Volume 5 - Prologue

"I found it! Master!"

"Nice work, Meena."

""We did it!""

It's been six days since we started the first layer of the [Labyrinth of No Return]. Finally, we found the stairs to the second level.

"Alec, what about the auto-mapping blanks?"

Serina asks.

"Of course, we'll fill them in."

No loose ends.

"Got it!"

The enemies of the first layer are already not even enemies.

For those of us who have greatly enhanced our skills, we can destroy goblins even if we take them on alone. That's how strong we are.

Nene, who has changed her job to a Magician, has also learned a few spells under the guidance of Letty, the mage, and is becoming more like a magician.

"Here I go!――The Four Great Spirits borrow their claws with my mana offerings in the name of Salamander! Fireball!"

As Nene manipulated her wand and chanted the spell, a fireball the size of her fist flew into the air and hit the goblin.

"Gyaah!"

The goblin, which was already weakened by Meena's blow, died.

It's over.

"Clear!"

"Alec, we've covered the entire map, though there are still some places we can't enter."

"That can wait. Ada, the innkeeper, said there are some rooms that you have to go to the bottom level and go down another staircase to get into."

"I see."

"Finally, the second layer. I'm getting tired of fighting in the same place."

Lily says, but in terms of keeping motivation, it might be better to rotate or change the places where we fight to some extent.

"We don't have a guide, right?"

Serina confirms to me that it is common in these dungeons to hire a party member to accompany you.

"I don't. Not if you can trust him. Besides, it's still a young hierarchy. If you rely on someone like that from the start, you'll dull your instincts."

You can't get stronger just by raising your level or skills.

This is a valuable lesson learned from the last battle with the skeleton hero.

Relying on your skills alone won't get you anywhere, as you need to be able to judge situations on the fly, strategize like you're playing chess, coordinate with your fellow friends, and keep your cool.

You have to get the hang of it while actually fighting.

"Right. The enemies aren't that strong, so we should be able to get to the third layer."

"Yeah. But don't let your guard down."

"Yeah."

"Then, let's go."

The stairs to the second layer were wide and gradual, about four meters wide. There was even a landing to turn back to in the middle.

This way, even if the enemy was at the bottom, they could be spotted immediately, and multiple people could deal with them.

The formation remained the same, with Meena in the lead, followed by Serina, Ione, Lily, Letty, Nene, and me at the back.

We descended the stairs to the bottom.

"It's a little dark in here."

I said, looking around left and right.

On the first layer above, there were candelabras set up at regular intervals, and the flames of the lights, which were probably magical candles, never died out.

However, this entire floor was dimly lit and the view was narrower than before. It was difficult to see beyond the passageway.

"Yeah. Mapping is going to be important."

We all have the skill [Auto Mapping], so we should not get lost if we have already taken the path once.

"We'll explore the area first. Then we'll get some experience."

"""Roger that."""

We slowly made our way through the passage along the gray stone wall.

"Master, it still smells like a rotting corpse in here."

Meena said, frowning. I'm sure there are zombies on this floor, as Meena mentioned when we approached the stairs to the second level.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine as long as I'm not full."

"If necessary, take the resistance skill before you overdo it."

"Oh, that's right.......I took it."

"Okay, good."

"*sniff sniff*, I don't smell anything."

Lily said, but the dog-eared people are special because they have an excellent sense of smell.

"Ugh!"

Nene stopped with a sudden groan.

"What's the matter, Nene?"

"T-that It's smells delicious..."

I see, you read their thoughts with your [Empathy] skill, huh?

"All of you, get ready for battle! Zombies are coming!"

No sooner had I said that and pulled out my sword than the zombies appeared with a sickening chopping and slurping sound.

They were already more than half rotten, so it was hard to look directly at them.

"Uwaahh, I can't physiologically handle this!"

"Shut up! Even you can't do it, but you've got to do the checks, Lily!"

Lily is still good. It's not like she's going to touch them, and they're not going to touch her.

The problem was with the vanguard, who had to approach them.

"Yah! Hah! Take this!"

"Haaahh! Seeiii!"

"Heiyaa!"

Meena, Serina, and Ione are slashing at the zombies without even changing their complexion.

You guys are pretty awesome.

I wanted to get a feel for it as soon as possible, so I didn't want to, but I approached the zombie and slashed it.

"AHAAA……"

The zombie, which moans in an eerie voice that sounds like it's coming from the depths of hell, doesn't seem to have any sense of pain and doesn't seem to be intimidated even when I slash it.

It will reach out to you without hesitation, so you have to move back and adjust your distance while slashing.

The movement itself is quite slow, so it's not too difficult to escape.

"Kkuhh, You're so stubborn!"

Serina said with a frown, but even after five clean hits, they are still moving.

"Out of my way!――Four Great Spirits borrow their claws with my mana offerings in the name of the Salamander! Fireball!"

Nene cast a fire spell, but the zombie flared up more vigorously than expected.

"I see. Their weakness is fire."

"Yeah. They're also very weak against holy properties, you know."

Letty said and hit the zombie with a bottle of clear liquid.

Then, with a puff of white smoke, the zombie dissolved and disappeared in a flash.

"Was that holy water?"

Serina confirmed with a slightly surprised look.

"Yes, it is. The price varies depending on the quality, but for fifty gold you can kill a herd of zombies with one bottle."

"Paid huh ......."

That's not funny, is it?

I thought of the face of the fresh-smelling monk who had treated Meena's illness before, but I didn't want to feel like he was ripping me off.

Besides, no matter how easy it is to carry the item storage, I have to consider the time loss of finding and throwing it from there.

In a game, an item may have a 100% hit rate, but in the real world, there will probably be misses and strikes.

"Isn't it's fine? Fifty gold is cheap, cheap."

Serina says it like it's nothing, but I'm even more tempted to avoid the holy water.

"Nene, I'm counting on you."

"Y, yes, Alec-sama."

If we cleaned up the mess with the mage's fire, we would only have to pay for lodging.

We resumed our search for the second layer.

As we walked carefully, trying not to get caught by surprise or surrounded, we heard a noise at the end of a winding passage in the maze, and knew something was up ahead.

"Hmm? This smell ......?"

But it didn't seem to be zombies. Meena stopped and twisted her head, trying to remember what the smell was.

"Combat ready!"

However I don't put any carelessness or hesitation in it, and I let everyone get ready. The vanguard drew their sword.

"Wait!"

The voice came from the other side first ――it was a woman's voice.

Author Note:

Volume 5 is not very popular, but it's a bit depressing until the third chapter of Volume 6. I'm sure the feeling will change from there, so please take a long look at it!(；´Д｀)