Cutting-Edge Explorers

"Let me tell you a few things about the Trial Labyrinth."

Having finished dinner, Ria spoke while leisurely sipping some whiskey, which was unusual for her.

"You can brute force your way through that place. Considering Sei's Gifts, there shouldn't be any problems."

Even so, she taught them some simple strategies for the bosses on each floor. The problem was the vampire on the lowest floor.

It was a final boss that hadn't been there when Ria had cleared it.

"Vampires aren't actually monsters but demon race, right?"

"That's right. Setting aside the Undead King, an ordinary vampire… no, even that would normally be difficult."

There are three types of vampires. First, the Undead King, also known as the True Ancestor. These are extremely rare existences, occasionally born between vampires.

Then there are vampires born normally, and those turned into vampires after having their blood sucked by a True Ancestor. These are what's normally called vampires.

When a vampire drinks human blood and makes them their kin, they're called lesser vampires.

"A lesser vampire can live long and gain the abilities of a regular vampire, but fundamentally they cannot defy the vampire that is their 'parent.'"

However, vampires in the current era live normally in society. Due to their racial characteristics, they can mostly only move at night, but their base abilities as a species are high, so they have no trouble finding work.

As for obtaining blood, fresh blood is sold normally at stores. Many countries now prohibit vampires from drinking blood directly from humans. In fact, it's an era where vampires themselves dislike drinking directly.

"I wonder if that floor boss has a part-time job or something…"

When Ria said that after thinking it over, both Mako and Sei gave her the same retort.

"No, that's not possible."

"Perhaps the advancement of weaponry was the issue?"

As expected of Carla-sensei, her deduction was sharp.

Three thousand years ago, there were no weapons that an individual could carry that could defeat high-ranking giants.

As for magic, giants, said to be the children of the gods, possess strong resistance to it.

"Indeed, our party's mage's magic was almost completely ineffective against them."

"But with pure firepower that doesn't rely on magic, couldn't you deal damage regardless of magic defense?"

She had heard that explorers from Nihon Empire and Garhart had cleared the labyrinth. She didn't know the details, but apparently military personnel had been involved.

"That's where vampires come in. Physical attacks don't work well on them, and they have high resistance to magic. As a new floor boss for the labyrinth, they would be more than sufficient."

The Trial Labyrinth only allows parties of up to six people to enter. That's how the mechanism works.

With modern weapons, large ones can't be brought in due to the labyrinth's structure. However, if you have portable high-firepower weapons, you can defeat the Cyclops.

"Or someone with a treasury could load in a tank and shell the Cyclops during the fight."

Ria nodded at the method Sei suggested. It was an era where science was beginning to surpass fantasy.

"It's no longer an age where you can rise to greatness with just a single katana…"

The expression on Ria's face as she said that with a lonely tone was memorable.

They opened the massive gate and descended the long staircase, arriving at a stone corridor where the ceiling and walls emitted a pale blue glow. In front of them was what looked like a large metal mirror.

By touching it and chanting a spell, you could teleport into the labyrinth. The limit was six people.

And so, six explorers stood on the first underground floor.

"Now then, let's begin the labyrinth conqueeest～"

At Sei's leisurely voice, only Mako raised her hand with an "Ohh～"

"Well, leave the first floor to me. I've got the map memorized in my head."

Nero spoke with full confidence, but unfortunately for him, Sei's Map seemed to work even inside the labyrinth.

Moreover, it could distinguish things by labels like treasure chests, traps, and monsters.

"Alright, let's go."

Saying that, Sei pulled out a massive warhammer. And swung it down with full force toward the wall heading toward the labyrinth's center.

The stone wall was destroyed, creating a passage.

"There, now we can take a shortcut."

Keios and Nero, who knew the labyrinth, stood with their mouths agape. Nero was the first to recover.

"You idiot! If you destroy the labyrinth's walls, you'll attract monsters!"

"Ah, sorry. Then let's go to a place where enemies can only come from two directions."

A pincer attack from front and back. In response, Sei said:

"I'll take all the enemies coming from this direction. Mako, Gantz, and Keios, please handle that side. Kukuri and Nero, take care of any that slip through."

"Can you handle it alone?"

"Keios, I'm a magic warrior, you know."

