Chapter 184

“Don’t beat around the bush. Keep it short. Just the facts.”

“…There haven’t been any eyewitnesses for four days. It’s an LL—Labyrinth Lost.”

“…Mmm.”

The exact reason why Kate was making such a deeply agonizing face was because she was entirely convinced that the girls were already dead.

And it was bound to turn out that way. The final floor where they were eyewitnessed was the 27th floor—the deep zone.

At that depth, monsters that even a Blaster would find highly burdensome wander around like mere common mobs.

And a disappearance at such a profound depth was, for all intents and purposes, a literal synonym for death among adventurers.

‘Phew… as long as my avatar is with them, it wouldn’t matter if it were the 37th floor instead of the 27th… but they definitely went in a bit too deep.’

Calming down a visibly distraught Kate with a gentle wave of my hand, I fell into deep, contemplative thought.

If one pressed as to whether this was explicitly a grave situation, yes, it was a grave situation.

However, if one asked if it was a completely despairing situation…

‘Not exactly.’

Why? Because the one accompanying them was none other than my avatar.

True, he had been down-graded all the way to the Master, but even so, he was explicitly my avatar.

And I knew better than anyone exactly what a Master version of myself—especially one who held no necessity to cling to his own life—was truly capable of executing.

‘With a version of myself like that acting as a bodyguard, there’s absolutely no way a casualty would occur.’

But looking at it from the flip side, it concurrently meant that even a version of myself like that was caught in a situation where it was exceptionally difficult to lead the party out of the labyrinth.

This was true even though I had equipped them with the most expensive Return Stone available before they departed.

…But is there truly something in that labyrinth capable of doing that?

Monsters? Beasts? A monster or beast that could plunge my avatar into such a tight spot? And on the 27th floor, of all places?

‘Impossible.’

By that exact same logic, traps were also out. Traps strictly followed the difficulty scaling of their respective floors.

No matter how bizarre or ingenious a trap might be, a device installed around the 27th floor couldn’t even graze the tip of my avatar’s foot.

“Mmm…”

The next factor to consider was other adventurers.

As I had already experienced in the past, the labyrinths were absolutely teeming with hunters who specialized in targeting humans rather than monsters.

Even barring that, clashes breaking out among adventurers were an incredibly frequent occurrence.

But for that to be achievable against my avatar, the opponent would need to be a Grand Master grade practitioner or a 9th Circle Archmage at the bare minimum.

‘No, if it were just one, he could conversely slice their throat open. It would require at least two.’

But why on earth would a party consisting of Grand Masters or 9th Circle Archmages be so starved for scraps that they would resort to hunting ordinary adventurers? I mean, unless there was a highly specific request… they wouldn’t be doing adventurer work in the first place.

‘Even if they did enter, there’s no way the guild would remain completely unaware of such ultra-heavyweights stepping into the labyrinth.’

“Um, Sword God?”

Kate spoke up cautiously, carefully gauging my reaction as I maintained my prolonged silence. However, I dismissed her words with a flick of my wrist and carried on with my train of thought.

‘Then… that leaves only one remaining possibility.’

—The direct intervention of the Labyrinth Lord, an Outer God.

Yes. Apart from that entity, a being capable of cornering my avatar inside that labyrinth simply did not exist.

In fact, hadn’t I already clashed with the traces of that exact entity continuous times before?

The first was when I was clearing the labyrinth with Goldie, where I cut down the Apostle of a guy acting as a priest for a thug party.

The second was during the time I turned the Ebas Count’s Domain completely upside down, where I handed over the earthly vessel of a guy playing the part of the domain’s successor to the Inquisitors.

‘Wait… could that perhaps be the root cause? Because I completely ruined its Apostle and its vessel?’

Come to think of it, I hadn’t stepped foot into a labyrinth even a single time since that day.

‘What if… that entity harbored a deep grudge and had been waiting all this time for me to enter? And what if, upon spotting my avatar who manifested at that exact moment, it mistook him for me and launched an ambush?’

The exact split second my thoughts reached this conclusion, a sudden premonition verging on total certainty washed over me.

“Ah…”

I realized it instinctively. This wasn’t a mere gut feeling.

The remaining fragments of my divine perception from my multiple ascensions and descents through the transcendent tiers were explicitly telling me that this was the correct answer.

“Ha… holy shit.”

Letting out a bitter chuckle, I turned to Kate and pressed.

“You said the final floor they were spotted on was the 27th floor, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Please procure a single Guardian who can act as a pathfinder.”

