Chapter 166: Great Demon Realm (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 166: Great Demon Realm (1)
The fifth floor, the Great Demon Realm, was where you slowly reached the limits of what a team could accomplish and where clan-scale hunting began to become a better alternative. As soon as I set foot there, my heart pounded, not metaphorically but literally.
"Huh? Bjorn, did you feel that too? I think my Dignity of Soul has gone up!" Ainar immediately grew animated, but it wasn't a level-up, just an increase in Soul Power.
[Achievement Unlocked]
[Condition: Reach the fifth floor.]
[Reward: Your Soul Power has permanently increased by +20.]
Did this mean all the achievements we had accrued until now had been exceeded? It seemed likely, but I couldn't be sure. Well, it wasn't like I could see the status window, nor was Soul Power a stat that you could feel.
Anyway, Raven, who liked to explain things, kindly explained what was going on to Ainar while making it easy enough for her to understand. "Calm down, Miss Ainar. It's not a promotion but a phenomenon called Baptism, a blessing bestowed by the labyrinth on adventurers who reach this point. Or, that's how most people think Baptism works. Wizards think differently, though."
"Oh, I see! That's kind of romantic!" Ainar, who had a fondness for superstitious things, didn't ask a single question about what the wizards thought.
However, Missha started to have questions of her own. "Isn't Baptism meaningless to wizarrrds since they can't consume an essence?"
"No. Our mana increases instead. Now that I'm experiencing it, the amount is quite significant. If I knew this was the case, I would've listened to other people's advice and come here sooner."
"Oh, I see..." Missha trailed off, but somehow, I felt like I knew what she was thinking. She must have been reminded of Dwalkie, who had always lacked mana.
"Oh, I heard priests gain more divine power. And to add one more thing—"
I cut her off before the explanation became never-ending. "But doesn't something seem strange?"
"Sorry?" Raven cocked her head like she didn't understand what I meant.
On the other hand, Mr. Bear, who had often been to the fifth floor, nodded in agreement. "There are a lot of people. It's not usually like this."
Right, so this wasn't common, then. I took a look around and gulped. The starting point of the fifth floor's Great Demon Realm was a safe zone, which was why this place always looked like a campsite.
But why are there so many tents?
At this point, the camping grounds were the size of a village. Not only that, but as I looked at the flags planted near some of the tents, more than half of them were adventurers belonging to a clan.
What is this? Why are they staying here?
Usually, most of the adventurers who used this place as a base traveled in parties. It was kind of a necessity for them. But clans with a large number of people could camp out on their own even in the middle of the fifth floor just fine.
"Bjorn, it seems everrryone is staring at us... Is everything all right?"
Fifth-floor adventurers, those skilled enough to belong to a clan, were watching us from afar and whispering amongst themselves. It couldn't just be because they were being cold to rookies. Really, what the hell was this? I was trying to figure it out when...
"Oi!" A man in the distance waved his hand and quickly approached us. "Abman! That's you, right?"
"...Karal?"
"Nice to see you. I see you finally changed your mind and found yourself a party?"
"It just so happens that's the case. And you? Are you still working there?"
"A man has nothing without loyalty, right? I need to devote myself."
Mr. Bear greeted the man, who seemed to be on quite friendly terms with him. Soon, he noticed my stare and explained, "Ah, this is Karal Larveger. He was a colleague of mine until he abandoned me and joined a clan on his own."
"Abandoned you? I begged you to come with me, but you ignored me." Seeing how Mr. Bear spoke in a lighter tone with him than with us, it seemed they were pretty close. That was good.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"...Ohhh, are you?" I guess he'd heard of my title Little Balkan because he looked intrigued. "I heard it hasn't yet been a full year for you, but you're already here. I'm starting to feel a little shabby."
"I was just lucky. But there's one thing I want to ask you."
"I think I know what you're curious about. You want to know why we're still here when we should be heading up."
Well, to be more accurate, I was curious why they were giving us the stare-down. But I nodded for now.
"It's simple. More than half of the people who were supposed to join us didn't make it. Our schedule has been... interrupted."
Half didn't make it up? How could that be? I intuitively sensed the seriousness of the situation.
"So, I want to ask," Karal began cautiously before saying something completely unexpected. "Were you guys attacked on the fourth floor too?"
