Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

A team consisting of first-level adventurers besides Riveria, second-level members of the army such as Raul (level 4), lower-level members mainly at level 3, and Philwiss, invaded the gate.

Led by Grace and Tiona, the group walked along the stone-paved path.

"Speaking of which, I thought it was the enemy's secret base, but when I came in... it really is a complete maze (dungeon)."

"I've heard that fortresses are usually built in a way that makes them difficult to move around in order to prevent enemy attacks... but that's a bit of an exaggeration."

Lefia agreed with Tione's complaints.

The one-way path quickly transformed into a complex maze, with some paths splitting in two, others intersecting at a crossroads, and many more branching off. The number of paths branching off from the passage increased significantly, forcing adventurers to choose one.

Although it is a typical maze structure, its complexity is no less than that of Daedalus Road. Every time you encounter a fork in the road, you have to send out a scout, and the report you get is often "dead end". You can only slowly find the correct answer.

The passageway was wide enough for three dwarves to walk side by side, its structure consistently neat and orderly, as if meticulously calculated. Much of the stone itself was cracked, conveying a sense of its long history.

It's like a labyrinth built within ruins.

"Ah, wow!?"

"Raul!?"

"Ah, it's nothing...it's just a regular statue, sorry..."

Raul suddenly screamed, but immediately burst into a dry laugh.

The magic stone lamp he carried illuminated the demonic statues placed in the passageway. Angie and the other adventurers, who had become wary, all complained bitterly about him.

The passageway was filled with statues of monsters and intricate plant reliefs carved on the walls, reminding the Loki Familia of the existence of some kind of "man-eating plant (monster)".

The blue magic stone lamps embedded in the wall illuminated the tense profiles of the adventurers.

What was originally a harmless sound of footsteps was amplified by the stone maze into an undeniable "clack—" "clack—" echo, constantly vibrating the ears.

"How should I put it... it felt even colder than the dungeon."

Linne, who accompanied him as a therapist, murmured anxiously.

The dungeon is "alive." This is a well-known fact. Various "abnormal situations" attack like a living creature, tormenting adventurers.

However, one cannot sense the "breathing" of the underground city from this man-made maze.

This decisive difference gives one a feeling of lifelessness and indifference.

Yes, it was... a slight chill.

A chilling silence, a dim, heavy pressure.

The meticulously crafted stone maze remained silent, only providing intruders with a sense of confinement.

"Like unexplored territory or some kind of maze (dungeon) without a proper map, it can be a bit nerve-wracking. If you get lost, you won't even be able to tell left from right, let alone find the exit—"

"Yes, that's the worst state to fall into in the dungeon..."

"Caves on the mountainside are often exposed to the wind, so they can be used to mark directions."

We have now penetrated deep into enemy territory. The team members should prepare themselves mentally for potential traps and continue advancing.

In the small group that was exchanging casual conversation, Tiona kept talking, seemingly trying to ease the tension, perhaps unaware of her own actions. Ais and Grace answered her questions.

"What's the meaning?"

"The temperature difference between the inside and outside will create airflow, causing the wind to blow back and forth inside the cave... Just imagine the wind being sucked into the cave from the entrance."

Seeing Tiona tilting her head repeatedly, Grace changed her words as she strode through the maze.

"In other words, as long as you walk in the direction the wind blows, you won't encounter a dead end. However, as the saying goes, the paths are often impassable to humans."

"Ah, I see—!"

"At least use your brain a little..."

Tiona laughed as if she suddenly understood. Just as Tione was at a loss with her, Grace suddenly looked around.

"...The route forward is restricted."

Grace looked up at the hardest metal "doors" that appeared wherever the passageways led.

The scouts' reports confirmed his statement, as the tightly closed, undamaged door repeatedly blocked Ais and the others' path.

"So we've been tricked? But it should be alright, right? If anything happens, we can just break through the walls and move forward!"

"No, in my opinion, that's not very feasible."

Tiona made a statement in the style of a female warrior (Amazon), but upon hearing Grace's reply, she widened her eyes and exclaimed, "Huh?"

The dwarf warrior punched the side wall, and the sudden sound of the punch startled Lefia, Linne, and the others.

"This is... could it be 'Durable Steel'?"

"Hmm, the exterior is covered with stone slabs, but the entire passage is probably constructed from this rare metal. Neither you nor I are indestructible... but it's ultimately impractical."

When Tiona saw the rare, steel-colored metal exposed beneath the shattered stone slab, her eyes widened in astonishment.

The super-hard metal (Durable Steel) possesses strength second only to the hardest metal (Orichalco). Metal walls of unknown thickness are extremely difficult to breach, and even if one could manage to break through them, it would likely take a considerable amount of time to create a hole large enough for a person to pass through.

Not only were the doors made of the hardest metal, but the entire maze was constructed of super-hard metal; the group members were quite surprised to hear this.

"So, in order to build this ridiculously stupid maze (secret base), those people dragged the entire port city (Mellen) into it, and they just wanted to make money by any means necessary? That's incredibly hard to understand."

Bert's rude curses represented the opinion of all the group members.

The hardest metal (Orichalco) and the super-hardest metal (Durable Steel) are both rare metals that are difficult to obtain.

Just to gather such a huge quantity, it would probably require far more manpower and funds than Ais and the others could match.

"This can't be built in a couple of years, I think it will take decades... no, longer... It seems the remnants of the dark faction have been building things beyond their capabilities."

"If we underestimate our opponents, we might really suffer the consequences," Finn frankly stated, instructing Raul and the others to draw lines on the wall with chalk so they wouldn't lose their way back.

