Surviving the Dungeon with an EX-Rank Trait

Chills down the spine.

That was the first impression I felt as soon as I laid eyes on her.

When I looked at Yeriell happily smiling while petting her head, I should’ve thought, “Wow, what a sister who loves her little sibling!” or “What a lovely pair of sisters!”

But instinct told me otherwise. It warned me to be careful around this extremely dangerous person.

[“Chaos says right now that she’s an unbeatable force.”]

While I was frozen in horror, I could hear the murmurs around me.

“Hey, hey! Look over there! Isn’t that Yeohee from the Silver Cross Knights?”

“What’s the fuss about Yeohee? Is she famous or something?”

“No way! She’s a well-known deep dungeon raider! Didn’t you hear the rumors about how she ambushed a gathering of human hunters and slaughtered them all?”

“Oh! I heard about that massacre. They say a ton of mid-level adventurers were there in the slums of District 8, but she just ripped them apart!”

“Right! The scene was absolutely drenched in blood… ugh.”

Yeohee, the one everyone was whispering about, glanced around at the chattering crowd.

“Seems like you all should get back to your business instead of worrying about some random stranger, don’t you think?”

“Yes, yes! Sorry for talking out of turn! Let’s go!”

With a frosty tone that was the complete opposite of her gentle behavior towards Yeriell, the crowd began to disperse, stealing glances as they hurried off.

She shook her head and turned to me.

“But who are you? And why are you holding my sister’s hand so tightly?”

Narrowing her eyes, she continued speaking.

“Hmm, there wasn’t a black-haired golden-eyed beauty on Yeriell’s first party member list. I didn’t see you on departure day either.”

‘Of course you wouldn’t. Speaking of golden eyes… I was shook when I saw the color shift to gold while gazing in the water. Was it because of Chaos?’

Sigh… Do I really have to explain again that I lost my memory and fell naked on the third floor?

As I pondered how to introduce myself, Yeriell suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes.

“W-Wait! Why are you mentioning a member list here? What do you mean you haven’t seen him on departure day?!”

Now Yeriell started puffing up her cheeks.

“Sis, please don’t tell me you investigated all my party members before I made my first dungeon dive! You probably even tailing me before! I told you not to treat me like a baby!”

Seeing Yeriell sulking startled her sister.

“I-I’m sorry, Yeriell. But how could I not worry? You have no combat experience, and you’re saying you’re going into a dungeon as an adult.”

After saying that, she gently patted Yeriell’s head.

“I guess trailing and investigating was a bit much. But you know I’m concerned, right? Will you forgive me?”

Yeriell sighed and let go of my hand to give her sister a hug.

“I know you care and that’s why you do this. But if you’re going to do it, at least don’t let me know. It feels weird being overly protected even at my age.”

Wow, they really get along well. It’s like watching a mother and daughter.

After the hug, she looked back at me and asked.

“So, what’s your answer? Who are you?”

I opened my mouth cautiously.

“I’m Aren. I first met Yeriell in the forest on the third floor of the labyrinth. At that time, I was wandering around alone and lost my memory.”

There was no helping it. I had to pretend to be amnesiac here too.

“While wandering around and occasionally fighting off goblins with my bare hands, I happened to meet a party, and thankfully, Yeriell assured me she didn’t think I was a bad guy, allowing me to join temporarily.”

I shrugged, continuing.

“Then, after getting some gear, I managed to help the party during battles.”

“Hmm.”

“Eventually, after several days of this and that, I escaped through a portal in the center of the goblin village, and that’s about it.”

I summarized what happened, but she was giving me a serious look, watching me closely.

“…You’re lying about something in what you just said?”

“What?”

Crap. Did I get caught on the memory loss excuse?

It was convenient when I could use it, but now it’s a dead-end.

If I were to say I was a former person who got teleported and ended up on the third floor, it wouldn’t end well for me. What now?

[Chaos says to remain calm and not panic.]

Feeling the eerie atmosphere, Yeriell quickly added, “Oh, come on, sis! You can’t just use your abilities without speaking! That’s rude!”

“It’s not that…”

“And Aren, why’d you downplay your contribution to just doing one person’s share? Why lie?”

Holy hell, I almost gave up ten years of my life. Someone getting found out as a reincarnation in an isekai story usually gets killed off in clichés.

‘Yeriell, nice assist!’

[Chaos says this time it agrees.]

Pretending nothing was happening, I calmly replied, “I’m sorry. In truth, it wasn’t just one person’s worth; I was the main damage dealer, cutting through goblins.”

I pointed to my eyes to finish dispelling any doubts. “I suppose I have a special trait that lets me see their attacks better, just like how you mentioned with your trait, Yeohee.”

She was tilting her head, clearly still suspicious.

“Alright. Let me ask you one last question. I’ll apologize if I’m wrong.”

Phew, what a relief.

“Sure! Go ahead. I’m ready to answer.”

Suddenly, she stepped closer, closing the distance between us.

Uh-oh.

With her face almost touching mine, she firmly held my chin.

‘Oh boy, she’s ridiculously beautiful.’

[Chaos says it can’t show its charms in the same way.]

She whispered, “Look into my eyes and listen carefully. [Labyrinth of Deceit].”

What now?

“[Labyrinth of Deceit].”

What the heck? I know labyrinth is just a dungeon, but what’s Deceit supposed to mean?

C’mon, back away a bit… It’s way too close for comfort…

“Could you please step back a bit if you’re done? It’s a tad uncomfortable.”

