The fourth floor of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
The station on this floor was built on high ground near the passage.
From here, one could see the sea of forest ahead.
Manfred was leaning against the fence, gazing at the forest before him.
Manfred was well aware of what Rhine and Weiss were thinking.
They were disappointed in the Grey family.
Having formed a team with Manfred and supported each other all the way to this point, the three of them had built the bond of a family.
As tools, they wanted to escape their fate.
In Manfred's heart, the importance of this team had gradually surpassed that of the Grey family.
However, Manfred knew how vast the Grey family's influence was in the North.
As tools, they had no power to resist the mission of staking their lives to explore the deepest layers of the dungeon.
Betray the family?
That wasn't a path to freedom; it was a path to destruction.
Manfred had to consider Rhine and Weiss.
Therefore, he had to be loyal—more loyal than anyone else.
This dungeon was an opportunity; if he completely conquered and took control of this dungeon,
He might be valued by the family and become a true insider of the Grey family.
He, and the family he valued most, might be able to escape the fate of being tools.
"Captain, the equipment to resist the wind and sand has been delivered!"
"When do we set out!"
Rhine was standing on tiptoe not far away, waving her wand and shouting.
Some distance behind Rhine, Weiss was moving quite stiffly, seemingly afraid of breaking the Copper-Vine Armor he was wearing.
Manfred had forced him to put on this piece of magic gear.
In Weiss's view, as a heavy warrior, his body was sturdy enough.
Whether it was Manfred or Rhine, they both needed this magic gear more than he did.
But unable to win the argument with Manfred, he had eventually equipped it.
But Weiss had already made up his mind that no matter what, he would protect Rhine and Manfred.
They were his most important family in this world.
Manfred looked at the two of them; in this dangerous dungeon, peaceful times were incredibly precious.
"Now."
He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and slowly tightened his grip, as if trying to hold onto something important.
"We set out now."
...
The sixth floor.
Remel emerged from the passage looking somewhat disheveled.
"How is it so strong? It's like a monster; other dungeons aren't this difficult."
It was no joke; the original inspiration for creating the Wellmouth Sentry was specifically to deal with Remel.
"A desert... damn it, it seems I don't have enough water!"
A lone wolf has a lone wolf's troubles.
Remel had no way to carry too many supplies.
Gritting his teeth, Remel turned around.
"I have no choice but to retreat and restock."
He felt for the money pouch at his chest... the pouch... the pouch!
"Where the hell is my money pouch!"
Money doesn't disappear; it only changes hands.
On the eighth floor of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment, Dalun Li was counting the money pouches before him.
A full 34 gold coins, 12 silver coins, and 8 copper coins!
As expected of a wealthy man!
An extraordinary being's net worth was far beyond that of an ordinary person.
Dalun Li had been eyeing the money pouch on Remel for a long time.
He just hadn't had the chance, as he was a peak first-rank swordsman after all.
It wasn't until the fifth floor, where continuous exploration and the terrible environment of the wetlands pushed Remel's mental state to its limit,
That he struck while the other was resting.
He scattered the gold coins from the pouch on the surface of the treasure pile, tucked the silver coins inside, and stuffed the copper coins at the very bottom.
This way, his treasure pile looked like a solid heap of gold coins.
Truly pleasing to the eye.
Time passed.
Serafina's group entered the dungeon.
The first, second, and third floors of the dungeon were cleared by Serafina's Red Rose team without any obstacles.
The map for the passage to the fourth floor was currently only in the hands of the Lord's men.
Although a large number of adventurers were exploring the fourth floor and had mapped out most of the stratum,
Only Manfred's team knew the location of the passage.
It was already two days later by the time the Red Rose team arrived at the fourth floor from the surface.
Manfred's team, on the other hand, had already sorted their equipment and supplies for the desert and set off again two days ago.
During their brief stay at the fourth-floor station, the Red Rose team collected and purchased the currently explored maps of the fourth floor from other adventurers.
Manfred was still in the lead; following the previously drawn maps, they quickly crossed the wetlands and marshes of the fifth floor and reached the location of the fifth floor boss.
Although the Wellmouth Sentry had already respawned, it was no longer a threat to Manfred's group, who had already challenged it once.
After dealing with the Wellmouth Sentry, they followed the passage and, along with several other teams, successfully entered the sixth floor.
The Desert Stratum.
On the other side, Remel, who had retreated due to the lack of desert supplies, returned to the station on the fourth floor.
He happened to run into Serafina's group, who had just arrived.
"Remel?"
Serafina looked at Remel in surprise; both being from Gray City's Adventurer Association, they had met a few times.
"Miss Serafina."
"Has the Red Rose team come to explore this dungeon too? As expected, I wasted too much time earlier."
Penniless, Remel didn't even have enough money for desert equipment now.
After all, these items had to be transported from the surface, making the prices even higher.
He either had to return to the surface or hunt monsters here to scrape together the money.
But both would waste time.
Unless he sold information.
Information on the fifth-floor passage, information on monster distribution, and information on the desert.
However, now that the Red Rose team was here, selling information would only cultivate a formidable opponent...
But the rapid advancement of Manfred's team also put a lot of pressure on him.
At least Serafina, like him, belonged to the Adventurer Association.
Manfred and his lot were just the nobles' lapdogs.
"You've retreated from the lower floors."
"That is correct."
Remel had the pride of a lone wolf; even when facing Serafina, who was higher in rank and status, he maintained that arrogance.
"I want information on the lower floors. What are your terms?"
Knowing Remel's pride, Serafina didn't bother with pleasantries and stated her needs directly.
"Heh, though we both belong to Gray City's Adventurer Association, we are competitors."
"However, no matter how we compete, letting the nobles pluck the fruit in the end would be a real loss."
"Serafina, how about a collaboration?"
"I can provide you with information on the lower floors so you can prepare now."
"The price is that I join your team temporarily and we split the dungeon's spoils equally."
The lone wolf eventually bowed to reality.
Remel wasn't a fool; it was just that the Lanxi Kingdom was exceptionally xenophobic.
With his golden hair, he had always been unwelcome.
When he was still weak and had joined adventurer teams, he was also hated and his shares were seized.
That was why he eventually chose to go solo.
Even after becoming an extraordinary being and a first-rank swordsman, he maintained his solitary style.
Remel had had contact with Serafina's Red Rose; these people were truly strong.
Not just strong in power, but also strong in spirit; they wouldn't harbor hatred or discriminate against others.
The truly strong didn't deign to bully the weak.
But the truly strong would only respect and recognize other strong individuals.
He, Remel, was one of the truly strong!
Therefore, the Red Rose team would recognize a strong man like him!
"Then forget it. Find someone else."
Serafina waved her hand and walked past Remel.
The remaining three team members followed suit, one by one.
"Huh?"
"Wait!?"
"Wait, I'm willing to take ten percent less, twenty percent... twenty percent at most!"
In the end, Remel traded for a chance to join the team temporarily.
Following behind the team and looking at Serafina ahead, Remel couldn't help but marvel.
What a terrifying person, and a woman at that.
As a captain, she had to consider the team's interests; for the sake of the team, this woman would not be soft-hearted toward anyone.
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