The explorer's job was to infiltrate the labyrinth, hunt monsters, and mine mana stones. Ordinary people believed that the hardest thing in this profession was fighting monsters. But when they ask the researchers themselves, they get completely different answers. These are the lack of light, and the inability to sleep when you want, and food that tastes like pet food, and an increase in libido, and sweaty bodies, and dirty beds.

"On the lower floors, where the expedition period is shorter, everything is not so bad. But the higher the floor, the more difficult these things become, according to the researchers.

"Hmm, I see.

— Yes. It is said that large clans, after visiting the floors, starting from the 7th, usually take a two-three month vacation after each expedition.

For me, as a person belonging to this professional group, this was quite understandable.

But...

"So what?"

What's the point of bringing up this topic during a meal in the afternoon of the 22nd day, when I was just about to get some jerky? She wouldn't say that for no reason.

"If you want something, just say it."

When I looked at her and told her to get down to business, Raven replied in a voice full of determination.

"Let's eat something decent tonight." Not dried meat, but food cooked on fire.

Hmm, so that was her goal. She was definitely a magician. I could just say that I want to eat something delicious today.

I thought for a while and answered:

"Okay, we'll do it.

"You can be a leader, but you still have to ask everyone's opinion... Please wait. A what?

"I said yes."

"Really?"

Raven's eyes widened, as if she was sure she would be rejected.

Well, I was sure she understood what an unwise suggestion it was.

It was not the 4th floor. There, we cooked food every day, and sometimes even fried meat preserved with magic, but the Great Demon Realm on the 5th floor was an open-world structure.

"Is it really possible?" If the smell disappears, then there is a high probability that we will not even be able to eat because of the monsters.

"You... What do you want?

"I... I mean... I think I can solve the smell problem with magic.

It seems that this is what she wanted to say from the very beginning.

In any case, when the decision was made to cook the meal, Einar, who was nervously eavesdropping on the conversation, dropped her jaw.

"This is the power of mages...

She seemed impressed that Raven had received my permission with just a few words.

Now that we are on the 5th floor, I need to think about how to improve the quality of our stay here.

I was already thinking about it. We have been on the expedition for almost a month. It was necessary to take care of the stress level in the team. When people become sensitive, they tend to lose their temper over trifles.

"Then, Miss Karlstein, please." Let me know if you need water or fire.

"Mmm, can you light a fire then?"

"Is that enough?"

Then Misha, the official chef of our team, with the help of Raven, began to cook. The menu included tomato stew with lots of meat.

"Delicious again!! Misha! You should marry me in the future!

"What are you talking about, Miss Einar?" Miss Karlstein will live with me.

"Hmm, I'm glad you enjoyed it, but you're both overdoing it..."

Mike stammered and looked at me.

—…

—…

When the others ate, Mr. Bear and I stood guard. Until the three of them emptied their bowls, not a single monster appeared.

"Hmm, the smell is really small. What kind of magic is this?

"It's a combination of air control magic and combustion magic. It collects the smell in one place and burns it.

"Hmm, I see," Mr. Bear was glad that it was now possible to eat normally on the 5th floor.

Me too. To be honest, I'm pretty tired of jerky.

"Okay, then you two can eat. In the meantime, we will stand guard.

Soon the two of us were sitting and treating ourselves to stew. As a barbarian and macho from the black bear tribe, 5 minutes was more than enough. Until we were done, no monsters appeared.

And it wasn't just about the effectiveness of the magic of odor removal.

… In general, there are fewer monsters.

For a few days now, I've noticed that there were much fewer monsters on the 5th floor than in the game. And of course, I guessed why.

Damn clan bastards.

In the Great Demon Realm, monsters would appear from the mirrors located on each field and be released into the canyon. However, the clans have monopolized these places to hunt monsters as soon as they appear, so there are fewer monsters.

… Well, thanks to that, I found it earlier.

I noticed moss growing in the corner of the path and smiled. It was different from the other mosses we passed by. Its color was half red, half green, and a black moss the size of a bead formed at the junction of the two species.

