**Side: Lydia**
We spent the night in the Safe Area and, after breakfast, resumed our exploration of the 12th Level.
I never imagined it would take us a full day to reach the level transition gate.
The monsters inhabiting this level are incredibly powerful. It’s disheartening that even though they’re only W-rank, they’re equivalent to O-rank monsters, which, combined with the environment, makes the word “vicious” feel insufficient.
Despite this, we pressed on, filling out about 90% of the map before finally discovering the transition gate to the 13th Level.
As we’d predicted last night, the gate to the 13th Level was located in the center of the map, just south of the transition gate from the 11th Level.
Even “just south” meant a distance of several kilometers. The water was so dark that even with the eyesight of an Ancient Class or Element Class hunter, we could only see a few hundred meters ahead. We wouldn’t have found it even if we knew where it was.
Furthermore, the Safe Area containing the transition gate to the 13th Level is situated below the Safe Area for the gate from the 11th Level, making discovery even more impossible.
It’s a cruel twist that while Undines, Water Dragon-type Dragonewts, and Dragonian might be able to cut through the underwater environment for a shortcut, it’s impossible for other races.
“Are they telling us to build a submarine too?”
“That would be too niche, wouldn’t it? I understand the sentiment, though.”
Yamato and Mako are creasing their brows, but we all share their feelings.
Even if we built a submarine capable of traveling underwater, the problem of how to attack would remain. I feel sorry for Yamato, but I can only say it wouldn’t be niche—it would be utterly useless.
“What time is it… 1 o’clock. That’s inconvenient.”
“Wouldn’t it be safest to have a late lunch, head to the 13th Level, and conduct a brief survey before calling it a day?”
“That’s probably best. Oh, wait. We can probably advance a bit further, so finding a Safe Area might be worthwhile.”
“We’ve already spent two full days here, so it’s better to do that.”
“It’s only been four days, but the sooner, the better.”
Everyone else has other work to do, and Yamato, in particular, has his duties as a Lord’s Assistant and acting Lord. The sooner we can return, the better.
“Depending on the size of the 13th Level and whether there’s a 14th Level, we might be able to leave tomorrow if we’re lucky.”
“It’s hard to tell if there are more than 14 levels or if the 13th Level is the end.”
That’s the biggest problem.
There are three types of Labyrinths: those with many levels but relatively low Monster Ranks, those with few levels but high Monster Ranks, and those like the Krater Labyrinth with both many levels and high Monster Ranks.
For convenience, we call the first type Type 1, the next Type 2, and Labyrinths like Krater Labyrinth Type 3. Type 1 is the most common.
There are only about ten Type 2 Labyrinths, and Krater Labyrinth is said to be the only Type 3.
However, there are predictions that both Type 2 and Type 3 will increase in the future, making Labyrinth classification important for the Hunter’s Guild.
I believe there will be an official decision soon.
That’s up to the Hunter’s Guild, so let’s put it aside for now.
After eating lunch, we wasted little time and stepped into the 13th Level.
“Again…?”
“Could it be that the same level is repeating?”
“It’s brighter, and the passage seems to extend above the sea. Could this level include the surface as well?”
The Safe Area connected by the transition gate from the 12th Level was, like the 12th Level, underwater.
However, it was brighter than the 12th Level, and upon closer inspection, the passage seemed to extend not only underwater but also onto the surface.
The problem with this level is the incredibly strong currents. In some places, they form whirlpools.
I honestly never thought I’d see a waterspout underwater.
Fortunately, they don’t seem to interfere with the passages, but I suspect that even an Element Class hunter would be helpless if caught in one.
“It’s hard to see because of the whirlpools, but it really looks like the path ahead is above water.”
“You don’t think they expect us to use ships on the surface, do you?”
“If it’s that kind of terrible design, I’ll destroy the Labyrinth Core.”
Well, I understand my feelings, but that would be quite problematic.
If the passage truly extends to the surface, we can assume there are passages covering the surface as well.
Or rather, since it’s a Labyrinth, there’s a possibility Yamato is right.
“Whatever it is, we have to move forward. Even if our objective is to clear it, we can’t just ignore the survey.”
“Indeed. Fortunately, or perhaps not, the whirlpools obscure any monster-like shadows, so there might be fewer monsters here than on the 12th Level.”
“But that means the ones here could be more formidable. However, being caught in those whirlpools would be inescapable even for high-rank monsters, wouldn’t it?”
Given their momentum and size, it’s unlikely that even large monsters could escape if caught.
However, these whirlpools are only in certain areas, leaving ample space for large monsters to move around.
In fact, I suspect the whirlpools are not meant to impede monster movement but rather to hinder the progress of Undines and Water Dragon races.
Flam herself has mentioned that fighting underwater while being wary of those whirlpools would be difficult.
“This time, Yamato and Mana, you both have about two weeks of leeway, right?”
“Yes, that should be fine.”
“Me too. While returning sooner is better, we don’t know what might happen in a Labyrinth, so a few extra days are acceptable.”
Two weeks to clear the Krater Labyrinth would normally be considered too short, but we’ve reached the 13th Level in four days. Depending on the levels and the monsters inhabiting them, clearing it in a week might not be impossible.
