"First, we need to find someone to go in with us."
"Sh-should we go to the Guild...?"
"The Guild is far too crowded right now. It'll be faster to look near the Labyrinth entrance."
The Adventurer's Guild was currently more chaotic than a marketplace. I'd checked the situation on my way to the relief shelter; trying to find an adventurer there willing to join a rescue mission would be an exercise in futility. It was better to search the Labyrinth entrance, which was also swarming with casualties and returning parties.
"I have an Aether Pocket and you have the Tracking Inung. If we explain the situation clearly, we should be able to find a party willing to cooperate."
"I... I understand. I don't really know how these things work... so I'll leave it to you, Porter."
Rien, who had been glaring at me while the Young Lady was present, had quickly shrunk into herself now that it was just the two of us. It seemed she was the type who acted bold when she had companions to lean on but became timid the moment she was alone. The more awkward they are, the easier they are to handle.
"By the way, Rien."
"Y-yes?"
"You've looked exhausted for a while now. Drink one of these."
"What is this...?"
"A tonic. It's good for emergencies, though it does have a slight side effect."
"A side effect? What kind of—oh."
"Yes. That side effect."
It was the same medicine I'd taken in the Labyrinth—the one that caused an unyielding erection. If you compared it to an energy drink from Earth, it was like a supercharged Bacchus, but with a specific quirk.
For men, the side effect was an erection. For women, if I recalled correctly, it heightened their sense of touch. It made them hypersensitive.
While it was essentially an aphrodisiac-like side effect, drinking a bottle when you were on the verge of collapse gave you the strength to keep going without passing out. In an emergency, it was a lifesaver.
'Rien has been awake for over twenty-four hours. It wouldn't be a surprise if she collapsed at any moment.'
She had just escaped the Labyrinth to save the Young Lady and me, only to turn right back around. Now, she was burning through her own life force to dive back in for the knight and the priestess. She was pushing herself too hard. Even with the side effects, she needed the medicinal boost.
"It might look sketchy, but the effects are guaranteed. It costs ten silver a bottle. I'm only suggesting it because you look like you're about to faint, and I have no other intentions. If you pass out inside the Labyrinth, who's going to carry you?"
"That's... true. I can't really argue with that... Alright."
Rien cautiously took the tonic. Enduring the side effects was far better than collapsing in a monster-infested hole. Besides, the sensation would fade in a few hours anyway.
Gulp.
Rien downed the tonic in one go. The effects of the Labyrinth City's special brew were undeniable. Her half-lidded, weary eyes snapped wide open.
"Something... my body feels hot..."
"That's the medicine working. Nothing else feels wrong, right?"
"It's... a bit ticklish? I don't know how to describe it."
Rien's face flushed slightly. She seemed to be struggling to put the sensation into words, but she looked more energized than I expected.
"Where do they sell this? The Alchemists' Guild?"
"No. A small general store I frequent. The owner is an alchemist; she makes it herself."
"What? No way... Is this an unofficial drug?!"
"Even if the recipe isn't certified, the results are. If you wanted something similar from the Alchemists' Guild, you'd pay at least thirty silver. You can buy three of these for that price."
"...You're risking your life for cost-effectiveness... drinking uncertified potions..."
"It's the reason I'm still alive."
The shop was officially named Lapnel's Atelier, a tiny hole-in-the-wall on the east side of the city. Few people visited, but the wares were top-tier. After all, they were crafted by an elf of 'unknown age.' In terms of experience, she probably outclassed the elders of the Mage Tower.
"C-could you... introduce me to her? Sometime?"
"Huh? Oh. Sure, I suppose."
Just a moment ago, she was judging me for using 'unofficial' products, and now she wanted an introduction. I'd planned to cut ties with her after this job, but we kept getting entangled. Was I being too cold?
"For now, let's focus on finding party members."
"Okay... I understand."
Before heading back in, we needed to find adventurers of at least intermediate rank. I was just a porter with minimal combat ability, and Rien was in no condition to do anything but guide us.
The problem was that most capable adventurers had already been mobilized by the Guild for official rescue operations. Those remaining at the entrance were either survivors who had just escaped or those too traumatized to move. Anyone thinking rationally would have headed to the shelters.
However, if we could find someone with a lingering attachment to the Labyrinth—someone who had lost something—we might be able to strike a deal.
"Are you planning to enter the Sewers?" I asked a nearby group.
"No... We're finished... It's over... Damn it... I just want to die..."
"I see."
There were plenty of broken spirits. The entrance was packed, but few were willing to head back into the Sewer District. Most rescue teams were already inside, and finding fresh recruits was like trying to pluck a star from the sky. Moreover, many here were exhibiting signs of mental collapse. Taking someone unstable into the Labyrinth was a suicide mission.
'Damn it. There's no time.'