Even while they were talking, the presence of monsters was approaching.

"Can't be helped. Nero, I'm counting on you for backup."

"Ahh, how did things turn out like this…"

Nero readied his shortbow and prepared for battle.

The battle began with Keios's fireball magic.

With two shield bearers, they wouldn't let any monsters break through to the rear. Mako's spear steadily took down reptilian and insectoid monsters.

And Sei was continuously firing dozens of magic homing arrows.

Among Sei and Mako's stats, the biggest difference was in magic power.

Sei, who had been made to hold the Divine Dragon Blade Garrach and knocked unconscious multiple times, had greatly increased his total magic power and also possessed the Gift of high-speed magic recovery.

He was a one-man turret. Not letting anything even get close, he took down nearly 100 monsters.

The other side was also handled with room to spare.

Five high-level explorers working together. Moreover, partway through, Sei, whose hands were now free, started firing magic arrows at this side too.

He locked onto monsters on the Map and fired homing arrows. They never missed, taking down monsters with single hits.

For Sei, it wasn't even combat. It was just work.

"This is insane."

"Agreed."

Keios nodded in agreement with Nero's mutter.

When the battle ended, they collected the magic stones.

Actually, this took longer than the battle itself.

They also collected parts from monster corpses that could be sold.

Honestly, Nero thought this alone was already enough earnings for the day.

"Hey Sei, even if you shortened the path, if this many monsters swarm us, doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose?"

Mako's point was valid, and Kukuri nodded too. Gantz didn't say anything, but he was probably in agreement.

"You're right, from now on I'll only break through the bare minimum."

"R-Right. Then let's go."

Having caught his breath, Nero tried to take the lead walking through the shortened corridor.

"Ah, wait. If we break through here, we'll reach the first floor boss room right away."

Keios hurriedly stopped Sei as he raised the warhammer.

"Wait, did you actually look at the map?"

"Ahh, one of my Gifts is called Map. With it, I know this entire floor."

"Hey, just how many Gifts do you have?"

The ones Keios had heard about so far were three: Immortality, Infinite Storage, and Map.

Normally, having even one of those would be incredible, yet there were three.

"I have various ones, but telling you all of them would be a bit…"

Gifts and skills are an explorer's or adventurer's lifeline. It's rare to reveal them all.

"For now, I have Dark Dragon's Bloodline, physical and mental resistance, and magic resistance too."

"Super Strength, Iron Body, and Fortitude as well."

Gantz added.

Keios and Nero gaped again, while Kukuri wore an amused expression.

"How in the world did you get all that…?"

To Keios who crossed his arms, Sei answered simply.

"Master's training was just that insane. After all, I'm immortal."

Keios and Nero had unconvinced expressions, but he didn't feel like talking about that reckless training.

Training that was premised on coming back to life—that wasn't something he wanted to tell anyone. It was a past he wanted to forget.

"More importantly, I'm hungry…"

When Mako said that, the party decided to have an early lunch.

Keios and Nero dismantled the remaining monster corpses while Kukuri and Mako prepared the meal. They also ate the freshly defeated lizards and insects.

Sei appeared to be resting, but he was properly conducting reconnaissance with Map. Gantz was on perimeter watch, but that was really just a precaution.

When monsters occasionally approached, he fired magic arrows linked to the Map.

And so the party safely finished their abundant meal.

Nero being surprised at Mako's appetite was nothing new at this point.

And Mako gained the Gift of Hard Scales. Like Keios, it was a rather good Gift where her skin would harden like scales when receiving damaging attacks.

The lizard scales and insect carapaces she'd eaten probably influenced it.

At the center of the first floor, in the large room leading to the next level, the floor boss, a skeleton knight, awaited.

"Weak!"

Its appraised level was 35. Due to weapon compatibility, Mako would be at a disadvantage, but any of the four vanguards could beat it one-on-one.

"Mm."

The one who stepped forward was Gantz. With the weight of a war axe, he could crush bones.

And that's exactly what happened.

From a low position, he crushed the skeleton knight's legs, smashed its shield, and finally crushed its head. With that, the skeleton knight stopped moving.

Magic stone in hand, Gantz exhaled heavily through his nose and returned.

They moved to the second floor. Here, grass grew and covered the walls as if it were natural.

