episode_0127

As you know, information about the Maze gets harder to find the higher and deeper you go.

However, that only refers to the ‘detail’ elements.

Vague information can be found to some extent.

For example, the fact that the 5th floor is a cold place and the 6th floor is a hot place is information that even appears in children’s fairy tales.

Of course, the strategies of explorers in children’s fairy tales are entirely up to the author’s imagination, so all sorts of fake information are rampant.

However, just as you have to mix fake information among real information to make it plausible, the reliability of some basic facts is high.

So, even I, a Middle Layer Explorer who only wanders around the 5th and 6th floors, can obtain enough information about the Deep Layer.

And the most impressive thing among them was.

That the end of the Maze has not yet been revealed.

To be precise, the Deep Layer was like an online game where content was constantly being added.

It felt like new areas were opening up at certain intervals.

It was already a famous story that a new area in the Deep Layer had opened with the recent Leviatan.

Furthermore, even when a new area opened, incredibly strong monsters didn’t appear, so.

Deep Layer Explorers who had already finished conquering the Deep Layer would finish conquering it again quickly.

Of course, calling it ‘quickly’ required several months after the Leviatan’s appearance.

Originally, in this era, less than a year is not considered a long time.

Even if our party reaches the 6th floor within a year.

So, even if a new area of the Maze opened this time and the conquest was completed.

It’s not a surprising event.

But this time was different.

The end of the Maze.

It wasn’t that a new area in the Deep Layer had opened.

It was that the absolute final area of the Maze had been revealed.

The end of the Maze, whose existence was doubted for thousands of years.

At least, there was no one here who didn’t understand the meaning of this story.

““……””

In this vast space, no sound could be heard except for breathing.

With no sounds other than the noise of a few automatically operating Magic Artifacts,

One could feel the gravity of this information physically.

The Guild Leader looked down at everyone from the platform, and then began to reveal the next part of the story.

“First, you’ll be curious about who brought this information. The Deep Layer Explorer Association, [Divers], discovered the end of the Maze.”

As soon as the name ‘Divers’ came up, murmuring immediately arose. I thought it was a private organization known only to a few, but it seems most people who could gather here knew about it.

At that moment, the Crown Prince’s voice cut through the murmuring.

“How do you know that is the end of the Maze?”

That was exactly what I was most curious about.

It seemed the Crown Prince had only heard that the end was discovered, not the detailed inside story.

The Guild Leader then smiled lightly.

“You shall hear it from the party concerned. The Deep Layer Explorer who discovered the end is here.”

As the Guild Leader stepped down from the platform, Raize, who was right next to me, patted my shoulder.

“See you later then.”

He disappeared in an instant, and was already standing before the platform.

“…You?!!”

People were surprised by Raize’s appearance.

However, as soon as they saw the Deep Layer Explorer’s badge hanging around his neck, they recognized that the Deep Layer Explorer mentioned by the Guild Leader was him.

However, the nobles’ eyes became a little sharper.

A man proudly displaying his well-trained muscles with his upper body bare in such an important place. No matter what, isn’t that a lack of manners?

But the opponent was a Deep Layer Explorer.

They are practically among the strongest on the continent, whom even the Empire cannot touch, so they couldn’t say anything and just gave him glances.

Unfortunately, Raize was not someone who cared about such things.

He approached the Blue Faction Leader next to him smugly.

“Hey, old man Faction Leader. Hurry up.”

“Wait a moment.”

As the Blue Faction Leader used water to provide a visual aid, Raize walked flippantly and stood on the platform again.

“At the end of the Maze, there was a giant door that a few people could enter. You can roughly think of it as the size of a medium-sized golem.”

However, that alone didn’t explain it.

What’s so special about a door found somewhere in the Maze?

“Of course, you absolutely couldn’t think this was the end of the Maze just from this. However, Mr. Behiten from our Divers said…”

Then voices from all around exclaimed, “Behiten of Layas!”

That was a natural reaction. He was the name of a high-ranking priest that even I knew.

He was a person who was considered a candidate for the next Pope.

Of course, he was even more famous now because he had given up all the power of the religious order and worked as an explorer.

However, seeing him just casually calling out such a person’s name made me realize Raize’s position even more clearly.

However, Raize, who had paused slightly at the sudden reaction of the people, continued his story.

“Long before reaching the door, black mana covered the surroundings. All that black mana was coming from the door. Mr. Behiten was certain that the mana belonged to the Evil God.”

Since Behiten, a priest, said it himself, it is clear that the Evil God’s mana is indeed coming from beyond that door.

