Chapter 52: The Beginning Of The Journey

As soon as they heard my words, all the bugs rushed to me as if they wanted to follow me.

Miel sat on my head and jumped up and down, making gestures as if she really wanted to go with me.

Cecilia spread her flame wings brightly and hovered over my shoulder, and Lotte circled around me as usual.

Surprisingly, even Glesia rushed in front of me with a passion I had never seen before.

The usually lazy one now clung to me with sparkling eyes.

The huge body suddenly rushed in, causing me to lose my balance and fall over.

“Ugh!”

‘This idiot wants to go?’

I was a little surprised, but then I thought about it and Glesia had grown strong to eat my honey.

This one might want to follow me the most…

‘Hmm… What should I do?’

Cecilia was like my daughter, and she blocked my weakness, fire, so of course I had to take her with me.

I was worried about Lotte because she might get bullied by the other bugs if I wasn’t there.

And Lotte was also my precious shield.

I wanted to have either Glesia, who had strong fighting power, or Miel, who had good leadership, guard the house.

However, Glesia and Miel clung to me even tighter as if they had read my mind.

Miel hid between my hair, making it impossible for me to leave, and Glesia wrapped her huge legs around my body, making it difficult for me to move.

“Oh, I got it! Let’s go together!”

Then, all the Bugles danced in joy.

“No! I told the Aces!”

Except for the four Aces, the Bugles stopped moving.

“We’re going to wake the master, so you guys guard this place well with your strength!”

Since the four strongest ones were leaving, the rest had to stay here.

The sad eyes turned to me.

“Don’t look at me like that! I’ll make you a lot of honey when you come back, so wait for me!”

I returned to the depths with the depressed Bugles and the four who were jumping for joy.

The humans were still standing there waiting for us.

As soon as Rebi saw me, she approached me cautiously.

“Uh… Where have you been?”

Her voice was full of curiosity, but fortunately, she didn’t ask about the honey situation.

I was still embarrassed and didn’t want to think about it.

“I went to the deepest layer.”

When I answered calmly, the humans’ eyes widened.

“The deepest… The deepest layer? Is there a deepest layer in the labyrinth?”

Rodrick asked in a surprised voice.

“Of course. It’s the master’s layer.”

I slightly raised my head and looked up at him.

“You’ll never go there again.”

The humans exchanged glances at my words.

Carl carefully opened his mouth.

“Who is the master?”

“Huh? My master is of course Prostia.”

In an instant, the blood drained from the humans’ faces.

Ryandel clenched his fists around his staff, and Rebi froze, holding her breath.

“P-Prostia? Isn’t that a legendary being?”

Ryandel asked in a trembling voice.

‘Why don’t you know?’

I wondered inwardly.

Brian Party and Arthur Party actually met the Master… but kept it a secret?

“Of course the Master is there. And the Master’s name is always followed by ‘nim’.”

I glared and answered firmly.

Ryandel nodded urgently.

“Ah, I’m going to the Master now.”

“Wait… Wait a minute. So, does that mean that Lady Frostia isn’t here right now?”

Torven asked, stroking his beard.

“That’s right. The Master is with Lady Nis right now.”

The humans were once again shocked when Lady Nis’ name was mentioned.

Terry took out his notebook and started writing something down quickly.

“Nis too… Does it actually exist?”

Elina asked with wide eyes.

“Of course! And you should also call him ‘nim’!”

As I slightly bared my teeth, the humans nodded enthusiastically.

“These clothes were also given to me by Nissima.”

I lifted the hem of my dress slightly.

“Ugh…”

“Wow…”

The humans seemed shocked by every word I said.

Ryandel tried to open his mouth, but I raised my hand to stop him.

“I’m busy, so let’s talk while we leave. I miss you so much, Master.”

The humans seemed anxious to ask more questions, but they barely held back due to my firm attitude.

I turned around and waved at the bugles.

“Goodbye, kids! Stay safe here!”

The bugles who were left behind looked sad at first, but soon accepted the reality and waved their wings and antennae at us to see us off.

Miel, Cecilia, Lotte, Glesia, and the humans all set out together.

It felt strange to walk on my own two feet along a path that I had always only seen through the area control radar.

The feeling of walking so briskly…

It was really amazing to move on my own feet.

The humans started asking me questions again as we moved.

“Excuse me… What happened to the saint and the warrior? I heard they came here…”

Carl asked cautiously.

“Oh, Seraphina and Beatrice? I really taught them the teachings of Michel. And I gave them gifts.”

I answered with a light smile.

Carl’s eyes sparkled like a boy’s when he heard that.

He was clearly excited by the stories of legendary heroes.

“I…”

Elina quietly opened her mouth.

“I used to work as a healer at the Temple of Light. When it comes to Michel’s teachings… Can I ask what they are?”

“I don’t think everyone knows. Michel is a goddess who loves blood and slaughter. So I offered my blood to Michel, and Michel blessed me.”

I spoke proudly, puffing out my chest.

The humans’ expressions distorted strangely at my words.

Elina, in particular, seemed shocked.

“I can definitely feel the divine power…”

Elina muttered.

‘Ha, that’s ridiculous.’

I sighed.

What on earth were Seraphina and Beatrice doing outside instead of spreading Michel’s will?

‘I have to wake them up again.’

I needed to show them clearly.

I activated my radiance skill and emitted a dazzling light from my body.

The surroundings shone brightly as if they were bathed in sunlight.

“I’ve even talked to Michel myself. And this light is a blessing that Michel has bestowed upon me.”

