Lia looked down at the bottle of Erosion Purifier that had suddenly appeared in her hand.
She wasn’t sure how it had happened, but what she needed to do now was clear.
Lia opened the potion bottle in her hand and drank it without hesitation.
The foul energy that had bound her body like shackles vanished, and her vitality returned.
’Lia! Go!’
A brief opening appeared imdiately after the Banshee’s attack stopped.
Everyone nearby lunged toward the Banshee.
Ian smashed a bottle of holy water, ran forward with Rin and Lia, and drew his sword.
It was a dangerous move, but this was their last chance.
Clang!
Attack power increase, haste, blessing, health recovery.
Weaken, vulnerable, enfeeble, disarm.
Orbs appeared from out of nowhere and flew in, as if pouring out everything that had been in the bags.
Nurous consumables collided and shattered, giving rise to colorful lights and smoke.
The swords of the three people flew toward the Banshee simultaneously.
’...!’
Rin, who attacked the Banshee, widened her eyes.
Until now, no matter how much she attacked, it only felt like cutting through empty air, but just now, there was a clear sensation of cutting sothing.
The Banshee, which had been ignoring everything despite being attacked, reacted for the first ti and twisted its body.
’The attacks are landing!’
’Its mana has run out!’
Soon, Lia’s attack sliced through its body, and Ian’s sword pierced the Banshee’s back.
The Banshee, impaled by the three swords, tilted its face up as if trying to scream one last ti.
’──!’
However, no sound escaped, and instead, the Banshee’s body burst into flas in an instant.
The Banshee, burning as if oil had been poured on it, soon vanished without a trace, leaving only scorch marks and a pile of ash on the floor.
Sensing that the battle was over, everyone slumped to the floor as if collapsing.
’Haa....’
’W-we won, right?’
The Banshee had disappeared without a trace.
Ian nodded without saying a word.
Success....
It was a miraculous victory achieved in a situation that had been on the verge of failure.
Everyone’s gaze imdiately turned toward Tanya.
’Tanya! What was that just now?’
’How did you do it?’
’I, I don’t really know either....’
At the relentless barrage of questions, Tanya answered in a fluster.
It was such a desperate situation that she just did sothing for now.
Tanya was also in a state of not knowing what on earth had happened.
Tanya looked at the fairy flying near her.
’Can’t you see this?’
’...See what?’
’That, the fairy-like thing....’
As Tanya spoke while looking at the fairy flying in mid-air, Rin finally nodded as if she understood.
’Ah~.’
Rin nodded to Tanya and quietly approached Ian’s side.
’Um, Captain. Tanya’s curse seems... rather serious. She’s seeing hallucinations.’
’Rin! I can hear everything!’
Tanya shouted after hearing Rin whispering with Ian.
In any case, Tanya herself was in a state of not knowing what was going on.
Ian, who had confird Tanya’s trait, answered instead.
’It’s Spirit Magic.’
’Magic?’
At the ntion of magic, everyone turned their heads toward Ian.
The most bewildered among them was Tanya.
’I... how could I use magic?’
’Magic isn’t necessarily sothing you have to study and learn.... There are magics that you suddenly beco able to use.’
Upon hearing that, Mika jumped up from her seat.
’What about !’
Spirit Magic...?!
Mika shouted as if it were unfair.
’Spirit Magic isn’t sothing you learn to use, it’s sothing you’re born with....’
’Aack!’
In other words.
Talent...!
Mika slumped back down on the spot.
After hearing Ian’s explanation, Tanya, who finally realized the identity of the fairies who had helped her, cautiously reached out her hand.
The flying fairies landed on the back of Tanya’s hand.
...Thank you for helping .
As she thought that in her heart, she felt as if she could hear the laughter of the fairies who understood her.
anwhile, Ian, who had confird what had happened to Tanya, grabbed Tanya’s face with both hands.
’C... Captain?’
A Fairy Porter.
It was such a rare combination that Ian had never seen it in actual play, and had only seen soone use an editor to pick it occasionally.
Is this for real?
Ian muttered to himself as he toyed with Tanya’s cheeks.
’U-um... ugh.’
’Should we triple your salary for now?’
’What?!’
When Tanya jumped in surprise, Ian, who was calculating the salary while looking at Tanya’s traits, tilted his head.
Was the calculation rate for this trait higher?
’Five tis?’
’I-it’s okay! I’m satisfied even now....’
’Let’s make it six tis just in case.’
’I, I really have no intention of going anywhere else!’
While Tanya was struggling in Ian’s grasp, Lia suddenly drew her sword and stood up from her seat.
’Captain! Over there!’
At the place Lia pointed, sothing was forming in mid-air.
Everyone stood up with weapons in hand and tense faces.
As if a hole had been pierced in the air, a sphere made of pitch-black darkness grew.
The black energy that spilled from there dropped down and seeped into the labyrinth floor.
’What... is this?’
’It’s okay. This is the Source.’
Ian, who had stood up, answered.
It was an object called the Source, which created monsters in the labyrinth.
