"Everyone," Murray hollered. "Time to group up."

Nuri opened his eyes.

He grabbed his sword and approached the extinguished bonfire. Diana and Murray were already there, talking quietly before they noticed Nuri.

"Had a good nap?" Murray asked.

"Yeah, thanks to y’all."

Diana smiled at him.

"Glad to hear it."

She scooted over to make room for him.

"Oh!" she suddenly exclaimed. "We’ve got jerky if you want some before we head out."

She handed out packets of jerky.

Nuri sat beside Diana and took one.

"Thanks. I was starting to worry my stomach would grumble in the caves."

Hugo was still napping like there was no tomorrow, so Murray, irritated, went to jolt him awake. The family had gathered, at last.

Diana turned to Nuri.

"I just sent you a party invitation."

[Diana has invited you to their party. Accept or decline?]

Nuri accepted the invitation.

[Party multiplier is increased to x1.6 XP/Coins.]

’Multiplier... Dang, maybe I should’ve waited.’

Nuri started to regret being impatient. Now that he had a Painted — essentially an Imprint — his Star Rating had increased to 1.0. That meant he wouldn’t be able to enjoy that sweet double multiplier on a +1.0 differential. A 1-Star was now his equal.

But now that he had decided to join the party, he had to be smart. These guys could become witnesses if the Investigative Unit ever came for him. If he appeared to have no Imprint this late, well past the thirty-minute mark for an Essence to disappear, it could be used as evidence against him.

It might be just paranoia, but in this hellhole of a world, meticulousness was the only armor he could trust.

"Let’s introduce ourselves properly. Your Level, Star Rating or Constellation, and a short introduction to your powers."

Diana nodded.

"Sounds good. I’ll go first. I’m a Level 3 Explorer, Second Constellation. I’m like a fire mage with some healing abilities on the side."

Murray spoke next.

"Level 3 Explorer, Second Constellation, swordsman. I focus on weak points to deal as much damage as possible."

Hugo, eyes still half-closed, said:

"Level 4, Second Constellation, tank. I tank. All you need to know."

’Helpful, as always.’

These were normal stats for the average Explorer. Due to the nature of the Labyrinth, all three of them wouldn’t gain a single XP from 1-Star mobs. A Second Constellation — meaning a 2.0 Star Rating or higher — would be penalized for killing a 1-Star mob, gaining no XP and only half of the base LC gain.

That was why most Explorers were stuck below Level 5 and a 3.0 Star Rating, because the progress curve was too steep for them to handle.

It also prevented powerful families or guilds from giving high-Star Essences to their offspring or subordinates during their first few years of exploring. If Yunara, for example, used her father’s connections to obtain a 6-Star Essence and consumed it right after her first run, her Star Rating would average out to 3.5.

What would happen next was that Yunara would be stuck at Level 1, because the 1st Floor didn’t have any 3-Star Monsters to negate the differential. She couldn’t go down to the other floors either, because your level determines which floors you can access.

The Labyrinth was fair, maybe too fair, but that quality was the only thing Nuri liked about it.

He spoke last.

"Level 1, First Constellation, swordsman. I apply poison."

Hugo perked up.

"Wow, kid. You already consumed an Essence, and it has a poison effect, at that?"

Nuri immediately denied.

"No, no. The Explorer Academy gives Essences to its top students."

"Tsk. Lucky youngsters. We had to grind our asses off."

"Stop whining, Hugo," Diana chimed in. "We might be able to earn faster with his poison. Think about that!"

Hugo nodded.

"True, true."

Murray clapped.

"Then we have a solid team here. Two damage dealers, one tank, and one control."

He turned to Nuri.

"You’ll whittle down the monsters with poison. Slow them, or disrupt their attack rhythm. Work with Hugo. We’ll handle the rest."

Nuri nodded, chewing on jerky as he replied:

"Understood."

"Good. We move."

The four of them rose together. Hugo shouldered his big-ass shield and rolled his neck, while Diana settled her staff against the crook of her arm. Murray took point, his eyes already on the mouth of the path leading deeper in.

"Hugo, you’re up front with me," Murray said over his shoulder. "Diana, middle. Nuri, you go behind — you’re our watchman at the back. Holler if anything approaches."

"Got it."

They fell into the formation and stepped out of the cave.

The path narrowed as they descended, and a faint clicking drifted up from somewhere ahead.

Diana slowed and drifted a little closer to Nuri.

"This path has a lot of wolves — mostly Steel Wolves. They lunge fast, but it’s one-directional, so it’s easier to dodge."

"You guys gotta know every route in the 1st Floor, right?"

She hesitantly nodded.

"Well... mostly. Sometimes we still get dropped into unfamiliar terrain, but we find our way back pretty quickly. Then we map out our farming routes before heading down to the 2nd Floor."

Nuri nodded, intrigued. Even though they had been down here for six years, and even longer for Hugo, there was still unfamiliar territory. It just went to show how huge the Labyrinth was.

"So this must be along the farming routes you’ve planned," he inferred.

"Yep. We did hogs earlier."

Hogs were one of the easiest 1-Star creatures to farm as a newbie, so it made sense.

Ahead, the path opened into a chamber. Four Steel Wolves waited for them, prowling over the stone with their snouts low. One lifted its head and locked eyes with them instantly.

—Awooooo!

"Hugo, Nuri — front!" Murray barked. "Diana, take on one of them when they split! We’ll take three."

Hugo planted his shield and stepped forward without a word. Nuri moved up beside him and locked onto the closest wolf.

"Phew, alright."

The pack split. They were smart enough to target from multiple angles instead of just one side. Two surged at Hugo and Nuri, while the other two angled wide toward Murray and Diana.