Chapter 6

Currently, Aichi and the others are gathered at the entrance plaza of the "Orkus Great Labyrinth."

Aichi had imagined the entrance to be dark and gloomy. However, in reality, it was well-made, resembling the entrance of a museum. There was even a reception window next to the entrance, where a uniformed attendant smiled and checked the visitors to the labyrinth, summarizing their tasks as checking attribute cards, recording visitors, and accurately tracking the number of deaths. With war approaching, these measures were taken to reduce casualties. Near the entrance, various stalls were lined up, and the stall owners were promoting their goods at reduced prices, creating an atmosphere like a festival. The shallower levels of the labyrinth were popular as a place to earn money, naturally attracting many people. Many noisy fools would challenge the labyrinth with great enthusiasm, only to lose their lives. Many also used the labyrinth's alleys as bases for criminal activities. To prevent domestic issues as war approached, the Adventurer's Guild and the kingdom collaborated. The window next to the entrance was for material trading, where the treasures obtained by the labyrinth explorers were exchanged for money. Aichi and the others looked around timidly after entering the city, following behind the leader, Merudo, like ducklings.

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Inside the labyrinth, there was no trace of the outside's bustle. The corridors, over five meters wide, were dimly lit, but they emitted a faint glow, allowing a certain level of visibility, so torches and light-emitting magical items were not necessary. It seemed that the labyrinth contained many special minerals like green light stones, and the "Orkus Great Labyrinth" was a massive vein of green light stones. The group moved forward in formation, and when they temporarily made no progress, a hall appeared. The domed hall was large, with a height of about seven to eight meters. At that moment, in front of the group looking around for treasures, gray fur balls emerged from the gaps in the walls.

"Alright, Light, step forward! Everyone else, step back! Follow the instructions given before departure! Get ready! That's a creature called a Ratman, agile but not a formidable enemy. Stay calm and move in!"

As he said, the creatures known as Ratmen ran over at a considerable speed. They had gray fur and red eyes that glinted eerily. They looked like rats, as their name suggested, but they walked on two legs with a well-built upper body. Their abs and chest muscles, as if to show off, were not covered by fur. Light and his companions—especially Shizukana, who was at the forefront—twitched their cheeks. It certainly felt unpleasant. Light, Shizukana, and Ryotaro faced the approaching Ratmen. During this time, two girls who were close to Kaori—Nakamura Eri, the glasses-wearing girl, and Taniguchi Suzu, the energetic girl—began chanting to prepare their magic. They maintained a solid formation, just like during training. Light swung his cross-shaped greatsword at a speed that was hard to see, a pure white light shining as several enemies were buried. The sword he wielded was a holy artifact managed by the Helich Kingdom, the "Holy Sword," which did not violate the covenant. It was imbued with the light attribute, emitting light that weakened enemies while automatically enhancing the user's physical abilities, truly a "Holy" weapon, proud of its unpleasant capabilities. Ryotaro's class was that of a "Fist Fighter," who fought bare-handed, wearing gauntlets and greaves. This was also a holy artifact that could release shockwaves, and its power was certainly not lacking. Ryotaro took a steady stance, delivering beautiful punches and kicks, not allowing a single enemy to reach behind him. Despite fighting bare-handed, his posture was like that of a heavy warrior playing the role of a shield. Shizukana, like a female samurai, was a "Swordsman" who wielded a sword. She used a sword-drawing technique similar to that in "Siam Seal," slicing through the enemy in an instant. Her refined movements made the knights gasp in admiration. (Note: "Siam Seal" seems to be a video; those interested can check it out. Also, Shizukana's weapon is a sword, and the Helich Kingdom does not have Japanese swords, so she cannot fully utilize the power of the Yatsumi-ken style.)

While Aichi and the others were captivated by Light's battle, the chanting voices echoed.

"‘Dark flames swirl, burning my enemies to ashes, returning to the earth, [Spiral Flame]’"

The three simultaneously unleashed spiral-shaped flames, and the Ratmen that were engulfed were burned to ashes. "Squeak, squeak, squeak!" With their final screams, the Ratmen were reduced to ashes, dying. When they noticed, all the Ratmen in the hall were eliminated. The other students did not participate. Clearly, for Light's group, the enemies on the first level were too weak.

"Ah, well, good job! Next time, it's your turn, don't slack off!"

Facing the excellent students, Leader Merudo smiled wryly, reminding them not to relax. However, the excitement of successfully defeating the monsters was inevitable. Seeing the students' relaxed faces, Merudo shrugged, saying, "Well, what can you do?"

"Anyway, this training was good. Remember to collect the magic stones. Also, the damage was excessive, right?" (Note: This refers to using a powerful move on weak enemies, like a demon wizard using a big spell on small minions.)

