They all came out of the alley they had been in.
Ethan looked at them.
His heart was racing a little, but this wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Adventurers often came to him and offered him jobs whenever they needed someone to carry their luggage, but it had been a while, so he was delighted.
He smiled to himself.
People knew about his situation.
Ever since his parents died, his life had been miserable.
Ethan closed his eyes for a moment.
"Is anything wrong?" Sela asked.
Ethan didn't open his eyes.
"No," he replied.
The group continued walking out of town.
They eventually entered the forest.
When they reached the dungeon, Ethan noticed that their luggage and supplies had already been left outside. A knight who was usually on standby was standing nearby, watching over everything.
"Why did they leave everything here?" Ethan wondered.
It seemed like they had gathered all their belongings and left them there.
Ethan walked over and began packing everything.
There was a lot of food and other supplies.
"There's quite a lot of food," Ethan muttered.
"We're going to be inside for a while," Sela explained. "And don't forget, we're all A-rank adventurers."
Strang then showed Ethan his A-rank badge.
Ethan's eyes widened.
"Wow."
He looked at them in amazement.
If only he had even a single drop of mana.
Ethan shook the thought away and continued carrying the luggage.
Soon, they all entered the dungeon.
They reached the first floor.
Sela stayed behind while the other three men moved forward.
Strang wielded a sword.
Leonardo, whom everyone called Leo, also used a sword.
The last man, Tense, wielded a spear surrounded by flames.
Ethan's mouth hung open.
This was his first time seeing an A-rank party in action.
As they moved from the first floor to the second, they encountered monsters along the way.
They defeated them effortlessly.
Even the C-rank golems were no challenge for them.
Ethan stared in amazement.
"Wow…"
No wonder they didn't need someone who could fight well or possess a useful skill. They were all monsters themselves.
"So this is what an A-rank adventurer is capable of," Ethan thought.
He looked toward Tense.
The man raised his spear and charged toward a massive D-rank ogre.
The ogre raised its wooden club and swung it down toward him.
Tense slipped underneath the attack.
Then, he leaped into the air and struck the ogre directly in the forehead with his flaming spear.
The attack pierced through the ogre's forehead.
The other members immediately attacked as well, quickly defeating the remaining monsters.
Tense moved forward and picked up the cores, placing them inside the bag Ethan was carrying.
Sela smiled at Ethan.
"You're keeping up with us pretty well."
Ethan waved his hand.
"No, no. It's fine. As long as I can follow you guys, no matter how fast you move, I'll keep up."
He smiled.
"And the luggage isn't that heavy anyway."
They heard laughter echo through the dungeon.
"Hahaha!"
They continued moving forward, defeating monsters along the way.
Tense kept picking up the monster cores after they defeated them, while Ethan continued carrying the luggage.
After several hours, they finally stopped.
Sela looked around.
"It looks like we won't be able to go any deeper. I'm sure it's already gotten dark outside. We have to find a place to stay and rest here for the night."
Strang then turned toward Ethan.
"Forsaken One, can you cook?"
Ethan nodded.
"I can."
"Good. There should be groceries in that bag. Even with a few small branches, we should be able to light a fire."
Ethan nodded and opened the bag, doing everything he was told.
He searched around for some small branches while Tense stepped forward.
He raised one finger.
A tiny flame flickered on the tip of it.
Tense placed the flame against the branches.
The fire immediately caught.
Ethan then began cooking.
The others sat on nearby rocks inside the dungeon while he prepared the food.
There weren't many monsters in this part of the dungeon.
Whenever one approached, Leo would simply draw his sword and take it down.
Sela continued watching Ethan as he cooked.
Once the food was ready, Ethan served everyone a portion before taking some for himself.
They ate quietly.
After they finished, Sela stood up.
She raised her hand, and a barrier appeared around them.
"This will protect us while we sleep," she said.
With the barrier surrounding them, they settled down for the night.
The following day, immediately after they woke up, they continued moving deeper into the dungeon.
