"Labyrinth?" Jenna blinked.
I nodded and continued, "It means this isn't an ordinary mansion. The passages will be twisted like a maze."
A typical exploration mission might end after circling the field a few times, but when exploration appears in a labyrinth field, it becomes quite troublesome.
'If we don't reach the designated location, we can't leave.'
That location was most likely the exit.
Or perhaps the next floor of the labyrinth itself. If the latter, it meant this labyrinth itself was a linked stage. It could potentially continue like this all the way to the 20th floor. Iolka asked, "Where should we go?"
"Wait for now. Until Nerissa returns."
Judging by Nerissa's absence, she had likely entered one of the forks first.
She should return soon. I leaned my back against the wall and closed my eyes. The other three members also relaxed their stances.
"This is another first. No people, weird paths... Other missions were easy, just dealing with the enemies that appeared," Jenna pouted.
"Agreed. Boring," Velkist chimed in.
"Are you doing missions for fun?" I asked dryly.
"How could one not be bored? I expected to fight stronger enemies starting from Floor 16."
The mission format had changed slightly.
If the previous sub-stages were short-term, ending within about 10 minutes at most, the composition changed from Floor 16 onwards. There were cases where parties spent days exploring and couldn't get out of the labyrinth. In the worst cases, they got completely trapped, leading to the party's annihilation.
"Relax your stances, but don't let down your guard. There won't be no enemies. They are definitely here."
"That would be fortunate, at least," Velkist retorted, his sword gleaming coldly.
Five minutes later, Nerissa returned from the central path.
She bowed her head to me. I immediately asked, "What's ahead?"
"Following the central corridor, it seems all three forks lead to the same place. It's not a very complex structure."
"That's fortunate, then."
"There appear to be no enemies or traps, but there's something slightly strange..." Nerissa's expression clouded over.
I narrowed my eyes. "Strange?"
"It was difficult for me to judge. You'll understand once you see it."
"Then we'll have to see for ourselves. Everyone up."
The three stood up.
Nerissa took the lead, and behind her, we maintained the same formation as before, proceeding down the central passage.
Before long, the passage ended.
At the end was a small, circular hall.
Just as Nerissa reported, to the left and right of the entrance we emerged from were the left and right passages, respectively. The three forks converged into this single location.
'So it wasn't a complex maze.'
If they had led to different places, a single wrong choice could have wasted hours.
Our supplies weren't suited for a long-term mission.
I surveyed the hall.
Expensive decorations were placed here and there, and a red carpet covered the floor. The view from the windows remained pitch black. Directly opposite the entrance we came from, another corridor continued onward.
And in a corner of the hall, someone was slumped over. Nerissa whispered to me, "That's her. She seems conscious, but doesn't react to us. Her condition is also strange."
"I'll go check."
Letting my sword hang loosely, I approached the figure.
Her head was leaned against the wall, so her face wasn't visible. I could tell it was a woman. The distance gradually closed.
"Ugh... huh... huh..."
The woman, dressed in a maid's uniform, let out strange moans.
She didn't even flinch as I approached. The sounds from her mouth seemed like a mixture of laughter and crying.
"Urgh!" The woman vomited something.
Black blood. Thick and murky, the liquid stained the carpet black. The woman remained slumped, alternating between moans and vomiting blood. After watching for a moment, I turned my back to her.
"As long as we don't touch her first, there shouldn't be a problem."
For now, no enemy indicator had appeared.
Her condition was clearly abnormal, but for the moment, she seemed like a harmless NPC.
Velkist pointed his sword at the woman. "Suspicious. Wouldn't it be better to kill her? If you dislike killing women, I'll do it."
"Leave her. Best not to meddle with suspicious things."
There was a chance it was a trap pattern designed to trigger a negative event.
While such encounters could sometimes turn out beneficial, statistically, these situations were more likely to lead to bad outcomes than good ones.
"Fine then," Velkist said calmly and turned his sword away.
Jenna, on the other hand, watched the woman with a pitying expression. "She looks like she's in so much pain. Maybe she has a serious illness?"
"Are you planning to help her?"
"Well, I can't, can I? I've got my own problems."
I nodded and signaled to move forward.
This time, there was only one passage. Nerissa went ahead.
"..."
Before leaving the hall, I glanced back.
The woman was still slumped over. Her shoulders were trembling faintly.
'I feel like I've seen this somewhere before.'
Not the woman herself.
But that symptom – vomiting black blood – I had seen it a few times during my Master days.
That condition is called Contamination. Among the numerous status ailments, it was a curse ranked among the worst. Back when I was a Master, I didn't think much of it, but circumstances were different now. It seemed necessary to investigate this if the opportunity arose.
We continued down the corridor.
After walking for about 10 more minutes, we reached another hall. It had the same structure as the first hall, but no people were visible. Again, a passage was visible straight ahead. Iolka frowned. "This is starting to get boring."
"Isn't there a path somewhere?" Jenna grabbed a doorknob in the hall and pulled, but it wouldn't open.
The other doors were the same. Jenna clicked her tongue softly. "Tch."
"Don't complain too much. We'll be out soon enough."
This labyrinth wasn't difficult in structure.
It was a predictable straight-line route. The exit leading to the next floor would likely appear before long. However, something would happen before then. It was unlikely for nothing to happen at all.
The abnormality occurred as we were about to proceed from the third hall to the fourth.
Nerissa, who was scouting ahead, approached me with an expression different from usual. Wariness flickered in her eyes. Nerissa spoke briefly, "Enemies."
Velkist touched his sword.
Jenna nocked an arrow to her bow, and Iolka calmed her breathing.
"They'll be in the next hall."
"Yes. Seven of them. Wearing armor, armed with swords, spears, and crossbows."
"You join us too," I ordered Nerissa.
