Eunice saw it clearly.

The moment when one of the greatest swordsmen of this era—Ziel—was engulfed by a beam of light that shot out from the main chamber.

The moment when his well-trained upper left torso and lower body were severed at the waist, the light scorching even the exposed blood vessels that should have erupted in a crimson spray.

And even as half his face was obliterated, he still reached out to Eunice and Lililia, shoving them out of the range of that fatal beam.

"⟨Oh, stars—"

As he began chanting the incantation.

Eunice's vision shifted again, revealing a new sight.

A blindingly intense light that seared the eyes. It was likely the harbinger of the beam's second shot.

"—fall to—"

Then, Lililia threw herself over Eunice as if to shield him.

The greatest holy magic user, unable to cast a protective spell, melted away in that light.

That beam burned through Lililia’s body and reached Eunice.

In that infinitesimal moment, Eunice chanted the spell.

"—the east!⟩"

Without knowing whether the voice was of his flesh or his soul.

But he completed it.

And so, time rewound.

By just one second.

Body and consciousness existed.

But the soul was not in that place.

So, to catch up with the soul, he ran.

There was no other reason for Ziel to move.

Blinding light shone with an intensity that seemed on the verge of explosion.

Through the hazy vision, that alone was clear. But it would take a bit longer for his thoughts to catch up, so Ziel didn’t yet understand what it all meant.

Perhaps, if he had grasped the light's nature, a nostalgic feeling might have surfaced. But at that moment, there was only one thing within him.

A move he had visualized countless times.

A move he had practiced endlessly, perfecting it with his own hands.

In that fleeting instant, Ziel became eternal.

He was the lone entity, moving freely within a desolate plane of isolated time, unbound by the concept of moments.

The secret sword technique ⟨Moonlit Dream⟩.

Like the moon, shining without waiting for the sun's light.

It surpassed even the speed of light—the very strike that had once laid him to rest.

"—ah,"

The death cry was pitifully brief.

With a gush, a mist sprayed out.

The moment the unsheathed sword was sheathed with a clink.

"Huh—?"

Finally, his body and consciousness reclaimed his soul.

Because he had caught up to the soul that had raced ahead to slay the enemy.

A heavy sound echoed as the beast of the floor fell.

"What… was that just now—"

In stunned disbelief, Ziel muttered.

The memories were there.

The moment he stepped into the main chamber, the floor master ambushed him—or no, that was an excuse. The master had struck faster than he could react, burning his body to cinders.

The nerves hadn’t numbed the pain quickly enough.

Even in those few brief moments, the agony was unimaginable—so severe that no hope for survival could have existed.

And yet, why?

Why was he alive now, standing here with the sensation of having defeated the floor master still fresh in his hands?

And this unfamiliar feeling coursing through his body—

"Stay still, Eunice," Lililia’s voice called out.

Almost simultaneously, a wet cough rang out.

"…Eunice?"

That’s right—the two of them!

Ziel hurried toward the voice. It was quite a distance away. He could hardly believe he had closed that gap in an instant during his previous strike. The sensation confirmed his suspicions.

"What happened?"

When he asked, Lililia didn’t respond. Instead, the sound of bloody coughing filled the silence, followed by Eunice’s reply.

"Ha… ha… I… overdid it…"

"I didn’t say you could talk."

A dull thud followed.

"…Hey," Ziel asked, somewhat incredulous.

Now closer, he could vaguely make out the situation even without his glasses. The red hue was vivid. Eunice had likely sustained injuries, losing an enormous amount of blood, and Lililia appeared to be treating him. The sacred glow of holy magic confirmed this assumption.

At the same time, he saw Lililia’s hand move, striking Eunice’s head.

"Lililia, did you just hit an injured person—?"

"I’ll heal him later, so it’s fine."

Her tone brooked no argument.

Calm yet oddly intimidating, Ziel decided to check on Eunice’s condition instead. "Hey, Eunice—"

"Don’t make me angry."

"…"

"Sit down and wait. This will take a while."

"…Yes, ma’am." Ziel obediently sat cross-legged on the ground.

"Man, I thought I was going to die."

Thirty minutes later.

Eunice sat up and spoke in a clear voice.

