The Vast Swamp

I left the castle and made for Monus Village. The new trainees who had only just arrived on the Lower Floors stared in open bewilderment when I suddenly appeared among them.

"Why is Lord Yoo Shin-hoo here...?"

"I have a bit of business. I'll be away for a while."

"...We heard you already had a great deal on your plate...."

"There are plenty of people I can trust in my party."

I smiled as I answered the trainees who had approached me under the cover of a casual acquaintance, told them I would see them later, and hurried out of the village.

It was a nuisance, but I had future recruitment targets among them, so I supposed it counted as a little light image management. A decent reputation — public or private — always mattered.

The brown gnoll territory was not hard to pass through. The gnolls were a restless lot, always on the move, but the recent stretch of fighting had driven most of them toward the far edge of their range. These particular paths, while technically inside brown gnoll territory, were not places they actually settled. Humans used the area from time to time, and it was the road to the swamp besides, so they tended to avoid setting up camp here. With nothing in my way, I broke through the brown gnoll territory quickly.

Entry into the swamp followed at once. And The 13th Flower, who had been silently watching all this time, finally spoke up.

"For a while, yeah. My growth's hit a wall anyway."

The thought reminded me, and I slipped the handcuffs off. The item vanished a moment later.

Until now the Flower had only peeked in from time to time. The instant my companions were gone, it started talking again. It had spoken up now and then when I was alone before, so I was not particularly surprised.

"I'll raise my level and take care of the job change first. I'll keep the priest class — I still have uses for it — but I don't need Guardian anymore. Get ready. Second Job Advancement is coming soon."

Second Job Advancement came at level fifty. The third was at ninety. The fourth was said to exist at one hundred, the level cap — but no one had ever actually reached it. No one on the Middle Floor, to be precise. Those who had gone on to the Upper Floors had never come back.

In truth, using a Second Job Advancement to jump into an entirely different class instead of advancing into a higher-tier or fusion-type job was a poor move. It meant throwing away the chance to climb into a superior class. It was not unheard of — people who had picked up an unusually good skill and had no other choice, or who had ended up in a class that truly did not suit them, would sometimes burn the opportunity. Successful cases were rare.

In my situation, though, it hardly mattered. I already had a Hidden Class, and Hidden Classes more often than not had no further advancement waiting for them. All you gained was another chance to learn skills — and the chance to pick up higher-tier skills without spending money or running quests was genuinely uncommon.

Most Hidden Classes were powers bestowed by some other Administrator, which meant the restrictions ran heavy. To acquire skills you inevitably needed a certain amount of wealth and a matching quest. I was an exception thanks to the Double Contract, but the privilege was meaningless in the other direction: there were no skills I particularly wanted. I could fill the slots with what I already knew. If anything, I wanted to avoid learning useless skills. Not every skill I could obtain was going to be Legendary-grade.

The class bonuses, though — those I did regret. That was why I meant to change them while I had the chance. Perhaps that was why The 13th Flower offered no argument.

"A melee warrior line is fine. As for the weapon... a sword would be best, if you've got one. If not, something else will do."

"...Nothing besides that?"

"...All right. I'll take it."

I started through the swamp, bound for the Middle Floor. The destination was the Land of Azirek — but there were stops I needed to make along the way.

To reach Area 36 and the Middle Floor beyond it, you had to get past a mid-boss named Azirek, a creature infamous for assigning bizarre tasks in the name of a "trial." Most of the time, proving your strength in combat was enough. That came later, though. In the early days he would demand things like bringing him a thousand lizardmen — and give you a single day to do it — or slaying Lisarr and delivering its heart, or killing Riverg and presenting the head as proof. He did not always pull that kind of stunt, but he did it whenever the mood struck him.

The truly galling part was that the System recognized these as official quests. Fail to finish in time and you could not pass at all. A failed quest locked you out for a full month, which could leave you in a thoroughly miserable position. That particular brand of pettiness had kept the Korean trainees from advancing to the Middle Floor for quite some time. Word got around quickly enough, and proving your strength against Azirek himself turned out to be far easier. Lisarr and Riverg were both much stronger than Azirek — or rather, much more troublesome to fight. Azirek was simply a physical powerhouse.

