Published: January 22, 2026
We moved to the 86th floor of the Great Southern Labyrinth.
It was an immense space that hardly felt like it was underground.
A vast grassland stretched out, and above it seemed to be an open sky—an expansive and liberating place.
Up to the middle layers of the Great Labyrinth, the environment resembled caves, but from the lower layers onward, various environments like this one spread out.
Floors 86 through 88 were open grassland spaces with great visibility.
Explorers coming here for the first time would be pleased by the comfortable environment, but of course, this place was no less harsh.
Everyone was doing their final equipment checks in a safe zone.
When I looked at Will, I noticed he wasn’t wearing any armor or shield.
I wasn’t surprised since I had heard about it in the briefing, but I still felt a slight unease. There’s a fixed notion that a defender should be equipped with armor and a shield.
◇ ◇ ◇
“Will, aren’t you going to wear armor or carry a shield?”
I asked during the war room when everyone was explaining their fighting styles.
“Ah, I’m not your typical defender. That’s why they almost converted me into a frontline attacker.”
When I think of a defender who doesn’t wear armor or carry a shield, the only one who comes to mind is that S-rank girl.
“Could it be that you’re aiming to be an evasion type in the end?”
“Hm? No, no, there’s no way I could dodge everything like her. Well, I’ll make sure to draw aggro properly and create a good fighting environment for Orun. Leave it to me!”
Will boasted confidently.
The other members didn’t seem to have any objections, so it was probably fine.
I only knew Will’s abilities as an attacker.
Even as an attacker, he had the skill to be the ace with an A rank, but I wondered how good he was as a defender.
From what I’d heard, I thought Will’s style required a considerable amount of skill.
◇ ◇ ◇
As we walked cautiously, suddenly a mass of mana flew in from the right.
Judging it as an attack from a demonic beast, I prepared to activate the reflective barrier I had standing by.
—but,
“Leave this to me!”
Will shouted and charged toward the attack.
In the next instant, a weapon appeared in his right hand.
The weapon had blades on both ends of the hilt.
—It was called a Double-Edged Sword.
It was said to be an extremely difficult weapon to handle, and very few could master it.
In the joint subjugation operation, he used two swords of different lengths dual-wielded.
Apparently, defenders use the Double-Edged Sword.
“Haah!”
Will skillfully swung the Double-Edged Sword, and when the blade touched the mana mass, it vanished without a trace.
(Really an interesting idea. And the fact that Will can manage it so easily shows his excellent mana control and considerable courage. If he failed, it would hit him directly…)
“Lucre!”
Ms. Selma called out to Lucre.
“Already spotted it! Flash!”
Lucre activated Flash, and a red light burst in the sky about two hundred meters away.
“Magic Power Up!”
Ms. Selma cast a buff to enhance Ms. Rain’s magic power.
“Lucre, Selma, thanks! Now, to celebrate Orun-kun joining us, let’s fire a big celebratory shot! Explode!”
A ball of flame formed where the red light burst and rapidly descended.
When it hit the ground, a thunderous explosion enveloped the area.
Starting off with a fire-type top-tier magic, huh...
I couldn’t quite keep up with the flow this time.
Well, it wasn’t a moment where I needed to force myself in.
From the sequence just now, it was clear these people were highly skilled.
Ms. Selma and Ms. Rain constructed their techniques quickly.
Especially Ms. Rain.
Top-tier magic is powerful with a wide attack range, but it requires enormous mental processing.
In other words, constructing the technique usually takes time.
Yet she constructed it in just a few seconds, even if the power was toned down.
Ordinary people would take nearly twice as long as Ms. Rain.
I knew this, but as expected from explorers who have reached the deeper layers.