"You! Who are you?!" The agitated party leader shouted with a pleased look.
He covered his hunt, the dead body of the creature, not covering the subordinates who should have been more important to him.
"Oh! No need to be on guard, comrades." KiRA announced while stopping his pace. The players knew how the other players within the tower could have bad intentions.
The cases of players killing other players for their loot as well as items was not new anymore. The news was openly broadcasted through radio every single day to spread awareness.
The reason many players did not want to register with the association was also because of the threat posed on their lives.
If the tower was a safe place, anyone would want to visit it and experience the unique world. However, the current state of the tower was nothing less than a Anarchy.
"I'm a wandering merchant, friends. Here, as you can see, I'm merely here to sell some goods~." Taking out a few potion bottles of Healing potion as well as temporary boost potion, he placed it on the ground before them on a cloth.
KiRA had already observed enough so he knew how to deal with this situation. The party may not have anything that he needed aside from that girl, they surely possessed a good number of coins.
"A wandering merchant?" The party leader mumbled, a subtle confusion present in his eyes. "Are you for real?"
It had not been long since the tower opened to the public. There had not been many players around.
Many of the players that were entering the tower had come from the nearby smaller cities.
It was pretty common to find some shady people trying to scam them with fake items and consumables outside the tower, but this was the first they had heard about a Wandering Merchant selling goods inside of the dungeon.
"Oh of course, of course~. Do you not believe me? Oh you can trust me~. These are all legit stuff~." A professional smile was present on his face as he informed them. It seemed like he had scammed–, sold to such people many times in the past as well.
However the party leader did not fall for his smile nor his attitude. Instead of believing a random person calling himself a wandering merchant, he knew he could believe in something else more.
"Is he telling the truth?" The party leader looked at the girl in the back, at Chiika, for the answers.
He knew he could trust her judgement more, and as hateful as she was towards them, she nodded at the bastard of a party leader.
"They're real. I can tell that much." She could see the flow of Mana around the potions that resembled the original ones she had seen.
It was surprising how someone was carrying around so many potions, selling them inside the tower at that. It was actually too good to be true, however, it shouldn't be as simple as it looked.
"Mister! Can I inquire about the prices? I don't think we can afford them right now." She was exhausted from their previous fight already, but she still looked after her party members.
At least they were going to protect her as long as they were inside the dungeon.
"Oho~! Do not worry about it, Miss~! You can have the first purchase at a mere 300 coins~. Anything for 300 coins~. A special offer for the first time customers~. Oh! The prices will increase later on though." There was an unfamiliar darkness in his eyes when he said those final words.
Somehow, it sent a chill down the girl's spine. She didn't understand what it was, but she could tell the deal was pretty good.
"300… isn't that-." Chiika knew the prices were too good to be true. However, her teammates didn't care about all that.
"Oh! That's so cheap! I'll take a potion!"
"Me too! Give me one as well!"
Before she could say anything, her teammates rushed forward towards the merchant, leaving the girl and their boss standing.
"Hmph. Why should we waste our money when we could just take it from-." The party leader still did not like the shady merchant.
"I wouldn't suggest that, Mister. That person… he's at least Level-20." Chiika wasn't sure, but she knew he was at least stronger than all of them.
"If he wanted, he would have killed all of us even before we saw him."
The party leader knew about the special abilities of the girl. She was very sensitive to Mana and things within the dungeon.
She could tell when something was approaching or where they should be going. They were able to avoid a lot of problems thanks to her ability as well.
If they move forward, he knew they could still earn a lot more. If they stumble upon a hidden treasure or something, then he could have a comfortable life outside this damned tower.
"Are you sure?" But that would not be possible if they got killed by some player they shouldn't have messed with in the first place.
"Yes." Chiika knew he wasn't that dumb. At least, he knew how to survive in dire situations.
He was strong and capable despite his nature and character. So, being with him wasn't that big of a challenge.
"Then we should use the opportunity." He went ahead and also purchased the potion from him.
"Thank you~." However, as KiRA was handing him the potion, the captain looked straight at him in the eyes.
A survivor would know danger when they see it.
And when he looked into those deep red eyes devoid of any negative emotions, he knew the girl was right.
"Thank you." He simply backed off, and went back with his party.
"I look forward to seeing you all again soon~." He announced while handing the last of his customers, Chiika her potion.
She only had enough for one potion so she wasn't going to use this precious medicine. She stored it away in her inventory, and with an awkward look, she left with her team.
'Now then…'
They went ahead and with her excellent ability to detect Mana, they were able to avoid many dangers.
There were traps in their path that would have put holes throughout their bodies. There were monsters on their path that they would never be able to beat.
They were on the first floor of the tower and yet they had to be extremely careful when moving.
But some confrontations were impossible to avoid.
"Captain!"
"Yes!"
"Go on the right! Right!"
They fought another (Level-20) monster after an hour. However, thanks to the potions that they had, they were able to move on to the next part pretty quickly.
"Don't mind them. Let's just go." They came across other people on their way, but avoided most of them.
Some of them were injured. Some needed potions more than they did, but they continued moving forward.
'If only I had one more…' Chiika wanted to move on without paying attention to them, but there was a person with severe wounds that couldn't even move.
"Here you go!" She just gave the person her own potion and moved on with her party as quickly as she could hoping the person would leave the tower and get treated.
'There are some crazy people who would want to continue…' but she could only hope that this person gets away safely.
"Captain!" Another battle loomed over them, and they could not avoid this confrontation either.
-Clank! Clank!
They fought the armored knight, an inanimate monster resembling knight armor.
"Haaa… Haa…"
The battle went on for more than an hour as they used a hit-and-run strategy to chip away at the health of the monster.
-Thud…
"Finally…"
"We… we did it."
"Haaa… haa…"
They were finally able to finish the battle somehow, with each one of them being utterly exhausted once again.
"I think… I think, we should call it a… a day here." Chiika was the one guiding them so even though she wasn't actively moving, just using her ability constantly was draining her energy.
She needed rest more than any one of them, and they had achieved more than many other small parties would have in the time they spent here.
"Captain… the girl is right…"
"Haaa… right… we should go."
The captain was out of his potions as well. And, this much was much better than just one defeated creature.
They could at least make a few thousand coins each this way. Going out now would be for the best… or perhaps not.
"Oh my oh my~. What a coincidence~." As they were resting, they heard a voice from a different path. A voice that they had become quite familiar with already.
"I didn't think we would actually meet so soon~." it was the merchant that sold the potions to them the last time. The ray of light that, to the exhausted girl, seemed like an ill omen.
"Well~." The merchant smiled with his red eyes. His intentions this time being uncertain to all of them present.
"Would any of you like a potion~?" He was repeating the same line like the last time, however, they did not feel the calm they had felt the first time.
Instead, there was fear.
There was a strange fear that they were going to be in trouble very soon…