The wide corridor was crammed with countless beasts.
　It's a 'swarm' of monsters.

　As long as I had my search capabilities, this was a sight I would never encounter.
　If you receive simultaneous attacks from multiple monsters, even if you are above the proper level, you are in danger of losing your life. He had heard a story about a horrible encounter with a group of monsters in a tavern once, and since then, he had been careful to never encounter them.

　The basis of the labyrinth is to hunt a single monster in a large group.
　At the very least, one on one. It's an ironclad rule.
　I've been meditating on exceptions such as boss battles, but to be honest, it's often not worth it to take on more than one person.

''Fufu--, hahahahahaha!

　In the midst of that 'swarm' of monsters, Rustyala laughs and continues to fight alone.
　He is fighting against the violence of numbers without a care in the world.

　From the far back, Maria and I watch the scene from behind.
　I pick up on Rastiara's battle with my magic 《Dimension》 and observe it.

　Wearing a single thin layer of clothing that would not have any defensive power, he coolly dodges the claws of the beasts. And then slash them with the sword in order to dodge them. That's all that was required to repeat the process. Despite possessing a high level of swordsmanship skills, his swordsmanship was messy.

　Occasionally, he would make an eye-popping flash, but a haphazard sword was definitely more common. It's a movement that precedes the impression that he's better with his body than he is with his sword.
　He may be able to handle magic as well, but I don't see him using it at all.

　As I analyze the tactics of the human named Rastiara, I also observe the other human.

''Nah, what is it ....... That person ......

　Maria was stunned and watched Rastiara's battle.
　She 'displayed' that Maria's status and checked the changes in her experience.

　It's an important information analysis.
　It can be said to be more important than Rastiara's tactical analysis.

　This is the first time I've entered the labyrinth with a party of three people.
　If this is a game, the change in the number of party members will cause fluctuations in the distribution of experience. Whether it will be a penalty, a bonus, or even a big change in the distribution system - we have to check.

　I asked Rastiara to be in charge of picking up the experience value and I continue to observe the fluctuations in the experience value of the three of them in detail.

''Master, what the hell is that guy ......?''

　I'm analyzing it using the 'display' when Maria asks me a question.
　I answer the question by analyzing it in parallel.

'I don't know much about it either. I don't know much either, but I'm sure he's a special person. I think all you need to know is that you're a knightly girl who loves to hide in the labyrinth at the moment.
Yeah, right: ......

　And while I was talking to Maria, it seems that Rustyala has also finished his annihilation.

　While shaking off the blood-soaked sword, Rastiara walks leisurely towards us. Incidentally, he has hardly been exposed to any return blood. It looks like he still has plenty of time to spare.

''Haha. I'm finally done! I guess I'm a little tired...''
I told you we'd have to go around.
If we don't go around, we'll go the long way. Let's just move on to the back.
Totally: ......

　Rastiara didn't like being on the lower levels and single-handedly cut through the swarm of monsters that were blocking the shortest path.

　I had suggested a detour, and this helped.
　The state of always having some experience available is good for analysis.

　Thanks to this, tentatively, but four.
　The rules are now settled.

　1. only one person must fight and the three must receive a solid amount of experience, even if only one person is fighting and the others are resting.
　2. the range of the party system must be much the same whether there are two or three people in the party system.
　3．A slight penalty must be applied to a party of more than one person.
　4. the distribution of experience value is still the same as it was with two players, and it is still divided equally.

　I think I'm starting to understand the trend of the party system to a certain extent.

''Alright. Well then, let's move on to the next layer.
Let's go. I'll lead you.

　Saying that, Rastiara took the lead again and proceeded through the labyrinth.
　The reason she's walking pretty fast is probably because she wants to get to the back as soon as possible.

　I'm following behind Rustiala as if I'm watching a child going straight to the toy corner. That's when I suddenly became aware of Maria.

　Rastiara's fast pace is quite something. It's so fast that an ordinary person would be out of breath in no time. I'm okay with it, but with Maria's status, I might be fatigued.
　Thinking this, I turned my attention to Maria - her face was pale.

I'm not sure what's wrong with you.　Maria: ......!

　Maria walked right behind me, her hands almost grabbing my hem at any moment.

'Doesn't your master think anything of it, ......?　Look at Mr. Rustyala now: ......

　Apparently, after seeing the fight earlier, he has a strong fear of it.
　Indeed, if someone of lesser ability looked at it, Rastiara would appear to be an overwhelming mass of violence. In the past, I also felt an eerie, empty fear in Rastiara.