However, there was another question.

Immediately, the Crown Prince raised his hand and spoke.

“The Evil God’s mana has never appeared in this world before, so how can you identify it?”

“I don’t know. Please ask Mr. Behiten.”

His tone was blunt, just as he used when dealing with other nobles until now, but with honorifics added at the end, giving the impression that the Crown Prince is somehow different after all. Just as I was thinking this.

Raize shot a glance at the Blue Faction Leader.

Immediately, the water changed its shape.

It was a single, small lock.

“What’s blocking the door is a single tiny lock. It’s hard to believe that the Evil God was stopped by just this.”

Again, the Crown Prince asked.

“Then how is that lock opened? Is there a possibility it could open from the inside?”

“Unfortunately, we don’t know any of that.”

“Is there anything else to explain?”

“No.”

“So, it’s just a discovery so far. Further investigation will be needed.”

At that moment, as if they had been waiting for those words from the Crown Prince, the Guild Leader and my Master ascended the platform.

“Therefore, this time, the Guild and the Magic Tower plan to join forces and send an investigation team into the Deep Layer. Of course, we are also receiving much support from others, so please contact the Guild.”

With those words, Raize, the Guild Leader, and my Master stepped down from their positions.

The hall became absolutely bustling.

It seemed that the Magic Academy seminar, the presentations, and everything else didn’t matter at all.

Given the atmosphere, it was natural that presentations of new Magic Artifacts were pushed to the back burner.

However, looking at the atmosphere, it seemed this reaction was already expected. As the event ended naturally.

I realized that they had prepared this gathering just to announce this one thing.

*

The top of the Magic Tower, my Master’s room.

Avoiding the commotion, my Master and I returned here.

“Perhaps I too will go on this exploration.”

“…Yes?”

I asked again, surprised by the sudden news I heard while sipping the tea my Master gave me.

But my Master, noticing that I had understood, continued the story.

“It’s not just me. Perhaps the Guild Leader, as well as famous figures from all over the continent, will all head there. I’ve heard that even the Crown Prince is planning to enter.”

Well, since his life and the Empire are at stake in the hands of the Evil God, the Crown Prince is indeed the person who needs to work harder than anyone.

“The world is flowing in an unusual way. You must become stronger quickly. Do you need anything?”

“…Not at the moment.”

“The exploration team will take at least half a year to form anyway, so take your time to think about it.”

“If I reach the level to go to the Deep Layer in half a year, couldn’t I go with you?”

“Hmph, is that even possible?”

“Just watch me.”

Honestly, it was a ridiculous thing to say.

Half a year isn’t a long time.

“Evil God…”

Noah, who was sipping tea beside me, didn’t have a good expression.

It seemed he had some idea about something.

“By the way, do you know anything about it?”

“Well, yes. The Evil God always used to tell me. ‘When you are ready, I will reveal myself,’ he would always say.”

“Then is he ready now?”

“Well, since I’m here, I don’t know.”

What on earth is he thinking? Only the Evil God probably knows.

At any rate, all I know is that the time given to us is not very long.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yes. You must have a lot on your mind. If you need help, tell me anytime.”

“Noah, let’s go.”

“What?”

Noah followed, grumbling.

He soon hid in my shadow.

*

A short distance, about a 10-minute walk from the Magic Tower.

I bought the empty building located there.

My earnings were not bad this time, so buying a clan building was naturally the priority.

It’s much larger than the previous building and equipped with all sorts of the latest Magic Artifacts, making it twice as comfortable.

However, the price was almost 30 times that of the previous building.

The reason is, of course, its close proximity to the Magic Tower, convenient transportation, and the presence of Magic Artifacts.

Moreover, the previous house was located on the outskirts where land prices were low, which also contributed to the comparison.

It’s a 3-story building with a lobby on the 1st floor.

Furthermore, since the building was originally constructed for a clan’s use, it also had conference rooms, a Clan Leader’s room, and such.

“To even enter a building like this, it’s truly unbelievable.”

“You have to be at least this much to not be looked down upon anywhere.”

“Not bad.”

After the Sector 11 incident, all clan members who were staying in inns moved here.

The size of the rooms given to each individual isn’t large, but.

Perhaps it’s human nature that you can’t stand a commute of just 1 minute.

Days flew by quickly as everyone gathered in the 1st floor lobby for a housewarming party and decorated the interior.

Now that daily life has been restored.

We had a very important task remaining.

We gathered in the conference room on the 3rd floor.

However, the table was too small for all 15 people to sit, so a few were standing.

