Chapter 44

“…Five minutes. Rest and take care of your gear.”

Goldie’s face was stiff with irritation, and Sparks, looking restless, suddenly glanced my way before striding toward us.

For a second I thought she was coming to throw insults at me, but instead she grabbed Sensible’s arm and tugged.

“Illeia. Come with me.”

Sensible frowned and shook off her hand.

“What’s this about?”

“Haa… you know exactly what I mean. Please, just cooperate. I’m begging you.”

“…Really… fine.”

Reluctantly, she got up and went over to Goldie. She tapped his shoulder gently.

“Would you like me to cast some buffs, Young Master?”

He almost nodded, but then noticed me watching from a distance. His pride twisted, and he smacked her hand away.

“I don’t need it!”

“If you say so.”

Sensible stepped back without protest. Sparks clicked her tongue, half annoyed, half worried, and patted Goldie’s arm.

“Hank. Don’t be stubborn, just let her—”

“Sparks. Don’t humiliate me any further.”

“…Fine. If that’s how you feel.”

“Party! Five minutes is up! Move out!”

Even on the same floor, difficulty wasn’t uniform.

The maps drawn by guild scouts only covered the area near the entrance. Deeper zones were rarely visited, and that meant more monsters — and larger groups.

In short: the farther you went, the nastier it got.

So if you had one kid trying to solo goblins without proper rests while forcing his way deeper into the labyrinth…

“Hff… hh… hhhk…”

…yeah, stamina collapse was inevitable.

That’s why even the strongest adventurers still needed a party in the labyrinth.

“Selan. You sure this is the right way?” Goldie’s voice was sharp.

Timid fumbled with the map Sparks handed her, checking the marks twice before nodding.

“Y-yes. About a kilometer straight line. But with detours… maybe 2.4 kilometers left.”

“Good. Almost there.”

“Young Master Hank. Don’t you think you’ve shown enough already? Maybe it’s time to share the fighting with us?” Oxhead suggested cautiously.

“…….”

“At least take a proper rest if you don’t want to—”

Goldie scowled. “Tch. How insolent, Cheche.”

“…Apologies, Young Master.”

“Forget it. We keep moving.”

His pride had already been battered. Now he was clinging to the idea that he’d at least clear Floor 1 entirely on his own.

Boom! Crack!

“Kghh—! Die!”

Slash!

I watched him from behind, shaking my head like I was at the zoo watching a monkey put on a show. Then something caught my eye—something I hadn’t expected at all.

Ssshhk. Splurt.

“…What?”

A goblin corpse suddenly sank into the ground, vanishing as if the earth had swallowed it.

“…!”

Something there? Something my senses can’t pick up, even at this range?

I clenched my staff tighter and sharpened my awareness.

Strange. Even now, I can’t feel it. Should I draw Astraphe?

Just then, Shia tugged on my sleeve, her voice calm.

“Dear, that’s not what you think. Relax.”

“…What do you mean?”

“That was the labyrinth itself at work.”

“The labyrinth?”

“As I told you before, the labyrinth is an Outer God’s domain. It is half separated from this world. Its resources are limited, so it reclaims what it can.”

Her explanation clicked into place in my head almost immediately.

“You’re telling me the labyrinth recycles corpses to conserve resources?”

“Exactly. The mana stones and usable byproducts go to the adventurers, but the rest—the spirit and flesh—are reclaimed by the labyrinth. That’s why monster bodies rarely remain. It usually avoids doing so under watchful eyes… but you just witnessed a rare sight.”

Three hours after stepping onto the first floor…

“Y-Young Master! Up ahead—the hall (the passage leading to lower or upper floors)!”

We’d finally reached one of the many corridors leading down to the second floor, the closest one on our current path.

“This first-floor hall belongs to the Burnt Clan. To enter, you’ll need a pass. Five hundred sels per head. Valid for a week. Seven hundred if you want it extended to ten days.”

At the words of the self-proclaimed Burnt Clan members blocking the way, Sparks stepped forward, startled.

“W-wait, isn’t that a bit steep? The Cocytus Clan’s hall was only three hundred sels per person!”

“Yeah, but their hall is farther from the entrance. Think of it as paying for saved time and effort. Fair deal, isn’t it?”

“Even so, that’s—”

Looked like Goldie’s reckless push had forced us into a nearer hall, one controlled by a bigger clan. Too late to backtrack, and too dangerous to pick a fight here. Which meant we had no choice but to pay up.

“C-can’t we haggle a bit—”

Ugh, this was tedious. And Shia already looked bored.

“Hey. Sparks.”

“M-me? Did you just call me Sparks?”

“Never mind. Step aside.”

I shoved her gently away from the negotiation table, pulled out a thick gold coin, and flicked it at the guards.

Ting~.

“Ten-day passes. For the whole party. That should cover it.”

The Burnt Clan thug blinked at the heavy coin.

“Oho, so you’re the wallet. But… awkward timing, no change for this one—”

“Keep the scraps. Split it however you want. Just clear the way.”

“…Big spender, huh. You heard him—move!”

“Got it~!”

I strode into the hall first. The party trailed behind, stunned. Even Goldie, face twisted with resentment, couldn’t muster the pride to argue. After all, it wasn’t his money. His old man had the wealth, not him.

“Oi. Hold up.”

I turned sharply, staff already raised.

