episode_0016

Rinde and I descended to the underground 10th floor of the labyrinth.

Normally, we would draw the line at the underground 5th floor, but in order to secure as much money as possible for renovations, we braced ourselves for danger and headed a bit further down.

The path down was smooth as the ordinary monsters coming out of the labyrinth posed no real threat.

If we hadn’t provoked that monster that resided on the 50th floor in the first place, we might have descended deeper long ago…

“It’s eerie…”

Rinde remarked while looking at the scenery of the 10th floor underground.

Although it wasn’t much different from floors 1 to 5, the air felt heavier, and the color of the stones forming the walls, ceiling, and floor was darker.

Moreover, since the magical lighting installed by the Labyrinth City only extended to the 5th floor underground, the overall color and light here were dim.

“No time for chitchat. We need to find the magic stones quickly.”

I picked up a magic stone left behind by the skeleton knight I had just defeated.

Judging by its size and color, it was probably low-grade.

Exploring the labyrinth for about four hours since noon, I had found a total of five lowest-grade magic stones and four low-grade magic stones so far.

It was an exceptional amount considering the usual mining yield, but my mind was far from at ease.

Not only because of the money but also because if we went down just one more floor, we would fall under the surveillance of that creature on the 50th floor.

“Yes… huh?”

Rinde, who was following me, stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong, did you see a monster?”

“Over there… is that also a monster?”

When Rinde turned her head in the direction she pointed, there was a small doll-like figure that wouldn’t even reach her knees.

“Oh.”

Why is that there?

“…”

The doll slowly raised its arm and pointed at me.

“Found you.”

“You crazy thing! Run!”

I immediately grabbed Rinde’s hand and fled towards the stairs leading back up to the 9th floor.

Why is it here?

This is the 10th floor.

“What the…?!”

Rinde asked.

“Just run!”

“Here we go.”

“Here we go.”

“Here we go.”

Voices.

His voice echoed from all directions.

From corners, around bends, from the ceiling, those damn dolls emerged one by one, staring at me.

Beyond them, beyond those button eyes, it was watching me.

Now even the 10th floor wasn’t safe.

“Ouch!”

Rinde tripped.

I had no time to be annoyed; I quickly turned back to lift her up again.

“Ah, ahh…!”

Rinde trembled violently.

Something was grabbing her ankle.

A doll.

That creature’s doll.

“H-help…”

“Darn it!”

I didn’t even bother wasting time dropping the doll; I just scooped up Rinde and ran.

I ran frantically, ignoring any other monsters that attacked along the way, focusing solely on escaping.

Finally, the stairs leading to the 9th floor came into view.

In front of them, one doll stood with its arms wide open, seemingly waiting to greet me.

“Get lost!”

I kicked it with all my might and escaped from the 10th floor.

Upon reaching the 9th floor and finally looking back, there was nothing there.

“…”

Nothing at all.

“…Huff, huff…!”

I gasped for breath that I had been holding.

My head was spinning.

My legs and arms were shaking.

“L-Lashwood…”

“Huff… What?”

“T-this…”

Rinde pointed to her ankle.

More precisely, to the doll that had tripped her earlier.

“Oh…”

The doll was slowly disappearing.

Of course.

It wouldn’t have been easy for it to have that kind of influence up to the 10th floor.

No matter how powerful that guy was…

No, any demon accustomed to this labyrinth would feel increased pressure when ascending to higher levels, the stronger they were.

“T-this bastard. Trying to scare us.”

“L-Lash… wood…”

“The doll, no, the one controlling it,” he said.

“Co-come… ba-back… together…”

“I refuse.”

I grabbed the doll’s head and twisted it without hesitation.

With that, the doll that had tightly grasped Rinde’s ankle lost its strength, dropping to the ground and turning back into ashes.

“Hah, hah… Hah…”

Rinde was heavily panting.

“J-just now, hah, hah…!”

“That’s enough now.”

I set her down and tried to calm her by putting my arms around her shoulders.

After waiting quietly for a while, Rinde began to relax as her breathing eased.

“Whew… I thought I was going to die…”

“Yeah. It’s not an easy opponent… Wait, you fought a dragon, though?”

Thinking a bit coldly, it seemed a bit strange that Rinde, who had strangled a dragon, was now so frightened.

“T-that… I s-saw… it. Probably…”

“Saw what?”

“The one controlling the doll… the main body… probably connected through magic…”

“I see. So that’s why I couldn’t descend, I understand now.”

“Y-yes…”

“So, what do you think? Do we stand a chance?”

“What?”

“If you, Krisha, and I join forces, can we win?”

“…Uh, it seems difficult.”

“I see.”

As expected.

Long ago, during the Maze Family’s ownership of the Labyrinth, the head of the family gathered the best adventurers to explore the deepest part of the maze.

Five veteran adventurers, including myself, were selected, but we retreated from the 50th floor.

