บท 37: Raid: Toxic Slime Cavern (5)

Upon feeling the adrenaline wash out of my body, I couldn't help but slightly grin… as everything was adjusting in my direction.

There were unknown variables, but somehow, they only worked to my advantage.

"Okay, everybody, take a rest. I'll come up with a plan," The leader said, but we had already split up into groups and began conversing amongst ourselves.

"Everything is only going terribly with this guy around," One of the assassins muttered before taking a swig of water.

"Well, you can't blame him. I've been to this dungeon many times, and it's never been as bad as this," One of the porters speaks up, but nobody really listens to him.

He's not wrong. This dungeon is different from what I've seen online.

From what I've seen right now, it's at least a C-rank dungeon.

"We should just leave," One of the mages says, and everybody immediately nods their heads in agreement.

Eh… I mean, we've come this far, so I think it would be a waste…

[Next Side Quest has been revealed]

[Side Quest: Execute the Leader]

[Description: This side quest has been revealed because you have made so many preparations, and they are about to come falling apart. Persuade the Raid Team to execute the leader and continue with the dungeon.]

[Reward: +2 For All Stats]

[Penalty Upon Failure: -2 For All Stats]

[Time Left: 2 Hours]

[The gods smile maliciously upon seeing your hesitation]

I began to bite my nail upon seeing the panels appear in front of me as this was almost impossible.

Now, why would the members risk their lives trying to kill the leader when they could just convince him to leave… convince… him… to leave?

"Wait," I muttered upon seeing a mage get up and storm over to the leader, who was still beating himself up.

Hold on a second… I can salvage this situation.

"Sir, with all due respect, I believe we should leave this dungeon. It is far too dangerous to continue," The mage says, and I could see the hesitation within the leader only grow.

Dilated pupils, fingers fidgeting with the handle of his sword… and most of all, he was slightly biting his lip.

It was a bit hard to see, but you could kind of see the indent on the right side of his bottom lip.

"Let me think some more," The leader responded, and the mage sighed heavily before returning to the group.

"Yep, this raid is a lost cause," He says as he sits back down with our group.

"Want me to try and persuade him?" I asked the adventurers in front of me, and they just shrugged without even verbally replying.

So, I just shrugged before walking over to his group.

I then sat down next to him, surprising everybody else within his group as nobody was confident enough to approach so close to him.

"Sir, I believe we have no choice but to continue the raid," I say, but it wasn't loud enough for the other groups to hear.

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing," He replies, and immediately, I knew this plan could work.

"It's obvious we won't be able to get back to the hallway due to the crazy amount of slimes," I speak up once again, but there was also one more variable I didn't point out.

This man had tons of pride, and if he led his raid team out of here with such a low number of people, he would obviously be approached and questioned by hundreds of people.

Plus, not only will the bystanders lower his rating, but also the members of this raid team who will most likely spread rumors about what happened in the dungeon.

So essentially, his career as a leader and adventurer is riding on this single raid.

"*sigh*... Yeah, I guess we have to break the news to them,"

Good…

"This is what we all wanted… Though it did take a vote, we eventually came to this conclusion, so don't hesitate,"

I gave him a pat on the back before returning to the group, which had grown larger than before.

Basically, there were two groups now.

The leader's group and then the rest of the raid team who all wanted to leave.

Of course, there were a few singles scattered around, waiting to see what was about to happen.

It seems there are some intelligent people here…

"What'd he say?" The swordsman who saved me towards the beginning of the raid asks.

"He said we could return," I responded with a large smile that caused everybody else to cheer in excitement.

The leader behind me was a bit confused as to why the group was cheering… but he was about to learn it in the harshest way possible.

…

『Status』

[Name: Orion]

[Race: Human]

[Class: Spearsman]

[Level: 9/25] (73/100) XP Needed

[HP: 35/35 MP: 15/15 SP: 15/15] - Normal Human

[Strength: 20] - Normal Human

[Defense: 10] - Normal Human

[Magic: 14] - Normal Human

[Speed: 20] - Normal Human

[Skills: [Tangible Bloodlust] [Spear Coating]

[Passive Skills: [Toxic Immunity] [Toxic Body] [Night Vision]

[Equipment: [Toxic Barrier Necklace]

…

Ugh… This guy's hesitation is too much.

I glanced at the leader, who was still mulling over the best option possible, but the harder he thought, the deeper he fell into despair.

It was a rabbit hole; he had no choice but to climb up, otherwise, he'd be stuck in a terrible position forever.

"Alright, everybody, gather around!" He shouts.

I've given these two groups names, as I needed some way to identify them... so Group A is the group that wanted to leave this dungeon, and Group B is the leader's group.

Both groups had different perspectives in mind… but what they didn't know was that each one of their conflicting perspectives was created by me.

I told Group A that the leader said we could leave, but Group B thinks continuing with the raid is the best option, and the others are on board with that idea...

The spider web has been set up.

No matter what, this will lead to a conflict.

As soon as everybody had gathered around, the leader announced his decision.

"We will be continuing with the raid," He says, and I could feel the rage bubbling within Group A.