Chapter 1: The Hero’s Retreat and the Saintess’s Rumor ① (Labyrinth of Time)
The Hero, Ryuguin, was aware that the Holy Knight Yamada, who was generally regarded as incompetent by the public, had actually been the most valuable asset in their party’s labyrinth exploration. In fact, if he hadn’t known that, it would have been quite alarming.
However, even at this point, Ryuguin had no real combat experience in the labyrinth in question, leaving him completely oblivious to its difficulty. Thus, it was only natural for him to underestimate Yamada’s capabilities.
Ryuguin pondered. It was about time they prepared for their next exploration.
“Damn it!! I should have been more patient and handled things all at once!! It’s all Yamada’s fault for suddenly going berserk!!”
He was furious at Yamada, who had already left the party. And to maintain appearances, he began to think about the next labyrinth exploration that they absolutely had to undertake soon. But he quickly concluded, “I can just call someone else.” If he couldn’t do it himself, he could rely on others’ strength—this was his usual way of thinking.
Thus, the idea of a joint exploration between the Hero Party and another high-level party was born.
When Ryuguin expressed his desire for a joint exploration to the Guild, he was ushered into the Guild Master’s room. The capable Guild Master accepted Ryuguin’s proposal, and immediately began listing several parties currently residing nearby.
In the past, he had chosen from a crowd of town girls and the second or third daughters of decent noble families, thinking about who would be suitable. While that had filled his ego and made it hard to contain his excitement, this time was on a whole different level.
As he flipped through the documents detailing the S-Rank parties, the elite figures who drew envious gazes from everyone, he couldn’t hide his excitement, muttering to himself, “Who should I choose?” “Oh, this girl has potential!” “I don’t like the look of this one.” He reveled in the privilege of being able to select, his breath quickening. Ultimately, he couldn’t suppress the throbbing desire that stirred within him.
Even when selecting a party, he had his own thoughts. The Hero Party included Sword Saint Eris and Sage Angelica. This meant they had sufficient firepower to eliminate their foes—so all they needed were some time-buying support and a way to clear the path when overwhelmed. With this reasoning, Ryuguin trembled in awe of his own extraordinary clarity, wrapping his arms around himself as he shivered.
According to what the economic YouTubers he admired would say:
“Those in leadership must see the field to some extent.”
“Ninety percent of the ‘no problems’ that come from below are lies.”
“Never neglect the PDCA, no matter the situation.”
“Accurate information is essential for everything.”
“There’s a method to information scrutiny.”
All of these were obvious truths, yet Ryuguin, who eagerly cited their names at every opportunity, truly understood nothing.
As for the upcoming labyrinth, he was completely unaware of the threats it posed, the combat situation if Yamada was absent, their own combat strength, the information about the joint party, or how they would coordinate. All that occupied his mind was the fame he would gain after conquering the labyrinth.
About an hour’s journey by carriage from the Town of Lemone lay the labyrinth. The labyrinth they planned to explore was called the Labyrinth of Time. Exploration had only reached the first floor, but the threat had been conveyed by another S-Rank party that had retreated in haste from the early rooms just beyond the entrance.
They said, “The dungeon has its own characteristics, making it difficult to move your body as you wish.”
They said, “Some kind of training is necessary.”
They said, “If you neglect training and preparation, annihilation is certain.”
In addition to this information, there was even more valuable intelligence regarding the exploration of the Labyrinth of Time compared to previous explorations.
That information had come from a certain item.
Once, during Yamada’s time in the party, a special item had been discovered during a dungeon raid and allocated to Mika. This item was selective in its user, disposable, yet possessed remarkable effects. It was called the Orb of Labyrinth Appraisal+.
The user had to be a rare high-level Dungeon Appraiser, but perhaps due to the Hero Party’s reputation, a suitable individual was summoned immediately.
Reluctantly, he was taken to the labyrinth entrance, where he begrudgingly used the item to conduct an appraisal. As a result, he let out a strange cry at the overwhelming malevolence of the Labyrinth of Time and lost consciousness.
Two days later, he finally awoke, trembling as he conveyed detailed information about the labyrinth.
According to him, the labyrinth consisted of twelve floors, each with a boss residing at its depths. And most terrifyingly, all twelve bosses could manipulate time. Yes, he said they could manipulate time. In the Arcana Kingdom, magic that controlled time was considered taboo and the domain of the gods.
The appraiser gathered the Joint Party for the Labyrinth of Time and tearfully conveyed the details, saying, “It’s impossible,” and “It’s like picking a fight with the gods.”
Before the appraiser, who hung his head in tears, a silence fell over the joint party, filled with fear and anxiety—at that moment, Ryuguin encouraged him by clapping a hand on his shoulder and raising his voice.
“It’s not impossible!! I’m here! Mika is here! Ange is here! Eris is here! And above all, you all are here! If we combine our strengths, nothing is impossible! ‘1 + 1 = 2’ is not the equation! It’s ‘1 + 1 = infinity’!!”
It was the moment when every member of the Joint Party for the Labyrinth of Time became convinced of their ability to conquer the labyrinth.
If you found this interesting, please consider giving a rating or following the work! The author would be immensely grateful!