AND THEN...

Resting his hand on the glowstone that lined the walls and dimly illuminated his surroundings, Ivan marveled at the labyrinth he and his classmates were visiting for the first time.

'So this is the Great Orcus Labyrinth huh…' According to Captain Meld, the entire labyrinth was actually an excavated vein of green glowstone ore.

Ivan eyed his classmates who were following as Captain Meld instructed, all filed into ranks and slowly advancing through the labyrinth. It had been a few minutes since they had entered and yet nothing of note had happened.

Ivan who was positioned at the very end of the group was actually quite disappointed, afterall he had brought many vials of his finest products to conduct tests on the monsters that inhabit this labyrinth.

As for why he was positioned at the end of the party, well that was because as a member of the non-combat job party, one of two by the way, he was to be protected by the knights in the rear Captain Meld assigned.

The only stipulation Ivan had at this was his actions would definitely not go unnoticed as he was certain Captain Meld had ordered his men to keep a strict eye on him in case he did anything stupid.

'I guess I gotta do things the old fashion way.' Equipping the bow he had asked for from Captain Meld along with the arrows he had fashioned and coated using his precious alchemical potions, Ivan readied himself for any attacks.

Though he was by no means someone deserving of the Archer class, he had studied the ways of the bow out of interest for only two months before giving up. For now it was Ivan's safest way of administering his drugs without having to put himself in too much danger.

As for how effective he was with the bow, well if he had to gauge then he'd say he could hit a target pretty accurately so long as they weren't farther than 15 meters from him. Any farther than that and he'd have to hope his hits land.

It wasn't long before the passage they were walking down opened up into a wide plaza, the students all looked around curiously before suddenly a number of gray creatures covered in fur burst out from the cracks in the wall.

Captain Meld yelled out his orders in a volume loud enough to reawaken the frozen students, "Alright, Kouki, your team's up front! Everyone else fall back! I'll have you switch in after some time, so stay sharp! These monsters are called Ratmen! They're quick on their feet, but not all that strong. Keep your cool as you fight!"

Ivan could only look on disdainfully as the rat-like creatures that stood on their hind legs rushed the group of heroes. And as expected they were wiped out in a flash, though a bit overkill all of the ratmen that had threatened to tear them apart were engulfed in a fiery blaze chanted by a few of the class' casters, leaving nothing but ash behind.

While praising the group for their successful first encounter, he had also admonished them for letting their guard down at the taste of victory. That and also reminding them that they should aim to preserve the mana crystals in the future.

It was at this point that after looking at the lackluster display of the Ratmen that Ivan came to the conclusion that his poisons and drugs should be effective for the next few floors. And after that… well he'd have to observe the creatures inhabiting those floors in order to come to another conclusion.

Meanwhile he thought of the many uses the mana crystals these monsters held could be used for. Now, what's a mana crystal? Well, you can think of it as the core of a monster; it's what made a monster a monster.

While monsters were incapable of using chants or magic circles, it were these crystals that allowed those of the stronger variety to use a single specialized spell. Ivan wasn't too interested in that, he was more interested in the similarities between the mana crystals and batteries. He had no doubts the mana crystals could be improvised to act as batteries for gadgets and maybe even autonomous beings like androids and golems.

That way he wouldn't have to constantly expend mana just to keep something powered. Essentially, mana crystals would become the 'heart' of some of his bigger works. As such, he found it important to collect as many as he can during this trip and hopefully find a way to make good use of them.

"Here they come!" Without noticing Ivan had been stuck in his own train of thought for several minutes. It was enough time for the group to encounter another pack of Ratmen.

'As expected of the first floor, they have their own version of slimes here huh~' Abiding by Captain Meld's orders and moving to the front of the group alongside the others who didn't get to participate last time, Ivan aimed the bow in hand to the closest Ratman and awaited for it to enter his range.

'50 meters… 40 meters… 25… 20.. 15 meters!' It wasn't until he had absolute certainty, Ivan released his readied arrow. Under the curious gazes of his classmates, the arrow sparked a bright yellow before lodging itself into the lunging Ratman's left leg.

It only took a moment before those yellow sparks traveled across the entire body of the Ratman, causing it to faceplant into the dirt right before Ivan's feet. Ivan only observed it to make sure it didn't make any movements before grabbing its tail and dragging it back into the safety of the group.

