Chapter 83

Ever since finding [Rough Bringer], I proceeded through the Labyrinth while paying close attention to its dropped items.

However, I didn’t come across any more rare items like that one. While I occasionally found Labyrinth drops, they were mostly old furnishings or ornaments devoid of any magical power.

By the time we finished gathering those sorts of things, we had cleared the 24th and 25th floors. I could find the stairs themselves with “Dimension,” and the enemies that attacked us weren’t a threat.

The 25th floor replaced lava with boiling water that flowed like rivers, and steam blocked our sight like a thick fog. However, I have excellent compatibility with attacks that rely on obstructing vision. By making full use of “Dimension” and “Focus,” it was impossible for me to fall behind. Fortunately, most of the enemies were the type to hide their forms.

Combined, it didn’t even take an hour to clear them.

Then came the 26th floor.

The shadows began to loom over our smooth exploration around the midpoint of this floor.

The monster of the 26th floor: the Crystal Golem.

As the name implied, it was a moving statue made entirely of crystal. However, the hardness of that crystal was no joke. Even with single strikes from Snow and me—both of whom had transcended human limits—it possessed a density that wouldn’t even allow for a crack. Furthermore, its magical defense was high, making it impossible to land a decisive blow no matter how much time passed.

“D-damn it! It’s too hard!!”

I threw away my fifth broken sword and pulled out a sixth weapon. Since I was starting to run low on spare swords, I equipped a greatsword meant for Snow.

Beside me, Snow slammed in a strike infused with mana.

“—[Impulse Break]!”

Because I had “Dimension” deployed, I understood the magical attack Snow had constructed. Her large axe collided with the crystalline body, sending sparks flying. By amplifying the impact with magic, she seemed to be generating even greater destructive power. Though it was a blunt attack, it appeared to be an effective method against these Crystal Golems. Finally, a crack appeared in the sturdy crystal.

“My attacks aren’t getting through! I’m just wasting weapons! Snow, I’m counting on you!!”

I swung the greatsword—which didn’t quite fit my frame—and struck the Crystal Golem. It dealt no damage, but it was enough to knock the creature off balance.

“Geez, this is exhausting! [Impulse Break]!”

Snow swung her greatsword down on the off-balance Crystal Golem. It slammed into the crack, and the blade bit deep into the crystal body. On top of that, a fist released with Snow’s Dragonnewt strength followed up. With her fist clad in vibration magic, the Crystal Golem shattered into pieces.

“…Finally took it down. Whew, whew.”

“Huff, huff…”

We stood panting before the Crystal Golem as it turned into light. While picking up the magic stone, I assessed our current situation.

“…K-Kanami, do you have any weapons left?”

“I have some, but at this rate, I might run out before we even reach the 27th floor…”

“…It’s starting to get more complicated than I thought. I think I want to go home now.”

“No, we’re still okay. The hard ones are slow. All we have to do is ignore them.”

Snow persistently urged for a return. In truth, I could let only Snow return using “Connection.” However, I’d be in trouble if she left. Since monsters had started appearing that I couldn’t finish off without her, I wanted to avoid proceeding alone.

“…Ugh. I don’t want to walk back through the 26th floor alone either.”

“Hey, don’t try to go back alone. If it really gets too tough, I’ll open a ‘Connection’.”

“…I’m actually tired right now.”

“You still have plenty of HP and MP left, you know…?”

“…Kanami, if you’re only obsessed with numbers, you’ll lose sight of the essence, okay?”

“You’re right, I’ll be careful. But you can still keep going. I’m certain of it.”

“…E-eeeh.”

I tried to persuade Snow by putting her status into words. To begin with, she had only released magic a handful of times. There was no way she didn’t have plenty to spare.

“For now, let’s head— tch.”

While we were idling, “Dimension” alerted me to approaching monsters. Multiple Crystal Golems were drawing near. I immediately calculated a new route to the 27th floor and started walking, pulling Snow by the hand.

“Snow, the hard ones are coming. Let’s change paths.”

“…I guess we have no choice but to run on the 26th floor.”

Snow gripped my hand back and picked up her pace. It seemed we shared the same desire to avoid fighting Crystal Golems. The experience points were high, but it just wasn’t worth the effort. I’d exhaust my weapons just trying to stall them, and finishing them off required MP. They were troublesome monsters.

However, avoiding them was easy. They were slow to begin with, and even slower when wandering the Labyrinth. With my “Dimension,” we wouldn’t run into them. It was a bit of a detour, but it was better than fighting a losing battle.

Thus, without having a rematch with a Crystal Golem even once, Snow and I reached the stairs to the 27th floor and hurried down.

