The next morning, Dia and I had gathered in front of the labyrinth.

　By the way, we've already finished our pre-search shopping. I've got some free money, so I've just prepared not only the necessities for the labyrinth, but also the armor.

　I have a cheap crowbar in my left hand and a spare sword in my 'possessions' section.
　And I bought a light breastplate for Dia as a gift from me. At first she refrained from doing so, but I stressed to her that her defense is absolutely necessary, and somehow she accepted it.

　In other words, our 'status' now is very different from yesterday.

''--Christ!　I talked to a priest and he said it was level 6!　Me!
Good for you, Dear. I was a level six myself.

　The results of the search began to take shape and Dia was very excited.
　I 'gaze' at that smiling figure and check the status, including myself.


[Status]
　　Name: Aikawa Uzumi HP189/197 MP262/262 Class.
　　Level 6.
　　Strength 4.12 Strength 4.21 Skill 5.11 Speed 7.24 Wisdom 7.23 Magic 11.43 Elemental 7.00　
　　State: confusion 5.31
Experience: 1094/3200
　　Equipment: iron one-handed sword
　　　　　otherworldly clothing
　　　　　Large cloak.
　　　　　Shoes of the Otherworld
　　　　　leather gauntlet

[Status]
　Name: Diablo Sith HP98/112 MP631/631 Class: Swordsman
　Level 6.
　Strength 3.62 Strength 3.43 Skill 2.14 Speed 2.08 Wisdom 5.67 Magic 34.35 Elemental 5.00　
　Status: blessing 1.00
Experience: 321/3200
　Equipment: The Treasure Sword of the House of Alais
　　　　Fine Cloth Clothes
　　　　Leather breastplate
　　　　cloak
　　　　leather shoes


　Both me and Diah's levels have skyrocketed, and their statuses have all jumped to nearly double.
By the way, I've increased my succession ability by shaking all my bonus points to MP.

　Surprisingly, Dia's strength and stamina are growing well. In some cases, she was so specialized in magic power that I thought she might not grow forever, so it's a relief.

　If there is one thing that makes me feel uneasy, it would be the class column.
　I'm left blank and Dia is a swordsman.
　Maybe Dia's strength and stamina have increased due to the benefits of her class. If there was such a thing as a class bonus when I leveled up, I would have wasted the class bonus up to level 6. This is something I'd like to resolve as soon as possible.

　But I still have no idea how to solve the class column.
　It's not in the books, and if you ask in the tavern, you'll get asked back if it's about your profession. Dea insists he is a swordsman, but when I ask him how he became a swordsman, he replies, "If you can hold a sword, you're a swordsman.
　I can see a trend in what classes of people are in, but I don't have a clear picture of the requirements.

　While I was pondering about the class, an excited Dia suggested, "Hey!

'Hey!　If you're on level 6, it looks like you can go pretty deep!　Let's take the time to explore the depths today!
...... Yeah. That's a good idea. I've got the day off.
'Oh, Christ. You're off work at the tavern today?
They say they have one day off every three days. I'm told that they have the day off for the sun.

　Sun Celebration Day.
　Perhaps this is the day of the week in my world.

'I see. Well then, let's take the whole day to go as far as we can!
Let's do it.

　I don't disagree.
　We have already calculated that we can fight to the 10th level.

　If it were true, our current level would be far below the proper level for the tenth layer. However, the two of us with our extraordinary ability growth and skills had solved all of our problems.

　At level 6, we had reached the status of a level 10 adventurer.
　I suspect this has something to do with the parameter's predisposition. After all, most people other than myself and Dia have not even reached 1.00. On the other hand, I have a 7.00 and Dia has a 5.00.

''Yes!　It's going on, it's going on!

　Thus, Deere plunged into the labyrinth with great enthusiasm.

　Since today's course is through the "correct path" that has been conquered by the country, it would not be a problem for Dia to lead the way. I followed behind Dia as if I were watching over a mischievous younger brother or sister.


