Chapter 22: Chapter 21: Save or kill

Inside a long corridor built with jagged stones that caused some forks, one could hear both the terrifying shrieks of the monsters and the desperate screams of the humans echoing through the cave.

"I told you it was a bad idea to let them spread their pheromones!" The furious and somewhat exhausted shout of a middle-aged man entered the ears of those following close behind. They had no time to pay attention to the noisy sounds of footsteps chasing their butts other than to put all the energy they had into their legs.

The other adventurers, a group of two women and three men, turned their sweaty and pale faces to the side, for because of some of them, they resulted in the present situation.

"Why don't you say anything?! Has the dog got your tongue?!"

"I-"

"Shut up; I don't want to hear your pitiful apologies!"

*Kiriri *Kiriri

Lodged behind the adventurers' backs, several monsters in the shape of giant ants were revealed; they were red-colored monsters that ran with four legs and two arms. The jaws connected near their mouths produced loud crunching sounds that made the adventurers' hearts fall into despair.

One of the main characteristics of these ants was the pheromones they could produce and spread in the environment to attract mates when in distress.

This gave rise to the greed of the adventurers.

Many thought of "Quick and Easy Farm" when facing the "Killer ants" because they believed that when the monsters used the pheromone to attract their mates, they could defeat them and extract more magic stones.

That way, the magic cores and the profits they would generate per day would increase.

An easy profit.

However, that was, without a doubt, one of the worst mistakes adventurers could make when facing the ants, who were known as the "Newbie Adventurer Killer" for a reason.

The eyes of the frontman, who appeared to be the team leader, caught a silhouette rounding the corner. An expression of relief appeared on his face.

"Hey, there's someone ahead! Let's take advantage of it to escape."

As the adventurers fixed their gazes on the humanoid silhouette in the distance, they felt relieved, while the rest felt bitterness in their hearts.

They had intended to leave the monster behind them to the adventurer in front of them. It was a cruel but necessary decision to survive.

"This... Captain. I don't think we should do... that-".

With her voice cracking with exhaustion and pushing her feet forward, the woman gave her opinion; however, the deep, angry voice of the man beside her interrupted her.

"Káren! This is no time to be thinking nonsense. The current situation is too critical to think about someone else's useless ass!".

"But-."

"No 'buts.' Remember our promise."

While it was true that using other adventurers as bait for the monsters chasing them, in the beginning, was commonplace within the dungeon, it was also true that there were good-hearted adventurers who preferred to avoid falling into such disgusting decisions that weighed on the conscience.

While the two sides were arguing, and due to their running speed, they managed to get close to the adventurer right in the center of the circular room that led to several connected paths.

The earlier dark silhouette became clear to them.

It was a beautiful golden-haired young man whose golden and crimson eyes glowed in the room. The young man remained in place, not moving and not devoting a glance to the adventurers or the monsters. It was as if the void enraptured him.

"Wow, it's about time he showed up." Adler stroked the bridge of his nose.

So far, he had hunted nonstop on the seventh floor of the dungeon, mobilizing and witnessing the birth of the assorted monsters.

Thus, he was able to achieve his first goal.

[Congratulations! You have learned the passive skill "Dagger Mastery."

Description: Both agility, movement efficiency, and dagger proficiency increase dramatically.

Note: An enhancement is an enhancement; no one can deny that!]]

When the notification came, he had received a massive load of information in his memory. But what had surprised him most were the new memories that contained the vital points of living things.

Adler closed the floating notification and looked at the annoying sounds echoing in his "eardrum."

*Kiriri *Kiriri

"R-run, don't just stand there and run away!"

Adler looked towards the source of the scream and met the gaze of a woman; whose sweaty face expressed surprise, exhaustion, and deep fear.

He could also notice that the dozens of killer ants followed the other adventurers.

"You idiot! Why did you have to alarm him!?" The captain growled and, as if he had made up his mind, changed direction.

"Since we've come to this, don't blame me for what I'll do." The man leaned toward Karen and, under the surprised gaze of the group, put a foot in front of the woman, causing her to stumble forward.

"This is for our survival. Since it was your fault, you must take responsibility." As he muttered, the man clenched his fists and punched Karen's stomach.

"Ugh-!" The air in the girl's lung emptied with a dry grunt as her vision blurred.

"Karen!" A man, also on Karen's side, let out a panicked scream as he saw the woman he was in love fly off like a dummy into the swarm of ants. He stopped the movement of his legs abruptly: "You bastard! Why did you do that? We trusted you as our captain."

"Haha! I'm not going to die from unnecessary burdens. If you want to die badly, you can stay and rot in this place!"

The captain scoffed loudly and, along with the other adventurers, exchanged glances with Adler.

The adventurers suppressed surprise at Adler's saintly appearance and, as if deeply ashamed of their actions, turned their faces away as they passed him.

A cold, cruel smile came over the captain's face, "Get lost, you too, boy!".

