Chapter 75 - Shortcut Sealing Operation (1)

Why was the departure point the Main Base on the First Floor rather than the city?

The reason was obvious.

It was simply the most suitable location for moving together.

Even if we gathered in the city, we'd scatter anyway once we passed through the Gate.

Like my Blink, while physical contact allowed teleportation to the same location, there was a limit to how many could travel together.

Having over 40 people hold hands to move would just result in fragmentation anyway.

However, if everyone naturally gathered at the Main Base to depart, there'd be no need to wait for everyone to regroup on the First Floor.

But thinking about it now, I wonder if it was really necessary.

How should I put it, everyone was already sticking to their own teams anyway.

"Birds of a feather, huh."

Seemed I wasn't the only one thinking this.

Or maybe teams just end up resembling each other.

Rei voiced the same observation I had, "Since we'll be operating in teams according to the plan anyway, I think it's inevitable. With the Abyss Worshipers' involvement being certain, even the most skilled Explorer has to prepare for the worst-case scenario."

In contrast, Leaf surprisingly seemed unbothered by the situation.

If anything, she seemed pleased.

She clearly preferred sticking with just us rather than dealing with awkward strangers.

"Well, that's true."

While it was a bit disappointing to miss a chance to expand my network, this arrangement wasn't bad either.

However, I still felt slightly regretful.

It would definitely be better to have connections with the Conquerors.

The Conquerors, one of the five major guilds.

Along with Frontier, they competed at the forefront of Abyss exploration, and like Frontier with their outstanding Explorer Viola Pelletier as their leader, they, too, had a Pioneer in their ranks.

Moreover, though not a member of the Conquerors, my classmate Blair Dexter was siblings with Grant Dexter, who was leading the Frontier team over there.

Though Blair was only affiliated with a School, we were still connected through mutual acquaintances.

There was plenty of common ground to start a conversation.

There'll be other opportunities later.

This expedition was a long-term one.

Though we might not meet often, perhaps I'd get a chance to strike up a conversation.

First, I should focus on our team.

In our case, we were effectively two teams together—not just the rookie group led by Viola but also the team under Frontier's supervision.

While we already had connections to Frontier through Arthur, it wouldn't hurt to strengthen those ties.

It would make things much easier when exploring the depths with Frontier later.

"Arthur, since we're here, how about some introductions?"

Snap!

"Don't assume you're equals just because you're Senior’s classmate!"

The moment I addressed Arthur, the girl who had been sticking close to him—Deina Collen, according to Lyudmila—sprang into action.

She pointed her finger at me while positioning herself protectively near Arthur.

However, Arthur's rebuke came down on Deina like lightning from the heavens, "Deina! Mind your words."

"Huh? But Senior..."

"Roman, I apologize. She's quite devoted to me. Let me apologize on her behalf."

Arthur forced Deina to bow by pressing down on her head while lowering his own.

"Hey, it's fine. No big deal."

"Hmm, now that's more like it."

...That last comment came from Rei.

It created an interesting irony where Rei was satisfied with the apology while I, the actual party involved, was saying it wasn't necessary.

"Ugh! Senior!"

"Be quiet. We're not alone here."

"Hmph..."

Deina whined while looking up at Arthur with eyes full of resentment.

That's it, right?

That's totally it.

What's... it?

Leaf and I looked at Rei with amused eyes.

Rei, who had been satisfied watching Deina's forced apology, now looked confused.

"So. Deina Collen? Is that right?"

"Hmph! So you do know my name. Arthur must have told you, right?"

"No, I heard it from Lyudmila."

Deina, who had been putting on airs, immediately deflated at my response.

Her emotions are completely transparent.

What an interesting person.

"Shall we do some introductions? We'll be part of the same expedition for a while anyway."

Watching Arthur nod in approval, Deina began speaking albeit begrudgingly, "...Since you know my name, I'll skip that. I'm a mage just like Senior. Sadly, I'm just a regular Evoker without bloodline lineage like Senior."

Evoker?

That's quite a rare class.

Similar yet subtly different from Necromancers, Evokers were famous for their small numbers due to strict prerequisites.

They might even be comparable in rarity to Devil Sorcerers.

While anyone could become a Devil Sorcerer but choose not to due to the risks, Evokers couldn't even if they wanted to.

