Before completing [Gigantization], I took another look around the area, and the cavity in the central area had expanded to the size of an area.

Now it looks like Gwanghwamun Square (in Seoul).

The researchers, whose number easily exceeded thousands, stood tightly and looked in my direction. I wondered how many of them there are in total. He did not dare to count.

If we take into account those who were still outside the aisles due to the crowd in the center, the figure would be simply staggering. Now I realized that the numbers you hear and read about are completely different in real life.

If he saw this, would this bastard have made a different decision?

The thought crossed my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. It was a meaningless hypothesis, and that's not what we need to worry about now.

'Behellaaa

—... We wanted you to speak. Why did you suddenly scream?

"I just wanted to do it!"

To be precise, I was starting to get nervous in front of such a crowd. Screaming made me feel a little better. Yes, I was a barbarian, so there was nothing in this world that I could not do.

"Listen, everyone!"

In the silence, which was difficult to imagine with so many people, attention was riveted on me. It almost made me shy.

"Let's all think together!" Since there are so many people here, then there must be smart ones!

I made a stony face and continued. I already had plans from A to Z, but I decided that it would look suspicious if I revealed all this in front of so many people.

"Huh?"

"Is that all...?"

Those who listened to me with bated breath made empty expressions. Some faces also looked disappointed.

"What else did I expect from a barbarian?"

This was the only drawback of the barbarian. He is not able to show his intellect and take the initiative in managing the situation. However, without the barbarian, it would also be impossible to stop such a fight.

"Then why did you scream so hard?"

"A wise warrior pours out his anger in the right place. This is not where we should shed our blood.

"No, I understand what you mean, but...

The researchers didn't know what to say. I sternly continued to play the fool. In the end, I have fulfilled the goal of saving the knights so far.

No, not only that, I even managed to create an atmosphere for everyone to gather and talk, and made a deep impression on people.

The first goal has been fully achieved.

"He's not wrong. Everyone has their own role. If this man stopped the senseless bloodshed and allowed us to gather like this, then he has already done more than everyone else.

A middle-aged mage who introduced himself as a battle mage protected me and changed the atmosphere.

It seems that I made a good impression on him.

"A role, right?" This reminds me of a passage from The Book of Monarchy. The role of the ruler is not to fight, but to create the will to fight.

"Haha, I never thought anyone was reading this book. Nice to meet you. Did you say your name is Melter Fend, of Clan Nartel?

"Yes, Mr. Kyle.

"Oh, do you know me?"

"You're quite famous.

As we all stood there looking at them, the two of us whispered briefly among themselves and exchanged friendly glances. It was an unpleasant phenomenon. Not only did we not have time to communicate, but these researchers were abandoned by the authorities. If the others saw this and thought we were in cahoots with each other, they would probably be worried.

"Okay, let's get down to business!" Does anyone have information that we don't know about?

I pretended to be a fool and intervened to get the conversation back on track.

In order for my plan to work, I needed to talk, and I needed them to come to the same conclusion I had come to before, even if it was a bit of a hassle for me.

When no one answered, Fend spoke.

"First of all, we need to find out why the royal troops abandoned us.

"That's right!" So far, there has been no problem holding on, then why...?

This was the biggest contradiction in the current situation. Those who were angry at being abandoned came to their senses again and expressed their doubts. Since there were a lot of people, the answer came quickly.

"Most likely, it's because of Lord Floor.

This came from the mouth of Battlemage Kyle.

—... Lord Floor?

"But we've done well with it so far!"

"So far, we have coped. The commander was probably afraid of the creature that appeared after the defeat of the 9th Lord Floor.

—... Critters?

"Lord of the Abyss, Berzak. Another Lord of the Floor, called by this name.

Most were confused as they had never heard the name before, so Kyle briefly explained to them who the Lord of the Abyss was.

"It is because of this monster that researchers must obtain permission from the Guild before defeating the Lord of Terror. He is a real disaster.

"So much so that even hundreds of knights and big clans can't defeat him together?"

— No, not to this extent. But...

Kyle fell silent and stared into the distance.

"We're not the only ones in this cave.

Noark, Raphdonia, and even the Lord of the Abyss, Berzak, were here.

"The command reasoned as follows. If the battle with Berzak begins, Noark will definitely interfere with us.

"Come to think of it, there haven't been any raids since day 1...

"Damn it, that's what they've been planning all along!"

It was a kind of cooperative annihilation strategy in which everyone uses the Berzak to inflict massive damage on the enemy.

That is why the commander of the royal guard decided to retreat, because high-ranking explorers and knights are a valuable force that will be difficult to replenish in a short time. He wanted to keep them at least for the sake of this cursed king.

"Wait!" Isn't that strange? If they knew that something so dangerous would come out, why didn't they try to go up to the 2nd floor before that?

