Ch.5858. Advanced WWE

How many other people might enter the 6th floor together?

Normally, this wouldn’t be worth considering, but at this moment, it was quite important.

If my memory wasn’t wrong, or if the Labyrinth hadn’t changed.

Because right now, there was an outsider present here.

‘Judging by how quiet they’re being, they don’t seem to intend harm yet.’

I considered several scenarios where someone else might enter with us.

First scenario: Someone accidentally stumbled into the portal while passing by.

‘That’s nonsense.’

The portal remains open for 30 seconds after defeating the boss.

Unless they had rocket boosters on their feet, there’s no way someone could reach the portal right after we defeated the 5th floor boss.

So, that’s ruled out.

Next is the second, more plausible scenario.

‘Someone’ was left behind alone in the latter part of the 5th floor, and they’re secretly hitching a ride to survive.

If they could reach the 6th floor common area, they’d survive, so they just needed to hide until then.

They’re hiding because they might get robbed if discovered by our party.

This case somewhat explained their reason for following us and hiding their identity, but…

‘…how?’

How on earth did they avoid detection in such a confined space?

Even looking around briefly, I couldn’t find the slightest trace of anyone, let alone a silhouette.

“Adel, let’s go.”

“…Yes, Shiro.”

Even after dealing with all the monsters, that question remained unanswered.

-Whoosh.

A strangely thick wind blew, but we entered the common area anyway.

…

A vast green meadow came into view.

Wind stirred with our arrival, making the blades of grass dance slightly.

Within seconds, the wind subsided.

The scene was so vast it made everything I’d been thinking about seem worthless.

“It’s so wide.”

Airi remarked.

“This is on a completely different level from any Labyrinth we’ve seen before.”

“Indeed.”

Shiro and I agreed, while the young lady just looked up at the sky.

The young lady was gazing up at the sky.

The sky was vast.

The sunset was just beginning, gradually turning everything red.

It was truly massive and majestic, incomparable to anything you might see in the Labyrinth or somewhere in the city.

“So this is the Sky Island.”

I muttered quietly.

This was the Sky Island, with a radius of 3 kilometers.

A place that many explorers dream of, one that only veteran mid-level explorers can reach.

“Let’s find a spot first. As planned, we need to rest here for about a day.”

I led everyone to a suitable location.

A place that wasn’t too secluded, but not crowded with people either.

There, we set up tents, gathered materials for a bonfire, lit the fire, prepared a simple meal, and so on.

Only after some time had passed did we finish preparing for the night.

And so.

-Crackle, pop.

Night after sunset.

I sat in front of the bonfire, listening to the crackling sounds.

‘I used to do all this alone in the old days.’

During my porter days.

Although I didn’t need to set up tents on the 1st floor, I still did many things.

In the past, even being on equal footing with explorers like these was a distant dream, but now I’m in a position to lead them.

While I felt somewhat overwhelmed by this, sometimes my current role also felt burdensome.

‘It’s heavy.’

The responsibility that comes with my choices has become immense.

Everyone’s lives depend solely on my judgment. That’s the fate of a party leader.

This burden will only grow as we go to higher floors with more variables.

“…”

As I pondered these life-and-death concerns, I recalled what had been bothering me earlier.

The human who was with us in the 6th floor hunting ground.

Seeing that the portal closed, they must have come out with us, but they never revealed themselves.

‘A stealth-type Source?’

There was exactly one Source ability strong enough to evade detection by our party.

For whatever reason, someone with a stealth Source seemed to be following us.

‘But that’s a Source you’d only get around the 7th floor at the earliest.’

The possibility of a stealth specialist being left alone on the 5th floor was very low.

With stealth abilities, they could safely return to the base camp, or even escape by brute force if necessary.

‘There’s definitely something going on.’

So far, two facts were half-confirmed:

1. This person is either a Possessor or someone helped by another Possessor.

2. They are hostile to us.

While in stealth mode, they can’t breathe, but their presence is completely hidden.

‘If they’ve also consumed a breathing-related Source, they could maintain it almost indefinitely.’

The only hint was the black smoke that occasionally appeared when they breathed.

‘Should we enter the Labyrinth?’

After thinking it through, that’s the conclusion I reached.

Would it be safe to enter the Labyrinth again when someone with such dangerous abilities was following us?

