Chapter 166
A layer where the limit is gradually reached at the team level and clan-scale hunting is performed smoothly.
As soon as I entered there, my heart was pounding.
Not a description, really.
“Huh? Bjorn, did you feel it too? It seems that the level of the soul has risen!”
Einar dropped Yunan right away, but he didn’t level up.
It only increased the spirit power.
「Achievement achievement」
Condition: Reach the 5th floor.
Reward: Permanently increases Spirit Power by +20.
But if this is the case, are all other achievements that have met the conditions broken?
I think so, but I’m not sure.
You should be able to see the stat window.
Mental strength is not a stat that can be felt.
“Calm down Mr. Einar. It’s not a promotion, it’s a phenomenon called baptism.”
Anyway, Raven, who likes explanations, kindly informed Einar instead of me.
It is also easy to understand at eye level.
“The labyrinth bestows blessings on explorers who have reached this point. Baptism is generally known as such. Wizards have a slightly different opinion.”
“Oh yes! Something romantic!”
Einar, who likes superstition, never asked about the thoughts of wizards. But did Misha, who was listening, arouse curiosity?
“Then isn’t it meaningless for wizards who can’t eat essence to be baptized?”
“No. Our mana increases. Looking at it now, the amount is significant. If I had known this would happen, I would have come a long time ago as the seniors said.”
“Yeah, that’s right…”
Misha blurted out.
But somehow, I felt like I knew what he was thinking.
It must have reminded me of Dwalki, who always lacked magical power.
“Ah, I heard priests increase their holy power. And if I can tell you one more thing—”
I cut off my words before Raven’s explanation became endlessly long.
“Isn’t there something weirder than that?”
“yes?”
Raven tilted his head as if he didn’t understand the meaning.
On the other hand, Mr. Bear, who had been to the 5th floor often, nodded in agreement with what I said.
“There are a lot of people. It’s not like this originally.”
Yeah, that’s not a common case either.
I gulped and looked around.
The starting point of the 5th floor is the safe zone.
So this place always looks like a campsite.
But…
‘Why are there so many tents?’
At this point, it is almost the size of a village.
Not only that, but looking at the flags planted here and there, more than half of them seem to be explorers belonging to a clan…
‘What? Why are they staying here?’
Most of the explorers who use this place as a base are team units.
Is it supposed to be some kind of expedient?
Clans with a large number of people camped out on their own even in the middle of the 5th floor.
By the way…
“It seems like everyone is staring at us……. Are you okay?”
5th floor explorer.
An explorer of such a level that he even belongs to a clan.
They look at us from afar and giggle.
It’s not like I’m trying to be rude.
What is it really?
It was time to think about the reason.
“hey!”
A man from far away waved his hand and approached me quickly.
“Abman! Is that you?”
“…… Karal?”
“Nice to meet you. Looks like you’ve finally changed your mind and saved the team, right?”
“How did you come across a fate. Anyway, are you still there?”
“Aren’t men loyal? You have to bury the bones.”
Mr. Bear greets you as if you are quite close.
Realizing my gaze, I added an explanation.
“Ah, this is Karal Larveger. He was a colleague. Until he abandoned me and entered the clan by himself.”
“When did I abandon you? I begged you to go with me, but wasn’t it you who ignored me?”
Looking at Mr. Bear, who uses a lighter tone than when he was talking to us, it seems that we are close friends.
It just went well.
“I am Bjorn, the son of Yandel.”
“…Oh, you?”
Karal’s eyes look intrigued as if he’s heard the nickname “Little Vulcan”.
“I heard that it hasn’t even been a year yet, but I’ve already come this far……. For some reason, I feel so shabby today.”
“I was just lucky. More than that, I want to ask you one thing.”
“I think you know what you’re curious about. Why do you want to know why we’re still here when we should be heading upwards?”
Well, to be precise, I was most curious about why he was staring at me from a distance, but…….
I just nodded.
“It’s simple. Even for us, more than half of the people who were supposed to join didn’t come up. So the whole schedule was put on hold.”
Half of them didn’t come up?
