It was just plain bad luck.
Lately, I had been attacked by thieves inside the Labyrinth one after another.
I suppose I had to call it a string of misfortune. A literal streak of bad luck.
Was I really a man with such poor fortune? Was it just a bad alignment of the stars, or was this some kind of inevitability?
The twelfth and thirteenth floors of the Labyrinth I was currently exploring were apparently prime hunting grounds for thieves. It wouldn't be wrong to say that was exactly why I kept getting targeted. Even so, it felt like there were far too many of them.
I wondered if things would finally settle down now.
They say that what happens twice will happen thrice, so I couldn't afford to let my guard down. No, wait. There was also the saying, "Third time’s the charm." That would mean they wouldn't attack a third time.
If I looked at the literal phrasing of the idiom, it could also be interpreted as the third time being the "real" deal—implying the damage would be even worse—but I chose to believe that wouldn't be the case.
Still... I couldn't afford to be careless.
In the first place, I had managed to defeat them, obtain their Intelligence Cards, and I’d eventually be able to collect the bounties. Maybe it wasn't actually unlucky at all. Turning misfortune into a blessing, as they say.
Or rather, I could even look at it as having been quite fortunate.
That was it. I wasn't particularly an unlucky person. I was a lucky man. Things had turned out fine as they were.
Granted, I hadn't actually received the bounties yet. Just because they were thieves didn't necessarily mean they had prices on their heads, so for the moment, I was counting chickens that hadn't even hatched.
Oh, right. I did get a Magic Crystal out of it. Yes, this was fine.
"Well then, let's rest for a bit and go out to buy breakfast. I used up a Tonic Pill, so I need to buy more to replenish our stock."
"The raw material for Tonic Pills is Onji, which is dropped by the Flytraps on the thirteenth floor of the Quratar Labyrinth. I believe it would be better to hunt in Quratar rather than buying them," Sherry informed me.
Now that things had calmed down, I was trying to summarize our next moves, and Sherry had already provided the source of the ingredients. Since Nourishing Pills came from the twelfth floor, it made sense that the ingredients for Tonic Pills—which cost the same as Nourishing Pills—could be gathered on a nearby floor.
"By the way, what's the raw material for Tonics?"
"They are dropped by the thirteenth-floor boss, the Animal Trap."
Is that how the system works? If I could get them through hunting, then there was no need to buy them.
Since the floor I was currently exploring was the twelfth, the thirteenth was just one level up. I had already set foot on the thirteenth floor of the Tale Labyrinth, so there was nothing to fear.
Besides, the small room where those thieves had been hiding likely led to the Boss Room. That was exactly why they had been lying in ambush there. I could consider the twelfth floor of Halber to be essentially cleared.
In that case, there was no problem with entering the thirteenth floor of Quratar first.
The only issue was that since I was fighting to replenish my stock, I would be without recovery medicine until I actually obtained the materials. Specifically, I had used up all my Tonics—the ones with the high MP recovery—during the skirmish with the thieves. I didn't have a single one left.
Well, recovery medicine was just insurance for emergencies anyway.
I could navigate the Quratar Labyrinth while looking at the map, so I could clear it quickly. In a crowded place like Quratar, I didn't have to worry about thieves. For a short while, the risk of being without recovery items was minimal.
Plus, on the thirteenth floor of Quratar, the stock would be constantly replenished while I was in the middle of fighting.
The Tonics were the problem, since I couldn't get them until the thirteenth-floor boss battle, but if we could fight smoothly through the floor, I might as well just take down the boss in one go. As it stood, I didn't really need recovery medicine for boss battles anyway. I always pulled out Durandal for those.
I shouldn't have any trouble even without Tonics.
"Then the Quratar Labyrinth it is. We'll head out after noon."
"Understood."
"I don't think the upper floors of the Quratar Labyrinth will be that crowded, even during the day."
"I hope so. Well, it's still dark out."
Since I had defeated the thieves right after entering the Labyrinth in the early morning, it was still quite early.
"Roxanne says Milia can go and get the map," Roxanne added.
"Yes, desu," Milia nodded beside her.
As a member of the Cat-kin, Milia had excellent night vision. She could easily fetch a map from a dark room.
Talk about a cheat skill.
"Well, after everything that happened, let's rest for a while. Besides, I'll need to get used to entering the Quratar Labyrinth during the day eventually. Thanks."
I had just finished a fight with thieves, so my adrenaline was probably still up. It would be bad to be out of sorts when entering the Labyrinth. It was best to take at least a short rest.
I would make sure to be properly grateful for Milia's cheat, though.
After breakfast, we entered the Quratar Labyrinth.
"Sherry, you wear this Ring of Determination for now."
"Are you sure?"
"It’s a waste to let it sit in the inventory."
I had Sherry equip the ring we had looted from the thieves. Roxanne and I already had our Substitution Misangas.