The humans covered their eyes and couldn’t hide their surprise at the light emanating from my body.

Elina almost knelt down.

“This… This is an unbelievable divine power…” she said in admiration.

“How is it? Am I right?”

I smiled triumphantly.

The humans exchanged glances and slowly nodded.

“Believe… I will believe.”

The humans answered cautiously.

I was proud to finally spread Michel’s will.

Because I showed them clearly that what I said was right!

“What kind of person is Prostia?”

This time, Rebi mustered up the courage to ask.

“Master…”

Just thinking about it made my heart race.

“She is truly beautiful, kind, and above all, strong. She is the absolute ruler who rules over everything from the Great Labyrinth to the Sia Kalt Mountains and the Seolhanryeong. And she gave me a name and caressed me so affectionately…”

My mouth was filled with endless praise.

Before I knew it, I was doing a little dance and talking about my master.

Rebi’s eyes sparkled after hearing all of my story.

“She is truly amazing!”

Rebi’s honest admiration made me feel good.

I liked this child.

I thought it would be nice to take her with me on my journey to wake my master.

Now that I think about it, I had something important to think about.

“Where is Desmere?”

I asked, suddenly reminded of something.

The humans suddenly became quiet at my question.

I asked again, turning to Ryandel, who seemed the smartest.

“Where is Desmere?”

Ryandel seemed to think for a moment, then raised his blue crystal staff.

A blue light spread from the staff tip, drawing a map in the air.

“This is the Sia Kalt Mountains where we are currently.”

He pointed to the northernmost part of the map.

My eyes grew wide.

The map was much, much larger than I had imagined.

The area I had seen in the game was just the small kingdoms to the east on the far right of the map.

“So, where is Desmere?”

Ryandel lowered his finger with a troubled expression.

Starting from the north, passing through the center, continuing down, continuing down…

“Desmere Trench is here, in the southern seas on the other side of the continent.”

My face turned pale.

“It’s so far away!”

On the map, it was only a few fingertips away, but in reality… it was unimaginably far.

“How long does it take to get to Desmere from here?”

Ryandel seemed to calculate for a moment, then opened his mouth.

“Normally… it takes about a year and a half.”

“What!? A year and a half!?”

My voice rose an octave.

Does that make sense?

‘Wait! There’s a teleport!’

“There’s a teleport magic circle in the village, right?”

Ryandel made a bewildered expression when he heard that.

“Huh? Teleport…? That’s just a legendary magic. Most people ride carriages.”

‘Tel… There’s no teleport? And carriages?’

At that moment, his brain froze.

In the game, he would just load the screen and move in an instant…

But that wasn’t teleport, it was just skipping… ?

“Then you can’t fly?”

Rodrick shook his head.

“There are so many wyverns in the sky that it’s impossible. High-ranking wizards don’t fly either.”

“What if I protect the wizard?”

“Flying magic consumes a lot of mana. It’s a magic that’s hard to maintain for even 10 minutes. In addition, the mana recovery efficiency is very low in the air, so it’s bound to drop eventually.”

Ryandel shook his head and explained.

“…”

No, should I really give up?

I glanced at Glesia with a last hope.

No matter how short I am, it didn’t seem right to ride Glesia.

It wouldn’t be the same if I was carried by those thin legs…

Glesia avoided my gaze as if it wasn’t true.

“Ha…”

I sighed deeply.

A year and a half…

It shouldn’t take that long when the master is passed out drunk…

As I became gloomy, the humans stopped asking questions.

As I quietly ascended the lower level, a huge shadow suddenly appeared in front of me.

A huge crystal basilisk coiled up in front of me as if blocking my path.

Its body glowed transparently like ice, and it glared at us with its sharp teeth exposed.

‘What kind of confidence is this, to be so confident in front of me and the Ace Four?’

“Huh!”

The humans following behind stepped back when they saw the Crystal Basilisk.

‘That’s right, you said they ran away from this.’

I lightly raised one hand.

Just imagine the roots, but this is cool!

In an instant, a black root rose from the ground and pierced the Crystal Basilisk’s nape.

“Squeak!”

The Basilisk let out a short scream and fell down.

The humans’ mouths opened wide at the same time.

Their eyes were filled with emotions mixed with fear and awe.

Blue-tinged, transparent blood flowed out from the Basilisk’s fallen body.

At that moment, the Crimson Bind that I was wearing on my waist began to vibrate.

“Huh?”

I pulled out my sword out of curiosity.

The Crimson Bind’s blade glowed red and began to draw in the Basilisk’s blood.

Like a sunflower facing the sun, the sword seemed to want blood.

“Oh!”

I smiled happily and approached the Basilisk.

As I brought the Crimson Bind close to the blood pool, the sword began to move on its own and suck up the blood.

The blue blood stretched out like a red thread and was sucked into the sword.

“Hehe, this guy likes blood too.”

The blade glowed redder and redder, and the jewel on the handle turned a deeper color.

As it absorbed all the blood, a satisfying vibration came from the Crimson Bind.

“Uh, Crimson Bind… The legendary sword said to be the weapon of the Lich…”

Ryandel’s voice trembled greatly.

Huh? Do you know this?

When I held up the sword, Ryandel took a step back.

“It’s the legendary vampire dagger… Where did you get it…?”

“Master, it was in the treasure room. I brought it because it’s the perfect size for me.”

The humans looked increasingly surprised.

I just smiled and put the Crimson Bind back on my belt.

“Let’s go,” I said calmly.

“Let’s get out of the labyrinth quickly.”