Chapter 178: Doppelganger (3)

Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 178: Doppelganger (3)

In the pitch-black darkness, Raven cast a light sphere spell. "Leait." Before it blinded me, I reflexively closed my eyes. "Mr. Yandel, what are you doing?" she asked.

When I peeked an eye open, I saw that the sphere of light was emitting a faint and subtle glow, unlike usual.

Oh, so you can adjust the brightness too.

"Nothing."

As I set my embarrassment aside and looked around, Raven scolded me. "Anyway, if you're going to do something like that, please tell me in advance next time. You surprised me."

"Yeah. What if security comes to arrest us when we leave?"

"Then we can just pay the fine."

"Don't think you're going to pay with—"

"It was for the team."

When I cut her off, Raven let out a deep sigh but didn't say anything else. I wasn't exactly wrong, and that wasn't what was important right now anyway.

"Isn't it strange? We're already in one of the dark areas."

"It's not just a dark area. Do you see that?" Raven pointed out a tombstone on one side of the wall to Mr. Bear.

Time to get into the main topic of conversation, then. "It's a tombstone. Do you know how this happened?"

"I think it was the dimensional instability phenomenon."

"...What's that?"

"A portal is a kind of dimensional magic. I heard this can happen sometimes. It's caused by an error that occurs when your starting coordinates are being decided."

"So... it's just a coincidence?"

"Well, there is an unsubstantiated account that suggests the possibility that dimensional instability might increase right before the portal disappears."

Uh, I think that's the same book I read.

My mouth was itching to speak, but I just kept quiet. Since this one was going to explain it all anyway, there was no reason to step forward and raise suspicion.

"Bjorn, this is..." I shot her a look and Missha clammed up. Just in case Ainar had a slip of the tongue too, I stood next to her. Okay, that settled that.

"Hmm, so you're saying this happened because we just barely managed to enter at the end?" The corners of Mr. Bear's mouth rose slightly. As an adventurer, he seemed to have realized the overpowered nature of the experience point copy bug.

However, Raven shook her head. "That is a little ambiguous."

Hm? What is?

I impatiently joined the conversation. "Ambiguous? What do you mean?"

"Even if the coordinates were incorrectly chosen, we shouldn't have landed in the outermost area like this. After all, if this happened every time, why would anyone ever go in early?"

Hmm, that was true. Actually, I was also wondering about that. Dimensional instability was surprisingly well-known to many people. Why was no one using this freeloading bug?

"The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dimensional instability phenomenon was made known 130 years ago. At that time, there was a big issue with the dimensional magic circle, so the frequency increased exponentially."

"So?"

"The Magic Tower repaired the magic circle on a commission from the palace. After it was stabilized, the phenomenon rarely occurred again."

Put simply, the XP bug must not have been usable for the next hundred years after that. "Then how did this happen?"

"...Maybe it's time for another repair?" Raven came up with a plausible hypothesis and carefully added a suggestion. "Which is why I think we should keep this a secret."

"Explain."

"I don't think anyone knows that there is a problem with the dimensional magic circle yet. However, as time passes and the phenomenon worsens, other adventurers will also start to experience it."

Mr. Bear listened quietly and nodded. "You mean we should use it exclusively until they find out."

"Yes. It'll reduce our expedition time and allow us to accumulate experience points—how great is that?"

I joined in. "Wait, I thought experience points didn't matter to wizards." Wizards couldn't absorb essences, which was why XP was useless to them. Why was she being so proactive?

Raven smiled. "I'm personally interested. The same goes for that headstone no one's touched yet. On that note, may I open it?"

"Do as you like."

Once I granted her permission, Raven touched the tombstone.

Whooom!

A portal opened, radiating five colors of light. Raven closed her eyes as if to concentrate on the flow of mana in the air and the sensation on her fingertips. Then she murmured, "It feels very strange." This was a sensation that I would never know as a barbarian with zero innate aptitude for mana. However, I felt one thing for sure.

[The portal has been opened for the first time. EXP +2.]

Yeah, this was it—what freeloading felt like.

[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

We came right back to the first floor after heading up. The Den of Beasts was a hopeless endeavor for us. Because there were so many forks in the road, without a scout of Rotmiller's caliber, we'd just get slowed down.

Even Rotmiller said it's better to give up on the Den.

