First, I visited shops around town to get my equipment sorted.
Of course, I used “Display” to check whether items were good or bad before buying. However, there weren’t many hidden gems in shops catering to general customers. They were just filled with mass-produced items haphazardly displayed.
I subtly asked the shopkeepers about high-priced weapons, but they said that such items were only available at auction houses or specialized shops related to Fuziaze.
However, since I’m using the first-class “Aris Family’s Treasure Sword,” I didn’t feel the need to go out of my way to get expensive weapons. I bought Maria an easy-to-handle short sword and some light but durable armor to protect her, and that was the end of the shopping.
“Um, even this knife feels heavy…”
“You’ll get used to it soon, don’t worry.”
Maria, clad in leather armor, held the short sword with both hands.
Even with just that, she was wobbling.
Rather than getting used to it, it was more about her Strength increasing through Level Up.
Thus, having finished our preparations, we now stand at the entrance of the Labyrinth in perfect condition.
I recalled the leveling plan for Maria that I had Thought Out that morning and began to put it into action.
“Alright, Maria, try riding on me for a bit.”
I crouched down and turned my back to Maria.
Incidentally, the sword’s scabbard is designed to be usable as a chair.
“Huh?”
Maria let out a dumbfounded sound.
I understood her feelings. If I were about to face a Labyrinth risking my life, and my Master tried to get me to ride on his back, I’d question their sanity too.
“I’m serious. Trust me and get on my back.”
“…Huh?”
To show that I was serious, I asked her to get on my back again in a resolute voice.
However, Maria still only gave an unenthusiastic reply.
“For now, I’m thinking of skipping straight to about the 5th Floor. And since it’s faster for me to run than for you, I want you to ride on me. Also, it’s easier to protect you if you’re on my back.”
“Ah, I see… No! No, no!?! I’ve never heard of anyone entering a Labyrinth while being carried on someone’s back!”
By the way, the target of the 5th Floor is a level where Maria wouldn’t die instantly. My shallow combat experience is the guideline, so I don’t have much confidence in it.
Maria nodded as if she understood what I was saying… then immediately shook her head.
A shame.
But this was one of the top ideas I wanted to try.
I couldn’t back down easily.
“I haven’t heard of it either. But I want to try it. Just a little… Just for a little bit. Please.”
If my calculations were correct, it should be possible.
The Strength of a seasoned Explorer—a greatsword-wielding swordsman—is about 5.
Their Stamina is also about the same. In comparison, my Status for Strength and Stamina has reached 6. This means I possess the Strength and Stamina equivalent to a two-meter-tall, well-trained giant.
I want to conduct an experiment on how much effort it would take to carry a girl weighing about forty kilograms with this Status. I estimate that I can carry her easily up to around the 5th Floor.
“I… I have no choice…”
Maria reluctantly and shyly got on my back.
I felt Maria’s weight on the sword’s scabbard and stood up.
The weight on my hands felt strangely light to the touch.
It was an unbelievable sensation for my previous world self.
That lightness convinced me that my guess was not mistaken.
“Alright. Then, I’m going to run a bit, so hold on tight.”
“Yes…”
After confirming that Maria was firmly gripping my shoulders, I deployed the Magic “Dimension” and started running.
“—Hic!?”
Maria’s scream rang out as I ran through the Labyrinth’s “Seidō.”
My Status for Speed is 10.
I don’t know how fast that is in this world.
After all, I have no one to compare it to.
“—W, wait! Please wait!”
Maria immediately called out for me to stop.
I slowed down and spoke to her.
“…Is it still impossible?”
Maria was out of breath without even running. It seemed that just clinging to me consumed quite a bit of Stamina.
“N-No… I was just surprised by Master’s monstrous ability. I was in a bad position just now… Next time, I’ll be fine.”
Saying that, Maria wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me properly.
As we became closer, I could feel my face blushing. Without looking back to hide it, I confirmed with her.
“Alright, I’m going to run now?”
“Yes, bring it on.”
I ran without any hesitation.
The more I ran, the tighter Maria’s arms around me became.
Along the way, we passed other Explorers.
They were surprised by the sheer spectacle, but I left them all behind.
Because I was running at an unusual speed, they probably wouldn’t get a clear look at my face. However, I was certainly conspicuous, and there was no guarantee that they wouldn’t recognize us.
