The fifth floor of the Great Demon Realm was where you slowly reached the limits of a team and where clan-scale hunting unfolded more fluidly. As soon as I set foot in that place, my heart pounded, not metaphorically but actually.
«Hey? Bjorn, have you felt it too? I think my dignity of soul has risen». Ainar made a fuss right away, but it wasn't a level up, just an increase in soul power.
[Achievement
Condition: Reach the fifth floor.
Reward: Soul power permanently increases +20.]
If this happened, did it mean that all the achievements we had achieved so far had been broken? It seemed likely, but I couldn't be sure. He couldn't see the status window, nor was soul power a statistic that could be felt.
Anyway, Raven, who liked to explain things, kindly explained it to Ainar making it easy enough for her to understand. «Calm down, Miss Ainar. This is not an ascent, but a phenomenon called baptism, a blessing that the labyrinth grants to explorers who reach this point. This is how baptism is generally known. However, magicians think differently».
«Oh, I see! It's something romantic». Ainar, who liked superstitious things, did not ask a single question about what the magicians thought.
However, Missha began to ask herself questions upon hearing this. «Isn't a baptism meaningless for magicians who cannot eat an essence?».
«No. Instead, our mana increases. Now that I see it, the amount is quite significant. If I had known that was the case, I would have listened to the others and come sooner».
«Oh, I see...» Missha interrupted herself, but somehow I felt like I knew what she was thinking. He must have remembered Dwalkie, who always lacked mana.
«I have heard that priests gain more divine power. And to add something else...»
I interrupted her before the explanation became endless. «But don't you feel something strange?»
«Excuse me?» Raven tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
On the other hand, Mr. Bear, who had been on the fifth floor often, nodded his head. «There are many people. It's not usually like that».
Yeah, so it wasn't a common case. I looked around and swallowed. The starting point of the fifth floor of the Great Demon Realm was a safe area, which is why this place always looked like a camp.
But why are there so many stores?
At this point, it was the size of a town. Not only that, but looking at the flags planted here and there, more than half were scouts belonging to a clan.
What is this? Why do they stay here?
Most of the scouts who used this place as a base were in team units. It was something convenient. Clans with large numbers of people camped on their own even in the middle of the fifth floor quite well.
«Bjorn, it seems like everyone is watching us... Okay?»
The scouts on the fifth floor, those skilled enough to belong to a clan, watched us from afar and whispered among themselves. It couldn't just be because they were being cold to the rookies. Seriously, what the hell was this? I was trying to find out.
«Hey!» A man in the distance waved his hand and quickly approached. «Abman! It's you, right?»
«...Karal?»
«Glad to see you. I see you've finally changed your mind and found yourself a team...»
«It just happened. Are you still working there?»
«A man has nothing without loyalty, right? I need to dedicate myself».
Mr. Bear greeted the man, who seemed to have a rather cordial relationship with him. He soon noticed my look and explained: «Ah, this is Karal Larveger. He was a colleague. Until he abandoned me and joined a clan on his own».
«Did he abandon you? I begged him to come with me, but he ignored me». Seeing how Mr. Bear spoke in a lighter tone with him than with us, it seemed that they were quite close. That was good.
«Bjorn, son of Yandel».
«...Ohhh, is that you?» I guess he had heard of my nickname Little Balkan because his eyes seemed intrigued. «I heard it hasn't been a whole year for you yet, but you're here. I'm starting to feel a little bad».
«I've just been lucky. But there is one thing I want to ask you».
«I think I know why you're curious. You want to know why we're still here when we should be going up».
Well, to be precise, I was curious why they were watching us from afar. I nodded for now.
«It's very simple. More than half of the people who were supposed to join have not succeeded. The schedule has been interrupted somewhat».
Half didn't arrive? How could it be? I sensed the seriousness of the situation.
«So, I want to ask», Karal began cautiously and said something completely unexpected. «Were you also attacked on the fourth floor?».
