Chapter 76

"Are they going to be alright...?"

After seeing the three off, I spent my time at the old man's general store.

I felt that if I were alone, my thoughts would drift in a negative direction, so I didn't want to be alone right now.

"Your aimless wandering is quite a nuisance... Are you trying to obstruct business?"

As I wandered around the store, the old man finally voiced his complaint.

Yeah, I'm completely at fault here.

"Sorry, but I can't just sit still."

I never thought waiting would be this agonizing.

Sending a disciple to a place where I can't help them is this nerve-wracking.

"If you're that worried, you should have tailed them without being noticed."

The old man said this with a tone of exasperation.

Yeah, you're absolutely right, and I can't argue with that.

"I feel like doing that would mean I don't trust them. They have the skills to clear the thirtieth floor without any problems. They'll be fine."

"If you believe that, then wait calmly."

"...Yeah, I understand."

After confiding my worries to the old man, I felt a bit more at ease.

That's right.

I trust them.

I can't let them see me in such a wretched state...

After entering the counter and sitting next to the old man, I looked around the store again.

"...Still, the number of customers seems to have decreased, hasn't it?"

I haven't been able to advertise the store for the past month.

Is that one of the reasons?

"From the start, there aren't many customers during the day. In the morning and evening, the store is still quite busy."

Most explorers explore the labyrinth during the day.

Since this store caters to explorers, it's natural that there are no customers at this time.

"By the way, the Festival of Gratitude is coming up soon, and Orun will participate this year, right? After all, he belongs to the Silver Hare of the Night Sky."

"Yeah, that's right. I haven't heard anything specific about it in the guild, but I think it will be around the time we clear the ninety-second floor. I don't think he'll miss it."

The Festival of Gratitude is a ten-day event held in late May to early June every year.

What we are grateful for is the Great Labyrinth.

Thanks to the magic stones and materials extracted from the Great Labyrinth, the country's economy has been significantly revitalized.

Furthermore, due to the Great Labyrinth, we can obtain a wide variety of materials that other countries cannot, and we can export them.

To express gratitude for this, exploration of the Great Labyrinth is prohibited during the festival.

This is just a formality; in reality, it's to restore the balance within the Great Labyrinth by leaving it undisturbed for a while.

The materials that explorers target are usually in high demand.

Materials in high demand have a higher selling price, so it's natural to aim for those with higher returns when taking the same risks.

However, this leads to the depletion of high-demand materials and an overflow of low-demand materials within the Great Labyrinth.

The Great Labyrinth has its own ecosystem.

Continuing to target high-demand materials disrupts this balance.

Restoring a disrupted ecosystem would normally take more time than a human lifetime, but in the Great Labyrinth, it only takes about a week.

During this period, no one can enter the Great Labyrinth, and it returns to its normal state.

Explorers who can't explore the Great Labyrinth during this time set up stalls and participate in various events to liven up the festival.

I've never participated in the Festival of Gratitude.

When I first became an explorer, my priority was to get stronger, so I explored other labyrinths during the period when the Great Labyrinth was off-limits.

Later, when I started to gain strength, it became a good opportunity to handle various administrative tasks with sponsors, so I never enjoyed the festival.

Explorers from the Silver Hare of the Night Sky participate in the festival in some way every year, so I might be able to participate this year.

"Orun is now one of the most prominent explorers in this city. It would be a problem if he didn't participate."

Thanks to clearing the ninety-second floor, I've been getting more attention.

I don't particularly like being in the spotlight, but since I'm part of the first team of the Silver Hare of the Night Sky, I have to accept it.

...Being flattered isn't entirely unpleasant, though.

◇

After chatting with the old man for about an hour, the pendant necklace I wore around my neck suddenly glowed green.

"Sorry, old man. I have an emergency."

I told the old man this, jumped over the counter, and headed for the door.

"Wait a moment—"

Just as I was about to open the door, the old man called out to me.