Lisarr had the physical defense. Riverg used poison.

Lisarr required a mage, or a swordsman of a certain caliber — specifically, one who could use Sword Qi. Riverg was a nightmare because of the venom. Time, however, is undefeated. Later on, once the trainees had grown stronger, they hunted both creatures down in groups, and after that most people simply proved their strength or cleared out lizardmen and moved on to the next floor.

Even if the others had started to catch up to me, my current ability would still sit comfortably in the middle of the pack on the Middle Floor a few years from now. And on that Middle Floor, magical beasts of Lisarr and Riverg's caliber were common. So I intended to hunt both of them first and toss the proof in Azirek's face. I was a swordsman who could use Sword Qi — something all but impossible on the Lower Floors — and a priest with a Rare-grade Body Cleansing skill besides. Neither of them would be a difficult opponent.

I ran into plenty of lizardmen on the way through the swamp, but at my current level they were no real trouble. A lizardman's raw ability was clearly a cut above a gnoll's. Each one had the physical stats of a gnoll centurion, and if the two ever fought one-on-one, the lizardman would win a hundred times out of a hundred. Of course, that assumed the fight took place in a swamp.

The terrain put everyone who entered the Vast Swamp at a disadvantage. I was thoroughly irritated myself, what with the clinging air and the ground that sucked at every step. No matter how much my physical ability had improved, the environment was filthy. Personally, I hated this swamp even more than the desert where the Golden Gnolls had stranded us. If I had not packed insect repellent, I would have been in genuine trouble.

What a pain.

That said, it was not as if I could not operate. It was just tedious and irritating. As proof, I had already cut down several dozen lizardmen that had been skreeking in front of me.

I was headed for Lisarr's Nest. Unlike later on, there were no paths carved out by trainees — only the routes the merchants used — so I could not pin down the exact location, and it was taking a fair amount of time. I had never been on either hunt in my previous life, so I was navigating by rough guesswork.

Then a welcome message appeared.

Found it.

Before, this thing had claimed it was being considerate of me while I was with my companions and had barely sent any messages at all. The moment I was alone, it started flooding me with every kind of indirect message it could think of. My dislike of the chatter had kept it in check when the others were around. Now I was by myself, and The 13th Flower was having the time of its life.

I adjusted my grip on the sword.

Lisarr was a magical beast in the shape of a serpent. Its body was very nearly pitch-black, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a colossal snake some twenty meters from snout to tail. That jet-black hide carried a considerable resistance to physical attacks; the creature simply tanked most blows with its body. For all that, it was still just a magical beast whose flesh would split open pathetically in the face of Sword Qi.

On the Middle Floor, monsters and magical beasts that could shrug off Sword Qi were common. A high-grade beast like Cerberus, for instance, would not even take a scratch from it. You needed something on the order of Sword Force to have a real fight. And once you got to Behemoth, the highest grade of magical beast, even Sword Force would struggle to leave a mark.

Behemoth is a monster among monsters, with a physique that rivals a Giant, so it is something of an exception.

I pushed the idle thoughts aside and started toward Lisarr. I did not get to follow through.

"Wait a moment."

Huh?

I reacted instantly. A human voice, out of nowhere. There was no reason for a person to be here. I snapped my head around, and there stood a man in armor.

"...And you are?"

"Ah, I am Liberid. Floor Master of the Lower Floors."

"A Floor Master?"

I had never seen the Floor Master of the Lower Floors. I had at least glimpsed the ones on the Middle Floor, if only from a distance.

"Yes. You would be the one known as a regressor... Lord Yoo Shin-hoo, is that correct?"

I nodded.

"And... why is a Floor Master here?"

"Haha... well, I've been watching, you see. Truth be told, for quite some time the only trainees on the Lower Floors have been your party."

