Tsutrail was the second-largest city in the Nohitant Kingdom.
Once a peaceful hub for trade and explorers, the city’s atmosphere was shifting. Reports of magic beast sightings on the surface were flooding in from all regions, leaving a lingering sense of dread in the air. People lived in fear of the monsters baring their fangs in their daily lives; merchants fretted over the stagnation of trade, while city officials were overwhelmed by the mounting costs of defense and finance.
Conquering the Great Labyrinth was no longer just a matter of glory or a dreamer's pursuit. It had become an urgent, absolute necessity—a survival mandate for the entire world. That aura of desperation had reached the explorers, driving them to face the Great Labyrinth with more grim determination than ever before. Tsutrail was thick with a prickly tension, a volatile mix of expectation and impatience.
While various parties and clans had stepped forward to claim the honor of the conquest, the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky remained the eye of the storm. The public placed their faith in the clan’s vast organizational power and its long history of success. By now, their every move dictated the pulse of the city’s hope and fear.
That was precisely why they were not permitted to falter.
Inside the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky Headquarters, executives and key sponsors had gathered for a strategy meeting focused on the Great Labyrinth. Behind thick, closed doors, the room was insulated from the buzz of the outside world, held in a taut silence.
As every eye around the circular table turned toward her, Selma, the leader of the clan’s field operations, finally spoke. With the weight of an executive’s responsibility on her shoulders, she took a quiet breath. Her voice was steady, lacking even a hint of hesitation, though it carried an edge of tension sharper than usual.
“I’ll get straight to the point. As things stand, conquering the Great Labyrinth is a near-impossible task—even for our elite First Unit.”
Her clear voice rang through the room, followed by a low murmur of surprise. Selma met the room's reaction head-on and continued.
“Standard practice dictates that we explore in parties of four to six.” Her tone was detached, professional. “Coordination becomes exponentially more difficult as numbers grow. Furthermore, magic beasts are instinctively drawn to large concentrations of people. Because of this, the ‘optimal solution’ has always been small, elite units—groups of individuals with exceptionally high ability.”
This was common knowledge to everyone in the room. However, Selma took it a step further.
“But the reality is that this clan lacks… an absolute ace.”
A heavy silence descended upon the room. One of the sponsors, unable to hide his irritation, finally broke it.
“But we don’t have time, do we? We can’t afford the luxury of waiting for an absolute ace to emerge.”
The urgency in his voice made the air in the room waver, but Selma remained unmoved. She gave a slight, solemn shake of her head.
“You’re right. We don’t have time to stop. And that is exactly why we must change our perspective.”
She shifted her gaze to the head of the table. Seated there was Lucila N. Edelweiss, the First Princess of the Nohitant Kingdom.
“Princess Lucila.”
The princess offered a thin smile in response. “Yes?”
Lucila was attending as the Royal Representative. While the Crown placed its hopes on all explorers challenging the Great Labyrinth of the South, it held the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky in special regard. She had been dispatched as the formal contact point for the kingdom’s support.
Selma looked the princess directly in the eye. “Tell me, does the military prioritize individual skill when it comes to national defense?”
The sudden question drew everyone’s attention back to Lucila. She answered calmly.
“While we do place high-ability individuals in roles suited to their talents, as a general principle, the military emphasizes the power of numbers over the individual.”
Vince, the Grandmaster, leaned back and stroked his chin. He was the first to realize where Selma was going with this.
“I see,” he rumbled. “You intend to apply military doctrine to labyrinth exploration.”
Selma nodded firmly. “Exactly. We bundle multiple parties together and challenge the labyrinth as a single army. This is my proposal for conquering the Great Labyrinth: the Raid Concept.”
The room erupted. Executives traded looks of disbelief, and the sponsors' faces were masks of confusion.
“That’s… isn't that far too reckless?”
“You said it yourself, Selma. Coordination becomes a nightmare as numbers increase, and managing the magic beasts' aggro would be impossible!”
“The fallout from a failure on that scale would be catastrophic…”
Concern after concern was hurled at her, but Selma stood her ground, unmoving. In contrast, Lucila remained a silent observer at the head of the table, her smile fixed as if she were testing Selma’s resolve.
Selma waited for the voices to die down before speaking again.
“It would certainly appear reckless—if it were being led by an average commander.”
The air in the room seemed to contract. At the center of that pressure, Selma didn't back down an inch.
“But this raid will be commanded by me—the Continent’s Greatest Enchanter.”
A stir ran through the crowd. Several sponsors leaned forward, eyes wide.
“Furthermore…”
Selma paused, slowly scanning the room. She held that silence for a heartbeat, drawing the focus of every person there until it was absolute. Then, she quietly exercised her Telepathy.
“My voice will reach you,” she projected directly into their minds. “No matter how chaotic the battlefield becomes, you will hear me.”
The clear Mental Transmission echoed in their consciousness, vibrating through their very souls. Everyone gasped. The room fell so silent it was as if sound itself had been extinguished.
Selma released the telepathic link and continued in her normal voice—quiet, but infused with undeniable authority.
“I understand the difficulty. However, if multiple parties are synchronized correctly, their combined strength will reach a realm that a single party can never hope to attain.”
Her confidence was a blade, cutting through the heavy air of the room.
“And there is no one else capable of weaving those disparate threads of power into a single, unified force. On my name as Selma Claudel, I will see this through.”
The executives exchanged glances. The hesitation and doubt that had filled the room were slowly being replaced by something else.
“If individual judgment fails, I will be the one to show the way. If every person can keep their eyes on the same objective without wavering…” Selma clenched her fist against her chest. “The raid will become a single, massive blade. We can conquer the Great Labyrinth. I have no doubt that this is our future.”
It was no longer an argument; it was a declaration. Somewhere in the room, someone let out a shaky breath. It was the moment a ray of light finally pierced through the stifling anxiety.
Accepting her resolve, Lucila finally spoke.
“It certainly seems like a gamble worth taking. Especially since we don't have the luxury of waiting for the next Hero.” Her voice was soft but carried the weight of the throne. “Very well. I give Selma’s Raid Concept my full support.”
That was the final word. The Princess's endorsement carried more weight than any amount of debate. Lucila then turned slightly to the woman standing behind her.
“Loretta.”
“Your Highness!” Loretta, standing guard, responded instantly.
“You and the rest of the Jade Gale are to participate in this raid as well.”
Loretta’s brow twitched. If they left to join the raid, Lucila’s protection would be significantly compromised. As a member of the Royal Guard, her duty made her hesitate.
“But, Your Highness…”
Lucila kept her smile, anticipating the objection. “I cannot allow a party with a track record of reaching the Deep Floors to sit idle as my personal guards. I give you my word: as long as you are in the labyrinth, I will not leave the grounds of the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky. So, please—participate.”
It was a soft request, but it was a royal command that allowed for no refusal. Since Lucila was using the clan headquarters as her base of operations while acting as the Royal Representative, staying on the premises meant she would be safe within their walls.
After a moment of silence, Loretta knelt and bowed her head deeply. “...Understood.”
Lucila nodded with satisfaction. She turned her gaze back to Selma, a small, knowing smirk playing on her lips.
“Selma, I’m placing the Jade Gale in your hands. Put them to good use.”
It was a challenge wrapped in trust, a sentiment shared only between close friends. Selma nodded solemnly.
“Thank you, Princess Lucila.”
And so, the unprecedented Raid Concept took its first definitive step forward.