In an instant, thick bones covered his entire body.

[Abed Necrapeto used [Bone Armor]].

The man smirked and stared straight ahead. The flames that had spread to the bones quickly extinguished, but the remaining flames in the passage turned into a wall and blocked the way.

"I didn't think he'd run away.

Should I go after him?

Thinking about it, looking at the raging flames, the man soon decided not to do it.

How to make someone angry...

Not that he was interested.

— [... Leader, here is the body of a knight].

"[So they had a hand here too.

About twenty explorers had just emerged from the passages leading to the portal to the 2nd floor. Judging from the fact that they wore the same symbols on the tops of their heads, it was a small clan.

"Click."

The man clicked his tongue in displeasure and left.

His task in this attack was to prevent people from escaping to the 2nd floor.

Originally, this was a mission that the Dragon Slayer was supposed to take on.

"That reptilian is useless.

If this guy had come to his senses in time, he could, as planned, focus on helping in the massacre in the central region.

"Well, I'm sure they'll take care of the fugitive on their part.

After all, there was no reason to chase down and kill the guy who had escaped. The very thought of it is already annoying. All he had to do was do his job. With these thoughts, he was about to move towards the portal of the 2nd floor.

*Hum*

In his pocket, the Message Stone vibrated.

"[Nekrapeto, how is the situation there? Have you reached your destination?]

"Oh, deputy commander!" Take it easy. I arrived recently, and the portal is so well blocked that not even a rat can get out. Hee-hee!

Although he spoke confidently, the answer came after a long period of time. Strictly speaking, it wasn't even an answer.

—[... What is this tone? And what is that strange laughter?]

"Strange laughter?"

The man scratched his head at first, but soon understood the meaning of what was said and giggled.

"Oh, it's just a habit. Don't worry, Deputy Commander.

— [Habit?]

"Uh, the habit that manifests itself when I put on a mask.

—[... I don't understand what you're talking about. In any case, if anything goes wrong, contact me immediately.]

At this point, the program was interrupted.

The man tapped his index finger on the skull mask he had received with the supplies.

Suddenly, the members of the Round Table came to mind.

The Fox and the Goblin will surely be here.

I wonder how many of them will be alive and well at the next meeting?

He was already looking forward to this moment.

***

I ran as fast as I could, fearing that Clown might follow us.

"Hough, hough."

After running down the aisle for about ten minutes, Mr. Bear muttered:

"Looks like we've shaken it off...

It was a flag-raising phrase that made me nervous for a moment, but I didn't say anything. I had a similar thought.

More precisely, we didn't shake him off, he just didn't chase us.

In any case, it was clear that now we could take a breather.

— Let's slow down.

—... Are we not going to run anymore?

"He's not the only one we have to watch out for.

At the moment, we were in the Crystal Cavern, shrouded in mist. If we were to accelerate too much, it would be difficult to react to an unexpected danger. It was safe to say that the entire 1st floor was already a minefield.

"Bjorn, wouldn't it be better to fight?"

And?

"What do you mean, Ainar?"

"The Corpse Collector... It was a chance to make your name even more famous! But you missed this opportunity and ran away!

Yes, no wonder she had been silent all this time. That was what she didn't like. This girl was inclined to look at me as an ancient barbarian hero.

What other chance to become famous?

I'm just glad that no one was hurt.

The true power of the necromancer was manifested the moment he retrieved the bodies from the subspace. Moreover, the Corpse Collector had a numbered item that provided him with this fame, a signature item similar to the Dragon Slayer Sword. If he had taken it out, one of us would have been killed or badly wounded.

"Ainar, don't be an idiot," Without taking a step forward, Mike cursed, which made Ainar shudder.

"I'm fine...!" As an adult, I can understand. But how am I going to explain this to the young warriors?!

Now I realized that this was the real problem. Einar always went to the Holy Land and told me about her travels with me. It was almost idolizing to the point of embarrassment, but I just left her alone as it could boost my support rating in the tribe.

"You can just think of something.

