After the three of them confirmed their direction, they waited a little longer for Alice to rest, warmed themselves up, and then quickly packed up the tent.
They didn’t even bother to extinguish the campfire, accelerating down the road immediately.
But in this kind of damp environment with nothing to burn, the small flames would die out on their own soon enough, so there was no need to worry about accidentally setting anything else on fire.
Although the temperature on the first floor was only around 10°C, and they were all wearing thin clothes, Alice and Field, protected by Light Element and Fire Element, didn’t feel cold at all.
Liakade was the same; for someone with Demon Bloodline, a mere 10°C was nothing.
So, even though Liakade used Wind Element to speed up their movement, the temperature hardly affected them.
The group following from behind—Anatoli and his men—clearly didn’t realize that their pursuit had already been discovered by Liakade and the others.
Anatoli was even mocking them for not preparing any cold-weather gear, but in the blink of an eye, the three of them disappeared from their resting spot.
“What? Where did they go?”
Anatoli looked at the lonely campfire on the platform not far away and hurriedly asked his subordinates.
“Over there!”
Anatoli’s lieutenant pointed at the road below, where three sesame-sized figures could be seen moving quickly.
“When did they get so far? How can they be that fast?”
Anatoli stared at the distant figures in confusion.
He couldn’t understand how the three of them suddenly moved so fast.
One moment, they were relaxing as if on a picnic, and the next, they had covered a huge distance.
Could it be that their pursuit had already been discovered?
What’s more, Liakade’s group didn’t seem affected by the cold at all—their posture and speed showed no sign of discomfort.
Was it some kind of hidden talisman?
Or was there another reason?
“Hurry, let’s follow them!”
There was no time for Anatoli to think more.
Even if their pursuit was exposed, so what?
He was only following Liakade’s group out of good intentions, and from his observation, they weren’t really capable of exploring the dungeon alone.
His presence would guarantee their safety.
If they lost track of them, it would be bad.
At Anatoli’s command, his group stopped hiding, rushing out from behind the stone pillars and quickly moving down the road to chase after the three girls.
Unknowingly, Anatoli had already started thinking of himself as a knight protecting Her Highness the Princess.
***
“They seem to be catching up, Miss Liakade!”
Alice glanced behind her and spoke to Liakade at her side.
“This group is so annoying!”
Liakade shot a disdainful look at Anatoli and his people far behind.
Although she couldn’t sense any malice from them, the feeling of being followed was still unpleasant.
Suddenly, several pillars of water rose from the stream ahead.
All of them were Water Elementals, the same kind they’d encountered earlier, appearing to block their path.
“Out of the way!”
Liakade shouted.
Her speed didn’t slow in the slightest as she waved her pale hands.
The Water Elementals that surged forward were instantly sliced apart by Wind Blades, collapsing back into ordinary water.
“This way!”
As the three of them continued downward, they neared the entrance to the second floor.
Liakade shouted to the other two, grabbed their wrists, turned, and leapt across the stream into a side cave.
The cave’s interior was a maze of passages.
Liakade didn’t believe Anatoli’s group could follow them in such terrain.
Anatoli’s group was still behind.
After Liakade led the two into the cave, Anatoli completely lost sight of them.
“They—They just went into the second floor like that!?”
Watching them disappear into the cave, Anatoli shook his head, feeling more convinced than ever that Liakade’s group had zero dungeon experience.
From this point on, the cave could be considered part of the Nasca Labyrinth’s second floor.
Whether you continued down the road or entered the cave, both routes led to the second floor.
However, the caves were complex, filled with monsters, and many of them made the caves their lairs.
It was much more dangerous than the main road—Liakade’s group choosing this route without hesitation could only mean they had no clear understanding of the dungeon.
But, since Her Highness the Princess had gone in, if something happened, it would be terrible.
Anatoli felt obliged to follow and protect her.
However, Liakade only picked this path because she found Anatoli’s group annoying.
In truth, before her transmigration, she’d cleared this labyrinth dozens of times.
She knew the cave’s structure like the back of her hand, and none of the monsters inside could pose a threat.
Getting lost wasn’t a concern, either.
***
“Hiss… Even if we got rid of those people, this place looks so complicated. What if we get lost?”
Field looked around the environment after walking for a while, frowning with worry.
“It’s fine. I saw a map of this labyrinth in the Academy’s library before. This cave isn’t as complicated as it looks.”
Liakade replied confidently.
“And besides, I made a unique Mark with Blood Magic.”
As she spoke, Liakade’s crimson eyes glowed faintly.
A red mark appeared on the stone wall.
“So you made Marks? That’s good.”
Field nodded, approving of Liakade’s caution.
Originally, Field had also considered making a Mark, but since everyone knew she used Fire Element, if she did, Anatoli’s group might find and catch up with them, which would defeat the purpose of entering the cave.
Liakade’s use of Blood Magic to create Marks was both discreet and, if discovered, could be mistaken for a monster’s marking, meaning Anatoli’s group wouldn’t necessarily follow them.
Just hope they didn’t erase Liakade’s Blood Magic Mark by accident if they found it.
