Orcules is a group of notorious criminals who rebelled against the king. Although the group is only a few decades old, during this time they have managed to become famous for numerous crimes and terrorist acts. The royal family placed a huge bounty on them and began hunting them, but due to their stealth, only seven were killed.

"And there are seven of them here?"

After listening to his subordinate's report, the commander of the 3rd Royal Guard, Marco Elburn, could not hide his disappointment.

As soon as the incident occurred, he immediately reacted to it and formed a safe zone in the central region, declared martial law and took command into his own hands. First of all, Marco began to collect information. He directed the search team to the portal on the 2nd floor, which could be the site of a breakthrough. Without closing his eyes, he checked the information he had received over and over again.

As a result, seven members of the Orcules were found.

Three—the Screaming Witch, the Black Claw, and the Lighthouse Keeper—prowled the safe zone, causing a massacre, while the other four blocked the portals to the 2nd floor.

So, this was their goal from the very beginning.

Alburn clenched his fists, showing his frustration. The first three posed a problem, but these four were the biggest stumbling block.

The Corpse Collector was a man more famous for his grotesque and cruel deeds than for being an evil spirit.

The Scholar of Destruction, once a master of a great school, became a criminal after associating with forbidden magic.

The Blood Knight started out as a soldier born in Bifron and became famous for killing the commander of the 1st Royal Guard.

And finally...

Traitor, the man who gathered these mad bastards to create a group known as "The Orcules", single-handedly created a story of countless atrocities and massacres.

All four of the group were there, but it wasn't just Orcules to be wary of. The number of known criminals who had escaped to Noark was incalculable.

We will not be able to guarantee victory over them even in full force.

Finally, after a long silence, Alburn spoke.

"We'll have to abandon the plan to break through these bastards to get to the 2nd floor.

The silence that followed these words began to weigh on the hall.

One of the knights could hardly speak.

—... The 3rd day will begin soon.

"I know. But since the Scientist of Destruction is here, the portal has most likely become useless.

"Then...

Alburn closed and opened his eyes, as if shaking off a distracting thought. The commander must make decisions.

"Gather mages who can use portal magic as stealthily as possible.

He had to make the necessary decisions, whatever sacrifices followed.

***

I opened my eyes and looked at the time.

[00:17]

Before I knew it, another day had passed, and now it's the 3rd.

Yesterday passed without incident. I checked the loot I received on the way here, found a researcher with repair abilities and repaired the broken equipment, stood guard over our shift, and then walked around the area and gathered information.

I also heard what happened to Takelan.

«... Uh, this man?"

I tried my best to get it out of Misha, but when I heard it, I didn't pay attention to it. Apparently, he broke down and lost his composure for a moment. Seeing that we were all alive, he burst out with aggressive words, but it didn't last long.

"Aruru was not in the mood for jokes. She yelled back at him for saying such a thing when you were dragged away in such a state... God, even I broke out in a cold sweat."

Hmph, she was very ferocious when she was angry. It remained a mystery where so much strength came from in this small body.

"In general, that's all. Ainar was also angry, but he disappeared before she could draw her sword."

I was grateful to my comrades for their actions, but the more I heard about what had happened, the tighter my jaw clenched. They didn't know that I had put them in the back on purpose to increase our chances of survival at least a little.

"Huh? Why do you make such a face?"" Yes, so. I'm just hungry."

Takelan's anger was justified. If the formation had been made only with efficiency in mind, then more people would have survived, but I didn't. Even though they could have positioned better in the back, I placed them where it was relatively safer – behind me. Takelan, apparently, realized this belatedly, so he behaved like this.

Perhaps it's best to keep it to yourself.

Waking up a little from sleep, I slowly got up and began to pack my sleeping bag. Despite the fact that the 2nd day was quite eventful, it was much calmer than the tense 1st. But now it's over.

"Mm, Mr. Yandel...?"

Raven woke up to the noise and stuck her head out, rubbing her eyes.

"Did I wake you up?" Sorry.

"No, I just couldn't sleep...

"Do you plan to sleep at all, or what?"

When I asked, Raven lifted her upper body out of her sleeping bag and sat down.

"What about you?" Are you awake too?

"I can't sleep either.

"And that's why you were going to stand guard alone?"

I grinned and readily admitted it. It was ridiculous to say the opposite when we were in the same situation.

"It's already the 3rd day...

