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Contagious Heroism – Part 05

Kinga Wolf stood motionless in the middle of the path on the 6th floor.

Kinga clicked his tongue. “What is this? How can we search for treasure if it’s just a straight path?”

The smooth walls and floor were dull and dreary, making it difficult to track their direction.

Splashes of blood everywhere indicated past skirmishes. Dungeons had the power to absorb blood and flesh over time. As such, they hadn’t seen much blood, until now. Bloodstains on the 6th floor meant that they were still fresh.

Blackened magic stones littered the side of the path. Gerhardt’s group likely ignored them. Naturally, no one, including Kinga, had any interest in picking up such ominous objects.

“Lord Kinga, should we really keep going?”

“Fuck off, bitch.”

Annoyed, Kinga pushed the woman away, but she seemed unfazed, as if used to this treatment.

“What to do…”

Kinga was hesitating because his instinct was warning him of danger ahead. As a seasoned adventurer, he trusted his intuition greatly.

There should still be unexplored areas and likely treasures on the 5th floor.

This floor was clearly different. It wasn’t a maze. It felt like something was inviting them over. Kinga sensed danger he had never experienced before. Something that even he, a Rank B adventurer, felt was beyond his capabilities. It pained him to acknowledge that there were foes much stronger than him out there.

Every now and then, eerie roars echoed in the distance, indicating the presence of powerful foes ahead. But taking them down meant obtaining treasure.

“…”

Countless adventurers, lured by the promise of treasure, had met their demise by underestimating their enemies. Kinga was aware of his greedy nature. He had made it this far without dying thanks to his self-awareness and trust in his instincts.

“Tch. Maybe we should—”

Just before he could suggest a retreat, he sensed someone approaching from behind. He looked over.

“Move!”

He could tell it was the Four Eastern Stars from the sound of their footsteps. They were coming fast. Kinga couldn’t grasp why they were in such a hurry.

“Hey, Selyse! Why the rush? It’s dangerous—”

As Selyse passed, she shot Kinga a glance. “The Beastmen are fighting up ahead. We’re going to help!”

“What?”

Kinga stood dumbfounded. If formidable enemies lay ahead, it was likely the advance party, led by Gerhardt, was engaged in battle.

Kinga couldn’t understand why they were doing this. The Beastmen were soldiers, while they were adventurers. How could they possibly provide meaningful reinforcements with their numbers?

“It can’t be.”

It hit him like a brick. Selyse and Marius were genuinely determined to rescue Gerhardt and his team. Deep down, Kinga believed that they were merely putting on an act. Despite their lofty demeanor, they were just adventurers. Those who couldn’t accurately assess their own abilities met swift ends, and only the tenacious and self-preserving survived.

“Lord Kinga, is it dangerous ahead? We should retreat for now.”

“I agree. Let’s just let those ladies do their thing, and we can strike later when the enemy’s weak.”

“We could also get Azure Blade Nebula to join them.”

What the women said made perfect sense. Such was Kinga’s typical approach. It was like he was standing in front of a mirror. It was obviously the wisest choice, given his current rank as a Rank B adventurer.

“That’s why you guys are stuck at Rank B.”

Marius’s words replayed in his mind.

“Fuck.”

Normally, Kinga would have thought nothing of it. Seeing Selyse and her team pressing onward, aware of the danger, he would’ve dismissed them as idiots.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!”

But today for some reason, he was unusually pissed. And the reason was simple—his instinct.

Danger awaited ahead. Grave danger.

Was Selyse oblivious to it? Unlikely. Yet, she showed no hesitation.

A word crossed Kinga’s mind: hero.

“Should we go?”

A dangerous decision. It wasn’t worth the risk.

He could accept missing out on treasures, but he knew that the chance to become a hero might only come once in an adventurer’s short life.

His indecision was unusual for someone who was essentially a show-off. Hesitating over something that wouldn’t normally cause hesitation was proof of his impaired judgment. He could settle the conflict in his mind if he just calmed down, but he couldn’t.

“Lord Kinga?”

“…”

“What’s up?”

“No.” With beautiful women on either side, Kinga said, “Hell no. Risking our lives over something like this is just plain stupid.”

He lifted the corners of his mouth in what he hoped was a cynical smile. An act, if kept up, eventually becomes genuine. Kinga was convinced that Kinga Wolf had once again distanced themselves from danger.

“Excuse me. Could you let us through?”

Another group arrived, out of breath. It was Marius’s Azure Blade Nebula.

“There’s an evil monster ahead. We’re going to take it down. Lisa says it might be the source of malevolence.”

Kinga didn’t ask, but Marius explained anyway. It was likely directed at him.

Marius’s group planned to do what Selyse and her team intended: defeat the monster and aid Gerhardt.

“Have you seen the Four Eastern Stars?”

The tense look on Kinga’s face was all it took for Marius to understand. Letting out a small sigh, the man passed by Kinga Wolf.

“Marius, wait,” Kinga said.

Marius stopped, but he didn’t turn around.

“Do you really think you can help soldiers with so few people?”

“…”

After a pause, Marius replied curtly, “We are the Azure Blade Nebula.”

That was all he said.

“What was that about?” one woman said.

“How does that make any sense?” another chirped. “I mean, if they’re the Azure Blade Nebula, then we’re the Kinga Wolf too.”

“Haha, true, true.”

Kinga understood what Marius was trying to say.

They were the Azure Blade Nebula, and they were Rank A. They possessed unshakable confidence, pride, and conviction.

Kinga had encountered several Rank A groups as an adventurer. Though the gap between Rank B and A was just one rank, the difference was clear.

Rank A adventurers left their mark in history, while Rank B ones didn’t. It might be more fitting to say that those who accomplish remarkable feats naturally ascend to Rank A.

Marius strode off without a backward glance, focused solely on the battlefield ahead. He was fully aware of the danger, but he believed they could handle it somehow.

It wasn’t mere overconfidence. Marius possessed absolute power that Kinga didn’t—the magic sword Blue Flash.

“Damn it.”

Selyse herself possessed the formidable White Ray Blade. Adventurers often remarked how it was thanks to this weapon that she quickly rose to Rank B. But Kinga heard that she didn’t have the White Ray Blade anymore. Nevertheless, Selyse charged into danger. Before Marius did.

“Damn it!”

Faced with the glaring difference before him, Kinga’s voice strained.

“Lord Kinga?”

Noticing Kinga’s changed demeanor, the women stepped back. Kinga was a moody person, quick to wear his heart on his sleeve, but what they saw now was something new—an intense anger.

“You think I’m a pushover?!”

Kinga rallied his comrades. They would defeat the boss ahead, rescue Gerhardt, also known as Einbiest’s Beastman King, and conquer the great labyrinth.

The women, once anxious, grew excited, realizing Kinga was serious. They had faith—baseless as it was—that Kinga could do it. The men, however, wore grim faces.

Kinga trailed after Marius’s group. He was unaware that heroic acts were contagious. Selyse’s actions had ignited something in his heart.

Some might call it courage, but one could also call it recklessness.