[Dungeon and Stone] is a hardcore type game.
Even without making mistakes, characters you carefully raised die repeatedly throughout play.
So this news wasn't that surprising.
Ibaekho's team's archer, Layton Briot, had died.
It was something that could easily happen.
He fought fiercely with the Bon Dragon and was later teleported to a random coordinate.
Surviving alone on the ninth floor is never easy, especially when injured.
Jaina Flier, the healer, would have died right there too if she hadn't been lucky enough to meet me.
But…
"…What?"
Still, hearing such news so suddenly was inevitably shocking.
"W-What do you mean…? Briot is dead…?"
The GM asked again with a shocked expression, but the Old Doom Grandpa calmly stated the facts without emotion.
"I found his corpse on the way here. It seems this area was too harsh for him to survive alone after using all his strength."
"T-That's…."
The GM was speechless at the news of the companion's death.
How ironic.
The Old Doom Grandpa, who spent far more time with him than us, seemed not to care at all.
"Anyway, since Briot is dead, my conclusion is that the only one left to hang cloth on trees to pass on news is Ibaekho and his friend."
"I-I see…?"
"Briot's fate is sealed. So, what's the situation here? And what's that structure?"
"W-We don't really know. It suddenly appeared when we arrived…."
"Hmm, very interesting."
We briefly looked at the Old Doom Grandpa, who was excitedly heading toward the structure.
I closed my eyes for a moment and silently mourned.
"Layton Briot…"
Judging from how he traveled with Ibaekho, he probably wasn't a good guy.
Still, I should offer my condolences.
If there's no romance at all in this desolate labyrinth, that would be too sad—
"…Briot always wanted to quit everything."
I turned my head at the sudden voice and saw Jaina.
"Well, he got what he wanted. Now he doesn't have to do anything anymore."
What? Is she a psychopath too?
That thought flashed through me, but seeing Jaina's expression made me chuckle.
Though it sounded sarcastic, it felt like her own way of mourning.
"Your comrades are lucky. When they die, there's someone who will mourn them more than anyone."
"Then why don't you just defect?"
I joked, and Jaina hesitated, then smiled slightly.
"I can't. I need a lot of sacrifices."
"Sacrifices? You can just kill the raiders or those Noark bastards and get enough."
"…You do know I'm one of those Noark bastards, right?"
Ah, good point.
"Thanks for the suggestion, but I'll pass."
Fair enough.
I wasn't serious anyway.
If the clan found out I took Karui's priest, I'd have the 'Trinity Church' as my enemy.
Just thinking about the royal family gives me a headache. That's not something that should ever happen…
"So now it's just Rex Aures and Ibaekho left to arrive."
After that, the Old Doom Grandpa and GM started investigating the new phenomenon, while the rest waited.
One day, two days…
On the third day, Rex Aures appeared.
He looked like a total wreck, beyond mere tatters.
"H-Haha… I-I survived…"
Just looking at him, you could tell how much suffering he'd endured.
As soon as he saw us, he relaxed and fell asleep, while Jaina cared for and healed him.
And then…
"So you weren't the one who hung the cloth…"
"Embarrassingly, no. I barely escaped the monsters and stepped into the ancient land, and right then—"
"Enough."
I cut off Rex Aures' story sharply and shared a look with the party.
"…Isn't it strange? By all indications, Ibaekho hung the cloth to pass on the news, but he hasn't shown up."
"Definitely odd. At first, we thought he might've been hanging cloth in other places the first few days…"
"I also think it would be rational for him to have returned once by now to check things."
With Rex Aures joining us, doubts grew.
If it wasn't him either, only Ibaekho remains — but where the hell is he and what is he doing?
While discussing this, the Old Doom Grandpa suggested a possibility.
"Maybe Ibaekho already went inside there first."
He pointed with a finger to the newly appeared structure to the left of the monument.
It looked like an entrance.
We investigated from outside but still don't know what's hidden beneath.
Since we don't know what awaits, we decided to gather everyone before making a move.
"Certainly… If it's Ibaekho, he might've gone in alone, saying he'd check briefly before we arrived."
"…That's reckless, but somehow I wouldn't be surprised if he did."
The party nodded in agreement with the Old Doom Grandpa's explanation.
But ironically, he shook his head.
"No, it's definitely strange. No matter how you see Ibaekho, from my point of view, he's the most cautious person here."
"…What?"
"Despite appearances, Ibaekho never does anything reckless. Sometimes I get frustrated because he's overly cautious."
"…That Ibaekho?"
"Confidence and caution are two completely different things."
"But wasn't it Lord Ruingenes who said he might've gone in?"
"Yes. By process of elimination, no other possibilities come to mind. If such a cautious person did enter there, then he must have had a very good reason."
Hmm…
"Well? Bjorn Yandel, what do you think?"
My mind was tangled in many thoughts.
If the Old Doom Grandpa's guess is right, once you go in, it's hard to come back out.
Makes sense. If he could freely come and go, he would've shown up at least once by now.
"Let's wait one more day, just one day, then decide."
I gave a one-day grace period, but Ibaekho still didn't appear.
So now it's time to decide.
"Havelion, do you have any idea what's down there?"
I asked, looking down the stairs covered in dark vision that obscured view.
GM shook his head.
"I've never heard of anything like this existing in the Primeval Land."
"Right, same here…"
Not just the Primeval Land, nowhere in the Star Grave have I seen such an entrance.
It was especially suspicious that it appeared suddenly when it hadn't been here before.
But…
"Alright, it's decided."
"So we're going in after all?"
"Yeah."
I never planned to avoid entering.
After all, we searched the Star Grave risking danger to find something 'suspicious.'
Something suspicious appeared right before us; we wouldn't just pass it up.
"I wanted to wait for Ibaekho a bit longer, but since he hasn't appeared, we have no choice. Maybe he's inside already, so we'll enter ourselves."
Let's go in.
I decided to treat this as a sort of dungeon.
There would be unknown gimmicks, and traps that must be triggered if you don't know better.
With that in mind, we carefully descended the narrow stairs.
Step by step, with me at the front and Rex Aures at the rear, ranged fighters lined up in the center.
Step, step.
One cautious step after another.
A dungeon without info is always like that.
In the game, the first try was always about gathering information; unknown areas are dangerous.
Step, step.
For that reason, all five of us tied ropes around our waists, linked like a bundle of fish.
The ropes were fixed outside with stakes like for rock climbing…
"Ah! Big trouble! Big trouble!"
Before we descended far, a loud shout came from the rear.
"The rope's /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ cut!"
"…What?"
"It's not my fault! I didn't do anything! I was just following—!"
"Doesn't sound like a lie. Looking at the rope's cross-section, it seems cut by something sharp…"
"Everyone stick close to the wall."
We squeezed up the narrow stairs to inspect the rope's end.
It wasn't a mistake by Aures.
The magical engineering rope is designed to stretch hundreds of meters, so it wouldn't break accidentally.
"Follow slowly."
We stopped descending to investigate what happened and climbed back up.
But…
"Aren't we going back much higher than we came down?"
"Yes. Correct. We went down 213 steps but now have gone back up over 240."
No matter how many steps we climb up, we see no exit.
In other words, the way back has vanished.
"…Isn't this a big problem? We're trapped here!"
"Don't panic. We all expected this before entering."
"R-Really?"
Jaina scolded Rex Aures as the GM approached me.
"Since the way back is blocked, why don't we just proceed forward as originally planned?"
Reasonable advice.
But something felt off.
Not exactly off, but…
'When you go down the stairs, the entrance disappears, and when you try to return, the stairs appear endlessly…'
I had a sense of déjà vu.
There's a place like this in one of the rifts.
The 'Golden Ruins.'
At the entrance of that rift on the fourth floor, there was a similar effect.
'Looks like the walls are similar too…'
If this place is based on the 'Golden Ruins,' then just going down isn't the solution.
There's a 'piece' hidden here too.
If the entrance is closed and you keep going up the stairs, you might trigger a special event.
'Better to clear that event just in case there's something behind.'
Of course, there's no guarantee the event will happen here.
Trying once more only costs a bit of time.
"Keep close so no one falls behind."
