They say a tiger leaves its hide behind when it dies, and a person leaves their name.
What, then, does a monster leave behind when it dies?
"Which parts do we take from this one?"
"Same as a regular Goblin. We only take the bones."
For starters, there were the byproducts.
"May I use this shield?"
"I'd like to use the sword, if that's okay..."
Along with the gear it had been carrying, of course.
"It is the paper that makes you stronger!"
And at a certain drop rate, it left behind a Record Sheet too.
Ah, depending on the monster, it could also drop Runes and items.
And though you couldn't see it with your eyes, it even gave experience.
A monster was literally a walking treasure chest.
Except for the minor detail that you had to risk your life to open it.
In any event, the national-disaster-level titan known as the Goblin Elite—which had nearly wiped out our party before meeting its end at my hands—left behind quite a generous inheritance.
Gathering all the loot in one place, I picked up each piece one by one and assigned it to its proper owner.
"First, the shield and the sword... Tille, you take them."
The gear the Goblin Elite had been using went to the elf.
"I don't really need the shield, though. You can give that to Mr. Brooks..."
The elf offered to yield the shield to the dwarf, but I had zero intention of splitting them up like that.
"No, they're both yours."
"...Are you sure?"
I nodded and replied.
"He can't use a shield anyway."
The weapon the dwarf used was a long-handled mace.
Shaped like a thick staff tipped with a heavy iron head, it was a weapon that required both hands to wield properly.
"If you need defense, you're better off practicing defensive techniques with your weapon rather than picking up a shield."
"...That makes sense."
Since my explanation was easy to follow, nobody argued.
"Now that that's settled, you use both of these."
"Okay, got it."
Hooking her old sword onto her pack, the elf equipped the new gear.
After giving them a few light test swings, she wore a rather satisfied look.
"Oh... They feel great in my hands. Light, too."
Since the gear used by a Goblin Elite was Grade 8, that was only natural.
Honestly, you couldn't call Grade 8 high-end either, but her old weapon had been the lowest tier possible—Grade 9, and cheap bottom-of-the-barrel junk even by Grade 9 standards.
"This is your first time using a shield too, right?"
"Right. I've only ever used a single sword up to now. Ah, not that I've been using a sword for very long, either."
"Practice whenever you have spare time. You're going to need a shield going forward anyway."
Unlike the orc, who charged in swinging his weapon no matter what, the elf fought cautiously and strategically.
Unless a character with that fighting style went for a really niche build, they almost always got the best mileage out of a "weapon + shield" setup.
"I'll do my best."
Looking as solemn as if she'd been entrusted with some grand mission, the elf nodded firmly.
She was overdoing it a bit... well, it beat slacking off.
"Alright, then all that's left is the Record."
"I'll pass on this one."
Having already claimed two pieces of gear, the elf conscientiously stepped back.
"I will not take it either!"
Having caused the whole mess—and having already eaten the first Record—the orc bowed out on his own as well.
"Hm... By my reckoning, this rightfully belongs to you, Yuta. Frankly, did you not practically save all our lives?"
With the dwarf yielding to me last, the Goblin Elite's Record went to me by unanimous agreement.
Even so, I didn't tear the Record Sheet to absorb it.
"I'll pass."
Until we reached our final destination and I received my [Divination] there, I couldn't lock in the direction of my build, which meant I couldn't absorb a single Record yet.
Unlike Runes, which could be removed at will, erasing a Record cost a pretty penny.
So the Record that would have been mine—
"I'll hand this over to you."
Went to the dwarf instead.
"Wait, this is yours..."
He tried to refuse at first, but unable to beat my stubborn insistence, he eventually agreed to use the Record Sheet.
"...If you insist that strongly, I shall accept it."
"Go on, use it."
With a crisp RRRIP—, the dwarf tore the Record Sheet in half, and as its power seeped into him, a strange look crossed his face.
"Oh... So this is what it feels like?"
A Level 2 monster's Record granted a total of 2 stat points.
His Muscle and Bone had probably gone up by 1 point each.
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"In return, the next piece of loot goes to you no matter what, Yuta."
"If something catches my eye, I'll take you up on that."
And with that, I was granted first dibs on our next drop.
The other party members enthusiastically agreed, too.
Thus, the heartwarming loot distribution of our beginner party wrapped up to everyone's satisfaction.
***
Once you entered the labyrinth, you couldn't leave for 168 hours—a full week.
In other words, camping out was mandatory.
And yet...
"Why don't we have sleeping bags?"
How does this party not even have something that basic?
By common sense, didn't people pack sleeping gear even for an ordinary trip?
No matter how clueless they were about the labyrinth, this crossed the line.
Sadly, though, I couldn't blame anyone else for it.
"Did you not tell us to leave them behind because they would only add dead weight to our packs?"
"And you said sleeping bags make it impossible to jump up right away in an emergency, so we were better off without them."
Because the culprit was none other than me—"Yuta."
Seriously, what was this bastard's deal?
How was someone this thick-headed so good at fighting?
I honestly couldn't figure this body out.
For the record, inside the labyrinth, you didn't zip yourself inside a sleeping bag to sleep—you just spread it out on the floor as a mat.
"...We'll just secure the room, then."
I'll let this slide for now.
A long expedition would be another story, but for beginners, not having sleeping bags wasn't the end of the world.
It just meant our sleep quality would take a hit.
Just like when we took our short breaks earlier, we gathered stalactites from around the cave to barricade both entrances and swept every corner to make sure no Cave Goblins were hiding inside.
"It seems there are no Cave Goblins."
With that, our preparations for bed were complete.
Still, we couldn't all just flop down together and start snoring.
The stalactite walls were merely an alarm system to let us know if something broke through, not a real defensive barrier.