The 27th floor was a complete departure from the volcanic zones around the 25th, changing into a corridor with a cool, refreshing impression. I checked the material of the corridor walls. When I thrust a sword into the sky-blue stone that was nearly transparent, a high-pitched clink rang out, and my sword chipped instead.

“Is this… the same as that Crystal Golem from before…?”

“…Looks like crystal.”

No, it was likely different. The crystal I knew wasn’t this hard. This was another mineral entirely that had reached the realm of magic. The fact that this magical mineral was used for the walls made me break out in a nervous sweat.

“If the corridors are crystal, then…”

“…Are the monsters that type too?”

There was a high probability. Basically, the Labyrinth’s terrain and the monsters inhabiting it are synchronized. If there’s a river, there are aquatic monsters; if it’s overgrown, there are insect monsters; if there’s heat, there are fire monsters. My experience so far confirmed this.

I expanded “Dimension” to search for the stairs and observe the monsters of the 27th floor. I caught humanoid crystals wandering about. As expected, the Crystal Golems were returning.

Furthermore, it didn’t end there. Unlike the 26th floor, there were a wide variety of monsters. Of course, all of them had crystalline bodies. There were birds and butterflies among the fliers. Spiders and ants among the crawlers. They all looked like troublesome monsters. Most problematic of all was their agility. Crystal Golems were slow, but the smaller crystal monsters moved fast.

We wouldn’t be able to escape easily.

“They’re all monsters that look hard and fast.”

“…Okay, let’s go home. Let’s go home now. Let’s go home right away.”

“No, I’m going a bit further. At the very least, we’ll keep going while Snow has MP to spare.”

“…Does that mean fighting centered around my magic?”

“I’ll fight too, for the most part, but you’ll probably be the one landing the finishing blows, Snow.”

“…I-I’m going to collapse from overwork.”

“If you collapse, I’ll just toss you into a ‘Connection,’ so don’t you worry.”

“…You’re an ogre. An ogre master.”

“Oh, come on. It’s not like you’re actually going to collapse. You’ve still got plenty of energy left…”

Ignoring her attempts to slack off, I pulled Snow by the hand and headed deeper into the Labyrinth. I decided to test the waters with a manageable monster first.

I spotted a lone Crystal Ant, about one meter in length, wandering nearby and attacked with my sword.

Based on the name, I judged it to be a Crystal Golem that had acquired the traits of an ant. Its smaller physique gave me a faint glimmer of hope. If it didn’t have the massive bulk of a Crystal Golem, my sword might actually cut through.

Praying for that outcome, I swung my blade—only for it to be repelled with a high-pitched metallic clang.

“Tch!”

Even my full-strength strike failed to rend the Crystal Ant’s body. However, unlike with the Crystal Golem, a crack had formed. In terms of defense alone, this thing was clearly inferior to its larger counterpart.

The Crystal Ant bared its fangs at its assailant, letting out a piercing, shrill screech. Hearing that distinctive sound, other monsters came to mind: the ones from the 21st and 22nd floors. Those were monsters that used the swarm as a weapon, and they had made similar noises when calling for their kin.

I kept up the attack while using “Dimension” to scan the surrounding area. As expected, upon hearing the screech, other Crystal Ants nearby began moving toward us with sudden, agile speed.

“This is bad!! The ants in the area are swarming us!”

“…U-uwaah.”

I couldn’t afford to be picky about my methods, so I pulled a greataxe meant for Snow out of my “Inventory.” Using every ounce of my strength, I struck the Crystal Ant, slamming it against the wall.

If this had been a Crystal Golem, it wouldn’t have left so much as a scratch. However, the combination of a slightly lower defense than a golem and the hardness of the surface I smashed it against made the difference.

The Crystal Ant shattered against the crystal wall, its body cracking and its movements slowing. Snow followed up with a strike of her own, and the Crystal Ant was ground into dust.

We managed to defeat it faster than expected, but we didn’t have time to relax. A staggering number of Crystal Ants were heading our way.

I looked at the greataxe in my hand. With just one attack, the edge was visibly chipped. The blade of Snow’s weapon was also crushed, having turned into nothing more than a blunt instrument.

“Snow, for now, let’s fall back to the 26th floor.”

“…Agreed.”

If we kept fighting without a countermeasure, I’d run out of weapons in my “Inventory.” Realizing this, we retreated back the way we came.

During the retreat, we were jumped by several more Crystal Ants. The more I swung my weapons to fight them off, the more they fell apart. Just as I was starting to worry about my remaining spares, we finally slipped through the onslaught and reached the 26th floor.

Unlike the 27th, this floor only had slow-moving monsters. Taking a breather, we discussed our next move.

“Is this the limit for today…?”

“…L-let’s go home.”

Snow agreed without a second thought. If I pushed myself, I could probably break through the 27th floor. However, I hesitated to force a march with Snow in tow. If I were to try it, I should do it alone with my superior speed.

