Chapter 49 – Teammates (Part 3)

 

With a sleek appearance, soft blonde hair, a height of about 165 centimeters, and a lean figure, Riol Varb Dvalki, a rank 8 Magus who could manipulate administrative magic as well as some curses and ice magic, was a man who reeked of fraud the more he spoke.

Damn, is he a magician at all?

Doubting this, I tested him for this and that, but surprisingly, he was indeed a magician. In retrospect, he wasn't really lying. He only said that his uncle was the Baroness's 3rd brother; He did not say that he was a nobleman himself. Well, he probably knew his place and knew that pretending to be a nobleman was a crime for which there was a threat of execution without trial.

"Well, so?" Am I accepted?

After much deliberation, we decided to add him to the team.

—... From now on, you will be our teammate.

"Haha!" How great. Since this is my first expedition, I wanted to join a team with as many warriors as possible.

A personality full of bravado and hot air, and zero experience in the labyrinth; These were two of his shortcomings, but still. He was a magician. He didn't demand more loot distribution and even said that he would follow orders once we were in the maze, so that seemed to be enough to keep him under control.

All cheap things are obtained for a reason.

Moreover, if it became known that there was a Magus in the team, it would be clear that the number of new candidates would increase even more. This was due to the fact that the personality of the magician himself could not be seen on paper.

"As soon as the rest of the team members are recruited, we will contact you.

"Good. See you then.

As soon as Dvalki left, Hikurod, who had been frozen during the entire conversation, let out a long sigh.

"Isn't that amazing?" That a magician, even a nobleman, can be so humble...

I answered sincerely:

"Hikurod, you're even more amazing.

It was one hundred percent true.

***

Further daily life in the city was simple. In addition to visiting Raven's lab once a week, I would get up at 7 a.m., grab a bite to eat, and go straight to the library.

— [Parsitiev].

"Have a good day."

I've been going to the library almost every day for the past two months, but I've never had a normal conversation with this librarian except once.

*Rumbling!*

I took lunch breaks every 4 hours and the time for the library to close was slowly approaching.

I had an appointment today. I was about to leave a little before closing time, but the librarian was the first to talk to me.

"I want to ask you something.

— ... About what?

"Why do you always go to the library in armor?"

Oh, so that's what she was interested in.

I answered honestly.

"What if someone steals them from my room in the inn?"

— ... If this is the reason, then I understand.

As soon as I answered, the librarian closed her eyes, as if her business with me was over.

"I thought you were completely indifferent to others, but you don't?"

I felt like I was losing, so I added a comment, but the librarian showed a slight displeasure on her face.

"We receive a lot of complaints from other users of the library. That they can't read because you're too distracting.

— ... P-I see.

— Yes. If your business here is finished, could you stop disturbing me and leave?

Hinder? You'll just fall asleep as soon as I'm gone.

I wanted to respond in kind, but if I continued to harass her and was banned from the library, that would only be my problem. I almost ran out of the library and headed to the meeting point just after 9 pm.

"This way!" Bjorn! Why are you so late today?

"I'm sorry, I couldn't find you because you're too small.

"Hahaha!" More jokes! Sit down!

I began to meet with Hikuroda more often in the evenings, about 3-4 times a week. Of course, the purpose of these meetings was not just friendly communication, but to discuss the affairs of the team.

"Well, how is the person you met this time?"

"He turned out to be a serious and reliable guy.

"No, not that. How are his skills?

"Oh! Everything turned out not to be as bad as I was worried about. He has a long career as a researcher, and I think he will be able to withstand any situation.

- I see.

"So I ask... What do you think?

After thinking for a while, I nodded, and his face brightened.

"Phew, that's a relief. I was worried that you would refuse again, because we don't have much time left.

In that sigh, I felt the pain of the dwarf, who was practically a puppet of the team. True, he would have suffered the most.

Time for a compliment. It didn't cost the money, did it?

"You did well, Hikurod. You're a great team leader. I'm glad I chose you.

"Hahaha!" It's true?

— Of course. Is there any other team leader who respects the opinions of their team members as much as you do? Don't lose concentration and just do what you're doing now. Then, unlike the idiot who kicked you out, you will become a great leader.

"Haha!" What flattery, my friend! I was nervous when I played this role for the first time, but I'm glad you're with me!

My heart soared at these words. Hikurod once complained about my frequent interference. But to think that he had become such a great leader.

"On that note, you're buying drinks today!"

— ... Again? Didn't I buy it last time?

– Again, a good team leader should not skimp on such things!

"It's not that I'm stingy!"

There was exactly a week left before the opening of the labyrinth.

"Damn! I'll pay! We finally have all the team members, what's wrong with paying for a drink?

Finally, the team was in full force.

The reality was different from the game. You couldn't enter the maze just because the team was staffed. There were things that needed to be dealt with in addition to this.

First, everyone had to get to know each other and discuss how many floors to climb, which areas to hunt, and, as befits researchers who were practically the embodiment of the lust for money, to have a heated discussion about whether the distribution was fair. If there were no problems after that, it was necessary to officially register the team in the guild and, finally, almost every day to train with each other to coordinate reconnaissance plans and so on.

***

Everything flew by unnoticed. It's been the busiest week since waking up in Björn Yandel's body, and the long-awaited moment has arrived.

[You entered the Crystal Cave on the 1st floor].

