Chapter 80: Let’s enter the Dungeon II

Sylvia’s expression immediately darkened.

Her fingernails dug into her palms as she glared at Erick.

"Don’t go too far!"

Several other S-Rank Espers were also provoked by Erick’s words and began voicing their displeasure.

"Are you seriously saying that the rest of us would only get in your way?"

"We’re all S-Rank Espers. There’s no need for you to look down on us like that."

"Entering the Dungeon with only the two of you? Even if you two are powerful, do you really think it’s that simple?"

The atmosphere quickly became tense as more voices joined in, clearly angered by Erick’s blatant disregard for them.

Erick just watched them indifferently.

It was rare for him to talk this much in the first place, and now he was even less in the mood to speak. Besides, he was exhausted. Zephyr should be exhausted too.

There was no reason to rush into an unstable Dungeon.

They should rest and recover first. Then, once they were in better condition, they could deal with the Dungeon properly.

That was the sensible thing to do.

At least, that was what Erick had decided.

Then Zephyr’s voice sounded beside him.

"Let’s enter the Dungeon."

Erick, who had been prepared to ruthlessly refuse Sylvia and then ignore the protesting S-Rank Espers altogether, suddenly paused.

He turned toward Zephyr.

There was a brief silence.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, Erick agreed briskly.

"Okay."

What rest?

What recovery?

What exhaustion?

If Zephyr wanted to enter the Dungeon, then they would enter the Dungeon!

Meanwhile, Sylvia, Ryan, and the other S-Rank Espers were left completely dumbfounded.

Even Jake, who had practically become a background board in the middle of everything, felt somewhat speechless.

None of them had expected Erick to agree to enter the Dungeon so readily the moment Zephyr suggested it!

Regardless, several of the S-Rank Espers were still visibly displeased by Erick’s earlier words. Their pride had been wounded, and they were unwilling to simply stand around and let themselves be treated as useless.

"Hmph. Since Erick thinks the two of them can handle the Dungeon themselves, let them."

"Exactly. There’s no need for us to follow them and get in their way."

With that, some of them sneered and turned away, deliberately refusing to stay.

They weren’t willing to admit it, but part of the reason they were leaving was because they wanted to prove Erick wrong. If he truly believed that he and Zephyr were enough to clear a dangerous Dungeon capable of unleashing so many S-Rank monsters, then fine.

They wanted to see how far that confidence would take them.

One of them even let out a cold sneer.

"Let’s see how you two manage to clear this Dungeon on your own and return unscathed when one of you is actually blind, heh!"

The others shared the same thought as they left. They clearly intended to watch from the sidelines and see Erick suffer.

In the end, only five S-Rank Espers remained behind. Four of them were from M City, including the two Wales siblings, while the remaining one was from B City.

Erick coldly glanced at the Espers who had left before turning his attention to the five who remained.

"You don’t want to leave?"

One of the Espers from M City clicked his tongue. He was the same Esper who had rushed out of the Association building shirtless the previous night after sensing the overwhelming mana, still covered in bath foam because he had been too shocked to even rinse it off. He was also familiar with Erick, having known him for quite some time.

Hearing Erick’s question, he couldn’t help but give him an amused look.

"When did you become so sharp-tongued?"

He paused, then added with a chuckle.

"You were perfectly fine just last night. Did your girlfriend cheat on you or something?"

Erick shot him a sharp look.

The Esper, Oreon, immediately shut his mouth. He even quietly whispered to the burly-looking Esper standing beside him.

"So fierce... So scary!"

Obviously, he was completely ignored.

Feeling helpless, Oreon could only sigh.

Ryan watched the scene expressionlessly. He hadn’t spoken earlier because he didn’t want Zephyr to recognize his voice. As long as Zephyr didn’t realize he was there, Ryan could act freely once they entered the Dungeon.

In the end, the five remaining Espers, along with Erick, Zephyr, and Jake, prepared to enter the Dungeon.

Jake had decided to tag along simply to watch the fun. After all, his gut told him he had clearly missed something important while he was not around earlier, and there was no way he was going to let everyone else have all the excitement without him.

Sylvia also called Eleven and two other powerful A-Rank Guides to accompany them. If anything went wrong inside the Dungeon, they would at least have Guides nearby to provide support.

Of course, Sylvia’s concern was mostly for her own safety.

Just as everyone was getting ready to enter the Dungeon, Zephyr quietly left in Lucien’s direction. A while later, he quickly returned with Lucien on his back and carefully set him down.

Erick’s expression immediately changed.

He was just about to say that Lucien couldn’t come with them when Zephyr calmly spoke first.

"We will go together. I don’t like getting guiding from other Guides."

Eleven, who heard his words, became so angry that he actually laughed.

This guy!

Just wait. He would teach him a lesson for infuriating him so much. Once Lucien was no longer able to guide Zephyr, he would have no choice but to come to Eleven anyway!

Erick gave Lucien a dark look.

His expression was terrifyingly cold.

For a fleeting moment, he even wondered if he should simply kill this person who had recently become so detestable and increasingly unpleasant to look at.

Lucien merely returned his gaze with a bright, victorious smirk. As if deliberately provoking him, he even reached out and grabbed Zephyr’s sleeve before cheerfully saying.

"Since everyone’s ready, let’s enter the Dungeon!"

Zephyr lowered his gaze toward the hand gripping his sleeve, and the corners of his lips curled into a faint smile.

"Hmm. Let’s go."