He spoke up to me without the slightest hesitation, using formal, courteous language. A different temperament from Epathos, clearly. I looked at him in a way that said that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠explanation was not nearly enough.

"...The truth is, I came to ask that you refrain from dealing with Lisarr and Riverg."

"...Why?"

"Those two exist to measure the standard of the Lower Floors. The reason Azirek issues those quests in the first place is to gauge that standard."

"...So you're the one who hands down those damned quests?"

I had received one myself. By the time it was my turn the quest's infamy was already well known, so I had simply given up and written off the month. Things were different now. Both creatures were manageable opponents, which was why I had intended to kill them in advance. Their corpses also made for fairly good materials. The biggest reason, of course, was that spending a little time up front was better in the long run than leaving the passage to chance. If I arrived and then had to turn around and come back, it would take twice as long. That was why I had carved time I did not have and come all this way.

"No, no. I only issue instructions according to the Tower's guidelines. Azirek is the one who chooses the timing. I tend to leave ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠things alone, for the most part."

Liberid waved both hands in denial.

How very reassuring.

I frowned and asked him,

"And why should I do that?"

"I wouldn't ask for nothing, of course. You're pressed for time, aren't you? I heard from Lord Epathos that you have a hidden quest as well?"

True to form for Floor Masters who shared information, they essentially knew everything about me as a regressor. I nodded readily.

"I'll put in a word for you on that. I'll arrange it so you can pass with a test of strength alone, instead of a quest."

"...Isn't that special treatment? Are you allowed to do that?"

"This much is fine. If we measured the Lower Floors as they stand now, we'd never see a situation this lopsided again. There aren't even a hundred people here, and thanks to you, every last one of them is absurdly strong."

There were not even fifty, let alone a hundred. But he was not wrong. My companions' current level would just barely have climbed out of the bottom ranks on the Middle Floor a few years from now. If they kept working on experience and skill proficiency, they could climb higher still — which meant the balance was well and truly broken. The people who had only just arrived on the Lower Floors would fall short of the trainees from a few years on, but my party had dragged the average sharply upward.

"So I intend to hold things back for a while. Azirek will kick up a fuss, of course...."

That foul-tempered, petty bastard was going to hate it. I could picture it clearly.

"If I tell him, he won't have a choice."

I thought it over for a moment, then accepted his offer. Finding this place alone had taken three days. Factor in the travel time and I would be saving more than ten days. Time was my most important resource, so his proposal was a welcome one. I was not about to let it pass without squeezing a little more out of it, though, so I added a condition.

"By that logic, you shouldn't be giving those quests to my party either, should you?"

"That's right. They wouldn't make good specimens for measuring the Lower Floors either."

Satisfactory. A shame about the hides, but it was not as if we were short on money.

"And... you said you'd save me time. Spatial transfer — is that possible?"

"...Since we're already doing this. I'll arrange it."

Liberid looked a little put out. Even so, there was a hint of satisfaction somewhere in his expression. I nodded with a satisfied look of my own. I now had a way to get out of this thoroughly unpleasant swamp in a hurry. I would have to travel back on my own later, but once I had accomplished my goals on the Middle Floor, it would not be as inconvenient as this.

"Ah, 13th Flower? I believe I asked that you restrain the indirect messages as much as possible."

"Please don't waste even a scrap of Interference Power on something so pointless. The person you're assigned to already has a difficult enough mission... the least you could do is not make it harder...."

Liberid tipped his face toward the sky with a thoroughly irritated expression.

"I would appreciate that. The occasional message I won't complain about, but...."

So that was it. The Flower had claimed it only messaged me when I was alone out of consideration for me. Turns out a Floor Master had simply told it to knock it off.

I shook my head. Liberid looked at me and said,

"Then let's move you at once. You are, after all, a man in a hurry...."

Having the Floor Masters well-disposed toward me was certainly convenient.

"Thank you."

A moment later, I was standing in the Land of Azirek.