Episode 18: The Labyrinth of Beginnings
~Side Children~
When we got back to the village, the adults were in a huge uproar. Apparently, they had noticed we were gone and were all out looking for us.
One of the villagers found us returning from the forest and rushed over, but for some reason, he immediately ran away. It seemed the cause was the gruesome spider legs we were carrying.
Even so, the other adults quickly gathered around, asking if we were hurt and where we had been. When my mom came and hugged me, it was a little embarrassing. But when I calmly thought about how I could have died, I got scared and cried a little, which is a secret from the others.
Once they confirmed we were all safe, the scolding festival began in the village. We were thoroughly scolded by our dads and moms, as well as the village chief and Eric’s older brothers. Well, it was our fault, so it couldn’t be helped…
After the scolding festival, all four of us were exhausted, but as soon as the topic of the Poison Spider legs came up, we perked up like we had been revived. According to Eric’s older brother, Poison Spiders are E-rank Monsters, and even Eric’s brother’s party couldn’t defeat them.
Apparently, the legs, or rather the light and sturdy claws, are valuable, and they can be bought for at least 5 silver coins each. With eight of them, that’s 40 silver coins. Even if we split it four ways, that’s 10 silver coins each. That’s equivalent to 1 large silver coin. My allowance is 5 copper coins a month, so that’s the same value as 20 months of allowance.
However, since there’s no Adventurer’s Guild in this village, Eric’s older brothers bought them on the spot and said they would sell them in the town of Weber. Being able to casually pull out 4 large silver coins, adventurers must be making a lot of money.
We were overjoyed with the unexpected fortune, even though we had just been scolded. Helena and Marie, in particular, were muttering with wicked smiles, “This will put us ahead of the other girls.”
Finally, we talked about the silver Beetle that seemed to have saved us, but none of the adults believed us. Since there was no helping it, this morning, we took the adults to the tree where the Beetle always perches, but the Beetle wasn’t there today.
So, the adults didn’t believe us, but I think that’s fine. It’s our secret, just the four of us.
This is the story of our unforgettable adventure.
~~~
After helping the children, I perched on a different tree than usual, just in case. I thought there was a high possibility that the children were talking about me.
As expected, the next day, the children showed up with a group of adults. I watched from a nearby tree, making sure not to be seen. The children, flustered that I wasn’t in my usual spot, began to explain to the adults with all their might. But, as expected, the adults didn’t seem to believe what the children were saying. I don’t want to stand out either, so that’s fine with me.
Then, from the conversation between the villagers and Eric, I learned that Eric’s party would be returning to their base town soon. Apparently, it was because the Monsters around the village had disappeared. Originally, they had come to exterminate the Monsters, mainly the Forest Wolves. But, since I had hunted them all, they had no work left. I’ll apologize in my heart. I’m sorry.
They seemed to be leaving in two days, so I decided to secretly follow them. It seemed like there was no more information to gather in this village, and I was thinking of restarting my level-up, so it was perfect timing.
And two days later…
“Well, for some reason, the Forest Wolves have been hunted, and there aren’t any other Monsters around, so we’re going back to Weber,”
I overheard the Adventurer Eric saying to an old man who seemed to be the village chief at the entrance of the village. Once again, I’ll apologize in my heart. I’m sorry.
“Hmm, indeed, the Monsters around the village seem to have decreased significantly, so there shouldn’t be any problems. But, if the Monsters increase again, I’ll ask for your help, so please,”
Eric’s conversation partner was indeed the village chief who had made the request.
Eric accepted the village chief’s offer with a smile, and he and his companions left the village.
After leaving the village, they started walking west along the road. It seems they haven’t earned much as adventurers yet, as Eric and his companions were traveling on foot and camping out, without a carriage.
The road wasn’t safe, and they were walking quite cautiously, and they always had someone on watch when they camped out. However, the fact that the watchman was dozing off might show their low Adventurer rank. For now, I’ll take care of the Monsters that approach at night, since it would be bad if they died.
After about a week of traveling like that, they finally saw the town of Weber. The distance between towns in this world seems to be quite far. However, even though I was hiding and observing, after traveling with them for a week, I started to feel like they were my companions. It made me want to travel with real companions someday.
While indulging in such sentiments, I said goodbye to Eric and his companions in my heart and flew ahead to the town. Of course, I couldn’t enter the town, so I was looking for a place to set up a base around it.
The town of Weber was incomparably larger than Myra’s village. The town was surrounded by a 5-meter-high earthen wall, and the wall continued as far as the eye could see.
When I appraised it, I found out that it was made with Earth Magic. I can’t even imagine how much manpower, time, and money it took. From Eric’s conversations, I thought it was a reasonably large town, but this was beyond my expectations. I flew around the town, and it took me several hours just to do that.
The circular town had a forest on the north side, and beyond that, there was a hole that looked like the entrance to a cave. There were two guards standing there with spears, and they seemed to be checking the people who entered. Around the entrance, there were several stalls, and it seemed like business was being conducted. What is this place, so lively, that doesn’t seem like it’s in the middle of a forest?
I perched on a nearby tree and listened, and I found out that this cave is called the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon). The Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon) is said to have been created by a goddess or a demon god, and Monsters are said to be born naturally inside.
However, the Monsters rarely come out of the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon), and as you go deeper, the Monsters become stronger, making it a great place for Adventurers to level up.
In particular, this Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon) is called the “Labyrinth of Beginnings” and is famous as a beginner-friendly Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon).
Due to the influence of this Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon), many fledgling to mid-level Adventurers live in the town of Weber. And because merchants have gathered to target them, the town of Weber has developed thanks to the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon).
(So that’s why it’s such a big town.)
I decided to make the forest between the “Labyrinth of Beginnings” and Weber my base. I thought I would gather some information here and then try to enter the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon) when I had the chance.
The reason was that I thought I could level up efficiently inside the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon), and even if I temporarily became weak after evolving, I could safely restart leveling up by returning to the shallow floors. And, in order to perfectly execute this plan, I needed to gather a little more information about the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon).
I secured a sleeping spot at a point halfway between Weber and the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon), where my Life Detection could barely reach. Since Adventurers gather, there might be some who have detection abilities. Conversely, when I was awake, I decided to gather information at the top of a large tree I found near the entrance of the Underground Labyrinth (Dungeon). If I was found here, I could escape quickly, and there were quite a few Monsters around, so I wouldn’t stand out.
After setting up a base in the forest north of Weber, I spent about five days gathering information, and I finally gathered information about the inside. All that was left was to slip in through the guards’ gaps, but that opportunity didn’t come easily. And then, two days later, that chance finally came.