The Crystal Cave on the 1st floor of the labyrinth was surrounded by bright multi-colored lights.

"Oh! So this is a labyrinth!

Unlike in previous days, when we were alone or in a duet, there were five in our circle, including me. These were my new teammates with whom I went on this expedition.

"[Leith]! Dvalki shouted, casting a spell.

"Oh!" Deuce! My eyes! "That skinny, blond mage who shot a light into our eyes before they could even adapt was called Riol Warb Dvalki. In short: the slick Dvalka.

"Son of a bitch...

Before I could scold him in exasperation, the dwarf preceded me.

"Dvalki, save your magic as much as you can.

"Mm, but it's so dark in here!"

"In the labyrinth, it's considered light. If it's completely dark, we can light a torch.

"Good. Ok.

It was a change that happened over time. Hikurod soon realized that Dvalki was not a nobleman, and began to treat him more easily. Somehow, they became quite friendly. The dwarf pretended, but every time the rascal acted like a complete idiot, he would become a tsundere and help him. Such was the dynamics of their relationship.

"Why did you stuff so much here?" Trying to show that you're a beginner? Give it to me. I'll put this in my bag.

"I will not refuse your solicitous attention.

Just as Hikurod was taking care of Dvalki as usual, I heard a high-pitched, cheerful voice.

"Captain, isn't it time for us to unmoor?"

As was evident from the triangular ears on her head, Misha Karlstein was a beastman. She was 25 years old and had 5 years of experience as a researcher since that year. Her height was about 165 centimeters, her figure was long and thin. Combined with the sublime expression on her face, she exuded a cold atmosphere.

"Stop fooling around and let's go." I want to break the hearts of several monsters.

She had a habit of smoothing out the endings of her words. She claimed that this was an inevitable problem due to the structure of her body, but I had never seen anyone with such a bad pronunciation as hers. Oh, and one more feature of it...

"Haha!" How can I refuse the princess's order!

"Hey!" I told you not to call me a princess!

"But you're the daughter of the chief of the Red Cat Tribe, how can I-...

"I'll kill you, dwarf!"

Misha was the princess of the Red Cat Tribe, one of the Big Five. Did she say she was 13th or 15th? I couldn't remember the order in which she was born. In any case, there was no need for special treatment or anything like that. She was a princess only in the eyes of human society, not in her own.

On the contrary, there was someone else with whom one had to be careful.

"Hikurod, stop it. Even if it's a joke, she doesn't like it.

Brown Rothmiller, race: human; Age: 34 years old. He was a rank 7, but with 8 years of experience. As meritocratic as the explorer industry was, he was the most skilled of them all, which is why the dwarf always took a step back at Brown's words.

"Ahem, I went a little too far, didn't I?" In the future, I will be more careful.

"You're right, dwarf.

"The same goes for Miss Karlstein. No matter how angry you are, is it wise to threaten to kill your team leader?

— ... I am so sorry...

Personally, I liked it the most. In a way, he was the only normal person on the team. As true as that was, there was also a downside in that I couldn't kick him like the other members of the team.

"Hikurod, can we leave before it's too late?"

"Oh, please."

"From now on, all follow me," Brown ordered.

But Dvalki spoke just as we were about to leave.

"Wait, wouldn't it be better for Bjorn or Hikuroda to take the lead?" They are warriors, after all...

"We'll need their help from the 3rd floor onwards, but until then, we'll make do with me alone.

To be honest, I didn't understand what this snot was so worried about.

Brown was a professional scout who survived the maze for 8 years.

And although his rating as a researcher is low compared to the time he has spent...

I had a high opinion of him on this part. 8 years was long enough to go through all sorts of things in the maze, but staying as healthy as him was amazing, it wasn't the result of combat power, but the use of his other strengths.

Perhaps this was the result of his serious and unyielding attitude to everything.

After that, under Brown's guidance, we finally made it to our destination, killing monsters that periodically appeared along the way. The outskirts of the 1st floor were often called the dark zone. Despite the fact that we ran here by the shortest route without getting lost, the portal had already been opened by other explorers.

— Of course. This time there were also previous visitors.

"Don't blame yourself. You've done enough.

"Hikurod, this is no reason not to work hard. If you don't feel resentment for your own shortcomings, then your life as a researcher is over.

"Yes?"

For reference, the road here took about 10 hours. I couldn't say that in the presence of the ever-passionate Brown, but it was a very good record for a typical research team. It wasn't like we were a speed team for gaining experience points for opening a portal. To be honest, I didn't expect him to find the portal so easily.

If his ability, like a non-guide, to find the way is so good...

Though I was beginning to anticipate his other, as yet unseen abilities, something like regret blossomed in me.

If Ainar or Ervena were in their place, we could earn initial experience points.

Using the "measurement instability method", which I reduced to an "error" (bug), it was possible to unconditionally get experience points for opening the portal. However, this method could only be used when confidentiality could be maintained through a promise or oath.

That will come later... when the team becomes truly reliable. After all, experience points are not something urgent now.

Taking a deep breath to push away any remaining regrets, Hikurod shouted loudly.

"Come on, let's go inside!"

The dwarf stepped into the portal first, and I immediately followed.

Please, I hope nothing bad happens this time...

But am I not asking too much?

[You entered the Beast Lair on the 2nd floor].

The journey has officially begun.