Published: January 22, 2026
A room inside a certain building.
The entire office was unified in black.
In that room, two men were facing each other.
On one side, a young man who looked to be in his mid-twenties sat in a chair in the office.
He had lost his left arm and wore an eyepatch over his right eye.
On the other side, a man in his late forties whose original black hair was starting to mix with white.
His usual gentle demeanor was subdued, and he carried his true aura.
Judging by appearance alone, the latter seemed to hold the higher position, but it appeared the former actually did.
“I apologize for the impoliteness of visiting without an appointment, Grandmaster.”
“Knowing you, it must be something important, right?”
“Yes. Given the nature of the matter, I think the Grandmaster will hear about it soon anyway. But by then, there’s a high chance it will be exaggerated, so I decided to report it myself.”
“I see. So, what is the matter?”
“Three days ago, an irregularity occurred in the Great Southern Labyrinth under my jurisdiction. Explorers sighted the floor boss on the 92nd floor, known as the Black Dragon, operating outside the boss area.”
“...I see. Is this a malfunction caused by the disappearance of the west section, or intentional? We won’t know until we continue analyzing.”
“If I may be so bold, I think it’s the former.”
“Oh? Why do you think so?”
“The floor boss is supposed to be a powerful defense mechanism. They allocate that much resource to bind a strong demonic beast there. If the floor boss could move freely within the floor, on such a large area as the deep layers, it would be possible to reach the next floor without encountering the boss. Would it risk such danger deliberately?”
“That makes sense. This time it should be seen as a temporary malfunction caused by the west’s disappearance. In that case, it’s probably already fixed. The next to disappear might be the east?”
“That’s what we believe. Neither the west nor the east has deep layers. We don’t know about the north, but the south likely won’t advance floors for a while.”
“I’ll be notified immediately if the east disappears. And if there’s a malfunction like this, report to me at once.”
“Understood.”
“That’s all for the report? I admit it was information I wanted to know early, but it didn’t seem urgent enough for you to rush.”
“There is one more report. In fact, this might be more beneficial to the Grandmaster. As you said, the malfunction seems already fixed.”
“Beneficial, huh? What kind of information?”
“It’s related to the previous malfunction. An explorer has appeared who defeated that Black Dragon alone.”
“That’s impressive. The one who defeated it must be Oliver Cardiff, right? So, he’s finally blossomed.”
“No, it’s not him.”
“...What? Is there another who can defeat the deep layer boss solo—no way... Hey, that person’s name isn’t Orun Dura, is it?”
“You knew? He belonged to the hero party but was unknown until now. Impressive.”
“Can’t be... No way... It’s impossible... If he really had the power to defeat the deep layer boss alone, he wouldn’t choose to actually fight it...”
“...Is something wrong?”
“Has he changed recently?”
“No, there have been no such reports from those in charge.”
“Then, how is his attitude towards the guild?”
“Completely normal, I believe. Even when I received the report about the Black Dragon recently, nothing had changed.”
“Then it means he somehow obtained the power to defeat the deep layer boss. Haha! How crazy is that! But this is a masterpiece! Then, he’ll become my savior! Orun Dura! If so, I’ll wipe clean whatever he’s done to me! Hahaha!”
“Um... Grandmaster...?”
“Ah, sorry. I got a little excited. It’s fine now. That report about defeating the deep layer boss alone will surely be exaggerated. Besides, haha, this is valuable information for me. Thank you.”
“You’re too kind.”
“Any more reports? If not, you may leave.”