Chapter 401 What Happened To Crowley?
Shye's disappearance was easily noticed by Luna as not only did it create a noticeable sound but also briefly illuminated the entrance to the seventh floor.
However, since none of them understood what happened, the entire party remained dumbstruck for a few moments before Luna reacted.
"CROWLEY!!" She exclaimed, sprinting towards Shye's previous location to see if there were any clues.
Realizing there were none, she couldn't help but punch the red coral walls in frustration and slight panic.
Luna was someone who not only had a heroic spirit but also had high expectations for herself.
Hence, despite their evident success in the first seven floors, she believed that she was failing badly at leading the party.
And now, the rookie from her guild has gone missing! A massive blunder!
To make things worse, she didn't even know what happened.
Fortunately, after quickly turning around in hopes of discussing a solution with her party, she caught a glimpse of Wynna's guilty face.
"You…what did you do to Crowley?" Your next chapter is on empire
"I-I didn't do anything…Why would I do a-anything to him? I don't even know him."
"Stop lying! I saw your guilty face earlier! Speak, I shall not take it against you. I just need to know what happened to formulate a plan on how to reunite with him."
"..."
Wynna's momentary silence essentially confirmed Luna's suspicions that Wynna possessed knowledge they didn't.
While she might not have directly harmed Shye, she could have potentially manipulated the dungeon's rules to her benefit.
"Sigh…so, what happened to him?" Luna asked with a sigh, forcing her distressed heart to calm down, realizing that a fiery temper wouldn't allow her to help Shye as quickly as possible.
Wynna wanted to lie again, however, she knew that her momentary silence had already given her away. Hence, she decided to come clean, hoping that the party's leader would understand her.
"F-First of all, I would like to apologize as I simply wanted to survive…The dungeon would allow no more than seven people grouping together." Wynna said apologetically.
"I'm uncertain about the precise distance required to avoid being transported away. However, when there are more than seven people gathered together, those positioned farthest from the group, even if only by a few centimeters or millimeters, will be transported to another location on the same floor. Where exactly that is... I'm unsure."
Hearing the female adventurer's explanation, Luna fumed, thinking that her party saved a traitorous snake.
"YOU!! HOW DARE YOU FORCEFULLY TAKE THE POSITION OF ONE OF OUR PARTY MEMBERS?! THIS IS YOUR WAY OF REPAYING OUR KINDNESS?!"
Although she indeed favored Shye over her other party members, she would be equally furious if any of them were forcefully placed in Shye's situation.
As the leader, she would rather confront trouble herself than see any misfortune befall her party members, especially when it involved someone from her guild facing such dire circumstances.
"I-I apologize! Please forgive me! I didn't want to remain alone in this place. I would surely die! Please, spare me! And if you can find it in your heart, take me in as your final member instead!
I promise to do my best for the party! Also, I have valuable information that would help you clear the seventh floor!"
Hearing Wynna's selfish words, Luna's anger flared up even more. She simply couldn't believe that Wynna still had the gall to ask them to take her in.
"You still dare ask for our help?! I refuse! Now, will you get the hell out of my sight on your own or should I do it myself?"
This time, the entire party recognized the depth of their leader's anger. She had always been ready to sacrifice herself for any of them, but now, she was refusing to save someone.
Ulfreign, Jana, and the other three had different ideas though, hence, they decided to intervene to smooth things out between Luna and Wynna.
"H-Hey, Luna, she already apologized sincerely, can we at least leave it at that? She had just recovered, after all…"
"Y-Yeah, let's calm down and think about this logically. Can we really blame her for simply wanting to live?"
"I-Indeed, Jana is right. Moreover, who knows? Maybe Crowley was simply transported somewhere close to us?"
Hearing the words of her party members who seemed to have already given up on Shye, favoring this newcomer instead, Luna was devastated.
She should not have selected such bastards as her party members.
This experience would hopefully teach her the valuable lesson that it's preferable to select trustworthy members she can rely on rather than talented individuals who only prioritize themselves.
However, since nothing could be done at that moment except to proceed and hope to reunite with Shye, Luna had to temporarily set aside her anger.
Furious as she was, there was some logic to the words of her teammates, plus, Wynna's knowledge would indeed prove useful in both looking for Shye and clearing the seventh floor.
Thus, with a heavy heart, she ultimately allowed Wynna to stay…for now, at least.
Meanwhile, in a different area on the seventh floor…
"Alright, now that I've prepared an emergency long-distance transportation magic circle, I can proceed…" Shye muttered, proceeding to move forward with vigilance shortly after.
Even if he left the dungeon now, no one could pin the blame on him.
However, he knew that dungeons had…treasures, hence, he decided to proceed. Who knows? He might even clear the dungeon by himself if there was a chance to do so.
To be frank, Shye actually preferred this arrangement, where there was no need to deal with irritating individuals like Ulfreign, and where his actions wouldn't be constrained by a heroic and overly responsible party leader like Luna.
While it might entail a bit more risk, he didn't mind, as remaining with multiple untrustworthy party members could potentially pose an even greater threat to his life.
As the saying goes…uhh…one must not fear a strong enemy but a useless, traitorous ally!
…Determined to stick to the leftmost route, Shye unknowingly increased the distance between himself and his party members as the path he had chosen would ultimately lead him to the most perilous trail—the first route—where many adventurers either turned back or met their demise.