Sophia suddenly cried out. Her wand flashed, and a thicker veil of water mist spread over her face.
Everyone looked at the overreacting Sophia in confusion.
“What sleeping grass? How could there be any down here on the second underground level?”
As they struggled to understand Sophia’s actions, a wave of weakness suddenly swept over them.
“What’s happening?”
“Why do I feel so sleepy...?”
“No, wait! Everyone, cover your noses! This really is sleeping grass!”
The members of the warband panicked. They scrambled to cover their mouths and noses by any means possible.
But it seemed they were already too late.
Thud—
The first person’s fall was like a signal.
More mages collapsed one after another. Even the physically stronger warriors began dropping to the ground.
“Hahaha...”
The injured warrior from earlier slowly rose to his feet.
His mad laughter was filled with malice.
Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tender green plant.
A strange, complicated scent drifted from it.
Sleeping grass was a special plant processed by certain alchemists. Once pulled from the soil, it continuously released a scent that weakened anyone who breathed it in.
Several adventurers who could barely remain standing glared furiously at the man.
“Why did you betray us!?”
The injured warrior didn’t answer.
Instead, he watched Sophia, who had retreated far away, with an amused look in his eyes.
“Your vigilance is pretty good. No wonder you’re a high-level mage. You’re certainly much better than these worthless fools.”
“You!”
His insult naturally enraged the other adventurers.
But their weakened bodies no longer had the strength to step forward and confront him.
Sophia’s water-blue eyes turned cold as she stared at the man. Her wand gave off a faint glow.
“You’re from the Brown Bear Warband, aren’t you? To wipe us all out, you went so far as to use such despicable methods?” Sophia said coldly.
The man shrugged.
“Looks like this mage really is clever. Look at these idiots. They think I betrayed them. Why don’t they stop and consider...?”
As he spoke, the warrior raised both hands and grabbed his own hair.
Then he pulled hard.
Splurt—
Blood gushed out.
The warrior had actually torn his own head off. Fresh blood sprayed out in an instant.
The horrifying sight made everyone’s hearts tremble.
Some of the more fainthearted adventurers began gagging and screaming.
Sophia forced down her discomfort and put on an expressionless face.
“I might not be their companion at all!”
His voice suddenly became much sharper.
A bizarre-looking flesh worm crawled out from the warrior’s severed neck.
Its mouthparts scraped against one another, producing a strange, shrill human voice.
Everyone who saw this scene felt their stomachs churn again.
Sophia frowned at the sight. Her gaze grew colder and colder.
Naturally, she knew this method.
Necromancy.
Corpse-worm control magic.
Necromantic magic was feared because of its sinister and terrifying nature.
Still, the continent’s open-minded atmosphere meant that Necromancers weren’t universally shunned or hunted down.
Some special dungeons even required the participation of Necromancers.
But necromantic magic was ultimately connected to corpses and bones.
Because of that, some of its spells had been classified as forbidden.
Corpse-worm control was one of them.
It allowed the caster to control specially raised corpse worms. The worms could burrow into corpses and briefly control them.
Sophia’s expression turned extremely grim.
She knew that Raging Lion and the others outside had probably met with disaster as well.
“Miss Mage, you don’t look like a foolish person. Why not consider joining us? Once everything is done, we’ll increase the reward they offered you by twenty percent.”
The corpse worm spoke.
Clearly, it was conveying the Necromancer’s intentions from behind the scenes.
Sophia froze at those words.
Even the adventurers from the Lion Warband nearby were stunned.
Should she die alongside the Lion Warband?
Or betray them, join the Brown Bear Warband, and receive a greater reward?
No matter who it was, anyone standing in Sophia’s position would surely find the answer obvious.
Yet they still clung to that single, final hope.
After all, Sophia was the only high-level mage among them who hadn’t been affected by the sleeping grass.
They watched her nervously, desperate to know what choice she would make.
Some of them, however, already had despair and resentment shining in their eyes.
Sophia could naturally feel their gazes.
She also understood the meaning behind the Necromancer’s words.
Her grip tightened around her wand again and again.
Beneath her hood, her eyes flickered with an unreadable light.
After a long while, Sophia seemed to give up.
She slightly relaxed her grip on the wand and sighed.
The flesh worm carefully observed her every movement.
When it saw her reaction, it understood that Sophia had made her decision.
A sharp, grating laugh escaped from it.
“The Lion Warband is paying me a very generous reward. If you can afford it, that is,” Sophia said calmly.
At those words, the Lion Warband adventurers glared furiously at her.
But that was all they could do.
Resisting the weakness spreading through their bodies had already exhausted them.
“Kehehehe. Don’t worry. We Brown Bears are much richer than the Lions.”
“In that case, I’ll join you.”
“Good!”
The Necromancer answered happily.
His sharp, grating laughter echoed without end.
“There’s one more condition I want you to agree to,” Sophia suddenly said.
“No problem. Oh, right. It’s impossible for us to let this bunch of scum go.”
The Necromancer’s voice turned sinister.
Then, as if he had suddenly remembered something, he added, “Not a single one of them.”
“...All right, then. I have no conditions.”
Sophia stared coldly at him.
In the end, she could only agree.
She gave Hugh a faintly apologetic glance and sighed inwardly.
“In that case, let’s go. Follow me back to the first level. As for these scum... hehehe.”
The Necromancer didn’t finish his sentence.
But in a dungeon filled with danger, the fate awaiting a group of powerless adventurers needed no explanation.
Sophia nodded.
Ignoring the venomous, jealous, and despairing gazes around her, she slowly crossed the group and walked toward the corpse worm.
The instant she drew near it, a flash passed through Sophia’s eyes.
Her wand suddenly jerked upward.
The thick shaft slammed into the corpse worm with a fierce whoosh.
Splurt—
