Chapter 67: Labyrinth and Puppet (1)

“Hmm….”

Just before leaving the dormitory, I stared at the potion Hori had given me the night before.

The viscous green liquid, reminiscent of mud, exuded an intimidating aura. Just looking at it made me feel like I might be poisoned.

‘This potion will significantly boost your physical abilities, but the side effects are equally potent. Use it wisely!’

Knowing full well that these “side effects” weren’t accidental byproducts, I had smacked Hori upside the head.

Hoping I wouldn’t need to use this potion, I tucked it away and left the dorm.

My destination was, of course, the park between the S-Class building and the general building, where the labyrinth breakthrough test would soon take place.

Usually used by students for strolls, the park was spacious enough to accommodate large gatherings, making it a frequent assembly point for mass teleportations like this.

Upon arrival, Marina hadn’t shown up yet, but a considerable number of students were already gathered, discussing the upcoming test.

I sat on a nearby bench and eavesdropped on their conversations. They were mainly talking about who they’d team up with for the test.

‘Surprisingly, I’m not hearing Jessica or Rain’s names.’

The names I overheard were presumably A-Class or B-Class nobodies. Neither my name nor those two were mentioned.

‘Are they so certain of their partners that no one’s even discussing them?’

Either way, I had little interest in a test where the winner was already decided.

My sole focus was on the potential Myne group that might intervene during the test.

Every Myne swordsman is at least a Swordmaster, and even their mages are all 7th-tier Archwizards.

Given that even the protagonist struggled against them in their first encounter in the original story, I had high hopes for the Mynes who might show up here.

‘Please come… Please…!!’

Don’t discriminate just because her talent is mediocre. Please come for Rain, I silently pleaded.

If they came, I’d finally have the chance to showcase Wolffang, which I’d acquired specifically to take down Myne.

[Grrrr~!]

Sensing my burning desire for Myne, Wolffang could no longer contain itself and growled in a deep baritone, its body trembling.

I stroked the agitated Wolffang to calm it down, then leaned back on the bench to collect myself.

After about five minutes, a commotion arose in the distance. Then, parting the crowd, Jessica appeared with her hair noticeably longer than when I first met her.

Surrounded by her followers after a long time, Jessica wore a haughty expression befitting a Lady with rolled hair, smirking proudly.

However, that smile crumbled the moment she saw my face.

Jessica tried to hastily leave upon seeing me, but noticing I was alone, she seemed to get mischievous and approached with her entourage.

“Hello, Jessica.”

“…You, are you planning to take the test alone? Without anyone to team up with?”

Though her words seemed concerned, her tone was dripping with mockery.

A few days ago, she would have simply ignored me and walked past. It seems she’d developed some resistance to me after our month-long interactions.

“I told you before. I plan to do it alone. It’s more efficient that way.”

I might have to fight Myne, so I couldn’t afford unnecessary baggage.

Even if that weren’t the case, it’s more efficient to rush to the deepest part alone than to be held back by someone slower than me.

Unaware of my thoughts, Jessica covered her mouth and snickered.

“Huh! Are you sure it’s not because you have no one to team up with?”

As Jessica laughed, her followers behind her tried to join in, but they all shut their mouths as soon as I glanced their way.

“Jessica, it seems you’ve got some unexpectedly wise subordinates.”

“Ugh…!”

When I turned to glare at her followers, they all cleared their throats and averted their gazes.

“But it seems their skills are still lacking. You probably won’t face any crises in this test, but if you do, those guys don’t seem reliable. I’ll come help you!”

“What nonsense… How do you plan to help in a complex labyrinth? Or do you intend to follow right behind me?”

“No, the labyrinth might be complex, but if I follow the sour smell, I’m sure I’ll find Jessica…”

“Aaaaaah!! Sh-shut up!! Shut up!!”

As Jessica flailed her arms and shouted for me to shut up, her followers, who had been standing like wallpaper behind her, started to whisper.

“D-did Lady Jessica just tell him to shut up…?”

