Chapter 146: Infinite Floor (3) 

“…What are you doing?”

Damon Lieefte was currently feeling quite bewildered.

It was because of the newcomer who had suddenly hidden herself right behind his back.

“I-I’m sorry…”

Even as she said that, Claire showed no intention of coming out from behind Damon.

“There must be a reason why you’re doing this.”

“C-Can’t I… just stay like this for a little while?”

“…Fine. Do as you wish.”

Although Damon had a slender build, that was only in comparison to other knights; someone like Claire, who was determined to hide, was perfectly concealed by his frame.

As for what Claire was hiding from behind Damon’s back…

“Is it perhaps because of the Guardian Knight?”

“Ack!”

As he suspected, it was indeed because of the Guardian Knight, Hio Pavlenko.

It was hard to ignore, considering she had let out a sharp gasp and scurried behind Damon the moment he appeared.

“……I don’t know what’s going on, but.”

Damon’s gaze turned toward Hio.

In a situation where a clash wouldn’t have been surprising at any moment, this man had appeared and shattered that tension in an instant.

He was currently engaged in conversation between Vitalianus and Antipus.

“Thanks to him, it didn’t escalate to an armed conflict.”

Of course, considering the way Antipus spoke and the rudeness he showed the Order of the Sword, Damon felt like drawing his sword right this second.

Even if they were strong, did it make sense for a mere guild to try and stand on equal footing with the Empire’s finest knight order?

If an armed conflict broke out, he was confident they would win every single time.

However, if one truly considered Vitalianus’s honor, such impulsive thoughts were exactly what should be avoided.

They had the responsibility of leading this expedition to success.

Too much was at stake in this particular expedition.

Even so, they couldn’t just meekly back down when the other side acted that way.

The opponent likely felt the same.

They probably acted so aggressively because backing down once would mean being dragged along while losing the initiative.

Therefore, to mediate the situation, a third party was needed—someone who represented a faction yet remained strictly neutral.

Hio Pavlenko was practically the only person who fit that description.

“If the Guardian Knight hadn’t shown up at the right time, a massive fight would have broken out before we even entered the Labyrinth.”

“……That’s a relief.”

Claire, who had been hiding while cautiously clutching Damon’s sleeve, peeked her head out.

From there, she could see Hio standing alongside the Order of the Sword and Antipus, engaged in discussion.

“I don’t really understand what’s happening……”

‘Were the Empire and the guilds on good terms or bad terms?’

‘Why were they going in to clear the floor together if they distrusted each other so much?’

‘And why did she hide the moment she saw Hio?’

She didn’t know. She was confused.

‘It was just, how should she put it?’

She wasn’t mentally prepared.

‘She had become a Royal Knight, but she had really only gotten in through luck, hadn’t she?’

‘Unlike the other confident and cool Royal Knights, wasn’t she still clumsy and lacking in so many ways?’

She felt ashamed to show herself like this and had hidden unconsciously.

As Claire stared blankly at Hio with only her head peeking out…

“……Let’s settle on doing it that way.”

Hio suddenly turned his head and looked around.

The discussion had concluded after their coordination.

“Now then, a conclusion has been reached.”

“Eek!”

“……Hm?”

Just as he was about to announce the result of the discussion while looking around, he heard a sound like a pterodactyl.

Hio’s puzzled gaze naturally turned toward the source of the sound, where Damon was standing with a flustered expression, his eyes darting back and forth.

“Damon? Do you have something to say?”

“N-No. I just… had a sudden bout of hiccups……”

“My, don’t be so nervous.”

“

……Yes.”

For some reason, Damon looked quite wronged, but Hio had no reason to think deeply about it.

“……At any rate, it has been decided that Antipus Praman and I will enter the Space of Suffering.”

This was the conclusion reached through the discussion with Vitalianus and Antipus, the representatives of the two forces.

The Space of Suffering.

Unlike its grandiose name, the difficulty hadn’t been that high in the game—at least, not high enough to warrant the word ‘suffering.’

