The night had deepened into a tranquil stillness, the glow of lumi fungi casting a soft light upon the cavern. Each member of the party was reed on their mossy beds, their hunger satisfied. Zephyr y sprawled on his belly, wrestling with a rge bone, his pyful growls filling the quiet space.

  Gavric, lying on his back, used his shield as a makeshift pillow, his gaze fixated oricate patterns of the fungi above. Finnian, occupied with the meticulous ing of his sword, brought a sharp gleam to the bde. Lyanna popped a berry into her mouth, her eyes alight with amusement as Rexar effortlessly annihited Milo at arm wrestling.

  As the warmth of the campfire dwindled, Daisuke, ever the vigint host, replehe fmes with more wood from his iory. Elena watched his every move, her mind den with thoughts.

  “Um… everyone,” she spoke with a tinge of mencholy, her words pulling everyone’s focus. “I have a request… just in case… I don’t make it tomorrow.”

  “Elena…”

  Rexar and Milo’s expressions twisted in evident agony. Regrettably, no one could speak out about her pessimism; it was an irrefutable fact that their fates were blurred. They had found themselves ensnared in the perilous clutches of a situation with no guaranteed path to victory.

  Elena took a deep breath. Before she could delve further into her request, she felt it necessary to share their backstory, and her voice quivered slightly as she began painting a vivid picture of their home.

  “Rexar, Milo, and I e from a small vilge deep within the heart of the Fleecia Forest,” she began, her words resonating with a bittersweet nostalgia. “It’s a poor vilge, and we’re few in number, but we were happy,” she fessed with a glum smile, imagining it.

  “Every evening, Mr. Rekton would make his rounds, sharing the day’s catch of fish with each household. Mrs. Higgs, with her hair as silver as the moon, would eagerly offer to mend your torn clothes if she happened upon a snag. At dusk, we would all gather in the vilge square, sharing stories and songs around a bonfire.

  We’re a warm unity, where everyone knows their neighbors a a helping hand in times of need. It created a true sense of belonging. However, i months, we’ve been under stant attack by demons.”

  The mention of the menag creatures sent a shiver through the group, their expressions now burdened with shared unease.

  “Despite our meager numbers and limited strength, we’ve mao fend them off each time, but… not without bearing painful sacrifices,” she admitted, her voice crag.

  Rexar pced a f hand on Elena’s shoulder, and then began to speak in her pce. “Our vilge has always been self-suffit, where every man, woman, and child learns the essential skills to sustain our way of life. Only a few among us possess the skills to wield swords or spears—and while we do have a handful of skilled archers, their expertise lies in hunting game, not batting monsters.

  If the demons keep invading, it’s only a matter of time before we’re all sughtered. The vilge’s chief sidered hiring an adventurer, but as a secluded and self-suffit vilge that never sidered trading with the outside, we didn’t have the necessary to pay the ission fee.”

  “…That’s why we became adventurers ourselves,” Milo chimed in with a rare show of fidence.

  Elena nodded. “If we couldn’t afford to hire strong help, we would bee that help instead. In the worst-case sario, if we couldn’t get strong to defend against the demons, we could at least save up enough gold to hire someone who could.”

  As Daisuke absorbed their heartfelt ats, he scrutihe trih the Eye of Verity, dising the authenticity of their words. It arent that for them, being adventurers was not merely a pursuit of strength but also a means of safeguarding themselves against the horrors of svery.

  Superior Races, demihumans, and noxsians—there was still much he didn’t uand about the dynamics of the hierarchy. But he knew all too well that in this world, children, especially demihumans, were at a signifitly higher risk of being abducted and subjected to a life of e.

  Among the plex pyramid of demihuman races, the Beastfolk found themselves at the absolute bottom of the food and were frequently treated as less than human.

  Their quest for the adventurer path was a desperate bid to escape this cruel fate. Acc to Elena, if adventurers—irrespective of race—were forced into svery, those responsible for such vile acts faced substantial fines and potential impriso if caught.

  Thalia had mentio as well, that adventurers were a necessary force to keep stability in the world. So they were thhly looked after by the guild, especially si rofession where demand sistently outstripped the supply.

  The method by which races were captured for svery was dishearteningly effit. Sve traders made use of costly magic devices to s the blood of their victims, identifying if they were registered as adventurers in the Global sus Register.

