Efusio of the Beginning
[CONDITION FULFILLED]
[The terrain of the 1st Layer is changing.]
[The darkness temporarily vanishes.]
Grk-grk—
The First Layer Boss, Efusio of the Beginning, has appeared.
“Shit, a layer boss? What the hell is going on?”
Berkel had said layer bosses only started appearing from the 5th floor onward. I’d heard it clearly during orientation—five of them discovered so far, one every five floors up to the 25th.
“Ugh!”
The ground beneath my feet and the surrounding walls rippled, showing signs of change. Kugugung. I tried to keep my balance on the shaking floor, but only for a moment.
Hwaak—
This time, the darkness that had been blocking my vision completely disappeared.
“Huh. No need for torches, I guess.”
Let’s think calmly. Why had these sudden changes appeared?
“Damn it. No matter how much I rack my brain, the only possible cause is Isaac’s death. The timing’s too perfect.”
When the system window appeared earlier, it clearly said the condition had been fulfilled. Isaac had already been on the verge of death anyway. A guy with such terrifying self-love—why would he stab his own heart first unless he had some grand scheme?
“‘Let’s all go to hell together’… Is that what he meant?”
The rule that layer bosses could only be summoned every five floors. The method to break that rule and summon the very first layer boss on the 1st floor, something never discovered in decades… and it turned out Isaac of all people knew it.
‘Does this even make sense?’
It wasn’t even the Chaos Dragon Heart’s misfortune triggering. Why was this happening?
Chaos warns that no matter the circumstances, a layer boss is no easy matter and advises caution.
“Chaos!”
Chaos says it couldn’t intervene while Isaac was speaking.
Given Isaac’s vulgar language, Chaos probably had plenty to say, yet it stayed quiet. It was being considerate of me.
—Aren, can you hear me?
Yeriel’s voice came through the communication spell just as I was struggling with the rapidly changing situation.
‘Yeah. How are things on your end? Are you two hurt?’
—Yeah! The walls and ground suddenly started moving and it was scary, but we’re fine. Did everything get resolved over there?
‘Isaac’s problem is… cleanly taken care of now. I don’t have to worry about that bastard anymore, so that’s a relief. But—’
—But?
‘…You know how I can see other people’s stats, traits, and item information differently from everyone else, right?’
—I do. But why? Can you see the cause of this situation?
‘I can see it, but… listen and don’t be surprised. It looks like a layer boss has appeared on the 1st floor.’
—Eh?
Yeriel fell silent for a moment, as if she’d heard something completely unexpected.
‘Yeriel?’
—Uh. Are you sure it’s a layer boss? It’s not that I don’t believe you, but… it’s just too absurd, you know?
Fair enough.
‘I doubted my eyes at first too. But if my eyes, blessed by the gods, can see it, then it must be certain. Can you come to where I am?’
—Yeah! I’m already on my way, so just wait a bit. I’ll be there soon!
Good. She’d be joining me shortly. That aside, if a layer boss had appeared, had it spawned randomly somewhere on the 1st floor?
…Right! Isaac—
Shiver—
「You. You are the closest to the one who awakened me.」
‘Fuck, what? No way.’
Chaos shouts for you to fall back.
Paaang!
Hwaak—!
It happened in the blink of an eye. The moment I leaped backward, a pure white light gathered and took on a humanoid shape.
An entity that had slumbered for countless ages within the Great Labyrinth since its appearance. The price for awakening it would be paid harshly by everyone on the 1st Layer.
Having fallen to the 1st Layer and gained a half-formed body, it would gather, absorb, summon, and erase.
[Traits Held]
(Locked)
Prison of Condensation
Primordial Seraph
Summons of Hesmana
Oblivion
「Haa… I cannot even recall how long it has been since I last opened my eyes. To be reduced to such a feeble form… How truly lamentable.」
“…”
Just from a glance, this wasn’t something I could handle alone. What now?
Chaos tells you to run.
「First, shall I summon the offerings?」
Efusio of the Beginning casts Prison of Condensation.
Adventurers on the 1st Layer are randomly selected and teleported to the central area.
Uuuung.
Before I could do anything, a low hum rang out and adventurers began appearing one by one around me.
“What? This is the central area, isn’t it?”
“What is that? A monster? There’s no way something like that exists on the 1st floor.”
“Damn it! The 2nd floor portal was right in front of me—what the hell is this?”
This was insane. Panicked adventurers were raising their voices in the middle of what looked like a marketplace.
Pajijik!
“Aaaagh!”
