The Sky Tower on the 4th floor was a stepped structure.

After passing the challenge, the doors opened, and you chose one of three stairs to move on to the next stage.

There were four types of ladders in total: Courage, Wisdom, Patience, and Fate.

Until now, we have never used the Ladder of Destiny.

Firstly, the probability of its occurrence was less than 5% compared to other stairs.

Secondly, there were too many variables. There was no reason to choose her, that is, until all three doors appeared in the form of Fate.

"Hmph, does it matter which one we choose?" Nothing had happened before. A monster just appeared, as usual, and that's it.

Of course, Fate wasn't necessarily dangerous. As Misha said, most people, having chosen Fate, faced the trials of Courage, Wisdom and Patience.

"I guess it's because we were lucky, Miss Karlstein. I read in one book that the tests are random," Dvalki said.

The problem was that there was a 20 percent chance that you would go through a different type of trial. In total, there were 32 types of them in the game: returning to the 1st floor, the appearance of rank 5 monsters, suddenly locking themselves in a closed room, and so on.

It's disgustingly difficult, and the rewards are cheap. Some of them are made on purpose to mock.

If it was for some special reward, then it was justified, but if you came to hunt, the Test of Fate was worth bypassing. Now everything was a little different.

While I was gathering my thoughts, the team members who were discussing what to do asked for my opinion.

"Bjorn, why are you standing still?" Hikurod asked. "We agreed that it would be better to enter any of them. It's a pity to waste the remaining days.

I nodded in agreement.

— That's right.

On the second half of the 4th floor, at our current hunting speed, we could mine up to 300,000 stones in 4 days. Not dividing by five, but by one person. Since most of our time has been spent traveling since entering the labyrinth, every day we spent here was directly related to our total income. Yes, it was natural to think so.

They could not possibly know what it meant.

On the 4th floor, the three Ladders of Fate almost never appeared at the same time. If they did appear, it meant one thing: you had reached a special stage. After that, it was possible to get into 3 types of hidden fields.

The probability is 1 in 3.

I looked at the three doors and wondered which one to choose. In the midst of these reflections, I realized something and laughed.

"Misha.

"Yes?"

"You'll choose where to go."

It was clear that I should not have chosen.

***

Misha looked at the others, as if asking for our opinion, but all three just shrugged their shoulders, as if they believed in her decision.

"Ah, it's a lot of pressure...

In the end, Misha sighed, looked at me and went to the open door. It was a door located directly opposite the stairs by which we climbed.

"I'm telling you in advance, I can't guarantee that there won't be a strange monster inside.

Mike made a slip of the tongue, to which the dwarf laughed.

"Hahaha, what do you mean?" Are you trying to avoid responsibility?

— ... A what? You're a crazy dwarf!

"H-Hikurod, that's enough. You're making Miss Karlštejn feel awkward...

The unique pattern of bickering of the team of losers was repeated 3 times a day: Sighing and looking away, meeting eyes and laughing awkwardly with Rothmiller - everything was the same.

"Well, well. Why don't we hurry?

When Rothmiller took the initiative and defused the atmosphere, everyone fell silent and stood in line.

*Bach!*

As soon as we all entered the door together, it closed and darkness fell. In the darkness it was difficult to distinguish even an inch ahead.

Everyone was stunned by the entrance to the staircase, which was different from all the others.

Rothmiller briefly muttered the most important information when faced with an unfamiliar situation.

"Now I don't feel the enemies. Stay where you are. There may be traps here," he warned.

In any case, he was an excellent scout. In that brief moment, he had to figure out what he needed to do.

Of course, the dwarf was not inferior to him.

"Bjorn, I'll take care of the rear, so pay attention to the front.

He spoke in a serious voice, devoid of any laughter.

As soon as the two voices sounded at the same time, the darkness dissipated. The straight road forked in all directions like a labyrinth. Torches hung on the wall at regular intervals, creating an eerie atmosphere.