  But the expense of such devices paled in parison to the penalties incurred if caught and prosecuted by the guild. Whatever the case, the fual role of adventurers in ensuring a safer enviro for traders and businesses was undeniable, so the traders did their due diligeo ehey hohe system.

  Elena, Rexar, and Milo, however, were at risk of losing the safety hat being an adventurer provided. Because they were too weak to hunt, or even roam monster ied regions for fing jobs, they weren’t able to meet the quota of one quest per month as of yet.

  They were worried sick about getting their lise revoked. What’s worse, they now had to pass a field test, and they had performed miserably iher assessments.

  “Now that we’re trapped in this dungeon,” Elena began, tears glistening in her eyes, “I don’t even know what to think anymore.”

  There was a heavy moment of silence.

  DING!

  [Escape the Dungeon Unscathed]

  [Quest Difficulty: B

  Elena, Rexar, and Mio, having made numerous sacrifices in their selfless mission to safeguard their beloved home, now find their noble aspirations held captive by the byrinthine clutches of this dungeon.

  They yearn to see their dreams realized, and it’s up to you to be the guiding light that leads them out of this dire predit and towards the fulfillment of their goals.

  Clear ditions: Escape the dungeon without any casualties.

  Rewards:

  ?? Affinity with Elena, Rexar, and Milo +30%

  ?? EXP +35,000

  ?? A favorable enter

  Quest Failure:

  ?? The death of one or more party members

  ?? Any survivors will despite you forever

  ?? Loss of favorable enter]

  That settles it, Daisuke pondered as he examihe quest details. Elena's story is unfolding as a linked-quest. Until I fulfill all the quests in the series, I won't unlock the final reward, which I suspect is the ‘favorable enter’.

  Daisuke cupped his in deliberation. If the System deems this enter as ‘favorable’, then I guess it should be worth the risk. Regardless, we’ll all o escape the dungeon one way or another. But there’s only one way I guarahat everyone will survive.

  It was then that Daisuke, filled with wild determination, proposed a daring pn. “I think we should challehe Dungeon Boss and clear this dungeon.”

  Shock rippled across the faces of everyone as they pohe ued proposal.

  “Clearing this dungeon will provide a signifit power boost for all of you,” Daisuke crified. “Defeating the Dungeon Boss will strengthen your foundations and make the upper floors more manageable.

  Lyanna, Finnian, Gavric… I presume you’re all in a simir situatiht—there’s a goal you’re trying to achieve, which will be more feasible by being more powerful?”

  Everyone exged nervous gnces as they took a moment to sider the idea, and Zephyr looked up from his marrow-rich bone, feeling the sudden rise in tension.

  In trast to Osten, Daisuke was far from selfish, greedy, or discriminatory. He had repeatedly demonstrated his strength and reliability, leaving no doubt in their minds that he and Zephyr could escape together if they were on their own.

  Daisuke’s bold proposal to challehe Dungeon Boss clearly indicated his belief in their ces of victory, and he didn’t strike them as someone who would willingly wele unnecessary sacrifices.

  "I'll do it," Milo decred, his ued dispy of fidence surprising everyone once more. "I've spent... most of my life in the shadows, people," he fessed, finally mustering the ce to meet Daisuke's gaze. "And I've seen people like you—cool, clever, distant. But it's a defense meism; I uand that you've actually been through a painful and traumatic experience."

  Daisuke’s expression hardened, and everyoiced it.

  “But you overcame it,” Milo tinued, “and I think that baptism is partly, if not solely the reason, that you’ve bee such a powerful and dependable person. I want to be just like you so that I bee stronger. So, yes, let’s challehe Dungeon Boss.”

  “…I’ve never heard him talk at length before,” murmured Gavric to Finnian who was also fbbergasted.

  “I’m game,” Lyanna announced as she raised her arm. “We’re already oh floor; I think it would be a waste if we didn’t at least gauge its strength.”

  Elena nodded her head with a smile, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Daisuke. “I’ll go too. You’ve saved me three times already, so I’ll trust in your judgment.”

  Finnian nodded in agreement.

  “You have my shield,” Gavric pitched in, tapping on his makeshift pillow. “As you said, defeating the Dungeon Boss could potentially make it that easier to clear the upper floors.”

  “So?” Rexar urged in a sassy tone. “What’s the pn?”