Chapter 21: Save or kill

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Inside a long corridor built with jagged stones that caused some forks, one could hear both the terrifying shrieks of the monsters and the desperate screams of the humans echoing through the cave.

"I told you it was a bad idea to let them spread their pheromones!" The furious and somewhat exhausted shout of a middle-aged man entered the ears of those following close behind. They had no time to pay attention to the noisy sounds of footsteps chasing their butts other than to put all the energy they had into their legs.

The other adventurers, a group of two women and three men, turned their sweaty and pale faces to the side, for because of some of them, they resulted in the present situation.

"Why don't you say anything?! Has the dog got your tongue?!"

"I-"

"Shut up; I don't want to hear your pitiful apologies!"

*Kiriri *Kiriri

Lodged behind the adventurers' backs, several monsters in the shape of giant ants were revealed; they were red-colored monsters that ran with four legs and two arms. The jaws connected near their mouths produced loud crunching sounds that made the adventurers' hearts fall into despair.

One of the main characteristics of these ants was the pheromones they could produce and spread in the environment to attract mates when in distress.

This gave rise to the greed of the adventurers.

Many thought of "Quick and Easy Farm" when facing the "Killer ants" because they believed that when the monsters used the pheromone to attract their mates, they could defeat them and extract more magic stones.

That way, the magic cores and the profits they would generate per day would increase.

An easy profit.

However, that was, without a doubt, one of the worst mistakes adventurers could make when facing the ants, who were known as the "Newbie Adventurer Killer" for a reason.

The eyes of the frontman, who appeared to be the team leader, caught a silhouette rounding the corner. An expression of relief appeared on his face.

"Hey, there's someone ahead! Let's take advantage of it to escape."

As the adventurers fixed their gazes on the humanoid silhouette in the distance, they felt relieved, while the rest felt bitterness in their hearts.

They had intended to leave the monster behind them to the adventurer in front of them. It was a cruel but necessary decision to survive.

"This... Captain. I don't think we should do... that-".

With her voice cracking with exhaustion and pushing her feet forward, the woman gave her opinion; however, the deep, angry voice of the man beside her interrupted her.

"Káren! This is no time to be thinking nonsense. The current situation is too critical to think about someone else's useless ass!".

"But-."

"No 'buts.' Remember our promise."

While it was true that using other adventurers as bait for the monsters chasing them, in the beginning, was commonplace within the dungeon, it was also true that there were good-hearted adventurers who preferred to avoid falling into such disgusting decisions that weighed on the conscience.

While the two sides were arguing, and due to their running speed, they managed to get close to the adventurer right in the center of the circular room that led to several connected paths.

The earlier dark silhouette became clear to them.

It was a beautiful golden-haired young man whose golden and crimson eyes glowed in the room. The young man remained in place, not moving and not devoting a glance to the adventurers or the monsters. It was as if the void enraptured him.

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