n a darkness without a hint of light, Raven cast sphere of light magic. «Leait». Before I was blinded, I reflexively closed my eyes. Raven asked: «Mr. Yandel, what are you doing?».
When I opened one eye, the sphere of light emitted a faint and subtle glow, different from usual.
Oh, so you can also adjust the brightness.
«Nothing».
As I put my shame behind me and looked around, Raven scolded me. «Anyway, if you are going to do something like that, please tell me in advance. You surprised me».
«Yeah. What if security comes to arrest us when we leave?».
«Then we can pay the fine».
«Don't think you're going to pay with-»
«It was because of the team».
When I cut it, Raven let out a deep sigh, but said nothing more. I wasn't exactly wrong either, and that wasn't the important thing now.
«Isn't it strange? We are already in a dark area».
«It's not just a dark area. See that?» Raven pointed a headstone on the side of the wall at Mr. Bear.
Time to get into the main topic of the conversation. «It's a tombstone from the ground. Do you know how it happened?»
«I think it is a phenomenon of dimensional instability».
«...What is that?»
«After all, a portal is a type of dimensional magic. I have heard this can happen sometimes. It is caused by an error that occurs when the start coordinates are recorded.»
«So... is it just a coincidence?»
«Well, there is an observational record that suggests the possibility of dimensional instability increasing just before the portal disappears».
I think it's the same book I read.
My mouth was itchy to speak, but I kept quiet. Since this one was going to explain everything anyway, there was no reason to step forward and raise suspicions.
«Bjorn, this is it...» I gave her a look and Missha fell silent. Just in case Ainar had a slip of the tongue, I stood next to him. Well, that matter was resolved.
«Hmm, so you're saying this happened because we managed to get in at the end?». The corners of Mr. Bear's mouth rose slightly. As an explorer, you seemed to have realized the tricky nature of the experience point copying bug.
However, Raven shook her head. «That's a bit ambiguous».
Hey? What thing?
I impatiently joined the conversation. «Ambiguous? What do you mean?»
«Even if the coordinates were incorrectly recorded, we would not have landed like this in the outermost part. If we had, why would anyone come in sooner?».
Hmm, that was true. Actually, I was wondering that too. Dimensional instability was surprisingly well known to many people. Why wasn't anyone using this free-loading bug?
«The phenomenon of dimensional instability became known 130 years ago. At that time, there was a big problem that occurred in the dimensional magic circle so its frequency increased exponentially.»
«AND?»
«The magic tower repaired the magic circle on behalf of the palace. After stabilization, the phenomenon rarely occurred again.»
Simply put, the XP bug would not have been usable for the next hundred years after that. «So how did this happen?»
«... Maybe it's time for another repair?» Raven came up with a plausible hypothesis and carefully added a suggestion. «That's why I think we should keep this a secret».
«In more detail».
«I don't think anyone knows that there is a problem with the dimensional magic circle. However, as time goes on and the phenomenon worsens, other explorers will experience it as well.»
Mr. Bear listened silently and nodded. «You mean we should use it exclusively until they find out».
«Yeah. It will reduce exploration time and accumulate achievement points, isn't it great?».
I joined. «Wait, I thought achievement points didn't matter to magicians». Wizards couldn't absorb essences, so XP was of no use to them. Why was she being so proactive?
Raven smiled and replied: «I'm personally interested». The same goes for that stone on the ground that no one has touched yet. In that sense, can I open it?».
«Do what you want».
Permission granted, Raven touched the tombstone.
Whooooom!
A portal was opened that radiated light in five colors. Raven closed her eyes as if to focus on the flow of mana in the air and the sensation at her fingertips. Then he murmured: «It's a very strange feeling». It was a sensation she would never know as a barbarian with zero innate mana. However, even I felt one thing for sure.
[The portal has been opened for the first time. EXP+2.]
Yes, this was it, this feeling of freeloading.