　◆◆◆◆◆ ...


Three layers!

　After an hour or so, I reach the third level very easily.
　Perhaps it's because my status strength has increased, but I still don't feel tired.

　Next to Deere, who is happily fussing over the fact that it's the third layer, I search for the enemy without being careless.

　Honestly, monsters rarely appear in 'The Right Way'.
　It's because the country has set up wards for humans with magical stones. Since I had suffered painful injuries in 'The Right Path' before, I learned more about that area from the people in the tavern.

　In this labyrinth, the shortest distance from the entrance of a layer to the next layer is the 'positive path'. That is to say, if you follow this path, you can easily reach the next layer.
　By the way, there are currently only 23 levels of "righteous path". It is said that the reason why the path has been converted to the "right-of-way" is due to a searcher named Glen Walker, who is one of the strongest human beings in the world.

　However, in recent years, that "righteousness" has slowed down.
　According to him, the level of enemies from the 20th layer onwards is much higher than in the past. Furthermore, even if you have succeeded in making the 23rd layer of the "path of righteousness", it does not mean that all of those layers have been completely cleared. It was famous among searchers that the strongest searcher, Glenn, was completely unable to stand up to the bosses at the 20th level, and that he kept putting off defeating them.

''Dear, you can go deeper. My plan is to go to the tenth level today.
Ten layers?　Oh, really?!
''We're just going to go the 'right way', no problem. I can usually figure out the enemy's level after one fight per layer.
...... Okay, I get it. If Christ says it, I believe it.

　For some reason, Dia's trust in me is unusually high.
　Since this is a great help to me, I don't pay any attention to it and continue with the conversation.

I'll be leading the way soon. You will find that even if you are on the "right path," it is not entirely free of enemies. I have to be a shield in case of an emergency.
"--Hey!　No, you can still rest in Christ!　Now that I'm at level 6, I think it's time to show you my sword skills, so--
Uh, I'm good for up to five layers.
'I know it's no good!　I know, but I'm still going to take the sword--what?　I'm good: ......?
Sure, you can go up to five layers.

　I had anticipated Dia's request in advance and prepared an answer.

　Looking at Dia's status at level 6, she should be able to compete with my backup up to level 5.
　Dia's muscle strength was already close to 4.
　Unlike when she hadn't even reached 1, there shouldn't be a situation where her attacks couldn't get through. The information I got from the tavern confirms that a warrior with a muscle strength of about 3 to 5 can fight up to 5 layers.

　Besides, Dia's experience in close combat should work to his advantage later on.
　It's not so bad if you consider it an investment in the future.

'Christ!　Thank you!
'No, I'm just deciding that it's okay to deer up to five layers, not that ......--and don't get attached!　It's close!

　Dia came close enough to hug me, grabbed my hand and shook it around.

　I panicked and shook her hand away. Although Dia has short hair and calls himself a man, he's a beautiful, white face. Most importantly, being so close to her, I'm distracted by something I've tried not to be aware of.

　--You're going to be able to get a lot more out of it.

　This is the biggest contraindication for me right now.
　If you remember the original world, you will be distracted.
　If you think of your family, you'll go crazy.
　I want to challenge the 100th layer of the labyrinth without drinking or eating right now.

　That's not going to work.

　For now, I only need to do one layer a day.
　If I can get to the 100th layer in 365 days, I'll be fine.
　I don't want to lose my cool and use the "? It would be a waste of time if he wasted his time using the '??' or if he tried recklessly and got seriously injured.

　Don't think about your sister until you get there.
　The 'Aikawa Uzumi' of the original world doesn't have to come out.
　We don't need at least one more year.
　What I'm thinking about now is the 'innermost' part of the labyrinth.
　I only need to think about the "deepest" part of the labyrinth.

　I repeat this in my mind and calm myself down.

