episode_0148

The Labyrinth’s safe zone plays a very important role.

It’s also where the portal leading to the next floor is located.

Due to its characteristic of not changing even upon Labyrinth reset, it’s also an important place for explorers who don’t want to leave the Labyrinth.

Therefore, there’s a way to find every safe zone, and using that method, you could always head towards a safe zone.

But….

“Wait a minute, you really don’t know? You said you knew everything about the 7th floor because you’re an 8th-floor explorer?”

Grace asked Jack how he knew the location of the safe zone, but.

The answer was that he didn’t know at all.

“The guide has to find the way.”

“…That’s true, but.”

“No, think about it? Iban!!”

Jack suddenly called out to me.

As I approached.

“Do you happen to know how to find the safe zone on the 3rd floor?”

“…No. I just followed Grace.”

“I’m the avant-garde. Not the guide.”

“Right.”

That was true.

Finding the way is originally the guides’ job.

If they didn’t have that specialization, why would every party include one guide?

Conversely, it means that parties without a guide are so dependent that they’d have to leave immediately.

There’s a reason why all parties have evolved in that way.

Grace seemed to know that too, and she sighed deeply.

“Haa… But it’s not as vast as before. Let’s just ask around as we go.”

Fortunately, there were quite a lot of people on the 7th floor right now that we could ask for directions.

By asking the knights wandering everywhere and the explorers who occasionally appeared, and moving all day, we eventually arrived at the safe zone.

However, the senior knight who was originally here was gone, and a new knight had been stationed.

Moreover, the safe zone was bustling with people.

To be exact, people who seemed to be from the guild.

Perhaps they came to investigate why the vampire incident occurred, figure out how to respond afterward, and do things like that.

Well, since it was a matter unrelated to us.

We found a suitable spot in an open area, spent the night.

The next day, we stood in front of the portal leading to the 8th floor without any issues.

But unlike yesterday, there were swarms of explorers in front of the portal going upstairs.

And above all, numerous explorers coming down here in real time.

“Did something happen on the 8th floor?”

“It’s probably currently undergoing a ‘period of change’.”

Hearing Jack’s words, my memories started to return little by little.

I had definitely heard that the 8th floor was a place that constantly changed.

However, I thought I had heard that it wasn’t dangerous while the environment was changing.

As if reading my thoughts, Jack smiled and replied.

“It’s not particularly dangerous, but if a bad variable pops up due to bad luck, things could get serious. There’s no reason to necessarily bear the risk.”

“Then should we also go in after the change is over?”

“That would be best.”

Thus, after resting, we were forced to rest again.

However, it wasn’t without results.

As I watched the explorers coming out of the portal, their entire bodies were covered in sand.

“It seems it was a desert before the change. It’s fortunate that the same environment doesn’t appear.”

“Did they say the desert was the most difficult?”

“Because it’s 6th-floor climate during the day and 5th-floor climate at night. It’s really annoying.”

“It might even be better if it’s the 5th floor. Because you can use wind or rain.”

“You can’t use magic all day, can you?”

“…Well, that’s true.”

To be precise, you can use magic at regular intervals throughout the day, but the problem is that the deck is so thick that you can’t get the card you want.

Just then, an explorer who had entered and then come out of the portal shouted.

“It’s the plateau!!!!”

Hearing those words, the other explorers shouted “Whooaaaa!!!”

Curious about what on earth was happening, I gave Jack a look.

“A plateau is quite pleasant. Compared to terrible places like rainforests or swamps, there’s only the slight difficulty in breathing.”

“We’re lucky. Let’s go in quickly.”

Watching the explorers immediately enter the portal, we also got up and followed after them.

As we entered the portal, my vision briefly brightened and then returned to normal, and the landscape of the 8th floor immediately unfolded before my eyes.

A clear blue sky stretched out without a single cloud, and the grass of a wide prairie swayed in the wind.

An extremely ordinary space.

It was so ordinary that it looked like something you might see on any plain on the continent, making me wonder if this was really the Labyrinth.

However.

Something alien seen within this ordinariness reminds me once again that this is the Labyrinth.

“Is that… a golem?”

“It doesn’t fit in at all.”

Amidst the grass of the widely stretched prairie, an alien ice golem was walking with thudding steps.

It was a golem with a massive body, visible even from this distance.

More than that, the very fact that there was such an ice golem on this kind of plateau felt strange.

“This is the 8th floor.”

Jack said, spreading his arms as if boasting. But no one in our party paid any attention.

“Where should we go?”

“Anyway, going up to the next floor isn’t the objective. There’s quite a bit of time left until the reset, so maybe we can just wander around appropriately.”

“Then let’s avoid that golem and go in the opposite direction.”

While Jack sheepishly lowered his hands, we had already slipped away from among the explorers and started walking.

“Come with us!!!”

*

The 8th floor is a type of field that is an open world, similar to the 5th and 6th floors.

However, unlike those places that boasted extreme climates of heat and cold, the 8th floor was exceedingly tranquil.

Well, I did hear that the climate and environment change in between.

How to put it, I haven’t really felt it yet.

Moreover, it seemed the explorers had swept everything clean; despite walking for about 2 hours near the portal, we hadn’t found a single monster.

“Are monsters originally this hard to see?”

“How many monsters would there be near the portal anyway.”

“I think there were quite a few on the 5th or 6th floor. Even on the 7th floor, there were some within 10 minutes from the portal.”

“Exactly. Why aren’t there any to be seen?”

Jack also tilted his head as if something was strange.