It wasn't that we couldn't find our way with a scout. But while there was a faster route available, there was no reason to go through this place.

"Then let's get going."

I took out my compass and held it in one hand as I led the way. First, we got out of the dark area and headed northwest. We didn't end up getting lost too often. For what it was worth, Rotmiller taught me how to find my way around the first floor really well. Of course, I wasn't an expert yet.

"Abman, where is the portal?"

"That way."

"Then we only need to go north from now on."

Thanks to the fact that we had a scout on the team, it was possible to find the optimal route with just a compass. In other words, I was making up for my inexperience with a cheat code.

Around three hours into the expedition, while moving from outskirt to outskirt, people appeared for the first time—a knight with the royal family's crest engraved on their chest and four soldiers. The knight stopped us. "Do you have an identification tag?" he asked curtly.

It was evident that they had already fought one battle because their weapons and armor were splattered with blood. It wasn't monster blood. There were no monsters on the first floor that bled red.

Put simply, the XP bug must not have been usable for the next hundred years after that. "Then how did this happen?"

"...Maybe it's time for another repair?" Raven came up with a plausible hypothesis and carefully added a suggestion. "Which is why I think we should keep this a secret."

"Explain."

"I don't think anyone knows that there is a problem with the dimensional magic circle yet. However, as time passes and the phenomenon worsens, other adventurers will also start to experience it."

Mr. Bear listened quietly and nodded. "You mean we should use it exclusively until they find out."

"Yes. It'll reduce our expedition time and allow us to accumulate experience points—how great is that?"

I joined in. "Wait, I thought experience points didn't matter to wizards." Wizards couldn't absorb essences, which was why XP was useless to them. Why was she being so proactive?

Raven smiled. "I'm personally interested. The same goes for that headstone no one's touched yet. On that note, may I open it?"

"Do as you like."

Once I granted her permission, Raven touched the tombstone.

Whooom!

A portal opened, radiating five colors of light. Raven closed her eyes as if to concentrate on the flow of mana in the air and the sensation on her fingertips. Then she murmured, "It feels very strange." This was a sensation that I would never know ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as a barbarian with zero innate aptitude for mana. However, I felt one thing for sure.

[The portal has been opened for the first time. EXP +2.]

Yeah, this was it—what freeloading felt like.

[You have entered the Den of Beasts on the second floor.]

[You have entered the Crystal Cave on the first floor.]

We came right back to the first floor after heading up. The Den of Beasts was a hopeless endeavor for us. Because there were so many forks in the road, without a scout of Rotmiller's caliber, we'd just get slowed down.

Even Rotmiller said it's better to give up on the Den.

It wasn't that we couldn't find our way with a scout. But while there was a faster route available, there was no reason to go through this place.

"Then let's get going."

I took out my compass and held it in one hand as I led the way. First, we got out of the dark area and headed northwest. We didn't end up getting lost too often. For what it was worth, Rotmiller taught me how to find my way around the first floor really well. Of course, I wasn't an expert yet.

"Abman, where is the portal?"

"That way."

"Then we only need to go north from now on."

Thanks to the fact that we had a scout on the team, it was possible to find the optimal route with just a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠compass. In other words, I was making up for my inexperience with a cheat code.

Around three hours into the expedition, while moving from outskirt to outskirt, people appeared for the first time—a knight with the royal family's crest engraved on their chest and four soldiers. The knight stopped us. "Do you have an identification tag?" he asked curtly.

It was evident that they had already fought one battle because their weapons and armor were splattered with blood. It wasn't monster blood. There were no monsters on the first floor that bled red.

"I will ask you one last time. Identification tag?"

"Ah, here it is. You guys get yours out too."

Momentarily hesitating in the face of the knight's intimidation, we took out the tags we received back in the city. Then the knight made way to let us pass, offering a word of advice as we did. "Be careful not to let it get stolen. Some clever ones are already after them."

I see. Well, they weren't idiots. They would know that was the only way for them to survive. Passing by, I asked him something I was curious about. "Is there any way to identify stolen tags?"

"No."

"Then why aren't you suspicious of us?"

Did my question bother him? The knight frowned slightly but still answered it. "Blood."

"What?"

"If it was stolen, it would have been stained with human blood. Above all else, I know your face. I am a knight of Count Ferdehilt."

