When people are given a subject, they start with imagination.
There may be differences in the scale or method of imagination, but there is no such thing as a person who doesn't imagine.
In that sense, my current imagination is also reasonable.
'Five days overdue from the expected arrival date…'
The mobility of Team 1 and Team 2 isn't different enough for such a time gap to occur.
In other words, something definitely happened to Team 2 during the expedition.
The only problem is not knowing what that "something" was…
Maybe…
My subconscious, which has always lived with misfortune, naturally brings up the worst-case scenario first.
Could they have encountered raiders.
Were there no explorers who looked at the isolated Team 2 and grew greedy, just like the Meiruta Clan we encountered on the fifth floor.
"...."
What torments me more is that these imaginings aren't outrageous delusions.
Isn't that true.
The Meiruta Clan backed off simply because they were cowards.
But are all people like them.
What if Team 2 was unlucky enough to run into someone more decisive, someone bolder who didn't fear my reputation.
Crack…
That's the reason I went so far when dealing with the Meiruta Clan's leader.
No matter the situation, I want to eliminate every variable that could threaten me or us.
So I executed him as a warning.
That's also why I told the vice-captain of Meiruta to spread word of what happened as soon as they left the labyrinth.
"B-Bjorn…?"
No, that's not it.
Right now, my field of vision is narrowed.
Maybe it wasn't raiders at all.
Among the enemies who threaten me, there's Ibaekho, and Aurell Gaviss.
If not that, maybe Noark caught wind of the labyrinth opening and secretly sent in their own explorers—
"Bjorn!!"
Just as someone smacked my back with a smash, I snapped back to my senses.
"…Misha?"
"You're only now listening to me, nya!!"
Ah, she'd been talking to me this whole time.
"What is it?"
Wanting to return to my train of thought quickly, I asked what she wanted, but Misha gave me a totally offbeat answer.
"Please! Stop thinking weird thoughts! Everything's going to be fine!"
"…How can you be sure?"
"Because I believe in them."
"...?"
"Emily, Elwen, Ainard, and the rest… Well, I do worry a little about that Mr. Rockrove, but anyway! They're all people who can take care of themselves!"
"No, I mean… it's not that I don't trust them—"
"Bjorn, more importantly, I think you're really misunderstanding something."
"...?"
"We're not your children. We're your comrades."
"…I'm going to cool my head for a bit."
"Yeah, yeah. Go on."
With Misha's concerned advice, I backed down and stepped away from the portal to clear my head for a while.
But of course, just doing that didn't make the anxiety go away.
That was only natural.
The only reason I even accepted Misha's advice was because I needed a quiet place to think, and I figured it wasn't good for the team leader to show this side of himself in front of the others—
"Bjorn!"
I didn't know how much time had passed since I'd separated from Team 1, but from far away, Misha called out to me.
"How far did you go to cool your head! I've been looking everywhere—"
"Go back and tell the others to get ready to move."
"…Huh? Ready to move?"
Misha tilted her head, not understanding.
I calmly spoke the decision I had reached after fast but careful thought.
"As soon as preparations are complete, we're heading back down to the fifth floor. Rather than waiting endlessly with no guarantee—"
"What are you talking about! That's not necessary!!"
"Whether it's necessary or not is for me to decide. I don't know exactly what situation Team 1 is in right now, but if they're being chased by someone, or hiding somewhere to avoid detection, then we should immediately—"
"They just came up a little while ago, you idiot!!"
"…What?"
My mind went blank for a moment.
And as she looked at me, Misha quickly explained everything I'd been dying to know.
"They're all safe! They said they were late because they went into a rift on the fourth floor!!"
"...."
"Ugh, I told you, didn't I! That everything would be fine!"
I felt relief hearing they were all safe, but only for a moment — after that, I felt something else I couldn't quite explain, and I ran toward the portal…
Where Team 2 would be.
"…Huh? I was talking, where are you running off to!"
As the portal grew closer, I could see the members of Team 2 gathered around it.
Amelia was calmly explaining the situation to the others, and beside her, Ainard was puffing himself up like he was bragging about something he'd gotten.
That's when I realized what this inexplicable emotion was.
It was a bit of irritation.
But even I couldn't understand where it was coming from.
"…Ah, Yandel? You're here. I heard you were really worried we were late."
As soon as I ran up and stood in front of them, Amelia said in a slightly teasing tone.
Elwen was the same.
"Hehe, it's Mister! Were you really worried?"
Even hearing those warm greetings, I didn't open my mouth.
It felt like if I said anything, this feeling would spill out.
No — maybe it already had.
"Emily… why were you so late?"
"Ah… didn't you hear from Kalstein? A rift opened right in front of us on the fourth floor, and after discussing it with the team, we decided to enter."
"...."
"But wasn't that already decided? ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) From the fourth floor onward, we enter any rift we can."
That's right. That's true.
In fact, the other team members had been telling me that when I was getting worried over their delay.
They were doing what the team leader should have done.
But the problem is...
"Still… wasn't it a bit too late?"
That's probably me talking.
"…What?"
"Someone of your level shouldn't have taken five whole days to clear a fourth-floor rift…"
"It's true we took a bit longer for safety's sake. But are you blaming us for that now?"
Amelia noticed the subtle emotion in my voice and frowned.
And that's when I snapped back to my senses.
The problem was clearly with me.
No — to be precise...
"Yandel… what is it that's making you so impatient?"
There's something wrong with my head.
***
21st day since entering the labyrinth.
After that minor incident upon reaching the sixth floor, we resolved things well enough and finally launched our ship into the sea.
Ah, and for the record, we parted ways with the Meiruta Clan here.
"We're finally setting sail..."
"Looks like the royal army is just starting to set off too?"
Looking at the shore, I could see the royal expeditionary force finally beginning to push their ships into the water one by one, and it left a bitter taste in my mouth.
'At this rate, they'll finish setting off tomorrow.'
Strictly speaking in terms of time, there were still some regrets.
Even though we moved so fast, we were only one day ahead of the sluggish royal army in setting sail.
In fact, aside from a few ships launched by some small clans, the only ships around the island were royal warships.
"It's a little behind schedule, but don't worry too much. We did a lot of logging, and cleared a rift too."
Amelia, noticing my feelings, approached to offer consolation.
Maybe it was because of what happened earlier, but the mood still felt slightly awkward.
Both Amelia and I avoided bringing up the previous incident.
"Yes, that's right! You made more profit than if you'd spent those five days hunting, didn't you? Don't worry about it, Mister!"
Sigh… For even Elwen to be worried about me like this.
What the hell am I doing.
For a moment, I felt pathetic, and also determined that I needed to pull myself together.
And to do that, first I had to fix the problem in my head.
Swaaaaaaa—
Out on the deck, facing the cool ocean wind and watching the waves break, I looked back on myself.
That earlier version of me wasn't like me at all.
No — thinking back, it started with the Meiruta Clan.
Like one of the cogs in my brain had broken.
Emotion was overtaking reason, making me overly sensitive and aggressive.
Usually I was fine, but once something pressed the button, I would change.
'Maybe I've been under too much stress…'
Looked at simply, that could be true, but it wasn't something to take lightly.
If a commander loses their reason and acts emotionally, the whole group suffers.
People could get hurt because of it.
But how do I fix this kind of thing?
It's not like there's a psychiatrist here — do I need to apply some kind of physical therapy myself?
I was thinking that when it happened.
"Yandel."
"Ah, Emily..."
"It's fine. It's only natural."
Amelia seemed to have a general idea of what caused the problem in my head.
Well, she's always been sharp like that.
"...."
"...."
Silence continued afterward, but it didn't feel awkward like before.
I don't know how much time passed.
'Ah, come to think of it, I never asked this.'
Well, after that awkward conversation earlier, I hadn't brought it up.
Suddenly remembering it, I asked Amelia.
"So what was the rift on the fourth floor?"
"…It was the Forest of Doppelgangers."
"…Really? That's a shame it wasn't the Golden Ruins."
"I heard Raven say she was pretty sure it was the Forest of Doppelgangers?"
Well, that's because she didn't know our team had gone in.
"...."
Sigh, this is why people say you should think kind thoughts.
***
29th day since entering the labyrinth.
The ninth day since we left the starting island of Lymia.
Without making a single stop at any islands, our ship finally docked at one.
It was the first destination along our expedition route.
Honestly, since we were five days behind schedule, I'd considered skipping it…
'But that'd be a waste. It's right on our path too.'
