Ups and Downs 2

Why is she here?

And why is she all alone?

What happened to her companions?

Had she been separated during the collapse too?

Countless questions rushed through my mind, but I forced myself to stay calm and focus on what mattered first.

I could hear the details after saving her.

First, I examined Aynar.

She was clearly in bad shape.

Her equipment had been torn open by sharp weapons, and blood was seeping through the cuts.

I could not see any immediately fatal wounds, but I could not be certain. In Dungeon and Stone, there were far too many injuries that could not be judged by sight alone.

One thing was obvious, though.

She was exhausted.

Badump!

An uncontrollable rage boiled inside me.

Honestly, it would have been better if monsters had done this to her.

At least then, there would have been no one to blame but the labyrinth itself.

Who the hell are these bastards?

Even through the haze of my anger, that question surfaced.

And as I did, I noticed the emblem they all shared.

…Sawtooth.

A clan with whom I had never been on good terms.

For one, James Carla had once served as their vice-captain.

And we had clashed with them during the raid against the Lord of Chaos, Riakis, as well.

Wait…

Is this because of that…?

At first, the idea seemed ridiculous.

But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

They had sent James Carla to the Ice Rock Expedition as though he were disposable. Yet he survived, joined another clan, and that same clan later stole the rewards of their raid.

At this point, it was only natural for them to want us dead.

At least, by the warped logic of explorer society.

I gripped the flag tightly.

Honestly, planting it here was already decided.

Still, I held back from driving it into the ground right away.

After all, whether I planted the flag now or later wouldn’t affect my ability to save Aynar.

No matter when I planted the flag, it would not change my ability to intervene and save Aynar.

So what if I spent a little more time?

I would use the remaining time to search the labyrinth and gather as much information as possible.

Just as I had unexpectedly run into Baekho Lee on the sixth floor, there was a chance I might uncover other suspicious figures as well.

And if luck was truly on my side, I might even find the rest of my allies.

Of course, that could create its own problems.

What if I found them in danger too?

What if I had to choose between saving them and saving Ainar?

Even so, I needed to know.

That had always been my creed.

Knowledge was better than ignorance.

Because knowledge gave you a choice.

Vwoong!

With that thought, I left the Larkaz maze and descended to the third floor.

The Pilgrim’s Path.

It was a floor filled with memories and significant events from my past.

And since much of the area had already been explored, most of it was free of fog.

Not here.

I could not find them on the third floor either.

The only thing that caught my eye was two groups fighting each other with their weapons drawn.

…They’re seriously fighting each other even now?

Was it a fight born from greed and theft?

A misunderstanding?

Or just pointless conflict?

I had no way of knowing what had led to it, but it was none of my business.

I had my own people to take care of.

Vwoong!

The second floor was no different.

Rock Desert, Den of Beasts, Goblin Forest, Land of the Dead.

The second floor was divided into those four regions, and since I had spent plenty of time there as a newbie, most of it was free of fog.

Nothing here either…?

But I still found no trace of my allies.

The same was true for the first floor, the Crystal Cave.

And so, only one place remained.

Vwoong!

I descended once more, going even lower than the first floor.

Surprisingly, the first floor was not the lowest place accessible through the Spirit Gate.

The First Underground Floor.

I had not expected to be able to reach it.

Then again, the only restriction was that it had to be below the ninth floor.

It had never appeared in the game because I had never once visited the First Underground Floor.

As I emerged into the sky above it, a vast silver ocean spread out beneath me.

Starting from Stone Island, I could make out Human Island, home of the village chief, Library Island where I had found Hamsick, and Island Gate, where the solo-rift level was located.

It’s bigger than I thought…

For the first time, I truly understood just how enormous the First Underground Floor was.

I had always believed I had explored every corner of that cursed place while desperately searching for a way to escape.

Yet, looking down from above, I could see countless regions that were still hidden beneath the fog.

What’s even out there…?

If escape were possible, this place would be an explorer’s paradise.

A true land of opportunity.

Vwoong!

Pushing those thoughts aside, I continued my search.

But I found nothing.

There weren’t any explorers here to begin with.

According to what the village chief had told me, some people should have ended up there during the dimensional collapse.

Is the probability that low?

Do you need to fulfill some special condition?

Or is it because the dimensional collapse is still ongoing?

There was no way for me to know right now.

Not that it mattered much.

‘…Still, it was nice seeing a familiar face again.’

The only thing I gained here was seeing Hamsiki asleep on Library Island.

None of my companions were here either.

‘Maybe it’s better that they’re not…’

Although I was disappointed that I couldn’t confirm their safety myself, I decided to stay positive.

They were probably somewhere beyond the fog, resting safely and managing just fine on their own—

Or at least, that’s what I wanted to believe.

But if I planted my flag here, would I be able to teleport back…?

The thought suddenly crossed my mind.

When I left the First Underground Floor, I had formed a pact with the Director. It had explicitly told me that I would never be able to return.