Oh, he saw me at the banquet. Anyway, I didn't know what that count was up to. He told me very ominously that he would call me when things were ready, but there had been no contact yet. Well, no news was good news for me.

"Hmm, it certainly is nice to have a celebrity on the team," said Raven.

"Don't mock me."

"I'm sorry? I'm not mocking you."

Man, did she think I was a real barbarian or something? "Wipe that smile off your face, then."

"...Jeez, so quick."

"Anyway, let's speed up from now on. Let me know if you're tired."

"What are you going to do if we are?"

"Ainar will carry you."

"Eh? Me?"

Both Ainar and Raven seemed displeased, but it couldn't be helped. We had to head up as quickly as possible to run into fewer people.

About thirty minutes after speeding up, the couch potato wizard Raven chose to abandon her pride and get carried. "...Miss Ainar. Please carry me."

Thankfully, our speed increased after that. Bored from just being carried, Raven began massaging the parts of Ainar's body she could reach.

"D-Don't touch me!"

"Wow, Miss Ainar. Your body is softer than I thought."

"...Are you mocking me?! If so, then get off!" Ainar freaked out and flailed. Right when I was about to tell Raven off, I saw something blocking my way and stopped.

"Bjorrrn, why did you stop?"

"There are dead bodies."

There were five corpses in total, four men and one woman. Their equipment had all been stripped off so they were pretty much naked, and the bleeding indicated they'd been dead for quite a while now.

"Miss Ainar, will you let me down?" Raven got off her personal carriage and inspected the bodies as well. "It doesn't look like this was done by a knight."

"Your reasoning?"

"The wounds. One with a blunt weapon, one with an arrow. The rest were burned, and I don't think it was magic. It must have been a special ability."

A knight used a sword, because it was the best weapon for using an aura. But with no sword wounds...

"Maybe they are adventurerrrs from Noark? Another adventurer could have taken them down because they didn't have a tag."

"I will ask you one last time. Identification tag?"

"Ah, here it is. You guys get yours out too."

Momentarily hesitating in the face of the knight's intimidation, we took out the tags we received back in the city. Then the knight made way to let us pass, offering a word of advice as we did. "Be careful not to let it get stolen. Some clever ones are already after them."

I see. Well, they weren't idiots. They would know that was the only way for them to survive. Passing by, I asked him something I was curious about. "Is there any way to identify stolen tags?"

"No."

"Then why aren't you suspicious of us?"

Did my question bother him? The knight frowned slightly but still answered it. "Blood."

"What?"

"If it was stolen, it would have been stained with human blood. Above all else, I know your face. I am a knight of Count Ferdehilt."

Oh, he saw me at the banquet. Anyway, I didn't know what that count was up to. He told me very ominously that he would call me when things were ready, but there had been no contact yet. Well, no news was good news for me.

"Hmm, it certainly is nice to have a celebrity on the team," said Raven.

"Don't mock me."

"I'm sorry? I'm not mocking you."

Man, did she think I was a real barbarian or something? "Wipe that smile off your face, then."

"...Jeez, so quick."

"Anyway, let's speed up from now on. Let me know if you're tired."

"What are you going to do if we are?"

"Ainar will carry you."

"Eh? Me?"

Both Ainar and Raven seemed displeased, but it couldn't be helped. We had to head up as quickly as possible to run into fewer people.

About thirty minutes after speeding up, the couch potato wizard Raven chose to abandon her pride and get carried. "...Miss Ainar. Please carry me."

Thankfully, our speed increased after that. Bored from just being carried, Raven began massaging the parts of Ainar's body she could reach.

"D-Don't touch me!"

"Wow, Miss Ainar. Your body is softer than I thought."

"...Are you mocking me?! If so, then get off!" Ainar freaked out and flailed. Right when I was about to tell Raven off, I saw something blocking my way and stopped.

"Bjorrrn, why did you stop?"

"There are dead bodies."

There were five corpses in total, four men and one woman. Their equipment had all been stripped off so they were pretty much naked, and the bleeding indicated they'd been dead for quite a while now.

"Miss Ainar, will you let me down?" Raven got off her personal carriage and inspected the bodies as well. "It doesn't look like this was done by a knight."

"Your reasoning?"

"The wounds. One with a blunt weapon, one with an arrow. The rest were burned, and I don't think it was magic. It must have been a special ability."