''That's right. Sure, Rastiara might be a bit of a scary one. ...... but that one, he's also pretty pure of heart, so he's not a bad guy.

　Things are what they are, I think to myself.
　He may not be a bad guy, but he's definitely a pain in the ass.

He's pure of heart, which is horrible: ......

　Even after hearing my words, Maria couldn't seem to wipe away her fear.
　I described it as terrifying because it was pure of heart. I have a feeling that Rustyala is the type of person who seems to be innocently stomping out bugs. I don't know how I feel.

'It's okay. If something happens, I'll be there to protect Maria. I'm going to be strong enough to protect Maria from Rustyala.
'What?　Can Master beat that Mr. Rustyala ......?
''I wouldn't say it's a must-win, but I do think he's got quite an advantage. That guy seems to have a lot of mental gaps, and I don't feel like his sword skills are inferior. So I'll be fine.

　I speak softly, watering down the odds to reassure Maria.
　Honestly, there won't be a big difference between Rustyala and me.

　If there can be a difference, it's the situation.
　If I'm fighting while protecting Maria, I'm at a disadvantage.
　If I was able to fight freely on my own, I'd be at a five-minute disadvantage.
　That's about it.

　I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

''Even if that's the case ....... If it were true, I would have to protect my master .......

　For now, they seemed to believe that Lastiara would be fine if I was there. In no small part, the frightened look disappeared.

　It should be ....... Maria is good at looking good and being vain, so I'm honestly not confident.

　And next it was Maria who was starting to worry about her position.
　Thinking that we would be talking about slaves or friends again, I quickly returned my words.

'No, that's fine. If anything goes wrong, Maria can just take care of herself.
'That's good ......?　That means that--

　When Maria heard that, she looked as if she had stumbled upon something.
　However, she quickly erased her expression and shook her head.

''No, it's nothing. ......

　I can't read Maria's mind.
　I don't know what she has in mind when this happens.

　Maria's expression changes and she laughs as she speaks.

''In the end, I'm not good enough ....... That's what I mean. Besides, when I thought about it, I knew that Rustyala-san was not a bad person. Rather, she's a good person.
'What?　Really?

　I was unconvinced that I was a good person, even though I told myself I wasn't a bad person, when I was told that I was a good person.

'Last night, we talked endlessly in the same bed with that innocent person. I think I have a better idea of Rastiara-san's personality than you do. For some reason, I don't know why he likes me so much for nothing.
You're right: ....... He seems to like you a lot: ......

　Maria's expression brightens.
　Apparently, her steps have become lighter.
　She comes forward from behind me and begins to move through the labyrinth without hesitation.

''Then let's go quickly. Rastiara-san will leave us behind.
Yeah, let's go.

　With Maria's back to me, I continue on through the labyrinth.

　Since I'm walking behind her, I can't see Maria's face.
　No, if I use the 《Dimension》, I can easily check her expression. However, I will never be able to see the expression of her heart.

　I don't have a strong personality that can force me to listen to their inner feelings in this situation.
　But I vowed to only protect Maria, no matter what happens from now on, and I'm going to walk away.
　I'm going to head deep into the labyrinth.


◆◆◆◆◆


　After many attempts at the labyrinth, I've gotten used to dealing with the monsters.

　The closer you get to the 20th level, the more you feel especially.
　To begin with, the monsters that appear are themselves familiar (・・・・).

　Having played a lot of games in the original world, there aren't many monsters that are completely new to me. In no small part, I've seen something similar at some point.

　The unreality of this was a bit of a bummer at first, but now, when a new monster comes out, I can afford to think, "Oh, this one looks like the monster from that game.

　In contrast, the neighboring Maria and Rustyala were truly surprised by the oddity of the new monsters whenever they came out.

　Thus, while fighting a wide variety of monsters, we reach a deeper level where Maria becomes a non-combatant.

　I was going to warn her that we're going too far back, but I couldn't find the right moment to say it, and it's layer 19.
　At any rate, all the monsters that appear from time to time are killed by Rastiara in the blink of an eye. On top of that, the three of us, including Rastiara, are still unharmed. Even if I wanted to stop moving forward, I couldn't think of any convincing words.

　As the three of us walked along the 19 levels of the 'positive path', a monster so huge that it blocked the passage without a gap appeared.