Deeper.
And deeper.
Until they finally reached the thirty-eighth floor.
There were fifty floors in this particular dungeon.
As soon as they arrived on the thirty-eighth floor, they encountered a B-rank Chimera.
The party immediately engaged it.
Leo tried to strike it with his sword, but it dodged and bit his shoulder.
He hissed in pain.
Sela quickly used her healing magic to heal him.
The Chimera was far stronger than the monsters they had encountered before, and for the first time, the party began to struggle.
Sela then raised her hand.
"Protection."
A powerful shield appeared around the party just as the Chimera's attack was about to strike them.
Strang raised his sword and slammed it into the Chimera's face.
Blood immediately streamed from the wound.
Tense then raised his flaming spear and drove it into the Chimera's forehead.
The Chimera let out a terrifying scream.
"AAAAAAH!"
Its massive body slowly collapsed to the ground, blood dripping onto the floor.
Tense pulled his spear free.
Ethan immediately brought out a healing potion and hurried over to Sela, who was panting heavily.
He handed it to her.
Sela smiled at him.
"Thank you."
They then told Ethan to put all the luggage down.
"We're finally at the thirty-eighth floor," Sela said.
"Yes, we are," Ethan replied with a smile.
He placed the luggage down beside them.
Sela leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
The others then slowly surrounded Ethan.
Ethan paused.
"Is something wrong?" he asked.
Sela looked directly at him.
"Do you know the real reason why I actually came to you?"
Ethan frowned.
"You already told me."
Sela's expression changed.
"I received a message from the goddess."
Ethan's heart began pounding.
The others started smiling as well.
Damn it.
What the hell is going on?
Ethan slowly looked up at Sela.
She swallowed hard.
"Do you know that you truly are the Forsaken One?"
She paused.
"And I told you what I am. I am a Saint. I am capable of receiving messages from the goddess."
Ethan stared at her.
"Why are you saying this now? Let's just get out of the dungeon before you say whatever you're trying to say."
He pointed at her.
"You still don't understand," Sela said as her smile disappeared.
"When I received a message from the goddess telling me exactly where you were, I came specifically to this town because of that message."
Ethan frowned.
"And what does that have to do with me?"
Sela smiled.
"The goddess told me that you are trouble."
She paused.
"And that you needed to be killed."
The others immediately burst into laughter.
Strang, Tense, and Leo all laughed together.
Ethan stared at them in disbelief.
"What the hell is funny?"
Sela continued.
"When I met you, I confirmed that you were the very person I had seen in my vision. Surprisingly, I found you at the guild and asked around about you."
She shook her head.
"It turned out you didn't even have a skill. It looked like all that was just a waste of time."
Strang then added,
"The goddess labeled you as trouble, so we weren't sure if you were hiding your ability or keeping a low profile. But after seeing how weak you are, just like people said, how the hell are you trouble?"
Ethan's expression changed.
"Who the hell would want to kill me? I don't even have a skill. I can't even fight properly. What would you gain by killing me?"
He couldn't understand it.
Sela shrugged.
"Well, not personally. It looks like I just wasted my time going deeper and deeper into this dungeon."
She smiled.
"The monsters we encountered should have dealt with you already."
"Yeah."
Ethan forced a smile.
But Sela noticed immediately.
"You always have a fake smile on your face. Even when we first met, you had that same smile on your face."
Ethan's expression darkened.
"Screw you all."
He suddenly pushed Leo's arm aside and bolted.
"Hey! Don't let him get away!" Sela shouted.
Tense remained calm.
"There's no need for you to worry."
Ethan kept running.
I have to get out of here.
I don't want to die.
Not now.
Not today.
My brother is waiting for me.
I've been alone for so long.
No.
No.
No!
He ran as fast as he could.
Then
A sharp pain suddenly tore through his body.
A spear pierced straight through his leg.
"AAAAAH!"
Ethan screamed as his legs gave out.
He collapsed heavily onto the dungeon floor.