''Haha!　All right!　Then let's get off the 'right path' for a bit and fight the monsters!
Yeah, I don't want to stop at ....... I feel like I'm wasting my time--
At this rate, there might not be any enemies until the fifth level!
'Hmm ....... I guess I have no choice. ......

　I reluctantly agreed, deciding that it would take more time to convince an excited Dia to go.

'Let's go!'

　Dia leaves the 'right-of-way' and goes to look for the monster.
　I follow right behind her and use 《Dimension》 to search for the enemy.

　After a few minutes, I detect one isolated monster.

　It's a large fish with wings that swims in the air.
　There are many lakes and rivers on the third level, and the rate of appearance of aquatic monsters is high.
　Among them, this monster, the Skyfish, is the one that appears in particular. It's a name that would be newsworthy if I found it in my world.

"Dear. There's a monster around the next bend. It's called a skyfish. It's a fish that swims in the air and has a tendency to bite you, so be careful.
Yeah, okay.

　This advance information alone will almost always determine the outcome of the fight.
　It's no exaggeration to say that most of the battle is decided by the presence or absence of information from each other. I remember that such a thing was written in Sun Tzu's "The Book of Nonsense", and I reaffirm the foulness of the Dimension.

''--Deeeee!

　Dia turned the corner and quickly closed the distance and slashed at the monster.
　However, the first sword was dodged, probably because she was too strong. The Skyfish moves to bite at the sudden attacker. Dia catches it with the belly of her sword.

　Apparently, she can see Skyfish's movements without any problems.
　Thinking a little wistfully that if I get hurt, it won't be a problem since it's not me, I move on to chanting my attack magic.

''--Applying magic, Ice Rapid Arrow (Arrow).

　With all my concentration, I cast a spell to create ice in my hand.
　This is an application of the magic 《Ice》 that was meaningless before because the ice just fell.

　However, the density of magic power is different from before.
　It was partly because my level was low back then, but most importantly, I didn't have enough images.

　It's the images that matter, I've heard from the wizards in the tavern.
　When creating ice, I imagine something with a sharp point.
　It's long like an arrow, with an arrowhead of ice at the end.

　And after a few seconds (later), the ice arrow is created in my hands just as I imagined it to be.

　However, I can't eject it like a game.
　If I could do that, it wouldn't be an Ice Rapid Arrow (Arrow), but a real Ice Arrow. The point in the middle is what matters.

　I take the ice arrow in my hand and call out to the vanguard.

''Dear!　I'm going to throw an ice arrow for a minute, take a half step back!
'What ......?　Wow, okay!

　Dia draws back a bit.
　There I throw an ice arrow at her along with the spatial grasp of the Dimension.

''--Hit!

　As I reached level 6 and my muscle strength and skill increased, my projectiles attacked the Skyfish with terrifying speed and accuracy.

　However, Skyfish is not just a single layer, but a three-layered monster as well. I noticed the flying ice arrows and twisted and tried to dodge.

　Tsk, the ice arrow ended up only snatching at the Skyfish's wings. However, it caused Skyfish to lose his stance significantly. The vanguard Dia's sword, which didn't miss the opportunity - is approaching.

　Deere's sword successfully cut Skyfish in half.

　For Deere, whose muscle strength has increased, Skyfish was a blow.
　In front of the disappearing enemy that turned into light, Dia muttered while trembling.

'I did it ....... I defeated it ......'

　He couldn't believe this scene, staring at the monster that had been cut in both directions and his sword. Not long after, Skyfish disappeared as a complete light.

'Congratulations, Dear.'
'Oh ....... Thanks, Christ. What a, you know, very emotional thing to say. I've dreamed about it since I was a kid. To slay a monster with this sword .......

　Saying that, Dia tightens her grip on the sword in her hand.
　She must have some kind of emotional attachment to that sword.
　The sword, which has been used and aged, can be seen to be a work of art even from the details.


[The Aleis family's treasure sword]
　Attack power 5.
　Adds the attack power of 20% of the wearer's skill level.


All right, let's keep this up and keep going.
Oh!

