As you press on through the labyrinth, unbelievable luck sometimes comes your way.
Today, however, was not that day.
"There's nothing special."
In fact, there just wasn't much in them to begin with.
No surprise there, since they must have had to ditch most of their baggage to chase after us.
All we got was five backpacks, and—
Sleeping bags, flint, a compass, and other basic Explorer supplies that our party lacked.
Five Low-Grade Healing Potions and one Low-Grade Mana Potion.
And the gear these bastards had been wearing.
That was everything.
"Ah..."
"My treasure disappeared!"
"It wasn't there to begin with."
"I see!"
At that result, the others openly showed their disappointment.
"...What are you so disappointed about?"
"Weren't you hoping for treasure too, Yuta...?"
Look at these naive folks.
I only said that on the 'tiny, one-in-a-million' off chance.
How could a bunch of two-bit Raiders who got wiped out by an outnumbered beginner party just because their condition was a little off possibly be carrying anything worthwhile?
"How could this be..."
"Don't wish for windfalls."
Good luck only means something when it comes unannounced.
"Besides, this is a pretty decent haul for us."
"Is it?"
Of course it was.
The potions went without saying, and we could get a fair price if we sold the gear.
Since we were going to buy basic supplies anyway, you could say this saved us money too.
And above all else—
"Roll out the sleeping bags."
Day 6 of labyrinth life.
The final night of our first expedition.
We finally got ourselves a soft place to sleep.
***
The schedule on Day 7 went smoothly.
We hunted a few more steel-element Twinkle Dogs that respawned every 5 minutes in the Powder Room, then timed it right and headed for the exit.
In truth, now that the Raider problem was settled, we didn't strictly have to leave, but we judged there was no need to push our luck on our first expedition.
—Or at least, that was the official excuse; my real calculation was that it would be more profitable to prepare properly and come back in.
Even if we stayed right now, there wasn't much we could accomplish anyway.
The trip to the exit was smooth sailing.
A few Twinkle Dogs kept popping out along the way, but since the puny things couldn't overcome the wall of our party—veteran Explorers with nearly a full week of experience under our belts—they pathetically keeled over before our glinting spear and blades and crossed the river to the afterlife, every last one of them.
"We're here."
At our destination, a stone slab engraved with complex yet regular geometric patterns lay embedded in the floor.
A portal device connecting to other floors.
"Wait, this won't take us to the 2nd floor, will it?"
"That won't happen."
The patterns carved in intaglio on the stone slab gave off a glow like LED lights, and the one before us was blue.
In other words, it connected to the lower floor.
Since no floor existed below the 1st floor, it linked to the outside.
For the record, portals leading to an upper floor glowed red.
"We can't leave right now, right?"
Even when we stepped onto it, however, our bodies didn't leave this place.
"There's still a little time left."
That was because we still had about 5 minutes to go before filling out a full week—168 hours.
While we waited briefly, I spoke up.
"Works out well. Then let's decide on our next schedule first."
"Schedule... you say?"
"We need to settle our earnings."
"Ah, right."
Perhaps worried I was about to drag them off somewhere again, the Dwarf, who had flinched in alarm, let out a sigh of relief.
"I think it's best we rest first and meet up again... What do you guys think?"
"Fine by me either way."
"I don't really mind either."
"I want to get my share as early as possible!"
"Then gather in front of this entrance at 9 tonight."
A moment later, the portal recognized that we had qualified to escape and unleashed a flash of light.
WHOOOOM—!
A deep blue light wrapped around us, and when my vision cleared a moment later, what lay before me was no longer a gloomy cave, nor my old studio apartment—
'...Guess not.'
—Instead, the panoramic view of the city I had seen so often through my monitor came into sight.
Despite my dashed hopes, I didn't feel much of anything, surprisingly.
Deep down, I probably already knew a hope like that was a pipe dream.
So right now, only one thing matters.
"Phew..."
The first expedition was over.
And I had survived.
***
When I came to, reddish, setting sunlight was filtering through the parted curtains, casting a cozy glow across the dim room.
Since dawn had just been breaking when we returned to the city, I had slept straight through half a day.
That was because I had come out without sleeping at the end of the 7th day.
'Nice.'
A comfort qualitatively different from the labyrinth—where I'd had to fall asleep ready to jump up and fight at any moment—spread through my entire body.
When I rested the back of my hand in the sunlight I hadn't seen in a week, that feeling doubled as my skin warmed up.
It occurred to me that if someone took a photo from the side, it would make for a pretty artsy shot.
'...Look at me having thoughts like this.'
Even though there wasn't a single photo like that on 'Kim Yu-seong's' phone.
'Guess I really have changed a bit.'
Don't people say that once you survive a few brushes with death, your way of thinking is bound to change?
Quitting a twenty-year smoking habit after undergoing major surgery is a pretty common story.
Since a week in the labyrinth had definitely been a 'brush with death,' it wouldn't have been strange for my personality to change.
Still, the change happening now was headed in a slightly different direction from that.
'It's probably... because of this body.'
I thought back to yesterday—that is, the end of the 6th day.
Back then, I had been too pressed to dwell on it and had just moved past it, but something pretty huge had happened to me that day.
'I killed people.'
I had killed people.
Not some otherworldly nonhuman race that we called people despite the sense of disconnect, either, but actual humans.
And three of them, at that... or five, depending on how you counted.
