"So this is the swirling sands dungeon? To think a dungeon like this would be targeted by someone. From what I know, the dungeon core isn’t anything special enough to make someone risk standing against both the guild and the church at the same time. After all, this dungeon is still partially under the management of the Holy Light Church even if the ownership is officially in the hands of the guild." Standing at the entrance to the swirling sands dungeon, a tall man wearing a full set of armor voiced out his thoughts as he looked towards the swirling portal in front of him.

Beside him a group of around ten people had gathered as they all silently looked towards the taller man with annoyance before one of them walked up and informed him that they had to get going immediately before anything could happen to the dungeon core, something that earned an eye roll from the taller man who was clearly the leader of the group. "Let’s get going everyone, hopefully we can finish this up fast..." Though the words that came out of his mouth a second later agreed with the one who had walked up to him and hurried him to get going and stop wasting time talking to himself.

Although he was the leader, he understood that the people he found himself leading were far from simple, as every single one of them was a powerful adventurer who would never willingly follow his words under normal circumstances. Only because this was a direct request from the guild and the fact that he was the strongest of everyone, did he manage to end up as the one in charge of this group of elites.

Because of this, he also had to accommodate everyone and not get in over his head as these people were clearly far more focused on completing the mission as fast as possible and ensure that nothing happened to the dungeon core of the swirling sands dungeon, something he himself understood given the rewards offered by the guild in case the mission was carried out successfully.

In the end, though part of him had wanted to get familiar with the swirling sands dungeon before diving straight into the task of ensuring the safety of the dungeon core, he was ultimately forced by everyone present to take his job seriously and head straight for the dungeon core, something he truly felt was a pity after learning about the presence of a new kind of dragon that was potentially roaming the first floor of the dungeon. Truly a pity, as he could only hope the dragon would still be around by the time he finished the mission. Feeling confident that it would be simple enough to catch a dragon with his current strength.

Unknowingly, ensuring Scaly was going to have yet another troublesome adventurer chasing after her in the near future, though the person in question was completely unaware, as she found herself entirely absorbed in eating the mist bound behemoth, that she had found out tasted somewhat like grapes, something she found delicious and irresistible with how long it had been since she had last eaten anything beyond a light snack.

...

"Damnable dwarf, just wait, I will make sure you regret ambushing me!" At the same time a group of elites from the guild arrived to deal with the current situation within the swirling sands dungeon, the human guardian shadow walker who had been driven off by Scaly and Verdell, silently cursed to himself as he landed at the base of a small hill with a pained expression on his face. Making it clear to any observers that his current state was far from optimal. Having clearly suffered no small number of injuries from the battle with the mist bound behemoth before Scaly and Verdell had jumped in and thrown the original plans into chaos.

Unfortunately, no matter how angry he was and how much he wanted to vent his anger against the dwarf who had stepped in and helped the dragon kill of one of his companions, he had no way to accomplish it given his current injured and exhausted state.

Not to mention taking revenge, if he really did attempt to return and engage those two, he feared he wouldn’t be able to come out alive. After all, while the dwarf shouldn’t be too strong, the dragon wasn’t someone he would be capable of taking on in his current weakened state.

At the very least, he needed to recover his strength before ever thinking about taking on a powerful being like a dragon. Problem was, he didn’t exactly have the time to recover from his injuries before the deadline for killing the mist bound behemoth was up.

As for scouring the battlefield for the mist infused crystal that he had been tasked with acquiring after the dwarf and dragon had left? He didn’t think this would yield anything. Knowing that while the dragon might have ignored the mist infused gemstone, there was no way an adventurer would ever ignore such a large gemstone. Even if the other party had no clue what it was used for, it would ultimately still be viewed as something valuable that had to be brought back and sold.

Just thinking about this was more than enough to cause a significant headache, as the mist infused crystal saturated with death energy was of paramount importance. Not to him, but to the one that had tasked him with getting his hands on the crystal... And while he was confident in his own strength, he didn’t dare offend this person.

But... He couldn’t get his hands on the mist infused crystal saturated with death energy that the person had tasked him with obtaining and he couldn’t afford to show up empty handed. In the end, though he had managed to escape alive from the dragon and dwarf, he had no way out of his current situation and was essentially being forced into fighting them again.

"Wait... Maybe I’m not entirely without hope, if I can catch up to that fellow working on getting another of those death energy saturated crystals on this floor, I might be able to convince him to lend me a hand." Narrowing his eyes somewhat as he muttered this to himself, the human shadow guardian walker shifted his attention towards another area of the grey colored world where an equally destructive battle to the one between him and the mist bound behemoth should be playing out.

Although he belonged to the same camp as the other party, he also understood that they weren’t entirely considered to be true members of the Eternal Life Sanctum given the fact that neither of them was adept in dark magic nor necromancy. At most, they could be considered outer members of the Eternal Life Sanctum, enjoying a bit more benefits compared to other members thanks to their powerful strength having reached the SS Rank.

As for comradery between the two... There was none, as both would almost certainly benefit if the other perished or lost influence within the Eternal Life Sanctum.

In other words, though he might be able to get help from the other party and avoid a worst-case scenario of offending the senior figure within the Eternal Life Sanctum who had assigned them and a few others with different tasks inside the swirling sands dungeon, he would undoubtedly have to pay a heavy price.

Still, considering the current situation he found himself in, even if he ended up having to pay a heavy price, it would still be better than facing that senior figure without the crystal he had been tasked with acquiring.

"Hopefully, he will take into account the last time I helped him get out alive when he was surrounded by those fanatics from the Holy Light Church..." Silently muttering this to himself as he remembered how he had helped this person escape a life and death situation in the past for an equally steep price as the one he might find himself having to pay, the human guardian shadow walker set off in the direction where the other party should be fighting a monster no weaker than the mist bound behemoth he had been facing.

Knowing that there was a very real chance he might end up arriving late, with his potential savior having already left this dungeon floor to hand in the crystal he had been tasked with obtaining on the floor below. After all, his and that fellow’s strength was similar and it wasn’t the slightest bit odd for him to have already killed off his target the second he had been forced to escape from the dragon that had suddenly emerged out of nowhere and ambushed him and his group.

The only thing he could hope for was that this old friend had been delayed by something and hadn’t left immediately after acquiring the crystal he had been tasked with obtaining, something that was possible given the fact that he wouldn’t be in a hurry to turn in the task, as there was still a day left before the time limit for handing in the task was up.