That was one of the main reasons I had never tried.

I was certain the original method would no longer work.

Well, I had considered testing it after settling down in the city.

But one major incident after another kept erupting, leaving me no chance to properly follow through.

If this actually lets me enter the First Underground Floor…

That would be a tremendous discovery.

As I had realized moments ago, the First Underground Floor was a treasure trove.

The possibility would require careful testing later when the opportunity presented itself.

If I could enter with proper preparation and a clear objective, both my allies and I could grow significantly stronger.

Anyway, that’s enough searching.

With that thought, I returned my spectral body to the fourth floor.

And then—

My gaze fell upon the explorer surrounding Aynar.

These bastards dare threaten a barbarian?

Larkaz’s Maze.

The place where I had experienced the loss of a companion for the first time.

The place that had left a scar I would never forget.

As I looked at the people surrounding Aynar, all thoughts of exploration vanished.

Only one emotion remained.

You’re all dead.

I planted the flag without a moment’s hesitation.

[Destination selected.]

[The character is expelled from Shortcut.]

The instant the flag touched the ground, an overwhelming pressure slammed into my spirit form.

Shwooo—

It felt as though I had become a speck of dust being sucked into a vacuum.

When I regained my senses, I could see the ten floors suspended far away in the distance.

And then—

A blinding flash of light swallowed everything.

That was the last thing I remembered of Shortcut.

For some reason, it felt like witnessing the birth of the universe itself.

Vwoong!

Accompanied by the same dizzying sensation that came with portal travel, I was ejected from that strange space and hurled forward—

Crash!

“Argh!”

I stumbled and hit the ground.

Honestly, it was a little embarrassing for a veteran adventurer like me to trip the moment I came out of a portal.

Was my body always this heavy?

If I had to make an excuse, it was because of the sudden shift in sensation.

After spending so much time moving around as a spectral body, controlling my actual body again felt strangely awkward.

Ah, no.

It probably is heavier than usual.

The field effect in this place was a complete nuisance.

[The character has entered Larkaz’s maze.]

[Field Effect — Guardian of Balance has been applied.]

[The stats of all entrants are equalized.]

By the blessing of Marx, everyone who entered the Labyrinth of Larcaz had their attributes redistributed equally.

That was also why, back in our beginner days, we had been able to stand against the infamous criminals of Orcules.

…

Of course, it was also the reason Aynar had been pushed around by this pack of trash.

An awkward, inexplicable silence settled over the area.

Slowly, I pushed myself to my feet after my less-than-graceful landing.

“Wh-Who are you?!”

“Wh-What the hell?! Why did a portal just appear in the air?!”

It seemed they still had not recognized me.

They were too busy being shocked by the sudden appearance of a portal and the man who had fallen out of it.

But Aynar was different.

Her gaze was fixed on me.

“Bjorn…?”

Her eyes widened.

As if she could not believe I had appeared right beside her at the exact moment she needed help.

Then, almost immediately, her expression softened.

“I see… It’s a hallucination…”

…Huh?

“Just because I wanted to see him one last time…”

What was she talking about?

At that moment, I realized Ainar was in even worse shape than she looked.

“I don’t know what happened, but you’ve done well. Leave the rest to me.”

I gently patted her on the head before standing up.

During that brief exchange, the trash around us seemed to have overheard.

“…B-Bjorn? Did she just say Bjorn?”

“No way…! She must have said something else! How could he be here?!”

“But… now that she mentioned it, his back does look…”

Their murmurs grew louder as recognition slowly spread among them.

Since the element of surprise was already gone, I simply turned around and glared at them.

“Damn it! It really is Jandel!”

“Jandel…! How the hell is that crazy bastard here?!”

The moment they saw my face, they staggered back as if they had seen a ghost.

Well, not all of them.

“Fufufu…”

A red-haired middle-aged man looked at me and began to laugh.

The vice-captain I had seen during the Riakis raid was standing close beside him, so this man was most likely their captain.

“Don’t retreat! This is actually good for us!”

His rough voice stopped his clan members from backing away any farther.

He did not need to explain much.

“Remember where we are!”

That single sentence was enough to restore their courage.

“Right! If it’s here…!”

“You can feel it too, can’t you? We’re much stronger than before.”

“And that barbarian girl can’t even move. He’s alone!”

After finishing their calculations, the scum stopped retreating.

Well, they were not wrong.

In the maze of Larkaz, numbers mattered more than anything else.

This field effect was exactly what had once allowed us to fight the Dragon Slayer on equal footing.

So I simply agreed with them.

“It would definitely be difficult for me to fight all of you alone.”

In my current state, I could not guarantee victory.

However—

“See! Even that Jandel bastard is afraid—”

“But when did I say…”

I cut off his smug boast and stepped forward.

The timing was perfect, even if I had not planned it.

“…that I was alone?”

The moment I said that—

Vwoong!

My temporary allies poured through the portal.