The Occupation Called Explorer

Being an explorer is an occupation.

Delving into labyrinths, obtaining treasures, defeating monsters, and acquiring magic stones.

You don't have to think about conquering the labyrinth. That is the dream of aspiring heroes. Or the last hope remaining for those who have no other means to cling to.

All the more so here in the Immortal Labyrinth. Even if caught in the jaws of death, you can be revived — at the cost of losing your possessions.

That's why excuses are justified. Dying means you're a fool.

Drawing a line far before reaching your own limits, you proclaim just how wise you are.

There is no pride, no stubbornness. No resolve either.

That is what being an explorer in the Labyrinth City means.

But sometimes they appear.

To floors beyond reach, to worlds beyond reach — the strong who walk there without a care.

Whether or not they conquer the labyrinth is not the issue. The painful thing is being made to realize just how satisfied we are with our narrow world.

So they bark. The weaker the dog, the louder it barks.

Especially when the other party looks so much younger, smaller, and weaker than themselves.

The one who entered through the door was a cat beastkin girl.

She was already a familiar face at the guild. Everyone knew she had been a scout slave for a mid-rank party that had blundered and been wiped out.

Coming here meant she had been bought again. Her equipment was new, so her treatment must have improved.

"Maal, I was worried about you. Since it was your first day back, I thought you'd return after just one day."

"Yeah, I thought so too, but Ria-chan…"

Every explorer's gaze was captivated by the person who entered next.

Though she still retained a hint of youth, her beauty was dazzling. Wavy black hair carried a faint sheen of light.

She wore black garments with simple leather armor. Two curved blades hung at her waist.

"So? Did you get any results?"

The conversation between the receptionist and her cat beastkin acquaintance continued.

"Yeah, it was amazing. Ria-chan broke the labyrinth walls—"

That's a mistake beginners make. But surviving meant they were lucky.

"—punched a Hellhound barehanded and made it act like a pet—"

That was unbelievable.

"—and after defeating a devil, we came back～"

There was no way something like that happened.

"Oi oi, even if you're exaggerating, give it a rest already."

A male explorer called out to Maal, who was chatting happily.

Before, she probably would have fallen silent here.

"It's true! We properly brought back a magic crystal!"

Right at that moment, Carlos placed the devil's magic crystal on the assessment counter.

"Let's see, this is from a minotaur, a golem, a skeletal warrior, a hellhound…"

Magic stones kept piling up. It wasn't just their purity that was remarkable — the quantity was absurd.

"U-um, what did you do to get this many magic stones?"

The appraiser's face was twitching.

Even if an ordinary mid-rank party spent several days in the labyrinth, they might get a tenth of this amount.

"Our Ojou broke the labyrinth walls. When we hunted the monsters that gathered one after another, this is what happened."

Carlos explained in a weary voice. Thinking that the same thing would happen when they went back into the labyrinth, it was no wonder he felt exhausted.

"… Understood. Is there anything else you obtained in the labyrinth?"

"Mainly furs and fangs… should I just put everything out?"

The weapons and armor used by monsters weren't of good quality, so they left them all behind. Other items included insect exoskeletons and bladed parts. They didn't need most of the golem cores either. The magical potions seemed useful for medicine, so they kept all of those.

"This… I can't appraise this immediately… could you give me until tomorrow?"

That was only natural. Carlos nodded.

By then, all eyes in the guild had gathered at the counter, and the explorers had started whispering amongst themselves.

Word spread like a rumor. About those who occasionally appear — those who easily surpass walls. No, those who don't even consider them walls. Those bound to become legends.

But of course, not everyone would meekly accept that.

"Oi oi. What kind of trick did you use? Tell us too."

He was an armored warrior with a boorish demeanor. Wearing a vulgar smile, he looked down at Maal.

Before Maal could say anything more, Ria gently held her shoulder.

"It wasn't a trick. I simply crushed them head-on."

Perhaps even the man in front of her wouldn't be a match for Maal now. After all, Maal's current level had reached 40.

