After my shocking confession of not having a mother, there was an odd silence between us and surprised looks flew towards me.
"Uh, uhh.."
"Yes, I see ..."
I hastened to explain. "My mother died after giving birth to me. And my father never returned from the labyrinth when I was young. Now I'm an adult, but I can't reunite with them, even if I wanted to!"
For reference, what I said was 100% the truth, just as Ainar told it to me.
"I it..."
"It must have been hard for you as a child."
Perhaps because it was the confession of the youngest member of the team and a barbarian who had just finished his coming-of-age ceremony, a light of sympathy began to shine in the eyes that looked at me.
"Bjorn, you don't have to pretend everything is fine in front of us anymore."
"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were going through something like this, and I talked about my family..."
What was this idiot talking about? I decided not to listen to the rest of the dwarf's speech. "It's not necessary."
"Bjorn, I may not be able to become your father, but if you want..."
For some reason, I seemed to have quickly become the most pathetic one here, but… oh well. Since it wasn't true, I probably didn't need to worry. It wasn't like I didn't have a mother. Above all, I was a Munchkin barbarian who, unlike them, was progressing along the ultra-elite course, having been promoted to Rank 7 Scout in three months. The essence was what mattered most.
But doesn't that make me the most pathetic person here?
Suddenly, I started to think that this might be the case. I was drawn into a game world that wasn't part of my life plan, and I've had to face death countless times to get to this point. Damn, why was my life so miserable?
"Bjorn, your face doesn't look fat! Did you think about your mother?"
"Yes, something like that..."
"If you miss your family, you can call me sister..."
I cut off the beast woman's words before she could start up again and got straight to the point. "But what are we going to do now?"
Our first destination, the orc colony, was no longer a viable hunting ground because of those jerks. Of course, they said it was fine to stay on the outskirts, but what would be left for me if we hunted at that rate here and split it five ways?
Hikurod offered his opinion as chief. "I think it would be best to go to the Witch's Forest first."
The Witch's Forest referred to the vast woods surrounding the portal that connected to the fourth floor. The main monsters that appeared were rank 7 and 8, and among them were spirit-type monsters with physical immunity.
"Of course, the compatibility with our team isn't great since most of us are melee fighters, but since we also have a mage, it won't be too bad."
"Hmm, wouldn't it be better to go up to the fourth floor in that case?" Brown offered a new opinion.
I also thought it was a better option than Hikurod's. For most explorers, the Witch's Forest was nothing more than an area they had no choice but to traverse, because it had little merit as a hunting ground.
And it does not produce an essence that serves me.
The problem was that the dwarf didn't really like this idea. «The fourth floor is... still too early».
He also knew what worried the dwarf. The main monsters that appeared on the third floor were rank 7 and 8, and the same thing happened on the fourth. However, there was a very crucial difference between the two.
«As I have said many times during our meetings, I have seen many teams underestimate the fourth floor and then are wiped out», Hikurod explained. «Once, it was almost my own team».
The difference was the presence or absence of a rank 6 monster. Starting on the fourth floor, rank 6 monsters appeared with little chance. As for the frequency of encounters, he would walk around all day and maybe encounter one every three days, but this meant that you would inevitably encounter a rank 6 monster when you were active on the fourth floor.
To get over that chance encounter or not, that's the uncertain part.
In fact, even when he played, there were many times when he entered the fourth floor at a moderate level and saw blood. So the dwarf's comment was reasonable.
«I don't think it's too early to decide to go to the fourth floor after working together for at least a few more days», Brown counterattacked.
Despite the deep emotional exchange and increased bonds caused by this incident, this was our first expedition together. It had only been three days since we entered the maze and we still didn't know each other.
«Also, as you know, this is Dwalkie's first expedition. And Bjorn has never been on the third floor either».
In short, Hikurod's argument was that it was okay to go to the fourth floor, but not be so impatient.
«Well, then, why don't we go to another third-floor street? I think Greentail Marsh would be fine».
Missha, who had been listening to the debate apparently with a headache, offered a new opinion and was immediately silenced by Brown.
«If we had moved in that direction from the beginning, yes. But getting to Greentail Swamp from this point will take us at least six days».
The labyrinth closed at the end of the seventh day on the first floor, the tenth on the second and the fifteenth on the third. Invest another six days just to travel? Since today was already the third day, even if we left immediately, it would mean that we would only arrive six days to hunt.
«In that case, I think it would be better to go back to Iron Rock Hill».
«Back? Since I have always followed someone there, I didn't know...» At the expert's words, Missha smiled awkwardly and scratched her cheek.
I listened to their conversation to see if anything fruitful would come out, but it ended up being nothing. The time had come to finish. «How long are we going to stand talking? Enough of the talk. Everyone gather here. Let's decide what to do by majority vote».
«Majority vote?»
«Why, Brown? Do you prefer stone, paper or scissors?»
«No, that's a bit...» Brown looked at me in disgust. He was actually joking about whether there was a better option, but since he was a barbarian, sadly, no one seemed to notice.
«I am in favor of deciding by majority».
