The structure was kind of like a straight hallway, but honestly, calling it «hallway» was misleading. Although the proportions were similar, there was a huge difference in size. The space appeared to be at least three times larger than the Palace of Honor where the titles were awarded.
Fwoosh.
Even with the flare active, I still couldn't see the end. The bright light cast a deep shadow over each of the statues that lined the walls, creating a gloomy atmosphere that floated above the room.
Statues of Guardians...
What was this place? I hoped it wouldn't force solo play and allow group play.
I remained alert for any danger that might lurk unseen, and suddenly portals appeared in the air at the promised time.
Vwoong.
The portal was large enough to fit exactly one person. It remained open for only a moment, long enough to spit on a person before disappearing as if it had done its duty.
«I'm happy to see you safe».
Amelia came in right after me.
«Ugh... pretty creepy».
Next appeared the warrior Ainar, who seemed to have lost all her Aggression, and the portals continued to open as more of my allies entered.
«There could be traps around us, so don't move and stay tuned!».
Although all the members of Temporary Squad Four finished entering, I did not start immediately and instead waited for the rest to enter. It wouldn't be too late for me to start the investigation after everyone was here. Squad Three, Squad Two, Squad One... After waiting, more than a hundred members entered, including the village chief.
«The magicians must secure our vision first, and the rest must remain vigilant and wait for an order!» the village chief shouted with the face of Jerome Saintred.
Seeing him act so naturally made me uncomfortable for some reason, but the sight also relieved me. So he had come too. Honestly, I was a little afraid that he would throw me here and not come in.
In any case, everyone entered successfully...
Either there was no entry limit for this space, or the limit was very large. However, that didn't mean he could be calm, not in this situation. True to the Dungeon and Stone experience, things like this used to have a very high difficulty.
«Baron Yandel, what do you suggest we do now?» The village chief came to ask me, and I conveyed my order to him under the pretext of giving my opinion. «Hmm... that seems logical».
The village chief did his best not to be noticed that he was practically my puppet in this matter, and after acting as if he was thoughtful for a while, he gave an order to the deputy commander.
«We will first form groups to investigate this area!».
Our investigation then began. In order, the knights first looked around the area, and if they found anything suspicious, they would not touch it and instead call a wizard first. Before I knew it, we had a complete map.
It's very easy when there are many people you can give orders to.
Honestly, it looked like he was using a trick. If he had only had Anabada Clan members doing this, it would have taken us much longer.
«We didn't find any monsters nearby.»
«Don't touch the statues! It's weak, but there's a mana reaction coming from within them!»
«Even though we go through a portal, it doesn't look like we're inside a crack».
«All geographical features can be regenerated.»
Something that normally would have taken us an entire day instantly ended the manpower of a few ships.
After observing everything in silence, I received the report together with the village chief and was left with the simple task of consolidating the information and making a decision.
Is this... the taste of authority?
It was so convenient that the adventures I had done until now seemed primitive to me.
I turned my head instead of my pen and silently organized the information we had received. From my perspective, there were three important factors.
One: the guardian statues.
If the wizards' theories were true, the stone statues here were not simple decorations. They definitely had a role to play here, and I had a guess as to what that might be. Hmm, to be honest, it was something I was waiting for.
But I'm not sure about it, so let's continue for now...
Two: the possibility of a new type of Guardian.
All stone statues depicted a Guardian from the fifth or lower floor. However, a strange thing was that even the Vampire Duke Cambormere, who could be considered a type of hidden chief, was among the stone statues. However, the real problem was another.
Why are these guys here?
There were a few among the Guardians whom we had never seen before, but who were not totally unknown entities either. Just like although he was a Guardian, Cambormere was a rank 5 monster, most of the entities here were beings from which he had already gained experience.
The problem here...
I don't think a Drake can appear as a Guardian...
There were stone statues of monsters that did not appear as Guardians in any crevice that stood proudly among the rest. Maybe the stone statues here weren't just limited to Guardian monsters? But everyone else was Rift Guardians.
It was clear only from that Lycanthrope statue. A Lycanthrope who used an ice club as a weapon, only the Glacier Cave Tyrant, Tarunbas, fit that description.
«If it really is another Guardian... then it is the same as a new Guardian essence appearing for us!»
«But we haven't confirmed anything yet».
«No, I'm sure of it! Just as Baron Yandel defeated the Vampire Guardian and consumed his essence, these are the Rift Guardians who have not yet been discovered, just like that Vampire!»
Perhaps it was really a case similar to that of the Bloody Citadel. It was hard for me to accept that there were so many cracks that not even I knew about, but the more time I spent in this world, the more I accepted it.
My knowledge was only vast if I compared it directly with that of others. It was foolish of me to think I knew everything there was to know about Dungeon and Stone. This Basement Plant 1 was one of the main culprits. He also didn't know that Restricted Desire could turn Vampire essence into Ogre essence.
In any case, to the next.
Three: that giant stone door.
After passing through the stone statues in the hallway, another giant stone door was presented, and even after using rank 1 magic, not a single mark was created on it.
And four: that was it.
Simply put, we needed to satisfy some condition among the things we discovered to open that door and proceed to the next step.
