NOVEL NEXT Chapter 56
Ha, this is insane.
No matter how much I wanted to pass through the next floor safely and normally, did I somehow end up begging some monkey hand for help?
Just dropping me right in front of the portal to the 4th floor?
“Should I call this good or bad? It’s a dilemma.”
[Chaos says let’s think positively since it’s already come to this.]
Deep down, I wanted to experience how much stronger I’d become compared to when I first fell into the labyrinth after arriving at the 3rd floor.
But as soon as I moved, not only were there no monsters, but the goblin settlement had already been utterly crushed, and the portal was glowing nearby.
Looks like I’m just going to skip the 3rd floor blindly.
Swish.
“Everyone, get ready for battle! Who are you? How did you intrude without any warning?”
The adventurer in front of me, a guard of the party, glared at me with a hostile atmosphere.
Not wanting to waste energy on unnecessary tension, I hurriedly waved my hands and spoke up.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I took the portal in the swamp area on the 2nd floor and ended up here. I have no ill intentions, so please put away your sword.”
“Yikes!”
Just as I finished speaking, I caught Yeriell, who was about to fall beside me.
Thud.
“Success again. …Huh?”
As I landed safely and looked around, I noticed Lumia’s eyes widening in surprise.
“Did you just see that? I fell like this.”
Click.
“Seeing it in person makes it hard to doubt. I’ve definitely heard that something like this rarely happens. I apologize for aiming my sword at you.”
The guard sheathed his sword and bowed his head.
If another adventurer had appeared right after a battle, I would have instinctively gone into combat mode too.
‘It’s strange that he’s this polite, actually.’
“It’s fine. I’m not the kind of narrow-minded person to nitpick over something obvious.”
I shrugged and pointed my thumb behind me.
“We’ll hang back, so you can focus on farming.”
“Right. Thank you. …Alright everyone, there’s no problem, so let’s all relax! This situation is resolved, so let’s farm quickly and move on!”
The guard seemed relieved that there was no fight.
“Huh?”
“…?”
Leading the confused Yeriell and Lumia backward, I noticed that the monsters in the settlement seemed to have all been wiped out.
Even if they hadn’t, there was a seasoned adventurer party ahead, so I figured they wouldn’t recklessly charge us, even if something was lurking.
“Aren, what’s going on right now?”
“No matter how much I blink, isn’t that an escape portal and a staircase portal? You’re not telling me we can just skip straight to the 3rd floor?”
Immediately after moving away, the two whispered urgently.
“Right. That’s exactly it. It seems we’ve landed in one of the areas with a portal.”
It wouldn’t make much sense to take the escape portal now…
Sigh. Since the 4th floor is said to be similar to the 3rd floor, would it be best to just move to the next level?
While the adventurer party over there was farming corpses, I splashed some cold water on my face and started consulting with the others.
“What should we do? Do we head to the 4th floor, or do we return to the city? We need to make a choice right now.”
If we wait too long, monsters will regenerate in the settlement, and surely, there will be hobgoblins among them.
If we’re unlucky, a mutant with bizarre abilities like a purple Kikero could appear at a low chance.
‘Then we’ll obviously have to face another tough battle after the Pool Serpent. I should avoid situations like that if I can.’
So, knowing that the adventurers had already cleared the settlement, I needed to make a decision without delay.
To advance or to retreat. One of the two.
Yeriell, who had been fidgeting with her index fingers, spoke up first.
“Well, I think it’s fine to keep going. As you know, our best record so far is the 3rd floor, right?”
That might be true in terms of records, but in reality, Yeriell was the only one who had been to the 3rd floor.
I had fallen into the 3rd floor while skipping the 1st and 2nd due to the misfortune of the Chaos Heart.
Lumia, as far as I knew, hadn’t left the 1st floor due to her curse.
“Adventurers need to have their skills backed up first, but achievements and records are also important, as I’ve been told.”
After saying this, Yeriell gave a cautious smile.
“If it’s okay with both of you, I’d like to take this chance to raise our best record even higher. We still have a long way to go to be mid-level adventurers, but we can gradually climb up, one floor at a time!”
‘I realize again that Yeriell has changed a lot since we first met… and it’s definitely for the better.’
Hearing the assertive Yeriell speak made me lean towards the idea of progressing upward.
But hey, when you enter a great labyrinth and take a portal to move to the next floor, should we call that going up?
Or should we say we’re going down?
I’ve been unconsciously using the floor numbers, so I’m saying we’re going up, but…
In typical situations involving labyrinths or dungeons, don’t people usually describe their descent as they go deeper?
‘Right, no need to dwell on that. I’ll just think of it as going up, and adjust my language accordingly when I talk to others.’
As I stroked my chin, lost in thought.
Seeing me deep in contemplation, Lumia looked directly at me and spoke up.
“I’ll do whatever you decide, Aren. You’re the leader who keeps our party together and always takes on the most trouble among us three.”
“Right! Honestly, I appreciate you asking for our opinions, but if you want to go back to rest, we should just all return together and aim for the next labyrinth.”
Yeriell chimed in, agreeing with Lumia.
…Yeah. Deep down, I wanted our current journey to be a success — to reach the 3rd floor directly and overwrite those awkward memories of our first return.
