I love time travel the most!

From the opposite direction of the passage where Ota and the others were, on the regular route leading to the 8th floor, came the voice of a boy.

Emerging from the passage was a dwarf with short, blond hair and a long spear.

Upon seeing him, Otta narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, Ota."

"...It's Finn."

Hearing the dwarves greet him like old friends, Ota quietly put down his weapon.

Not only him, but also behind him are the elven royal mage who possesses both strength and beauty, as well as the first echelon of the new generation of the Loki Familia.

The difference in combat strength between them determined everything.

The strongest warrior in the labyrinth city had no choice but to accept this fact and was forced to abandon his fighting stance.

The hero Finn slowly spoke, "I'm sorry, I haven't fully grasped the situation yet, but... may I ask you why you chose this time and place to fight us, Ota?"

"Eliminating the enemy does not require regard to time or place."

“That’s right. So, can I take this as the opinion of the entire faction, that is, the divine will of your master? In other words, the goddess Freya wants to wage a full-scale war against us?”

"........."

Ota remained silent.

Although the dwarf in front of him was smiling, the tip of the spear he held emitted a sharp light.

A subtle threat unfolded.

"It was my arbitrary decision-making."

Otta told Finn this in a low voice.

Unlike the Loki Familia, the Freya Familia, fighting individually, might not necessarily be able to defeat the united Loki Familia once war breaks out.

Moreover, once the two strongest clans in the labyrinth city go to war, the scope of the impact is unimaginable.

Even though he was the leader of the Freya Familia, he wouldn't dare to easily launch a Familia War.

Ota abandoned all his weapons and walked forward.

The members of the clan following behind the hero Finn glared at him with sharp eyes, but he remained unmoved and walked towards Finn and the others.

Amidst everyone's wary expressions, Ota walked right past Finn and Riveria, leaving behind the words, "If you two team up, I have no chance of winning."

"Thank you for saying that. We don't want to start a conflict with you either."

Finn answered him softly.

In fact, both sides knew that even if they made a move, Ota would definitely win; this was an indisputable fact.

However, both sides also knew that if the news of what happened here were spread, it would trigger a war between the two major clans, so Ota dared not make any rash moves.

The two sides then stopped fighting.

The scene was supposed to end with Ota, who was clearly embarrassed, leaving. However, as he passed by Kobayashi's location, he uttered a single sentence:

"The lower levels are not as simple as you think."

The taciturn warrior could only offer this advice.

Kobayashi was grateful for the words of concern that the other party had probably racked their brains to come up with.

but!

Please consider the occasion, sir!

Look at those Loki Familia members who are clearly comrades, but are now looking at them with strange eyes!

Saying such a caring thing to me in front of so many people could easily cause unnecessary misunderstandings!

Afterwards, they will definitely start asking all sorts of questions about what happened between them, which may even cause a crisis of trust!

But Kobayashi simply couldn't refuse other people's kindness, even though her heart was screaming with resentment, in the end—

"...Thank you for your advice."

That was the only answer he could give.

Ota said nothing more, leaving the couriers behind, and walked along the narrow, dark passage.

"Let me put aside my incompetence for now and say something."

The warrior did not turn around, but kept his eyes fixed ahead, listening to the faint roars and shouts coming from the depths of the distant labyrinth behind him.

He continued:

"Break out of your shell, push aside others' helping hands, and embrace the adventure. You must only look ahead and respond to the favor of that master."

Although the words are different, the meaning expressed is exactly the same as Kobayashi's.

However, I always felt that the other person glanced at me unintentionally as they left, as if those words were also spoken to them.

Xiaolin lowered his head in deep thought.

It must be said that the pressure in Labyrinth City is truly terrifying.

As his rock-like body disappeared into the darkness, the other adventurers of the Loki Familia all breathed a sigh of relief.

At that moment, Tione stepped forward and shouted, "Little Lin, Little Lin! What did that fierce man mean by what he said to you just now? Does that mean you two actually know each other?"

"this one……"

"He seems quite concerned about you. Could it be that you two have some kind of secret?"

Tiona also questioned her with sharp and pointed remarks.

This aroused suspicion among the other members of the clan, who all turned their attention to Kobayashi.

See, this has triggered a crisis of trust.

Kobayashi was an outsider who was inexplicably inserted into the group, while Ota was the leader of a rival clan.

Given their understanding of powerful warriors, it was already quite surprising that such a cold-hearted martial artist would express concern.

Even Ais, who was eager to save Bell, looked at him curiously.

Under the questioning gazes of everyone, Kobayashi had no choice but to explain, "I'm sorry, there are some hidden reasons behind this. I'll explain later, but don't we have more important things to do right now?"

“That’s right.” Finn, the hero, also stepped in to help Kobayashi out of the predicament, saying, “No matter what, Kobayashi is our companion, and we should naturally trust our companions, shouldn’t we?”

"That's what I said..."

"But I still feel a little bothered by it."

"That's right, that's right."

They muttered to themselves.

Seeing this, the hero Finn said to his princess, "Ais, go on, you still have things to do."

"……Um!"

Sword Maiden Ais remembered that she still had to save Bell, so she turned and ran deeper into the passage.

"Wait! Ais, wait for me!"

"And I!"

"Hey! You bunch of bastards...!"

The Amazon sisters and the werewolf Bert followed.

Kobayashi gave Finn a grateful look and then followed Riveria and the others deeper into the area.

A light emerged from the depths of the dim, monotonous path. As the light in the room drew closer, Kobayashi and the others sped up and ran forward.

After rushing in, the view suddenly opened up.

The group saw the Minotaur with its single horn, which was located in the center of a vast space, and a boy lying on his back, far away from the monster.

His chest bobbed slightly; he was still breathing.

Sword Maiden Ais relaxed completely. All she had to do was take down the minotaur in front of her and rescue the boy who was in danger.

Just as she was about to take a step forward, as if to draw her rapier.

A palm was placed on the back of her hand.

It's Kobayashi.

He stopped Ais.

The naive girl tilted her head, not understanding why she was stopped, but immediately the Minotaur bent down to gather strength for an attack on Bell, and she pretended to draw her sword again.

He was held down again.

Draw your sword.

He was held down.

Draw the sword again.

He was held down again.

The girl subconsciously puffed out her cheeks, her golden pupils glaring at Kobayashi with displeasure.

She didn't believe the other party was deliberately preventing her from rescuing the person, but this really upset the Sword Maiden.

However, Kobayashi did not look at her; he stared straight ahead at the thin, white-haired boy lying on the ground.

Suddenly, a rustling sound was heard.

Looking back slightly away from the viewpoint, I saw that the battered and bruised Bell was supporting himself with his hands, straightening his upper body.

The boy rallied and stood up.

Despite being covered in wounds, its deep red eyes glared fiercely at the Minotaur.

"No, absolutely not..."

With sheer willpower, Bell stepped forward and roared with all his might, "I can't run away anymore!"

It's like saving face, like upholding one's ambition, like advocating an unyielding will.

Retreat only leads to aging; cowardice inevitably invites death!