In the darkness, where there was not the slightest light, Raven used the magic of the light sphere.

"[Leith].

Before she blinded me, I closed my eyes reflexively.

"Mr. Yandel, what are you doing?" Raven asked.

When I opened my eye, the light sphere emitted a faint and barely perceptible glow, unlike the usual one.

Oh, so the brightness can be adjusted.

"Nothing.

When I put my embarrassment aside and looked around, Raven began to scold me.

"Anyway, if you're going to do something like that, please tell me beforehand." You scared me.

— Yes. And what if the guards come to arrest us when we go out?

"Then we can just pay a fine.

"I don't think you'll pay out of pocket-...

– It was for the sake of the team.

When I interrupted her, Raven took a deep breath, but said no more.

I wasn't wrong either, but that wasn't what mattered now.

"Isn't that strange?" We are already in the dark zone.

"It's not just a dark zone. See.

Raven pointed out to Mr. Bear a headstone on one side of the wall.

It's time to move on to the main topic of conversation.

"It's a portal stone. Do you know how it happened?

— I think this is a phenomenon of measurement instability.

— ... What's it?

"After all, a portal is a kind of dimension magic. I've heard that this happens sometimes. This is caused by an error that occurs when registering the start coordinates.

— … So this is just a coincidence?

Well, there is observational data that points to the possibility that the instability of the measurement increases right before the portal closes.

Uh, I think it's from the same book I've been reading.

My mouth itched to speak, but I just didn't say anything. Since Raven would explain everything anyway, there was no point in arousing suspicion.

"Bjorn, is it-...

I glanced at her, and Mike fell silent. In case Einar let it slip, I stood next to her. Okay, this issue was resolved.

"Hmm, so you're saying that it happened because we were just able to enter at the end?"

The corners of Mr. Bear's lips lifted slightly. As a researcher, he seemed to understand the cheating nature of the bug to gain experience points.

However, Raven shook her head.

— It's a bit twofold.

Hmm? What exactly?

I could not resist and wedged myself into the conversation.

"In two ways?" What do you mean?

"Even if the coordinates were incorrectly registered, we would not have landed at the outermost part, as we do now. And if it were so, would others enter the portal ahead of time? Everyone would start to be late.

Hmm, that was true. In fact, I've wondered that too. The instability dimension was surprisingly well known to many people. Why hasn't anyone exploited this advantageous bug?

— The phenomenon of measurement instability became known 130 years ago. At that time, there was a big problem in the magic circle dimension, so the frequency of its occurrence increased exponentially.

"So what?"

"The Magic Tower repaired the magic circle on the orders of the royal family. After stabilization, this phenomenon rarely recurred.

Simply put, the bug would have been unusable for the next hundred years after that.

"Then how did it happen?"

— ... Maybe it's time for another renovation? Raven put forward a plausible hypothesis and added cautiously. "That's why I think we should keep it a secret.

— In more detail.

"I don't think anybody knows there's a problem with the magic circle. However, as time passes and this phenomenon worsens, other researchers will also experience it.

Mr. Bear listened silently and nodded.

"Are you saying that we should use it exclusively, until others find out?"

— Yes. This will reduce the expedition time and allow you to accumulate experience points, it's great!

I joined.

"Wait, I thought experience points didn't matter to Magi.

Mages cannot absorb essences, so experience points are useless for them. Why was she so proactive?

Raven smiled and answered.

— I am personally interested. The same goes for the portal stone, which no one has ever touched. In that sense, do you mind if I activate it?

"Do what you want."

With my permission, Raven touched the headstone.

*Oooh!*

A portal has opened, emitting a five-colored glow. Raven closed her eyes, as if concentrating on the flow of mana in the air and the sensation at her fingertips. Then she muttered:

"It's a very strange feeling.

It was a feeling that I, a barbarian with zero magical talent, would never know. However, even I felt something.

[Portal opened for the first time. Experience +2]

Yes, it was it, this feeling of freebies.

***

[You entered the Beast Lair on the 2nd floor].

[You entered the Crystal Cavern on the 1st floor].

