Reincarnated as a Lizard

”So much for being trapped... It looks like these fellows don’t need much help...” Arriving at the bathhouse where the exit leading out of the dungeon was located only a short time later, the senior adventurer couldn’t help silently muttering this to himself as he looked down on the group of adventurers who had already relaxed and started to enjoy the bathhouse. Leaving only two people to watch out for any potential approaching danger.

Still, bad as it made him feel to see the group, he was supposed to be rescuing in this kind of relaxed state guarding the path out of the dungeon, it also made it very clear to him that the one from the Eternal Life Sanctum wasn’t a lich or had already fallen to the dungeon core during the creation of the ninth floor.

The reason why they were guarding the exit out of the dungeon was also obvious, as they wanted to ensure no necromancers could escape. Standard procedures and not something he was too surprised about, though their relaxed demeanor was something else.

Splash~!

”Ah!? W-w-what is happening!?”

”Help! Let me dooown!”

”Someone, stop those water tentacles!”

And to teach these careless juniors of his, a proper lesson on not letting their guard down, he decided to have a bit of fun with them. Using his water magic to conjure up several large water tentacles that stretched out and grabbed the unsuspecting adventurers below before tossing them around.

”Noooo-!”

”Ugh, I can’t, I’m about to throw up...”

”Make it stoop!”

Ignoring their cries as a small smile made it onto his lips watching the group of struggling adventurers below who had no way to fight back against his water magic. Finding the entire thing a bit too entreating, as what had originally been intended as a small lesson ended up dragging on for a little over five minutes before he finally put the group down and descended through the opening in the bathhouse roof.

”Blech- too much...”

But the sight that met him wasn’t one he had expected to see, as one of the adventurers directly threw up the second she was put down. Bath spirits rushing over to clean up the mess, while another fainted on the spot.

”Why are there so many of you?! Huh? Leader, did you have a twin- no five leaders!?”

”The world is spinning~”

”I... I need lay down for a bit.”

”...”

And the remaining adventurers weren’t that different from those two, with only the leader of the group remaining somewhat stable. Allowing him to at the very least comprehend what had happened. Resulting in the senior adventurer finding himself being stared down by the leader like a life and death enemy.

”Ehm... Might have gone a bit overboard there but think about it in a positive way. You didn’t end up dead from an ambush and only up a bit dizzy from being thrown around a bit. Nothing fatal.”

”””...”””

”So, tell, what happened here and what about the necromancers from the Eternal Life Sanctum? What was the strength of the one in charge and are they still around or did the dungeon consume them while expanding?” Feeling the obvious death stare from the surrounding adventurers, the senior adventurer decided to just brush it aside and move on without waiting for a response.

”That... Hah... I will explain everything...” Seeing how clearly the other party had brushed aside their complaints, the leader and the rest of the adventurers could only silently curse the other party before one of them stepped forward to explain the situation.

Starting from them entering the eighth floor of the dungeon to their arrival at the main battlefield to encountering Verdell, the dwarven dragon rider, to the later clash between the dungeon guardian construct, mist serpent and bone construct. Everything was explained in detail to the senior adventurer.

From originally not having felt that interested in what had taken place before the dungeon core had been forced to expand, the senior adventurer found himself becoming immensely interested in Verdell upon hearing he was a monster tamer that had successfully tamed a dragon. Knowing just how rare this level of monster tamer was, as from what this group had described to him, it was clear that Verdell was someone incredibly close to surpassing the SS Rank.

And for such a figure to have remained unknown was a clear indication that this dwarf was someone who kept to himself and rarely interacted with others.

If not for the fact that the other party had already left, he would have loved to have a chat with this powerful monster tamer. Unfortunately, the other party had already left the dungeon, so he would have to wait until later to look up this dwarven dragon rider. Feeling that it wouldn’t hurt to get to know this talented dwarf before he surpassed the SS Rank. Planning to lend him a hand in his class advancement quest if he could, as that would undoubtedly serve as a good way to establish a bond between the two and who didn’t want to be friends with someone capable of taming a dragon? Who knew, in the future he might be able to convince the other party to help him obtain a dragon as well...

Aside from his immense interest in Verdell because of how he represented a potential way for him to obtain a dragon mount in the future, the senior adventurer also focused on the information on the necromancer from the Eternal Life Sanctum and the existence of an undead kingdom on this floor of the dungeon.

Of the two, the necromancer wasn’t much of a worry given how she wasn’t even a lich and the bone construct she had relied on had suffered some serious damage thanks to the sea of magical flames still raging up above.

The undead kingdom on the other hand...

Now that was something worth worrying about and at the same time also made him feel grateful that this group of adventurers had already managed to find the dungeon exit and seal it off before any of the necromancers from the Eternal Life Sanctum could get through and inform the Eternal Life Sanctum itself. Having also sent someone through to inform the guild about the situation.

Different from this group of adventurers who weren’t too used to dealing with the Eternal Life Sanctum, he understood these skeleton lovers far better than most. Having already clashed with the liches behind the Eternal Life Sanctum several times in the past.

Because of this, he also understood just how valuable a dungeon with an undead kingdom was to the Eternal Life Sanctum.

Valuable to the point that the second they learnt about the Swirling Sands Dungeon being home to an undead kingdom, they would launch a large-scale attack with at least three or four liches moving out to try and secure the dungeon for themselves.

Of course, securing the dungeon didn’t just mean them taking over the city that the dungeon entrance was located inside of. Instead, it meant them plunging the entire region into chaos by forcibly causing monster stampedes throughout the dungeons surrounding the Swirling Sands Dungeon. Turning the entire region into a forbidden zone filled with countless monsters. Essentially creating a barrier between themselves and the outside world. Allowing them to isolate the Swirling Sands Dungeon and ensure that any attempt to retake it would be far too costly once they entrenched themselves.

Then again, this wouldn’t happen if the guild was allowed to set up defenses in time and strengthen the region before such an attack could arrive.

But... With the sheer size of the guild and the vast area it spans, it would take time to move for such a large-scale operation.

For this reason, it was important to ensure that the far nimbler Eternal Life Sanctum didn’t learn about the existence of the undead kingdom before the guild itself had time to move and establish a proper defensive line around the swirling sands dungeon to ensure the Eternal Life Sanctum wouldn’t have the opportunity to strike.

”You all, stay here and continue guarding this place until someone else comes to pick you up, I will be going to try and find that necromancer you all mentioned.” And without the slightest bit of hesitation, the senior adventurer announcing his plan of action. Knowing that he had to stop the still alive leading necromancer from potentially finding some other way to escape from the Swirling Sands Dungeon.

The best way of doing this in his eyes being to leave the group of adventurers guarding the exit to continue doing their job while he went out hunting for the leading necromancer and any other necromancer who might still be alive on the ninth floor.

”Wait! Doesn’t that mean we will have to at least spent another half week- if not longer, here!?”

”Sorry, can’t hear you~ Already gone~”

Whoosh~!

”That... Why did it have to be this guy coming to help us...” Quietly muttering this complaint to himself, the leader of the group couldn’t help shedding a few tears out of frustration watching the senior adventurer rushing off. A reaction that was shared with the other adventurers, who similarly didn’t really want to spend half a week or longer stuck underground.

The only positive was that the bathhouse they would find themselves stuck inside of at least made it easy for them to clean themselves and was a relatively relaxing space to stay, but outside of that, there wasn’t much else to say about this place that could still see a powerful monster jumping in through the opening in the roof they themselves had created not that long ago.