Merudo's words were clearly directed at Kaori's magic support group, and they blushed, realizing they had overdone it.

So far, there were no particular issues, and they took turns fighting, smoothly advancing to the lower levels. Then, they reached the 20th level, a place where reaching it would be considered top-notch for adventurers. The current record for reaching the deepest level is 65, but that was achieved by adventurers a hundred years ago. Nowadays, going beyond 40 levels is considered superlative, and reaching 20 levels is considered top-notch. Although Aichi and the others had limited combat experience, they reached this point easily due to their "cheats."

However, the most terrifying thing in the labyrinth was the traps. Depending on the situation, there were many lethal traps. The countermeasure for traps was the Phil Display, a device that could detect the flow of magic and identify traps. Most traps in the labyrinth were magical, and over 80% of them could be detected by the Phil Display. However, the detection range was small, so users needed to select areas to investigate based on experience when advancing smoothly.

As Aichi and the others quickly descended the levels, the knights could only focus on guiding them. However, Merudo strongly warned them not to move without checking for traps.

"Alright, from here on, there won't just be one type of monster. Multiple types of monsters will team up to attack. It's been easy so far, but don't let your guard down! Today's training will end at the 20th level! Get ready!"

Merudo's voice was small but very loud. So far, Aichi had not done anything special. He had trained using weakened monsters that the knights had beaten. He created a pit trap on the ground, and a dog-like monster fell in and was impaled, that was all. Basically, he had no place to intervene in the team and was protected by the knights, waiting in the back. It was quite pitiful. However, repeated use in combat still increased his magic power, so it was meaningful. The increase in magic power also raised his level by two, making the combat training very beneficial.

(But, I'm completely a parasitic player, sigh...)

Again, the knights launched a weakened monster towards Aichi, and he sighed, performing alchemy on the ground as the monster approached. The monster's belly was pierced by the sharp blades in the pit, and it could no longer move.

(Well, the precision of my alchemy is gradually improving... steady effort...)

Aichi took a potion to restore his magic power and wiped the sweat from his forehead. The knights looked at him with admiration, but he did not notice. To be honest, the knights did not have high expectations for Aichi. However, since the combat was going smoothly, they slightly paid attention to Aichi, who was standing at the back doing nothing, and pushed the monster towards him. Of course, the monster was weakened. The knights thought Aichi would use a sword, but he effectively used alchemy to immobilize the opponent and then stabbed it. This combat style, which the knights had never seen before, indeed defeated the monster. Alchemists, who were generally considered to be blacksmiths, were not thought to use alchemy in combat. For Aichi, who had nothing, his only weapon was alchemy. 'If I can manipulate minerals, I can manipulate the ground,' he thought, and this combat style emerged through training. However, surrounded by strong individuals, he firmly believed that his best efforts still made him incompetent. Incidentally, this combat style was developed after Aichi made a fool of himself during the kingdom's first public outdoor combat training.

During a break, Aichi accidentally met Kaori's gaze, and she smiled from the front. He felt she was protecting something, just like her "guardian" declaration last night, and he looked away, feeling embarrassed. Kaori pouted slightly. Shizukana, who was looking at her, smiled bitterly and whispered,

"Kaori, what, you and Nangumi-kun are staring at each other? Engaging in a romantic comedy in the labyrinth, that's quite relaxed, isn't it?"

With a teasing tone, Kaori blushed and retorted to Shizukana.

"No! Shizukana! Don't say weird things! I was just checking if Nangumi-kun was okay, that's all!"

This conversation had already turned into a romantic comedy, as they started to bicker. Shizukana closed her mouth, but her eyes betrayed her amusement, which Kaori noticed, making her pout even more. Aichi, who had been looking away, suddenly felt a gaze that made him straighten his spine. It was a sticky, negative gaze that was unpleasant. He had felt similar gazes in the classroom before, but this one was incomparably deep and heavy. He had felt this gaze several times since this morning, but every time he tried to find the source, it disappeared. This had been repeating since the morning, and Aichi was already annoyed.

(What is it... What did I do? ...Or rather, I'm just trying hard as an incompetent person...

Could it be because of this? Don't joke with me! Damn it... sigh...)

Aichi let out a deep sigh. Kaori had said she had a bad feeling, and Aichi was starting to feel it too.

The group continued exploring the 20th level. Each level of the labyrinth was several kilometers square, and it would take a group of dozens of people half a month or a month to map out all the unknown areas of a single level. So far, accurate maps had been created up to the 47th level. Therefore, they would not get lost or accidentally trigger traps. The room at the end of the 20th level looked like a stalactite cave, with icicle-like rocks protruding from the walls, creating a complex terrain. In front of them was a staircase leading to the 21st level, and after that,