Chapter 32 - Inside the Labyrinth (2) (1/2)

Eventually, they arrived at the twentieth floor, the floor that separated skilled adventurers from rank amateurs. Currently, the deepest floor people had managed to reach was floor sixty-five. However, that was a legendary feat that hadn't been replicated since, so in recent times anyone who made it past the first twenty floors was considered a highly-skilled fighter. Anyone who made it past the first forty was superhuman.

With Rio and Kouki at their head, the students were able to easily advance through the floors. Though they had little combat experience, their overpowered abilities and Hajime's unfair artifact more than enough to compensate. The most dangerous enemy the students faced was actually the traps scattered about. Some of them were even lethal.

The most common countermeasure for traps was something known as a Fair Scope. A Fair Scope was a handy tool that detected traps by reading the flow of mana. Most of the traps in the labyrinth were magical in nature, so a Fair Scope detected around 80% of them. However, the Scope possessed a very limited range, so it was only effective in the hands of an experienced user. Rio, however, begged to differ. In fact, he could feel all traps because of his cheats. Still, he said nothing to maintain his secret.

Even so, the real reason Rio and the students were able to descend so smoothly was because of how well their knight mentors were guiding them. Captain Meld also often reminded the students to never enter a room that hadn't been scoured for traps first.

”Alright everyone, from this point on, monsters won't come at you just one species at a time. They'll coordinate with each other and attack in large groups. Don't let your guard down just because we've had nothing but easy victories so far! Today's training will conclude once we clear the twentieth floor, so let's end things with a bang!” Captain Meld's voice echoed throughout the room.

While everyone was taking a short break, Rio glanced over to his group, and he saw Kaori who was fussing over Hajime, who was helping helpless expression, Kouki who looked at Hajime in pity, Shizuku who sent an apologetic look in Hajime's direction, and Ryutarou, Suzu, and Eri who snickered at Hajime's misery.

Rio then saw Hajime shuddering out of the blue and looking around with an expression with the mixture of confusion and wariness. Rio also detected the bloodl.u.s.t directed on Hajime and glanced at the source. He then saw Hayama who glared at Hajime with hatred.

That wasn't the first time Hajime was subjected by this gaze either. He'd been subjected to it multiple times since the day he became Kaori's boyfriend, but whenever he tried to look for the one who was doing it, they seemingly calmed down. Hajime was growing tired of it.

However, Rio knew who was that. He couldn't help but think that he needn't sabotage the expedition if Hayama was still deluding himself that he had a chance with Kaori. Thus, Rio made up his mind to see how it will advance.

Rio, the students, and the knights continued exploring the twentieth floor.

Each of the labyrinth's floors spanned a few kilometers in every direction, and new floors usually took a team of dozens anywhere from half a month to a month to fully search and map out. However, at present, all the floors until the forty-seventh had been mapped out, so they were in no danger of getting lost. Nor should they have been in any danger of falling into a trap.

The deepest room on the twentieth floor was like a limestone cave but made of ice. Icicles protruded from the walls, some of them melted, creating a complex topography. The stairs leading to the twenty-first floor was just past it.

Once they made it that far, their training for the day would be over. Sadly, while teleportation magic had existed during the Age of the Gods, it no longer did, so they had to walk back to the entrance… Or so they thought so. Nobody was aware that Rio could use teleportation magic, but this is irrelevant for the story at this point. The students had already begun to relax when a protrusion in the wall had prevented them from advancing in formation, forcing them to continue in single file.

Eventually, the three people at the head of their procession, Rio, Kouki, and Captain Meld, came to a halt. Puzzled, the students prepared for battle as they looked around. It seemed they had encountered a monster.

”It's camouflaging itself! Keep a close eye on your surroundings!” Captain Meld yelled out a warning to everyone.