Chapter 107

107th Episode

Nymph Cultist and Pluto’s Underground Maze

Episode 107 – Nymph Cultist and Pluto’s Underground Maze #5

The work of adventurers affiliated with a guild can be classified into three main categories.

The first category consists of those who, in exchange for money and contribution points, either escort people or eliminate monsters. So-called mercenaries would also fall under this category.

What these individuals primarily do is wield weapons to k*ll or knock down living beings. One might say that this aligns closely with the main task of the Mars Guild, which emphasizes primitive violence. Hence, the Mars Guild tends to be filled with brutish mercenaries.

The second category comprises exploration teams venturing into uncharted territories and making new discoveries. They are akin to the explorers of the old Earth from the 19th to the early 20th centuries.

These types of individuals endeavor to uncover the mysteries of this world, which still holds many secrets, by traversing the vast continent, rugged valleys, and dense jungles.

This category is most commonly associated with the noble adventurers of the Minerva Guild. The term ‘adventure’ in the adventurer’s title fits well with this category, as discovering new creatures, minerals, and plants, and expanding knowledge and maps truly represents the essence of adventure.

Skipping ahead…

The third and final category of work that I want to talk about concerns raiding Pluto’s maze.

That’s right, raiding Pluto’s maze.

This is the main task that both the Minerva and Mars Guilds are heavily focused on.

Raiding Pluto’s maze involves fighting the monsters lying dormant inside and bringing rare artifacts up to the surface to be sold in markets. It’s nothing more, and nothing less.

Similar to the gold rush that once made European powers dig into every mountain, the lure of this seemingly endless treasure attracts every guild and adventurer alike.

That is Pluto’s maze raiding in a nutshell.

As for me, Hassan of Samaria, I’m a complete newbie in matters of mercenary work or exploration.

Still, when it comes to raiding Pluto’s maze, I consider myself quite knowledgeable among bronze-tier adventurers. After all, I’ve entered various mazes over a dozen times as baggage handler for Elpride.

And based on that experience, I can confidently state that exploring a maze with a team of five is clearly a dangerous proposition.

“So, Hassan of Samaria, are you suggesting we remove one member?”

After sharing my thoughts, Hippolyte, who was leaning against a corner of the Sodomora gate, furrowed her brow.

She looked like a teacher hearing a student’s tattle-tale, appearing somewhat weary. Clearly, she didn’t like my suggestion.

“There’s less than an hour before the expedition sets out. I’m not sure what you’re trying to say all of a sudden.”

“Given your long experience as an adventurer, Hippolyte, surely you must know the challenges of Pluto’s maze? While seven or eight members could work, wouldn’t five be too risky?”

“Ah, Hassan, I see what you’re getting at now. You’re concerned with the difficulty scaling according to party size?”

“Yes, exactly.”

High-tier adventurers, as expected, quickly grasp the point. Pluto’s maze doesn’t function like a simple structure. It behaves more like an organism, adjusting dynamically to the number of entrants.

Because of this, the traps and number of monsters encountered inside the maze can increase as the party size grows.

If we had to draw a comparison, imagine a game dungeon where difficulty rises with more players.

This is why large-scale expeditions, including those by the kingdom’s knights, struggle to succeed. The maze’s difficulty spikes exponentially with larger parties.

From what I’ve gathered, the difficulty begins to rise significantly at the multiples of five. The difficulty gap between a party of four and five is significantly noticeable—it’s like the mode shifting from Easy to Normal or Normal to Hard!

Given this, it was surprising that the Mars Guild’s higher-ups would devise a team of exactly five members. I couldn’t help but question Hippolyte on it.

Her response was simple:

“If maze exploration were too easy, it wouldn’t be a challenge but a stroll, would it? That wouldn’t be fun, would it?”

“Fun…?”

“Yes. Fun. Fun has many facets: the fun of slaughter, the fun of injury, the fun of growth, and the fun of rewards.”

Just what kind of fun is this? And what in the world is ‘fun of injury’? Who finds getting hurt fun?

“Ah… Hippolyte, you certainly have a broad view of fun.”

“View…?”

Perhaps sensing my lukewarm reaction, Hippolyte glanced around to ensure no one else was listening before continuing,

“Samaritan. You seem quite knowledgeable about the maze. Your point is sensible, but you’re half-informed.”

“What am I missing?”

“Difficulty is meaningless unless it presents a challenge. The greater the difficulty, the more Karma we accumulate, which will raise our ranking.”

“Are you saying the higher difficulty will yield higher rewards?”

“Exactly. Five is the optimal number for this balance. Silver-tier adventurers and the heroes wearing gold necklaces have always found five to work best.”

Hippolyte evidently considers five members the perfect balance for tackling increased maze difficulty and securing better rewards.

While this could be quite reasonable, wouldn’t this only apply when the five all share a cohesive team dynamic and pull their own weight?

Top, Mid, Jungle, Bot Duo… while calculating these team compositions,

“This expedition’s members have been carefully selected from the guild’s top prospects. As long as each of them sticks to their role, there won’t be any significant hurdles.”

Hippolyte casually replied and left.

*

It was still that dim, somber time before dawn.

Four people were already waiting for me in front of the West Gate.

Among them, the first person I noticed was Luna. She was sitting casually on her oversized baggage while looking around.

“Hassan! Over here!”

Seeing Luna swing her hand made me feel slightly more at ease. It’s better to have at least one ally rather than starting out alone in unfamiliar territory.

