The report brought us shock and disbelief.
In the Underground Labyrinth, the 50th floor had finally been conquered.
Over the past year, adventurers had indeed grown considerably more skilled.
Teams reaching the 30th floor had begun emerging steadily, and strategies like the "Die-and-Return" method and the "In the Name of Glory" operation — techniques that exploited the phenomenon of not staying dead — had also been devised.
Those who attacked head-on had genuinely grown stronger as their skills sharpened and their equipment improved.
However, once past the 30th floor, it wasn't just lethal first-encounter traps — the monsters also began fighting in coordinated groups.
The unorthodox clearing methods became increasingly difficult to pull off.
So the most advanced clearing teams recently... I had the impression Masayuki's group had hit a wall against the 40th floor's guardian...
The 40th floor guardian was the Storm Serpent.
The black serpent I'd first encountered. Its Breath attack was devastating against groups, destroying equipment and reducing many to tears.
I'd kindly lent out Tempest-branded equipment to those in need.
If they broke it, they'd have to pay for it.
I'd thought it was a wonderful guardian — one that stripped adventurers of their hard-earned money and brought wealth to us. I'd come to rely on it.
And yet someone had gone and defeated it...
Moreover, the 50th floor guardian was Guzul — the embodiment of unrestricted violence.
Guzul was no weakling either. Thanks to having been made to fight with restrictions on the 30th floor, he'd learned to approach combat with ingenuity.
He was no longer a brute who relied purely on strength.
The same was true of Mezul. Together with Guzul, they'd racked their brains, consulting each other and refining their fighting strategies.
Before long, they'd forgotten their mutual antagonism and had become something like close friends.
Floor 50, guarded by these two in alternating shifts.
I recalled that I'd set the first-time clear reward at a 100% drop rate.
It was Exceptional-grade equipment from the Minos Series.
Named after the Labyrinth King, the Minotaur, this set of equipment boasted a rather outrageous level of power.
As weapons, you'd receive either a Bull Demon's Battle Axe or a Horse Demon's Battle Spear.
A shield wouldn't drop. The rest comprised armor for each body slot.
These were masterpieces crafted by Kurobei's top disciples, embodying the pinnacle of their skill.
I hadn't expected many people to make it this far, so only about ten sets had been prepared.
After all, naming Guzul and Mezul had made them stronger, and if someone capable of defeating them appeared, it might be worth recruiting them.
For that reason, the protocol was to receive an emergency notification if they were ever beaten.
After all, if waves of adventurers attacked in large numbers, fatigue could set in, and defeat wasn't impossible.
Regardless of the method, I wanted to get information on anyone who could take down Guzul or Mezul.
If they refused recruitment, they could potentially become hostile.
This time too, would it be another wave assault powered by Masayuki's charisma?
My prediction was overturned.
The report said that only three people had defeated Guzul.
Furthermore, they weren't anyone who'd been active before — they were newcomers who had only recently arrived.
I needed to gather proper information on these new arrivals.
So I cut short the practice session of my newly improved surveillance magic and headed to the command room set up inside the labyrinth.
When I entered,
Dino was one thing, but Vester had seemed tired lately, so the timing was perfect.
Ramiris and Veldora were brimming with energy. The concept of fatigue might not even exist for these two.
The so-called "child stamina," I suppose.
As long as they were doing something they found interesting, they'd never tire.
"Oh, you're here, Commander! The situation is unchanged for now!"
I had no idea what was supposed to have changed or not.
She was probably just saying whatever sounded appropriate.
I looked at the images displayed on the large screen.
Three young people appeared on the display.
They were sweeping through the floors at a breakneck pace. And their fighting style was extremely peculiar.
One of them was throwing what amounted to compressed air — with clearly abnormal throwing power.
He was a large, solidly built man with brown hair and sharply chiseled features, dressed quite finely.
Rather than heavy plate armor, he wore chainmail woven with steel fiber, with a coat draped over the top.
Their attire was fairly similar overall.
One was a gaunt figure clad entirely in a black robe that concealed his whole body, while the other wore white clothing over chainmail.
With features reminiscent of an Asian ethnicity and a white coat like one you'd see in a hospital, he looked unmistakably Japanese.
They had to be "Otherworlders."
Six Spectral Wolves charged toward them at speeds ordinary adventurers couldn't react to, closing the distance in an instant.
They must have instantly judged that at range, they'd only be on the receiving end of one-sided attacks.
