Untouched Lands

“Whoa-ho-ho!”

With a rather pathetic shout, Hans-san nonetheless kept his center of gravity low and thrust his short spear into the slime. The sharp bone tip pierced through the membrane with a squelch, and blue body fluid overflowed instantly.

Usually, if you fail to finish it in one blow, you’d be in for a painful counterattack. But this time, there was no need to worry. The slime tried its best to bounce, but its body was pinned to the floor, unable to move.

What held the monster fast like birdlime was the Great Caterpillar’s Thread. Without mercy, the spear was thrust into the immobile slime once more. This proved to be a fatal wound; the Blue Slime lost its shape and collapsed.

Hans-san, who had been bracing himself just in case, let out a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from his brow.

“Splendidly done, Hans-san.”

“Whew. I was nervous. But this is certainly a very easy way to do things.”

“I see… This way is definitely safe. However, Sir Nino, is it truly possible to get stronger through such methods?”

The Chief’s question was reasonable. Stabbing immobile prey to death to get stronger would normally be considered impossible. Even I find myself wondering what “experience points” actually are in this world.

So, here is the excuse I came up with:

“It’s fine. Just by defeating a monster, one can absorb mana, you see.”

Monsters mean mana. By taking in that mana, your physical abilities increase—or so the theory goes. I have a feeling that’s not entirely incorrect in this world.

“Ho, is that so? How educational.”

“I have heard that continuing to defeat monsters in a mana pool makes it easier to be granted new powers… but is it really okay for it to be this simple…?”

While Hans-san nodded earnestly, the Chief was still a bit skeptical. I suppose it’s hard to accept that one can obtain powers so easily when it usually takes decades to master a specialty.

However, if we take things slow, we’ll never make it in time. I just have to get them to understand that this is simply how it works.

“There are still plenty of slimes left. Let’s keep raising your level, Hans-san.”

The spawn point for the Blue Slimes was different from yesterday, but the number was exactly the same: thirty. The Great Caterpillar ran out of mana halfway through, so the rest was a group effort, but Hans-san was able to play a significant role. Thanks to that, his level jumped to 12 in one go.

Since we had a large group this time, we decided to brute-force the stairs room together.

“Here I gooo!”

Perhaps stressed from only using Water Bubble earlier, Mia started the battle by spamming Fire Bullet. Enveloped in roaring flames, the four Blue Slimes scurried about in shock. Paula’s whip lashed one of them hard, while the charging Great Caterpillar sent another flying. Then Hans-san, diving in low, thrust his spear powerfully.

In the blink of an eye, three were finished off, and the last one—which had been lured away by Yo the Fairy—lost its form to a final Fire Bullet.

I had been entranced by everyone’s fluid movements, but I hurriedly shifted my gaze to the back of the room. The Boss Slime was already stained purple and was flattening out. Beside it, Yoru and Kuu were proudly holding their hands up together.

“Target eliminated—!”

“Koo!”

I missed seeing the true nature of the tail again.

We gathered the loot and took a break at the fountain. The Labyrinth Sphagnum had grown back perfectly, so I harvested it all to the root this time without worry. When the Chief and Hans-san stared at the beautiful fountain with surprised eyes, I explained that this was Labyrinth Water. Their faces immediately filled with caution, but seeing Mia and the others drinking it without a care, they eventually took a tentative sip.

“Alright, as for the second floor…”

Since the short spear’s piercing attack is less effective against bone, I had Hans-san switch to his sword and shield. Interestingly, he was then able to use the specialty Continuous Attack. He likely learned it at level 10, but it probably didn’t show up in the status column because he was equipped with a spear.

When he tried it out, he performed two quick slashes and crushed the skull of a skeletal dog—quite the impressive performance. Vanguard-type specialties consume vitality rather than mana, but the Mana-Vitality Potions should be more than enough to recover what he loses. So, as long as we leave the bone dogs to Yoru and Hans-san, we’ll be fine.

When the troublesome Tinnitus Bats appeared, the Fairy warned us immediately, allowing for a swift response. She’s proving to be excellent not just as a light source, but as a scout as well. We finished off the Boss Bat using the same method as before and quickly gathered the respawned Guano Stones. Despite the dangerous atmosphere, the Chief was constantly amazed that we hadn’t encountered a single moment of peril.

“The third floor takes a bit more time, but let’s proceed calmly as we have been.”

The reason this floor takes time is that I have to mark the locations where materials can be gathered on a paper map. This part doesn’t show up on the menu command map, so I have to record each spot one by one.

Hans-san had reached level 13, but as a precaution, I had Paula use Subordination on one more Giant Worm. Plus, worms are just too useful outside of combat. We named this one Mizu-san.