　Dia responded with a face that seemed to clear up her hesitation.
　I don't want her to get a taste for sword combat, but I'm glad to see her doing so.

　And so our third exploration of the maze proceeds.

　As I expected, the monsters on the third level didn't put us behind. Although it takes some time, they are all monsters that can be used by Deere in the vanguard.
　We cleared the 3rd and 4th layers without any problems, and then proceeded to the 5th layer--and


◆◆◆◆◆


　In the middle of the 5th layer attack.

Watch out!　Dear!
Oh, I'm sorry!

　Quickly I interrupt in front of Dia and use my sword to catch the monster's attack.
　Deere, who was about to take a direct hit from the monster's attack, hurriedly drops backwards.

　Confirming that Dear has dropped back into the safe zone, I switch my Dimension to Dimension Decisive Arithmetic (Gradient) and slash at the monster with all my might.

　Thinking that there is no support for Dia, I turn to attack instead of receiving.
　You will avoid the enemy's attack with your body instead of using your sword, and thrust your sword at the enemy's vital point.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

''...... Fufu. Dangerous, dangerous.
'Thank you ...... for saving me. Thank you, Christ .......

　Dia fearfully looks at my face and mouths a thank you.
　Maybe it looked as if even I was in danger from the attack and defense just now.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. I'm fine.
But Christ was in danger because of me.

　That was when Dia was about to answer.

'Hey, hey!　Haha, you were about to die!

　A wild male voice interrupts the conversation.
　And Dia reacts to it faster than I do.

''--!　You!
Yo. You're that level-one kid. Sure enough, you're dying at a place that you don't deserve!

　A man carrying a large sword appeared from behind the corridor.
　Around him are three searchers who appear to be party members.

　In fact, I wasn't surprised since I was able to keep track of their approach through magic. I hadn't paid any particular attention to them, saying that if they were at this level in this hierarchy, it wouldn't be a problem for them to get into a rough patch.

　This guy, I believe, is .......
　He was the one who had made fun of a level 1 Deer in the tavern before.

'Shut up!　I'm not dying.　That was just a bit of carelessness!
'Hahaha, don't make me laugh!　I just let my guard down in the maze, huh?　Totally, I'm a nervous kid. He could die at any time!

　The man isn't saying anything wrong, but there are too many unnecessary spikes in his words.

　Apparently, this man and Dia are not too good together.
　Since a while ago, they have been arguing together, leaving me alone.

　By the way, when I checked the details of this man - I found out that his name is Arken, and he is a level 9 swordsman. The others around him are similar and their talents are nothing to write home about.
　If I had to contend with this party, I was confident that I could handle it alone, and I watched the two of them argue from the sidelines.

''You bastard!　You're trying to pick a fight with me!
A fight?　We don't mean to be rude. After all, if it comes to a fight, it's just bullying the weak. This is the closest to the main road, so any conflict between searchers will be exposed at once. We don't want to get caught yet.

　Alken said that if you fight in "The Right Way", you will be found out (...).
　After all, that's the role of "The Right Way".

'I'm not weak!　Even if I had to go toe-to-toe with you guys, I wouldn't lose!
"Hey, hey, it's you who's fighting me. ...... But we don't have time to deal with kids like you. I'm in the middle of a quest the guild has commissioned me to do.

　With that, Alken shrugged.
　Indeed, it's Dea who's selling the fight. She is quite strong in the habit of abilities that are definitely not suited for interpersonal combat. It seems that yesterday's unshakable faith is showing up in a bad way.

　However, what bothered me more than that was the words 'quests commissioned by the guild'.

　Guild.
　It is a community of seekers with similar interests who gather and cooperate with each other.
　From the information I know, there are various guilds, ranging from those founded by countries to groups of beginners. If a guild is big enough to be commissioned to do quests, then it must be a large guild to belong to.

　The guild's quest .......
　As a game lover, I'm very attracted to this word.