One of the researchers pointed out a contradiction. I also thought carefully about this question, but the answer turned out to be very simple.

— I think I can answer this question.

This time a priestess from the Church of Heindel spoke.

"On the 1st day after entering the labyrinth, a search group was sent to the portal on the 2nd floor. I heard this information when I was treating a knight who returned alive.

"Speak quickly!"

"The western portal connecting to the Rocky Desert is unfortunately no longer operational.

"Not in working order?"

"Scientist of Destruction!" That cursed Magus had apparently destroyed the portal.

He was a criminal who could be said to be at the leadership level of Orcules. At the mention of this name, there was a commotion.

In the meantime, I calmly collected my thoughts.

The West, right?

So now the odds were one in three? It was valuable information.

"If the west is blocked, then we just need to go through another portal!" Someone from the crowd shouted, but few responded.

It was a natural reaction.

"The other portals haven't been checked yet, but the knight said that it's likely that the Scholar of Destruction has already walked through them.

"Then...

"Yes, we're here in full... Trapped.

When the priestess finished speaking, there was a heavy silence. Nevertheless, the discussion continued.

"This time, the Noark bastards have really planned everything.

"And what are we going to do now?"

"Even if it's not about Berzak, if they find out that our main forces have left, they will definitely attack us.

The researchers participated in the conversation more actively than before, but it was of no use. There were not enough clues to take action.

"Don't you look at everything too narrowly?" A skilled warrior always anticipates the opponent's next move before acting.

Whenever this happened, I would intervene and give hints.

"Do you really think that after months of preparing for this day, they didn't expect us to open the portal and escape?"

—... To be honest, I would have found it stranger if they hadn't expected it.

Hmm, that was true. Of course, this was something that an ordinary person didn't even think about.

Kyle and a few others didn't take my words lightly.

"That makes sense. Maybe their plan was to corner us and force us to use [Portal].

— Yes. Then the real war may not be this time, but the next one. There won't be many mages in the city who can use portal magic.

"Perhaps they are aimed at internal turmoil between the royal family and researchers. If this news reached the city, then distrust of the royal family would surely explode. Well, that's all assuming we come back alive.

These were all questions I asked myself at one time or another, a situation where anything and everything made sense.

"I just don't know what they need.

In a situation where there was no correct answer, Kyle asked me:

"What do you think?" It seems to me that your opinion is important.

"What do you mean?"

"You've just pointed out the point, too. I'm interested in your intuition as a warrior.

I thought for a moment. After asking a lot of questions and making a lot of assumptions, I've already come to a conclusion. Of course, I wasn't sure if it was right.

— I think that from the very beginning we were the target.

"Oh?" Not knights and large clans? Kyle cut in with interest, but not everyone was like that.

— It's just ridiculous. If they knew that the knights were going to use the [Portal], why would they use this strategy? In a situation where all the best have escaped, they will only lose if they choose to destroy together.

These were the words of a bastard who was friendly to other talented people throughout the discussion, but treated me with particular hostility.

I didn't know why he was behaving this way with me. Maybe because he has no hair?

I grinned and said:

"Why do you think this is joint destruction?" For them, it is enough to climb up.

"As I said-...

"They just need to leave one portal and escape through it.

That was my conclusion. Wasn't this world full of freaks obsessed with efficiency?

If I were the leader on the opponent's side, this would be the only plan of action that would come to my mind.

Because it is the most beneficial for them.

Having deprived more than a hundred high-ranking Magi of the ability to use [Portals], they could wait for the next chance. Not only that, they could reduce the influence of the royal family in the city... More importantly, even if the cream was gone, thousands of researchers could be killed without spilling a single drop of blood. Without the main forces that would escape, we would never have been able to defeat Berzak in our lives.

But was it difficult to admit it? The guy was speechless for a moment before coming to his senses and issuing an ignorant rebuttal.

"It can't be that simple...

More precisely, he tried. Kyle nodded slowly.

"So you thought so too.

Damn, he had already thought about it, but he asked me anyway?

I felt a little uncomfortable, but I didn't say anything. That's why I didn't want to stand out so much. However, I was comforted by the fact that it felt more like a test of my abilities than a suspicion.

—…?

At that moment, a noise was heard outside. I couldn't hear because it was far away, but it didn't take long for us to get the news.

"Head!"

"What is it?"

"The Noark bastards blocking the passages are all gone!"

Kyle smiled bitterly at me.

"It seems that you and I were right.

Now we really needed to hurry.

***

Now that we knew what Noark was up to, it wasn't hard to come up with a plan. Although it was not an ideal solution, it became clear what needed to be done.

"We also need to go up to the 2nd floor.

"But do you know through which portal?"

"At least we know that this is not the West. Let's split up and search in all directions.

The group will split into three and run to the portals of the 2nd floor. Of course, the matter did not end there.

