Chapter 66: The Air Above Ground is Sweet

“We survived!”

I shouted joyfully with all my might.

We’ve escaped alive again from that hell-like place.

Outside the labyrinth, it was early morning.

We measured approximate time inside the labyrinth using an hourglass, and judging by the fact that we came out at the predicted time, it seems we measured almost accurately.

Looking around, I saw a few adventurers trying to enter the labyrinth.

Among them, porters were bustling about busily.

Seeing people moving around, I could finally feel that we had really safely escaped from the labyrinth.

Although there was a sudden monster wave, the darkness of the labyrinth, and an encounter with a heretic, for now I was satisfied with the fact that we had safely returned.

We suffered severe bad luck, but despite everyone except me being a beginner, we survived well. The results are good.

It’s thanks to the quite high talent of each party member.

Now that we’ve completed the second labyrinth trip with the Young Lady, I felt renewed.

This is only their second labyrinth trip, but I was able to bring out complete novices without major damage.

Do I have talent as a teacher?

How about retiring and opening a small school, like a labyrinth academy?

I thought that teaching someone and progressing together wasn’t so bad.

“Sion! I’m out too!”

“Welcome, Young Lady. Welcome to the surface.”

“What’s with that exaggerated greeting?”

“I’m just happy. It seems everyone followed my commands well, so I feel proud and my heart is swelling.”

“No, was it that much? Didn’t we usually listen well?”

“Don’t you remember when we first entered the labyrinth together? I was treated completely like a porter.”

“I don’t really remember. About the first labyrinth trip. Hmm. Well. I only remember seeing your dick.”

“No, Young Lady! Are you crazy!? Why are you suddenly bringing that up?”

“No, you took it out and showed me. You even let me touch it.”

“That’s because you said you wanted to see it!”

“If I say I want to see it, you just take out your dick and show it? Can’t you show it again?”

“No, why are you like this from the morning! What dick are you talking about! It’s indecent, Young Lady.”

“What. Why won’t you show it. Show me! Should we go to that alley and take a quick look?”

“Ah, I said no! Stop pulling my clothes!”

Has this Young Lady gone mad? Did she receive too much stress in the labyrinth? She keeps pestering me to show my dick.

Acting like a virgin bitch. If I really take it out and show her, she’ll just be flustered and unable to do anything.

Fine. I won’t show it.

“I won’t show you my dick, but anyway, I’m glad we’re safe.”

“Yes. That’s a relief. It’s fortunate everyone is safe, considering our luck wasn’t so good.”

Our luck wasn’t so good indeed.

We had a sudden monster wave.

The darkness of the labyrinth knocked when we tried to sleep.

Even when we thought it was all over and tried to leave, a heretic mocked us and ran away.

We endured all this bad luck and escaped with our bodies intact.

Naturally, we couldn’t help but develop a close bond.

There’s a comradeship between me and the Young Lady.

It’s more than just lewd jokes.

“I just suddenly wanted to see it. I’m sorry. I was being silly.”

“No. Well, you can be like that when you’re happy.”

“Huhu. Yes. I’m happy. As expected, you’re my lucky charm.”

“Lucky charm?”

“Yes. When you’re around, the survival rate increases. So you’re a lucky charm.”

“I see. Treating me like a charm…”

“No! I’m not treating you like a tool! It’s a good thing! A good thing! Are you going to keep doing this!? I said it’s a compliment! Won’t you stop frowning?”

“Aah! It hurts, Young Lady! Stop pinching! Aah!”

The Young Lady pinches my elbow as I pretend to be upset.

Well, she’s right. When they enter with me, they almost always come out alive, so statistically, I might indeed be something like a luck totem.

Anyway, this concludes our second labyrinth trip with the Young Lady.

The Young Lady might still be far from being a proper adventurer, but I think I can evaluate that she’s grown more than last time.

Her movements have improved quite a bit too.

She still seemed clumsy using silver thread, but she seemed to use daggers quite well.

Probably the Young Lady’s master taught her properly.

“Ahh. The air is clean. Huah. Huah. Sshhhup. Phuuu.”

“Rica.. You’re.. too energetic…”

“Straighten your shoulders, Rien! We’re alive!”

“Huhuhu. That’s right. We’re alive. Thank goodness. Cough.”

Soon after, the rest of the group came out through the gate.

Rica in particular looked very excited.

