Chapter 28

In the workshop, where the production plan had to be changed at short notice, Rangju was busily adjusting the furnace.

That day, they were trying to refine silver, so they had to change all the settings, from the temperature of the kiln to everything else.

On the other hand, Arie was selecting the raw materials for the 'Spirit Light Stone.'

She distributed the raw materials for the 'Spirit Light Stone' according to the level of each worker.

She took one of the raw materials from each box, lightly heated it, or hammered it to check its texture.

(This is B-class. This one can only be C-class. This is A-class, so I have to do it all myself.)

Thus, the selected 'Spirit Light Stones' were distributed according to the level of each worker.

"Arie, the kiln is ready."

Rangju, who had changed the kiln settings from silver to 'Spirit Light Stone,' rushed into the room.

"I'm ready too. We'll start refining immediately."

Arie directed the workers and refined 50 'Spirit Light Stones' that day.

The 'Spirit Light Stones' were completed without any potential being wasted.

The next day, when Roland and the others brought the 'Spirit Light Stones' to the dungeon entrance, the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' troops, who had already completed their preparations, were waiting.

"Roland, I've heard the news. The preparations for the dungeon exploration are complete!"

"Everyone, I'm sorry. You just got back from the dungeon."

"No, it's fine. If we can take two dungeons, we can deal a blow to the 'Golden Eagles.' Such an opportunity doesn't come often. Let's give them a taste of their own medicine."

Shakuma said with enthusiasm.

"Listen, Roland. The guys from the Sebastia team tried to attack us directly!"

Yufine, unusually angry, said.

"I can't let this go. We need to teach them a lesson!"

"Haha. That's right. ...Well."

Roland walked over to a girl who usually seemed quiet and called out to her.

"Monica, I heard you cleared the 'Forest Dungeon.'"

"Yes, somehow."

"No, I underestimated your skills. I didn't think you'd clear it before Sebastia. That's amazing."

"That's... just luck."

Monica blushed and looked embarrassed.

"Roland, we're ready."

Yufine, who had finished distributing the 'Spirit Light Stones' to the item holders, said.

"Alright. Let's go over the plan."

Roland held a meeting on the spot.

"The goal this time is to support the Lilianne team. Everything depends on speed. We need to prioritize speed while protecting the item holders and form the smallest possible team to clear the dungeon. That's why I called this group here today. We'll ignore quests and monsters as much as possible and take the shortest route to deliver these 'Spirit Light Stones' to the Lilianne team."

Roland had already selected a team that prioritized exploration speed over combat power.

This time, he based the team on those who performed well in the 'Forest Dungeon,' keeping the aces like Monica, Shakuma, and Yufine, while excluding those with relatively low agility and adding support mages who could use 'Agility Grant' and Lilianne's team member, Rojyan.

The equipment was generally lighter, but the balance was not compromised.

With this, they should be able to clear the dungeon at the fastest speed.

Roland usually listed all the adventurers he could mobilize, along with their skills, stats, and equipment, and thought of various team formations for different purposes.

"The basic tactics remain the same. Monica will choose the best path with 'Hawk Eye,' and Shakuma and Yufine will provide combat support. Got it?"

"Understood."

"Alright. Go and do your best. I'm counting on you."

Monica and the others immediately entered the 'Mine Dungeon.'

"I'll guide the way. This is the shortest route to the teleportation array."

Rojyan, who had already explored the dungeon with the Lilianne team, pointed out the path they had taken before.

The 21st floor was a ruin stage.

"No, this way is faster."

Monica pointed to a different path.

The team naturally followed Monica's lead.

Rojyan was flustered.

"Hey, that's an unexplored path. It's dangerous to rely on intuition at a time like this. If we hit a dead end, we'll lose time."

"Just do it. Follow Monica's lead."

Yufine said, almost scolding.

The team entered a complex maze of paths.

When Rojyan, confused, followed, they soon came to a familiar path.

(There was such a route? This is the power of the unique skill 'Hawk Eye'...)

Monica and the others quickly cleared one-third of the 21st floor.

A few hours earlier, Lucius had received news that the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' support team had completed the acquisition of 'Spirit Light Stones' and had entered the dungeon.

Lucius was shocked.

"What? Already completed the preparations?"

(Impossible. How could they complete the preparations before us?)

When Lucius heard that 'Spirit Light Stones' were needed, he hurriedly ordered their preparation, but no workshop could immediately respond to his sudden request and even showed reluctance.

Lucius, using his scale and authority, stopped all ongoing work in the guilds under his control and poured all resources into refining 'Spirit Light Stones,' but he was still outpaced by the 'Spiritual Workshop' in terms of agility.

"Damn it. They're all useless! How can we be outpaced by a newly formed guild!"

Lucius raged in the conference room.

(Now, we can only overwhelm them with exploration speed!)

"This is a battle we can't afford to lose. If we fall behind the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree,' it will tarnish the name of the 'Golden Eagles.' We need to gather the strongest members and clear the dungeon first!"

Lucius's idea of the strongest members was simple and straightforward.

Choose 30 members in order of their adventurer rank.

The lineup included A-class adventurer Sebastia, Jil, who had just returned from the 'Demonic Dungeon' and had performed admirably, Dovin, who usually hammered metal in a corner of the headquarters, and the Coater brothers.

It was an all-star lineup, but there was no consideration for speed, compatibility, or equipment balance.

Thus, the 'Golden Eagles' strongest team entered the dungeon with a heavy pace.