That masked bastard... They weren't just after us.
After thinking it over for a second, I replied honestly that we had been attacked. Karal asked a few questions about what had happened, and we answered truthfully to earn the necessary information in return.
"Right, so you noticed them through a detection spell..."
"It was purely coincidental. When I first used the detection spell, nothing showed up."
Afterward, 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 be?"
"Only that it was thoroughly planned out. Anyway, thanks for telling me. If I learn anything... I will deliver the news through Abman." Soon after, Karal left to report the news to his clan.
We also took time to debrief a bit. "...So it wasn't a simple plunderer after all."
There was more than one masked assailant, and they had all committed acts of terror against the adventurers on the fourth floor without discrimination. Apparently, we were the third team to survive the ambush and come up. I could understand why. No one set up a night watch in the Tower of Heavens.
"So we were rrreally lucky..."
Apparently, those who survived just barely managed to get rid of their assailants after the death or serious injury of a teammate. We were the first team to discover them in advance and drive them to suicide. I could understand the looks coming our way now. They would have initially been watching the portal in anticipation of their long-awaited clanmates. Then they would have been curious whether we'd been attacked too.
"Mr. Yandel, could his words be true? That at least three hundred people would have died from these ambushes..."
"Well, we'll know for sure back in the city. They might have survived but stayed on the fourth floor because their scout or guide was killed."
"Nice to see you. I see you finally changed your mind and found yourself a party?"
"It just so happens that's the case. And you? Are you still working there?"
"A man has nothing without loyalty, right? I need to devote myself."
Mr. Bear greeted the man, who seemed to be on quite friendly terms with him. Soon, he noticed my stare and explained, "Ah, this is Karal Larveger. He was a colleague of mine until he abandoned me and joined a clan on his own."
"Abandoned you? I begged you to come with me, but you ignored me." Seeing how Mr. Bear spoke in a lighter tone with him than with us, it seemed they were pretty close. That was good.
"Bjorn, son of Yandel."
"...Ohhh, are you?" I guess he'd heard of my title Little Balkan because he looked intrigued. "I heard it hasn't yet been a full year for you, but you're already here. I'm starting to feel a little shabby."
"I was just lucky. But there's one thing I want to ask you."
"I think I know what you're curious about. You want to know why we're still here when we should be heading up."
Well, to be more accurate, I was curious why they were giving us the stare-down. But I nodded for now.
"It's simple. More than half of the people who were supposed to join us didn't make it. Our schedule has been... interrupted."
Half didn't make it up? How could that be? I intuitively sensed the seriousness of the situation.
"So, I want to ask," Karal began cautiously before saying something completely unexpected. "Were you guys attacked on the fourth floor too?"
That masked bastard... They weren't just after us.
After thinking it over for a second, I replied honestly that we had been attacked. Karal asked a few questions about what had happened, and we answered truthfully to earn the necessary information in return.
"Right, so you noticed them through a detection spell..."
"It was purely coincidental. When I first used the detection spell, nothing showed up."
Afterward, 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 be?"
"Only that it was thoroughly planned out. Anyway, thanks for telling me. If I learn anything... I will deliver the news through Abman." Soon after, Karal left to report the news to his clan.
We also took time to debrief a bit. "...So it wasn't a simple plunderer after all."
There was more than one masked assailant, and they had all committed acts of terror against the adventurers on the fourth floor without discrimination. Apparently, we were the third team to survive the ambush and come up. I could understand why. No one set up a night watch in the Tower of Heavens.
"So we were rrreally lucky..."
Apparently, those who survived just barely managed to get rid of their assailants after the death or serious injury of a teammate. We were the first team to discover them in advance and drive them to suicide. I could understand the looks coming our way now. They would have initially been watching the portal in anticipation of their long-awaited clanmates. Then they would have been curious whether we'd been attacked too.
"Mr. Yandel, could his words be true? That at least three hundred people would have died from these ambushes..."
"Well, we'll know for sure back in the city. They might have survived but stayed on the fourth floor because their scout or guide was killed."
"Ah, right..."
Of course, my words didn't mean much. There was no doubt that hundreds of adventurers had died—not low-level adventurers who hunted on the first and second floors, but veteran adventurers who had climbed the Tower for several decades.
"Whew..."
