An individual portal would open upon touching the stone statue.
With that phenomenon in mind, the officers, wizards, and adventurers of the expedition group came to the same conclusion.
All statues. There was a high probability that all or perhaps a certain number of them needed to be activated and defeated for that stone door to open.
I, of course, also agreed with this assessment. So after coming back from cleaning the Green Coal Mine, I tried a few different things.
I opened the crack I had cleared again. I checked to see if the person who had cleared the crack could get back into it. I timed the time a portal remained open, etc. We diverted our attention from cleaning the room at the beginning of our investigation.
It was time well spent, not wasted. Weren't games like that too? If you wanted to do it right, you needed to know the proper activation conditions, enemy characteristics, and skill synergies, among other things.
Alright, I think I understand now.
As we progressed in our research, we gathered a lot of information. We learned that if no one entered the portal, it would close after ten minutes and that we could not open a portal to a statue in which someone was already inside.
Other than that, to summarize the most important thing, I made a list of five things.
One: The stone statue can be activated at least seven times.
The reason it was at least seven times was because we only tried seven times.
Seven people, including me, cleared the Green Coal Mine and returned, but the stone statue kept opening a portal when we laid a hand on it.
We can take it as there is no limit to use.
Next, two: The Guardians were guaranteed to release their essence.
The downside was that they didn't release anything else. As proof of this, during our seven attempts, we did not get a single crack stone or a numbered object. Well, it was a game of probabilities, so we could only be sure if we tried more times.
Anyway, three: When the crack was cleared, one of the symbols engraved on the stone door illuminated with a red light.
And it didn't seem like duplicates worked for this. The light only came on when I cleared the crack the first time. Which means that to turn on the rest of the lights, we would have to clear the rest of the stone statues.
Four: When the most difficult statue, the fifth floor Guardian statue, was activated, two portals opened.
We were able to confirm this after learning that there were no limits to opening a portal and that an open portal closed after ten minutes.
The fifth floor crack had two portals, which meant two people could enter together.
In other words, that meant that the cracks on the fourth and lower floors had to be cleared by a single person.
In any case, finally, five: Even after empowering yourself with anything and everything before entering, everything would dissipate after entering the portal.
Since that trick wasn't going to work, only people who had the capabilities at their base could enter the crack to clear it.
Not even I would have it easy. Dungeon and Stone was not a game where you could have a blast simply by being high and eating good essences. Although I prided myself on being one of the strongest in the world, there were enemies that even I had trouble facing.
...Still, it will surely be possible if two people can enter it, right?
Although the field had the concept of opening multiple cracks for a single person, the stone hall had no such entry restriction.
Thanks to that, we were able to have hundreds of members here together.
And since each of them was an elite member, we only needed to choose the adventurer who had the best compatibility with the specific Guardian.
Let's try it...
It was time to start cleaning this place.
***
Unlike a normal crack, the chief's room appeared after walking for a while, so the first statues were quickly removed.
Cursed Knight Vlater of the Bloody Citadel.
Tirana Tarunbas of the Cueva Glaciar.
Iron Illium de la Tumba de Hierro.
The raids ended almost instantly, and the three of them released an essence.
Well, I wouldn't eat those essences at this point.
Still, it wasn't like there was nothing to gain.
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
I made sure of that after defeating them a few times, but Guardian bonuses worked here too.
Still, it's a shame.
He couldn't enter a crack he had already cleared. Even if someone else opened the portal for me, I would just go through it and end up behind it.
If it weren't for that, I would have gained a lot of experience.
It was disappointing, but I decided to be more optimistic about it. If you excluded some you couldn't defeat, how much experience would you gain by defeating those you could?
This would probably be more useful to me than essences.
There are quite a few guardians I haven't defeated yet.
Furthermore, if you included the first clear experience, you could theoretically gain over 200 experience on this expedition alone.
However, it seemed that this had occurred to the other adventurers as well. As we were heading towards the Guardians on the second floor, someone approached me.
«Could you... challenge this one too?»
«Your name was...»
«I am Miles Humbleak, Lord Baron.»
Oh, right. I remembered him because he was not a knight, but an adventurer who was explored for this expedition. Now that he thought about it, there were a few adventurers on this expedition who were just like him.
