A maximum capacity of sixty people.
And a one-way portal with no return route.
These two characteristics were typical of rifts.
But there were many reasons why I couldn’t classify this place as a rift.
‘First of all, there was a stone tablet.’
There was always a portal stone between floors. And we had activated that tablet to open the portal.
And…
‘There had never been a case where a hidden area was a rift.’
The ‘hidden areas’ ntioned on the Stone of Honor usually referred to new floors, or hidden fields like ‘Larkaz’s Labyrinth’.
‘But it’s unlikely that this is a hidden field on the 1st floor.’
I decided to treat this place as a new floor.
Hidden fields shared the sa closure tir as the floor they were located on.
But to open this portal, we had to farm fragnts on the 3rd floor.
‘Considering the travel ti, it would take us until the 6th day at the earliest.’
And hidden fields were usually designed to be cleared within two days.
It didn’t seem likely.
‘Then the important thing is… when does this place close…?’
I would find out eventually.
“Bersil, have you finished counting?”
“Yes.”
We had gathered so preliminary information before starting our exploration.
“There are two major factions. The Silver Lion Clan with twenty mbers, and the Hex Clan with nineteen.”
“Their numbers aren’t even.”
Clans usually moved in groups of five or six, depending on the Bonding spell’s capacity.
“Yes, it seems like they both have so stragglers. They were in a hurry to enter the portal as soon as Gowland’s barrier disappeared.”
“I see. What about the others?”
“Two five-man teams and one four-man team.”
The four-man team’s leader hadn’t been able to enter the portal, and one of the five-man teams was missing a warrior, disrupting their combat balance.
“Should I gather more information? They all seem eager to join us.”
“No, that’s enough. Thank you.”
“And…”
“Hmm?”
Bersil spoke cautiously.
“The three smaller teams asked if they could join us. And the two clans also seem interested in collaborating.”
“Collaborating, I understand… but what do you an by ‘join us’?”
“They’re basically asking us to take them in. They’ll do whatever we say, and they’ll accept whatever reward we give them.”
They must have realized the gravity of the situation after entering this unknown territory.
Especially with their incomplete teams.
“What do you think?”
“What’s their average level?”
“Around 5th floor.”
“Then there’s no need to think about it. Reject them.”
They would only be a burden.
‘If we don’t accept them, they’ll either form their own group or join one of the two clans.’
I hadn’t forced them to co here.
I had opened the portal, and that was the end of our relationship.
Therefore…
“Bersil, cast the Bonding spell again.”
“How many teams?”
“Alia and Auyen are one team. The rest of us are the other team.”
We also split into two teams.
I had considered excluding Auyen and forming a six-man bond, but it wouldn’t hurt to give him so experience points.
‘There might be new types of monsters here…’
If Alia landed even a single hit, Auyen would also receive experience points.
“Emily, are you okay with this?”
“I don’t mind. I understand that it’s better for the mage with AoE skills to be on your team.”
Right.
“Bjorn! How long are we going to stay here?!”
Ainar was getting impatient.
“Everyone, get into formation.”
It was ti to start exploring.
______________________
As we were about to leave, the explorers who had been preparing at the starting point started looking at us.
And one of them approached .
“Um… if it’s not too much trouble… can we follow you?”
They were afraid of exploring this unknown territory, so they wanted to learn from us.
Seriously?
They had freeloaded on my portal, and now they wanted to be their guide?
“It is too much trouble.”
I refused firmly.
But they weren’t giving up.
“B-But… if you help us, there will be fewer casualties…”
One of them spoke up, and the others chid in.
“He’s right…!”
“We have a duty to help each other in ergencies…”
“It will also boost your reputation, Baron—”
What were they talking about?
Did they think I was an idiot?
“Did I tell you to co here?”
“…….”
“You’re explorers too. Explore on your own.”
“But people will die—”
“It’s a risk you have to take. That’s what exploration is all about.”
I led my team away from the starting point. They didn’t follow us.
“Phew, finally so peace and quiet. Why are they so talkative?”
“Clan Master, are you sure about this…? They might spread rumors about you if they survive…”
Auyen asked worriedly, but I just chuckled and patted his shoulder.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s not worth the headache.”
“Haha… you’re so bold.”
“Enough chatter. Focus on exploring. We don’t know what we might encounter.”
I led my team around the starting area, getting a feel for the terrain.
It didn’t take long.
The island wasn’t that big.
“So that was the sound of waves…”
“It really is an island.”
It was a small, rocky island, about the size of three football fields. It felt like the starting island, Limia, on the 6th floor.
There were no monsters on the island.
In fact, there was nothing.
‘There were at least so trees on Limia. This place is completely barren.’
It was a little disappointing.
If there were any unique materials here, I could sell them for a high price.
But it was too early to give up.
The real exploration would begin beyond the sea.
“Lokrob, can you do this?”
I asked the navigator before summoning the ship.
The sea looked different from the usual sea.
“Yes. It’s different from normal seawater, but wood floats. I think our ship will float too.”
“That’s good.”
Silver waves crashed against the rocks.
It looked like a sea of rcury.