Ais observed his thoughtful actions as an adventurer out of the corner of her eye, and murmured to herself:

(The doors are made of the hardest metal, and the walls are made of even harder metal... making escape or intrusion extremely difficult.)

A fortress that is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

The word came to mind, and at the same time, for some reason, there was a sense of abruptness that I couldn't shake off.

Why create such a complex labyrinth? Who started it and what was their mindset? The dark emotions that inadvertently emanate from the labyrinth's structure... what is this terrifying feeling?

—Is this place really being used as a secret enemy base?

Ais felt incredulous, but she kept her doubts to herself and continued on with the team.

Finally, the route forward changed.

There are stairs ahead, which seem to lead downwards.

"The opposite route is the same; there's no sign of an enemy ambush."

Koss and Angie returned from their reconnaissance mission with the same report.

The team stopped at a point where the road forked into a T-shape.

"What do we do, Finn?"

"...We'll split into two groups. No matter which side we choose, with so many of us, it won't be easy for us to fight if we're attacked."

After Finn answered Grace, he split the squad in two as Grace had suggested.

The route on the right is Grace, Ais, Tiona, and Tione.

The route on the left is Finn himself, Bert, Rafia, and Philweis.

In terms of the proportion of low-ranking members they led, the first-level adventurers were mostly assigned to Grace's group. Tiony fiercely protested this personnel arrangement, but the issue was resolved smoothly after being persuaded by her beloved.

The group, including the healer, divided their fighting force evenly.

"I'll leave the rest to you, Grace."

"Okay... Finn."

"?"

"We must not allow the enemy to take advantage of our weakness."

"...Yes, I will remember it."

Grace made a joke, and Finn returned the smile.

The two teams split into two groups and advanced in two directions, one to the left and one to the right.

★

"But then again... there aren't any enemies or monsters, which makes it feel rather eerie..."

"The stench of the man-eating plant (monster) is everywhere... those monstrous things in the waterways must have been released from here."

Raul, who had been assigned to Finn's group, looked around, while Bert answered with a furrowed brow.

After descending the stairs, the ground floor presented a maze-like structure, just like before. As Angie had reported from her reconnaissance, there were no ambushes or anything like that. Lefia and Philweis, who were traveling with them, also cautiously surveyed their surroundings.

(...similar to the structure of the "upper level" of a dungeon.)

Finn squinted as he observed the height, width, and branching patterns of the passageway.

(Following the old-style sewers... down the city's underground waterways, we found the "door" made of the hardest metal. Even calculating backwards from the length of the stairs we've descended, we know our current location must be somewhere between the first and second levels of the underground city.)

Finn mentally mapped out the "Great Hole," the underground city beneath the skyscraper facility (Tower of Babel), and further considered the locations of the first and second levels. His mind arrived at the answer: the massive labyrinth they were currently traversing was adjacent to the top level of the underground city.

(Regardless of the method, as long as it connects with the adjacent dungeons, it can serve as an entrance to replace the "Tower of Babel". Perhaps it would be more appropriate to consider this complex passageway... no, this entire artificial maze as the "second entrance to the dungeons"?)

At that moment, Finn looked down at the neatly arranged stone slabs under his feet.

(The question is, how deep is this maze...)

Considering the number of steps taken since entering and the time elapsed, this maze is quite vast. Its size can be estimated to be comparable to the underground sewer systems that permeate a city.

Just how wide is this labyrinth, and how deep does it lead?

There are also the man-eating plants produced in the food warehouse on the 24th floor, and the remnants of the dark faction that Lefia witnessed on the 18th floor.

If, as Finn imagines, the maze is at least "middle level" deep... he couldn't help but be amazed and shudder.

Finn couldn't shake the same doubts that Ais intuitively felt.

"...It looks like a cave."

Seeing the suddenly open view, Angie murmured softly.

The group arrived at a square space resembling an underground cavern. The room was so spacious that it could easily accommodate dozens of adventurers, and each side was probably at least fifty meters long.

There are "doors" made of the hardest metal on both sides, and there is a passageway in front of the stairs leading upwards.

"..."

A chilling silence hung over the place, and suddenly Bert's ears perked up.

The same applies to Angie and other orcs.

Finn and his bandmates fixed their gazes on the front, where they heard calm footsteps coming from the shadows at the entrance of the passage, and soon a figure appeared.

"Fin~~~~~~~~~~Ugh~~~~~~~~~~~~~!!"

The moment she appeared, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

Upon hearing the unusually loud voice that a woman shouldn't have, Raul and the others instinctively covered their ears.

The one looking down at Finn and the others was a human adventurer.

"I missed you so much... you pretentious, stinky hero!!"

"Oh, so you're still alive... Valetta."

Finn narrowed his eyes as he faced his opponent, who was spouting spittle and laughing menacingly.

The human woman was wearing a long coat with fur trim, which immediately suggested a rough and uncouth nature.

Upon hearing Finn mention the name "Valeta," both Raul and Angie showed signs of tension.

"I haven't forgotten your fake, filthy face for a single day, you bastard! Do you even remember who I am? Of course you do, right? Dare to say you've forgotten, and I'll beat you to death! I'll drag your guts out, slash your face, stab your entire body, and etch my existence into your soul, so you'll never dare speak to me with such contempt again!!"

The woman had only just appeared when she started yelling and screaming as if she had lost her mind.

Moreover, his entire face was contorted with rage, staring intently at Finn alone, with a fierce glint in the depths of his eyes.

"...Hey, Finn. Have you caught some weird disease that makes you a target for crazy women?"

"If you mean Tione, that's incredibly rude to her, Bertha."