«For the cracks on the first floor, excluding the Bloody Citadel, I have not been able to obtain achievements for the Guardians. If you allow it-»
«Ask the count for permission, not me».
«Your Honor said it would be fine if you gave your permission, Lord Baron».
So the village chief was going to continue acting as a puppet leader here as well.
«Hmm ... »
What should I do? If I sent him and he ended up dying, we would end up losing our strength.
When I didn't respond, he added desperately. «I understand your concerns, Mr. Baron. It is not safe for me to enter a place where it is no longer necessary to enter. However, please don't worry. It doesn't matter if it's a Guardian, I'm not weak enough to lose to a rank 7» monster.
«I have a condition before allowing it».
«One... One condition», he repeated suspiciously.
I smiled at the adventurer's serious expression. «Why are you so nervous? Before entering, go to the wizards and learn everything there is to know about the Guardian. All. That is your condition».
«...Sorry? Ah, understood! Thanks! Thank you so much!» The adventurer seemed to have expected a different condition as he thanked me profusely before leaving.
Back then, I didn't know.
There was a reason why judges always talked about precedents in trials.
«Lord Baron?»
«Could I maybe challenge one too...»
With one came the others, who had been watching our conversation.
Hah, it's not like I can turn these guys down since I already let him...
I couldn't be bothered to answer each of them separately, so in the end I got a recruit. «Whether you can challenge or not will decide... she, Arua Raven, who is there. If Raven allows it, I will allow it too».
«Hey? Why am I suddenly part of this?»
«You have pretty solid knowledge about cracks».
«Don't lie. Don't think I don't know what you're doing this because you can't be bothered...»
Tsk, this was the reason why the ingenious ones were...
I quickly interrupted her and told her sternly: «It's not because I can't be bothered. It's because I can trust you to».
Honestly, he wasn't lying. Although there were many magicians she could give orders to, none were as precise as her. It also helped that he was weak to compliments.
As he let out a sigh, Raven shook her head as if she couldn't help it. «...I will only send people who are definitely coming back. Okay?»
Yeah, I knew you'd do that.
Even though I pushed the annoying work on her, seeing her eyes light up with confidence, I probably wouldn't have to worry about this anymore.
«Yandel», me llamó Amelia.
Was he also going to ask if he could help Raven filter people? The timing suggested that could be the case.
«Could I... also challenge the Guardians...?»
The question he asked while avoiding eye contact was completely different from what I expected him to ask. «What...?»
«A-ahem...» When I stared at her, Amelia let out a dry cough and explained her position logically. «If we can earn Guardian achievements, it would be a waste to pass up the opportunity here. Honestly, I also think that the other members should enter one at a time».
It would have been difficult to ignore his words.
Hmm... That's definitely logical, right?
It didn't take me long to decide. «Sure, do it. But only up to the Guardians on the third floor».
«Understood. Then I'll prepare them. Ignoring the others, I think I'll have to prepare Ainar Fenelin quite a bit if I want to send her».
«Eso te lo dejo a ti ».
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about them going into the cracks alone without me, but I couldn't keep them under my wings like little birds forever.
It was time to trust them.
Amelia, Ainar, Erwen, Missha... those four could easily complete up to the third floor of Guardians.
In the end I had a lot of time left.
I didn't stay to watch the lecture Raven was giving to the adventurers on the characteristics of the Rift Guardians, but instead turned to the stone statues that had not yet been cleared. Among the Guardians on the second floor were eight. The only one on the third floor left was the Knight of the End of the White Temple.
Two for the fourth floor...
So including the single crack on the fifth floor, that made a total of twelve.
Fourteen types of unconfirmed Guardians, including Cambormere.
Adding the four Guardians on the first floor, there were a total of forty-one statues here.
And since we defeated four of them here...
The calculation resulted in thirty-seven more Guardians to defeat.
...Let's take care of the easy ones first.
There probably wasn't a time limit here, was there? Like we have to defeat them all in a few days or something...
***
[Guardian defeat bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Defeat Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Defeat Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardian Defeat Bonus. EXP +3]
[Guardián...]
