Day five since entering the dungeon.
We'd already covered half the distance.
We were making reckless time, pushing through on the shortest possible route — taking full advantage of the fact that we were a small group where every member had high Status.
Along the way, I'd worried that Imperial soldiers might be lying in ambush somewhere inside the dungeon, but according to Basgas, that was virtually impossible. The Empire kept its distance from dungeons to begin with, and besides, an ambush in here would be inefficient and absurdly dangerous. In a labyrinth as complex as a maze, with no way of knowing which route your target would take, there was simply no viable way to set up an ambush.
So the only enemies we had to deal with in the dungeon were Monsters.
And so far, those Monsters hadn't posed any real threat.
Most of the Monsters in the Upper Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon were the poisonous variety, but nearly everyone in the party could use Healing Magic. Even if we got poisoned, we could recover right away, and since most of the enemies had low Status, we rarely even got hit in the first place.
On the front line, Highlinus served as our shield — his defenses were ironclad. In the back, we had the Sensei, whose magical abilities were outstanding. Meanwhile, Kathia, Basgas, and I could handle both roles and moved according to the situation.
It was an improvised team, but you could fairly say it was running smoothly.
With one exception.
"Hold up. Let's take a break here."
At my call, everyone stopped.
Basgas quickly checked the surroundings for safety and began laying out supplies so we could rest. Everyone settled in and relaxed in their own way, but one person — Ana — sat down hunched over, gasping for breath.
"I'm sorry."
She whispered to me in a voice so faint it seemed like it might disappear.
I silently shook my head and gently patted her shoulder.
Ana was a talented mage. But among the group we'd assembled here, she inevitably fell short. And because her Status skewed so heavily toward the magical side, her physical stamina was inherently low.
Without these frequent rest breaks, Ana's endurance wouldn't have been able to keep up with our pace.
The Sensei was also an Elf, a race that grew slowly, so her physical stats were low too — but she used her overwhelmingly abundant mana to reinforce her body. She looked like a small child, yet she could hold her own in close combat as well.
Was that the difference between a pure Elf and a half-Elf? Or was the Sensei simply special?
I suspected the latter, but either way, Ana was painfully aware of the gap, and it was wearing her down both physically and mentally.
On top of the pressure she'd already been under before this, the added burden of feeling like she was dragging everyone down was crushing her spirit.
Bringing her along might have been the wrong call after all. But leaving her behind wouldn't have made things any less worrying.
There was no perfect answer either way. Since I'd agreed to let her come, though, I had to take responsibility and watch over her.
Everyone else seemed to understand that too — they didn't say a word.
Basgas probably didn't know the details, but as a professional guide, he'd escort anyone regardless. Even if a client was slow, he had no complaints.
Kathia, though, looked a bit dissatisfied. I should probably talk to her about it later, subtly.
"Now then, we've made it halfway through the dungeon. Let's figure out our route from here."
Basgas addressed me.
I set the matter of Ana aside for the moment.
"There are several routes ahead. A dangerous shortest course, a relatively safe but longer detour, and a route that may or may not be dangerous but has a certain... reputation. That's the rough overview. Which one are we picking?"
"Right. How dangerous exactly is the shortest course?"
"There are two kinds of paths in the Upper Layer of the Great Ello Dungeon. The first is the normal narrow corridors like the ones we've been in. The second is what they call the Grand Corridor."
He paused there and handed me a drink.
I accepted it gratefully.
"The Grand Corridor is exactly what it sounds like — a corridor far wider than the normal ones. You wouldn't even call it a corridor anymore; it's more like a massive hall. And it goes on and on without end. The catch is, the Grand Corridor is home to Monsters incomparably stronger than what you find in the normal passages. C-class Monsters are everywhere, and A-class ones show up from time to time. It's a danger zone."
A-class.
That was the kind of threat that warranted a military deployment.
Generally speaking, B-class was considered the upper limit of what a small party could take down.
Humans were inferior to Monsters in raw Status. To compensate, they honed their Skills, banded together, and coordinated with every ounce of their wits. That was how they won against Monsters with superior stats.
But that only worked up to B-class.
A-class Monsters were a different league entirely.
On top their already formidable Stats, their Skills were equally impressive — to the point that they matched humans in the very area where humans had their advantage. Some even possessed unique Skills found only in certain Monster species, and those types were almost always trouble.
The quintessential A-class Monster was the Greater Dragon. The Light Dragon I had under my command was just barely in that rank, but it was getting stronger at a pace that threatened to overtake me. If things kept going like this, it might surpass its master.
