Erik had moved further into the dungeon however, he noticed something strange as he observed the surroundings. His eyebrow furrowed as a hint of confusion spread across his face.

Erik encountered no more monsters after the night wolves. This fact alone might not be considered strange, but the lack of any signs of monster corpses or fights made him slightly cautious and put him on guard.

Why have I not seen any monsters till now? he thought to himself as he walked at a moderate pace.

"Isn't the 16th floor meant to have a high monster spawn rate?" Erik mumbled.

Did their party kill everyone? Erik wondered, quickly disregarding the thought. They didn't seem strong enough to conquer a floor, he thought as he walked, his footsteps ringing in his ears.

Erik's eyes flickered between the labyrinth's path, walls, and surroundings. He took a turn to the right at the corner in front of him. His eyes glanced at the gate ahead, the gate to the 17th floor.

Should I go? he questioned himself. I mean, I did say to Alya I wouldn't go below the 16th floor, Erik considered as he put his right hand on his chin, taking a thoughtful look.

Seeing as he had no luck on the 16th floor, Erik walked toward the stairs and started descending to the 17th floor.

"I’ll apologize later," he mumbled.

It was when he was about halfway down the stairs that he heard a loud shout from the 17th floor. Erik quickened his pace.

"Someone’s in trouble," he thought to himself as he mumbled, "Quick Step," and vanished from the stairs, appearing on the 17th floor.

Using Quick Step on dungeon stairs was something Erik always avoided, but seeing someone might be in trouble, he decided to ignore his own rule.

Erik descended the stairs in an instant and now stood on the dungeon’s 17th floor, which was a large open space with several paths. However, a very thick miasma cloud surrounded him, restricting his vision.

"Miniature Sun," Erik murmured softly, as a small orb of light flickered to life at his fingertips. It drifted upward, settling into a gentle hover above his head, casting a glow that illuminated the surrounding area more clearly.

The first thing Erik noticed was the corpse and blood of a huge five-headed serpent directly in front of him. One of the several paths leading deeper into the 17th floor was destroyed and blocked by debris, while black tar-like substances stained the walls near the serpent's corpse.

"A fire spell attack annihilated the serpent," Erik mumbled to himself.

"It shouldn’t have spawned here, though," Erik added, his expression changing to a serious one. He turned his head to the right, and his eyes widened.

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

Three adventurers lying on the ground, covered in blood and motionless. Erik hurried toward them.

He looked at their faces, trying to recognize them, but he didn’t. There was a tall man with black hair colour, a girl with red hair in red armor, and a blonde girl whose face wasn’t visible to Erik. He crouched down and turned the last body, which was lying face down, and looked at the face.

"Amelie," he mumbled in shock as his hands started to illuminate, and he began to heal the stab wound on her torso.

Erik looked at the surroundings of the 17th floor. His visibility was still somewhat hindered despite the Miniature Sun spell he had casted. The dense miasma cloud was responsible for this atmosphere.

It could be dangerous, any monster could attack my blind spot, Erik thought to himself as he continued to heal Amelie.

Erik stopped healing Amelie, took hold of his wand, and closed his eyes, concentrating deeply.

"Light Elemental Veil," he said in a low, steady voice.

A massive spherical membrane of light expanded from his body, stretching outward until it enveloped the entire cave. Its glow illuminated every corner of the vast space, dispelling the oppressive miasma that clung to the air.

With his visibility restored, Erik glanced at Amelie. Her external wounds were now patched up, but he knew there was more to be done.

I need to heal the others too, Erik thought as he raised his wand and spoke firmly, "Aerial Intermediate Healing.”

As he spoke these words, Amelie, Noelle, and Rick were all engulfed in another bright sphere that cast an aerial intermediate healing spell over them.

Erik walked out from where he was standing and moved out of the healing sphere. He wiped off a drop of sweat from his head and mumbled, "It was a job well done, I'll say."

That's when Erik noticed something strange. He suddenly got goosebumps, and his body shook unconsciously. For a moment, he felt as if someone or something was watching him.

Erik turned his head to the right, looking at one of the entrances to the 17th floors interior labryinth. That’s where he saw a humanoid figure standing in the shadows.

"Multiple Lance," Erik mumbled, instantly as three glowing projectiles, a pair of swords and a spear, materialized in the air. With a swift flick of his right wrist, the projectiles shot forward, targeting the figure in the distance.

The impact landed with a thunderous crash, kicking up a dense cloud of dust in the area. Erik waited, his eyes fixed on the spot. As the dust settled, his heart sank. The figure remained, completely unfazed, staring back at him.

Erik was quick to act. He clenched his wand in his left hand and almost instantly closed the gap between himself and the figure with Quick Step.

Erik’s wand clashed with the figure's weapon, which was none other than a blood stained sword. The speed of the clash caused sparks to fly.

Both Erik's and the figure's weapons were in a stalemate, with the figure overpowering and pushing Erik back in a moment.

Erik stepped back maintaining his distance, taking note of the monster’s strength. That’s when the figure came out into the light.

The monster didn’t have two horns. It wasn’t an orc or a minotaur, it was just a human. Amelie’s party leader, Aron, holding a sword in his right arm with a blank expression. Erik didn’t recognize anyone other than Amelie, and for him, Aron was just an adventurer who had just gravely injured someone Erik knew.

"Why did you do that?" Erik shouted with anger. He was now sure the wounds on Amelie and the others had been caused by the adventurer standing in front of him.

Is he human, or is this some kind of mimicry ability of a monster? Erik questioned himself unsure of what he is dealing with.

Aron darted toward Erik to close the gap, his legs enhanced by fire magic and exuding fire like aura. In a moment, his sword struck Erik’s wand, causing him to stumble. Aron used his left elbow to land a blow on Erik's face sending him flying.