The moment the glowing red essence floated upwards, the eyes of the research group, which were only filled with the thought of rest, sharpened. It was like a mirror, as our faces were not much different.

—…

There was a heavy silence, but, as befits quick-witted researchers, it did not last long. The first to open his mouth was a warrior with a hammer from the opposing team.

"From the monster we defeated, an essence appeared.

"Hm, Mr. Nelbo—"

"You can step aside, Mr. Magician. I'll take care of it.

So, this guy is a leader.

It seemed that he had already decided what position he would take in this situation - he would claim his right to possess the essence.

To be honest, I didn't even expect anything else. They were the same bastards who couldn't wait a few minutes and intervened in our fight. I said briefly:

"Prepare for battle," I said curtly, more to be heard by our opponents than my teammates, expressing my determination to spill blood if they behaved unwisely.

"Mr. Yandel—" Raven said. It was as if the magician on the other side said, "Mr. Nelbo..." a warrior with a hammer. Apparently, the Magi were reluctant to do such things. Maybe it's because they grew up in prosperity?

"Don't panic. These are just five more monsters in human form," I briefly clarified the situation.

With this phrase, the opponents also realized that I was a leader.

The warrior with the hammer looked up at me and said deliberately:

"You're that guy...?"

— Do you know me?

Instead of answering, the warrior with the hammer opened the face plate of his helmet. The problem was that I still didn't know who he was. Have I met him before? I was sure that I had already seen those terribly thick eyebrows.

—…

When I looked at him with blank eyes, the hammer-wielding warrior took off his helmet completely in exasperation.

*Flash!*

A pure white scalp flashed from the white magic light sphere floating in the air. And then I remembered.

— ... Bald?

This was the guy I met the other day when I went to negotiate with the district head.

He was trying to earn achievement points by catching me. To think that he wore a helmet to disguise himself.

"Phew!" For some reason, the members of the opposing team burst into laughter.

The bald man blushed with embarrassment.

— ... Do you want to die, barbarian?

He put on his helmet again and said:

"From now on, you'd better watch your tongue." There is no district chief here to protect you.

What does he bring? If he knew what kind of relationship I have with the head of the district, he would not say this. It didn't matter, though.

"You'd better disappear." If you don't want to lose your head, too.

"So you're still getting into trouble, aren't you?"

As I took a step forward, Bald Man did the same. Our distance was shrinking along with the essence between us. The air became heavier, and there was a cold in it that even the heat of the canyon could not warm up.

*Tension*

Baldhead's archer drew the bowstring.

*Click*

From behind, I heard the sound of Mr. Bear's crossbow being loaded. In the silence, we could almost hear each other's breathing.

—…

It was like a taut thread. As soon as the thread breaks, blood will pour. Bald Man and I knew that.

But...

"Bald, if you leave now, we'll give you the mana stone.

"I see logic is not your forte, savage. We defeated the monster. Of course, the mana stone and essence are ours.

No one retreated. Only teams of researchers in the top 30% reached the 5th floor. We both understand that even if the essence is in our hands, the death of at least one member of the team is more of a loss.

*Compression*

Still, we clutched our weapons and shortened the distance. Cold sweat streamed down my back.

That bald bastard is very greedy.

According to custom, this essence belongs to us. Perhaps at first he was going to follow this custom and calmly give away the mana stone. Interference in the battle, apparently, was caused by the desire to rest as soon as possible.

The problem was that the essence appeared.

... Will we have to fight after all?

Gradually, I brushed aside my weak will and prepared for the worst. The current situation resembled a game of tag. Whoever gets out of the game first loses. If everyone wants to become a winner, then there will be only disaster.

Best Game Consoles

 

"Bald, this is the last warning.

I didn't like to talk much, but this time I tried again.

"Wow, I'm scared to death.

The answer was a refusal.

With that, I made a decision. If he really wanted to, he would have to go through with it. Without such determination, it is impossible to survive in this heartless world of explorers.

Since it came to this, I would have to absorb the essence for now.

Originally, the plan was to keep Ifrit's essence in a test tube and sell it. It does not suit me, nor Einar, nor Misha.

*Top*

However, the essence was always useful if absorbed. I'd rather absorb it myself than give it to that bastard. The cost of erasing the essence was still low, so I would milk it to the bone and then throw it away.

