34 – 3rd floor #3
There was sunlight on the 3rd floor. Of course, the blue sky was a bonus.
I’m not sure if the nature that unfolded before my eyes was real nature, but compared to the pitch-black 1st floor or the prison-like 2nd floor, it was a paradise.
I could understand why the bandits stayed on the 3rd floor.
“Even the size of the 3rd floor is impressive. It’s incomparable to the 1st floor.”
“How big is it?”
“Exaggerating a bit, but explorers who have adapted to the scale of the 3rd floor don’t even use guides on the 1st floor. It’s not necessary. They can move freely and still reach the portal.”
So the 3rd floor is different.
“Guides are essential here. Relying solely on intuition has its limits.”
From what Lauren said, it seemed that guides were optional on the 1st floor, but essential on the 3rd floor.
Should we postpone the next exploration until we find a guide? Is there a guide who wants to join our party?
Suddenly, I became worried.
Putting my worries aside for a moment, I looked around the scenery on the third floor. Since I had come down here, I planned to gather as much information as possible through my own senses.
“…It looks like Horn Village.”
“Horn Village? Are you talking about your hometown?”
“Yes.”
Artificial structures could be seen throughout the third floor. Haphazardly built cabins were clustered together.
“They’ve formed a village. The explorers guarding the portals have gradually built it. They repair and expand it… I heard there was nothing here at first.”
“The explorers guarding the portals?”
At Lauren’s words, I glanced behind me.
I saw the building that came out earlier. A warehouse-like structure. It didn’t look sturdy, despite its role as a checkpoint.
“Are they intentionally conducting inspections?”
“Yes, because they don’t know when or where bandits might come down.”
The third floor is vast. As vast as it is, there are many portals. The explorers cannot occupy all of them.
The bandits go up to the first floor through the empty portals.
“They go to kidnap the boys. Trash-like women.”
The chances of success for the bandits’ kidnappings are slim. Maybe they succeed once in ten attempts.
Nevertheless, they continue to try persistently.
“If they don’t, they’ll wither and die. Bandits are nothing but vultures exploiting men to save themselves.”
Lauren openly expressed hostility towards the bandits. Swu was the same.
There was no woman who looked favorably upon the band of outlaws.
I was the same. Just thinking about outlaws made me shudder.
It wasn’t just because I almost got kidnapped.
“I understand why the empire conscripts boys.”
I woke up in the Horn Village. Through a conversation with the goddess, I received a new body and started a new life.
There, I faced the purple barrier.
The protective barrier that safeguards the empire.
If the barrier disappears, the empire will crumble. All beings with intelligence, including different species, will face extinction.
In order to prevent the extinction of humanity, the barrier must be maintained at all costs. This is an absolute premise that the boys sent into the labyrinth cannot refute.
That’s why the boys don’t resent the empire too much. Although it’s heartbreaking to be chosen, they know it’s necessary.
I, too, know that I survived until now at the expense of someone’s sacrifice, so I suppress my fear and head towards the labyrinth.
The empire’s conscription is a necessary evil.
But the outlaws are not.
“Could an ordinary citizen of the empire become an outlaw? Would a well-off person willingly become an explorer, reluctantly coming down to the labyrinth to live a difficult life? It doesn’t make sense.”
Outlaws are criminals. They originated from criminals who violated imperial law and fled.
“If we think in terms of South Korea, is it like child offenders fleeing and assaulting and killing soldiers?”
There was a reason why Labyrinth citizens turned their eyes on the outlaws. Even if I were in the citizens’ shoes, I would have foamed at the mouth and thrown stones.
“There are many other parties too.”
A completed village in front of the third-floor portal. It’s not very large. It’s more like a small castle.
But there seemed to be a lot of people compared to that.
“From the perspective of adventurers hunting on the 3rd floor, it’s a base where they can rest comfortably. Unlike monsters, vagabonds try to hunt down adventurer parties. Be careful. That’s why random movements are often useless.”
“Ah…”
“Try to rest here whenever possible. Plan your exploration route based on the location of the base.”
There was no inn for everyone. It was impossible to operate.
Everyone rested, sprawling on the dirt floor.
Some ventured out energetically, while others returned dejectedly. The inspections were strict, but there were no restrictions on coming and going. It was free.
“Should we go out as well?”
Lauren suggested. She said that since they had come up to the 3rd floor, they should taste the level of the monsters before leaving, with enthusiasm in her voice.
Judging by Lauren’s excitement, it seemed that the monsters on the 3rd floor were not excessively strong.
“Is it a level that we can handle at our level?”
I wouldn’t recommend something difficult. I trusted Lauren.
“Yes, let’s go for now.”
“Ray, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
On the 2nd floor, Lauren and Su unleashed their skills.