I quickly surveyed my surroundings and came to a conclusion.

[You have entered Larkaz's Labyrinth].

It was one of the three hidden fields in the Heavenly Tower. In this labyrinth, not even a scout could demonstrate his abilities.

[Field effect applied - [Keeper of Balance].

The sum of the characters' abilities has been redistributed according to the number of people.

"Wh-what the hell?!" What's it?! Did I choose the wrong one? Rothmiller! Mike checked her surroundings and looked at Rothmiller with an anxious expression on her face.

He couldn't answer.

"I'm sorry. I also have no information about this phenomenon.

"Oh, me too. I have never heard of anything that has brought explorers to such a place during the trials of Fate.

"Ahh, it won't be dangerous... faithfully?

At Mike's words, everyone fell silent. It was natural. It was very ironic, but the unknown was the scariest thing for a researcher.

—…

An icy silence descended on us, but it did not last long. The guys began to talk urgently, as if silence did not exist.

— ... How about we continue to stay in this place? There are only 4 days left, so we will just have to wait it out.

"We don't know about this space yet. If it has a structure similar to the Rift...

"Then that means we'll be trapped here forever in 4 days!"

All sorts of assumptions and anxieties poured in. Well, who would have thought that such a place would exist on the 4th floor, and not on the 5th, which, as you know, does not have general information?

Pretending to know nothing, I suggested:

"Why don't we check our condition first?"

"Huh?"

"Misha, do you feel anything different from usual?"

"Ah, since you're talking about it... Does it seem to me that my body has become strangely lighter? Misha's reaction was uncertain.

"Hmm, I don't know. Maybe you think so? "Hikurod didn't feel any change, probably because he had an exact average distribution of indicators among the group.

"That's not a mistake," Rothmiller said. "I'm so full of energy that I'll never make a mistake.

"Me too. My mana has increased significantly. At this level, it wouldn't be difficult to use even rank 6 magic, but what the hell was going on?

What do you think? It was all ripped out of my muscles.

Although I only have three essences, they all have ridiculously high rates.

Fucking communism. How much muscle do you need to lose?

I leaned my heavy mace against the floor to dissipate its weight. The first to notice this behavior was Misha.

" Bjorn? You ranen?

"My body feels strange. For some reason, I don't have enough strength.

"What?"

While Misha was approaching me anxiously, Rothmiller made an assumption.

- It is clear that there is some condition here. Maybe it's not a place where everyone gets stronger.

"Condition?" What is this condition that makes me weak and you guys strong? It's not fair!

I gave a hint, pretending to ask again.

Then, predictably, Rothmiller put forward a fairly plausible hypothesis.

— Maybe our indicators are mixed...

"Hm?" What does it mean? Mike asked.

"I'm not sure yet, so I'll tell you later, when everything is cleared up.

Well, I figured that was enough to explain to these guys without requiring me to step forward. I slowly moved on to the next point. There was no time to be idle.

"Then what are we going to do next?"

"Bjorn, what do you think?"

"I think we should explore this place and find a way out.

"What is your reason?"

I answered without hesitation.

"If it's an unknown place, then the reward will be big.

— Very similar to the researcher's point of view.

Even at Rothmiller's remark, I squared my shoulders proudly. Whatever they say, isn't money the ultimate goal of the researcher? In fact, it was a certain motivation.

"It's true. We could be trapped here in 4 days, so just standing here is probably not a good idea...

"Hahaha, aren't we researchers?" It would be a good idea to explore the area, even if it's slow.

There was even a little enthusiasm in the eyes of the trio, who were nervous and worried. Of course, Dvalka's words were decisive.

"Ah!" It just occurred to me, but it could be a testament left by the last great sage!

"What?" Are you talking about Gabrielius's will?

"Of course... There is such a possibility. Considering that the three Ladders of Fate appeared at the same time, and this strange phenomenon too.

Gabrielius's testament is, simply put, what the people here called what I called the "hidden field."