On the 3rd day, if there were five or more people, the Lord of the Floor appeared. Since 10,000 researchers had already gathered on the 1st floor, the probability of him appearing right in front of us was slim, but...

You never know...

I was a tank in this team. Even if the Lord of the Floor falls on our heads, I can buy time for my comrades to save themselves.

*Uuuhh!*

At this moment, the ground trembled faintly, and the achromatic crystals embedded in the cave walls shone with a bright light. The color of the glow was blood red.

"Mr. Yandel, that's...!"

This meant that the Lord of the Floor had appeared somewhere.

"What is this?!"

Starting with Einar, the rest of my team woke up one by one. The same thing happened to other teams of researchers sleeping nearby.

I calmly calmed my comrades.

"Don't worry. Fortunately, he appeared far away.

Where the Lord of the 1st floor was, a loud sound must have been heard. Since there was no such sound, it was safe to say that it appeared somewhere far away.

"Everyone go to bed."

"But...

"I'll wake you up if anything happens. Not much time has passed since our guard duty ended.

"But you're tired too.

"I've had a little nap, so it's okay.

I wasn't sure if they would be able to fall asleep right away, but I forced my comrades back into their sleeping bags and closed their eyes, deciding that restoring their stamina was the first priority.

*Oooh...*

After about 20 minutes, the crystals that illuminated the surroundings darkened as if their batteries had run out.

This meant that the Lord of the Floor had been defeated. Of course, it was too early to calm down. Unlike the lords of the upper floors, who took months and years to respawn, this guy could be summoned again and again.

"We'll be fine, right?..

"Don't worry. 30 handy explorers can kill the Lord of the 1st floor. In the current situation, wherever he appears, he will be dealt with quickly.

In fact, that was the main reason why I wanted to make my way down this terrible path to join the royal troops.

Here we would be safe from Lord Floor. Even if he appears in front of our noses, support will come if I can stand it.

"Then I'll leave this place to you."

"Where are you going?"

"Get some information."

"Then I'll join you...

"It's a waste of human strength. If you really can't sleep, stand guard next to them.

As soon as the Lord of the Floor was defeated, I left the area allotted to us and headed for the central area. Lord Floor's respawn time was 6 hours. In the meantime, I was going to look around and see if there was anything out of the ordinary, because there was nothing else to do.

[North 172-21].

As I moved forward on the marks painted on the walls by the royal troops, I simultaneously listened to the conversations of the surrounding researchers.

"Hey, did you hear?" It is said to have appeared in the south passage.

"You mean, where did the Lord of the Floor come from?"

"Yes, I heard that about 20 people died until help arrived.

"Damn it, he'd better show up on the side of those bastards from the underground city.

Although the level of reliability of the information of researchers who found themselves in a similar situation to me remains questionable, I could not simply ignore them either. Still, it was a good way to learn public opinion.

"I don't know how long we're going to stay here."

"I know. In the last speech, they said that they would soon clear the path to the portal to the 2nd floor. And now it's the 3rd day.

"I'm worried that they're so quiet.

As expected, the researchers showed distrust of the management, which had not announced anything since day 1. I felt the same way.

It was time to make a decision...

If we calculate that every 6 hours the Lord of the Floor was killed, then in 2 days eight Lords should have died. This meant that on the 5th day, that creature would definitely appear.

A large clan and even the commander of the royal knights couldn't be unaware of this...

But why hasn't there been any action so far? I was insanely interested in what was discussed at the meeting that took place on the day of my arrival.

They should know that this is what Noark is striving for...

But why are we still stuck here?

I thought that they would probably decide to open the way and move to the 2nd floor.

*Top! Top! Top!*

The more anxious I became, the more I quickened my pace. And then a familiar face appeared - the same guy who first discovered the method of obtaining backpacks and spread it in the tribe.

"Charon...?"

"Bjorn, son of Yandel, and a great warrior!"

When I first recognized him and spoke to him, Charon immediately stood up and rushed furiously towards me.

"Meet you here!" As expected, you are destined to lead us!

I was a little taken aback, but I accepted the greeting in a barbaric way, as I was also glad to see him. I asked something that interested me.

"Who are these people next to you?"

"The warriors I met here!"

"Did you meet them here?"

I couldn't understand it at all.

The barbarians' method of obtaining backpacks has long been blocked. The fact that this trick became widely known among researchers was one of the factors, but the most important thing was that lower-level researchers ran out of steam after creating the magical device of identification tags, as it cost 70,000 stones to obtain a single mark. That is why, as I heard, Charon recently joined the team from the 3rd floor.