Even if we ignored the relatively low-cost skill “Light Footsteps,” we couldn’t overlook the outrageous cost of the 2nd-level skill “Beast Soul.”
After confirming with each other, they set off.
Tall, thick bookshelves. The front gate wide open.
And there was one adventurer observing the movements of the adventurers there.
“Are you from the Guild?”
Suddenly, I became curious and asked.
In response to my bold question, the explorer who was writing down our personal information smirked. She shook her head.
“I’m not part of the City Hall, I’m part of the Explorer’s Guild. It’s true that I came down here on a job from the City Hall.”
The City Hall recruits support guilds, offering some benefits.
“Evaluations, tax exemptions… They even give more chances for choices… Well, it’s not a loss for the guild. There are so many guilds that apply for support.”
“Is that so?”
The explorer chatted on about things I didn’t even ask. I don’t know if it was because the conversation was awkward or because a young boy like me was showing interest, but I didn’t understand the reason.
“Yeah, our ‘Heart of Steel’ guild can be promoted to a C-rank guild when we return. We have made remarkable achievements in this mission.”
“C-rank?”
“C-rank is not necessarily low. It’s one of the few guilds in Labyrinth. That’s what I’m saying. It’s a really good experience to come to our guild and participate in activities if you don’t have an affiliation…”
“…….”
It was a sales pitch. After saying that I didn’t belong to a guild, she was teasing me in order to somehow bring me into the guild.
“Let’s go.”
Lauren separated me from the explorer of the ‘Heart of Steel’.
She looked at me with a sad expression. We had only exchanged a few words in conversation just now, but her gaze was quite nostalgic.
The third floor was a forest. It wasn’t quite like a tropical rainforest, but more like a forest that you could commonly find in South Korea.
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You could call it a gently sloping mountain.
I took a deep breath. I didn’t know that being able to breathe in refreshing air would make me so happy.
My experience on the second floor of the labyrinth made me realize the preciousness of nature.
Gulp.
The moment I left the adventurer’s village, monsters started popping up. They shot up from the ground, just like goblins did.
The only difference was their enormous size.
“….”
Goblins were smaller than me. I’m the size of a middle school student, while goblins are the size of elementary school students. To be frank, I thought I could easily defeat them.
But this wasn’t an orc.
The moment I faced the orc, I completely lost my confidence. I didn’t even have the courage to throw a punch.
I could win if I used an artifact.
“But that would be cheating…”
If I had a gun, I could win. But winning like that wouldn’t be a true victory.
I had lost in a battle of pure strength.
The orc had a physique that could rival a swole bodybuilder, with bulging muscles and green skin.
The sudden increase in difficulty was palpable on my skin.
“…?”
But something was strange. The orc’s appearance was oddly unfamiliar.
“What is that?”
It had the head of a pig. Long tusks protruded from its snout.
Its skin was green. Not pretty muscles like bodybuilders, but practical muscles.
Up until now, everything was familiar.
“Why?”
Why is this orc female? Why does it exhibit female characteristics?
Lorando had it, Swudo had it, and even Oakdo had that delightful lump.
Boing boing-.
“Swaying, swaying.”
Come to think of it, this world has turned upside down, even the genders of creatures of darkness, of course.
“Goblin, Gnoll, Kobold.”
There was nothing to confirm their gender. What could you expect and confirm from these rough and tumble beings?
Ironically, the creatures of darkness were in a state of uncertainty. Unless you intentionally stripped them bare, confirmation was impossible.
“Skeleton.”
Bones. The elements that distinguish gender were mostly made of flesh, not bones.
“Thinking back now… the pelvic bones seemed unusually large.”
But at the time, I didn’t know.
“Ray?”
Lorin called me.
“What are you doing with that vacant expression all of a sudden?”
“…I didn’t know that an orc could be female.”
“Hmm?”
Lorin looked at me as if asking what I was talking about.
“Of course, an orc is always female.”
“…Is it natural?”
“Well, then, where are the male orcs? Orcs are always female. There are no male creatures of darkness.”
Lauren’s voice was sincere. It wasn’t a joke.
A declaration.
With a flick of her finger right in front of me, Lauren grabbed my attention and spoke.
“Ray, you should focus. From the third floor onwards, demons are even trying to kidnap boys.”
“…What?”
“Reproduction. I don’t know if it’s actually possible, but the instinct itself seems to remain.”
“……”
Could I be kidnapped by an orc if I make a wrong move? And violated?
“Magic Arrow.”
Swoosh!
I immediately activated “Magic Arrow” and pierced through the orc’s head.
“I can’t stand it…!”
A different kind of unpleasantness than human trafficking!
The boy’s anger tramples over the girl’s innocence─!