　It stands on two hoofed legs, its lower body is covered with dark brown body hair, its upper body is almost human in muscle, and its head is in the shape of a cow. It has poor eyesight and clutches a huge axe in both of its hands.

　Minotaur ......?

"Oh. Oh, my God. What a weird monster.
'Ki, gross ....... Big .......

　Rastiara and Maria are astonished at the first monster they see, and I silently gather information by 'display'.


[Monster] Carmine Minotaur: Rank 20


　I knew it was a minotaur: .......
　The name is probably a near pinch because the language has been translated .......
　It's a little strange to see something so familiar in this strange and different world.

　I pass on the information I've obtained to Rustyala.

'It's a monster minotaur. Probably a power type, which one would go?
'Do you think I'll protect Maria this time?　It's time for me to get a sense of urgency about Maria's declining popularity.

　Unexpectedly, Rustyala handed the battle over to me.
　If there was a monster she hadn't seen before, she wouldn't hesitate to slash at it, but she finally began to realize that she was being pulled away from Maria because of her actions.

　When Maria heard that, she tittered and refused.

I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I'm not the only one. Then I'd rather be alone.
'Ugh!　Before you know it, you'll hate me that much!　I mean, we slept together yesterday!
They say it was a restraint, sir.
Hmm. But if you're touched like that, I can't help but feel the urge.

　Rustyala approached Maria, talking to her, and finally hugged her.

'Wow!　Hey, why are they sticking together!　Think of the time and place!
There you go. Christ, I'll take care of this one.

　That seems to be the escort for Rastiara.
　One of his purposes is to play with his friends in the labyrinth. That must be fun.

　Rastiara is holding back Maria, who doesn't like it, with one arm. Maria's muscular strength has become quite good, but even so, she seems to be helpless in front of Rastiara's high status. With that, it seems that Maria won't be able to jump in, mistaking me for being in danger.

　Relieved, I turn to the minotaur.

　The minotaur, breathing hard, was already close at hand.

　Rank 20.
　This is the first time I've had to deal with a rank this high.

　In my experience so far, it's safe to assume that the existence of a rank represents the proper level. The appropriate level of information obtained from the tavern and the ranks that appear in the 'display' are always close in number. In other words, this Minotaur is a monster that would normally be dealt with by a 20 level explorer.

　Although it was leveled up yesterday and I am now at 11th level, there is still a numerical difference of 9.
　However, my status was originally comparable to that of a 20-level explorer.

''--Magic [Dimension Decisive Arithmetic (Gradiate)], Magic [Form].

　The large axe, which is about three meters in size, is swung down towards my body.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.
　I'm not daring to aim for a paper-thin line and dodge in the passages. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get away with it.

　If it was just me, I would want to take my time to raise the level and fight with 100 percent confidence in my chances of winning. But this time, I have Rustyala.

　If things get dangerous, Rustyala, who is just as powerful as I am, will be there to help me. More importantly, Rastiara can use recovery magic. She doesn't like magic in person, so she rarely uses it, but the peace of mind of knowing that she will recover from it if I get injured is great.

　In the past, if you were injured, you had no choice but to return to earth. But now, even if you get injured, you can continue your search. In other words, it's okay to take some risks.

　I dove through the minotaur's axe while avoiding serious injury. Parallel to this, I'm going to apply a large amount of magic 《Form》 to the enemy's body.

　This kind of extravagant use of MP is also possible because I'm splitting the battle with Rustyala. The parties are different.

　The minotaur that has made the magic foam adhere to its body will no longer have the possibility of catching me. The more this magic bubble adheres to my body, the more my spatial grasping ability increases, as confirmed in yesterday's battle against Serra Raydiant.

　After confirming that the Minotaur's axe is no longer a threat, I perform the next magic experiment.

''--Magic [Form], Magic [Freeze].

　It creates an exceptionally large bubble and traps the magical cold air inside it. Previously, the magic 《Freeze》 only lowered the temperature of the room, but with the increase in magic power and the condensation of the magic inside the bubble, it becomes an incomparable cold air.

　I finish building the magic as I fight.

　Then I let it blend in with the other bubbles and slowly move it to the minotaur's feet.
　The minotaur doesn't pay attention to every single one of the countless bubbles that exist. Without any problems, the new magic landed on the minotaur's feet.

　The cold air trapped inside gushed out, and the minotaur's foot and the ground froze and glued together. The minotaur, who was suddenly caught by the foot, lost his stance greatly.

　A combination of magic "form" and magic "freeze"--

...magic known as Dimensional Snow.

