"Before we descend further into this hellish abyss, you must train and improve your stats here. Once everyone reaches level 20, we can proceed beyond the 30th floor."
"With that said, let us begin moving."
"Understood!"
As we continued walking along the pitch-black path, I gradually let my guard down while my classmates engaged in casual conversation. I spent my time conversing with Akari throughout the journey.
Suddenly, an army of Dread Skeletons appeared before us. Without hesitation, Daichi charged forward, followed by the other four students. Drawing his sword, Daichi engaged the skeletons, underestimating their strength. Unbeknownst to them, they were soon surrounded by a swarm of monsters, hemmed in with no escape.
"Damn it! We're surrounded."
"Quick, form a tight formation around me!"
"Form a Phalanx!"
"We're all going to die."
"Stay calm, Kenji. If you don't want to die, quickly create an escape route!"
They swiftly formed a tightly closed formation while encircled by the army of Dread Skeletons. Overwhelmed by the sheer numbers and with their mana depleted, they decided to seek refuge in the lower part of the labyrinth.
Kazuki managed to find a way to evade certain death, sprinting through the chaos and finding a safe spot. Daichi's party followed suit, fighting their way through the encroaching horde.
"panting Is... is everyone okay?"
"Yes."
"Yes."
"All good, just a scratch, but I can still fight."
Everyone checked themselves for wounds, relieved to find that no one had been hit, except for one.
"Oh no, you're wounded. Don't worry, I can take care of it."
Akari inspected the wound and began chanting spells.
"By earth, sky, and the energy of light, heal this body with all my might. Arcane Resurgence!"
"I'm healed."
"Thank you, Akari-chan."
"No problem."
They sighed in relief. While my party took the opportunity to rest, I decided to scout our surroundings.
"Hey, chief, what floor do you think we're on?"
"I believe we're on the 2nd floor."
I sat down before we continued moving, looking up at my status. My party's morale had been lowered since the ambush on the first floor of the labyrinth, but I was confident they would cheer up. It was their first time experiencing something like this.
"Now you understand why we need to gain experience to protect ourselves."
"Yes, I understand."
"Stay alert. Before we proceed to the 2nd floor, here's the plan: we're going to counterattack those skeletons, and I want all of you to work together."
"Follow my orders, and you'll be okay."
Returning to the first floor prepared, we approached slowly, and once again, a group of dread skeletons appeared. This time, however, we knew what to do.
"Fighter classes, fend them off. Mages act as support in the backline. Healers, be ready to aid your comrades."
"Yes, chief."
A swarm of skeletons approached, and I shifted my focus onto the incoming enemies, drawing my sword. Parrying every attack, I defeated them one by one.
"Daichi, look out!"
"Huh?"
Daichi nearly got caught off guard.
"Daichi-san, stay focused on the game."
"You don't have to tell me twice."
"Flames of fury, answer my call, bring swift and tall destruction. Burn my enemies, scorch and sear, with this fire attack, I show no fear! Inferno Blaze!"
A devastating barrage of fire rained down from above, wreaking havoc on the dread skeletons and eliminating them all.
"We've defeated them. We finally did it."
"And look, we gained experience. Check your status."
Name: Suzuki Shizuku
Age: 16 years old
Level: 29
Class: Mage
Power: 56
Resistance: 20
Recovery: 19
Dexterity: 21
"Wow, you're right. I gained experience too."
After eliminating the remaining dread skeletons, Kazuki and his classmates gained experience and raised their levels. Kazuki reached level 28, the same as his party members.
Kazuki unlocked some skills for his class. Despite others claiming that a Rogue-type class is useless in combat, especially in the labyrinth where monsters were twice as strong as those on the surface, Kazuki believed the Mercenary class held potential.
"Has everyone checked their levels?"
"Yes, chief."
"Alright, good. For every level you reach from 10 to 50, you gain a perk to enhance your stats like Defense, Resistance, Agility, and Strength. However, the possibilities vary depending on your chosen class. Other classes may receive different skills, and some rare classes can reverse engineer their stats."
Kazuki listened carefully to the Head Knight's words, considering the information as he started strategizing how to strengthen his class. Before taking any action, he thought carefully about the consequences of imitating different classes under one perk.
Perks were class-gained traits that could be unlocked at level 20. There were numerous perks for each class. For example, the Guardian class had damage-enhancing perks, defence build-up perks, and magic-resistant perks. As a Mercenary, a dark class under the Rogue path, Kazuki had access to these perks only if he changed his mood and personality. He needed to delve deeper to discover them.
"Let's move on to the next floor."
We continued clearing the remaining floors, defeating every floor guardian and gaining enough experience to reach level 50. All of the party members had stronger stats and unique perks. However, as we arrived at the 62nd floor, the monsters grew more powerful.
Ravensfield Labyrinth.
62nd Floor.
The entrance resembled a cave with sparkling crystals adorning its walls. My party arrived at the 62nd floor, aware of the situation, and cast a teleportation spell as a precautionary measure.
"So, this is it, huh? The 62nd floor."
"A floor that no adventurers have explored."
"We will be the first to conquer it."
As we walked toward the centre, I noticed an odd structure that resembled a monument. It piqued our curiosity.
"Hey, guys, I think there's something written here, but I don't know what it means."
"Hmm, something is glowing underneath."
"I'll go check it out."
"Hey, what do you think you're doing!?"
"HEY, DON'T TOUCH THAT!"
Everyone exclaims.
"Arghhh!!!"
And just like that, my party was teleported to an unknown location. I opened my eyes and found myself in a coliseum.
In front of us, a wave of Golems, Minotaurs, and Undead entities was heading straight for us.
Due to my classmates' recklessness, we were now facing certain death with no escape. Shocked, filled with fear and desperation, I searched for a way out, but all we could do was fight for our survival. Here, trapped in an unknown palace, surrounded by monsters ready to feast on our bodies, my journey as a high school student in another world began.