"So, how many days would we save by taking the shortest course versus the safe detour?"
"Let's see. At the pace we've been going, I'd estimate about four days."
That was more than I expected. The detour must have been really long.
"And the last course?"
"Ah... that one."
For some reason, Basgas hesitated.
I waited for him to continue, and he scratched his head awkwardly before speaking.
"Honestly, it's a course I'd rather not go to."
"That's a bit too honest. Is there some specific reason?"
"It's the Nightmare's territory."
"Excuse me?"
"That area used to be the territory the Nightmare claimed long ago. So guides tend to avoid it — bad omens. Especially me, since I've run into that thing face-to-face before. I'd really rather not go anywhere near it if I can help it."
The Nightmare. The Mythological-class Monster he'd told me about the other day. But wasn't that thing supposed to be gone already?
"For reference, is that course faster?"
"It'd be a little slower than the shortest course. The shortest course should still be marginally faster. The difference is about a day, more or less."
Dangerous shortest course. Safe but very long detour. Unknown course.
"The Nightmare is gone, right?"
"Yeah, the real Nightmare itself is gone."
"The real one?"
I tilted my head at his odd choice of words. It sounded like he was implying something that wasn't the Nightmare itself was still there.
"We call them the Nightmare's Remnants."
"The Nightmare's Remnants?"
"Monsters that look almost exactly like the Nightmare. They've scattered across a wide area of the Upper Layer now, and the place with the highest concentration is that particular course."
"Are those Monsters strong?"
"Strong. And annoying."
Coming from Basgas — the kind of person who didn't rattle easily — that was saying something. I'd really rather not run into them.
"Though, they share the same behavioral quirk as the Nightmare. They won't attack unless you do something to provoke them first."
"You're kidding."
The words slipped out in disbelief.
Could you even call something like that a Monster? When I thought of Monsters, my image was more along the lines of attacking first and asking questions never.
"The catch is, they spin invisible threads everywhere, and if you cut or damage those threads, they'll come after you."
"Threads?"
"Right, I never mentioned that before. The Nightmare was a spider-type Monster. So are the Nightmare's Remnants."
A spider.
"Invisible threads that also have incredibly strong adhesive properties — once you get caught, it's extremely hard to get free. And on top of how troublesome those threads are alone, the body itself is powerful too. That's the kind of unfair Monster we're dealing with. Back in the day, the common wisdom was to burn any spider web you found. But after the Nightmare's Remnants started showing up, that advice changed to 'if you find a spider web, just run.' They're the worst Monsters in the Upper Layer."
That was incredibly troubling. A Monster that used threads as a trap while also being strong on its own — almost like it had the cunning of a human.
I really did not want to encounter one of those.
That ruled out the third course.
Which left the shortest course and the detour.
"Everyone, I want to hear your opinions. Should we take the dangerous shortest course, or the safe detour?"
I called out to the other members who'd been resting.
I'd just gotten a talking-to from Basgas about this. I couldn't unilaterally choose the dangerous route on my own. And more importantly, Ana was already at her limit — could I really impose any more on her?
It was a hard judgment call for me. But the longer I deliberated, the more time slipped away. While we sat here deliberating, Yugo might be attacking the Elven village right now.
"I believe we should take the shortest route."
That was the Sensei. Kathia nodded in agreement.
"But isn't it dangerous? If multiple A-class Monsters appear, even we would struggle to handle them."
"Oh, A-class Monsters almost never travel in packs, so don't worry. Even if we run into one, it'll be a solo encounter."
"Then we can manage."
Kathia declared with confidence after hearing Basgas's explanation.
"Still, I believe we should not cross that bridge. There's no need to court danger when a safe route exists."
Highlinus was in the camp of safety. Well, he'd been against going to the Elven village from the start. The safety of our group probably ranked higher in his priorities than the Elven village.
That made it two to one.
Basgas was staying neutral. That left me and Ana.
"What do you think we should do, Ana?"
"My opinion doesn't matter. Please, feel free to ignore it."
"That's not how this works. You're one of us too. Don't hold back — just say what you think."
I spoke to her in a firm tone.
Ana looked startled, thought for a moment, and then seemed to steel herself.
"Let's take the shortest route."
"Are you sure?"
I tried to convey, without saying it outright, that my real concern was whether she could keep up.
"Yes."
Her answer came back strong and sure.
Then I had nothing more to say.
"We'll take the shortest route."
With full awareness of the danger, we decided to press on.