36 35. Hero and midwinter snow.txt (1/2)

The wide corridor was crammed with countless beasts.

It's a 'swarm' of monsters.

As long as I had my search capabilities, this was a sight I would never encounter.

If you receive simultaneous attacks from multiple monsters, even if you are above the proper level, you are in danger of losing your life. He had heard a story about a horrible encounter with a group of monsters in a tavern once, and since then, he had been careful to never encounter them.

The basis of the labyrinth is to hunt a single monster in a large group.

At the very least, one on one. It's an ironclad rule.

I've been meditating on exceptions such as boss battles, but to be honest, it's often not worth it to take on more than one person.

''Fufu--, hahahahahaha!

In the midst of that 'swarm' of monsters, Rustyala laughs and continues to fight alone.

He is fighting against the violence of numbers without a care in the world.

From the far back, Maria and I watch the scene from behind.

I pick up on Rastiara's battle with my magic 《Dimension》 and observe it.

Wearing a single thin layer of clothing that would not have any defensive power, he coolly dodges the claws of the beasts. And then slash them with the sword in order to dodge them. That's all that was required to repeat the process. Despite possessing a high level of swordsmanship skills, his swordsmanship was messy.

Occasionally, he would make an eye-popping flash, but a haphazard sword was definitely more common. It's a movement that precedes the impression that he's better with his body than he is with his sword.

He may be able to handle magic as well, but I don't see him using it at all.

As I analyze the tactics of the human named Rastiara, I also observe the other human.

''Nah, what is it ....... That person ......

Maria was stunned and watched Rastiara's battle.

She 'displayed' that Maria's status and checked the changes in her experience.

It's an important information analysis.

It can be said to be more important than Rastiara's tactical analysis.

This is the first time I've entered the labyrinth with a party of three people.

If this is a game, the change in the number of party members will cause fluctuations in the distribution of experience. Whether it will be a penalty, a bonus, or even a big change in the distribution system - we have to check.

I asked Rastiara to be in charge of picking up the experience value and I continue to observe the fluctuations in the experience value of the three of them in detail.

''Master, what the hell is that guy ......?''

I'm analyzing it using the 'display' when Maria asks me a question.

I answer the question by analyzing it in parallel.

'I don't know much about it either. I don't know much either, but I'm sure he's a special person. I think all you need to know is that you're a knightly girl who loves to hide in the labyrinth at the moment.

Yeah, right: ......

And while I was talking to Maria, it seems that Rustyala has also finished his annihilation.

While shaking off the blood-soaked sword, Rastiara walks leisurely towards us. Incidentally, he has hardly been exposed to any return blood. It looks like he still has plenty of time to spare.

''Haha. I'm finally done! I guess I'm a little tired...''

I told you we'd have to go around.

If we don't go around, we'll go the long way. Let's just move on to the back.

Totally: ......

Rastiara didn't like being on the lower levels and single-handedly cut through the swarm of monsters that were blocking the shortest path.

I had suggested a detour, and this helped.

The state of always having some experience available is good for analysis.

Thanks to this, tentatively, but four.

The rules are now settled.

1. only one person must fight and the three must receive a solid amount of experience, even if only one person is fighting and the others are resting.

2. the range of the party system must be much the same whether there are two or three people in the party system.

3．A slight penalty must be applied to a party of more than one person.

4. the distribution of experience value is still the same as it was with two players, and it is still divided equally.

I think I'm starting to understand the trend of the party system to a certain extent.

''Alright. Well then, let's move on to the next layer.

Let's go. I'll lead you.

Saying that, Rastiara took the lead again and proceeded through the labyrinth.

The reason she's walking pretty fast is probably because she wants to get to the back as soon as possible.

I'm following behind Rustiala as if I'm watching a child going straight to the toy corner. That's when I suddenly became aware of Maria.

Rastiara's fast pace is quite something. It's so fast that an ordinary person would be out of breath in no time. I'm okay with it, but with Maria's status, I might be fatigued.

Thinking this, I turned my attention to Maria - her face was pale.

I'm not sure what's wrong with you.　Maria: ......!

Maria walked right behind me, her hands almost grabbing my hem at any moment.