"No, I did die. Completely. Ziel’s mentor was right. If you get cocky, you’ll pay the price. From now on, I’ll live humbly."

His usual chatter restored, Ziel felt a wave of relief.

They were speaking inside the main chamber.

The floor master’s other monsters wouldn’t enter this room, and with it defeated, it became a convenient base.

Lililia had even sanctified the area multiple times for safety, so for now, they could rest without fear of sudden attacks.

Finally, Ziel asked the question that had been on his mind.

"What was that earlier…?"

"I rewound time. By one second."

In an audacious tone, Eunice explained.

"One of the reasons I’m certified as a Archmage is this."

"Oh, that’s the new spell you mentioned?"

"Exactly. It’s an ancient secret I discovered at the edge of the stars. Normally, it requires extensive preparation under specific astral conditions, but…"

Eunice shrugged.

"I forced it. Originally, it doesn’t rewind much time, so it’s an impressive magic with limited applications. Still, thanks to you defeating the floor master within that one second, it wasn’t a wasted effort."

"Thanks," Eunice added.

"And Lililia. Without your protection, I wouldn’t have been able to complete the incantation or restore my body after sacrificing my innards for the spell."

"…Innards?" Ziel blurted out, horrified.

"Oh, yeah. Without astral energy, the only thing I could wager was my life force. After rewinding time, my insides… well, boom! It was like a balloon exploding."

"Boom, huh."

"Yeah, boom," Eunice confirmed.

"Not funny. Lie down."

"Actually, thanks to Lililia, I feel great. She’s not just a saint—she should call herself a Grand Saint."

"I just might," Lililia chimed in.

Her calm yet unsettling tone silenced Ziel.

And so, the three let out a deep sigh.

Anyway, they understood that if even one of them had been absent, the three of them wouldn’t be standing together in this place now. So, they exchanged heartfelt words of gratitude with one another, saying “Thank you” over and over.

And then, they began discussing what lay ahead.

“...Ziel. Do you think you could keep beating the floor bosses like you did earlier?”

At Eunice’s question, Ziel clenched his fist with a troubled expression.

“...Honestly, I don’t know. That was probably because of Awakening.”

“Ah, so it really was.”

“It’s the same for you two, right?”

Lililia nodded.
“I really felt my Rank rise. Without that, Eunice-kun wouldn’t have been able to move yet.”

“Probably. The only reason I could use the Secret Art of Restoration back then was thanks to the effects of Awakening right after Experience. Normally, you can’t use it like that.”

There’s a phenomenon called Experience.

It’s not something formally defined by anyone, nor is it something that the average person living their life would ever consciously think about.

But for people like them, it’s undoubtedly a phenomenon they’ve all heard of at least once.

Experience occurs, as the name suggests, at moments of intense experiences.

To put it simply, it happens during life-or-death situations.

Or when encountering a being far more powerful than oneself, or defeating such an opponent. Overcoming grueling trials. For mages, it might be a moment of gaining profound insight into a great truth, a moment of overwhelming cognition.

At such moments, the phenomenon known as Experience occurs, which can significantly enhance a person’s abilities.

In the short term, it manifests as a state called Awakening, enabling them to exhibit outputs previously thought impossible. Ziel’s earlier defeat of the floor boss in a single strike was likely due to this effect.

In the long term, it results in Rank advancement—a stage of extreme growth so drastic that it feels like stepping into a completely different league. While it’s theoretically possible to attain the same strength through continuous growth, the presence of Experience can greatly shorten the time required, making it a major determinant of a warrior or mage’s true ability.

As for them...

“This is my third time, I think.”

“Oh, same here. It’s my third time too.”

“Me too~! We’re all in the three-time club!”

For adventurers, it’s not uncommon to live their whole lives without a single Experience. Yet these three young individuals had already gone through it three times.

“Is the effect of Awakening still there? Mine’s probably gone.”

“Same here. Looks like I used it all up.”

“I feel like I still have a tiny bit left, but… probably just a little.”

“Then it’s down to our raw abilities...”

Ziel lightly touched his sheathed sword and said:

“Let’s turn back.”

He thought it was a reasonable suggestion.