While this giant red flag scared me, it almost made me relieved. At least they weren't sent by the Dragon Slayer. I'd even had the delusion that the assassin might have been sent by the district chief or the dragon tribe.
"What bunch of brazen bastards could have planned something this outrageous?"
I was careful to hold my tongue at this point. The information on the royal attack on Noark had not yet been announced.
I suppose this is a sort of declaration of war against the royal family.
I was certain in my mind that the perpetrators of this act of terror were adventurers from Noark.
This is going to blow up.
A headache crept in. A war would break out between the palace and Noark. No, it had pretty much already begun. But the biggest problem here would come if the conquest failed, if Noark locked its doors and the war ended up getting dragged out.
Then I'd be fucked. Because the next battlefield after that would surely be the labyrinth.
Whether it's Noark or Rafdonia, they need mana stones to maintain the city.
Goddamn it. Why had I been pulled into the game at a time like this? If I had come at least a year earlier, then I would've had more time to prepare.
Then, if I didn't deliver that letter to the grandpa priest, does that mean there wouldn't have been a war?
The thought came to mind, but I brushed it off. Why was this my fault? This was all that Dragon Slayer scum's fault. Usually, the three religions were neutral in order to keep the palace in check. No one had forced him to kidnap the high priest and use him as his slave.
"Bjorn?" Missha called out to me.
"Oh, I was just thinking about something."
"So what arrre you going to do now?"
As I was drawn out of my thoughts, I found that everyone was looking at me. That was because these guys saw this as a simple terrorist attack. Their thoughts weren't as complicated as mine. "There are no changes to the schedule. Resume the expedition."
Soon, I made a decision, and Raven cautiously expressed her concern. "Even though there are people like that in the labyrinth?"
"It will be fine. There are a lot of clans here. If those people have brains, they won't do anything here."
Rather, this was the safest time for us. Next month, those moles might be running around on the fifth floor too. It was also possible that entering the labyrinth would be prohibited outright.
"Now, stop thinking, and let's go make some money."
The fifth floor would close after the thirtieth day, so we had lots to do before then. There was no telling how long we'd be out of a job.
***
The structure of the fifth floor's Great Demon Realm was simple. Just think of a flat, tray-shaped boulder with slides stretching in four directions. The problem was that these slides were divided into dozens of branches, and some were cut off in the middle or connected to another road.
Whoosh.
When we left the starting point, which was illuminated red like a butcher's shop, the darkness and heat of the labyrinth welcomed us. Not all of the four roads were like this, though. This was the characteristic of the specific route we chose.
"Ah, right..."
Of course, my words didn't mean much. There was no doubt that hundreds of adventurers had died—not low-level adventurers who hunted on the first and second floors, but veteran adventurers who had climbed the Tower for several decades.
"Whew..."
While this giant red flag scared me, it almost made me relieved. At least they weren't sent by the Dragon Slayer. I'd even had the delusion that the assassin might have been sent by the district chief or the dragon tribe.
"What bunch of brazen bastards could have planned something this outrageous?"
I was careful to hold my tongue at this point. The information on the royal attack on Noark had not yet been announced.
I suppose this is a sort of declaration of war against the royal family.
I was certain in my mind that the perpetrators of this act of terror were adventurers from Noark.
This is going to blow up.
A headache crept in. A war would break out between the palace and Noark. No, it had pretty much already begun. But the biggest problem here would come if the conquest failed, if Noark locked its doors and the war ended up getting dragged out.
Then I'd be fucked. Because the next battlefield after that would surely be the labyrinth.
Whether it's Noark or Rafdonia, they need mana stones to maintain the city.
Goddamn it. Why had I been pulled into the game at a time like this? If I had come at least a year earlier, then I would've had more time to prepare.
Then, if I didn't deliver that letter to the grandpa priest, does that mean there wouldn't have been a war?
The thought came to mind, but I brushed it off. Why was this my fault? This was all that Dragon Slayer scum's fault. Usually, the three religions were neutral in order to keep the palace in check. No one had forced him to kidnap the high priest and use him as his slave.
"Bjorn?" Missha called out to me.
"Oh, I was just thinking about something."
"So what arrre you going to do now?"
As I was drawn out of my thoughts, I found that everyone was looking at me. That was because these guys saw this as a simple terrorist attack. Their thoughts weren't as complicated as mine. "There are no changes to the schedule. Resume the expedition."
