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Remaining Party Check Card

Former Inspector Ennes did not easily cooperate with the investigation.

“Congratulations, Neko. When you take the promotion exam soon, you’ll be sitting in the seat I vacated, won’t you?”

“How long have you been working with Black Dog?”

“For a long time.”

“Did you also arrange for my partner to be kidnapped by Black Dog?”

“I……”

Ennes leaned his body toward the interrogation table. Getting close to Neko and smiling faintly.

He said.

“I don’t know about that.”

Neko’s face showed explicit disgust as if she had found a bug in soup she was half-finished eating.

“If you keep this up, I’ll request lie prevention magic.”

“You won’t get approval for something like this. So far, my only charge is leaking headquarters operations to Black Dog.”

Bang!

Neko struck the table with all her strength.

“Ennes! This is truly shameful. Do you know how embarrassed I was in front of that wizard?”

“Neko.”

Ennes slowly pulled his body away from the table.

Smacking his lips, he said.

“There’s something you don’t know.”

“What is it?”

“It’s not the Security Headquarters that maintains order in Soren. It never has been, not since the old days.”

“What else……”

“What protects this city is rather Black Dog.”

The Labyrinth City is literally a city where money is copied. In modern terms, it’s no different from blessed land where oil, coal, gas, lithium, and rare earth elements spring forth infinitely.

There are countless external forces targeting those resources. The Security Headquarters doesn’t have the capacity to deal with all of them.

Perhaps Black Dog, competing with them underwater, might be the real protagonist protecting this city.

That was a fact Neko knew as well.

But still, Chief Security Officer Neko was someone who pursued public order and justice.

“So you were abandoned by Black Dog?”

She sarcastically responded to the traitor’s nonsense.

“You’re hitting where it hurts.”

Ennes gave a bitter smile.

“I’m asking you as a human being. Ennes. Please tell me what happened to my partner.”

“As I said again, I don’t know. Who caught that friend, where, and how. Whether he’s dead or alive. But I’ll teach you one thing so you don’t waste your energy for nothing. This is my final teaching as your former superior. Neko.”

Ennes said.

“99 percent of missing security officers die within two days.”

***

“He basically told me he was dead.”

Neko said, biting her lips.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Actually, I had roughly expected this part. Since Black Dog wouldn’t have much use keeping a security officer captive, they probably killed him early.

“He was a partner I worked with for a long time. So honestly speaking, I’m quite heartbroken…… But I’m too busy to be dejected.”

Neko said.

“I’m going to get promoted quickly and normalize the Security Headquarters. There are too many things in this city that are outside government control.”

For that purpose, Neko decided to create one more new achievement before the promotion exam.

Then the vacant inspector position would be 100 percent Neko’s.

“The Sleepnappers on the 4th floor. I’m going to catch them.”

I looked around her party.

They appeared to be subordinate staff from the security officer team Neko operates. A Lizard woman crossbow user, a human male priest, an Orc fighter.

Their equipment level looked somewhat poor, but it couldn’t be helped. The Security Headquarters is a relatively weak organization among Soren’s various factions. They configured it like this because they don’t have money.

“You brought at least some means to block the mana volcanic ash, right?”

I asked out of concern.

Fighting monsters is ultimately a matter of skill. And you can see and avoid lava burial mounds, and you can see and avoid falling volcanic debris.

But if you look at volcanic ash with your eyes, ash powder gets in your eyes and it’s over.

If exposed to skin, it causes rashes, and if you inhale a lot, you get the disease ‘Pneumoconiosis’ and fall into a respiratory difficulty status abnormality.

It’s like a ‘Floor Magic’ that plays the role of the cold or confusion from the 3rd floor.

If nothing else, you must prepare various defensive magic solidly for this.

What about us?

We brought a ‘Large-Scale Dust Protection’ bracelet.

Professor Isilof lent it to us. When he entrusted me with the 4th floor investigation.

“Here.”

Neko took out four raincoats from her bag.

“……”

Not even magic equipment, just regular raincoats. Raincoats you can buy at a general store for 20 gold.

No, Neko…….

Is this right?

It feels like watching someone bring four shovels to a construction site where others are working with excavators.

“I….. I can’t help it!”

The feline beastman Neko’s ears perked up, conscious of my gaze.

“Headquarters doesn’t give us much activity funding! We don’t have the resources to purchase or rent magic equipment for this level of mission! The Security Headquarters is always short on budget!”

Her ears turned red as blood rushed to them.

“We’ll block skin rashes with raincoats, and wear masks and goggles on our faces. I brought those too!”

Even so, I doubt that makes sense, but since she’s embarrassed, let’s not press further.

“Good luck.”

“Thanks. But Caleb.”

Neko pointed to her shoulder.

“You haven’t attached your card yet.”

On Neko’s shoulder was a card about the size of a name tag.

[Current 4th Floor Adventurer Parties : 17]

It was the remaining party check card distributed by the Adventurer Guild when we went to take the elevator.