I'm not the same as I was before and I'm not the same as I am now!　You want to run away from me?
"...... escape?　If you're asking me if I'm going to run away, it's not easy to pull off either. ...... That's right. Let's have a light competition in our quest, shall we?

　Alken's face contorted as if to say he'd come up with something interesting.

'A quest competition ......?'
Yeah. Now we've been asked to take out some nasty monsters. Periodically, the state asks competent searchers to thin out the monsters.
Huh. You're the real power seekers?
Don't be so biting. So, if you're not weak, how about we have a competition to see how many of these monsters we can kill?　Sounds straightforward and interesting, right?　And I can clearly see the difference in performance.
I'll give you a ride. I'll give you a ride.

　Dia agreed to do as she was told.
　I didn't interrupt the sequence of events. Honestly, the truth was that it sounded fresh and fun to see these events happen.

'--and what do you want to bet on?

　More and more, Alken contorts his face.

　For me, only that one word was unacceptable.
　A 'heat' lights up all over my body.

'I'll bet you anything: ......!
"We'll give you anything you want. But we don't have anything to rip you off ....... Normally I'd bet money on it, but I doubt you can afford it.
'Stupid ......!　Sure, there ain't no money in it: ......!
'So you'll have to sell yourself to make money if you lose. You're rough and rude, but you've got a good face. You'll pay a lot of money for it if you sell it where you can. Haha.
Okay. If you lose, do what you want. But if you lose, you apologize in tears and leave your money.
All right. We have a deal.

　I was trying to respect Dia's intentions as much as possible, but I couldn't watch the quicksilver. I'd be willing to bet on something formless like pride or dignity, but I couldn't tolerate anything that might cause real harm.

'Dear!　You can't bet ...... on that. If you do, it's a different story.
'Oh?　What's up, dude? This is a match between me and the kid over there, okay?
'Yes. I'm not going to bother with Christ. This is a game between these guys and me.

　Alken glared at me like he was offended.
　And Dia is so bloody in her head, she can't see me.

　If it's just competition after a fight, I won't stop it.
　If there are no deaths, then it's peaceful.
　It's just a change of pace event.
　But I can't allow this kind of competition.

　--Dear is mine.

　I will not allow myself to be preyed upon by a man named Arken.

...... First, Dear. They're here now to prepare for that quest, right?　That's four of us and we're ready to go. That's a huge difference from there. Most importantly, you can't win in Deer because of your fundamental ability. We're not suited for it, but our experience is different. The guild chose these guys as the right people for the job, so it's obvious that these guys are good at this method of winning. And yet, you're an ...... idiot for betting yourself on it, too. Really stupid.

　I try to talk my way out of it, trying not to let it be taken away from me.

'Ugh. ......'

　Hearing the severity of the conditions I told her about, Dia clammed up.

　I'm relieved to see that she has accepted my story without becoming enraged.
　It seems that she can't ignore my advice, perhaps because her recent achievements are directly related to her trust.

''What's dumbest of all is why don't you consult with me ......?　If you don't involve me, you don't have a chance to win first.

　And then, here's how you market yourself.

"...... Oh. You've made your point. We're not saying one versus four, we're saying two versus two, what else do you want?

　The man seems to see that I want to enter the fray, and proposes a two-man versus two-man game.
　But I deny it.

'No, that's not what I'm talking about. I just don't think it would be a good idea for me to play this game. There's no chance for us to win.
What!　Christ, it's--!

　Dia tries to argue with my low attitude.
　I control it with my hand. Then I pull Deere toward me and whisper so that only he can hear.

"--Dear. Do you think you're going to expose everything about us?　...... To be clear, these guys aren't worth it. If we win, the next question is, 'How did we win when we were so low just recently? Our unique skills should be kept as secret as possible. If it's the start of a problem, it's too silly.
'But ......!　Still, I want to beat these guys to the punch with everything I've got: ....... I want to look them over. You may think I'm a child, but 'making them admit it' is more important to me than anything else ......!