“Alright, let’s go. Even if we see land, we’ll be traveling by Beast Carriage for now.”
“We can’t be too careful when flying; we don’t know what might happen. Until we understand the full layout of this level, it’s best not to act recklessly. It might take as long as the 12th Level, but that can’t be helped.”
“Right.”
Indeed.
While it’s undoubtedly better to be quick, rushing could lead to injury.
As long as we’re not dead, Mako can heal us, but we’ll still have to endure her lecture afterward. None of us are eager to get hurt, so we must remain vigilant and carefully watch our surroundings.
We’re about to depart, so let’s refocus our minds.
**Side: Yamato**
The 13th Level, as expected, extended not only underwater but also onto the surface.
The passages are made of seawater, so we could travel by Beast Carriage on the surface without issue. From a distance, I could even see island shadows.
However, the passages didn’t extend from our current location to the islands, and the distance was undoubtedly several kilometers, so we decided to deal with that later.
The passages that extended to the surface were surprisingly about 50 centimeters below sea level.
Even though I’m on the Beast Carriage now, the view is different from being on a boat.
As for monsters, on this level with islands, we’re now facing not only sea monsters but also aerial ones.
Just now, Flood Cranes (M-C rank), Rud Fauls, and Alankas, Pteranodon A-C rank monsters, attacked us in groups of several.
The Alankas are about 30 meters long, with wingspans exceeding 50 meters.
A swarm of such colossal creatures attacking is truly awe-inspiring.
What’s more, as Catastrophe Species, their flight speed is considerable, covering several kilometers in mere seconds. This means the time from detection to engagement is extremely short.
Adding to the danger, they can attack simultaneously with sea monsters, so we can’t let our guard down on this level.
“This might really be the lowest level.”
Mako suddenly spoke, but why would she think that?
“Not only is there underwater terrain, but there are islands on the surface, and look at that.”
She points upwards, and “upwards” means the sky, right?
“Ah!”
“Whoa… this is ridiculously troublesome.”
Athena and Ludia, who looked up first, had genuinely troublesome expressions.
What on earth happened?
As I looked up, I finally understood the reason.
“There are floating islands too…”
I couldn’t help but blurt it out. In front of me, I saw floating islands that appeared about a size larger than Alka.
They’re probably at an altitude of about 1,000 meters. I never imagined there would be floating islands.
“This is beyond troublesome. Also, it’s hard to tell from here, but there are several smaller floating islands near that large one. They seem to be at different altitudes, but perhaps they serve as stepping stones to the larger island, which might be the goal?”
“It looks that way. Does that mean there are similar passages in the sky?”
“There must be, otherwise we couldn’t reach them.”
This is truly an annoying situation.
Ideally, I’d want to use Flying, Scaffolding, or an Airship to reach the main floating island directly. However, we don’t know what monsters inhabit the sky, and just like the sea, there might be turbulence. Until we figure that out, we can’t carelessly fly.
Even while traveling on the surface, we’ve encountered several whirlpools, so we can’t rule out the possibility of similar phenomena in the sky.
“This is a truly troublesome level. Shall we continue our survey by Beast Carriage?”
“Let’s do that. Carelessly taking a shortcut and getting caught in turbulence would be disastrous, and the weather could change.”
The weather in Labyrinths is generally stable, but it can become harsh in the deeper levels.
When that happens, it’s completely random without any forewarning, and it’s said to be impossible to predict.
Therefore, it wouldn’t be unusual if the weather turned bad the moment we left the passage.
In fact, I intend to try once we find a Safe Area.
“Yamato, I see a fork in the road. And it looks troublesome.”
“A troublesome fork?”
Ludia, from the observation deck, informed me about the first branching path we encountered on what I’ve begun calling the “Terrarium Corridor” level, but “troublesome” is… well, it is troublesome.
“There are two paths going underwater, and one continuing on the surface. Definitely troublesome.”
“The surface path still has visibility, but we can’t see any islands or land yet.”
“The underwater paths are even more troublesome. We don’t know how deep they go, and more importantly, it’s not unlikely that the level transition gate or the guardian’s chamber is on that large floating island.”
That’s the biggest reason why it feels troublesome.
In normal levels, we can make reasonable assumptions. The underwater passages of the 12th Level were relatively noticeable, so prediction was possible.
However, on this 13th Level, we have not only underwater passages but also surface terrain, and even floating islands.
We don’t know where the underwater passages lead, and we can’t rule out the possibility that the transition gate or guardian’s chamber might be on the seabed instead of the large floating island. It’s making us genuinely debate which way to go.
“We’ll have to check them one by one, but the question is, where do we start? Personally, I’d like to go on the surface.”
“We’ve been underwater for the past two days, so I’d agree.”
“Me too.”
“Me too.”
However, fortunately, or perhaps not, since we spent the night before last and until this afternoon underwater, it was a unanimous decision to proceed on the surface.
While the underwater environment was interesting, it restricted our actions. I, too, want to spend time under the sun for the first time in a while.
Although it’s not the same as being under the sun outside the Labyrinth, it’s a matter of morale. The environment inside the Labyrinth is almost the same as the outside, so that’s fine.
Now then, the surface route seems to be the one to the right. There’s no point in lingering here, so let’s get moving.
