Shortcut Closure Operation
Viola's boast had barely fallen when the one who let out the shout appeared. Even considering the volume of the sound and how it echoed, it was quite far away.
The one who shouted was Hernan, who had come at an enormous speed down the highway in the maze that Viola had opened, as if it were an Autobahn. The person who appeared the moment he activated the skill he had mastered and mana sight was unmistakably a human form.
At least not a monster. There are monsters that can imitate human voices, but when I saw him properly, the first impression I got could be expressed in one word. Well, it might be rude, but the first thing that popped into my mind was the two characters "toin" (土人).
He was covered in dirt, carrying a huge backpack, moving almost on all fours. Yet, the whole body had traces of having stayed here in the maze for a long time, satisfying both meanings of the word "toin".
"Is that so? That, you know, lives underground."
"Dwarf?"
"Yes! That's it!"
"He looks pretty tall for that kind of thing? The proportions aren't dwarf-like either."
His beard is a bit messy. Unlike the dwarves who dream of being miners and diligently manage their beards, this one is just neglected and grew randomly.
As if to confirm my guess was right, Viola said.
"It's a human."
The man's personal information continued without stopping there. His identity was Hernan Wakefield. The nickname officially given by the guild from the experts was Cartographer. But there was another nickname that was used more than the official one, Cartographer.
The second nickname, which was unofficial but more famous than the official one, came out when Hernan stood right in front of us after running at a fierce speed.
"Long time no see, Maze Crawler."
The one who crawls through the maze. It was a fitting nickname recalling Hernan's movement method just now.
Viola greeted lightly with a grin.
Surprisingly, Hernan didn't look surprised.
'If I have to say someone who can do such unbelievable things, there aren't many.'
Probably, the candidate pool is so small that it can be counted on one hand.
Instead of being surprised, Hernan grumbled with full of irritation.
"...After coming down after several years, what kind of thing is this?"
"It's a bit wide to look for you. Still, you're lucky. I was going to do it one or two more times."
"Insane talk!!"
Seeing Hernan shout in shock, Viola laughed with a chuckle.
Indeed. As Ray said, his personality is crazy.
Even the act of immediately coming down and just smashing with a lance to break the wall is absurd, but it's not like he was just pressing the bell. He was going to do it several more times if he didn't come out.
"Well, if you've come this far, it's fine."
"...Are you looking for a way to go down to the 3rd floor? If that's the case, I'll tell you, so hurry up and go."
It sounded like "get out".
But unfortunately for him, our purpose in coming here wasn't to go to the 3rd floor as a stopover.
"You don't know? A shortcut opened in the 2nd floor. Probably simultaneously. It's strange that you don't know?"
"I haven't been active at the base recently. It's a period of organization. But if it's simultaneous..."
"Well, it's the heretics setting up shop again."
Viola said nervously, extending her hand.
"So give me the map."
"...There's no one stronger than you."
"Try not to use the formal expression 'conscription'."
By the way, you're a conscript target too.
'It sounds like "Are you coming to party at my house?" question.'
"Hah, no right to refuse. If it's an abnormal situation, it's better to resolve it as quickly as possible. Got it."
Surprisingly, Hernan quickly accepted the situation. He must have calculated that it would be much more efficient to finish this task as quickly as possible and send Viola anywhere.
As befits a veteran explorer, the quote was very fast.
"First, we have to go to the gathering point. We agreed to meet at the E-20 square, which is called a center, right? Please guide us."
Hernan, who was forcibly joined due to Viola's unreasonable rampage, was an excellent guide. Ray, our team's guide, is skilled, but Hernan seemed to have completely mastered the entire structure of the 2nd floor.
"If you press there, the hidden passage opens. It's like a hole."
Like now, he understood everything from special gimmicks to being well-versed in shortcuts. As expected, Cartographer. A man with a maniacal goal to complete the perfect map of the 2nd floor.
Hernan gave off an atmosphere of "I don't care about you - I have no intention of talking to you" and focused only on guiding.
So, I approached from my side and started talking.
"How long have you been staying in the 2nd floor, Mr. Hernan?"
"...Well, it's been over 5 years."
"5 years... is that possible?"
"Main expeditions are basic in yearly units. Even for someone like me, it's hard to say it's long."
