Tanker Interview (2)
"I'm sorry, but let's work together next time."
I had already repeated the same line fifteen times, like a parrot.
Because more than half of the applicants couldn't even lift the oak barrel.
"Ah! I can lift it if I try just one more time!"
"It's because I didn't eat breakfast today. Seriously."
"This barrel's kind of weird! You didn't cast gravity magic on it, did you?"
"I'm not lying, I really can lift it! I just threw my back out on the way here. I swear!"
Each applicant had a different excuse to offer.
And the reason they were going this far to join our party was obvious.
'Because it looks safe.'
When I said I was going to form my own party, Professor Ishirov looked genuinely intrigued and said he'd never seen someone like me before.Most people were too afraid of the labyrinth, so they preferred to latch onto senior parties instead.
The adventurers here were no different.
Since our destination was the first floor of the labyrinth, veterans who could handle the second floor or above had no incentive to apply—the payout didn't match.
So naturally, the only people suitable for our party were first-floor adventurers.And among them, the capable ones already had their own parties.
Then who were the adventurers standing here, having applied to this hastily assembled party recruitment that opened just a day ago?
Mostly dead weight.
Beginners who were afraid of the labyrinth, yet still dreamed of becoming labyrinth adventurers.
But then a mage who claimed to have beaten up Back Attack—the strongest on the first floor—starts recruiting a party?
If he's that strong, maybe he can carry me even if I troll a bit.If I gain some experience there, I'll become a proper veteran adventurer myself!
…That was probably their line of thinking.
"I'm sorry, let's work together next time."
Of course, I had no reason to accept them.
You have to separate the wheat from the chaff.First with the oak barrel, then with an in-depth skill interview.
"Can you use skills like Shield Charge or Taunt?"
Almost everyone failed at that point.
"Caleb."
During a short break, Yernil whispered cautiously.
"I actually… um…"
"Yes?"
"I don't know how to use skills either…!"
That's quite the secret to confess, Yernil.
Judging by her reaction, this strict interview process must have felt overwhelming to her.
"I think I would've failed too if I'd taken the interview…"
"You'll be able to learn skills soon, Yernil."
In the game, warriors, archers, and thieves learn skills by using the fountains they encounter inside the labyrinth.
That's the lore, anyway.
Like the god of wisdom, Wizus, who grants magic, there were once gods of various professions—but they were all devoured by the labyrinth.
Their techniques occasionally descend upon adventurers traveling the labyrinth like blessings, blooming into skills at the fountains.
When playing the game, I used to wonder why the developers bothered giving skills and magic completely different acquisition systems with this kind of lore attached.
Maybe that ridiculous system actually had some basis after all.
Of course, it's unclear whether gods like Wizus even truly exist in this world.
"But can we really recruit a party member like this?"
Yernil whispered again.
"Probably?"
I calmly rejected the next applicant.All free riders, please get off here.
"Let's work together next time."
"Bullshit!"
Unfortunately, this applicant wasn't willing to back down so easily.
A dwarf with a face flushed red kicked the oak barrel in anger.
"I don't know what kind of amazing bastard you're trying to recruit!"
he shouted.
"You're newbies too—you've only entered the labyrinth once!"
Honestly, that was an accurate criticism.
"You got cocky after killing Back Attack by pure luck and now you're trying to recruit above your weight class!"
It wasn't luck. And it wasn't overreaching either.
"Do you really think anyone with a name would join some crappy newbie party recruitment that opened for just one day?!"
The dwarf pointed at me—and then someone grabbed his arm from behind.
"Excuse me. If you're done here, please step aside."
It was a tall lizard, heavily armored with plate mail, a mace, and a shield.
"W-what…?"
The dwarf staggered back in shock.Because this was a well-known figure—a freelance lizard paladin from the Nathaniel Temple, sometimes even called into second-floor parties.
"Bernard…?"
They're starting to show up now.
The ones who count as the "gems" among the chaff.
"Ah! My goodness! Back Attack really is walking around as an undead!"
The lizard covered his eyes with his webbed hand and shuddered.
"What a horrifying sight!"
"W-wait… Bernard applied here?"
The dwarf's anger evaporated instantly.