For 'Kim Yu-seong,' who had lived in 21st-century South Korea, it should have been deeply shocking.
Yet to me right now, the sensation of that day didn't even come back clearly.
Like failing to remember what I had eaten for breakfast the day before, the whole thing had become something unremarkable, like an ordinary part of daily life flowing naturally past.
'Did the mental side mix together without me realizing it, too?'
For starters, I—'Kim Yu-seong'—clearly hold the reins of consciousness.
Because I can't even remember what kind of guy 'Yuta' was.
Even so, a lot of what he had possessed remained in me.
...That seemed to sum it up well enough.
'Well, doesn't matter.'
From what I had felt over the past few days, there was no particular discomfort in this state.
Only when I deliberately tried to pay attention to it like right now did I notice a slight sense of disconnect.
And strictly speaking, merging with 'Yuta' had far more advantages for me.
Not only his combat skill, but his mental traits—like this numbness even in the face of killing—compensated for my shortcomings wonderfully.
Thinking back on it now, being able to pull myself together and move despite suddenly being thrown into the labyrinth must have been largely thanks to that influence as well.
'Looks like he had a Constitution, too.'
I hadn't realized it at first, but there was that unmistakable unease I had felt again when reuniting with the Raiders.
Something far too accurate to brush off as a mere 'hunch.'
Judging from the circumstances, there was only one candidate.
[Danger Sense]
A Constitution that perceived impending negative events in advance, even when there was zero visible evidence.
However, this Constitution only activated once an event was 'locked in'—at the point where it could no longer be prevented from happening.
You might wonder what the point of it was then, but being able to prepare 'in advance' inside the labyrinth was a massive advantage.
It was handy in all sorts of minor ways besides that, too.
'Anyway... is she still asleep?'
Wrapping up my thoughts there, I turned my head and spotted the Elf passed out face-down on the floor beside the bed, looking practically collapsed.
As for how this had come about—
—You have to come with me, Yuta.
—What do you mean, why? We're sharing a room.
—The reason... is obviously because we didn't have any money, right?
Apparently, the Elf, Tille, and 'Yuta' had met on the ship coming into the labyrinth city.
That was when this team had first been formed, and to save as much money as possible on a tight budget, they had rented a room together, or so she had said.
'Swear to god, they're a hopeless bunch.'
I could tell from the moment they entered the labyrinth without a single proper preparation, but they were optimistic in more ways than one.
Doesn't she know how many risks come with sharing a room with a stranger?
If she had met slightly the wrong sort of person, she would have crossed into the afterlife already.
Maybe this party, a gathering of naive fools for a bunch of Explorers, was quite a fateful combination after all.
'Guess I'll head out for a bit first.'
Seeing how she was still sleeping so soundly, it looked like it would take a while before she woke up.
Figuring I'd also look around the city I hadn't been able to check out properly earlier, I left a short note saying I was heading out first and stepped outside.
***
What I knew about this place, the labyrinth city, was extremely limited.
Philaon Island, floating in the middle of the Atlas Continent.
Because the only entrance to the labyrinth existed right here, Explorers had built their infrastructure around the entrance since before recorded history, which developed into the present-day 'Cladis.'
That was the extent of the history I knew about this city.
The reason was simple: that was all the explanation the game provided.
Because [Dungeon Log] was strictly a game about exploring the 'labyrinth,' elements outside the labyrinth barely appeared at all.
'Somehow... this feels awkward.'
For starters, walking around inside the city like this was a first for me.
All I had been able to see on my monitor was a panoramic view of the city, and city-related gameplay had been stripped down to the barest minimum.
You couldn't even move around directly inside the city; instead, you selected locations listed on a menu to carry out set actions there.
<< Search for companions at the tavern. >>
<< Browse the shop. You may also sell items. >>
Roughly like that.
In a way, it was an aspect that really didn't fit [Dungeon Log].
Because [Dungeon Log] was a game that placed heavy emphasis on realism and freedom, and inside the labyrinth, it was even possible to have fairly detailed conversations with NPCs.
'Which probably means this place isn't actually inside a game.'
This place closely resembles [Dungeon Log], that's all—it isn't inside a game.
I had thought so while in the labyrinth, and now that I was out in the city, I could be even more certain.
[Dungeon Log] was a game made based on this very world.
'Wonder if I'll be able to go back.'
If this place had been inside a game, clearing it would probably have been the condition for returning home.
If that isn't the case, however, things get a bit complicated.
First of all, I have to figure out why I was dragged here in the first place.
No, does figuring out how a game based on a world like this—one I don't even know if I should call another planet—ended up on my computer come first?
Could there be other people here besides me?
What about the possibility that people were dragged here from other worlds besides Earth, too?
'...'
Once I started thinking about it in earnest, all kinds of hypotheses and wild ideas followed one after another.
Since I had zero evidence—not even the faintest shred of a hunch—to filter them out, my thoughts became indistinguishable from delusions and stretched out endlessly.
Before long, they reached reflections on the edge of the universe, and only then did my reason snap back into place and my head start working normally again.
'Well, nothing I need to worry about right now.'
Either way, nothing changes right this second in the end.
Wondering about it won't let me do anything, and I can't even tell what direction I should be heading in to begin with.
So first—
"Yuta! You were here first!"
"Yuta! Why did you head out first! You surprised me when you weren't there!"
"Hurry up and let's go! Let's sell everything and become rich!"
I have to do what I can do.