The next day, I met up with Refleia and the guild early in the morning.

Today, as planned, Refleia, Grapeflour, and I were heading to the third layer, "The Misty Grand Garden."

The previous day, the labyrinth—having descended three layers alone, of course—was kept a secret.

"Hikaru, those wounds... what happened? Your clothes are torn to shreds..."

Refleia rushed over, her fingertip brushing my cheek.

It seemed my wound had left a mark.

I had considered the possibility of it going unnoticed, but she pointed it out right away. I'd planned to cover up the torn clothes somehow, but I hadn't realized that without a mirror—there weren't any in the inn—the visible scars would be obvious at a glance.

Maybe the mark is more noticeable than I thought. I should probably check it in the guild's mirror.

Still, the mid-level potions sold by the guild aren't anything special. Expensive for what they are.

"…Where were you after that?"

"Well, actually, I took a pretty big tumble near the harbor. I went to check if fishing was possible."

"Fishing? Why would you do something like that?"

"Well, uh, it's just a hobby…"

"A hobby…?"

It was a pretty nonsensical excuse, but Refreia surprisingly bought it, so I managed to get away with it.

Maybe people here don't really have the habit of fishing for fun.

Or maybe Refreia is just naive.

Incidentally, fishing really is my hobby.

"Well, I came back pretty quickly to rest, but I didn't have any fishing gear."

"Oh, really? Pretty quickly? Around what time?"

"Eh, yeah...? Hmm, I'm not sure. Come to think of it, I might've just been staring blankly at the sea for quite a while."

"Huh... So that's how it was. …………If you were going out to play, you could've invited me too."

"Eh, what was that?"

"Nothing at all! Well then, I'm off!"

Pretending not to hear, he seemed to have successfully brushed it off.

After all, Reflair probably wouldn't think I was wandering around the labyrinth all by myself.

I'm the one who set aside vacation time, and I haven't even told her the real reason I'm entering the labyrinth.

After hiring Grape Flue through the Links Mutual Association, join the guild and obtain the permit.

Normally I'd wait outside, but since today's my first attempt at the third floor, I was told to review the guild's materials.

"Other than being easy to get lost, there's not much to watch out for in the third floor, but do take a look at the monster information."

"Ah, this one? I see... there are more types of monsters here than on the second floor."

A well-drawn illustration lists the names and characteristics of the third floor monsters.

The big goblin is called a hobgoblin, the little demon is a gremlin, the zombie-like creature is a ghoul, the large humanoid is a troll, and that wooden monster is known as a treant.

"Ghouls possess paralysis poison... that's scary."

"Yes, they're not particularly dangerous individually, but be cautious if they appear in groups. You can't move at all while paralyzed."

"Have you actually experienced it?"

Just once, though. I barely escaped danger thanks to help from the party members.

If I'd been paralyzed yesterday, I'd definitely have died.

Would the viewers have been rooting for me to get bitten by a ghouls? If so, maybe I should've struggled harder to make it more dramatic.

The viewers are probably watching Alex's exploration too, so they likely already know the information from the third layer.

To offer something fresher, I might have to go deeper than the fourth layer.

"Trent's weak against spirit magic... especially fire spirit magic. Melee attacks don't seem very effective."

"Not necessarily. My sword wouldn't struggle at all. When facing monsters with weapons, you inevitably end up in a clash, but Trent only swings branches around, so it's more like cutting them down."

"Chopping down...

Well, it's true they're just flailing their arms around. They'd be a good match for Refraya.

If that shows up, leave it to Refraya.

"The strongest one is Garden Panther... right? Have you fought one before?"

"No, I've never even encountered one. They're said to be fast—so fast that even if we met, we might not be able to escape. So we need to be careful."

"Panthers can strike suddenly, you know. Either feed them dried meat and slip away during their distraction, or use a smoke bomb to escape. Alternatively, there's only one other option—using spirit magic. But given our party's strength, we should be able to take one down, don't you think?"

"Huh? Do monsters eat meat or something?"

I've never seen anything like that in person.

Actually, monsters themselves are strange lifeforms that turn into spirit stones upon death... Wait, aren't humans the same way inside the labyrinth?

　　

"Monsters are always hungry since they don't eat from the moment they're born. Giving them food and letting them flee is a basic rule for explorers."

"So do monsters ever starve to death?"

"The labyrinth is filled with spirits, so they never starve. Even we don't get too hungry, do we?"

"Wait, so that's because of the spirits' influence?"

So many things I didn't know.

I did notice I don't really get hungry while inside the labyrinth.

I just assumed it was due to stress and didn't pay much attention.

"Anyway, I only brought one piece of dried meat, so we should be careful with the panther."

"Yeah, getting hit first would be tough. If I'm targeted first, it's over. Actually, I should prepare myself too."

We hadn't encountered the Garden Panther during yesterday's exploration.

Knowing the risk of being attacked first, I'd basically used Darkness Fog from start to finish. Maybe I should do the same today.

I'll buy a few pieces of dried meat for escape—can get them at the guild too. Incidentally, it's reportedly safe for humans to eat. So it doubles as emergency rations.

"Well then, shall we test whether the tactics that worked on the second floor will still work here?"

"Yeah. Also, can Reflair take down this troll without support?"

"Yes, she can. It's basically an ogre with fur. Faster types like mantises would be harder to deal with."

"Then, is it just the Garden Panther I need to watch out for?"

"Yes. Please keep an eye on the Gremlyn as well. They use spirit magic. The Panther... without Hikaru's support, it might be hard to land a hit."

The strategy changes when we're in a three-person party.

I'm strictly a support, so I'll focus on letting Refrea shine in her dazzling battle style. The more dazzling she is, the higher the viewership will rise.

I'll go in for three days, take a day off, and spend that one day exploring alone.

When we're in a party, I'll focus on solid, steady tactics to boost viewership.

With this two-pronged approach, we'll aim for first place.

Even though there are 1,000 transmigrants (though realistically only about 700 remain alive), not everyone can successfully attract viewers through their survival methods.

Even life itself costs money. Not everyone can fully dedicate themselves to chasing ratings.