Chapter 257: Light
“Now, here’s a question for you.”
“What is it?”
“Which would be better, pretending to be a Mage or pretending to be a Swordsman?”
“Pretend…?”
When I asked Karn, he looked puzzled.
“If you can use magic, wouldn’t it be better to go with the Mage? — Given your physique. Until now, there hasn’t been a Spirit around you, right?”
“…Physique.”
Why didn’t I request Van’s physique when I was deciding on my appearance…?
Retze, who looks average, is still taller and more muscular than I am. It’s not just height and muscle; there’s also the suspicion that my apparent age looks about two years younger. My hair and nails grow, so I must be maturing, but it doesn’t feel like it.
I drink milk every day…!
Ah, but as Karn said, I was so focused on dispersing the Spirits that I forgot to keep them with me. I can’t use the explanation that I’m Spirit Possessed to account for my strength being greater than it appears. Well, since I hadn’t been recognized until now, there might be a chance.
As soon as the glasses shifted their gaze elsewhere, I quietly summoned one Wind Spirit and one Light Spirit to hide in the shadows of my body. Since I had two, I made them smaller than the Spirits attached to Dean and Chris, and even smaller than Az.
They matched the attributes of the White Snake attached to the glasses. My sword, made of a mix of Magic Iron and steel, was bought in the Fortress City, so for now, I’ll go with the Swordsman act, and if necessary, I’ll mimic the glasses’ magic.
My magic reflects the images from the games I played back in Japan. During practice, I was heavily influenced by the Spirits, and recently, I’ve only really used light magic for reading and working at night. If I used anything else, I’d probably get scolded.
If it comes down to it, I’ll have to pretend to be passing by Luf, but I want to keep things as smooth as possible. Also, I was told to think of it as practice for acting normally around Dinoss and the others. When I was told that, I thought I was acting normally, but I’ve realized I’ve been messing up quite a bit.
So, as expected, during our exploration, we found a large hole in the floor of a slightly open area that looked like it had melted. It seems magic was unleashed in a narrow passage, as both walls were scraped, the ceiling was cracked, and the floor was littered with rubble—evidence that even I could recognize was everywhere…
The glasses were using Light magic to investigate in detail. If they could use it, I wish they had done so from the start.
“Iskal, how long can you use it?”
“If I can avoid using other magic, about two hours a day. This isn’t a place where Light Spirits are present, and there aren’t many light sources for the Spirits to recover from,” Iskal answered the Butler’s question. I couldn’t tell if he was being honest or just giving himself some leeway, but it was short!! If he poured magic power into the Spirits, wouldn’t it work…?
And there were no Demon Beasts where they should be on the Twentieth Layer, but there was equipment left behind that would be problematic if it ended up at the base.
There was a spot along the wall that was about a meter higher than the rest, which was the point for spending the night on the Twentieth Layer. All the belongings except for what they were wearing were left behind. Sometimes, people leave heavy items behind when going hunting, but this was a bit concerning.
“The campfire remains are cold…”
The glasses said, touching the ash.
The water bottle that should have been kept close at hand was tossed aside. A cup, belongings spread out, and usually, if something happens, you’d pack up your things immediately in the Labyrinth. Not only were they left as is, but the cup was rolling around, and half-eaten dried meat had fallen, giving off a rather chaotic vibe.
And there was no sign of anyone returning for a long time.
“Iskal, I have a question. Although the Guild would prefer not to leak information about Adventurers, this is an emergency. Are there any Spirits visible among those currently diving beyond the Twentieth Layer?”
Dinoss spoke in a voice that was more serious than usual.
“To my knowledge, there are none. There were two Adventurers in the Fortress City, but one was recruited by Amedeo’s party and moved north, while the other is hiding to avoid being recruited. I wish I could have discreetly requested either of them…”
The glasses answered the inquiry.
“I see…”
Dinoss replied shortly and fell silent.
If they couldn’t be seen, then they might be possessed without resistance. It should be difficult for things with a will to be possessed, but what if they were weakened somehow? The Hero and Rosa’s Group are such a nuisance.
“Nine… two parties, no, three parties. One is a pair of a man and a woman. There’s a Mage or Sorcerer in the four-person party,” Retze said as he quickly checked the belongings. He figured it out in such a short time.
According to the glasses, there are ten parties with thirty-one people who have advanced beyond the Twentieth Layer. Among them, only one party has submitted a request for the Twenty-Fifth Layer.
“If a pair has come this far to hunt, it must be Jasmine and her husband. They are careful and make a good team as Adventurers,” the glasses said while staring at the belongings.
“If it’s a Mage, it should be Bix, who accepted a request from a party from elsewhere and came for a hunt as a guide. — Something must have gone wrong, right?” The leader of the unknown party asked, glancing between Dinoss and the glasses.
“Most likely, the Hero used advanced magic to the point it was unnecessary, resulting in a large number of Black Spirits being born. There may be either a large number or unusually large Spirits that have turned black. Furthermore, there are no animals to possess, and the Demon Beasts that would devour each other or attempt to assimilate have been defeated. — Normally, it should be difficult to possess those with a will, but…”
The glasses trailed off.
Adventurers swallowed hard, looking horrified. Is it possible for them to come in overwhelming numbers instead of weakening their targets?
I couldn’t help but recall the first time I saw a massive number of Spirits clinging to the window glass at the mountain house. They were going to be crushed…!
Where do the Demon Beasts and animals in the Labyrinth come from? While some Demon Beasts move in as their habitat, from what I learned in the Library, there seems to be a flow of smaller Spirits underground or something, and things that get swallowed or fall into it are expelled into the Labyrinth.
And during that time, they absorb a lot of smaller Spirits and end up with Magic Stones inside them or something.
But now, I can’t just say I’m a Swordsman or a Mage. I need to detach myself quickly, or it’ll be bad. I finally joined a party, but pretending to be passing by Luf might lead to a solo flag…!!! No, I can just join the party while pretending to be passing by Luf. Alright, alright.