Nerissa drew her rapier and stood beside Jenna.
I looked back at the others and said, "We ambush the enemy the moment we enter the hall. Jenna and Nerissa take the archers; the rest of us handle the swordsmen and spearmen. Make absolutely no sound from now until combat begins."
Four heads nodded.
A faint tension surfaced on their faces. I moved down the passage, keeping my steps as quiet as possible. The end of the passage was just ahead. From there, I could hear someone's voice.
I raised my left hand, where my shield hung, and folded my fingers down one by one.
It was the signal for the charge timing.
'Three. Two.'
I folded the last finger.
'One.'
No war cry.
I increased my speed and burst out into the hall. My eyes met those of a man leaning against the wall, drinking from a waterskin. My reflection appeared in his pupils.
[Human Soldier Lv.14] X 7
The enemy indicators appeared.
'Bingo.'
I threw the dagger I held in my left hand.
Thuck.
The dagger plunged into the soldier's neck.
He collapsed without even uttering a scream.
Beside him, another soldier raising his spear spurted blood from his neck.
Velkist had dashed forward and swung his sword. Having sliced one man's throat, Velkist spun around and pierced another's chest. Blood splattered following the arc of his sword.
Thwip!
An arrow embedded itself in the right eye of a soldier loading his crossbow.
The fletching buried itself too, meaning his brain was likely pierced. The soldier collapsed forward while still standing. Almost simultaneously, a second arrow flew and pierced another crossbowman's heart.
I wasn't even needed to handle the seven of them.
As Velkist and Nerissa plunged into the soldiers' ranks, swinging their swords, one fell with each strike, unerringly. Behind them, Jenna's arrows picked off any remaining openings.
I quickly scanned the hall.
This wasn't one of the small halls we'd passed through, but a large one similar in scale to where we were first summoned. Stairs leading upwards were visible straight ahead.
'And a large door at the rear.'
Velkist's sword gouged the chest of the last remaining enemy.
As soon as I confirmed the man's life had ended, I threw a glass marble that had been sitting on a display case towards the stairs.
Tinkle!
The glass marble shattered into pieces upon hitting a transparent wall.
"Iolka. Prepare a Tier 1 flame spell towards the main door."
"Huh?"
"Just do it."
"Ah, okay!"
Iolka nodded hastily and began chanting the incantation.
Flames started to engulf Iolka's entire body. With each murmured word of the chant, the flames enveloping her grew thicker. Velkist and Nerissa took a step back.
Clang!
With a loud noise, the main door of the hall swung open.
Dozens of soldiers who had been waiting outside rushed in simultaneously.
[Human Soldier Lv.14] X 18
[Human Knight Lv.17] X 5
A red light flashed in Iolka's eyes.
"[Ignite!]"
Chant complete.
A straight line of fire engulfed the group of soldiers. Soldiers hit directly by the flames were roasted and burst into flames. Acrid smoke and the smell of burning flesh rose into the air.
"Velkist, Nerissa. Right!"
The flames swept through the center of their formation.
The enemy was scattering left and right. Following my command, Velkist and Nerissa moved to the right. I, already waiting on the left, smashed my shield into the head of a knight rushing out frantically.
Thwack!
The knight staggered. I thrust my sword into a gap in the armor he wore. The sensation of bone breaking and organs tearing transmitted through my fingertips. The knight collapsed silently.
Beside the knight, a soldier thrust his spear at me.
I ignored him and plunged my sword tip into the neck of the soldier behind him. The spear-wielding soldier collapsed, an arrow piercing his head.
If they had attacked us in formation, it might have been slightly troublesome, but Iolka's flames perfectly cut through their ranks. Jenna and I took down the soldiers struggling in the flames one by one.
The situation on the right was similar.
Although Velkist and Nerissa hadn't mastered Flame Resistance yet, dealing with isolated enemies wasn't difficult for them either. The bodies of soldiers piled up steadily.
"Kraaaaah!" A knight, wreathed in flames, swung his sword.
I blocked it with my shield and swung my sword powerfully. The heat-warped metal plate sheared off, spraying blood from the flesh underneath.
This was the last one.
The newly appeared 23 enemies were annihilated in less than 5 minutes. I immediately threw another dagger towards the stairs. This time, the dagger embedded itself in the carpet on the steps.
"Situation clear. Reorganize."
I wiped the blood off my sword onto a curtain.
Iolka approached hesitantly. "How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That the second wave of enemies would appear."
'Ah, that.'
The other members seemed to feel similarly, sending curious glances my way.
After confirming the blood was gone from my sword, I sheathed it. "Simple confirmation. Just utilizing the properties of the walls."
Neither bodies nor objects held in hand could pass through the transparent walls.
The stairs clearly led to the next floor, but a wall had been erected.
"When we wiped out the first group of enemies, the wall was still there, wasn't it?"
Question marks floated above the four members' heads.
I smiled faintly. "No need to force yourselves to understand."
It was an educated guess based on game mechanics.
They, unaware of the existence of the game called Pick Me Up, would find it difficult to utilize such knowledge.
After regrouping, I looked at the stairs.
The end of the upward-leading staircase was shrouded in darkness.
'Going up there should mean clear.'
However, it took the form of stairs, not an exit portal.
It signified that a similar mission would repeat on the next floor.
Looking at the party members, I said, "We'll need to prepare a bit more when coming to Floor 17."
"Agreed. Seems like a subpar mission," Velkist commented.
"Is breaking everything your preference?"
"To be honest, yes."
I chuckled softly and started climbing the stairs.
As my toes touched the darkness at the top of the stairs, a message appeared.
[Stage Clear!]
['Velkist (★★)', 'Nerissa (★★)', Level Up!]
[Reward – 50,000G]
[MVP - 'Iolka (★★★)']