As I've said, since we're going to the first floor, it normally wouldn't be worth it for tankers above the second floor.
However…
"Nathaniel! Is this truly what you desire? I cannot believe the Order approved something like this!"
I had expected undead Back Attack to draw aggro.
Especially from the Nathaniel Order.
Even in the game, the Nathaniel Order is hostile toward necromancy.I don't know how Ishirov sweet-talked them into participating in this project, but—
There's no way he just handed over a corpse and called it a day.
I figured there was a high chance the Nathaniel Temple would send someone to monitor whether this project was being conducted properly.
"Nathaniel! I shall obey the Order's will!"
Then why didn't I go directly to the Nathaniel Temple and ask why they weren't sending applicants, instead of recruiting through the Adventurers' Guild?
There are two reasons.
First, even if I had gone to the temple, they would've told me to conduct a formal party recruitment through the guild anyway.
"Grant me strength so that I may secure this contract, Nathaniel!"
Because Nathaniel is the god of contracts and financial transactions.
The Order absolutely despises things like'Let's just do this between acquaintances,''We'll figure it out with connections,'or any kind of backroom dealing.
And from the looks of it, they even matched the level perfectly to me.
Yes. This is how it should be.This is proper allocation of manpower.
Good.If this works out, I could build a connection now and use him consistently—like Emma in Virtanen's party.
"Power of Radiance!"
But… hey, lizard.Isn't that kind of cheating?
Paladin Bernard cast a buff on himself, boosting his strength by +3, and leapt onto the stage.
He grabbed the oak barrel in one motion and hurled it straight up into the ceiling.
"From this moment on, I shall demonstrate the sacred power bestowed upon me by Nathaniel!"
He re-armed himself with mace and shield.
He's usable.
Let's take a look at his skills, then.
"Guardian's Shield!"
Bernard thrust his shield forward with all his strength.
A massive barrier manifested around the shield and enveloped Bernard.
"Smite!"
His offensive power was excellent too.
He slammed down his mace infused with holy power, shattering the oak barrel.
Huh?
No—wait a second.
"We still need that oak barrel to interview the people behind you…!"
"Arrow of Annihilation!"
Bernard paid no attention and this time fired a beam of radiance (a laser?) from the tip of his mace, scorching the wall.
"How is it! I shall bless your future and complete this journey with you, guiding that poor undead into eternal rest!"
"Hold on."
A human man stepped forward from the back.
Judging by his appearance, he was from the East—farther east than Wyndham.
"You can't let him rest. We need to revive him."
In the game, I'd thought he was just a race designed with an Asian motif,
but seeing him in person, he really did look Asian.
And…
He's a third-floor adventurer, isn't he?
You could tell just by his gear.
He was a greatsword fighter who mainly operated on the third floor.
"I'm a swordsman—Hijikata."
True to a third-floor adventurer, he was brimming with composure.
He casually crushed the remains of the shattered oak barrel underfoot and walked over, offering me a handshake first.
As if interviews were meaningless with this kind of gap.
Well… he wasn't wrong.
"Are you applying? The pay wouldn't match for recruiting a third-floor adventurer."
"I don't need the pay. I'm not interested in the first floor.
But I am interested in this mission the magic university is running."
Hijikata continued,
"One of my friends went missing in the labyrinth."
That was the second reason I hadn't gone to the Nathaniel Temple and instead recruited through the Adventurers' Guild.
Among competent adventurers, it's not uncommon to have a missing companion.
"If you can really revive Mr. Punch-in-the-Back, then wouldn't there be hope for my friend too?
That's why I want to take on this mission."
That was exactly the kind of person I'd aimed for when opening recruitment, but…
This is tricky.
It was both a good and a bad offer.
If a third-floor fighter took the frontline, I'd honestly have it easy.
In that sense, it was great.
But the chance of that fighter staying in my party after the mission was practically zero.
"We're not just looking for someone for this one mission.
We want a companion we can work with consistently in the future."
"So Back Attack's the bait, and your real goal is finding a usable first-floor teammate?"
"He's not bait. We will revive Back Attack.
That mission is something we're taking seriously too."
"Hmm…"
Hijikata stroked his stubbly jaw, like he hadn't shaved in about three days.
