Chapter 35: The Harvest of the Sixth Floor

The village of Hannes, which had fallen victim to the attack by the Damian Bandits, suffered the tragic loss of over a dozen lives. In the midst of mourning for the dead villagers, Dennis made arrangements to have the bandits’ bodies transported to Beneshof on a cart.

Once the corpses were examined, Egmont took charge and composed letters to King Manfred and Duke Uldarius, informing them about the demise of the Damian Bandits.

With this important task completed, Dennis and Egmont discussed their next course of action.

“Father, it is quite evident that the Barras Territory lent a hand to the bandits. Shouldn’t we bring this to the attention of His Majesty?”

“We lack evidence. With all the bandits dead and no witnesses to testify…”

“Carlos is willing to speak up.”

“If the people of Barras Territory claim it’s a fabrication, that will be the end of it.”

The words of Victor, who was a noble, carried weight. Unless there was substantial evidence, punishing the Barras Territory’s people would be impossible.

Egmont argued that instead of expending efforts to punish the Barras Territory, their focus should be on the reconstruction of Hannes village.

As Dennis recalled the sight of the deceased villagers, anger surged through him, causing his breath to quicken. However, he couldn’t deny the truth in Egmont’s words. Dennis began contemplating how to proceed with the reconstruction of Hannes village. Eventually, he reached the decision to take advantage of its proximity to the labyrinth and develop it as a Labyrinth Village.

To achieve this, it was necessary to investigate the status of the sixth floor of the labyrinth. Dennis informed Egmont that he would carry out the labyrinth exploration.

“I don’t think it’s wise to go in alone,” Egmont remarked.

“You’re right. Then let’s enlist the help of the young Isaac,” Dennis suggested.

“And bring along three soldiers as well.”

The following day, Dennis, accompanied by Isaac, three soldiers, and Amelia, Finne, and Jasmine, headed towards the labyrinth. Amelia and the girls expressed their desire to see the sixth floor, showing great enthusiasm, so Dennis decided to take them along.

They arrived on the fifth floor and made their way toward the boss room. The Ruby Carbuncle, the boss of the room, wasn’t there. It seemed that it took a long time for it to respawn.

Dennis opened the door to the boss room. The view of the sixth floor, which the others saw for the first time, was nothing short of breathtaking. Isaac, Amelia, and the others stood in awe, gazing at the sight before them for a while.

“We should start going down soon,”

Dennis called out while Amelia exclaimed excitedly,

“Big brother Dennis, this is incredible! I never imagined it would be this vast!”

Isaac nodded in agreement, and it seemed the soldiers felt the same.

“To think you had hidden something like this,”

“I didn’t hide it intentionally. We just didn’t have the time to investigate, so it was sealed off. Considering we didn’t know what could be inside, we assumed it’d be dangerous,” Dennis explained.

Dennis and the others descended the slope, reaching the sixth floor. It was a forest area where various flora and fauna seemed to thrive. Not only monsters, but squirrels, mice, and deer were also seen grazing on the grass.

It was said that these animals inhabiting the labyrinth had wandered in from the outside and reproduced. However, it remained unclear how they had entered in the first place.

Dennis and the group conducted a survey to identify the plant species within the forest. They came across wild strawberries, loquats, chili peppers, cardamom, lemongrass, cumin, and wasabi.

Dennis instructed the soldiers and Amelia to gather the fruits and spices into the bags they had brought. Amelia and the others seemed delighted as they enthusiastically collected the items.

Interestingly enough, these fruits and spices were almost identical to the ones Masaya was familiar with. When Dennis explained that these fruits were sweet and could be eaten, Amelia and the others focused on gathering wild strawberries and loquats.

Since these were varieties they had never seen in the Beneshof territory, Amelia and the others were skeptical. Dennis picked a fully ripe loquat, peeled it, and took a bite. It tasted just like the loquats Masaya had eaten in Japan.

“Ah, that’s not fair!” Amelia exclaimed before mimicking Dennis and taking a bite herself. Her expression transformed into a smile.

“Is it delicious?” Jasmine inquired.

Amelia nodded in agreement, prompting Jasmine and Finne to give it a try as well.

Amidst the contagious excitement over the fruits’ sweet flavor, Isaac and the soldiers decided to partake as well. One of the soldiers chomped into what was likely a wild strawberry.

“Oh, this one’s sweet too!”

Isaac plucked a chili pepper and took a tentative nibble.

“Gyaaaaa, my mouth…!”

Dennis retrieved a water bottle and handed it to Isaac.

“This is an incredibly spicy plant used for seasoning. It’s not something to eat directly,”

Isaac drank a large amount of water to recover.

