We arrived at the sixty-third day of our adventure at three in the afternoon.
Since we had given ourselves plenty of time to get there, we arrived at Human Island a whole day before the rainy season began. The original plan had been to run around the island a bit and hunt a bit with the time we had left, but I changed my mind and immediately headed to the village.
«...It is just as you described it.... a real monster village».
«Mr. Wyatt... Is this really safe?»
«Remember what the baron said. Be careful.»
He had told them a few things about this place in advance, but the others still seemed wary of the monsters that began to appear as soon as we entered their village. Or, well, the members of the Hektz clan.
«Monsters that call themselves humans...»
«This... is incredible.»
«From what I have heard, we can talk to them using ancient language».
«Haha! Didn't I tell you? It would be a complete tragedy if there were not a single being within this enormous labyrinth capable of communicating!»
The members of the Armin Adventurer Group had the adventure itself running through their veins, to their bones. Therefore, they were more curious about monsters than afraid.
And naturally, the most curious were the magicians.
«Did you say we're going to stay here until this 'rainy season' is over? Because, if possible, I would like the opportunity to talk to them myself».
«...Damn, I should have studied the ancient language a little more».
«Don't worry. I'm going to write down all the conversations I have and turn them into translation guides. It is one of the most revolutionary discoveries in the history of the labyrinth».
From his point of view, the monsters on the Human Island must have been like aliens. Some people would naturally be afraid of them, while others would want to know everything there was to know about them.
«I'll go on my own from here. You must go to the house. Emily, can you take them?»
«Clear.»
For the moment, I sent everyone who came with me to the house that the village chief gave us and headed alone to the village chief's house.
«I'm relieved you arrived before it was too late».
«Were you worried?»
«Of course. I have waited many years to see people again». Although it was our first meeting in a long time, the boss spoke without any clear emotion in his voice.
It was like talking to a machine.
However, from what he remembered of the monsters Ainar had befriended, they were perfectly capable of expressing emotions vocally and in any other way, so it didn't seem like it was a physiological issue...
«By the way...» said the boss, interrupting my thoughts. «You've gathered more companions while you were away. How did it happen?»
One of the monsters must have seen us and warned him that there were many of us.
Anyway, I gave him a quick summary of what we had learned. «...So even while we're here», I said, concluding my explanation, "time keeps passing in the outside world".
«So what you're saying is that some time passed, and new adventurers were able to enter this place?».
I nodded. «Yeah.» However, I didn't leave it there and asked a question in turn. «But don't you seem very surprised?».
«You yourself confirmed to me that time continues to pass in the outside world only with your arrival».
Well, that was true.
However, now that he thought about it again, our first meeting raised some questions of its own.
«I'm glad to see you, really. And I assume you are an adventurer from Rafdonia?»
The day I met the boss on this island...
«So how much time has he spent in the outside world?»
That was one of the first things he asked me. And wouldn't that be a question you could only ask if you already knew that time passes outside?
The more I know this old man, the more suspicious he seems to me...
However, I kept my suspicions to myself and did not express them.
Right now, we needed the boss's power and knowledge. Besides, if he was really up to something, it wasn't like he was going to admit it just because I asked him nicely.
«So what happened after leaving the island?», the chief asked.
I gave him a rundown of what we'd done over the past few weeks, from exploring Tree Island to meeting the new group of Stone Island adventurers. I also told him that we had gone to Giant's Island to save the people trapped there and that we had found a stone portal.
I even included a description of the huge giant we saw while sailing away from the island.
«It seems like you've discovered a lot in a short time», the boss exclaimed. His tone, however, remained flat. «However, why have you suddenly returned to the island made of stone?».
It was a question I hoped he would ask me, as I had completely omitted any mention of evil spirits in my stories. As a result, the story had some plot holes.
«Boss, after thinking about what you said, we ourselves came to the conclusion that time must be passing outside. So we went there in case something happened. Anyway, we had also reached a sort of dead end during our expedition on Tree Island.»
«Hmm... Ya veo».
The boss accepted my excuse without suspecting anything. Thus, each of us officially became aware of what the other had done in the last month.
The boss was the first to direct our conversation toward a new topic. «An unactivated portal stone... It could be the key to escaping this place. What is your plan going forward?»
«Ah, about that...» Hedged. «Boss, we have a deal going on. You will help us in our search, and we will give you all the information we obtain from said search.»
«That's what we'll do.» It sounded like I didn't understand why I was getting this out of nowhere.
Who do you think I am?
I smiled as I responded: «Well, now we need your help».
The first step of our escape plan?
«My help...?»
We needed to get stronger.
***
The moment I realized that we desperately needed to improve our stats was right after leaving Giant Island, when we saw that titan.
Considering how difficulty levels seem to increase exponentially in this place... I have to be careful of a monster like that appearing on Library Island or even Tree Island.
Well, that was nothing more than a vague theory on my part, but at least I was sure that the titan we saw was the boss monster of that particular island. Not only that, but the island also housed a stone portal. Taking into account the enormous amount of data that I had managed to collect playing Dungeon and Stone during all those years, I could say with relative certainty that there was a good chance that that giant would play a key role in our escape.
«I need some time to think about it».
The boss, however, gave me an insipid answer even though he was sure he was even more desperate to escape than we were after being here so long.
«The rainy season will start tomorrow, so let me know your answer before then».
«Of course», he conceded.
I put that aside for now and let the conversation drift toward less important topics.
«Since you have more people now, things will get crowded and uncomfortable if you are forced to all stay in one house. I will prepare new accommodation for you, so please be patient for today».
«We'll be fine for a day. They are people used to sleeping outdoors, so they probably won't even find it uncomfortable».
«That's reassuring.»
«But where are the others?»
«If you mean the Silver Lion Clan, they left the island not long after you. And they haven't returned yet».
