We returned to the Safe Area after investigating the fourth floor for about two hours.
Well, by “investigating,” I mean we just cruised around the sea near the Safe Area and defeated the monsters that came out.
I wanted to continue investigating, but we have a meeting at Float the day after tomorrow, and I also need to submit the investigation report for the Krater Labyrinth, so unfortunately, we had to leave.
Besides the Bigfang Whale, the monsters we hunted were the Killer Whale, Blade Fish, Great Blade Fish, Sea Viper, and Sea Serpent.
However, the number of monsters we hunted up to the third floor was unbelievably large, exceeding 1,000 in total.
It’s too much for Krater alone to handle, so I plan to sell them to Bestia, Float, and Feel, but even then, selling all of them might be difficult.
“The total number of subjugated monsters is 1,652. That’s an astonishing number.”
Fram confirmed the quest log, and it was more than 1.5 times what we expected.
“Then, let’s return to Krater.”
“Yes. It’s better to report quickly, and we have monsters to sell, so we don’t want to waste too much time.”
That’s true.
Regarding the sale of monsters, we’ve agreed to sell them to Krater, Bestia, Feel, and Float as planned, with Bestia scheduled for tomorrow and Float for the day after tomorrow or later.
Tomorrow is a rest day, and I’m scheduled to help Hilde learn Traveling, so it fits perfectly.
“Welcome back, Your Majesty.”
“Yes, I’m back.”
After teleporting to Krater with my Traveling skill and reporting our return at the Hunter’s Guild, we were immediately taken to the 10th Appraisal Room, where Hunter’s Master Carlos Espada, Saber’s Master Charlotte Helferte, and Certina arrived.
Carlos is a rare male High Elf in Torencia and also a survivor of the Monster Train, which was mentioned during our investigation.
Charlotte is a High Harpy who had her right arm and leg torn off by a Slume Lord, but she is being treated by Krater’s Healer’s Master using Extra Healing.
Certina is Hilde’s great-grandmother and resides in Krater, but she came here this time because she wanted to hear the report.
Oh, and of course, several Hunter’s Guild staff, Crafter’s Guild dismantlers, and Sabers are also on standby.
“Then, I will report.”
Since I’m the leader, I’ll be the one making the report.
First, about the first floor.
Ah, I need to prepare the mapping too.
“From the first floor, we encountered White Fangs…”
“Burnetail Foxes and Snow Beetles, and there are over 200 of them? You must have scoured every inch of the floor for the investigation, but this is incredible…”
Both Charlotte and Carlos frowned, surprised by the results far exceeding their expectations.
“I can’t say for sure if White Fangs are spawning regularly, though.”
“That’s only natural. Sabers have investigated before, and they weren’t spotted then. Perhaps they were lucky not to encounter them, or they only started appearing recently.”
“It’s not impossible for An to appear even on the first floor. This needs further investigation.”
I remember hearing something like that.
It’s not uncommon for rare species or even An to inhabit the deeper floors.
However, encountering An on the first floor is something heard only once every few years, and in such cases, an Alliance was formed to subjugate them.
“Now that we have Alloy, and the Alliances that participated in the war possess it, even a small number of High Classes should be able to handle it.”
“Sabers are in a similar situation, but it will be a burden for the Krater branch, so we need to consider increasing personnel.”
As Mana said, thanks to Alloy, the combat power of High Classes has drastically increased. Monsters that previously required more than ten High Classes to defeat can now be taken down by one or two.
Therefore, participants in the Torencia Alliance who already possess Alloy weapons should be able to defeat them without gathering a large number of people.
Furthermore, with Certina, an Ancient Lamia, in Krater, there seems to be no need to form an Alliance for the first floor.
Regarding the burden on the Saber’s Guild that Hilde is concerned about, there’s nothing that can be done about it.
The number of personnel has decreased due to the Slume Lord’s attack, and with the creation of the Krater Labyrinth, manpower has had to be allocated there as well. The only solution is to increase the number of Sabers.
However, it’s not easy to increase personnel, so Hilde must be worried.
