Before the Expedition

A week have passed by after the students were summoned to Tortus. The students have already started getting used to the life in Tortus. Most of their time were spent on training, seeing their visible results, all parties are happy, the students being able to use their skills while the Kingdom for seeing the potential of the Heroes they summoned.

Now, it was time for the party to be created and descend down to the labyrinth. Meld gathered everyone and told them the news they were all waiting for.

"We're going to descend the Great Orcus Labyrinth. Before we go down to that place, there are a lot of things you need to know, the labyrinth is not a joke so take them seriously if you don't want to lose your life.

Yes, adventurers die in that place everyday. That's why to prevent dying as much as possible, it is recommended to create a party to cover everyone.

With a party, all weaknesses will be covered and patched up. Trust me, even veteran adventurers needed a proper party and careful preparations before they go down to that place. The deepest level explored by the adventurers is the 65th floor that houses a demon beast, Behemoth." The students gulped at Meld's explanation.

"Don't worry, we're not going down that deep. We're only going to scout out the first 10 floors." Meld said and relieved sighs could be heard.

"I'm going to split you all to form 5 man parties. I'll start with the Hero Party lead by Kouki. Their members consist of Ryutarou, Shizuku, Kaori, and Suzu. Unfortunately, we only have one healer so we had to prioritize the hero party.

The second party is lead by Vergil, its member consists of Yuka, Hajime, Taeko, and lastly, Nana.

The Third Party..." Meld split everyone up and the third group is formed with Hiyama as the leader while its member consist of his friends. And the last party is those who can't fight due to their occupation unfit for battle. They agreed to work as backline support and logistics supporting the parties from behind.

Vergil was not surprised at all after being named as the leader of a party. Meld after all saw his abilities first hand. The fact that he could keep up with Kouki even after learning their class skills astounded Meld and treated him as the second hero, unfortunately, Vergil never considered himself as a hero. There's a reason why Vergil hasn't left on his own to search for the labyrinths.

Oscar Orcus' inheritance in the very bottom of the Great Orcus Labyrinth.

Though, he's not aiming for his Creation Magic, what he's aiming for is his library containing information. He wants at least clues on the exact location of the labyrinths. He knew that Reisen Labyrinth is somewhere in the Reisen Gorge but he didn't know the exact location, after all, it was Shea of the Haulia tribe who found it only by 'coincidence'.

"Please take care of us." Yuka Sonobe, Taeko Sugawara, and Nana Miyazuki said after the party started grouping themselves.

"Haha, looks like we'll be working in a party, Vergil." Hajime said while smiling like a fool.

Vergil, being able to keep up with Kouki, earned his classmate's respect while Hiyama's group feared him even more. The three girls have no problem with Vergil being their leader as Vergil showed them that he got strength to lead them. As for Hajime, he was glad to be in a party with his friend.

"Now that the party's all set up, we will go towards the town of Horaud where the Great Orcus labyrinth lies. Follow me." Meld said but Vergil stopped his party members.

"Let's be clear about things alright? I'm going to set up one rule in the party. Break the rule and you're out of the party, got it?" Seeing the frown on their faces, Vergil's face turned serious.

"Stay alive. Its the only rule I'll give you. I don't care if you return crawling, as long as you survive that's all that matters, alright?" Vergil said and his party members nodded seriously as well.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's go and check that labyrinth out. We'll sort out the classes and synergy later." Vergil said with a smile. The atmosphere lightened up as they were motivated by what Vergil said.

"Yes, leader!" The group said earning other's attention.

The students followed Meld to a room with a big magic circle in the middle of it.

"This will bring us to the Town of Horaud for a short time. The Kingdom is willing to use its resources to let you all use the teleportation circle leading us to the Town of Horaud. Step inside the circle and the mages will do their job." Meld said and they were curious about it.

The students stepped in and with the help of the Kingdom's mages, the magic circle lit up and enveloped everyone inside the circle. When the students opened their eyes, they were surprised to see that they were once again teleported to another room.

"Meld. Looks like age is finally getting caught up with you." A calm voice startled the others and suddenly looked at where they heard the voice. What they saw was a grizzled old man with a large scar that runs over his eye.

"Loa, my friend. Its been quite a long time isn't it?" Meld said to Loa who was waiting for them.

"Yeah, it has been indeed quite a long time. Are they the heroes who will try to dive in the Labyrinth?" Loa looked at everyone in front of him. When his gaze landed towards Vergil, a hint of interest flashed in his eyes.

"Yes, they are. We are going to dive in the first ten floors as part of their training and to gain experience." Meld replied to him.

"Alright, its true that some of you are inexperienced. I believe that diving in the labyrinth will mold and sharpen you all. Follow me, I'll bring you to the Adventurer Guild's training hall." Loa said as he motioned them to follow him.

"Who's he, Mr. Meld?" Kouki asked with curiosity.

"He's Loa Bawavis, Horaud Adventurer Guild's Branch chief. He's a friend of mine who helped me a lot of times. Let's go." Meld said making them understand who that person was.

When they arrived at the training hall, Meld had them gather as their respective parties. After going to their respective parties, Loa looked at them in the eye and spoke.

"The moment you enter the labyrinth, consider your lives to be in danger. The labyrinth is a lawless place. Anyone can do what they want such as things that might look inhuman to you, such as rape, killing, and such.

Luckily, Meld is with you so no need to worry about it. Always stick to your comrades and keep an eye on your comrades as well. If one member got separated and got lost in the dungeon, only luck would help you in surviving the place.

Here's my last piece of advixe, tread lightly and never let your guard down, ever, inside that place. You hear me?" The students solemnly shouted in return as they acknowledged the fact that the place they were about to enter is not full of rainbows and unicorn.

"Let's have a drink after your expedition." Loa said to Meld who smiled in reply.

"Sure. The same place, yeah?" Meld said and Loa nodded before leaving.

"Let's go. The Labyrinth doors are waiting for us." Meld said and his words lightened up the somber mood as the thought of leveling up excited them.