On the 1st floor, in the Crystal Cavern, surrounded by mist, where corpses lay on the ground and the metallic smell of blood hung in the air, a man chuckled as he talked to his comrades. The topic of conversation was not serious. They talked about how the woman they had just killed was beautiful and that they shouldn't have killed her, and other such obscene remarks. As always, everything ended in complaints.

"Tsok, there's nothing interesting here.

"Haha, if you look at it from the other side, it's even good, it's less dangerous.

—... You're overly positive.

"I'm not mistaken.

"Well, it's true...

The man suppressed his displeasure and began to chew a piece of jerky from his pocket. He tasted meat for the first time in a long time. He had not been able to enter the labyrinth for six months, and Noark, where he came from, was experiencing an acute shortage of food.

... We can win, right?

The man shook his head at a sudden surge of anxiety. It was not a question of whether we could win or not. We must win. Only then will they be able to eat and live like people, even in an underground city where there is no light.

"Lex, focus on the task.

The man leaning against the wall sighed when he heard the leader's words and adjusted his posture.

"You look dissatisfied.

The man answered honestly:

"We haven't seen anyone for more than two hours.

"So what?"

"This means that no one will come anyway. All the bastards who could have already arrived, and everyone who didn't come is either dead or far away.

The area where they were sent was quite far from the dark zone in the central region. This meant that they would not meet anyone from the inside.

"Still, keep your eyes peeled.

"Yes, yes," he replied to the leader and stood at one of the crossroads. The fog made it hard to see, but he didn't feel anxious.

What difference does it make if something comes out of there?

How many of us are here?

It will just be another loot that can be picked up in Noark.

At least, that's what he thought when a comrade standing at another crossroads shouted:

"Leader!" Presence!

A colleague standing guard at another fork in the road called out to him. The man grabbed his weapon and moved towards him.

Did someone really come?

He was a little surprised, but not alarmed.

Do they really not know about the situation here?

Most likely not. If this person had known about the situation here, he wouldn't have thought of coming here. They must have made their way here without knowing anything.

"Huh?"

The man tilted his head in bewilderment. No, not only him. Everyone listened with questioning faces.

*Boom! Boom! Boom!*

What is this sound?

"Steps?"

Someone said, but this did not explain the situation either. How can these be human footsteps? It must be a big monster, like the Troll.

Wait, but there are no such monsters on the 1st floor.

A strange sense of incongruity made the man grip his weapon tighter.

And then I heard:

'Behella

With a frantic scream, the creature appeared from the mist.

"What the hell!?" Who is this bastard!?

"Stop him!"

He was a barbarian. A very big barbarian.

***

Survival means getting rid of the superfluous. What will you give up to survive?

This process is strictly based on priorities, because humans are rational creatures.

*Boom!*

This is often found in movies. To prevent a helicopter from taking off or a ship from sinking, people threw out more and more cargo to get away from the pursuit of the enemy. The more they threw away, the higher the chances of survival.

*Boom!*

However, the reality is different from the movie. The reality was not so kind. What we had to throw away in order to survive was not baggage, but something else.

*Boom!*

Perhaps Versil knew this, which is why she left us without hesitation, leaving only the words:

"I hope you won't hold a grudge against me."

Of course, I did not take offense at her. I knew that this was a completely rational decision on her part. She had priorities, and she boldly gave up everything else to achieve them. Like I am now.

'Behellaaa

With a scream, I poured strength into my legs. In the shield, which I held tightly with both hands, there was a resistance in real time that I had never felt before. It was like confronting a tidal wave with one shield. Perhaps this was not entirely a misdescription, even if it was somewhat exaggerated.

"What the hell?!" Who is this bastard!?

"Stop him!"

I was making my way from the front line to cover the distance in 20 minutes of running. I fought my way through hordes of enemies like a tank on a battlefield.

"Bjorn!"

Misha followed right behind me. Her role was simple: to get rid of the enemies who had been pushed back by my onslaught.

*Colic!*

It didn't matter that she wouldn't be able to kill them in one attempt. Not only was our goal not to reduce their numbers, but troops were deployed right behind us.

"You're a crazy bitch!"

If the first filter was Misha, then the second was Raven, who is carried on her back by Einar and then by Mr. Bear.

*Kwaaaaaang!*

Crossbow arrows and magic flew towards the enemies, whom Mike could not destroy, before they could rise. Of course, it doesn't matter that it didn't end there. There was still a lot of shit left.

"Ervena, be careful!"

We had a ranged duo consisting of sisters Ervena and Daria, followed by Takelan's team at the middle rank 5, and finally the Big Jaw team located at the very end. It was like medieval cavalry.

"Ahhhhhh

The only goal was to attack. Enemies who were not killed in front were dealt with by those who were killed in the rear. It didn't matter if any of the enemies survived the last filtering. This had to be clarified last.

One will reap what he'll sow.

In setting the stage for this strategy, Big Jaw insisted on being at the very tail, even giving us the elf sisters. His train of thought was obvious. Probably, he decided that the front line was the most dangerous in attack. In case of unforeseen circumstances, he will be able to move his leg away. He treated the mercenaries, Erven and Daria, as unnecessary things.

Blockhead.

The most risky place in this strategy was the rear.

Now they may have been freebies, since we took care of them from the front, but this situation will not last forever. I just didn't think it would happen so soon.

*Boom!*

A strong blow reverberated in the shield. Even when I applied force to the very tips of my toes, I did not move forward. I lowered my shield slightly to see what was ahead.

"I've never seen such a psycho.

Standing in my way was a black bear warrior who looked like Mr. Bear. His body was 1.5 times smaller than mine in [Gigantization], but...

Bloody hell.

How high was this guy's Strength?

