Walking along the bridge to the dilapidated village, Grace, Ivan, and Anne made their pace slow. Almost painfully slow. But advancing at this slower pace was a necessity for them.
They did not have the strength to kill anything in this dungeon.
However...
"Be alert on anything that we can take along the way," Grace whispered to them. "Even though we are trying to find the other three, being in a 4-star dungeon at our level puts us at a disadvantage. We must take advantage of all materials and artifacts that we come across."
It was almost shameless of him, but he knew that this was their only ticket to victory in case the professors were unable to get through to them.
Once closing in on the village, the three positioned themselves behind one of the outer-most houses. Their mouths were closed into thin lines, and their ears perking to stay attentive of any delicate noises that could be coming their way.
Ivan then glanced at Anne.
"Do you have any spell that can bring you to the roof of this house?" But the girl shook her head.
"It would be Wind Current, but doing it on myself is way too difficult right now." And if it's difficult for her, then that would also mean the draining of the mana would be far too intense for her to be able to do it for long.
"Then we'll just do this the old-fashioned way. When peeking behind the walls, do not overextend yourself. And do it in quick bursts." Grace and Anne nodded at Ivan's words. Yes, this was most definitely the best thing they could be doing right now as they were powerless against all the entities within the dungeon gate.
This sucks. Grace thought to himself.
The novel explained that the dungeon becomes more and more expansive and the route to completion becomes more ambiguous as it ranks up in stars. But this dungeon is completely different from the temple that the cast had to explore. Which meant he - they - had to be extra careful.
Because for the first time since he had came here, there was a new event in the narrative being written.
Thankfully this dungeon was only used for a minor reason and did not have a large impact on the overall story. If there was anything to be relieved about, then it would be this sole fact.
But, just as they were about to move, they heard sudden noise. It was faint, but they could hear it purely due to the fact that there was no other discerning noise other than the soft kisses of wind.
"Damn heretics. Making things much harder for our Lord."
"Indeed. It would be best for everyone if the only thing that was left alive is glasses."
"Hah. How pathetic that person is. He should be chained up down below in the dungeon as we speak."
The cohort widened their eyes at that information.
The assistant professor! Ivan thought. He remembered the appearance that the assistant professor held and it was those glasses attached to his eyes that he remembered.
Ivan's hands curled into fists, his knuckles turning snow-white.
No... stop, Ivan. Ivan told himself inwardly.
We can't fight them head-on. Calm yourself. He told himself again. Even though these guards may lack in martial technique and magical prowess--their bodies were that of a low intermediate-grade.
And that was more than sufficient to bridge the gap in refinement.
Utter strength.
They extended their bodies, looking at where the voices were originating from.
Two men with a suit of iron.
~~~
Alice walked up the mountain, curious as to what the 5-person cohort was planning. She had saw the Grace and the others walk towards the very base of the mountain but she chose to ignore them due to not wanting to be dragged into their stupid shenanigans.
However, sometimes curiosity overpowers logic.
And what do they say? Curiosity saves the cat? She thought to herself as she walked by the numerous dead animals that the cohort had slain. It was a disgusting sight, but it was only natural they would have to leave all these animals here.
They didn't have a dimensional storage ring, after all.
Neither did she.
"This makes a lot of things easier," Alice spoke. "I just kill the leftovers." Even for a first-year, she was at an astound Normal-Grade 7. Even though progressing this much was not much of an achievement, as there were as many Normal-Grades as there were trees--there was still something to be proud of.
When she reached to where the cohort had stopped, she walked over to the massive hole on the ground, now being able to discern the sizable density of mana in the air.
"Oh my..."
Alice shook her head.
"They really are just idiots." Though she did say that, Alice could not help but chuckle. Then she completely got rid of the chuckle because she realized the situation at hand.
A 4-star dungeon.
Alice sighed.
She took off her luggage and opened the top of her backpack. Rummaging through her items, she took out an orange cylinder.
A distress signal.
Once the orange smoke floated upwards into the atmosphere, Alice stayed still. She looked between the dungeon gate, the smoke, and where Calvin and the students were located.
"Forget it," Alice muttered. Letting the smoke rise up into the air, she would let Calvin and whoever else comes to figure things out.
Alice looked at the red gate in finality.
She jumped into the red gate, descending into the unknown.
"I want loot too."
Who was the real idiot?
Everyone, of course.
~~~
Once the guards disappeared into the night, the three students slinked into the fog, quietly passing towards the next closest house. Crouching, they approached the backdoor of the house they moved to.
Ivan looked at them, placing the index finger on his mouth to gesture for them to remain silent. He then outstretched his hand to the doorknob and tested if it was unlocked.
It was.
Then he fully turned in, opening the door to the house as quietly as he possibly could. Grace and Anne entered first then Ivan followed closely behind.
"Goodness--!"
Anne's voice halted.
What they saw--
It was pure and indiscriminate horror.
Two bodies of a man and woman was hung from the ceiling, their eyes gone and the sock remaining empty, akin to an infinite abyss. Blood dripped from their mouths as they were frozen with shock.
Their innards were out and various organs were on the floor, covering the space with disgusting amounts of blood.
Everyone stood frozen, as if time had stopped.
It was only now that they've begun to realize the type of dungeon this place was. They knew it was not a haven to begin with.
However, this far exceeded them.
Ivan gnashed his teeth down, his hand gripping the bottom of his face as he refused the urge to vomit.
No... they must remain steadfast.
But--
"I'll kill them," Ivan declared. "These bastards... I'll kill them all." He didn't know them, but his compassion for others was infinite.
Even if he knew he'll eventually kill others indiscriminately--
He wanted to preserve the goodness in the world.
There were many ways to go through a dungeon.
Even if there was a fixed end point that is necessary to complete, one can utilize anything and undergo any process to get to that destined point.
However, if certain things are met...
The destined point won't just be the end.
As they navigated through the household, Grace knew what they had to do. It may be painful and ruthless, but the process was just as important as the end.
"Ivan... Anne," he spoke solemnly. "This place--no, that castle needs to be burnt completely to the ground."
Ivan and Anne widened their eyes.
They saw it in his eyes.
A resolute desire.
Both ambiguous and determined.
"Only then can these people truly rest."