Soon, Grace smelled something.

“…I’ve found a monster.”

“Finally!”

Grace immediately lowered her posture.

Following her, we all lowered our postures and walked forward, parting the bushes.

As we did so, we soon arrived at a wide grassy field.

There was one monster there.

A humanoid monster whose head had become a giant red flower.

Moreover, its legs were divided into countless branches like roots and were embedded in the ground, giving it the appearance of a plant parasitic on a human.

Seeing that, Jack said with a somewhat ambiguous expression.

“It’s a Red Sundew.”

“Is it a strong one?”

“Hmm. As you know, the 8th floor is a place where environmental changes are the focus.”

“Right.”

“It’s a very weak one in places like deserts, snowfields, burning lands, etc. To the extent that even beginner 7th-floor explorers can eliminate it.”

“That means in grassy places like this plateau or forests right now.”

“It’s a formidable foe. Especially Sundews, as they are also affected by day and night. They are not suitable opponents to fight right now. You might even find that ice golem we saw near the portal earlier more manageable?”

“That’s a bit shocking.”

“The 8th floor is originally like this. You fight creatures that are as mismatched to the environment as possible. Anyway, since we’ve seen that guy, other monsters will appear soon. Let’s pass by.”

Well, since Jack said this much, there’s no reason not to follow.

We detoured around the Sundew and headed in a different direction.

Fortunately, just as Jack predicted, we encountered another monster not long after.

Moreover, this monster was.

“Rock Worms. They’re manageable monsters in this grassy place.”

“Two worms in total, no other monsters visible around.”

Two giant Rock Worms encountered at the perfect timing.

The two remained still, twisting their bodies, observing their surroundings.

“Don’t underestimate them just because there are two. Each one is at the level of a 7th-floor elite monster.”

I heard that most monsters on the 8th floor have high stats in smaller numbers rather than large numbers.

They say the reason is probably because of the frequently changing environment.

That’s why even though there are only 2 monsters, they cannot be taken lightly.

“…Phew, I’m nervous. Skipping the 7th floor and coming straight to the 8th.”

“Me too.”

Grace and Luca seemed a bit nervous, holding slightly stiff postures.

Noah also silently drew out a part of the Avatar’s arm.

Having confirmed that even Kailech had an arrow nocked on his bowstring, I spoke, pushing aside my slight nervousness.

“As always, I’ll attack first.”

Like always. It starts with my magic.

As expected of Rock Worms, their bodies are sturdy, so ordinary magic probably won’t work.

A powerful 6~7 cost attack card or a card with strong crowd control would be good.

I checked my hand.

[Lightning] [Strike] [Rupture] [Purgatory] [Ifrit] [Waterspout]

Hmm.

Actually, this hand is a very good hand.

Starting from my capable single-target card [Lightning].

[Rupture] which tears apart the insides of biological monsters.

[Purgatory], perfect for gathering mobs.

Even [Ifrit] that breathes fire.

Anyway, I thought there would be no problem with just this hand and stopped shuffling my hand before sleeping, but none of them are useful.

Holding back tears, I check the next hand.

『Your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

[Vortex] [Burning at the Stake] [Blink] [Telekinesis] [Tidal Wave] + [Purgatory]

Each one is a very powerful magic, and cards that have helped me a lot.

How to say it, I’m starting to wonder if these will work now.

I feel the sadness of cards pushed aside by power creep.

“Are you ready?”

“Could you perhaps wait just one more minute?”

“…Ah, yes.”

As if used to it, the party members wait.

But after a minute passed.

『Your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

[Mana Overload] [Growth] [Rain] [Drain] [Exchange] + [Blink]

Hmm. The hand seems to have gotten worse somehow.

If it’s going to be like this, it’s really worse than not waiting at all.

“…J-just one more minute.”

At my words, Noah chuckled!

“No, can’t you draw a decent hand for once?!”

“…It’s not like I can control it.”

When I spoke in an aggrieved tone, Noah laughed even harder.

At the same time, the slightly tense atmosphere began to ease.

As I waited for the remaining time.

Before I knew it, the stiff and tense atmosphere was gone.

It had become our usual selves.

『Until next draw 0』

『Your turn. Draw 5 cards.』

『White Storage Box – Preserve 1 card at the end of the turn.』

[Adjustment (1)] [Meteor (7)] [Darkness (1)] [Earthquake (4)] [Ragnarok (4)] + [Mana Overload (0)]

Done.

Among my 7+ cost attack cards, a card useful for the current situation is.

From now on, I’ll clash with the 8th floor at full power.

After making up my mind firmly, I cast a card.

[Mana Overload] – Energy becomes double. Energy decreases by 1 next turn.

The energy in the deck rapidly rises.

I immediately use the strongest card in my hand.

[Meteor]

Darkness instantly fell around.

It was all because of one small star falling from the sky.

As that star fell onto the Rock Worms, a shockwave spread strongly in all directions, and all the weak grass around was completely torn away by the wind.

Naturally, our figures hidden in the bushes were revealed.

As soon as the shockwave ended, everyone rushed forward.

Kwaaaahh!!!

A giant Rock Worm, letting out a strange cry, emerged from the thick dust.

Both of them were hit by the Meteor, showing some cracks on the surface, but only to that extent.

It seems there’s no critical damage to their lives.

Ding!!

『Combat Start. Draw 4 cards.』

『Energy 5/5』

『Joker Card – Draw 1 designated card additionally on the first turn.』

At the same time the status window announced the start of combat.

The Rock Worms began to charge towards us.