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No matter how reluctant Danielle was to 'waste' such incredibly useful consumables, she also realized that Emilia was right. If they didn't use the Corrupted Blood Essence when they were the most aimless, its potential tactical advantage would only become meaningless.
Fortunately, she didn't know that Emilia was already aware of where exactly they needed to go, or she would have definitely spanked her on the spot, 'star player' or not.
"I can see a lot of super 'shiny' monsters scattered all over the forest, and… it seems like there are other players around as well." Robin frowned. "To the east, there's a strange cave-like structure that's also glowing… but I can't be too sure. It's too far."
They'd already figured out that the 'glow' observed after chewing on the 'Corrupted Blood Essence' was directly related to the 'level' of the entity being viewed, with usually the strongest monsters shining the brightest.
Danielle hummed thoughtfully. "How many monsters are there in total? And if you can see any players fighting them… how is it going?"
Robin squinted her eyes and looked around, then shook her head with a sigh. "I can't count exactly… but there should be at least a few hundred in my viewing range… and more past that." She coughed. "As for the fights… well, most of them are doing okay."
The drill-haired girl snorted. "Alright, I see… in that case, there are two possibilities. First, those aren't 'players', but some other humanoids around the same level, or second… those monsters are much weaker than the ones we fought outside."
Emilia also nodded. 'Of course, the exceptional teams such as the hero's party should have already figured out that the real objective of this 'quest' must be somewhere else, and went looking for the entrance to the dungeon.'
With their thoughts aligned, Danielle ordered Robin to lead them to the strange cave's entrance without hesitation. And upon arriving, it soon became clear that they'd been right.
—[Congratulations! You have discovered the entrance to the dungeon 'Goblin's Den' and unlocked the related quests!]
—As the third party to discover the entrance, you are rewarded with ten silver coins per player.
Robin and Nico couldn't help but curse.
"We're… third?"
"Damn it! Even though we used the 'Corrupted Blood Essence'?!"
Even Sylvia frowned, and Danielle couldn't help but sigh.
Clearly, they somewhat regretted letting their dear crimson-haired beauty be so willful back then, though none of them were stupid enough to say it out loud.
After all, even if their cute little puppy were to bite them, how could they be willing to hit it back?
In contrast to her other teammates, though, Emilia was only momentarily surprised by the announcement. And she didn't think it was much of a 'pity' at all.
If they really rushed into the pillar world without grabbing the 'free experience' outside, they wouldn't have been even remotely as strong or prepared as they were now. And there was no telling if even that would have been enough to get them ahead of the other two teams.
After all, the hero had the 'Hero's Instinct' to guide him, and it wasn't strange for one of the others to 'luck out' if the 'spawn positions' were random in the pillar world.
'The discovery reward doesn't matter, but… I'm a little worried if we'll be able to clear it before the hero.' Emilia sighed.
Obviously, the first clear reward wasn't something she could afford to miss. But… no matter how she thought about it, the crimson-haired girl didn't feel very confident in her chances.
Cynthia hummed thoughtfully. "It shouldn't be impossible. Didn't his team have a lot of trouble on the second floor in the original timeline?"
Of course, Emilia knew that among the three floors of 'Goblin's Den', the second wasn't the trickiest, but it served as a wakeup call for the hero, who had gotten used to relying heavily on the 'Hero's Instinct'.
But even though she knew all about the dungeon, Emilia wasn't so confident in being able to smoothly guide her team through the 'Goblin's Den' at a steady pace.
'You're right, but… maybe I should have convinced Danielle to recruit a good male player, just to make things a little easier.' Emilia frowned.
Cynthia couldn't help but sigh. "With the current status of your team… it would have been nearly impossible to recruit someone reliable, though."
The crimson-haired girl blinked, and soon realized that her partner was right.
With her current popularity, many acknowledged Emilia's 'mechanical skills' and luck, but few were convinced of her 'real skill'. This was not only due to the fact that she was a new face, but also because she was a part of the 'Crimson Witches'.
After all, if she'd been really good, she would already have been poached by one of the top teams.
Obviously, no one would leave their reliable employer to come join Danielle, whose bank balance and reputation were both questionable at best. Not to mention, they hadn't managed to win a single championship at any level in the past few years.
The only ones who would be 'willing' to join them at the moment would be those who were attracted by a certain someone's face, but taking in that kind of person wasn't really worth the risk of destroying their team's already precarious balance.
Crystal reached forward to squeeze Emilia's palm, giving her a comforting smile. "Are you ready?"
Emilia smiled, her eyes glinting with hidden gratitude. "Yeah. Let's go forward and do our best."
'I obviously did all the heavy lifting, but here this blonde monkey goes taking all the credit.' Cynthia snorted, but didn't share her thoughts with her partner this time.
Meanwhile, Danielle had already finished going through their newly issued quest and making a plan.
"Alright, team!" The drill-haired girl clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "There are two squads ahead of us, and our goal is to clear this dungeon before anyone else, but don't be discouraged!"
Danielle took a deep breath to calm herself down, then grinned. "This is not a race, and the things inside must be tricky, so don't think we're any less likely to win than anyone else. But the same goes for others who will enter after us."
Her sharp gaze turned to Emilia.
"Everyone, especially you, Emilia, must listen to my words while we're inside. But that is not to say you cannot speak or make suggestions." She smiled. "Although we sometimes make mistakes, I believe the right way to go forward is by combining all our strengths, understand?"
Obviously, although she sometimes wanted to 'beat' a certain crimson-haired beauty, Danielle would never deny her countless contributions to their team's success.
Thinking about it more carefully, she also realized that it might not necessarily be a bad thing for them to be 'late', and this might just be another one of Emilia's 'lucky' charms for their team.
After all, maybe the leading teams would clear the way for them, or maybe they would be able to handle the dangers inside much more efficiently now that they were stronger. With Emilia's 'luck', anything was possible.
Everyone nodded in agreement, and Danielle grinned. "If there are no questions, Emilia, Robin… lead the way!"
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