A little while back.
"Hey, you guys, are you going to stay here?"
Erio, the red-haired adventurer, and his friends just finished preparing for another night of camping on the dungeon first level. A human adventurers party approached them from a distance.
One of the adventurers held out his hands as if to say, "We have no intention of starting a fight," and approached them close enough to be heard.
Erio and the others are wondering what was going on and feeling anxious.
The adventurer who had approached them speaks in a calm voice, trying not to provoke them.
"Sorry. We have no intention of picking a fight with you or anything like that. Since you didn't seem to know about it yet, so we thought we should tell you as fellow adventurers."
According to the middle-aged adventurer, many adventurers have been killed in the second level and beyond.
It's not uncommon for adventurers to lose their lives inside dungeons, but the problem is that they are being killed not by monsters but by the same adventurers.
A party of mixed dwarf and beastmen adventurers, secretly hired by the adventurer guild, has investigated the crime scene.
The results of the investigation confirmed that there are adventurers who wander around killing other adventurers.
In other words, instead of monsters, some adventurers kill other adventurers inside the dungeon.
"We just happened to be in the same area, and soon one of the beastmen will be running back to the surface to report their findings to the Guild. There's a bounty on the adventurer killer's head. Sooner or later, the killer will be caught or killed. But it will take time. We don't want to spend the night in a dungeon with a psychopath who goes around killing their fellow adventurers. So we are heading back. No offense, but you guys should probably leave the dungeon tonight."
"Oh, thank you for telling us."
"Ah, that's why a beastman adventurer was sprinting towards the dungeon entrance."
Gimra recalled a beastman adventurer running like the wind while he was setting up his camp tent.
The beastman took one look at them and then ran off, so they paid no attention to him.
Hearing this, the middle-aged adventurer grumbles.
"Human discrimination, passing by without giving a warning is ... asshole. He should at least have some respect for fellow adventurers. The racism these days is just too much to bear."
"But how do they know it was an adventurer who killed it? The killer could have been a monster, right?"
Erio asked a question to a middle-aged adventurer who was still annoyed.
The middle-aged adventurer laughs bitterly and answers him.
"That's a good question."
"It's simple. I saw the adventurer's body, who was killed, and it was burned and frozen, and there were signs that multiple attack magic had been used. Do you think there are any monsters on the second or third level that can use multiple attack magic? And there were no footprints other than those of the killed adventurer. The party of dwarves and beastmen who investigated the scene also agreed. A tactical class magician who can use more than one magic type and can fly was attacking the victims. Now you know why we should quickly turn back and run away, right?"
"Oh, Onii-chan...."
His sister Miya, a former student of the magician's school, truly understood how dangerous the killer is if the conclusion is correct.
Her face turned pale.
If what he said was true, there would be at least one first-class magician who can use magic to fly.
It's not an easy opponent. Even if they are all working together, they can't win.
If the killer uses attack magic while flying, they would be literally helpless.
"The magician lady seems to understand the situation well. I have nothing else to say. You guys should not camp and quickly leave the dungeon today. On your way back, if you guys meet adventurer who does not know the circumstances, please warn them regardless of their race."
"I, I understand!"
The middle-age adventurer asked him for a favor, and Erio unconsciously replied.
The middle-aged adventurer gave another manly smile, returned to his friends, and moved toward the dungeon entrance.
The boys see him off and began to discuss the situation.
"... So what are you going to do, leader? We've come this far to go down to the second level this time, but are we going to turn back as the old man advised?"
This time, Erio and his friends avoided fighting as much as possible to go deeper into the second level. Currently, they are at the end of the first level.
If they spent the night and started moving in the morning, they would reach the second level by noon as planned.
If they return at this point, they will surely be in deficit.
The eyes of the party members focused on the leader, Erio.
"... As advised, let's go back to the dungeon entrance. The deficit this time may be painful, but nothing can replace a life."
"I, I agree with you, Onii-chan."
"Of course, I agree with the leader. Wardy also agrees, right?"
(Nodding)
Wardy nodded silently.
Now everyone agreed.
Erio let out a sigh of relief that no one is against his decision to retreat.
"Then let's get ready to retreat as soon as possible. Gimra and Wardy will dismantle the tents, and Miya and I will pack up our things. Let's hurry because we don't have much time before nightfall."
Everyone responded to Erio's instructions and began to move quickly.
As childhood friends who had grown up in the same village, they are in perfect sync with each other.
They finished cleaning up 1.5 times faster than usual and started walking towards the dungeon's entrance.
"Let's just stay away from the second level entrance. If the crime is committed on the second level or lower, the further away from the entrance we are, the less likely we are to encounter the killer."
Everyone agreed with Erio's words, and they kept walking towards the dungeon first-level entrance.
Luckily, they didn't encounter any monsters on their way back. But ... they are still exhausted and only walked half as far as they had expected.
The surrounding area is completely dark. If they continued to walk with their exhausted body, maybe they won't be able to respond quickly enough to a monster's surprise attack.
"What should we do, leader? Should we go back? Or we camp here to be safe?"
"......"
Erio is silent, as he isn't sure which would be better.
He is not sure which is safer and can't decide.
"What are you guys doing in this place?"
"!?"
Suddenly, someone called out to them from behind.
An adventurer wearing a hood was standing there and called out to them.
Even though they had been on their guard against the monster attack, but they didn't notice him.
Erio and the others gasped in surprise at the adventurer who suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The adventurer, who sounds like a man, asks them again.
"Stopping in the middle of nowhere, are you in some kind of trouble?"
"No, it's not like that. ... We just got tired of moving and decided to take a break."
"O, Onii-chan. Hey..."
"? Ah."
When his sister poked him in the back, Erio immediately remembered the middle age adventurer's words.
"On your way back, if you guys meet adventurer who does not know the circumstances, please warn them regardless of their race."
He immediately tells the adventurer in front of him.
"Do you know about ''adventurer killer''?
"Adventurer Killer?"
The man in the hood tilted his head.
When Erio and the others realized that he didn't know, they politely informed him of the circumstances.
There is currently adventurer killer on the second level and lower level targeting fellow adventurers. There is a possibility that the killer is more than one person, and their abilities are at the level of tactical class magicians.
There is a bounty on their heads, and it's dangerous to spend the night in the dungeon until they are subdued.
The other party nodded several times as if he is impressed.
"I see, so you are going back because you felt unsafe."
"Yes, that's right. How about you?"
"I was looking for my prey when I noticed you guys, and you were acting strangely, so I called out to you."
"I see. I'm sorry to have made you worry."
Erio and the others lowered their guard, thinking that they are talking to an ordinary adventurer.
However, that sense of security is quickly changed by the hooded man's next words.
"I didn't expect the Adventurer's Guild to respond so quickly. It seems they're an organization that takes its operations seriously. I should be a little more careful about concealment next time."
"Eh?"
The hooded man emits an intense killing intent.
He slowly pulls out the broad sword on his back and smirks gruesomely.
"In the meantime, let's crush tonight bugs."
Kaito, the elf is holding the fantasy class sword "Grandius" with both hands. He looks very excited.