At the labyrinth's entrance, show the guild-issued permit to one of the four gatekeepers and gain entry.

In the first layer, the Twilight Mortuary District, if you proceed carefully, it's possible to avoid monster battles without using Darkness Fog and descend to the second layer.

Of course, you could fight here if you wanted.

"For now, let's assess everyone's combat power. Also, how we'll fight."

If this were a straightforward brute-force party of three warriors, it'd be simple—but our group is completely different.

・A weak elemental mage of shadow magic

・A strong warrior wielding a greatsword who also uses light-element magic

・A scout unable to fight

These are our members.

In terms of destruction power, we're almost entirely reliant on Refraya.

"For now, let's have Grapeflour locate the enemy while I hold them back, and Reflair takes them out one by one. That's about it."

"I'm fine with that... but what about spirit magic?"

"What kinds of light spirit magic are there?"

When I asked, Reflair looked down slightly and replied softly, "There are only two I can use."

"The one I showed you earlier—light—and the other one?"

"Cureglow. It's a healing spell."

"Nice."

It's a big help having a healing spell. Small injuries are inevitable, and if I had to buy potions from crystals every time, it would never end.

"By the way, my magic is darkness-based... is that okay?"

"Okay... what do you mean?"

"Well, I heard there aren't many people around here who use such magic."

"I don't really understand, but there's no way there'd be an issue using a technique blessed by the Great Spirit, right? Sure, there aren't many Shadow Spirit Masters, but that's only because there's no temple dedicated to the Great Spirit of Darkness around here."

"Oh, I see. Then that's fine."

Relief washed over him.

After all, since it's darkness, I was worried it might carry a bad image, but apparently Great Spirits are respected regardless of element.

"By the way... uh, can I ask how skilled Hikaru is with magic? Maybe he can use up to the fifth level or something... though, that's probably impossible."

"He can use eight techniques."

"Huh? Eight...!?"

Refrea let out a startled, flustered cry.

Well, eight probably means all the types, then.

The last special technique he learned, 'Return of the Shadow,' must be the eighth."

"Well, the eighth one's a bit special—hardly usable, really."

"H-hey, wait a second... I-I didn't mishear, did I? It's eight, not seven, right...?"

I probably shouldn't have spoken so honestly.

...No, if we're going to be exploring together and risking our lives, hiding my abilities isn't the right move.

"It's eight. But dark spirit magic doesn't have many offensive techniques, so it might not meet your expectations."

"No... I've seen a few of Hikaru's spells before, so I already knew she was an impressive spellcaster. Eight...?"

Refreia was half-dazed.

As an apprentice of the Light Holy Knight Order, she could only use two types of magic—so having eight was truly extraordinary.

It was probably information best kept secret.

"Is eight really that rare?"

"It's not so much rare as... in general, even the strongest spellcasters can only wield seven spirits. The eighth spirit magic is said to exist only in legend, supposedly confirmed by the Great Spirit herself... That's what this magic is. I always thought it was a technique beyond human capability."

"I see... Maybe it's better kept secret. The eighth one... "

Either way, the eighth technique is undead summoning—a method that reeks of serious danger. If people found out, it would surely cause misunderstandings.

It's fundamentally different from ordinary summoning magic like Summon Knight Bug, not just in origin but in power as well.

"Ah, before you misunderstand, the rank of the technique itself is still low, so even if there are many of them, they're not particularly powerful. The one technique that's somewhat higher in rank is just the Dark Fog—producing that shadowy mist—but the others are only level one or two."

"Rank... it's gone up...? The techniques...?"

"Well, of course."

Wait, did I say something weird?

Well, if it's based on proficiency, shouldn't it go up the more you use it?

"Just out of curiosity, what's the highest rank for that top-tier technique?"

"Level four."

"F-f-f-f-f-four!"

Refreia lets out an even more exaggerated cry.

Honestly, reaching that level is already quite difficult to improve further, and even though techniques like Dark Fog are used very frequently, they still haven't reached level five yet.

"So, level four means it's become a higher-tier technique or something...?"

"Uh, yeah. When my rank went up to three, the Dark Mist turned into Dark Fog. Back when it was Mist, I think my shape was faintly visible from outside, but Fog is almost perfect darkness, so it's much easier to use now."

"Huh... That's amazing, Hikaru... Are you some kind of genius...? I can only use two abilities, and both are still at rank one..."

"It's not a big deal at all."

That's the truth. I even feel a bit sorry about it.

I'm certainly no genius—I'm just benefiting from skills granted by a god. To locals, that's exactly what cheating (or cheating) means.

By the way, here's my current status for Shadow Spirit Magic.

【 Shadow Spirit Magic 】

First Rank Technique

・Shade Shift

Level 62 ・Shroud Coffin

Level 49 ・Shade Summon

Level 55 Second-Rank Technique

・Shade Sight

Level 82 ・Shade Form

Level 76 ・Shade Storage

Level 69 Fourth-Rank Technique

・Shade Manifest

Level 43 Special Technique

・Shade Return

Create Undead Level 1 The skill level isn't increasing as expected. I understand why Dark Fog, which has reached the fourth rank, is hard to level up, but Shadow Bind and Summon Nightbug, which I've used quite a bit, are still only at the first rank.

Probably, the more techniques one learns later on, the harder it becomes to master them.

Still, the three techniques at the second level are almost ready to advance to the third level.

Just like Dark Mist transformed into Dark Fog, they should evolve into a higher-level technique.

"So, um... Hikaru. How many times can you use it in a day...?"

"I've never counted, but I think around a hundred times should be fine... Are you sure you're okay? You look pale."

Refrea turned even paler, her lips trembling.

I had already noticed something odd about the number of uses myself.

"Hikaru, were you someone who was loved...?"

"Ah, loved...!? What's that?"

If anything, I'm the one who's disliked.

Being loved is definitely not something I'd feel comfortable with.

"That's right... I shouldn't be someone who's loved... Or maybe that means I have a real talent for spirit magic... Amazing..."

"You've got potential, that's for sure. The spirits helped us a lot."

Getting through that forest was undoubtedly due to this very talent—the favor of the spirits.

Still, I couldn't use spirit magic continuously during the day, so it must be better suited for night or the labyrinth. Especially in the second layer, which is darker than the first, darkness gives a significant advantage.

"Well then, let's keep this talk brief and move on. We'll adjust our combat style as we go. Start with goblins or orcs."

No matter how much we talk, we've never actually fought together before.

We won't know until we try, and only by trying will we learn.

While we should ensure a safety margin, some level of risk is probably necessary. Above all, viewers should find it more enjoyable this way.