Everyone had heard once before from Ian’s basic lecture on the labyrinth about what the Source was.
The culprit that creates the hordes of monsters that invade Labyrinth City every year.
’If we break this, will monsters stop appearing?’
’Yes. It’ll reappear after a long ti, but for a while.’
The Source of undead monsters that created the skeletons, ghouls, and banshees they had fought in this labyrinth.
If this is destroyed, undead monsters will not appear in the upcoming monster wave.
Due to that principle, bounties were even placed on the Sources of several troubleso monsters.
Destroying the Source wasn’t particularly difficult.
When Lia carefully swung her sword according to Ian’s words, the Source shattered as easily as a glass bead.
’...Is it all over with this?’
’....’
Hearing that question, Ian turned his head.
If it were a general labyrinth exploration, it would be correct that it ended with this.
However, this ti, there was one more thing left to do.
Ian approached a wall on one side of the room.
A mural filled with shapes of unknown aning was drawn there.
Since it wasn’t a particularly hidden place, all the explorers who had entered the labyrinth must have seen it until they were sick of it.
However, it seed no one had figured out the way to open it.
Since the seal hadn’t been released, they wouldn’t have been able to open it until now even if they knew the thod.
Ian cautiously approached the mural and interacted with it in a set order.
The mural suddenly emitted light and began to shake, making the sound of sothing massive moving.
’...!’
While everyone watched warily, the labyrinth wall that had looked like a normal wall opened, and hidden stairs were revealed.
A passage descending even deeper.
The even deeper darkness of the labyrinth that no one had discovered until now.
It was the passage to the Deep Floor.
Everyone stared at the entrance with tense faces.
They thought they had beco accustod to the darkness while staying in the labyrinth for a while.
But from there, a darkness even more gloomy and chilling than the labyrinth was flowing out.
How did Ian find out how to open this?
Everyone realized without needing an explanation.
That this was the very reason Ian had tried to enter the labyrinth.
’Is this... what you were looking for in the labyrinth?’
Ian nodded quietly.
It was the reason Ian had been moving in a hurry all this ti.
When the monster wave approaches, the inside of the labyrinth overflows with monsters, making it impossible to enter.
The guild also prohibited entry to the labyrinth during that period.
He had to check this before then without fail.
The city’s defense is more solid than one might think.
Even if Ian didn’t particularly help, they could hold off sothing like a normal monster invasion as much as they wanted.
However... it’s not the case from now on.
It was because of this Deep Floor added by the mod.
The monsters of this Deep Floor, which had a much higher difficulty than a normal labyrinth, all had very special abilities.
Monsters with malicious special abilities that one wouldn’t be able to do anything about without knowing and preparing in advance.
From the second invasion onwards, the seal is released, and the monsters of this Deep Floor are included in the invasion.
If the Source of the Deep Floor is not destroyed, the Deep Floor monsters, which cannot be dealt with by general thods, will attack the city.
If they couldn’t prepare in advance, the city would suffer heavy damage close to annihilation.
Ian briefly explained that story so the party mbers could understand.
Everyone fell silent after hearing that story.
...A brief silence.
The party mbers all turned their heads to look at each other, eting each other’s eyes once.
’....’
And, they nodded.
It would be dangerous. Much more so than the expedition just now.
It was sothing they had been prepared for since the mont they decided to follow Ian.
Everyone exchanged glances, and Rin stepped forward as the representative to speak.
’We’re ready.’
’Eh?’
In the anti, Ian closed the door to the Deep Floor.
The wall closed, and the entrance to the Deep Floor that was emitting chilling darkness disappeared without a trace again.
’Let’s go back now.’
’Uh... pardon?’
Everyone held their weapons and looked at Ian with bewildered faces.
’If you close the door... we can’t go in, can we?’
’You want to go in there?’
When Rin asked, Ian instead looked at Rin with a face as if he had heard sothing horrific.
’Wasn’t the plan to go in and destroy the Source?’
’It’s a place far too dangerous for just us to go.’
’But, you said they’ll co outside if we just leave it alone?’
’I’ve confird what it is, so that’s enough.’
Ian looked at the wall and floor tile patterns of the opened Deep Floor entrance and identified what kind of monster terrain it was.
Since he found out what monsters were coming, he just had to report to the city and prepare counterasures in advance before the invasion.
If the counterasures for these special monsters are prepared, the city’s defense forces could hold them off on their own.
Compared to the disadvantageous labyrinth environnt due to erosion, darkness, and limited supplies, the city was a place three tis more advantageous as it had city walls, defense facilities, and even high-level allies.
Now that he knew what monsters would co out, there was no reason to leave the city walls behind and bother going into a disadvantageous place to fight.
’Since we can block them at the city, there’s no need to go inside dangerously.’
’....’
’Good work, everyone. Since we’ve found everything, let’s go back now.’
’....’
The Deep Floor, which had revealed itself to the world for the first ti, was closed again in just 30 seconds.
The suicide squad, which had made up its mind to plunge into the Deep Floor following Ian to save the people of the city, was also forcibly disbanded in just 30 seconds.
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