The portal shone like an aurora in the North Sea. A heavy silence flowed in front of him. Neither Missha nor Hikurod said anything and just looked at each other. That's how unknown the face Rotmiller was making right now was.
Creak.
Like the expression «shaky teeth», Rotmiller's tightly closed mouth trembled. It was like seeing its background for the first time. His inferiority complex must have been hidden deep down by self-control and the desire to improve.
«...It's not too late yet». Rotmiller broke the silence. «Three teams have passed before us. Even with the most advanced equipment, the time difference is only about 30 minutes. If we follow them quickly, maybe we can get ahead on the second floor».
At first glance, it sounded logical. However, considering each point, it was full of contradictions. The problem was that, even knowing this, everyone nodded awkwardly.
«A-ah! That would work. I-I don't want to give up either when we've arrived so soon.»
«H-hahaha! So he wasn't the only one?»
«...I-I agree too.»
Good guys. Calling them that, it was obvious what they were thinking. Instead of refusing, they probably thought it was better to push themselves to agree and suffer.
«Bjorn... what do you think?»
Eyes gathered on me, as I had not yet expressed an opinion. Ha, so annoying. Why did I always have to play this role?
I sighed to myself, but spoke frankly. «Do you all have problems with your head?». There was already a 30 minute gap on the first floor. That gap would widen further on the second floor. Besides, we were already exhausted just getting here. «Do you want to leave them behind in this state? Do you really think it can happen?»
The three of them kept their mouths shut and avoided my eyes. Therefore, I ignored them and stared at Rotmiller.
«Rotmiller Brown, enough is enough. I'll follow you to the first floor whenever you want. But the second floor is too much for us. Don't endanger your colleagues because of your stubbornness».
Rotmiller closed his mouth in a fit of indignation. I didn't say anything else and stared at him. The answer came a little later. «I'm sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment. Forget what I said».
«I've already forgotten».
Rotmiller took out words of apology, and I let him pass coldly. The other three let out the breath they had been holding. Fortunately, it seemed that the situation had been resolved without discussion.
What a headache.
The problem was that nothing was over yet.
***
The scout position existed to reduce movement time in a maze where reducing time meant survival. His combat power was scarce compared to the other positions, but his betrayal was always fatal. The scout was the only position that could cooperate with external forces.
As the district chief knows, he should have tried to appease Rotmiller first.
The explorer supervised the journey within the maze. In other words, pretending to be a guide and leading us into a trap set by the district chief was quite possible.
...Maybe I should have stayed out of this expedition.
I decided to trust Rotmiller because I knew his usual way of being. His personality was direct to the point of stubbornness. He was a sincere man who turned away from luck and limited himself to making an effort. I figured someone like that wouldn't be tempted by whatever tricks the district chief tried.
But how was Rotmiller today? So strange that he seemed almost like a different person. His rationality was nowhere to be found. He seemed impatient and desperate, like someone being carried off a cliff.
It's probably because of that bastard district chief.
Of course, he still thought the possibility of betrayal was low. This man was no idiot, and if he had really wanted to betray us, he would have acted normally. However, it was necessary to assume the worst and be careful.
...I should keep an eye on him for now.
In the midst of such anxiety, exploration resumed. However, contrary to my concerns, Rotmiller led the group showing only a rational appearance, as usual.
[You have entered the Rock Desert on the second floor].
He found the exact route in the desert even when the compass broke down. On the morning of the second day, he located the portal to the third floor.
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Way on the third floor.]
There wasn't much difference on the third floor, which we reached before ever. He went straight to the Witch's Forest with minimal combat, and at 10:00 p.m. he took a break to improve his biorhythm. The same thing happened at midnight, at the beginning of the third day. We all woke up for a moment to see how the third floor was dyed silver light.
«Hahaha! I don't know why I haven't seen this before and slept all this time».
«It's probably because there was no one to share it with».
«Dwalkie, eso fue tan cursi».
Maybe it should be called an exclusive Half Wit Team tradition? No one proposed it, but from the first exploration, it had always been like a tacit promise.
