Let’s state a fact: they would die.
The mont Verzak appeared, 70% of the explorers here would et their end.
Assuming they ran away imdiately.
If they chose to fight, it would be a group suicide.
‘Don’t they value their lives?’
I couldn’t understand them.
Verzak had already been summoned, and yet more explorers were arriving.
“…There are more of them…”
A group of fourteen explorers arrived, their bodies battered and bruised, as if they had triggered every trap along the way.
And the first thing they did was…
“Did the portal open?!”
“Verzak has already been summoned! The ninth Lord of Terror has been slain!”
Were they insane?
To co here instead of going to the 2nd floor, just for that slim chance…
The explorers who were already here had been waiting since Verzak was summoned. But these guys…
I chuckled, and Alia approached .
“…Yandel, what are we going to do?”
“I don’t know. I underestimated their greed.”
“You underestimated human nature, not just explorers. There are always people like this, regardless of ti or place.”
Alia’s words were surprisingly wise these days.
But it didn’t help.
What was I supposed to do?
“Haa…”
I cald myself down.
I couldn’t afford to lose my temper at my teammates.
I had to find a solution.
‘The problem is that it’ll be difficult to open the portal with this many people around…’
If the portal opened, they would all follow us, and my share of the loot would decrease.
‘And it would spread rumors.’
Even if we could enter the hidden area alone, the news would spread.
I would be followed and targeted.
It wasn’t an ideal scenario.
But…
“I-It’s the Abyssal Watcher…! Verzak! He’s coming…!”
I didn’t have ti to think.
The mont the Abyssal Watcher appeared, Verzak’s arrival was guaranteed.
“Uwaah! Get away from !”
“Don’t push!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Chaos erupted as soon as the Abyssal Watcher appeared among the explorers.
They all knew that whoever killed it would beco Verzak’s target.
They were all running away from a 9th-grade monster.
And the Abyssal Watcher, fearless, attacked the high-level explorers.
Spit!
Its basic attack was… spitting.
It shot acid from its eyes.
“Aaaaah! Get out of the way!”
It was a ridiculous sight.
High-level explorers, panicking over a 9th-grade monster…
Thud!
One of the explorers, startled by the acid attack, accidentally hit the Abyssal Watcher.
And…
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
The Abyssal Watcher vanished into particles of light.
“…….”
“…….”
A heavy silence followed.
“N-No…”
The explorer who had accidentally killed it started trembling.
And the situation took a new turn.
“G-Get away from here!”
Soone shouted.
And the other explorers started pushing and shoving the unlucky explorer.
“If you stay here, Verzak will co! Go to the 2nd floor!”
“B-But… I-I can’t reach the 2nd floor alone…”
“That’s what you get for killing it!”
Are all explorers psychopaths?
“Stop it.”
I intervened.
“Baron Yandel…?”
“…Baron! If he stays here, we’ll all die! We have to get rid of him!”
It was a ridiculous argunt.
Were they going to survive if he left?
Verzak was coming anyway.
But I could see it in their eyes.
They weren’t going to leave.
“I said stop.”
“But—!”
“I’ll open the portal.”
Plan B again.
“……!”
The explorers parted like the Red Sea as I walked towards the stone tablet.
Even the ones who had been guarding it.
“Everyone, out.”
“…Y-Yes! What are you waiting for?! Get out of here!”
They quickly cleared the room.
They must have been shocked by my declaration.
“Bersil, can you block their view and sound?”
Bersil cast a barrier, preventing the others from seeing or hearing us.
Okay, so we had so privacy now.
As I was about to start the ritual, Alia spoke.
“Yandel, are you sure about this?”
“I don’t have a choice. I can’t just let them die.”
“If we wait, they might go to the 2nd floor. Even reckless explorers value their lives.”
Hmm, I had considered that…
“But I don’t think they’ll give up on the hidden area.”
“…You’re surprisingly calm.”
Well… I was more resigned than calm.
If this worked, and the portal opened… countless explorers would follow us, and I would get a headache just thinking about it.