"This...!" Warriors don't lie!

"Click!" Are you going to keep arguing?

When Misha gave her a severe reprimand, Einar shut up. For some reason, her drooping shoulders made my heart ache. The barbarian's charm lay in the fact that he was always confident in himself.

After thinking for a while, I answered:

"Ainar, we're not running away now.

"Huh?"

"It's that man who ran away from us.

It was an ordinary mental victory in the style of barbarians.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Don't laugh at me... I'm not so frivolous!

Hmm, I didn't know that.

With a serious face, I continued:

"I'm not laughing at you. Ainar, a wise warrior, must know how to choose a place for battle. What we had just done was rush back to get a vantage point on the battlefield, but when he realized that, he ran away.

Ainar frowned in anguish, and then asked cautiously.

"This... Really?

I was a little worried internally, but thankfully, it seemed to work. When I nodded decisively, Einar beamed as usual.

"Mr. Yandel, you give...

"What, do you want to say something?"

— No, I don't. Simply... I thought that this is the kind of person who should be the leader," Raven shook her head, looking at me with a strange look.

I think she was impressed by my way of comforting Einar's despair.

"Then let's move on.

At this point the conversation stopped, and I moved cautiously down the aisle, looking around vigilantly. My goal was the center of the 1st floor, a place that I thought was now drenched in blood.

"Wouldn't it be better to break through another portal?"

"Nothing will change there anyway.

I refused the option to go to the 2nd floor. After all, the Corpse Collector was standing in the alley leading to the Goblin Forest.

Most likely, he is trying to block the portal.

I guess another person of the same power will be waiting at the other portal.

"In that case, I will follow your decision. Yandel, you have a good intuition for such things.

So we made our way through the fog for some time.

*Top, Top, Top*

About ten people appeared ahead. When we became aware of each other's presence, we were already within sight. Fortunately, they didn't look like enemies.

—... These are knights.

Not only were everyone wearing knightly armor, but each armor had a symbol of the family they belonged to.

Well, if you wanted, even this could be imitated...

"Researchers, raise your wrist and show your identification marks."

Judging by the haughty tone, this armor is real. As ordered, I first showed them the mark on my wrist, and then asked:

- Do identification tags have any significance in this situation?

It was this information that interested me the most.

The knight answered briefly:

— To some extent.

"I want to hear more about it.

"We were ambushed by people with identification marks. Because of this, we suffered some damage.

- I see.

"If your curiosity is satisfied, lower your weapon and press yourself against the wall until we pass."

The knight spoke to us threateningly, and I obediently followed the instructions. The atmosphere here was really dangerous. The knights seemed to have fought more than once before getting here, as everyone was covered in blood.

However, I still had to ask what was necessary.

"Can you tell me what the situation is?"

— ... What a suspicious question.

"We ran to the 2nd floor as soon as we entered. We have no information about what is inside.

"Hmm...

The knight stopped and stared at me, as if trying to understand whether my words were true or not. Seeing those ominous eyes, I began to think that I shouldn't have asked.

— Hello. I'm Arua Raven, a mage from the Altemion School," Raven stepped forward, introducing herself. "If you doubt our identity, I can use magic to prove it-...

"Stop, don't come any closer. Unless you want to die.

"No, I don't-...

"Do you think there are no mages in Noark?"

At the hard voice of the knight, Raven could not say anything and remained silent.

—…

—…

For a while, there was a heavy silence.

"Sir Garfizel, these people can't be on Noark's side, so you don't have to worry about that.

The situation changed when a knight from the back rows intervened in the conversation.

"How can you guarantee that?"

"He is a fairly well-known researcher.

"Hmph, this man?"

The knight, who seemed to be the leader, looked at me with a puzzled look.

My view was the same.

—... Ты меня знаешь?

"I know.

The knight who answered my question raised his helmet. Then a face came to mind.

"Carls Erimore?"

"I'm flattered that you remember. Long time no see.

