Chapter 398: Expedition (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 398: Expedition (3)
In simple terms, the speedrun ended up being a failure. When we arrived at our destination, the portal connecting to the second floor was already open and we weren't able to obtain the Portal Opening achievement. And I really thought it might work this time.
"How much slower were we than the previous team?"
"About ten minutes."
What, that long?
The time we took would have been considered a speedrun in the game. It felt like we were playing in the big leagues now.
But if it's ten minutes... it should be possible to bridge that gap as long as I just speed up.
Once our speedrunning capabilities became more reliable, it was very important to get on track and start accumulating free XP with each expedition. That was probably why that dragon tribe woman had asked to work individually.
I wonder if her speedrun was a success.
The last member of our team was the dragonian Ravien. That woman had only participated in the inauguration ceremony and left without enjoying the banquet, and she even entered the labyrinth separately. Her logic was that traveling alone was several times faster for her and we were going to meet up with her on the sixth floor anyway.
Ugh, honestly, if it weren't for the marquess...
Her thought process clearly indicated that something was wrong with her head. I felt the need to fix it for her but unfortunately failed due to the intervention of the marquess. Apparently, he'd made her some personal promise separate from our mission so I needed to respect her autonomy. He then said he wouldn't stop me from trying to rein her in but asked me to refrain from using force. Put simply, he was asking me not to beat her up.
What is she, some princess?
Of course, I wasn't going to give up on getting control just because the most convenient way to do so wasn't available to me. Correcting her attitude would make things easier in the future too. So I'd do it—whatever it took.
[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.]
Anyway, even without our wayward team member, the quest itself wasn't difficult so we proceeded as planned without any issues. We headed straight up to the fourth floor, making good time. Starting in the Tower, where avoiding battle was no longer possible, we improved our understanding of each other by practicing our teamwork. As a result, we naturally ended up having a lot of conversations.
"Hmm, so it's true the three of them were living in the same house..."
There was some personal chit-chat like this in the mix but no one said anything that crossed the line. For example, whether mine and Erwen's relationship was as the rumors said, or anything about my relationship to the marquess, how people like us could have flown under the radar all this time, etcetera. Old Didi showed curiosity about these things from time to time but was cut off by the wizard Ashed before he could voice his questions out loud.
"But by any chance—"
"Ms. Raines, I've been wondering something after observing a few of your battles: can your clones also use Auras?"
"No, it's impossible."
"Really? From what I've seen, the clones can use your other abilities. Since it is such a rare essence, this is sparking my passion for learning."
At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but now I was certain. This wizard stepped forward every time Old Didi tried to bring up an uncomfortable topic.
Such a smart man.
I didn't know why, maybe because he was a wizard and a man, but Riard Ashed kept reminding me of Dwalkie. Of course, unlike him, Ashed spoke in a soft voice, said everything he wanted to say, and had much better social skills. His temperament was different as well. He was quick-witted and much more mature. But because of that...
"What is it, Mr. Schuitz?"
"I wasn't looking."
As I watched him, a thought suddenly came to mind. Riol Warb Dwalkie... if that guy had gotten a chance to grow up, over time, would I have felt the same way about him?
***
[You have entered the Great Sea on the sixth floor.]
It was Day Eighteen of our trip into the labyrinth. Except for the Tower of Heavens, we were able to speed through the rest of the floors to arrive at Laemia, the Island of Beginnings, which was very quiet. That was to be expected. While our team ran to get here, how many other people could be here at this point in the expedition? There was a military scouting team made up of quick-footed people, some elites from large clans awaiting the arrival of the rest of their members, and other teams from our expedition who only greeted us with a look, mindful of the eyes around us.
Wow, there were two teams here before us.
I expected this from the dwarf woman's team since it was made up of veteran adventurers, but I didn't expect Paladin Jun to be faster than us too.
"...Ah, there she is."
Anyway, it was easy to find people since it wasn't busy. I quickly spotted Ravien, the dragonian woman added to our team as part of my deal with the prime minister, and a business associate whose full name I hadn't even heard yet.
"You guys rest here for a moment." After telling my team to wait, I approached the woman, who sat on a chair in the shade, staring blankly at the shore.
When I approached, Ravien spoke without even turning her head. "Day eighteen... You got here earlier than I expected."
What the—? Does she have eyes on the back of her head?
