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  Honda charged forward without thinking too much.

  Nothing hard to handle, the fact that he needed to get close to attack was an advantage for me. I’d say he was the perfect opponent; this time, I got lucky.

  His strikes were fast, but they couldn’t compare to my reaction speed. Dodge and counterattack, simple and effective.

  A straight punch grazed my cheek, leaving a faint sting.

  In response, a firm kick hit his stomach, sending him stumbling backward. Honda fell to his knees, gasping for air. That short pause gave me time to think.

  When it comes to fighting, I feel like my soul is already used to it. With my current strength, I can already survive and kill monsters, but people with real technique would be a problem. Still, I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel.

  A blue glow ran across the floor, spreading beneath our feet. Spears of ice burst from the ground, tearing through the stone and lunging toward Honda.

  He leapt to the side, the shards passing just inches from his body.

  I rushed after him.

  A clean punch to his ribs made him grunt in pain. Before he could regain his balance, I grabbed one of his legs and threw him against the wall.

  The stones trembled from the impact.

  He didn’t move. He stayed down, dust slowly settling over his body.

  “That should be enough. For someone who acted so strong and evil, you weren’t much of a challenge after all.”

  I took a deep breath, then heard footsteps coming from one of the corridors. When I turned around, I saw Sentil and Pumpkin running toward me.

  “God, you wrecked him.”

  Pumpkin looked impressed, staring at Honda’s condition.

  “Yeah, guess so. You look fine yourself.”

  She laughed and ruffled my hair.

  “Of course! That guy was a pain, but we dealt with him.”

  “Don’t get too relaxed yet. We still need to find the exit. Let’s take both of them.”

  I went over to Honda, grabbed him by his cloak, and dragged him to the center of the arena.

  Pumpkin went back through the corridor and soon returned, carrying a frozen man over her shoulder. The weight didn’t seem to bother her at all.

  “These guys were really weak, don’t you think?” she said.

  “I agree. One of them had a tricky ability, but once we figured out its limits, it was easy. Victor, what did you think of your opponent?”

  “He could manipulate mana, but he didn’t have a unique skill. I’m not even sure if he had any extra skills at all. His strength would be dangerous to unprotected humans, though.”

  “That’s strange… why would the weakest ones in the group come after us?”

  Sentil crossed his arms, deep in thought.

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  Honda and that weird skinny guy, his name was Telos, were weak, at least by our current standards.

  That could mean two things: they either wanted to wear us down before sending someone stronger, or they were just disposable, used to buy time while the others escaped.

  In the end, the second option seemed more likely. If it were the first, they would’ve ambushed us before we regrouped here in the arena.

  ‘Hey, what do you think?’

  ? Your deduction is correct, sir. I’m not detecting anyone else beyond the monsters behind the walls, at least not in this area. ?

  ‘By the way, what is this arena for?’

  ? I believe it’s used for training. Since the criminals never left this place, they likely used it as a training ground. ?

  With that, we decided to take the culprits back to camp. We just needed to follow the maze to the exit.

  “Hey, Pumpkin… can’t you put these guys in that fancy bag of yours?” I asked, not eager to carry that huge man all the way back.

  “Oh, you mean my [Inventory]? Unfortunately, no, it only works on non-living things.”

  “Damn it…”

  She tried to comfort me by saying we were strong enough not to even feel the weight. I mean, she wasn’t wrong, but even if I don’t feel it, it’s still annoying.

  Sentil watched silently until the sound of moving stones echoed.

  In an instant, Honda shot up in a burst of fury and charged at Sentil, his fist coated in raw mana.

  “At least I’ll kill one of you!”

  Sentil shifted into a defensive stance.

  I dashed forward, and my kick struck Honda’s jaw, the sharp crack echoed through the arena, and he collapsed again, unconscious.

  I gave a thumbs-up.

  “All good?”

  Sentil sighed and bowed slightly.

  “Yes. You saved me… thank you.”

  We grabbed both bodies and followed one of the corridors. It didn’t take long before we reached a spiral staircase leading to a reinforced wooden door.

  After a few more minutes, we found a strangely elegant room. It looked like a hidden refuge, furnished like a vacation home: a round table, five chairs, and plants struggling to survive the cold.

  “So this is where the criminals stayed,” Sentil said, examining the structure.

  “Living in comfort while everyone else suffered down below,” Pumpkin added.

  “Comfort? What are you talking about? This place is miserable.”

  The cold wind slipped through the cracks in the walls.

  It was hard to call ‘living in a frozen mountain’ comfortable, especially with constant snowstorms outside.

  “Well, we know there were five of them in total,” Sentil said, pointing at the chairs.

  “Those bastards should’ve taken the chairs too,” I muttered, making Pumpkin laugh.

  “I’ll tell you both something. We’ll have a meeting later when we’re back, but I want you to know this now…”

  Pumpkin and I grew serious.

  “I suspect there’s a traitor among us. Not just anyone. It’s too strange for them to know our exact location.”

  “I agree. It’d have to be someone who knew about this mission and had awareness of everyone’s positions, plus a way to communicate with the group inside this maze.”

  “Any ideas who it could be? Anyone with tracking or communication skills?”

  Sentil and Pumpkin went silent, thinking. In the end, neither had an answer.

  “Besides the royal soldiers and the Cirgo adventurer guild, no one else knew about this mission. When we get back, we’ll make a plan and investigate. Pumpkin, I’d like you and your group to handle the guild side. Sorry… I know the deal was only for this mission.”

  She shrugged and smiled.

  “It’s fine, leave it to us. Victor’s coming too, right?”

  “Huh? Me?”

  “Yeah. Let’s travel together, what do you say? You’re an adventurer too. I can talk to my group and get you in. What do you think?”

  It would be a great opportunity to leave this city. Traveling with experienced adventurers would help me a lot, but for now, I’ll keep my answer open.

  “I’ll give you my answer once all this mess is over.”

  “Alright, but think about it, okay?”

  Once everything was settled, we went through a wooden door that led to another corridor, this one shorter.

  After a few steps, we reached another massive reinforced metal gate, just like the one we used to enter.

  I lifted it, a bit more easily this time.

  Pumpkin rolled the frozen man outside, and Sentil helped drag Honda. Then we all stepped out.

  The sight before us was an endless expanse of white mountains. Snow lashed against our faces, and the strong wind felt like it could carry us away.

  I sighed.

  I didn’t feel the cold as much anymore, thanks to [Adaptation], but carrying Honda all the way back to camp was going to be hell.

  We still had to figure out how to get down the mountain. The good thing was that we confirmed there was no one else left in their base.

  Still, it was strange that they’d left those two behind, even if they were disposable.

  That, however, was something we’d uncover later. For now, we began our trek through the mountains, with Sentil leading the way.

  “Stay close, don’t split up, no matter what happens.”

  The wind roared. Snow buried our tracks. But deep inside, I felt we were finally getting closer to uncovering the truth behind this mystery.

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