Chapter 27: Why Does It Feel So Familiar?

Dungeon, Level 1.

At the entrance of this floor closest to the surface, Rige and Rephia were walking down the stairs.

Other adventurers accompanied them, including beastmen, dwarves, elves, and Amazons.

Rige and Rephia, mixed among them, were not particularly noticeable, except for the fact that some male adventurers cast lustful glances at Rephia. Otherwise, the two of them hardly drew any attention.

Rephia seemed somewhat uneasy, gripping her staff tightly and carrying a large backpack, following closely behind Rige.

Rige chatted casually with Rephia, stopping only after they had finished descending the stairs and stepped onto the land of Level 1.

"Alright, as we discussed, I'll take the front line, and you'll be the rear guard responsible for ranged support. Is that okay?"

Rige asked Rephia.

"Y-Yes, no problem!"

Rephia nodded quickly, without any objections.

"Thanks. Because we're one person short, you might face some risks as the rear guard. I'll do my best to keep any monsters from getting close to you, so you can focus on casting spells."

Generally, it's best to form a team of three for dungeon exploration, with each member responsible for attack, defense, and support.

The front guard is the primary attacker, responsible for drawing the enemy's attention and blocking their advance to protect the rear.

The middle guard is responsible for defending against the enemy's counterattacks and sometimes assisting the front guard to reduce their pressure.

The rear guard mainly provides long-range support, using magic, bows, or crossbows, and also heals the front two if they are injured.

Such a clearly defined team structure is highly effective for dungeon exploration.

Therefore, guilds and various clans organize their teams and joint actions based on this model. Unless there are no other options, a team of three is the minimum requirement for exploring dungeons.

In this situation, if a team is reduced to two members, the burden on one of them will increase, and the likelihood of encountering unexpected dangers will rise.

Rephia is a pure rear guard mage, capable of only long-range attacks and support. Considering this, Rige took on the roles of both front and middle guard.

In other words, Rige had to charge forward, draw enemy attacks, and block all monsters from reaching Rephia.

This was a heavy burden, and Rephia felt somewhat guilty about it.

"I'm sorry, I can't be of much help."

Rephia couldn't quite meet Rige's eyes.

"Don't say that," Rige shook his head and looked at Rephia. "You're a rear guard mage, and that's your role. You shouldn't do things outside your responsibilities."

With that, Rige took out a map, unfolded it, and placed it in front of them.

"Considering that our team is newly formed, and we don't know each other well, let's see how far we can go today. Reaching around Level 9 should be manageable, right?"

After all, Rephia is a Level 2 adventurer, and even as a pure rear guard mage without melee capabilities, her level advantage means that floors with only Level 1 monsters are unlikely to pose a fatal threat to her.

In this case, unless they descend to Level 13, where Level 2 monsters appear, Rephia would at most be injured, not killed.

However, considering that this is their first time teaming up and working together, directly heading to Levels 10 to 12, where large monsters appear, could also be risky. Therefore, Rige set their initial goal at Level 9.

While Rige personally wanted to explore deeper, today's purpose was to train their teamwork, not seek thrills. He had to abandon his desire for a challenge and focus on safety.

However, while Rige felt he had thoroughly considered safety, Rephia was shocked by his words.

"Level 9!?"

Rephia's large eyes were filled with surprise.

It's understandable.

"Are we really going that deep?" Rephia said, "Mr. Rige has only been an adventurer for a short time, and he just received his blessing. How can a complete newcomer go that deep?"

As someone who had accompanied senior clan members on expeditions, Rephia had even been to the ultra-deep levels around Level 50, so a mere Level 9 wouldn't scare her.

But Rige was a new clan member, and even though Rephia couldn't act like a senior in front of him, she knew how dangerous it would be for a newcomer to go to Level 9.

That floor is only suitable for experienced adventurers, even in a team.

Rige, a newcomer who had joined the clan for less than a week, going to that floor with an inexperienced junior, and taking on both front and middle guard roles, was practically courting death.

"Don't worry," Rige said, seeing Rephia's concern. "Level 9 isn't that dangerous for me now."

With Rige's current abilities, Level 9 posed almost no challenge.

Without going into details, just his "Agility" and "Dexterity" were already at B rank, and his "Strength" and "Endurance" were at C rank.

According to the safety exploration guidelines, for Level 1, the safe exploration range for Levels 8 to 10 requires at least one ability to be at E to C rank, and for Levels 11 and 12, it needs to be at B to S rank.

Therefore, Rige could safely explore up to Level 11, and even Level 12.

Just Level 9, unless Rige lost his combat ability or was surrounded by an overwhelming number of monsters, he would hardly even get injured.

"But..."

Rephia still looked worried, not knowing all this.

Seeing this, Rige didn't push and said, "How about we try exploring and decide how far to go later?"

Rephia breathed a sigh of relief and nodded.

"Let's go then."

Rige put away the map and smiled at Rephia.

Seeing Rige's calm and steady smile, Rephia felt reassured and even smiled herself.

However, Rephia didn't know that the calm and steadiness she felt was just a surface appearance.

Soon, her perception of Rige would shatter.

Dungeon, Level 6.

This floor is one level deeper than Level 5, known as the first casualty line for adventurers, and is much more dangerous.

In this level, there is a monster called the Battle Shadow.

It has a humanoid silhouette, with no fur or skin, its body covered in black paint, its head in a cross shape, and its face like a mirror, highly resembling a human shadow.

This monster, along with the Killer Ants on Level 7, is known as a "newbie killer." Its attacks, though simple, are incredibly powerful and fast. Its long arms can strike from various angles, and its sharp claws can easily decapitate a person, making it extremely dangerous for new adventurers who have only faced low-level monsters like dogmen and goblins.

Especially when Battle Shadows gather in large numbers, even experienced adventurers can be killed if trapped in their midst.

Therefore, Battle Shadows are considered one of the most threatening monsters in the upper levels. A few can be handled, but encountering a group is usually avoided unless one is well-prepared.

Today, this unwritten rule was broken by a newcomer who had only recently received his blessing.

And in the most brutal way.

"Swish!"

With a sound like flesh being sliced, a silver blade instantly cut through a Battle Shadow's neck, sending its cross-shaped head flying.

Rige wielded a rapier, dashing through a group of Battle Shadows.

Numerous Battle Shadows surrounded Rige, extending their sharp claws to disembowel him.

However, the speed and reach that usually made Battle Shadows formidable were useless against Rige.

Rige moved with bullet-like speed, easily evading the "slow" Battle Shadows. His sword effortlessly pierced through countless sharp claws, slicing and disemboweling the monsters one by one.

From a distance, it looked like a phantom was flashing through the group of Battle Shadows, leaving a trail of sword light, slaughtering them one-sidedly, a sight that was truly awe-inspiring.

"..."

Rephia, gripping her staff, was stunned.

The elf girl, who had intended to cast spells for support, completely forgot her duty, staring in a daze at the "newbie" slaughtering the monsters.

"Is this a newbie?"

Such skilled combat.

Such efficient slaughter.

Can a newbie do this?

Are newbies this strong now?

What am I then?

A failure?

Rephia was utterly shocked.

What puzzled her most was that she saw a familiar figure in Rige's ruthless charge.

A figure she had long admired and loved.

"Miss Ais?"

Why does Mr. Rige's fighting style resemble Miss Ais so much?

The elf girl was confused.

New book just uploaded! Hope everyone can support it!

Please favorite and recommend!

ヾ(@^▽^@)ノ

(End of Chapter)