Soon, I made a decision, and Raven cautiously expressed her concern. "Even though there are people like that in the labyrinth?"
"It will be fine. There are a lot of clans here. If those people have brains, they won't do anything here."
Rather, this was the safest time for us. Next month, those moles might be running around on the fifth floor too. It was also possible that entering the labyrinth would be prohibited outright.
"Now, stop thinking, and let's go make some money."
The fifth floor would close after the thirtieth day, so we had lots to do before then. There was no telling how long we'd be out of a job.
***
The structure of the fifth floor's Great Demon Realm was simple. Just think of a flat, tray-shaped boulder with slides stretching in four directions. The problem was that these slides were divided into dozens of branches, and some were cut off in the middle or connected to another road.
Whoosh.
When we left the starting point, which was illuminated red like a butcher's shop, the darkness and heat of the labyrinth welcomed us. Not all of the four roads were like this, though. This was the characteristic of the specific route we chose.
[You have entered a special area. Field Effect – Hellfire Gorge has activated. Status effect Ember Mark is now active. All your consumption values increase by 1.5 times, and Flame Resistance decreases by -30.]
All consumption values—to put it simply, Soul Power, mana, divine power, and energy—were consumed 1.5 times faster than normal here. But that wasn't bad. Compared to the other routes, this was pretty generous.
[Arua Raven has cast the rank-eight support spell, Cold Blood. Your Flame Resistance has significantly increased.]
As cold mana seeped into our bloodstreams, our heated bodies cooled down. In that state, we slowly continued our expedition. We hadn't encountered a monster yet, but just walking here was more stressful than I thought.
Walking through clouds wouldn't be this bad.
The road was about ten yards wide. The darkness of the labyrinth obstructed our vision, and the abyss below us emitted a strong heat.
"Ainar, stop looking down."
"I-I was just wondering what's below us..."
"I heard that there's lava flowing there."
"Lava? What's that?"
"Uh, it's hard to explain..." Raven faithfully answered Ainar's curiosity. Ainar frowned every time a difficult word came up but still listened earnestly.
In that respect, they kind of suit each other.
It was a rather nice sight to see as a team leader, but I couldn't just stand by and watch. "Ainar, stop bothering Raven and look straight ahead."
"O-Okay!"
I kept my nerves sharp as we descended the slope. There was a fork in the middle and I took out a notebook to draw a map, unconcerned with scale or measurement. I had no intention of using the safe zone as a base camp and just picking at the surrounding area, but I knew that we needed to be able to return if something were to happen. As we reached the third crossroads, I realized in real-time just how great Rotmiller was when the ground shook with an explosion.
Bam!
Soon after, a swirling pillar of fire passed us by.
Spatter.
Small embers flew and landed in front of us before forming a densely packed shape—a beast whose entire body was covered in blazing fire.
"They're Ifrits."
"Two rank-five monsters from the get-go."
As soon as the battle started, Raven cast the Cold Bestow spell on us. Ifrits were spirit-type monsters, so they were immune to physical damage.
[Your weapon will now deal Cold damage.]
A frosty light hung around my mace. I activated Giantization, rushed forward, and smacked the bastards with it. The sensation felt off.
Smack!
This mace had shattered a Troll's shoulder in one strike when we were on the fourth floor just last month, but the Ifrit didn't budge. This was why I hated spirit monsters. Unlike Property Change magic, which could transform physical damage into another attribute of the same level, Cold Bestow could only grant additional damage.
"Isir Faist." With Raven's rank-six curse spell Rapid Freeze and Missha's Ice Crush combo, in the end, they finished off the battle while I held out.
[You have defeated an Ifrit. EXP +5]
Mr. Bear summoned Iradun as a tank aid, but Ainar just watched. Such was the fate of a physical warrior.
Roll...
A mana stone dropped where the Ifrit disappeared. Again, there was no essence.
[You have leveled up.]
[Your Soul Power has increased by +10. The maximum number of essences you can absorb has increased by +1.]
I had finally reached level five. This would only be useful if an essence came out, but, oh well.
"Keeekk!"
There was just one monster left now. The flame beast that had lost its precious comrade roared at us.
