Shoulder-length red hair.

Tattoo under the eye.

His height is slightly over 170 cm, thin, muscular build.

—…

Standing in front of the mirror, Amelia tucked a strand of hair behind her half-severed ear, revealing a scar on it, a wound that would certainly be a disadvantage to her as a woman. At that time, she didn't have the money to buy the potion, so she had no choice but to leave it alone. Of course, treatment was not impossible for her today, but she did not bother herself.

"It's almost done."

This scar became a constant reminder for her who her enemy was.

"Amelia, the lord is calling you.

She threw her bag over her shoulder and went outside.

An unexpected figure was waiting for her.

"I didn't expect you to come.

It was a member of the Orcules, the most notorious evil spirit both on the surface and underground, and a dangerous criminal known as the Corpse Gatherer.

- The situation is urgent.

"How bad is it?"

"The royal family has taken an exorbitant step. I never imagined that they would let this madman out of prison.

— ... Was he released?

Even Amelia, who had always been expressionless, couldn't hide her surprise. If the Corpse Collector was a well-known evil spirit, then this person was the complete opposite. Few people knew his name, but those who knew him at least a little were afraid of him like no one else.

"Yes, he is here. Because of this, everything went awry. Our side is also dying out en masse.

The man with glasses grinned and patted Amelia on the back.

"Well, let's go." Everyone has already gathered, only you remain.

— ... Ok. Come along.

Amelia followed the man into a quiet corridor where only the sound of rapid footsteps could be heard.

"Has the Dragon Slayer joined the battle?"

"Hm? Oh, he... His arm is crippled, so what can he do? Probably, he is now chilling in his room.

— ... Got it.

Amelia cautiously asked another question.

— Are there any improvements?

The man stopped in place and turned around.

"Why are you interested in this?"

Being a person known for his intelligence, he could guess a connection between her and the Dragon Slayer's equipment on the black market.

It was a mistake.

Belatedly, she realized her haste, but Amelia answered as dispassionately as she could.

"If he's no longer useful, I'd like to kill him."

"Huh?" Are you two at war?

"I don't like his eyes.

After Amelia's answer, there was silence. It was short-lived. The man burst out laughing, as if he had heard something funny.

"Hahahaha!" Really! His snake-like eyes are a bit annoying. Especially because he does not know his place.

The man walked again.

"Be patient. It looks like his body will heal in six months to a year.

"And the Dragon Slayer Sword?" Isn't it useless without it?

"Oh, that. We will have to look for him. His grandfather, an alchemist, said that it was possible that his memory could be restored.

— … Got it.

Method of memory recovery.

She wanted to ask what it was, but restrained herself. Usually she was not interested in others. That shrewd bastard would surely sense something strange.

We'll have to find out later.

After walking down the corridor for about three minutes, she saw a large door—a white door leading to the great hall of the castle. Entering inside, she saw the lord of the castle sitting on the throne.

"It's been a long time, my lord.

"Welcome, Amelia Rainvales.

After a short greeting, Amelia looked around at the other four people in the hall. Three knew each other, but one did not.

— An explorer from Orcules. But since we don't have much time, we can get to know each other later. Let's get down to business.

She suppressed her curiosity and waited for the lord's words.

"As you have already understood, I have gathered you all because the situation is not very good.

"Hehe, I heard!" They say this madman is here? The woman asked.

"That's right, Miss Carmilla. The captain is dealing with him now, but he won't last long," the lord continued with a bitter smile.

Finally, the city will be cordoned off. No one will be able to enter or leave Noark for the next two years.

"As soon as you all exit through the secret passage, I will activate the sealing magic circle. Do you have any questions?

"No, my lord.

"See you in 2 years!" My fair lord!

"Carmilla, show respect.

"Shut up, you stinker.

After this short conversation, Amelia and her four companions moved towards the secret passage. Soon they reached the place where the red flag was planted.

They contacted the lord through the Message Stone.

"[We've arrived].

"[I wish you good luck].

As soon as they made contact through the Communication Stone, a huge amount of magical energy burst out of the city.

"Wow, that's great. It is really impassable.

A huge blue mana barrier appeared over the city.

I never thought that I would leave the city in this way.

Amelia did her best to erase this strange emotion and reminded herself of the purpose of this mission.

"Sister, I heard that you are the commander. What should we do? Carmilla asked.

