The Strongest Magician Is Imprisoned

Once Vim was restrained by the Imperial guards, he was promptly loaded onto a carriage.

The chains binding him seemed to be made of a special metal designed to significantly dampen magic.

“Where do you intend to take me?” Vim asked, his voice low and threatening.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” the lead guard replied curtly.

By Vim’s estimation, they had been traveling for about an hour when the carriage came to a halt.

“Get out,” the guard said bluntly.

They were at a labyrinth located on the outskirts of the Empire. If he recalled correctly, it was a dungeon categorized as quite a high rank.

“Well then, do your best to survive in this labyrinth.”

With those words, the guard shoved Vim into the entrance and slammed the heavy doors shut, locking him inside. Furthermore, they proceeded to cast a barrier over the exit.

With this, escaping the labyrinth had become an extremely difficult feat.

“This is bad.”

For the time being, staying like this was a problem. Being in a labyrinth meant that magical beasts would appear. Even if this was only the first floor, the monsters here would be of a higher level than average.

Thanks to the magic Vim had been continuously channeling while inside the carriage, the special chains had loosened, and he was able to free himself from the restraint.

“As I thought, it’s not going to be easy.”

He tried blasting the labyrinth’s exit with magic, but it was no use.

“That’s a sturdy barrier. Is this his handiwork?”

There were very few people in the Empire capable of casting a barrier that Vim’s magic couldn’t break. Most likely, the one who set this was the Grand Court Magician. The Grand Magician specialized in defensive combat rather than offense. Therefore, setting a barrier or two would be child’s play for him.

“It’s a Disconnection Barrier.”

The Disconnection Barrier is among the highest class of barriers. It completely repels both magical and physical attacks. Breaking through the Grand Magician’s barrier would likely be difficult, even for Vim.

“Judging by the feel of the mana, I’d say this is a High-Grade Labyrinth.”

Within a labyrinth, magical energy known as ‘mana’ drifts through the air. Magic is activated by the mental image of releasing this energy from the body. Magical beasts are lifeforms made of magic born from this mana. In other words, it is difficult to maintain life in a place where mana is absent.

Judging by the concentration of mana drifting in the air, this place was likely among the highest ranks of labyrinths.

“For now, I should move to a Safe Area.”

In labyrinths, there are certain floors where no magical beasts exist. Because one can rest there in relative peace, adventurers challenging the dungeon call them “Safe Areas.”

Vim began walking through the labyrinth while maintaining a search spell. There had to be a staircase leading to the next floor somewhere.

“Stay out of my way.”

He used fire magic to turn the magical beasts that attacked him along the way into piles of ash. Since it was the first floor, the monsters were still relatively weak.

“Oh, there it is.”

Before long, Vim found the stairs leading to the next level.