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Adventurers on a Remote Island – Part 08

Why did Silver Face leave her behind? She had pondered that question countless times.

He left behind a message telling her that her life belonged solely to her, so she should live freely. That must have been his genuine sentiment. Upon realizing this, Jillarte felt profound regret.

As a Half Dragon, she had experienced scorn and persecution. There was no human being who would extend a helping hand without ulterior motives, and she expected Silver Face to demand some form of payment. Jillarte herself had been prepared for that, ready to wholeheartedly offer whatever she could in return.

And so, when she learned that Silver Face genuinely did not want anything, she regretted doubting his intentions. She rued not doing anything for him when he was still by her side.

Jillarte decided that when they met again, she would shower him with gratitude, and to do that, she had to become a commendable Deputy Leader of Einbiest. This newfound motivation drove her to devote herself to her responsibilities.

If I can’t meet him, then I’ll just find him. Growing stronger should help me expand the network I need.

Once she became a Deputy Leader acknowledged by everyone, would Silver Face commend her?

Jillarte’s eyes snapped open. Before her was a hard floor, and her body refused to move. She swiftly recalled losing consciousness and being pushed into the purple passage by Michael.

“Wh…”

She tried to speak, but no words escaped her lips. She realized her tongue was numb, saliva trickling down her mouth. She shifted her gaze slightly and saw she was still in the dungeon. She was paralyzed, not bound by a rope.

That purple passage was some sort of trap. But why did I fall victim to it?

Despite her clouded mind, Jillarte caught the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Oh, they’re really here. Looks like they’re all completely paralyzed.”

“Of course they are. I’ve been making a living in this dungeon for years.”

“Hehe… R-Right.”

Jillarte recognized the voices immediately as Michael and Esrat. She reflexively thought of asking their help, but something felt amiss about their words.

“These motherfuckers really piss me off.”

Michael’s voice dripped with an astonishing amount of venom. There was a thud, followed by a groan.

It can’t be…

Until this moment, Jillarte had never harbored doubts about her companion Michael and Esrat, the guide they hired. While she occasionally found their actions to be somewhat odd, she couldn’t think of any reason they would inflict harm upon them.

“Save that for later. The paralysis will last for thirty minutes, and it wears off quick. Tie her up with this rope until then.”

“Damn it. We’ve only got around ten minutes left.”

“That’s why I said to save it for later. The purple passage is known as the Path of Paralysis. It’s designed to spit you out into this room. The route we took from the large room to here was the safest. If only you could single-handedly take down Golems, we would’ve made it here sooner.”

“I-I get it already.”

Michael and Esrat proceeded to tie everyone’s hands and feet. Jillarte too was tightly bound, unable to offer any resistance. She tried to shoot a defiant gaze, but when her eyes met Michael’s bloodshot eyes and twisted grin, a shiver ran down her spine.

Michael chortled. “Let’s nurture our love together on this island, yeah?”

He’s gone mad, Jillarte thought.

Then, the sound of another set of footsteps reached her ears. They were in a small room connected to the purple passage, with paths leading in multiple directions.

“It’s Gogo Zoro. Let’s go.”

“O-Okay.”

Esrat and Michael hastened towards the source of the footsteps. Jillarte saw a group of over ten individuals out of the corner of her eye.

What’s going to happen to us?

They should know that what they were doing would incur the wrath of Einbiest. Michael might have acted solely out of his obsession with Jillarte, but there should be no benefit for Gogo Zoro. Yet, they lured Jillarte’s party into a trap.

This marked the second time Jillarte had been trapped and abducted. Fear gripped her heart, and her entire body quivered. When she was captured in the Kingdom of Ponsonia, she wasn’t as terrified because her captors were soldiers. But this time was different. She had no idea what they would do to her.

I need to escape. I have to run. But how? I’m scared. Terrified. Help me. Help me. Help me!

Her position as Deputy Leader and as the representative of the Dragonfolk offered no protection at this moment. There was only a 19-year-old girl, paralyzed and bound.

Help me… Silver Face!

Then, she felt someone touching her arm.

---

No one took notice of the black-haired boy as he sprinted through the dungeon, even the Golems. Hikaru had activated his Stealth from the start. If only he had proper shoes instead of sandals, he could have been even faster, but there was no use dwelling on his lack of preparation.

What should I do? Even if I manage to find Jillarte before she falls into the trap, how do I convince her to leave? I’ll think about it later. For now, I need to hurry.