But suddenly skipping a whole floor, especially the 3rd, made it feel like we’d used some kind of cheat.
Having struggled through the 1st and 2nd floors, this abrupt change caused a cognitive dissonance.
‘Just taking a free pass would be the most comfortable way, but…’
“Let’s go to the 4th floor. This time, we’ll tackle it head-on and return without a care.”
“Okay!”
Nod.
Before long, it seemed that the adventurers were finished with their farming, slowly disappearing one by one into the portal.
“They’re all gone. Then, shall we move right away?”
Hurrying before the monsters regenerate, we swiftly approached the portal.
Whumm—
*
“Whew.”
The 4th floor.
From what I understood, it was similar to the 3rd but with even more types of monsters and traps appearing, and the terrain was said to be more complex.
Just turning my head a bit revealed a thick jungle and lush greenery surrounding us.
‘Once again, we’re in unfamiliar territory. Stay calm.’
Thud. Tap.
“Whoa, I think I’m finally getting used to this!”
“Shh. I know you’re excited, but keep your voice down.”
“Oh, right. Gotta be careful. Heh, thanks, Lumia.”
Yeriell successfully landed after navigating the staircase portal, while Lumia quickly calmed her excitement.
I was glad to see the two of them getting along.
‘First, we need to look around to figure out where we are and plan our route…’
As I spread out the map and glanced around, everything was green without any particular distinctions, making it hard to grasp.
“Lumia, can you feel anything in the surrounding area?”
“…I can’t detect anything for now. It seems safe.”
“Great, then just wait a moment. I’ll climb a tree to check our position roughly.”
“Uh? If that’s the case, I’ll do it. I’m good at climbing trees!”
Ah, right. She’s a beastkin, isn’t she?
I handed Lumia the map and compass, and she tucked them into her chest and swiftly climbed up a nearby large tree.
“Whoa, she’s so fast! She’s up there in no time!”
“Yeah. She’s quite skilled.”
I wonder if it’s due to her unique traits as a beastkin? That looked more like a matter of skill than agility.
Lumia and I are about five stages apart in agility, but if I were to try climbing, I doubt I could do that well.
Thud.
A moment later, Lumia came back down and approached me.
“Here, look at the map.”
She unfolded the map and used her dark magic to draw a circle with her fingertip.
“With everything being dense forest and giant trees around us. From getting a view up there, I spotted a small mountain nearby and, a bit further over, a large cave. Also, there’s a sizeable settlement towards the far south… so we’re probably around here.”
“Good job. Thanks to you, I have a general idea of which direction we need to move.”
“Did I do well?”
“Of course! You did great!”
As I praised her and gave her a thumbs up, Lumia blushed shyly.
‘It seems we’ve landed in the giant tree area of the forest zone. No wonder the trees were so densely packed.’
The portal would undoubtedly be positioned inside the settlement, located in each direction.
The problem is that the size of the settlement is noticeably different from the 3rd floor.
Moreover, what about that cave? There’s nothing noted on the map about it.
This implies that, similar to the altar of the transcendent being found on the 2nd floor, it’s likely an event location randomly generated whenever the labyrinth opens.
‘If it’s a cave, we might be able to eliminate the monsters inside and gain some rewards.’
Having confirmed the location of the settlement, it would be best to check the cave first since it has come into view.
I conveyed the rising thought to them.
“Definitely. If there’s a chance for farming, we should check it out. Old man always says that differentiating yourself from other adventurers in the labyrinth is the path to growth.”
“Let’s go! I’m a little excited about what might come out!”
“Exactly. We can tackle the monsters if we find any, and if not, we can use it as a resting spot for the day. So, should we head out?”
Every time we entered the labyrinth, discovering hidden places and randomly appearing new locales and obtaining something for growth felt joyous.
That must be one of the reasons adventurers persistently choose to pursue labyrinth adventures.
Of course, earning money and achieving success is number one.
Looking at the map, I took the lead as we walked toward the cave said to be nearby.
*
“Wow, it’s huge! Really, really huge!”
As Yeriell said, the mouth of the cave was gargantuan.
As I got closer, a chilling and eerie aura began to seep out from inside the cave.
Lumia rubbed her arms as if she felt cold and opened her mouth.
“I can sense the presence of something related to darkness, different from dark magic, coming from inside. It’s not too intense, but it’s something to watch out for.”
Being drawn in by something mysterious that wasn’t on the map, but hmm.
‘No. Let’s set aside any hesitation. This is the 4th floor, and as long as there aren’t any unreasonable elements like transcendents or gods, we can take on whatever comes out.’
[Chaos is cheering that we’ll overcome any crisis that arises.]
If the energy we’re emitting feels tricky and we retreat, that’s one thing.
But if other adventurers discover it, and should they make it to the cave’s end and pull off some rewards?
That would mean I’ve squandered a growth opportunity, and I can’t allow that.
“Let’s enter. If we didn’t know, it’d be one thing, but since we’re aware of the cave’s existence and traveled all this way, we have no choice but to explore it.”
Fwoosh!
After exchanging a glance with the two, I slowly took out a torch, lit it, and stepped into the cave.