Well, we'll just clear it as quickly as possible and move on.
"Ugh… I'd heard the stories, but it's way creepier than I expected. The whole island's made of bone…"
"Ooooooh!! It's the Skull Island! The Skull Island!"
"Its proper name is Catacoma, Mr. Prnelin."
Skull Island, Catacoma.
This was my first time visiting the island personally, but I had a strange connection to it.
Back when I first went to the Ghostbusters, I'd sold info about this island for GP, and I'd spread related information during a roundtable, too…
"Uh… Captain?"
Just as I was about to disembark, Sven Parab approached me.
"Did you know? Apparently if you defeat the boss monster on Skull Island and reach the tenth floor, you'll experience something special…"
Wow, if that's not a roundtable member talking.
That's literally the information I gave out.
Feigning ignorance, I replied.
"Something special?"
"Yes. I don't know the details either… but according to a reliable source, something like that exists. N-not that we'll be going to the tenth floor this time, but I thought you should know…"
"Yeah? Well, I know now. Like you said, we won't be going to the tenth floor anyway."
As that conversation ended and I stepped onto the island, Beleg, who had disembarked first, approached to report.
"There are guests."
"Guests, huh..."
I'd half-expected it.
The labyrinth right now is a goldmine on every floor.
This kind of thing must be happening all over the ocean.
Where there's treasure, there are always rivals.
"How many?"
"Not sure… but at least one clan clearly arrived here before us. Look over there. They even planted their flag right at the entrance."
"Well, that says a lot."
"It seems to be an unspoken warning not to enter, since they arrived first… What shall we do?"
What do you think — we went through the trouble of docking here, so we're at least going to take a look.
But before rushing in blindly, I checked something first.
"Adnus, that emblem — is it really the Golden Tree Clan?"
"Yes. One of the Seven Rivals, 'Golden Ears,' is their leader."
I had my suspicions from the emblem, and it turns out I was right.
The Golden Tree Clan was one I'd heard of.
For one, their leader is one of the Seven Rivals, like Elwen and Ainard...
"Oh? Golden Tree? That clan is…!"
Catching Misha's questioning glance, I nodded.
"That's right."
It's the clan that Bear-Old-Man belongs to.
-x-X-x-
Top Ten Clans, Top Five Clans, Top Four Clans…
In the past, that's how people grouped the most famous large-scale clans. But that culture has long faded away.
Years of political unrest caused countless clans to vanish or merge, and in the chaos, those naming conventions naturally disappeared…
Still, one clan had started to make a name for itself by growing rapidly amid the upheaval.
The Golden Tree Clan.
Just a few years ago, their renown barely extended beyond their clan leader, but during the war, they displayed exceptional tactical prowess, absorbing and merging with other clans to grow exponentially.
Raven's evaluation of the clan was as follows:
"The Golden Tree Clan? Hmm, I've heard they performed well during the ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) war, but honestly, it feels like they just picked easy battlefields. Still, they seem to be well-equipped… If I had to rank them, I'd say they could probably squeeze into the bottom of the old Top Ten Clans list."
"Adnus, what do you think?"
"They've got their share of rumors, but there's no denying their strength. I've also heard they're very well-connected with key figures in the political and financial sectors. Supposedly, they have ties to Count Alminus… and as for our Guild's third regional manager, the two of them are practically soulmates."
"I see…"
According to the Guildmaster's intel, the Golden Tree Clan had deployed a total of ninety members into the Labyrinth this time—making them the fourth largest deployment among all clans.
Which meant they were being backed significantly by the Royal Family and the Guild.
Otherwise, there's no way they'd be given such numbers.
"But what do you mean by 'their share of rumors'?"
"I've heard occasional murmurs of internal unrest. Apparently, they really push their members to the limit… though no one's come forward to testify or expose anything. Seems they keep a tight lid on things."
"Pushing members to the limit, huh…"
Could that explain why Bear Guy had such a grim expression when he once talked about his own clan?
"Still, they don't have a bad reputation either. Actually, they're generally reviewed quite positively. Their compensation is solid, and rather than selling Essences, they distribute them to their members, which helps with growth."
Hmm, true enough…
Seems the Guildmaster wasn't wrong.
Last time I saw Bear Guy, he'd eaten a ton of new Essences and, as a result, had apparently been promoted to Tier-3.
"Avman… he'll be okay, right…?"
Despite hearing the same thing, Misha still showed signs of worry, while Ainard was simply thrilled at the thought of encountering Bear Guy on this island.
"Let's hurry inside! To meet Urakburak here of all places, this has to be a sign of good fortune!!"
Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a lucky omen…
"So, what do you want to do, Yandel?"
"What do you mean, what do I want to do? Of course we're going in."
"I see… understood."
Once I made my position clear, Amelia's expression turned a little odd.
Like she was holding something back that she wanted to say.
"Spit it out. What is it?"
"…If you happen to meet the 'Gold Ghost,' you'd best not underestimate him."
At her warning, I unconsciously tilted my head.
Knowing how cautious I am—someone who taps even the stone bridge before crossing—why would she feel the need to say this?
"Do you know something about him?"
I pressed for more, but all Amelia could offer was hearsay—rumors and past records. She hadn't met the guy herself.
Which only deepened my curiosity about this 'Gold Ghost.'
'What kind of bastard is this guy, seriously…?'
Well, guess I'll find out soon enough.
***
The Great Navigator, Pikma.
His legacy has been widely debated by later generations.
Some say he was simply the first to chart all the islands and produce a world map—hardly the legendary figure who unraveled every island's secrets.
Which isn't exactly untrue.
Pikma didn't manage to conquer every hidden piece on the islands during his lifetime.
But…
'How could anyone possibly chart every island?'
I don't think that diminishes his reputation.
Think about it.
The Labyrinth only opens once a month, and even then it eventually closes again.
You only get one shot at life.
Your lifespan isn't infinite.
Under these conditions, uncovering every secret of every island is physically impossible.
Unless you're running dozens of games on a computer simultaneously.
'Still, he did seem to know something about Skull Island.'
Catacoma.
One of the islands in the Grandrock region, located in the far eastern seas. The Great Navigator Pikma had this to say about it:
'Either the easiest of all, or the most difficult.'
Couldn't be more accurate.
On the surface, Skull Island has very low difficulty, but dig deeper, and the story flips completely.
In fact, it was this very line that led to the widespread rumor of a hidden piece on the island.
'Though it seems no one really knows about "that."'
Even the woman from Ghost Busters who once bought information about the island only knew about the "main boss"—not—
"What the hell is up with these wimps!"
Ainard suddenly complained loudly.
From the sound of it, the monsters appearing on Skull Island weren't exactly satisfying her.
'Not surprising.'
The average monster here is only around Tier-6.
"Ugh… When's something strong going to show up…!"
"What's wrong, Ainard? Isn't it a good thing if it's easy?"
"Misha! I want enemies worthy of my autobiography!!"
"Ah… right, I forgot…? I wouldn't know, so go ask Bjorn."
"…No."
"Why not?"
"If I ask Bjorn, Emily Raines will scold me."
"Ah…?"
Poor Ainard shrank instantly and started glancing nervously at me, but what can I say—Amelia's discipline had been thoroughly effective.
If she ever becomes a mom, she'd probably raise a very competent kid—
"Yandel."
"…I wasn't thinking anything weird."
"What are you talking about?"
"Ahem… So why did you call me?"
"We've probably entered the Golden Tree Clan's territory."
"They're nearby?"
"No life signatures detected, but there are clear signs of recent movement in this area."
I see…
Well, we had made it to roughly the central part of the island.
"We'll be sharing the island for the next few days, so we'd best introduce ourselves."
We kept heading toward the center without changing course.
Eventually, we arrived at the entrance to a central cave.
"…No one's here."
All that greeted us was a clearing that clearly bore signs of previous occupancy.
But that moment of curiosity didn't last long.
"Well, well. What a rare treat to meet someone so distinguished."
Dozens of presences were suddenly detected behind us, along with a greasy voice.
At the same time, Amelia—our human radar—spoke quietly.
"…Yandel, we're surrounded."
She didn't need to say it.
We'd been surrounded by a group of roughly ninety explorers.
My body tensed momentarily at the realization.
"If we startled you, I sincerely apologize. Lord Yandel."
The voice from earlier came from a blond man in his mid-thirties who stepped forward—and Amelia whispered beside me:
"Just a heads-up. That's dyed. His real hair color's black."
What a weirdly unnecessary detail.
Still, it did look natural… Anyway, back to the point.
