Regarding the rules of the Dungeon—
Miss Eina from the Adventurers' Guild had explained that, in most situations, unfamiliar adventurers would not interfere with an ongoing battle.
In other words: they would not steal monsters.
However, the premise for that is that the other party is willing to abide by this unspoken convention.
After Ron finished off the Corrupted Lizard, the group of adventurers who appeared to be merely passing by continued moving forward regardless, and there was even a glint of greed in their eyes.
Something seemed a bit off.
Because in certain cases, those extreme adventurers, compared to hunting monsters, would instead lock onto newly minted adventurers as their targets, extorting money from them.
Compared to Orario, the Ganesha Guard was able to maintain basic order.
But within the Dungeon area, it was not impossible to encounter adventurers with low moral standards, who followed a primitive dark-forest law—might makes right, survival of the fittest.
These guys don't look like good people.
"Is this…"
"…someone coming to cause me trouble?"
During the days Ron had spent exploring in a party with Mikoto, aside from encountering unusually sinister special monsters, the overall exploration had been relatively calm.
But once he started acting alone, he suddenly ran into something like this—it was hard not to suspect that this was exactly the case!
All the elements were in place.
A full set of Hephaestus Familia weapons and equipment, wandering around the shallow floors—perhaps in some people's eyes—really did amount to a walking fat sheep.
Ron's mood was difficult to put into words.
However, considering the original story's male protagonist Bell's experience, even that plain-looking short knife had been stolen by the legendary backstabbing queen Lili using magical means.
Because of that, he was not truly surprised by this sort of thing.
It was very possible that this party of adventurers had already set their sights on him long ago, but over the past two days, constrained by the presence of Mikoto, a Lv.2 adventurer, they had not taken any further action?
"How did I end up being treated like some soft persimmon to be squeezed…"
For no clear reason, he felt a bit irritated.
Running into all kinds of sinister monsters had already been bad enough—yet because his exploration progress was slow, he ended up being targeted by this group of adventurers in front of him?
The key point was that Ron could not even be certain whether these people would connect the matter of the "Dungeon anomaly" to him. Just thinking of that was enough for his gaze to fill with coldness.
Facing that imperious, finger-pointing adventurer, he raised a hand to rub his cheek, forced out a smile, and asked, "You just said you'd give me a chance. Would it be convenient to explain what kind of chance that is?"
"…"
The effect seemed unexpectedly smooth?
Even the adventurer who spoke over Bruno had not expected things to go so smoothly, and failed to notice the increasingly grave expression on the captain's face.
With a tone full of confidence, he said: "It's very simple. We can take you, this newbie adventurer, along to explore the Dungeon—but we'd have to collect a bit, to count as compensation for the labor, right?"
"I think the set of equipment you're wearing looks pretty good."
"And if I refuse…"
Before that adventurer could continue his shouting, Bruno suddenly lifted his leg and viciously kicked the tactless fellow, sending him crashing to the ground.
Facing the incredulous looks of his familia companions, he forced a smile onto his darkened face and said, "There's something a bit wrong with this guy's head. We were purely just passing by, so we won't disturb your normal exploration for now."
The development of events seemed to be—slightly calmer than expected?
Ron's expression showed no emotional fluctuation at all. As for the reason, it was most likely because they had just witnessed his battle with the Corrupted Lizard.
There was a trace of regret in his eyes.
Before entering the Dungeon to explore, he had already prepared himself to face the "dark forest law." As long as the other party's predatory intent had been even a bit stronger, the solution would have been very simple.
The techniques and stat values honed through fighting all kinds of sinister Dungeon monsters—when used against these adventurers whose strength was absolutely below the Lv.2 threshold—what kind of effect would they have produced?
Unfortunately, the other side had knelt at lightning speed. Ron did not even have a reason to act. But when he clearly saw—several Corrupted Lizards crawling along the wall in the darkness, steadily drawing closer, drawn by the commotion from his earlier battle with the monster—the youth's smile turned bright.
He nodded in agreement and replied, "Actually, what you said isn't wrong. After the Dungeon's anomaly, the level of danger really has become a bit higher."
"Now..."
"I also have an opportunity to offer you. If you're willing to hand over everything valuable you have on you, I can likewise take you safely back to Orario."
"…"
This was absolutely a provocation directed at him!
The forced smile Bruno had squeezed out instantly froze. However, constrained by the fact that Ron had earlier displayed strength far beyond that of an ordinary adventurer when facing a special monster, he forcibly suppressed the surging anger in his heart.
Coming to the Dungeon to fleece newbie adventurers was purely because it was fast money, but that did not mean Bruno was willing to bear the risk of losing a fight.
"No need."
"I think you'd better worry about yourself."
Given the boss's usual temperament, receiving this kind of provocation would absolutely have led to an explosion on the spot. Yet now there was no outburst at all—the amount of information contained in that fact was enormous.
It even caused the atmosphere of the team to nearly freeze solid.
They looked at each other, then once again turned their gazes toward the black-haired youth standing at a distance. Their eyes no longer held the initial confidence of having everything under control, instead carrying a hint of gravity.
"Then that really is a pity…"
Noticing that Bruno and the others had already entered the Corrupted Lizards' attack range, Ron spoke with a helpless tone. He was not the type to kill indiscriminately, but he also understood that weeds had to be pulled out by the roots—and the appearance of these Dungeon anomaly monsters just happened to solve that problem.
Even he himself, having only just begun using combat arts empowered by the Tarnished, had felt pain when dealing with Corrupted Lizards. As for these adventurers in front of him—
Then let you experience the malice of a Soulslike Dungeon.
Even if they truly managed to win… he would not mind creating a bit more trouble for this bunch!
Using the Dungeon as a pretext—to deal with all adventurers who harbored malice toward him yet did not dare to act directly—how could that not be considered a tactic?
Only after Ron's figure gradually disappeared around the dark corner did the suppressed atmosphere of the team slowly ease. The adventurer who had just been kicked to the ground by Bruno cast an unwilling glance toward the corner.
"Boss, are we really going to let this kid go?"
"Are you questioning my decision?"
Having already been mocked by Ron, Bruno was holding back a bellyful of anger. He understood clearly—at the very moment Ron noticed them, he was harboring intense killing intent.
If they acted rashly, the outcome would definitely not be good, and it was very likely it would even lead to the death of his companions.
It wasn't that he cared about the safety of these familia companions. The main point was that Zanis had rules: most actions were tacitly permitted, but the loss of expendable personnel was not allowed.
"This guy's strength is absolutely not that of a newbie adventurer."
"The monster he fought just now was very likely a special variant produced by the Dungeon anomaly, and his fighting style was extremely seasoned and ruthless."
"Maybe—"
"It was all an Adventurers' Guild commission, sent to have him clear out mutated monsters?"
"…What mutated monsters?"
Bruno shook his head lightly as he tried to recall. "Its size was definitely much larger than ordinary Dungeon lizards—completely different from those roadside wild dogs."
"There were no scales covering its exterior."
"It was like a rotting corpse. In terms of both strength and speed, it was something no ordinary adventurer could contend with!"
Recalling that enormous monster from moments ago still made his heart race with lingering fear. However, this explanation did not receive any response from his familia companions. Just as he was feeling puzzled, Bruno looked toward this bunch of useless people.
And then—he saw that their previously normal expressions were gradually being swallowed by terror. Following the direction of their gazes, what immediately entered his sight was—a Corrupted Giant Lizard!
In that instant, Bruno finally understood why Ron had suddenly asked earlier whether he needed an escort to safely return to Orario.
"Damn it…"
"Is it still possible to regret this now?!"
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