Originally, it was a hastily formed mixed team with no coordination, and the rivalry between Sebastia and the Coater brothers, which had arisen in the 'Forest Dungeon,' flared up again.

The members argued over everything from the formation and path selection to tactics and the ratio of item holders.

Jil felt frustration and anger.

(With the enemy ahead, how long will they keep bickering? At this rate, we won't even catch a glimpse of the enemy.)

Jil glared at the dungeon ahead.

The ruin stage was filled with buildings, and a tall building stood in front of her.

"Hey, what are you doing, Jil?"

Dovin looked at her curiously.

Sebastia also noticed her.

"Jil! What are you doing out of formation? The path is this way. Don't act on your own!"

"I'll make the path."

(Don't be fooled by appearances. They're just clumps of earth. If I can knock them down, they're no different from golems!)

Jil raised her sword at the building.

"Hey, wait a minute, you don't mean to..."

"Everyone, follow me! Roar!"

Jil swung her sword.

With a loud crash, the building's wall crumbled to pieces.

Jil charged forward, ignoring the falling debris, heading deeper into the dungeon.

She destroyed any walls that stood in her way.

"Ah, what a mess. Who's going to fix the equipment? This is why muscleheads are..."

Dovin, exasperated, followed the path Jil had created, grumbling.

"Amazing."

"Everyone, follow Jil!"

The team, suddenly energized, started chasing after Jil.

"Tch. What a waste of time."

Sebastia, who had a certain reason for not wanting to move too quickly, grimly chased after Jil and Dovin.

Monica, while advancing, sensed something approaching from behind at a tremendous speed.

(The wind direction changed? No, it's the buildings behind me?)

Using 'Hawk Eye,' she saw heavily armored knights destroying buildings and advancing straight through the dungeon.

No one stood in their way.

The dungeon's monsters, including the undead, golems, and orcs, fled in fear of Jil's rampage.

(What is this? This person is destroying buildings and advancing straight... Is this even possible?)

Jil quickly caught up to Monica and the others.

Monica and Jil recognized each other as they ran side by side on a wide path.

A shiver ran through the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree.'

"That's... Jil Arwin of the 'Golden Eagles'!?"

"A heavy knight with S-class potential!"

Jil, passing the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' team, climbed to the second floor of a nearby building, destroyed the spire, and scattered debris on Monica's path.

"Hey, she's blocking our path!"

Yufine twisted her lips.

"Damn. What should we do? Clear the debris or take a detour?"

Shakuma asked Monica.

"Let's take a detour. There's a small path the team can use on the side."

(There's more than one path. But... she's faster. How can we compete with this?)

"Ah, blocking the path so obviously. Interfering with other adventurers' exploration is illegal, you know?"

Dovin, who had followed Jil, said, exasperated.

"I just destroyed the buildings. I had no intention of interfering with other adventurers."

"Stop with your nonsense..."

"More importantly, my sword is broken. Fix it."

"Sure, sure. I knew it would come to this."

Dovin set up a forge on the spot and reforged the sword using fire magic.

Monica and the others marched through a narrow path.

(Got it! There are ambushers here.)

From Jil's high vantage point, she saw corpses equipped with bows rushing into the buildings on both sides of the narrow path.

Sure enough, arrows rained down on them as they advanced.

"Yufine! Please!"

"Okay. 'Wide Area Healing Magic'!"

As Yufine cast the spell, a magical path formed, and the team advanced through the arrow barrage, with the magic array moving forward with them.

"What? That magic array is moving!?"

Jil and Dovin were amazed.

(That healer's skill? To develop such a skill...)

(It's not just the skill. The team formation, considering status and equipment, is optimized for the mission. No doubt, this team was created by...)

((Roland!))

Both of them sensed Roland's presence acutely.

"Tch. What is Sebastia doing? He's not catching up even though I made the path for him."

Jil looked back, irritated.

Sebastia was still far behind, moving slowly.

(The mission is to deliver the item holders to the deepest part! No matter how far ahead I go, it's meaningless if the whole team doesn't advance. At this rate, we'll be outpaced by the 'Guardians of the Magic Tree' again!)

"Dovin! Hurry up..."

"Here, it's fixed."

"Whoa."

Dovin handed Jil the repaired sword, which he had finished fixing without her noticing.

"I made it easier to destroy buildings."

"...What's with you suddenly? You're unusually motivated."

"Not really. It's a mission, after all. Besides..."

(I don't want to look like I've lost my edge in front of Roland's team.)

"Alright. Let's go!"

Jil brushed the dust from her hair, raised her sword, and prepared to create another path.

"Wait, both of you!"

As Jil raised her sword to destroy a wall, a voice called out from behind.

Jil, startled, turned around to see a spirit.

"This is... the skill 'Astral Projection'?"

Dovin, looking at the spirit curiously, muttered.

He was a human summoned into the dungeon as a spirit through the skill 'Astral Projection.'

'Astral Projection' is a skill that allows access to acquaintances in the dungeon under certain conditions.

"You can tell where they are in the dungeon" and "you have spoken to them over 100 times" are some of the conditions that must be met to activate the skill.

Jil frowned at the spirit.

"You are... one of the guild master's aides... What are you doing here?"

"A message from Lord Lucius. Jil and Dovin, you are ordered to return to the 'Golden Eagles' headquarters immediately."

"What? Why?"

"I don't know the reason, but it's a strict order. You must prioritize your return above all else."

"But..."

"What's going on? What are you arguing