The masked bastard... They weren't just going after us.
After thinking about it for a second, I answered honestly that we had been attacked. Karal asked some questions about what had happened and we answered honestly to get the necessary information.
«Right, so you discovered them through detection magic...»
«It was pure coincidence. When I first used detection magic, nothing came of it».
Later, when we told him that the masked assailant had committed suicide when they were caught, Karal's face hardened. «Ha, suicide, huh?».
«Do you have any idea who it could have been?».
«Only it was carefully planned. Anyway, thanks for telling me. If I find out anything... I'll break the news through Abman». Shortly after, Karal left to report the news to his clan.
We also took time to chat a little. «...He wasn't just a looter after all.»
There was more than one masked assailant, and they committed acts of terror against the explorers on the fourth floor without discrimination. Apparently we were the third team to survive the ambush and go up. It's not that I didn't understand it. No one stands night guard at the Tower in Heaven.
«So we were very lucky...»
Apparently, those who survived barely managed to get rid of the assailants after the death or serious injuries of a teammate. We were the first team to discover them in advance and drive them to suicide. Now I could understand the looks they were giving us. At first, they would have watched their long-awaited teammates expectantly. Then they would have been curious to know if they had attacked us too.
«Mr. Yandel, will your words be true? That at least three hundred people would have died from these ambushes...»
«Well, we'll know for sure back in town. They may have survived, but stayed on the fourth floor because their explorer or guide was killed.»
«Ah, right...»
Of course, my words didn't mean much. It was certain that hundreds of scouts had died, not low-level scouts hunting on the first and second floors, but veteran scouts who had climbed the tower for several decades.
«Ugh...»
Although this giant ember scared me, it almost made me feel relieved. At least the dragon slayer hadn't sent them. I even had the illusion that it could have been an assassin sent by the district chief or the dragon tribe.
«What bunch of cheeky bastards could have planned something so outrageous?».
I started saving my words at this point. Information about Noark's actual subjugation had not yet been announced.
I guess this is kind of a declaration of war against that.
I was sure in my mind that the authors of this terror were Noark explorers.
This is going to explode.
I got a headache. A war would break out between the palace and Noark. No, it had more or less already started. But the biggest problem would come if the conquest failed, if Noark closed the doors and the war dragged on.
Then I'd be screwed. Because the next battlefield after that would surely be the labyrinth.
Noark or Rafdonia, need mana stones to maintain the city.
Damn. Why was I attracted to the game at a time like this? If I had come at least a year early, I would have had more time to prepare.
So if he hadn't delivered the letter to the priest grandfather, would that mean there wouldn't have been war?
The idea came to mind, but I threw it away. Why was it my fault? It was all the fault of that dragon-hunting scum. Originally, all three religions were in neutral positions to keep the palace under control. No one forced him to kidnap the high priest and use him as his slave.
«Bjorn?» Missha called me.
«Oh, I was thinking of something».
«So what are you going to do now?»
When I finished my thoughts, everyone was looking at me. That was because these guys saw this as a simple terrorist attack. Their heads weren't as complicated as mine. «There are no changes to the program. Resume exploration».
I soon made up my mind, and Raven cautiously expressed her concern. «Even if there are people like that in the maze?»
«Everything will be fine. There are many clans here. If they have brains, they won't be able to do anything here».
Rather, this was the safest time. Next month, the mole bastards could also be running around the fifth floor. It was also possible that entering the maze was prohibited.
«Now, stop thinking and let's make money».
The fifth floor would close after the 30th, so we had a lot to do before. It was not known how long we would be out of work.
***
The fifth floor structure of the Great Demon Realm was simple. Think of a flat, tray-shaped rock and slides that extend in four directions. The problem was that this slide was divided into dozens of branches, and some were cut in the middle or connected to another path.
Yupi.