"...An Ifrit?" At that moment, a group of five adventurers appeared on the other end of the road. It looked like they were headed back to the safe zone after their hunt. And really, how awful was this behavior?
"This is clearly going to take more than five minutes."
"Ugh, I'm tired as hell. Let's just take it down."
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 I could say anything, an arrow pierced through the Ifrit's head.
Shaaaaa.
The last monster dissolved into light. When I noticed what the bastard had left behind, I let out a big sigh.
"...An essence!"
It was the essence of a rank-five monster.
Goddamn it.
I mean, come on. Why now?
[You have entered a special area. Field Effect – Hellfire Gorge has activated. Status effect Ember Mark is now active. All your consumption values increase by 1.5 times, and Flame Resistance decreases by -30.]
All consumption values—to put it simply, Soul Power, mana, divine power, and energy—were consumed 1.5 times faster than normal here. But that wasn't bad. Compared to the other routes, this was pretty generous.
[Arua Raven has cast the rank-eight support spell, Cold Blood. Your Flame Resistance has significantly increased.]
As cold mana seeped into our bloodstreams, our heated bodies cooled down. In that state, we slowly continued our expedition. We hadn't encountered a monster yet, but just walking here was more stressful than I thought.
Walking through clouds wouldn't be this bad.
The road was about ten yards wide. The darkness of the labyrinth obstructed our vision, and the abyss below us emitted a strong heat.
"Ainar, stop looking down."
"I-I was just wondering what's below us..."
"I heard that there's lava flowing there."
"Lava? What's that?"
"Uh, it's hard to explain..." Raven faithfully answered Ainar's curiosity. Ainar frowned every time a difficult word came up but still listened earnestly.
In that respect, they kind of suit each other.
It was a rather nice sight to see as a team leader, but I couldn't just stand by and watch. "Ainar, stop bothering Raven and look straight ahead."
"O-Okay!"
I kept my nerves sharp as we descended the slope. There was a fork in the middle and I took out a notebook to draw a map, unconcerned with scale or measurement. I had no intention of using the safe zone as a base camp and just picking at the surrounding area, but I knew that we needed to be able to return if something were to happen. As we reached the third crossroads, I realized in real-time just how great Rotmiller was when the ground shook with an explosion.
Bam!
Soon after, a swirling pillar of fire passed us by.
Spatter.
Small embers flew and landed in front of us before forming a densely packed shape—a beast whose entire body was covered in blazing fire.
"They're Ifrits."
"Two rank-five monsters from the get-go."
As soon as the battle started, Raven cast the Cold Bestow spell on us. Ifrits were spirit-type monsters, so they were immune to physical damage.
[Your weapon will now deal Cold damage.]
A frosty light hung around my mace. I activated Giantization, rushed forward, and smacked the bastards with it. The sensation felt off.
Smack!
This mace had shattered a Troll's shoulder in one strike when we were on the fourth floor just last month, but the Ifrit didn't budge. This was why I hated spirit monsters. Unlike Property Change magic, which could transform physical damage into another attribute of the same level, Cold Bestow could only grant additional damage.
"Isir Faist." With Raven's rank-six curse spell Rapid Freeze and Missha's Ice Crush combo, in the end, they finished off the battle while I held out.
[You have defeated an Ifrit. EXP +5]
Mr. Bear summoned Iradun as a tank aid, but Ainar just watched. Such was the fate of a physical warrior.
Roll...
A mana stone dropped where the Ifrit disappeared. Again, there was no essence.
[You have leveled up.]
[Your Soul Power has increased by +10. The maximum number of essences you can absorb has increased by +1.]
I had finally reached level five. This would only be useful if an essence came out, but, oh well.
"Keeekk!"
There was just one monster left now. The flame beast that had lost its precious comrade roared at us.
"...An Ifrit?" At that moment, a group of five adventurers appeared on the other end of the road. It looked like they were headed back to the safe zone after their hunt. And really, how awful was this behavior?
"This is clearly going to take more than five minutes."
"Ugh, I'm tired as hell. Let's just take it down."
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 I could say anything, an arrow pierced through the Ifrit's head.
Shaaaaa.
The last monster dissolved into light. When I noticed what the bastard had left behind, I let out a big sigh.
"...An essence!"
It was the essence of a rank-five monster.
Goddamn it.
I mean, come on. Why now?