No, we ran away like scared rabbits.

Miraculously, all five of us survived and returned, but two of them immediately retired from adventuring, and the remaining three refused to go below the 10th floor.

Since then, no one has attempted to explore the deepest part of the maze.

The Adventurers’ Guild originally warned adventurers not to delve too deep, but after that incident, they created manuals and strictly warned new adventurers not to go below the 30th floor.

“So, just enough time to escape?”

“Well… enduring that long is… difficult…”

“As long as we can buy time to escape.”

“Um… yeah, it might be tough for just us…”

“Is that so…”

Sigh…

Seems like there’s no way out.

Should we leave the Labyrinth City then?

So far, I’ve managed with savings and the small amount of mana stones earned from the upper levels of the maze.

But things have gotten much harder since being scammed and having to repair the house.

Perhaps it would be better to start investing in the upper levels when there’s still some money left…

“B-but there’s someone who can help.”

“Who? With mediocre skills, they’d be useless as bait.”

“Their skills are more than enough. They might even be better at fighting than me.”

“Such a person exists? Who is it?”

“M-my… master.”

“Master?”

“Yes. The witch who taught me magic.”

“I see…”

Indeed.

To become a witch, there’s no other way than learning from a witch.

“That seems quite promising… Where does she live?”

“I’m not sure… She’s not someone who stays in one place for long.”

“Do you have a way to find her?”

“She gave me a communication device to call her when needed. It’s disposable, though.”

“Hmm… So if persuasion fails, it’ll be hard to find her again, right? I need to prepare. What does your teacher like?”

“W-well… She’s quite eccentric…”

“How can you not know that as her disciple?”

“I’m sorry…”

“No need to apologize. As long as there’s information about such a skilled individual.”

“D-do you… happen to know anyone…”

“No. We were acquainted with a strong team, but they went missing after delving too deep into the maze about a year ago.”

It was chaos back then too.

Of course, besides those guys, there were other strong individuals I had connections with, but they must have aged and retired by now.

Of course, those of us from the first generation of Ebony Tribe are all strong… but now, there’s no reason for us to gather.

“Anyway, let’s call it a day for now. I’d like to search a bit more, but there’s no guarantee of safety here.”

“Yes…”

We emerged from the labyrinth once again and exchanged mana stones at the adventurer guild.

“Wow, you’ve gathered quite a lot?”

The receptionist, Misty, widened her eyes.

“Yeah, thanks to Rinde.”

“Was that magic real?”

“It was. Thanks to that, things went very smoothly… By the way, what are others saying?”

“About the magic Rinde used? There’s no way rumors haven’t spread.”

“I can’t say for sure, but… maybe they’re being cautious? After all, besides Rashwood, no one has confirmed whether the rumors about Rinde are true or not. And who would dare come to Rashwood to ask about Rinde? He’s the most senior adventurer in this city.”

“Alright then.”

It was really fortunate that Rinde was ahead of the game.

Of course, it was only possible because Misty helped.

That’s why connections are important.

“But… I heard your mansion was heavily damaged, is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty much in ruins.”

“Would you like some help? I do have some savings if that helps.”

“No need. Who would borrow money from you?”

“Haha, I see. But if it’s Rashwood…”

“No need. I appreciate the offer, but I already owe you enough favors. Borrowing money would just be too much.”

“Oh, what’s a little favor between me and Rashwood…”

“Enough, just give me the mana stones.”

“Here you go.”

Misty handed me a pouch of money even though we had finished the transaction and were just chatting.

Poor work ethic.

“Alright then…”

As I tried to leave, Misty grabbed my hand.

“If you ever change your mind, please come back. I’m really… truly okay with it. Because you’re Rashwood…”

“…Sure. If I change my mind.”

“Haha…”

Finally, Misty let go of my hand.

“What’s wrong?”

When we returned after exchanging the mana stones, Rinde, who had been waiting, asked.

“What’s up?”

“You seem troubled.”

“How can you tell without even seeing my face properly?”

Did I wear my helmet correctly?

“Anyway, let’s stop this nonsense and head back.”

“Yes…”

After exchanging the mana stones, we returned to the mansion.

The sky was tinged with red as dusk fell, and in the distance, the moon began to appear.

Fortunately, the crowds that had been so prevalent during the day were all gone, vanished.

Instead, at the entrance, Branko sat alone on the ground, gazing at the sky.

“Hey, Branko. You’re still here?”

“Oh, you’re back.”

Branko stood up, bowed his head in greeting to me.

“Is it finally over?”

“No, I was just… thinking about this and that.”

“…It’s getting late, why don’t you go get some rest?”

“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll head back. My father and wife must be waiting.”

“Alright… How’s the ceiling holding up?”

“…Before that, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“Could you… try to convince my father to stop this work? Please, I beg of you.”

Branko knelt down, his forehead almost touching the ground.