Chương 75: Chapter 73 – Unforeseen Trouble

The first battle had ended almost as quickly as it began. Rusty stood in the aftermath, his blade still dripping with lizardman blood, while Odelette wiped her dagger clean with a quick flick of her wrist. Layla and Norkas, who had expertly loosed their arrows in support, exchanged a glance, both silently impressed by the seamless efficiency of their team.

"Well, that went smoother than I expected." Layla said, her voice betraying a hint of relief. Norkas on the other hand was more surprised at the feat he just saw, even somewhat worried at the strength of the temporary comrade he saw.

"Yeah, mostly because of our friend Albert…" Odelette on the other hand was excited while she crouched near the lizardman. She rummaged through its gear with her quick hands trying to find anything that could be pawned off later.

"Did you see him send that lizardman flying?"

"Yeah, that was surprising…" Norkas, the archer, couldn't shake the growing suspicion as he observed Rusty. The sheer power Rusty displayed felt unnatural - far beyond what someone with just one class should be capable of. But despite his misgivings, Norkas hesitated to confront his new companion. Having someone that strong in the party wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Besides, this was a guild-sanctioned test; there was no immediate reason to believe Rusty was one of those notorious adventurer hunters who preyed on the weak. The thought nagged at him, but Norkas reminded himself that the guild had safeguards in place. Hidden members were stationed at various points, ensuring stronger monsters didn't stray too close. This was a controlled environment, after all, not a lawless wilderness where crimes went unnoticed.

For now, he would keep his concerns to himself and hope his instincts were wrong. With a strong tank at the front, their chances of passing would increase and this was enough for him to take a chance.

'I think that archer is wary of you Rusty, it would be better if you toned it down when fighting monsters, you're still an E-rank monster, something even Iron adventurers can't fight alone.' For a moment, Rusty forgot that he was there just to pass a test. His body instinctively reacted to the monsters in front of him, everything becoming a blur as his instincts took over.

Before leaving, Alexander had warned him not to use all of his skills, but it was hard to conceal the advanced passive weapon techniques he had trained in.

'It's not my fault that they are this weak… the beetles were stronger.'

'Sure, even in the same rank, some creatures and classes will be stronger than the others, you are probably above all the other E-ranks, maybe already a plus.'

'Should I be worried?'

'That archer seems to have caught on, the two others I don't think so… but at most, they will probably assume that you're just hiding your status, which isn't anything that rare.' Rusty silently acknowledged Alexander's advice. His instincts as a former dungeon monster made it difficult to gauge human expectations. He was far stronger than an average E-rank adventurer, something the others seemed to notice despite their best efforts to mask it.

He needed to be more cautious if he didn't want to draw suspicion, especially from Norkas.

"Let's keep moving." Norkas said, his voice calm but his eyes still flickering toward Rusty from time to time.

"The sooner we reach the checkpoint, the better. We don't know what else might be lurking deeper in the dungeon. Let us get back in formation and go." The team moved forward, more aware now of their surroundings. The walls seemed to close in as they navigated through the twisting passages. Every step felt heavier, the oppressive silence broken only by their footsteps and the occasional sound of shifting stone. Odelette darted ahead again, checking for traps and disarming any that she found along the way.

Rusty was not far behind her, ready to block any potential threats that might target the two archers. He was now more mindful of his surroundings and party members. By adopting a more measured pace, he allowed the others to shine. Layla and Norkas worked in tandem, taking out smaller threats from a distance. Rusty's main task was to keep the monsters focused on him, while they picked them off with their arrows.

Meanwhile, Odelette attacked their blind spots, sometimes using her daggers to finish them off, and other times to weaken them by slicing their leg tendons. As they rounded another corner, the party came across a larger chamber, dimly lit by the pale glowstones embedded in the walls. At the far end of the room was a stone pedestal, atop which rested a small, intricately carved box. It emitted a faint glow, almost as if trying to lure the adventurers in.

The sight reminded Rusty of the treasure room on the tenth floor, causing him to pause and scan the area, wary of any hidden monsters guarding it.