"I'm sure I said the rendezvous point is on the eastern region of the island?"
"The departure date is the twentieth, anyway. Looks like the other teams who got here early are also just resting nearby."
Well, that was true. I didn't actually intend to scold her about where she set up shop. "When did you arrive?"
"Two days ago."
"Two days ago...?"
That meant she had arrived on the sixteenth day. She traveled from the first to the sixth floor in almost fifteen days. Aside from being displeased with having such an individualistic team member, I had to admit...
"...I see why you wanted to travel alone."
At that speed, she must have succeeded in speedrunning all the floors. From this woman's perspective, it made sense not to enter the labyrinth with us. If she had, she would've had to give up a whopping twelve free EXP.
This will make it harder to persuade her.
My troubles compounded. The thought of forcing her to travel with us the whole time just because we were a team made me feel like a boomer.
"Anyway, get up."
"Why?"
"We didn't get to talk in the city, since you were so busy."
At first, I thought it was a coincidence, but now I was certain. This wizard stepped forward every time Old Didi tried to bring up an uncomfortable topic.
Such a smart man.
I didn't know why, maybe because he was a wizard and a man, but Riard Ashed kept reminding me of Dwalkie. Of course, unlike him, Ashed spoke in a soft voice, said everything he wanted to say, and had much better social skills. His temperament was different as well. He was quick-witted and much more mature. But because of that...
"What is it, Mr. Schuitz?"
"I wasn't looking."
As I watched him, a thought suddenly came to mind. Riol Warb Dwalkie... if that guy had gotten a chance to grow up, over time, would I have felt the same way about him?
***
[You have entered the Great Sea on the sixth floor.]
It was Day Eighteen of our trip into the labyrinth. Except for the Tower of Heavens, we were able to speed through the rest of the floors to arrive at Laemia, the Island of Beginnings, which was very quiet. That was to be expected. While our team ran to get here, how many other people could be here at this point in the expedition? There was a military scouting team made up of quick-footed people, some elites from large clans awaiting the arrival of the rest of their members, and other teams from our expedition who only greeted us with a look, mindful of the eyes around us.
Wow, there were two teams here before us.
I expected this from the dwarf woman's team since it was made up of veteran adventurers, but I didn't expect Paladin Jun to be faster than us too.
"...Ah, there she is."
Anyway, it was easy to find people since it wasn't busy. I quickly spotted Ravien, the dragonian woman added to our team as part of my deal with the prime minister, and a business associate whose full name I hadn't even heard yet.
"You guys rest here for a moment." After telling my team to wait, I approached the woman, who sat on a chair in the shade, staring blankly at the shore.
When I approached, Ravien spoke without even turning her head. "Day eighteen... You got here earlier than I expected."
What the—? Does she have eyes on the back of her head?
"I'm sure I said the rendezvous point is on the eastern region of the island?"
"The departure date is the twentieth, anyway. Looks like the other teams who got here early are also just resting nearby."
Well, that was true. I didn't actually intend to scold her about where she set up shop. "When did you arrive?"
"Two days ago."
"Two days ago...?"
That meant she had arrived on the sixteenth day. She traveled from the first to the sixth floor in almost fifteen days. Aside from being displeased with having such an individualistic team member, I had to admit...
"...I see why you wanted to travel alone."
At that speed, she must have succeeded in speedrunning all the floors. From this woman's perspective, it made sense not to enter the labyrinth with us. If she had, she would've had to give up a whopping twelve free EXP.
This will make it harder to persuade her.
My troubles compounded. The thought of forcing her to travel with us the whole time just because we were a team made me feel like a boomer.
"Anyway, get up."
"Why?"
"We didn't get to talk in the city, since you were so busy."
"All right."
I didn't know what I was going to say if she said she was going to stay here until the 20th. But surprisingly, she readily accepted my request and headed to the eastern part of the island where the rendezvous point was located with me.
"Nice to see you again. This is our first time meeting since the inauguration ceremony, right?" said Ashed.
"I'm sorry about that. There was a situation within my tribe. I'll try to make time in the city as much as possible from now on."
"I'm grateful. Shall we call you Ms. Ravien from now on?"
"Sure. Address me however you feel comfortable, Mr. Ashed."
The conversation went more smoothly than I expected.