For now, I need to continue my report.
“That’s how it is for the first floor. For the second floor, it was a volcanic region, just as the Saber’s Guild had investigated.”
Carlos, Charlotte, and Certina had already heard this much.
However, the difficulty varied with each volcano, not just the ecosystem. Saur species, which are not found in Torencia, roamed freely, and to top it off, a P-R rank Spinosaurus appeared.
“The difficulty is rapidly increasing…”
“And to think that Saur species are common here. Even the first floor is tough for Torencia’s Hunters…”
“To make matters worse, there’s only one stairwell to the third floor.”
Charlotte, Carlos, and Certina were all distressed.
There were over ten volcanoes in the volcanic region of the second floor, each with a different environment and ecosystem.
Naturally, the monsters inhabiting each volcano varied, as did the difficulty.
The most difficult was the rock and lava volcano that the Saber’s Guild reached.
The mountain paths were narrow and labyrinthine, with Kobold villages almost always at dead ends, and Pteranodons attacking from the sky.
Near the Safe Area was the territory of Allosaurus, and Spinosaurus also lived there, so being careless could cost you more than one life.
“Fortunately, that volcano is off the main route.”
“Indeed. Although the volcano is difficult, it doesn’t seem to be entirely connected and appears to be independent, so it seems possible to avoid it by taking a detour.”
That’s a relief.
Between the volcanoes, grasslands spread out.
So, by advancing through there, we don’t have to climb every volcano.
The stairwell is located in the Safe Area near the summit, so moving up a floor is a different matter, but just moving around the second floor isn’t that difficult.
The monsters that appeared were mostly higher-ranked Demi-humans like Hob Goblins and Ricaos Kobolds.
“However, the only stairwell to the third floor was in this waterfall volcano.”
“A volcano made entirely of water, and inhabited by aquatic monsters…”
“It’s troublesome in a different way…”
Well, that’s probably true for the waterfall volcano.
Inhabiting the waterfall volcano were Sahagins, Water Spiders, Merlin species, Squid species, and Mosasaurus species – a parade of species not found in the waters near Torencia.
Moreover, given the examples of the first floor and the rock and lava volcano, it’s not impossible to find rare or An species.
Mosasaurus, in particular, is a troublesome monster that does not decrease in rank even when it moves onto land.
“Since the water is clear, it’s a relief that we won’t be ambushed if we keep a good lookout.”
“Yes, we weren’t ambushed in reality.”
We were watching our surroundings carefully not only from the observation deck but also from the deck.
“Next, for the third floor, it was a cityscape that looked exactly like Bestia.”
Following this, when I reported on the third floor, Carlos, Charlotte, and Certina looked surprised, and then immediately looked troubled.
“A city floor, and in Bestia’s likeness?”
“Yes. And it was a complete city floor.”
“Complete, meaning there was nothing else besides the city?”
“Nothing at all.”
The details seemed to be slightly different, but it was basically the same as Bestia.
Moreover, the monsters inhabiting it, as far as we confirmed, included Goblins, Garums, and Amazons.
Goblins aside, both Garums and Amazons are forest-dwelling monsters, so it’s possible they are treating the buildings in the city as a forest.
“Garums and Amazons? And only higher species, rare species, and An?”
“Yes. Furthermore, an Amazoness Queen was positioned directly in front of the Safe Area with the stairwell.”
“That’s…”
The three of them put their heads in their hands again, and I could understand why.
The Amazoness Queen’s Monster Rank is M-C rank, but due to being in a labyrinth, it becomes equivalent to the next higher rank, A-C.
Catastrophe Species are already treated as two ranks higher, so if one appears in a shallow floor like the third, and is positioned directly in front of the stairwell, most Hunters would give up on progressing, let alone conquering it.
Furthermore, the surrounding Amazons, including princesses, will attack. Even with Alloy weapons, it would be tough for ordinary High Classes.
“Troublesome… If we’re lucky, we might be able to evade the Queen and dash into the Safe Area, but if we fail, we’ll be attacked by a swarm of Amazons. It’s truly a matter of life or death.”
