After seeing the steel-colored metal exposed beneath the shattered stone slab, the adventurers couldn't help but widen their eyes.
The ultra-hard metal [Adamantite], with strength only second to the hardest metal [Orichalcum], was an extremely rare and precious material.
"To think they actually used this material to construct the passage, not only was the door made of [Admantine], but this entire labyrinth was actually built from [Orichalcum]…"
After hearing Emiya's speculation, the members all showed expressions of disbelief.
Lefiya looked at the walls in astonishment, "So, you're saying this thing that looks like a dungeon labyrinth was man-made?"
"So just to build this unbelievably stupid-looking maze, some people even went as far as dragging the port city Melen into it to make money?"
Bete let out a cold laugh and rudely cursed, "This is just absurd."
His curse echoed the thoughts of all the adventurers present. Both [Orichalcum] and [Adamantite] were incredibly hard to obtain rare materials, and just gathering this much would take more labor and funds than they could imagine.
"This isn't something that can be built in two or three years… I'd say it'd take decades, maybe even longer. Who the hell's been building something this irrational all this time?", Finn gazed into the passage and murmured to himself.
Gareth's voice came from the side, calmly asking, "Then, do we go in now, Finn? I have a bad feeling about this… It looks like a trap."
"Yeah, indeed, charging in recklessly would be very dangerous."
Finn lowered his head and pondered for a moment, gently rubbing his thumb, "But we don't have any other options left."
"Besides, we've already made full preparations and contingency plans, let's move forward."
"Finn, leave the weaklings behind," Bete, who had been silent until now, said coldly, his gaze locked onto the darkness beyond the door.
His beast ears stood up, nose twitching slightly, "There's a damn stench in here that pisses me off… I don't need weaklings dragging me down. Don't get in my way."
Bete's harsh remark made the lower-level adventurers frown in displeasure, and Tiona and Tione immediately began criticizing him, "Bete, why do you always talk like that? We're teammates, you know. Don't be like this."
"Charging ahead without supporters, do you think you and we can do much? This place is basically like a dungeon. If we don't have weapons and tools, you better not whine later," Tione said bluntly.
Bete clicked his tongue in irritation.
Though he didn't want to admit it, what they said made sense. Especially when it came to searching through multiple branching paths, they'd need a lot of manpower.
Seeing the younger commanders argue over their differing opinions, Gareth sighed helplessly.
Just then, Finn decisively made a call, "Everyone, split into vanguard, rearguard, and healing teams. Miss Tsubaki will stay here on standby in case of emergency. We'll gather intel on this passage while waiting for our return."
Tsubaki nodded, "Understood. I'll guard things here. Also, I'll have someone transport all this [Adamantine] back."
She stared at the destroyed metal gate, eyes sparkling.
"In addition, anyone below Second-Class Adventurer stays behind with Miss Tsubaki. Tsubaki, I leave them in your care," Finn continued speaking.
For once, [Braver] Finn seemed to partially agree with [Ferocious Wolf] Bete's suggestion.
'Conquering this [Man-Made Labyrinth] doesn't require that many people, especially not that many scouts,' Finn thought to himself.
The Lv.2 supporters seemed a little reluctant, but since it was Finn's command, they obeyed obediently.
Tsubaki placed her hand on the hilt of her tachi and chuckled, "No problem, I'll hold things down here."
"Let's go, Filvis, Aura, stick close to me," Emiya spoke, softly addressing the two elven women who had been following behind him.
Filvis lowered her head slightly, her hair falling to cover her eyes.
"Mm."
The elven girl replied in a voice barely louder than a mosquito's. She followed Emiya into the dim tunnel.
"Hey, wait, are those two from other factions really trustworthy?"
[Ferocious Wolf] Bete spoke up, questioning.
"As for the [Saber], he's not questionable. But those two…"
Finn said, "It's fine. The goddesses have approved them."
("We want to help Shirou.")
Before gods who do not permit lies, the two elves had resolutely declared this.
Thus, Filvis and Aura earned the trust of both Hephaestus and Loki.
"Anyway, they're just two more elves caught by the 'Elf-Slayer,' right? I'm used to it by now."
Loki had sighed that way at the time.
Bete furrowed his brows, "Lv.3, that's passable."
He seemed to accept their inclusion and said no more. Emiya responded, "They'll be moving with me."
