Parallel Memory

Observing from afar was Professor Mia.

With her sense, looking at a 1km distance is the same as looking at something 10 meters away.

She watched Zero's every move, from the path he took to when he rested.

First, she thought Zero made a wrong decision in choosing to move through the territory of Arzuros.

Monsters themselves were not very difficult to defeat but the real problem was numbers. They would always be in groups providing challenges to lone challengers like Zero.

She had given Zero 2 days' worth of time to conquer the dungeon. Zero would have been better to go from other safer paths rather than choosing the shortest path.

However, it seems that Zero chose that path because Arzuros poses no threat to him. He instantly decimated a group of Arzuros in less than 10 minutes.

Professor Mia gave a plus point to Zero's way of fighting the monster.

"It seems he is quite used to hunting in a dungeon."

Professor Mia was satisfied with how Zero dealt with the monster. He efficiently took down the monster while he himself avoided sustaining any injuries.

Zero seems like he was used to dealing with monsters showing that he would occasionally go to the dungeon.

Many people know that a dungeon is a great way to train themselves but not many do it.

Why?

Because it was way more dangerous than other training method. You can't choose a low-rank dungeon for training because it will be of no use for training purposes. How could you learn anything when you are fighting a monster which you can kill with one punch?

And while attempting to challenge a dungeon that is similar to the one suitable for training, you could very well lose your life.

So why choose a dungeon for training when one could opt for a safer training method like sparring with other humans or strengthening their physical strength in a gym?

However, it was essential for them to train in the dungeon because the purpose of becoming stronger was to protect humanity from the monster.

While many are only trying to become strong for fame and join guilds to get money, the main purpose of the Academy and guild is to protect humanity. They exist to teach the next generation about their responsibility as Explorers to protect humanity.

She thought she would have to train Zero on how to efficiently hunt the monster but it looked like Zero is quite adept at hunting the monster.

However, she noticed Zero was not very skilled at finding the weak spots of the monsters.

She noted down the things that she observed in her notebook as she quietly followed behind Zero.

The monster didn't attack her because they couldn't sense her presence when she hid.

Even if some monsters who are very sensitive to the environment can perceive Professor Mia, her one glare was enough to make them run for their lives.

Finally, Zero reached the territory of Brutal Lion and this was the start of the real difficulty of The Lair of the Brutal Lion dungeon.

Other areas were like trials before attempting to enter the territory of the Brutal Lions.

******

After recovering 80 % of my mana, I ventured into the lands of the brutal Lion.

The majority of the place inside the dungeon was a part of the territory of the Brutal Lion. Brutal Lions were the apex predator in this dungeon, and therefore the name of the dungeon was kept as The Liar of the Brutal Lions.

I looked around my vicinity to check for any possible ambush. The Brutal Lion might be brutal as the name suggests but they are also adept at ambushing their prey. Their intelligence was far better than those of the monster Arzuros.

"KYYYAAAAA!"

As I was moving in the direction of the dungeon boss, a loud scream was coming from a few meters ahead of me.

( Someone seems to encounter a stroke of bad luck. )

This was a dungeon where people are always risking their lives. It is not a surprise to find people dying in the dungeon or finding themselves on the verge of death.

I changed my direction toward the voice. I want to check where that scream was from.

-WHOOSH!

As I reached the place where the scream came from, I noticed a lone Brutal Lion.

A girl was in the hand of the Brutal Lion, which was not surprising to me. A typical damsel in distress scenario.

"SOMEONE!!! PLEASE HELP ME!"

She was crying and shouting to save herself from the Brutal Lion that was trying to eat her.

But I didn't jump in to save her.

Why?

It is a fake scenario to catch those naive men who want to act like heroes.

Firstly, it is odd that the Brutal Lion has not started to chow down on that woman despite such a long time.

Second, look at the appearance of the girl. She is obviously a terrible actress who just seems to have a little dust on her dress. I can't believe a girl who has entered the dungeon to be in that kind of shape.

If she really had a tough fight then she should be in tattered clothes with blood all over her body. She seems to just want to be a pretty girl in distress.

Thirdly, I have already felt an additional presence near that place. It might be subtle but there are definitely more people waiting to ambush me.

As for that Brutal Lion, it may have been tamed by those ambushers who had a taming skill or they may have been some kind of artifact that tamed the beast. For Brutal Lion to hunt alone, let alone keep his prey alive for so long, was already unusual.

That Brutal Lion is definitely their pet.

Whatever it might be. This whole situation is designed to lure in newbie Explorers to rob them.

"KYYYYAAAA!"

The girl screamed again. She might have already known I am near her since her acting was getting out of hand. She screamed and acted like she was getting eaten by a Brutal Lion.

( Sorry, you can continue with the act. I got my own things to worry about. )