A Heart-Pounding Three-Legged Race

“Down?!”

“Yeah. There’s a teleportation array on the lowest floor of the dungeon that leads back to the surface, right?”

“How do you know that?! That’s a secret only a handful of people know… wait, even if that’s true, so what?!”

Hearing Alicia blurt that out unintentionally only strengthened Ye Yousheng’s resolve to go downward.

His logic was simple.

If going up didn’t work—then go down.

He remembered that in the game, the thirtieth floor of this labyrinth had a teleportation array that led directly back to the surface.

If that game was based on reality, then this dungeon must have one too.

Going up meant climbing twenty floors.

Going down required less than half that distance.

And he wouldn’t even need to look for stairs.

There were pitfall traps that could drop him directly to lower floors.

Pitfall traps were extremely common.

Some had spikes.

Some were filled with water.

Some contained sticky slime.

And there was a rare type…

One that led directly to the next floor.

That was the real reason Ye Yousheng chose to go down.

With the map stored on his phone and his memories from the game, he was confident he could quickly locate those rare traps.

And areas with such traps usually had fewer monsters, minimizing combat.

Even if they encountered something like Death Knell again, they could just jump into a pitfall and escape to the next floor.

As long as they kept moving, they would eventually reach the thirtieth floor.

“So once we reach the bottom, we can use that teleportation array to get back to the surface.”

Alicia’s eyes widened in horror.

“Are you insane?! The deeper we go, the stronger the monsters get! The furthest I’ve ever gone is the twenty-fourth floor! Going deeper alone is way too dangerous!”

Normally, no adventurer would go into the lower floors alone.

At most, they’d stick to the middle layers.

Because the difference between the middle and lower layers was massive.

The lower levels were far more complex, and the monsters far stronger.

With labyrinthine paths, countless traps, and deadly creatures, a single person’s strength was insignificant.

But Ye Yousheng shook his head.

“No. You’re wrong.”

Then, with a serious expression, he raised two fingers beside her shoulder.

“There are two of us.”

“That’s not the point!”

Alicia smacked his head with her staff in frustration.

“With you—someone who can’t even beat Death Knell—and me, who can’t even move, how are we supposed to reach the thirtieth floor?! We’ll die in some corner of the dungeon, and no one will even find our bodies!”

Dodging her staff strikes effortlessly at point-blank range, Ye Yousheng replied calmly,

“You won’t know unless you try.”

“If we try, we’ll die! Put me down! I don’t want to die here!”

Alicia struggled desperately.

But since only her upper body could move, she couldn’t escape his hold.

And in the process, her body kept brushing against him, making her even more flustered.

“Shh. Stop yelling. You’ll attract monsters.”

Of course, he was bluffing.

He had already noticed there were no monsters near the safe room.

Maybe something here truly deterred them.

“Mm!”

Alicia immediately covered her mouth.

She knew yelling in a dungeon was suicidal.

Unable to shout, she could only glare at him angrily.

“By the way, help me recharge the dagger at my waist.”

Since both his hands were occupied holding her, he couldn’t take out the Breeze Dagger himself.

The magic imbued in it had nearly been used up.

“Huh? The dagger at your waist? You want me to recharge it?”

“Yeah. Hurry. If we run into monsters, I can’t guarantee we’ll escape.”

Completely on the back foot, Alicia had no choice but to comply.

She pulled out the dagger and began channeling magic into it.

Within seconds, it was fully recharged.

“This dagger is kind of strange,” she said as she returned it.

“It has three enchantments, but they’re all low-tier. Isn’t that a waste? Why not use stronger magic?”

“Huh… I think these three are pretty practical.”

Speed, control, and damage.

A solid combination.

It felt tailor-made for rogues or rangers.

Why Lulu, a grand mage, would leave behind such a weapon was beyond him.

“One second-tier spell and two third-tier spells—what’s so great about that? And why can’t you recharge it yourself? Don’t Otherworlders all have absurd amounts of magic power?”

“Let me tell you a secret. Come closer.”

“…Fine.”

Despite her reluctance, curiosity won.

She leaned in, her ear slightly flushed.

Ye Yousheng whispered softly,

“I don’t have any magic.”

“Wha—no magic?!”

Alicia felt like the world was spinning.

Darkness crept into her vision—and her future.

Trusting her life to an Otherworlder with zero magic…

This might be the craziest thing she had ever done.

“W-Why would someone with no magic come into a dungeon?! Are you insane, or am I insane?! Oh no, Goddess Eve above, I must be hallucinating…”

“Sadly, this is reality.”

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

Struck by emotional devastation, Alicia burst into tears like a child.

Watching the beautiful girl cry her eyes out, Ye Yousheng felt… nothing.

Instead, he coldly added,

“From now on, you follow my commands. Do exactly as I say. No objections. Otherwise, I’ll throw you into a pack of monsters as bait.”

“T-That’s awful!”

Alicia looked at him with teary eyes.

“I’m just like that.”

Everything he did was to maximize survival.

Going deeper instead of upward was already a reckless gamble.

To make it work, he had to eliminate all variables.

If Alicia followed his instructions perfectly, her magic could handle most enemies.

“…Waaah… Grandpa… your granddaughter is going to die in a dungeon… and in the most pathetic one too…”

Well… mentally, she wasn’t exactly in great shape.

Seeing her cry nonstop, Ye Yousheng sighed.

“Alright, stop crying.”

“…Uwaaah…”

If she kept crying, it would definitely attract monsters.

Left with no choice, he returned to the safe room and set her down.

Suddenly losing support, Alicia looked up in panic, her tear-streaked face pitiful.

“Y-You’re not going to leave me here, are you…?”

He didn’t answer.

Instead, he used the torn pant leg to tie his left ankle to her right ankle—tightening it into a firm knot.

“…Huh?”

Standing up, he pointed at their bound legs.

“Listen. From now on, you’re my hands, and I’m your legs. We move as one. Got it?”

“As one…”

“Right. When I give an order, you follow it. That way, I can get you home safely.”

For once, he smiled and extended his hand.

Under that unexpectedly warm expression, Alicia instinctively reached out.

The next moment—

He pulled her into his arms again.

This time, instead of carrying her like before, he wrapped his left arm around her waist, since their legs were tied together.

Their bodies were pressed close together.

Feeling his presence so intensely, Alicia’s head went dizzy.

Ye Yousheng, however, calmly checked their surroundings.

Noticing her loose left leg, he asked,

“This still isn’t stable. You can’t feel your lower body, right?”

“Eh? Y-Yeah… I guess even if someone cut off my legs right now, I wouldn’t feel it…”

“Good.”

“Eh?”

Without hesitation, he slipped his arm behind her knee and lifted her leg, securing it against his waist.

A perfectly efficient position.

Stable, practical, and unhindered for movement.

Only problem—

It looked very questionable.

“KYAAAAAH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Seeing her skirt flipped up, completely exposing her undergarments, Alicia screamed at full volume.

Ye Yousheng replied seriously,

“Don’t worry. From my angle, I can’t see anything. And I doubt monsters care about human underwear.”

“That’s not the point! What do you think a girl’s underwear is?!”

“…A modesty cloth? If it’s for covering, then it being seen shouldn’t matter, right?”

“IT DOES MATTER!”

“Well, I don’t mind.”

No matter how much she protested, Ye Yousheng didn’t change his decision.

If it was the most efficient method, then that was that.

“A-At least pull my skirt down!”

And just like that—

With Alicia’s face red and her protests echoing nonstop,

Their chaotic two-person escape from the dungeon began.