A short time earlier, before the SS Rank Adventurer already on the fourth floor of the dungeon chasing after Scaly learnt about the fact that she had ended up ascending back up the dungeon to the third floor of the dungeon, Verdell, who found himself dangling beneath Scaly fearing that she would drop him at any moment, began thinking about ways out of his current precarious situation. Among which, the first solution he thought about was to try and use his nimble and small body to reposition himself enough to get a grip and climb up Scaly and onto her back like he had done back within the dreamscape.
Unfortunately, this idea was dropped almost immediately, as he realized that the claws holding onto him showed no signs of loosening, let alone give him the opportunity to swing around and climb up Scaly.
And while this did make him feel somewhat relived knowing that there was little chance of him being dropped, it didn’t solve the problem of him being carried around with his head facing the rapidly shifting ground below. Even worse, Scaly showed no intention of coming to a stop as she flew through the air in search of a passage to the fifth floor of the dungeon. Having understood from the increasing number of adventurers that she saw below that there was little to no chance of her landing to hunt monsters to increase her strength again.
The only way out of her current situation was if she found a path to the fifth floor of the dungeon, something Verdell himself also understood that she was searching for. Unfortunately, the one passage he knew about on the fourth floor of the dungeon had already closed by the time they flew past it. The only sign of it having been there being the large number of swamp monkeys gathered in the place without any clear goal of what they were supposed to do next.
After all, though they had also ended up chasing after him and the rest of the adventurers and had managed to successfully reach the fourth floor of the dungeon, they didn’t have the ability to continue chasing after them like the two S Rank Monsters had and ended up just lingering around the place without moving. Looking like they were about to just give up and settle down on the fourth floor of the dungeon now that they were already there.
At the very least, for these swamp monkeys, the fourth floor of the dungeon might be a far greater place for them to live, as the monsters with the strength to threaten them were far lower and the overall environment of the mountain range they had ended up inside of, covered in several large unique forests, was optimal for them to fully establish a territory of their own...
Wait! Now that I’m thinking about those monkeys from the fifth floor, originally, I didn’t go from the fourth floor to the fifth floor but instead ended up falling through that hidden passage back on the first floor that led all the way down to the fifth floor. If that passage could be used again, won’t it be able to help this dragon get out of its current predicament. Establishing a proper friendship and fulfilling the requirements for the class quest in the process.
The fate of the swamp monkeys aside, as Verdell found himself deep in thought about the fifth floor of the dungeon while hanging upside down in Scaly’s grasp, he suddenly recalled how he had ended up on the fifth floor of the dungeon in the first place and realized that he might be able to use said hidden passage to help Scaly.
In the process, using the opportunity to establish a friendship with the dragon who wouldn’t undoubtedly feel grateful towards him after being helped.
"I see you are looking for a path to the fifth floor of the dungeon to escape all the adventurers trying to catch you... Ehm... If you don’t mind, I know about a hidden passage connected to the fifth floor and can help you out..." Not knowing how to properly put together his words to make himself sound convincing enough to the dragon that he had already confirmed understood him during their time in the dreamscape, Verdell ended up just being straightforward in his words.
Rustle~
Something that in turn caused the troubled Scaly who had been thinking about this exact problem to momentarily slow down as her head tilted forward to stare questioningly towards the dwarf hanging upside down below her.
A stare that directly conveyed her intention of having him continue, something that greatly encouraged the dwarf who was already starting to feel a bit lightheaded from hanging upside down-
"I knew you would understand! The passage I’m talking about is one that passes through several floors at the same time located on the first floor of the dungeon connecting directly to the fifth floor of the dungeon, that is how I got to this place in the first place after you flew off earlier.
After all, there would have been no way for someone like me to so easily catch up to you without that kind of hidden passage. In fact, the two S Rank Monsters you saw chasing after me and that group of adventurers came from the fifth floor of the dungeon, though from what I saw earlier, the original passage already disappeared."
Not wasting a single second as he continued from where he had left off and directly told her about the hidden passage that he had ended up using back on the first floor of the swirling sands dungeon. Not forgetting to use himself arriving on the fourth floor and the two S Rank Monsters as a clear example of the passage being real. Knowing that there would have been no way for someone like himself to get to the fourth floor of the dungeon as fast as a dragon that could fly.
Even if there were some flaws in this logic, as it was indeed possible by making use of the guilds already inbuilt infrastructure, as that was how all the adventurers chasing after Scaly had ended up getting to the fourth floor of the dungeon so fast, he didn’t bother explaining this, as he instead allowed her to draw her own conclusions regarding the adventurers chasing after her.
Hm... What he says makes sense and those two S Rank Monsters were indeed a bit weird for the fourth floor of the dungeon. Not like the rest of the monsters normally found within a mountain range. Especially that strange living swamp log that seemingly appeared without any swamps around...
Luckily for Verdell, Scaly was fully convinced by what he said, as she had already felt that the appearance of those two S Rank Monsters was a bit odd. Confirming her earlier suspicions about their origins after hearing what he said.
But... Even though she was convinced about what he said. Returning to the first floor of the dungeon was far from simple now that the place was swarming with adventurers trying to catch her. Especially the third floor of the dungeon that she felt was impossible to navigate with the seemingly all-encompassing sandstorm present obscuring her ability to see left from right.
"Don’t worry about finding your way back up to the first floor of the dungeon! With me around, the path will be clear! All I ask is that you help me get on your back and then I can guide you forward towards the nearest passage upwards!" Seemingly sensing what was troubling her, Verdell saw an opportunity to free himself from the claws that kept him locked in place. Smiling happily as he came up with a suggestion to solve her problem.
"..."
However, contrary to the reaction Verdell had expected from her, Scaly just narrowed her eyes for a bit towards this bold little dwarf before her gaze shifted towards a spiral staircase in the distance-
Swish-!
"Aaaah!?"
And before Verdell had the time to realize what was happening, she flapped both of her wings with all her strength as she shot forward towards the spiral staircase in the distance leading back up to the third floor of the dungeon. Catching Verdell completely off guard, as he felt the powerful wind slamming into his face as he soon enough saw the spiral staircase appearing before him and the next second, he found himself being blinded by the coarse sand swirling through the air making it hard to even see a few meters around himself.
A clear sign that they had already made it to the third floor of the dungeon.
Unaware that Scaly had no intention of allowing him onto her back again and had partly taken her revenge on him for suggesting something so bold by dragging him onto the third floor without any warning. Giving the poor dwarf no chance to prepare himself for the sandstorm that ended up blinding him the second he opened his eyes to see where he was after Scaly had slowed down a bit.