[You have entered the Lair of Beasts on the second floor.]
[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]
We went back to the first floor after trying that. The Lair of Beasts was useless to us. Since there were so many forks in the way, without a Rotmiller level scout, it would only set us back.
Even Rotmiller said it was better to give up the lair.
With a guide, it's not like we couldn't find our way. But while there was a faster route, there was no reason to stop by this place.
«Then let's get going».
I took out my compass and held it in one hand as I led the way. First, we leave the dark area and head northwest. There weren't too many times we ended up lost. For what it's worth, Rotmiller taught me very well how to orient myself on the first floor. Of course, he wasn't an expert yet.
«Abman, where is the portal?»
«Over there.»
«So we just have to go north from now on.»
Because there was a guide on the team, it was possible to follow the optimal route with just a compass. In other words, I was making up for my inexperience with a cheating key.
Around three hours of exploration, as we moved from one suburb to another, some people appeared for the first time: a knight with the coat of arms of the royal family engraved on his chest and four soldiers. The gentleman stopped us and asked dryly: «Do you have an identification badge?».
It was evident that they had already fought a battle because their weapons and armor were splattered with blood. It wasn't monster blood. There were no monsters on the first floor bleeding red.
«I'll ask you one last time. Identification tag?»
«Ah, here it is. You guys get yours too».
Hesitating for a moment at the knight's intimidation, we took out the labels we had received in the city. Then the gentleman made his way to let us pass with some advice as well. «Be careful not to have it stolen. Some smart ones are already after them».
I see. Well, they weren't idiots. They would know it was the only way to survive. As I passed by, I asked him something I was curious about. «Is there a way to identify stolen tags?»
«No.»
«Then why don't you doubt us?»
Did my question bother you? The gentleman frowned slightly, but still answered the question. «Blood».
«What?»
«If it was stolen, it would have been stained with human blood. Above all, I know your face. I am a knight of Count Ferdehilt».
Oh, he saw me at the banquet. Anyway, he didn't know what that count was up to. He sinisterly told me that he would call me when things were ready, but there had been no contact yet. Well, no news was good news for me.
«Hmm, it's certainly nice to have a celebrity on the team», Raven said.
«Don't joke».
«Excuse me? I'm not kidding».
Ugh, did he think I was a real barbarian or something? «Erase that smile, then.»
«...Geez, so fast.»
«Anyway, let's speed up from now on. Let me know if you're tired.»
«What are you going to do if we are?»
«Ainar will take you.»
«Hey? I?»
Both Ainar and Raven seemed upset, but it couldn't be helped. We had to move as quickly as possible to meet fewer people.
About thirty minutes after accelerating, the magician Papa Raven chose to abandon her face and let herself go. «...Miss Ainar. Please take me».
Fortunately, the speed went up more after that. Bored of just being carried away, Raven began massaging Ainar here and there.
«Don't touch me!»
«Wow, Miss Ainar. His body is softer than I thought».
«...Are you kidding me?! If so, then get off!» Ainar became scared and agitated. Just as I was about to scold Raven, I saw something blocking my path and stopped.
«Bjorrrn, why did you stop?»
«They are corpses».
There were five bodies in total, four men and one woman. They had all their equipment taken away, so they were practically naked, and the bleeding showed that they had been dead for quite some time.
«Miss Ainar, may I come down?» Raven got out of the carriage and inspected the bodies as well. «It doesn't look like a gentleman did it».
«Your base?»
«The wounds. One with a blunt weapon, another with an arrow. The rest were burned. I don't think it's magic. It must be a special skill».
A knight used a sword, because it was the best weapon to use an aura. But without sword wounds...
«Maybe they are Noark explorers? Another explorer could have shot them down because they were unlabeled».
Raven smiled bitterly at Missha's words. «Or it could be the opposite».
«The opposite?»
Mr. Bear responded: «The gentleman told us before. These explorers could have been targeted by their tags».