“Do I need to attach that to my shoulder?”

“Haven’t you read the 4th floor guide distributed by the Adventurer Guild yet?”

Honestly, I didn’t read it thinking it would all be stuff I already knew.

“I’ll read it now.”

“Yes. Please make sure to read it. It’s about operational cooperation between the Adventurer Guild and the Security Headquarters.”

“……?”

“If by any chance you see the Sleepnappers, please send us a message.”

She put on raincoats with her party members. They wore goggles and masks on their faces.

It looks incredibly uncomfortable – can they even fight wearing that?

“See you later.”

The security officer party waved and left first.

In the opposite direction from us.

***

[4th Floor Adventurer Cooperation Request]

We all put our heads together and read the guide.

[Hello. I am Rittman, the 4th floor administrative officer at the Adventurer Guild’s administrative headquarters.

Recently, external forces stealing Concentration Cores from the foundries have been appearing on Labyrinth 4th floor. These are presumed to have entered the labyrinth using simple elevators they separately constructed outside, without using the stairs or elevators managed by the Adventurer Guild, then crossed over through inter-wall spaces.

The Adventurer Guild deployed personnel to monitor them, but the Sleepnappers appear to use ‘Large-Scale Disguise’ magic to mimic the appearance of regular adventurer parties on the 4th floor. By deceiving the foundry-assigned personnel in this manner and approaching to kill them before stealing Concentration Cores and fleeing, this was the full story of the guild personnel death incident in the last labyrinth cycle.]

“Huh……”

I thought shitty situations unfolded every time we entered the labyrinth, but maybe actually the labyrinth was just like that by default.

It’s not that I went on market day, but that it’s always market day and I went.

“So last time on the 4th floor, Adventurer Guild personnel were killed.”

The reason we didn’t know until now was probably because the Adventurer Guild didn’t publicly disclose this operation.

“Oh my.”

Aimus, Yernil, and Backstab all stuck out their tongues.

“The guild personnel probably didn’t come in with just one or two people.”

Aimus said.

That would be right.

There would be one team guarding the foundry, and the remaining teams would have spread throughout the 4th floor conducting search operations.

And they would have been constantly checking with each other through message transmission.

After learning that personnel were killed, they would have called a full alert and pursued the Sleepnappers trying to escape to inter-wall spaces to attack them, and maybe battles occurred too.

‘But they couldn’t catch them and those guys escaped?’

The Sleepnappers are quite skilled.

So that’s why Chrome said he doesn’t expect us to catch those guys.

“Wow, how unlucky were the kids who fled to the 4th floor to avoid the 3rd floor wave.”

Backstab said.

“They avoided the wave and came here, only to find the Adventurer Guild and a raiding organization at war? If their luck was that bad, they’d be about 0.5 Caleb level.”

“……Let’s keep reading.”

I turned to the next page of the guide.

[Therefore, the Adventurer Guild secretly planned a joint operation with the Security Headquarters. Please attach the distributed ‘Remaining Party Check Card’ to your shoulder. This item has illusion prevention magic, so it cannot become a target of disguise magic. Be careful if you discover parties without cards.

Always your companion doing our best to ensure your adventures are safe

Adventurer Guild Administrative Headquarters Rittman.

P.S.: Please burn this document after confirmation]

“So that’s why they told us to attach the remaining party check card to our shoulders.”

Aimus said while burning the document.

“But why do we need something like a remaining party check card?”

Yernil asked.

“Because of the Concentration Cores.”

At the labyrinth’s foundry, even if someone takes the Concentration Cores, once it closes and reopens, Concentration Cores are generated again.

That’s why the Sleepnappers come regularly like migratory birds every time the labyrinth opens.

But conversely, this means you can take Concentration Cores right before the labyrinth closes.

Anyway, when it closes, there will be no adventurers to operate, and when it reopens, new Concentration Cores will be generated.

“When all adventurers in the labyrinth leave, the labyrinth closes. So the last remaining adventurer party gains the right to take Concentration Cores.”

The method to know whether you’re that last party or not is this card.

“Ah.”

“Anyway, the opponents seem quite skilled and tricky with disguise magic, so let’s be careful. It seems like the Adventurer Guild got hit even after deploying an operation.”

But maybe thanks to that, they won’t break into the labyrinth this time.

If they were badly beaten by the guild’s attack last time.

No.

No, that’s not right. If there are hope circuits and despair circuits in my labyrinth activities, it’s 100 percent the latter.

Let’s not be careless.

“Let’s go.”

I attached the remaining party check card to my shoulder.

And I activate the magic contained in the bracelet, ‘Large-Scale Dust Protection’.

I could see something like a transparent membrane, like soap bubbles, covering a 5-meter radius.

***

Two types of monsters appear in the 4th floor field.

First. Three types of Brass Golems.

Spear Golems using spears, Sword-Shield Golems armed with swords and shields, and Crossbow Golems using crossbows.

These three types of golems travel in squad units and attack adventurers.

The wall that plunges adventurers ascending from lower floors into despair.

