Lukas and Klaus started walking side by side. Klaus cleared his throat and looked at the items Lukas was carrying. Most of them were potions, but he had a few weapons. "Why are you carrying these?" He asked.

"They are mine. Of course, I would be carrying them with me."

"I know they are yours; I wonder why you carry them like this. Wouldn't it be better if you had bought an item bag?"

"An item bag is costly." Lukas made up a lie. But it was a fact that item bags were expensive. Their overpriced prices made sense since item bags could not be created. Besides, they could only carry a few items.

"I see. But why carry so many potions? And you already have these two weapons... Why other swords?" Klaus had already seen Lukas' bloodstained blades, so he didn't understand why he had other swords with him, even if only two more.

"You are asking too many questions," Lukas answered him. Lukas was annoyed and didn't want to talk about it. Realizing this, Klaus narrowed his eyes and changed the subject.

"So, did you meet the tiger?"

"Yes, I met it."

"What?! Is it serious?!" Klaus was surprised.

"What's so amazing about that?"

"It's a strong monster. You could have been killed."

"I ran away. It is powerful. I was stupid and tried to fight it. My dagger couldn't even pierce its skin; it was frustrating."

"I see." Klaus smiled bitterly. "You must be a novice player, right? Since you are inside this dungeon."

"Yes, I became a player not long ago. I'm Rank E at the moment."

"Rank E? You should thank God very much for being able to escape that monster alive!"

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"I'm an atheist."

"Oh..."

"Just kidding. But I was lucky; the tiger didn't seem interested in me. Maybe I'm too weak for that monster to care about me." Lukas said in a calm tone, but he was irritated.

He wanted to find that monster in the future to kill it. But he doesn't think he will have that opportunity.

"Hahaha. You are funny. So, tell me more about the tiger. Do you know what kind of skills it uses? We saw a video, and apparently, it uses ice magic, but we don't know about its other skills."

Hearing Klaus, Lukas stopped walking and turned to face him.

"A video?"

"Exactly. A player went inside the dungeon and recorded a video of the monster. That was one of the reasons Elis decided to come; he realized that the Phoenix group would not be enough."

'So the name of that group is Phoenix. What a cheesy name.'

"That guy is courageous. He comes here to record a video of that monster. I couldn't do something like that." Lukas said.

"He is an idiot. But thanks to him, we could identify the monster. We are looking for the player who recorded this." Because the video had been posted, Elis and the other people in the association thought that the owner of the video was already out of the dungeon.

Klaus had no idea that the video's author was at his side.

"So, could you tell me more about the tiger?"

"I don't have much information to share. I found the tiger and tried to attack it but ran away when I couldn't do anything against it. I'm not proud of that, but I'd be a fool not to run away."

"Well, when you can't win a fight, the ideal is to run away. After all, dying is the end of everything." Klaus gave Lukas a sincere smile. " The exit is near here. You were very close."

"How do you know?"

"We marked it. Look." Klaus pointed to the wall, where a mark made of paint was. "Elis left that mark where we passed, plus he also has the ability to map the dungeon."

"How convenient."

"Isn't it? But in compensation, he's not very good at fighting. He's a good support."

"And that woman? She didn't seem to like me very much."

"Yuri? Don't worry about her. She's a little unfriendly, but she's a nice person. Don't tell anyone I told you this, but she's really into Elis."

"I'll keep it a secret..." Lukas didn't know why Klaus said that to him, and he didn't care. From then on, he continued in silence as he listened to Klaus talk about uninteresting things.

He was a chatterbox.

"It's over there." Just ahead was the exit.

The portal was the same color. Nothing had changed.

"Now that I've brought you this far, I'm returning. And don't be surprised; quite a few people are out there."

Lukas nodded and stepped forward.

####

*Almost one hour earlier.*

Elis had arrived at the place where the dungeon was located. There, he found Klaus and also Falcon.

"Where are the other two?" Elis asked.

"They couldn't make it, but they said 'good luck'." Klaus smiled bitterly, and Falcon remained silent. Yuri, who was just behind Elis, stepped forward. She posed for the cameras around her.

Several photos were taken.

"Yuri, we are not here for a photo essay."

"I know, but I refuse to look bad in a photo, Elis."

"Okay, okay. Are you ready to go in?"

"Aren't you going to give these guys an interview first? They're desperate." Klaus looked at the crowd of reporters around him. With each passing minute, more people were arriving.

The incident was becoming more significant than expected.

"I don't intend to do that at the moment. Now let's go."

Elis stepped forward, and Falcon stood beside him. Further back, Yuri and Klaus looked calmly at the backs of their companions.

"We're entering!" When Elis shouted those words, something came out of the portal. From there, four people came out. They were with tired expressions and some wounds on their bodies.

Elis knew them very well. It was the Phoenix group—the group he had sent to their death.