episode_0146

The biggest change since becoming a high-floor explorer.

Is that the number of clan members has significantly increased.

The original plan was just to add one or two more parties.

When one party enters the Maze, send another, and while sending the next, also organize the rewards of the party that returned.

As I ran automatic hunting like that, it’s not as bad as I thought?

I wasn’t planning to enter the Maze in a hurry anyway, having just come back after going through hell on the 7th floor.

As I was just managing the clan.

The parties that gradually increased eventually totaled 10.

Of course, the efficiency isn’t great with 7 parties on the 3rd floor and 3 parties on the 5th floor.

But compared to the past when there were only 3 parties, it’s a tremendous number.

So I invested some money and got a separate inn next door.

The clan building feels like a company, and the inn next door feels like a dormitory.

After expanding the business like this, a ton of work piled up.

It was only after about a month had passed that things were slowly getting somewhat organized.

“This time, I should give something to Adel’s party…”

Why do explorers form parties, join a clan, and pay fees?

Not only to guarantee safety with multiple parties, but also to occasionally receive the trickle-down effect, right?

So, as I was spending heavily the money earned from exploring the 7th floor.

Before I knew it, money started hitting rock bottom.

The amount invested in the clan members below would take too long to repay with higher floors later.

In times like this, the 1st team must step up and take action.

In other words, it’s time to enter the Maze again.

Just then, a knock is heard at the office door.

Soon, Grace poked her head in.

“We’re ready!!”

“Alright.”

I immediately came out and headed to the meeting room.

The entire 1st team party was there.

“Everyone’s gathered. As you know, it seems we should start entering the Maze again.”

“My body was aching, it’s a good idea!!”

“…Yeah.”

“There won’t be any trouble this time, right? It feels like it’s going to be hellish again.”

“Haha! According to the information I got while winning some money, there wasn’t anything?”

Amidst various reactions, Grace immediately got to the point.

“Are we going to the 7th floor again this time?”

“Well, I guess so?”

Since we can now navigate the 7th floor comfortably, we should be able to make proper money this time.

And we can also finally farm cards from the 7th floor.

Unfortunately, on the last trip to the 7th floor, that guy named Main God switched the entire floor to combat state, so we didn’t get any card farming done.

That’s why the state of my deck is still stuck on the 6th floor.

I must satisfy this desire to quickly remove all low-floor cards and fill it entirely with high-floor cards.

“Then, to the 7th floor…”

“Wait!!!”

Jack, who suddenly stood up from his seat.

“Listen to me. We shouldn’t go to the 7th floor right now, but up to the 8th floor.”

“…What?”

“I, Jack, an 8th-floor explorer, can guarantee it. Just listen to the story once. It’s too rational!”

“…Haa, go ahead and say it.”

Jack immediately picked up a pen and started drawing in the center.

“Have you done some investigation about what the 8th floor is like?”

“You told us not to investigate because you know everything.”

“Haha! Right. I know quite a bit about the 8th floor. I have so many high-ranking friends. When I was in Zone 2…”

I stopped Jack, who was suddenly about to enter too-much-talker mode.

Then Jack cleared his throat, “Ahem,” and returned to his original trajectory.

“The name of the 8th floor is bizarre because it’s not set as just one thing. It’s called by many different names, but I usually call it the ‘Changing Lands.’ Though it’s also ambiguous to call it ‘lands’.”

“When I investigated, they said it was Desert-Grassland-Snowy Field-Forest.”

“I heard it’s a headache-inducing place.”

Everyone spoke based on the information they had gathered to some extent.

But none of it overlapped.

“Compared to other floors, the 8th floor is a truly peculiar place that’s hard to know unless you actually go there and live for a few months.”

“What kind of place is it, exactly?”

“As I said. The Changing Lands.”

Jack immediately drew a picture.

Snowy fields, forests, deserts, grasslands, seas, plateaus, etc.

Jack, who drew all the terrains that most humans could imagine.

“At a certain time, the 8th floor changes its appearance.”

“That ‘time’ is…”

“Nobody knows. The problem is that it changes its appearance whenever it feels like it. It’s a place where you could be fighting in a desert and snow could suddenly fall one second later.”

At Jack’s words, I recalled what happened on the 7th floor a month ago.

The 8th-floor monster the Black Mage brought to block our way, the Mimic.

Of course, it wasn’t truly brought from the 8th floor, but they said it was a representative monster of the 8th floor.

“A monster that changes appearance.”

“Exactly. The reason the Mimic is a representative monster of the 8th floor is also rooted in this.”

“Do other monsters not change appearance?”

“Surprisingly, except for the Mimic, other monsters don’t change appearance. So you can even see something like an ice bird wandering around in the desert! Of course, they become very weak.”

At the news that monsters become weak, everyone’s gaze gathered.

Because the existence of such an element is very important.

“…Right. The 8th floor is a place where you can hunt very easily by catching monsters that are weakened by the changing environment.”

“Conversely, Mimics or monsters perfectly suited to the environment will become doubly strong.”

“So it’s not good for hunting by settling down heavily as a clan unit. It’s a place where fast-moving explorers can operate very easily.”

Jack pointed to himself and boasted.

Of course, no one among us reacted.

“…But it’s ambiguous to see our party as one with excellent mobility.”

Luca said, staring intently at me.

No, it’s common sense that mages are slow.

Of course, if it’s just a situation where the entire floor enters combat state like last time, no one would be faster than me.

“Well, since a formal 8th-floor explorer is proposing it, let’s at least give it a try for a bit. If it doesn’t feel right, we can just go down to the 7th floor. In the worst case, we can just leave the Maze.”

