“Oh, you’ve really been a huge help, Rosa. You truly are a good woman.”
It turned out her worries were unnecessary; this dwarf who looked harmless and even somewhat foolish was terrifyingly strong.
No monster could last even a single move against him, not even the disgusting giant spider or that “Scorpion-Tailed Lion.”
Sure, she could handle them too, but defeating them in one strike was just too outrageous.
By rights, after confirming this dwarf’s strength, she should have been able to return to work.
But unfortunately, she got lost…
To clarify in advance, she wasn’t bad with directions; it’s just that this Dungeon was incredibly strange.
No wonder Boss Su Yao always forbade them employees from venturing deep into the Dungeon beyond the temporary living area.
If that were all, it wouldn’t be so bad. Unlike ordinary human girls, she was an Elf.
Although her repertoire of spells was limited, she was a Sixth-Rank Mage with the Earth and Wood Dual Attribute.
Conquering this Dungeon, which had relatively low monster strength, should have been more than manageable.
Yet, in the end, she was defeated by a “Treasure Chest”…
Rosa knew that this Dungeon had many treasure chests—food, weapons, potions, armor, rare materials, and items… Having worked long enough at the Labyrinth Tavern, it was impossible not to know.
The most discussed topic among adventurers every day was always “how’s the loot.”
To be honest, she had a small longing for it too.
After all, money was always good to have, and she wanted to leave here quickly to seek out the Queen on the Southern Island.
But the first time she opened a chest, she encountered, in a way, an Elf’s lifelong nemesis—the Tentacle Monster.
Thick tentacles wrapped around her neck, and feeling the unpleasantly slimy texture, half of her body was dragged inside the “treasure chest exterior” used as a disguise.
Startled, she cried out a few times, then tried to cast a spell, but unexpectedly, the tentacles bound her mouth.
A scene straight out of some mysterious picture book had unfolded—she couldn’t even express surprise properly, only muffled “ooh ooh” sounds escaped her lips.
Thankfully, fortune still smiled upon her. The dwarf who had heard her cries saved her, leading to the scene where she now used magic to help the temporary team to disarm the traps.
“Are you sure this is the fastest way out of the maze? I’ve wasted precious work time because of you.”
“What did you say? Because of me?”
Oh no, she seemed to have misspoken. What did “because of him” mean? She was here for the bonus!
“I-it’s… for the money, that’s right, I came after you to pay you back!”
“Oh, well thank you then! Where’s the money?”
Rosa: “……”
“I already said you don’t have to trouble yourself. I’ll finish quickly and head back, then we can eat and drink.”
Does this guy even have a sense of time?
From when she got lost following him in the Dungeon until now, it had been almost a day and a half. Surely he didn’t think food wouldn’t spoil over that time?
That’s dwarfs for you—simple-minded with no common sense at all!
Well, it’s a good thing he’s simple-minded. If he really kept insisting on the money issue, she’d probably be working for free this month.
“Yo, we’re here. Thanks to you, this time was much smoother than before!”
The dwarf named Uzo pointed toward the huge wooden door half-hidden in the hollow right ahead, apparently the deepest part of the Maze that adventurers often talked about.
Rosa glanced around the door.
Found it. Floating not far away were stone pillars shaped like “keys,” topped with blue gems—the Teleport Point to return to work at last.
Hopefully, Boss wouldn’t dock her pay…
……
“I’m here.”
“Leave it to me, Miss Su Yao!”
For certain reasons, the blonde loli and the white-haired red-eyed beauty had arrived at the deepest room on the first floor of the Dungeon, where they had taken up the role of “Boss.”
Naturally, the opponent they were about to face was that seemingly formidable dwarf.
As expected, the dwarf treated this place as his “supply stop.”
In the past, this would have been unacceptable, but now, Su Yao didn’t mind losing a little.
The huge wooden door was pushed open like a regular door, and the round dwarf walked in, carrying an exaggeratedly large axe on his back.
“Hah, rushing but still one step behind, huh? But that’s fine.”
Though muttering to himself, his voice was loud, as if he didn’t mind others overhearing.
“Well, two beautiful women, can we talk about the stuff inside that chest…”
He spoke as he stepped forward but suddenly stopped, raising the axe on his back.
Wasn’t this supposed to be a negotiation? Why did this guy suddenly show hostility? But Su Yao didn’t dwell on this question for long.
The dwarf looked at her cautiously. “What are you? No, you’re not human. Vampire? Lich?”
Her true identity seemed exposed, though she didn’t know how the dwarf figured it out. Could this dwarf have some sort of “Identification Spell”?
Anyway, it was best to bluff for now.
“Mr. Dwarf, you’re mistaken. I’m just a traveler who happened to come here. I’m human.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Your center of gravity is all wrong, no chest movement at all, your breathing is just imitating humans, your heart’s not beating, and there’s no blood flowing…”
Wow, the second person after Miss Hilvi who could see through her identity. What was this, a warrior’s intuition?
But it seemed the dwarf mistook her for an “undead-type monster.”
What did he mean no chest movement? How rude! She was easily a B-cup when she squeezed now!
No, that wasn’t something to be proud of…
“Mr. Dwarf, please believe we mean no harm. That chest can be yours, I just want to ask a small favor.”
“Don’t joke around. Monsters who can control ‘humans’ don’t get to say they have no malice. If you want to prove who you really are, use that sword at your waist!”
No surprise dwarfs were famously stubborn. She had no idea what kind of monster he imagined her to be.
“Miss Su Yao, let me teach this rude fellow a lesson.”
“No need, Sofia. If he mistakes me as controlling you, it’ll be harder to explain. The best way to deal with simple-minded people is with simple-minded methods.”
Su Yao drew her sword and stepped forward.
A trace of appreciation appeared in the dwarf’s wary gaze.
“My name’s Uzo. Don’t judge by my looks, I’m very strong. If you can withstand my attacks for a while, you win. That’ll convince me you mean no harm.”
For a warrior, this was the simplest proposal imaginable, but she replied, “Sorry, I refuse! Because I’m going to defeat you right here!”