[You have entered the Tower in Heaven on the fourth floor].
Anyway, the exploration went smoothly after that. At dusk on the seventh day, we arrived at the fourth floor. This also calmed me down. It meant there was no need to suspect Rotmiller anymore.
It must have been my oversight.
The fourth floor was independent. Once inside, after about 5 minutes, it became a space that other explorers could not enter. I watched my back during the first few battles to see if anyone entered, but no scouts entered until the first floor of the Tower in the Sky was clear.
«Bjorn! What are you thinking so deeply?»
«Subamos».
So, I completely put aside my worries and focused on exploration. Well, not completely. I couldn't help but make this part of my personality. I believed that 100% did not exist in this world, especially if you were on an expedition in which it would not be strange for anything to happen.
Anyway, after entering the fourth floor, we focused on climbing the tower, alternately taking the stairs of Wisdom and Courage. Along the way, there was a moment when all the stairs turned out to be those of Patience, but everything was more fluid than I thought. It was a psychological ordeal, but it wasn't too difficult to bear. Whoever appeared and stammered whatever they stammered, you just had to filter it through the other ear.
To be honest, what came after the ordeal was more annoying.
«¡Wahhhh, Bjorrrn...!»
«Stop crying. It's over.»
«If you abandon me too, then I'm really alone!»
He didn't know what the hell he had seen or heard, but as soon as we passed the floor Missha began to lament.
Hikurod was on his knees, desperate. «The swords I make are no better than scrap metal...».
Dwalkie stared into space as if he were out of his mind and Rotmiller clenched his fists silently. They both seemed a little angry.
...It can't be that that doesn't bother them.
As they came to their senses, I checked the box placed in the center of the ground, a reward that could only be obtained by choosing a Patience test. If you were lucky here, you could get a numbered item or a random essence below rank 6.
Of course. No way. Indeed, there were only twelve rank 7 mana stones.
«If everyone has finished resting, let's get going again.»
After almost 30 minutes of calming down, exploration resumed. After that, nothing happened. We defeat more monsters and continue climbing floors. Soon it was the 12th and we had reached the 100th floor.
«I think this is the first time I've come this far».
Starting at the 100th floor, the difficulty of the test was set to the highest level and rank 6 monsters appeared more frequently. However, there was nothing too dangerous here either, thanks to the growth of our two main damage agents. Also, its compatibility was quite good.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has released the rank 7 attack magic Cold Storm.]
[Missha Karlstein has launched Ice Crushing.]
Dwalkie not only learned secondary magic with his hard-earned money, but also a wide-area rank 7 cold spell. With Missha, facing rank 6 monsters was not a problem. With two tanks and damage support, the team's stability had increased dramatically. However, things would change if a rank 5 monster like the troll appeared again.
Still, I've been preparing a lot with the team's money, so the situation must be much better than then.
In fact, it was funny to worry about rank 5 monsters on the fourth floor. Not that we had met a Hans along the way.
It seems that now Rotmiller has also come to his senses.
Unlike the anxious beginning, this exploration continued to flow smoothly. Then it was the beginning of the 19th.
***
It was 6:32 in the morning. I checked my watch and looked around. My four companions slept comfortably in their respective places.
Being awake only makes me feel like I'm on night duty again.
I buried myself in the sleeping bag again and closed my eyes, but I couldn't fall asleep easily, perhaps thanks to my greater energy. No, was it because there were only four days left until the labyrinth closed?
I feel restless for some reason.
I had felt this way for the past few days, but our teamwork had improved considerably. It seemed like we finally had a good rhythm. Even if I didn't give an order, everyone did what they could, and they began to communicate to a certain extent through their eyes and gestures. What will happen will happen, little by little we were becoming a good team.
Compared to the first time, it's absurdly different.
Just by looking at Dwalkie, the change was noticeable. He hardly seemed like an amateur anymore, and his battle senses increased day by day. Except, even though I felt that, I also felt a little sorry. I knew we didn't have many days left together.
I thought rationally without getting carried away by emotions.