But…
“If this doesn’t work, we’ll have to escape to the 2nd floor anyway. We can’t waste any more ti here.”
Alia didn’t say anything more.
She understood.
I approached the stone tablet, holding the fragnts we had collected on the 3rd floor.
And then I stopped and gave a new order.
“Bersil, cast the Bonding spell on the other six.”
“Huh?”
“If the portal opens, we might get achievent points.”
“Ah…!”
Bersil nodded and cast the spell again. Mages didn’t need experience points anyway.
“Done.”
Right…
‘Please, let this work.’
I gulped and touched the stone tablet.
And then…
Whoosh!
A brilliant, multicolored light erupted from the tablet.
「Hidden area portal opened for the first ti. EXP 99」
Yes!
______________________
The portal had opened.
A portal to an unknown area, a place no one had ever set foot in.
I had a lot of thoughts.
But I decided to stick to the plan.
“Bersil, cast the Bonding spell again.”
“How?”
“, Erwen, and you are Team 1. The rest are Team 2. If the portal closes after we enter, Team 2 will imdiately go to the 2nd floor. Ah, Emily, your role is crucial here… can you handle it?”
“Don’t worry. They’ll co to their senses once they see the portal close. I’ll persuade them to go to the 2nd floor.”
“Right… And if they follow us and end up in a different location, you’ll have to guide them. Understand?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Okay, so the backup plan was set…
“I’ll go first.”
I carefully stepped into the portal.
Flash!
A bright light blinded , and I felt a floating sensation.
And then my vision returned.
「Entered the 1st Basent Floor: Archives.」
「First ti achievent unlocked.」
「Your great feat will be recorded on the Stone of Honor for eternity.」
I landed on the ground, my balance unwavering.
Thump!
I raised my shield and quickly scanned my surroundings.
The floor was made of stone.
The visibility was about 100 ters, but there was nothing special in sight.
Just a barren, rocky landscape.
And…
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
Was that the sound of waves…?
‘There don’t seem to be any monsters…’
As I was thinking that, a bright light appeared above , and my teammates followed through the portal.
“……!”
“W-Whoa…!”
Erwen and Bersil, my Team 1 mbers.
And…
“Wooooooooh!”
Ainar, followed by Auyen, Misha, and Alia.
‘…The portal didn’t close.’
I was relieved…
And then I realized sothing.
“…There’s no exit.”
The portal, which had opened briefly, had closed after we entered.
______________________
It was a one-way trip.
There was no way to go back.
I felt a surge of unease, but I tried to be positive.
‘…Nothing’s changed.’
The 1st floor would close on the 7th day.
And we wouldn’t be able to go up after that.
‘The question is… when will this place close…?’
It was sothing I would have to find out.
I approached Alia.
“Emily, what happened when you entered?”
“It was the sa. The portal’s color was different, but that’s all. Once Gowland’s barrier disappears, the other explorers will start coming down.”
Hmm, I see…
“Everyone, stay alert and check your surroundings. Report anything unusual, no matter how small.”
“Bjorn! There’s sothing wrong with !”
“Wrong? What’s wrong?”
“M-My face is hot, and my heart is racing!”
…That’s because you’re excited.
Anyway, we checked our surroundings and our conditions, looking for any unusual changes.
And then the explorers started pouring in from above.
“Oh! A new floor! A new floor…!”
“Hahaha! My na will be recorded in history!”
There were a few idiots… but most of them seed relatively sane.
“Everyone, stay alert…! We don’t know what we might encounter!”
They ford groups and prepared for battle.
For so reason, they were all keeping their distance from us.
Did they think it was safer to be near us?
I didn’t know, but the influx of explorers soon stopped.
And…
“W-What?! Why isn’t it working?!”
“Ah, Zelton isn’t here yet…”
“Kurdo! Kurdo isn’t here yet!”
A new piece of information.
Unlike the other portals, this one closed under specific conditions.
Then what were the conditions?
‘It doesn’t seem to be ti-based…’
I quickly counted the number of explorers who had entered.
One, two, three, four, five, six…
‘Fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty…’
Sixty.
The portal closed when sixty people entered.
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