I was wondering why they brought a Novice, but now I get it.

Evokers weren't limited to just one role.

However, nine times out of ten, there was one image that came to mind with the Evoker class.

Investigators.

Those who summoned the spirits of the dead to extract their knowledge and experiences.

Even if their targets were dead, they prevented their information from crossing over.

Or rather, killing them first made information extraction easier and simpler for them.

So the plan is to kill any Abyss Worshipers on sight and extract information through evocation?

A bit extreme, but definitely effective.

With a Pioneer-class outlier force deployed, that would indeed be the most efficient method.

After figuring out Viola's plan, a thought occurred to me.

"We probably won't have anything to do, will we?"

"Well... that's true, isn't it?" Rei spoke like someone who already knew.

Having at least dipped their toes in Frontier's affairs, they might have realized our turn wouldn't come once these people got involved.

Combat?

There were plenty of people stronger than us.

Interrogation?

Just kill them and extract information from their souls.

What can we do?

Should we bring popcorn?

"Not necessarily. The Sentinel fights will probably be our responsibility."

"Us?"

"Master needs to prepare for Abyss Worshiper attacks, and bringing us along was largely intended to give us experience. Besides, I heard you've already caught a Sentinel?"

"A Sentinel? That Devil Sorcerer?"

While Arthur knew, Deina was hearing this for the first time and raised her eyebrows in surprise.

Learning more about it, catching a Sentinel as a Novice was literally like a guaranteed ticket to Master rank.

Actually, even Viola at the front had done the same.

It was proof of verified potential.

In Murim terms, would it be like the Dragon-Phoenix title?

From Deina's perspective, it must be like seeing her senior from a prestigious martial arts school getting friendly with strange wandering warriors, only to find out these warriors had already defeated a famous enemy master and earned a prestigious title before her senior.

"Though others were involved, I should be enough for that role."

"Hmm... true."

So it's us three plus Arthur and Deina.

Are they saying the five of us will catch Sentinels and close shortcuts while Viola just watches?

"I'm getting an ominous feeling we'll be really busy."

"Me too."

"Me three."

With that ominous feeling that would likely become reality, we continued moving without rest.

Until we entered the Second Floor.

§

Abyss Second Floor.

The Labyrinth.

On our second visit, we deployed Light Emission to secure visibility as soon as we entered the Labyrinth.

"Shall we begin?"

Viola said this while stretching thoroughly, then casually tapped the wall beside her.

It was a light touch, but the impact was anything but.

Woong—!

A sound like a grand pipe organ resonated.

She hadn't struck a bell.

The wall wasn't made of metal or ceramic.

Just touching the rock wall produced such resonance.

"Good. Nothing here."

Speaking as if she'd completed some kind of assessment with that simple touch, Viola took a stance.

A lance I'd never seen before was somehow in her hands.

Simultaneously, her clothes fluttered.

There was no wind.

It was the movement caused by the energy radiating from her entire body.

And then, it exploded.

KWAAANG—!!

The energy that burst from her thrust lance penetrated straight through the wall.

The wall was cleanly pierced through as if hit by a buster call.

The scene inside looked like a cross-section of the maze had been cut away.

Breaking through the walls to make paths?

It was easy to think about, but most gave up after encountering the walls' hardness and finding no path even after digging deep. Yet Viola did it as casually as an after-dinner stroll.

"This should be enough to draw them out."

Just as Viola said that.

"WHO─DARES─!"

A massive roar stained with rage erupted, threatening to shake the entire maze.

However, Viola, the target of this anger, calmly crossed her arms and waited leisurely.

"Roman, you asked on the way here, didn't you? How could around 40 people search the entire Second Floor?"

Ah, I remember that question.

Actually, I had asked the friendly senior Lyudmila rather than Viola, but it seemed Viola's keen senses had picked it up.

Lyudmila had mentioned that each team included someone particularly skilled in detection abilities for this purpose, but I remember being puzzled since our team didn't seem to have anyone like that.

I had thought either Viola had determined our team's detection abilities were sufficient with her Pioneer-level intuition, or perhaps Deina, being an unpredictable Evoker, would fill that role.

But what Viola had prepared was something completely different.

"We'll be using a guide. The best guide of the Second Floor."