Going down to the 24th level, the first thing that surprises me is the size of the space.

　Up until now, there were only mazes that were worthy of the name of labyrinth, and there were no large spaces outside of the boss room.

　However, the 24th level ignored that theory.
　There was no such thing as a corridor beyond descending to the 24th level, but rather a wide space like the 10th and 20th layers. However, it was not a space with good visibility. There are many pillars of rock, giving the impression of being in a cave. The most distinctive feature of the site is the lava. The boiling lava flows and creates many rivers.

　Even the 23rd layer was unbearable for an ordinary person, but the 24th layer, where the lava flowed, had turned into a murderous temperature.

　No, perhaps an ordinary person would not even be able to breathe. It's only because it's me and Rastiala, who have benefited from the levels and whose bodies have been strengthened, that we are able to stand here.

Ki, Christ .......
What: "What: ......
You can use your sensing magic to find the stairs, right ......?
Yeah, .......

　We finished deciding, instantly and in a few words, our course of action on this layer.
　We had no objections to each other.
　Both I and Rastiara were united in not wanting to stay for too long.

　I deployed my magic Dimension over a wide area and searched for the location of the stairs.
　However, I used the magic dimension to gather information on a radius of about a kilometer, but I didn't see any stairs within that radius. It looks like we'll have to move around somewhat.

Rastiara, there are no stairs nearby. Let's move a little further in.
Ai......

　I take Rastiara, who hasn't even been able to reply, and we proceed through 24 layers.
　Rustyala is sweating like a waterfall and we will need to find the stairs as soon as possible.

　Speeding up our walk, we continue on, avoiding the lava.
　Layer 24 has an extremely low number of monsters.
　Fortunately the only thing to watch out for was the lava, so we can proceed without hitting any obstacles.

　After advancing about 500 meters from the starting point, I stop to skip the magic Dimension again.

'I'm going to skip the Sensing Magic again.
Ai......

　I concentrate on the magic as I pass the water to Rustyala.

　Just then, I hear a sound like bubbles popping in boiling water nearby.
　The moment me and Rastiara's attention to our surroundings fades - a monster jumps out of the nearby watery lava from within the watery lava, taking advantage of the carelessness.

　The monster had the appearance of a lizard. But its size was dozens of times larger than the lizards in my world. With the momentum of the lizard jumping out, the lizard tries to slash the distracted Rustyala with its claws.

''--!

　Rastiara dodges the claws as fast as he can.
　He uses his amazing reflexes to dodge the lava that splattered as the monster appeared.

　The lizard monster that dodged the claws continues to stare at me from a distance, exhaling colored breaths.
　I calmly 'gaze' at it and confirm the details of that monster.


[Monster] Poison Salamander: rank 23.


　I see the Poison in his name and get it into my head that he is a poisonous danger.
　Poison Salamander's breath is the most suspicious, and he tells Rustyala about it.

'Rastiara, there is a possibility that his breath is poisonous--'
Oh, sorry. I've already had quite a bit of it.

　Rastiara, who was so close to the Poison Salamander, stood in the breath of the charged enemy. Even though he was able to shrug off the attack, he didn't seem to be able to hold his breath on the spur of the moment.

　Checking Rastiara's condition--.


[Status]
State: poison 1.00


　It is confirmed that he is being poisoned.

　If you look closely, you can see that Rustyala's complexion is pale. The poisoning is on top of being sick from the unusually high temperatures. Even she seems to be in pain.

　In order to reduce Rustiala's burden, I slash at Poison Salamander at full speed. However, when Poison Salamander noticed my approach, she immediately jumped into the lava. Of course, I had to leave my poison breath behind.

　Once that happens, there's no way for us to attack.
　We couldn't even get close to it.

　I have no choice but to use my magic Dimension to locate the Poison Salamander. But the magic doesn't penetrate the flowing lava, and I can't get a clear view of his movements.

　For now, I hold my mouth down with the edge of my cloak and approach the pale Rastiara.

''d*mn it, I can't capture it if it dives ....... Rastiara, is the poison safe?
Hmmm, my head is a bit dizzy there. Maybe it's because it's hot, but it's even more poisonous: ....... But that's okay. I'll fix it right away with magic: ...... "Carding Water is an Illusion, the Blood of No Return." ......

　Rastiara casts a spell and tries to cure the poison.
　But he doesn't let that happen, and another Poison Salamander pops out of the lava. It was two this time, too.

　I take out a spare sword from my 'belongings' to keep the enemy away from Rastiara, and strike them both away.

　And then, trying to give a quick chase - but again, the Poison Salamander distances itself from us.
　After glaring at us, he exhales and flees into the lava, leaving the poisonous fog behind.
　Gradually, the poisonous fog that surrounds me and Rustyala becomes thicker and thicker.

''--[Cure]''

　Rustyala finishes casting the spell. But that magic is useless.
　Even if he is cured, in this poisonous fog, he will be poisoned again.


[Status]
　State: confusion 7.90, poison 1.00


　Even I, who had been holding my mouth down with a cloth, didn't seem to escape the poison in the middle of this fog.