"I'm Bill Ironred, leader of the Golden Tree Clan. Please, just call me Bill."
He introduced himself with a beaming smile.
Is that the face that let him cozy up to all those political and financial elites?
I don't know, but one thing was clear—he didn't seem like an easy opponent.
"Nice to meet you, Ironred. I didn't expect such a grand welcome."
"Haha, if we startled you, I apologize again. We simply didn't expect a visit from you, Lord Yandel."
What a bald-faced lie.
"I see."
I nodded and casually scanned the ninety warriors emerging from the underbrush.
Their presence meant one thing.
They'd detected us before we detected them.
Which meant their detection capabilities outstripped ours.
'And they even managed to coordinate a successful ambush with that many people…'
Did he really not know we were here?
No, he definitely knew.
Which meant the only reason he went out of his way to gather everyone, hide them with stealth skills, and ambush us around this clearing was—
'To assert dominance.'
In the city, explorers are carefree drunks throwing around money and laughter. But once they enter the Labyrinth, they become beasts.
To survive, they become part of nature, packing venom inside themselves and inflating their stature with intimidating plumage.
Look weak, and you'll be bitten.
"By the way… quite the dilemma, isn't it? Might I ask, Lord Yandel—are you here for him as well?"
I couldn't be sure who exactly "him" referred to, but I nodded and returned the question.
"What if I am?"
My voice carried a slightly aggressive edge, but he didn't seem offended—just smiled again.
"Haha, then it can't be helped."
"You saying you'll back off?"
"I'm afraid not. I have people I'm responsible for, too."
"So, we compete?"
"There's no owner to the Labyrinth's treasures, is there? First to grab it, gets it."
It was a bit annoying, but I couldn't disagree.
There's nothing wrong with competition.
The problem only comes when someone refuses to accept defeat—or lets greed blind them.
'Though judging by his demeanor, he doesn't seem the type.'
He was surprisingly diplomatic.
Is it because of my rank and fame?
Most likely.
If our clan were small and obscure, they probably wouldn't be treating us like this.
"For a fair competition, how about we agree to two things?"
"Go on."
"No interfering with each other. And whoever opens that cave door first, gets the right to challenge."
"How about it?"
"Fine."
"Then it seems we're in agreement. Let's both give it our best."
"'Give it our best' is informal."
"…Hahaha. You're quite amusing, Lord Yandel."
That wasn't a joke. I meant it.
"Well then, we'll take our leave for now. Given our competition, after all."
With that, he politely withdrew, and Raven snorted in irritation.
"Hmph. He's just as smug as the rumors said."
"What exactly rubbed you the wrong way?"
"He didn't even mention cooperation or sharing. Clearly thinks they've got this in the bag."
Well… yeah, he probably does.
"But is that a bad thing?"
"What? Uh, no… but… shouldn't you, like, empathize with your members or something? You're the clan leader."
The hell?
That's not what a leader does in situations like this.
"Don't worry. We'll be the ones who enter that cave first."
We'll win.
-x-X-x-
We're wandering aimlessly around the central part of the island.
Crack—! Crack—! Craaack—!
Of course, we're smashing monsters that pop up as we go, in real-time.
But the reason I'd still say we're "wandering" is simple.
We're not really fighting anything.
"…This is boring."
"Yeah… I honestly think I'd have more fun doing paperwork at this point."
The average monster grade on Skull Island is 6.
And even that's inflated by the rare, higher-tier ones—most of what shows up are Grade 7 or 8.
There aren't any new monsters, either.
So far, the only thing on this island even worth killing for experience was a single Skull Ghost (Grade 6).
"…I hope that thing you mentioned shows up soon, Commander."
Even Auyen, a non-combatant, was saying that—meaning things really were that boring.
'Funny how fired up he was with competitiveness just a few days ago.'
Not that I blame him.
It's been two full days since that encounter.
"…Looks like they haven't found it either, huh?"
"Probably not. If the cave had opened, we would've noticed something."
"But what if they had some way to hide it?"
Raven asked the question, and I nearly scoffed—but I stopped myself.
It wasn't entirely impossible.
"I mean, they did have those, right? Multiple copies of them, even."
"Oh, those…"
What Raven was referring to were [Numbers] items.
Of course, it wasn't confirmed they had them—just a very likely assumption.
"You agreed too, didn't you? That it wouldn't have made sense for them to hide like that otherwise."
Yeah… true.
Detection's a secondary skill. If they only had Elwen or Amelia—whose specialties are combat—I'd have dismissed it.
But this time, they'd brought in Beleg, also known as the "Chaser."
In other words, a specialist in detection.
And yet, they spotted us first—and successfully concealed that entire force without a trace.
So how was that possible?
After a long discussion with Beleg himself, I reached one conclusion.
It was all thanks to gear.
There was even one item that looked very suspicious.
No. 16 – Ebony Emblem.
An item that massively enhances stealth-type skills when equipped.
It boosts stats while hidden, slathers on bonus effects for ambushes… basically a graduation item for assassins.
But the two important options are these:
If you stay still while wearing it, you enter a state of absolute stealth.
And…
If you activate its ability, it generates 29 tokens that maintain the effect temporarily when worn.
'If they used that, it makes sense how they were able to suppress their presence like that.'
And if you recall the situation, they were all just standing still. They only revealed themselves once we reached the cave entrance.
There was even a witness report of someone seeing a similar item.
The only problem is, they'd need at least three of those to hide all ninety people…
But if that theory's correct, what I'm really curious about isn't how they got those rare items.
It's why the so-called "Gold Ghost" collected three of them.
Nothing about that guy screams good intentions—
"Viscount Yandel."
At that moment, Beleg suddenly stopped and whispered to me.
"I told you—just call me Commander."
"…Approaching targets."
"How many?"
"Six."
No need to ask who they were.
Almost certainly one of the Golden Tree Clan's sub-teams.
"If we keep going, we'll cross paths."
Still, this was unexpected.
We hadn't encountered them directly at all these past two days.
Even when our routes overlapped, both sides had sensed each other from afar and deliberately avoided contact.
"Looks like they've got business with us. We'll wait here."
We paused, and after a short while, a team of explorers emerged from the eerie, vine-covered underbrush—wearing the crest of the Golden Tree Clan.
And then…
"…Yandel?"
"Avman."
A completely unexpected reunion.
We had glimpsed each other briefly during that standoff at the cave, but we hadn't had the chance to speak.
Now that I had a moment to think about it, I couldn't help but chuckle.
From the way he looked flustered, it was pretty clear they weren't here to talk.
"Lost, are you?"
"…Of course not. We were just passing through."
Sure, and I'm a goddamn fish.
Just from looking at them, it was obvious he was acting as the guide thanks to his [Pathfinder] ability.
Bear Guy is a guide—but he's got no sense of direction.
He also completely lacks the basic detection skills that most guides have by default.
Back in the Team Apple Narak days, we had a perfectly fine pathfinder and I still took lessons from Rotmiller.
In hindsight, it worked out, though…
"Ugh… again?"
One of Bear Guy's teammates sighed.
But unlike the affectionate sighs we used to let out in Apple Narak, this one felt… different.
More like frustration.
"Didn't you hear? The Captain said to avoid contact as much as possible."
"Ah…"
"Did you do it on purpose? Just to catch up with your old buddy?"
"N-No, of course not! Th-this was purely coincidence!"
"Coincidence my ass. You're just incompetent."
The moment that conversation ended, the air between them turned painfully awkward.
Even in just those few exchanges, I could get a read on the relationship between Bear Guy and the others.
And judging by his reaction, so could he.
More accurately…
"…"
It was the look of someone who just got exposed for something they didn't want anyone to see.
Can't blame him.
No one wants their friends or family to see them getting chewed out by a superior.
And this probably isn't even the worst of it.
They were holding back because I was here.
Who knows what kinds of abuse go on when no one's watching?
"Regardless, our apologies, Viscount Yandel. We didn't come to cause trouble… As you can see, this was entirely his mistake."
"…I'm not blaming you, so forget it."
"That's a relief. You heard him—let's go."
I wanted to talk to Bear Guy more, but I couldn't exactly stop them under these circumstances.
I could force a short conversation, but that might backfire on him.
They might accuse him of leaking information or something—label him a traitor.
More importantly, it looked like he didn't want to stick around.
So I was about to let them go without saying anything when…
"Phew… How'd a halfwit like that end up on our team anyway."
It was too loud to pass off as a mutter.
