"Wh-what was that?!" So suddenly...

"Earthquake...?"

The explorers were awakened by vibrations passing through the ground.

Then I realized something. Once Hans, always Hans.

Even a change of name does nothing.

I sighed and looked at Hanst one last time—no, the man I'll remember as Hans F—one last time.

"I-I didn't do anything!"

Yes, I know. How would you open the Chasm from here? It's just my fucking bad luck.

"Bjorn?"

"Let's run!"

I grabbed Misha and began to run. We didn't have time.

Despite the lack of explanation, Mike asked:

— ... Is this a rift? Has it opened?

— Yes.

As it often happens in my life, shit happened again. Of course, it wasn't the shit that put us in danger.

Damn it, I've spent so much money.

I chose the Chasm I wanted to enter and bought the corresponding items. I was so excited that I even enchanted our equipment with a zipper attribute.

But what the hell was that?

" Bjorn! Tam!

I didn't know what kind of bastard he was, but he just smeared shit on all my plans.

Was it a player? Or just someone knowledgeable about this world? Well, I was sure I'd figure it out as soon as I got inside.

*Woooo

In the direction Mike was pointing, a portal was formed. By this point, thousands of portals had probably appeared throughout the 1st floor.

"Misha!"

In case she fell, I picked up Misha in my arms and pushed my body through the portal.

***

[You entered the Chasm on the 1st floor].

***

*Boom!*

When I landed with a deep, booming sound, I lowered Misha from my arms and immediately checked the surroundings. Obviously, we barely had time to catch the last train, because there were already 3 people inside the Chasm. First, I carefully examined each of them.

"Oh, barbarian and beastman. This is encouraging. Nice to meet you. Please call me Carlson.

The first was man. He was about 170 cm tall and his weapon was a sword. If I had to describe my first impression of him as an animal... A rat would do.

— ... They will not be a burden. I am Abman Urikfried.

The second was the beastman. Judging by the round ears growing on his head, he was from the black bear tribe. Its distinguishing features were a muscular body and an extra-large crossbow that resembled a siege weapon.

"Hello." I'm Jencia Nephrin. As for my weapon, I use this sword. I will do my best not to be a hindrance.

The last one was a human woman about 160 cm tall with a beautiful face. Surprisingly, she had black hair and two ponytails. Not that it didn't suit her, but I never thought there were people who walked around with that hairstyle.

In any case, it was our turn, and I stepped forward as a representative.

"I am Bion, son of Thor, and this is Michel. As you can see, we are together.

"Huh?"

No "A".

When I hinted to her not to jerk, Mike pursed her lips, as if she understood my intentions. Then she relaxed her eyes and looked at one point in the air.

Is this like her poker face?

It was clearly strange, so I led the conversation until she caught my attention.

"I've taken on the role of a guardian in the labyrinth, and I'm confident. And what are you good at?

When entering the Chasm, studying each other's strengths was the most elementary procedure.

A woman named Gencia explained herself in more detail.

"I have a sword!" Oh, and I have Goblin Archer essence, and I was trained as a scout from a young age, so I know a little bit about traps and mechanical devices.

Not a Goblin Swordsman, but a Goblin Archer?

When I heard that, I thought, What a useless character, but it wasn't something to worry about. Either way, it wasn't the character I'm rocking. Just by looking at her equipment, I immediately knew that she was a beginner.

Swordsman and defense warrior Carlson was better than Jencia, but ultimately similar to her.

"I mainly use a sword and a shield. Em... Mr. Bion? In any case, maybe I'm not as strong as you, but in a team I usually take attacks at the forefront.

Maximum in the middle of the 2nd floor. However, since he hadn't revealed his essence like the naïve woman before him, it seemed that he had more experience than her. Or perhaps he simply didn't have the essence.

Two newcomers, right?

Well, part of what I was expecting. The situation was different from when I met Hikuroda and Raven. Only 3 months had passed since the opening of the Chasm, so it was impossible to know in advance and wait. It even opened on the 1st day, which led to this; Otherwise, it would be full of locals who did not even make it to the 2nd floor.

In this sense, this is suspicious.

I looked at the last man. I suppose he accepted the invitation to introduce himself.

"As you can see.

A macho man with a beard and muscular features shrugged his shoulders, hanging a large crossbow on his back. He was the only mid-ranking researcher among the three.

Like a barbarian, I asked directly:

"Tell us how reliable you are."

"Shouldn't the one who says it reveal it first?"

Oh, he's right.

"I'm a rank 6, Michelle a rank 7." We are mainly active on the 4th floor.

- I see. I'm a rank 5.

Damn, he wasn't of average rank, but of high rank.

In general, the 6th rank was called medium, the 5th was called high, and the 4th was called a researcher of the highest rank.

This was due to the fact that from the 6th rank onwards, the gap between the classes increased greatly, and even included promotions in the Guild.

Hell, it was getting more and more suspicious.

"What is a rank 5 researcher doing here?"

"Maybe we should ask you guys the same thing?"

This guy didn't say a word about himself.