As expected of anything above the 50th floor — even the cannon fodder possessed considerable intelligence.
For reference, a single Spectral Wolf was B+ rank, and gathering six of them together made them an extraordinarily troublesome presence.
Moreover, spectral-type monsters had the trait of being impervious to damage unless struck by holy-attributed or magical weapons.
Even if their Physical Body was blown apart, they'd regenerate almost immediately. Without countermeasures, even a single one was dangerous.
If you let your guard down, they'd tear you apart in one coordinated rush...
"Don't underestimate me, you mangy mutts! Hraaah!"
The brown-haired man, who'd been grabbing and hurling air moments ago, swung a sinister battle axe in a wide, sweeping arc.
That single swing reduced three Spectral Wolves to particles of light that dispersed into nothing.
Ah, that sinister battle axe — I knew it looked familiar. It was the Bull Demon's Battle Axe.
An Exceptional-grade piece of equipment, and naturally, it qualified as a type of magical weapon.
Even without the ability to channel magic, the mana imbued in the weapon itself was enough to deal damage to monsters.
Furthermore, the Minos Series was supposed to be particular about materials. Silver was mixed into the
It was a weapon specialized for dealing heavy damage to undead and spectral types.
"Ah, with the Bull Demon's Battle Axe, Spectral Wolves are one-hit kills."
"Mm. That weapon is what the Bull Demon dropped, isn't it. The way he wields it like it's always been his — his combat sense must be sharp."
Veldora nodded at my murmured comment.
We then watched their progress while asking about their battles up to this point.
I could really go for some potato chips as a snack right about now.
From what we heard, most of their battles had ended with the brown-haired man defeating the enemies.
Seeing it firsthand, I could confirm it — the brown-haired man was genuinely strong.
But what about the various traps?
It turned out the black-robed figure swiftly identified them and relayed their positions to his teammates.
Devious traps and insidious traps — the real challenge began at the 50th floor and above.
Watching the black-robed one precisely pinpoint trap locations...
He clearly had some kind of ability. He was truly an indispensable member for labyrinth conquest.
The last member — the one in white — had only been in action once so far, and only during the Guzul fight.
I was shown footage via Thought Communication, and this one was definitely a Unique Skill holder too.
He pulled a syringe from his coat and injected both of his teammates.
Immediately afterward, Guzul's movements slowed dramatically.
It must have been some kind of status effect, but with Guzul's slowed movements, the brown-haired man had a perfect opening.
The finishing blow was delivered by the white-clad one.
He drew a silver scalpel from his coat and instantly severed the blood vessels in Guzul's neck.
The fact that he'd taken the time to observe and wait showed he wasn't some thoughtless brawler — he was an analytical fighter with keen situational awareness.
It really seemed like a perfectly balanced party.
《Report. Analysis complete. The attack received by individual "Guzul" was neurotoxin-based. The room had been filled with a poison gas that impeded the movement of those without resistance. There is currently no effect.》 Ah, poison gas.
And it could be selected and mixed on the spot to suit the opponent.
Looking at the analysis provided by Wisdom King based on the room's residual atmospheric data, I could already guess from the white coat, but this was almost certainly a medical-type Unique Skill.
Just then, I heard a knock on the room's door. The door opened, and
She'd brought registration forms for the three talked-about individuals, obtained from the Adventurers' Guild — now a subordinate organization of the Committee.
"Here is the registration information for the three who successfully cleared the 50th floor."
Shuna bowed and handed over the forms.
I nodded, took them, and reviewed the information: Shinji —— 23 years old, Battle Mage Mark —— 26 years old, Fighter Shin —— 17 years old, Hunter Brief and to the point.
Their origin was listed as a small country on the Empire's side. The registration noted they'd heard rumors of the Underground Labyrinth from merchants and come to explore it.
Yeah, that's obviously a lie no matter how you look at it.
A "Battle Mage" was a high-level job that required mastery of both the "Sorcerer" system — which centered on contract magic with spirits — and the "Magic Caster" system — a chanting-based class grounded in elemental knowledge.
It was an exceptionally difficult profession that few could achieve.
The same went for "Fighter" — a close-combat expert who had mastered both the warrior and swordsman systems and could wield every type of weapon.
Naturally, it wasn't a job you could just casually take up.
As for "Hunter" — the pinnacle among those who hunted monsters. Within the Adventurers' Guild, it was the most relied-upon profession.
In this world, there were very few people with Thief-type skills for trap detection and monster finding.