“…Hmm.”

It was practically confirmed that they deliberately followed us.

I needed to know their intention to make even a guess—

-Whoosh.

The flames flickered.

“…”

I calmly took out some jerky and held it over the bonfire. A faint smoke rose.

And thus, the half-burnt jerky was complete. It was Shiro’s favorite meal.

I continued my train of thought while taking a small bite.

‘They’re nearby.’

Wind doesn’t blow in the common area of the 6th floor.

Even if a slight air current is felt, it’s created by people.

The fact that wind blew now, when there’s no one around, meant that someone invisible was nearby.

It was so subtle that I almost missed it several times.

‘I almost didn’t notice.’

Honestly, I thought they were targeting us.

I was hesitant to be certain, but the fact that they’re still near us even in the safe common area confirmed that their intentions weren’t good.

‘Are they trying to gather information?’

Were they trying to kill us, or obtain something?

The more I thought about it, the more questions arose.

“Adel.”

I heard Shiro’s voice from behind.

“Yes?”

Just as I was about to turn my head, a pale hand rested on my shoulder.

“…”

Shiro’s purple eyes gazed at me.

Just a few centimeters apart.

“Why are you still up at this hour?”

She leaned forward with her hands behind her back.

“I was thinking about what we should do next.”

Shiro tilted her head to the side.

“About what?”

“…”

Her question left me speechless.

‘How should I tell her?’

Could I inform her about the pursuer following us without being detected, especially when that pursuer was right beside us?

“…Adel?”

She moved her face even closer to mine.

It would be impossible to secretly convey this information if Shiro was completely unaware.

No matter how many hints I gave, she wouldn’t think there was a pursuer.

“This seems difficult for you to talk about.”

After I spent several seconds pondering, Shiro grabbed my wrist and led me to the tent.

“I’m feeling strange today.”

“Shiro?”

When I showed signs of confusion, she gave a faint smile.

“Let’s do ‘that’ together tonight, just the two of us like usual?”

At the same time, she threw herself into my arms.

“…”

My heart was racing so much that all my previous thoughts vanished.

But the situation was too strange to simply be happy about it.

‘There’s a reason.’

Shiro’s awkward behavior.

She clearly had something she wanted to convey to me.

Then why use potentially misleading actions instead of direct expressions?

“Let’s hurry. Your backpack is in the tent, right? Unlike last time, we need to be extra careful today.”

Backpack, tent, just the two of us, ‘that’.

The more I traced back her intentions, the stranger it seemed.

‘…’

For a moment, I wished she really meant it that way, but I quickly dismissed that thought and judged rationally.

Unlike before, bringing the backpack, in the tent, just the two of us, carefully.

…I see.

“…Ah, Shiro. Today’s the day we need to use it, right?”

I tested to see if that was really what she meant.

“Yes. Otherwise, something might happen. Especially if others find out, things could get complicated. Some people still don’t know about us, and I’d rather not tell them.”

After finishing her words, Shiro led me into the tent.

‘I understand.’

Interpreting everything Shiro had said:

Feeling strange today.

= Something feels off today.

Doing ‘that’ together.

= Let’s have a conversation.

Checking if the backpack is there, needing to use it carefully today.

= Let’s communicate through writing using something in the backpack.

If others find out, things get complicated.

= We need to keep this hidden.

‘She already knew.’

Our previous conversation was entirely a sophisticated WWE (wordless wordplay exchange).

A very natural flow made possible by mutual trust.

‘Phew.’

With a somewhat relieved mind, I entered the tent with her.

The inside was quite cramped even for two people.

We completely covered the tent entrance and, while rustling the blankets a bit, took out a notebook from the backpack.

It was a high-grade magical notebook that cost a whopping 35,000 Ars.

When you channel mana into the stick, writing appears.

Truly amazing modern technology.

“Shiro.”

I looked at her and handed over the notebook.

Since the tent was too small for anyone to enter anyway, I wanted to have a comfortable conversation.

“Adel.”

She grabbed me and pushed me onto the blanket.

Then Shiro climbed on top of me, making it look like I was being pinned down.

“…Shiro?”

I held out the notebook to her with both hands.

However, she just looked down at me.

“Haa, haa…”

Her slightly roughened breath touched me.

Even her gaze seemed somewhat strange.

“…”

It’s an act, right?