— ... Initially, we worked in a team, but due to some circumstances, only the two of us came. We couldn't go up to the 2nd floor because we didn't have a scout, and then the Chasm opened.

That was the answer I had prepared in case anyone suspected me when I opened the Chasm.

"What a coincidence. I have a similar situation. However, it has been a long time since I left my last team.

Hell. Is he lying or not?

Even when I wondered if there was a crossbowman tough enough for solo play, as soon as I looked at his face, everything became clear.

Best Game Consoles

 

However, I'll have to be careful with this person.

Mr. Bear was designated as Target No1. Aside from his brute strength, all of his circumstances were suspicious.

Apart from him, there was no one who could collect rank 8 mana stones.

Of course, this was only taking into account the obvious circumstances. The possibility that Carlson and Jenciah were hiding their abilities could not be ruled out.

"Oh, and who came first?"

I asked the question in passing, as if it was purely out of curiosity. Who really discovered the Chasm? In fact, unless the three worked together, I figured that this one question would determine their identities.

"I'm not sure. I think we all went in together...

"It was so at the same time that I can't say who came first.

"You're asking strange things.

It didn't seem to be so easy for me to find out.

Ugh, damn it.

It was like playing Mafia.

***

An unknown person discovered the Chasm. It trampled on many parts of my plan. First, the problem of distribution.

"Okay, then it's decided.

At the end of the discussion, we decided that Misha, Mr. Bear, and I would each take 30% of the share, and Gencia and Carlson - "Jensons" for short - 5% each. The explorer's world was heartless.

"It won't be such a big loss. You will have all the remaining essences.

"Okay...

The so-called "ladder dropping" was what Hikurod and Raven had done to me in the Bloody Citadel and what I was going to do to them too. What will be left if you make concessions in such a place?

He has more compassion than he seems. I wasn't going to give them anything.

My plan was to open the Chasm on Day 3. I was going to let the locals from the 1st floor take over all the dirty work and monopolize everything for themselves. However, a variable in the form of Mr. Bear appeared, and there was no choice but to make significant concessions in the distribution. So far, Misha has been chosen to absorb the Guardian's essence, but if a numbered item or a riftstone drops, I'll have to roll the dice against Mr. Bear.

Oh, I've never had any luck with throwing the dice.

I already had a headache. I wasn't sure I could win. That's why I tried not to create a randomness variable.

"Let's move out."

I shook off lingering regrets and moved forward.

Behind me on either side were the Jensons, then Mr. Bear, then Mike.

*Crackle!*

As if stepping on thin ice, I heard a crack with every step. That wasn't exactly the wrong comparison. Now we were passing over a frozen lake. It was a fortunate part in the misfortune.

I think I can use the items that I have prepared.

On the 1st floor, there were a total of four Chasms. Depending on the type, the appearance of monsters, difficulty and rewards differed. Which one should we go to? After much deliberation, I chose one, and luckily, it was the one I was going through right now.

[Glacier Cave]

In the Beast's Lair on the 2nd floor, an 8th rank monster would appear, and the Chasm could be opened by offering that monster's mana stone to the altar. The only selection criterion for me was Misha. Well, I had also reached level 4, and now I had room for another essence.

But in fact, there was nothing to consume.

Even if it was the Chasm, it was on the 1st floor. Even the Guardians were only rank 7, and they didn't leave a single essence that would suit me.

Perhaps that was why this man readily gave away the essence in the first place.

In any case, I decided that it would be more effective to raise Misha for the time being, and fill the free space with a more suitable essence later.

Second. For some reason, it seems to me that I did it last time, and then Einar went to the Holy Land...

This will not happen again... faithfully?

"Why did you stop suddenly?"

"Nothing special.

I shook off the suddenly blossoming thoughts and focused on my surroundings. At least I made it to the Chasm. Besides, in the presence of an unknown mafia, now was not the time to laze around.

*Shaaa

The frozen snow lay on the mountain, snowflakes fluttered and scattered from above, and the sunlight reflected off the ice and made me feel warmer.

It is strange to find yourself in such a place after being in the dark for a long time.

After walking for about 30 minutes, the lake ended, and a suspicious cave appeared, leading underground. A monster blocked the way.

"Kauuuuu!"

A rank 7 monster, the Yeti, an elite gatekeeper that was only found in the Glacier Cave, appeared from the very beginning. As soon as he saw us, he let out a menacing cry.

Gencia muttered:

"M-Do we have to defeat him to go down?"

Mr. Bear replied to this.

"I don't know what this place is, but in the Rifts, monsters usually show the way.

This was an answer that any gamer would agree with. For some reason, I became more suspicious.

"Don't step forward recklessly. Boys, step back," Mr. Bear ordered.

— ... Do you really mind?

In response to his kind attention, Jencia looked at me and Misha.

Well, I had the conscience not to ask them to risk their lives to fight a guy like that for 10% of the mana gems, so I just told them to do as he said. In any case, they would only get in the way.

"I'll go first."

Soon, Mr. Bear took out a super-large crossbow from his back for the first time.

*Whoosh!*

An arrow flew out, and the battle began.