We had moved to the 86th Floor of the Great Labyrinth of the South.
The space was so vast it was hard to believe we were underground.
A verdant prairie stretched out before us, and what looked like an open sky spread out above—it was a remarkably liberating place.
Up until the Middle Floors of the Great Labyrinth, the environments were mostly cave-like, but from the Lower Floors onward, various biomes like this became more common.
The 86th through 88th Floors were comprised of these prairie spaces with excellent visibility.
Explorers visiting for the first time were often delighted by the comfortable environment, but naturally, the Labyrinth was never that kind.
Everyone was currently in the Safe Zone, performing a final check of their equipment.
Looking at Wil, I noticed he wasn't wearing anything resembling armor, nor was he carrying a shield.
I wasn't surprised, as I’d heard about it during our briefing, but I still had a fixed mental image of a Defender being equipped with heavy plate and a shield. Seeing him without them felt slightly off.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Wil, aren't you going to use any armor or a shield?"
Back in the Strategy Room, when we were discussing everyone’s combat styles, I had asked the question that was on my mind.
"Ah, I’m not your orthodox Defender. That’s exactly why they almost forced me to convert to a Front-line Attacker."
When I thought of a Defender who didn't use armor or a shield, my mind immediately went to her—the S-Rank Explorer.
"Are you aiming to become an Evasion-type in the end?"
"Hm? No, no, there’s no way I could dodge everything like that girl does. But don't you worry! I’ll draw the hate properly and create an environment where you can do your thing. Just leave it to me!"
Wil had boasted with absolute confidence.
Since the other members didn't seem to have any objections, I assumed it would be fine.
Up until now, I only knew Wil's strength as an Attacker.
Even in that role, he had the skill to be an ace among A-Ranks, but I wondered how capable he truly was in his primary role as a Defender.
From what I’d heard, Wil’s style seemed to require an incredible level of proficiency.
◇ ◇ ◇
After walking for a while while keeping a close watch on our surroundings, a mass of mana came flying in from the right.
Determining it was an attack from a Magic Beast, I prepared to activate the 【Reflective Wall】 I had been keeping on standby.
—But,
"Leave it to me!" Wil shouted, charging straight toward the incoming attack.
In the next instant, a weapon appeared in his right hand.
It was a weapon with blades attached to both ends of the hilt.
—The Twin-bladed Sword.
It was a weapon notoriously difficult to handle, one that few people could ever hope to master.
During our joint subjugation, he had used two swords of different lengths in a dual-wielding style. It seemed he used the Twin-bladed Sword specifically when acting as a Defender.
"Hrah!"
Wil swung the Twin-bladed Sword with expert precision. The moment the blade made contact with the mass of mana, the projectile vanished without a trace.
(It’s a fascinating concept. The mana control required to use that weapon so effortlessly is impressive... and his courage is nothing to sneeze at, either. If he misses the timing, he takes a direct hit.)
"Lucre!" Selma-san called out.
"Already found it! 【Flash】!"
Lucre triggered her magic, and a red light burst in the sky about two hundred meters ahead.
"【Magic Up】."
Selma-san applied a buff to boost the power of Rain-san’s magic.
"Lucre, Selma, thanks! Now then, to celebrate Orun-kun joining us, I’ll fire off a massive salute! 【Explode】!"
A sphere of fire manifested where the red light had burst and plummeted toward the ground.
The moment it struck, a thunderous roar echoed through the plains, and the area was consumed by a massive explosion.
Starting off with fire-type Special-grade Magic?
I found myself momentarily unable to keep up with their flow.
Well, it wasn't a situation where I needed to force my way in, regardless.
But that sequence of actions alone told me how high their level of coordination was.
As for Selma-san and Rain-san, their Spell Construction was incredibly fast.
Especially Rain-san.
Special-grade Magic was exceptionally powerful and boasted a wide area of effect, but the trade-off was the massive amount of mental processing required.
In other words, it usually took a long time to construct the spell.
To construct that in just a few seconds—even if she was holding back the output—was incredible.
A typical mage would have taken twice as long as Rain-san to build that formula.
I’d known it intellectually, but seeing it was different; they really were Explorers who had reached the Deep Floors.
And then there was Lucre.
As I suspected, her Ability was undeniably powerful. To call it "plain" was a massive understatement.
Lastly, Wil.
I’d heard about the weapon’s traits beforehand, but seeing him actually erase mana with my own eyes was still a shock.
To nullify mana like that, Wil was performing a feat with timing just as strict as my 【Impact】.
Furthermore, my 【Impact】 was essentially a spell timed to enhance an attack.
Wil, on the other hand, was doing it against a mass of mana flying directly at him.
A single mistake in timing could lead to a catastrophic injury.
The fact that he made it look so easy was proof of the staggering amount of effort he had put into his training.
"This sounds like a cliché, but... that was amazing."
An honest assessment escaped my lips.
"Heheh! This is the true power of the Silver Rabbit's strongest party!"
Lucre puffed out her chest with a smug look.
Yeah, there’s not much there. I won’t say where, though.
The atmosphere in the party relaxed slightly at Lucre’s comment, but Selma-san’s voice pulled us back.
"Right. Let’s go deliver the finishing blow."
With that, everyone’s focus snapped back into place.
She was right; we hadn't actually defeated it yet.
The one who had launched that initial attack was likely that creature.
If so, it would certainly be damaged, but it wouldn't have turned into a Magic Stone just yet.
We kept our guard up as we moved toward the center of the explosion.
The 86th through 88th Floors contained some forests, but more than half of the terrain was open prairie.
With the exception of our target, the Noxious Sheep, almost every Magic Beast here possessed long-range attacks.
Essentially, combat here revolved around long-distance engagement.
Because of this, it was often said that Front-line Attackers couldn't be very active in this prairie zone.
While there were ways to close the gap, it was simply more efficient to focus on magic-based combat.