This was my first full-time team formed in this strange world. I had decided not to show affection to the people here as much as possible, but being human, that didn't fit in my head. I was sure he would remember this team for a long time.
Step.
When my thoughts reached that point, I suddenly felt a presence. I raised my head slightly to check, and it was Rotmiller. «Have I woken you up?»
«No, wake me up first».
«So I'm glad. I thought you woke up this time too because of me».
This time too...?
Was it just me or was there a hidden meaning behind those words? I was sure it was nothing. Rotmiller was very smart. He must have been aware that I had continued watching him, although he pretended not to know.
«Why don't we talk, since you're awake?»
"...Good."
I got out of the sleeping bag and sat against the wall with Rotmiller. There was an awkward silence. Oh, wasn't this the first time we'd talked since that day? Feeling suffocated for some reason, I took a piece of jerky out of my pocket and chewed it.
Masticar. Mastic. Masticar.
Yes, it was a little better with some sound.
Rotmiller, who had asked to speak to me, only opened his mouth when I finished a whole piece of jerky. «...I plan to leave the team after this scan».
«Are you leaving the team?» It was abrupt, but not entirely unexpected. I had this scenario in mind. «It's my fault.»
«No, because of me.»
Hey? «What does that mean?»
«...Give me one of those.» When I handed him a piece of jerky, Rotmiller gnawed on it and continued. It was a bit of a long story. «I cannot say that the district head's proposal is irrelevant to this decision. Who am I not to be greedy? Give me a scout position in a big clan? Even though I knew it was a lie, my heart was still pounding. That was the first time I realized it was time to leave this team.
«Ah, but don't put too much pressure on yourself. Actually, it's something I'm used to. The other races... no, those with talent easily rise to the top. I've been on a lot of teams over eight years, and there have been many times where I fell behind because I couldn't keep up with them. Sometimes they kicked me out; Other times, I would go off on my own before things got worse. This is how I have survived as an explorer. But this time it wasn't easy».
«How is that?» I spoke for the first time.
Rotmiller responded with a smile. «Because I care about you. I knew it was time to leave, but I hated to admit it. So I tried to hide what happened with the district chief and participate in this expedition. I wished this trip would last, even if it was a little longer. But...» Rotmiller swallowed the slowly chewing jerky. «Everything has to come to an end at some point».
Those words left me speechless. Rotmiller looked ahead and said nothing, as if waiting for a response. Then the alarm sounded and the others began to creak one by one.
«It's time for everyone to wake up. I'm going there, so get ready too».
Rotmiller went to prepare his sleeping bag. I took the watch out of my pocket. It was 8 in the morning, time to begin the 19-day trip.
***
Rotmiller was like me in many ways. He tried not to give his affection to others, but he still experienced it. However, he made a rational decision without getting carried away by it. The only difference was that I was only doing it for myself, and this man was doing it for us.
However, it's not that I didn't have altruistic persuasions. If I kept going up with these guys, the exploration game would only end when someone died. So before that, I wanted to finish it with my own hands.
«¡Bjorn!»
To be honest, the back of my head was tingling. I didn't think Rotmiller would be thinking something like that. I was wondering how I looked. What the hell would he think when he felt my attentive gaze? Those endless questions were running through my head.
«Bjorrrn! Where has your mind gone?» Missha shook my shoulder and woke me up from my thoughts. «Stop tangling and packing».
«Ok. »
I came to my senses and joined the camp organization. Then, after meeting and having a simple meal, we went upstairs.
I'll tell him when we get back to town. The two of us are leaving anyway, so there's no need for him to leave.
My thoughts were scrambled, but I decided to focus only on exploration for now. There were still four days left. We were able to easily defeat rank 6 monsters, but the Tower in the Sky was a place where the difficulty level increased dramatically depending on the combination of enemies. I couldn't let my guard down until we got back to town.
[The test is complete].
After defeating the group of monsters, I froze in place. No, it wasn't just me.
«...All three are Stairs of Destiny». Rotmiller said.
«What are you going to do? Didn't you say they could be dangerous?» Dwalkie asked.
Wow, so this really comes to light.