Chapter 115 - Attack Of The Cliche

"It sure is easy to return with powerful adventurers like you," Krater said once they reached the twentieth floor. Given all the delays they experienced on the way, its boss already managed to spawn again, threatening the entire group. 

Yet, even though it managed to get a jump on their now bigger group, Claudia jumped at it right in time to cleave its entire body in two with a random smash of her fist. 

"It's just the difference in power," Tom shook his arms. Ever since the battle during which one of the girls from the other party died, he didn't show his abilities at all. Even though he held his spear in his hand through all this time, he stubbornly refused to use it. "If my guess is correct, you should be able to deal with this boss all on your own," Tom added, pointing the tip of his weapon at the already deceased monster. 

"Don't joke around with me," Krater said, shaking his head. "My defenses might be great, but I obtained them at the cost of nearly all of my attack power. For me, dealing with that boss alone would be a long and tough task," he added before looking to his back. "Well, with the rest of them in such state, without you two guys, I would have no other choice but to do just that," he said before releasing a deep sigh. 

Just like the man said, the mental state of the rest of his group wasn't the best. Or rather, it could hardly get any worse. With Celestia, the elven girl still unconscious, Loman, the other man of the group, was rendered completely useless by the task of carrying her. Adding Kaisha, who continued to mutter silent words in some weird language in an attempt to heal their companion, three out of the original six of the party were unable to join the fight at all. 

Out of the five survivors from their original six-men strong team, Ubzen was tasked with carrying the corpse of the deceased girl. 'From what Krater told me, they were lovers,' Tom recalled a bit of information he randomly obtained thirteen floors above. 'Even if both Loman and Kaisha could fight after dropping Celestia for a while, I don't think Ubzen would be of any use,' the young man analyzed the situation before nodding his head.

"You are completely right," Tom said, moving his eyes at his own companion, who had already reached for the entrance of the corridor. "Without the two of us, you would be dead." 

Even if this group could easily fight off against the boss of the twentieth floor, it would require them to reach that floor in the first place. Given how they were about to all die before their first encounter with Tom and Claudia, the current situation of their group only made it even clearer how much they relied on this duo of strangers. 

"Is that an attempt to put us even further in your debt?" Krater asked with a sour smile blossoming on his lips. 

"You don't have anything that would be of interest to us," Tom replied while shaking his arms. Then, he reached out to his backpack only to pull out one of the grade five stones. "With this, we should be able to live for a little while," Tom said, taking a glance at the man beside him. "And I don't think you have anything that could be more valuable than this stone," he said before putting the worthless piece of condensed mana back into his backpack. 

"Well, I'm not gonna deny it," Kartor's smile turned even more sour than before. He then shook his head and picked up the pace. "Well, if there is anything that you would like our help with, just tell me. Even if we will never be able to repay the favor, you still saved our lives," he said, raising his eyes back up. 

"Actually, there is something that we would use your help with," Tom said, finally pulling on the ephemeral fishing rod now that the bait was finally set. 

"Huh?" Carter shrugged, realizing that he had just stepped on the landmine. "Should I be scared to ask what's that?" he posed a question, stealing a quick glance of Tom's face. 

"You don't need to worry that much," Tom laughed out loud, amused by the man's reaction. 'For how serious he is when compared to the rest of his team, it's fun to see him react like that,' he thought as he attempted to kill his laughter off. "Still, it bound to the favor we asked for earlier. Since we lost all our possessions literally outside of this bag, our weapons and some rags, we have no way to go around the city," Tom said, once again taking the risk by randomly shooting at what could be the background of the entrance to the dungeon those people knew. "Given how we kind of sneaked into this dungeon, it's not like we all well-known enough to avoid problems if some diligent guards were to bother us," he said, deciding to go all in. 

After all, given how they were from a different world altogether, neither Tom nor Claudia had any idea what to expect on the other side. As such, their best bet was to rely on the people who not only knew the stuff they desperately had to learn but also owed them a huge favor that would make them not only inclined to help but also likely not to ask any doubtful questions. 

"Don't tell me," Kartor muttered as he suddenly stopped in place only to look Tom directly in the eyes. "Did you lose your adventurer's card?" he asked as his eyes widened.

'Huh?' Tom shrugged, unprepared for the sudden assault of the cliche. 'I knew they had to have some sort of identification documents in place given how developed their civilization has to be to produce plate armors such as the one Krater is wearing... But to think that they would smash me right in the face with such a cliche right away?' he thought, startled by the question.

"Ah," Kartor shrugged when he noticed the sudden trouble on Tom's face. "Ignore the question if you don't want to answer it," he said, backing off a few steps, pressured by the powerful aura Tom unknowingly released in his moment of shock. 

"It's not like that," Tom instantly pulled himself together, replying to the man as he lowered his head and hid his face in the palm of his hand. "I just didn't expect this topic to surface so quickly," he added while desperately pushing his brain to its limits to figure out how he should continue the talk. 

Because in this moment of shock that came with the sudden appearance of the adventurer's guild cliche, he also lost the footing for the several plans he had in store for different situations. 

Expect the unexpected. It was one of the pretty much basic rules for anyone in his family. Or rather, it was a maxim that his family ingrained in his soul. But it wasn't something his people came with, but something they passed down from their own experiences... And what was ingrained in the old generation when they first entered the military camp at the beginning of their service. 

With this rule out of his mind but always present in his actions, Tom never considered the option of an adventurer's guild existing. It was simply too convenient and nice for it to be true. That's why, when the reality suddenly proved to be far simpler than how complex Tom expected it to be, he couldn't help but get stunned for a short while. 

'Still, just hearing those two words is rilling me up a lot,' Tom thought, observing his own mental state for a moment before rapidly raising his head. "The truth is, we never have any adventurer's card. There are some reasons why we were ineligible to get one back in our homeland," Tom said, finally coming up with a viable excuse. 

"What? How is that... Or nevermind." Initially shocked, Krator quickly pulled his tongue back behind his teeth. "There are all sorts of situations in the world, so I'm not going to be biased enough to claim that it's impossible," he said, lowering his head in apology. "But going back to the topic, while we can help you in the city, if you want to safely enter the dungeon ever again, you will need to apply for the guild's license," the middle-aged man said, slapping his hands against the sides of his hips. 

For a moment, the two of them turned silent. It was as if neither of them knew what to say next. 

"Well," Krator finally decided to be the one to break the sudden barrier of muteness. "Whatever your circumstances were elsewhere, no one is going to stop you from getting your card in the city of Karnaz. Especially when you are so powerful," he said, reaching with his hand and patting Tom's shoulder. 

"You have no idea how great of a relief it is for us," Tom replied, looking up at Claudia's back, disappearing behind the first corner of the floor's corridor. "You have no idea."