A knight used a sword, because it was the best weapon for using an aura. But with no sword wounds...

"Maybe they are adventurerrrs from Noark? Another adventurer could have taken them down because they didn't have a tag."

Raven smiled grimly at Missha's words. "Or it could be the opposite."

"Opposite?"

"The knight said so himself earlier," Mr. Bear said. "These adventurers might have been targeted for their tags."

"Oh..."

"Besides, whoever did this left their faces unrecognizable. Normally, that's not necessary, is it?"

Of course, we couldn't know what the truth was, but these corpses rang alarm bells for all of us. They had to, because these were adventurers who had reached the outskirts of the first floor this early into the expedition. They must have been strong enough to speedrun, but they had still been killed within a few hours of the labyrinth opening.

"...We really need to be careful."

"Yandel, it looks like these bastards went to the Goblin Forest. Shouldn't we go somewhere else?"

"It won't make a difference."

"Well, that's true."

In the end, we made our way to the Goblin Forest without making any changes to our schedule. I wasn't sure how long it had been, but we reached the portal to the second floor at 6:47 a.m., much earlier than our previous expedition. Even compared to Rotmiller's time trial attempt, there was only a thirty-minute difference.

"Mr. Yandel, you can be a real scout now."

"Nyaha, a barrrbarian scout? No one will believe this!"

"Bjorn is the hope of the barbarians!"

Everyone showered me with compliments after checking the time, but this was hardly a result of my skill. This expedition had a different starting line. We'd moved from outskirt to outskirt, which was bound to save a lot of time. "...Anyway, let's go up." I dismissed their chatter and stood in front of the portal.

"You're embarrassed."

"Yes, yes, you arrre." Abman and Misha teased.

Yeah, right.

***

[You have entered the Goblin Forest on the second floor.]

[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]

[You have entered the Tower of Heavens on the fourth floor.]

***

On the morning of the seventh day, a day faster than with Rotmiller, we reached the fourth floor.

At this rate, we might be in first place.

This was the result of combining Abman's scouting ability with my rapidly growing navigation skills. As a matter of fact, we rarely came across any adventurers, just two large-scale clans, and maybe ten parties. Each time we did, we parted ways only after showing each other our tags, weapons up. The atmosphere in the labyrinth had gotten really scary.

"Raven, what are the results?"

"Nothing."

As soon as we cleared the first stage of the Tower, she spent about an hour running detection magic, wary of the masked assailant incident from last time.

Geez, look what that bastard is making us do.

It pissed me off worse the more I thought about it, but what could I do? We had to look out for ourselves given the current state of affairs.

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

The first stairway was none other than Wisdom, a maze full of traps and monsters. Most of the training I had received from Rotmiller was in this field, so my clear time was reduced by about forty minutes.

"Raven, how long did it take?"

"One hour and fifty-eight minutes."

Considering that it took five hours the first time, that was ridiculously fast.

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Courage.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Courage.]

Even after that, we continued to overcome trials and focused on climbing the floors.

Floor twenty-seven on the first day...

We actually succeeded in clearing a quarter of the Tower in one day. This speed would have been impossible had the Stairway of Wisdom not appeared multiple times in succession.

"It's a bit early, but let's take a break ahead of schedule today."

The Stairway of Courage we had cleared last would only let us leave after a four-hour wait, so we just set up camp.

"What should we do about night watch?"

"I don't think there's any need for that."

There was no night watch. After using detection spells periodically throughout the day, we hadn't found any other adventurers.

"Well, even if someone really is hiding here, a night watch would be pointless. If we can't even find them with detection magic, what difference would staying awake change, right?"

"That's exactly what I was going to say."

"Then shall we eat before bed?"

"Sure."

Everyone gathered for a quick meal, headed to their sleeping bags, and laid down. A comfortable bed could only be found on the fourth floor. At least, that should've been the case.

Goddamn it.

Maybe it was because of the masked assailant incident, but sleep didn't come easily to me that night. In the end, only after tossing and turning for a while did I manage to close my eyes. But it wasn't long before I was forced to wake up.

Dddddd!

Vibrations spread through the ground under my back. The entire Tower was faintly trembling. I quickly got up. There was only one thing in the labyrinth that caused a phenomenon like this.

"Mr. Yandel, is this..."