Meanwhile, Captain Meld awoke the stupefied students who were too distracted by Ivan's display, failing to notice that the threats had just about reached them.

Looking at his fellow classmates flailing about in panic, Ivan turned his eyes back to the paralyzed prey he had captured. Flashing a wicked grin as it displayed what it looked to him, a shudder in fear.

Pulling out the dagger made of Luta he had crafted in his bedroom from a sheath made of beast hide, Ivan firmly planted it in between the eyes of the Ratmen, effectively killing it without causing any harm to the mana crystal. He sliced open it's chest cleanly and stuck his hands where he believed the mana crystal resided, pulling out a thin and green crystal.

Though tiny, it would become a great starting point for Ivan to learn and play around with the practicality of mana crystals.

He put the mana crystal in his satchel and turned around to be greeted by a disgruntled Captain Meld, who reprimanded Ivan for abandoning his group in the middle of combat.

The scene of these children slaughtering these beasts replayed over and over again. It was at a point where Ivan heeded Captain Meld's advice and waited until all the enemies were cleared before extracting the mana crystals from his paralyzed prey.

Along the way they were met by creatures other than Ratmen, a change Ivan welcomed as the crystals these rats were producing only held a negligible amount of mana. Giant bats, ravenous dogs, spiders the size of the average human's head, they sure met a lot of weird beings on their journey to the 20 th floor.

It wasn't until the 17th floor that Ivan realized his paralysis potions were beginning to become ineffective against some of the stronger foes. That was expected to him as without his buff the paralysis potions he made were already considered 'weak' by the flavor text that appeared with each item he analyzed. With his buff only turning them from 'weak' to 'moderate,' he suspected if he wanted a greater effect than he'd have to attain stronger base materials.

Something he'd make sure to add when he speaks with the King and Pope Ishtar.

For now he'll continue to use his paralysis arrows until he runs out, from then on he would swap to his 'pleasure' poison. Using the moment a monster was incapacitated by pleasure to eliminate them.

Of course this came with the effect of having his classmates look at him warily again, though he couldn't blame them after what happened with Hiyama.

And so it wasn't until they reached the 20th floor that Ivan and his classmates were allowed a breather.

"Hey, Ivan, I hope you don't mind me speaking with you…" Ivan, who was busy wiping the blood off the arrowheads he had managed to retrieve from the corpses of the beasts he had shot, looked up to be greeted by an embarrassed Hajime.

"Hmmm, sure. Why don't ya' go ahead and take a seat across from me." Ivan didn't see any reason to decline, and besides he needed a distraction aside from recounting the mana crystals he collected and polishing his arrows.

"You see Ivan…. I just wanted to thank you for doing what you did to Hiyama." Hajime looked Ivan in the eyes before expressing his gratitude with a bow.

Ivan had expected such a thing from Hajime seeing as how it matched his character, and yet he couldn't help but laugh at the prospect of being thanked by a classmate for poisoning another classmate.

"W-Why are you laughing?! I'm just trying to sincerely express my thanks here!" Hajime turned flustered out of shame and reprimanded Ivan for his rudeness.

"No no no, it;s not that. Hahaha, ah forget it. You must've really hated that bastard huh?" Wiping a tear from his eye, Ivan recomposed himself.

"Well… it's tough to say I really hated him. It's more like I despised myself for not being strong enough to do anything at all."

Nodding in affirmation, Ivan only listened attentively while maintaining his weapons.

"But when I saw him writhe in pain, when he exposed himself shamefully to the rest of us, it was only then that I felt enjoyment for the first time in this world." Hajime looked upwards, imagining the scene again in his mind. "So once again, I want to thank you, Ivan. Thank you for helping me find some relief in this world."

Unlike his first display of gratitude, this time Hajime was completely composed, hoping to convey his heartfelt feelings to Ivan.

"Haaaaaah, if that's how you feel then I shall accept your gratitude. Though I hope you can repay it by helping me in our plan." Ivan only sighed at Hajime's display, then remembering he had to tell Hajime about the meeting.

"E-Eh? You got it set up already in the span of a day?"