Carls Erimore was a knight from the house of Baron Martoan, whom I met at the Count's estate. He was only a knight-apprentice, but still. He was a rare explorer-turned-knight, so we got along pretty well. I would never have thought that I would meet him here.

"So, who is this man?"

"His name is Bjorn Yandel, and in the city he is better known as the Little Balkan.

When my identity was confirmed through Carls, the knight looked at me with different eyes...

"Little Balkan, isn't it?" I also heard about it in passing. In high society, they call you the Knight Crusher, right?

And his gaze was far from benevolent. However, since the suspicion that I was an enemy was removed, it was much better than before.

"So, can I find out what the situation is now?"

The knight briefly recounted that as soon as they entered the labyrinth, the explorers from Noark attacked them from all sides.

Those with the ID tag were also hiding, so the initial damage was significant. Even after the appearance of the mist, the knights grouped in the dark zone in the central area to protect the explorers and prepare battle formations.

— By the dark zone, do you mean the place where the monument is located?

"Yes, go there. If you can get there, you'll be safe.

That was good news. I did not let him leave immediately and asked cautiously:

"Guys, are you going to the portal?"

— ... And why do you ask this?

Well, well, so nonsensical.

"Because we're coming from there.

— Interesting.

I told the interested knight what I knew. It was because we were on the same side. I could not allow them to die in vain.

- Next to the portal is the Corpse Collector. So if you see a corpse in the passage, be on the lookout. This means that he has spotted you.

Contrary to my expectations, the knight focused on my words and nodded without question.

"In wartime, any information is valuable. A Corpse Collector, huh? Thank you for telling me.

Surprisingly, he even thanked me and handed me a ring.

"If you meet a knight who doubts who you are, show him it and tell him about me. Then your identity will be guaranteed.

— ... I'll use it.

"I don't have much time, so goodbye."

After handing over the ring, the knight led the group and disappeared into the mist. That look didn't seem so arrogant anymore. Now that I saw him, he was a man who knew his duty.

Apparently, it doesn't have the magic of [Size Adjustment].

Trying to put the ring on my little finger, I gave up and gave it to Mike.

"Huh?" I? Do you want me to wear it?

"It doesn't fit me.

— ... Well, there is nothing to be done.

Then Misha embarrassedly held out her left hand to me.

A what? Does she want me to wear it?

"Ahem...

I turned her hand over so that the palm was facing up and placed the ring on top.

"Put it on yourself."

"Hmph, embarrassing.

... What is it about?

***

After meeting the knights, we sped up a little more. The further we moved away from the outskirts and closer to the center, the stronger the smell of blood was felt.

"There's blood here too...

"Stop admiring the views, let's move on.

Everywhere we went, there were corpses every few minutes. Almost all of them were naked.

Even in such a situation, they take everything they can carry...

Well, it's not for me to judge them.

"Yandel!" It's an ambush!

While we were getting to this place, quite a few battles took place. About ten? One time they suddenly attacked after we checked their ID tags, and the rest attacked us as soon as they saw us. Most of them, like us, were around the 5th rank, but so far there were no serious problems.

—Behella

On average, we were a pretty strong team. We were gradually reaching the capabilities of the 6th floor, and since we didn't have a professional scout, our combat power was quite high.

"Bjorn, what are we going to do with the two who escaped?"

"Let's leave them. We don't have time, so grab their gear and move on.

As we advanced, equipment accumulated in our subspace. It felt like you were in an endless dungeon for PC.

I never thought that I would experience such excitement on the 1st floor.

Anxiety gradually grew. So far, everything has been going smoothly, but how long can this last?

"Bjorn...

"Don't worry. We are almost there.

I suppressed my anxious feelings and continued to lead the team.

A lot of time passed.

"Stop."

And at the crossroads, divided into several forks, we met a group of unfamiliar researchers. There were about 30 of them.

They were apparently resting after a heavy battle and, as soon as they saw us, they raised their weapons.

*Tudum!*

My heart beat like crazy.

If these guys were from Noark, then we're screwed.

— And...? D-uncle?!

At that moment, I heard a familiar voice.