Lefiya quietly stood behind Emiya, flashing a friendly smile to Filvis and Aura.
Although the two elves didn't get along with each other, they both had good relationships with Lefiya. They smiled gently and returned the elven girl's kindness.
From afar, some girls of the Loki Familia saw this and couldn't help but smile.
"Three beautiful elven girls in a yuri combo. What a feast for the eyes, thank you for the treat~"
"Lefiya-chan seems really popular too."
"Three elves, plus Emiya-sama… that's quite the complicated dynamic."
Elsewhere, Ais silently stared ahead at the now-open secret base, thoughts swirling in her mind.
The team led by the First-Class Adventurers entered through the gates.
With the strongest in strength and endurance, Gareth and Tiona, at the front, the group walked through the stone-paved passage.
"Seriously, I thought this was the enemy's secret base, but looking at it now… it's just a dungeon," Aki remarked in amazement.
"Fortresses are usually built to be hard to navigate, to stop enemies from invading… but this is just too much," Tione added with some confusion.
The single pathway quickly turned into a complex maze. Some split in two, some crossed like a plus sign, with tons of branches.
The branching paths clearly increased in number, forcing adventurers to choose.
It was a typical labyrinth design, but its complexity rivaled [Daedalus Street].
Normally, every time they hit a fork, scouts would be dispatched to cautiously probe the correct route, time-consuming and laborious. But this time, with Emiya's sword, everything became much easier.
[Ariadne Apórrito Ádis, the Thread Leads to the Terminus]
This was the sword born from the heroic feat of Theseus in Greek mythology, who conquered the labyrinth.
The thread of fate would guide them to the right path.
The passage was wide enough for four or five people to walk side-by-side. Its structure was perfectly aligned and orderly, as if calculated with precision. Many stones had already cracked, giving off a sense of long passage of time.
"AHHH?", Raul suddenly shouted.
"Raul?"
Aki and the others tensed instantly.
"It's fine… just a regular statue," Raul laughed nervously, holding up his magic stone lantern to reveal a demon-like statue.
Seeing that he was just overreacting, the other adventurers who had gone on alert let out annoyed sighs.
Emiya suddenly turned his head and said sternly, "Raul-senpai, step aside a little."
"Huh?"
Raul instinctively stepped back, and the next moment, a lightning-like arrow zipped past him and destroyed the demon statue.
"As expected, this statue was the source of that feeling of being watched. Thanks for the warning, Raul-senpai," Emiya said.
"Eh? It was a surveillance device?", Lefiya widened her eyes in surprise.
"Raul is amazing~", Tiona teased.
"He probably didn't even know himself…", Aki shook her head helplessly.
"Destroy every statue we encounter along the way," Finn gave the order. Gareth, without hesitation, swung his battle axe and smashed the statue before him.
After a while, Line, who was traveling with them as a healer, softly murmured with unease.
"How should I put it, um… it feels colder than a dungeon."
Dungeons are alive. This is a well-known fact. Various anomalies attack like living creatures, tormenting adventurers.
However, this man-made labyrinth didn't give off the breath of the dungeon.
This critical difference gave off a sense of lifelessness and indifference.
And… a chill.
The eerie silence, the heavy, dim pressure.
The carefully constructed stone labyrinth remained silent, only providing a persistent sense of confinement to its intruders.
"Our route forward is limited," Gareth looked up at the [Orichalcum] gates that appeared at each intersection.
"Do we break open these doors? Or keep moving forward?"
Tiona asked eagerly, "Let's keep going for now. The drills have limited durability, use them on the walls instead of doors whenever possible."
Emiya replied, placing one hand on the wall, feeling the cold, hard surface, "If we get trapped, we'll smash through the wall."
Even though they could break open the doors, since they were also made of the hardest metal [Orichalcum], the drill's effectiveness wasn't great and suffered severe wear.
But against [Adamantite], it was much easier.
"Raul-senpai, you all must protect the drills," Emiya reminded.
There were four drills total, assigned to Raul and a few other Lv.4 adventurers.
"Yes!", Raul and the others nodded solemnly.
The team continued onward. Cruz and Aki brought back reports from their scouting ahead.
"There are stairs up ahead, it looks like they lead downward."
"There's no sign of enemy ambush in the opposite direction either."
They stopped at a junction where the path split into a T-shape.
The guidance from the [Sword of Theseus] indicated: both sides were the correct route.
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