"What? But—"
"Go ahead."
After that, I strode forward quickly, climbing stair after stair.
And…
"How long do you plan to keep climbing? There's nothing but stairs."
"Going back is a hassle too."
At about halfway up, strange footsteps suddenly caught my attention.
I hastily ordered the formation to halt.
"Stop."
"Ah, you're turning back—"
"Quiet."
"…?"
"Someone is coming down."
I have no information on this 'someone.'
This kind of special event doesn't usually happen.
'Who the hell…?'
Unknown, but the tension was high enough to signal battle readiness.
And then—
"..."
"..."
The approaching footsteps stopped abruptly.
'Did they notice us too?'
The air stiffened like a taut string.
Swallowing reflexively, I gripped my shield tighter.
Ta-dat!
The sound of a sudden rush filled my ears.
"Prepare for battle!!"
Breaking the brief silence, a shout sounded as something swiftly charged from the darkness.
I reflexively raised my shield, freezing in place.
Pat-
Two playful feet stopped just in front of the shield.
"Surprise! How's that? Scared?"
Looking at the innocent face, I sighed deeply.
'Is this guy really crazy?'
It was Ibaekho.
Just as I was debating whether to hit this bastard, Ibaekho poked my side and chuckled.
"Wahaha! You're so surprised! Really surprised, huh? You seem really shocked. Are you okay? Scared?"
"…Know when to joke."
"Aw, how could I hold back? Finally reunited with my precious comrades!"
"..."
"Seriously though, I didn't expect you to be inside. How could you just go in without waiting for me?"
…What?
"My lord, don't be mad that I was just joking—"
"…What did you just say?"
I lowered my voice and asked. Ibaekho gave me a puzzled look.
I quickly checked one important thing.
"This is serious, so don't joke around. Did you hang that cloth on the tree?"
Until now, I was almost certain.
But Ibaekho tilted his head and frowned at the question.
"What do you mean? Wasn't that cloth hung by you, my lord?"
That response sent a chill down my spine.
'…If it wasn't Ibaekho…'
Then who the hell told us to come here?
-x-X-x-
Without anyone taking the lead, confused expressions spread among us.
But before making any judgment, we decided to hear Ibaekho's story first.
"Me?"
"Yes, just tell us. Maybe you have some info that could help us understand the situation."
"I don't really have anything special… After waking up in the Poisonous Lava Swamp, I wandered around to see if anyone had fallen here. I didn't find anyone, so I crossed into the Primeval Land. A few days ago, I found that cloth tied up, and then I ran here to the monument as fast as I could. That's about it."
There was no other clue that could help.
He said that except for finding the cloth tied and rushing to the monument, nothing else had happened.
"But what's this? When I arrived, there were traces of people staying here, but no one was around?"
Even a strange new entrance that wasn't here before appeared, and our traces lead there—according to Ibaekho, they just entered.
"Tada! That's my story here!"
Ibaekho stretched like waking up, then suddenly changed expression, looking us over with a low voice.
"So, where's our archer?"
"..."
"Dead, huh?"
The blunt question left me speechless.
It's not like it was my fault.
"Briot's dead."
"How?"
"I found his corpse on the way to the Primeval Forest alone. Seems like monsters got him."
"…Is that so?"
Ibaekho fell silent after saying that.
Though it wasn't for long.
"Hmm, but if only one person died, that's still not bad."
Ibaekho regained his usual energy as if nothing happened.
"Everyone must have had a hard time. Honestly, I thought everyone except the Baron and our Old Doom Grandpa might've died."
"..."
"But what do we do without an archer? He was a bit timid but good at his job."
I couldn't figure out what was really going on inside him.
Is he really that unaffected?
He was a comrade for over three years.
Who knows, but that was the end of the Briot talk.
"Anyway, that's not the main point… So none of us hung the cloth?"
"That's right. Unless you're joking, Baekho."
"Why would I joke? Ha… This is really a ghost's curse."
Hmm, well.
Is this really something a ghost would curse over?
"Could there be a traitor among us?"
Ibaekho's eyes started to glare fiercely.
"I'm not! I'm totally innocent! I couldn't plan anything that complicated!"
Aures immediately started defending himself once Ibaekho looked at him.
This isn't some mafia game.
I didn't want to waste energy on pointless arguments, so I jumped in.
"Stop suspecting your own comrades first."
"Why? Isn't that a reasonable suspicion—"
Reasonable suspicion my ass.
"If none of us hung the cloth, shouldn't we suspect the other side first?"
"The other side…?"
"Have you forgotten already? We're not the only ones here."
At my words, Ibaekho, who was confused, suddenly seemed to realize something and parted his lips slightly.
"Ah! That bastard who lured us! That, that name was… Han… What was it? Ah right! Dailan! Han—!"
"Stop."
I quickly cut him off before that cursed name was completed.
Then Jaina spoke from the side.
"But that guy's already dead, right?"
"That's right! He was turned into a Bayon and was dismantled by Lord Ruingenes!"
Aures nodded enthusiastically.
Before I could say anything, the Old Doom Grandpa spoke.
"I agree with the Baron. It's likely that someone who had evidence of deliberately luring us is involved. Han—."
"Please call him by his proper title."
"…?"
"They weren't ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) exactly close friends, were they? Show some respect."
The Old Doom Grandpa shot me a look like he thought it was nonsense, but didn't want to argue.
"…Anyway, I think the mysterious 'Han' is really someone disguised as a man named Dailan."
"So what's the goal of that mysterious someone?"
"I don't know. But as we explore this place, we'll naturally find out why they called us here."
As the Old Doom Grandpa said, we will find out in due time.
We are already trapped here, and all we can do is continue exploring this mysterious space.
"Well, then, that's roughly settled. We search this space carefully while watching out for that bastard. Right, Baron?"
"That's about the size of it."
"Then let's get moving. We might meet that bastard while we're at it."
Ibaekho said that and approached me as if eager to move.
But I didn't budge and stayed still, making him tilt his head.
"Why aren't you going down? Oh right, you were going up when we met earlier?"
Finally noticing the oddity, Ibaekho asked the reason.
One reason you don't want many rowers.
The others followed me reluctantly, but Ibaekho didn't seem like the type.
"I thought something might appear if we go up, so I wanted to check."
I added that explanation casually, and Ibaekho seemed to think for a moment before slapping his knee.
"Going up because you don't know what might appear… Oh! Now that you mention it, this looks like the 'Golden Ruins'!"
Phew, maybe because I played original mode a long time ago?
This guy knows a lot despite breaking the cheat map.
"Heh, so that's what you were after? Okay, I admit. Worth checking out!"
"Um… What are you two talking about…?"
"There is. You just follow us."
Anyway, the opinion was unanimous, and with Ibaekho joining, we kept climbing the stairs.
10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes…
Some time later, when I started to wonder if this place was different from the labyrinth and no 'event' would happen—
Step.
At last, the stairs ended and a narrow passage appeared.
"…Huh?"
"There really was an end…? I thought it would be an illusion or something."
"What's about to appear…?"
It seemed like they wanted an explanation, but without a word, I started walking down the passage, and everyone quietly followed.
Step, step.
After about 10 meters, the dark vision disappeared, revealing a stone gate at the end.
I thought about giving a quick briefing before entering, but skipped it.
'They easily kill grade 3 monsters anyway.'
The Golden Ruins, one of the fourth-floor rifts.
The boss there is not a rift guardian but a hidden mid-boss, so the fight itself wouldn't be difficult.
"Then let's begin."
After saying this, I immediately took out my hammer and struck the stone gate.
And then…
Kraaaaang!
The gate shattered into pieces in one blow.
'…What the—?'
Even I was stunned after breaking it.
In the game, it was pretty durable.
Even as a damage tank barbarian, I thought it would take at least five hits.
Swishhh.
The GM used wind magic to clear the dust and visibility was restored.
I cautiously entered and looked around.
The terrain was a square-shaped enclosed room.
Better than the narrow corridor, but not very spacious.
The walls were densely covered with creepy murals painted in a certain sinister style…
Step.
In the center lay a golden coffin about three meters long.
This was the 'piece' found by going back up the stairs.
Step.