"What happened to your team?"

"Oh, they died on the way here!" So the soldiers introduced me to warriors who were left alone, just like me!

Damned soldiers. A squad of five barbarian warriors... It was obvious that they had brought these guys together because they were annoying.

"You really are the Little Balkan!" It is a great honor for me to meet you! I am Dewan, the 2nd son of Verox!

"Oh, yes. I'm glad to meet you too.

After hearing their names and greeting the agitated barbarians, I continued my conversation with Charon. Maybe if I hadn't seen him, I'd have left them here, but now I couldn't just leave them.

"Why don't you join us instead of staying here?"

"I... Do you mind?

From the identification marks, for 70,000 stones, and the equipment they were wearing, it could be said that they were warriors operating on the 3rd floor or above. If they are around, they will undoubtedly help me. Moreover, I could trust them.

"Why not.

I told the rejoicing Charon about which zone my team was assigned to.

"I'll let the receptionist know on the way, so you guys can go there first." If you see a magician, be polite and say that I sent you.

"Good!"

"And if you don't know which way to go, ask the researchers nearby. If you scream and wake them up, they'll let you know, even if it's annoying.

"Oh! Got it!

I sent Charon's group and was about to leave when I was stopped by the sound of a low male voice.

- Bjorn Yandel.

Turning around, I saw a man I didn't want to meet.

— Takelan Arbenon.

He was surrounded by explorers I had never seen before. This was not surprising. He lost all his comrades on the way here.

—…

In the silence that followed, Takelan watched me. A slight tremor in his chin indicated that he was struggling to hold something back.

I spoke first.

"I heard what happened while I was gone.

—…

"Do you blame me?"

Takelan did not nod or shake his head, but only stood and looked at me as if restraining himself. It was a long time before he could answer.

"No, I don't blame you.

It was an unexpected answer. Takelan opened his mouth slowly, as if to let his emotions run wild.

"I thought about it all the time because it was all I could do. How did I come to this? Lena is dead, but how can you guys smile and laugh? If those bastards hadn't run away in the middle, maybe Lena would have survived.

—…

"No, the most important thing...

—…

"Didn't you really know that things would turn out this way?"

"So you've come to some conclusion?"

"I don't know. In fact, it was you who suffered the most. And it was you who got the most difficult job. And it wasn't a situation where you could guarantee that even your teammates would survive.

Was there a situation at all when it would be possible to guarantee something? I just did my best to increase our chances of survival at least a little. That is why it seemed to me that something was scratching inside me with a sharp knife.

"I shouldn't have followed you. But," Takelan went on, "it was I who decided to follow you.

—…

"It was I who voted for you to become the leader.

—…

"When that woman said that they were using teleportation magic, it was me who just stood silently and watched...!" It's all me.

Watching him shift all the blame to himself in self-hatred, I experienced an indescribably painful feeling.

"So I don't blame you.

—... I see.

I didn't know what to say in such a situation. I could not even squeeze out the clumsy words of consolation. But did he feel my hesitation?

"Don't feel sorry for me.

With that, Takelan ended the conversation and sat down again.

"The day will come when you will feel the same as I do.

His eyes were no longer looking at me, only at the floor. I instinctively knew that our conversation was over.

*Top! Top!*

And I continued my way again. Takelan did not stop me to continue the conversation. Some time passed in this way. The passage widened, and an expanded central cavity appeared. First of all, I found the administrator and told him that Charon's group had joined us.

"The Apple Narak team... Oh, you're at the passage outside the northern district. Okay, I confirm.

That was the end of my business, but just as I was about to turn, a knight came out of the barracks and walked over to the receptionist who was helping me and glanced in my direction.

*Murmur, murmur*

He named a total of six schools.

"Oh, yes. Do you mean the sorcerers from these schools? Let me check the list first.

Priests weren't enough, now they're trying to summon mages?

That was my original thought, but...

Derta, Speris, Jacquard...

Reflecting on the names of the schools that the knight mentioned, I found one thing in common.

Portal magic.

Magi from these schools above rank 4 could open a portal that could carry up to 30 people. The moment I realized this fact, my heart began to beat uncontrollably.

*Tudum!*

A recent conversation flashed through his mind. It was pointless to deny it.

"A great commander is not someone who makes the perfect choice. This is the one who makes the necessary choices."

This man threw away what he considered of little use without hesitation.