And then—
[Misha Kalstein has cast Frozen Soul.]
A wall of ice sprang up before the departing party with a single swing of her blade.
"You… what did you just say?"
Misha was well and truly pissed.
***
The chill from the ice wall rode the wind and brushed across my skin.
It was an unexpected move—but not crossing the line yet.
She hadn't actually attacked them.
But if things went any further…
"Viscount Yandel."
The man who appeared to be the team leader ignored Misha and addressed me.
"Shall I take this to mean you're violating our pact?"
His gaze was aggressive, and honestly, it was ridiculous.
She wasn't even the leader—just a regular team member.
I was about to step in and say something—
"Forget that. You! Goblin head! What did you say to Avman just now?"
"…"
"You not gonna answer?"
Misha's breathing grew heavy as she watched the team leader ignore her completely.
Vrrrrr…
Even the hand gripping her sword was trembling now.
She was seriously angry.
"Hurry up and answer."
Her tone dropped—and with it, her usual pronunciation issues vanished.
Finally, the team leader responded with a voice dripping in irritation.
"Is this about the 'halfwit' comment?"
"You…"
"Tch. So it was true, then."
"I'm telling you nicely—take it back."
"Frankly, I don't know what right you think you have to demand that."
"What…?"
"Sure, I know you and Urikfrit used to be teammates. But now he's part of our clan. I'd appreciate it if you didn't meddle in our internal affairs."
"So as long as he's not part of your clan, it's fine, huh? Avman! Get over here! Ditch that crap excuse for a clan and—"
"Enough, Misha Kalstein."
It wasn't me or the team leader who stopped her—it was Bear Guy.
His tone was so firm, Misha looked genuinely hurt.
"…Why?"
She'd only tried to help—why shut her down like that?
He didn't explain.
But the team leader did.
"You call him a former comrade, yet you don't even know this?"
"…?"
"Urikfrit borrowed money from our clan. The Labyrinth was closed for over a year, his shop couldn't stay open… He had no other option."
"Ha! How much? We'll pay it off—"
"Doesn't matter. In exchange for the loan, he agreed to complete a set number of expeditions. This is just the first. After this one, he's got 23 left."
"So… So you treat him like garbage just because he can't quit?"
"I have no idea what you're talking ab—"
"That's enough."
At that point, I stepped in.
Misha looked like she had a lot more to say, but I stopped her with a look.
"I'm not here to meddle in your affairs. And I have no intention of violating the pact. So let's end this here."
"Much appreciated."
I backed down first, and the team leader gave a slight bow.
It looked like the situation was resolved.
But Misha wasn't ready to let it go.
"…Why do you do it?"
She addressed them again as they turned to leave.
Amelia tried to stop her—but this time, I held Amelia back.
Didn't look like Misha was about to launch an attack.
"What are you talking about?"
"Why do you do it? You're a team, comrades… Aren't you? So why do you treat him like he's nothing? Why bully him like that…? Is that… Is that supposed to be fun for you…?"
The team leader's expression faltered for a second—then hardened.
"Must be nice. Living in a different world from us."
"…What?"
"Good day."
With that, they vanished back into the underbrush.
Misha bit her lip, visibly upset.
"Bjorn…"
"Don't worry. I've got an idea."
"…Really?!"
I hadn't planned it before—but now I did.
[New Subquest: Win the competition against the Golden Tree Clan and monopolize the Skull Island event.]
If that were my main quest, this was the new side quest.
Even if Bear Guy himself doesn't want it.
'The Guildmaster's leaving—so someone's gotta fill the spot, right?'
I'm not letting this go on any longer.
-x-X-x-
The hidden piece of Skull Island is absurdly simple.
As you continue wandering around the map and hunting, there's a very small chance you'll encounter a monster called the "Key Keeper."
It's basically a kind of mini-boss, though not particularly strong.
Officially, it's rated as a Grade-4 monster, but it's right on the edge—combat-wise, it's closer to high-end Grade-5.
Anyway, once you cast a [Distortion] spell on it and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ kill it, you obtain a "Key" that can open the central cave on the island.
And then…
'If you clear everything and push through to the end, you reach the boss room.'
The creature known as the boss of Skull Island has a fairly high difficulty rating.
It's only a Grade-3 monster, but only one team can enter the boss room at a time.
Large-scale raids are impossible.
And its patterns are tricky too.
Back in the early days, Ghost Busters sold information about Skull Island, and that information? It was exactly how to clear the boss fight.
'I wonder if that woman pulled it off…?'
Now that I think about it, I never saw her username again after that—either on the forum or in the Q&A board, even up until Ghost Busters shut down…
Well, not something I should be focusing on right now.
"Yandel, are you sure about this?"
"Hm? Sure about what?"
"This situation. You were so confident we'd enter the cave first… but we haven't even seen the Key Keeper yet."
Ah, that.
Sure, it's a little disappointing that not a single one has shown up in two days.
But still…
"Just wait. We'll be the first ones in."
I never intended to go about this the regular way.
Come on—what were the chances of twelve people beating ninety to the key by just wandering around the island?
The source of my confidence came from somewhere else.
This island has a guaranteed way to get the key—
"Whew, finally found it."
Unbelievable luck, huh.
It took two days of nearly clearing the whole map before it showed up.
It was so late I was actually starting to get nervous.
Thankfully, the other side didn't seem to have much better luck. They still hadn't opened the cave either.
Crunch, crunch.
I stepped forward, my feet grinding against the shards of bone that made up the ground.
A defining trait of Skull Island.
Here, the surface is littered with every kind of bone—human, monster, doesn't matter.
And the important thing is…
'There's one special skull hidden among them.'
Like this one.
I finally approached the skull I'd been searching for and stared down at it.
More boulder than skull, really.
But that size wasn't anything unusual on this island, so it didn't stand out.
'Two horns and a square jaw.'
After confirming the features, I raised my hammer—when Raven spoke up.
"This skull… I think it's the Key Keeper."
"Hm? Doesn't look like it."
"No, it does. I've actually got an anatomical diagram on me…"
"Why the hell do you have that?"
"I did some research when I heard we might be heading to Skull Island. Here, look! Don't you see the resemblance?"
"…Yeah, it's an exact match."
Not just similar—identical.
"Maybe some other explorers used [Distortion] and killed it, then left the corpse behind? The Ocean isn't like other floors—the Labyrinth doesn't reset each time."
Hmm… maybe.
The 6th floor doesn't reset, so it's possible.
But then shouldn't there be multiple of these skulls lying around?
Why is there always just one?
A spark of genuine curiosity stirred in me—explorer instincts kicking in.
But…
"Not my problem."
I brushed it off with the mindset of a player.
I mean, come on.
Gamers don't try to understand mechanics.
They just exploit them.
Just like I'm doing now.
The only thing that matters to me is one thing:
Smash—!
That destroying a particular skull near the island's center gives you the key.
"Beleg. Lead the way back to the cave."
Once we had the key, we quickly moved toward the island's center.
As we walked, I couldn't stop grinning. Raven eventually asked:
"What's with the smirk?"
"Nothing."
I was just wondering what kind of face that "Gold Ghost" bastard would make when I showed up with the key.
***
When we arrived at the cave entrance, it was empty except for one team who looked like they were standing guard.
They tilted their heads when they spotted us but quickly grew visibly flustered as we approached.
"D-Did you… perhaps obtain the key?"
"And what if I did?"
"…"
"Move."
"W-Wait! Could you wait just a moment, please?"
The moment I looked like I was about to open the cave and head inside, they desperately tried to stop me.
I had expected as much—but still scowled as if I didn't understand.
"Why should I wait? Looks to me like you don't have the key, but I do. So that gives us the right to enter first. That was the agreement, wasn't it?"
"Yes, you're absolutely right. You're completely right. But… please, just a moment! Just a moment of your time—would you speak with our clan leader?"
"Hmm… I'll give you ten minutes."
"Uh…? Ten minutes, you say?"
"Is there a problem?"
"No, no! Of course not! Thank you for the opportunity!"
The moment our talk ended, the quickest-looking member of the team bolted off somewhere—and before long, the "Gold Ghost" arrived.
Total time elapsed: about eight minutes.
'So he wasn't hunting at all. Just hanging around nearby managing people, huh.'
Not my place to judge leadership styles.
But personally, I prefer leading from the front.
"Whew… I've been filled in. Thank you for waiting. I heard you obtained the key?"
"And what if I did? You planning to stop me?"
My tone was sharp, almost accusatory—but the Gold Ghost just waved his hands and shook his head.