'Doesn't your master think anything of it, ......?　Look at Mr. Rustyala now: ......

Apparently, after seeing the fight earlier, he has a strong fear of it.

Indeed, if someone of lesser ability looked at it, Rastiara would appear to be an overwhelming mass of violence. In the past, I also felt an eerie, empty fear in Rastiara.

''That's right. Sure, Rastiara might be a bit of a scary one. ...... but that one, he's also pretty pure of heart, so he's not a bad guy.

Things are what they are, I think to myself.

He may not be a bad guy, but he's definitely a pain in the ass.

He's pure of heart, which is horrible: ......

Even after hearing my words, Maria couldn't seem to wipe away her fear.

I described it as terrifying because it was pure of heart. I have a feeling that Rustyala is the type of person who seems to be innocently stomping out bugs. I don't know how I feel.

'It's okay. If something happens, I'll be there to protect Maria. I'm going to be strong enough to protect Maria from Rustyala.

'What?　Can Master beat that Mr. Rustyala ......?

''I wouldn't say it's a must-win, but I do think he's got quite an advantage. That guy seems to have a lot of mental gaps, and I don't feel like his sword skills are inferior. So I'll be fine.

I speak softly, watering down the odds to reassure Maria.

Honestly, there won't be a big difference between Rustyala and me.

If there can be a difference, it's the situation.

If I'm fighting while protecting Maria, I'm at a disadvantage.

If I was able to fight freely on my own, I'd be at a five-minute disadvantage.

That's about it.

I'm not going to be able to get the best out of it.

''Even if that's the case ....... If it were true, I would have to protect my master .......

For now, they seemed to believe that Lastiara would be fine if I was there. In no small part, the frightened look disappeared.

It should be ....... Maria is good at looking good and being vain, so I'm honestly not confident.

And next it was Maria who was starting to worry about her position.

Thinking that we would be talking about slaves or friends again, I quickly returned my words.

'No, that's fine. If anything goes wrong, Maria can just take care of herself.

'That's good ......?　That means that--

When Maria heard that, she looked as if she had stumbled upon something.

However, she quickly erased her expression and shook her head.

''No, it's nothing. ......

I can't read Maria's mind.

I don't know what she has in mind when this happens.

Maria's expression changes and she laughs as she speaks.

''In the end, I'm not good enough ....... That's what I mean. Besides, when I thought about it, I knew that Rustyala-san was not a bad person. Rather, she's a good person.

'What?　Really?

I was unconvinced that I was a good person, even though I told myself I wasn't a bad person, when I was told that I was a good person.

'Last night, we talked endlessly in the same bed with that innocent person. I think I have a better idea of Rastiara-san's personality than you do. For some reason, I don't know why he likes me so much for nothing.

You're right: ....... He seems to like you a lot: ......

Maria's expression brightens.

Apparently, her steps have become lighter.

She comes forward from behind me and begins to move through the labyrinth without hesitation.

''Then let's go quickly. Rastiara-san will leave us behind.

Yeah, let's go.

With Maria's back to me, I continue on through the labyrinth.

Since I'm walking behind her, I can't see Maria's face.

No, if I use the 《Dimension》, I can easily check her expression. However, I will never be able to see the expression of her heart.

I don't have a strong personality that can force me to listen to their inner feelings in this situation.

But I vowed to only protect Maria, no matter what happens from now on, and I'm going to walk away.

I'm going to head deep into the labyrinth.

◆◆◆◆◆

After many attempts at the labyrinth, I've gotten used to dealing with the monsters.

The closer you get to the 20th level, the more you feel especially.

To begin with, the monsters that appear are themselves familiar (・・・・).

Having played a lot of games in the original world, there aren't many monsters that are completely new to me. In no small part, I've seen something similar at some point.

The unreality of this was a bit of a bummer at first, but now, when a new monster comes out, I can afford to think, ”Oh, this one looks like the monster from that game.

In contrast, the neighboring Maria and Rustyala were truly surprised by the oddity of the new monsters whenever they came out.

Thus, while fighting a wide variety of monsters, we reach a deeper level where Maria becomes a non-combatant.

I was going to warn her that we're going too far back, but I couldn't find the right moment to say it, and it's layer 19.