STGB Episode 406

Dilemma(3)

After the draw, the winners gathered to ‘bind’ with each other. Then, they assembled and headed toward the towering monument at the center.

Whoooom-!

As I placed my hand on top, a portal opened with a radiant glow of five colors.

“Ho ho, fascinating. I can clearly feel the flow of magic, but there’s a definite difference from ordinary spatial magic.”

“This is your first time witnessing a portal opening, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Mages have no reason to chase after feats like that.”

While the team members made comments and watched the portal opening, the light spreading in all directions soon formed a distinct shape.

「You have opened the portal for the first time. EXP +2」

 

Heh, I always think it’s a bit unfair that opening the 8th floor portal gives the same exp as opening the 1st floor portal.

Whoooooong—!

The multicolored glow formed into a sphere and wavered.

When I turned around, everyone was just staring at me silently.

So, they want me to open it and be the first to go in as well?

“Form up!”

I set up a formation first, just in case there was someone on the other side of the portal, and stepped in.

Flash—!

A blinding white light spread before my eyes.

Soon, as if pieces were coming together, my sight cleared.

「You have entered the 8th floor, the Land of Dawn.」

The Land of Dawn.

In the game, it was marked as “Dawn Land,” the deep layer of the labyrinth.

「Achievement Unlocked」

Condition: Reach the 8th floor.

Reward: Permanently increase Soul Power by +50.

Just like the time I first entered the 5th-floor Great Abyss, I felt a sensation as my soul expanded.

Come to think of it, they called this a “Baptism,” didn’t they?

A mysterious phenomenon where the tower grants blessings to explorers when they achieve certain tasks.

Whoooong—!

As I was the first to enter and was scanning the surroundings, the team members followed behind.

“There are… no enemies.”

“Good. I was a bit worried it’d be like the ‘Goblin Forest Battle’ where the enemy was lying in wait.”

“Finally, I’ve made it to the 8th floor!”

“Just getting here makes this expedition worth it.”

About half of the team members had received the Baptism. No, actually, excluding the mages and priests, it’s more than half.

Well, starting from the 8th floor, it’s classified as a deep layer.

“This place is fascinating…”

Looking at her, it seemed like Erwin was also experiencing the 8th floor for the first time.

The only ones with experience here would be Amelia or that Ravien over there?

“Forget enemies or the 8th floor or whatever, let’s eat already!”

“Waaaaaaah!!”

“Me first, my wounds! Please, heal me quickly! It started festering noticeably yesterday, and now I can’t feel the tips of my fingers!”

If we stayed on standby any longer, there seemed to be a risk of a riot, so I quickly gave the order to rest.

Though the food loaded on the sleds had run out, the ones in the subspace were intact

Chomp, chomp, chomp.

Gobble, gobble, gobble.

As soon as I gave the permission, the team members hurriedly took out food from their subspaces and stuffed it into their mouths.

Those who hadn’t received treatment for minor wounds chewed on jerky while looking for the priests.

“Mister, let’s eat quickly too.”

“Alright.”

I was just as starving as them, so I quickly took out food and gathered with my team members to eat.

“I’d heard about it, but I didn’t know it was such a peaceful place.”

“You mean the Land of Dawn?”

“Yes. I thought it’d be much scarier, being part of the deep layer.”

Well, I understand their sentiments

A lush green hill stood tall, surrounded by an endless plain, with a warm breeze caressing our skin. Just moments ago, we were shivering in thick fur coats, so the change felt even more dramatic.

“You guys rest here. I’ll take a look around for a bit.”

After filling my stomach to some extent, I left the party.

A captain has things to do as a captain, right?

There’s no problem eating jerky while walking.

Chomp, chomp.

I put five pieces of jerky in my mouth at once and chewed as I walked—a luxury I couldn’t even dream of just a few hours ago.

However, I couldn’t just be lost in simple happiness.

The reason I couldn’t rest comfortably and was walking around was exactly because of that.

‘Can’t see the rift…’

The 8th-floor Land of Dawn is a very small area.

In terms of field size, it’s probably the smallest among all floors of the labyrinth.