"Of course not. I just wanted to make you a proposal. I'm already grateful that you'd even hear me out."
What a clown.
I hadn't even agreed to listen yet, and he was already thanking me.
"Fine. Spit it out. Time is ticking. And as you know, time is money in the Labyrinth."
"Yes. Since you're being direct, I'll get to the point as well. Name your price."
"…You're trying to buy the key?"
"No, we obtained our own about thirty minutes ago. We don't need the key—just the right to challenge first. Naturally, if we fail, you'll be next."
Is it because they call him the "Gold Ghost"?
The moment things don't go his way, he pulls out his wallet.
"But you and I both know how this works. Whoever goes in first is going to succeed."
"Which is why I'm asking. Name your price."
"Why do you keep telling me to name a price?"
"You need to—"
"If I say 10 billion Stones, would you pay it?"
"..."
See? Speechless.
"Let's cut the crap. Just tell me the maximum amount you're actually willing to pay. I'm not here to haggle. I hate tedious bullshit."
"…How about 400 million Stones?"
"You could sell the boss's Essence alone for 500 million."
"But there's no guarantee we'll get the Essence."
Hmm, true.
Honestly, if it were me, I wouldn't pay that much to go in first either.
If the Essence doesn't drop, it's a loss.
'Still… it really does feel like he offered his absolute max.'
While we talked, word must have spread. Teams from all over the island started converging on our location.
"So what's your answer?"
"Hmm…"
I pretended to consider it, then replied:
"I'll accept the offer."
"Oh, a wise—"
"On one condition. Hand over Avman Urikfrit to us."
"…?"
The Gold Ghost's expression immediately shifted.
From his ever-smiling poker face to the look of a hunter who just spotted prey.
"So you two are closer than I thought."
"People you can trust in the Labyrinth are rare."
"Haha. You're not wrong."
"So? Your answer?"
"I decline. As you said—people you can trust are rare in the Labyrinth."
Trust?
This guy?
The same guy who stood by while Bear Guy got treated like trash in his clan?
I wanted to clock that smug face, but I held back. I'm a civilized modern man, after all.
He wasn't done talking.
"And a man like Urikfrit, willing to sacrifice himself for the group, is even rarer."
You bastard…
That was a threat, wasn't it?
He plans to keep pushing Bear Guy into dangerous missions and treating him like dirt.
"Hah…"
With superhuman patience, I held back one more time and said:
"Fine. Forget the money—just hand over Avman, and we'll give up the cave—"
"Sorry, but that's not possible either."
"…What?"
"Given the amount he owes, that would cost more than 400 million. The tail's bigger than the body, you see."
"What…?"
How much did he borrow, for it to outweigh a 400 million Stone deal?
I had no idea—but the negotiations ended there.
"Then we'll pay the difference—"
"No. We're not breaking our contract with Urikfrit."
"..."
"Well then, please. Go on in, Viscount."
He turned his back on me, no hesitation, like he was even pleased.
[Open the cave before the Golden Tree Clan.]
The main quest was a success.
But…
[Extract Bear Guy from that scumbag clan.]
…the subquest was a failure.
***
The entrance to the cave was made from massive bones.
Felt like something you'd see at a Jurassic Park–themed amusement park.
You walk straight into a gaping skull, where a single iron door awaits—complete with a keyhole.
SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—!
As I inserted the key and turned it clockwise, an eerie, overpowering roar echoed across the island.
"What are you doing? Get in already!"
As I looked into the open cave, I glanced back—just enough to catch sight of that Gold Ghost bastard watching from outside.
'…Was he smiling?'
Seriously, what a piece of work.
I have no idea what he's thinking.
"Yandel?"
Sigh… Right. Focus on the main quest first.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm going."
Suppressing the vague sense of unease building in my gut, I stepped into the cave.
And then—
Boom—!
The entrance slammed shut behind me.
-x-X-x-
The moment the cave door shut and we were cut off from the outside—
Fwoosh—!
The sconces on the wall ignited all at once, expanding our field of view. Not that it lit up the whole area—anything past ten meters ahead was still pitch black…
"Rieate."
Raven tossed a light orb into the darkness and looked intrigued.
"Oh, it really doesn't light up. Magic still works, so it's not being suppressed."
He looked genuinely curious about the mechanism, but I didn't care.
I'm not a scholar. I'm a player.
Trying to figure out the mechanics behind a field effect? What a joke.
「Your character has entered a special area.」
「Field Effect – Catacoma is now in effect.」
「Debuff: Severe Wound Aggravation applied.」
「Defeating monsters in this area will reduce a random stat by 1.」
「Countdown timer removed.」
「Only the light of the dead can banish the darkness.」
Inside this cave, light magic, torches, anything—none of it works to pierce the darkness.
I even tried using necromancy-style items due to the "light of the dead" keyword, but all of them failed.
So the only thing that can serve as a light source is the torches mounted to the wall.
Granted, those didn't extend beyond the immediate area, but that wasn't a problem.
Because monsters were about to start spawning.
"Ooh! Look! A skull-head over there!"
"Wait! Hold it, Ainard."
The moment Ainard tried to charge forward at the sight of the monster, I stopped her quickly.
"Huh? What's the problem, Bjorn?"
"From now on, all monsters will be handled by Ilia Adnus."
Ainard still looked confused, but the Guildmaster immediately understood and gave a dry smile.
"You're offering me up as a sacrifice, I see."
"What sacrifice? You're not even dying."
"Understood. I shall willingly volunteer myself."
Ugh. We all know what's going on here.
He keeps using words like "sacrifice" just to make it sound more dramatic, doesn't he?
I can't say for sure, but Ilia Adnus drew his sword.
"A sword…? Isn't he a bowman?"
Well, he uses a bow too.
To be exact, he's a hybrid. His skill set isn't very dependent on weapon type.
Shhk—!
The Guildmaster advanced toward the monster walking in from the shadows and cut down four of them with a single strike.
It wasn't anything surprising.
The mobs in this zone average around Grade 7.
The combat itself isn't difficult.
The problem is what comes after.
「Ilia Adnus's natural regeneration has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's strength has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's flexibility has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's fire resistance has decreased by 1…」
The more mobs you kill here, the more your stats decrease.
Still, that doesn't mean you can just skip them.
Fwoosh—!
"Ooh! Look, more torches lit up!"
Catacoma is designed so you can only proceed by continuously defeating monsters.
"Well, one thing's for sure. Losing strength first really sucks."
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
It was Raven who answered Ainard's question.
"Every time you kill a monster here, a random sub-stat gets reduced."
"Sub-stat…? What the hell is that?"
"Things you gain from essences or Gavrilius's blessings. Strength, agility, resistances, that sort."
"…What? That actually decreases?"
Ainard, who had been ready to charge in earlier, looked horrified. The Guildmaster gave a bitter smile.
"But someone has to take the hit, right?"
"…I respect you, Adnus…! Taking that burden for your comrades! You are a warrior worth trusting!"
"…Haha, thanks."
To me, it looked like a bad comedy skit.
"Burden," my ass. It's not even permanent.
Once you leave this area, all accumulated debuffs vanish instantly.
Still, that doesn't mean you can completely cheese the place.
"Even if it's fine now, you should brace yourself mentally. Everyone I've talked to who went through this said it was an experience they never want to repeat."
"Yeah, I guess if your stats drop to average human level, that emptiness must hit hard."
"Probably. We mages wouldn't really know though."
"Huh? Then shouldn't the mages just do the killing?"
Misha, who had been listening, tilted her head. Raven avoided her gaze.
"…I heard that mages lose mana here."
"Huh? Then wouldn't that make them just as miserable?"
"…"
Raven didn't respond.
A rare sight, really.
Misha had managed to shut Raven up with logic.
"All right, enough chit-chat. Let's move."
It was a funny moment, but as the leader, I couldn't let time be wasted. I cut them off and kept the expedition going.
「Ilia Adnus's fire resistance has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's tenacity has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's soul power has decreased by 1.」
「Ilia Adnus's soul power has decreased by 1…」
「…」
「…」
As we continued the dungeon crawl and the Guildmaster racked up more kills, his complexion grew steadily worse.
Where earlier he was slicing down four at once, he now struggled to take down even one at a time.
Which is exactly why I didn't assign this role to Auyen.
This strategy requires a certain minimum stat threshold.
"Bjorn. Shouldn't we help him out a bit…? He looks like he's struggling. I mean, couldn't the Guildmaster just land the final blow?"