"May I call you Miss Ravien?" Knowing dragonians aged differently than humans, Old Didi's tone was cautious as he asked this.
Ravien nodded coolly. "What about you two? How should I address you?" She turned to Amelia and Erwen.
"Emily, Raines, whatever you want."
"I'll go with Ms. Raines."
"I'm Tersia."
When Erwen drew a line in the sand, her tone sharp, Ravien gave her a strange look and smiled. "All right, Ms. Tersia."
Okay, now that we've figured out names... But why are we only figuring out names on the sixth floor? Can this really be considered a team?
Even with those questions in mind, I got straight to the point. "We worked on our teamwork in the city, and learned more about each other on the way up here."
"I know what you're getting at. You want to know more about me, too, right?"
"We have to know who we're trusting to watch our backs."
"Okay."
Ravien pulled out the sword on her hip and demonstrated some of her skills, explaining what role she could play in battle. It seemed like she was omitting a few things, but this was a common practice for those in occupations besides wizard, priest, and special ability user, so that wasn't anything new.
"So where should I stand when we're on the move?"
"The rear."
"And during battle?"
"Emily will take my left rear guard and you'll take my right rear guard."
"It's standard."
"We don't know enough about each other to do anything complicated."
I guessed she noticed an edge in my tone because Ravien chuckled.
"Are you going to keep doing that?" I asked.
"I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"
Well, let's end our battle of wills here.
After that, the wizard and special ability user also went through the process of helping Ravien understand their roles. It didn't take long but it was frustrating to watch. Why do something twice when it could've just been done once in the city? Perhaps individualism was a synonym for inefficiency.
"You're here."
"We can't be fooling around on the beach when the leader of the expedition is over here, can we?"
Before long, Akurava's and the paladin's teams, which were resting on the coast, joined us at the rendezvous point on the eastern part of the island. More time passed, and then...
"All right."
I didn't know what I was going to say if she said she was going to stay here until the 20th. But surprisingly, she readily accepted my request and headed to the eastern part of the island where the rendezvous point was located with me.
"Nice to see you again. This is our first time meeting since the inauguration ceremony, right?" said Ashed.
"I'm sorry about that. There was a situation within my tribe. I'll try to make time in the city as much as possible from now on."
"I'm grateful. Shall we call you Ms. Ravien from now on?"
"Sure. Address me however you feel comfortable, Mr. Ashed."
The conversation went more smoothly than I expected.
"May I call you Miss Ravien?" Knowing dragonians aged differently than humans, Old Didi's tone was cautious as he asked this.
Ravien nodded coolly. "What about you two? How should I address you?" She turned to Amelia and Erwen.
"Emily, Raines, whatever you want."
"I'll go with Ms. Raines."
"I'm Tersia."
When Erwen drew a line in the sand, her tone sharp, Ravien gave her a strange look and smiled. "All right, Ms. Tersia."
Okay, now that we've figured out names... But why are we only figuring out names on the sixth floor? Can this really be considered a team?
Even with those questions in mind, I got straight to the point. "We worked on our teamwork in the city, and learned more about each other on the way up here."
"I know what you're getting at. You want to know more about me, too, right?"
"We have to know who we're trusting to watch our backs."
"Okay."
Ravien pulled out the sword on her hip and demonstrated some of her skills, explaining what role she could play in battle. It seemed like she was omitting a few things, but this was a common practice for those in occupations besides wizard, priest, and special ability user, so that wasn't anything new.
"So where should I stand when we're on the move?"
"The rear."
"And during battle?"
"Emily will take my left rear guard and you'll take my right rear guard."
"It's standard."
"We don't know enough about each other to do anything complicated."
I guessed she noticed an edge in my tone because Ravien chuckled.
"Are you going to keep doing that?" I asked.
"I didn't say anything wrong, did I?"
Well, let's end our battle of wills here.
After that, the wizard and special ability user also went through the process of helping Ravien understand their roles. It didn't take long but it was frustrating to watch. Why do something twice when it could've just been done once in the city? Perhaps individualism was a synonym for inefficiency.
"You're here."
"We can't be fooling around on the beach when the leader of the expedition is over here, can we?"
Before long, Akurava's and the paladin's teams, which were resting on the coast, joined us at the rendezvous point on the eastern part of the island. More time passed, and then...
"Team Three has just arrived."