As we left the starting point, illuminated in red like a butcher shop, the darkness and warmth of the labyrinth welcomed us. Not all four paths were like this. This was the characteristic of the route we chose.
[You have entered a special area. The Hellfire Gorge Field Effect is granted. The Ember Mark status abnormality is added. All consumption values increase 1.5 times, and flame resistance decreases -30.]
All consumption values: Simply put, soul power, mana, divine power, and energy were consumed 1.5 times faster than normal. But it wasn't bad. Compared to the other routes, this was generous.
[Arua Raven has cast rank 8 Cold Blood bestowal magic. Your flame resistance has been greatly increased].
As cold mana seeped into the bloodstream, our heated bodies cooled. In that state, we slowly continued our exploration. We hadn't encountered any monsters yet, but just walking was more stressful than I thought.
Walking through clouds wouldn't be so bad.
The road was about ten meters wide. The darkness of the labyrinth obstructed the view, and an abyss emitted strong heat.
«Ainar, stop looking down».
«I was wondering what's downstairs...»
«I heard lava flowing there».
«Wash? What is that?»
«Uh, it's hard to explain...» Raven responded faithfully to Ainar's curiosity. Ainar frowned every time a difficult word appeared, but he continued to listen seriously.
In this aspect, they fit in with each other.
It was a pretty nice sight to watch as a crew chief, but I couldn't sit idly by. «Ainar, stop bothering Raven and look ahead».
«Okay!»
I squeezed my nerves loosening as we descended the slope. There was a fork in the middle and I took out a notebook to draw a map, ignoring the laws of measurement. I had no intention of establishing the safe zone as a base camp and just digging around, but I judged that we needed to be able to return if something happened. As I reached the third crossroads, I was realizing in person how big Rotmiller was when the ground shook with an explosion.
Bam!
Shortly after, a swirling column of fire passed by us.
Splashes.
Small embers flew and landed in front of us before forming a densely compact form, a beast whose entire body was covered in scorching fire.
«They're Ifrits».
«Two rank 5 monsters from the beginning».
As soon as the battle began, Raven cast the magic Grant Cold upon us. The Ifrits were spiritual type monsters so they were immune to physical damage.
[Cold damage added to your weapon].
An icy light surrounded my mace. I ran forward in a state of gigantization and hit the bastards with it. The feeling faded.
Hit!
The mace had shattered a Troll's shoulder in one fell swoop when they were on the Fourth Floor the previous month, but the Ifrit did not move. That's why he hated spiritual monsters. Unlike Change of Property magic that exchanged physical power for another attribute of the same kind, Granting Cold could only grant additional damage.
«Isir Faist.» With Raven's rank 6 Quick Freeze curse magic and Missha's Ice Crushing combo, in the end, they carried out the battle while I held on.
[You have defeated an Ifrit. EXP +5]
Mr. Bear summoned Cheolwoong as a tank aid, but Ainar just watched. It was the destiny of a physical warrior.
Wheel...
A mana stone fell where the Ifrit disappeared. Again, there was no essence.
[Your level has increased.]
[Soul power has increased +10. The maximum number of absorbable essence has increased +1.]
I finally reached level 5. This would only make sense if an essence came out, but oh well.
«Keeeekk!»
Now there was only one monster left. The fire beast that lost its precious comrade roared towards us.
«...An Ifrit?» At this moment, a group of five scouts appeared on the other side. It seemed like they were heading to the safe area after their hunt. How horrible was this behavior?
«It's clear that it's going to take us more than five minutes».
«Ugh, I'm so tired. Let's take it».
A huge ball of water fell from the sky and soaked the Ifrit's body. The fire was extinguished in an instant.
«What are you...?»
Before he could say anything, an arrow pierced the Ifrit's head.
Shaaaaa.
The last monster disappeared like light. When I confirmed what the bastard had left behind, I let out a big sigh.
«...Essence!»
It was the essence of a rank 5 monster.
Damn.
Come on. Why now?