Vol 3: Chapter 6
The “Labyrinths of 9 Emotions” was created by La-Fisa, a warlock who settled in this area a very long time ago. Its existence was undiscovered by anyone for a long time because this place was small, close to unexplored land, and few even came close to this place.
It was about 500 years ago that the Lev people entered this land. At first, they were barely scraping by, but after discovering the labyrinths and finding out that magic tools could be obtained there, they accelerated the labyrinth capturing.
They had an excellent leader it seems, and he started the utilization of the magic tools. And once the living standard of the Lev people had risen to a certain extent, he started trading with other countries — selling tools manufactured by themselves instead of the labyrinth tools.
The labyrinth tools were highly advanced magic tools, so he must have judged it would be catastrophic if foreign nations invaded while the country’s military force was still unestablished.
And the result—the current isolation system.
(Hmm, there is very little information about La-Fisa.)
I never forget something I have already seen once thanks to【World Ruler】, so I prepared for the adventure while looking through the documents received from the Adventurer’s Guild.
My equipment is the dagger given by the Border Earl, knuckle gloves, and boots fitted with iron plates. There are two types of monsters that appear in the labyrinth: monsters and automatons created by La-Fisa. Monsters seem to spawn in caves which have been untouched for many years, and you can obtain magic stones by defeating them. Magic stones can be sold since it pretty much works like batteries that power magic tools.
The problem is the automaton, where each part is an advanced magic tool; so we have to neutralize it without causing too much damage. …Maybe I’ll have to fight barehanded.
The leather knuckle glove has a steel plate at the back of the hand, which can protect up to the elbow.
Besides that, I bought some magic tools that were on sale at the magic tool shop we visited yesterday. One of them is a spinning square metal, like a fidget spinner, and another is a mysterious magic tool that gets hot. It seems that Mimino-san has also bought it previously.
…Last night, I played around with the magic tools while using【World Ruler】. I can definitely see myself just playing around with these things to pass time.
「Reiji-kun, it’s done.」
「Oh, is it finally completed?」
Mimino-san brought me a shirt and trousers. However, the sleeves and hem were tied with a string to make it easier to move.
The color was beige-based, and bright colors such as deep red and pea green were combined. It seems that Mimino-san tailored a druid-like traditional costume. I thought Mimino-san’s clothes were halfling culture, but Druid influence seems to be stronger.
「It feels refreshing and just right.」
「I’m glad. Does it fit?」
「Yes!」
When I rejoined Silver Balance, Mimino-san, who was pleased that I still had the clothes she made for me four years ago, said that she would definitely tailor my clothes this time as well.
「I have cast several spells on it. Slight frays should be restored with the resilience that the plant originally has. It’s also more robust, with temperature control and magic resistance.」
「Eh… this is more amazing than I thought.」
「Because equipment is the lifeline of an adventurer!」
That’s true, though. Sorry for thinking I wanted slightly more cool-looking clothes.
「…Mimino-san, you spent a lot of the money you saved up in the last four years for those clothes, didn’t you?」Non-san said.
「Wha, Non!?」
「Is that so!? No, I can’t accept this! Oh, will you please take this in exchange? It’s a dagger given by a barbarian…」
「No, it’s okay! It’s okay! You’re my party member, and equipment is important, so it’s natural to spend money for these things. Besides, I enjoyed making this… wait? What do you mean barbarian??」
「Oh that, that is a long story…」
And the subject changed.
「Man〜, you’re being showered with love, bocchan.」
「Whenever you come in, Zerry-san, the story gets derailed. So why don’t you go over there and drink milk or something quietly…」
「Recently, you’ve been bullying me a lot, bocchan! Just the day before, everyone was saying “Good job”! Hmph!」
After a while, it was time for departure.
We finished breakfast and got ready. We didn’t have very many belongings since we were on a journey in the first place, so we loaded our luggage on a small cart attached to Neko-chan.
「If you find a lot of loot, you’ll have to start carrying your luggages, hahaha.」Muge-san jokingly said.
「Of course, let’s return with so much so that Neko-chan can’t carry it all.」Dante-san replied powerfully.
The cliff entrance to the ”Labyrinth of Fear” was about an hour from Muge-san’s company. Rails run vertically with floorboards suspended by thick wires which can be pulled up—or a so-called elevator.
Muge-san talked to a Lev guard who was stifling a yawn, and we were directed to get on the elevator. Even though it was an elevator, it was huge, and there was still plenty of room for all of us and Neko-chan to get on.
「Oh, it’s moving!」
Dante-san looked pleased as the ground on which he stood began to move—but Mimino-san clung to my arm.
「…Mimino-san?」
「J-Just let me hold on until we reach the top, okay?」
「Of course.」
Fear of heights, huh.
Eventually, the elevator stopped about 15 meters above the ground. When all of us got off to the sidewalk extending from there, Muge-san waved down. And the elevator went down.
「From here… we will head to the entrance to the labyrinth.」
Muge-san’s voice was a little stiff.
As expected — Even if he has been doing business with caravans in the “outside” world, even if this is a great business opportunity, he must be feeling the wide difference in risk to his life.
A dark cave was in front of us. The sun was on the opposite side of the cliff, so there wasn’t even any light. We moved forward, with a magic lamp hooked in front of Neko-chan, and Non-san also carrying a magic lamp.
The cave was wide, so even if someone comes from the opposite direction, we can pass by each other without any problem–though there was no sign of that so far.
「That is the labyrinth.」
After walking for a few seconds, a pale light was visible ahead.
The entrance was big enough to look up at, and it was kinda made in bad taste.
Hemispheres embedded on the left and right were casting light, illuminating the entrance.
The surface of the walls were completely smooth, without a single seam.
And the entrance was… a giant “human face”.
The delicately carved face had its mouth wide open. Probably means to enter through there.
How do I describe the face… It looked kind of agonized and scary.
The unpleasant thing was that water was spilling from the corners of the mouth. According to【World Ruler】, it seemed to be underground water. Was the water purposely drawn all the way here — to express drooling?
「Every entrance to each labyrinth is a face… It seems that the human race is the motif here. If you look closely at that eye, it says “Fear”, right? That is the name of this labyrinth.」Muge-san said, as we looked at the entrance speechlessly.
The part of the pupil was certainly written as “Fear”. Does it mean this is the face of a human in fear?
「…What do you guys want to do? If you wish to turn back–」
「Let’s move forward.」Dante-san made a quick decision.「Isn’t there already a capture team inside? If so, there’s nothing to fear.」
I thought the same.
Dante-san took the lead, and I followed next, taking Non-san’s magic lamp.
Neko-chan was at the end of the line, slowly following us while making a noise. We stepped into the dungeon as if swallowed by a human face.
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