Waiting for us in the room was an old, large lizard man.

　Its height is one head taller than me, and its head is a perfect lizard shape.
　Hard scales cover every inch of its body and are sharp as spines in some places.

　If I had encountered it in a normal dungeon, I would have been ready to fight, but its appearance, dressed in a thick black robe, gave off an intelligent atmosphere.

''Oh, you're Luke White Wolf? I thank you on behalf of my compatriots.

　The old skallion (lizardman) revealed his joy in a low, masculine voice.

　The demon race, whose appearance is far from human, is generally difficult to distinguish between gender and complexion, but strangely enough, it's relatively easy to recognize both by listening to their voices.

"A certain (that's what it is) is Eversol. I have been asked to serve as a council member on behalf of the Lizard Man (Lizardman). Let's see, is this how humans greet each other?

　The demon who called himself Ebersole held out his burly right hand to me.

　It took me a little while to realize that he wanted to shake my hand, but as soon as I realized that was the case, I held out my right hand and we clasped each other's, too.

　Garnett watches anxiously as the hand of the lizard man (Lizardman), with its hard scales and sharp claws, holds my relatively poor hand.

　It's not just a matter of time before you get to the point where you'll be able to get a new idea of what it's like to shake hands with a lizard man.

The loss of light on the ceiling is a matter of life and death for some people. I'm a lizard, after all. I'm sure they'll be able to store a little bit of heat, but if any more nights go on like that, they won't be able to stand it.

　Humans and beasts naturally heat up their bodies, but lizards and crocodiles are said to increase their body temperature by exposure to sunlight.

　If they didn't do so, they wouldn't even be able to move their bodies.

　For a lizard-man, which has a body similar to a lizard, the night that never dawns is like a human being trapped in an extremely cold place.

　That doesn't mean that humans are better creatures.

　Perhaps it's because they don't use up their energy to generate heat, but skale-men (lizardmen) are able to survive on a fraction of the food they need compared to humans and beastmen.

　The only thing that surpasses the lizard man in that regard is probably the tree man (dryad), which has a body similar to that of a plant.

I've been asked to answer your questions, although it's not a sufficient return gift. You can ask me anything you like.
...... So, let's start with ......

　Although the call was sudden, fortunately or unfortunately, I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask for some time.

　So I'm not at a loss for questions, but rather wondering which ones to ask first.

''First, can you tell me what we in Asropolis call this place ...... this dungeon and each level?''
Hmm, it's important to reconcile the basic designations.
I'm embarrassed to say that the naming of the ground is a little incomplete. I thought we might consider adapting it to what you call it.

　Although it was unavoidable, the naming by the people on the ground was quite haphazard.

　At first, only the existence of the high-difficulty labyrinth part of the game was known, and that's where they gave the name "The Thousand-Year Corridor of the Abyss".

　At this stage, it was thought that the Millennium Corridor of the Abyss was the entire dungeon, so it was invented as a name for the dungeon itself, rather than a name for a large dungeon hierarchy.

　However, beyond the labyrinth, the sphere of influence of the army led by the Demon King Gandalf was spreading.

　The name "Demon King's Castle Realm" was given to the area, and the "Millennium Corridor of the Abyss" was changed to refer to the labyrinth instead of the entire dungeon, but the name of the dungeon it would replace has yet to be determined.

　Furthermore, the underground space beyond the labyrinth that spreads underneath the Demon King's Castle - that is, this underground space we are in - is only tentatively called the 'Deeper Realm' at this point in time, but it doesn't have an official name yet.

I'm sure you'll find that this world ...... is what they call a dungeon on earth, the 'Ark of the Elements'.
"...... of the elements, Ark?
'Hmm. Imagine a box of four elements, four boxes stacked vertically. That's how some people perceive the world.
The Four Boxes: ...... No way. ......

　I told Ebersole just what came to mind.

I'm not going to be the only one who can do that. The hierarchy that we call the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' represents the attribute of the underground space ...... of rocky mountains and wilderness on one side ......, in other words, 'earth'.
"And this hierarchy, as you can see, symbolizes 'water' ...... is what some people think. Of course, we don't know the true intentions of the creator, Alfazl.

　Magic is not my area of expertise, but I've stocked up on it in the hopes that a knowledge as major as the four major elements will help me in my adventures.

　Indeed, if I had to describe the characteristics of this hierarchy in one word, it would be the richness of water and greenery that one would not expect to find underground.

　If one considers that the lush vegetation is the result of the abundance of water, then the most essential thing is the water.

On earth, the order of the four elements is earth, water, wind and fire, starting with the heaviest one. If the same is true for this dungeon, does that mean that there is also a hierarchy of wind and fire in an even deeper realm?
As you can imagine, that's what some people think. But the majority of the species inhabiting the Athropolis have lived in this hierarchy for ages and ages. We do not know much about the rest.

　If Eversol's explanation is correct, it's information that the guild's people are likely to turn over and rejoice.

　If I didn't have a serious position on my shoulders, I'm sure I would have bitten off a lot of bucks without a second thought.

　In the first place, the discovery of the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' was a great discovery, and when it came to the discovery of this realm, I was aware of it as if I had touched the depths of the world's secrets.

　However, even then, they were only at the halfway point.

　Considering the fact that we have barely made any progress in our search for this level of the hierarchy, it could be said that we haven't even reached the halfway point.

　I tried my best to keep the excitement bubbling up inside me as I continued to ask questions calmly.

'What is the name of each tier on ......?'
''I'm sorry if I'm disappointing you, but we don't have a very fancy name for it. The place you guys call the 'Demon King's Castle Realm' is the first level of the 'Elemental Ark' and this is the second level ...... simply this.
'I see. ...... Hmm?　Is the Demon King's Castle Realm the first level?　What about The Thousand Year Corridor of the Abyss?
They don't treat the maze as a hierarchy.

　Ebersole shook his shoulder as if he were laughing.

　His expression was still hard to read, but the gesture showed that he too was enjoying this conversation.

''The name is quite simple and clear. The first labyrinth is said to be on the border with the ground, and just above this level is the second labyrinth, and just below this level is the third labyrinth: ...... Perhaps there is a fourth labyrinth as well.
Have you ever been to ...... other levels?
'I'd be lying if I said I'd never tried. When I was young, I tried my courage and went up the tower leading to the second labyrinth more than once. Well, I used to get scared on the way up and run back.

　This time Ebersole laughs loudly, in an understandable voice.

　I also decided to tell him my next question while my mind danced with the new revelations that were constantly being revealed.