"That must be one of the tests, the guilds markings are on the chest." He whispered while urging everyone else to stop.

"But this looks too easy. The room's too open… There's probably a trap waiting." Odelette grinned, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Leave it to me!" It was a strange feeling to be in this party, even though they weren't together long Rusty was starting to see the advantages. He wasn't very nimble nor could he detect the pressure plates hidden in this chamber but the little halfling could. It was similar to the room he trapped adventurers in but the placement was a lot more random here. Eventually she arrived at the chest area but held herself back from just taking it.

"Hm…"

"Any problems Odelette?" Norkas called out to their thief who had stopped at the"If I lift this, it's going to trigger something... but don't worry, I've dealt with these traps before! This looks like an old model and it won't activate based on exact weight, but it will trigger if there's too little," This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. She explained, her eyes fixed on the small chest before her.

Though her head barely reached above the stone pedestal, she was still able to reach it. From her spatial satchel, she pulled out a large rock, one she could barely lift, and placed it beside the chest. Despite the added weight, the trap didn't react, allowing her to carefully lower the container.

"See, what did I say, easy like taking candy from an ogre!" She hefted the chest over her head and started running in their direction. The sight of such a short person carrying something so large was oddly amusing to Rusty. However, his amusement was fleeting, as their victory was short-lived. With the chest in their possession, they only needed to open it and move on to the next location, but someone had other plans.

"Wait… who is there?" Layla called out to the party while pointing towards one of the open corridors. Soon from within a dagger came flying out and it collided with the rock Odelette left on the pedestal. The dagger hit the rock with a sharp clang, sending small chips of stone flying. Odelette, caught off guard, nearly dropped the chest in surprise. Norkas was the first to react, his bow already drawn, eyes narrowing as he scanned the dim corridor where the dagger had come from.

Layla quickly followed suit, an arrow notched and aimed at the dark opening.

"Show yourse…" Before Norkas could finish the sentence, the rock that had been hit rolled forward and down from the pressure plate it was on. As the rock slid off the pedestal, a deep rumbling noise echoed through the chamber. The trap had been triggered. The corridor from which the dagger came slammed shut and they found themselves trapped inside. Everyone's eyes widened in horror as a strange white mist suddenly erupted around them.

"I… it's sleeping mist.. d-don't…" Odelette tried to warn everyone as she dropped the chest but even she had already been affected by the gas. All of them tried covering their mouths with something to fight off the effects, but the mist was too potent. Odelette, the first to inhale the sleep-inducing gas, swayed unsteadily before collapsing to the ground. Norkas and Layla, their bows still drawn, coughed and staggered as the mist overwhelmed them.

Rusty, being immune to poisons and gases, was the only one unaffected and wondered what he should do in this situation, luckily Alexander was there to raise a good point.

"Be calm Rusty, it's just sleeping mist, it won't kill them. This test was implemented by the guild so they probably chose this route for a reason."

"What do you mean?"

"There probably won't be any monsters appearing and now that the trap was triggered, probably some guild officials are already on their way here but…"

"Is there a problem?"

"Whoever knocked that rock off its pedestal is still out there, and they might be targeting someone here. We need to be careful. First, check Odelette's satchel - if she's a thief, she may have some special smelling salts to counteract the effect, or perhaps a potion." There was truth in Alexander's words. It would be strange for the guild to set up a trap that was too deadly for the candidates. However, that didn't mean there wasn't real danger.

Rusty knew how these kinds of traps worked, and soon the sealed pathways would reopen. Whoever threw that dagger, or even monsters could flood the chamber, quickly massacring his unconscious party. Rusty wasted no time, his target was Odelette's satchel which wasn't much different then the one he took from the previous dungeon. He crouched beside her, his metallic fingers swiftly rummaging through her satchel.

As expected, she had an assortment of tools: lockpicks, a small set of vials, and there, a small bottle with a sharp, acrid smell. Rusty couldn't really smell it due to his lack of nostrils but could use his identification skill to confirm that these were the smelling salts Alexander was talking about.