Because the eastern part of the island was at a slightly higher elevation, we could see the next one of our squadron's teams enter the sixth floor in real time. It was the team led by James Calla, the vice captain of the Sawtooth Clan.
"They look like a mess."
"I guess they overdid themselves trying to go faster."
I understood their thought process. The gathering date was the 20th but they probably thought being the last team to arrive would be seen as indicative of their skill level. This, too, was a kind of battle of wills.
I didn't realize I was running an army in the Tang Dynasty.
Healthy competition within the group? This was a good leadership tool but it would only have a positive effect after we established unity. With the way things were now, competing with each other would only lead to in-fighting.
How can I unite them as one?
As I spent my time thinking about things all leaders were fated to contemplate, the day came to an end. Team Five, the team led by Kaislan the Knight, arrived around then.
"Damn it...!" Although he had arrived two days ahead of schedule, he clenched his fists in anger when he realized he was still last.
Huh, did this guy's control snap again?
"What are you doing over there? Come sit here, quickly."
"...O-Okay." When I gestured to him, he jumped and came closer. Getting angry like that only left you with wrinkles.
Tap, tap.
I patted Kaislan on the shoulder to encourage him, then used him to support my weight as I got up. "I know we have two more days before we're officially scheduled to leave, but since everyone is already here, I see no reason to waste time."
"Oh wow, are we finally learning what our missions will be now?"
"Ah, wouldn't it be best to leave the others out of this discussion?"
"It's fine, it's not anything we need to hide from each other. Besides, it's not like they can leak the information to anyone else, considering everyone is constantly together."
At my words, the other members of our squadron, who were exchanging awkward looks nearby, came closer to the circle. Since they had my permission, they must have figured they could listen with more confidence.
"Now, tell us. What on earth is our mission that it's been kept so secret? As the leader, you're the only one who knows the mission, right?" I could see Akurava's curious eyes through the flickering bonfire.
I really wish dwarves wouldn't sit on chairs. Look, I can't even see her face properly because of the bonfire. The fire's not even that big. Anyway, that's not important.
"Ahem-hem." Clearing my throat for the sake of my dignity as the expedition leader, I said, "Everyone must have wondered this exact thing before. If Noark is coming to the Dark Continent through portals, where are those portals opening?"
"Yes. If they've been given a particular starting point like the Crystal Cave, they're surely using that as a home base."
"Did the palace finally figure out where it is?"
"Yes." When I brought up the top-secret information the marquess gave me, the group began to murmur. This was no time to be surprised yet, though. "Our mission is to hit their stronghold."
In military terms, we were a mobile strike force, targeting and destroying the enemy's key troops or bases while our main unit was distracting them on the battlefield.
"...Um, there's one thing I don't understand. If that is our mission, why did we set such a tight schedule?"
"Could it be that we're meant to get through the Canyon of Vengeful Spirits on our own?"
"That's ridiculous! Unless we join the main unit and travel together, we cannot cross that canyon with a single ship!"
Huh, I'm not even done talking yet.
I supposed another similarity to the Tang Dynasty's military was that the local news sprung to life every time I spoke a single word. Before the misunderstanding could get any worse, I clarified. "We won't be crossing through the Canyon of Vengeful Spirits."
"What? You said we're attacking their home base on the Dark Continent, so what do you—"
"This is your final warning. Stop cutting me off."
Whew, now it's nice and quiet.
In the peaceful silence, I explained our mission in detail. "The Canyon of Vengeful Spirits isn't the only path to the Dark Continent."
"Ah! Could it be...?"
Yes, I guessed they'd realized it now. Why did they think we gathered on the eastern part of the island in the first place?
"We're heading to Ice Rock in the east."
Goblin Forest, Den of Beasts, Rock Desert, the Land of the Dead—just as the four separate areas that made up the second floor all connected to Pilgrim's Path on the third, the Dark Continent wasn't the only area on the seventh.
"After that, we'll enter the Dark Continent via the eighth floor and attack them from behind when their guard is down."
The mission was like a piece of cake... that was frozen solid. It was hard to swallow and at times made your teeth numb.
"If anyone doesn't understand, speak up."
No answer.
"I'm glad there don't seem to be any cowards here."
Though there were going to be many times when we questioned whether we really had to eat the cake like this, nevertheless, the end result would be sweet.
"Team Three has just arrived."