The task was very simple: Gather intelligence in Rafdonia.

This was their main goal.

I've finally made it here.

Remembering the second task assigned by the lord, she stretched her lips in a long arc.

If possible... to kill a certain researcher.

***

Rumors ranged from a conspiracy theory that the failure of the conquest was orchestrated by the royal family to an apocalyptic theory that the city would be wiped off the face of the earth as a result of a war with Noark.

This world is no different either.

For the past few days, I've been going to taverns and listening to these absurd stories over and over again. It was tedious and stressful work, but it was inevitable. I wasn't the Lion of the Round Table now. What can a naked barbarian do but move his own body?

"Bjorn, are you going to drink again today?"

"Yes, I'll be late, so go to bed."

There was less than a week left before entering the labyrinth.

And today, as soon as the sun began to set, I went outside and drank alone. As I did this, information came to me.

"I heard that the payment of compensation for death was postponed until next month.

"That's right, even the palace can't pay for all these deaths.

"Haha, it's the other way around. They have enough money, but counting bodies takes a long time.

In some ways, it was similar to the first days. At the time, I didn't have money for a tavern, so all I could do was keep my ear sharp while eating.

Nothing special today either.

After the failure of the conquest, the palace did not properly announce its position, which gave rise to an endless cycle of rumors that were literally copied and replicated. However, there were still a few facts.

First: Noark also suffered significant casualties and narrowly escaped defeat by blockading the city. There was no doubt about this, since there were many witnesses. No matter how hard they tried to hush it up, it was impossible with so many participants.

Second: In the palace there was a super-explorer unknown to the general public.

I learned about this directly from the surviving drunkard. Mr. Derves from the congregation managed to return alive. Apparently, this super-explorer fought on equal terms with the head of Orcules. Well, there is nothing strange in the fact that there is such a champion in the palace.

Third: 3 of the largest clans were disbanded during this conquest, or rather destroyed. No more than 10% of their members survived, making recovery almost impossible. And this was not only the case with the largest clans. In the smaller and medium-sized clans operating on the 5th and 6th floors, more than half had broken up.

Thanks to this, control over hunting grounds will be weakened.

This was the only positive factor in this situation, but the payoff from it was too serious to be happy about it.

If it escalates into a long battle, then it will spill over into a labyrinth.

This is what I have been worried about since the first signs of war appeared. To be honest, the situation was ridiculous.

Unlimited PC* content...

Player killing or PK — killing players (explorers).

I haven't seen anything like this even in the original game. If the Labyrinth had turned into a battlefield, then a person like me, who needed to earn money and develop his character in it, had no choice but to take part in it.

If the number of mana gems decreases, then inflation will also increase.

Unfortunately, no one talked about this in cheap taverns. Well, if any of the researchers start worrying about inflation, then I will have to start suspecting an evil spirit in him.

We will have to make a decision in the near future.

The time was approaching to choose: stop exploring until the situation was defused, or enter the labyrinth as usual?

In fact, the answer was already predetermined.

… The correct answer would be to enter.

It is not known when this confusion will end. A break would be a bad decision, because my evil fate with this son of a bitch, the Dragon Slayer, is not over yet. I had to get stronger before the vines on the ring broke. It was the only way to survive.

If I am called up to the army in the future, I will still have to participate in the war.

More importantly, Noark suffered significant damage in this battle. Simply put, they will also need time to recover. Even if this were not the case, we were in a better position than other researchers. That is, on the 1st floor, you can get ahead with the help of a bug (instability dimension). The 4th floor was independent, so it was out of the question, and on the 5th we would be safe from the PC if we could enter the mirror.

The problem is how do I convince these two...

I couldn't yet be sure that Magus Raven and 10-year veteran Mr. Bear would enter the maze.

There was nothing left to do but to face them.

As soon as the decision was made, I emptied my glass and left the tavern. Barbarians have their own barbaric path. I went to Mr. Bear's tavern.

I was met by Mrs. Bear.

"Sorry, we're already closed..." Oh, Mr. Yandel. What brings you here? Is this my husband?

"Is Abman here?"

"He must have passed out from drinking. Wait here. I'll bring him to you.

Maybe it's all about the right financial therapy?

Mrs. Bear seemed several times friendlier than before.

I sat and waited at the empty table until Mr. Bear came in, rubbing his eyes.

"Yandel, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"I need to tell you something urgently.

