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,”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

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!”