In truth, only actual Thieves existed.
In such circumstances, the only people who could claim the title of "Hunter" were those from hunting tribes.
It was certainly a well-balanced party, but if they really had come from the Empire's side, they were undoubtedly spies.
But would they be foolish enough to write the truth on their registration?
If anything, I'd expect them to claim they came from the Demon Lord territory under Milim's rule, or from another continent governed by Leon.
Oh well.
Regardless of the truth, they were definitely people to keep an eye on.
The young man with black hair in the white coat was Shinji.
He used abilities that seemed more like strange powers than magic.
Come to think of it, "Shinji" — that was definitely just "Shinji," wasn't it.
The brown-haired one was Mark.
He didn't just throw air bullets — monster corpses, loose stones, anything he could grab...
In short, he could throw literally anything he could get his hands on.
When he grabbed living monsters and hurled them to hit two enemies at once, I nearly choked on my tea.
His "Fighter" class didn't seem to be a lie — he wielded the Bull Demon's Battle Axe with genuine skill.
The black-robed one was Shin.
This guy could completely see through traps.
At first I thought he just had good instincts, but he'd been dodging danger detection, monster detection, and trap detection alike — avoiding everything in advance.
The fact that he relayed information to his teammates proved it wasn't coincidence.
Above the 50th floor, the traps were supposed to be a greater threat than the monsters themselves.
I'd deliberately populated the floors with spectral-type monsters and set up traps involving air pressure changes, oxygen-deprived rooms, and poisoned water — all to maintain the difficulty by preventing clearance through conventional means. But if the traps were completely seen through, all of that was meaningless.
His sense of direction was also exceptional — he wasn't fooled by rotating floors or anything of the sort, and navigated the shortest route with ease.
The maze was clearly rendered meaningless.
Any minor injuries were quickly healed by the white-coated Shinji.
Even though there were only three of them, they were clearly a team specialized for labyrinth conquest.
And yet, the three of us were watching their progress with gleeful enthusiasm.
No, we weren't thinking of using them as reference for our own conquest attempts or anything like that...
We were simply and honestly admiring the combat prowess of the strong.
Shuna poured us refills of tea with an exasperated expression.
Today's blend was a red tea with a pleasant apple fragrance.
The real challenge began at the 50th floor, but for people who could see through traps, the difficulty wasn't much different from up to floor 50.
In that case, the true test of their abilities would be whether they could defeat the 70th floor's guardian.
The 60th floor guardian was Death Spirit King Adalman.
A high-ranking Undead King with the refined appearance of a polished skeleton.
A high priest who had traveled to the site of the battlefield in the Great Forest of Jura to purify the specters that had spawned there, only to end up turned into an undead himself — the ironic result of being mummified by a mummy hunter.
Though it was rather counterproductive, as a result, Priest Adalman had acquired immense magical power by becoming undead.
With that power, he'd become king of the dead and quietly lived in his cave.
When I'd been inaugurated as Demon Lord, he'd made a point of coming to pay his respects. During that visit, I'd very nearly purified him — a joke that wasn't funny at all.
This was the floor he guarded — the 60th.
Unfortunately, I didn't think these three would have the upper hand against him.
Death Spirit King Adalman possessed combat power rated A-rank or above [EP: 44,000].
Naturally, he was a tier above Guzul or Mezul.
He was far beyond what any ordinary demon could handle, but his weakness was painfully obvious.
He was extraordinarily weak to holy-attributed or light-attributed powers.
He could infinitely summon Spectral Knights and Spectral Wolves, and if he fought seriously, he'd be an extraordinarily troublesome existence — if he attacked a town, he'd probably be classified as a calamity. But they all shared the same elemental weakness.
That was precisely why, on this floor, I'd designed the boss encounter to be easy — intending for adventurers to get accustomed to dealing with traps instead.
If they could defeat Guzul or Mezul through sheer force, then as long as they paid attention to the attribute weakness, they should be able to defeat him easily.
And moreover...
"What a waste. The Bull Demon's Battle Axe coming out on the very first drop...
Wait, that's a holy-attributed mithril weapon that deals double damage to undead and spectral types, right?"
"We might have gotten a little too carried away with the first-time-limited-service and all..."
That's right.
I'd done Adalman a disservice.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to stop these three.
Well, it was partly my fault, but I'd appreciate being forgiven for that.
So I'd been counting on the 70th floor's guardian instead.