The problem is how to do it naturally...

While I was thinking about this, monsters appeared right in front of me: eight rank 6 Hellhounds.

They could be mistaken for wild dogs the size of a tiger and with four eyes. In addition, their entire body was engulfed in black flames.

"Grrrmm!"

"Get ready for battle."

As we had hunted them more than we could count in the past few days, we entered the battle without any briefing. The battle took about 10 minutes.

"Well, shall we go further down now?" Raven asked, and I thought for a moment. There was still a lot of time left before the break. How to make them stay in this place and not look strange?

If it weren't for the magic of odor removal, we'd be fighting monsters right now.

As I bit my lips in disappointment, the black moss in the corner of the path disappeared.

... And?

It was as if something invisible had dragged him away.

… Is he already here?

I quickly gave the order.

"Raven, I think there's something around us.

"What?" What do you mean...

"Use the magic of detection.

Maybe it was the aftermath of meeting the masked man on the 4th floor, but Raven didn't hesitate to use her magic, despite the fact that my instructions were based solely on intuition.

— [Дайр Таниб Карсачи].

Waves of mana spread in a circle. Raven's expression soon became serious.

"There is something. It is in front of us.

"A man?" I asked, pretending not to know, and instead of answering, Raven cast the [Search] spell.

*Ears!*

A clot of light stuck to the air like clay. Soon the light faded, and the figure of the hiding man appeared.

—... Hmm?

It was a squirrel. About the size of a 7-year-old child. She sat curled up in front of the moss, gnawing at the black moss with her front teeth.

"Kyuu?" Sensing our gaze, the squirrel raised its head.

"Oh...!" How cute!

"Looks delicious!"

Mike and Einar exclaimed at the same time.

Raven screamed excitedly.

"It's Mila Rodin!" We must kill him quickly!

Yes, she seems to know how hard it is to meet this guy.

"Oh, exactly... it's still a monster..." Mike raised her sword with a slightly sad expression on her face.

On the other hand, Mr. Bear loaded his crossbow with an arrow faster than ever. Not only one person recognized the value of this creature.

"We were lucky, we met Mila Rodin on the first expedition.

"Wait. [Distortion]! I haven't used the magic of [Distortion] yet!

Raven stopped Mr. Bear and quickly cast a spell. It wasn't just [Distortion], but [Higher Distortion]. Now, when capturing a monster, the probability that the corpse would not disappear was higher.

"Kyu, Kyuut!"

As soon as the magic of [Distortion] fell on him, Mila Roden began to flee. Perhaps it was an instinct in his DNA. Most of his ancestors died from this.

"Abman!"

Simultaneously with my scream, a crossbow shot flew out. However, being one of the few herbivorous monsters in the labyrinth, Mila Roden dodged it with quick movements. I immediately rushed forward and grabbed him by the tail.

"Peeee!" Peee! Piit!

The creature tried to break free and let out a faint scream. I felt like I was hurting the animal, but what could I do. Such was the state of nature.

Just as I reached out my hand, intending to squeeze my skull, Raven stopped me.

"Wait!" Can't we kill him with as little damage as possible? I heard that the skin is sold at a high price.

The words of a rational magician. I obediently agreed and grabbed Mila Rodin by the neck and tail to tie him up.

"Misha.

"Oh, yes?" Do I have to do this?

"Your sword is the thinnest.

Einhar used a large sword, and Mr. Bear's arrows were too big. Not to mention my mace. Since this creature was also a monster, it would be difficult to kill it with an ordinary knife.

"Pierce your forehead."

"Ugh...

Reluctantly, Mike pulled out her sword to pacify the creature.

"Kyuu...

Mila Rodin drooped, as if his energy had been cut off. I swallowed and began to count the seconds.

One, two, three...

Usually, this is how long it took monsters to turn into light after death.

"Bjorn!" It's meat!

The body did not disappear.

***

Mila Rhoden rank 7, the squirrel who wore a mirror on her back, was classified as a rare species along with Mimic, because it was damn hard to meet such a squirrel.