Opening that coffin would summon a grade 4 mid-boss monster named 'Makairo.'
Defeating it grants a battle buff that lasts until leaving the rift, and with luck, you can get a very rare Numbers item…
Thunk.
I kicked off the coffin lid and quickly stepped back to put distance.
Kraaaaang!
Raising my shield and preparing for battle, everyone cautiously took position.
But…
"...."
"...."
"Nothing's coming out?"
Even after the dust settled, the boss monster showed no sign of appearing.
'What the hell is this?'
I covered my upper body with my shield and slowly approached to look inside the coffin, freezing in disbelief.
Ibaekho quietly came over and murmured.
"What? It's already dead?"
Inside the coffin lay only a completely bleached skeleton.
The skeleton lay inside the coffin in a resting position.
As I stared blankly, Ibaekho called the Old Doom Grandpa.
"Grandpa, start looting. Even if the most valuable eyeballs have rotted away, Makairo's bones should still be high quality, right?"
"No need. These bones are worthless now."
"What do you mean?"
"The value of monster bones comes from the mana preserved inside. But…"
The Old Doom Grandpa picked up a bone and continued.
"No mana can be detected here. These bones are worse than goblin bones now. They're so rotten they can't even be used as a staff."
"…It's the first time I've seen no traces of anything from a creature's bones. Normally, it takes time for mana concentration to reach zero."
"Which means we should take a few anyway. As our friend said, this is a very unusual case."
The Old Doom Grandpa picked up several large bone fragments and put them in his bag, and the GM followed suit.
"Wow, so after all this, the only loot we got are some bone fragments worse than goblin bones?"
"Unfortunately, yes."
"Why is that?"
"Well, there are two possible reasons."
The Old Doom Grandpa held up two fingers.
"One is the monster's cause of death. Sometimes black magic or Karui's power absorbs life force and mana from corpses, causing this."
"So the bastard who lured us here could be a black mage or Karui's lackey? Okay, noted. What's the second?"
"The corpse has been here a very long time. All biological remains decay over time, mana disperses."
"Then what about making equipment from bones? I heard those auctioned off were from a famous explorer thousands of years ago and sold for a fortune."
"That's because the bones were magically processed to preserve mana."
"So how long does it take for bones to become this useless?"
"There's a specimen currently being experimented on in the Magic Tower."
"Oh, you mean Jaymetal's goblin bones? I heard the experiment started exactly 4,000 years ago."
"Really? But it still retains mana."
The bone talk went on unexpectedly long, but the key point was one.
"Simply put, this thing may have been dead for over 4,000 years."
"If it wasn't black magic or something similar."
Of course, none of that was a problem right now.
What difference does it make how or when it died?
'…It's a shame we didn't get the buff?'
I even hoped a bit.
If we defeated this guy, there was a very small chance to get an item—
"Hey, Baron, what's this? Looks like a 'box'…"
"What? 'Box'?"
I quickly turned toward the voice and saw Aures holding a black cube-shaped box.
"…Where did you find that?"
"Found it? It was just lying in that corner."
"Give it here."
I took the box forcefully and carefully examined all sides, finishing the appraisal quickly.
It was definitely genuine.
"What exactly is that…?"
"No.777 Makairo's Storage Box."
The item we usually call the mystery box.
-x-X-x-
No.777 Makairo's Storage Box.
Among all numbered items, it is a rare 'consumable' Numbers item.
Though it's consumable, it feels completely different from items like the 'Nameless Statue' or 'Dragonblood Potion.'
Those provide wide-area healing or powerful combat buffs that last only once, but at least this one is not like that.
'In a way, it's similar to the No.7,777 Garpas Necklace.'
Makairo's Storage Box grants a random item or a permanent buff upon use.
Sometimes, though rarely, it can give a 'dud.'
Anyway.
"We're seeing quite a few rare items on this expedition unexpectedly."
From numerous expensive byproducts to the Siege Slayer, and now this 'Mystery Box.'
On a normal labyrinth exploration, getting even one of these would be considered lucky, but we keep acquiring them.
Is this why people have to explore unknown places?
"The random drops make it so fun! Let's roll the dice right now!"
The only downside was having to compete for loot since we were traveling with Ibaekho's team.
If I had led the clan, I would've just distributed it as I pleased.
"It's been a while since I rolled dice, so it's fun."
"Baekho… how about we roll individually this time? I want to try too… and Baekho, you don't have bad luck either."
"…Me? I have bad luck?"
"..."
"Fine. Let's roll individually this time."
With that settled quickly, we rolled dice without wasting time.
And…
"Puhahaha! If the numbers were low, we'd have shared first and second place!"
Ibaekho and I rolled a combined total of 5.
"Oh, by the way, the sum of both numbers is 11… I-I won!"
In short, the GM won the dice roll and got the 'Mystery Box.'
"What are you waiting for? Aren't you going to open it now?"
"R-Right here, now…?"
"Wow, no manners, huh? Were you not planning to open it?"
"Hahaha! Sir Havelion! Don't be like that, open it right now! We need some fun, don't we?"
The GM seemed eager to open it alone but finally nodded under the pressure of others.
"Well… I'll open it then."
The GM, looking somewhat tense, reached for the box.
After a long pause, the black cube slowly floated in the air where his hand touched it.
「Jurven Havelion used No.777 Makairo's Storage Box.」
The box unfolded like panels of a cube floating in midair.
Swishhhh.
Soon, the 'item' hidden inside was revealed.
"…Armor?"
Armor came out.
"Was there a Numbers item like this…?"
Something I had never seen before anywhere.
「No.???? Aegis Dragon Armor is generated.」
The armor's appearance was very plain.
A vest-type armor covering only the torso, hardly fitting the word 'splendid.'
Its color was a dull ash-gray, duller than iron, without any jewels, engravings, or patterns.
Yet, perhaps because of this…?
'…Feels like part of a set.'
It matches the No.3 Aegis Barrier.
In fact, comparing them side by side, the colors seemed to perfectly match…
'I was about time to change armor anyway…'
I was currently wearing a Rhythium breastplate.
Though it sufficed for raw stats, I thought I'd hold out until something better came along rather than spending money to upgrade.
But…
Slurp.
I found myself salivating unexpectedly.
Though I knew nothing yet about this armor's identity,
Well, it had to be better than the multi-million Stone Rhythium breastplate—
"Why are you staring like that…?"
Hey, it's natural to stare.
"Can I try it on?"
"…What?"
"Besides me, there's no one else who would wear armor."
"Ah, no? After hearing Flier's story, I thought having some armor for emergencies might be good—."
Wait, what? A mage wearing heavy armor?
Shouldn't a mage wear cloth armor or something?
"So, I just want to try it on once. Who said anyone's going to steal it?"
I stepped closer and glared; the GM reluctantly nodded.
"We'll have to test the armor anyway."
"Yes… so… you're only trying it on…?"
"Have I ever lied?"
Though it looked like I was going to snatch it, this wasn't a bad offer even for the GM.
After all, the armor's nature was unknown.
Someone had to wear and test its abilities…
'If my combat power rises immediately, it benefits the team too, right?'
Aures is the only one who can wear heavy armor, but due to his skill mechanics, he can't equip armor.
Simply put, I was the only one who could wear it…
「Character equipped No.???? Aegis Dragon Armor.」
Oh, the fit feels amazing.
「Total item level increased by +13,600.」
Maybe it's just my imagination, but I felt much stronger.
「More than two Aegis relics equipped.」
「Soul fragments resonate. (2/3)」
「All regeneration speeds significantly increased.」
「Equipment bound to wearer.」
'…Huh?'
What's this?
Suddenly, it felt like the armor clung tightly to my skin…
"Not bad."
Anyway, despite being the first time wearing it, it didn't feel unfamiliar.
Like it was part of my body the moment I put it on.
"Wow, the Baron just puts on unknown stuff right away. What if it's a cursed item?"
As I stretched like doing gymnastics, Ibaekho looked at me with a bewildered expression.
But I had nothing to say.
I felt no unease or suspicion. It just felt like it was meant for me.
"Anyway, figure out the stats yourself later… Let's keep moving."
"Got it."