Ainard spoke up with concern, but I shook my head firmly.
"Just watch."
The fewer variables, the better.
If someone tries to help and accidentally lands the finishing blow, it defeats half the reason we came here.
So the only thing I could do for the exhausted Guildmaster was this—
"Phew…"
"Good work. Let's keep moving."
Choosing the correct path to minimize wasted movement.
"This way."
Catacoma isn't a straight corridor.
It's more like a crystal cave—a winding maze. If you get lost here, your stats get wrecked and you won't be able to handle the boss fight.
Of course, for an expedition with tons of sacrificial lambs, that wouldn't matter.
"There's the door!"
"Ooh! We finally made it!"
"What's that thing in front of it?"
Eventually, the dungeon crawl brought us to the boss room.
'317 mobs…'
That was the total number of monsters the Guildmaster had killed by the time we got here.
'Okay, over 300. That meets the requirement…'
Without another glance, I immediately initiated the fight with the gatekeeper.
***
Killing the mid-boss was a bit of a hassle.
Honestly, Elwen could've just one-shot it with a fully charged arrow…
But that would've caused issues in the next phase.
So—
"…Adnus! Kill it now!"
"Ugh…! I'm trying! I've just taken on too many curses…"
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry!"
We whittled it down carefully until it was near-death, then held it in place so the Guildmaster could land the finishing blow.
And as a result—
「You have slain the Gravekeeper, Alleton. EXP +6」
「Bonus for defeating a rare variant. EXP +1」
The Guildmaster successfully landed the final hit, and the mid-boss vanished into light.
There was also a hidden piece here.
「A Cursed One has slain the Gravekeeper.」
「The curse of the vengeful spirit will not spread.」
Normally, when the Gravekeeper dies, the debuffs from the character with the most curses get shared with the entire party.
So the standard method is to rotate who lands the kills to balance the curse stacks. That's what I used to teach back when I sold info.
Well, that woman didn't even know a hidden boss existed.
No reason to tell her that letting one person take all the curses prevents the spread.
"No essence drop."
"Too bad."
"Too bad? It would've been trash anyway."
"Still, it'd sell. It's rare. Might be worth researching."
Oh, right. She was always into that kind of thing.
"Whatever. Let's just go in."
We passed through the door that had opened after killing the gatekeeper.
"Nothing here?"
"Because all twelve of us are inside."
The layout of the cave resembled the island.
Walls, ceiling, floor—all made of bones. Even the sconces were made of skulls, with candles burning inside them.
The boss room was similarly designed.
The only unusual feature was the massive skull mounted on the front wall—much bigger than the one we saw at the cave entrance.
"Ooh! Raven! What kind of monster is that? Looks super strong!"
"No idea. Monsters that big are rare even in the labyrinth… maybe it's not a monster at all?"
"Hrm… Too bad! I was hoping to fight it later!"
We advanced cautiously, formation intact.
"Elwen, begin."
"Yes."
At my command, Elwen closed her eyes ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ and focused. I didn't take my eyes off her.
And then—
「All accumulated energy has been consumed.」
「The empty vessel is filled with unknown power.」
The moment [Chaos Circuit] activated—
"Now. Everyone else, out."
At my words, everyone except the selected few quickly exited the boss room.
Me, Amelia, Ainard, Misha, Elwen, the Guildmaster.
These six would take on the boss this time—
Not because they were elites, but because I wanted them to get the EXP.
There wasn't going to be any real combat anyway.
Thoom—!
Rumble-rumble-rumble—!
As soon as the others left the room, the door slammed shut and the chamber shook as if from an earthquake.
And then—
[GROOOOOOOOOAAAAAARRR—!!!]
The same howling we heard when we first entered the cave echoed once more.
Clatter-clatter-clatter—!
The boss, with its dramatic appearance, rose up from the sea of skulls on the floor.
And at the same time—
「Elwen Fornaci di Tersia has cast [Focused Fire].」
[GROOAAARR… huh…?]
Three entire phases were skipped.
***
The Skull King's normal fight is pretty tough.
As the battle drags on, the soul orb it carries gradually depletes—
That orb is its life.
At 80% HP, it casts a massive curse.
At 60%, it summons adds.
At 40%, it uses an instant death move.
And at 20%, it enters an invincible recovery state with buffs.
「Skull King's soul reservoir has fallen below 20%.」
「Skull King casts [Soul Absorption].」
Three phases skipped. Phase 4 began immediately.
Not that Phase 4 was hard.
Elwen in infinite MP mode had more than just [Focused Fire].
「Elwen Fornaci di Tersia summons [Spirit King of Darkness, Diclore].」
BOOM-BOOM-BOOOOM—!!!
Elwen poured all her firepower into the boss. The soul orb drained faster than it could replenish.
So—
「Skull King has absorbed all available souls.」
「All of Skull King's powers are significantly amplified—」
「Skull King's soul reservoir has fallen below 20%.」
「No souls available for absorption.」
The moment [Soul Absorption] ended, HP hit 20%, triggering the final phase.
「Skull King casts [Eternal Liberation].」
Every boss monster has some kind of berserk mode.
This one's easy.
「Skull King gains immunity to all damage.」
「Soul orb rapidly depleting.」
All you have to do is survive—my specialty.
「Skull King's soul orb is nearly depleted.」
After one minute of berserk rampage, the Skull King finally stopped moving.
It wasn't technically dead, but the raid was over.
Even a civilian could walk up and shatter a glass orb on a frozen monster.
'About two minutes total since summoning…'
With one minute for recovery and one minute for berserk, it could be said we cleared it in seconds.
"Good work, Elwen. As promised, Adnus, finish it."
"So I shall."
The Guildmaster approached the immobilized Skull King and shattered the soul orb to end the raid.
「You have slain the Skull King. EXP +7」
「Bonus for defeating a rare variant. EXP +1」
No essence dropped, but I didn't care.
The main dish was something else.
「A Cursed One has slain the Skull King.」
「A fragment of a long story has been completed.」
As the Skull King's bones scattered into shimmering light, the entire chamber began to shake again.
Rumble-rumble-rumble—!
"Ugh… What now? Wasn't that the end?"
I laughed lightly at Ainard's muttering and said:
"Congratulations, Ainard."
"Huh? For what?"
Instead of answering, I looked toward the massive skull mounted on the wall.
"You said you wanted to fight that thing later, didn't you?"
It's time for the hidden boss.
-x-X-x-
In truth, the Skull King isn't a boss that always spawns.
After one kill, on average, the labyrinth has to open about seven more times before it respawns—and during that interval, the cave entrance remains accessible.
A bare-minimum quality-of-life feature for players.
Otherwise, every attempt would've required hunting down a key, entering, and finding an empty boss room.
"Oh? The tremors stopped!"
The vibrations that had flared up after killing the Skull King had quietly subsided.
That meant the path to the next chapter had opened.
The conditions to encounter the hidden boss are: the Cursed One must kill the Gravekeeper and then defeat the Skull King.
Drrrrrkk—!
As combat ended, the previously sealed boss room entrance reopened, and the teammates waiting outside entered the chamber.
"…It's already over?"
"Barely three minutes passed…"
None of them could hide their disappointment.
Well, to be fair, the Skull King was infamous.
There weren't many teams out there who could take down a Tier-3 monster with just six people.
That meant everyone here was a Tier-3 explorer or higher.
Although, before the team-binding magic got upgraded, the requirement used to be five—so the current threshold is a bit more lenient.
"So no Essence drop, huh?"
"As you can see."
"What about the chest?"
"Not yet. Time to look for it."
Treasure hunting was best done together.
After all, treasure is what explorers live for.
Before moving to the next chapter, I joined the squad in searching for the treasure chest.
That, too, was a hidden piece of sorts.
You only find it by combing the floor after killing the boss.
"Ugh…! Why do they have to hide it so well? Why not just hand it over!"
"Perhaps it's Gavrilius's design. Meant only for those destined to find it."
"Ugh… that Gavrilius guy, he's gotta have a really messed-up personality!"
"Still, this one's pretty well-known. Anyone aiming to defeat the Skull King would know about it. The Golden Tree Clan outside probably knows too—"
"Ooh! Found it! I found it!!"
Already?
Ainard's triumphant shouting made me a bit suspicious, but upon checking—it really was a treasure chest.
'Feeling lucky today…'
Honestly, Ainard's luck is absurdly good.
The kind of person whose plate always fills itself even when they're barely trying.