Although I thought the researchers from Noark were very strong, I wasn't too worried.

"Barbarian, do you think that you are some kind of hero from fairy tales...

Ignoring the bearbastard's chatter, I shouted at the back:

"Raven, now!!

I was not a universal hero. However, so did my opponent.

"Everyone stand aside!!

At the same time as Raven's warning, an explosion rang out from behind.

[Arua Raven cast a 6th rank spell [Oxygen Blast]].

It was a rank 6 auxiliary spell with a wind attribute.

The reason why it burst out behind my back was simple. Its damage was small, but it was accompanied by strong recoil.

"Ugh! What the heck...!

Having finished the intense struggle of forces, I pushed my opponent away like a sail.

"N-no!"

*Blow*

The bearbastard lost his balance and fell backwards. I slapped him in the face [with a jump] and rushed forward.

It looks like he's a tank, so he won't die so easily...

*Crunch*

Soon I heard a squelching sound behind me. God, it was like a knife on butter.

Maybe he has high Strength, but low Physical Resistance?!

'Behellaaa

While our movement was momentarily halted by the bearbastard, the enemies gathered behind.

So I backed up my physical stats with [Wild Surge] and resumed the onslaught, however...

"We need to move faster!"

We were not moving as fast as before. This was a very big problem. One of the weaknesses of the cavalry was that when they could not continue their breakthrough, they were surrounded.

"You crazy bastards!"

"Kill them!"

Knocked down enemies rose like zombies and rushed at my comrades. If earlier we had broken through the enemy ranks in a one-way way, now we will have to fight our way through this chaotic battle.

*Chop, prick, crunch! Kwaaaaang!*

Behind me, the sounds of an intense battle could be heard. Of course, I could not know the exact situation. So I focused on what lay ahead.

"Bjorn, don't worry about the rear!"

Of course, I was worried. In the war, people died like flies. I was afraid that someone would be seriously injured by a stray sword.

*Colic!*

Since I didn't know whose flesh this sound was coming from, negative images kept popping up in my head.

Maybe it's Misha? Ainar? Raven or Mr. Bear?

But so what?

'Behellaaa

Staying here would only make things worse. Holding on to a fear that I couldn't shake, I focused on the role I was given.

"Wh-what kind of power?!"

Just clear the way. Entrust your back to your comrades and go forward. It's something I have to do at the moment, and it's something that no one but me can do.

"The good news is that we're almost there. We will be able to enter the dark zone after 20 minutes of running."

Time passed like an eternity. Sweat, blood, and screams coexisted in this cave.

About 3 minutes passed.

It seemed that an hour had passed. Now I could determine where we were on the 1st floor just by looking at the walls.

Bloody hell.

It was as if I had entered a cave where the concept of time was distorted. I was checking my location in real time to see how much time had passed.

4 minutes, 5 minutes, 6 minutes and...

7 minutes.

The first fatal case.

"Cayenne!" Cayenne is wounded! Help me. We must support him together...!

"Let him go, Lena.

"What?" But-...!

"He's... already dead.

—…

"Leave him here."

Cayenne was an archer for Takelan's team. That's all I knew about him, but he left a good impression during the acquaintance.

8 minutes.

The path was blocked by a barrier created by someone. I immediately went to the fork next to me and changed the route. Such improvisation would not have been possible if I had not been trained by Rothmiller.

The road will take another 3 minutes.

The unpleasant news did not end there.

9 minutes.

Another person died. This time, it was a member of Team Big Jaw who had been following us from the very end.

And one more piece of news.

"Bjorn, Misha is wounded!" Raven shouted.

Misha was wounded.

— Where and how much?

"P-under the left side of the chest!" The internal organs are not damaged...

"Give her a potion while you run." Ainar, carry Misha too!

Fortunately, there was no danger to her life, but Einar, who had helped in the fight with one hand, even when carrying Raven on her back, now had to become only a porter.

10 minutes.

As always, bad news came from behind.

"Mr. Yandel!" The people behind are gone!

Team Big Jaw fled their position on the back line. It seems that after seeing the death of people, they thought it would not work... It was my miscalculation.

I can't believe he was so brainless.

I never thought that he would find it possible to escape alone when there were enemies on all sides.

Damn, if you were going to kill yourself, you would at least have done it for us.

In any case, when those bastards were gone, the load on Takelan became much greater.

So here's why...

13 minutes.

This time, two people died: a mage from Takelan's team and a warrior who ran with her on his back.

"Damn it!" All because of the stupid Goblin...!

The main cause of death was the revived Goblin. In the confusion, the Goblin flew into his face and blocked his view, and in a split second, the ice wizard turned him into an ice statue.

15 minutes.

The sorcerer jumped out from behind the curb and exploded with a broad-spectrum spell. There were no deaths, but...

"Sister!"

Daria rushed to defend Ervena in the center and became incapable of fighting. Fortunately, it wasn't an instant death.

"Pull yourself together and keep moving. I'll carry your sister!

Abman carried Daria, and our combat power decreased even more.

17 minutes.

Due to the abuse of [Jump] on the spot to increase stats and [Gigantization] that continued throughout the fight, my MP was at zero.

[Your Soul Force is not enough. [Gigantization] completed].

As planned, the empty space next to me was filled with Mr. Bear's summoned creature, Iron Bear.

18 minutes.

The Iron Bear was recalled. However, Misha recovered thanks to the potion and returned to the battle.

19 minutes.

Hope appeared. There was still a little to go.

Although almost half of us were dead, none of those I decided to save were dead yet.

20 minutes.

My path was blocked by a high-ranking researcher, estimated to be at least rank 4. He was a swordsman and held a sword made of adamantium, a 5th class metal.

"It'll be interesting to cut yourself with you."

He used Aura.