The battle between the spider monster and the adventurers was roughly one kilometer away. As he sprinted across the terrain, Rei shouted to Set, who was circling above.
"Set! Go on ahead! Keep the spider in check and protect the adventurers! Kill it if you can!"
"Guruuuuuu!"
Set gave a high-pitched cry of acknowledgment, flapping its wings as it sped toward the battlefield, leaving Rei and Elena behind on the ground.
Even from a kilometer away, Set’s sharp eyes clearly took in the scene.
The monster was a Giant Spider, exceeding four meters in length with a gray, rocky hide. Only two adventurers were left standing; three others lay on the ground nearby.
Judging by the way one’s neck was twisted at an impossible angle and another’s torso had been torn in two, at least two of the fallen were already dead. The third showed no obvious wounds but lay perfectly still; Set concluded they were either dead or completely incapacitated.
The remaining two were covered in wounds. If the fight continued much longer, they would undoubtedly become spider food.
The Rock Spider used one of its right legs to bat away the sword of one adventurer. It raised a left leg to crush the man’s head—
"Guruuuuuu!"
Set shrieked and dove. It slammed its forepaw into the spider’s descending leg, the sheer force shattering the limb midway up.
If anything, Seto's Strike was too fast and too sharp. Had it been even a little less powerful, the impact might have knocked the Rock Spider off balance or sent it flying. Instead, it cleanly pulverized the limb, leaving the spider's main body exactly where it was.
"W-W-What the!?" the disarmed adventurer stammered, falling onto his backside as he realized his savior was a Gryphon. "A Gryphon!? Why is one on this floor!?"
The other survivor—the man with the spear—wiped blood from his brow and shouted in confusion.
Perhaps he didn't know about Rei, or perhaps the brush with death had clouded his mind. Regardless, the man with the spear scrambled back, and the man with the sword followed suit as fast as he could crawl.
Set watched them go, satisfied they were out of the way. It turned to face the Rock Spider, which loomed twice its size.
"Gyaaaaa!" the spider hissed with a metallic shriek.
Normally, a monster would have sensed the gap in strength, but this one was blinded by the frenzy of battle and the agony of its lost leg. Seeing that the Gryphon wasn't backing down, it pointed its leg at Set.
"Guruu!" Set sensed danger and leapt aside.
A strand of silk fired from the tip of the spider's leg, hitting the spot where Set had just stood and hardening instantly.
Usually, spiders produced silk from their abdomens, but this monster had mutated to fire it from the tips of its legs.
"Guru, guruuu!"
Set decided it was dangerous to stay in one place and began nimbly circling the spider, watching for an opening.
As they watched the skirmish, the man with the spear spoke to his companion. "Hey, get ready."
"Ready? For what?" the swordsman asked.
The spearman smirked. "Isn't it obvious? Those two monsters are busy with each other. When one goes down, we finish off the other while it's tired."
"...Are you insane? That's a Gryphon! We don't have a prayer against the Flying Grim Reaper!"
"Hmph. Even the Flying Grim Reaper is just a beast. If we launch a surprise attack while it's resting after a kill, we can take it. Besides, its nickname comes from being in the air. On the ground, it's nothing special."
"You want to do that to the thing that just saved our lives?" The swordsman glanced at their three fallen comrades.
Two were mangled, but the third looked uninjured. However, his eyes were wide, his mouth agape, and his tongue lolling out. When the Rock Spider had launched its surprise attack, he had been the first one bitten. The venom had killed him instantly.
They had an Antidote adjusted for Desert Monsters, but they hadn't even had time to use it. Or perhaps, the survivors simply hadn't cared enough to share.
"They were just guys from a pickup party anyway," the spearman spat.
Indeed, they were a group formed just outside the dungeon. Because of the House Silwa incident, many regulars had been recruited elsewhere, leading to an influx of these desperate, ad-hoc groups.
While many pickup parties were sincere, others were filled with vultures who only saw their "allies" as tools. The man with the spear was exactly that type.
The swordsman stared at the Gryphon for a few seconds as memories of guild rumors surfaced. He recalled the name of the adventurer who had a Gryphon as a tamed monster—the Crimson who had gained an alias during the Spring War.
"Wait. A Gryphon... that's Crimson's tamed monster. If he's here..."
"Naturally, I'm here too," a voice cut in.
They turned to see a man in a robe with a massive scythe and a woman in a cloak, her hand ready on her sword.
The swordsman knew immediately. "Crimson."
"Yeah," Rei replied. "By the way, you were saying something interesting just now. Something about a surprise attack on Set."
"T-That..." Cold sweat poured down the swordsman's back. The threat radiating from the man in front of him was far greater than anything the spider had projected.
But the spearman stepped forward. "Damn right. That thing stole our prey. What's wrong with finishing it off?"
"Didn't you hear him? Set—the Gryphon—is my partner. He's wearing a Tamed Monster's Necklace. And you still want to attack him?"
The spearman's smirk widened. "Oh, so you're responsible for him? Good. Then I demand compensation."
"What?" Rei blinked.
"I said compensation. You snatched our kill. You owe us for the loss."
"I stepped in because you were about to die," Rei said flatly.
"I don't recall that. I was just about to unleash a finishing blow when your beast cut in. I want an indemnity. Or what, is the great Alias Holder too cheap to take responsibility for his pet?"
Rei's cheek twitched beneath his hood. Technically, Set had attacked before they had actually asked for help. The man's logic was thick-skinned garbage, but the sequence of events gave him a sliver of leverage.
"You're famous, so you must be loaded. One gold coin will do."
"I refuse," Rei said. "If the problem is us 'snatching' it, we'll just walk away and let you finish it."
"U-Uh, no," the spearman stammered. "The opening I had is gone now. Handing it over now is useless. Pay up."
Rei sighed and looked at Set. The Rock Spider was tough, but against Set's Herculean Strength, it was being torn apart. It wouldn't be long now.
Rei turned to the swordsman. "Do you feel the same way?"
"No... that Gryphon saved my life. I'm not going to try and extort money over a lie."
"You idiot! Shut up!" the spearman barked.
The swordsman ignored him and bowed to Rei. "I'm sorry. And thank you for the help."
"Glad one of you is sane," Rei said. "Otherwise... well, this is a dungeon. Accidents happen all the time."
The survivors went pale. They knew exactly what kind of "accident" Rei was talking about.
"A-Are you threatening me!?" the spearman shrieked.
Elena and even the swordsman looked at him with pity.
"Threatening? No," Rei said calmly. "I'm stating a fact. Plenty of adventurers never come back from these depths. Isn't that right?"
"I..."
Set's roar of victory cut the tension. The Rock Spider lay dead.
Rei looked at the corpse. "Let's settle this. I take the Magic Stone. You two take the rest of the materials."
The spearman's eyes lit up. He'd lose the stone, but the materials and Proof of Subjugation Part were still a fortune. He nodded eagerly, feigning reluctance while his mind tallied the profit.