Labyrinth Escape

Nearly a year had passed since then.

If there was one thing that was painful, it was the sheer boredom.

I had been hunting magical beasts occasionally, but perhaps because I had defeated the Guardian, the monsters seemed to have grown weaker as well.

“As I thought, this just isn’t enough to kill time.”

Vim didn’t have any particular trouble surviving, but he couldn’t escape the boredom.

What he had learned since then was that “Eternal Life” seemed to be categorized as a special skill. As the name implied, his body no longer aged, and a semi-permanent lifespan was guaranteed. At the same time, it seemed his body had become one that could survive without eating or drinking. These were facts Vim had uncovered himself through appraisal magic.

Today, he had come to the vicinity of the first-floor exit.

“Hmm? This is…”

Vim activated his appraisal magic and squinted at the area near the exit.

“Just as I thought. The barrier is starting to fray.”

A small crack had formed in the barrier cast by the Grand Magician after a year had passed.

“With this, I might be able to break through.”

By exploiting this fraying, it might be possible to destroy the barrier itself. Fortunately, he had more than enough magical power remaining.

“Let’s try it.”

Vim put some distance between himself and the labyrinth entrance.

Burn to Ashes.

Vim deployed multiple fire arrows, aiming them at the fraying point of the barrier, and fired.

“Just a bit more.”

Burn.

This time, he increased the speed of the arrows and launched them toward the barrier. Consequently, a crack appeared in the barrier. The fissure gradually grew larger until the barrier was destroyed.

Once the barrier was destroyed, the rest was simple. Vim kicked down the barred doors of the labyrinth.

“It’s been a while.”

As he stepped outside, the sunlight momentarily blinded him. It was the first sunlight he had seen in about a year.

“This is somewhat moving. Now then, time to get moving.”

He wanted to act as quickly as possible. Sooner or later, someone would surely notice that the barrier had been destroyed. The person who cast it would likely be the first to know. To put it simply, when a barrier one has cast is breached, a sensation of discord runs through the body.

“Goodbye to this country.”

He had no business with the Empire that had imprisoned him. He would get out of this place immediately.

“The Kingdom of Leoria is the closest from here.”

The Kingdom of Leoria—a nation of complete meritocracy. He had heard it was a country where, unlike the Cyrus Empire, one was not discriminated against based on social status. Whether such a fairytale-like country truly existed, he didn’t know, but for now, he had to rely on that information.

“Let’s go.”

Vim set his sights on the Kingdom of Leoria. The geographical information of this area was burned into his memory.

“Shall I use this for the first time in a while?”

He deployed flight magic. To begin with, magic that allows one to fly through the sky is a formula that has yet to leave the realm of fairy tales. A mage who can use it this easily could be counted on one hand across the entire world.

Vim lifted his body off the ground, gradually increasing his speed and altitude as he headed toward the Kingdom of Leoria.