Though I wanted to test the new armor's performance, it would be selfish to waste everyone's time for just me.
"Come on, let's go. If there's a time limit or gimmick, that'd be a pain."
We decided to investigate the armor later and searched the room one last time.
Still, we found nothing else, then took the stairs back down.
Step, step.
Though it took hours going up, coming down didn't take nearly as long.
At the last step, we found another narrow corridor and a golden stone gate at its end.
"…Golden Ruins?"
The GM seemed to realize this place's identity upon seeing the golden gate.
"Why are the Golden Ruins here…?"
"What's there to be surprised about? Have you ever encountered anything reasonable on this journey?"
"Well… that's true."
"Hey, I wouldn't be surprised if a different area suddenly opened beyond here. That's what it means to be an explorer."
Ibaekho said and slowly pushed the door open.
And then…
"Whoa?"
He uttered an incomprehensible exclamation and stopped.
I was equally startled approaching to see why.
Like Ibaekho said, it wasn't a suddenly unfolded new area—
"Why is everything open?"
Beyond the gate was nothing left to conquer.
The Golden Ruins'攻略 sequence is very simple.
Starting from a dense forest, clearing some missions reveals a temple.
Entering the temple leads to the stair section we just came from.
Then…
'Next is here.'
After opening the golden gate and entering the main hall, the real攻略 begins.
Being a lower-level fourth-floor rift, the攻略 itself isn't too complicated.
Activating devices in the side gates summons a guardian in the main hall and opens a treasure room, but…
'Including the treasure room, everything's already open.'
Usually, opening the gate would trigger a golden light effect from the ceiling, brightening the surroundings, but none of that happened.
Also…
"Wow… what's all this dust…?"
"Feels like exploring a haunted house!"
Dust had piled thick everywhere; the once golden walls were chipped, broken, and scattered.
"Light up the place first. It's too dark to see well."
At Ibaekho's request, the GM summoned several light spheres floating in the air, and we cautiously explored.
"As expected, the treasure room's been completely emptied."
The first place searched was the treasure room opened by killing the rift guardian Kalpion.
Originally, three Numbers items were sealed there, and a key obtained during攻略 allowed choosing one.
But when we arrived, it was empty.
"Which should we check first, the snake room or the mummy room?"
The next search route was the left and right gates, starting with the left with the snake mid-boss.
'…Even the pieces have all been taken.'
From the golden orb under the lion mural to the eagle candlestick hidden in a trap room.
We checked everything in the maze-like corridors but found nothing.
The lever device in the mid-boss room was turned and the mid-boss was nowhere to be found.
Also, the pieces there were already taken.
Sadly, it was the same for the right door leading to the mummy room.
"Looks like we've checked everywhere…"
"Haha! This is really troublesome!"
Despite searching the whole ruins, nothing came up.
And that was a huge problem.
You can't攻略 without anything to do.
Even in the original game, the hardest part isn't facing a tough trial.
It's when you don't know what to do next.
That's when players waste time aimlessly.
Just like ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) now.
"I'll check the stairs again…"
"Me too. I'll look around if there's a hidden path between the walls."
Though top-tier explorers, no one lost motivation and each searched their way, but it wasn't meaningful.
One day, two days, three days, four days…
As time passed, there really was nowhere left to search.
Anxiety and nervousness spread among the party.
"…We're not going to be trapped here forever, right?"
"Maybe they want to starve us to death."
"I didn't think they'd drive people crazy like this…"
Everyone spoke weakly, and surprisingly, Ibaekho reacted the strongest.
"Damn it, what's everyone doing? Instead of resting, shouldn't we be looking for a way out?"
He snapped at them sharply.
'Is his mental state really this weak?'
At least he didn't treat me like that, which was a relief…
But after a few more days, it was over.
"Baron, give me the armor."
"…What?"
"Well, there's nothing else. Since it's from here, maybe the escape method is hidden in that armor?"
Though his attitude was a bit unpleasant…
If I put emotions aside,
"…Not wrong."
It sounded reasonable enough.
-x-X-x-
After Ibaekho's suggestion, we began serious research on the armor we had just obtained.
Two high-level mages, gamer-born Ibaekho and me, and two local top-tier explorers all gathered around.
Though the armor had emerged from a mystery box, once several people started investigating it, progress came quickly.
And the first conclusion was:
"This definitely seems to be a Numbers item."
"…A Numbers item? I've never even heard of that."
"Neither have I, but there's no doubt this is a Numbers item. The whole classification system was originally based on whether a specific magical reaction occurs or not."
"How is that possible…?"
"If you look at labyrinth history, not all numbered relics existed from the start. There was a time with no 'numbers' at all."
"Oh! A time without numbers? Was there really such a time?"
"Yes. Numbers appeared only after a certain emotional archivist compiled 10,000 relics into a book."
"Maybe this armor is a new Numbers item no explorer has found since the labyrinth's creation."
"A new Numbers item?"
"I suspect there are others like this armor. I'd like to call them 'No Numbers,' or 'Mystery Numbers'…"
The GM, eager to coin a proper term, was unfortunately beaten to the punch.
"The official term is Secret Numbers."
"…?"
"Arua Raven discovered and named it first."
Ah, it's upsetting to have a name stolen after finding something first.
I said it bluntly, but instead of sulking, the GM showed a scholarly gleam in his eyes.
"Have there been more such relics?"
I hesitated but answered honestly since this information might help us now.
"Just one other found in the labyrinth."
"Can we see it?"
"Unfortunately, I don't have it right now."
Everyone seemed curious about that item, and I only said it was found during the first-floor exploration.
"A 'Secret Numbers' from the initially opened area… Maybe many undiscovered Numbers items exist."
I thought so too.
Outside the walls and even in the recently explored first basement floor, places long untouched by explorers are now revealing themselves.
Besides the Secret Numbers info, here's what else we learned:
"Whoa, it's a bound item?"
The armor was already bound to me.
"Bound imprint… so it can't be returned, right?"
The GM screamed in despair upon learning this, but what could be done?
I just ignored it while fiddling with something.
"Anyway, explain it. Are you sure it's bound?"
"Yes. When someone else tries to wear it, shape adjustment doesn't activate, and if forced to wear, it turns into ordinary armor with no effect. A classic bound imprint pattern."
"Sounds like the vague wave pattern we discussed earlier is related to the owner's imprint circuitry."
"Yes, very likely."
In addition to being bound, it had an 'indestructible' option and one directly affecting wearer stats:
"All regeneration speed increased."
The GM named this the armor's main feature.
"A very rare trait. It's not just for mana, soul power, or divine power, but literally all 'regeneration.'"
Not only mana-like resources.
The 'regen speed increase' also affects natural regeneration, and if I use other skills consuming special resources, this trait should still help.
"But if it's a Numbers item, shouldn't it have a proper name?"
Since calling it just 'armor' was dull, we gave it a name.
"Oh! I want to come up with a cool one—."
"Aegis Dragon Armor."
"…Huh?"
"It's called Aegis Dragon Armor. From now on, that's its name."
When I suggested it, Ibaekho nodded approvingly.
"Nice name. The color too; it really feels like part of a set."
While Ibaekho approved, Jaina tilted her head.
"I get 'Aegis,' but why Dragon Armor? It doesn't use dragon hide or have dragon heart inside."
"Uh…"
That was a tough question for such an offhand comment.
Still, honestly answering:
"Just 'armor' sounded too plain…"
"Oh, I see…"
Jaina looked confused, but the men all nodded.
Guys seemed to prefer 'dragon armor' over 'armor' or 'plate mail.'
'Women really don't understand what guys like.'
Anyway, with the name 'Aegis Dragon Armor' finalized, a new discovery came through this process.
"…How coincidental. I tested it with Aegis Barrier, and it really resonated."
"So it's a true set item with the shield?"
"Yes. Both Aegis Dragon Armor and Aegis Barrier… are resonance relics."
Resonance relics mean set items that grant extra effects when equipped together.
For example, No. 7611 'Necromancer's Deception' and No. 7612 'Necromancer's Arrogance' skull belts provide a resonance effect.
"When either activates, an additional 50% HP recovery triggers."
Anyway, learning it was a set updated existing info.