For today, knowing the characteristics of the 27th floor was enough.

“—Magic: [Connection].”

Neither Snow nor I had lost any HP. However, in exchange, many of our weapons had been rendered useless. Having learned that this was another way to be forced into a retreat, we brought our Labyrinth exploration to an end.

“Well now, you certainly did a number on these.”

“The enemies are just too hard…”

Afterward, we visited Alibers’s workshop and showed him all the damaged weapons. Unlike my last visit, the workshop was a hive of activity. Several unfamiliar blacksmiths had been added to the staff, working busily in the cramped space. As per my order, he must have increased the workforce to boost production speed.

“The enemies are hard, you say?”

“Yes. The monsters around the 26th floor have crystalline bodies; they’re quite a handful.”

“The 26th floor, huh. That’s a world we can’t even imagine. I see. Do you happen to have any of their magic stones?”

“I have a few.”

I pulled a magic stone from a Crystal Golem out of my “Inventory” and showed it to him.

“This is… a Crystal Golem’s stone, I assume?”

“You can tell?”

“If I recall, monsters that appear on the sacred mountains far to the west are made of this same material. It’s one of the ultra-high-grade minerals. It should be called ‘Ray Crystal.’ Heh, I didn’t know you could find it in the Labyrinth too.”

It seemed those hardy monsters existed outside the Labyrinth as well.

“I want a sword that can cut through that ‘Ray Crystal.’”

“Well now, our Master sure asks for the impossible… is what I’d like to say, but in reality, if you can wait until tomorrow, the problem will be solved.”

“…Eh?”

“The weapons you ordered will be able to cut it. ‘Crescent Pectolazuli’ is superior to ‘Ray Crystal’ as a mineral. The amount of mana residing within it is on a different level entirely.”

“That’s a relief. So, when will the weapons be finished?”

“With this kind of budget and this many people mobilized, they’ll be done by tomorrow night. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Tomorrow night, then. Understood.”

I felt relieved that the completion date was sooner than expected. I have no knowledge of metallurgy, but even I know a sword isn’t easily made. It might be the benefit of magical technology, or perhaps the blacksmiths here were simply that skilled.

“Are you free after this?”

“I’m just going to get some rest.”

“In that case, would you mind telling me about your Labyrinth exploration, Master?”

“My stories?”

“Yeah. If you tell me about the troubles you faced or things that would be helpful to have, those of us with free hands can make them. Plus, on a personal note, I’d love to hear stories about our ‘Hero’ Master.”

“I’m no ‘Hero,’ but you’re right, sharing information is necessary…”

I would likely be in Alibers’s care many times from here on. Deepening our cooperative relationship would make future Labyrinth dives easier. I nodded and began to slowly recount our exploration.

By the way, Snow, who had tagged along, said “I’m going home to sleep” and left the workshop. She probably figured the day would end in another long conversation. She wasn’t wrong, so I didn’t stop her.

Currently, we’ve been struggling from the 24th floor onward. I spoke about those floors in particular detail.

“I see. So you obtained fire-attribute magic stones in that volcanic zone. If you’re having trouble with the heat, I’ll make some magic items that interfere with fire. Fortunately, you have plenty of fire-attribute stones.”

“That would be a huge help. If you run low, I’ll go hunt for more.”

“We don’t need that many, so it’s fine. I’ll just make some simple necklaces. Honestly, I’d love to make you a full set of plate armor or a shield that suits you, but it probably wouldn’t fit your fighting style, Master.”

“I’ll pass on anything heavy…”

“Magic items that can adapt to lakes or marshes seem like they’d be useful too. I’ll look into picking some out.”

“…Truly, thank you.”

“Aside from that… right. You should probably go pick up some logs somewhere.”

“L-logs?”

“Weapons for Snow. If she’s going to break them anyway, you might as well have her fight with logs. Besides, from what I hear, blunt force seems more effective against those crystal-type monsters.”

“You’re right, I think that makes a lot of sense.”

Alibers and I discussed combat strategies as well. During the conversation, I handed over some woodcarvings I had made in my spare time and placed an order for something I’d wanted for a while. He’d never made one before, but he said he’d give it a shot.

After we finished our thorough discussion, I picked up my repaired weapons and headed to a place where I could get logs. The areas around the Allied Nations were still being developed, so the price of timber was cheap.

For now, I purchased about a hundred logs and put them in my “Inventory.” I was worried they might be too large, but they went in without a problem. While I was at it, I tested what size objects my “Inventory” could take; it seemed it could fit logs up to the maximum size I was capable of carrying.

With this, the preparations I could make for now were complete. Thinking of a strategy for the 26th floor, I headed back to Maria’s room.