While Ike and his companions continued gaining experience as adventurers and strengthening their bonds,

the Hero Nord and his group were facing an inexplicable failure.

“Damn it! Why are we struggling so much with just the third level?”

Nord slammed a bottle of liquor down on the table, yelling in frustration.

“This isn’t how it was supposed to go!” Yun shouted beside him, barely able to contain her anger.

The reason for their outbursts traced back to the previous day.

After Ike left, Nord’s party, now four members, challenged the Septem Grand Labyrinth again, aiming to gather low-grade Mana Stones to secure funds.

But once again, inexplicably, they failed. It wasn’t that someone had fallen into a trap—they simply couldn’t defeat the boss on the third floor, the Goblin General, and its goblin minions.

The plan was straightforward: the Tank Lloyd would draw the Goblin General’s attention to buy time, Yor would provide support and heal the injured, and Nord and Yun would swiftly take down the goblin horde. They would all then finish off the Goblin General together.

However, things didn’t go as planned.

“Damn it, Lloyd screwed up as bait!”

Despite the plan hinging on Lloyd holding back the Goblin General, he was quickly overwhelmed within minutes, breaking their formation and putting the team at a disadvantage. They couldn’t focus on the Goblin General while battling the horde, nor could they handle the goblins while worrying about the General. As time passed, reinforcements kept coming, worsening the situation.

After a brutal fight lasting several minutes, they had no choice but to retreat.

After escaping the labyrinth, Nord confronted Lloyd, only for him to protest:

“You’re kidding me! You sent some goblins my way too! How could I possibly hold back the Goblin General under those conditions?!”

Lloyd insisted that some of the goblins Nord’s group was supposed to handle had attacked him, which allowed the General to break through.

In the end, there was no clear answer on who was to blame, and they returned to town. Lloyd and Yor, both exhausted from their roles, immediately retired to their inn to rest. Even the next morning, they were still too drained to leave their rooms.

That left Nord and Yun, who were relatively unscathed, to spend the morning at the guild’s tavern, reflecting on the previous day’s events over drinks.

Nord remained unconvinced by Lloyd’s claims. As far as he could recall, they had been dealing with the goblin horde as usual. They’d done it plenty of times before without any problems. The only difference this time was Ike’s absence, but—

“Hey, do you think if Ike were with us, it would have been as easy as usual?”

It seemed Yun had the same thought, but Nord quickly dismissed it.

“No, that can’t be,” he said, shaking his head adamantly. Sure, Ike might have added another body, but he never did anything except panic and run. There was no way his absence could have affected their performance.

And yet, no other reason came to mind. If, hypothetically, Ike’s absence had affected them, how exactly had he contributed to the party?

Suddenly, an idea struck Nord.

“I’ve got it—it was scouting.”

“Scouting?”

Yun tilted her head at Nord’s sudden insight.

“Yes, that’s it. Ike might have been deadweight in combat, but he did help scout for monsters along the way. Without a scout, we ran into more monsters than usual, and we were more exhausted by the time we reached the boss. That’s what caused this.”

Once he voiced it, he couldn’t see it any other way, and Yun nodded in agreement.

“Exactly, that makes sense! We could recruit a scout—a thief or rogue—then, right?”

“Yes, but I wonder if there’s a rogue skilled enough to join a hero’s party in this town.”

“Actually, I heard a party of a Magic Swordsman and an Assassin just ranked up to B-Rank. With their skills, they should be more than qualified.”

“A Magic Swordsman and an Assassin…!”

A Magic Swordsman, a versatile fighter wielding both sword and magic, and an Assassin, the rogue’s advanced class, known for scouting and ambush skills. Both were high-ranking professions that would be a good fit.

“Perfect. Let’s recruit them.”

They expected an invitation from a hero’s party would be well-received. Even if the duo were hesitant, they could appeal to their sense of sympathy by explaining the difficult situation left by their former party member.

With a plan in place, Nord and Yun stood, setting off to find the pair.