Suppressing my anxiety, I turned to him, and something flew towards me.

I caught it instinctively.

"---I've improved the storage magic tool. It takes about ten minutes to activate. Take it with you."

It was a storage magic tool with an improved mechanism for activating the "Magic Sword Synthesis."

The previous magic tool used for the ninety-second floor took about twenty minutes to activate.

To halve the time in just a few days...

"Thanks, old man. I'm off!"

"Take care."

With the old man's voice in my back, I stepped outside.

"【Strength Boost】【Triple Stack】, 【Reflective Barrier】"

After casting buffs on myself, I stepped on a gray, semi-transparent wall set at an angle and was launched into the sky towards the direction of the Great Labyrinth.

"【Technical Skill Boost】【Triple Stack】, 【Agility Boost】【Sixfold Stack】!"

While in the air, I cast more buffs on myself.

Then, I created a foothold in the air using "【Mana Convergence】" and headed for the Great Labyrinth as quickly as possible.

I soon reached the entrance of the Great Labyrinth.

There were quite a few people around, but I ignored them and headed straight for the crystal to move to the thirtieth floor.

After activating "【Hearing Boost】," I ran at high speed along the route they had told me about earlier.

(The necklace glowing green means something happened to Carol. Maybe they're already—)

Suppressing my anxiety, I activated the necklace hanging around my neck.

Three lights appeared: red, green, and purple.

(Thank goodness... They're all still alive!)

To explain briefly, the necklaces I gave to the three at the entrance of the Great Labyrinth were designed to alert me if they were in danger.

The mechanism was activated just now.

This means there's a high possibility that the three are in danger right now.

(I should have gone with them...! No, don't think about that now. Focus all your energy on finding them!)

Various sounds reached my ears, but not all of them were from the three.

I remembered the characteristics of the sounds they made when walking or running.

I mustn't miss even the slightest sound from them...

I had covered about eighty percent of the route they had told me about.

But I still hadn't found them.

I think they should be around here...

"---Stop it!!"

---

Log's voice came from inside the wall.

It was the first time I heard Log's voice so anxious.

I immediately compared my current location with the map in my head.

Beyond this wall was a spacious area.

If I followed the path, I would reach it, but Log's voice indicated a dire situation.

Time was precious!

"【Magic Sword Synthesis】!"

I summoned the Schwarzhase and transformed it into mana.

(I'm breaking through this wall!)

I further concentrated the mana of the Schwarzhase.

"---!"

I launched a concentrated slash at the upper part of the wall, creating a hole and jumping through it.

◇

(What are they doing...?)

Using magic to clear the dust, I saw a man about to strike Sophie with a sword.

I immediately rushed to Sophie's side.

"---【Third Form】"

I expanded the mana of the Schwarzhase, which was still in its magic sword form, to create a large sword.

I swung the large sword horizontally.

The man, who barely reacted to my attack, tried to block it with his sword like a shield but was blown back and crashed into the wall.

Immediately after, the Schwarzhase returned to its black sword form.

Carol was unconscious near the wall.

Log seemed to be conscious but injured.

I immediately cast "【Healing】" on Log.

There were four enemies: the large man I had just blown away, another man, a woman, and a genderless robed figure.

"...I'm sorry for being late."

Anger welled up inside me, not just at the situation but at myself for being late.

"Mr. Orun..."

Sophie's voice reached me.

(Calm down. The priority now is to reassure them. Act as you normally would...!)

"Yeah, I'm here. You did well. Good job. It's okay now. Don't worry. I'll take care of the rest."

I forced a smile and told Sophie, who was crying.

"...I'm going to teleport Sophie and Log to Carol's side. Can you take care of Carol? I'll finish this quickly."

"Y-Yes, I understand."

After telling Sophie this, I activated "【Spatial Leap】" to move the two to Carol's side.

Then, I created a mana barrier to cover the three and increased its strength using "【Mana Convergence】."

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