Chapter 3: The Wound of the Heart is Opened
“Don’t be surprised, okay?”
“Yeah, bring it on.”
“I heard that there are twelve boss monsters in the Labyrinth of Time.”
Is that so? I suppose it’s not unusual for a labyrinth to be crawling with boss-level enemies.
“Aren’t you surprised?”
You tell me not to be surprised, then ask if I’m surprised—this guy is quite the busybody. He really reminds me of my little sister; cute in a way. I should probably spoil her a bit. Hehe. I feel a sense of duty to pamper her.
“Excuse me! I’d like my honey tea with extra honey, please!”
I was quick to act on my own words. I know Milan loves sweets, and honey is her absolute favorite.
As I handed the drink to Milan, I shifted my focus. It was time to think about the Newly Constructed Ultimate Labyrinth itself.
For example, the first labyrinth I challenged and conquered was the Mirror Labyrinth. In the lower levels, there were terrifying monsters known as Dragonkin and the Deadly Series, which were incredibly vicious. If even one of those monsters had been unleashed on the surface, the kingdom would have likely collapsed, as Mika once said.
“That doesn’t mean all twelve will appear at once, right?”
“Right. The Labyrinth of Time consists of twelve floors, and at the end of each floor, a different boss monster appears.”
If they come one at a time, then it’s really no different from the labyrinths I’ve traversed before.
“Also, the Labyrinth of Time is said to be the dungeon of an Evil God.”
“What does that mean?”
“The monsters in the Labyrinth of Time—especially the boss monsters—are said to use forbidden techniques to manipulate time.”
“Is there a connection between monsters that use forbidden techniques and the Evil God?”
I still couldn’t quite grasp the gist of Milan’s explanation.
“Manipulating time is a divine act. It’s said that an evil being that meddles in the realm of gods could be considered an Evil God.”
That seems like quite a leap in logic. I mean, sure, time manipulation is an incredible technique, but I’ve encountered time-related enemies several times before and managed to defeat them.
The most challenging encounters were two in particular. One was the monster known as the Treasure Sword (Clau Solas) that I faced in the Blade Labyrinth.
This creature was a bad joke that could move even in my Out Strider del Sole state. I had a technique that allowed me to move at the same speed as it, so I managed to deal with it, but if I had encountered it right after leaving the castle, I would have been in a drawn-out battle of recovery and might have ultimately been defeated.
The other was the boss monster known as the Clockwork Doll that I fought in the Labyrinth of Power.
Let me briefly explain the Labyrinth of Power. As the name suggests, it was a dungeon that specialized in physical attacks. For instance, I had to grapple with giants, force open massive doors using sheer strength, and dash across collapsing bridges—all while facing numerous muscle-bound monsters and traps.
After Ange became affiliated with Ryuguin, they accompanied me on my labyrinth explorations, but even during battles, they would be far behind me, setting up layers of barriers while flirting. This was, of course, the case during our exploration of the Labyrinth of Power as well.
Thinking back on it, the wound in my heart reopened—
───”Hero-sama, please open your mouth.”
───”Ahh!”
───”Mika, that’s unfair! Hero-sama! Me too!”
───”Now, now, don’t fight over me, you two. ‘Ahh’ is a turn-based action. Come on, say ‘ahh’!”
───”As expected of Hero-sama! You look so dignified while saying ‘ahh’!”
───”Mika! Hero-sama looked more dignified when I said ‘ahh’!”
───”Now, now, both of you, the ‘Ahh of Ryuguin’ isn’t going anywhere! It’s always waiting for you. So, no fighting, okay? Hehehe!”
Oh no, the wound has opened wide. My head—my mind is about to go crazy.
(Deep breath)
(Deep breath)
(Deep breath)
That aside (one last deep breath).
For that reason, I ended up having to conquer the Labyrinth of Power all by myself. The final boss was a monster known as the Clockwork Doll. And there were eight of them.
When I first laid eyes on them, I almost laughed at their poorly constructed design, with gears and wires exposed. But that was a grave mistake. These monsters were made from a mysterious alloy that boasted strength rivaling that of the Divine Stone, making them a significant threat.
And in terms of threat, their hardness was merely an afterthought.