Still, I didn’t stop.
Until now, I had avoided drawing attention to myself.
But ever since I sold Teeda’s Magic Stone to Valt, I’ve been giving up on hiding. Partly because my Strength has reached a point where I can’t hide it, but also because with that Strength, I can escape most problems.
“Amazing! You’re so fast! It’s like riding a horse!”
Maria, perhaps getting used to it, was excitedly chattering.
Is Arena a type of animal? Perhaps based on her experience riding such animals, Maria was comfortable even at this speed.
I recall Maria having a Skill called “Hunting.” Before she became a Slave, she might have been hunting on horseback-like animals.
“It’s better if you don’t talk too much. You might bite your tongue.”
“Ah, yes. Understood.”
I cautioned Maria and increased my speed even further.
And then, we reached the 5th Floor.
It took about thirty minutes.
“I-Incredible! Master, we really made it!!”
“Pant, pant…! Haa, haa, haa…!!”
However, the price was high.
According to my plan, I shouldn’t have been struggling even after thirty minutes.
It seems that even with a Stamina of 6, I couldn’t endure a thirty-minute sprint.
Perhaps Stamina in this world is not directly linked to the endurance of my previous world.
The nuances of the words are close, but they are definitely not the same.
“Ah, are you alright…?”
“Haa, haa… Yeah, I’m okay now…”
Seeing me catching my breath with my hands on my knees, Maria hesitantly asked with concern.
To her, I responded with a firm nod.
Some results were as predicted, while others were not as I had hoped. However, the fact that I could run while carrying Maria was a significant gain. This gave me the assurance that I could evacuate with Maria in an emergency.
I caught my breath and let Maria down. Then, with my free arms, I drew my sword and started walking off the “Seidō.”
“Are you going already? Wouldn’t it be better to rest a little longer?”
“No, it’s a waste of time. Even with my breath ragged, I won’t fall behind monsters on the 5th Floor.”
“Haa. As far as I know, the 5th Floor is a realm where even mid-tier Explorers can lose their lives…”
“So I hear. But I’ll be fine.”
“No, I mean that *I* am in danger…”
Maria’s voice began to tremble.
She had been excited riding the roller coaster that was me earlier, but now she remembered that we had come to a terrifying place.
I am confident that I won’t let Maria get hurt on the 5th Floor, given my abilities and the detection capabilities of the Magic “Dimension.”
However, for Maria, who doesn’t know me well, it’s a situation where she could die at any moment.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t bring you here without conviction. I will absolutely protect you.”
“…Is that so? However, you’re the kind of person who seems likely to fail at crucial moments, so I’m worried, Master.”
Maria hesitated at my confident assertion but quickly regained her composure and admonished me.
Perhaps because of her Skills, Maria casually stated something that hit the core of the issue.
I acknowledged her reprimand while nodding.
“Understood. I’ll be extremely careful.”
I expanded the Magic “Dimension” to a wide area.
I’m not worried about MP.
After all, my MP, now Level 10, is nearly double what it was the last time I explored the 5th Floor.
Then, I sequentially stored in memory the “areas where monsters are likely to be concentrated” and the “areas where Boss Monsters with high Experience Points are located”—in other words, the “areas with high leveling efficiency.”
Northeast direction.
Several hundred meters ahead.
There was a monster concentration area.
Among the areas that met the conditions, this was the closest, so I urged Maria to move.
“Alright, let’s go this way.”
We moved a few dozen meters and took up a position in a spacious area.
Next, I reconfirmed the target monsters within a few hundred meters’ radius. This was also to check if Maria would be attacked by monsters while I was hunting them.
With this, the preparations were complete.
Finally, I could conduct the experiment.
“Maria, wait here. I’m going to hunt some monsters.”
“Huh? No, no, no, wait! Are you planning to leave me here alone?”
“Don’t worry. I have a Skill that can sense monster locations, so if Maria is in danger, I’ll be back immediately… Well, if you happen to encounter a monster, run in the opposite direction, though.”
“No, of course I’ll run but… if we get caught in a pincer, it’s over.”
“If we get caught in a pincer… then we’ll just have to give up.”
“Don’t give up!”
“Giving up was a joke. Don’t worry, I can really sense the location of creatures within the Labyrinth.”
Maria protested vehemently, but I pushed my opinion through and forcibly convinced her.