“No, more importantly, what’s this about a sour smell…?”

“Sour smell?”

“Ugh…!!”

Grinding her teeth at the words that inadvertently slipped from her followers’ mouths, Jessica left before suffering any further humiliation.

I called out to Jessica, who turned her back on me in a manner befitting a true loser.

“Sourpuss!! I’ll definitely help if you’re in danger!!”

“Grrr…!!!”

At that, Jessica’s walking speed increased even further, and she quickly vanished from sight.

Time passes so well when I’m teasing Jessica. Maybe I should have gone easier on her?

As I was ruminating on my regrets while idly passing time on the bench, a short while later, Marina appeared in the center of the park amidst a flurry of white snow.

Originally, Peter should have been beside her, but he was still holed up in his room. Thus, the only teachers in the park were Marina and a few Knight Department homeroom teachers.

“Everyone, gather round.”

Though she didn’t raise her voice much, Marina’s words somehow reached even the farthest corners.

As the students all converged on the park’s center upon hearing her voice, Marina tapped the ground with her staff and spoke.

“…Now that everyone seems to be here, I’ll briefly explain the test you’re about to take.”

The content of the test was to break through the labyrinth Marina created and reach its deepest part.

While the test itself was about labyrinth breakthrough, those who couldn’t complete it would be evaluated based on how deep they managed to go.

There were traps and magic beasts along the way, but they were all illusions. If you were judged unable to fight, you’d be returned here, so there was no need to worry about getting hurt.

“Teams will enter the labyrinth in order, based on the average rank of their members, starting from the lowest.”

As the sole S-Class student, I’d naturally enter last. Jessica seemed to have considered this when forming her team, as she’d be entering the labyrinth earlier than expected.

‘What about Rain’s rank?’

As I looked around wondering when Rain would enter, I noticed that most students were A-Class, meaning Rain’s turn wouldn’t be much different from mine.

When everyone had been transported to the labyrinth by Marina’s magic and only I remained, I stood before Marina. She looked at me with pitying eyes, as if seeing her past self.

“What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re reminiscing about old times?”

“…No, it’s nothing. Well then, I’m going to transport you now, Ian. Get ready…”

I relaxed my body while simultaneously lowering my magic resistance as much as possible.

Soon after, an unprecedented feeling of buoyancy filled my entire body, and in the blink of an eye, the scenery before me began to change.

“Oh…”

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer standing in the quiet park, but in an ashen labyrinth lit by torches on the walls.

My amazement at the scene straight out of a game was short-lived. I immediately placed my hand on the wall.

“Hmm…”

Since this labyrinth was entirely created by Marina’s magic, naturally, these walls weren’t ordinary bricks but magically created ones.

In other words, if one could read the flow of magic, they could obtain a complete map of the labyrinth just by standing still.

While great wizards are adept at concealing their magic, this test was premised on the idea that participants would read the flow of magic in this way.

‘The protagonist passed the test like this too.’

Although the characters that appeared had changed considerably, fortunately, this part remained unchanged.

Having discerned the shortest route to the labyrinth’s deepest part by reading the magic flow, I immediately headed downwards along that path.

Being the quickest route, it had the most traps and illusory magic beasts created by Marina, but mere illusions were no match for Baldo.

‘Should I go down to the deepest part first, then head up to explore more?’

So far, I couldn’t sense the distinctive mana of Myne. Wolffang, quietly waiting at my waist, hadn’t detected any mana either.

‘Are they not here? Or are they just too far away to detect?’

The labyrinth seemed too elaborate to be just for a test, it was surprisingly vast.

If the infiltrating Myne were targeting Rain as in the original story, they might be wandering the labyrinth searching for her.

With that in mind, I hastened my steps to reach the deepest part, and before long, I arrived at the sole path leading to the innermost area.

However, I couldn’t descend to the deepest part through that path.

Because…

“…So you’ve finally arrived.”

Something with a ‘katana’ at its waist was blocking the only path to the innermost area.