Different from Sven Parab, who's secretly known as the "Golden Goblin."
That guy's lucky too, but in a tragic way. Like he's always stuck in desperate situations.
"Bjoooorn!! Can I open it? No—I'm opening it! Let me!"
"Go ahead."
I chuckled and nodded, and Ainard smashed the chest's latch—no, guess I should say latch-bone?—with her fist.
And then…
Clack.
She slowly opened the lid.
The item inside was small, far smaller than the size of the chest, and Raven quickly shoved Ainard aside to delicately lift and examine it.
"This is extremely rare… If Gold-Ear finds out, he'll be pissed."
"Huh? Aruru, what is that? A letter?"
"Oh, this is a charm-type item."
A charm slot item, shown as "Charm" in-game.
Things like Ainard's No. 9999 Beginner's Luck or the No. 1001 Alonso's Travel Bag that I gave to Auyen—those belong in this slot.
"Ooh! So this one's a Numbers item too?"
"Yes. It's No. 444 – Deadrius's Invitation."
"Triple numbers! Impressive! But uh… what does it actually do?"
Ainard tilted her head as she examined the wax-sealed envelope.
Hearing it was a Numbers item piqued her interest, but she couldn't quite figure out what it did.
Understandable. Charms are often like that.
You'd never guess their effects just by looking at them.
"If you carry this, monsters classified as undead won't attack you."
"Uh-huh, and?"
"That's it."
"…Huh? Didn't you just say it was extremely rare? Alonso's bag sounds way more useful than this."
Misha looked visibly disappointed upon hearing the effect.
Can't blame her.
You don't grasp the value of a one-liner like that until you've used it yourself.
"It really is rare. Unlike Alonso's bag, this charm's effect is absolute. If you're holding it, undead won't attack you—ever. Even if you attack them."
For example, there's a Rift on the 8th floor called Necropolis.
It's 99% undead. If a damage dealer equips this, they can clear it solo.
Even some Tier-1 monsters are undead.
"Wow, that's kinda amazing… Can I take a look?"
"Sure. Just don't break the wax seal."
"Huh? What happens if I do?"
"You die."
"…HIIIK!"
Raven's blunt, dry explanation made Misha instantly yank her hand back. I chuckled.
'She always knows only half the story.'
Strictly speaking, you don't always die.
If you open the seal inside the labyrinth, you get dragged into a hidden field called Hell.
The difficulty? Just assume returning alive is impossible.
No matter how well-built your character is, once you open it—you're not coming back.
Unless you open it at a very specific point.
"So who's going to hold onto it?"
Hmm, well…
It's definitely not something I should be carrying.
Tanks in labyrinths are supposed to take hits, and an item like this should never be anywhere near them.
I thought for a moment, then made my decision.
"Emily Raines, you carry it."
To me, she seemed like the best option.
She inspires more trust than anyone else here.
There's always something about the others that doesn't feel quite solid, but she? She'll never break the seal.
'Snagging a triple-digit Numbers charm before even reaching the main dish? Not a bad omen.'
Or is it…?
Every time something good happens, something bad seems to follow.
Nah. Probably not…
…Though, given everything I've been through, I can't just brush it off anymore.
So…
"…I should check just in case."
"Check what?"
"The Golden Tree Clan."
"Hm… Didn't they already leave? They probably never thought we'd fail anyway."
True.
That's what I think too.
But…
"Ainard, sorry, but you'll have to wait a bit before we hunt that thing."
"…Huh?"
"We're heading back out to check, then we'll re-enter."
The next chapter after the Skull King isn't accessed via portal. It's just directly connected.
There's no door shutting behind it, like at the cave entrance.
Meaning a second group could follow us in anytime.
"We're heading out."
I didn't ignore the weird sense of unease I felt and retraced our steps to the cave's entrance.
And…
"They're gone?"
The front of the cave was empty.
***
"So what now?"
Two possibilities.
They really did leave without looking back…
'Or they're hiding and waiting.'
If it's the second one, then we split again:
They know about the hidden boss and were after it.
They know nothing, but think something valuable might be here since I came.
Of course, they could just be planning to ambush and loot us—
But that's unlikely.
Even if they managed to kill us all, how would they shut all those mouths?
Secrets leak. And someone like Gold-Ear couldn't possibly handle the fallout.
"If it bothers you that much, we could check the coastline. If they left by boat, there should be some trace."
Amelia suggested, but I shook my head.
There's no point.
Evidence can be faked, and we don't have the skills to sniff out hidden enemies.
"We're going back in."
I returned to the cave in silence.
Not that I did nothing, of course.
"Marone, Raven. Set detection spells at the chokepoints. I want to know the instant someone enters."
"You think it'll work? Their stealth is no joke."
"It'll work. Their stealth is all gear-based."
Unless they had the specific item, anyone entering this cave in a large group would trigger the spell.
Because true stealth requires absolute stillness.
"We're done."
"How long will it last?"
"Easily twelve hours. But I'm sure they'll realize a detection spell is here."
Figures…
"Doesn't matter. Even if they disable it, we'll know."
"That's true."
"Let's move."
I led the group quickly—not toward the boss room, but along the earlier passage.
"Nice that all the torches are lit now."
"And all the annoying mobs are gone too."
"But… when does my curse go away? I heard killing the Skull King removes it… Is this related to what we're doing?"
"I'll explain later."
After wandering a while, we hit a dead end.
"Is this it?"
Raven asked, but I said nothing.
I just turned around.
Behind the blocked wall was a long, straight corridor.
'Alright, this should work…'
"Wait here. Opening the path requires a bit of special prep."
I gave the order, then walked up to the wall.
Pretending to inspect it, I ran my hand along the stone.
This wasn't the entrance.
Slip.
I covertly passed Raven a note.
I'd scribbled it earlier behind my shield during our walk.
"…"
Raven scanned the note quickly, tucked it away, then gave me a subtle nod that only I could see.
"…So this is what it takes to open it? Got it. I'll get started right away."
He got it instantly.
That's the strength of old-school players.
We've been through enough that words aren't needed.
"Huh? Raven, what are you doing?"
"Yandel asked for a special spell."
"Ooh? What kind?"
"It's a secret. If Prnelin finds out, she'll blab to the whole world."
"Wh-what are you saying! I'm an honorable warrior with a tight-lipped reputation!"
"If you're that curious, I'll tell you later. You wouldn't care anyway, right?"
"Well, true. If it's gonna take a while, I'm gonna go eat jerky over there."
While everyone waited, Raven drew a magic circle on the floor.
Meanwhile, I pretended to keep inspecting the wall while checking with Marone about the status of the detection magic.
Eventually—
"We're ready."
Raven finished the spell.
"Alright. Let's go."
At my signal, Raven poured mana into the circle.
And then—
Flash—!
Light burst out, and the world shifted.
Because the spell I'd asked for wasn't some petty reveal-the-door incantation.
「Arua Raven has cast Tier-4 spatial magic: [Mass Teleportation].」
Mass Teleport.
The destination? A junction deep within the corridor that had extended behind the wall.
Why? Simple.
Because I believe—
Even if we can't see them right now—
"Behell—RAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
There's definitely a rat tailing us.
「Character has cast [Transcendence].」
「Character has cast [Giant Form].」
As soon as the teleport ended, I enlarged myself until the narrow corridor was filled wall-to-wall with nothing but me.
So cramped I could barely move.
Which also meant no one could slip past me.
THOOM—! THOOM—!
I raised my shield to block the path behind us and charged toward the dead end.
I didn't feel anything catch.
'No one was really there…?'
The thought crept in—
Maybe I'd just done something stupid again.
But I didn't mind.
Better to be a fool who caught no rats than a genius who let them slip by.
THOOM—! THOOM—!
So no matter what, I kept charging with my shield raised.
And then…
THOOM—! THOOM—!
Finally, as I slammed into the wall—
I laughed.
Because what I heard wasn't a crash.
CRACK—!
It was something getting crushed.
Thought so.
Got you, you bastard.
-x-X-x-
When I was a kid, I used to catch bugs with my bare hands.
I'd smack them against the wall with my palm, twist to finish them off, then run to the bathroom, flush the bug down the toilet, and wash my hands.
Later on, I started using tissue because it felt a little gross…
But the method hasn't really changed.
I'm just using a shield instead of tissue this time.
Crunch.
Apply pressure.
"Urgh…!"
Then twist and crush.
Crack—
The key is getting the twist-crush part right.
If you mess that up, the bug might escape.
Sllrp.