Well, standing for long periods is part of an explorer’s daily life anyway, so no one complained.

Immediately, the meeting began.

“Some of you may have heard, but Adel won’t be following our first party from now on.”

This wasn’t surprising news.

Adel had already grumbled about it several times while drinking.

“So, we’ll recruit a few new clan members this time. We’ll promote one party, including Adel, to the 5th floor…”

We did various light party adjustments. While we were at it, we also reviewed the applicants who had applied to the clan with everyone and combined various opinions to select new members.

However.

“Clan Leader. But aren’t you filling the empty spot in the first party?”

“Ah, there’s a reason for that. To recruit new party members, we also need to have the right qualifications.”

“Speaking of qualifications…”

“We will reach the 7th floor on the next exploration and become High Layer Explorers. After that, we’ll recruit a High Layer Explorer.”

Although we went to the 6th floor this time, we are still officially 5th floor explorers. In this situation, it’s unlikely we’d find a 7th floor explorer.

Of course, with the name value of being the Magic Tower Master’s disciple, we could somehow find one if we tried. But would such a person obediently follow our words?

“Anyway, thanks to Noah, we have a frontliner, so we’ll manage.”

The next goal is to perfectly clear the 7th floor.

It won’t be easy, but we have no choice but to do it.

Now, the end of the meeting. A long exploration of about 2 months has concluded.

“Then lastly, I’ll divide what we’ve obtained according to contribution level!”

Grace immediately combined the profits and other things the clan had earned and distributed it according to each person’s share.

However, this time, our 1st Squad earned so much that the 2nd and 3rd Squads were also allocated quite a lot.

Everyone’s faces were beaming.

“As expected, it’s generous!!”

“Clan Leader!! Thank you!!”

They earned income they hadn’t expected as 3rd floor explorers.

“Guess I need to go exchange it for money!!”

“Shall I use some cards?”

“I’m thinking of changing some equipment this time…”

They quickly began to disperse, contemplating how they would spend this money.

Now, only the 1st Squad party, excluding Adel, remained in the 3rd floor conference room.

As I said before, even though we gave some of the compensation to the 2nd and 3rd Squads.

The 1st Squad’s compensation didn’t decrease either.

To be precise…

“Is it really okay to distribute Mr. Ivan and Mr. Noah’s compensation to the others below?”

“Well, we don’t need cards or Magic Stones anyway.”

Money and items are overflowing thanks to the Magic Tower’s support.

I am a Card Mage whose growth method is different from other explorers.

In fact, any reward from the Maze other than the card rewards from the Status Window is pretty useless.

Thanks to this, giving a portion of my share to the kids below increases loyalty.

And I don’t need to distribute Grace’s money or someone else’s money to them.

Isn’t it nothing but profit?

Furthermore, Noah already brought some money with him and isn’t the type to spend extravagantly. He just needs enough money to use as pocket money.

“That’s why being a Mage is good. No greed for cards. No greed for money.”

“…It was good that I was affiliated with the Magic Tower.”

Even buying this clan building might have cost a lot more money without my Master’s help.

“Okay, shall we begin?”

Immediately, Grace and everyone else sat down.

And then spread out the Golden Cards.

Cards with a value great enough to buy a decent house with just one.

If you had about 40 Golden Cards, you could buy this building we’re in.

However, the Golden Cards available to each individual were only 3.

We caught countless monsters with Cain’s help.

But Golden Cards are really hard to find.

However, the core this time was the numerous Purple Cards.

It was hard to even get one Golden Card per day.

But Purple Cards came out whenever we weren’t trying.

There’s a reason why the value of Golden Cards skyrockets.

The reason for accumulating so many cards was.

Naturally, to become stronger.

However, the method of becoming stronger in this world is a random gacha.

So, before using the cards, we start with prayer.

Of course, as far as I know, these three are not religious.

“Please, please, please, please, please, please, please, please.”

“………”

“Yawn~”

Of course, Luca isn’t particularly desperate.

He has the overpowered racial ability called Wild Nature.

Leisure naturally comes from an abundant storehouse.

“Shall we open the Golden Cards first? Or the Purple ones?”

While Grace was agonizing with indecisiveness.

Luca made the first move.

He immediately picked up a Golden Card in front of him, placed it against his chest.

It emitted a flash of light and began to be absorbed just like that.

However.

Woo-woong…!!

The light suddenly began to distort, and then started turning black.

Everyone who saw that was horrified.

Naturally, because.

“Fr-from the very beginning, a Curse Card?!!”

He had terrible luck.