“What do you intend to do?”

“I have to find them.”

“Sw-Sword God… I know how awful this sounds, but…”

“That they’re probably dead? That’s not the case. Do not worry.”

Kate’s face temporarily blanked with bewilderment at my groundless confidence, but she soon composed her expression and shook her head.

“Even if that is true, doing this completely alone is a stretch for you, Sword God. I am well aware that you are a Master, but…”

“It’s fine. Because I’m not a Master.”

“…Pardon?”

If I had to explicitly categorize myself, I was probably floating somewhere in the gray zone between a Grand Master and a transcendent practitioner.

“But, well… just as you said, it would certainly be more comfortable to accompany a couple of mages rather than going completely solo. Manager Kate. I’ll drop by the house for a brief moment, so please secure that pathfinding Guardian I requested by the time I return.”

“Eh? Yes? Yes, sir.”

“Then I’ll see you in a bit.”

Returning to the mansion, I brought the members residing there completely up to speed on the situation.

Naturally, the expressions of everyone who heard the news hardened into deep gravity.

“Oh dear.”

“A disappearance…?”

“An Outer God, goodness gracious…”

Disis, who had been skipping her duties of managing Bordeaux Island to cross the gate and play around whenever she was bored, slightly knit her brows.

“Isn’t the theory about the Labyrinth Lord’s doing a mere assumption?”

“No.”

“You seem entirely certain. Is it perhaps due to divine perception?”

“Probably.”

“To think that divine perception can manifest even within a mortal shell for someone of your caliber.”

“What does that matter right now? At any rate, they are explicitly still alive for the time being. However, if this state persists for a few more days, there’s no telling how the narrative might change.”

“…”

“…”

“In that sense, I’m going to need the mages to help me out this time. I feel like I’ll need a decent amount of support in the minor details.”

At my words, Chel frowned.

“Is there a particular reason to restrict it strictly to mages? Wouldn’t it be better to have as many hands as possible to grapple with the monsters?”

“No, while a crowd of people would certainly be helpful… the combat aspect is more than sufficient with just myself, so there’s no need to cause unnecessary trouble for everyone else.”

“What are you talking about? Orabeoni, do you seriously not know the singular common trait shared by every woman in this room?”

“Huh?”

“It’s the fact that they are all absolutely dying to look good in front of you, Orabeoni. Do you truly think they would pass up a prime opportunity to be of help?”

Watching every single person nod their heads continuous times without exception, I ultimately let out a soft laugh.

“I’m grateful, but… is it truly alright? It must have been right around the peak of your amusement time with the avatars, after all.”

And I wasn’t just whistling Dixie; up until just moments ago, they had been cooing and playing around in total bliss with the avatars.

Of course, because they all possessed a decent amount of restraint, no one had crossed the ultimate line… but still, apart from that, it felt like they had explicitly tried everything there was to try, so to speak.

How did I know that? I’ve told you multiple times now. Those guys and I are directly connected. Whenever I wish, I can flawlessly share whatever they see, hear, and feel.

Sodin let out a faint chuckle.

“Ah, of course that was splendid too… but one has to date the main body from time to time as well. Didn’t you say the avatars are equivalent to your hands and feet? How can a person possibly be satisfied simply by holding hands?”

“…Is, is that so?”

Following her lead, Elizabeth opened her mouth.

“Concurrently, while the avatar is certainly nice… somehow, I feel like there is a subtle difference compared to the main body.”

“Huh? Different? He should be an almost perfect copy, though?”

“No. The avatar lacks a spicy flavor.”

“…Spicy flavor?”

“Yeah. You know, that unique gaze of yours, old man… the one where you look at people as if they are mere bugs. The avatar Oppas… no, old men, completely lack that.”

Feeling deeply wronged, I yelled.

“Hey, when did I ever look at you guys with a gaze like that?”

At that, Sodin expressed her agreement.

“No? You do? It’s a gaze that usually comes as a package deal with the phrase, ‘Seriously, why can’t you even do that?’… It is truly magnificent.”

Shortly after, Hest also nodded her head.

“That is correct. Whenever I receive that gaze from Master, my self-esteem doesn’t just hit rock bottom, it makes me feel like an object rather than a human being… how should I put it, it’s painful at first, but later it sends a tingle through me that makes me feel like I’m going to lose my mind… just…”

“…….”

“Ah! Ahh! N-No, not like that… Ah! That is the gaze! That exact gaze!!”

“Go away, you pervert.”

Elizabeth carried on with her words once more.

