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When you touch the statue, it opens a one-person rift.

Given that phenomenon, the squad leaders, mages, and adventurers of the explorers all reached the same conclusion.

All the statues.

Or, more likely, when a certain number of statues are activated, the sealed stone gate will open, allowing us to proceed to the next stage.

I agreed with that theory as well, of course.

So, after clearing the Green Mine, I spent a long time experimenting with various things.

Trying to reopen a rift I had already cleared.

Checking whether the person who had cleared the rift before could enter it again.

Observing how long the portal stays open before disappearing.

We shifted our focus from clearing the hallway to starting our research.

This was by no means a waste of time.

After all, isn’t that how most games work?

To do well, you need to have a perfect grasp of activation conditions, enemy characteristics, and skill mechanics.

“Okay, I’m starting to get it.”

As the research progressed, we gathered a lot of information.

For example, if no one enters, the portal disappears after ten minutes, or that you can’t open a portal if someone is already inside.

Aside from that, I’ve summarized the key points into a list of five.

1. The statues activate at least seven times.

The reason I say “at least seven” is because we only have seven samples so far.

Seven people, including myself, have cleared the Green Mine, but the statue still creates a portal every time it’s touched.

‘At this point, I can assume there’s no limit to the number of activations.’

Moving on.

2. Guardians always drop an Essence.

However, aside from the Essence, they drop nothing else.

Across all seven attempts, not a single Riftstone or Numbers item dropped.

Of course, since that involves probability, we’ll need more samples to be certain.

Anyway.

3. When a rift is cleared, a red light appears on one of the symbols engraved on the sealed stone door.

Ah, and it seems this doesn’t stack.

The light only turned on when I first cleared it. Meaning, to light up all the remaining lights, every statue must be cleared.

4. The 5th-floor Guardian statue, the highest difficulty, opens two portals when activated.

After confirming that there’s no limit to statue activations and that open portals close after 10 minutes, we discovered this information.

The 5th-floor rift has two portals.

In other words, two people can enter.

Conversely, this means that floors 1 through 4 are strictly solo—you must clear them alone.

Regardless, the last point…

5. Even if you stack buffs before entering the portal, they’re all removed upon entry.

Because this loophole has been blocked, only those with good base stats can succeed in clearing the rift.

For me, this was quite overwhelming.

Dungeon & Stone isn’t the kind of game where you become unstoppable just by leveling up and consuming good Essences.

Though I take pride in being ranked among the world’s strongest, there were enemies that even I had trouble facing.

‘Still, if two people can enter, it should be possible, right?’

Although the field was designed for multiple single-person rifts, the stone room had no such entry restriction.

Thanks to that, we were able to bring in hundreds of elite personnel.

And since each of them is skilled, we could select the explorer with the best compatibility and send them in.

‘Well… let’s give it a try.’

It was time to start clearing this place.

***

Unlike regular rifts, here the boss room appears just a short walk from the entrance, so the early phase of the raid didn’t take long at all.

The Cursed Knight of the Crimson Citadel, Blatter.

The Tyrant of the Glacier Caves, Tarunbas.

The Iron Giant of the Steel Tomb, Ildium.

The raids ended almost instantly, and each dropped an Essence.

Well, not that I needed any of them now.

Still, it wasn’t a complete waste.

[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]

After a few kills, I was certain: Guardian bonuses apply here as well.

But…

“Too bad.”

You can’t enter a rift you’ve already cleared again.

Even if someone else opens the portal for you, you just go through the portal and come out the other side.

‘If it weren’t for that, I could’ve farmed EXP infinitely…’

It was disappointing, but I decided to look on the bright side. Setting aside the ones I couldn’t defeat, how much experience would I earn from those I could?

Maybe this would be more helpful to me than the Essences.

‘And there are still plenty of Guardians I haven’t defeated yet.’

Combined with the first-clear EXP, I could theoretically gain up to 200 EXP from this clear alone.

Apparently, other explorers had the same idea.

Just as we were about to move on to the second-floor Guardians, someone approached me.

“Um… May I try challenging too?”

“Your name…?”

“Miles Humbreak, Baron.”

Ah, right.

