“Mr. Knight, is he really going to be okay?”
At this moment, Fluff’s eyes were filled with worry.
It had only been a few days since Arlette had escaped with his life from the sixth floor of the dungeon. He had been seriously injured, fallen ill, and lost consciousness several times. He had even endured a flogging, and last night, he had collapsed during the ritual.
Now, he was showing signs of weakness again.
Fluff began to feel afraid. She feared that at any moment, he would end up like he did during that previous battle against the goblins—one second he was fine, and the next, he had collapsed.
Moreover, the situation now was different. During the goblin incident, Arlette had collapsed after the battle was over. They had been in the safety of Dice Town, surrounded by guards who could help.
But what about now?
They were currently in one of the most dangerous places on the entire continent: the Dungeon. Scorching heat, harsh environments, and lethal monsters—any one of these factors could lead to their deaths. If Arlette collapsed in a place like this, Fluff might not even have a chance to take him away.
Yet, Arlette seemed completely indifferent to his own poor condition. In his eyes, there was only this race.
At this moment, about 10 meters above their heads, a young white pigeon man from the Avians was holding a magic camera, focusing his shots on the Crystal Thorn Adventurer Group in the lead. Soon, the images and sound reached Dice Town on the surface.
“Oh?! An unexpected situation has occurred!”
“The Heavy Knight contestant, who showed off his skills and helped the team break through the monster encirclement earlier, seems to be experiencing some physical issues!”
“What’s going on? He didn’t seem to have taken any damage earlier! Could it be that he is a burst-type contestant and lacks endurance?!”
“Keep in mind, there’s another strong contender, ‘Monster Hunter,’ pressing hard from behind! If his condition drops now, they might lose their first-place position!”
The race had only been underway for 10 minutes, but the series of events had already been so tumultuous and thrilling that the audience was completely captivated.
“That Heavy Knight… what’s his deal?”
“I don’t know. How did he suddenly start looking so weak?”
The spectators were also bewildered, having no idea why this seed contestant, who had performed so powerfully before, had suddenly lost his momentum.
Meanwhile, Branch President Ou of the Adventurers Guild watched with a heavy expression, his eyes narrowed as he focused on Arlette through the light screen.
Just as everyone else suspected, Arlette’s condition was abysmal.
After entering the sixth floor of the dungeon, the old injuries deep within his body seemed to resonate with the environment, waking up once more. The fluid Vivian had applied to him last night had only healed the damage from the ritual; it hadn’t addressed his old wounds.
Suddenly, intense pain shot through his entire body. Every step he took while running seemed to pull at his internal injuries, causing every inch of muscle to protest to his brain.
Yet, even so, Arlette endured it with a will of iron and continued forward. At this moment, he had nothing else on his mind. He only wanted to help Meloe finish this race and bring back the lady she used to be.
By now, most of the adventurer groups in the rear had gradually broken free from the encirclement of the Thermonuclear Lizards. Most of the contestants had only lost a bit of time escaping the monster attacks, though a small number had been injured. One adventurer group even withdrew from the race entirely, using a teleportation circle to leave the dungeon.
But clearly, the audience didn’t care about that. Their eyes were locked on the “Monster Hunter” adventurer group, which was rapidly catching up from behind!
Within the Monster Hunter adventurer group, there was a class that was equally uncommon—the “Item Master”!
Like the Heavy Knight, very few people chose to be an Item Master among the many available classes. However, unlike the Heavy Knight, who was simply considered weak in every aspect, the Item Master was different. This class was difficult, not weak. Moreover, it was incredibly expensive; not just any team could afford to support a powerful Item Master.
But if one could be cultivated, an Item Master could simultaneously fulfill the roles of a Mage, Archer, and even Support. Coincidentally, Alice from the “Monster Hunter” adventurer group was exactly such an Item Master.
Originally, Monster Hunter had been lagging several hundred meters behind Crystal Thorn. Yet this Item Master had simply scattered a bottle of dust with an acceleration effect, allowing the entire team to quickly catch up!
“Boss, we’ve caught up, meow! They’re right ahead, meow!”
A miniature cat-like beastman in the Monster Hunter group sat astride Nolan’s neck, waving her arms excitedly and pointing at the Crystal Thorn adventurer group ahead.
“I know that!”
A moment later, Monster Hunter completely pulled level with Crystal Thorn, the two teams now running neck and neck.
“Oh!! They’ve caught up! Monster Hunter has caught up!”
“This is the first time since the start that two teams have been at such a close distance!”
“Our Dragon Slayer Competition does not prohibit friction between teams. After all, the dungeon is cruel, and the title of Dragon Slayer can only be obtained by one team!”
“So next, will Monster Hunter choose to continue accelerating toward the goal, or will they interfere with Crystal Thorn?”
Obviously, for the leader of Monster Hunter, this wasn’t even a question. Upon reaching the side of the Crystal Thorn group, a cruel smile instantly appeared on his face as he looked toward the leader of the Crystal Thorn adventurer group, Meloe.
“Yo, if it isn’t our little vampire lady. What a coincidence. Do you remember me?”
Initially, Meloe had no interest in the team that had caught up, her focus solely on charging forward to reach the Fire Dragon’s lair faster. But when that familiar voice reached her ears, she snapped her head around.
Seeing Nolan’s face, a flash of unspeakable disgust crossed Meloe’s blood-red eyes.
“…Nolan? You’re still alive, you bastard?”
“Heh, not only am I alive, but I’m doing quite well for myself. And it’s all thanks to you!”
The grin on Nolan’s face grew more rampant as his eyes bored into Meloe. “If I’m not mistaken, is your family still treating you like a piece of trash? Is that why you’re trying to snag the Dragon Slayer title to show off and seek attention?”
“Does it have anything to do with me whether you’re alive or dead? Save your breath and stop bothering me.”
Meloe didn’t want to deal with the guy at all. She instantly circulated her mana, using a vampire secret technique to construct a long whip made of blood in her palm. This time, however, the whip was lined with several blade-like structures.
“If you dare block my way, I won’t mind kicking you to death while I’m at it.”
Meloe furrowed her brows as if she were looking at a disgusting insect.
“Heh, you want to kill me? You’re 20,000 years too early for that! Alice, do it! Lure over the monsters inhabiting this canyon!”