Two days after Viktor saw Jeanne with Manfred in the town square, the red-haired pyromancer arrived at his dungeon alongside the Arstenian party.

  They’re faster than I expected, Viktor thought. Had Blondie already gotten her hands on the explosives? Well, it didn’t matter. His water realm was ready.

  “I’ll go to the arena and wait for them there,” Sebekton said with an unmissable excitement in his tone. Viktor wondered if it was the fight he was looking forward to, or the feast that followed. Maybe both.

  The door closed behind the towering Guardian, leaving only Viktor and Celeste in the Core Room. He walked toward a chair nearby, sat down, and closed his eyes, projecting his mind to the first floor to observe the adventurers.

  He saw Redhead leading the way, axe in hand, muscles flexed and eyes sharp. Her physical capabilities had probably been enhanced by Brunette’s spells, augmenting her inherent strength. Right behind her was Blondie, who had already released her metallic birds. The two constructs hovered in the air, one on each side of the party. Then came Manfred, smug as ever, with Brunette clinging to him, chatting and giggling like they were out for a stroll in the park, not heading straight into the jaws of death.

  Jeanne was last, trailing at the rear of the group with an air of detachment, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere. Obviously, being in such a position made her vulnerable to attacks from behind, and since she didn’t seem to be paying attention to her surroundings at all, she might not react quickly enough if a goblin suddenly jumped at her.

  Celeste was not going to miss such an opportunity. Viktor saw a group of three goblins emerge from the hidden tunnels. Clearly, they had been sent by the Dungeon Core to sneak up on the vulnerable pyromancer. They crept forward, silent and stealthy, and when they got close enough to strike, the creatures lunged at Jeanne.

  He could order Celeste to stop the attack, but should he? The strong lived and the weak died. That was the way of the dungeon. If she was careless enough to get killed by mere goblins, then she deserved to become fertilizer for his dungeon’s growth. When she stepped into this place, she had made her choice. She had agreed to put her life on the line.

  There’s... no reason to give anyone special treatment.

  Before the minions could stab the pyromancer in the back with their crude daggers, however, Manfred moved. He nudged Brunette aside, drawing his rapier. In the blink of an eye, he dashed between Jeanne and the creatures, who were now airborne mid-lunge, his hand a blur of motion before he slipped his blade back into its sheath. Then he turned his back to the attackers, leaning toward the red-haired woman. “Are you alright, my sweet Jeanne?” he asked, smiling. Behind him, the three goblins dropped to the ground, their bodies riddled with crimson holes.

  This guy is fast!

  Viktor had heard from Celeste about his fighting style, but witnessing it firsthand was an entirely different experience. He had to give credit where it was due. This man was more than just show.

  Yet, he couldn’t help but see it as a waste. Manfred clearly had talent, so if he had prioritized honing his skills over trying to look impressive, he should have been at least a Gold now. And given his family’s financial backing, if he had played his cards right, he could have reached places even beyond that.

  “I’m fine,” Jeanne told the man, her tone flat and indifferent.

  Viktor found her reaction very strange. Even though she had just been one breath away from a goblin’s blade, the woman showed no emotion at all. Either she was, like Brunette, not bright enough to understand the threat, or she was so confident that such attacks simply didn’t matter.

  Although he had been acquainted with the red-haired mage for quite a while, his understanding of her capabilities as an adventurer was practically nonexistent. So this could be a good opportunity for him to learn more about her. He didn’t expect much, though. She was just an Iron, after all.

  While Jeanne was far from impressed by the playboy’s dramatic display of gallantry, the three other women were clearly upset with their man flirting with another girl. They stood a few paces away, glaring at her with barely concealed resentment. Nevertheless, there was nothing they could do about it, as ultimately, Manfred was the one who called the shots in this party.

  Speaking of Manfred, there was one more thing Viktor learned about him from this encounter. Even though the goblins were trying to sneak up on them, he immediately identified the threat and dealt with it before the creatures could do anything.

  He must have used that spell, then. The one where an aeromancer released their winds in every direction to sense the surroundings. When Lahmia and Azran invaded the dungeon, Viktor had mistakenly assumed the bald man was a wind mage, believing he had used this very spell to navigate the labyrinth. Now, with a true aeromancer present, traversing this maze would be trivial for this party.

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  After the little skirmish, the group pressed on. Celeste had sent the minions to attack them again several more times, but every onslaught was met with swift defeat. Goblins and spiders fell easily, either skewered by Manfred, burned to a crisp by the metal constructs, or hacked down by Redhead.

  While everyone else fought, Jeanne did nothing. She simply walked behind them, showing no intention of helping. Not that they needed it, but shouldn’t she at least try to contribute in some way? Why did Manfred even want her in his party anyway? Was it just because of her looks, or was there another reason?