How could that be?
It was a car that intuitively felt the seriousness of the situation.
“So I’ll ask.”
Karal asked cautiously.
And something completely unexpected came out.
“Did you guys get attacked on the 4th floor too?”
That masked bastard……
It wasn’t just us.
***
After thinking for a while, I answered honestly that I had been attacked.
Karal then asked a few questions about the situation, and we answered honestly and got the information we needed.
“Yes, I found it with the detection magic……”
“It was purely coincidental. When I first turned the detection magic, nothing came out.”
Afterwards, when his identity was discovered, Karal’s expression became serious when he told him that the masked man had chosen to commit suicide.
“What’s wrong with killing yourself…”
“Is there anyone who can figure it out?”
“It’s just that it’s still thoroughly planned. Anyway, thank you for telling me. If you find out anything… I’ll give you the news through Abman.”
Karal soon left to report the news to the clan.
So we also had a little chat time.
“…… After all, he wasn’t just a looter.”
There were several masked men.
And he inflicted indiscriminate terror on the explorers on the 4th floor or higher. We were the third team to survive being attacked?
I’m sure you won’t understand.
There are no people who set up vigils even in the Tower of Heaven.
“We were really lucky, Geogunang…….”
Those who actually survived said that their teammates died or were seriously injured and managed to get rid of the masked man.
We were the first to discover a case in advance and drive it to suicide.
The gaze directed at us is now understandable.
At first, they must have looked at it expecting to be a member of their own team that they had been waiting for. Then you’d wonder if we’d been attacked too.
“Mr. Yandel, is it true what he said earlier? That at least 300 people were killed in this raid…” ”
Well, the exact answer will be known only when we return to the city. We survived, but the searchers and guides died. There must be some people who stayed on the 4th floor.”
“Oh, that’s right…”
Of course, he said that, but it didn’t mean much.
It’s certain that hundreds of explorers have died.
It wasn’t low-level explorers who hunted on the first and second floors, but veteran explorers who had climbed the tower for decades.
“Whoa…….”
I felt a little relieved even though I felt afraid of this huge ember.
Still, the dragon slayer didn’t send it.
I even had a delusion that it might be the regional chief or an assassin sent by the Yongin tribe.
“What the hell kind of liver guys did such an outrageous thing…….”
I saved my words at this point.
Information that the royal family is planning to subjugate Noark has not yet been announced.
‘As expected, this is like a declaration of war against him.’
I was sure in my heart
The culprits of this terror are the explorers of Noark.
‘This must be a big deal.’
a headache creeps in
A war will break out between the royal family and Noark.
No, it’s safe to say that it’s already happened.
However, the biggest problem here is…
‘when the subjugation ends in failure.’
When Noark locks the door and the war prolongs.
Then I got fucked too.
The next battlefield will surely be a labyrinth.
‘Whether it’s Noark or Lapdonia, we need magic stones to maintain the city.’
Nimiral.
Why was I drawn into the game at a time like this? If I had come a year earlier, I would have had more time to prepare.
‘Uh…… But if I hadn’t delivered the high priest’s grandfather’s letter to the temple, wouldn’t the war have happened?’
I had a sudden thought, but I brushed it off.
why is this my fault
It’s all the dragon slayer’s fault.
Originally, all three major religions were putting in neutral gear to keep the royal family in check. So, who wants to kidnap the High Priestess and use her as a slave?
“Bjorn?”
“Oh, I thought about it for a second.”
“So what are you going to do now?”
When I finished thinking, everyone on the team was looking at me. That’s because they still see it as simple terrorism.
It won’t be as complicated as mine.
“There is no change in the schedule. Resume exploration.”
Soon I made my decision, and Raven cautiously expressed his concern.
“Those guys are in the labyrinth, will it be okay?”
“It’ll be fine. With the clan gathered like this, if you have an idea, you won’t be able to do anything here.”
Rather, now is the safest.
Next month, even on the 5th floor, the cubs of the tunnel may be able to open their arms…
Maybe the labyrinth entry ” Now
, let’s stop thinking about it and let’s go make money.”