***
When I came out after defeating the eight guardians of the second floor, I noticed a change in the atmosphere. They still seemed welcoming, thanking me for the inconvenience, but something didn't add up.
«The time? What does it say?»
«Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds!».
Some looked at the time from afar and wrote something as soon as they saw me. In retrospect, they had done it before too.
«What are you writing?»
«...We were noting how long it took to defeat the Guardian and come back out, Lord Baron».
Disgust took hold of me. What was I, a horse in a race?
«Are they placing bets on me?». I asked with disgust.
The magician turned pale and quickly refused with his hands. «Not at all. We would never do that. It's just... out of simple curiosity... We were recording everyone else too, not just you, Lord Baron».
Hmm, then it would be weird for me to get angry here.
«Well...data is important...»
A magician who did not record was not a magician at all.
As the saying of this world said, I knew how much a magician liked to record things, so I didn't give him the ember anymore and moved on.
Missha and Erwen are making a raid... and Amelia is getting a lesson.
While I rested a little to organize my thoughts, a portal to the Glacier Cave opened as an adventurer emerged from it again.
«How long did it last?», the adventurer immediately asked someone.
«It was one minute and twenty-four seconds».
At the wizard's objective answer, the adventurer asked another question, emotion shining in his eyes. «So what's my rank?».
«You are the third classified».
The adventurer made a sound of disappointment upon hearing that before whispering in the wizard's ear. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what he was saying.
«He's asking how long it took Bjorn Yandel».
Before I knew it, Amelia was by my side. I thought I saw her getting a lesson from Raven right then and there. Did you leave her after seeing me?
Well, it wasn't that important.
«Aha. Ahem, I see. Understood. Thanks for telling me».
The adventurer who had whispered to the wizard now seemed very proud, as if he had never felt disappointed in his life before moving on to receive Raven's lesson.
«Do you want to know what the magician said?». Amelia offered.
«In, particularly».
«Three minutes and twenty-seven seconds».
«...If you're going to tell me anyway, why bother asking?».
His actions really baffled me, but it wasn't like I felt inferior because of my record. Actually, my file couldn't be that good. Every time he entered, he walked slowly down the hallway to check if anything had changed.
Well... Even if I tried my best, I don't think I would have been able to clear it as quickly as them.
From what I could see, they seemed to be competing with each other, and it was a little unfair to include me like that. What was so good about killing monsters faster than a tank? What a bunch of pathetics...
«Also, my record was forty-seven seconds».
Parpadee. «¿Eh?»
«...So I'm ranked first.»
«Ah...»
Perhaps because of this additional context, rather than pathetic, it seemed quite cute.
After taking my short break, I immediately went to stand in front of a new stone statue, and Amelia tilted her head. «Are you leaving already?»
«I've already rested enough».
«Won't he be the Knight of the End?».
Right now, he was standing in front of the Guardian Vampire Cambormere. The reason was simple.
«It's about time we reviewed the unconfirmed Guardians as well.»
«Tal leads...»
Amelia just nodded and said nothing more. She also knew that a vampire would not be a threat to me.
«Still, be careful. Okay?», he finally said.
«Understood. I'm leaving».
After Amelia said goodbye to me, I walked through the portal.
The feeling of floating took over me once again, and the moment I felt like I had been transferred...
Dash.
I ran away.
I could check the geography while running.
Brick walls that reminded me of a medieval castle. Chandeliers that were attached to the walls. Old blood stains that covered the floor.
The place where he had opened his eyes was similar to the Demon Worship Hall of the last Blood Citadel Chapter, but also different. Unlike the box-shaped structure, this was just a straight line.
Fwoosh.
I sped down the hallway toward the boss room I could see in front of me.
It couldn't be any other way. I was human too. And although I didn't want to obsess over records...
I also didn't want to become a target that others could compare themselves to and find comfort with.
Assuming nothing went wrong, he planned to kill the Guardian as quickly as possible before leaving.
¡Boom!
However, the moment I saw the vampire sit up when I slammed through the door, I had no choice but to change my plan.
«How strange, how strange...»
The vampire looked at me with his sleepy eyes and spoke.
«...Have we met before?».