However, even though she was convinced, Maria was still complaining endlessly, saying, “Haa… In the end, I’m going to die, aren’t I? Eaten by monsters, no less. Thanks to being picked up by a foolish Master, I’ll die by predation. It’s a way of dying I hate, right after torture and burning to death.” So, perhaps “gave up” is a more accurate description.
“Then, I’m off.”
“Yes, yes, go ahead and abandon me.”
Maria waved her hand with a resigned look and saw me off.
I quickly ran towards the area where monsters were likely to be clustered.
The possibility of what Maria said earlier was not zero.
Even though the “Seidō” was positioned behind Maria, there might be a chance that monsters could surround her before I could intervene. I began annihilating monsters with the fastest speed I could manage.
“Fuh—!”
I slashed through enemies with the sword I had entrusted to me by Dia.
Generally, the monsters in this area are mostly Beasts and Insects.
Sometimes special monsters like Hang Shadows, which are difficult to hit with physical attacks, appear, but I can deal with them by solidifying them with Ice Magic and smashing them, as I did in the fight against Teeda.
Basically, it’s one strike.
My Attack Power, combined with the “Aris Family’s Treasure Sword,” has reached an extraordinary level on the 5th Floor. All sorts of monsters are sliced through as easily as cutting paper.
Incidentally, my policy is not to pick up any drops other than the Magic Stones of Boss Monsters.
Since I still have savings of nearly ten gold coins, it’s better to prioritize time and Experience Points over picking up Magic Stones that only yield copper coins.
More importantly, this hunt is more of an experiment than a practical application.
First, how easy it is to level up Maria—
Depending on the results, I might focus on leveling up others rather than exploring the Labyrinth.
It’s not out of the question to send out cultivated individuals one after another into the Labyrinth.
It’s also important to measure the functional distance of a Party.
If that distance is long, Maria can just wait in the “Seidō.”
It’s definitely impossible to be as far away as the Ground. If that were the case, Dia, who is in the Hospital, would also be receiving Experience Points.
“—Alright. …Phew. Is this enough?”
After hunting for about thirty minutes, I decided to return to Maria for the time being.
I walked while steadying my ragged breathing. Maria, seeing my leisurely return, shouted.
“You should be dashing from there! Let’s return at a dash!?”
“I’m back.”
Maria, looking haggard, frantically complained to me.
In those few tens of minutes, she seemed to have lost considerable composure.
Upon closer reflection, even when I was Level 1, just walking around the Labyrinth made me want to go mad. It wasn’t that long ago, but for some reason, it felt like a distant memory.
“Haa, haa, haa…. To be honest, I’m quite scared, you know…. even so…”
“Hmm, it seems so. I underestimated you, Maria, thinking you’d be fine.”
“I-It’s impossible to be fine at all… What did you think of me? I’m just a weak child…”
After lodging many complaints with me, Maria became dejected and began to express her weakness.
Although I felt I had done something wrong, I didn’t consider stopping the experiment.
Immediately, I used “Display” on Maria’s Status to confirm if her Experience Points were increasing.
[Status]
Experience Points: 1521/400
Even with combat at a distance of 100 meters, Experience Points were still being added.
“Alright, next, wait in the ‘Seidō’.”
“H-Haa? The ‘Seidō’? Well, that’s better than here. But what’s the point of me following you?”
“There is a point. You’re helping me a lot.”
“I don’t understand how I’m helping.”
Maria grumbled but followed my instructions.
She probably knew that there was a Barrier against monsters in the “Seidō.” She walked with a somewhat relieved expression.
Near Maria and the “Seidō,” I began searching for monsters again.
What’s important now is the distance from the “Seidō” to the monster areas.
This time, I’ll try a distance of 300 meters. If Experience Points are still gained at that distance, then it will be possible to have companions wait in the “Seidō” while leveling them up.
“The experiment resumes—”
—And so, my morning time was completely consumed by experiments.
Maria, left alone in various places, had tears welling up in her eyes, but my confidence in the protection provided by the Magic “Dimension” led me to ignore her complaints.
And after several hours of investigation, I confirmed the following information:
1. Experience Points are distributed equally regardless of Level difference.
2. The limit distance for distribution is around 100 meters.
3. As a special condition, the limit distance varies in places with Barriers, such as the “Seidō.”