As mentioned before, it was difficult only because cooperation was impossible and the numbers couldn’t be matched; if cooperation was achieved, the difficulty was much easier compared to other types.

“The rest of you will proceed exactly as planned. Just hold out well in the Infinite Space.”

However, that was the story within the game.

Since there was no telling what might have changed now, Hio decided that he would go himself, while the other would be handled by Antipus.

It was based on the thought that a Bingija would be more advantageous when considering what might be different from the game and how to respond to it.

It was a bit burdensome that Antipus stared at him intensely throughout the discussion, but…

‘Well, I guess he wants to get close to me, too.’

He just brushed it off with that thought.

Otherwise, there was no reason for him to look at Hio with such heated intensity.

For now, he would focus on the raid, and once it was over, he would try to strike up a friendly conversation.

As the guy wished, there would surely be an opportunity to become friends.

“We’ve been delayed a bit, so let’s move in now.”

As soon as Hio finished speaking, Vitalianus ordered the preparations for entry.

Just as he said, they were a bit behind schedule.

Even if the Infinite Floor wasn’t a floor where they were chased by time like the previous Labyrinth floors, there was always the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, so the faster the clear, the better.

There was no telling what kind of trials, different from expectations, might await in the Space of Suffering.

“Move out!”

The knights moved quickly as the command spread.

There wasn’t even time for tension to spread again.

The vanguard began entering immediately as soon as they were ready.

They stepped into the flickering black Gate without a moment’s hesitation.

“Don’t be too nervous. Now that the Guardian Knight has joined us, we will surely succeed in this raid.”

Damon and Claire also stepped beyond the flickering black Gate.

“……Yes!”

The raid on the 53rd floor had finally begun.

***

Darkness rushed in for a moment. His vision was quickly restored.

This was not the world where the morning sun was rising, but a space submerged in the Abyssal Depths.

The 53rd floor of the Abyss, the Infinite Floor.

Upon entering, the first things that caught the eye were the massive Gates situated on both sides. Gates within the Abyss Gate.

“So those are the Spaces of Suffering……”

Hio and Antipus would split up and enter each of them.

“Don’t just stand there, move quickly! Assume the formation!”

An unfamiliar space and a gloomy atmosphere.

The distraction caused by the thick darkness all around was brief; like the elite knights they were, everyone began to move in perfect order.

It was to form the pre-determined formation.

The moment Hio and Antipus entered the Space of Suffering, monsters would come swarming in from all directions, so they had prepared a formation that could hold out as efficiently and for as long as possible.

“Don’t get greedy! If you feel it’s even slightly too much, fall back immediately! Remember that each three-man cell must keep communicating without rest!”

Groups of three, formed after careful consideration of individual abilities and characteristics, would defend their assigned zones.

Roughly sixty such cells were formed. Forming a large circle, they would neither move forward nor retreat, but simply hold back the infinite waves.

It was a strategy chosen because the goal was to endure, not to exterminate.

“Guild members, over here!”

At Daphne’s shout, the Bingija began to gather.

Except for a few with unique abilities, most of the Bingija used long-range skills.

Since each of them used skills that would be considered at the level of ‘Awakened’ by this world’s standards, they spread out within the large circle formed by the knights to make the formation even sturdier.

Antipus watched them move busily for a moment before taking a step.

He headed toward the Gate on the right, the Space of Suffering he was assigned to.

When he turned his head to look at the opposite side, he saw Hio Pavlenko also walking toward the left Gate.

‘……Jijoncheonma.’

He had not forgotten the warning that man had given him during their last meeting.

‘How could he forget?’

That arrogant warning, that haughty expression telling him not to dare look up at the heavens.

That day, when he had warned him with eyes looking down on him as if he still had a long way to go, was a humiliating day that Antipus could never forget.

‘Was that why he had been unusually emotional toward Vitalianus today?’

Going to the brink of an armed conflict was not a good thing at all, whether looking at the long term or the immediate raid, yet he had acted somewhat emotionally.

