadly, I only have eight.”
“Don’t worry too much, I can’t give you more chances, but if you die in the dungeon, I can retrieve your bodies and give you a proper burial.”
“You know I’m kindhearted—I can’t bear to see your bodies left out in the wilderness.”
“So, do you have anything else to say?”
Leanna’s fist tightened slightly but she shook her head.
Just as she turned to leave, Isavel’s voice rang out again.
“Oh, and please tell those Rose Knights afraid to enter the dungeon that if they waste more time outside, I will personally go find them.”
“A tool that can’t complete its task should be discarded.”
Hearing this, Leanna lowered her head, her bangs hiding her expression.
……
After relaying Isavel’s words to the Rose Knights outside the dungeon, the already tense atmosphere turned even colder. The grip on weapons tightened.
But they all understood: this time, they couldn’t blame Isavel’s ruthlessness.
It was their own underestimation that cost them their precious means of survival.
After deep self-reflection, Leanna once again gathered her team and resolved to delve deeper into the Golden Dungeon.
This time, due to the previous lesson and the loss of any escape route, the team was cautious to an extent that surprised even Leanna.
Perhaps the previous experience wasn’t entirely bad?
That thought flashed through her mind, and Leanna smiled wryly.
No matter what, losing their life-saving method wasn’t a good thing.
They passed through the second floor without obstruction and arrived at the third floor, which none of them had previously set foot on.
A faint green gas permeated the air. At first, nobody paid much attention until they saw monsters lying dead within the gas. Then, realization dawned.
“It’s poison gas!”
Meilin shouted as she quickly cast a spell to shield the group from the outside air. Selis frowned, puzzled.
“Strange. If it really is poison gas, how have we been breathing it for so long without harm?”
“Who knows, but we were careless. We can’t afford that next time. We were lucky this time, but next time it might be fatal.”
“I know, I know. Joina, you’re the most cautious now.”
Selis shrugged and teased.
She noticed that after the incident, everyone had changed, but none more so than Joina.
Now she was silent and cautious, almost unrecognizable compared to before.
While observing the surrounding poison gas, Selis suddenly realized that Leanna, as captain, had been quiet for some time.
When she turned to look for her, she found Leanna’s eyes were slightly red, as if moved.
“Leanna, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing… nothing.”
Rubbing the corner of her eye, Leanna stepped forward and returned to the front of the group.
Selis was curious but decided not to ask further.
What she didn’t know was that in Leanna’s arms, the jewel given by Saintess Selis was emitting a gentle light, dispelling the poison gas creeping toward them.
Just a charm for safe return?
That was a lie Saintess Selis told.
Leanna didn’t know what other effects the jewel held. She only knew that from the moment they entered the Golden Dungeon, it had silently been protecting them.
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