Typically, a dungeon boss appears as a single entity. Yet, the boss that appeared before me was eight in number. Each of them was equipped with a stylish device resembling a wristwatch on their arms. After a brief moment of facing me, they all pressed the switches on their devices simultaneously.
Then, the eight mechanical dolls charged at me with speeds I could barely track. Before I could react, I was surrounded and beaten to a pulp.
Barely escaping from the lynching, I thought that if I could dominate the space itself, speed wouldn’t matter.
I unleashed a barrage of mana compressed with high concentrations of Light Attribute, shooting it out like needles in a rain of light—this was my Rain technique. I managed to shower the eight Clockwork Dolls with it.
No matter how fast they moved, it didn’t matter. I successfully destroyed all eight of the Clockwork Dolls, who had nowhere to escape.
Indeed, they were formidable foes, but they were hardly anything to be called an Evil God.
Considering that I had turned back on the first floor and the grandiose way they spoke, this was likely just how it was.
“I heard you said, ‘I originally planned to turn back on the first floor. To successfully conquer the labyrinth, it is necessary to attempt it multiple times,’ to the Guild Master of the Town of Lemone.”
You say you need to try multiple times, but are you really going to challenge it again?
“‘As the saying goes, failure is the mother of success! By repeatedly trying and failing, we can save humanity!'”
What a grand statement. Thank you for your profound wisdom. Having spent a considerable amount of time with Ryuguin, I understood easily. They turned back not as a result of trial and error, but simply because they failed to conquer it.
The evidence lies in the fact that they spread rumors about the “Evil God’s Dungeon” to shift some blame for their mistakes.
Their tactics were eerily similar to when they tried to trap me.
Moreover, this time they added twelve S-rank Seekers to the labyrinth exploration. With Ange, Mika, and Eris around, based on what I’ve heard about this labyrinth, there shouldn’t be any struggle on the first floor.
To avoid raising any suspicion from Milan, I occasionally feigned surprise or asked questions to keep the conversation going, but my mind was filled with thoughts about the Labyrinth of Time.
First off, the name “Arcana Saviors” is just plain lame. There’s no doubt about it. It’s like having a red special status of “Lack of Sense” in my favorite baseball game.
But anyway, summarizing Milan’s story, the characteristics of the enemies that forced a retreat in the Labyrinth of Time were their high-speed combat and their mithril bodies.
Both of these traits should have been easily dealt with if the Hero Party had acted appropriately.
For enemies that move at high speeds, there are several ways to counter them: predicting their movements, having a tank effectively manage attacks, or, like me, dominating the space itself.
Eris would likely have been able to predict their movements. As for Mika’s barriers—if she had set up a wide-area barrier while accepting that it would be somewhat thinner, the battle wouldn’t have been that tough. Lastly, Ange surely had multiple attacks capable of dominating space.
They say they struggled against the mithril bodies, but Eris had already cut through the Divine Stone, and Ange had smoothly sliced through mithril with her water magic during our experiments.
Now, let’s try to predict Ryuguin’s actions.
Ryuguin’s guiding principle—it’s that “everything in this world exists for his own sake.” With that in mind, he would have likely had Mika cast a Barrier, making her his personal healer and barrier master as usual.
As for Ange, he might have instructed her to use Narukami, which, like the Blade Labyrinth, requires a significant amount of time to activate and aims for an overkill. Given his flashy nature and belief that everything should be credited to him, there’s no doubt about it.
Eris would probably be fighting while protecting the twelve who joined forces—though knowing Eris, she might just take them down all by herself… I wonder how that will turn out.
I suspect that Ryuguin’s strategy for conquering the Labyrinth would unfold in this manner; even if my predictions aren’t spot on, they shouldn’t be too far off.
○○○
“That should be about it, Roh-nii-san.”
“Oh, thanks a lot!”
“It’s still early afternoon, so you have something planned, right?”
“Just like before, I’m thinking of doing some shopping first, and then maybe I’ll head to the Seeker Guild to gather some information.”
“Oh! The Seeker Guild! As expected of Roh-nii-san! You really are a true Seeker!”
Milan clapped her hands enthusiastically. I chuckled and rubbed my nose, but considering her words, was she perhaps doubting me? Well, whatever. Heh.
“Milan, then please guide me to the Guild.”
“Sure thing! Leave it to me!”
An otherworldly adventure, a guild, and a girl by my side. There’s no way something exciting won’t happen…
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