A black mage? Everyone became apprehensive after hearing Yahul. They glanced at Jake, who only sighed.
''You're accusing me for no reason, my friend. If I were a black mage, would I be willing to help these troubled adventurers? Think wisely.'' Jake's tone was warm, and he seemed to be advising Yahul rather than retaliating.
He wanted to kill Yahul using his new ability [Blood Manipulation], but he couldn't do that in front of a mage who sensed the flow of mana.
'Heh, I'll kill you later.'
On the outside, he was putting on a friendly attitude which made Yahul more angry.
''You're definitely plotting something!''
''If you don't have a valid reason to stop us, then we would like to go now.'' One adventurer said while frowning. He was the priest of the group. If Yahul pushed this matter any further, then they would attack him.
Although he wanted to prove that Jake was a black mage, Yahul had no evidence. He wanted to bring someone here as a witness, but they were too scared of Jake. Villagers led simple lives, and they had no business with any dangerous sorcery.
Yahul gritted his teeth. He thought the adventurers would take his side, but with Jake willing to 'help' them, that was not the case. Jake also had high charisma which Yahul was disadvantaged at.
Right now, he didn't have the guts to attack Jake. Thus, he had no choice but to watch as they went out of the village and into the forest.
'I hope he dies in that dungeon!' Yahul cursed internally.
…
This forest in the Karsuda province had a name called Redwoods, because most of the tree trunks had a red shade on them. Even the leaves were red.
The adventurers were here for the first time. They had heard that there were many magical beasts in the Redwoods forest, but they saw none.
During the entire duration of 3 hours, they didn't encounter a single monster. The mana compass brought by their captain pointed straight ahead until they reached a place where the compass's pointer started vibrating.
"This is the place!'' Alex exclaimed after reaching the outside of a dark cave.
"Hic- you scared me!" the young girl tightened her grip on her backpack and frowned at her captain. Her name was Riri.
She had long silver hair, light blue eyes, and a petite body of 160 centimetres. At a glance, she seemed like a 15-year-old, but she was actually 20.
"Sorry," Alex apologized and moved on. ''Are you ready?''
He glanced at his every teammate. Diana, the swordswoman who killed and questioned later… Harris, the self-proclaimed 'guardian' of their team… Matthew, the ever-so-arrogant priest… Riri, their pretty doll who carried food and medicines for them… and Gordon, the giant who once brawled against a great hilly bear.
They all nodded one by one when his gaze fell on them. He had been adventuring with them for 5 years. Despite their flaws, they were all his precious teammates, whom he didn't want to lose in this dungeon.
'Thankfully, with two new adventurers, we'll be able to rescue the priestess and that boy… if they are still alive. Johnny is a more powerful mage than me. We'll surely succeed!' Alex thought.
''Then let's go!'' He turned around with determination and immediately cast Minor Illumination when he entered the dungeon.
As they descended the stairs, Alex clearly felt the density of mana increase by three-folds. This made him more alert. Vin also unsheathed her dagger and looked around. The only person relaxed here was Jake, who was walking far behind. A cute voice rang in his ear.
'Welcome back, master… Uh, who are these people?' Lena's pleasant voice contained a hint of panic.
'Inform Erin that we have intruders. Are Yunna and Perry back? Did they get the water source?' Jake calmly asked. He had given them that task before he left.
'Yes, they found that there is a hot spring under our dungeon!' Lena seemed excited. Even Jake was surprised, but now was not the time for it.
'Tell them to inform the Spider Queen and the Orc Warrior about the intruders. You also fly over to the third floor and rouse the trolls to—'
'Um, about that, master…'
'What?' Jake asked and Lena quickly replied.
'There is a minotaur on the third floor and a Nekismis Python on the second floor.'
'What?!'
'...More powerful monsters have taken the space on the lower floors. Thankfully, they fear the Hell Knight and don't go to the sixth floor.'
Just as Jake heard this, he and the adventurers entered the first floor. Riri immediately shierked, seeing the wine snakes slithering on the wall.
''Hiss…''
''Hisss…''
They had matured and reached their full size.
''Everyone, get ready!'' Alex shouted as he pointed his wand ahead.
Jake cut the call after telling Lena to hurry and stretched his hand towards Matthew. He should take care of the healer first.