As I slowly lowered the shield pressed tight against the wall, a half-flattened woman slumped to the ground.
"Good. She's not dead."
I muttered while looking down at her, and Raven, who came trotting over, added:
"She probably will be if we leave her like that."
"Parab! Come heal her."
No need to waste money on a potion, so I called over our clan's only cleric to cast some healing spells.
Of course, we triple-bound her even during treatment, just in case she tried to escape.
Stripped her of all equipment, tied up her arms and legs, laid her on her stomach, and gently pressed my foot down on her back to keep her pinned—
"..."
Not exactly a good look, but what can you do.
Barbarians pursue true gender equality.
Actually, not just barbarians—this whole world does.
Whether man or woman, if you do dirty work, you pay for it.
"Awake already."
As I muttered while watching her lie there like she was unconscious, the woman responded immediately.
Well, calling it a "response" might be a stretch.
"…Kill me. I acted alone."
That surprised me.
Didn't expect her to say that right after waking up.
Kaislan scoffed.
"Does she think she's some kind of Rose Knight?"
Totally unexpected.
She wasn't some royal soldier brainwashed through high-intensity training—just a regular clan member.
"What makes you so loyal to Gold-Ear?"
"…Like I said, I acted alone."
"Sigh, this one's a pain."
I let out a long sigh and tried again.
"What's Gold-Ear's goal?"
"As I said—"
"Then what was your goal?"
"…Just kill me."
"What, did he take your family hostage or something?"
At that, her shoulder twitched slightly.
'Seriously? That was a random guess…'
Gold-Ear, what the hell are you doing behind the scenes?
I couldn't say for sure, but this woman was clearly different from those brainwashed royal soldiers.
Which meant… she could be swayed.
"You reacted to 'family,' so you must owe a debt, huh? If you die, they'll come after your family for it. And then what, they can't pay taxes and end up dead too?"
She twitched again.
That made it easier.
"I swear on my honor and name as a warrior—if you speak the truth, I'll do everything I can to help you."
"...."
"The moment we return to the city, we'll protect your family. If you want, I'll even take them as our vassals."
She went silent for a long time, and I patiently gave her time to think.
But…
"…Kill me."
The same reply.
Again.
It made no sense.
With the weight my name carries, no matter what Gold-Ear threatened her with, wouldn't it be more rational to switch sides?
'What the hell did that bastard do to make her like this?'
At least she wasn't good at lying.
Her thoughts were written all over her face.
Then again, managing your expression when death is staring you down isn't exactly easy.
"Is Gold-Ear still on this island?"
Twitch.
"Did he send you here to kill us?"
No response.
"Hmm, if that's not it, then… maybe just to observe."
Twitch.
"So he must've thought we weren't here just to hunt the Skull King."
Twitch.
"If he caught on, it was probably then…"
"..."
"When he offered us early access in exchange for handing over Avman Urikfrit. That's when he probably realized we weren't after the Skull King. Guess he got curious what we were really after."
At that, she flinched as if stung, then closed her eyes in surrender.
She'd shut off all communication herself—
"Raven."
"Yes?"
"Block her hearing. We need to talk."
"Give me a second."
Raven cast a spell to cut off her ability to hear, and our discussion began.
"Speak freely," I said. Misha spoke first.
"I don't think she meant to harm us. Probably just trying to figure out what we're hiding."
I agreed.
Killing a noble is a huge crime, and there were 90 witnesses. No way to cover it up.
Even if they did manage to kill us all, Gold-Ear would be left with a massive ticking time bomb around his neck.
"Cunning bastard."
"No hard evidence. Even if we reported him back in the city, nothing would happen to him."
"So what about her? She clearly has her reasons, but the labyrinth isn't exactly a place for mercy, is it?"
Yeah, true.
I had no intention of just letting her go.
Whatever her reasons, she tried to harm us—and from that moment, we owed her nothing. Not even moral restraint.
Right. So…
"Lend me that."
I borrowed Amelia's dagger and drove it into her heart in one clean motion.
Shhk—!
No sound, no sight. Just a swift, silent death.
"…You can release the voice seal now."
That's the only mercy the labyrinth allows.
***
"So what now?"
That question gave me pause.
"Obviously we should confront them! Secretly tailing other explorers in a labyrinth is grounds for immediate execution!"
"And you think he'll admit it?"
"If not, we'll make him!"
Elwen, uncharacteristically aggressive, raised her voice. Misha cautiously countered.
"Still… shouldn't we focus on our own objective first? We can deal with them later, once we're back in the city…"
"…Why?"
"There's ninety of them. Handling it ourselves is way too risky."
The Guildmaster agreed.
"There are rumors about Gold-Ear—that he controls his members by holding their weaknesses hostage. If even half of that is true, this is nothing like the clan we met on the fifth floor. They'll fight to the death."
He's probably right.
Just look at this woman.
Even after I offered her multiple outs, she chose to stay silent.
'Same with Bear-Old-Man…'
I never learned his circumstances, but he also refused to ask for help.
And now imagine fighting a whole clan of people like that?
There'd definitely be casualties—big or small.
But…
'Still, it bothers me to just ignore it and keep moving until we're back in the city…'
As I wrestled with the thought, Amelia spoke up.
"I'll stay behind and keep watch."
"Huh?"
"They don't know we captured this woman. They'll still be waiting. I'll monitor them while the rest of you continue deeper."
"…It might be dangerous."
"It's fine. I've got this."
She grabbed one of the looted items.
'No. 16 – Ebony Emblem.'
When # Nоvеlight # equipped, it massively boosts stealth skills.
That's how they avoided the detection spell at the entrance—and even Beleg didn't sense a rat tailing us.
'Yeah, if Amelia's wearing that, she'll be nearly undetectable…'
Still, I hesitated. Amelia walked up to me.
Then—
"I'll admit, it's kinda nice being worried about."
She clasped my hand.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine."
"…Okay."
And before I could say another word, she let go and vanished from sight.
I didn't hear her footsteps—but I knew.
She was already sprinting toward the cave entrance.
"Phew…"
As I sighed and looked down the opposite corridor, I felt eyes on me.
"…Why are you all staring?"
Kaislan answered for the group.
"You seriously don't know?"
"..."
"Whatever. Just don't do that kind of thing in front of us. Do it when you're alone with her. I'm getting goosebumps."
"Goosebumps?"
"…Forget it."
Totally unfair.
'…I didn't even do anything.'
I just value my comrades.
***
After Amelia left to observe the Golden Tree Clan, we resumed our interrupted exploration.
We'd wandered off course to trap a rat, but…
The entrance was actually nearby.
"…This is the entrance? Looks the same as the rest."
After a short hallway past the fork, we arrived at a dead end.
But there was a difference.
'Looks the same? The torches on the wall number exactly forty-four.'
Like the Crystal Caves on the first floor, the structure of the Skull Island cave changes slightly each run—except for one constant.
Wherever there are forty-four wall-mounted torches, that's where the next stage entrance lies.
You still have to meet specific conditions to open it, though.
Anyway.
"Adnus. Touch the wall."
The Guildmaster, who's been fulfilling a very important role this whole dungeon, approached the wall. A faint tremor followed, and the wall slid open.
At the same time—
「The Cursed One has discovered a Memory of the End.」
「A fragment of a long story has been completed.」
A portal shimmered into view.
Unlike the usual blue Dimensional Monoliths, this one was blood-red—like it was dyed in actual blood.
Whooooooom—!
I looked at it and took a deep breath.
'So it's finally come to this.'
Even with all the planning and prep, stepping through still gave me pause.
But…
'Well, what choice do I have.'
Gotta go in.
Three graduation Essences await in there—ones I could give to my teammates.
「Character has entered the Memory of the End.」
How many will I get?
No way to know—but something suddenly popped into my mind.
"Adnus, what's that Gold-Ear guy's real name?"
"…You didn't know?"
"Would I ask if I did?"
"Didn't he introduce himself back then? Bill Ironred."
Oh, right.
If I forgot that easily, it must not have been that name.
I probably asked for no reason—
—or so I thought.
"But, if I remember right, I heard he changed his name once."
What?
"...…What was it before?"
"Hmm, that I don't know. It was before he got famous. He said everything started going his way after the name change."
"…Really?"
"Yeah. He said the old name was too common—that's why he changed it."
And that's when my heart started pounding.
Not in a good way.
"'Too common'…?"
Just those two words made my chest tighten.
"…So what? Is something wrong?"
Please… tell me this is nothing.
-x-X-x-