GILF Hunter

Ian handed the permit to the Labyrinth Guard.

The application had already been submitted a few days ago, so what followed was just a formal procedure by the guards.

They were able to pass through without much of a wait.

Soon, Ian and the members came to a halt in front of the labyrinth’s entrance.

A place people wouldn’t even approach, simply because it was ominous.

At the entrance of the labyrinth, the source of that foreboding, a thick darkness surged, making the interior completely invisible.

Before entering, Ian turned back one last time to look at the faces of the members and made eye contact.

Everyone gave Ian a silent nod.

’Let’s go in.’

Ian took the first step forward.

Into a darkness where one couldn’t see even a few steps ahead.

As they took several steps inside, it wasn’t long before even the light of the lantern was swallowed by the gloom.

Their sense of direction vanished, and for a few seconds, they felt as if they were falling into an abyss.

When Ian came to his senses, he was suddenly standing in a dark room.

The members standing behind him also staggered for a moment before regaining their composure and looking around.

’Is this inside the labyrinth…?’

They thought they were about to descend some stairs, but in an instant, they had arrived at this location.

It felt as though they had been transported to another place in a flash.

Everyone raised their weapons and stood alert.

Ian took a moment to look around the room.

Neither in Ian’s knowledge nor in the exploration records of the labyrinth was there any mention of encountering monsters at the starting point.

The very first place one begins is a safe room.

’This is the exit, so it should be safe.’

’The exit?’

’Since we’ve come inside. From now on, this is the exit.’

Ian took out a blank map, drew the room representing their current location in the center, and marked it as the exit.

The labyrinth was a place where spaces were jumbled together.

Since they arrived at a different space every time they entered and the structure was different every time, there was no pre-made map.

They had to explore while creating a new map themselves every time they entered like this.

A dungeon where one never knew what space they would enter and where the structure was always changing.

Simply put….

It meant it was an instance dungeon.

Ian and the members briefly surveyed the room.

Except for the stairs leading back to the surface, there was only one passage connected to the room.

There seemed to be no other choice if they wanted to go deeper inside.

’Let’s go.’

Everyone moved their steps cautiously according to Ian’s words.

One step toward the sole passage of the first room.

They entered the passage shrouded in a stifling darkness where an eerie atmosphere lingered.

’….’

The lantern’s light flickered, and unpleasant shadows wavered.

The structure itself was similar to the dungeon they had entered for practice last time, but the labyrinth was filled with a sense of tension and anxiety, as if they had stepped into a place they shouldn’t be.

At least, the practice they had done on how to move in the dark was helpful.

Everyone advanced one step at a time while staying alert, reaching the end of the short passage.

-Halt.

Lia, who was leading the way, stopped and signaled.

Up ahead was a wide space.

No sound could be heard from inside, but a chilling aura could be felt.

Something like a bone-chilling cold flowed out, making their bodies tremble.

Ian shone the lantern’s light slightly to check the floor.

Terrain: Cemetery.

Monster type… Undead.

Ian quietly lowered the lantern.

This lantern, which didn’t consume oil, was useful when moving through passages or resting, but its brightness was weak and wasn’t much help when fighting.

A moment later, a torch flared up.

As the flames burned and light spread, the interior of the room that had been hidden in darkness was revealed.

The unpleasantly quiet underground cemetery was filled with silence, as if nothing living existed there.

And then very slowly, the dead things began to lift their heads from the floor.

’It’s monsters!’

Rin, who discovered them first, shouted out.

Ghouls that had been collapsed on the floor as if they were corpses rose up and turned their gazes toward the intruders.

The opponents were Ghouls.

Their characteristic was [Profane], a trait most undead monsters possessed in common.

If one took a valid hit from this monster, they received additional erosion.

Several ghouls were rising and approaching.

Ian checked the traits possessed by each monster as quickly as possible and identified the one that needed to be dealt with first among them.

’Rin! Target the one in the very back first!’

’Yes!’

Along with Rin’s reply, Tanya also prepared the item she had taken out beforehand.

’I’m throwing it!’

The flashbang that flew from Tanya’s hand emitted a burst of light.

With a momentary flash, the ghouls’ vision was obscured, causing them to lose sight of their targets for a moment.

Opening her eyes, which she had kept closed in time with the pre-shouted signal, Rin had already arrived behind the back of the ghoul in the very rear.

Rin’s thrust flew in, targeting the ghoul Ian had pointed out.

An attack aimed at the back of a defenseless opponent.

But perhaps because it was a monster she was facing for the very first time.

Even though she had successfully landed a surprise attack from behind, it was slightly insufficient to deal with the monster in one go.