He wasn’t a knight but a recruited explorer, so I remembered him.

Now that I think about it, there were quite a few explorers like him in the expedition force…

“I haven’t earned Guardian achievements for any of the first-floor rifts, except for the Crimson Fortress. If you would permit it—”

“Permission isn’t mine to give. Ask the Count.”

“The Count said that if the Baron permits it, he has no objections.”

So the village chief was going to play the role of a puppet leader here too.

“Hmm…”

What should I do?

If I send him in carelessly and he dies, we’ll just lose manpower.

As I hesitated, he spoke earnestly.

“I understand your concern, Baron. Of course you’d be wary of someone insisting to enter an already-cleared rift.”

“…”

“But don’t worry. Even if it’s a Guardian, I’m not weak enough to lose to a mere Rank 7 monster.”

“I’ll allow it—but on one condition.”

“A condition, sir?”

I smirked at the serious-looking explorer.

“No need to be so tense. Just go to the mages and study everything they know about the Guardian before entering. That’s my condition.”

“…Huh? Ah, understood! Thank you! Truly, thank you!”

The adventurer seemed to have expected something else, as he thanked me profusely .

I didn’t understand it back then.

Why judges always emphasized precedents in trials.

“Um… Baron?”

“Would it be alright if I also attempted a challenge…?”

Following his lead, others who had been watching cautiously also approached me.

‘Hah… I already allowed the first guy, so I can’t just refuse these ones…’

Answering each one individually was too tedious, so I eventually delegated the task to Raven.

“Whether you can attempt a challenge or not, go ask… that one over there, Alluva Raven. If Raven permits it, so will I.”

“Huh? Why am I suddenly involved?”

“Aren’t you the most knowledgeable about the rifts?”

“Don’t lie. You’re just too lazy. You think I wouldn’t notice?”

Tch. That’s the problem with sharp ones.

I quickly cut him off with a firm tone.

“It’s not laziness.”

“…?”

“I trust you.”

It wasn’t entirely a lie.

There were plenty of other mages I could’ve assigned, but none were as meticulous as her.

Plus, she was weak to compliments.

“Haah…”

Raven sighed but nodded reluctantly.

“…I’ll only send those who are absolutely certain to return alive. Is that acceptable?”

Good, just as I expected.

Though I’d assigned her a tedious task, the determination in her eyes told me there was no need to worry.

While I was thinking that—

“Jandel.”

Amelia called me.

Was she going to ask if she could help Raven filter people as well? The timing made it seem likely.

But…

“Could I… try the challenge as well?”

Her unusually hesitant tone completely defied my expectations.

“…What?”

“Ahem.”

As I stared at her, Amelia awkwardly cleared her throat and calmly explained her reasoning.

“It would be a shame to miss the opportunity if the Guardian achievement is awarded. It’s not just about me—I believe everyone in our group should take part at least once.”

It wasn’t something I could dismiss.

“Hmm… She does have a point.”

I didn’t deliberate for long.

“Fine. Do it, but only up to the third floor.”

“Understood. Then I’ll make preparations. Ignoring the others, I think I’ll need to spend some time preparing Aynar Pheneline if I plan to send her in.

“I’ll leave that to you.”

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about them going in alone. But I can’t protect them like baby birds forever.

So I’ll trust them.

Amelia, Aynar, Erwin, Misha.

All four of them are more than capable of handling the third-floor guardians.

‘Funny how I ended up with more free time.’

As I watched the explorers receive Raven’s lecture on guardians, I scanned the statues I hadn’t challenged yet.

Eight 2nd-floor Guardians.

One “Doom Knight of the White Temple” of the 3rd floor.

“Two of the 4th floor…”

So, including the unique rift on the fifth floor, that brought the total to twelve.

Then…

‘Including Cambormier, there are 14 unconfirmed Guardians.’

Adding the four guardians from the first floor brought the total to forty-one.

‘Since I’ve already defeated four…’

That left thirty-seven Guardians to defeat.

‘…Let’s start with the easier ones.’

There’s no time limit here, right?

It’s not like I have to defeat them all within a few days or anything…

[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Slayer Bonus…]

When I returned outside after defeating all eight Guardians of the second floor, the surroundings were quite chaotic.

