There's a clunk.

...But nothing happens.

Ryu turns around and says:

Ryu: "A trapdoor? What a childish thing to do."

When he approached the door, Ryu had already sensed the trap with his precognitive ability. He deliberately stepped onto the trapdoor, and deployed a dimensional barrier just below the trapdoor's lid to prevent the door from opening.

Banks: "W-What are you talking about?"

Banks nervously tried to play dumb.

Ryu: "There's a trapdoor here, right?"

Ryu said, tapping his heel on the floor.

Ryu: "If you're not hostile, I was going to leave you alone."

Ryu took a step towards Banks. Seeing this, Banks hurriedly tried to defend himself.

Banks: "Wait! There's no trapdoor! What are you talking about? I have no intention of being hostile!"

Ryu: "You don't? Then why don't you step on it?"

Banks: "..."

Ryu: "What's wrong? There isn't one, is there?"

With no choice, Banks walked towards the door. Perhaps something was wrong with the mechanism, and it wouldn't open. The door wouldn't open when Ryu stepped on it, so it should be safe for him.

Ryu stepped back, and Banks, who was approaching, stepped onto the floor in front of the door.

At that moment, the floor opened. Ryu had deactivated the dimensional barrier.

Banks plummeted into the dungeon.

Banks' office was on the second floor, and the dungeon was on the first floor below ground. If an ordinary person fell that distance, they would break their leg. But he was a former S-rank, after all. He managed to land safely.

Looking up, he saw Ryu peering into the hole.

Banks had messed up. Was Banks really not planning on being hostile towards Ryu?

At first, he had intended to be.

It was a mission that A-rank and S-rank adventurers had abandoned, even though it was fine if they failed. Thinking about it calmly, he shouldn't have gotten involved.

He had concluded that Ryuujin was a dangerous person.

However, the person who appeared in front of him looked so frail that it was the beginning of his confusion.

And the frail boy was speaking to the Guild Master of the capital in such a condescending manner.

The Guild Master in the capital was a superior being compared to the Guild Masters in other cities. Of course, adventurers didn't use honorifics to avoid being underestimated, but it was different when it came to the Guild Master of the capital. Everyone was supposed to bow their heads in respect.

But the boy showed no respect at all, and his arrogant behavior was obnoxious. Banks was annoyed.

If he let him go without doing anything, people would talk about how the Guild Master was scared of this kid.

Besides, he couldn't believe in teleportation magic.

Maybe he could capture him easily if he tried?

He was a former S-rank, although he had been retired for a long time. He couldn't move as well as he used to, so he should avoid direct combat.

But he could use a trap...

The trapdoor was a primitive trap, but it had a high success rate in this world. You could avoid it if you knew about it, but it was easy to fall for it if it was in an unexpected place.

An unexpected place, like the Guild Master's office of the Adventurer's Guild in the capital.

He had actually used it successfully a few times in the past, and Banks had become fond of it.

He had hesitated, but he thought to himself, (Maybe I can do it!), as soon as he touched the lever...

But he had been seen through. Now that he was exposed, there was no way that someone who could see through such a primitive trap would fall for it. He might even be attacked!

Banks acted on a whim, but now he was scared when Ryu targeted him with murderous intent. He didn't think the boy could release such a powerful murderous intent.

This was a mistake. As Raitou had said, he shouldn't have been hostile. What should he do? He had no choice but to play dumb! He had to play dumb and somehow get out of this!

If he thought about it calmly, he would realize that this was impossible, but he was panicking, and his judgment was becoming increasingly erratic.

The truth was that the Guild Master, although he claimed to be a former S-rank, was not that strong. He was the type who had used his connections and flattered his superiors to gain rank and status.

He claimed to be a former S-rank, but that was because the party rank was S-rank. He was A-rank himself, and his actual skill was closer to B-rank. However, in the capital, connections and flattering superiors were more important than skill to advance in life.