«Let's finish the investigation here. Let's bring everyone together. I think we should bring everyone together».
I used the village chief puppet-leader to gather everyone.
I mean, it was obvious at this point, right?
«Prepare for battle...!»
After receiving the order from the village chief, the deputy commander conveyed the order to the rest of the army, and in the tense silence, I slowly approached the stone statues and placed my hand on the statue of King Slime which should be the most easy.
Bzzt.
An electric sensation penetrated the statue through the end of my finger. Instinctively, I realized that something had been activated.
But I didn't expect this.
I was just waiting for the stone statue to come to life and move, so I couldn't help but get nervous.
«...A portal?»
There, next to the statue, a portal had opened. We had arrived here after passing through an unknown stone door in Basement Floor 1 only to encounter another dimensional portal. However, it was not very difficult to suspect where this one would take us.
«Won't it probably connect to the Green Coal Mine...?»
«That's the biggest possibility, right?»
From the murmurs he heard, the other adventurers seemed to think the same. However, I did not get carried away by complacency.
«We will decide who will come in with me».
There were no guarantees that the portal would lead to the Green Coal Mine, and there were no guarantees that everyone would be able to enter through that portal as well. We began diligently selecting our members, aware of the three types of portals.
One: a permanent portal that remained open until the labyrinth closed.
The dimensional tombstone belonged to this category. However, considering the circumstances, it was the least likely, as we had never seen such a portal open inside a crack.
Two: a multi-purpose portal that only remained open to a certain number of people.
The cracks on the first floor were like this. When a crack opened, dozens of portals appeared throughout the first floor, and when a total of five people passed through the portal, they disappeared.
Three: a portal that was only activated once.
The doubles forest on the fourth floor fell into this category. That portal could only be used once. However, if people were connected during that single use of the portal, they would all be transported together.
Oh, too, it had been proven long ago that even if six people were united, the six of them would teleport through the portal.
Alright, then member selection is done...
We had teams of five and six members, as usual, as well as ten, twelve, fifteen, eighteen... We made the teams in multiples of five and six and decided who would enter first.
All of this could be a waste of time, but not doing something that could be done was practically a sin within the labyrinth, at least that's what I thought.
«Then I'll go in first».
After reapplying the appropriate spells to our group, I carefully walked through the portal, and couldn't help but be surprised.
There were footprints on the ground. Debris scattered everywhere. A broken wagon and coal inside.
Until then there was no problem. For that reason alone it was clear that he had arrived at the Green Coal Mine. However, there was a serious problem.
«What the hell? Where are the others?»
No matter how much he waited, no one else came in.
Just in case, I looked around the area and waited a little longer, but the portal never appeared.
At that moment, my brain began to kick in.
Why don't they come in?
Has any problem occurred outside? Or has the village chief done something again...?
Hmm, or maybe they were all here, but the starting point was different so I haven't seen them yet.
«...Let's proceed alone for now.»
Whatever the case, it seemed like I would only be wasting my time if I stayed here, so I slowly began to make my way through the area. After all, it wasn't just any Green Coal Mine. It wouldn't be strange if another powerful monster appeared.
I reminded myself over and over again not to let my guard down and moved forward carefully.
«…¿Eh?»
«¡Kyuuit!»
But not long after, an open area suddenly appeared and, with it, so did the Guardian of the Green Coal Mine. Normally, I would need to defeat another boss in the middle before going much deeper.
¡Applate!
For now, I crushed with my hammer the thing that charged at me as soon as it saw me.
[You have defeated a King Slime. Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
It seemed like the experience was working properly, and yet...
Maybe I was imagining things.
¡Flash!
But then, my mind went blank when I saw the portal that appeared as soon as I defeated it.
That's it?
Although it was anticlimactic, it really seemed like the end.
Unless another event awaits me beyond that portal.
Since the portal didn't look like it was going to disappear at any moment, I stabilized and checked where the King Slime had died.
«You should have dropped a crack stone or something».
The loot I got was the rainbow essence that represented the Guardian. To me, it was garbage. It would be difficult for me to make anything selling it by also putting it in a magic vial, and that's ignoring the fact that I didn't have a magician here to do it for me in the first place. It wouldn't help me to eat it either.
After abandoning the Guardian essence, I quickly exited through the portal.
«Sir...!»
Fortunately, I returned to where I was previously as I passed through the portal.
«¡Bjorn…!»
«G-thank God, Captain!»
«Has something happened inside?»
My allies came to check my well-being with concern in their eyes. However, before explaining to them what I had experienced, I asked them what had happened after entering the portal. Why didn't anyone come in after me? The answer to that question matched what I suspected, unfortunately.
«It's not that we didn't go in, it's that we couldn't. The portal disappeared as soon as you passed through it».
So it really was a crack for one person. Well, it was still better than them not being able to follow me because something had gone wrong here.
I couldn't help but sigh.
I looked away from my allies and looked at the rest of the stone statues that lined the hallway.
The Fifth Floor Guardians, each of a different species, had different difficulties and required different methods of dealing with them.
I have to defeat them all by myself...
I could already see the path of suffering that awaited me.