They’d gone through an Experience. Their base abilities had grown. Ziel thought that he might now be as strong as his master had been during the slaying of the poison dragon. However, he lacked confidence in his ability to survive another encounter with a boss of this rank without the effects of Awakening.

He hadn’t let his guard down when he was nearly incinerated by the beam.

It was a pure result of an honest contest of strength that left him swatted aside like an insect.

The world is vast, and his strength still didn’t measure up to its scale.

He had come to terms with that realization.

“Staying alive is the top priority. It’ll take time to return to the upper levels, but that’s better than never being able to return.”

He now fully understood the meaning of this labyrinth’s name, Never to See the Sky Again.

“...That’s what I’d like to do, but...”

Eunice’s reaction, however, was hesitant.

This surprised Ziel.

While Eunice had a tendency for overconfidence, Ziel had come to understand over the past two months of traveling together that his words were usually grounded in objective analysis rather than thoughtless bravado.

“Do you have a reason?”

“...There’s something that’s been bothering me. Lililia.”

He turned to her.

“Yeah?”

“The floor boss that Ziel just defeated—that was an Apocryphal Beast, wasn’t it? How strong was it?”

Lililia paused for a moment.

“...Hmm, should I say it?”

“Go ahead. I have a guess.”

“What about you, Ziel?”

“...I don’t mind.”

Ziel was puzzled by the question but didn’t interrupt.

“It was mid-tier. And probably, in terms of direct combat strength, one of the weaker ones.”

“What—?!”

Hearing that, Ziel felt his hopes diminish.

“That... thing?”

“That thing.”

“...Ah, I see. So my guess was correct. Can you tell me more?”

“Sure. At this point, I might as well spill everything,” Lililia said with a sigh.

“The Orchestra is a type of bird—or bird-like creature, I guess. It usually commands lower-tier minions called Instruments—also bird-like—and attacks in organized swarms. Its specialty is overwhelming enemies through sheer numbers. The troublesome part is its powerful support abilities, which significantly enhance its minions, making them about as strong as something between lower- and mid-tier on their own. It’s a real nightmare in group battles. Our mentor Rustie said, ‘Just take out the main body quickly.’”

“Take out the main body, huh...”

“Did Rustie really talk like that? I mean, tone-wise, not content-wise.”

Lililia chuckled.

“But Ziel,” she continued, “there weren’t any Instruments in this room. Could it have been a different type?”

“No, look at its forehead—oh, wait, you probably can’t see it, huh?”

Lililia explained, “Apocryphal Beasts always have a numbered magic circle somewhere on their body. That’s how you can identify them. That one was definitely an Orchestra.”

“...I see.”

Ziel closed his eyes tightly, accepting the truth.

The one who had defeated him wasn’t even a particularly strong Apocryphal Beast. Despite thinking himself humble, he had overestimated his abilities. He had been foolishly proud. Accepting that was his first step forward.

But if he accepted it, then...

“So, if we encounter an upper-tier Apocryphal Beast, there’s a good chance we’ll stand no chance against it, even after Experience.”

Considering the relative power of lower- and mid-tier creatures, that was inevitable.

“Don’t be so down,” Lililia said, patting his shoulder.

It was easier said than done, but Ziel resolved not to stop moving forward.

“Even more reason to turn back. We can’t count on another Experience happening twice or thrice in quick succession.”

“I agree. But remember when I said there’s something bothering me?”

“Yeah?”

Eunice leaned in closer.

“Ziel, you said you defeated the floor boss of the third layer, right?”

“...Yeah?”

“You said you didn’t just survive—it was you who defeated it, correct?”

The question caught Ziel off guard, but he nodded truthfully.

“That’s right. Like I said, the floor beneath us collapsed due to a comrade’s Magic Sword Release, and during the fall, I somehow managed to...”

“The third layer’s floor boss fought you even after falling out of its main chamber, right?”

“Yes. Why?”

Eunice paused before delivering his final question.

“Did you notice any numbers on its body?”

“...I can’t recall clearly, but...”

Lililia answered for him.

“If it had numbers, that means...”

Ziel pieced it together.

“Don’t tell me—the one I defeated wasn’t the floor boss?”