The light from the ceiling was strong too, so the plants were probably photosynthesizing.

"The monsters here are mainly normal animals that became monsters, but… well, it should be fine."

Nero sighed. In response, Sei, having appraised the monsters' levels with Map, made a suggestion.

"Want to do some power leveling on this floor?"

Perhaps they didn't understand the term "power leveling," as everyone tilted their heads.

Among them, the one with the lowest level and correspondingly lowest combat power was Kukuri.

He was an extremely agile halfling with high magic resistance, but his physical toughness wasn't that great. It would be better to raise his level.

"We weaken monsters until they're near death, and then have Kukuri finish them off."

"Indeed, I've heard that the one who delivers the finishing blow absorbs the most magic essence."

Keios nodded. Kukuri thought of himself primarily as a bard, but he'd be grateful if his level increased.

And so, the same thing from the first floor was repeated.

They destroyed walls and dealt damage to enemies coming from two directions. Dealing just the right amount of damage was actually the hard part.

Kukuri killed the combat-incapacitated monsters thrown before him using thrown weapons and a crossbow. Nero handled any he couldn't finish off.

After a while, his head started spinning.

"W-Wait a minute. I feel sick."

The one who reacted to Kukuri's words was Keios. He had heard that rapid leveling up could make you feel unwell.

"It's level-up sickness. Sei! Let's annihilate the enemies!"

It was probably similar to MP exhaustion. Thinking that, Sei increased the output of his magic arrows.

The annihilation didn't take long.

"Ahh, sorry, I ended up being a burden."

Back against the labyrinth wall, Kukuri muttered. In all his life until now, he'd never experienced inconveniencing his companions. At worst, he'd retreat from the battlefield at full speed.

"Don't worry about it and just rest. I've been killed by Master, passed out from magic depletion, had all sorts of things happen to me, so I understand how you feel."

To that, Kukuri answered "Yeah," but recovery still seemed to take time.

"Level-up sickness, huh. I've heard of it, but this is my first time actually seeing it."

Keios nodded too.

"Let's move a little and make camp for today. It might be a bit early, but…"

"Alright, then shall we do some dismantling?"

"Ah, wait a moment."

Sei stopped Nero as he tried to move.

"Other explorers are coming. A group of six."

Shortly after Sei's words, indeed six explorers appeared.

"Oh, Keios and Nero… Those four are new faces. Anyway, what the hell is all this?"

They seemed to be acquaintances. What the men were staring at were the monsters that Sei's group had slaughtered. They hadn't been dismantled yet, so it was a gruesome scene.

"Yeah. Our leader's crazy. He broke the walls and drew all these in."

At those words, the explorers' expressions froze.

"Breaking walls? Are you an idiot?"

"I think so too, but… the result is this. And that one lying down isn't even injured."

"I-I see. Sounds rough. We'll be going now."

After seeing off the departing explorers, the four except for Sei and Kukuri, who were on watch, dismantled the monsters.

Insects aside, Mako was used to handling animals. They collected magic stones, skinned furs, took fangs and claws, and butchered the meat.

With Kukuri carried on Keios's back, they moved to a suitable camping spot.

"I'll go set up noisemakers."

"Please do, just in case."

Sei's Map was functioning perfectly so far, but there might be monsters it couldn't detect.

Combined with his Lethal Perception, it seemed nearly perfect, but that was a skill that worked on Sei personally. Who knew where there might be blind spots.

When Nero returned safely, he saw an impossible sight there.

Cooking was fine. Many make do with portable rations, but if you have the luxury, you should have a warm meal.

But what was that steaming hole next to them?

"Ah, the bath's ready. Excuse us～"

Sei and Mako, having made earthen walls, went to bathe. Seeing this, Nero sought an explanation from Keios with his eyes.

"Get used to it. I've already given up."

With an unsatisfied feeling, Nero started helping with the cooking.

They wrapped themselves in blankets and took turns sleeping, but there were no problems.

When Sei was awake, he eliminated monsters from afar using Map, and when sleeping, he made small improvements to his magic spell construction.

He set it up so that magic arrows on standby would automatically attack monsters displayed on the Map.

And so the party enjoyed quality sleep and continued their labyrinth exploration.