“Somehow, it feels like the presence of an Ancient Class is assumed.”
Certina murmured with a sigh, and that prediction was also something we had considered.
Now, if there’s one Ancient Class member, it’s not impossible to defeat a Demi-human Catastrophe Species, or at least hold them off until the party can retreat to the Safe Area.
Therefore, the survival rate of Raids and Unions will greatly depend on whether an Ancient Class member is present.
“But even if we break through the Amazoness Queen and reach the fourth floor, if we’re not prepared, we’ll have to come back again.”
“H.R.H. Manalease, what do you mean by that?”
“We only confirmed it briefly after entering, but on the fourth floor, everything except the Safe Area was the sea.”
“…”
“Eh? Oh, I-I apologize, Your Highness! B-but, the sea?”
Certina and Charlotte seemed to be momentarily confused by what Mana had said.
But that’s understandable.
Among the labyrinths that people can currently enter, there are no floors that are entirely made of the sea.
“It’s the sea. I dived in a bit, but depths of 10 or 20 meters wouldn’t matter. Killer Whales, Sea Serpents, and Great Blade Fish were inhabiting it, so it’s definitely over 1,000 meters deep, wouldn’t you say?”
There were also Bigfang Whales, Sea Vipers, and Blade Fish, though.
“The difficulty is too high. The period when it was said to have been born was right after more than ten people evolved into Ancient Classes in the Seryado Volcano, so the assumption that Ancient Classes are prerequisites seems correct.”
Certina sighed again, and I agreed that it was the only way to think about it.
In Torencia, the only Ancient Class members are Hilde, who evolved just a few hours ago, and Certina herself. However, Hilde has the position of Queen and is scheduled to head to Solemne soon, so effectively, only Certina remains.
Certina, at 108 years old, is still an active Hunter with extensive experience, but even so, having only one Ancient Class member is a significant burden. Furthermore, we have no idea what lies beyond the fourth floor, so the possibility of a mishap is not negligible.
“Honestly, this is a problem beyond my capabilities…”
“But Carlos, the news about a labyrinth appearing in the Golud Great Glacier is spreading among Hunters.”
“Yes, it is. Therefore, for now, we will publish the investigation report from Wing Crest as is. If people still want to enter, it will be at their own risk.”
“That’s how it will be.”
Originally, Hunters entering a labyrinth is within their own responsibility.
So, even if we publish our investigation results, if they still want to enter, the Hunter’s Guild can’t stop them.
Currently, due to the Slume Lord’s attack and the war with Solemne, the number of Hunters has decreased. Torencia probably doesn’t want them to take foolish risks, but those who enter will enter no matter what is said, making it a difficult judgment.
“Your Majesty, what will be the country’s policy on this matter?”
“We didn’t expect the difficulty to be this high. Tomorrow, I will report to the Hunter’s Guild headquarters in Bestia, and we will hold a meeting with the Head Hunter’s Master and Grand Saber’s Master. I intend to reach a conclusion before heading to Solemne, but until then, Sabers are prohibited from entering the Krater Labyrinth except in emergencies.”
“Yes! I will ensure this is thoroughly communicated to all Sabers.”
The Saber’s Guild was probably considering investigating, but since the difficulty was far greater than expected, it’s understandable that Hilde made that decision.
The Saber’s Guild is the Torencia Knights, so it’s a relief that there likely won’t be anyone who takes reckless actions.
Next is the Hunter’s Guild. I’ll report in Bestia tomorrow, and then we’ll proceed from there.
“Hunter’s Master, I apologize for the trouble, but I will pick you up tomorrow, so could you attend the meeting as well?”
“Understood. I will free up my schedule.”
“Then, Your Majesty, I will escort Carlos to Bestia.”
“Thank you for your assistance.”
Carlos will also participate.
Well, as the Hunter’s Master of Krater, it’s only natural.
I thought about picking him up myself, but if Certina is escorting him, I’ll leave it to her.
During our stay in Deseo, not only Certina but also the Ancient Class members who evolved in the Battle of Kraggen have learned Traveling.