She seems to feel renewed by the fact that we escaped without much trouble among various threats.

“My whole body aches…”

“That’s because you don’t exercise usually. You should register at the martial arts hall too. Let’s exercise together with me and Sion.”

“Cough. Cough…”

“Erika, did you just cough?”

“Ah, my throat got dry.”

“You’re in worse health than you look too. Erika, you should register at the martial arts hall too.”

“Um, I have to do volunteer work…”

Rien was dying, saying his whole body ached, and Erika looked somewhat haggard too.

It’s understandable to be tired after wandering the labyrinth for almost three days.

But Rica alone seemed healthy, as if she still had physical energy to spare.

Moreover, as if her exercise switch had turned on, she’s recommending martial arts hall registration to the dying Rien and Erika.

She’s really a female knight with muscles even in her brain.

“Rica-ssi looks extremely happy.”

“That’s right. I feel very proud. Is this the true taste of a labyrinth trip?”

She seems proud of herself for properly completing a labyrinth trip.

There is something that makes you feel a bit cocky.

Should I say she’s intoxicated by the fact that she overcame hardships and survived?

It’s a symptom often seen in apprentice adventurers who aren’t used to labyrinth trips.

You could see it as a kind of chuunibyou syndrome.

Especially for Rica, a female knight who likes cringeworthy emotions, it’s understandable to be intoxicated with her own situation.

Last time she came out dead. It’s worth being proud of coming out alive this time.

“But the air feels strangely sweet. How should I put it, I feel at ease inside. Sion, is it always like this? Was the air above ground always this sweet and delicious?”

“Yes. It’s always like that. Everyone feels that way when they come out of the labyrinth. It’ll probably start soon.”

“Hm? What?”

“Mana adaptation.”

When coming up to the surface from the labyrinth, you always feel like your chest is clearing up like this.

Clean air enters your lungs and clears your blocked chest.

It feels like the labyrinth dust dirtying your lungs dissolves and disappears in the surface air.

And mana adaptation always follows this refreshing feeling.

“Ugh.”

“Aah….”

Erika and Lady Lea frowned and curled up their bodies.

The pain seems to have arrived.

This pain is the process of becoming stronger once more.

You could see it as experiencing growing pains quickly.

“Wh-What is this.. My whole body hurts.”

“Calm down, Rica-ssi. This is mana adaptation.”

“This is.. mana adaptation!? Aah.. My muscles are twitching. I feel like I’m getting stronger.”

“You’re actually getting stronger.”

“I didn’t know you could build your body this easily. I can feel muscle growth in real-time. This. This isn’t natural muscle growth..!”

“Of course not. It’s power obtained from an unnatural place.”

“I see.. This feels like taking drugs.”

“If you have to choose between natural and unnatural. It’s closer to unnatural. Drugs might be going too far.”

“Natural what?”

“It’s an unnatural phenomenon. But aren’t you in pain? We’re conversing well.”

“This level of pain is nothing. I was always beaten when learning swordsmanship from my father. Compared to the pain back then, this is like sucking sweet fruit juice.”

I thought Rica would be very flustered since she’s experiencing mana adaptation for the first time, but she endured the pain of her first mana adaptation as if it was nothing.

Maybe because she’s a female knight who swung her sword well even when monsters swarmed, she’s taking this sudden full-body muscle pain in stride.

It’s amazing in a way. Is this what happens when you reach the pinnacle of insensitivity?

“In any case, congratulations, Rica-ssi. You. You’ve just removed your novice tag.”

“I see. A virgin’s inauguration, huh.”

“What? Virgin what? Inauguration?”

“Indeed, mana adaptation feels like undergoing intense cold weather training all at once.”

Rica ignores my question and gives her impression. I was curious about her mental world that casually uttered the phrase “virgin inauguration,” but anyway, the comparison was spot on.

Since the ultimate effect of mana adaptation is physical enhancement, it’s natural for the body to feel sore as if undergoing intense training.

When you go through mana adaptation, your physical abilities improve overall, and your mana quantity increases.

To experience this process naturally, years of training would be needed.

Mana adaptation can be seen as shortening that time.

It raises physical abilities that would take years to build up all at once.

Moreover, since it even raises potential, those pursuing power inevitably kept entering the labyrinth.

To raise their limits and draw out potential to gain even greater power.