And monsters don’t appear.

At least until you enter the rift.

‘In this case… it’s reasonable to think someone went in first.’

The 8th floor always has one rift open.

What type opens is random, and when the rift is fully cleared, two portals open, and you have a choice.

Proceed to the 9th floor.

Or return to the 8th floor.

Whichever you choose, once it’s cleared, a new rift will regenerate on the 8th floor, and that cycle continues endlessly.

And here lies the problem…

‘It’s clear that the ones who entered the rift are those Noark bastards…’

I wonder if they’ll head to the 9th floor.

Or will they return to the 8th floor and continue hunting in a different type of rift.

If it’s the latter, resting here right now is quite risky.

To be active on the 8th floor, they’d certainly be in an expedition unit, and their skills wouldn’t be worse than ours.

‘Anyway, I can see why the royal family is in such a hurry…’

Coming to the 8th floor myself, I can feel it.

Due to the war two years ago, the royal family lost many high-ranking explorers.

Of course, with countless policy support, supply of stored essences, and retired explorers returning, they’ve recovered some of their strength now, but…

‘At this rate, the gap will only widen.’

Noark is practically using a cheat code.

Starting from the 7th floor on the first day of entry?

That means they can go straight up to the 8th floor and harvest the highest-grade essences.

If this continues for a few more years, the gap between top explorers will exponentially widen.

‘…Still, they can’t erase essences, so even if the essence grades are high, their combinations might be poor?’

Well, most of them probably will be.

I’ve never seen anyone who optimizes essence combinations to the extreme like I do.

Ninety percent will probably have haphazard specs.

But as always, there will be irregulars among them.

‘…Anyway, it’s not something to worry about right now.’

I tried to dismiss concerns about the distant future.

Although I’m positioned under the royal family, it’s not like I’ll devote my life to the king.

Once you’re in the labyrinth, it’s not enough to focus only on what’s right in front of you.

Yeah, so…

“Prepare to depart in five minutes!”

I ended the much-needed rest.

Since we’re about to enter deep into enemy territory, it’s not good to linger too long.

“Goodbye to this cursed sled at last!”

The sled and supply crates went back into the subspace storage, while potions and scrolls, sealed until now, were distributed to each team.

With that, we were ready to resume our journey.

Clink, clink.

At the departure time, everyone lined up in formation.

At first, they were like a ragtag army, but now they actually looked like an elite force.

“Move out!”

Now they look a bit elite.

“Let’s move out!”

The process of passing through the 8th floor to head to the Dark Continent wasn’t anything special.

Because unless you enter the rift, the 8th floor is a safe zone where monsters don’t appear, and the portal is visible from the hill anyway.

Plod, plod.

After walking for about 30 minutes, we arrived at our destination.

“Once we go through here, we’ll reach the Dark Continent, right?”

I checked the portal with my naked eye from a distance, but even up close, the portal looked fine.

That was a good thing.

If by any chance those Noark bastards hadn’t opened the 8th-floor portal and left it alone, we’d just have to sit here twiddling our thumbs.

“I figured someone would have to open it eventually for the EXP even if they weren’t hunting.”

As I headed toward the portal while maintaining formation, everyone swallowed nervously.

Since beyond that is Noark’s territory, they seemed to be getting nervous…

“Schuiz.”

Just as I was about to step through, Kaislan spoke.

“Why don’t you say a few words before we set off? Your words would surely boost the expedition’s morale.”

Well, I don’t really feel like it.

Feels like a waste of time.

Seeing my indifferent reaction, Kaislan got flustered and quickly added.

“Now, think carefully. Isn’t this a historic moment? If this expedition succeeds and plays a crucial role in victory… Whatever you say will be recorded and remembered by future generations for a long time.”

Well, I don’t know if this is a historic moment.

Judging by the look in his eyes, desperately suppressing his burning desire for fame, I can tell he’s jealous of me to the point of going crazy.

‘I feel like if I don’t do it, he’ll keep whining about regretting it…’

Well, I guess it’s better to just do it quickly and move on.

