'WHAT IN THE FUCK JUST HAPPENED? That was an orc, right? That was totally an orc!!'

The Otherworlder screamed in his head. His heart thumped against his chest as the man tried to calm his breathing.

He still couldn't get over the initial surprise of seeing the orc fall, let alone die on its own. The Otherworlder was ready and set to hightail it out of there when the orc popped up. He wanted to express his surprise out loud but couldn't bring himself to risk another orc coming out.

Still surprised, the Otherworlder walked away from the orc and calmed his breathing down. It was good when it started with just slimes. Even the goblins, kobolds, and imps were fine, but orcs were surely pushing it a bit?

Going onward, the Otherworlder increased the output of the light spell by putting in more mana. With a sigh, he pulled out his strings from his pockets. Made from a special alloy of Dracol Obsidian and Iron, the long strings were sturdy and were very conductive of mana, offering superb control.

The fall was surprising, but it had given the Otherworlder quite the idea. If he could execute it well…

-Stumble

A very soft sound reached his ears.

The Otherworlder immediately turned back and looked around him. Inside the fairly wide passage, rubble and boulders alongside bodies of the few monsters he had killed were splayed around.

The sound of a tumbling rock…

There were intelligent monsters, but those weren't to be found in places like a dungeon. The sound must be something else. Of course, it could just be a coincidence, but the Otherworlder knew better than to leave things at that. He'd rather be a cowardly worrywart than be dead.

"I know you are there. Show yourself," the Otherworlder said. He narrowed his eyes and waited for a reaction.

Nothing.

One more try.

"I've known since the beginning. Don't test me."

"Hiek!"

The Otherworlder's eyes widened. There really was someone?!

"We're sorry. We'll come out."

'We?!' It was more than just one person!

From behind a boulder, a group of four people slowly stepped out with their hands up in surrender. A warrior, a scout, a mage, and a healer. Familiar faces.

The Sanguine Snakes adventurer party, that had asked him to go along with them.

"So, even if you found me, why did you sneak around my back?"

The Sanguine Snakes flinched at the Otherworlder's words. His words meant he truly knew they were following him since they started.

Of course, the Otherworlder himself had no way of knowing such a thing. The only reason he knew they weren't around since the beginning was because he had shouted at the air to 'come out' and that he knew 'you are there' a few times already.

He was glad they actually came out. It would have been very embarrassing.

"Sir Iatra." The wizard girl wearing a pointy hat and long robes stepped in front of the group. "We meant no harm. We simply followed you out of curiosity. I swear on my name as a wizard."

The Otherworlder narrowed his eyes at the girl. A wizard swearing on their name was no light thing, or so he was told.

"Curiosity, you say. What are you so curious about?"

"Word of your prowess does not lack in Elefsi. Who wouldn't be curious about a person who can take down that otherworldly siege monster with great ease?"

Siege monster this siege monster that. The damn siege monster had truly become a thorn in his sides, bringing him unwanted attention. The Otherworlder noted his complaints in his head and swore to get them addressed when he got out of the dungeon.

Seeing his silence as a positive sign. The wizard's eyes lit up, and she went in for one final push.

"We were planning to go back after reaching the crystal zones, but if you are here, we can even raid the boss' room together! I am sure even you must have had doubts about doing it alone, we are pretty strong ourselves. You won't be in bad hands!"

Boss room. Were they out of their mind? The Otherworlder absolutely, truly didn't want to go to the damn boss room, but his gut was thinking something else. It wasn't a matter he could decide on his own anymore.

The Otherworlder quickly turned his back on the group and pulled out his coin. Just a feeling was enough to call upon lady luck. With a flick of his thumb, the coin soared upwards and arced back down.

The Otherworlder swiftly snagged the coin mid-air and placed it on the back of his palm.

Heads.

"Well. Sure, but what about the loot?" The Otherworlder turned back and asked.

"Loot?" The Wizard was thrown slightly off-base at this sudden change of topic. She expected him to oppose a little more. "Um, we can divide it…"

"Right, in equal parts for your party and for me."

"Huh?" the wizard titled her head. "Wait, you mean you want half of it all? That's not fair!"

Tsk, she was sharper than he thought. His wordplay didn't work. Clicking his tongue, the Otherworlder continued. "Fine, I'll settle at forty percent then."

"How's that any better?" She shouted back.

"No? Then fine. I'll go do my thing." The Otherworlder shrugged his shoulders and was about to step away when the wizard girl spoke through gritted teeth.

"Fine. Forty percent for you, sixty for the four of us. Is that alright?"

"Fifty."

"FORTY!"

The Otherworlder smirked. "Alright. Forty it is."

The Sanguine Snakes sighed in relief at his words. With a small smile, the wizard pointed at the people behind her.

"Then, these are Aida, Vollrath, and Eilhard." She then nodded and stretched her hand forward. "And I am Liesl."

With a smile of his own, he clutched her hand and nodded. "Iatra is fine."