Anyway, Field had plenty of food and Mana Potions in her Storage Ring.
Even if they got lost, surviving in the cave for ten days or half a month wouldn’t be an issue.
“Just follow me.”
Liakade motioned for the other two to stay close.
With her memories from before transmigration, she couldn’t possibly get lost in these caves, even without any Marks.
Making Marks was just double insurance to put the others at ease.
After all, even if she told them she knew every path in the labyrinth, whether they believed her or not, it would at least make them suspicious.
***
After advancing for a while, the three of them slowed down.
Judging from the sounds behind them, Anatoli’s group had probably lost them, so they returned to their original relaxed pace.
To prevent anyone from accidentally getting separated or being slow to react to monster attacks, Liakade took Alice’s and Field’s hands—one on each side—and led them forward.
The temperature inside the cave was lower than outside, about 3°C.
There were fewer glowing mushrooms than on the first floor, so it was much dimmer.
Fortunately, with Alice around, the Light Element she released for warmth also lit up the area, making her look like a walking night light.
“Pfft… I didn’t notice outside, but now that we’re in here, Alice, you’re brighter than us. Hahaha.”
Liakade squeezed Alice’s left hand, looking at her faintly glowing skin and laughing.
It wasn’t that Alice’s skin was whiter, but that she was literally glowing, like the mushrooms.
“Who—Who knew it’d be like this!”
Alice hadn’t expected this, either.
The temperature was even lower now, so she’d released more Light Element for warmth.
Unexpectedly, the Light Element on her skin began to glow softly, like phosphorescence.
“This isn’t so bad. At least I don’t need to make a fire for light.”
Field smiled at Alice.
She was also using Fire Element for warmth, but she didn’t glow like Alice—maybe that was a special trait of the Light Element.
“By the way, Miss Liakade, aren’t you cold?”
Alice squeezed Liakade’s right hand, noticing its coolness.
Given Liakade’s affinity was Wind Element, which didn’t provide warmth, it was surprising she didn’t feel cold.
“Did you forget I have Demon Bloodline?”
Liakade grinned.
“And my Demon Bloodline is inherited from a High Demon. Maybe my hand feels cool, but I don’t feel cold at all.”
“My body is different from ordinary people—no, even ordinary monsters couldn’t compare. Even if it dropped dozens of degrees below zero, it wouldn’t affect me much.”
“I see.”
Alice nodded, enlightened.
“So the blood of a High Demon is really that powerful?”
“It is.”
Thinking of her Demon Bloodline, Liakade remembered Korim.
Ever since defeating Irina Zi, Korim had vanished without a trace and hadn’t appeared since.
Liakade was deeply curious about Korim’s identity.
After all, she was an existence that never appeared in the original work.
She couldn’t determine Korim’s level or strength, but the aura and bloodline were almost equal to the Demon King in the original story.
But what was strange was that, in Liakade’s memories, Korim wasn’t a Demon King.
And a demon so strong didn’t appear during the protagonist group’s decisive battle with the demons, which was bizarre.
If only Liakade had a way to contact Korim, she’d ask her questions directly.
***
“Hmm? Careful!”
Liakade heard a faint sound ahead and immediately warned the other two, releasing Field’s left hand and sending out a Wind Blade.
Several Shadow Wolves leapt from the cave ahead.
Two of them were sliced in half by the Wind Blade the moment they appeared, dissolving into black sludge on the ground.
The rest hid in the shadows, using them to approach Liakade.
These Shadow Wolves were only around LV.15, but in these narrow, dark caves, they could use the darkness and shadows to dodge attacks and move unseen.
Even higher-level adventurers found them troublesome.
However, for Liakade’s group, they were no threat at all.
After all, they had Alice—the Light Element Magic User called the Dawn of Light—whose magic was the absolute counter to Shadow Magic.
“Alice, it’s yours.”
Liakade said calmly to Alice.
“Mm.”
Alice nodded, extended her right hand, and pointed forward.
“Light Aura!”
A ring of light appeared at Alice’s fingertip, then swept across the ground and walls.
The Shadow Wolves hiding in the shadows were instantly forced out, their fur singed with rings of burnt hair.
Liakade unleashed several Wind Blades, Field sent out Fireballs, and together they defeated the exposed Shadow Wolves.
“That was easy.”
After eliminating the wolves, Liakade took Field’s hand again.
Under Alice’s magic, the main function of Shadow Magic—to use shadows for surprise attacks—was completely neutralized.
They couldn’t even attack first, rendering the wolves powerless.
Their teamwork reminded Liakade of gaming before her transmigration.
Back then, she had Alice and the others cooperate just like this, but now it was real combat, not just text and animation on a screen—and she was part of it herself.
Other than Shadow Wolves, they encountered other shadow-type monsters, but under Alice’s Light Element, nothing could hide.
The three of them easily wiped them out.
“Let’s go this way.”
Liakade looked at the fork in the path, recalled her memories, and chose the narrower, darker route to the right.
It wasn’t because this path led directly to the third floor, but because, in her memory, there was treasure at the end.