Approximately four hours had passed since the commencement of the Labyrinth Conquest.

The spectators in the First Training Ground—primarily students and instructors—had been enthralled by the fierce clashes between factions and the intense battles against monsters. However, in stark contrast to this fervent atmosphere, the men actually participating in the Labyrinth Conquest—those of the Roaring Thunder Faction —remained eerily quiet.

Initially, it was expected that they would recklessly charge through the labyrinth, bringing a swift end to the conquest. Contrary to those expectations, however, their progress was remarkably leisurely. Their slow, deliberate pace was reminiscent of an elderly gentleman taking a casual stroll, a sight so mundane that it bordered on frustrating for the spectators.

“Oi, does the Roaring Thunder Faction even care about this?!”

“This is bullshit! My whole future is riding on this!”

“Fight like your life depends on it!”

Even when they finally encountered monsters, the battles concluded before the magical recording devices could capture their movements. This only exacerbated the audience's dissatisfaction. The training ground was soon filled with jeers, yet none of these voices reached the faction members. They simply continued forward, slowly but steadily, until, in just four hours, they reached the passage leading to the fourth floor.

This sudden advancement left the once-complaining spectators in stunned silence. While other factions had already entered the fourth floor, considering the Roaring Thunder Faction’s seemingly lackluster progress, it was still astonishing that they had covered such a distance. In fact, compared to the two factions that had reached the fourth floor ahead of them, their movements seemed far too minimal.

Yet, ignorant of the audience’s reactions, the leader of the Roaring Thunder Faction, Jade Calamity, let out a bored yawn.

“Finally, the deepest floor… This Labyrinth Conquest is so dull.”

“Well, for us, this labyrinth is barely even low-tier. That said, we can’t let our guard down. There are already other factions down there—”

“Yeah, yeah, I get it. Don’t get so uptight, Roushe.”

Jade waved his hand dismissively at the warning from the large man with a distinctive braided ponytail.

Roushe sighed in exasperation, while a black-haired female student beside him spoke up.

“I wonder if that guy who picked a fight with Jade the other day is already down there?”

“Claym Bradley, huh… Hard to say. His faction was packed with elite members when I last saw them before we entered. Considering that, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were already ahead of us.”

Roushe replied thoughtfully, arms crossed in contemplation. Seeing this, Jade scoffed.

“Hah! Whether he’s there or not, we’ll run into him eventually if he’s in this Labyrinth Conquest. Hell, maybe we should just grab the crown and wait for his faction to come to us.”

“You sure seem interested in Claym. You were so pissed off when you first met him.”

“Shut up. That was entirely his fault for provoking me. But the moment we crossed swords, I knew—he’s the same as me. I can’t wait to finish what we started.”

Jade’s excitement was evident, prompting the ever-serious Roushe to interject.

“First, we need to accomplish our goal. So far, no magical devices have reported any factions obtaining the crown. That means as soon as we enter the fourth floor, a battle against another faction is inevitable. Stay alert.”

“Yeah, yeah, I got it. You really need to learn how to loosen up, Roushe.”

Jade’s flippant response left Roushe groaning in frustration.

“Hmph… That’s just how I’ve been since childhood…”

Such exchanges were common within the Roaring Thunder Faction. Despite their differing backgrounds and social standings, they got along as though they had grown up together. Their banter was more akin to playful teasing than anything serious.

All the while, their feet carried them down the connecting passage’s staircase, and before they realized it, they were standing before the massive doors leading to the fourth floor. Beyond these doors lay the next stage of the labyrinth—where the crown, their ultimate objective, awaited.

Which faction would be waiting for them?

Would it be the Bronze Faction? Or perhaps the Morning Star Faction? The Alluring Faction… was likely off getting distracted somewhere. Then again, Jade’s true target, the Dragon Slayer Faction, could already be on the verge of claiming the crown. Or maybe, just maybe, no one had reached the fourth floor yet?

As they prepared to find out—

“Alright, let’s see what’s inside—huh???”

—the answer was none of the above.

Or rather, two factions had indeed reached the fourth floor ahead of them: Bronze Faction and Morning Star Faction. However, both factions’ members were sprawled across the ground, their bodies covered in blood and grievous wounds.

“What… is this?”

At first glance, it seemed like a brutal battle over the crown had taken place between the two factions. However, something was off.

Even in a faction war, there should have been at least one survivor to claim the crown. These were people fighting with everything they had—someone should have been left standing. Yet, the scene before them showed an equal number of casualties: five from each faction, making a total of ten corpses.

This was unnatural.

In this final selection process, most things were permitted, but one rule was absolute: “No killing.”

Yet here it was, a massacre.

Furthermore, every participant had been given a magical device to alert the organizers in case of emergencies. And yet, the devices remained eerily silent.

Scanning the area, they noticed the destroyed remains of the labyrinth’s monitoring fairies—Dungeon Pixies—meant to oversee the competition. Judging from the wreckage, these were smashed before they could raise the alarm. That explained why the magical devices hadn’t reacted either.

—What the hell happened here?

That question echoed in everyone’s mind.

Except for one person.

“Hmm… you guys aren’t the ones either.”

“?!”

Suddenly, the entire Roaring Thunder Faction caught the sound of an impossibly faint voice.

And just from that, an overwhelming sense of dread crawled up their spines. Instinctively, they unleashed their killing intent to defend themselves.

The voice had seemed to come from behind them, yet its source was standing right before them.

In that instant, they all recognized the presence of a single knight.

“Well then, sorry, but this is goodbye. If you must hold a grudge, blame the incompetence that led to your demise.”

With those words, the thinly shadowed knight closed the distance to Jade in an instant, slashing across his chest.

“Guh…!!?”

“Jade?!”

The wound was clearly fatal. But Jade, known as Calamity, wasn’t the type to fall so easily.

As he collapsed, he reached out and crushed one of the floating Dungeon Pixies.

‘BIBIBIBIBIBIBIBIBI!!’

At that moment, an earsplitting alarm filled the labyrinth. The alert function of the Dungeon Pixie had been activated.

“Tch… How annoying.”

The knight clicked his tongue in irritation.