***

As soon as I went upstairs, I immediately went down to the 1st floor.

The Beasts' lair was hopeless to us. There were a lot of forks in the road, and without an intelligence officer of the level of Rothmiller, it would only be a waste of time.

Even Rothmiller said that it was better to abandon the Lair of Beasts.

With a guide, it was not that we could not find the way. There was simply no point in going from here when there was a faster way.

"Then let's go."

I took out my compass and, holding it in one hand, led everyone on their way. First, we got out of the dark zone and headed northwest. And we haven't lost our way that many times. If anything, Rothmiller taught me very well how to find my way on the 1st floor. Of course, I was still a beginner, but...

"Abman, where's the portal?"

"In that direction.

"Then now we have only to go north.

Thanks to the fact that the team had a guide, it was possible to follow the optimal route, focusing only on the compass. In other words, I compensated for my inexperience with a cheat.

"Stop!!

After about 3 hours of the expedition, as we walked from outskirts to outskirts, people appeared for the first time: a knight with the coat of arms of the royal family on his chest and four soldiers. The knight stopped us and asked briefly:

"Do you have ID tags?"

It could be seen that they had already fought in the same battle because their weapons and armor were splattered with blood. It wasn't monster blood. On the 1st floor, there were no monsters with red blood.

"I'll ask you one last time." ID tags?

"Ah, here it is. You guys get yours too.

After a moment's hesitation in the face of the knight's threat, we took out the tags we had received back in the city.

Then the knight gave way to us, bidding us farewell.

"Be careful not to get stolen. Some clever people are already hunting for them.

Got it. Well, they're not idiots. They understood that this was the only way to survive. As I walked by, I asked him what I was interested in.

— Is it possible to somehow identify stolen tags?

— No, I don't.

"Then why don't you doubt us?"

Did my question bother him?

The knight frowned slightly, but still answered the question.

"Blood."

— …?

"If they were stolen, they would be stained with human blood. In addition, I know your face.

And?

"I am a knight of Count Ferdehilt.

Oh, he saw me at the banquet.

By the way, what is this count up to?! He told me so ominously that he would call me when everything was ready, but so far there had been no contact. Well, the lack of news was good news for me.

"Hmph, it's good to have a celebrity on the team," Raven said.

"Let's not joke.

"What?" I didn't make fun of it.

She still thinks I'm a real barbarian.

"Then wipe off that smile.

— ... You noticed quickly.

"Anyway, let's speed up now. Let me know if you're tired.

"And what will you do if I get tired?"

"Ainhar will carry you.

"Huh?" I?

Neither Einar nor Raven liked the idea, but there was nothing to be done. It was necessary to move as fast as possible in order to collide with people less.

About 30 minutes after we sped up...

— ... Miss Einar. Please carry me.

Roommage Raven decided to give up her pride and let herself be carried.

Thanks to this, the speed increased even more. Bored with being carried, Raven began to massage Einhar.

"Don't touch me!"

"Wow, Miss Einhar. Your body is softer than I thought.

— ... Are you teasing me?! If so, then get off!

Ainar began to tremble with displeasure. Just as I was about to scold Raven, I saw something ahead and stopped.

"Bjorn, why did you stop?"

"These are corpses.

In total, there were five corpses, four men and one woman.

They had been stripped of all their equipment, so they were practically naked, and the bleeding indicated that they had been killed not long ago.

"Miss Einar, can you put me down?"

Raven got down and examined the bodies as well.

"It doesn't look like a knight did it.

"On what basis?"

— Wounds. One from a blunt weapon, the other from an arrow. The rest were burned. I don't think it's magic. Probably, this is a superpower.

The knight used the sword because it was the best weapon to use the Aura. But there was no wound from the sword...

"Maybe they're researchers from Noark?" Other researchers could have killed them because they didn't have tags.

Raven smiled bitterly at Mike's words.

— Most likely, it's the other way around.

"On the contrary?"

Mr. Bear answered:

"The knight has told us this before. These researchers may have been targeted because of their tags.

"Oh...

