Things went smoothly as the group quickly nodded to my explanation. I simply told them the adventures were looking for certain materials that could be found within floor thirty and forty.

Technically speaking, I wasn’t incorrect. I doubt they would have entered the dungeon just to speak to me, one of them was also carrying a bag similar to mine which meant it would be utilized for the same purpose, to collect things.

Even if I lied about the situation, which was probably the worst choice, they had no choice but to believe me, or at least accept my words. I mean, I was the only one who interacted with them, Leon also did but they don’t know that, so they can only hear things from my perspective.

In the end, they have to accept my words whether they like it or not, it’s as simple as that. But why do that when you can just tell them the truth? You can avoid the whole hassle by just being an honest person, it’s not that hard.

Therefore I told the truth like any other decent person, but that doesn’t matter right now. Currently speaking we just finished the thirty eighth floor, it’s been sometime after contact with the adventure group.

“Okay, we should be good for the next floor,” said Arakawa.

She was talking about how we collected the unrefined mana stones, and letting my crush some which was used for my own business. Heh, I wonder what it can be?

“Phew! These monsters sure are getting more persistent!” Rick said, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Rick has been exhausting his mana a lot these past floors, but not as much as Cynthia. She now barely uses debuff or buff magic, the tiny amount of mana left is probably used for enhancing her body and to keep it moving.

So considering her current state, Rick just wiping his sweat is a good position to be at since he has more mana to spare.

I think the thing holding Rick back is lack of conditioning. He is the first to get tired, also taking the most breaks. Although there isn’t anything wrong with it, his poor athleticism is showing.

Luckily for him, he’s still young and has the ability to improve in all the areas he needs to. Plus gaining condition was easier than increasing your mana capacity.

“That’s a given due to completing and moving a floor,” I said, pointing out the obvious.

My injuries were almost nonexistent, I did a way better job at protecting myself. I think I injured myself the first time because there wasn’t any sort of chemistry with the rest of the group.

Even though it does not seem like the most important thing, it's crucial. Unless all of you are overpowered and the monsters are severely weak, it’s ultimately better to work as a team.

And to be honest, who would like to work alone when you have a team who are more than willing to assist you. It’s pretty foolish to deny the help, plus these are fellow students, not some criminals.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

We heard towards the thirty ninth floor with me leading the group of students. I gripped my sword and shield, ready for combat any time. When we entered the floor, a sudden coldness was felt throughout the whole area.

In fact, it appeared as if a blizzard froze everything in its path. The floor, walls, and ceilings everything was in ice. At first glance it appeared to be easy to break, but I knew it wasn’t the case.

The change in weather could be attributed to the fact we’re getting closer to the boss or at least something or that nature. Although there isn’t an exact way to tell when the dungeon ends, the amount of bosses you encounter gives you a rough estimate.

Considering this is a C rank dungeon, there should be around four of them, the higher the rank the more the bosses are. Floor forty is when we’ll encounter the boss, the thirty nine floor being more of an entrance informing us of the close proximity.

Still, they got us good. It’ll be harder to camp within floor thirty nine, the coldness can get detrimental the further we get. Luckily it didn’t extend to floor thirty eight.

But wait a minute. The adventurer group went ahead which means there might be a slight possibility they already fought the boss. However, if we take into account their skill level, they probably already found an exit.

Keep in mind this is a pretty easy dungeon for experienced adventurers. Plus dungeons always have a hidden exit which can prove life saving. The exits aren’t particularly hard to find, it being a more time consuming thing.

I felt a light tap on my back. I didn’t turn around yet I uttered a noise, acknowledging the attempt to gain my attention.

“What do you think, are we going to be fine?” Leon asked.

“Quite strange for you to be worried about some random students you don’t know,” I said.

Although I may have sounded negative, it was more of a pleasant surprise. Leon became quite for a second, but continued as if nothing bothered him.

“It’s not like that. Besides, I’m asking because someone here is definitely holding back,” he said.

“True, I don’t know why they’re doing such a thing since it puts all of us in danger. Well, we should be fine, we have pretty good chemistry. But do be careful to not let your guard down.”

“You don’t have to tell me that.”

With that I heard Leon walk away, I simply stood in the same place. There wasn’t anything I needed to hide, that's why we didn’t talk in secret.

Still, Leon did bring up a concern I had. One of us is holding back.

Look I’m not going to make anyone because I respect their privacy—

It’s Rona, okay. She’s the one holding back, to what degree? I do not know, yet it's big enough for it to be noticeable.

She doesn’t really interact with us as if she’s isolating herself. Only someone who needs to hide something does that, the other reason is due to their personality.

However, I knew this wasn’t the case otherwise I would’ve dismissed my suspicions. To tell you the truth, I doubt she’s doing it for any malicious reasons, it being more of a personal thing.

We all have reasons for our actions even if we don’t know them ourselves. As such, I won’t be harsh on her since one, she’s still doing very well while holding back, and two, it’ll ruin the chemistry.

Ruining the chemistry between us is the worst thing that can happen at this very moment. The rise of distrust will lead to horrible situations. As such I would like to avoid anything of that sort.

It’ll benefit all of us if I keep quiet about it.