CLATTER

I pushed through the grand wooden revolving door with iron reinforcing.

The interior was spacious, divided into levels, with the first floor filled with dozens of tables where adventurers were chatting away.

With the size of the guild building and the number of tables, there were plenty of registration counters, and naturally, long queues formed in front of each one.

Derek went to a shorter line at the cash register while the rest of us grabbed a nearby empty table to chat.

Yeohee turned to me, asking, “Why’re you selling that Hans guy to the guild? From the list I saw, he just seemed like a useless porter.”

“Here’s the thing…”

“If it’s a serious issue, typically they wouldn’t bother with magic to turn them into slaves during heated disputes. They would either just kill or overlook it for money, or he must have done something really vile.”

Since Derek hadn’t come back yet, I briefly recounted what happened.

“There were frequent attempts by him to harass party members and steal loot.”

“Stealing is a major offense, but harassment?”

“They were only attempts, but the former was especially painful for the party member involved, and the latter involved him trying to take off with important loot right before escaping through a portal.”

Pausing, I turned slightly to make sure Yeriell wouldn’t hear as I whispered, “Is it okay if I share this with your sister? I hope she doesn’t go off the rails after hearing it.”

Before I could get Yeriell’s reply, Yeohee spoke with lowered eyes.

“I heard everything you just said. I don’t know what, but if it concerns Yeriell, you must tell me. I can assure you I won’t cause any trouble here.”

With that much confidence, I thought it best to share. After all, she’d find out eventually.

“That bastard Alfred kept trying to touch her or suggesting meals, asking personal questions, just bugging her… well, that party member is Yeriell.”

SHIVERS—.

The moment I finished speaking, it felt as if a knife was pressed against my neck. I saw a flash of red in front of me.

An overwhelming sense of powerlessness struck me, making me feel like I’d die at even a slight movement.

‘Damn it.’

Fear gripped her, but the unsettling realization of my helplessness was even more infuriating.

“Ugh!”

“Gah!”

Looks like I wasn’t alone in thinking I would die, as no one in the guild moved.

However, it didn’t take long for Yeohee to regain her composure, fulfilling the promise she made earlier.

“Phew, huff!”

[Chaos expresses admiration for the intense murder intent for a human.]

I could hear the sounds of everyone, including me, breathing heavily. Meanwhile, Yeriell remained completely unbothered despite the tense atmosphere.

“Sis…”

Yeriell approached her sister for a whisper.

Just as Derek came back and was about to ask what just happened, their conversation wrapped up.

Once finished, Yeohee turned to me and said, “Aren, how about you give him to me after the guild processes him as a slave instead of handing him over to the guild? It’ll still be legal if I have them notarize it.”

Transfer?

“I’ll pay you much more than the guild will give you. Derek, how much will they give you for sending him over?”

Derek quickly answered, “30 silver coins!”

“Then I’ll give you 3 gold coins, or let’s make it 5 gold coins flat. Can you hand over that scum?”

Holy crap. I don’t fully understand the currency value in this world yet, but isn’t it usually 100 silver coins equal to a gold coin? Five gold coins? Big spender here.

I quickly agreed to her inquiry.

“Sure! That bastard will experience hell from now on. He’ll regret not ending his life himself, how dare a low-life try to touch my sister?”

Afterward, everything proceeded smoothly.

Derek handed me 25 silver coins as a reward.

We went to the slave-related counter to complete the paperwork and received gold coins in return, then wrote the transfer certificate.

Goodbye, Alfred. I won’t even bother wishing you well.

While I stood there thinking of that annoying bastard, Yeohee approached me.

“Oh, right, we haven’t introduced ourselves yet. My name is Ivelyn. I’m Yeriell’s sister and the captain of the Silver Cross Knights.”

Hmm, I had nothing to lose, so I casually replied.

“My name is Aren. I’m a man destined to become a deep dungeon raider and conquer the Great Labyrinth someday.”

It must have been amusing to say that in front of a legitimate deep dungeon raider, as Ivelyn burst out laughing.

“Pffh, haha! Well, high aspirations are never a bad thing. Considering what I’ve heard about Yeriell, you just never know what’s possible. Keep growing and give it your all!”

Then she tugged on the chain that led to Hans.

“Aren, follow me. Just clearing this scum away is more than enough reason to treat you well.”

She pointed toward me with her chin.

“Besides, you probably have no foundation now, right? I’ll sort out your identity issues, and I can provide you with a room to stay at the knight’s lodging, so just show up.”

That’s a bit overwhelming…

But given my current situation, I couldn’t afford to turn this down.

I might have 5 gold coins and 25 silver coins in total, but they’re essentially my lifeline, and I need to budget them until my next expedition into the labyrinth.

…If I had even a bit of extra leeway, I would have shared all 5 gold coins with everyone.

“Thank you. I’ll be in your debt for a while.”

Ivelyn nodded, seemingly glad for me.

Before we headed out to the Holy District where the Knights were based, Derek chimed in.

“Aren, I’ll buy you a meal sometime! When you get the chance, drop by the Ash Tree Inn in District 6! It’s a gotta-do!”

“Sure! We’ll eat together later. I’m genuinely grateful, Derek.”

“Right! Since Bernard will be resting for a while, I should get going! Don’t die on me, Aren!”

As I watched Derek and Bernard leave, I followed behind Ivelyn as we began our journey towards the Headquarters of the Silver Cross Knights.

*

“Grab your sword, Aren. Let’s see what you can do.”

Why am I standing in the middle of the training ground hearing this?

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