«Oh...»
«Furthermore, they left their faces unrecognizable. Normally, that's not necessary, right?».
Of course, we couldn't know what the truth was. This corpse alarmed us all. I had to do it, because these were explorers who arrived outside the first floor at this early hour. They must have been able to run fast, but within hours of the maze opening, they were killed.
«...We really have to be careful».
«Yandel, it looks like these bastards went to the Goblin Forest. Shouldn't we go somewhere else?»
«There will be no difference.»
«Well, that's true.»
In the end, we headed to the Goblin Forest without any change in schedule. How much time passed? We arrived at the second floor portal at 6:47 AM, incomparably earlier than our previous exploration. Even compared to the attempted attack in Rotmiller's time, it was only a thirty-minute difference.
«Mr. Yandel, you can be a real explorer now».
«Nyaha, a barbarian explorer? Nobody will believe this!»
«Bjorn is the hope of the barbarians!»
Everyone showered me with compliments after checking the time, but this was not a result of my ability. This exploration had a different starting point. Since we moved from the outskirts to the outskirts, it was bound to save a lot of time. «...Anyway, let's go up». I discarded it and stood in front of the portal.
«You're embarrassed».
«Yes, yes, you are». Abman and Misha mocked.
Yes of course.
***
[You have entered the Goblin Forest on the second floor.]
[You have entered the Pilgrim's Way on the third floor.]
[You have entered the Tower in Heaven on the fourth floor.]
***
On the morning of the seventh day, one day faster than with Rotmiller, we reached the fourth floor.
At this rate, we could be in first place.
This was the result of combining guiding skill with my rapid maneuvering growth. In fact, we rarely crossed paths with scouts, only two large-scale clans and maybe ten teams. Every time we separated, after showing each other our labels, we raised our weapons. The atmosphere in the maze had become truly terrifying.
«Raven, what's the result?»
«None.»
As soon as we got past the first phase, he spent about an hour doing search magic, aware of the masked assailant incident.
Geez, look what that bastard is making us do.
The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became, but what could I do? We had to take care of ourselves, given the current state of things.
[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]
The first staircase was none other than that of Wisdom, a labyrinth full of traps and monsters. I received the most Rotmiller training in this field, so my clearance time was reduced by about forty minutes.
«Raven, how long did it take you?».
«One hour and fifty-eight minutes».
Considering it took five hours the first time, it was ridiculously fast.
[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]
[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]
[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]
[You have chosen the Staircase of Valor.]
[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]
[You have chosen the Staircase of Valor.]
Even after that, we continued to pass tests and focused on increasing the number of floors.
Stage twenty-seven on the first day...
We actually managed to clear a quarter of the tower in a single day. This speed would have been impossible if the Ladder of Wisdom had not appeared several times in a row.
«It's a little early, but let's rest early today».
The Staircase of Courage that we cleared at the end only opened the next door after four hours of waiting, so we just prepared the camp.
«What do we do with the night guard?»
«I don't think it's necessary».
There was no night surveillance. Having used detection magic periodically throughout the day, no other scouts were found.
«Well, even if someone is hiding here, a night watch doesn't make sense. Detection magic doesn't even work, so what would change that, right?»
«That's just what I was going to say».
«So we eat before going to sleep?»
«Clear.»
Everyone gathered for a quick meal, headed to their sleeping bags, and went to bed. A comfortable bed could only be had on the fourth floor. At least, that should have been the case.
Damn.
Maybe it was because of the masked assailant incident, but sleep did not come easily. In the end, I could only close my eyes after tossing and turning in bed for a while. But it didn't take me long to wake up.
Ddddddd!
Vibrations transmitted from the ground under my back. The entire tower trembled weakly. I got up quickly. There was only one thing in the maze that caused this phenomenon.
«Mr. Yandel, this is it...»
«Yes, that's how you think.»
A crack had opened in the fourth floor.