In just three days, her level had doubled.

"Little missy should stay out of this."

As he said that and thrust out his arm, Ria grabbed it.

"What the—, uwaaah!"

This was Ria, who could crush a goblin's head with grip strength alone. When she let go at an appropriate point, he looked at her as if seeing a monster.

"Give it up. Even the smallest brat in that group has a level over 40."

A man who appeared to be a magician spoke up from further back. He had probably used Identify magic.

"That ogre is 55. As for that girl, I can't tell…"

"Can't tell? Appraisal resistance?"

"Either that or magic. Either way, they're not opponents you can handle."

Awe spread through the room. Ria folded her arms and puffed out her chest in satisfaction.

"Come on, Ria, let's go."

Wanting to avoid any more trouble, Lulu urged them on, and the party left the guild.

When they returned to the mayor's mansion, Klaus had gone out, but the butler took care of them.

They discussed what was needed for exploration, surprised Klaus at dinner, took a bath, and indulged in peaceful sleep for the first time in a while.

While using Maal as a hug pillow, Ria thought.

That presence she felt in the labyrinth.

It was said the master of the labyrinth was a demon.

But it didn't kill humans. Was there a demon that wasn't hostile to humans?

To begin with, "demon" was the general term for demi-humans living in the demon territories beyond the absolute frozen lands. In the past, even ogres were called demons. Some ogres are apparently still affiliated with demons even now.

If that was the case, couldn't there be an existence friendly to humans despite being a demon? Rather, could such a being even be called a demon anymore?

The labyrinth had supposedly been conquered several times, but the labyrinth's master had not been destroyed. That's why the labyrinth was still here. Why hadn't it been destroyed — was it because there was no need to?

Thinking about things she couldn't reach a conclusion on, Ria fell asleep.

The next entire day was spent on rest and preparations.

First, they went around weapon and armor shops looking for a sword and shield for Carlos, while Lulu and Serge gathered magical potions in the meantime.

Serge finally bought a staff. It was one that quickened the activation of water and earth magic. Apart from offensive power, he had a plan to address his lingering concerns about defense.

"If the boss on the tenth floor is a dragon, magical defense is absolutely necessary."

Carlos also bought a mithril shield with magic resistance. The material itself had natural resistance, and it was further enchanted with magic, making it useful against anything other than simple mass-based attacks.

A new suit of armor was out of the question, as expected. So while reading from a grimoire, Serge enchanted his existing armor with hardness enhancement, toughness enhancement, and weight reduction.

"It's amazing that you can use magic while reading a book like that."

Lulu was impressed, but that was the effect of his Gift.

"Lulu, can't you use spirit magic even though you're a half-elf?"

"Ugh… that's a special skill that's different from regular magic…"

Lulu grew dejected and started tracing the "の" character on the ground. It was secretly a complex of hers.

After dinner, they gathered in one room to discuss the information they had collected that day.

They had already heard about the guardians of each floor from the Ogre King.

The problem was the path to get there. None of the active explorers had been below the eighth floor, and they couldn't get detailed information from retired explorers either. However, it seemed certain that as they went deeper, enemies grew stronger and the labyrinth grew more constricted.

"The sixth floor has an Iron Golem, the seventh has a Death Knight, the eighth has a Dogazer, and the ninth has a Hydra. Given the trends of the floors so far, monsters related to the boss should appear."

At that point, Maal raised her hand.

"Um, I know about the other monsters, but I've never heard of a Dogazer."

Given the circumstances of how Maal joined them, they hadn't explained it to her yet. The Dogazer was a pseudo-living creature created by magic — a fairly obscure monster.

When Serge heard the rough explanation, he had a general idea of what it was, but the details were still somewhat unclear to him.

"I think I heard it was made in the ancient empire era to exterminate pedophiles from the world…"

"That's news to me."

Since Lulu had been Rufus's assistant and happened to know the details by chance, she explained them.

Then, for the next day's exploration, the party went to bed early.

Of course, Ria slept while embracing Maal.