We will fight, pushing them back. We won't be able to capture their equipment, but victory is paramount now. You just need to absorb the essence...

Okay, I'm almost done with my thoughts. It's time to put them into practice.

At the moment when I was about to rush forward...

"Everyone stop!"

— Yes. Mr. Yandel, lower your weapons.

The Magi on both sides stepped forward, and the situation entered a new phase.

"Mr. Magician?" I asked you to stay where you are.

"Mr. Nelbo, stop talking like that. It doesn't give you importance.

—... —Bald was silent.

"Answer."

—…

"If you continue like this, then next time I won't go into the maze with you.

— ... I'll stop.

Hearing the words of the Magus, who looked like a little boy, Bald Man immediately tucked his tail. It was surprising that the most sedate and impudent mage had simply remained silent before. He simply agreed with what was happening.

I did not hide my disgust.

Now I didn't even want to talk to him. In any case, the tension subsided after Bald Man lowered his weapon and stepped back.

"The pattern on your robe." Altemion School, right?

— Yes. Are you from Wharton School?"

"Haha, exactly.

I also knew about the Wharton School. Not only was it a pretty big school, but I remembered it because it specializes in water attribute magic.

"I'm Efrain Bello.

"Arua Raven."

At first, the mages introduced themselves. Then, unlike the researchers who had drawn their weapons first, the two gave a brief introduction.

"How is Magister Althemiona?" I saw him a year ago at a scientific conference.

"Well, the magister is the same as usual. And Magister Wharton? Still busy researching?

— Yes, of course. This is his sincere desire.

This is almost a dialogue in the style of "We are not strangers!". It was like a meeting between members of high society. Probably, this was an attempt not to complicate the situation, since they all knew each other in one way or another.

"And what are you going to do now?"

Raven soon got down to business.

"You understand that asking for the essence of the monster we were hunting is a far-fetched requirement, right?

"Hmm, I don't think it's completely far-fetched. Customs are just customs, after all. Obviously, we participated in this. So it is likely that the commission will recognize this as a personal dispute between researchers.

Unlike us, who were going to fight like beasts, the mages tried to find a solution to the problem by talking.

"Although it may be just a custom, it is difficult to put in a good light those who have violated it. But to reach the committee itself for one essence... I think it would be wiser for you to abandon it.

"This..." the opponent mage fell silent. This meant that our Magus had won the bet. — Yes, that's true. So we will give in. I didn't want to do anything like that from the start.

Was it possible?

Apparently, I am really destined to be a barbarian.

I lowered my mace. Not today, but the day when it will come in handy. This is how the labyrinth works.

***

"Mr. Bello?"

"Are you going to continue to fool around?"

— Well, in this industry we have our own methods...

The bald man looked at him as if asking him to change his mind, but the mage's authority was unshakable.

"I suppose I misunderstood you, Mr. Nelbo. This is not a defense of our rights, but greed, is it?

—…

I think I showed you enough respect as a leader. But how is this different from looting?

—…

The bald man could not say anything to the mage's fair remark and whimpered. I wasn't thrilled. I was already wondering what it would be like to crush that shiny head.

"Mr. Yandel, what are you going to do with the essence?"

While Bald Man was scolded by the mage, we discussed how to dispose of the essence.

"Ahem!" Einar's eyes said, "Look at me," but I made the same decision as before.

"We'll put it in a test tube and sell it in the city."

"Good.

I was going to give Einar a better essence later.

She didn't have the money to buy the essence right now anyway.

Usually, when a team member took the essence, he would pay half of its market price to the team. Well, Mike and I could leave our part as a debt, but I don't know if Mr. Bear and Raven will agree to that.

"Ainar, don't be discouraged. If we sell this essence, you can buy tens of thousands of cotton candies. Understand?

"Tens of thousands?" Ainar was stunned by such an overwhelming number, but then came to her senses. It seems that she decided that this option was not so bad.

… However, she will have to pay back the money I lent her first.

Anyway, as soon as the discussion of the essence was over, Raven put Ifrit's essence in a test tube, and we made room for the other team to pass. It would be all over if they just walked by.

"What is your name?" Bald asked, stopping in front of me.