“At any rate. Even if it’s not to the extreme level of Hest unnie… if that disdainful gaze is missing, a sense of incompatibility explicitly lingers.”

“True, true. It feels a bit like a mild version.”

“He barely boasts either.”

“His personality is also a bit softer compared to the main body.”

“That is probably because his specs are heavily degraded compared to the main body. That arrogance of his is an arrogance that surfaces precisely because he knows exactly how magnificent he is. However, since his physical specs are a mere (?) Master grade, that aspect naturally decreased.”

“…Are you guys done roasting me?”

At my reaction, the women burst into a round of boisterous laughter.

“Phew. Whatever. So everyone is tag-teaming along, right?”

“Of course.”

“Naturally.”

“Anytime.”

“Yes, gladly.”

“If it is Master’s command.”

“An event like this is necessary from time to time, after all.”

“Fine, fine. This makes it a large-scale party then. Let’s all head in and turn the labyrinth completely upside down.”

“““Ohhh~!”””

And so… leading a total of nine members—Shia, Disis, Sodin, Hest, Chel, Kelly, Elizabeth, and Ailet—I barged into the guild once more.

The exact moment a crowd of beauties, each worthy of having about ten ‘ultra’ prefixes attached to their names, barged in through Sodin’s teleportation, the guild building lobby instantly brightened as if the sun had risen.

“Gasp.”

“Heh…”

“Gah…!”

While some looked around the guild lobby with familiar faces, and others with glances that suggested, ‘What a humble place…’ a thoroughly startled Kate came running over.

“Wh-What… who are these people…?”

“Ah, they are the people who will be assisting with this search operation. Please procure some temporary labyrinth entry passes for them.”

“…Goodness gracious. What is with all their faces… where on earth did you gather people like this…?”

“From my house.”

“…Pardon?”

“They are the freeloaders living under my roof. I brought them along to finally make them earn their keep, you see.”

Halting temporarily as if she had experienced a total cognitive dissonance from my words, Kate barely managed to open her mouth.

“…By any chance, is your hobby collecting beauties? Do you perhaps lock beauties inside a display case and just admire them?”

“Who on earth possesses such a sinister and distasteful hobby?”

“You do.”

“Whatever.”

“…Sigh. Well, fine. You requested temporary entry passes, correct? The guild will likely become completely paralyzed if we don’t process this rapidly, so I shall handle it via an expedited review. However… before that, a bare minimum verification of skill is…”

“Hey, you guys. Show her something so we can get the passes.”

“Skill? Then I shall go first.”

Swish! Slice!

“…Aura projection? A Blaster?”

“Good grief. Do we explicitly have to destroy something to prove it?”

“My thoughts exactly. Here, look at this.”

Hummmm… Buzz…!

“Refined aura… this side is a B-Blaster as well? And both of them at that?”

“Then I shall perform a summon. Lion, come forth.”

“Roaaaaar!!”

“…A 9-star monster? No, 10-star?”

“How crude. Here, this is my Magic Tower identification.”

“…A Professor of the Purple Magic Tower. Goodness gracious…”

The total time it took for the members who had completely flipped the guild upside down to receive their temporary entry passes was a mere three minutes.

“Seriously… Sword God. Do you intend to conquer the labyrinth or something? What exactly do you plan to execute with a lineup like this…?”

“What else would we do? We have to find our people.”

“…….”

“More importantly, I requested that you enlist a Guardian to act as a pathfinder…”

“Ah, th-that… I shall go myself.”

The exact split second she uttered those words, the eyes of the womenfolk, who had been scanning the surroundings with utterly indifferent expressions, snapped simultaneously toward Kate.

“Pardon?”

Despite shrinking back slightly under that cascading glare, Kate steadfastly carried on with her words.

“I am not just mouthing empty words; among the Guardians currently stationed at the guild, I am genuinely the most well-versed in the labyrinth. It is the absolute truth.”

“Mmm… come to think of it, that might well be the case for Manager Kate. You are at a considerable tier as an Aura User yourself, so you possess the capacity to protect your own skin… Fine, let us depart.”

“Awesome… I mean… hold on. Grant me just one minute, please. I shall prepare.”

“Just secure your armaments. We have already structured the rest of the preparations on our side, after all.”

And just like that… the Geom-shin Party MK.2, consisting of a total of eleven individuals including myself…

‘At this point, even without me, this crowd could overturn a marquisate without a single inkling of difficulty.’

—Entered the labyrinth entrance directly, not to shatter the labyrinth… but to locate the missing persons.