Chapter 44

It was the fourth day of exploring the labyrinth. We were currently on the third underground floor.

Tomorrow, classes at the academy would begin. We aimed to return to the surface by noon.

Leading the way, unlike usual, was Anne. There was a reason for this.

Look, it’s here.

“Hah!”

Anne, who was walking at the front, turned around and slashed at a red monster spider, about 60 centimeters long, that had lunged at her from behind.

Anne’s sword cut off one of the spider’s front legs as it raised them.

The spider, which had intended to ambush us, was now flustered by the preemptive attack.

The name of this monster spider is the Crimson Spider. It’s a type of spider that doesn’t build nests, silently approaching its prey from behind and delivering fatal wounds with its scythe-like arms.

It’s a monster appropriate for the third underground floor, not exactly weak, but no match for Anne, who had used a large amount of magic stones over the past three days.

“Kishaaa!”

The monster spider, scattering green blood, let out a scream and retreated.

Recognizing Anne as a dangerous enemy, the spider’s body sank deeply, preparing to jump backward and escape.

However, Anne wouldn’t allow it. Just before the spider leaped, she quickly stepped forward, turned her wrist, and slashed upward, cutting through the spider’s soft head.

The spider, its head split open, convulsed for a moment before becoming still.

Anne, taking a deep breath, wiped the blood from her sword and sheathed it.

“Master, how was that move?”

“Sixty points. Barely passing. If it were me, I would have inflicted a fatal wound with the first strike. You were just reacting to the attack from behind, swinging your sword haphazardly.”

“...You’re right. I was just reacting.”

“But you’re getting better. Let’s keep working on it little by little.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely master the techniques you’ve taught me.”

The reason Anne is leading, despite her inferior detection abilities compared to Kuna, is to train her.

Currently, I’m having Anne use a technique to infuse her surroundings with magic and sense the things around her.

Everyone has a personal space. In my case, it’s 76 centimeters. Infusing this space with magic and dominating it is the key.

The computational and magical load increases sharply beyond this range, but dominating your personal space is relatively easy.

At my level, dominating space is as natural as breathing, and Kuna does it almost unconsciously. I’m asking the same of Anne.

The results are finally starting to show after three days.

I used a rather aggressive method to make Anne recognize her dominion through magic, but even considering that, her growth rate is genius-level.

“Your perception is much better now, so the next step is precision and duration. From here on, it’s all about steady improvement.”

“Yes, I’ll keep infusing my personal space with magic as long as I’m conscious.”

Anne’s magical concentration increased sharply.

It’s good to be determined, but she’s overdoing it. At this rate, she’ll use up her power quickly.

I chuckled, patted her shoulder, and Anne, realizing it herself, blushed and relaxed her magic.

As we continued hunting monsters and heading for the surface, Anne suddenly looked serious.

“!”

Anne held her breath and hid behind a large tree.

Kuna and I followed suit, hiding behind the tree.

Peering from behind the tree, we saw about five imposing knights in mithril full plate armor, which was unusual for the underground labyrinth.

They were accompanied by about ten men who seemed to be carrying their luggage, indicating they were quite wealthy.

The coat of arms of a major noble family of the Coline Kingdom was engraved on their mithril armor, and I understood their wealth.

That coat of arms belonged to the Feilarte family, a renowned swordsmanship lineage, often mentioned alongside Anne’s Oakleer.

What could such a powerful noble family be doing here?

“Anne, why do we need to hide?”

“Oakleer and Feilarte don’t get along. If we run into them here, they might resort to force.”

As she spoke, Anne reached for the magic sword, the symbol of Oakleer.

Indeed, that’s a real possibility.

“Anne, Kuna, let’s take a detour to avoid them and head for the surface.”

“Soushi, thank you.”

“Sure. Let’s avoid unnecessary trouble.”

Thus, we took a slightly longer route to the surface.

◇

“Finally, we’re back on the surface!”

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen the real sun.”

Around noon, we finally returned to the surface.

Our backpacks, which had been filled with preserved food and water, were now packed with magic stones, paper money, and monster parts.

The monster parts I collected were all top-quality. Things like the horn of the monster rhinoceros, Horadon, which has metallic properties, and the dried heart of the lizard monster, Arakuga, which can cure incurable diseases that even blessings can’t fix. I gathered items that are compact and sell for high prices.

“We hunted a lot!”

“Yes, thanks to Soushi, we hunted at an unbelievable pace.”

“Still, the profits from the restaurant were even greater.”

“We were very popular. When we said we were going back outside tomorrow, we were really held back.”

During these four days, we sold the excess monster meat and water we couldn’t consume, and the income from that was even greater than from hunting.

Thanks to that, we didn’t have to sell all the magic stones we collected, but it left a bittersweet feeling.

“By the way, Soushi-kun!?”

Kuna suddenly exclaimed as if she had realized something.

“What’s wrong? Suddenly?”

“I remembered that Father told us not to use the magic stones we bought. We’ve been using quite a few magic stones we got from selling monster meat.”

Indeed, using bought magic stones is generally not recommended. It makes you weaker than if you hunted the monsters yourself.

However, that’s only half true and half false.

“It’s fine for the current Kuna and Anne. When using magic stones, if your training hasn’t caught up, you won’t become much stronger. When you raise your [Rank], you need to know your body, recognize what you lack, and desire how you want to become stronger. [Rank] boosts your power according to that desire. That’s why people who use [Rank] become stronger in line with their fighting style. If you use it before your fighting style is set, you’ll end up with a vague, half-baked enhancement.”

That’s why buying magic stones is not recommended. You should only use magic stones to raise your [Rank] after your fighting style is established through training and actual combat. Kuna and Anne were both fully qualified for this.

“I’m relieved. From now on, we can use magic stones without hesitation. Hehe, we can reach Rank 2 soon.”

“No, that’s not the case. To reach Rank 2, you need to raise your [Rank] and completely synchronize with it. For that, you need to engage in life-threatening battles while your [Rank] is fully raised. Rank 2 lies beyond your limits.”

That’s the peak of Rank 2. The more excess [Rank] you accumulate, the stronger your vessel becomes, making it easier to break through the barrier. In fact, some nobles buy excessive magic stones and use them in large quantities to artificially accelerate their path to Rank 2. However, if you aim for the fastest rank-up and the strongest, it’s better to exceed your limits.

There are things you can’t learn from fake or easy battles.

“Strengthening the vessel and synchronizing with [Rank]. I see, now I know what we’re aiming for.”

Anne gently gripped the sword at her waist. For Anne, mastering the sword means strengthening her vessel.

“Exceeding the limits. It’s really exciting.”

Kuna, too, seemed full of energy, her tail and ears perked up.

“You two are both reliable. Let’s go to the exchange office first, and then celebrate the success of our first expedition with a meal.”

“Sounds good! We made a lot of money, so I’ll order the grilled prawns that I couldn’t order last time because I was worried about Soushi-kun’s wallet. Oh, and the steamed white firefly mushrooms too.”

“Of course, you’re assuming I’ll pay... but that’s fine. You can order anything today.”

“Soushi-kun, you’re the best. Anne, let’s eat a lot of delicious food today!”

With Kuna almost skipping and Anne smiling slightly, I headed to the exchange office with them.