People were greeting me and praising my efforts, but something felt off.

“What’s the record? What time did he get?”

A few people checked their watches the moment they saw me and eagerly scribbled in their notebooks.

Come to think of it, they’d been doing that earlier too.

“What are you writing?”

“…W-Well, just recording the time it took for the Baron to defeat the Guardians and return.”

For some reason, that answer sparked a sudden sense of irritation.

Like I was a racehorse at a betting track.

“Don’t tell me you’re betting on me?”

I glared as I asked, and the mage frantically waved his hands.

“N-No, of course not! Absolutely not! It’s just… out of curiosity… We’ve been recording everyone’s times, not just yours.”

Hmm, if that’s the case, getting angry would be unfair.

“It’s… important data, you see…”

A mage who doesn’t keep a journal is not a mage.

In a world where such things are said, and knowing how fond mages are of recording everything, I didn’t press him further and carried on.

‘Misha and Erwin are still raiding… Amelia must be in the middle of her lecture.’

As I sat down to rest and organize my thoughts, a portal opened and the explorer who had challenged the Ice Cave returned.

And then…

“How long did it take?”

The moment he returned, he immediately asked someone.

“1 minute and 24 seconds.”

The mage responded in an objective tone, and the explorer followed up with another question, his eyes strangely intense.

“Then what’s my rank?”

“Third place.”

Upon hearing that, the explorer looked a bit disappointed, glanced around, then whispered something to the mage.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it out—

“He’s asking how many seconds it took you, Jandel.”

Suddenly, Amelia was standing beside me.

She must’ve left the lecture after seeing me return.

Not that it mattered.

“Ah, I see. Thanks for letting me know.”

After receiving a whispered response from the mage, the explorer walked off toward Raven’s lecture, looking oddly proud.

“Want to know what the mage told him?”

“Not really.”

“3 minutes and 27 seconds, apparently.”

“…If you were going to tell me anyway, why ask?”

It was a bit ridiculous, but I didn’t feel any particular shame over the record.

It wasn’t like I could’ve done better anyway.

I took my time, strolling through the corridors and analyzing everything along the way.

‘Even if I’d tried my hardest, I doubt I’d have been faster than them.’

From the looks of it, they were competing among themselves, and I just got dragged into it.

What’s so impressive about clearing it faster than a tank?

It’s just pathetic—

“For reference, my record was 47 seconds.”

“…Huh?”

“…And I’m also ranked first.”

“Ah…”

Am I just deluded, or…?

With that extra context, it didn’t seem pathetic—it was actually kind of cute.

“…Are you leaving already?”

“I’ve rested enough.”

 

As I stood up after my short break and headed toward a new Guardian statue,

Amelia tilted her head.

“Not the Knight of the End?”

I was standing before the statue of the vampire Guardian, Cambormere.

The reason was simple.

“It’s about time I checked out the unidentified ones.”

“I see…”

Amelia simply nodded, saying nothing more.

Because she knew.

That a mere vampire posed no threat to me.

“Still, be careful. Understood?”

“Got it. I’ll be back.”

With Amelia seeing me off, I stepped into the portal.

That floating sensation washed over me again, and the moment I sensed I’d been transferred—

Tap!

I dashed forward.

I could assess the terrain while running, after all.

Brick walls reminiscent of a medieval castle.

Wall-mounted candlesticks lighting the corridor.

Old bloodstains smeared across the floor.

The place where I opened my eyes resembled the final chapter of Blood Tinted Castle—the Demon Worship Chamber, but it was different.

Unlike the ‘□’-shaped structure, this was just a straight path.

Thud-thud-thud!

I sprinted down the hallway toward the boss chamber visible straight ahead.

It couldn’t be helped—I was only human. And while I didn’t want to dwell on the records…

But I also didn’t want to become someone else’s joke or consolation prize. So, unless something unexpected happened, I planned to defeat the Guardian as quickly as possible this time and get out.

However—

Boom!

The sound of the door bursting open forced me to abandon my plan as the vampire rose to its feet.

“How curious… truly curious…”

The vampire looked at me with sleepy eyes and spoke.

“…Have we met before?”

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