"In addition, they left faces unrecognizable. Usually this is not necessary, no?

Of course, we could not know what the truth was. But these corpses were a wake-up call for all of us. And they should have been, because they were researchers who had reached the outskirts of the 1st floor at such an early hour. They were supposed to be strong explorers if they could run so fast, but a few hours after the maze was discovered, they were killed.

— ... We really need to be careful.

"Yandel, it looks like those bastards have gone to the Goblin Forest. Maybe we should go somewhere else?

"That won't change anything.

"Well, that's true.

In the end, we reached the Goblin Forest without any changes in the schedule.

And after a while, we reached the portal of the 2nd floor.

[6:47]

Incomparably earlier than in the previous expedition. Even compared to Rothmiller's attempt to break the record, the difference was only 30 minutes.

"Mr. Yandel, now you can be a real scout.

"Nyaha, a barbarian scout?" No one will believe it!

"Björn is a barbarian hope!"

After checking the time, everyone started showering me with compliments, but it was hardly the result of my skill. This time we had a different starting line. As we moved from outskirts to outskirts, it saved a lot of time.

— ... Anyway, let's get up.

I waved them off and stood in front of the portal.

"You're embarrassed.

— Yes, yes, you're embarrassed.

Abman and Misha teased.

What are you talking about?

***

[You entered the Goblin Forest on the 2nd floor]

[You entered the Pilgrim's Path on the 3rd floor]

[You entered the Sky Tower on the 4th floor].

***

On the morning of the 7th day, a day faster than with Rothmiller, we reached the 4th floor.

At this rate, we should lead the way among researchers.

This was the result of a combination of my abilities as a guide and as a leader. In fact, we rarely encountered explorers, only two large clans and maybe 10 teams of 5 people. Each time we raised our weapons at each other, showed the tags and dispersed. The atmosphere in the labyrinth became truly bloody.

"Raven, what's the result?"

"Nothing.

Once we passed the 1st stage, she spent about an hour on the magic of detection, remembering the incident with the masked attacker.

God, just look at what this bastard makes us do.

The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became, but what could I do? As things stand, we had to take care of ourselves.

[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom].

The first staircase was nothing less than Wisdom, a test full of traps and monsters. In this area, I received the most training from Rothmiller, so the passage time was reduced by about 40 minutes.

"Raven, how long did it take?"

— 1 hour and 58 minutes.

Considering that it took 5 hours the first time, it was ridiculously fast.

[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom]

[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom.]

[You have chosen the Ladder of Courage]

[You have chosen the Ladder of Wisdom].

[You have chosen the Ladder of Courage].

We continued to overcome the challenges and focused on climbing the floors.

And so the 7th day came to an end.

27 stages in one day...

In fact, we managed to pass a quarter of the tower in one day. Such a speed wouldn't be possible if the Ladder of Wisdom didn't appear so many times in a row.

"It's still early, but let's have an early rest today."

The Ladder of Courage that we passed at the end opened the next door only after a four-hour wait, so we just prepared the camp.

"What are we going to do with the duty?"

— I don't think there is a need for this.

There was no night watch. During the day, we periodically used detection magic, but we did not find any other researchers.

"Well, even if someone is hiding here, the Night's Watch is useless. Even detection magic doesn't work, so what's the difference?

"That's exactly what I wanted to say.

"Then maybe we should eat before going to bed?"

"Sounds good.

Everyone gathered around the fire, ate quickly, went to their sleeping bags and went to bed. It was possible to get a good night's sleep only on the 4th floor. At least, it should have been.

Bloody hell.

Maybe it was related to the incident with the masked attacker, but I couldn't sleep. In the end, it wasn't until I tossed and turned for a while that I was able to close my eyes. But even after that, I had to wake up soon.

*Dddddddd!*

Vibrations were transmitted from the ground under my back.

The entire Sky Tower trembled faintly. I got up quickly.

There was only one thing in the labyrinth that caused this phenomenon.

"Mr. Yandel, is it-...

"Yes, everything is as you think.

On the 4th floor, the Chasm opened.