"So what's the resonance effect between the armor and shield?"
"Hmm… looks like the regeneration effect itself is the resonance effect."
"All increased regen options are part of the Aegis set resonance."
"Oh, so it has a passive effect too?"
"Yes… appears to have one passive and one active ability."
Meaning the armor has one passive and one active option…
The active was quickly figured out through experiments.
「Jurven Havelion cast 5th-grade attack magic [Lightning Spear].」
The effect was simple.
「Jurven Havelion cast 4th-grade attack magic [Storm Rush].」
Being armor, it was defense-related.
「Jurven Havelion cast 4th-grade attack magic [Ice Sword]…」
Well, they say the best defense is offense, right?
「Reflects accumulated damage.」
The active effect was somewhat like the essence of a gacha capsule toy.
The 'counterattack' mechanism.
And…
Swishhh!
Like a one-time-use skeleton summoned for counterattack, a sort of summoned spirit appeared behind me.
These two features were like the gacha toy.
But the key difference?
"…Why is it so huge?"
Far more intimidating in scale than a mere skeleton.
"…Is this an active summon ability?"
"Uh… but it's moving."
A giant Viking warrior spirit wielded a greatsword.
It swung at the GM, who was attacking me for testing.
"Damn it!! Block it!"
Ibaekho shouted as the Old Doom Grandpa summoned a magic barrier to intercept the sword's path.
Crackling sound!
But the hastily cast barrier wasn't strong enough to block the greatsword fully.
"Get out of the way!"
Rex Aures hurried forward with his shield—
"Kuhgh!"
He blocked the greatsword and coughed up blood, ending the situation.
Clang!
The giant shield he held fell deeply dented, and the greatsword-wielding spirit faded away as if its purpose was done.
"Are you okay?"
Healer Jaina rushed to check on Rex Aures, and only then did the GM, realizing how close he was to death, slump backward.
"Wow… this is no joke."
Watching all this, Ibaekho's eyes gleamed.
"Getting hit is definitely the trigger. So, does the reflection scale with damage dealt? Or does it activate once a certain amount accumulates?"
"…"
"Depending on that, our strategy might differ. But since it's not unavoidable damage, it shouldn't be too tough."
Ah, that's why I was planning to study it alone later.
"Hey, hey! What are you all doing? No one got hurt! Stop freaking out and get back to research."
"Huh? Baekho? Didn't you see I just spat blood—."
"But it's stopped now."
"…"
Thanks to Ibaekho's active leadership, research resumed, and we thoroughly examined the active effect.
"When you get hit, stacks build up, and physical damage is dealt in stages proportionally."
"Cooldown is only 5 minutes, no resource consumption. Yet, at 4 stacks, it does enough damage to shred 20 mana barriers like paper?"
"Ah, yeah. Indestructible is a Numbers item feature."
"But as a set, it boosts regen massively and still has one unknown passive effect?"
Uh… yeah…
To sum up, that's roughly it…
"Damn, what the hell is this busted armor?"
"…"
No words.
Because I agreed.
Depending on the passive, this might be a single Numbers-level item at least.
If the passive is also single Numbers-level… then it's basically a newly found single Numbers item.
"M-Mine… originally…"
Hearing the GM mumble that made my conscience prick, but so what?
It's not like I can give it back now.
"Jurven Havelion, stop whining."
"B-But…"
"Can't be helped. I didn't bind it to you intentionally."
"…"
"Or do you think this is the end of our relationship after this expedition?"
"N-No, not at all…"
"Then me getting stronger is good for you too. I'm not the type to forget favors."
After logically persuading, the GM was speechless.
He looked a bit sulky, but time would fix that.
"Wow, Baron, that's some serious gaslighting."
Ibaekho's remark just went in one ear and out the other as I resumed research.
We decided to check the unknown passive next.
But…
One day, two days, three days…
No matter how much time passed, the armor's passive remained a mystery.
"Ha… if only there were monsters, we could find something out."
"We've done everything possible without monsters."
"If it's not some special or hidden effect, we can only find out if monsters appear."
So we gave up on discovering the passive.
But that made things worse.
We started researching the armor hoping it would lead us to an escape clue.
"So, back to square one?"
Ibaekho's deflated mood spread to everyone.
This was when a leader had to not show weakness.
"Let's start again, slowly, from what we can do."
I encouraged them, and we resumed thorough searching of the Golden Ruins.
We scoured all passages, even breaking walls physically.
We also climbed the entrance stairs backward to visit Makairo's chamber—the hidden piece of the Golden Ruins again…
"…Huh?"
What the hell was going on?
"…Wow, this gives me goosebumps."
Makairo's corpse, which should have been inside the coffin, was gone.
-x-X-x-
Makairo's Chamber.
A hidden space that appears after continuously climbing the stairs that look like infinite stairs backward, the place where we obtained the Mystery Box and new armor.
Surely, when we last came here, we were flustered.
Because the mid-boss "Makairo" was already dead, turned into a skeleton, lying in the coffin…
"..."
"..."
Returning to the chamber again, we could only be flustered in another sense.
"Where the hell did this guy disappear to? The corpse wouldn't have walked away."
Opening the coffin, the corpse had vanished.
"Hey, Aures. You were the last one to come alone to investigate last time, right?"
"Y-yes… but…?"
"Was it there then? Inside the coffin."
When Ibaekho asked sharply, Aures avoided eye contact and trailed off.
"Th-that…"
"Say it clearly. Was it there back then or not?"
"…I don't know."
"Don't know? What does that mean?"
"When I came then, I hadn't opened that stone coffin to check…"
"Hey, are you kidding? You came all the way to the chamber and didn't even open the coffin before turning back…? Don't tell me you didn't even go to the chamber and just slacked off?"
At Ibaekho's interrogation tone, Aures vehemently waved his hands denying it.
"Of course not! I definitely went properly! My legs hurt, so I climbed a bit slowly…!"
"Don't be too harsh. It's a mistake."
Then Jaina, who was nearby, spoke up in defense, maybe giving him strength.
Aures' voice grew louder than before.
"F-first of all! Don't you know you gave me the most annoying task? Still, I went without complaint, so it's too unfair to say this…!"
Not quite brazen, but anyone listening would be irritated.
It was the simplest investigation despite taking time, and yet he couldn't even do that properly.
"Hah! Unfair? Hey, do you want me to make it really unfair for you?"
"Cut it out. It was our fault to send Aures alone. We should have expected he couldn't handle such a simple task by himself, but we failed to do so."
At the words of the old destroyer, Aures seemed to ponder if it was a blame or a defense, then nodded.
"…As Lord Ruinjenes said!"
Apparently, he decided to take those words as defense.
But looking at this, I feel drained.
According to the old destroyer, it seems like our fault for giving such a task to him?
In fact, Ibaekho seemed to think similarly and just sighed deeply without further reprimand.
"Hah… well, that's not important."
"How on earth did the corpse disappear…?"
The topic that had drifted away returned to the main point, and everyone shared their opinions.
"There is room for interpretation, but I think there is a possibility that someone else is hiding inside this ruin."
"There's no guarantee it's just one person."
"Yes. Also, if that is the case, it is highly likely they have high-level stealth abilities. We searched thoroughly, but didn't even find a single hair."
"…Oh! Now that you mention it, maybe they're bald!"
At the GM's speculation that someone might be hiding inside the ruins, Ibaekho nodded.
"Surely someone might be hiding here."
"Yes, we cannot exclude that possibility—."
"Well, it could be that one of us has some secret motive."
He is always like that.
Is it a habit to suspect comrades first?
'That's almost a sickness…'
Of course, knowing roughly Ibaekho's painful past, it's not entirely incomprehensible behavior.
But…
"Stop suspecting comrades. That should be reserved for the very, very last resort."
"…What did I say? I only said it could be possible. We have to keep possibilities open, right?"
When I gently admonished, Ibaekho, like a spoiled kid, pouted slightly.
I sighed internally and changed the subject.
Because I felt it was time to hear this.
"Enough, speak properly. This time don't try to divert the topic."
"When did I do that?"
When did you not? You've been doing it the whole time.
"Why did you come outside the castle walls?"
Ibaekho had led the comrades outside the walls.
