In the dungeon of the small town where Zack resided, into its depths, mercenaries dived day after day in search of money and the hope of leveling up.

On the 11th floor of the dungeon, a small group of adventurers were fighting monsters.

“Max! Back away. You've gotten too far ahead” said the leader to one of its members.

"I'm fine! No problem” Max responded as he blocked one of the attacks with his shield.

“That's not what I was referring to. Go back” the leader replied. If it weren't for the fear of attracting the approaching monsters, he would have screamed.

(Idiot) thought the archer in the rearguard. Maybe Max can defend himself against these attacks, but that doesn't mean everything is fine. Not only can he end up surrounded, but even if he is careful, he can also endanger his companions.

Firstly, Max's role on the team is to defend the rest of the group. If any monsters pass him and advance, the rest of the group will be in danger.

As predicted, some monsters left Max aside and approached the rest of the group. Fortunately, the monsters in this dungeon are slow, so they can back away to keep their distance.

"Hey? Where are you going?" Seeing the rest of the team retreat, leaving him isolated, Max began to get nervous. At this point, in no time he would be surrounded by monsters.

There is no other way. There are only four members. If they let the monsters get too close, they will be in danger. That doesn't mean they're going to leave him behind.

"Take it easy. Grab your shield and try to draw their attention” the leader told him calmly. Hearing this, Max began to calm down and adopted a defensive stance.

The rest of the group began the offensive. Under the arrows of their archer, the other two got rid of the two or three monsters approaching them and went to the monsters focused on Max.

Little by little, the monsters surrounding Max were decreasing, and the situation was under control yet again.

The monsters in the dungeon have animal characteristics. Because the city is surrounded by forests, and separated from other cities, the dungeon acquired nature characteristics. Not only monsters but even magical plants can be found casually growing on it.

When they defeated the last of the monsters, the others approached Max. Compared to the other three, Max's figure was pitiful. His body was full of scratches and bruises, and his clothes were torn apart by the monsters' attack. Even his shield was on its last legs.

(Idiot) the archer thought when he saw Max's state.

“Let's leave it for today” Seeing the situation of their partner, the leader couldn't help but sigh. Under these conditions, it was not appropriate to continue advancing.

“N-No. I can follow. This is nothing- Ouch” Max tried to pretend to be fine, only to feel terrible pain once he tried to lift his shield.

Sigh

His companions sighed when they saw what he was trying to do.

"Let's go back"

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…

Max and the group left the dungeon disappointed. They originally planned to stay a couple of days in the dungeon and collect some resources from within, including animal skins. Coming back so soon is disappointing.

The group is made up of the leader, Ron, and its other three members: Max, Rea, and Peter.

Peter is the archer, who shoots arrows from the rear, and Max is in charge of protecting the group while the other two are in charge of attacking their enemies.

The four arrived in the city a few months ago in search of a dungeon of their level. Although there are many dungeons in the world, they are not extremely common, and most of the known dungeons are occupied by different groups living there.

Most of the time, the dungeons are occupied by nobles from that territory who use them to strengthen their troops.

Without the king's laws preventing a single person or group from controlling a dungeon, no sane person would even let foreigners enter in them.

In most cases, foreigners can only access part of the dungeon. The rest is used by local lords. Even in these circumstances, it is not strange for nobles to ask for an extra fee for their pockets in exchange for 'safety' for the people who enter.

The Kingdom usually turns a blind eye to this behavior, and ordinary people cannot do anything against the nobles. If they could help it, they wouldn't enter the dungeon, but that's something almost no one wants. Leveling up without killing monsters is too difficult and slow.

The society of this world is too closed. Everyone wants to level up. To do so, they must level up. Leveling up is the only way for most people to succeed. If you increase your rank, not only will you become more powerful, but the forces of the kingdom will try to recruit you. You will receive all kinds of benefits for your services.

It is very common to hear the story of people who, after moving up a level, obtained fame, wealth, and glory and became famous throughout history.

Everyone wants to be the protagonist of their own story.

“Max, are you okay?” Rhea asked.

During the entire journey, the group has been silent. Until they left the dungeon, Max has been behind them. It's only now that they noticed the state Max is in.

Aside from the poor condition of his clothes, Max is not in good shape. Aside from having difficulty keeping up with the group, it seems like he doesn't even have enough strength to carry his own equipment.

In front of them, Max was breathing heavily. It seemed like he could barely stand upright. The beating he received from the monsters turned into something more serious than he thought.

“I-I'm fine. “I just need to rest a little”

BAM

After saying those words, Max fell to the ground. He seemed to have run out of strength after finishing speaking.

“M-Max!” Rhea shouted in alarm, and she quickly came to help him. The other two seemed to be hesitating about what to do.

“Idiot” said the archer.

"Wait. Aren't you going to leave it here? We are a team” Rea said when she saw that Peter was not stopping to help.

“Hump. In the first place, it was his fault for the state he was in. None of this would have happened if he hadn't decided to move forward without us. What happens to him is his responsibility” And with that, he continued advancing to the guild.

Seeing the attitude of his companion, Rhea looked at his leader with unsure eyes as if wondering if he was going to leave, too. Seeing this, Ron found himself at a crossroads. To be honest, if he could, he would also want to leave.

The dungeon exploration that was supposed to last a couple of days only lasted a couple of hours. All the effort of coordinating the team was ruined. However, he can't do that.

The moment they started talking, they attracted the crowd. People are looking at him. If he decides to leave now, everyone will know. They will get the impression that he is an unreliable leader who abandons his colleagues when they are no longer needed.

The population of adventurers in the city is scarce. A good reputation is essential in this world. Otherwise, no one will team up with you.

Peter is still too young, and the time he has been working as a mercenary is not long either. He doesn't even know it, but his actions now will cause him to have problems in the future. Nobody wants a partner who abandons his teammates when they have problems.

Ron sighed.

(All I want is to level up. Is it really so difficult?)

“Let me help you” Ron said with an awkward smile.

The two carried Max to the guild, where they let him sit down, and examined his wound.

"I'm fine. I need to get some rest” Max said as he breathed heavily.

“There is no way you are okay. "You can't even stand up" said Ron, examining the wound.

"It's severe?" Rhea asked.

"Don't know. “We need a professional”

Ron went to the bar and asked the bartender, too accustomed to seeing people coming from the dungeon injured.

"Excuse me"

"Yes?"

"Do you know where is a doctor?"