"Then are you going to pick that lizard? Honestly, isn't he a bit too loud?"
"What?!"
The lizard bristled.
"Every word spoken by this paladin represents Nathaniel himself!
Do not even dream of committing such irreversible discourtesy!"
His tongue was a bit long.
"Caleb!"
This time, a somewhat familiar face appeared.
"Virtanen?"
"Hah! What's going on here?
If you needed a warrior to hold the frontline, you should've contacted me."
"Virtanen already has a party."
"He's forming his own party."
Hijikata said, pointing his thumb at me.
"Oh. So this isn't just temporary contract work?
You're actually founding a party?"
"Yes."
"I see…"
Suddenly, Virtanen looked extremely disappointed.
I didn't know a person's expression could droop that much.
"I'd been dreaming of bringing you into our party this whole time."
"I'm sorry…"
It wasn't my fault, but seeing that face still made me feel guilty.
"It's fine! Another excellent party being formed is good news for an adventurer."
Virtanen cleared his throat and brightened his mood.
"Caleb, be careful. The labyrinth is crawling with lunatics.
You can assume half of the other parties are enemies.
Some of them even attack other parties just to steal their money."
The dwarf rambled on, explaining that having one more trustworthy party was genuinely good news.
"Sorry to interrupt."
The lizard cut back in.
"So… are you choosing me?"
Well.
What should I do?
Honestly, it's not bad—but it feels just a little lacking.
I'd like to wait just a bit longer.
"Wait!"
Suddenly, someone came sprinting into the interview hall.
"Huh!"
No one else paid much attention, but I flinched in surprise.
No—this was an even rarer type than a paladin.
A monk!
A Strength Monk—my main tank when I cleared turn-based Master difficulty.
He was panting, out of breath from running all the way here.
"L-let me… take the interview…"
"The interview's over."
The lizard pointed at the shattered remains of the oak barrel.
"No! At least let me try! Please!"
He had a reason he had to join this party.
"Back Attack was—"
the monk shouted.
"My companion!"
Mr. Back Attack.
Once known as the strongest adventurer on the first floor,
the man the Adventurers' Guild considered the most promising.
He began gaining fame when, after all his teammates were downed,
he defeated a Black Hornet alone.
And that day, the monk who owed his life to Back Attack expelled him from the party.
"I'm sorry, but you don't fit with us."
The monk party leader, Aimus Renic, said seriously.
"You can go to the second floor."
"..."
"We're halfwits who'll keep floundering on the first floor."
In reality, even after joining a second-floor party, Back Attack more than pulled his weight.
"It was just a short mercenary job, but when you came back, they told me this—
that I should let you go…"
Among third-rate adventurers, there's one cruel moral rule.
Let talented companions go early.
"You can go deeper."
They had explored the labyrinth together for over three years and grown deeply attached,
but they all knew it. Back Attack didn't belong in that party.
He was young and strong.
Sharp, agile, and excellent at skill execution.
But the monk was already in his mid-forties.
For physical classes—unlike mages or priests—age matters.
Anyone could see the monk had already passed his prime.
Hersel, the gnome mage, had been a perpetual failure at the magic university in his hometown.
"Renic's right. Back Attack. You should go to the second floor.
You should've stabbed us in the back and moved on long ago.
Why aren't you living up to your name?"
Cracking a joke, Hersel's eyes were wet.
Kaelin, the elf druid, was still a fool who hadn't even formed a spirit contract yet.
"I… I honestly don't want to part ways…"
She was even more honest than the monk or the gnome mage.
As she formally issued an expulsion—if only in name—to a companion she had grown close to over a long time, Kaelin sobbed uncontrollably.
"But I think this is the right thing to do, Back Attack.
This is where we part."
They were friends deeply bound by affection.
"Stay healthy on the second floor."
Hersel handed him a fine belt.
It was a farewell gift.
"I'll miss you."
With tears welling in her eyes, Kaelin gave him a bomb that could be attached to the belt, telling him to throw it at enemies in an emergency.
"You'll do well on the second floor."
The monk party leader, Aimus Renic, gave him a dagger.
"It cost a fair bit! It can rip through a Black Hornet's shell in one strike!"
Renic unilaterally terminated Back Attack's contract.