"Haha, thanks to you, Mr. Yandel, we have caught a very rare monster. Do you have any experience with him, Mr. Urikfried?"

— It's my first time too. This is very rare.

Even Mr. Bear, who had been working on the 5th floor for a long time, had caught it for the first time. Well, considering the monster's nature, that was understandable. It was a non-combat monster capable of hiding all the time.

In fact, it was a monster that could only be met with the help of heavenly luck - provided, of course, that you did not know about black moss. It can always be caught if you just wait here and apply detection magic.

Of course, this was easier said than done. To master this method, I had to stay on the 5th floor for more than a year. It was a game full of hidden elements. I looked through all the recordings, believing that there might be a condition for Mila Rodin to appear, and found that in one of the recordings, the moss was disappearing from the area. Then I thought it might be a bug, but...

That's how perverse this game was.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that this was not a bug, but a hidden element. If you applied the detection magic immediately after the moss disappeared, the probability of Mila Roden appearing was 100%. Of course, whether the magic of [Distortion] was successful or not is another matter.

– Probably, this is the luck of a beginner. I even managed to cast the magic [Distortion] right away...

"This is the [Higher Distortion]. Not just [Distortion].

"Ah, yes, [Supreme Distortion]..."

In the game, the success rate of Mila Roden's distortion was 20%.

Even the [Supreme Distortion] had a rate of less than 30%, so I thought it would take at least three or four to catch until we succeeded.

"Anyway, could you give it to me?" Raven asked.

"Do you know how to butcher?"

"I did this every day during my apprenticeship.

The butcher knife in Raven's hands quickly dismantled the carcass into skin, guts, and bones. It was much faster and more sophisticated than Rothmiller's.

Wow, she's a different level of expert.

"But what's so precious about it?"

"The hide is in high demand due to its rarity, and the tendons are used as magical ingredients. But... Something else is of real value.

Soon, Raven carved a mirror attached to the skin on the creature's back, and the butchering process was complete.

"It's a mirror.

"A mirror?"

— Yes. You can't take it with you to the city, but it can be very useful here.

After that, Raven explained the purpose of the mirror in detail.

I looked at it with satisfaction.

That's why there should be a mage in the team.

The process has become much easier. I used to have to explain everything from A to Z. So, can I finally live like an ordinary barbarian?

"But you also have good intuition, Mr. Yandel.

"Huh?"

"You couldn't feel the presence of Mila Rodin.

Raven gave me a strange look, but the situation passed without any suspicion. Since she herself went through something similar on the 4th floor, I think she thought it was impossible. That's all.

"So, how is it used?"

In the game, the mirror was simply passed to the magician and a button was pressed. And how was it in real life?

"Hmm, I have no idea.

And?

— It was not written about it in the book. Maybe I can do it if I inject some mana?

— ... Give it a shot. And before that, cast the magic [of Binding] first. Just in case.

— Good idea.

After casting the magic of [Binding], Raven picked up the mirror and closed her eyes. It looked like she was pouring mana into him, but as a barbarian with no talent for mana, I didn't feel anything.

When I began to think about how much time had passed...

*Flash!*

The mirror enveloped us in a radiant light.

[You have entered the Mirror of Fire].

When I came to, instead of a labyrinth filled with darkness, we were standing on top of a wide desert.

"The entire space has changed, as if we have entered the Chasm!" Mr. Bear expressed his impression.

However, this place was completely different from the Chasm. To begin with, there was no Guardian here, and it did not look like a dungeon. It was just an open structure infested with monsters.

"Go to another place, barbarian. This is the territory of our clan."

In other words, this area was a world within mirrors, outside of which the clans would set up camp to hunt monsters as they appeared.

"Bjorn!" Monsters are advancing from all sides!

"Get ready for battle!"

[Field effect [Hidden World] is applied. Mana stone drop rate is greatly increased, and essence drop rate is slightly increased].

Let's get two essences, no more and no less.