Therefore—
"We need to set a night watch."
While the rest of the party slept, someone had to stay awake.
"We'll rotate every two hours."
For a four-person party, two-hour shifts were the standard way to handle night watch.
Assuming nothing happened during the night, that guaranteed six hours of sleep per person.
However, there was one unfortunate drawback to that setup.
"Hrm... Then two people will have to wake up in the middle of the night, right?"
While the first and last shifts could sleep for six hours straight, the two stuck with the middle shifts had to wake up mid-sleep, leaving them exposed to a drop in condition.
This wasn't just a matter of fairness; the real problem was that two out of the four of us would suffer an actual drop in combat performance tomorrow.
Worse yet, that problem would only compound the longer our expedition dragged on.
"Deciding who takes those two middle shifts will be important."
The solution to that problem, however, popped up from a rather unexpected direction.
"I will sleep first!"
Throwing his hand high in the air, the orc boldly volunteered.
Figuring he hadn't understood what we were talking about, I opened my mouth to set him straight—when, to my surprise, he followed up with the exact opposite of what I expected.
"I only need a little bit of sleep! Once I sleep first and wake up, the rest of you can sleep all the way through!"
"Mr. Urka, what kind of ridiculous nonsense is that...?"
"Honestly, this guy..."
The others brushed it off as the dim-witted orc spouting nonsense again, but my take was the exact opposite.
"Are you from the labyrinth city?"
"No! I came here not long ago to become a great warrior!"
"Then have you always needed very little sleep?"
"No! Back home, I slept so much the chieftain scolded me every single day! Yet the moment I entered the labyrinth city, my need for sleep vanished!"
A special change that occurred the instant an outsider stepped into the labyrinth city.
I knew the exact mechanic behind this phenomenon.
[Constitution]
In plain terms, you could call it a "personal trait."
Not every Explorer had one, though; only a small percentage of Explorers awakened a "Constitution" by chance.
And among them, one that cut down the need for sleep had to be...
'[Healthy Insomnia], is it?'
A Constitution that reduced the sleep time and quality required to maintain peak condition to 30% or less of a normal person's.
That had to be the ability the orc had awakened.
'Talk about a blessed character.'
Constitutions didn't have official tiers, but [Healthy Insomnia] was one I personally rated among the very best top-tier Constitutions.
Especially because having just one person with it in a party made managing the entire team's condition a breeze.
In fact, when people formed parties, it was a trait that significantly drove up an Explorer's recruiting value.
"He has an ability that amazing...?"
Listening to my explanation, a look of strange injustice crept into the elf's eyes.
I knew full well why she felt that way.
Because I was thinking the exact same thing.
"I knew it! I truly am a great warrior!"
How on earth did a rare ability like that end up on this idiot?
Should've given it to me instead.
Well, either way, having a [Healthy Insomnia] holder in our party was genuinely great news.
"Then we only need to decide who takes the first watch."
That one person would get six hours of sleep, while the other two could sleep for eight hours straight.
"I'll take it."
Thankfully, there was no need for an awkward staring contest.
The elf volunteered for first watch on her own.
"You don't have to force yourself. Usually, people draw lots for watch shifts."
"It's fine. My pack was the lightest on the march here anyway, wasn't it?"
That was the excuse she gave, sure, but she was probably just feeling self-conscious.
It wasn't like she'd slacked off, but compared to me and the dwarf, she hadn't played much of a role in our fights today.
"We'll do it that way, then."
Pretending not to notice why she was volunteering, I lay down on one side of the cave.
The floor was hard, uneven, and uncomfortable as hell, but none of that really mattered right now.
The tension I hadn't been able to let go of for hours melted away all at once, my body went limp, and my eyelids grew heavy.
"..."
My first day in the labyrinth was coming to a close.
Not that there was any point getting sentimental about it.
Tomorrow would probably be the exact same thing all over again.
"..."
Still, no need to despair.
I survived today one way or another.
As long as tomorrow goes just like today, we'll be fine.
"..."
Alright, that's enough thinking for tonight.
"..."
I've finished my mental diary entry.
"..."
I'm out of inner monologues, too.
"..."
Which means it's time to actually fall asleep.
"..."
So why—
"..."
Am I not falling asleep?
"..."
No, I can't fall asleep at all.
Even though exhaustion is weighing down my entire body.
"..."
Even though my eyelids keep drooping shut.
"..."
My mind showed zero sign of powering down.
'...What the hell is this?'
Don't tell me "Yuta" suffers from insomnia?
Or is my modern soul instinctively refusing to fall asleep on the bare floor of this dangerous, primitive cave?
Maybe because of how surreal this whole situation is, my nerves feel a bit on edge, too.
That was when it happened.
Just as I was lying there bewildered by this sudden bout of insomnia—
Step.
Step.
Footsteps began to echo down the passage.
They drew steadily closer, followed before long by voices.
"What's this? Was there a structure like this here too?"
"Hrm... I'm not sure either, but looking at the map, this is definitely the right way. Let's smash it down first."
Next came a sharp CRACK! as the stalactite wall shattered, and from behind the collapsing barricade, unwelcome guests stepped into view.
Still pretending to be asleep, I cracked my eyes open a slit and sized them up first.
'Five of them.'
Their gear specs were slightly above ours.
A first-floor party that had only barely shed their beginner status.
"Oh, there are people here! They aren't dead, right?"
"Looks like they're sleeping."
"One look tells you they're total beginners. Hey there, need a hand with anything?"
On the surface, they sounded like friendly, upstanding novice Explorers.
And yet...
'Why do I have such a rotten feeling about this?'
Something felt off.
Still lying on the ground, I slid my fingertips over and wrapped them around the shaft of my spear.