He paid the penalty himself and released Back Attack freely.
"Go to the second floor."
They expelled Back Attack.
The incident happened three weeks later.
Someone burst out of the first-floor labyrinth's exit gate, critically wounded.
It was Kaelin, the halfwit druid.
Unable to find a new party member, the three of them had continued together.
They cleared the exit room, but at the moment they were exhausted, raiders ambushed them.
Help me…!
Clutching her torn lower abdomen as her intestines spilled out, Kaelin staggered up the stairs to the labyrinth administration office, crying for help—then collapsed unconscious.
The exit gate had already closed.
Three mana stones the raiders had thrown in were rolling on the ground.
The entrance gate to the first floor of the labyrinth was open.
Back Attack didn't look back even once as he charged inside—
"…What…?"
Monk Renic witnessed an astonishing anomaly unfolding in the first-floor exit room.
When an exit room is cleared, the labyrinth's structure changes.
And somewhere, a new exit room appears. Everyone knows that.
But—
"The exit room…
It appeared here again…?"
The situation shocked the raiders as well, who had just killed Hersel and were threatening Renic.
An exit room door had appeared right behind Renic.
"An exit room appearing inside an exit room?"
But the truly unbelievable part started there.
Click.
Suddenly, the exit room's doorknob turned.
No adventurer opened it.
It opened on its own—from the inside.
The exit boss itself stepped out.
The strongest on the first floor, consumed by madness.
"Hahahaha!"
Anyone could tell it was inhuman—
that chilling laughter, the deranged gaze, and the Labyrinth Master's sigil engraved on his forehead.
The raiders froze in place for an instant, and Back Attack slit one of their throats with a leaping ambush.
"Aaagh!"
"It's a monster!"
The follow-up throwing dagger pierced the second raider's heart.
"Hahahaha!"
Back Attack seized the third raider, leapt through shadows, slammed him down, and carved into his chest again and again.
Blood spouted like a fountain.
The scene turned into absolute chaos in moments.
The last remaining raider trembled as he drew his bowstring, but Back Attack vanished into invisibility.
"W-where are you! Where?!"
Leaving the raider's screams behind, monk party leader Aimus Renic limped forward.
Toward the exit room whose door had opened.
"I ran away."
That was what he said.
"I didn't have the courage to talk about it until now."
He collapsed onto the floor and clutched at his hair.
"I was terrified—completely out of my mind! Back then, Back Attack really looked like a monster. I panicked and ran straight into the exit room Back Attack came out of. The gate inside was already open."
"..."
"I went through it and fled back to town. When I arrived… Kaelin was already dead."
Hmm.
There's a technical term for that in the game.
A roaming boss.
A boss that leaves the exit room and wanders the field.
But seeing a roaming boss on the first floor?
That was a first for me too. Usually you only see those far down in the deeper layers.
"There hasn't been a single day since then that I haven't regretted it."
For the monk, that incident became a massive trauma.
Not because he nearly died, but—
"What if…
What if I hadn't abandoned Back Attack back then?"
"..."
"Wouldn't it have been possible to stop him from falling and becoming an exit boss?"
Honestly, I don't know—but probably not.
If he came out of the exit room, that already meant he'd become the exit boss.
Even so, the monk's guilt didn't lessen.
"Maybe the reason that exit room appeared behind me was…
Maybe… just maybe…"
Under normal circumstances, the chance of Back Attack finding and saving the monk's party was practically zero.
The labyrinth is enormous, and entry points are random.
"Was it because he wanted to save us…?
Did Back Attack sell his soul to the Labyrinth Master?"
"..."
"And if that exit room appeared behind me because of that…
If he sold his soul just to save me, and I ran away alone…
Then I…"
The lowest rung of a third-rate party.
Even for ordinary, unremarkable people, there are tragedies worthy of a drama—though no one cares.
And a middle-aged man in his mid-forties can cry too.
I'd seen it from time to time when I worked at a company.
And I was seeing it now.
"..."
The monk looked up once at Back Attack, now an undead, and then broke down, covering his face as he sobbed.
His shoulders shook violently with tears.
"Gaaah?"
Back Attack, utterly oblivious, just kept chewing on Yernil's hair.