“Phew, I thought it was poison,”

Although he had a somewhat unreliable side, Isaac possessed great talent in swordsmanship, making him a promising individual for the future.

Just then, the bushes rustled, and three goblins appeared. Isaac drew his sword and charged forward, followed by the soldiers.

Isaac and his companions swiftly defeated the goblins, and these monsters vanished into dust. Despite having explored only about one-tenth of the sixth floor, the only monsters they had encountered so far were goblins.

Incidentally, the True Name acquired by defeating goblins was “savage valour”. It was a True Name that allowed soldiers to fight without fear, making it popular among those who were easily frightened.

However, since there was a possibility of misjudging the situation, it was deemed unnecessary for commanders.

As Dennis and his group ventured deeper into the sixth floor, they encountered creatures other than goblins for the first time. These creatures were known as kobolds, with the head of a dog and a humanoid body.

These kobolds were dexterous, wielding homemade stone spears as their weapons. While not particularly strong, they displayed swift and skillful attacks.

However, they were no match for Dennis and the others, who possessed the True Name of “Armor”. The kobolds’ stone spears couldn’t harm them, and they were swiftly defeated by counterattacks with Vajra Staff attacks, ordinary sword attacks, and long-handled sword attacks.

The number of kobolds was substantial, and one soldier and Finne obtained a True Name from the kobolds. The True Name they gained was “Agile”. However, this True Name wasn’t a strength-enhancing type. It allowed them to have smooth and agile movements by flexing their bodies and expanding their range of motion, ultimately resulting in heightened agility.

While Dennis possessed the True Name “Accelerate”, which also increased his speed, the principles behind it were different. The True Name “Accelerate” amplified the power applied to the user’s physical body.

If they wanted to enhance complex movements, the benefits of “Agile” were significant, while for increasing linear speed, “Accelerate” proved advantageous.

After their encounter with the kobolds, they came across orcs. These creatures resembled a grotesque fusion of a human and a pig, possessing powerful arms. The weapons they swung with their mighty arms were thick clubs.

Orcs seemed to be solitary creatures, often encountered alone or in pairs. Their fighting style relied solely on brute strength and swinging their clubs. With tactical maneuvering, they could be defeated.

When Dennis and the group encountered the orcs, they first used lightning balls to immobilize the orcs’ movements. It took more than one hit to halt their movements, usually requiring a second or third strike.

Once the orc became paralyzed by the lightning balls, they aimed for its neck and delivered slashing attacks. It took defeating four orcs to realize that this method of fighting was the most efficient.

After defeating the fifth orc, Dennis and his companions stumbled upon a metal ore deposit. It turned out to be a copper ore deposit. While the ore deposits above the fifth floor were found in small dome-like spaces, on the sixth floor, a portion of the cliff-like rock wall surrounding the labyrinth had transformed into an ore deposit.

In total, Dennis and the others mined around 100 kilograms of ore, which they packed into their backpacks.

“It’s about time we headed back.”

Isaac and the girls nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Amelia discovered the entrance to a cave.

“There’s a cave over here,”

Dennis and the others decided to investigate the cave before returning. The cave stood about two meters tall, and after advancing twenty meters, they reached a large chamber.

Within it, a monster awaited them. It was a creature with a body length of two and a half meters, adorned with blue skin and two horns. It resembled the blue demons (Oni) found in Japanese folklore. Once the monster sensed Dennis and the others’ presence, it opened its eyes and emitted a thunderous roar.

“It’s an ogre! Let’s run!”

Dennis quickly made the call. They sprinted through the cave and sought refuge in the forest. The ogre pursued them to the cave’s entrance but did not venture outside.

“I was surprised. That was the boss room,” Dennis informed everyone

Amelia tilted her head in confusion; she didn’t understand the term “boss room”. Dennis proceeded to explain.

“You all passed through the room with the door on the fifth floor, right? There, a stronger monster called the Ruby Carbuncle was guarding the door compared to the regular Carbuncles. Similarly, in order to proceed to the seventh floor, we have to defeat the monster in the boss room.”

Isaac inquired, turning to Dennis. “Is that ogre creature really that dangerous?”

“Ogres are creatures found in the third section of the Shadow Forest Labyrinth. There’s a legend that a Wyvern, capable of wiping out 200 soldiers single-handedly, inhabits the second section. So, we wouldn’t stand a chance against the ogre at our current strength,” Dennis explained.

Carrying fruits, spices, and the copper they had obtained, Dennis and the group returned to Beneshof. While they may not be able to handle an ogre, they have confirmed their ability to fight against goblins, orcs, and kobolds effectively.

Dennis believed they had made significant progress in exploring the sixth floor.