"Okay so. . .you heard your village was in danger and sought out power?" Via asked.

"Yes." The boy nodded.

"Then, somehow or another, you found yourself within this dungeon?"

"Did not know it was a dungeon, but yes."

"Shut. Up. Yes or no is your answer, got it?"

"Umm. . ."

"Listen here, kid, how old are you even?"

"I'm. . .thirteen. . .also, didn't I tell you my name?"

"Alright, Vander, How'd you get here?"

"Dunno."

"How did you die?"

"I'm not dead."

"You. Are. Dead. Although I might not trust these two with my life, she's a damn vampire who smells no life from you and she's basically a fairy. You are 100% dead."

The boy grimaced as Claire, Alicia, and the group of raiders watched Via grill him. They were back atop the cliff, overlooking the river of blood and dead beasts as the sun highlighted the midday of the dungeon. On one end, Albert Stref busied himself glancing at a map as adventurers checked their weapons. On the other, Claire and Alicia stood with Via as the bunny shredded apart the poor boy with her lack of patience.

It had been less than ten minutes since they first made contact, and the group had recognized the gist of the boy's story. One, he had sought after power after he heard that his village was in danger of a dungeon break. Two, he randomly found himself within Aclair's dungeon without ever having stepped foot into the city itself. And, three, he did not know he had been traversing a dungeon and was lost without knowledge of how to get out.

"So, he's dumb?" Alicia tilted her head.

"Hey!"

"Practically. Though, being a village bumpkin, that's to be expected," Via grumbled.

"Hey!"

"And it's very cliched," Claire added. "A country bumpkin in a fantasy world who becomes a hero? Is that not the basic building block of fantasy?"

". . .I can't even retort you. You, what are you saying?"

Claire sighed as Via showed the boy how to glance at his sacred text. The boy, who now had the hood of his cloak down, looked much less menacing and much more innocent even with azure eyes of gas. He really was a kid. She was a kid too, yes, but he was younger by two or three years. One or the other, the author forgot what age the ice queen was supposed to be.

The boy muttered, hand clasped in prayer.

"Goddess Ishtar, creator of the world, and life, please fulfill my wish and grant me your divine right to see my Sacred Text."

A certain goddess seated next to a handsome male in a suit and a white-bearded old man smiled smugly and waved her hand. A second later and the boy's eyes of dancing azure flared.

". . .I'm a ghost!?!"

"That is what we have tried to get across, yes." Claire nodded.

"No way. . ." He muttered in disbelief.

At that moment, the leader of the group, Albert Stref, walked over, map still in his grasp. At first, he tilted his head and glanced between the four but soon shrugged and spoke to the boy.

"If you want to leave the dungeon. . .we will have to seek out an exit portal or defeat a field guardian. Unless we have a space magician here, or someone with a similar skill, those are the only two ways."

Vander looked at the man, then slowly nodded.

"Ghost or not, I have to return and help my village, please, let me join you guys." His eyes hardened and stilled.

"Mhmm, then we can get a move on," Albert nodded and faced the rest of the team. "Everyone, I've taken measure of our location and marked our route. Be ready to advance in five minutes!"

A chorus of nods went through the group. The following minutes went by and soon, the group was ready to descend the cliff as one, their route to etch them down to a barren land and their journey to take them across the mass of the dungeon, slaying, and slaying.

"Finally, we're done with the filler chapters for now," Claire sighed, "Let's get this story onward, shall we, Alice?"

The vampire showed her fang and nodded.

"I hope there exists better monsters to bash. Those wolves were weak."

Clearly, the battle maniac was not yet satisfied. 'Weak?' The raid group collectively tilted their heads, a few looking at the golden-haired girl incredulously. The fully armored Allen sulked.

". . .what's with those two?" Vander asked.

"Don't mind them," Via muttered, "Must be power getting to their heads."

"Indeed," Albert Stref muttered, his hand clutching the pouch tied to his waist. "With enough power, you can walk anywhere in this world without fear. With enough power, you can do anything without concern. That is the law of this world."

The bunny narrowed her eyes as she listened to the blabbering of their raid group's leader. Her long, fluffy, ears twitched in slight irritation.

"Hey, mister," She asked, smiling, "Why do you sound so evil when you say it like that?"

"Hahahahaha," A bead of sweat rolled down from his blonde hair.

"Oh, he probably is supposed to be the hidden villain in this arc. There's always an arc like that in Iseikai," Claire said. "He's most likely hiding his strength too."

"I have no idea what you're on about," Via frowned.