Everyone nodded at my opinion.

And so, the goal for the next Maze exploration was set to be a quick try of the 8th floor.

*

We started preparing to enter the Maze.

As per Jack’s opinion, thorough preparation is the way to protect one’s life.

Of course, there wasn’t much for me to do.

Grace and Jack took a few clan members as porters and left for other districts to shop for thorough preparations.

It’s only right to leave such odd jobs to those below.

I just, as usual, went to the Magic Tower for work and met my Master.

“You’re going to the 8th floor? Aren’t you pushing yourselves too hard?”

“Well, we have a new 8th-floor explorer who joined the clan this time. He said it’s okay.”

“Hmm hmm, well, it’s not bad for me. I personally hope you all participate in the deep-level investigation team.”

“Ah, speaking of which, have you heard any news about the investigation team or the deep levels?”

“Yes. Things are getting bigger than expected. Not only various other races, but also knights from various countries, etc., the scale is expanding more than anticipated, so it seems it might be delayed a bit.”

The investigation team becoming a big tent. The schedule delayed because of it.

“Isn’t that the situation the Evil God desires? Things being dragged on.”

“Perhaps. For that reason, it might be right for as many high-quality individuals as possible to gather and go together.”

“…Can I also join the investigation team?”

“Frankly, even if you were a 6th-floor explorer, you would have been qualified enough. Strictly as my disciple, on the condition of joining the later group. But, you know you shouldn’t do that, right?”

“Yes. It seems time will be tighter than expected.”

“Perhaps the delay could actually be helpful to you. Try your best.”

“Then…”

I immediately left my Master’s room and slowly began descending the stairs.

Looking at the view of the entire Maze City from the top of the Magic Tower, I quietly fell into thought.

‘No matter how long it takes, the investigation team will be completed in half a year at most. Within that time, I should at least reach 8th floor explorer status, or 9th floor if I’m lucky.’

This investigation team isn’t actually going to kill the Evil God.

It’s strictly an investigation of the very end of the deep levels.

However, for an investigation team, too many people are gathering, and personnel are attached, turning it almost into a subjugation force. I understand it all.

It’s an unavoidable matter because it’s such an important task as [The End of the Maze].

And while it is for the purpose of climbing higher to join the investigation team…

There is one more big reason.

“They say you’re going up to the 8th floor?”

Just in time, a deep-level explorer, Laze of Light Speed, arrived.

Actually, I hadn’t expected it at all.

This is almost the top of the Magic Tower, isn’t it?

“Only mages are allowed entry to areas other than the 1st floor of the Magic Tower.”

“Well, nobody stopped me even when I walked in openly?”

“Sneaking in is not walking in openly. And consuming alcohol on the Magic Tower stairs is a warning offense.”

“Someone must have been caught drinking on the stairs?”

“They did worse things.”

“Haha! Good times. More importantly, sit next to me.”

Laze patted the spot next to him, so I sat down appropriately and accepted a glass of alcohol.

“You said it’s a warning offense?”

“If my Master gives a warning, I’ll listen. So what.”

Who would say anything to me, the disciple of the Magic Tower Master?

Of course, if the Head of a School said something, I’d have no choice but to yield.

“Remember when we first met? I said I’d let you join Divers if you reached the 8th floor.”

“Yes.”

“It’s faster than I thought.”

“Thank you.”

“However, that alone won’t be enough. You’ll need to climb faster and more surely.”

“…Is something happening?”

Laze put his hand into subspace and pulled something out.

A precise drawing, as if a photo had been taken, was placed in my hand.

“The Evil God is waking up. We should consider it practically confirmed.”

“…Does everyone know?”

“Well, only the somewhat great people would know.”

“But I’ve been curious about this for a while, Mr. Laze, are you a messenger? You seem to be seen outside often for a deep-level explorer.”

“Yeah. Sometimes when I’m bored, I run to the end of the deep levels and traverse it in 3 days.”

Wait, from the 1st floor to the end of the deep levels in 3 days?

At our current pace, having gotten somewhat faster, we’d still be around the 3rd floor in 3 days.

“Who do you think supplies deep-level explorers or those on the high floors? Mostly me, Laze of Light Speed. Thanks to that, I don’t run on the front lines.”

“That’s amazing.”

“…But what were we talking about? Ah! I said the Evil God is waking up. Don’t change the subject.”

“Things don’t seem to be going very well.”

“That’s why the scale of the investigation team is gradually growing. I predict that at some point, they’ll name it a subjugation force and it will turn into an all-out war pouring in all the forces of the Maze City.”

“All-out war, huh…”

Is that the end of this journey?

It feels strange that it’s not far off.

“In the meantime, you need to rise to a level similar to ours. Stop doing useless things like running a strange clan.”

“You were watching everything?”

“Of course! Why are you pouring so much effort into something pointless…!!”

“If we defeat the Evil God, will the Maze disappear?”

At my words, Laze, who had been talkative, clamped his mouth shut.

That word, which everyone somewhat thought about but didn’t voice.

“…I don’t know.”

“If the Maze disappears, won’t explorers like us become useless?”

“Ha! That would be a good thing, rather. If I were afraid of such things, I wouldn’t have become an explorer in the first place.”

“…I see.”

Honestly, I didn’t say it, but what I’m worried about is something else.

The Maze City is a place intertwined with the immense danger and money of the Maze.

And everything on the continent is tied to this place called the Maze.

In other words, there’s a sufficient possibility that people who don’t want this place to disappear will emerge.

For example, the Ariel Church, which only makes money when patients appear.

Or guilds that support explorers.

‘…Is it just unnecessary worry?’

I hope it’s just my delusion.