"Found it right away, nya. One Hob Goblin. What should we do, nya?"

"Let's go. Let's be quick about it."

The three of them descended into the third layer, 'Mist-Confused Great Garden,' and began their exploration.

Both Reflair and Grapeflour had primarily explored the third layer, so their homemade map was filled with notes, and as they became more experienced, they could navigate the area without getting lost by noticing subtle differences in the structures.

The single Hob Goblin was easily bisected by Reflair.

Their attack power remains as terrifying as ever.

"Hikaru, please don't wander off. Getting lost here means the end."

"Is it really that dangerous?"

"If we can't go back, there's nothing we can do. We can't keep fighting monsters forever, and we're only a party of two—three if you count Furuu.

According to Reflair, exploring the third floor with just three people is quite reckless.

Scouts aren't combat-effective, so in practice, we're only two fighters.

However, Reflair is a warrior who also carries healing abilities, and I can double as a porter. In that sense, we might as well be equivalent to a five-person party.

Normally, there are three front-line warriors, with the remaining three providing backup.

After walking for a while, we emerged into a plaza nearly 100 meters in diameter.

At its center stood a peculiar statue, roughly two meters tall, shaped like a dancing frog.

"A frog statue. Shall we hunt around here today?"

"Yes, I suppose. It's the first day, so it shouldn't be a problem. We should probably walk around a bit to get used to the third floor, but we'll save that for tomorrow."

"Then I'll go take a look. Are all the monsters safe?"

"Just avoid the Garden Panther."

"Got it."

Reflial and Grapeflour discussed their exploration plan for the day.

Personally, I'd like to fight that Garden Panther, but it's only the first day. For now, I'll follow along.

"Hikaru, this is Frog Square—the largest plaza on the third floor. As long as you make it here, just walk in the direction the frog's face is pointing, and you'll find the exit. At the very least, remember this place. Also, many explorers fight here or take breaks, so it doubles as a base and can be a lifeline if something goes wrong."

Indeed, the ground is densely paved with stone tiles, making it an ideal spot for battles—perfect for hunting spirit stones. The lack of other structures is also helpful, which might be convenient for Reflia, who swings around a large sword.

Incidentally, I already remembered this place since I visited yesterday.

To viewers, this spot might seem dull and uninteresting, but the fact that such a spacious area exists within a labyrinth is truly remarkable.

Logically speaking, this place should be deep underground—hundreds of meters below the surface. A labyrinth like this existing beneath that town.

Yet, there's air here, and no gases that would hinder human survival. It's as if this place was created solely for humans to conquer.

Moreover, the labyrinth still extends further ahead.

"Troll, nya. Just one, but what should we do, nya?"

"Let's go. Just like always."

I'll send the monster into the darkness, and at the signal, pull it out simultaneously with Shadow Bind. Then Reflair delivers a full-power attack.

This method works even if I'm alone, aside from treants. There was no problem at all, and indeed, the troll was defeated without issue.

With that, our exploration proceeded smoothly.

We weren't a party capable of handling a three-layer dungeon.

I may not be strong, but I'm fairly skilled with magic, and Reflair is exceptionally strong as a warrior. Grapeflour seems quite capable as a scout. She skillfully guides us to avoid clashing with multiple monsters while searching for them. She's also gradually rising in rank by occasionally fighting monsters. With a well-placed strike, I could take down a hobgoblin in one hit.

"We should manage fine even on the third floor. Though, the income probably won't be much different from the second floor."

"There aren't many monsters here. Still, going down to the fourth or fifth floor would be risky with our current numbers, so this seems like a reasonable limit."

"Has Reflair ever gone down to the fourth floor before?"

"Just a little bit,"

the fourth layer "Uryuu Great Waterfall(uruyuu dai bakufu)" seems to be a dungeon layer with a large waterfall.

"The fourth layer isn't very suitable for exploration. You absolutely need a water spirit mage and a fire spirit mage. Ideally, a light spirit mage would be helpful too."

"Sounds troublesome."

"That's right. It's troublesome. The monsters are strong, the ground is slippery, you'll get soaked, it's cold, it's dark, and monsters suddenly pop up from weird places..."

I see. In contrast, the third layer is much easier to fight in. There is fog, but you won't get soaked, it's neither too cold nor too hot. The ground isn't bad, the monsters aren't too strong, and above all, it's not dark.

"By the way, the dungeon information available through the guild only goes up to the fifth floor, but what about floors six and beyond?"

"The highest floor reached by any party in this town is the sixth floor."

"So, that means the sixth floor is still in the process of being cleared?"

"There were reportedly adventurers who reached the seventh floor in the past, but I've only heard rumors about it—no actual information has spread."

The fifth floor is called "The Abyss of Glory," and the sixth floor is known as "Dawn's Golden ( Kogane ) Plain."

Even the fifth floor, "The Abyss of Glory," is extremely dangerous, with many adventurers losing their lives there. But Reflia said the fourth floor was tough too, so perhaps it's safe to say that neither the fourth, fifth, nor sixth floors can be handled by just any ordinary party—going further from here will require far more than a half-hearted effort."

"Is there information from the sixth layer?"

"Well, the guild might have it, but they don't encourage exploration of the deeper levels."

"They don't encourage it? Isn't exploring the deeper levels their job?"

"The spirit stones are sufficient to gather up to the fifth layer. Isn't it better to avoid unnecessary risks and prevent losing skilled explorers?"

"I see. That makes sense. There's really nothing of value beyond spirit stones, is there..."

"Still, if you don't explore the deeper regions, the concentration of the Maelstrom (Makka) rises too much, so hunting monsters on the surface has to be done at a much faster pace."

What you can obtain in the labyrinth... of course, spirit stones are available, but in essence, that's all you get.

Of course, there's also the "Gift of the Divine Beasts," but that's something you rarely receive—maybe only once even at the second layer. It might not matter much whether it's from the deep layers or not.

Still, since such gifts could fetch a considerable sum if sold, they might prove profitable... perhaps. Of course, they can't be transferred within the labyrinth, but once you leave the labyrinth, they can be bought and sold.

Alternatively, one might find value in the combat itself, or in the act of advancing one's rank.

That said, such a perspective might be somewhat unusual among adventurers. After all, everyone becomes an adventurer to support their livelihood. There's no real need to risk danger by exploring the deeper levels.

"There's a mixed party ahead—two gremlins and one troll. If we don't handle them carefully, they'll be quite troublesome. What should we do, huh?"

Grapefleur, who had been scouting, returned and reported for battle.

By having Refreia handle the troll while I took on two goblins, we managed to easily deal with the mixed-party group.

And thus, we completed the first day's exploration of the third layer without any danger.