A Necessary Separation

"What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Well, I can hardly sit back and let them have all the fun."

I answered with a perfectly sunny expression.

"Did you not just say so yourself? That it didn't work easily in the outer districts."

"And I also told you — the red ones are so savage that it isn't completely ineffective."

"The grey ones are different from the brown. They know full well what kind of creatures those Red Gnolls are."

"That's right. It certainly won't work as well as it did on the brown side."

"Then what on earth..."

"It's nothing complicated. There's a good chance the grey ones don't even know their neighbors are at war up north."

"Well, that would be the case. They don't scout beyond their own territory."

"But the Red Gnolls are at war."

"That's true enough."

"And the same goes for the brown ones. Which is why I intend to hit the grey faction in the open."

"What?"

"I mean invading their territory. Stirring up the red or brown factions might make their infighting even worse — but the opposite is just as bad. We can't have them getting spooked and calling a ceasefire, can we?"

The red and brown factions were too busy tearing into each other, and the black and gold had been driven off into a far corner. Even if the grey ones and the humans went to war, the odds of those other factions turning around to attack us were slim.

"Human strength alone can barely handle even a single grey faction without walls."

It wasn't for nothing that they had failed to wipe out the black faction entirely. The Empire was strong, but Tidrind was far too weak.

"That's quite all right. I have no intention of fighting a full-scale war. We'll simply repeat what we did to the black ones, with our party at the center."

"Then..."

"Even so, the only ones who'll actually be provoked are the Grey Gnolls whose territory we invade. If they get angry enough to come at us, that's better for us. You can handle a single faction easily enough, can't you?"

"That's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠true enough."

The problem was only if they came swarming in a horde. One faction was manageable. And though they wouldn't know it, the red and brown were at war — if more than a certain number of troops mobilized, those two would keep a far more sensitive watch than usual.

Unless we launched a direct assault, the odds of the war up north stopping anytime soon were low. Still, we would be as careful as possible. We had to keep the red and brown fighting for as long as we could, to weaken them even a little more. That way, when the trainees arrived later, our territory would expand more easily, and I could join forces with Tidrind to exert greater influence in the Middle Floor.

Tophen seemed to ponder my proposal for a moment, then nodded.

"I can hardly let you lot bear all the risk. We need that mine just as desperately, after ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all. Very well. Let's try it."

The momentum was already on our side. Tophen didn't try to stop us, either. I rather liked the lord's refreshingly straightforward manner.

"By the way, are you free today?"

"...I expect I'll be busy."

"Ah, well then, perhaps tomorrow..."

...With just one exception: that stubborn, persistent habit of still trying to marry his daughter off to me.

For the next three months, we harassed the Grey Gnolls without pause. We swept the area around the mine clean, and we didn't forget to clear out the Kobolds nesting inside, either.

Thanks to the mine having been dungeonized, we could even obtain ore as drop items. It wasn't a large amount, but when I showed it to the lord and he had a blacksmith examine it, the quality came back as the highest grade. Tophen's whole body seemed to itch with the desire to claim the mine as soon as possible.

Well, the mine had been secured in the previous generation — his father's era — and then lost again in that same generation. This would be the first time Tophen, as lord, had actually confirmed how good the ore really was. His greed was only natural.

Clearing the dungeon made cleaning out the interior easy. The previous generation had developed two mines, and beyond those, there were quite a few other spots in the vicinity that could become mines as well. The whole region was rich in minerals.

While we harassed the Grey Gnolls, the fighting between the red and brown factions gradually subsided, until now only small-scale skirmishes kept breaking out. It hadn't been a massive battle on the scale of the black and gold factions, whose total fighting strength had been cut in half — but they would have taken no small amount of damage all the same.

The moment the fighting died down, I launched a large-scale provocation ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠against the grey faction, and at the same time raided the red and brown territories, throwing the whole region into chaos once more. The red and brown, having just finished fighting and been left weakened, had no choice but to react with hypersensitivity — and thanks to that, the Grey Gnolls who had been about to properly counterattack us had no choice but to hesitate.

It didn't escalate into a major battle, but we'd achieved our intended purpose. In that opening, we secured the mine and began constructing a defensive line however we could.

"It actually worked."

"We got lucky."

"I wouldn't say that. I'd call it the fruit of your relentless effort gathering all that intelligence."

"The fighting dragging on that long isn't something my effort could have caused."

"In any case, we've built a minimal defensive line, but... if they all rise up at once, we're finished."

"That's right. This is only temporary. We can't make it to the level of Tidrind Castle."

To do that, even several years wouldn't be enough. Besides, unlike Tidrind Castle, there wasn't decent farmland around here. At best, this region could only ever be a satellite city of Tidrind Castle. Even so, there were two developed mines and even more candidate sites. The value was enormous.

I looked around, unable to hide my satisfaction. A portion of this place's profits would come to me. So long as the mines weren't depleted and vanished, they would be an unending wellspring of wealth, bringing in a tremendous, continuous stream of revenue. But only if we held them would that money find its way into my pocket.

