Five days had passed, and at last, the closure of the Meltyia Great Labyrinth was lifted.

At the labyrinth's entrance, a crowd of explorers gathered, each pair being sucked one by one into the depths.

Just as planned, I hired Grapefloo, and the three of us set out on our expedition.

"Finally, the start of the labyrinth exploration! I've been waiting for this moment!"

Jeanne fidgeted with her sword, slightly drawing it from its sheath and sliding it back in, her excitement barely contained.

She seemed absolutely thrilled at the prospect of the dungeon.

"Our companions were all starving to death. We barely survived, thanks to the fish Hikaru brought us."

"That's a bit of an exaggeration, don't you think?"

Still, these past five days I'd been fishing nonstop.

In truth, once I'd gathered a certain amount of supplies, there was nothing else I really needed, and Jeanne, for her part, had absolutely no money—so her options were limited to reading guild documents, going for walks, or fishing together with me.

I tried inviting Flue, but she firmly declined, saying that staying away from the sea was one of the three rules of Links. I didn’t press further, but it seemed there was some unpleasant history behind it.

Still, the fish became incredibly grateful to the Links, and Jeanne had grown so close to them that she could even stroke them without being rebuked.

Apparently, the Links weren’t actually averse to being petted—they’d just been confused, since no one had ever tried to touch them before. Now, some of them even come over on their own to be stroked.

I won't tell anyone, but I couldn't help thinking how much like a cat this growing attachment is...

"Well then, since it's day one, what should we do? I don't think there'd be any problem jumping straight into the third layer."

"Kuro. Do you really think I'd be doing a stage jump? Of course I'll clear it layer by layer, starting from the first."

"The first layer...?"

The first layer mostly only spawns skeletons, and it's barely profitable.

Yet the monsters there are fairly strong—almost like bosses—and not worth the effort.

It's the usual spot where beginner explorers swing their clubs, training in combat against simple skeletons. That's what the first layer of the Meltya Great Labyrinth is like.

The line is slowly moving forward, but it'll still take a little longer before we can enter.

It's surprising how packed it is today—there are so many explorers.

"Could it be a town now? I heard there are even people living there."

"Occasionally, homeless people settle down here, you know."

"Really? Even skeletons show up? That sounds dangerous."

"Monsters don't spawn where people are, so as long as you stay in a small room, it should be safe, I hear."

"Is that so..."

Just as its name suggests—'Twilight Underworld Street'—it's a layer within a vast space, featuring a stone-built town.

I thought there were certainly sturdy homes suitable for living, but actually having residents... that's surprising.

Still, very few houses are in good condition. The buildings that make up the town often have collapsed walls or missing roofs, yet even after being destroyed, they mysteriously return to their original state. It's quite puzzling indeed.

A town frozen in time—neither deteriorating further nor developing from its already somewhat ruined state. Perhaps that's why

it's called something as flamboyant as "Twilight Underworld Street." "I've managed to

read through a decent portion of the dungeon's攻略 materials over these past five days, but apparently the dungeon is gradually changing its shape. Damaged areas restore themselves over time, though they don't necessarily return to

their original form

.""Really?""Yeah. It doesn't change drastically, but it's not restored exactly as it was either. …Well, I suppose that's just an interesting fact, isn't it?" Apparently, Jeanne is genuinely

interested in the dungeon itself, and she's been pestering the bored guild staff with questions, trying to gather all sorts of information.

"What's born within the labyrinth—take, for example, those three-layered plants—disappears almost instantly once brought outside the labyrinth, they say. The only exceptions are spirit stones and gifts from divine beasts. Considering that, this place is quite unique. One could almost regard this labyrinth as a kind of alternate realm."

Jeanne, sharing her labyrinth knowledge.

Since Reifrea had already taught me most of what I needed to know, I wasn't particularly familiar with the labyrinth, so her explanation was helpful.

Indeed, explorers only ever bring back spirit stones; items like trash or corpses found inside the labyrinth aren't considered things "created by the labyrinth."

In other words, explorers are essentially miners extracting spirit stones from the labyrinth.

Perhaps because it's been a long time since the labyrinth was reopened, there are quite a few people around.

About five hundred people, maybe. The entrance to the labyrinth is an open square, yet it's packed so tightly it's nearly shoulder-to-shoulder.

There are many explorers, but just as many ordinary people carrying flowers.

"Those guys aren't explorers, are they? What are they?"

"Why don't I know this, when Crow's been around longer than me? Dead people become spirits that rise into the sky, purify themselves, and join the Spirit Flow, which circles the world. The Spirit Flow maintains the balance of spiritual energy across the world. But souls that die with regrets cannot join the Spirit Flow and instead remain buried beneath the earth. That's probably why the custom here is to burn the dead—reflecting the underlying religious beliefs."

"Why do you know all this so well?"

"Well, world-building matters. It can help you figure out how to progress."

"World-building...?"

It's true this world feels like a game, but since we're outsiders, understanding it might be necessary just to keep our spirits up.

Besides, Jeanne seems to be serious about things, no matter what.