And strange objects were floating on the surface.
Swaaaaaaaaaa!
A wardrobe, a fireplace, a thick book, a rusty sword, a knight’s helt… and even a sock?
I didn’t understand, but I trusted Auyen’s judgnt and summoned the ship at the most suitable location.
“Oh! It floats!”
The ship floated without any problems, but we waited for about ten minutes, checking for any damage. And then we boarded the ship and prepared for departure.
I left all navigational decisions to Auyen.
“Huh? M-?”
“Yes. Imagine you’ve just arrived on the 6th floor for the first ti. Explore the area.”
Auyen seed burdened by the responsibility, but he reluctantly agreed.
“Then I’ll start by surveying the surrounding area…”
“Do as you please. You don’t have to report to . You’re the expert when it cos to navigation.”
The ship set sail, and Auyen, ever the cautious navigator, proceeded slowly and carefully.
He constantly checked the depth and looked for any underwater obstacles, creating a nautical chart in real ti.
Alia watched him with interest, helping him with the asurents.
“I envy your skills.”
“…Yes?”
“I’m just saying you’re doing a good job. Your map and your na will be recorded in history. Just like Pikma’s nautical chart.”
Alia had a strange obsession with leaving her mark on history.
Maybe it was because she had never been able to use her real na.
‘…I should find a way for her to reclaim her na when we get back to the city.’
The navigation was going smoothly, so I went up to the deck. Auyen was the expert in navigation, and I was the expert in the labyrinth.
‘The visibility has increased.’
The visibility on the rocky island had been about 100 ters, but now that we were on the ship, it had increased significantly.
It was still dark, but there didn’t seem to be any limitations.
“Bersil, any discoveries?”
“Not yet. I don’t have the necessary equipnt… I’m just collecting samples for now.”
“I see…”
Bersil, the mage, had been collecting the floating objects, but she hadn’t found anything unusual.
‘Maybe Raven would have been more helpful…’
I wasn’t too disappointed.
What good would it do to analyze these objects? We were explorers. As long as we could collect valuable samples and sell them, that was all that mattered.
‘So I’ll just leave Bersil to her own devices…’
I checked on the other mbers.
Erwen, with her sharp eyesight, was stationed at the crow’s nest, communicating with the navigation team. Ainar was enjoying the view from the edge of the deck.
And Misha was standing awkwardly in the middle of the deck.
I was about to approach her when…
“Land! I see land!”
A new field had been discovered.
______________________
Our first discovery in the hidden area.
We excitedly turned the ship and headed towards the direction Erwen had indicated.
And…
“…….”
“…….”
We froze.
For a simple reason.
“A-A monster…”
It wasn’t an island.
“…What should we do?”
“Oh! Are we fighting it? It’s the first monster we’ve encountered here. It might be weaker than it looks!”
“Are you insane?! Fighting a monster that size is too reckless!”
It was a giant monster, large enough to be mistaken for an island.
Only Alia and I seed to realize the danger.
“…Yandel.”
Alia could roughly estimate a monster’s rank thanks to [Danger Sense]. Well, it seed like that was all she knew.
“Auyen Lokrob, turn the ship around. Now. We need to get away from it.”
“…Y-Yes! Understood!”
Auyen didn’t question her order and imdiately obeyed.
Alia turned to .
“Do you know what that is?”
Of course I did.
A giant, black carapace.
A long neck and a dragon-like head.
And long whiskers.
“It’s a Tol-Lafupa. A 1st-grade monster.”
“So it really is… a 1st-grade monster…”
It was understandable that they were surprised.
80% of 1st-grade monsters, including the Tol-Lafupa, only appeared on the 10th floor.
So there was no way for them to know about it.
‘And it only appeared in hidden fields.’
Even on the 10th floor, you had to enter a hidden field to encounter it.
‘Damn it…’
I felt a chill run down my spine as the Tol-Lafupa disappeared from view.
‘A 1st-grade monster…’
It was a good thing it was a non-hostile monster. If it had been anything else…
We would have been wiped out instantly.
1st-grade monsters were more difficult to raid than most high-level Floor Lords.
‘Should we just go back to the island…?’
I was tempted, but it would be a sha to give up now.
So we continued our voyage.
And ti passed…
[00:01]
Day 7 was over.
The 1st floor had closed.
‘Okay, so this isn’t a hidden field…’
As I had expected, this was a new floor.
And it was probably…
‘The 1st Basent Floor.’
Right, there was already a 2nd floor.
I wondered what its official na would be.
The Stone of Honor usually revealed the na of a new floor…
‘I’ll find out when we get back.’
As we were sailing, trying to calm our nerves after the Tol-Lafupa encounter…
“Kyaaa!”
Bersil, who had been collecting the floating objects, scread.
“A monster! There’s a monster!”
I rushed to the railing and looked down.
A monster was climbing up the side of the ship.
“Huh? What is that? It’s not a Murloc or a Frogman…”
Ainar, who had rushed over after hearing Bersil’s scream, asked , and I was speechless.
I had suspected it…
[Keureuk! Keureuk!]
…but it was a new species.
A monster I had never seen before.
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