The dwarf exclaimed enthusiastically.

"Yes!" Aren't we on the 4th floor? No ridiculous monsters will appear!

With 4 days left until the maze closed, here's how the team of losers' latest investigation began.

***

Larkaz's labyrinth wasn't the hidden field I most wanted Misha to choose, even though it had the biggest final reward of the three.

It will be difficult to complete it in 4 days.

Due to the peculiarities of the field, it took a lot of time.

Finding the boss was one thing, but defeating him with our combat might required a lot of preparation. So I decided not to overdo it. Contrary to their fears, this was not a place where you would be trapped if you couldn't clear it in time, like in the Chasm. Even if we didn't pass it, there were attractive rewards scattered throughout the maze.

"Then let's go."

Standing in a certain formation in advance, we entered the labyrinth.

"I think we can go further.

I took the lead, and Rothmiller followed behind, checking for traps. Hikurod was standing in the back, because the monsters didn't just appear from the front.

"Miss Karlstein, don't worry," Dvalki said. "I will protect you.

"What are you talking about?" It's me who has to protect you.

"Haha, then let's protect each other.

— ... If you say so.

In a place like this, our team's two main damage dealers were located in the center. This was the safest position, and they also had to be able to support the front or rear depending on the situation.

"A moment, a moment, a moment!"

It was probably about 3 minutes after we officially started the study when a monster appeared at the intersection. This was the first award of the Labyrinth of Larkaz.

"I've never seen this monster before. Bjorn, be careful.

Unknown Monster: That alone was like sweet rain to us.

In Dungeon & Stone, even if you killed all the monsters from the 1st to the 4th floor, you couldn't go up to level 5. It was a contradiction. A stable hunt on the 5th floor required at least five rank 6 or 7 essences, but it was impossible to reach level 5.

That's why there are no newcomers here.

If you've made it to the 5th floor, then you're not a beginner.

I erased the unnecessary questions and held my shield with both hands. It was a bit uncomfortable without the mace, but it was too heavy for my current strength, so I put it in my backpack. I decided that it was better to leave the damage to dealers.

"Mehhh!"

Seeing us from afar, the hesitant monster roared and lunged at me.

At the same time, Dvalki shouted:

"Oh, I saw him in the book!" This is Vaikundus!

Vaikundus was a 6th rank monster. He could easily be imagined as a mountain goat that walks on two legs. His height reached about 2.5 meters, including majestic horns.

His weapon was a huge halberd, which he held tightly in both hands.

*Bam!*

When the halberd struck the shield, the weight was transferred to my entire body. I began to think that I had done the right thing by removing the mace. If I were one-armed now, it would be difficult for me to resist.

Hell.

Is it because I shared my precious Constitution stats with my teammates? It felt like I was dealing with a rank 5 monster, not a rank 6. However, the battle itself was not difficult.

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast an 8th rank spell [Freeze Enhancement]].

[Riol Varb Dvalki cast an 8th rank spell [Ice Spear]].

While I was parrying the goat's attack, Dvalki was completing a special attack spell.

"Bjorn!" Dvalki called out to me soon, and I immediately dodged to the side, as we always practiced. Up to this point, everything went on as usual.

*Whoosh!*

But what the hell is this?

The Ice Spear that flew past was a different size. Even the wind pressure it created was enough to cool my skin. Of course, the result was also different from usual.

*Kwaaaang!*

It wouldn't be strange to say that the blow was delivered by a fireball and not an ice spear.

"Huh?"

Mike, who was waiting for the right moment to connect the attacks, made a questioning sound. She could be understood. Vaikundus, a rank 6 monster, had already turned into light and disappeared.

[You killed Vaikundus. Experience +4].

No wonder my Constitution stats have dropped a lot. It must be because everything was converted into his mana.

"Is this my magic...?"

Watching him muttering to himself, I realized that he was no longer a loser here.

This changes the situation.

Targeting a clean-up was not a bad idea.