"Even going upstairs is a problem!" These guys will definitely be there...!

Out of the fire and into the fire. And after that, new problems awaited us, but what to do?

"Isn't that better than dying here?" From now on, this is an individual choice for everyone.

Kyle spoke with a cool head, and no one decided to stay, at least not around us.

"Then how are we going to divide the forces?"

One of the researchers asked for a detailed strategy.

Before Kyle, who was now starting the conversation and exuding a leader's vibe, had a chance to speak, I joined the conversation.

"I think we should divide into groups of about three hundred people.

"Three hundred?" When do we already lack people?

That idiot again.

"Even if there are more people, it is difficult to fight in this area. It will be better this way.

In a technical sense, this meant guerrilla warfare. I did not specify, but everyone understood the meaning of these words.

"Hmm, you're right. A battle is a battle, but the more the group disperses, the more people will survive. This will distract the monster.

"Most of us will die anyway if we encounter this monster, so let's be bait for each other to survive."

Truly, it was a heartless strategy. Nevertheless, everyone meekly agreed. This was the advantage of the research industry. There was no need to waste time discussing such things as consent.

"Then how should we organize it?"

"Let's decide for ourselves. I do not intend to work under anyone.

— Yes, in any case, we don't have time.

Having sketched out a rough plan, the researcher ended the conversation and left. It was the head of an unknown small clan.

From that moment on, a commotion began.

Some recruited comrades for their team.

"This is the Red Light Clan. I'm looking for those who want to get out of this cursed place with me! Everyone above the 6th rank, whoever it is, no matter how many of them there are!

Some were looking for a nest to climb into.

"One of our team members has a rank 7. Can this be ignored?

And in the midst of this turmoil, the head of the Nartel clan, Melter Fend, immediately went to hire a mage.

"Mr. Kyle, I know you're on your own. But would you like to join our clan?

I was going to do it first, but seeing how friendly the two were, I didn't think the mage would refuse.

Then I should hurry up before everyone is taken away.

"Then I'll go." See you alive.

After saying a short goodbye, I turned around. I planned to start collecting recruits by returning to my teammates who were somewhere in the crowd. Gathering three hundred people, being a barbarian sucker, will be very difficult.

I was about to move with this thought when Battlemage Kyle stopped me.

"Wait, what are you going to do?" I'm sure you'll take the lead's place?

— Of course.

"Then take me, too."

And?

"Why?"

"I'm just following my intuition. I think that people will gather for you.

—... Will you trust your intuition when your life is at stake?

Looking at Fend, who was trying to recruit him first, Kyle smiled and replied.

"A mage who has voluntarily chosen to stay in this chaos cannot be in his right mind.

This is also true.

"Good. I hope we work well together.

Now I had a high-rank Magus. This was a very good indicator.

Using it, I will be able to gather the best members.

"Take us with you."

Before I had time to take a step, a group of knights approached me. Looking closely at the face of the knight at the head, I realized that this was the same man who had allowed himself to be beaten with a submissive expression on his face when I first came here.

"Four official knights and six apprentice knights." We will not slow you down.

Do you want to return the favor? This is to my advantage.

"Good. Follow me.

A group of knights stood behind me. Before I had time to take a step, someone called out to me again.

"Wait.

It was Melter Fend.

What was that? Is it because I stole a mage in front of him?

Well, he didn't look so resentful of the failure...

"In what direction are you going?"

"To the east.

Since the west was inaccessible, the east was good. Even if the first attempt fails, we can turn north or south depending on the situation.

— By coincidence, this is my direction as well. Why don't we go together?

"I'm not going to walk under you.

"Don't worry. I will follow your instructions.

"What?"

This was also unexpected. He did not look like a person who would work under someone's command.

What is this? Is there a damn hidden camera here?

"So, what is your answer?"

—... If you follow my orders correctly.

"Then it's decided.

Soon, Fend and his clan stood behind me. To be honest, I was dumbfounded. I haven't made any proposals yet. How did so many of them gather?

'Behellaaa

"Let's follow the next chieftain!"

Before I had taken a few steps, the barbarians ran up and followed me. Well, it was obvious.

"Uncle!"

"Ervena?" Where is your clan?

"My sister thinks it's safer!" Will you take us with you?

— Of course.

The elf sisters, who seemed to be watching what was happening nearby, also joined in.

It wasn't over yet.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to go with you."

It was a rank 4 team operating on the 6th floor.

The priestess, who remained to save others, said:

"I think you can save the most people.

"Haha, at such moments, a loyal person deserves the most trust. Take us too.

Even the well-known dwarven clan in the city spoke out.

All I did was walk, but a lot of people came up to me and asked me to come with me.

"Didn't I tell you?" People will gather for you.

***

— A magician's intuition usually does not fail.

Kyle looked at me and smiled meaningfully.