Perhaps he had projected the image of Jijoncheonma onto the Order of the Sword, who was praised as the continent’s strongest knight and a hero.

‘This time, for sure……’

He shouldn’t be like this.

This itself was proof that he was shaken. He must not be shaken any further.

‘What he needed for that was victory.

It was perfect timing that only Jijoncheonma and himself were entering’ the Space of Suffering, so couldn’t this also be a match?

In a match, there was always a winner and a loser, and what he absolutely needed was a victory.

Of course, he knew well enough that no one would officially recognize him as the winner for coming out first or the loser for being late, and that such a thing couldn’t really be boasted about.

But even so, he had to win.

The name Jijoncheonma had become firmly established like a wall within him.

A wall is not something to be climbed over.

It is something to be smashed.

To smash it, the first thing to do was to create a small crack.

Starting from a very trivial victory, he would gradually increase that crack to create a massive fissure.

And so, he would eventually bring that wall down and stand tall atop it.

To achieve that, he had to win.

“Hio Pavlenko.”

At the calling voice, Jijoncheonma’s gaze turned toward Antipus.

Both men were standing in front of their respective Gates.

“Antipus, are you ready?”

“……Yes.”

Having received the answer, Hio’s gaze turned toward the rear.

Thanks to their disciplined movements, the knights had already completed their formation and were gripping their swords tightly.

From the commander Vitalianus at the very front to everyone else, they were all looking at Hio and Antipus.

“Then, I’m going in.”

Hio took a step.

Antipus also took a step forward at the same time.

A single step into the towering Gate.

“Good luck.”

With those final words, his vision blurred again.

Half of his body had passed through the Gate.

‘……I will win, without fail.’

A small victory that was absolutely necessary to move forward.

Even if it was only for his own satisfaction, he knew better than anyone how significant it was, so he made a firm resolution once more as he entered the Space of Suffering.

Soon, after fully entering the Gate into the Space of Suffering, a single message emerged from the complete darkness.

[You have entered the Space of Suffering.]

[The entry of ‘Dominion, Antipus Praman’ has been confirmed.]

[Trial – ‘Fear of Flames’ begins.]

There was no time to look around or calmly assess the situation.

The moment his vision returned, he saw fire filling the surroundings.

Not just beneath Antipus’s feet, but everywhere he looked was like a sea of fire.

As he felt the terrible pain of his entire body burning, Antipus’s eyes flashed fiercely as he checked the message that appeared again.

[Endure and overcome the fear of flames.]

To overcome fear.

It was a trial that seemed to know his abilities perfectly well.

“Grrrgh…… Hehehe.”

So, while groaning in pain, laughter leaked out at the same time.

It was because he felt a bit of certainty.

The certainty that he really could overcome the trial of the Space of Suffering and come out before Jijoncheonma.

The joy of feeling that he could get ahead of him for the first time.

…Of course.

“Aaaaaagh!”

The pain of his entire body being seared by fire was unimaginably horrific.

***

Vision submerged in darkness.

[You have entered the Space of Suffering.]

[The entry of ‘Pioneer, Hio Pavlenko’ has been confirmed.]

With that message, his vision brightened.

This place was clearly the dark and gloomy 53rd floor of the Abyss.

However, when he opened his eyes to the strangely bright vision…

“Hahaha! Now, let us toast!”

What he saw was not the dark space of the Abyss, but a bright and luxurious noble’s banquet hall.

“Come now, what are you all doing? Raise your glasses!”

Everyone was laughing joyfully and raising their wine glasses.

Hio also raised his hand reflexively, and a glass was already in his hand, filled with shimmering red wine.

“For the Master Magician!”

“For the Master Magician!”

The people shouted a mysterious toast and gulped down their drinks.

“……For him?”

Hio also ended up gulping down the wine along with the atmosphere.

The wine flowed down his throat.

If you asked how it tasted…

“Ugh.”

It was damn bitter.

[Trial – ‘The Belief of a Pathetic King’ begins.]