«It's simple, but it's the safest way».
«I like anything!»
In any case, we decided to resort to a vote to decide what to do next. I was the first to speak. «I think it would be better to go up to the fourth floor». I judged that starting with this would help boost public opinion a little more.
«...I'm starting to think the fourth floor is dangerous. I feel like frustrated».
«Oh, do you feel the same way, Miss Karlstein?»
No matter how they reacted, once everyone took turns saying their opinion, we quickly came to a conclusion.
«Ugh, it seems like there's no point in being stubborn against the majority».
Now we were heading to the fourth floor.
***
Despite the dwarf's concerns, he had a reason to press ahead with this decision. Of course, it came from a majority vote, but that didn't mean much. If he had judged that it was too early to enter the fourth floor, he would have kept them locked in the third, even if he had to destroy their self-esteem.
«Hmm? Suddenly he became a little quiet...»
«Now? There is still a long way to go to the Witch's Forest».
«No, it's different from that, I can't really explain it.»
Under Brown's guidance, we make our way through the darkness toward our destination. Hikurod still had a restless expression on his face.
I don't think it was like that in the Bloody Citadel, but these days he has been overly cautious.
Was it because it was his first time as head of a team he had chosen himself? It seemed that the sense of responsibility always weighed on his shoulders. He didn't really need to do that since he was just the puppet boss...
Well, since he doesn't know that I have the essence of the vampire, his actions make sense.
The dwarf didn't know my exact specifications, so moving up to the fourth floor would have made him a little nervous. Not to mention I didn't know how good the Guardian bracelet was.
«Hikurod, once we enter the Witch's Forest, use that item without holding back».
The dwarf pondered my advice, and then nodded with a look of determination. «I'll do what you say».
Guardian Wristband No. 3,112 was an advanced piece of equipment valued at 50 million stones. They say that seeing is wanting. Hikurod had asked me not to reveal the fact that I was carrying such an object to the rest of the team members.
But that doesn't make sense if you can't use it when you need it.
After all, I wasn't the owner, and right now we were filming a soap opera pledging to trust each other, right?
«That object? What thing? Why are you two having a separate conversation?» Missha demanded.
«You'll know when the time comes». I ignored Missha's curiosity and did one last check.
If the tank stats are at this level, I think a rank 6 monster is feasible. The problem is the damage line...
It seemed a little lacking just from the specs, but after hunting for a while in the orc colony, I gained some confidence. As much as the first line was solid, with these members, even a rank 6 monster wouldn't be too dangerous.
Unless suddenly someone trolled in the rear and died prematurely.
There were many NPCs like that in the game. I hoped these guys weren't like that...
Damn, I'm worrying now.
Unlike me, increasingly worried, Missha's face was shining. «I haven't been to the fourth floor in a while, so I'm excited!» I heard it was the first time he had returned to the fourth floor since the dissolution of his team a year ago. Maybe because she was a cat, I thought I heard her purring with every exhale.
Brown called: «We should start looking for a place to camp».
After advancing through the outskirts of the orc colony, it was time to take a break.
«Brown, everyone seems in good physical shape, how about we move a little more?». Hikurod suggested.
«We have to go three more hours to find a better place than this».
«Hmm, okay then».
It was around 9 pm, which almost coincided perfectly with camping time on the first and second day. To be honest, I was very impressed.
Is this what a skilled explorer looks like?
Brown would have thought carefully about the camping location based on the trajectory and would have adjusted our movement speed accordingly. Although in the maze there is no difference between night and day, it was best to have a set time for breaks.
«Brown, what's our itinerary for tomorrow?»
«We can reach the Witch's Forest at noon». Hmm, that meant we'd walk into the fourth floor the day after tomorrow. Seeing how he answered each question without damping, it was more or less a human GPS. «Bjorn, you're on the last guard, right? Since tomorrow will be a tough trip through the forest, you should get some rest».
«Use haré».
Hikurod made the first guard today and I made the last. The Witch's Forest was a very arduous place for melee warriors, so this was decided regardless of the turn order. Anyway, I was sure I would wake up once or twice during the night.
***
«Bjorn.»
I opened my eyes when I heard a whisper. I could see Brown's face under the flickering light of the torch. As he was on guard before me...
«… ¿Es my turn?»
«Not yet.»
"Then why...?" Rubbing my sleepy eyes, I stiffened. Dwalkie, Hikurod, and even Missha: everyone on the team was awake except me, and fully armed. I replied curtly, "Is it a monster?"
"It's both."
A monster and an explorer. I was about to ask them the distance when I heard an urgent cry from beyond the darkness.
"Damn it! They've followed us all the way here!"
"Run!"
They looked like explorers being chased by monsters, but Brown closed his eyes, sniffed the air and murmured briefly, "Now I know for sure."
"What do you mean?" Whenever he frowned like that, there was usually some problem, so I couldn't help but feel uneasy.
Just as I expected, he said, "The people heading towards us right now. I'm sure they're the people who were waiting for us when we arrived at Ironrock Hill."
Things were getting interesting.