The Substitution Misanga was an incredibly useful piece of equipment. I had been hit by monster attacks many times, but the effect had never triggered. That likely meant it wouldn't activate unless I took massive damage or fell into a truly life-threatening state.
Conversely, the fact that it only triggered during a disaster meant that if it did go off, things were truly dire. Considering the worst-case scenario, I couldn't bring myself to take it off.
"Thank you very much. I thought it might be a Legacy Item, but it looks brand new."
...I decided to pretend I didn't hear that.
"Roxanne, how's the crowd?"
"The number of people has decreased considerably. It seems that even during the day, there aren't many once you reach the twelfth floor. This shouldn't be a problem."
It wasn't packed like the first or third floors. As you moved to higher floors, the number of adventurers naturally thinned out. It seemed even the Quratar Labyrinth was manageable during the day once you hit the twelfth floor.
It was just after breakfast, but since people in this world didn't do much at night, they started their days early. If there were few people now, it likely wouldn't get much more crowded.
"Then, I'm counting on you."
I asked Roxanne to lead the way so we wouldn't run into anyone. Between my magic and our general situation, it was best not to be seen by people outside of the Harz Duchy Labyrinths. Avoiding contact was the best policy.
"The Boss Room is just beyond this point. I'm not entirely sure if anyone is inside right now. I can detect a faint scent, but they may have already finished and moved on."
"Thanks. As expected of you, Roxanne. Thanks to you, we made it this far without running into a single person."
"No, the pleasure is mine. Thank you as well."
Even with Roxanne’s senses, it was difficult to tell if someone was currently inside the Waiting Room or the Boss Room. There were doors in the way, and as soon as one party finished, the next would cycle in. Confirming occupancy through scent alone was a tall order.
A certain amount of risk was unavoidable. There was always the chance another party would show up while we were in the Waiting Room.
I was still making regular appearances in the Harz Duchy Labyrinths. Even if the Duke or Gosler found out I was here, they probably wouldn't blame me. I could make any number of excuses—that I was conquering Quratar in parallel, or that I was looking for specific materials.
In fact, I really did want those specific materials. Explaining how I knew about them was the annoying part. Crude Drug Synthesis was a skill of the Herbalist, after all.
"Milia. Could you go ahead and see if there's anyone there? If it's clear, give us a signal. If there are people, come back."
To minimize the risk, I sent Milia ahead as a scout. Milia hadn't met Gosler. Not that there was any realistic chance of Gosler being in this specific room.
"Yes, desu."
After Roxanne translated, Milia gave a firm nod and slipped forward. She opened the door and peeked into the Waiting Room. Almost immediately, she turned back and beckoned us over.
It was empty.
The three of us ran to join her. Milia puffed out her chest with pride, looking as though she had completed a top-secret mission.
"Thanks. Good job, Milia."
"Mreow, mreow!"
"As expected of Milia," Roxanne and Sherry added, praising her as well.
I didn't think it was that grand of a task, but Milia seemed happy, so I let it be.
"Yes, desu!"
Once inside, we confirmed the Waiting Room was indeed vacant.
"The boss for the Sarracenia is the Nepenthes. It's essentially a powered-up version of the Sarracenia. However, from the twelfth floor onward, other monsters will appear alongside the boss. You'll need to keep an eye on them as well."
Sherry gave us the tactical briefing. It seemed that from the twelfth floor up, the strategy of letting Roxanne take the front while I hit it from behind wouldn't be quite enough. Well, things couldn't stay that simple forever. That much was to be expected.
As soon as we stepped into the room, the door to the Boss Room swung open. The four of us charged in.
Smoke coalesced, and the monsters manifested. One was the Nepenthes, and the other was a standard Sarracenia.
"Roxanne, take the Nepenthes. Sherry, Milia, you support her on the boss. I'll take care of the small fry first."
I gave the orders and turned to face the Sarracenia. I silenced it quickly by unleashing a relentless barrage of Rushes. Without missing a beat, I pivoted to join the fight against the Nepenthes.
The Nepenthes was a pitcher plant with a vessel even larger than its subordinate's. Its entire body was a size bigger, which usually meant a proportional increase in power. Unlike the green Sarracenia, its pitcher "head" was a murky brown, which gave it an eerie look.
It really looked like something that got its nutrients from digesting living creatures rather than sunlight. Not that insectivorous plants don't photosynthesize—usually, they only eat bugs to get nitrogen for amino acids, while still making starch through photosynthesis—but as a Labyrinth monster, it didn't look like it cared much about the sun.
It swung its massive leaves around with force, so I had to stay sharp even while attacking from the rear.
I made a mental note; I probably should have given Milia a spear for this. Still, her level had increased, so she seemed to be holding her own.
Once it was alone, the four of us swarmed the lone Nepenthes. It was the same winning pattern as always. Before long, the Nepenthes collapsed and dissolved into smoke.
"Look, look!"
Before we could even check the dropped items, Milia shouted out.