Boom!

A shockwave thundered out from the head of my heavy staff.

“We already paid. You looking for trouble? You sure? Because if you pick a fight here, you’ll all die.”

The pressure washed over them, and the Burnt Clan grunts staggered back.

“W-woah, woah. Didn’t expect you to be that scary. Why’s someone like you tagging along with kids? Ah, are you maybe their guild guardian?”

“None of your business. So what?”

“Just saying—since you paid generously, would’ve felt rude to let you go without a gift.”

The thug tore the badge from his chest and tossed it to me.

Clack.

“If you run into trouble inside, flash that. Most things’ll get handled.”

“…Fine. Free stuff is free stuff.”

We passed through a steel gate, three meters tall, and entered the hall. What greeted me on the other side made me stop in my tracks.

“…A village?”

Yes. A village.

A bustling settlement stretched before us—about fifty meters wide, five hundred long—built like terraces inside a slanted cavern. Houses, stalls, and people filled the space, stacked tier by tier.

“Hey, rookie party! Over here—grab potions and whatever else you need! Cheap, cheap! Sure, a bit pricier than the surface, but still a bargain!”

“Lanterns! Lanterns! The lower floors are way darker than the first! Go down without one and you’re dead!”

“Meals, meals! Just fifty sels per person for a hearty labyrinth meal! Certified by none other than Archmage Kelvin himself—swear it’s true! We’ve even got his autograph! We double as an inn, too!”

“Heh. You there, handsome. You look tense. I can tell. Looking for a good time? You don’t need to go far. Just follow this big sister. Fee? Please, men who haggle before the deed are boring.”

Shops, eateries, inns, brothels—the place had everything. Like a mini version of a guildtown crammed inside the labyrinth.

I let out a snort.

“A town inside a dungeon? And why are there so many pickpockets?”

I broke the wrist of a thief trying to slip a hand into my pouch, caved in the skull of a blackjack-wielding mugger, then shoved away the hawkers swarming like ants to sugar. That’s when Sensible quietly matched my pace.

“Um, is this your first time seeing a hall-town?”

“Eh? Oh…”

I almost slipped. I was walking around with a temporary bronze badge Kate had issued. If I didn’t even know about something obvious like this, it’d be suspicious.

Thankfully, she filled in the gap herself.

“Ah, I see. Did you maybe get your bronze badge through career credit? From mercenary work, perhaps?”

“Well… yeah. Did some mercenary jobs.”

Not a lie. I’d practically played mercenary escort on my way to Seol.

“Ah, mercenary. That makes sense.”

“Right. Which means I don’t know all that much about labyrinths.”

“I see. Then it’s natural you’d find this surprising.”

Her expression softened slightly, and she began to explain.

“The corridors between floors are safe zones. Monsters rarely enter, and they aren’t affected by small shifts in the labyrinth’s structure. That’s why towns can form here.”

“Thanks to that, hall-towns serve as both adventurer bases and rest points. Between the first and second floors, there are around five such towns. This one’s the largest.”

“Up to the tenth floor—the so-called surface floors—you’ll find hall-towns on every level. But the deeper you go, the fewer there are, and the pricier everything gets.”

I frowned.

“Safe, you say? But most of these buildings look brand new.”

“That’s because hall-towns are still affected by Great Shifts.”

A Great Shift—unlike a normal Shift that altered only part of a floor, it reshaped the entire labyrinth. Normal ones happened every few months. Great Shifts came every few years.

“Ahh. Got it. …Still, what a hassle. Do we have to hoof it like this with a map every single time we descend? Seems wildly inefficient.”

“Not past the tenth floor. From the eleventh down—the middle layers—there are transfer arrays. They’re anchored with coordinate markers, letting you move directly between levels. But only adventurers Gold rank or higher can use them, and the cost is massive. Maintaining coordinates in the unstable space below takes enormous resources.”

“Makes sense. But say, why have you been keeping your distance? Did I do something rude?”

“No. It’s just… if we talk too closely, the Young Master will throw a tantrum again.”

“Ah. So he was like that even before I joined?”

“Yes. Always clingy, always insistent. If you reject him, he refuses to let it go. It’s like he believes the entire world must love him. Never seen a case of prince-syndrome this bad.”

“Mm…”

“Do you know why he’s so hostile to you?”

“Because I’m better?”

“Well, yes, but hearing you say it out loud is a bit…”

“But true, isn’t it?”

“…You really are something. The truth is, this is the first time he’s met someone who outshines him in every way—looks, skill, status. There’s no foothold left for him to tell himself, ‘Well, at least I’m better at this.’ So his pride burns like crazy. All he can do is stew in jealousy. Honestly, I want to slap that face of his.”

Oho. Brutal honesty.

“And do you know what he said when he confessed to me?”

—I am destined to rise far higher than this. My lawful wife must be reserved for political marriage. But I will grant you the honor of being my second consort, after Scala. You should feel blessed.

“…Wow.”

“And when I told him to shove it, you know what he said next?”

—Don’t like second? Fine. I’ll demote Scala to third and raise you to second. She’ll accept it. I’ve already compromised this much, so you should become mine. I’ll grant you a life of luxury no lowly priestess could ever dream of.

Sensible shrugged, her lips curling in a dry smile.

“Impressive, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. A bona fide lunatic.”