The ghoul pierced by Rin’s sword jerked its head toward the ceiling and its body trembled.

──!!!

’Ugh….’

The ghoul that had been attacked by Rin let out a cry.

Or rather, a roar. A shout. A sound that was perhaps more like a scream echoed along the walls, leaving behind an unpleasant headache like being pricked by needles.

Rin stumbled and hurriedly backed away.

Everyone, including Ian, felt something flow into their bodies like mud upon hearing that sound.

Mika, the only one who had experienced it before, realized it was the same energy as back then.

The energy known as erosion that causes the curse of the labyrinth.

It was something Ian had taught several times: that it was what they had to be most careful of when entering the labyrinth.

’Lia! Go forward and cover!’

Lia dashed out and shoved one ghoul blocking the way with her shield.

Due to the effect of the flashbang thrown earlier, the ghouls were still in a state where they hadn’t properly decided on a target to attack.

Lia, who had reached the vicinity of Rin in the rear, swung her sword in a wide arc.

A vivid red light sparkled as Lia’s sword scattered sparks.

The scattered sparks only left small scorch marks and failed to inflict any significant damage, but the gazes of all the ghouls turned toward Lia, following the source of the flickering light.

’Rin! Target that one from before again!’

Rin also felt quite enough why that one had to be dealt with first.

When Rin nodded as a signal that she was ready, Lia attacked one ghoul blocking the path to create an opening.

Rin dove into the rear once again through that gap.

Amidst the low growls of monsters echoing from all sides and the claws being swung.

Lin’s body, stepping forward without hesitation, propelled itself ahead.

In just a few steps, the opponent Rin was targeting came within range.

According to the words of the Mercenary Guild instructors who had been in charge of Rin’s training, Rin’s anti-personnel swordsmanship was a complete disaster.

Instead, she was told her eye for spotting openings and her thrusts weren’t bad.

…Perhaps it was just an excuse to hand off the swordsmanship instruction more easily, but anyway, thanks to that, Rin spent all day practicing only thrusts whenever she went to training.

Just as she had practiced, one step.

Rin’s sword shot out.

…It reached!

Toward the ghoul about to scream once again, the tip of Rin’s blade reached a step ahead.

This time, Rin’s sword surely targeted the ghoul’s vital spot, causing its movements to stop completely.

-Thud!

The ghoul’s claws, which she hadn’t managed to pay attention to because she was focused on her target, flew in, but they were blocked and repelled by Mika’s barrier.

Lia, who stepped in from behind, blocked the next attack coming toward Rin and slashed the ghoul to make it back off.

’Right side.’

Lia, moving her steps beside Rin, sent her a signal.

Lia blocked Rin’s back and took the attacks of two ghouls lunging at them.

In the meantime, Rin threw herself at the opponent Lia had signaled—the one on the right that had separated from the pack.

The barrier should be able to block a few more times.

Rin thrust her sword toward the ghoul from the front. The ghoul’s attack was repelled by the barrier, and every time an opening was created, Rin’s counterattack carved a deep wound.

After taking several attacks from the front, the ghoul, rendered incapable of fighting just as the barrier finally shattered, collapsed to the floor.

Along with that, Lia also dealt with one of the ghouls she was handling in the back.

The only one remaining was the last one Lia had been fighting alongside her.

Lia’s sword sliced off the ghoul’s arm, and with Rin’s thrust following in, the final ghoul collapsed.

Everyone steadied their ragged breathing, surveyed their surroundings, and slowly lowered their weapons.

’Haah….’

’Are you two hurt anywhere?’

’I don’t think so….’

Rin, letting out a deep breath, replied with an exhausted face.

The first battle in the labyrinth. Fortunately, no one was injured.

Rin looked at the remains of the monsters they had just fought.

They were quite difficult opponents.

Among those she had fought so far, they were the most aggressive, their speed was fast, and everything was threatening.

And to think they had to worry about that incomprehensible thing called erosion on top of that.

If things like this continued to appear, one could say this was the highest difficulty expedition in her mercenary experience so far.

’…It wasn’t much. At this level.’

But ultimately, the important thing was that it went as practiced.

It wasn’t a place of uncontrollable horror as people had said when speaking of the labyrinth in fear.

An opponent within expectations, one that could be handled if they moved as prepared and practiced.

’I knew you all could do it.’

Of course, it wasn’t an easy challenge, and they had practiced immensely.

Fortunately, the fact that he had played through once with every single class using only a single-class party in the past was helpful.

Especially the all-porter party, which took months to clear and earned him being called a crazy human on the forums every day.

Does hard work truly never betray you?

The experience from back then was a significant help in drawing up the plan for this expedition.

Ian nodded as he encouraged the members.