Seeing as how they couldn't get any response from the stone doors, they knew they had reached a dead-end for now.
They waited for a few hours at their current location, to see if any of the other three members would miraculously come back.
However, it was all in vain as nobody had showed up.
Since they're unable to continue, they all decided to return back by using a Return Stone, which teleported them to the capital of the Omni Empire.
Some of the remaining nine members didn't want to give up, so they held a short strategy meeting immediately.
"Let's recruit more adventurers with a variety of races, to try to get past that door!"
The Advanced Treasure Hunter of the other party, Crimson Night, immediately spoke up, with greed all over her expression.
She had a glimpse of all the treasures at the end of the trials, and didn't want to give up on it.
"But… we already lost half of our party. I also want to try it again, but the risks are too great."
Her leader quickly replied, hesitating over their next course of action.
"If we can clear the last two trials, we can just use the Revival Jewel to bring those three guys back!"
"..."
"Besides, there are tons of other treasures there too, which would allow all of us to retire and live out the rest of our lives in luxury!"
"Fine... Let's go recruit for more adventurers to join us. Dan, are you guys still in?"
"..."
Everyone else in Dan's party was eager to attempt it again, except for himself.
Helen knew the reason, so she clung onto his arm and tried her best to appeal to him.
As she was shorter than him, she looked up towards him with a sad expression in her eyes, pleading sweetly.
"Dan, I promise this will be the very last adventure in my life. I'll obediently raise our child afterwards."
"..."
"Please?"
"Sigh… fine. I can never win against you when you beg me like that…"
"I love you, Dan!"
"That's our leader!"
"Woohoo! We're definitely gonna beat the trials this time."
As the rest of his party members rejoiced over his decision, Dan had mixed feelings about it.
After resting for a day and restocking their supplies, they met up again at the adventurer's guild and recruited for more members to join them.
Initially, not many people were interested since Crimson Night had lost half of their party members in the middle of the trials.
But after some of them spread the news that there were legendary artifacts at the end, like the Revival Jewel and Crystallized Fairy Tear, many people were eager to participate.
After a day of recruiting, a total of 60 people stood in front of the Dungeon entrance on the morning of the next day.
Together, they managed to descend with ease, and eventually reached the hidden passage at the 25th floor.
Since there were too many people, they decided to split up into five groups of 12 to attempt the trials individually.
The leaders of each group carried a communication artifact, which allowed them to message each other about the progress of their trials.
As the first group went in, everything proceeded smoothly, and they reached the entrance of the second trial while waiting for everyone else.
The three remaining members of the Crimson Night party had split up, with one person each in the second, third, and fourth groups.
Dan's party decided to stick together, as they comprised half of the fifth group.
As the second group went in, they used the communication artifact to boast that they will have the fastest clearing time in this trial.
However, moments later, screams and requests for help soon erupted.
The third and fourth groups quickly rushed in to save their comrades.
Nonetheless, more screams were heard as they were shocked by the inconceivable sight in front of them.
"This wasn't what we had to face earlier!!!"
"What the fuck are these things?!"
The remaining members of Crimson Night were all confused, as they clearly completed the first trial with ease during their first attempt.
In less than a minute, nobody from the second, third, or fourth groups relayed anymore messages through the communication artifact.
"What the fuck just happened in there…"
Dan questioned, as his instincts warned him of the extraordinary threat inside the first trial.
He wanted somebody to explain to him as to what occurred past those doors.
There was a thin barrier preventing them from peeking into the trials, which only increased the eeriness of the situation.
"Let's go save them!"
The other six people shouted, since some of their friends had split up to balance out the parties with a good distribution of classes.
*Woosh*
Helen used her skill to create a gust of wind to push back the adventurers who tried to rush through the trial door.
Helen started off as a Magician, but eventually advanced into the Sage class, allowing her to use spells of four different elements.
"What did you do that for!"
The six of them who had gotten knocked backwards were clearly displeased by Helen's attack.
"I stopped you guys from sacrificing your lives for no reason!"
"What.. we just wanted to save our friends who need our help!"
"You need to calm down before you rashly do anything. Didn't you hear about the abnormality in that trial just now?"
"..."
"Hey leader, look over there."
Eldun spoke up after he noticed something hidden behind the mural on top of the stone doors.
"What is it?"
"I think Helen's wind shifted the mural slightly. Don't you see something behind it?"
"Oh? Let me check."
As Dan removed the mural and placed it on the ground, they discovered a second mural at the exact same spot.
"Eldun, can you quickly decipher what's on it?"
"Sure, give me a moment."
After Eldun spent tens of minutes to decipher it, a grave expression spread over his face.
"Eldun, did you finish?"
"Yes… and I'm afraid I have bad news for you."
"What is it?"
"Let me read out what this says. Repeated attempts will increase the difficulty level, as the challengers already know how to clear the previous trials."
"Fuck! So this is why the first group didn't have any difficulties with the first trial."
"Probably. So, what should we do now, leader?"
"..."
"Dan, I know we shouldn't care about the lives of other parties, but I think we should at least check up on them. What if there are still survivors in there?"
"..."
"Please help our friends! We'll do anything to repay you as long as you save them!"
"Please! You're the only ones we can rely on, as your party is much stronger than ours!"
The other six people began to plead for Dan's assistance.
No matter what, he didn't want to risk his comrade's lives in this trial, knowing that the difficulty level increased.
Looking at the determination on all of their faces, he had a hard time making up his mind.
They had gone through grueling training to gain the strength to be able to help others.
Earlier, they abandoned the three members of Crimson Night because it was impossible to re-enter the labyrinth.
However, the situation this time is different, since they had the option to help everyone.
Besides, he didn't want to disappoint Helen, after he saw how worried she was about the people inside.
After all, her kind nature was one of the reasons he fell in love with her.
Dan quickly made up his mind.
"Fine, but all of you must listen to my orders and stick close to each other."
"Yes!"
"Okay, let's go!"