'Rastiara ......!　Once you don't shake these guys off, you can't recover well. Let's go back.
'It's frustrating, but it looks like it. ...... In the meantime, I'm confident that I'll be able to finish them off on my next contact.
There's no guarantee there will be only two of them. It's hard for the magic to penetrate the lava, so we can't get a clear count.
Hmm. Then I guess I have no choice: ......

　Rastiara and I start to run back the way we came, but Poison Salamander attacks us as he shows us his back.
　However, Poison Salamander attacks us as we show our backs to him, as if to say he won't let us leave.

　I'm expecting this, so I strike the poison salamander away with my sword as it comes out. As long as it's not in the lava, it can deal with any blind spot.

　Having prevented the chase, we continue running.
　As we run, we can see that the poison that has gone around our bodies continues to reduce our HP.

　We thought about retreating to the 20th level, which is the safe zone, but there was not much lava or enemies around the stairs that connect the 23rd and 24th levels, so we decided to try to recover there.

"--Cure Fool. And more "Cure Fool".

　After removing the poison with Rastiara's magic, he cast recovery magic many times to restore his HP to the maximum. But in return, I would lose a lot of MP, including the fight on layer 23, where I had to rely on magic a lot, so Rastiara's MP was almost out. I can't afford it either.

''Since we've both lost too much MP, should we go home once ......?　Right now, we can deploy our magic, the Connection, right here and go home.
Let's do that: ......

　I thought Rastiara was going to sulk, but it seems that fighting with no MP is not what you want.
　Perhaps my usual margin and confidence has something to do with the amount of MP I have left.

　Next, Rustyala will be on alert for the surroundings, and I will build a magic 《Connection》.
　Passing through the hurry-up door, we finished our exploration for the day.


　◆◆◆◆◆ ...


Again, an early welcome back to .......

　When I ran back from the 24th layer, Maria was waiting for me, who was in the middle of preparing a meal, just like yesterday.

'...... Yeah. It didn't quite work out the way I wanted it to.

　I spill my grievances about my poorly executed labyrinth search to Maria.
　When Maria hears this, she chuckles and replies, "I'll know it when I see it.

'I know it when I see it,'

　Then he points to our outfits.
　The cloak we wore is gone, and me and Rustyala are both burned and tattered in many places in our clothes.

　From Maria's point of view, it must look like we were returned and fled home.
　In fact, that's not even a mistake.

　Rustyala throws away her tattered clothes and changes back into her replacement clothes. Although she hasn't taken off her clothes to her underwear, I don't want her to be able to look at me, so I don't want her to. Maria hurriedly changes her standing position so that she's not visible to me, too.

　Rustyala lets out a deep sigh and takes a seat at the table in the center of the living room.

'Hah, that was hot! I'm so tired - I was so hot!''

　Apparently, the hot twenty-three and twenty-four layers were an egregious obstacle for Rustyala. He seemed to have run out of steam and nodded languidly to the table.

Rastiara. I'm going to go buy some items to counteract the high temperature, do you want to come with me?

　If I'm going to try the layers I just mentioned again, I'll have to buy some more things. I'm not going to stay home, as I want to gather information about the lava fields as well. I checked with Rustyala to see if she wanted to do some shopping with me.

'Hmm, I'll go with you, just in case.

　Rastiara stumbled out of her seat.

'Don't push it, just tell me and I'll buy it for you myself. ......
No, not so much that I can't move.

　Me and Rustyala leave the house with Maria preparing the food.

　For now, we go around to the stores to buy more water and food, and then we go to the tavern and library to find out how to attack the lava field.

　The shopping itself was completed without delay, but I couldn't get any good information on how to attack the lava field. I asked and checked, but I could not find any useful information about the lava field.

　If there was a guess, it was Rastiara's acquaintance, Glen Walker, the most powerful explorer, but he refused to meet him, saying that it's not that easy.

　In the end, it seemed that the only strategy for attacking the lava field was to ignore the monsters and rush through them.

　And now that I've finished shopping and gathering information, as I'm about to head home, Rastiara comes up with a suggestion.

'If it's a lava field, I think we can do something with Arti or something.　That's the fire boss monster, right?

　Rustyala says as if it's a good idea, a measure that I had been thinking about in the corner of my head but had dismissed.

　I'm at a loss for a reply.
　It's probably due to the fact that I've been treated badly by Tida, who claims to be the same guardian (Guardian). A girl named Arti, who is a monster, is someone I don't want to get involved with as much as possible.

　But I'm sure it's an idea that would work.
　The character looks as if he was prepared for this ordeal. If this were a game, I would go and talk to Arti first. But in reality, my feet don't move well.

'Alty or ......'
'Huh?　I thought it was a good idea, but no?

　Not a good idea, perhaps, but it's the right one.

　We finished exploring early today, so we have time to get to the tenth level, where that guy lives. Besides, I have some questions to ask him about the matter of teaching magic to Maria and Dia.

　I had no material to reject Rastiara's proposal.
　I reluctantly accept Rastiara's proposal.

''Well, ....... Let's go to .......''

　I then decided to take Rastiara with me to the 10th level from the labyrinth entrance. Since the two of us were not mindful of our MP, we chose to walk from the less difficult entrance.