Because the eastern part of the island was at a slightly higher elevation, we could see the next one of our squadron's teams enter the sixth floor in real time. It was the team led by James Calla, the vice captain of the Sawtooth Clan.
"They look like a mess."
"I guess they overdid themselves trying to go faster."
I understood their thought process. The gathering date was the 20th but they probably thought being the last team to arrive would be seen as indicative of their skill level. This, too, was a kind of battle of wills.
I didn't realize I was running an army in the Tang Dynasty.
Healthy competition within the group? This was a good leadership tool but it would only have a positive effect after we established unity. With the way things were now, competing with each other would only lead to in-fighting.
How can I unite them as one?
As I spent my time thinking about things all leaders were fated to contemplate, the day came to an end. Team Five, the team led by Kaislan the Knight, arrived around then.
"Damn it...!" Although he had arrived two days ahead of schedule, he clenched his fists in anger when he realized he was still last.
Huh, did this guy's control snap again?
"What are you doing over there? Come sit here, quickly."
"...O-Okay." When I gestured to him, he jumped and came closer. Getting angry like that only left you with wrinkles.
Tap, tap.
I patted Kaislan on the shoulder to encourage him, then used him to support my weight as I got up. "I know we have two more days before we're officially scheduled to leave, but since everyone is already here, I see no reason to waste time."
"Oh wow, are we finally learning what our missions will be now?"
"Ah, wouldn't it be best to leave the others out of this discussion?"
"It's fine, it's not anything we need to hide from each other. Besides, it's not like they can leak the information to anyone else, considering everyone is constantly together."
At my words, the other members of our squadron, who were exchanging awkward looks nearby, came closer to the circle. Since they had my permission, they must have figured they could listen with more confidence.
"Now, tell us. What on earth is our mission that it's been kept so secret? As the leader, you're the only one who knows the mission, right?" I could see Akurava's curious eyes through the flickering bonfire.
I really wish dwarves wouldn't sit on chairs. Look, I can't even see her face properly because of the bonfire. The fire's not even that big. Anyway, that's not important.
"Ahem-hem." Clearing my throat for the sake of my dignity as the expedition leader, I said, "Everyone must have wondered this exact thing before. If Noark is coming to the Dark Continent through portals, where are those portals opening?"
"Yes. If they've been given a particular starting point like the Crystal Cave, they're surely using that as a home base."
"Did the palace finally figure out where it is?"
"Yes." When I brought up the top-secret information the marquess gave me, the group began to murmur. This was no time to be surprised yet, though. "Our mission is to hit their stronghold."
In military terms, we were a mobile strike force, targeting and destroying the enemy's key troops or bases while our main unit was distracting them on the battlefield.
"...Um, there's one thing I don't understand. If that is our mission, why did we set such a tight schedule?"
"Could it be that we're meant to get through the Canyon of Vengeful Spirits on our own?"
"That's ridiculous! Unless we join the main unit and travel together, we cannot cross that canyon with a single ship!"
Huh, I'm not even done talking yet.
I supposed another similarity to the Tang Dynasty's military was that the local news sprung to life every time I spoke a single word. Before the misunderstanding could get any worse, I clarified. "We won't be crossing through the Canyon of Vengeful Spirits."
"What? You said we're attacking their home base on the Dark Continent, so what do you—"
"This is your final warning. Stop cutting me off."
Whew, now it's nice and quiet.
In the peaceful silence, I explained our mission in detail. "The Canyon of Vengeful Spirits isn't the only path to the Dark Continent."
"Ah! Could it be...?"
Yes, I guessed they'd realized it now. Why did they think we gathered on the eastern part of the island in the first place?
"We're heading to Ice Rock in the east."
Goblin Forest, Den of Beasts, Rock Desert, the Land of the Dead—just as the four separate areas that made up the second floor all connected to Pilgrim's Path on the third, the Dark Continent wasn't the only area on the seventh.
"After that, we'll enter the Dark Continent via the eighth floor and attack them from behind when their guard is down."
The mission was like a piece of cake... that was frozen solid. It was hard to swallow and at times made your teeth numb.
"If anyone doesn't understand, speak up."
No answer.
"I'm glad there don't seem to be any cowards here."
Though there were going to be many times when we questioned whether we really had to eat the cake like this, nevertheless, the end result would be sweet.