"Hmph, isn't it?" Wait, let me sober up a little first. My dear?

When Mr. Bear called to her, Mrs. Bear gave him honey water as if she were waiting for him.

"Drink it all."

Seeing such cordial hospitality, he seems to have regained his authority as head of the family.

"Wow, good. So, do you have urgent business?

"I'll get straight to the point. Are you going to join the next expedition?

"Hmph, it looks like you've already made up your mind?"

"I'm coming."

When I nodded without any farce, Mr. Bear grinned.

"Is that so?" Then so did I.

"It was fast. Do you know something that I don't?

— No, but we are a team. If a leader has made a decision, I have to trust him.

This was a completely unexpected answer. To think that he respects the authority of a leader! This man turned out to be more conservative in these matters than I thought.

"Then that's the end of our conversation.

"Why not have a drink while you're here?"

"No, thank you. Your wife needs to rest too. Now that you're awake, you can help her clean up.

The conversation ended in an instant, and I left the tavern. It seems that I earned a few points from her with this phrase, because Mrs. Bear's gaze became much softer.

[03:24]

It was already 3 o'clock in the morning, but without hesitation, I headed for the Magic Tower. For Raven, it was the same as the day. And, indeed, she locked herself in her laboratory and worked on something.

"Hm? Mr. Yandel? What has brought you here at such an hour?

"I've come to ask you something.

"Is that so?" Let me close. You can sit anywhere while you wait.

I thought she would reprimand me for coming at such an hour, but to my surprise she did not. Maybe it's because we're teammates now? At least she didn't treat me like a stranger.

"So. What do you want to ask?

After a minute of waiting, Raven cleaned everything up and sat down across from me.

I said bluntly:

— Labyrinth. Are you coming?

"Ah, that's... Well, we had to talk about it. What did the others say?

She asked as if it were obvious that I had come to ask her about it last. It hurt my pride a little, but it was true.

"Everyone except you agreed to come in.

"Is that so?" Then I'll go with you.

"You're fast." Do you know something that I don't?

I repeated the same thing I had done to Mr. Bear, and this time I received a different answer.

— Yes.

—... And what happened?

"Nothing special. It's just that this time the palace didn't send an official notification to the Magic Tower.

"Official notification?"

"Usually, when something dangerous happens, the first thing they do is notify the Magic Tower. For example, "don't go to the maze this month."

I was confused for a moment, but it made sense. It was a kind of VIP treatment. Since Magi were considered to be top-class personnel, the palace directly took care of their safety.

"So don't worry. Are they the ones who led the conquest, but there is still no official announcement? So the palace decided that it was not dangerous.

— ... Got it. If there's going to be something like that, tell me in advance.

— If the leader asks for it.

Smiling teasingly, I left the Magic Tower, returned home and woke up the sleeping Misha and Ainhar.

"Phew, what's wrong?" I was asleep.

"Ugh, that smell of alcohol!" You went to drink without me again!?

"Uh-huh, just eat this."

I handed them the chicken legs and informed them of my decision.

"We're going into the labyrinth.

Ainar reacted as if I had said the obvious. Mike sighed heavily.

"I knew it, mad barbarian.

It would be nice if the rest of the team members were like them.

"Well, is that all?"

— Yes, that's all. Go to bed.

"Phew, you could have told us about it this morning!" Mike complained and went to her room.

Einar too.

"Good night, Bjorn!"

I also took out my key and inserted it into the groove. All that remains is to turn it to the side to unlock it. But just then, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

*Top! Top!*

White noise, which isn't particularly strange considering it's an inn, but for some reason it was getting into my ears today.

*Top!*

In the end, I subconsciously turned to the stairs and looked into the eyes of the man climbing. I thought that maybe I was mistaken, because she was wearing a skirt, but of course not.

Why did she come here?

This person made me experience the Impenetrable Wall twice—once in the Land of the Dead, once in the sewers—an 8th floor explorer from the underground city known as a crazy.

*Swallow*

As soon as I saw the face imprinted on my mind, I swallowed unconsciously. But the most embarrassing thing was that she was just as confused.

"To think that I would see a familiar face here...

—…

— This is a problem.

The woman looked at me, frowned, and struck a pose with one leg stretched back.

It seems that she has already come up with a solution.

"Well, all I have to do is beat you up and erase your memory like last time."

Bloody hell.