I asked repeatedly why, but had never received a proper answer.
"…What does that have to do with the current situation?"
"Of course it does. No matter how you look at it, what we experienced doesn't seem like it was aimed at me and Havelion."
Someone destroying the magic circle to the city and committing suicide.
A mysterious man guiding us to that dimensional monument while gathering materials to repair the magic circle.
And now being trapped in this golden ruin.
"Whoever the unknown mastermind is, I think they're targeting you."
"..."
"So now just say it clearly. We need to know your purpose so we can at least guess theirs."
Saying firmly, Ibaekho looked at me and, seeing my expression, reluctantly opened his mouth.
"I didn't come out to do anything grand. I just wanted to investigate a little more about that 'Ashen World' the baron mentioned."
"Investigate? Say precisely."
"To see if that Ashen World is really expanding, I wanted to find out properly."
"Isn't that something you can know just by watching quietly?"
"No. Not really. Sometimes it seems to approach slowly, but the next day when I check again, it's further away. Like the tide coming in and out."
"So what was the conclusion?"
"No conclusion yet. I just marked a few places and was about to go back after properly testing."
Was about to go back…
That phrase gave me a sudden thought.
Maybe the unknown someone wasn't trying to interfere with whatever Ibaekho was doing outside the walls.
No, very likely that guy's goal was.
[Ha, we're screwed. The old man said it would take at least a year.]
To prevent Ibaekho from returning to the city.
So that person destroyed the return magic circle and erased the evidence.
'But luckily GM and I were also outside, so we joined up.'
The appearance of GM, who can repair the magic circle quickly, disrupted someone's plan, so that guy lured us here with the 'dimensional monument' and trapped us.
'…Is that a leap?'
Hmm, well… not exactly a leap, but there isn't enough evidence to say this definitively.
Therefore, I continued asking.
For example.
"You mentioned a year ago."
Maybe the most important thing to understand this current situation.
"What exactly will happen then?"
"..."
"Tell me. We have to know to at least guess who destroyed the magic circle."
"Ha… really, this headache is killing me."
Ibaekho rubbed his forehead and gently shook his head. But maybe he judged that hiding it now won't help.
"I'll say it just once, so listen carefully."
Then Ibaekho's mouth slowly opened.
"War."
"…War?"
"When Noark's preparations are done, they will advance to Hwangdo Karnon and kill the King of Rafdonia."
Is it just my imagination that I can already smell blood?
Noark is planning to kill the king.
And it is highly likely that Ibaekho is closely involved in this plan.
'No, he must be playing a key role. His skill alone can blow up half the palace.'
The problem is that if this happens, there will be too many people who would try to stop Ibaekho.
Hard to pinpoint who exactly.
'But if I had to guess, the royal ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) family probably got information and intervened…'
Such sneaky tactics are also typical of the royal family.
"But Baron, if it's true like you said that they are targeting us, then you know how much worse it makes the situation?"
"…What do you mean?"
"I mean not that word-of-mouth got out, but that we didn't even tell the lord of Noark we came out."
"So?"
"That means there really was a traitor among us. Whether someone close to the royal family pulled strings or just leaked information that we were leaving."
As Ibaekho opened his tiger-like eyes and glanced at the comrades, only Aures flinched and shrugged his shoulders.
'What kind of warrior is this with no spirit?'
Watching that, Jaina quietly whispered.
"He was beaten to near death before, that's why."
"To Ibaekho?"
"Who else?"
Ah.
No wonder the others just glare but accept it, but only he acts like that.
Step, step.
Ibaekho slowly walked forward and stopped in the center of the group.
"Anyway, I think now is the time to verify this. What does everyone think?"
"I don't care."
"Me too! I don't care either!"
"At this point, it might be better to just check once."
Everyone agreed without exception to Ibaekho's proposal.
If there really was a traitor, this kind of reaction would be difficult to fake.
But did they decide that they must properly verify it?
"Alright, since we got everyone's consent…"
Ibaekho took out an item from the pocket dimension.
No.7234 Broken Trust.
The very same one I've used several times before.
But does he always carry this kind of thing that can also detect lies?
"Honestly, this gives better judgment than my abilities. I'll use this, everyone okay with that?"
Despite Ibaekho's strong move to bring out Broken Trust, the comrades remained calm.
Whoooooosh—!
He pressed the power button, and the needle on the disk started moving slowly.
And in that state.
"Jaina Flyer, have you ever passed information that we were coming outside to someone?"
"No, I haven't."
Ibaekho asked each person one by one.
As expected, no one was unable to answer when questioned.
But was he still not satisfied?
"Reck Aures, do you have even the slightest connection to us being trapped here?"
Changing the question from earlier to leave no loopholes, he asked the comrades.
No matter how many times it was repeated, the answer was the same.
"No, I have never done that."
"Ibaekho, stop it. This much proves everyone's innocence."
"Right? Seems there really isn't a traitor among us?"
The suspicion slightly eased, their tone became less sharp.
But Ibaekho was more efficiency-driven than me.
"Ba-baekho? If all suspicion is cleared, can we stop here—?"
"No, there's still time left, it'd be a shame."
"A shame? What do you mean—?"
"Exactly what it means. Since it's turned on, let's take a little more time to get to know each other. We've been together for quite a while, but we don't really know each other well."
Speaking in a low voice, Ibaekho smiled slightly and looked at Jaina Flyer.
"Now, the first question."
"..."
"Jaina Flyer still wants to kill me, Ibaekho."
I had no idea why such a question suddenly popped up.
But…
"If true, say yes; if not, say no."
His playful look suddenly disappeared.
Jaina hardened her expression and answered coldly.
"Yes."
…How do they even function as comrades?
-x-X-x-
I just can't follow the flow of this conversation.
Suddenly, Ibaekho asks if someone wants to kill him, and Jaina answers yes without any hesitation.
What kind of relationship do these two even have?
"Oh, look at those eyes getting all pissed off again?"
"..."
"St-stop it, Baekho… If we fight among ourselves in a situation like this, the bastard who trapped us here is the only one who benefits!"
Aures, unusually speaking sense, tries to calm the situation.
"You just shut up. Don't think I don't know you're still in contact with the lord of the castle."
"…W-what are you saying! I, I—!"
"Hey, you can't lie here, you know?"
"..."
"But you said you didn't tell anyone about going out this time. So this settles it."
"T-thank you…"
Listening to the conversation, even innocent Aures seems to have some scheme behind his back…
'Why do these bastards even hang out together?' To Ibaekho, 'comrades' must mean something totally different from what I know as 'comrades.'
"Baron, shouldn't you step in? If this keeps up, we might end up divided…"
"Just stay still for now. I'll intervene if it gets serious."
The atmosphere instantly turned as cold as ice.
GM expressed concern, but I decided to watch the situation for now.
Well, I didn't understand why Ibaekho suspected his comrades so much at first.
'Hmm, with this kind of background, I can see why.' I almost mistook their friendly appearances for closeness, but fundamentally it's different.
They're together only because their goals align.
These guys aren't 'comrades.'
"Old man, enough. I knew from the start there was some ulterior motive anyway."
Ibaekho sighed deeply and shook his head when about to say something to the destroyer scholar.
For some reason, his eyes looked weary. Maybe he suddenly felt disillusioned?
Tick-tock—
I don't know why, but that moment marked the end of the time using Broken Trust.
"Any more is a waste. This should be proof there's no traitor among us."
"..."
Was it really such a mess that one more round was unnecessary? Following the destroyer's words, Ibaekho put Broken Trust back into the pocket dimension.
Ah, of course, he added some unnecessary comments.
"Well, it's a relief. If you killed someone you've been with for years, I'd feel uneasy too, but that won't happen."
Ibaekho then smirked at Jaina.
"Oh, maybe you don't know? You couldn't really remember anyway."
I don't know the details, but I instinctively felt those words would pierce someone's heart.
Step, step.
Jaina silently shivered, then took one step, then another, stopping in front of Ibaekho. Then…
"Why don't you let me hit you once?"
Looking up at the mocking Ibaekho, Jaina ground her teeth and muttered.
"Ibaekho… we are not your punching bags."