The absence of weapons and equipment, a result of his unpreparedness, wasn’t his only concern. He also had no water or food. This meant he couldn’t afford to spend a long time in the dungeon, and without a map, getting lost would put his life at risk.

Luckily, Hikaru had acquired a map of the Maze of Magic Locks the previous day and looked over it. Adventures often involved dungeons, and curiosity had gotten the better of him. He sacrificed his sleep to study the map, which consisted of five pages, one for each floor. While the maze was slightly complicated, and he hadn’t fully grasped the intricate traps, he had done his own mental simulations for when he would explore it. Acting like an elementary school student reading a guidebook on the eve of a field trip made him feel embarrassed at himself.

I gotta say, I didn’t expect it to come in handy like this.

Hikaru, etching the route he had taken into his mind, maintained a steady pace as he constantly measured distances and compared them to the map stored in his memory. Thanks to the lessons he received from Unken on Rogue tactics, he was able to perform these tasks with ease.

“In large parties, there are usually Cartographers and Quartermasters, but in smaller groups, Rogues often handle the mapping. This is something worth learning.”

Furthermore, the dungeon corridors themselves were infused with mana, which Hikaru had the ability to detect. The flow of magical power constantly updated the map in his mind.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection on his Soul Board was maxed out at 5, allowing him to detect mana within a range of up to 100 meters. However, while he could sense the dungeon corridors and the presence of Golems, finding humans proved to be more challenging.

Weird. It’s a dungeon, but there are no people around. They probably cleared out the place.

If their plan was to trap Einbiest’s exploration party, including Jillarte, and abduct them, they wouldn’t want other adventurers spotting them. As long as they weren’t actually seen, they could play dumb even if suspicion fell on them in the future.

Given Gogo Zoro’s influential position in the Adventurers’ Guild of Southleaf Island, it was reasonable to assume he had pressured other adventurers not to enter the dungeon today.

Put it another way, they were serious in kidnapping Jillarte.

Don’t panic. There should still be time.

If Jillarte had been taken to an unknown location, tracking her would become much more difficult. However, within this dungeon, Hikaru could still manage. Ideally, he didn’t want to use his Silver Face persona. He didn’t want to burden Jillarte with more favors.

Right now, he could still save her as the adventurer Hikaru.

Suddenly, he picked up mana signatures.

---

Seeing the Beastmen sprawled in the room, Hikaru gave a start. He assumed they had all been killed, but upon detecting their mana, particularly Jillarte’s, he felt relieved.

Some kind of a massive trap…

Hikaru saw Gogo Zoro’s group meeting up with Esrat and Michael. Michael’s expression was overtly obsequious, and his eyes seemed vacant, reflecting the unmistakable look of someone who had gone astray.

Through his Mana Detection, Hikaru had discovered a group of adventurers led by Gogo Zoro. By tailing them, he had arrived in this small room.

Keeping his Stealth active, Hikaru moved along the wall to the opposite side of the room. Jillarte and the others had been disarmed, their weapons lying nearby. Hikaru picked up a dagger from the pile and gently touched Jillarte’s arm.

Jillarte’s eyes widened. “Sh-Shilver Hace…?”

Hikaru froze for a moment. “Are you okay? I’m an adventurer from Einbiest. I heard about a plan to lure you into a trap, so I came here.”

“Ah…”

Jillarte’s paralysis made it difficult to read her expression. But her voice carried a hint of disappointment rather than relief.

The paralysis seems more severe than I expected. I hope there won’t be any lasting effects.

Hikaru lifted Jillarte’s limp arm and cut the ropes. The plan to have them all engage in combat while he secretly assisted from the shadows seemed impossible. Freeing everyone at this moment wasn’t a viable option.

“Ah…”

Hikaru lifted Jillarte up. His 2 points on his Soul Board’s Strength allowed him to carry her despite her armor and the weight of her bag.

While Gogo Zoro and Esrat were engaged in a conversation, their attention turned towards them.

“Hey, where’s Jillarte?!”

Hikaru had leaped into a nearby passage.

Running while carrying Jillarte was clearly disadvantageous, especially with Hikaru wearing sandals. Moreover, he was unfamiliar with the dungeon’s layout.

The only good thing was that they didn’t see Hikaru escaping. With Group Cloaking active, as long as they didn’t get too close, they wouldn’t be able to visually confirm his location. Furthermore, if there were forks, the number of pursuers would decrease.

And so a challenging game of tag within the treacherous Maze of Magic Locks began.