Every adventurer’s gaze turned toward the sound. A halfling who had tried to leave the central area—perhaps heading north—was burned black upon touching the barrier of light surrounding the zone.
「Oh dear. That won’t do. After all the trouble of gathering you, you try to escape?」
—Aren! We’ve arrived, but there’s this strange light blocking us—we can’t get in!
No. Forcing your way in will get you killed.
‘Don’t come! Get away from it right now!’
I continued urgently.
‘A layer boss appeared right in front of me and just randomly summoned 1st floor adventurers to the central area. Must be one of its traits.’
‘Seeing how people trying to leave get burned, entering is obviously dangerous too. I’ll figure something out and get out, so don’t worry about me and stay far away.’
—U-uh… Ahh, what is this… sniff.
“Fuck! What the hell is going on right now?! Why do we die if we try to leave? And why the hell did we all suddenly get dragged here in the first place?”
That voice… Krib from Luke’s party? I could see Krib and Luke. They must’ve gotten separated from the other two.
「Ah, well, you see—」
“What’s that growling sound? Looks like a monster for sure. Don’t tell me it’s a special variant?”
‘Growling?’
Ah. Because of my language trait, I was the only one who could understand the boss’s words. None of the other transmigrators were here right now?
「Hmm. From what I hear, you cannot understand my words? How troublesome.」
“It’s not a special variant. Special variants are just slightly unusual individuals—they don’t possess the power to perform miracles like this.”
A scholarly-looking man wearing glasses spoke up.
“Then what is it? If it’s not a special variant, is it a mutant? And who the hell are you to be so sure?”
“I am Heinz, a mage of the Earth School. My introduction is done. A mutant also makes no sense, considering this is only the 1st floor. Such a scale of ability is impossible.”
Damn it. Even with so many people here, we should already be preparing for battle against a layer boss. What kind of idiotic conversation was this? At least Efusio was just standing there watching, which was a small mercy.
I couldn’t stay silent any longer.
“It’s a layer boss. The monster in front of us right now is the 1st floor’s layer boss.”
I judged that the danger of the creature before us outweighed the risk of questions about my trait.
Heinz narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
“What? Do you lack even basic common sense?”
“I can tell through my trait. I can’t explain in detail, but the 1st floor’s layer boss seems to be an exception to the five-floor rule because of the ‘first’ descriptor attached to it.”
“…Indeed. Even I, a mage, have never seen this form before, and the ability to summon and trap this many adventurers in one area…”
He pushed his glasses up, eyes gleaming.
“If it’s layer boss level, that would make sense. Can you swear that what you said is true?”
“I swear on my parents. Satisfied?”
Orphan or not, that should be enough to convince him. The moment I said that and Heinz nodded, his lips parting—
「Haa… There is no point in speaking if they cannot understand. And listening to their chattering is noisy. There is no need to watch any longer.」
Efusio of the Beginning casts Primordial Seraph.
Efusio extended its right arm forward. As it spread its fingers, white particles began to gather.
Jiiing—
Shit. A laser!
The target was… Krib!
Adventurers in the laser’s path threw themselves aside or dodged with traits. Only the flustered Krib took the hit.
“Uwaaah— Huh?”
Krib stopped mid-scream, wearing a dumbfounded expression.
“What? It doesn’t even hurt.”
No. He got hit by an attack with a skill name and felt nothing? Against a layer boss? That couldn’t be right.
“See? Layer bosses, my ass. Never heard of or seen one on the 1st floor. It’s just a mutant or some weird variant, right?”
Krib pressed his body against the laser with a smug grin, telling everyone not to make a fuss over a 1st floor monster.
「Foolish human. Is that truly the case?」
“Get away, you brainless bastard!”
Seeing that, Luke—who had been hesitating—still rushed forward as if remembering they were in the same party, shoving Krib with his whole body.
The two tumbled to the ground. With its target gone, Efusio’s attack gradually faded.
What was he thinking, standing there taking it? If it was a mental attack or something that triggered with a delay, he would’ve been screwed. He’d shown signs of this from the moment he opened his mouth—maybe his intelligence was just that low. Or maybe the 1st floor was so easy that even someone like him could pass.
‘Probably the latter. He was barely pulling his weight with some smell-related trait and getting carried by his party. Just look at their leader, Luke…’
Efusio of the Beginning absorbs Krib’s traits.
Paching.
A sound like something breaking came from Krib.
“Uh, eek— Aaaagh—!”
“Krib?”
Traits: (Collapsed)
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Beginner Dismantling
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…Insane. Out of Krib’s three traits, Beginner Dagger Technique and Sensitive Smell had vanished.