  Jeanne’s lack of engagement kept puzzling Viktor. She seemed completely detached, acting like someone who didn’t want to be there. Well, he could understand that. But even so, it was still very weird that she didn’t show any reaction to anything. The whole time, she just looked... bored.

  Before long, the party had finally reached the end of the first floor. They descended the stairs, passed through the old Core Room, and arrived at the entrance to the second maze.

  Blondie’s about to set up her explosives, I guess.

  Wait a minute. Where the hell did she keep her explosives?

  Only now did Viktor realize that the blonde was carrying the same small pouches she always had with her. And none of the other party members brought big bags either; they all appeared just as lightly packed.

  As confusion clouded his mind about their next move, Manfred glanced at the red-haired pyromancer, smiling. “It’s your turn now, sweetie.”

  Wait, what?

  Stepping forward, Jeanne positioned herself in front of the entry to the maze. “There’s no one ahead of us, right?”

  “There’s none,” Manfred replied. “I’m certain that no other party has made it this far. The only things that could be lurking in the maze right now are the monsters of this dungeon.”

  Jeanne nodded. She raised both hands forward, pointing toward the entrance.

  And—

  An inferno roared to life from her outstretched hands, howling like a starving beast let off its chain. The river of flame blazed through the corridor ahead. When it reached a turn, it bent toward the new direction. When it encountered a branch, it split, racing down all paths and consuming everything in its wake. The ferocious fire continued endlessly, engulfing the whole labyrinth.

  “What the fuck just happened?”

  [She incinerated the entire floor, Master.]

  “C-casualties?”

  [Twelve goblins, six Dread Spiders, nine Venom Spiders. All instantly burnt to death.]

  “How the hell can someone with such power possibly be an Iron?”

  Calm down! Calm down! Viktor told himself. But it was hard to do so. After all, the raw, destructive power before his eyes brought back memories of something he knew all too well.

  [This reminds me of Scorching Winds...]

  He was taken aback by the words that had just been uttered by Celeste.

  So it knows...

  He had always wondered whether the Dungeon Core was aware of it—the special power that no one but him possessed. The power that had allowed him to conquer the whole world. The power that had been taken away from him by the so-called Six Heroes—his Thaumaturgy. Now, at last, he had his answer.

  He had always kept it a secret, something that no one but his closest associates knew about. Brandt, Celestia, and well, Ulysses. But he could never have imagined that there had been an eavesdropping Dungeon Core hung on the wall of his throne room, listening to every word of his privy conversations.

  Oh well, there’s nothing I can do about it now. Also, the Core could be considered his closest associate at the moment. So it’s fine, I guess.

  Now, let’s get back to the matter at hand.

  The spell Jeanne cast just now resembled one of Viktor’s Supreme Thauma, Scorching Winds, so the thought that she could actually be a descendant of one of the thieves who had stolen his power momentarily flashed through his mind. But now, after calming down a bit, he realized that the similarity was just superficial.

  Yes, it used fire and it was very destructive. But that was it. While it somewhat matched the Thauma in raw power, it fell short in terms of sophistication. After all, his power was far more than just creating a big flame.

  I think I’ve heard about it before...

  Viktor recalled the tales of a rare type of pyromancer who wielded an untamed conflagration. Overwhelmingly powerful, but also extremely unstable. Such pyromancers couldn’t even control their own fire. The only thing they could do was unleash an inferno that swallowed everything whole, without the ability to manipulate or even extinguish it.

  If Jeanne were one of those mages, then everything would make sense. While the feat she had just performed was indeed impressive, in most other cases, she would likely be quite useless, as anything she attempted could easily lead to unimaginable collateral damage. That would also explain why she struggled to find a party willing to accept her, as ultimately, she might endanger her companions much more than any enemies ever could.

  “It’s done,” she said, turning back to Manfred and spreading out her hand. “My pay?”

  “Excellent job, my sweet Jeanne,” the man said as he pulled out a pouch of coins and gently placed it in her palm. “Have you considered becoming a permanent member of—”

  “Not interested,” she cut him off. Tucking the coin bag into her pocket, she headed for the exit. “I’ve completed the task you asked. Goodbye!”

  A spasm ran over Manfred’s face as he watched the red-haired woman walk away without looking back. For a rich playboy like him, such blunt rejection had to be a rare sting. Viktor couldn’t help but chuckle as he saw the man’s arrogant demeanor shift to one of frustration.

  Also, it seemed that he owed Jeanne an apology. The whole time, he had wrongly assumed that the only reason Manfred invited her was because of her looks. Well, judging by the man’s reaction, that might still hold some truth. Nevertheless, the fact remained that she was much more capable than he had given her credit for.

  I’m going to cook something nice tomorrow. After all, she should be able to pay for it now, Viktor thought amusedly.

  [Master, what should we do about that pyromancer?]

  “Nothing,” he told his Dungeon Core. “Manfred’s party will reach the third floor soon. Let’s focus on them.”