"Yes, it's exactly what you think."

A Rift had opened on the fourth floor.

Raven smiled grimly at Missha's words. "Or it could be the opposite."

"Opposite?"

"The knight said so himself earlier," Mr. Bear said. "These adventurers might have been targeted for their tags."

"Oh..."

"Besides, whoever did this left their faces unrecognizable. Normally, that's not necessary, is it?"

Of course, we couldn't know what the truth was, but these corpses rang alarm bells for all of us. They had to, because these were adventurers who had reached the outskirts of the first floor this early into the expedition. They must have been strong enough to speedrun, but they had still been killed within a few hours of the labyrinth opening.

"...We really need to be careful."

"Yandel, it looks like these bastards went to the Goblin Forest. Shouldn't we go somewhere else?"

"It won't make a difference."

"Well, that's true."

In the end, we made our way to the Goblin Forest without making any changes to our schedule. I wasn't sure how long it had been, but we reached the portal to the second floor at 6:47 a.m., much earlier than our previous expedition. Even compared to Rotmiller's time trial attempt, there was only a thirty-minute difference.

"Mr. Yandel, you can be a real scout now."

"Nyaha, a barrrbarian scout? No one will believe this!"

"Bjorn is the hope of the barbarians!"

Everyone showered me with compliments after checking the time, but this was hardly a result of my skill. This expedition had a different starting line. We'd moved from outskirt to outskirt, which was bound to save a lot of time. "...Anyway, let's go up." I dismissed their chatter and stood in front of the portal.

"You're embarrassed."

"Yes, yes, you arrre." Abman and Misha teased.

Yeah, right.

***

[You have entered the Goblin Forest on the second floor.]

[You have entered the Pilgrim's Path on the third floor.]

[You have entered the Tower of Heavens on the fourth floor.]

***

On the morning of the seventh day, a day faster than with Rotmiller, we reached the fourth floor.

At this rate, we might be in first place.

This was the result of combining Abman's scouting ability with my rapidly growing navigation skills. As a matter of fact, we rarely came across any adventurers, just two large-scale clans, and maybe ten parties. Each time we did, we parted ways only after showing each other our tags, weapons up. The atmosphere in the labyrinth had gotten really scary.

"Raven, what are the results?"

"Nothing."

As soon as we cleared the first stage of the Tower, she spent about an hour running detection magic, wary of the masked assailant incident from last time.

Geez, look what that bastard is making us do.

It pissed me off worse the more I thought about it, but what could I do? We had to look out for ourselves given the current state of affairs.

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

The first stairway was none other than Wisdom, a maze full of traps and monsters. Most of the training I had received from Rotmiller was in this field, so my clear time was reduced by about forty minutes.

"Raven, how long did it take?"

"One hour and fifty-eight minutes."

Considering that it took five hours the first time, that was ridiculously fast.

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Courage.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Stairway of Courage.]

Even after that, we continued to overcome trials and focused on climbing the floors.

Floor twenty-seven on the first day...

We actually succeeded in clearing a quarter of the Tower in one day. This speed would have been impossible had the Stairway of Wisdom not appeared multiple times in succession.

"It's a bit early, but let's take a break ahead of schedule today."

The Stairway of Courage we had cleared last would only let us leave after a four-hour wait, so we just set up camp.

"What should we do about night watch?"

"I don't think there's any need for that."

There was no night watch. After using detection spells periodically throughout the day, we hadn't found any other adventurers.

"Well, even if someone really is hiding here, a night watch would be pointless. If we can't even find them with detection magic, what difference would staying awake change, right?"

"That's exactly what I was going to say."

"Then shall we eat before bed?"

"Sure."

Everyone gathered for a quick meal, headed to their sleeping bags, and laid down. A comfortable bed could only be found on the fourth floor. At least, that should've been the case.

Goddamn it.

Maybe it was because of the masked assailant incident, but sleep didn't come easily to me that night. In the end, only after tossing and turning for a while did I manage to close my eyes. But it wasn't long before I was forced to wake up.

Dddddd!

Vibrations spread through the ground under my back. The entire Tower was faintly trembling. I quickly got up. There was only one thing in the labyrinth that caused a phenomenon like this.

"Mr. Yandel, is this..."

"Yes, it's exactly what you think."

A Rift had opened on the fourth floor.