Those monsters form formations as soon as they meet adventurers. Shield golems are at the very front. Spear golems go right behind them and form ranks with spears aimed over the shields. Like a phalanx formation. Then crossbow golems aim with crossbows from behind.

The number of guys we’re facing now is three, two, two in that order by type.

Tang! Tang!

Two incoming crossbow bolts stuck into Aimus’s parasol.

“……!”

For a moment, Aimus’s jaw muscles tensed. The level is definitely different from the 3rd floor.

Most of the arrows and ice spikes shot by Frost Hunters bounced off the parasol no matter how many poured down, but now the crossbow bolts ‘stuck in’.

“Ugh……”

Yernil raised her bow to return fire but couldn’t easily release the string. Because the Sword-Shield Golems were blocking the front like an iron wall.

Backstab could use Leap Ambush on the crossbow golems, but then he’d be isolated beyond the enemies.

That’s why lower floor adventurers despair when they first enter the 4th floor and meet the three types of golems.

Because there seems to be no way to attack them.

Of course, we have ways to deal with it.

Golems are weak to cold, and our team has a genius of natural disasters who succeeded in Quad Binding.

“Hail Storm.”

With skill casting, I flip the hourglass.

[It is your turn. Remaining time: 60 seconds]

[Action Points: ■■■■]

***

I wait for the 15-second cooldown of the pre-cast skill to finish, then cast the second magic.

“Hail Storm.”

[It is your turn. Remaining time: 45 seconds]

[Action Points: ■■□□]

Tier 1 and Tier 2 magic consume only one action point, but Tier 3 magic consumes two.

So unfortunately, I can only shoot Hail Storm twice at once.

Still, it’s fortunate that the cooldown is 15 seconds, the same as Cumulonimbus.

[It is your turn. Remaining time: 30 seconds]

[Action Points: ■■□□]

Golems have a strong tendency to cluster in one place, so they’re actually vulnerable to area magic like Hail Storm.

“Hail Storm.”

[All action points have been consumed.]

[Ending turn.]

[The hourglass has been flipped again. Remaining time: 60 seconds]

***

Thundersnow is a type of thunderstorm accompanied by snow or hail instead of rain as the main precipitation, one of the very rare phenomena in meteorology.

Usually, even when thundersnow occurs, the falling ice crystals are very small, but magic ice storms are more destructive.

Maximum diameter 30cm.

Hail about the size of a child’s head pours down. The heavy physical force created by that speed and mass was like stone chunks fired from catapults.

Bang! Bang! Crash!

The heavy physical force crushed the golems. Crumpled mineral plates and bodies, broken arms dropping crossbows and spears, like cars that collided with cargo falling from highway trucks.

Crash! Bang!

Only the golems with shields can withstand the hail baptism head-on.

Holding shields to the sky and enduring the pouring ice chunks. But…….

Crack! Crackle!

Cold flows along the shield surface and assaults the monsters’ bodies. White frost settling begins to freeze the golems’ wrists, forearms, shoulders, and waists.

[Frozen], [Frozen], [Frozen].

If this were a game, those messages would have appeared.

Once frozen like this, they’re helpless against the next attacks.

Crash!

Aimus’s iron rod activated Smashing Gaia and smashed a Sword-Shield Golem to pieces. Ice fragments and ore debris scattered in all directions simultaneously.

Thunk!

Backstab’s dagger severed a Sword-Shield Golem’s head. Steam and molten metal flowed from the cross-section where the hot blade passed, as ice sublimated.

Thud!

One Spear Golem survived by deflecting the hail, but Yernil’s arrow stuck in its core.

‘Lightning…… Won’t be necessary.’

If I had hit it with Lightning Shock, Hail Storm would have poured down lightning too, and since it’s Tier 3 Hail Storm instead of Tier 2 Cumulonimbus, the damage would have been much higher.

‘If I just put Frozen debuff on them, they take care of the rest.’

At this level, I could clean up with something like Frost Ray without using big magic like Hail Storm.

“Caleb.”

While extracting magic stones from the golem corpses, Yernil gently poked my shoulder.

I shifted my gaze following the direction she was looking, and someone appeared.

Ah. Shit.

Why are ominous premonitions never wrong?

The labyrinth isn’t just market day every day and I happened to go…… No. I guarantee it, the day I go is when all the big marts are closed and the market is having a festival.

“Hello there!”

Elf businessman Rilwid approached with a cheerful greeting.

“Stop!”

Without being told, Yernil automatically entered alert mode. Aiming her bow with some emotion.

“You’re raiders!”

Starting with sudden acceleration first.

“What are you talking about!”

“You’re Sleepnappers!”

“No! Look at this! I even have a card on my shoulder! I came in properly using the elevator……”

“You stole it from another party!”

“You crazy bastards! I said no!”

Very suspicious and shady, but Yernil. Let’s calm down first.

“If you have something to say, say it from there.”

I’ll aim my wand instead.

“Don’t come closer.”

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