We gathered copper ore and marked the locations of the White-Glow Stones on the handmade map for collection on the way back. From this floor on, the Chief was gaining a decent amount of experience, so he participated in the combat. He seemed bewildered at first but quickly grew accustomed to it, calmly driving his spear into worms and rats. Despite being nearly fifty, he is an Oni after all; the blows he unleashed from his large frame had a power you wouldn’t expect from a back-row class. Though, since his physical attack stat isn’t that high, he wasn’t quite able to deliver the finishing blows.

We cleared the Boss Worm in front of the stairs the same way as yesterday and took another short break. It had been about two hours so far. Compared to yesterday, things were moving much faster than I’d expected.

“The fourth floor is a safe zone, so there’s no combat besides the boss. Let’s take it easy.”

For some reason, the two men looked slightly disappointed. Recording the locations of the galls on my map, we proceeded without hesitation. Reaching the end of the floor in about thirty minutes, we once again wiped out the fairy and caterpillar squad with Kuu’s .

Now, it was finally time for the fifth floor.

Paula and Kuu were level 17. Yoru, Mia, Yo-chan, and Imo-tchi were level 16. Hans-san and Mizu-san were level 14, and the Chief was level 20. If things continued as they had, the monsters appearing would be level 14 to 16, so we shouldn’t struggle much unless something unexpected happened. As insurance, I gave the main attackers, Yoru and Kuu, Attack Enhancement Potions. Actually, my materials for enhancement and augmentation drugs were starting to run low. I was hoping to find something on this floor…

“Wh—what an incredible expanse…”

“This place… what is truly going on here…?”

Facing the vast open space, the two men let out a synchronized cry of admiration.

“Is that a White-Glow Stone…? It’s… monstrously large…”

Hans-san stood with his mouth agape, pointing at a giant rock shining brilliantly from the high ceiling.

“No, that’s a Solar Rock, the source of White-Glow Stones. It has a slightly unusual way of shining.”

As the name implies, it shines only during the day and goes dark at night. Since White-Glow Stones are made from fragmented Solar Rock, even one of those would be worth a staggering amount. Though, the ceiling is too high to reach, so we can’t collect it.

“Come to think of it, even though we’re underground, there’s a faint breeze.”

“Yes, it seems the heat from that Solar Rock is moving the air.”

“Is that so? It’s warm enough that you wouldn’t think it’s mid-winter.”

I still have no idea how the air supply works this deep underground, but since we can breathe, there’s no point overthinking it.

In contrast to Hans-san, who was wide-eyed and asking all sorts of questions, the Chief stared intently at the plain before him, not moving an inch. It seemed he was sufficiently surprised. The reason I had the Chief accompany us was to overturn his perception of this subterranean labyrinth. I thought this vast floor would be the deciding factor.

Additionally, I wanted him to see it with the eyes he’d used as a farmer for so long.

“What do you think, Chief? This land?”

“Yes… I am deeply shocked that such a place exists deep underground.”

The Chief crouched down, scooped up some soil, and kneaded it with his fingers to check its texture.

“Neither too heavy nor too light… and the drainage seems good. Yes. This is good soil.”

“I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

“What… do you mean by that?”

To the Chief’s suspicious question, I stood tall and answered. Naturally, I wouldn’t repeat yesterday’s failure.

“Actually, I’m thinking of building a farm here.”

“A farm? All the way out here?”

“Yes. The soil in the labyrinth contains a massive amount of mana, so plants grow exceptionally well. This place is wide and there’s plenty of space, so I thought I might start with a medicinal herb garden.”

“Ho, I see.”

“If it goes well, I’ll keep increasing the cultivated land, grow things besides herbs, build houses, and once everyone can live here…”

“Eventually, you’ll found the Labyrinth Empire, won’t you, my Lord?”

“Yes—Paula-san, please don’t add unnecessary things.”

I tried to stop her, but I was too late. The Chief looked at us with a stunned face for a moment. Then, his throat began to vibrate with a small laugh.

“I thought you were planning something, but this is far beyond my imagination… it is a grand and… very pleasant dream.”

Muttering thoughtfully, the Chief returned to a serious expression and continued.

“As you said, Sir Nino, we haven’t encountered any great danger so far. Furthermore, I found the talk of building a farm very interesting. If my humble strength can be of use, I would be happy to help.”

I stared in surprise at the Chief’s outstretched hand. This was the shift in policy I was aiming for, but I hadn’t expected it to go this well. Perhaps it was good that I told him honestly about wanting to build a farm.

Noticing the bewilderment on my face, Chief Dirk let a graceful smile touch his lips.

“There is that, but also… from your words and behavior so far, and the way the monsters have taken to you, I have come to believe that Sir Nino is not a man who would deceive others.”

“Eh? Did I say that out loud?”

“No, I just felt that you might be feeling that way.”

Scary. Why does everyone keep reading my heart?

But having his cooperation is truly a blessing. I couldn’t easily manage people on my own with my lack of experience.

In the moment I firmly shook the Chief’s hand, a sharp sound suddenly rang out. Simultaneously, something pierced the ground at my feet. It was bent in the middle, but it was a genuine arrow.