"..."
"So save your tantrums for your mom."
A bold comeback that made even GM and Aures flinch.
"Ah, you can't throw tantrums? You'll never go back to the real world—"
Just as Jaina was about to hit his nerve, Ibaekho suddenly disappeared from sight.
Kraaaaang—!
A deafening roar spread with a gust of wind everywhere.
"Wow, this is fun."
The situation was very simple and clear.
Ibaekho tried to attack Jaina, and Aures right next to her blocked it with his shield.
"What? You said you regained your memory or whatever, but you already have someone to cling to?"
Even as an outsider, it sounded like a third-rate villain's lousy line.
I felt like I had just seen the bottom of this guy named Ibaekho, in an unexpected place.
"Baekho, I know you're impatient, but get a grip. This isn't like you."
"What do you mean, like me?"
"You're always moody and picky, but at least you're not the type to go on rampages like this."
Aures faced Ibaekho, ready to strike, and met his eyes boldly, speaking his mind.
'Yeah, that's a real tank.' There are no bad tanks in the world.
"…Hah, I'll cool down for a bit."
After saying that, Ibaekho fled like running away, and Aures sighed deeply as if the tension released.
"Phew… Baekho's killing intent is always so fierce. I thought I'd suffocate and die for real."
"Heh, but despite that, I saw no retreat in his eyes. I respect that." "Ahaha… It's protecting comrades. But where can one back down…"
"…Thank you."
Jaina quietly expressed gratitude, and Aures awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
"Well then, shall we go ahead? I'll cool down for a moment and follow."
"Ah… Ah! Okay then?"
Whatever 'okay then' means.
Before Aures could say more, I quickly intervened.
"No solo actions. There's no guarantee it's safe here."
"Uh… but Baekho already went alone, didn't he?"
Hey, don't talk back. Are you the same as Baekho or the priest?
"Know when to accept no."
I said firmly again, but Aures didn't back down.
"If being alone is the problem, I'll stay right beside her. Would that be okay then?"
Uh… I have no argument against that, but…
'How can he have such logical arguments and yet not have done this before?'
Aside from how strange it was, I wasn't going to allow it.
"No."
"Why not?"
There are several reasons.
First, it's uneasy to entrust the only priest to this guy…
"You said earlier being alone is the problem, right? So what's the problem with me staying next to her?"
Second, it's just this guy himself.
If even gender issues arise in this already divided team, it would turn into a real disaster party.
"Answer properly. Or I will never back down—."
Hey, quiet.
"Then you guys go down first. I'll stay."
He seemed unwilling to yield unless I stepped in, so I volunteered to do it.
"Uh… uh? I-I was going to…"
As expected, Aures was very flustered.
"It's okay, Aures. I'll be right behind you, so don't worry."
"…Understood."
When Jaina said that, Aures lost words and just slouched his shoulders and left.
And then…
"Interesting person, huh?"
When only Jaina and I were left in the chamber, she spoke.
"Always like that. Even when joking, he's always glancing sideways."
"You knew?"
"How could I not? He's such a blatant person."
Is that so?
To be honest, until today I hadn't sensed anything particular.
"Well, here we are again, just the two of us."
"Yeah, somehow it turned out that way again. I'll be quiet now, so sort out your thoughts alone."
After saying that, I sat cross-legged near the entrance, and Jaina leaned against the wall a bit farther away.
And then the long silence continued.
As I chewed on some jerky while pondering, she spoke first.
"…Aren't you going to ask?"
It felt like a random comment, but at least communication was fine.
"Didn't you want some alone time?"
"But you're not alone anyway."
Hmm, that's true.
"Then if I ask, will you tell me?"
When I asked casually, Jaina answered casually.
"There's nothing I can't tell. It's not something to bring up first, but it's also not something I'm hiding."
"..."
"And weren't you the one who said you wanted to stay to ask because you were curious?"
Well, that's part of it.
"There was a bigger reason."
"What is it?"
"I thought it would be troublesome if feelings developed in this situation."
An honest and straightforward answer.
Jaina laughed out loud as if she hadn't expected it, then suddenly changed the subject.
"No, actually, I won't say after all."
"…What? Suddenly?"
"Just that. It's not a very interesting story."
"Is that so? Do as you please."
Tsk, I was foolish to expect. I sighed with my energy drained.
Did I feel a little guilty about that?
"Well, I'll tell you one thing. I lied to the baron before. Or rather, I deliberately didn't say part of it."
"What was that?"
"The person I tried to save by offering my memories to Karui. That person was killed by me. Well, after hearing Ibaekho's words, you probably guessed as much."
"Can I hear how it came to that?"
"There wasn't any big reason. Karui demanded that person as a sacrifice. He promised new power, so I killed him."
"..."
"That was a powerful power that saved my life several times. But… I wouldn't have done it if I'd known /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ it would get this suffocating."
I could hear deep regret in Jaina's voice, so I didn't ask further and gave her some time alone.
Ten minutes, twenty minutes… about thirty minutes passed before Jaina got up and said she was okay, then went down the chamber stairs first.
"Are you feeling better now?"
As soon as I entered the ruin, Aures came up.
They seemed to be talking about something, but I didn't bother eavesdropping.
"Where is Ibaekho?"
When I asked GM, I only got an answer that he hadn't returned yet.
Ha, he's not a teenager or something.
"Should we search?"
"No, no search. If we wait, he'll come back on his own."
"But isn't it possible that someone unknown is in this ruin with us?"
"Wait a little more. If he really doesn't come, then it won't be too late to search."
Above all, there were conversations to be had when Ibaekho was absent.
"Hey."
I ended the talk with GM and headed to the destroyer scholar.
"What is it, Baron?"
"I want to discuss something with you."
"Go ahead."
Since this old man is not talkative, I got straight to the point.
"Ibaekho, does he seem normal to you?"
Actually, I had felt this for a while.
No matter how abnormal Baekho is, he's not the kind of guy to act thoughtlessly.
He only does things that bring 'benefit.'
"Probably not normal. Since you say so too."
"You noticed something strange too?"
"His standard isn't 'good and evil.' He tries to think and act rationally in every situation. But what happened today was too emotional."
"Could it be that impatience caused it?"
"That's a ridiculous story. If he were the type to be impatient about something like this, he wouldn't have pursued one goal for nearly twenty years."
"I see…"
Then what exactly made Ibaekho like that?
Is there some field effect we don't know?
But except for Ibaekho, everyone else is fine.
While I was pondering, the destroyer scholar quietly approached and brought up another topic.
"More than that, I'm more suspicious of something else."
"What is that?"
"After organizing the situation, the only conclusion I reach is that there was a traitor among us."
"Wasn't that issue already settled?"
Even using Broken Trust, checking not only Ibaekho's teammates but also GM.
I couldn't use it myself, but why does this old man bring it up again?
"Could it be… you suspect me and Ibaekho?"
I lowered my voice and asked, thinking there was no other answer.
The old man chuckled.
"That's not it. Of course, you have a definite motive to hinder us… but there's a more suspicious suspect than you."
-x-X-x-
"Cut to the chase."
"There's one more person we haven't heard an answer from."
What is this old man saying? He keeps contradicting himself—
"I mean Lieutenant Briat."
"…What?"
"We haven't heard from Lieutenant Briat that he isn't the traitor, have we?"
"Are you seriously thinking he's alive?"
"Well, having seen the corpse myself, I think that's very unlikely… But his death doesn't mean he's innocent."
The destroyer elder continued with an emotionless voice.
"No matter how many times I think about it, I keep coming to the same conclusion."
"..."
"If there's a traitor among us, it has to be Lieutenant Briat."
I don't know what other evidence he had, but the old man seemed sure Briat was the betrayer.
So I began to think deeply in various ways.
'The priest wants to kill Ibaekho, the warrior is the lord's henchman, and the mage has some other agenda.'
But if the archer here is the traitor… 'Did Ibaekho completely ruin this team?' Not even surprised anymore.
Creak.
As the front door opened and a woman entered the building, those gathered in the living room immediately stood up.
"Emily…! How did it go?"
"Any progress? Still haven't found a way?"
It had been four months since Bjorn Yandel went out looking for a way back and disappeared.