　I'm just -- I'm just glad we made it. I'm glad I succeeded.

　I was a little disappointed that I couldn't pick up the freezing magic, Little Snow, the other day, so I weaved a similar one.

　Now the experiment is all over.
　I pounced on the Minotaur that showed a big gap and went to cut off its head.

　My sword gouged it to the point where it was blocked by the neck bone. I was worried that the blade might not be able to pass through due to the level difference, but it still seems to be fine. After all, the power of the sword itself is great.

　I give up on decapitating the head and draw the sword as if to slice through a blood vessel.
　With the sensation of cutting a muscle, blood began to gush out of the minotaur's neck like a geyser.

　The attacked minotaur swings his great axe around in a fury. However, it's a lackluster attack, perhaps due to anger. Even though it had strength, its technique and speed were down.

　This time, deliberately, he dodges it with a paperweight and crushes both of the minotaur's eyes.

　This is a dead end.
　With the minotaur losing a large amount of blood, I only focus on dodging. The enemy's eyes have been crushed and its movements are chaotic, so I'm in good shape. Since I'm taking the trouble to do so, I pay attention to avoid hitting the blood that's flying around.

　In this way, the minotaur runs out of power as it piles on light attacks whenever it sees an opening.
　As usual, it disappeared as a light and a red magic stone fell.

　It wasn't as good as Rastiara's, but it was a decent result against a rank 20 opponent.

　I'll check my experience.


[Experience]
　7122/25000


　When it comes to the deeper layers, even if the three of us split it up, we can get hundreds of experience in one piece.
　Next I pick up the magic stone and check its details.


[Quasi-Trinity Flame Magic Stone]
　A highly concentrated magical stone with the power of fire
　It drops from a fire-attributed monster.
　It's all about anger.


　If you drink it, you might learn the magic, but it's raw, so to speak.
　It's too horrible to be palatable.

　As I look at the quasi-Trinity Flame Magic Stone, Rustyala and Maria, who had been keeping their distance, come back.

''Good job, Christ, you said that 20 layers is fast, but you have plenty of time.''
No, that wasn't my fault. It's a good game. It's got to be more overwhelming: ......
'What?　Isn't that more overwhelming than what we have now: ...... Isn't that more like reaping the wheat?
I'm good with that.
Wow. ......

　Like reaping the wheat, I reach the 'deepest part' of the labyrinth.
　When Rustyala hears about my ideal, he looks at me with a face that says he can't understand.

I know it doesn't match Rustyala's ideals. But ...... is the reason we fit together.
No, if we don't see eye to eye, we don't see eye to eye.
'Assuming we explore the labyrinth together, I'll give you everything that looks dangerous. It would be more fun for you, wouldn't it?　I'm safe, and I'll take the bounty solidly where it's safe. See, no one is missing out.
'Well, well, yeah, ....... But, hmmm, it's not what I was expecting .......
That's how it's always been in reality.
Yeah.

　I meet up with them, lightly babbling with each other, and we continue on the 'right path' of the labyrinth.
　Maria looks relieved and is checking to see if I'm injured.

　I wonder if she plans to check that every time I fight. Maria is .......

'Maria, I'm not injured. Every time, don't worry so much about it.
'Yes and no. Not that I care: ......

　From my point of view, I can tell that Maria is unusually concerned about my safety.
　Could it be that she thinks that if I die, there will be no bulwark against Rastiara?

　I pat Maria's head and smile, "Don't worry about it.

　Then Maria blushed and glared at me.
　Maybe she was angry at being treated like a child. I hurriedly let go of her hand and turned my body back to the back of the labyrinth and spoke to Rustyala.

''Hey, are we at layer 20 by now?''
Yeah. We're almost there.

　All this time, Rastiala has been leading the way. It wasn't just because of Rastiara's temperament. It is said that Rastiara has had experience stepping into the 23rd layer, the limit of humanity, all by himself. Of course, although it is based on the 'right path', there are monsters that will break into the 'right path', just like now. The deeper you go, the stronger that tendency becomes. Even so, the experience of getting to the 23rd layer was reassuring.

　Me and Maria walked while being guided by Rastiara.

　By the time we finished walking through the 19th level, there were several monster attacks.
　However, even when they appeared, they were single entities, so either me or Rastiara could handle them with no problem.

　And after surviving several monster attacks, we finally make it to the front of the 20th level.
　I put up a magical Dimension so that I can deal with whatever happens.
　We slowly descend to the 20th layer.