[Golem’s Nest]
[Floors: 100]
[Recommended Rank: E]
[Current: Floor 23]
[Difficulty: ???] (Status level too low, cannot be measured)
[Estimated Difficulty: E+] (Calculated based on previously completed floors, so it may not be accurate)
[?????: ???] (Status level too low)
[????: ???] (Status level too low)
As we arrived on the next floor, I quickly skimmed through the status window before turning to my surroundings. Thankfully, unlike entering the 77th floor, we didn’t encounter immediate danger upon arrival. A similar setting lay in front of us: a high-ceilinged cave and a passageway just ahead that led further into the floor.
“Looks like we’re not alone,” Roran said as he looked ahead. A group of students, eight to be exact, stood on the other side of the cave, their eyes darting between us and the cave around them. Judging from their cautious actions, it seemed like they’d also just been transported here. He’s here too. I looked toward a particular student, and he returned my gaze with open hostility, but as if suddenly remembering something, he let out a sigh and approached us, prompting the students around him to follow.
“This is distasteful, but I will ask as a formality. Do you wish to team up with us?” the blond-haired boy asked, though his tone made it clear he had no real expectations from us.
He was, after all, just following the MX Protocols laid out in the ‘rules of engagement’ for mixed dungeons. My team members all turned to me after hearing his words, causing me to step forward as team leader and approach Liam. When I did, one of the students next to him took a step closer to Liam, his sharp eyes watching my every move.
Thorian Brown.
The student had light brown hair and a very serious expression on his face. Even in the future, I’d honestly never seen him smile, not even once. At this current time, he was likely tasked with ‘looking after’ Liam, but in the years to come, he’d gradually solidify his title as the fifth prince's right-hand man.
“Well, I wouldn’t really mind, but it’s not my decision to make,” I said, turning my head toward Ruby, and everyone followed my gaze. This is a good opportunity. She immediately retreated behind Rin and asked in a surprised tone,
“W-why me?” she said aloud, causing everyone’s gaze to return back to me.
“If we agree to team up, you will be affected the most,” I explained, causing a displeased expression to form on Rin’s face.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked with squinted eyes. She was likely taking it the wrong way, but—
“She’s our primary support. If we agree to team up, she’ll need to support more people at the same time.”
“Oh, I see. What do you think, Ru?” Rin said as she turned to Ruby, who was hiding behind her, causing her to stutter as she responded,
“W-well, I don’t mind if everyone’s fine with it.” She said in a meek tone, almost as if she were only addressing Rin. Everyone turned their focus back to me, expecting the decision to be finalized by me. I let out a sigh and continued.
“Sorry, but that’s not good enough.”
“She already said she’s fine, so just make the decision,” Rin retorted, sounding more irritated, but I didn’t back down.
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“That’s not an answer. Should we or should we not team up with them? That’s what I asked.” I shot back in a calm tone. Ruby simply froze without saying a word, turning to Rin with pleading eyes.
“Why do you want her to make that choice? You just want someone to blame when things go south, don’t you? Roran, are you also going to keep quiet?” she said in an annoyed tone, causing whispers among the other students.
“N-no, I also agree. It’s not fair to Ruby,” Roran said after being put on the spot. Rin walked closer to Roran, keeping Ruby behind her. Whether or not Roran wanted to side against me, he wouldn’t want to leave the timid Ruby behind. Rin was indirectly forcing him onto their side.
Liam started explaining in a soft tone as if giving a lecture "Are you not the leader? It's honorable for a leader to listen to the opinions of his followers, but it's still up to the leader to make the final decision. The wheels of a car can never turn the steering wheel.” While others around seemed to nod in agreement, I could nearly feel my team's gaze on the back of my head. I too noticed that he also used a car analogy, well, I did find it a funny coincidence but his words didn’t really mean anything to me.
“As I was saying, Ruby…” I simply turned my gaze back to Ruby, causing anger to erupt among the other students.
“Who the hell do you think you are!?” one of the students shouted as he took a step forward.
“Stop it, Talon,” Thorian finally spoke up, putting his hand in front of the boy as he was about to approach us. It went without saying that showing such disrespect to the Empire’s royalty might end in a brutal execution. It was why everyone worshiped them like gods. I looked at Thorian, who returned my gaze with an expressionless face. Is he a threat? I could tell what he was thinking simply from his demeanor. I turned back to my team.
“You’re right about one thing. If something goes wrong, it will be Ruby’s fault. This is her decision to make; whether to team up with them or not will all depend on her abilities,” I explained to them, causing Rin to frown. In reference to another car analogy, if a person crashes a car after agreeing to drive, then the blame will naturally fall on them. Whether they boasted about their driving skills or were reluctant to take the keys, at the end of the day, they sat in the driver’s seat.
“Then she won’t decide anything,” Rin retorted in her stead. Ruby seemed frustrated at her inability to choose, but at the same time, I could see some relief in her eyes that Rin was there to help her. Think for yourself.
“Not choosing is also a choice in itself,” I muttered as I reached toward the hilt of my sword, and I could immediately feel a spark of mana from everyone around.
“Roran, prepare for battle. It seems Ruby has chosen for us to kill them and take their mana cores instead,” I said in a calm tone, and everyone on Liam’s side immediately took a step back in surprise while reaching for their weapons.
“T-that’s not what—”
“What the hell, that’s not what she said!” Rin retorted, cutting off Ruby’s words as she glared at me.
Roran, on the other hand, already had his hand on the hilt of his sword, ready to fight at any moment. It wasn’t because he had suddenly chosen to take my side, but because of the hostility coming from the other side. Judging by his stance, he was preparing to protect the two since they didn’t seem ready for a fight.
“This is a mixed dungeon. What exactly do you expect? If we let them go ahead, they might prepare to ambush us. If we let them stay, they will ambush us from behind. I’m not taking any chances, so we have to beat them here,” I explained to her, and she seemed to be thinking hard as she looked between me and Liam.
It took up to 30 minutes for the monsters to revive in a mixed dungeon, so as stated in the MX Protocols, we could make a compromise on both sides if we wanted. But Rin must’ve realized I wasn’t willing to take up such a deal.
“Fine, we’ll team up with them,” Rin said as she looked toward Ruby, who nodded at her words as if confirming her decision. I relaxed and removed my hand from my sword, casually taking a step toward Liam and extending my hand.
“Then it looks like we have a deal,” I said to him, but he didn’t seem surprised. Unlike the students around him, he was the only one who hadn’t prepared for a fight, seeing through my bluff. Maybe I should’ve attacked just to spite him.
“Looks like it,” he said as he grabbed my hand, confirming his decision. His party members didn’t seem pleased with the decision, but they reluctantly kept quiet. Since we would need to adjust a lot of strategies from both sides, we decided to separate for a few minutes to discuss with our individual teams.
Rin was bitter about what had just happened, so she didn’t want to talk to me anymore. I don’t really care. What I did to Ruby was a necessary step toward a better future. From the moment I knew of her Authority, I made the decision to keep her by my side for the foreseeable future. And for that to happen, she needed to be independent.
From seeing how she handled herself in battle, I was able to confirm the extent of her thought process. It wasn’t that she lacked the ability to act, but she simply didn’t have the confidence to act on her thoughts. This should keep her on her feet. The more times I force decisions onto her, the more decisive she will become as time moves on.
And for that to happen, she needed to experience the consequence of choice—to achieve victory and to fail miserably.
I will make her experience all of them.
As such thoughts ran through my mind, we eventually started tackling the 23rd floor, where a harder battle was waiting for us ahead.