　Dia's voice is small, but she bites down, her voice cracking.
　''Making them admit it.''
　That seems to be something that Dia can't concede to, even if it costs her life.

'Fufu......'

　I sigh.

　We should step aside.
　It's best not to play with them, but to look back with consequences someday.
　But that's not a good thing for Dia.
　We've known each other long enough to know. Diah doesn't feel good about not making him admit it today, right here and now.

'...... haha, okay. I get it. I think that's a good idea. Let's do it.
Really?　Christ!

　I broke under Dia's enthusiasm.
　It's not that I was smitten by Dia's face, which looked like a beautiful girl with tears in her eyes as she looked up. I'd like to think that it's not .......

　I'm a little stressed out too.
　It's not a bad idea, then, to sell your debt to Dia, while also showing your power here and letting the guys named Alken bark at you. Really.

'Hey!　What are you guys going to do about it?　Are you going to get away with it with your tail between your legs, or are you going to do it!

　Alken yells at me numbly.
　I give Dia a look and tell her that I'll leave the negotiations to her.
　Immediately, Dia nodded.

''-- I'm sorry. I'll do it, after all.
If you won't do it, then you'll do it. You seem like a very clever guy, so I'm surprised.

　Alken seems to have been caught in a false light. Most importantly, he's been watching me a lot. I'm just the leader of the party in this deadly labyrinth.

''Well then, let's set the rules of the competition.

　I laughed and continued my story.
　That's when I noticed a small gasp from Alken and the others.

'...... good. Then the winner is--
Let's simply decide on the number of kills. If you can tell us the characteristics of these monsters, that's enough for us.
Are you sure?　That's like no handicap, man.
Oh, give me a handicap. There's only one handicap. Let us decide on the time limit. I want one hour.
'Hey ....... We might not be able to beat one of each other that way, huh?
'No. You guys could take down one of them in an hour, couldn't you?　Let's see if we can beat one of them while we're at it. Can't we make it a game of that?　Time is what saves you.

　Based on our experience and the flow of the conversation, I'm going to suggest the most favorable conditions for us.

　If we were looking for a specific type of monster, we would have to run around for an hour to find one. They would have information on the distribution of the monster's habitat, so they would surely find one.

　And I'll use the speculation they have - that me and Dia won't be able to defeat one of them anyway - to make it a short battle.
　Even they can't afford to spend time on this quarrel. It's hard to believe that the quest commissioned by that guild or something like that doesn't have a time limit.

''Yeah, that's right: ....... It's certainly a waste of time. All right, just as you suggested. So, what's the bet? You're going to be very specific.

　Alken seems to be wary of me as I nonchalantly offer terms and conditions.

'Or rather, if you lose, will you guys really pay the price?　In this kind of situation, if the one with the stronger ground power loses, I think it would be the end of the world if he or she is made to pay for it.
Yeah. You don't know this because you're from a faraway land called Fania. In a big country, if you swear a duel on the magical stone line, it will be recorded in the country's records. By that, there is no way to get away with it, and even if you escape, the dueling violator will be a major sinner. Even in the labyrinth, as long as you use the Demon Stone Line (Line) in the 'Right Path', there will be no problem.

　Alken explains things to me in a way that I can understand.

　If he knows I'm from Fania, he must be aware that I'm a tavern clerk. It has become a famous story in that tavern that the burned shopkeeper came to this country from Fania to make a fortune and was painfully injured.

　And as I was swallowing his explanation, I had my doubts about the system of dueling and swearing in. -- but I don't want to pursue it now.

'I see. The Confederacy is very convenient, isn't it? Well, then, I'm betting that it is: ......
Who wants to bet?
"Would you like to bet all your money?　What we're missing, you can collect it the way I mentioned earlier.

　What I need to do now is to do everything in my power to make sure that Dia gets the best win.
　So with a big smile on my face, I suggested to the men that they should risk it all (all in).