As expected, assembling a team on the fly was proving difficult. Should I wait for a returning rescue team? I could try to hitch a ride with one heading back in, but there was no telling when that would be. Every second wasted was a second the knight and priestess didn't have.
Just as I was about to offer a massive bounty, someone spoke up.
"Wait. Do you really have an Aether Pocket?"
It was a slumped adventurer—a blonde warrior with a hollow look in his eyes. He looked despairing, but he wasn't broken yet. He was still grounded in reality.
"Yes. I have an Aether Pocket. And my companion here has a Tracking Inung."
"Can you... carry corpses in that pocket?"
"Of course."
"And can that Inung pinpoint the location of the dead?"
"It... it should be possible," Rien stammered.
"Good. I'll go down with you to find your people. In exchange... you help us enter the Underground City to retrieve the bodies of my party. If you agree, we go right now."
He was a Silver-rank adventurer. While not as powerful as the Gold-ranks who delved into the deep abyss, a Silver-rank was more than capable of navigating the Underground City. He could handle the upper levels with ease.
The problem was his condition.
'The Underground City? That's insane.'
It was impossible today. Rien and I were at our limits.
"We can't go to the Underground City today," I said firmly. "Both the witch and I are exhausted. She's only undergone Mana Adaptation once; the Underground City would kill her in her current state."
"Is that so..." The man went quiet, contemplating. Finally, he sighed. "Fine. It doesn't have to be today. Tomorrow is fine. The important thing is that we get the bodies back."
If it was tomorrow, it was a deal worth taking. Retrieving corpses with an experienced guide was a straightforward task. By tomorrow, the chaos would have subsided, and we could even hire more help. Plus, successfully recovering bodies from the 5th floor would significantly boost my reputation with the Guild.
"We don't even need the Tracking Inung for my part," the warrior added, rubbing his face. "I know where they are. I just couldn't bring them out. I need the Aether Pocket. There are six of them... it's impossible for just me and my friend to carry them all. The official rescue teams won't help with corpse transport."
"Understood. If you help us today, we will help you retrieve your comrades tomorrow."
"Deal."
It was a fair trade. I could even scavenge some monster parts or other loot while we were down there tomorrow. Besides, the reward the Young Lady promised would more than cover the expenses.
"Only two of us survived," the warrior said. "I'm Rohan, a warrior. This is Hachi, a monk. The two of us are enough for the upper levels."
Hachi was a bald man with squinted eyes who looked like he'd seen his fair share of trouble. They didn't have a healer, but we had enough supplies to make do for a quick rescue.
"Let's move. Before it's too late."
The four of us stepped back into the Labyrinth. The deep, familiar darkness swallowed us whole.
*
"Rika. Rika, please answer me. Rika...?"
Erika, the priestess, desperately called out to her companion.
There was no reply. Only a heavy, suffocating silence.
The scent of death was thick in the air. The metallic tang of blood stung her nose, yet she called out again, her voice trembling.
"Rika. Please... answer me. Don't leave me alone. Please."
The knight remained still. She was already a cold corpse.
"Ah... Ahhh..."
Erika collapsed into despair. Her faith wavered; the light in her heart flickered on the verge of extinguishing. Hope had long since vanished, replaced by a creeping, oily darkness.
The Labyrinth's malice began to coil around her. Miasma filled her lungs, whispering to her soul. It told her to give up. It told her that no goddess was listening.
[There is no salvation here.]
The whispers urged her to let go and become one with the Labyrinth.
"No. No... it's not true. No!"
Erika buried her face in her hands. She had failed to save the knight. The guilt of surviving while doing nothing filled her with a paralyzing self-loathing. Her mind was fracturing.
Was her divine power too weak? Was her faith insufficient?
She begged for mercy. She pleaded for a miracle from a deity that seemed a world away.
But something else was listening.
Drawn by the scent of fresh blood and the aura of death, things were approaching. If she stayed here any longer, the monsters would swarm.
This was the 4th floor—the Sewer District. It was a place infamous for its low corpse-recovery rate. If a party was wiped out here, resurrection was usually impossible because there would be nothing left to bring back. Rats, slimes, and necrophagous insects would tear the bodies apart within minutes.
Erika wept silently. Resurrection wasn't an absolute miracle; it was a crude process of tethering a soul back to a relatively intact vessel. If the body was devoured, Rika would be gone forever.
"Please, Goddess... grant us salvation..."
Erika was too weak to even cast a simple Holy Light. In the pitch-black tunnels, she couldn't even see the face of her fallen friend. The porter had been the one carrying the torches. Without light, there was no hope—only the slow suffocation of miasma poisoning or a violent end.
Her breath hitched.
Rattle! Rattle!
The door to the small room where they were hiding began to shake.
They were here. The scavengers had found them.
"Ah..."
Fear paralyzed the priestess. She mustered the last of her strength to offer one final, desperate prayer.
The door burst open. The shadows from the corridor surged inside.