Once the minimal defensive line was complete, miners would start developing the mines one by one.

"Still, the people you mentioned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠have started trickling in one by one."

"Yes. Once they get used to this place, we'll start putting them on defense here."

Before we knew it, more than a year had passed since we'd entered the Lower Floors, and trainees had begun appearing one by one. Not many. So far, only one group had shown up in the Lower Floors — specifically, five parties. It seemed the five parties had allied to take down the 20th Floor boss.

Still, they had considerable talent, and perhaps because they'd clawed their way out of a deathtrap, their skills weren't bad. They'd also arrived in the Lower Floors having already surpassed level 20.

I informed them of the existence of a Hunting Ground called the Goblin Forest and steered them toward growing there. My plan was to raise these trainees — and the ones who would follow — and then put them to work defending the mine under the pretext of commissions.

Fortunately, for the time being the grey faction couldn't move easily thanks to the red and brown keeping them in check, so we still had time.

When they learned I was that Yoo Shin-hoo who had claimed the Fixed Safe Zones of every previous floor, they looked genuinely stunned. On top of that, our party's strength was at a level they could scarcely even look up to. I didn't treat them oppressively, but I didn't let myself look easy, either. I subtly displayed my skill and power, making sure they couldn't easily hold their heads high.

Call it preliminary work for folding them under us once I formed a guild and needed to grow our size. These people were quite elite, after all. Not a bad caliber.

There were a few familiar faces among them. People who'd shown decent ability in my first cycle, I suppose. Some had even belonged to the first-string parties of mid-tier guilds. They weren't monsters, but they weren't the type to get looked down on wherever they went, either.

And from them, I was able to hear the current news of the Labyrinth.

"That's quite something."

"...Hah."

Joo Ha-yeon and Na-yeon both wore instinctively pained expressions at the Labyrinth news we'd gotten from the newly arrived trainees.

"...Outlaws, huh."

I'd cleaned the place thoroughly, but with that many people gathered, order was never going to last forever. The surviving scum had banded together and formed an Outlaw group based in the danger zones beyond Area 10, they said.

Han Ba-da was managing and holding the line as best she could, but their power was nothing to sneeze at. They'd been picking off Han Ba-da's people little by little, steadily clearing several timed Safe Zones and respawning caverns, and had built themselves a base of operations.

Han Ba-da's side had attempted several suppression campaigns, but hunting them all down one by one across the vast Labyrinth was practically impossible. Still, the overall advantage seemed to lie with Han Ba-da's side, and the mages I'd asked her to look after were growing well under thorough management, so it wasn't an entirely bad situation.

I checked the quest window for the first time in a while.

The mine investigation hadn't become a hidden quest, probably because I'd initiated the negotiations myself. Honestly, I didn't mind. Through the deal, I'd obtained a share of the mine — the best possible outcome.

For Mellid Castle, huh...

I didn't know what the bonus was, but as a tutorial hidden quest, there were limits to it. Still, being a hidden quest, I couldn't help but covet the reward. Who knew? I might even get free stat points.

But this quest had a meaning far more important than that. According to what I'd learned through Epathos, descending to the lower floors for this quest would grant me the right to re-enter the Labyrinth. The ability to travel to the Labyrinth through Epathos. There was no way Epathos would refuse if I asked, so it was certain.

The Temple of Tribulation.

A chance to use it once more.

But honestly, it was frustrating. I'd have to spend years of time...

That damn Saintess.

If it hadn't been for the Saintess, I could have challenged the Temple of Tribulation in peak condition, gotten out quickly, and competed with future Rankers from a position of overwhelming advantage in the Middle Floor. I could have gotten the Lower Floors into better shape faster, maxed out my levels in the Middle Floor, and then challenged the Temple of Tribulation at my absolute best.

With the potential from my levels as a foundation, I was confident I could escape the Temple of Tribulation within half a year if I trained in parallel with it. But because of the Saintess, my companions had claimed the rewards in my place, and my best-case scenario had been thoroughly wrecked.

There was only one way to reverse it. With about eight months left until the quest, I had to grow beyond what I'd originally aimed for in the Lower Floors within that time, and then accept the quest.

It wouldn't match the best-case scenario, but I could still cut the time as much as possible. To do that... I had to head for the Middle Floor. But at the same time, I couldn't neglect the Lower Floors. And so I gathered my companions.

"What's going on, Shin-hoo? You're wearing such a serious face."

A grave expression. It was warranted. The party would fiercely oppose this. But at the same time, it was necessary.

"Oppa?"

"What's wrong, Shin-hoo? Did something happen again?"

"...Shin-hoo oppa, you're not sick, are you?"

"Hyung?"

"...Something's come up."

"...What is it this time? Don't tell me it's another dangerous..."

Joo Ha-yeon's worried face. I shook my head and continued.

The sudden declaration. My companions' faces went terrifyingly stiff.