"I'm surprised you're still alive, Mr. Gargoyle."

"I almost died just now because of you!"

"You mean you're mad because I failed to finish you, right?"

—"Enough, both of you!"—

Lynn and George's argument was cut short by George's party—the trio of a female mage, swordsman, and priest—restraining him, while Arezu grabbed Lynn by her robe and lifted her up like a mother cat carrying her kitten.

It was George's party, along with another group of five adventurers from the Annual Caravan, that Lynn and Arezu had encountered at the edge of the southern forest. Or, to be more precise, the group Lynn had "mistakenly" attacked, bombarding them with a barrage of ice blocks.

"Is this all of you, George?" Arezu asked, taking over the conversation from Lynn, who was pouting beside him.

Snapping out of his anger from being hit squarely in the face by an ice block, George sat down on the ground before replying to Arezu.

"This is everyone in our group, though another party managed to escape in the opposite direction from us. That's all who are left from the Annual Caravan—those who were at the Adventurers Guild before the town became a dungeon."

They didn't stand a chance. George continued explaining to Lynn and Arezu what had happened at the Adventurers Guild—just a minute after the bell rang and its chime ended, every local adventurer and staff member at the guild had suddenly attacked anyone from the Annual Caravan.

They were overwhelmed not only by numbers but also by sheer combat ability. After all, they were facing not just silver-rank adventurers but a gold-rank as well.

"Have you ever heard the name Crystal Blade, Arezu?"

"Of course, even a country bumpkin like Mr. Arezu should know the gold-rank warrior adventurer, Crystal Blade—right, Mr. Arezu?"

Although he wanted to retort at Lynn for calling him a country bumpkin again, Arezu averted his eyes, unable to respond, silently admitting he didn't know who this Crystal Blade was.

"Mr. Country Bumpkin?" Lynn teased, grinning mischievously while waiting for him to rely on her again.

"Please explain who Crystal Blade is, Lynn," Arezu pleaded, a bit annoyed at her smug look.

A gold-rank warrior adventurer wielding a glowing crystal-blade lance and spear—that was the famed Crystal Blade, one of the local adventurers in Mirare Town.

"You've been to this town before, and you've never even heard of him?"

"I told you, Lynn, I didn't stay in this town long enough to remember everyone."

"If it helps jog your memory, he's probably the one who destroyed my elegant ice bridge."

—"You encountered the Visage of Crystal Blade?!"—

Lynn and Arezu's conversation terrified George's group at the mention of Crystal Blade, yet at the same time, it piqued their interest.

Now it was Lynn and Arezu's turn to tell George their story: how they had come from the Crafters Guild, that there were still others taking shelter there, and that neither the northern nor western gate was the Dungeon Gate that could lead them outside.

They also told them about the last group of adventurers who had tried to reach the Crafters Guild for shelter, only to be caught by the Visages.

"How's the Crafters Guild holding up? Can we still take shelter there?" George asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Go there and you'll all die," Lynn said flatly, and Arezu didn't argue.

It wasn't that the Crafters Guild was about to fall—the raging Visages were still swarming the building, but Beatrix and the others held their ground behind the barricades. Even the Visage of Crystal Blade had somehow halted its assault and retreated toward the town square.

What truly endangered George and his group was their condition. Most of them were already injured, not from Lynn's barrage of ice blocks, but from their desperate battle to escape the Adventurers Guild. The fact that their priest hadn't healed them with his divine blessings meant he had already exhausted himself.

"It would be best for your group to stay hidden here in the forest."

Arezu's suggestion was quickly accepted by George's group, considering they had no idea where else to go—and that Lynn outright refused when they offered to help, after she mentioned that she and Arezu were heading to the Crystal Mirror Dungeon to check on the commander's quest to conquer it.

Saying "no" wasn't the worst of it, Lynn had outright belittled them, calling them useless and nothing but dead weight.

"If you're worried about them, you could have just said so. There's no need to be so harsh," Arezu said, recalling how rude Lynn had been to George's group as the two of them continued traveling through the forest toward the dungeon, still in disguise.

"Who said I was worried about them, Mr. Country Bumpkin?"

It took another hour for Lynn and Arezu to reach the Crystal Mirror Dungeon without encountering a single Visage in the forest.

"What the heck is this?" Lynn exclaimed, shocked at what she saw at the makeshift gate.

"Why would they make a dungeon map like it's some kind of tourist town guide?!"

"It's a labyrinth down there. It's better to have a detailed map."

"Where's the adventure in that?!"

Despite Lynn's disdain, the two of them decided to follow the safe, direct route toward the dungeon's center, where the Dungeon Master and Core resided.

As they were about to enter the Gate—

"Having second thoughts, Mr. Country Bumpkin?" Lynn asked, noticing Arezu's uneasiness.

"Aren't you even scared to see the Visage of your Envy?"

"I told you, didn't I? For someone as beautiful, elegant, generous, kind, and worship-worthy as myself, why would I envy anyone else?"

Lynn never missed the chance to flaunt her vanity, but at least it helped ease a bit of Arezu's anxiety.

"Let's go and find them, Lynn."

The two traversed the underground labyrinth, retracing the path Brandon and Liz's party had taken.

They didn't encounter a Visage, since the first group had already cleared them, but something even more dangerous awaited them at the place where Brandon had fought the Visage of the Soldiers' Commander.

"Mr. Arezu!" Lynn warned in panic, drawing her ancient relic dagger to cast her divine blessing.

Arezu realized the threat approaching and grabbed his halberd-axe, activating his combat skill.

"Barrier"

'Fortress'

The moment Lynn conjured a barrier to protect them, Arezu followed with his defensive aura. Their surroundings were instantly engulfed by a blinding white light.

What followed made them question whether they would survive at all.

—BOOM!!!—

A thunderous roar echoed through the underground labyrinth, igniting the very air. The explosion unleashed a powerful shockwave that shook both the dungeon and the town above.

Lynn's barrier shattered under the sheer force of the blast, leaving Arezu's defensive aura to absorb and disperse the remainder of the shockwave.

Thankfully, they survived—but at a cost. Arezu's halberd-axe had begun to crack from absorbing the immense force.

"What the heck were you thinking, casting that mystic spell underground, Ms. Sweet-Sylvie?!"

"They're probably fighting a strong Visage. We did the same thing before, so it's not like we can complain," Arezu said, remembering when Lynn cast her mystic spell Glacier inside a cave to halt its collapse—which almost froze them to death—back during the goblin-slaying quest.

"Hmph! ... I'm really gonna complain once we find them!"

Though still feeling annoyed, Lynn led the way—or rather, pushed Arezu from behind to make him move faster—so she could immediately express her complaint to Sylvie for casting a powerful mystic spell inside a confined dungeon that could have endangered other adventurers nearby.

Continuing their exploration, Lynn and Arezu reached the deepest part of the dungeon, standing before a massive double gate that led to the chamber of the Dungeon Master and the Core.

They couldn't hear any sounds of battle from the other side. Though it might have been because the gate was sealed tightly enough to be soundproof, it could also mean the fight had already ended. The fact that they hadn't encountered Liz's party on their way here, nor seen them coming out, only made Lynn and Arezu more worried.

"The guide says the door can still be opened even if there's a party fighting inside—" Lynn said, referring to the information written on the back of the dungeon map, "—and that it takes a minute for the door to fully close again."

"Then let's go see what's behind this gate."

Taking a deep breath to calm his fear and steady his trembling hands, Arezu pushed the massive double doors open—only to witness a battle that was just about to end.

"Mr. Arezu..."

"0201"

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