A what? Do you want to wait for me in the entrance?

When I looked at him from head to toe, he cleared up the misunderstanding.

"No, I mean... after all, it can be called fate, since we met again. Can I at least ask your name?

Fate, damn it.

Nevertheless, I told him my name.

"Bjorn, son of Yandel."

"Bjorn, son of Yandel?" The bald man tilted his head as if he had heard the name somewhere. He also gave his name. "I am Meltarson Nelbo."

So it wasn't Hans Nelbo. This calmed me down a little.

"Goodbye then."

It would be ridiculous to shake hands, so I ended the conversation.

The bald man smiled bitterly and continued walking. Starting from him, his comrades passed us one after another: a shield man, a swordsman, a mage and an archer in that order.

—…

The archer froze right in front of me. The reason was simple: I stared at him.

"Phew, I'm tired as hell. Let's just finish him off."

If it wasn't for that asshole, we wouldn't be in this shit. In a way, that bastard annoyed me more than...

"Hans!" What are you doing? We're leaving.

Soon the archer avoided my gaze and left. I froze like a stone... It was Hans.

***

The 21st day came. It's been 4 days since we went up to the 5th floor. During this time, we constantly walked down the path and hunted monsters. Along the way, Einar also reached level 4.

… Did she reach level 4 after only going to the maze 3 times?

In a sense, she developed even faster than me. I wanted someone to lead me like that. In general, several times we got into unpleasant situations, fighting monsters, but the expedition itself went smoothly. I was worried that something might happen because of Hans.

Maybe it was all about the essence situation...

This was a reassuring observation. If you looked closely, it seemed plausible. Although we dealt with the situation, we were close to a five-on-five battle. Simply put, it was plausible that the Hans effect ended with the drop of the essence.

No, what the hell am I thinking?

Damn bastards.

To be honest, I didn't believe in the evil eye until I met Hans.

"Mr. Yandel, maybe you've had enough of doing this?"

Raven cautiously approached me as I stopped temporarily to update the map.

"What do you mean by 'enough'?"

— ... I understand that you work hard, but we still can't go back on this map.

This was said by a magician for whom the result is more important than the effort.

—…

I had nothing to object. To tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if with this map we could go back to where we started. So difficult were the roads of the Great Demon Realm. They consisted not only of several paths, but also of sections through which one had to climb on a rope.

But...

"If I keep going, I'll get better." Next time it will be better.

I was the guide of the Apple Narak team. Although I wanted to live as a barbarian warrior, the harsh reality threw me out of this way.

Therefore, I had to practice in this matter. I was sure that Rothmiller did not succeed in everything at the beginning either.

"Well, in that case, I have nothing to say... But isn't it annoying?

"Well, it's annoying. But to some extent, it is fun.

I didn't just say it, it was sincere. First of all, it can be considered a qualification, so it felt like I was growing. They say that it is better to be safe than to regret later. If I ever find myself in a situation like the one in the Witchwood again, this skill I'm currently honing will come in handy.

Moreover, if I become a guide, it will become more natural to lead the team where I want to go.

"So, today we will just continue our way down?"

— There is not much choice.

Just as the 3rd floor was made up of several fields—the Orc Colony, the Witchwood, the Ironstone Hill, and so on—the 5th floor also had its own names. Between these narrow, labyrinth-like paths was a wide disc-shaped terrain, like the starting point. There were also places that could be reached through a cave on the rock. So far, we have found three such fields, but all three were already occupied.

It seems that there are more clans controlling the hunting grounds than there were in the game.

For a person who had just climbed to the 5th floor, this was very annoying. To think that my growth will be slowed down not because I can't destroy monsters, but because of people.

Damn this simulation of reality.

To catch monsters that only appeared in the fields, you had to pay the clan that occupied the place. Even if you paid, you only got a one-time XP hunt. Apparently, it was impossible to take into account human nature in the game. The rivalry here is several times worse than in the game.

Kick as much as you want. Do you think that because of this, I will not be able to rise higher?

In 10 years of working on one game, I learned all kinds of tricks and hidden elements. In addition, I had been staying on the 5th floor for a whole year before, so there was not a single corner that I did not know about.

Since we've come this far, now I'll show you...

There are many ways to become stronger.