Surviving as the Second Main Lead: Second Lead's POV

"Hey, is it only me that noticed this? Or, are we walking toward the volcano slowly even though we started walking toward the shore?"

Regine's words caused the party to suddenly stop walking. They had not noticed this oddity before but Regine was right. They were nearer to the volcano than they had initially started with.

Horas could not help but find it all odd. He was sure he had specifically avoided walking toward the volcano but maybe he had taken a detour somewhere.

"Hmm, you are right! Hey teach, are you sure you did not get us lost somewhere along the way?"

Duke rudely butted in, wanting to rebuke Horas for his wrong decisions. Duke looked far too proud of something he did not even do which caused everyone else to sigh.

"Stop looking so proud, Duke. I don't think Horas did anything wrong since I was paying attention to our path as well. I think this dungeon is weird and it led us to this path."

Howard quickly corrected Duke while he remained vigilant. He was looking at every bit of the future hero he was. And for some reason, Horas was proud of Howard's calm attitude.

'No, wait. I did not do anything regarding Howard's development. I have no right to be proud of him.'

Horas pulled himself together and made a decision. They needed to press forward if they wanted to live.

"So, listen everyone. I know this dungeon has been tough on you all but we cannot allow ourselves to fall here. Something wants to lead us into the volcano so we shall be going in."

Horas's words were met with mixed expressions. Howard and Duke looked ready while Regine looked a little hesitant. However, the ones most concerned seemed to be the two villains.

They looked at Horas like he had lost his head and they instantly rebutted his idea.

"Wait, no, no, no, no, and no. Have you lost your mind? First of all, that is a volcano, not an ordinary mountain. We will be cooked alive even before we found anything. Second, we don't even know what level this dungeon is. What if we all die in there?"

The villain made some excellent points. But too bad that his points did not mean anything to Horas.

This was a dungeon where laws of normality did not apply. What use did the villain think it was to stay outside in a safe space when the volcano could erupt at any given second?

"You both are welcome to stay behind if you want to but I will not be able to guarantee your safety. Besides, this is our only chance to escape this dungeon since the volcano looks ready to erupt at any given second."

Horas reminded the villains who finally seemed to realize that they had no choice but to follow after Horas and company.

Horas entered the volcanic cave with his three charges and the other two villains awkwardly followed behind him. They looked reluctant but they still did not stop.

"Wow, it's really hot in here. Now I wish I brought a cooling aid with me."

Regine complained as she walked faster. Her body was covered in sweat but she was not the only one who felt hot. She was the only one who complained since she was not used to such discomfort.

As one of the biggest money tycoons in the world, Regine was used to getting what she wanted, when she wanted. Such setbacks were not written in her life.

Duke sighed, but he opened his skill window to cool the air around Regine. It provided little comfort but Regine sighed in relief.

"Duke, don't use your skill so carelessly. You don't have unlimited mana and your body is also limited in energy. You might need to use your skill later."

Horas remind Duke as he pushed Duke's hand down. The cool air faded from around Regine and she instantly felt hot.

"Hey, why did you-"

Duke's face was flushed due to the effort he had undergone to use his skill for a few seconds. The temperature difference caused him to use much more mana than he needed.

To think he was a person who would become capable of freezing a volcanic eruption, later on, was incredible. Duke would have to undergo so much character development.

"Duke, it's alright. Thanks for trying to help but Horas is right. We should save our energy for what we will be facing ahead."

Regine took Horas's side which made Duke pout even more. He hated that Regine was not taking his side, but he understood in the grander scheme of things.

"Hey, look. We managed to reach the next level. And there is an elevator up here. What do you think we should do?"

Howard asked as he noticed the metallic door that was open. It did look like an elevator but it only had two options.

To go up or to go down.

"We can either go up or down. Where should we check first?"

Howard asked as he noticed the options on the wall. Everyone hurriedly came into the list and crowded around the floor button.

"I think we should make two teams. One goes up and one goes down. We will be able to cover more of the space that way."

Regine advised but she was faced with awkward faces. No one wanted to come out and say that they did not agree with her plan.

"Regine, I don't think this is such a good idea for us to split up right now. You know, not all of us are trustable, right."

Duke replied with what no one else wanted to say right now. They were in the same boat so no one wanted to try and offend anyone else.

But since Duke had brought up this topic, an awkward air spread in the room.

"Oh, yeah that. I kind of forgot that point for a second. So, what should we do now? We cannot sit here and keep waiting for the calamity to strike us, right?"

Regine questioned to which everyone agreed. They could not wait around for such a thing to happen

"Then, we should split into two teams which had one criminal each. Howard, you and Regine will be one team alone with the criminal you captured. Duke and I will take the other team."

Horas was not especially thrilled to be in a team with Duke but it was a necessary evil.

Duke would be sweet on Regina and help her out instead of looking for clues if they went together. On the other hand, Howard would cause Regina to push herself. It was a safe deal.

The only problem was…

'Duke is not going to like it. He's a possessive little shit at this point of his life.'

As Horas expected, Duke was the first one to find a fault with this arrangement. His eyes were red with rage and his fist shook. He was abou to assult Horas.

"You cannot decide that on your own. Why should I come with you and not with others? What makes you so special?"

Duke questioned, his voice full of attitude. He was the only one who seemed to have a problem here.

"Duke, it's that temper of yours which worries me. You might lose sight of what we are doing here if I don't keep you under supervision. Everyone else is much calmer than you are."

It was the truth. Duke was the only one who looked upset right now. Even Regine had accepted the fate of going together with Howard.

"You know, this is not…ugh…fine. Never mind what I said to you before. If everyone else accepts this then I will have to as well."

Horas seemed to be dragging his words out of his throat with force. He looked at everyone else with an annoyed look on his face.

Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief as soon as he calmed down. It would have ended up as a disaster otherwise.

"Alright. Now that we are all in agreement, it's time to start moving. Howard, you are in charge of the other team so keep them safe."

It might have been a little too much responsibility for a kid but Horas did not forget that Howard was the main protagonist. As such, he had things like plot armor and other things at his disposal.

'Besides, I wrote Howard to be quite a leader. It will be nice to develop his sense of responsibility a little early.'

Horas had a good reason behind anything he did and this time was no different. He was going to develop Howard from the sidelines and the use him to get back home.