At first, they thought he was just late returning for a few days, but after over a week, things changed.
Worried, they went down to the underground and found the underground plaza empty.
So from then on, they seriously started inquiries…
"And Yurven Havelion? He still hasn't appeared either?"
With the disappearance of the magic engineer who went with them to check the magic circle, unease grew.
At first, the dominant opinion was that maybe they had gone outside the walls and would return on their own soon.
But as the missing period lengthened, that opinion changed.
Bjorn did go out with the engineer.
But something happened outside, and that's why they haven't returned yet.
It didn't take long for that speculation to become certainty.
Soon, royal troops started to station in the previously empty underground.
"We still haven't found a way to get Bjorn back."
Amelia, representing the clan, ran everywhere gathering information, but the only thing learned was this:
The teleportation magic circle underground had been damaged.
They even risked sneaking into the military barracks and eavesdropping on commanders' talks to learn this, and thanks to that, they could guess why Bjorn hadn't returned.
"Is that so…"
"Don't worry. We did get some results this time."
"…Results?"
"It's just the way back that's blocked, but going out is not a problem."
"Huh? Really?"
"Luckily, we also got hold of a method to activate the magic circle. Whether it's feasible, Golland, you'll have to see yourself."
Amelia pulled out what looked like military documents from her pocket.
Bersil took them and read quickly yet thoroughly. Then…
"It seems the royal family knew all about this magic circle. They have a neat guide on how to activate it."
"So the conclusion? Can we do it?"
"Yes. With this, I can also activate the magic circle."
When Bersil answered confidently, Amelia nodded in agreement.
"Then that's settled."
"Settled…?"
"Finish all preparations for the expedition within three days."
It was a sudden order, but no one objected.
"Ooooooh! Finally we're doing something!!"
Ainar, who had been dozing, shouted.
"Yeah… Since the missing captain hasn't come back for months, we have no choice but to bring him back ourselves."
Misha nodded resolutely.
"Yes. He caused me so much trouble by disappearing after setting everything up. I heard Shavin Emure also plans to kill or resign once he returns."
Bersil, in charge of clan affairs, sighed bitterly.
"Putting that aside, isn't this a rare opportunity? We're going to save our captain."
The navigator Auyen said this, and Erwen closed her eyes, hand on her chest.
"Because it's always been the uncle's role to protect and save us."
The clan Anabada's expedition was decided.***
Leighton Briat, archer of Ibaekho's team, a good-natured and capable guy.
If he's really the traitor, suspicious circumstances exist.
He was also the team's guide.
[Not a monster, but a human.]
[Opponent is just one… surprisingly seems to be asleep.]
Even if Ibaekho didn't notice his presence, Briat's position allowed him to naturally guide us to the unknown person disguised as Hans L…
'Besides, Briat never said a word when Ibaekho tried to stop us from taking the dimensional monument.'
Once suspicious, I wondered if this guy was really the traitor.
Well, nothing is certain yet—.
Thrum-!
Suddenly, vibrations were felt through the ground.
But the direction was unclear.
Usually, agile characters would brief us at times like this, but the problem is, there are none around now.
Two mages, one priest, and two tanks.
"Where is it…?"
"I thought it was that way…"
"It's far, so using magic detection will take more time—"
While they were flustered due to the lack of an expert, vibrations were felt again.
Buzzzz—! A stronger vibration than before.
Maybe because I was on edge?
"That way."
This time, I clearly recognized the direction and immediately led the group there.
Thud! Boom! Buzzz!
The vibrations and roaring became louder and clearer the closer we got.
"——Ah, speak——!!"
I faintly heard voices. It was Ibaekho's.
But the problem was…
"Is he fighting someone… right?"
"Seems so."
By all indications, it seemed so.
At first, I thought Ibaekho was just breaking everything in anger.
"Hey, you bastard! If you get caught—!"
From the conversation, it was clear he was chasing someone.
So we sped up and sprinted toward the noise.
And then—! Unable to resist inertia, we hit the wall as we rounded the corner sharply.
Flash—!
A flash like a nuclear explosion lit up right before my eyes.
Instinct as a tank overruled judgment.
「Character has cast [Giantification].」
Quickly inflating his body, he blocked the narrow passage and protected his upper body with a shield.
As expected.
Kraaaaaang—!
An invisible shockwave forcefully pushed his body, and hot heat burned his skin.
It felt like his whole body was melting.
The shielded part, like with sunscreen, was a little better…
Sssssssssssss—!
When the flash died down, smoke rose from the heated armor.
Tingling! From toes to head, it felt like hot electricity was flowing, but I first checked the situation behind me.
"Is everyone okay?"
"W-we're okay… Aagh!"
What? Is someone badly hurt?
Just as I was about to look back with that question, the destroyer elder's voice was heard.
"Everyone is injured, but nothing critical."
This personality type is helpful in emergencies.
A clean briefing reducing waste is important.
Anyway, in that spirit, thud.
Putting worries about the rear aside, we charged forward.
Although somewhat damaged and melted, only smoke rose but the wall structure was intact.
Not surprising.
We tested this before.
[Star's Vanishing] can't destroy these structures.
Some weak spots can be physically damaged but are very limited.
'Well, the skill used now seems different.'
How many hidden ultimate moves does this guy have?
"Haa… haa… haa…"
Turning another corner, I saw Ibaekho standing panting.
"…Ibaekho."
Hearing my voice, he turned and answered casually.
"Oh, you're here…?"
"Tell me. What's going on?"
"Nothing much. I was trying to catch a rat, but it was so quick… I overdid it in anger."
"A rat…?"
"But I don't know if I caught it. Want to come check if it's caught or not?"
"Lead the way."
"Yes, sir!"
Though playful, Ibaekho quickly went ahead and led the way.
About a minute behind him.
"Wow, he survived that?"
Only bloodstains remained in the empty corridor.
For reference, the bloodstains led to the opposite side…
"But I don't think it went far."
Ibaekho grinned and followed the blood slowly.
Step one, two, three…
After about three minutes, the trail stopped, and Ibaekho stopped walking too.
'Shouldn't we hurry and find where it disappeared?'
Feeling impatient, Ibaekho just casually scanned the surroundings.
"What are you doing? Shouldn't you hurry—"
"Baron, did you know?"
I cocked my head at the sudden question, and Ibaekho explained.
"There's a creature called a chameleon in the world we lived in. It's amazing because it changes its skin color according to surroundings, which it uses to hunt."
At first, I thought it was nonsense, but I quickly understood what he meant.
Besides, Ibaekho doesn't call me 'Baron' in front of others.
"But… seeing it makes me keep thinking of chameleons."
With that, Ibaekho punched the empty wall.
Thud!
The dull sound was very different from when he hit before.
"Ugh!"
The 'rat' hiding in stealth finally showed itself.
"Got you, you bastard."
With a creepy smile, Ibaekho grabbed the rat's collar and lifted it.
Its physique was close to a normal man.
Since it had no visible fur or ears, it seemed human.
Its body was wrapped in tattered robes…
'Wolf mask…?'
That was the most noticeable feature.
The rest we'll find out slowly later—
"What is this?"
The body hung limply as if unconscious.
Looking closely, dark-colored blood flowed from its mouth.
Startled, I checked its pulse, but there was no sign of life.
"Suicide…"
Hearing my mutter, Ibaekho smirked and ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don't copy, read here) turned to look at me.
And then…
"Baron."
Using a title he never uses when no one's listening, he said.
"In every world, small animals have a common trait, do you know?"
I already guessed the rest, but sadly, Ibaekho didn't give me time to answer.
"When threatened, they all play dead."
"…?"
"Like this."
He punched the corpse's abdomen again.
"Ugh!"
Ibaekho reached toward the wolf mask curled up on the floor like a bug.
"Let's see your face."
It was time to take off the mask.
Ibaekho's hands were far from gentle or considerate.
He opened his palm, grabbed the mask, ignored the several mechanisms locking it firmly, and ripped it off roughly.
And then…
"..."
Beyond the mask, the revealed face.
Ibaekho was silent for a moment as if collecting his thoughts, then broke the silence.
"Wow, he really was alive?"