One man of the bandit looking group spoke out, saying, “maybe we should talk.”

He only said that after he saw William advancing toward them with no fear in his eyes. They were apprehensive that they just might have poked a wasps’ nest.

William didn’t stop for a single second. He did the contrary. His speed increased as he got closer to his first victim.

With Asura in hands, his sword had a dark energy around it, which would make any of his slashes deadly.

“Wait!” the man yelled again.

It didn’t work, again. William cut the first of them in half. Blood spurted everywhere. William’s clothes now had a new color to them: red.

Only after killing one of them and showing his power that William stopped and decided to talk with them. For him, that was the best approach to get them scared, and willing to do whatever he wanted.

“So let’s talk,” William said, a curling smile forming in his lips, “what do you have to offer me?”

William didn’t want friends or more people to work under him. So, what could those men offer him? He already knew where the portal was, so it was not like they would have something so different to offer him.

The man talked with a shimmering voice, “w-we know where the portal is, like exactly, and we also know how to kill the creature protecting the portal.”

That was decent, but William could tell the man had more to share. So, he pushed forward.

“That’s not good enough,” William said.

He then stepped forward again. The man yelled.

“Calm down, relax. I have a few more interesting things for you,” the man said, “we explored the next dungeon floor so we know a lot about it. I can share it with you if you want.”

William stopped and looked directly into the man’s eyes. “Now that’s what I am talking about,” he said.

The first thing William asked them to do was place their weapons on the ground and toss it to him. He didn’t want any type of sneaky attacks coming up.

The man who was the one talking to William was okay with it. He ordered everyone to do what William asked.

In the meantime, Rena and the others from William’s group came forward, standing beside him. They looked at him differently.

It was not that they were scared of him or anything. Being ruthless like that was a common thing among mages, especially the stronger ones. It was only by being like that that one would thrive and keep growing stronger.

They were looking at him differently more like due to his power. All of them knew he was strong. They felt it. But that was the first time they were actually seeing him in a fight.

Anyway, after all the bandits placed their weapons down, the man started to share the things that he knew about the next dungeon floor.

That was valuable information. William was glad to learn that from him.

“The next floor is… strange,” the man said, “it’s not the usual place with countless beasts and so on. The beasts are not the problem, but the citizens in that place. You’ll start off in a random city, village, or house with a random identity, and you’ll have to discover what your goals are and complete them.”

William frowned. That sounded like some role play shit or something. He would have to become the character in that dungeon floor and do the things that the character would.

“Really?” William asked, “it does sound like you are just making up this shit.”

The man shook his head, “No, no, no. It is the truth, I can promise you that. Look, if you want to skip this whole goal part thing, I heard where the portal might be, but I never went there to be certain of it.”

William let the man speak, listening to everything he had to share about the next floor, and also about the boss creature guarding the floor they were in.

After getting all the info he wanted, he left, leaving that group of bandits to take care of the body of their fallen comrade.

Only after they were far away did someone from William’s group say something.

“That was… intense. But I’m glad you got the info we needed.”

The rest of the group was thinking of returning to the hub and leaving the dungeon for a while to rest, but that didn’t mean they would never return to the dungeon in the future. And when they did, they would know what to expect on the next floor.

They continued their journey toward the portal. During their journey there, other groups tried to attack them, just like the last one did. Obviously, William taught them a lesson, killing a few of them and so on.

There was even one group in specific that didn’t stop trying even after William killed two of them, so he had to kill all of them. That was the only group that got wiped out by him. The rest just got scared and fled.

Eventually, they reached the portal. There, they saw the creature protecting it. It was a massive nest with gigantic wasps.

But none of them were scared of it. That’s because they didn’t even need to fight against the boss creature.

The portal was right behind it, and all they had to do was circle around and pass through the portal without making any significant noise. If they made any noise, the wasps would wake up and attack them.

“We should go one by one,” William said. “If we go all together, the chances of someone screwing up is huge.”

“I agree on that.”

Everyone agreed. So, one by one, they circled around the nest and passed through the portal. William and Rena were the last ones, as they weren’t in a hurry to move to the next floor like the rest of them were.

“You go,” William said to Rena. “I’ll be the last one.”

Rena moved, silently circling the nest. She looked at William before passing through the gate.

Then, it was time for William to go. He started moving, but then he felt another aura near him. He frowned.

When he looked around, he saw that first group of bandits he spoke with. The one who gave him all the information about the boss and the next floor.

The man looked at William with a smirk and yelled, “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”

The yell was to wake up the wasps’ nest. Countless wasps left the nest, and the first thing they saw was William standing there. So, obviously, they saw him as their primary enemy.

“Fuck…” William cursed.

He didn’t expect that first group to follow them and get their payback at that crucial moment. But he didn’t have time to cry about it. There was no running away. He had to fight against the wasps.

The first wasp tried to sting him, but William moved to the side, avoiding the attack.

Then, he started running. He ran in the direction of that group of bandits that came to betray him.

They weren’t expecting it! William quickly arrived where they were.

“No! Why did you come here? They’ll attack us now! Run, guys!” the man yelled.

He tried to run with his comrades, but it didn’t work. The wasps were just too fast, and they were already seeing them as enemies as well.

William then activated his body enhancing spells. More precisely, the ones that gave him agility and movement speed. Then, he dashed toward the portal while the wasps were busy with the bandits.

The portal was not locked. That was because the wasps weren’t a boss that people had to kill to go to the next floor. It was an optional boss.

So, even if someone was fighting it, it was possible to go through the portal and move to the next floor.

William could hear the screams of those bandits as he passed through the portal. He didn’t care about their fate, especially after they tried to kill him.

When William reached the next floor, he didn’t see anyone from the group. Rena and the others went to random places on the dungeon floor, just like it happened on the previous one.

The majority of the group used their rings to return to the hub and then left the dungeon. Only Rena stayed. Well, William did too.

When he looked around, he saw that he was inside a type of dungeon. There were people in the cells there. The people weren’t just in the cells but locked in the walls with chains. They were clearly criminals or something.

Someone came to speak with William.

“Good evening, jailer,” a guard with plate armor said. “You can rest now. I’ll take over your shift.”

With that quick talking, William already got some information about his identity on that dungeon floor. He nodded to the man.

“Thank you. Have a good shift, my friend.”

He tapped the man on the shoulder after passing by him.

William went upstairs, and he was not expecting to see a massive castle when he left that dungeon.

The castle had many people working there, but most of them were already sleeping. William was in trouble because he had no idea where his room was.

“The first objective is for me to find my room, wonderful!” William thought.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep