‘A door?’

Alina blurted out, looking up at a huge double-winged iron door, carved with magnificent decorations and intricate magic circles, blocking the party’s advance at the end of the trackless, pillar-strewn path.

‘It looks like it leads to the boss room.’

‘The first floor boss, right. Let’s go and kill it.’

‘I’m with you, but it looks like we’re going to need a key.’

‘A key?’

Alina looked closer. There was indeed a keyhole in the door, and no matter how she pushed or pulled, the door wouldn’t budge.

‘You’ve got to be kidding me. Where the hell’re we supposed to look for a—’

Before she had the chance to finish her sentence, Jade suddenly grabbed the shield from his back. Just as Alina was wondering what the hell he was doing, Jade pulled Alina behind his shield, as if to hide her from view.

‘Hey! What’re you—’

‘Haha! If it isn’t the Blades! Still short of members, I see?’

A mocking voice interrupted Alina’s protest as a group of men emerged from the darkness. The brown-haired swordsman leading the group frowned at the sight of Jade holding out his shield.

‘Hmm? What’s with the shield? You planning to fight us?’

‘Just being cautious.’

‘Hah, what cowardice. Well, I’m not surprised. After all, your party’s down a member.’

Alina watched the men surreptitiously through the great shield’s decorations.

The man in front, his lips curled into a mocking grin, was a young adventurer, a swordsman, his long brown hair tied back in a tail. The three adventurers standing behind him seemed to be his party members. But where many adventurers looked at the Silver Blades with envy, these men were clearly looking down on them.

‘That’s right, Rufus. We haven’t decided on a vanguard yet.’

Jade lied calmly with a shrug of his shoulders, causing the man called Rufus to let out a triumphant roar of laughter.

‘Now there’s a good one! Did you fail to get your hands on your last hope, the Executioner? How far from grace the guild’s elites have fallen. Looks like we’ll have to take the lead capturing the dungeon this time.’

Alina remembered hearing the name Rufus. In fact, most of her receptionist colleagues and adventurers knew of that name. He was the leader of a high-ranking party, second only to the elite Silver Blades.

‘But then, from the moment you tried to rely on that mysterious hammer-swinging fraud, the Blades were finished.’

‘Fraud?’

Jade’s eyebrows arched up.

‘Duh. Sending a Hellflame Dragon flying, killing a raid boss with one blow, it’s all a big scam. If it weren’t, the Executioner wouldn’t need to hide their identity! They’d be out in the open with their head held high. The fact that they can’t means there’s something fishy going on. But the guild, they can’t see through the Executioner’s little fraud and are still chasing after em, the bunch of morons!’

Rufus’ party roared with laughter, and perhaps because they were sure of their victory seeing as Jade’s party didn’t voice a single argument in response, Rufus’ mood soared. He produced a small key from his pocket.

‘Ah, that’s—’

Looking between the key in his hand and the keyhole in the door, Rururi raised her voice.

‘It looks like God favours us today.’

Rufus raised the corners of his mouth in a scornful sneer, and for a brief moment his eyes seemed to gleam with seething, ferocious ambition.

‘I heard that there’s a special relic sleeping inside the hidden dungeon that appears with a hidden quest. Just you wait and see. I will obtain a power stronger than that Executioner!’

‘Huh?’

‘You lot just sit back and suck your thumbs while we finish capturing the dungeon!’

Rufus roared with laughter before unlocking the door and stepping through.

****

‘What up with those guys?’

The door closed with a heavy thud, and after waiting for all signs of Rufus’ party to vanish, Alina stepped out from behind Jade’s shield.

‘Despite appearances, they are a party of top-class adventurers, the next most powerful party in the guild. But as you just saw, their personalities are the worst.’

Jade breathed an exasperated sigh and returned his shield to his back.

‘They get into fights over the smallest things.’

Rururi said. This probably wasn’t the first time the Blades had been harassed by them in this manner. With a hint of resignation, she continued.

‘All of Rufus’ members were adventurers who applied to join the Blades but were turned down. Because of that they’ve been harassing us ever since. I mean, how petty is that?’

‘Leaving that aside, we’re kinda screwed. Now that those guys have the key, we can’t go forward.’

‘I can’t have that. My paid leave is at stake.’

Alina said before quietly activating her skill. She looked towards the large iron door that Rufus’ party had just closed. As she slowly approached it, a white magic circle rose up from beneath her feet and a huge warhammer appeared out of thin air.

‘For starters, it’s this fucking annoying door with its key and whatnot…’

‘Eh, wait, miss Alina? You’re not seriously—’

‘…that’s to blame!!!’

Alina shouted, swinging her hammer at the solid door as hard she could.

A deafening crash ripped through the dungeon, shaking it to its very foundations. The door, seemingly impossible to open without unlocking it, was all too easily smashed by the excessive force of the warhammer, sending chunks of iron flying in all directions.

”’…”’

Key or no key, it no longer mattered.

Jade, Loewe and Rururi all stared blankly at the door, demolished in so physical a manner. Fragments of metal crashed into Jade’s hastily drawn shield, bouncing off it with a thud, thud.

Alina, on the other hand, stared through the now empty doorframe with a loud huff.

‘My paid leave is on the line. I don’t have time to waste on some door.’