50 First Floor Cleared (1/2)

”Ryan!”

Shesmu's cry alerted Leo and the duo who were fighting the Red Wolf King. This sudden distraction led to the team being swiped with the boss' massive claw, resulting in heavy damage.

Noticing the peril Leo was in, Shesmu was enraged. With one dash, he appeared in front of the wolf boss. He unsheathed his sword and initiated a flurry of attacks. Using his superior agility, Shesmu attacked the boss' joints, knees, and ankles. It was a dance of the death, and the reaper's eyes were cold. In preparation of the grand finale, Shesmu activated CrossSlash. Black and green energy melted together in Shesmu's sword before he swung it towards the beast's heart. The blood gushing out of the Red Wolf King was like petals of roses raining on the dance floor.

This performance left everyone in awe. Even the usually stoic and permanently annoyed Amaterasu let out a barely audible ”Woah”.

”Shesmu.”

Leo's voice showed his worry. The look on Shesmu's face was one he never saw before; his eyes were dark and cold.

”Ryan,” Shesmu muttered. ”Ryan is unconscious.”

Shesmu then looked at Leo in the eyes. ”Leo, are you close to him in real life? Can you check up on him?”

Leo looked at Ryan's body before his face turned into one of surprise.

”What happened? Did some monster sneak up on him?!”

Shesmu shook his head left and right.

”No, he just fell unconscious as I was talking to him.”

While Shesmu's mouth said those words, his heart clenched in guilt. No, I know why he fell unconscious. In fact, I knew all along-I was just too dumb to realize it. It happened before in the forest when I was suspecting Ryan of being a time traveler like me. And now, the same thing occurred. Why did I let my mouth run like that?!

As he was thinking, Shesmu kept looking down and bit his lips. Blood dripped from his mouth before hitting the white ground.

While Shesmu was in his guilt trip and Leo shocked at everything that just happened. Kazumi and Amaterasu were whispering among themselves.

”Amaterasu, Do you think that's what's happening. What the great mage told us?”

”I think so. I did feel the aura of the disturbance from DepressedRyan. So, it's a fact that he is the same as us—a time traveler.”

”So, you think that some dissonance effect happened when the disturbance occurred? Maybe, that would explain his disproportionally good reflexes. But what about Leo?”

”That guy… I don't know. He doesn't have the same aura of disturbance as us, but I still feel that something is not right. The feeling is similar to us but different. I just don't understand.”

”Hey, you guys. What are you doing there chit-chatting about?”

The duo was startled by Shesmu's question and for a moment didn't know how to respond.

”Eh! I-we were talking…”

For a moment, Kazumi couldn't form a proper sentence. In the end, he looked at Leo for a few seconds before gulping.

”Great Master, we weren't talking about anything important. We were just discussing how majestic you looked when you slew that Red Wolf King.”