After the 30th day, the 5th floor will be closed, so you have to earn money.
You may be taking a break for the next few
months .
It’s simple. Just think of a flat rock in the
shape of a tray and then imagine a slide
that extends into four branches. The problem is that the slide is divided into dozens of branches and breaks in the middle to connect to another road. As soon as we got out of the starting point, which was lit up with
red
lights like a butcher’s shop, the darkness and heat of the
labyrinth
welcomed us
. The character has entered a special area.」
「Field effect – Hellfire Gorge is granted.」
「Abnormal status [Ember Brand] is applied.」
「All consumption values increase by 1.5 times and fire resistance decreases by -30. ”
All consumption values.
To put it simply, it means that you consume 1.5 times more than usual, whether it’s soul power, magic power, divine power, or energy. It’s
not bad though.
Compared to other routes, this much is a nobleman.
“Arua Raven grants 8 ranks . The magic [Cold-Blooded] has been cast.”
“The character’s fire resistance is greatly increased.”
The magic of cold energy seeps into the blood vessels, and the overheated body cools down. In
that state, we slowly continued our exploration.
I didn’t get to meet them, but I felt more stress just walking than I thought.
‘This isn’t even a bridge.’
A road about 10m wide.
The darkness of the labyrinth blocking the view.
And the cliff emitting strong heat.
“Stop looking down at
Einar .
” I heard lava flows.”
“Lava? What is that?” “It’s hard
to explain…”
Raven answered Einar’s curiosity again.
In terms of noodles, it seems that porridge suits them well.’
As a team leader, it was a pleasing sight, but I couldn’t just watch it.
”
Stop bothering Einar Raven and look straight ahead.”
I came out and took out my notebook and drew a map ignoring the laws of measurement. I
have no intention of continuing the exploration by gnawing around using the safe zone as a base, but… I
decided that I should be able to return in case something happens.
That’s how it is . It was the moment when we passed three crossroads and realized the greatness of Rotmiller.
Kwaaang-!
The ground shook with the sound of an explosion.
Soon, a rising column of fire passed us by.
And…
a
small ember . ” It’s
an Ifrit
.
”
.Ifrit is a spirit resident, so he is immune to physical damage.
“Cold damage is added to the character’s weapon.”
Frosty light over the
mace .
It
‘s
the mace that shattered the troll’s shoulder with a single blow, but Ifrit doesn’t budge. That’s
why I don’t like spirit stays.
It might be a ‘property conversion’ magic that changes physical force to another attribute of the same class. ‘Grant cold’ is added Because it can only deal as much damage as the amount of damage.
“Iceir Farist.”
Raven’s 6th grade curse magic, ‘Quick Freeze.’
And Misha’s [Ice Crushing] combo.
In the end, this battle is a composition where Misha and Raven carry while I endure. 「 You
have killed Ifrit. EXP +5」
Mr. Bear summoned Cheolwoong to assist the tanker, but Einar just watched.
It was the fate of a physical warrior.
Degururu.
The magic stone fell where Ifrit disappeared.
didn’t come out,
but instead,
“The character’s level has risen.”
“Soul power has risen by +10.”
“The maximum absorbable essence has increased by +1.
”
I don’t think this will be meaningful unless the integer comes out.
[Keeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee of of course]
Then, there is only one monster left.
A beast of flame that has lost its precious comrades roars as it sees us.
It was that instant.
“……Is this Ifrit?”
A group of 5 explorers appeared from the other side. They seemed to be heading to a safe zone after hunting
.
“Just looking at it, it will take more than five minutes.”
“Oh, I’m tired, but we’ll just catch it, right?”
A huge ball of water fell from the sky and soaked Ifrit’s body.
A fire that quickly extinguished.
“What is this—”
Before I could say anything, another arrow shot through Ifrit’s head.
Shaaaaaaa.
The last one disappears as light.
After confirming that he had left the world, I let out a big sigh.
“… Jeongsudang!”
The essence of a 5th grade monster came out.
‘Nimiral.’
I’m really dumbfounded
Why only when it’s like this?