Most of those people end up assimilating with the labyrinth and becoming monsters wandering the deep layers.

“Is Rien okay?”

“Yeah… It seems I didn’t go through mana adaptation this time… That’s a shame.. It’s a chance to raise magic power for free without meditation… I don’t want to train.. Right?”

“No, Rien. Hasn’t your character changed a bit? How can you become lazy beyond just being gloomy!”

“What..? Lazy? This porter guy.. What are you saying..! I, I’m diligent, you know…!”

“No, you always look like you have no energy.”

“That’s.. Well.. Because it’s the labyrinth…”

Rien, you become lazy when entering the labyrinth.

His mental strength is good, but it seems to be because of trauma about the labyrinth.

He’s full of talent too. If he can overcome the trauma, he could become an excellent adventurer.

No, my thoughts keep changing to be like a teacher looking at a disciple.

After going in as a guide and teaching about the physiology of the labyrinth, I keep seeing these women as my disciples.

I shouldn’t get too attached.

“Ugh. Headache…”

At that moment, Rica and the Young Lady grabbed their heads.

Both of them obtained abilities.

Come to think of it, Erika also obtained a simple but best ability for priests last time, increased healing amount.

I wonder what abilities Rica and Lady Lea obtained.

“Did you get something good?”

“An ability called pain ignore, but is this good?”

“Pain ignore? That’s good. No, did you get exactly that? It’s an ability knights and warriors would die to have?”

“Really? Hahahahaha! This feels good! The effect is quite substantial too. Being able to ignore pain. This is quite good? It’s better than our family’s pain resistance ring. Hehe. Are you jealous, Porter? Your expression looks quite dark.”

“Keuuugh… B-tch…”

“B-tch? What does that mean?”

“No, I’m saying you’re bragging annoyingly.”

“Hehehe. Seems like you’re grinding your teeth in jealousy. Yes, this is why we enter the labyrinth. If I use this with the pain resistance ring, I could move normally even if my arm is cut off.”

“You could move, I guess.”

You could move, but if you walk around with your arm cut off, wouldn’t you die soon from excessive bleeding?

It’s an ability that lets you ignore pain, not heal wounds.

Pain ignore is an ability that removes only the pain while leaving the root of the problem intact. It’s like a side-effect-free painkiller that allows you to function normally for a while.

Vanguards who often get injured are always exposed to pain, so depending on how it’s used, it could change the aspect of battle.

To be honest, I’m jealous. If I had that ability, I wouldn’t feel pain when getting surgery or shots.

When receiving treatment, we often have to open wound sites unwillingly to remove foreign objects from the body. This is when the effect of pain ignore would be demonstrated.

I’m jealous. But my spatial pocket is better, right?

Yes, there’s no reason to be jealous. My ability is better.

“How about the Young Lady?”

“I got quick hand movements. I can act a bit faster. This is good.”

“You’ll be able to throw daggers faster. That’s also a really good ability. You could slit an enemy’s throat quickly and decisively. Your proficiency in anything done by hand will increase steeply.”

The Young Lady obtained an ability good for those who need dexterity.

Probably the speed of handling objects will be much faster than before. I think this ability has an effect of rapidly increasing proficiency.

Because it allows you to handle anything quickly.

This makes me a bit jealous.

Both Rica and the Young Lady.

Their abilities match their professions well.

No matter how good an ability is, if it finds the wrong owner, it goes unused and neglected.

I think it’s best when abilities find owners that suit them perfectly.

“So this is what an ability is like. It’s amazing.”

“It’s peculiar, right? Information being directly implanted in your brain.”

“Yes. It’s really amazing. It feels like I’ve encountered some unidentified miracle.”

“An unidentified miracle. It might be a miracle bestowed by the labyrinth.”

Well, this truly concludes this labyrinth trip.

We escaped safely, went through mana adaptation, and obtained abilities.

Now all that’s left for us is a celebratory meal.

“Let’s all go for a drink. We must have a celebratory meal when we escape safely.”

That’s the implicit rule of the Labyrinth City.

If you’ve had a proper adventure, you should soothe the afterglow with alcohol.

“I’ll pay.”

“It’s alright, Young Lady. Usually the party leader buys a round. Let’s go. We’ll drink moderately and part ways.”

We all moved to a tavern together.

Everyone looked tired, so it seemed like we could feed them a light meal with ale and then send them home.