Chapter 6:
A Large-Scale Survey
OF COURSE WE WOULD DRAW ATTENTION. THE abenteurer party of Nachtlibelle—the largest in all of Filburn—was headed towards a large-scale labyrinth dive. Our journey to the Abenteurers’ Guild was one with watchful eyes and many rumors.
“I heard your name, Wim,” said Heidemarie, jeering as she jabbed me with her elbow.
“Cut it out.”
Her words prompted me to pay attention. Now, I occasionally heard mumblings that seemed to be about me, like “So that’s the guy,” and “He must be Wim,” though it wasn’t anything to be happy about. I was kicked out of my party only to become a leech clinging to the biggest party in Filburn. Others would obviously think I used some connections to get in—and it was true in regard to Heidemarie.
Now that I was aware of the eyes on me, I naturally followed them back to their owners. Whenever I became too aware of those around me, I was forced to recall old memories.
Are my comrades still watching me?
I shocked myself. After all this time, I was still calling the members of Drachenflügel my comrades. I heard little about the party lately. At the very least, I doubted they had accomplished anything note-worthy in the labyrinth, but I was too scared to look into it myself. They still must be suffering from their wounds, and their injuries must have kept them from making any profitable labyrinth dives.
What was I thinking? I was no longer affiliated with Drachenflügel, though I still wondered what they would all think, seeing me now. I’m sure it wouldn’t be anything pleasant.
“Fweh heh heh.”
I needed to cut this out. Maybe it was connections that got me in, and maybe they were just being nice, but somehow, Nachtlibelle saw something in me. I needed to stop overthinking things.
The Abenteurers’ Guild was a unique building—or rather, facility. At ground level, there was a large structure that housed the front desks and jobs submitted to the guild, while the basement was on the first floor of the labyrinth. It was completely under the guild’s control, and more an extension of the above-ground building than part of the labyrinth. A paved path led from the first floor entrance to the deepest teleportation circle, wide enough for a whole army to traverse.
Abenteurers never thought about it much, but the guild was technically a government agency managed by the nation. It was affiliated through financial affairs, but since it was a source of capital, it had absolute authority that went beyond being controlled by another authority. The heads of the Abenteurers’ Guild and Elder Association were famous for their influence; these were the top two organizations in all of Filburn you didn’t want to make an enemy of.
Once we had gone through the reception desk, we were finally on the first floor of the labyrinth. We walked down the path for a short while, and once we reached an area that was more open, Camilla turned around to address us.
“Attention!”
We stood straight, and all two hundred and twenty pairs of eyes in Nachtlibelle focused on one spot. Things were a bit different when big parties like Nachtlibelle went on large-scale labyrinth dives than when tiny ones did the same. Parties at the forefront of the labyrinth were responsible for diving headfirst into danger. The labyrinth was brutal, and traps that could kill on sight were common. A long time ago, advance parties made up of slaves were forced into the labyrinth for reconnaissance purposes, but it was a practice the prideful couldn’t condone. It was the strong’s place to dive into danger, and being the first to set foot in a new area of the labyrinth was an honor.
Right now, we were headed for danger. In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say we were heading to our deaths. Our determination was akin to madness—an acceptance of suicide, should we make one small misstep. As our leader, Camilla was far from sane.
“We now head for the ninety-eighth floor, a new frontier! As you all know, this goes beyond our recent labyrinth dives. We are quite literally risking our lives, but I’m sure you left your fears behind, alongside a will! It’s time you make your resolves!”
I responded with a nod.
“Throw away your lives to protect your honors, treasures, and the comrades who now stand beside you! Let all of us in Nachtlibelle return in one piece, for our return home needs no sorrow!”
For a moment, everyone’s eyes fell away from Camilla and landed on each other. We could feel the shared passion between us, and the cumulative fervor added to its fuel.
“We shall return in triumph and let all of Filburn know the name of Nachtlibelle!” As soon as Camilla lifted her right hand into the air, our morale burst from us. The ferocious cries of the men echoed through the labyrinth, mixing with the deep, thunderous shouts of the women.
I lifted my arm into the air and tried to join them. “W-woot!”
I wasn’t used to shouting or screaming, so I probably didn’t do it right. Still, it made me feel like part of the group, and that made me happy.
As the shouts began to fade, Camilla cut it off with her final declaration. “March!”
The whole group began to walk forward, the power clear in their steps. I rushed to keep up with them.
So, this was what the biggest abenteurer party was capable of. I shouldn’t have expected anything less.
“You’re not good with this sort of thing, are you?”
“You’re supposed to keep observations like that to yourself, Heidemarie.”
The first thing we did upon arriving on the ninety-eighth floor was get in formation. Our main goal with this dive was to fill in a big portion of the map. Thanks to the work of many parties, maps covering what was within a day’s journey of the teleportation circle had already been finished. Filling in the rest required investigations that lasted multiple days, and we planned to spend four nights total in the labyrinth—two heading one way, and two heading back.
I expected us to reach the other end of the floor within this trip, but the largest floor so far had required three nights to do so, so it was hard to say. I doubted anyone was thinking everything would go as planned, anyways.
The biggest concern for longer surveys was the chance of encountering the boss monster. There were still no sightings on this floor, but surveys as long as this one meant there was a pretty high chance you would encounter it, which came with huge risks. There would be casualties, and defeating a boss on the first encounter was impossible—even for the Camilla, the greatest warrior in all of Filburn. You couldn’t defeat a boss on your own, and when encountering one during surveys like these, the top priority was to minimize casualties while maximizing the intel you could gather.
Thus, we had chosen the bident formation. The vanguard and rearguard were split in two, and powerful transmission magic was cast on everybody. Enemy detectors were placed on the edges of the squads, and they would constantly search for and communicate with each other about any monsters in the path.
The name “bident” referred to both the formation and how we would progress through the labyrinth. At crossroads, we would split into two groups and progress simultaneously until one group hit another crossroad. At that point, the other group would head back to meet up with the first and then split up again at these new crossroads. This process would be repeated over and over.
It seemed inefficient at first glance, but this method allowed us to map a lot more of the new floor. Most importantly, it meant that an encounter with the boss wouldn’t threaten the whole group, and maybe even allow for a pincer attack.
I was placed in the left wing of the vanguard, the squad with the most mobility and most open to enemy attacks. My job was to cast as many buffs as I could and raise our speed, attack, and defense. If I had any magic left over, I was supposed to aid with enemy detection and predict any upcoming paths and traps.
It was a huge responsibility, and I could easily end up being the reason we were behind schedule. I was happy that they accounted for me in their strategy, but quite honestly, I wanted to hurl.
“Are you nervous, Wim?” Abel was worried for me. He was a candidate to serve in the party’s next generation of top brass, just like Heidemarie. Since we were the same age and same sex, Camilla was probably trying to be nice by putting us in the same squad.