'The place is clearing up, place them against the wall and then make them smell the salts. It won't wake them up immediately but it should work.' He followed the instructions and repositioned the three against one of the walls. Then, he popped the cork from the small bottle and held it under their noses, starting with Norkas. After a moment, he noticed an adverse reaction to the smell, and his first party member finally began to wake up.

However, just as Norkas was regaining consciousness, the walls that had sealed themselves began to shift and rumble, opening up to let whoever was outside in.

"Ugh… what…?" The archer felt groggy but the sight of an ominous man wearing iron armor jolted him awake. He felt out of it but quickly remembered the incident with the sleeping mist. He could see two other people next to him but before he could check on them he was handed a small bottle with a rather rancid smell.

"Use this to wake the others."

"Huh?" At first, he wasn't sure why he had been given the item, but soon the reason became clear. Not far from them, a group of monsters began to file in. Most were the same Adolescent Lizardmen they had faced before, but among them were higher-ranked ones. These stood half a head taller, with more muscle and superior weaponry. Classification: Lizardman L5 E- Type: Humanoid/Lizardfolk Rusty left to engage the group in combat, following Alexander's instructions.

It was better for his party members to provide him with ranged support rather than for him to fight them alone. He was aware that if he allowed the three to perish, he might fail the guild exam. Retaking the Iron Adventurer test would require waiting an entire month, which would make rescuing Gleam highly improbable. He didn't hesitate as the new group of Lizardmen poured into the chamber. The higher-ranked ones carried better-crafted spears and shields, their scales gleaming in the dim glowstone light.

There were two of the larger ones in the back and five of the smaller ones in the front. They were not enemies that he would be normally afraid of but this iron suit he was wearing and the dead mummified Albert inside just made things harder. This was a team endeavor, and Rusty was not alone. If what Alexander had told him was true, the three wouldn't simply run away but would actually assist him - something that intrigued him.

He had faced other adventurers before, and more often than not, they did attempt to work together. With that in mind, he raised his shield and stopped holding back. The first monster he collided with was sent flying once again. As the first Lizardman sailed through the air, crashing into one of its companions with a sickening thud, Rusty stood firm, his shield raised and sword at the ready. It was a strange feeling, fighting for a purpose other than leveling up or gathering resources.

He could see the two young women slowly rousing from their slumber. He was the only thing standing between them and being mauled by the humanoid lizards, their survival depended on him not abandoning them in this time of need.

"Wake up, Layla, Odelette! We've got company! Wake up, we have to help Albert." He could hear Norkas shouting at the two to wake up to help, even shaking the smaller one until she responded. Layla groaned, her eyelids fluttering as she fought to focus on the approaching threat. Odelette, recovered faster only to see most of her items on the ground. However, instead of asking questions she just grabbed her daggers and got ready to aid her new party member.

'Hah…' Rusty held off the charging monsters, and even when they jabbed at him with their spears, they couldn't do more than leave scratches. Fortunately, they had no blunt weapons—just blades, arrows, and other sharp objects to poke him with. He clashed with them multiple times, usually managing to block most of the damage with his shield while landing a few direct hits with his longsword. However, the two evolved lizards, having had enough of merely watching, finally charged at him, their sabers raised.

The two evolved lizardmen stormed forward, their sabers gleaming under the dim glowstone light. Rusty braced himself, recognizing that these larger monsters posed a much more serious threat than their smaller counterparts. With a low growl, one of the lizardmen lunged, its saber aimed directly at Rusty's chest. He raised his shield just in time, the impact reverberating through his arm. The second lizardman, quicker than its size suggested, flanked him, slashing horizontally at his exposed side.

Rusty was expecting to get hit and lowered his stance to receive the blow but right before the saber connected, an arrow embedded itself in the monster's eye socket. The Lizardman hissed out in agony as it stumbled backward clutching at the arrow protruding from its eye. The other adventurers had gotten back on their feet and joined the fight. However, one question still lingered - who had thrown that dagger, and where were they now?