Hmm... Seriously? The rainy season was about to begin soon, however.
Did they end up docking on a strange island and being killed?
At his level, that was a certain possibility. Even we lacked the numbers necessary to survive in this place, which was exactly why we were actively trying to reinforce our forces.
«I will wait for them as long as I can, but the village gates will be closed and blocked as soon as the rainy season begins.»
«Of course.»
They may have been on their way, trying to get back to the island while we were talking, so we left the Silver Lion Clan topic there for now.
«Anything else you want to discuss?»
«No, it's okay. Once you decide on my request, tell me as soon as possible».
«Use haré».
After concluding our conversation, I returned to our accommodation and met with my companions. The house, which had seemed spacious during our last rainy season, had been converted into a refugee camp.
I guess that was to be expected, since we went from seven people to thirty-nine.
«Hektz, Myul, hold on tonight. The boss said he would give us another place tomorrow».
«It's good to hear that.»
Since survival was Wyatt Hektz's top priority, he was openly relieved by the news, but Armin's response was a little different.
«These accommodations are fine either way. However... I have heard a little about this village chief person...»
«¿Y?»
«Is it true that the boss is the Dragon Knight Cornelius Bruingrid?»
«...Who did you hear that from?»
Myul shuddered and looked away. When I followed his line of sight, my eyes fell on Ainar, who was avoiding eye contact with me.
Suspired.
Yes, it had been my fault.
I hadn't told him if that was a secret. If he had, she wouldn't have gone around chattering about it.
Myul noticed my resigned sigh and jumped to defend Ainar. «My apologies. Because I asked an unnecessary question-»
«No, it's not a secret or anything like that. Anyway, answering your question... what you said is half correct».
«Medium... right?»
«Yeah. He says he is the Dragon Knight, but we still don't know for sure if that is true».
«Ya veo... »
Now that the cat was out of the bag, I decided to ask Myul for his opinion. This old man had probably spent his entire life searching for the secrets of the labyrinth, just like me. He might know something I didn't know.
«Myul, what do you think? Do you think he's telling the truth?»
«Well... I've only heard about him from Miss Ainar, and I haven't met him myself yet, so I can't be sure. However, if I accepted his statement as true, there is one thing about his story that bothers me.»
"¿What are?
«It is the fact that he currently resides within the body of a monster and lives an immortal life».
"¿Y que?"
«The story of the Great Sage is well known... but we have notoriously few records of his companions. At one point, I became curious about this lost history and strove to collect as many accounts of them as I could...»
«Well, yes, get to the point.»
«Well, on a visit to an antique store, I found a story related to Bruingrid».
«What was he saying?»
«Before sharing it, I want to clarify something first. When we analyzed the record, we were able to confirm that it was written during the appropriate period, but we were unable to confirm the veracity of its contents.»
Man, I told you to get to the point.
«Understood. So what did he say?»
When I pressed one last time, Myul Armin carefully admitted: «The story described the Dragon Knight Cornelius Bruingrid as a hero who was more obsessed with immortality than anyone in the world, and went on to say that this was a point of continuing tension between him and the Great Sage».
Logically, it was nothing more than an ancient fragment of lost history, shared with me by a man who was not even sure of its legitimacy.
So why...?
«Immortality...»
Why did I suddenly feel so uncomfortable?
***
On the sixty-fourth, at nine at night, the village chief visited our accommodation.
His visit had two purposes. One was to tell us that they had prepared a new residence for us, thus solving the problem of being crowded here like sardines...
«I have decided to accept your offer».
And the second was to inform me of his decision.
After learning the whole immortality thing, I distrusted the boss a little more, but refused to let it show. It wasn't a good idea to antagonize him now. The smartest thing would be for us to get the help we needed from him while we could and investigate in due time.
«All the warriors are ready».
As such, the chief mobilized all the warriors in the village and headed to the surface with them. This was for one reason and one reason only.
Basement One Plant, the Archives... At our current level, it would be almost impossible for us to escape this plant, which meant we needed to become stronger. And to be stronger, you needed to try your hardest.
«Now there are only about two hours left. Tell me if you change your mind at any time. I can't think of anything sillier than running naked headlong into a natural disaster».
«I take note, but I have no intention of changing my mind».
The boss tried to persuade me to back down, but I refused to give in. Our group of three hundred - including the village warriors - were still standing there, with a grim expression, waiting for the minutes to pass.
Finally, the time has come.
¡Uruuum!
¡Croas, cros, cros...!
¡Guau! ¡Guau! ¡Grrrrr!
Above us, we heard the distant screams of hundreds of monsters coming together in eerie harmony as they began to fall from the sky like flies.
¡Crunch!
These monsters slammed headlong into the ground and disappeared in bursts of light.
¡Shaaa!
Those who survived dragged their battered forms to their feet and charged at us through the blinding light, and with our wait over, both adventurers and monstrous warriors drew their weapons and fought against them.
What do you mean by «natural disaster»?
I raised my shield high and roared: «Behel-aaaaaah!».
A catastrophe in which a deluge of monsters fell on Basement One Plant and its inhabitants.
However, I saw it differently, and this only validated my point of view.
[Has matado a un Luture Talismancer. EXP +4]
[You have killed a Wolfman.]
[You have killed a Mole Rat.]
[You have killed an Akeltas. EXP +5]
[You have killed an Underground Earth Dragon. EXP +4]
[You have killed an Iron Fang].
[You have killed an Orc Warrior.]
[You have killed a Guardian of the Island...]
Monsters that could only be found in Rifts, hidden areas, or in normal areas at an excessively low rate were falling from the sky.
[You have leveled up. Your Soul Power has increased by +30. The maximum number of essences you can absorb has increased by +1].
What could this be besides a cultivation event?