“Ahem, ahem.“

As I cleared my throat, Kaislan straightened his back like a royal guard and shouted in a solemn voice.

“Hear me, comrades! We now stand at a critical crossroads. Will we fail or succeed? Will we lose everything or gain it all? There may be those who are doubtful and anxious!”

“…..”

“But!”

“…..”

“I, Melend Kaislan, have no doubt that we will be recorded in history as victors!”

“Ooooooh!!”

Kaislan’s team members enthusiastically cheered, while the other team members had indifferent expressions.

Who does he think he is, stepping up like that?

That was exactly the feeling.

Perhaps sensing the atmosphere instinctively?

“In that sense!!”

“…..?”

“Everyone, listen well! Before we carry out the great mission entrusted by the royal family, Lord Schuiz has words to share!”

He passed the turn to me as quickly as lightning strikes.

It was absurd.

What the heck, he wants me to do it, but after saying everything he wants, he hands over the mic?

‘…Does he want to be recorded somehow, even like this?’

I can’t understand his psychology, but well, everyone has different values they pursue.

So, with the portal to the Dark Continent behind me, I addressed the team.

Unlike when Kaislan spoke, they seemed genuinely curious about what I’d say.

Is this why American CEOs create such buzz on social media? People pay attention out of worry about what trouble they’ll cause.

Anyway, that’s not the important thing.

“Ahem…“

Clearing my throat once, I glanced around.

The faces of the team members, with whom I’d spent every day of the expedition, were now so familiar.

Maybe that’s why?

Just then, I thought of something I wanted to say.

“I won’t speak at length this time either!”

Yeah.

I already once said that we should kill a lot and earn a lot.

“Let’s come back with as many of us alive as possible!”

I think that’ll do for today.

***

「You have entered the 7th floor, the Dark Continent.」

***

The second half of the Dark Continent, the ‘Dragon’s Depths’ field.

Like walking into a museum, huge vertebrae were scattered around like ruins, and the plains were filled with skulls and bone fragments.

Crackle, crackle.

We moved forward, suppressing our presence as much as possible.

“…..”

There was no conversation among the team members.

Crackle.

There’s not even any light to illuminate the surroundings.

Of course, that didn’t cause significant problems with visibility.

Because we solved the darkness problem with magic.

「Riard Ashid has cast the Level 5 support magic [Insight].」

A Level 5 spell, impressive for support magic.

Using this continuously would consume a lot of mana, but it couldn’t be helped.

Aren’t we in the heart of enemy territory?

We had to be as cautious as possible—

Clatter.

Amelia, who was moving ahead of me exclusively on the 7th floor, suddenly stopped.

And then…

Whirr, whirr.

She quickly moved her hands to send hand signals.

Meaning there are enemies nearby.

The leaders, who had been following behind, joined us at the front and immediately activated the “Voice Control” magic

“What’s the size of the enemy?”

“Fifteen people.”

So, it’s a small clan unit.

Well, groups this size would have to stick together to survive in a place like this.

“What’s the plan? Do we engage?”

“Of course! They threaten the kingdom—let’s strike them down!”

“I agree with Sir Kaislan. Glory aside, it’s safer to whittle down their numbers as we advance.”

The leaders quickly agreed to ambush the detected enemies, and as captain, I saw no reason to object.

I, too, had no objections as the leader.

But…

“Alright then, let’s attack quickly.”

“Wait a moment. If we’re going to ambush them, let’s prepare a bit more. If the mages and support type concentrate their firepower all at once, we can make the battle much easier.”

“Oh, that’s true. Since it’s our first battle, we’ll take the lead.”

What the hell are they talking about so seriously?

“Do you guys even know what an ambush is?”

“……?”

As I threw cold water on their plans, the team leaders tilted their heads and looked at me.

Well, they all seem like they’ve killed a lot of people.

I guess they’ve never tried initiating a raid first?

“Forget about the mages or whatever; just wait.”

“Wait? What are you planning to do?”

Isn’t it obvious?

“When they’re fighting monsters, we’ll strike them from behind.”

That’s the basics of PK (Player Killing).