Or maybe it's just a matter of mental resilience.

I've been mentally worn down ever since arriving in this town, so I never even thought about such things, let alone bothered to look into them.

A soul that sinks into the earth transforms into a monster. In other words, spirit stones are the souls of people who were once human. And when these stones are used as energy for spirit tools or magic devices, they ascend to the sky and are purified. ...Those who hold that flower are mourning. Whether they're mourning a lost family member, or countless souls that can never be saved, I can't say for sure. Especially since the first layer is said to be where humans who still harbor regrets return after death.

I vaguely recalled hearing something similar from the merchant at the black market when I sold him a spirit stone of a deceased explorer. So, "becoming a spirit after death" must be the way of life and death in this world.

"Oh, it's our turn. Let's go."

By the time we finished talking, we had reached the entrance of the labyrinth.

We showed our tags to the gate guards and entered the labyrinth.

◇◆◆◆◇

The labyrinth was still thick with spiritual energy, dimly lit, and calm—just like always.

It felt strangely familiar, like something I hadn't experienced in ages.

Funny how strongly I felt, "I'm back."

"It's narrower than I thought. What about the monsters?"

Still, I can't help but feel excited about fighting them.

In a way, Jeanne had that typical youthful vibe of someone who’d been transferred here.

As for me, I’ve already grown numb in just one month.

"The tunnel connecting the entrance to the labyrinth's interior is still here. Once we pass through, we’ll reach the first layer."

"Is that so?"

"The distance between each level is pretty long. Come on, we're here."

"Oh...! This is amazing...!"

Twilight Underworld Street was red with smoke rising from its ceiling, as if it were twilight.

The smoke itself seemed to be the source of light, providing enough brightness to explore comfortably, even without torches or lanterns.

A young beginner-like boy was fighting a skeleton with a staff further away.

"There's a castle all the way in the back! Did Cro just skip this place? What a waste..."

"The castle has strong Bone Knights. Since they don’t drop anything useful, most explorers just ignore it."

"It’s not so bad. It could be great practice for sword training."

Of course, Jeanne's ultimate goal was "clearing the labyrinth," but beneath that lay her deeper desire—to grow stronger.

Indeed, the labyrinth was perfectly suited for achieving that goal.

There's no shortage of opponents to fight, and various types of monsters will appear.

If you can defeat a mantis in a one-on-one, straight-up battle, that means you're stronger than Refreia at that point.

I haven't properly asked about Jeanne's skill setup yet, but her points are definitely invested in stamina and vitality.

"Anyway, let's get started. I'll try fighting that skeleton over there."

"Do you need support?"

"If it looks risky, lend a hand."

Jeanne said, drawing her sword.

It was a broad, single-handed steel blade, and she held a massive shield in her left hand.

The skeleton, in contrast, was unarmed—just a plain skeleton.

Just looking at it, the disparity in strength was pitiful. Support would be unnecessary anyway.

Jeanne pressed forward without the slightest care, inching closer to the pitiful skeleton.

Though the skeleton, clattering with each step, seemed to prepare for battle upon noticing Jeanne’s approach, it suddenly turned and fled.

In other words—

"Fleeing!? Do monsters even run away!?"

"Mmm? I’ve never seen one do that before, nyaan."

Jeanne chased after the retreating skeleton and swung her sword down.

The skeleton’s skull shattered, turning into a tiny spirit stone.

"So it runs after all. Boring."

"Isn’t it too much of a mismatch in strength for a mere monster like this?"

"Probably irrelevant. If we’re to believe what was written in the message, it’s because I’m the ‘outcast’."

"Outcast? Some kind of joke?"

"I took the disadvantage of having 'no talent for spirit magic' right from the start. Locals call someone in that state an 'Outcast.' Apparently, even monsters dislike them and run away."

"Outcast..."

That could mean it's the opposite trait to my own 'Loved One,' couldn't it?

Then again, monsters never really came to me... Wait, would they have approached if I'd just been nearby normally?

I've never actually fought monsters head-on with weapons.

Whenever they got close, I just killed them. That's how I fought.

In any case, for Jeanne, having her opponent flee must feel unsatisfying. It might be advantageous when gathering spirit stones, but it's just an annoyance if she's purely enjoying combat.

Still, taking such a disadvantage first—Jeanne really is a bit unusual. Most people would probably dream of magic if given the chance to enter another world.

"I guess I'll just have to search for monsters that don't run away. If the Bone Knight in that castle fights without fleeing, that'd be great."

"Then let's head out."

"Of course we're going. Just make sure we keep exploring along the way."

"We won't find anything by checking every house, will we?"

After all, there's no treasure chest waiting in the labyrinth, so detailed exploration doesn't really matter much.

In reality, opening the door of an ordinary house would sometimes reveal people living there, which was quite surprising.

I wonder what these people did during the time the labyrinth was closed?

Surely they couldn't have been living here for seven whole days...

When Jeanne directly asked those people who lived on the first layer, "Why are you living in such a place?" they were equally surprised.

Anyway, it seems the first layer isn't the kind of place explorers would deliberately venture into.