He had finally obtained the position he desired by bowing and scraping to his superiors, and now he thought that everyone should bow to him.

Was that the way to act to a kid who was so arrogant? No, he couldn't stand it. His half-baked pride had led him to make a bad judgment.

Ryu had considered leaving Banks in the dungeon and returning, but he changed his mind and teleported to the basement. He felt that a punishment was necessary. He had given Raitou and the others a taste of it, so it wasn't right that the person who gave the orders got off scot-free.

A magic circle appeared outside the dungeon's iron bars, and Ryu appeared.

Banks: "!"

Ryu: "You said to show you teleportation if it was real. I'll show you."

A magic circle appeared beneath Banks' feet, and before he knew it, he was standing on a plain somewhere.

Banks: "Where... am I?!"

Ryu: "It's a grassland outside the capital."

Ryu pointed in a direction, and far in the distance, they could see the capital's walls.

Banks: "Telep... ortation...?"

Ryu: "You lie about not being hostile and try to trap your opponent. That's quite a pitiful thing for a Guild Master of the capital to do."

Banks: "Wait! I really don't want to fight! I'll never try to hurt you again! I promise!"

Ryu: "How about you experience teleportation magic a bit more? You were interested, weren't you?"

Banks: "...?"

Another magic circle appeared beneath Banks' feet. Where would he be teleported to this time?

He suddenly saw Ryu pointing upwards. Banks looked up, and a magic circle was floating about 10 meters above his head. Banks was being teleported into the air.

Oh, he thought. But it was too late. Banks was already high up in the air. Of course, he began to fall towards the ground immediately.

Ryu knew from his previous life that 10 meters was the height at which humans felt the most fear. He had chosen that height. He wasn't sure if it was the same for the people of this world.

As Banks fell, he braced himself for impact! But a magic circle appeared again on the ground. Banks' body was sucked into the magic circle, and he reappeared about 20 meters above the ground without feeling the impact.

He started falling again. He was still maintaining the speed of his previous fall, but he was accelerating even faster.

Banks was terrified of the approaching ground, but another magic circle appeared on the ground, and he was teleported back into the air.

30 meters above the ground. He began to fall again. He was still going at the same speed, which was the same as falling from a height of 60 meters.

Even for a former S-rank, he probably wouldn't survive if he crashed into the ground.

But another magic circle appeared on the ground. Even though he knew he probably wouldn't hit it, he felt intense fear physically and instinctively as he plunged towards the ground at tremendous speed.

He was sucked into the magic circle and reappeared in the air again. However, this time he reappeared with a reversed vector. He was flying upwards with the same momentum as when he was falling towards the ground.

When Banks' upward momentum stopped due to gravity, he was teleported back to the ground by another teleportation spell.

He had been returned to the ground near the peak of his upward trajectory, so he landed with almost no impact because he was no longer accelerating, having stopped falling.

Ryu: "Did you enjoy the freefall?"

Banks slumped to the ground, hearing Ryu's words.

Banks: "...Stop it... I'm afraid of heights... I'm sorry, just..."

It was Ryu's malicious punishment. He had accidentally discovered that Banks was afraid of heights when he peeked into his mind.

Ryu: "Do you think it's over with just one time?"

Banks trembled.

Banks: "No... please... I'm sorry, I'm reflecting on my actions, please stop..."

Ryu: "Should I let you hit the ground next time?"

Banks: "If you do that... I'll die..."

Ryu: "Don't worry, I'll heal you before you die."

Banks recalled Raitou's story about being cut apart, healed, and forced to fight again, and... He fainted, his bladder involuntarily emptying.

Ryu: "Did the freefall scare you that much...?"

Banks awoke in the Guild's office.

He got up from the floor and saw Ryu standing in the room.

Ryu: "The next adventurer who tries to attack me will be killed."

Banks: "...I understand..."

Banks nodded vigorously. Ryu left the room.

Next Episode

Ryu tries to go to the castle but is stopped by the guards.

Stay tuned!