“Everyone’s here.”

With Luna’s statement, I glanced over the faces gathered for this expedition. Among them were an armored dwarf, a short rod-wielding witch, and the nymph cultist Paranoi.

Gukgit.

When Paranoi and I locked eyes, I noticed a hint of anger flicker in her crimson-streaked eyes. What’s with the hostility? Then I realized—

“Oh.”

Hippolyte must have revealed that it was me who subdued Schizo yesterday.

Even someone as dimwitted as Paranoi would understand that I wasn’t a cultist of Pluto’s maze. Perhaps she felt betrayed.

Could she be sensing a betrayal?

It already feels like things might go poorly from the start.

It’s like meeting a teammate from the last game who troll-played and berated them heavily, but then you’re paired up again. Exactly that feeling.

Moreover, the piercing stares directed at me made me feel like I couldn’t breathe. It’s a bit like disliking being team leader for a group project.

“Hmm, alright. Before we set out, since we might be together for several days, let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Hassan of Samaria. I’ve somehow ended up as the party leader for this expedition.”

After that, I racked my brain thinking what else I should say, but nothing came to mind. The awkward introduction ended just like that, and Luna was the only one who clapped enthusiastically in the otherwise stiff atmosphere.

And then, as before, Luna shouted boldly,

“I’m Luna, the daughter of Ideope! The illustrious daughter of the Night! I look forward to working with you all!”

“Indeed, you’re from Ideope.”

Contrary to the awkward silence after my own introduction, Luna’s received a small gasp of admiration. Paranoi, who had been quietly glaring at me, chimed in.

“If you’re from Ideope, do you know Somnia?”

“Of course! I gave her a beat-down! This obsidian dagger and these talismans? All taken from Somnia!”

“Wh-, what?”

“Ahem, uh, next! Next is… who…?”

Interjecting hastily to stop the brewing conflict between Luna and Paranoi, I turned to the dwarf.

“Why don’t you introduce yourself next, Mr. Dwarf?”

“Me? You talking about me?”

Startled by my words, the dwarf, wearing a horned helmet, trembled and appeared quite shy.

“Uh, hmm, hmm, introductions… Hmm, uh…”

Despite his size and massive twin-bladed axe, he seemed surprisingly timid.

“Starting introductions so suddenly feels awkward. Hehe, what should I say? I didn’t even think about this.”

“Roughly would be fine.”

“Roughly, uh, okay. I’ll do that. Uh, I’m Didier, son of Trogzir. I don’t have a girlfriend yet… uh, my ideal type is someone like Goddess Vesta—someone warm and broad-minded, like a cozy hearth. Someone who wouldn’t nag when I’m cooped up in the forge for days but instead brings meals on time.”

“Ah-.”

Why is this shorty suddenly talking about girls? But then again, people in this world might get flustered and ramble if they’re not used to introducing themselves.

Even I, despite participating in countless study group meetings, always find introductions awkward.

“Height doesn’t matter as long as the weight is low…”

Watching Didier ramble about his ideal figure for women made me feel uneasy. There were three women in this party, and all of them were glaring coldly at him. This expedition might get rough!

“Uh, Didier-san, what about talents? Any particular skills?”

“Skills? Ah, I like making pancakes. If you add Basque honey to flour from the Sodom Plains, the pancakes turn out really good!”

Pancake-making skills, huh? That’s quite impressive!

Then why is this guy wielding a double-bladed axe? Is that supposed to be some kind of cooking tool?

“That’s enough, I think. Now, the one left is…”

As my gaze moved over to the woman mage with long blue hair and the red-haired nymph, I momentarily hesitated under Paranoi’s unrelenting stare, which felt quite bothersome.

“Next, nymph, you go ahead.”

“Wh-, wait, me?”

Surprisingly startled by being called, the nymph cultist Paranoi hesitated.

“I need some time to think… Hmm, uh… I, I’m Paranoi, a necromancer… But if I can’t use Pluto’s magic anymore, I might not be able to practice necromancy… Uh, then who am I? What can I do? How do I think?”

Don’t come to me for answers. Why are you asking me for a self-introduction?

I suddenly worried whether this nymph would be able to hold her own in the dungeon. With this kind of mindset, she might unintentionally trigger traps and end up being nothing but trouble for us.

As I was mulling this over,

“Paranoi, we can check what you can do once we enter the maze.”

Quietly observing everyone’s introductions, Luna suddenly voiced her opinion.

“Check?”

“Yeah! Nymphs are blessed by the gods, so you must be capable of something!”

“Wh-, really? Could I?”

“And nymphs also make good potion ingredients! If you’re not sure what to do, just come to me. I’ll make good use of you!”

“Kyaa!”

d*mn, I’ve messed this up.

That left only one person.

I resolved to end this peculiar round of self-promotion as quickly as possible by hearing the final introduction.

“Alright, last but not least—your turn to introduce yourself, Miss Mage.”

“Hmph, I don’t listen to those weaker than myself. Keep that in mind, savage.”

What the hell. Some kind of Black WarGreymon.

[Author’s Note]

Kadeom! PotatoServer! WindColor! Datejiru! Pulu! And Nuo13! Thank you so much for the sponsorship coupons!

And to everyone who sent in manuscript fees coupons as well!

Today, the finished illustrations are made possible by your generous coupons!

And I, Michuri, have succeeded in tempering these pictures with your coupons!

Thank you once again to everyone who has commented and recommended!

Keng Keng!!

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