“Let’s get going then,” Arakawa said, then she turned to me. “Ah, feel free to take as many unrefined mana stones as you please,” she said as she handed me the bag.

It’s strange how fast a week has passed, the journey from the first floor to the thirty-fifth has been going pretty well in my opinion. Not to mention we are students.

One thing you need to understand is that while we may have more potential than the average person, we aren’t as experienced. Since some people have more mana than others, it’s more difficult to control it.

Well, enough of that.

In the past week nothing noteworthy has happened, the battles have been under control after the whole ambush in the first place.

“Umm…Taetel?”

“Hm?”

A female voice interrupted my thoughts, I had to look downwards to catch a glimpse of her. A girl with navy blue hair and indigo eyes, Cynthia.

I wonder why she’s talking to me?

“What are you doing, we have to get going,” said Rona.

“…right,” Cynthia whispered.

What’s her deal?

I walked in front since I was the tank for the team, there wasn’t another substitute. I already crushed some unrefined mana stones, the dust being used to lure weaker monsters, which in turn gives more unrefined mana stones, aka ums for short.

All the unused dust was put into tiny bags for more space. I also used them so it didn’t interrupt the flow of finding resources.

As we made it to a narrow area of the dungeon, indicating entering floor thirty-five. I scanned the area, and when I found it safe and suitable for our next farming location, I dipped my fingers in a bag containing the dust.

I barely let the dust sprinkle around more obvious areas, opting in hiding them. This worked as a charm as I heard footsteps approaching the area. However, I quickly differentiate something strange by the silhouettes.

They appeared human.

“All of you head back into our previous base. I’ll go confront them, if they turn out to be human I won’t return. As such proceed without me,” I whispered.

The five of them clearly had objections, but they knew this was the best course of action. The group of presumably humans aren’t aware of the other five presence. In any case, should I try to hide or retreat they’ll have a clear way to find me, I still have the dust on my fingers.

What makes things worse is any sudden action like cleaning my fingers will gather their attention. It’ll show how panicked I am, possibly leading to the rest of the group being found.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

This should come as no surprise, but dungeons are connected. Remember when I said the entrance wasn’t as bad as others? Well, since there are lots of entrances, people can also be in the same dungeon.

Encountering groups isn't exactly uncommon, however it’s more unlikely in higher floors since the area is complicated compared to the simple paths of the first floor.

Worst case scenario, the group is hunting down people in a dungeon, looting their bodies. Yeah, that’s a thing. I don’t want to risk such a situation happening to us.

Following my advice they quickly headed back towards the tiny cave on floor thirty-five, I continued letting the dust fall on the group, acting oblivious to the people approaching me.

“Hey, boss. There’s someone here!”

“He’s right! I thought it was a monster yet it’s a human.”

Slowly, but surely the group of adventurers found me, seven to be exact. They stared at me in confusion as I stared at them back. The presumed leader stepped up, making her presence obvious.

“Oh. It is a person, how unexpected,” she said, giggling with sheer delightment.

…

Why is she laughing? Quite the strange person she is, I should be more in guard because of her. This isn’t going to be simple, huh…? Just my luck.

“Hello there,” I said, standing straight.

“Oh, are you alone?” The woman asked, glancing around the area.

“Yeah, I tend to enter dungeons alone,” I replied, pointing at the bag on my head.

Since I’m carrying the bag I was able to lie and it supported my statement. It gave it credibility so they should question it.

“Well, I should get going, monsters will get here any second.”

I was about to leave when the woman stopped me, her arm stretched out, touching my shoulder.

“How about you join us?” she said with a smile. “While it’s extraordinary of you getting here on your own, I doubt you want to be vulnerable to ambushes due to lack of people.”

What is this woman saying?

Join her?

“Boss, are you sure? It’s a bit suspicious if he’s alone, don’t you think he has comrades nearby?” One of the men asked, suspicious of me.

“Co—“

When the woman tried to calm the man down, I interrupted her as I found the opportunity to pry for more information without giving mine up.

“I could say that for all of you,” I said, showing my reluctance to hear their words. “Don’t you find it suspicious that a group of seven would ask for a lone person to join them all of the sudden? Doesn’t that sound like a one way ticket to death?”

“Now, now, I understand your suspicions, but at least hear us out.” Another of her men said.

“Fine, but we’re not moving from here.”

“That’s okay!”

Hmmm, what’s their motive?

Approaching me all of sudden and asking me to join them, I can’t understand their reasoning.

I sat down near one of the rocks, waiting for them to do the same. As I expected, only the woman sat down, the rest standing.

I’ll be honest, I don’t trust this woman at all. All her mannerisms seem forced or faked, the worst kind of people to deal with.

Does she want to take advantage of me since I’m alone? Or is she after my findings? No, she would’ve gotten the group to attack me if that was the case. All I can do is hear her out, huh…?