8-21: The Stupidest Decision

"This is so stupid! I'm so stupid!" Veronica muttered to herself, hiding in the bushes near the entrance to the dungeon, waiting for the guards to not pay attention.

"You shouldn't have come alone, then." Lilith said, invisibly tied to Veronica.

"I know, but the voices wouldn't shut up until I left. Gave me a migraine, they did." Veronica responded, watching the entrance.

Finally, the guards had moved just out of the way enough for Veronica quickly slip behind them and enter the dungeon. It was quiet without the other girls. Unnerving.

Veronica held a defensive guard as she slowly made her way through the dungeon, her head on a swivel. Each step seemed meticulously planned. Each turn held no hesitation.

Floor after floor. There were some monsters, but they attacked rarely and in low numbers. Which meant one of two things.

Either the dungeon recognizes that she's alone, and provides an equal challenge for such. Or another team has recently came through. Both are possible.

It didn't stop Veronica from being overly cautious. And considering the last time a floor had little to no monsters—it wasn't very fun.

But she continued through. Waiting, jumping at every little sound. She wanted to focus but she also wanted to at least speak to someone. There's always Lilith, who's keep a close watch on Veronica's rear.

"We're only on the fourth floor, but it feels like I should be further down." Veronica muttered.

"Well, you are moving slowly and taking your time, trying to be careful." Lilith responded, quickly checking ahead before falling back to her original position.

The floors were rather straight forward this time around. And the further down Veronica got, the more signs she saw that another group of adventures have come down here. Were they the group sent to investigate the lower floors, or a party who haven't gotten down that far?

Scratches, metal flakes from weapons and armor, and the lingering scent of deceased monsters. To be fair, it is a lower floor, so it shouldn't too surprising that the group wouldn't have much issue with this.

Each floor was seemingly more and more empty. Veronica was getting closer and closer. It was both nerve-racking and calming at the same time. Floors nine, ten and eleven were certainly clear. And twelve, which had the hotsprings, was a bit more crowded with monsters. Not by much, but the group was definitely still here.

And it didn't take her too long to reach the group. Three men in full armor huddled around a fire, chatting like normal. They seemed roughly around Veronica's age, though they also seemed familiar, where has she seen them before?

"A lone adventurer this deep? What are you doing down here?" A brown haired man asked.

"Just a small excursion. Nothing serious." Veronica claimed, sheathing her sword.

"Ah, interesting. Oh, right, introductions. I'm Jaune, from the Dragons of Varsha." He introduced himself. "These two are Marcel and Hector."

That's why they seemed familiar. Then, where's the blonde one, what was his name again? It was something odd.

"Veronica, Ethereal Ravens." She responded, introducing herself as well.

"Ah! The girls we faced off against in the tournament. You girls did very well back then. I hope you've gotten much stronger since." Marcel said, with a kind smile.

With a nice atmosphere, Veronica decided to take a little break. The hotsprings weren't too far.