"Brother, why did you bring that noble with us?"

As we smashed through this ancient underground passage, Oyado suddenly began questioning me.

"Their fighting power is less than half of yours or mine, brother, right?"

But Oyado's voice was a bit loud, I think the two behind us must have heard.

"What are you two talking about? Wasn't it you who called us to go together?"

"I did say that, because now is not the time to argue. I ask you, compared to your life, is your so-called noble honor important or staying alive important?"

Since this guy values the gap between nobles and commoners so much, I might as well make it clear to him now to avoid any trouble later.

"Well...both..."

The other party's expression was very hesitant, and I couldn't help but sigh.

"In other words, for you, it's difficult to choose between putting down your pride and joining forces with commoners to escape from here or dying here?"

"Well...it's not...if you put it that way, it seems..."

This guy thought about it and seemed to agree with me a bit.

"So, what are you people thinking about all day? It's as if being with ordinary people will shorten the lifespan of you nobles. Look at Princess Cher, she is a princess but stays with us, and we have also formed the strongest team in the entire academy. That's the difference, I've said enough, now you think about it yourself."

After a pause, I took out the pure white statue.

"But this time the enemy is exceptionally strong. If they shine their light into your eyes, you'll end up like my partner, pure white, directly turning into a statue. And those monsters have a certain resistance to long-range attacks, so now unless we all make an effort, otherwise..."

I approached him and stared at him.

"Otherwise, we might all die here, and at that time, your so-called noble lineage will completely turn into stone. If your family doesn't recognize you...maybe you'll be treated the same as an ordinary person's corpse. Do you understand now? The problem we are facing now is much more troublesome than you imagine!"

"Um...um, okay, I understand. But I won't apologize because..."

"I know, I don't expect you to apologize or anything, after all, I can understand your thoughts to some extent."

I turned around and looked into the depths of the passage, then turned back to look at him.

"After all, being a noble is a kind of privilege, even if ordinary people obtain it, they would easily discard it because it would be more convenient. And the higher the status, the fewer reasons there are to abandon it. But...doesn't it depend on the timing as well? Now that you're about to lose your life, even if you still maintain your noble title, you won't have the life to enjoy it, right?"

"I...I understand! Let's cooperate to escape from here during this time."

"Okay, it's impressive that you managed to persuade the stubborn Madam Domic, Fir, you really are extraordinary."

Duran silently muttered next to me.

"Madam Domic's stubbornness is well-known, you know."

"What are you talking about, Duran..."

"Madam Domic, you should at least be self-aware. Your stubbornness is already well-known, that's why you were expelled from the Sweepers, your character caused even more division within the knight order, those were the captain's exact words."

"That's enough, I know, stop talking."

Madam Domic seemed to be quite concerned about her past, and after hearing it being said out loud, she felt embarrassed.

"I won't talk about this topic anymore, so... please don't mention it either. Okay, then tell me, how do we escape from this place?"

"Well..."

I nodded and said to Oyado.

"Stay alert, and if those monsters chase us, please remind me. I'm counting on you."

"Leave it to me, big brother!"

Seeing Oyado's confident smile, I touched her head.

Asking Oyado for help at the exit was my only option. Previously, I relied entirely on the map, title prompts, and attack warnings. But now, all those functions were completely gone. There was nothing on the mini-map, let alone titles. Without relying on Oyado's abilities, it would be difficult for us to escape from here.

I forced a smile, then looked at the others.

"I learned from Princess Cher earlier that the exit leading outside has been sealed off. Although I don't know why, it's clear that the other side doesn't want the academy's students to leave."

I looked at Princess Cher.

"Besides serving as an escape route, does this passage have any other purposes?"

She was the only one from the royal family in this room, so asking her was the right decision.

"Well..."

Princess Cher thought for a moment and nodded.

"I heard that the original purpose of this passage was for evacuation, but it seems that during the excavation, they stumbled upon some ruins that were already built underneath the academy. However, I don't know where the entrance is..."

"Well, it seems like that's our destination. Although my original plan was to quickly gather all the students and break through from above, it seems that both having too many or too few people won't work. If we have too few, we may be worn down by the monsters outside, and if we have too many, we'll become easy targets as the light turns us into stone. So since this passage can lead us from the underground ruins... let's find the entrance and escape. But before that, it would be better if we could find the other students who are also hiding in the passage. After all, the more people we have, the less pressure we'll face."

"I agree, but even I don't know the full details of this underground passage. I have no idea when we'll find the exit."

"That's why we need to find as many people as possible, Princess Cher. It'll be faster to search with more people."

"You're right."

"Does anyone else have any objections?"

I looked at the others, and everyone silently shook their heads.

"Okay, since there are no objections, let's set off. Time is running out, and if those Medusas enter the passage, this place will become our tomb."

"Um..."

Perhaps reminded of what I just said, most people couldn't help but shudder.

I silently put the pure white statue into my ring and looked at everyone.

"Let's go! If you don't want to become a statue."

"Big brother!"

Suddenly, Oyado made a quiet gesture.

After a moment of pause, she whispered.

"Three people are coming this way!"

"What!"

I looked at the others, then pointed to a crack in the nearby wall.

"Hide in there!"

Then I quickly extinguished the lights on the wall and, together with Oyado, hid near the door.

The sound of footsteps... was getting closer...