"Of course, who the hell do you think I am? The sooner we get started the more time we get using the benevolence of the Kingdom~ I'll make sure to tell you when it will be held, just make sure to keep your schedule open that day."

"Well, it's not like I got anything to do besides visit the library anyways."

Their resting period ended with Captain Meld's call, and Ivan alongside his classmates began their expedition of the 20th floor.

"Hm, what's that?" It was in the final room of the floor that after wiping out a dozen parties of monsters that they discovered a hall of crystals that lined the ceiling. Considering this was their final stop for today, Captain Meld gave the go ahead for the class to rest here before they begin their excursion back to the surface.

All was well until the very ground they stood on began to rumble, "H-Huh? What the hell is going on?!" Ignoring the stupefied voices of the students, Captain Meld ordered everyone to retreat to the entrance of the room.

What emerged from the ground they once stood on was an amalgamation of crystals and rocks formed together to build what looked like a Silverback Gorilla.

"A Rockmount! Watch out for its arms, they pack quite a punch!" Giving the students one last warning before they commenced battle, Captain Meld eyed the 5 meter beast as it beat its chest.

Kouki and his group stood at the front while the mages of the class began casting their spells from the safety of the rear.

The Rockmount tried desperately to stop the chanting of the mages, only to be stopped by the tank of the class Ryutarou, who stood defensively as he took the brunt of the Rockmount's attacks.

Having enough of the stalemate, the Rockmount fell back and let out a roar that shook the room.

"GRAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

What it had just let out was a Rockmount's signature move, the 'Intimidating Roar.' A mana-infuse roar that could temporarily paralyze all who heard it. Then under the helpless eyes of those who were paralyzed, the Rockmount lifted a boulder and threw it at the mages.

The mages who awoke from their stupor aimed spells at the boulder flying towards them, but their strength turned to disgust as what was a boulder revealed itself to be a smaller Rockmount.

They lost their concentration and the spells immediately crumpled, shock turned to horror as they were helpless to stop the Rockmount hurling towards them.

Ivan who had just watched that all transpire in mere seconds, rushed to the front of the group, as he was in the back so the roar did little to affect.

Pressing his hands on the ground he closed his eyes and mustered all the mana he could before impact. Considering he was able to form a room underground using his transmutation he was quite confident he would be able to stop, or contain, the Rockmount.

BOOM

A wall of stones and crystals arose from the ground and separated the class from the flying rockmount.

CRASH

Taking the moment the Rockmount connected with the wall, Ivan once again activated his transmutation and collapsed the wall onto the Rockmount. While he had no confidence his arrows or daggers wouldn't be able to penetrate the rocky exterior of the monster, he had someone in mind that'd have no problem finishing the job.

"Meld-san, please finish the job!"

Captain Meld awoke from his shock and charged in to eliminate the incapacitated foe.

SLICE

With little to no resistance the Rockmount was bisected.

Meanwhile, Kouki who was still in combat with the first Rockmount had become enraged by the harm the Rockmounts almost caused them. Failing to listen to Captain Meld who had ordered him to stand down, he unleashed a powerful attack that sliced the Rockmount in half and even damaged the wall behind it.

And oh boy did Kouki receive quite the reprimanding for using an attack like that in a narrow space, well that was natural considering he could have collapsed the ceiling above them.

"...What is that? It's all sparkly…" Everyone looked towards Kaori Shirasaki, who was pointing at the crumpled wall Kouki tore down.

Lodged in that wall was a strange mineral emitting a bale blue glow, it shone brilliantly compared to the darkness of the cave.

Stopping Kaori from approaching the crystal any close, Captain Meld looked over at one of his men who possessed a strange device in his hands. This was a Fair Scope, a device useful for detecting traps imbued with mana. If it weren't for the Fair Scope, then Ivan was sure their trip here would've been much more hellish.

"Captain, it's a trap!"

Nodding at his comrade's words, Captain Meld let go of Kaori and looked at the class.

And then…

And then nothing. There wasn't anyone foolish enough to rush for the crystal, no matter how enticing it's beauty was.

Their mission had finally been completed, that was all for the training expedition. They had made it to the end of the 20th floor and now all that's left was to go back from the way they came.

Leading the band of otherworldly heroes, Captain Meld merrily praised them for all their hard work.