"Is supply possible?"
"If you want to go deeper, pay more attention to local procurement."
Meaning, hunt monsters on the spot, eat them, and find water sources in the Abyss to drink. That's something that can be called the basic literacy of an explorer.
It was more of an ice-breaking question than me really not knowing.
"But is it even possible to make a map of the 2nd floor?"
Not only is it vast, but as I said before, the 2nd floor's structure changes periodically. It can last more than a year, or change in a month. On average, every half year.
Kim Jung-ho took 5 years to make the Great Dongyeo map. Even if the maze in the 2nd floor is much smaller than the Korean peninsula, and there are abilities and mysterious relics not on Earth, it would still take months to make a map.
Then, what's the point of making a map if it's useless and discarded?
"Possible."
However, Hernan answered immediately with a firm tone that showed no doubt at all.
"As long as you find the rules of change."
"Isn't it random?"
"The transfer point in the 1st floor also has changes due to the cause of mana flow. There is regularity there. The reason I could make the main base is because I found that rule."
If you find the change rules of the 2nd floor, making a map is not impossible. Hernan claimed that.
"I have secured a total of 103 maps."
"103 of them?"
"Is that possible? Even if taken every half year, it's data accumulated over 50 years."
"I obtained them by getting what the previous generation made or restoring what was recorded in history. Although data is still lacking, as time passes and I get more maps, I will definitely be able to read the rules."
Madness. Throwing one's own life into a task that may have no answer, which many people have challenged for hundreds of years and ended in failure, is itself a form of madness.
Although the job of explorer is something that can't be done properly without being a bit crazy, Hernan was exceptional.
I seemed to know where Hernan belonged.
"Are you from the Enigma guild, Mr. Hernan?"
"Yeah."
"As expected. If there's an expert-level explorer who challenges such unbelievable things, it must be from Enigma."
"Why? Frontier should have told you that much."
"Ah, I'm not from the Frontier guild."
"Is that so?"
The slightly drawn-out voice, instead of the somewhat impolite tone until now, mixed with interest for the first time.
"Then?"
"I don't have a guild, it's the Thelema school. With the Frontier guild... that guy Arthur is the direct descendant of the guild master, and we're from the same training camp. That's why we got together."
"Oh, that's surprising. With that level, Frontier allowed you to accompany them?"
"My teammate also received training there. On that side, is it the lion beastman? That's him."
"Hmph. Don't get too close to Frontier. It'll only cause trouble."
"All heard."
Even though Viola warned from behind, as befits Enigma's collection of real weirdos, Hernan also exploded.
"I said to listen."
To be able to say such things to a Pioneer. That might be because Hernan is a human far from normal, but realistically, he has a solid back.
The two major mountain ranges of Abyss exploration. The third guild that holds Pioneer along with Frontier and Conqueror is Enigma.
The three guilds that have produced Pioneers from the top 5 guilds. Because there is a Pioneer behind Hernan, he can be arrogant to the same Pioneer Viola.
'As expected, the world is all about connections.'
Hernan, who showed an enormous hassle, treated Viola as if she didn't exist and asked me.
"Then, the purpose is a visit?"
"Yeah, but the battle with the Sentinel is our responsibility, I guess."
"Sentinel?"
"You?"
Although it wasn't actually output in voice, Hernan's tone, expression, and gesture suggested the doubt 'you?' that would follow.
However, Hernan didn't even bury that doubt in his heart.
"By chance, there's a Sentinel nearby. Hmm... Although it's under rank, it wouldn't be bad to check if the shortcut really opens into the Sentinel's territory."
Of course, while doing that, checking if we can really catch the Sentinel.
The remains of something lying on the floor. It was undoubtedly the one called the terror of the 2nd floor, the Sentinel.
And standing in front of it is none other than the four beginners who have just stepped onto the path of explorers. Even forgetting to say "k, good" like Viola, Hernan looked only at Roman, the one who gave the final blow to the Sentinel.
'What is this?''Is this really a demonologist?'
Why is the mana so much? Hernan didn't think of himself as a normal person. Already himself is far outside the category of common sense. However, this one has also deviated from the line of common sense in a completely different way.
"You, perhaps..."
Hernan, soaked in shock, barely spoke.
"Have you thought about joining our guild?"