At the same time Wade and Stella were on their adventure—
Members of the Morning Wind party—Gibbs, Ellie, and Dany—who had been waiting in the swamp area, suddenly found themselves in a painfully awkward situation.
"Sorry! We're so sorry! We'll leave immediately!"
An unfamiliar adventurer party stood before them, bowing so low their foreheads nearly touched the mud.
"It's okay, it's okay. You didn't mean it. We forgive you," Ellie replied with a tight smile. The last time she saw so many people bowing like this was at a funeral. The mood was… uncomfortable, to say the least.
"We're really sorry!"
The other group's leader—a frail-looking mage named Zilaj, captain of a party called Falling Hammer—looked completely hopeless, like a man whose world was collapsing. He repeated "I'm sorry" like a prayer, over and over.
So, what happened?
"Our party's all newbies. We haven't memorized all the rules yet. We didn't know there's a cooldown period after entering a teleport gate. Sorry for causing trouble!"
The rookie team had lined up behind Stella's group at the dungeon teleport gate but forgot to wait the mandatory few minutes before stepping in. As a result, they ended up colliding with Morning Wind inside.
Honestly, it was a freak coincidence. Even though the gap between their entries was less than two minutes, Morning Wind's experience let them take shortcuts and move fast, while Falling Hammer wandered aimlessly through the swamp. Despite entering just a hundred seconds apart, they'd never crossed paths—until now.
They met because Dany heard screaming in the distance and rushed over to find the rookies surrounded by monsters. If not for Dany, they would've become toad food.
"The chance of this happening is only about two percent," Dany muttered, clicking his tongue twice. "Guess I should buy a lottery ticket."
"We're so sorry..." Zilaj repeated weakly.
"All right, all right," Ellie said, helping each of them up one by one.
"Is this really okay?" Zilaj asked nervously. His party had broken the rules and nearly caused a disaster. The other side were silver-ranked adventurers. If they wanted revenge, he and his friends wouldn't stand a chance.
The thought made his back break out in cold sweat. He bent down to bow again—only to feel an iron grip clamp on his shoulder.
When he looked up, Ellie was smiling—but it was the kind of smile that promised hellfire if he tried bowing again.
It screamed: Bow one more time, and I'll make sure your parents bow at your funeral instead.
"Eek!"
The young mage shot upright like a soldier under inspection.
"Captain..." A timid little girl tugged at his sleeve, her brows pinched with worry. "Let's just go..."
Counting Zilaj, Falling Hammer had four members: the shy little priestess, a glasses-wearing magic swordsman, a chubby heavy-armored warrior, and Zilaj himself. All were rookies, their faces still fresh and green.
Starting out and already tackling Sein Dungeon? Bold move. One night here, and they'd lose that greenness real quick.
"Ah... We'll be taking our leave, then," Zilaj said with a stiff smile.
Morning Wind didn't say anything—until Gibbs suddenly spoke.
"Wait."
Cold sweat broke out on Zilaj's forehead. "Is there... something you need?"
"You're already here. Why not join us?" Gibbs's calm voice delivered a completely unexpected invitation.
"Huh?"
Falling Hammer's entire party froze, staring at them in shock. Morning Wind looked back at them with no obvious emotion.
"After all, if you leave now, you'll have to wait a long time before coming back in. What a waste," Ellie said, smiling faintly. Then her eyes dropped to the garish flowers pinned to their chests. "Those are 'Flowers of Victory,' right? Let me guess—you bought them from the old lady selling flowers near the teleport gate? She told you wearing one makes you invincible in battle, didn't she?"
Zilaj flushed scarlet. She nailed it.
"Only noobs fall for that scam," Dany sneered without mercy—then grinned suddenly and added:
"But hey, people without dreams wouldn't even bother buying a good-luck charm. And you—paying out of your own pocket for your teammates? Must be a decent leader. So letting you tag along isn't a problem."
"Eh?" Zilaj blinked, stunned. Yes, he had paid for the flowers, but how did they know?
Do I even need to guess? Dany thought. Look at your team—they're all in dirt-cheap gear. No way they could afford flowers. But you? Clothes are rags, sure, but that staff? Not bad.
Zilaj didn't care about the reasoning anymore. Tears of gratitude welled up. Who would've thought they'd run into such understanding people?
This was a golden opportunity! Silver-ranked adventurers as guides—they could learn so much!
"Thank you so much!"
"Just remember to buy me that lottery ticket later as repayment for saving your lives," Dany said with a wave.
Ellie sighed in relief—at least Zilaj didn't bow again.
Gibbs stayed silent, but the corners of his mouth curled ever so slightly.
The two parties decided to team up. They lit a campfire and rested while waiting for Stella to return.
They ended up waiting the entire morning.
Stella never showed up. And they were wasting Falling Hammer's time too. Morning Wind couldn't wait any longer and decided to move on without her.
Both parties had the same goal: finding those specialty cooking ingredients rumored to grow in a hidden part of the dungeon.
Morning Wind suspected the area was in uncharted territory, maybe the middle or lower layers. Everyone knew Sein Dungeon had forest and mineral layers—adventurers unlucky enough to trigger teleport traps usually ended up there.
Except most didn't live long enough to explore—elite monsters killed them instantly.
So far, adventurers knew of three layers. Whether more existed was anyone's guess.
Morning Wind wanted to head deeper, but Falling Hammer had a lead.
"I bought this from an old man who sells those special ingredients," Zilaj said, pulling out a grimy apron that reeked of food—an impossible smell this far inland near Bedford City.
So he was the one who bought that apron from Jack!
Grateful for Morning Wind's kindness, Zilaj didn't hesitate to share his secret.
"You're going to use a tracking spell?" Ellie asked.
"Yes. I'm just worried my mana won't last long enough to keep the spell active," Zilaj said, glancing at her. "If I can't maintain it, please take over."
He knelt, drew a magic circle, placed the apron in its center, and began chanting. Soon, the cloth glowed faintly, floated upward, and drifted toward the swamp, leaving a shimmering trail behind.
To everyone's surprise, it headed toward the edge of the swamp!
Either the tracking spell had failed—or the gourmet zone was a lot closer than anyone thought.
After a short pursuit, the cloth halted in front of a mountain wall.
The swamp was encircled by mountains forming the dungeon's boundary. Nobody had ever bothered climbing them.
"We're at the end?" Zilaj looked around in confusion. Bare stone stretched in every direction. No roads.
What now? Dig a hole through the mountain?
"I can't... go on..."
The chubby warrior groaned, leaning heavily against the rock face—
"Ah!"
He suddenly toppled backward with a startled yelp.
"What happened?!"
Everyone turned toward the noise—and froze.
"Ow, that hurt... Why did I just fall like that?" the warrior grumbled, rubbing his head. Then he sniffed the air. "Wait... what's that smell? Smells amazing..."
"Kruger—behind you," Zilaj stammered, eyes wide with disbelief.
"There's a huge hole behind you!"