As they passed Adler, the man pushed the massive metal shield to strike him. However, to his surprise, the boy put a hand on the approaching shield and, with ease, annoyed his body over it.

"Wow, no matter what world one is in, there will always be scum inhabiting it." Somewhat disappointed, Adler let out another sigh.

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"Get out of my way, brat! I'm in a hurry." The captain's face tinged with fury, and he brandished the sword behind his back toward Adler.

With a small bluish flash in Adler's hand, a dagger materialized, and before the sword impacted against his body, he responded with a swing of the dagger.

*Clank!

The clash of metal against metal resounded, and the metallic sparks produced by the collision spread out. Due to the blow, Adler had no choice but to let go of the man's shield and glide through the air before landing softly on the ground.

"You know, if you had gone quietly without messing with me, I probably wouldn't have meddled in your cowardly affairs." Adler's lips curved upward, revealing a captivating smile.

Too bad no one was in the mood to appreciate it.

Realizing he had hit a metal wall, the captain, without taking his eyes off Adler, turned his neck and shouted, "Don't run away, you cowards! I want you to come here immediately!"

The other adventurers kept running while the man who had stayed behind to save the girl furiously brandished the sword to keep the ants at bay.

"...".

"Well, it looks like your dear friends have abandoned you. How does it feel?" Adler glared at the man, whose expression darkened like the bottom of a pot.

"I command you as your captain to come right now!" Heedless of the captain, the other adventurers put more strength into their legs.

"When I get out of here, you damned cowards will witness my fury firsthand. So look forward to it." At the captain's threat, the adventurers' bodies shuddered; however, they rounded the corner, disappearing.

The captain looked at Adler with a venomous expression, "And you, brat, you'd better get ready for what's coming."

"Hey, old man. I've always wondered why some idiots would rather die talking than run away. Seriously, maybe if you talked less and acted more, you'd have a chance of defeating me, and getting out of this place before the monsters kill those two wouldn't be impossible either."

Adler gently stroked the blade of the dagger.

He was pretty calm in the face of such a desperate situation, which set the captain off.

Without a word, because he was in a hurry, the man's muscular arm reached out. The sword in his hands did the air split.

"Oops. I didn't mean for you to get so aggressive either." Adler dodged to the side. He let the bloodstained black blade pass and thrust the dagger into the sword's body.

With a thud, the man's attack was repelled, along with his unbalanced steps. Adler slid close to the man, who had no choice but to drop the heavy sword due to his poor mobility.

"Shit, you'll regret this!"

The man raised the shield as he readied his fists to fight; however, Adler jumped and dodged him.

"Stop this if you can." Adler spun, reached out, and with strength, the dagger left his hand.

"Damn you, brat-!". The man couldn't finish the words as a stinging sensation shot through his neck. With trembling eyes and hands, he touched the wound. A thick, warm liquid seeped through his fingers.

"N-no, it can't be that a brat made me-."

*Thumb!

He, a level 1 adventurer waiting for a chance to advance to the next level, collapsed on the ground. Completely limp.

This was easy...

Adler crouched down on tiptoe to look at the man's face; although he kept his hand tight around his neck, red blood was still gushing through his fingers.

"Mmm, this could be called karma, huh? I wonder if in doing so, it will apply to me as well." Adler muttered and swung the dagger downward again.

The man's head separated from his neck, and blood began to stain the floor.

It was the second similar situation that had presented itself to Adler. Kill or suffer. He had to choose.

As someone "selfish," he preferred to kill rather than suffer himself. He was no hero of justice, much less did he consider himself a saint.

However, while it was true that he had killed in the past, he was not yet used to it. If he were a human, he would undoubtedly have spit out his intestines.

Repressing disgust, he stood up and looked at the man who had full attention on the ants. He averted his gaze to the woman who had warned him to escape and couldn't help but feel sorry for her.

"A nice girl who lost her arm at such a young age. Pity..."

Blood escaped where one of her arms should have been as tears stained the woman's pale cheek. She curled up in one spot as she hugged the missing arm, trying to appease the hard-to-bear phantom pain.

"Girl, do you want me to give you a hand?"

The unfamiliar voice caused the girl to raise her head slightly.

The first thing she saw out of the corner of her eye was the boy's captivating eyes, along with the most attractive features she had ever come to witness in her life. However, she was in no position to appreciate him, so between sobs, she nodded.

She didn't know what the boy had done or how strong he was; she didn't even care. All she wanted now was to get out of this damn place!

"All right, you can rest for the time being." Adler reached down, and under the girl's desperate eyes, he squeezed a vital spot on her neck.

The girl's watery eyes unfocused and closed, slipping into unconsciousness.

"H-hey! What do you think you're doing to Karen?!" The man tried to run to where Adler was standing with the girl. However, the ants cornered him.

"Damn it; it's all that damn traitor's fault!"

Adler paid no attention to the man and tore off a part of the girl's clothing before tying it tightly around the severed arm.

If any more blood escaped, she would be in critical condition.

"All set."

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