Were we purposefully being drawn further inside? The labyrinth sometimes seemed to change as if it had a mind of its own, and some whole floors were even built like traps.
I observed my surroundings. Did anything seem strange? This was the labyrinth—of course something here had to seem strange.
There was the “sky,” and we no longer saw any vegetation. The number of semiaquatic monsters had increased, and they now made up the majority of what we encountered. We had to be close to a water source. The angle of the slope had increased, and after a short descent, we had climbed back up.
If this was a trap, what could it be? Would water suddenly spurt forth and drown us all?
Damn it. Everything seemed fishy, and the more I thought about it, the more nervous I became.
“Ugh, this is bad.”
My legs started to shake. I really was a coward.
It was now our midday break, and I was once again summoned for a meeting. Camilla and the other leaders were all wearing similar expressions, which gave me an idea as to what this gathering might be about.
“I have a question, everyone! How shall we proceed?”
Everyone understood the purpose behind the query. We all carried the same vague sense of foreboding, but there was no reason for us to turn back. Even if there was a trap, it was the job of Nachtlibelle to confirm it first.
“Just to be clear, it doesn’t seem like we’re being purposefully lead anywhere,” Simon, division captain of the enemy detection unit, said. “It’s thanks to luck and the bident formation that we have yet to battle any large monsters. We’ve observed forty-three so far, and have confirmed the species of twenty-five of those. The remaining eighteen are likely of a new species, and it’s possible the boss is amongst them.”
Everyone nodded. He was right. We had all done our jobs, and this was the natural result. The only reason it felt like things were maybe going too smoothly was because we had prepared properly. It didn’t seem like there were any other explanations.
“You’re right, Simon,” Hans said. “But there’s clearly something weird about this floor.”
“I know that, but we can’t turn back just because something feels off, nor can we submit a map that has ‘something felt off, so we turned back’ on it! We’re Nachtlibelle!”
“There are plenty of examples of parties on the front lines who have called off large-scale surveys during their journey. Maybe we haven’t made it to the end of this floor, but we’ve filled in plenty of the map. We can still rope in other parties and figure out a new strategy.”
“No, we don’t have enough intel to recruit them. You can’t strategize on just a hunch!”
“And you think we can head back? Filburn will be filled with black maps!”
“The same will be true if our whole party gets annihilated!”
Everyone cast their opinions, all of them sensible and convincing. It was the duty for large parties like Nachtlibelle to be the first to head into danger, and they would be responsible for any tragedies that could result from failing to carry out this duty.
Black maps were just one example of this. Quite frankly, creating maps of the labyrinth was easy if you weren’t interested in actually exploring. You could just find a disposable pawn, forcibly cast transmission magic on them, and send them into unexplored areas. They just had to send you all the intel they could before they met their doom. Maps created in this way were called “black maps,” and when a large-scale investigation was called off, the need for these sorts of maps skyrocketed. We couldn’t let someone stupid try to make a map just for some cash, and it was something we risked our pride to prevent.
At the same time, we had to value the lives of our comrades and think about the fate of our own party. I had complete respect for Camilla and the other leaders, and was relieved I had no say in their ultimate decision. That was a responsibility I knew I just couldn’t bear.
I was relieved for another reason as well. Chronos made all the decisions on his own in Drachenflügel, while I had to take all the risk. I used to think it wasn’t necessary, but I was glad to see everyone sharing the load. It felt like I had finally been seen.
“Is that everything?” It was only once everyone had shared their input and the conversation had grown stale that Camilla spoke again. “I recognize the risk, and I share in your fears. But fear can become resolve, and resolve is how we minimize our casualties.”
The corners of everyone’s eyes crinkled. It looked like they were smiling at each other. I even heard someone whisper, “She’s back at it again.”
“Such absurd logic only passes with those of us who are foolish enough to be abenteurers.”
I knew exactly what she was referring to: the spirit of adventure, the longing in all our foolish hearts to reach the end of the labyrinth. If you feared death, it was better never to step foot in here in the first place.
“Wim, what’s the worse-case scenario that you’ve been so scared of telling us?”
My name was suddenly called out, and I hesitated at first. But Camilla had asked, so I had to answer. I steeled myself. “Right… Even when factoring in the branching paths we’ve encountered, we’ve been ascending since yesterday, and it’s already canceled out with how much we had already descended.”
“What does that mean?”
“If a deluge of water were to appear, it would flood the path behind us. Basically, we’d be trapped in here. If the boss uses that time to attack, he’d have it in for us.”
“Got it.” Camilla was silent for a moment. “Let’s continue a little while longer, but we’re doing away with the bident formation just in case. If the boss appears, we all attack together. Be ready for anything.”
Just before we arrived at the large, empty space on this floor, Camilla had us put together an advance unit. Their objective was to scout the area and estimate the size of the water source we believed to be there. If there seemed to be any trap that would flood our road home, we were to turn back immediately and resume our investigation only after we had properly prepared to counter the water.
There were no signs of the boss for now. We were fearful, but we couldn’t stop when we lacked the info we needed to make that decision.
The advance unit consisted of me, Abel, Simon, and two others. The leaders determined the best course of action was for me to cast my speed buffs so we could gather intel as quickly as possible.
“Here we go. [Spin], [Wiedersehen]…” I cast the strongest speed buffs I could muster. “We’re enchanted and ready to go.”