Book 3: Chapter 23
Book 3: Chapter 23
「Take care of that, Reiji!」
「On it!」
Dante-san tried to taunt three automatons, but one slipped past his side. The hedgehog-type automatons were more like a “tank” than a “puppet”.
As it charged towards me with its spiky needles, I threw a branch at it and invoked【Flower Magic】. This branch, which has a strange name of “Six Knot Wood”, grows many vines from each of its knots. In other words, it is most suitable for entangling wheels.
Its wheel stopped rotating, causing the hedgehog to fall sideways due to the inertia. Sliding across the ground, it came to a stop as its needles pierced into a wall. The hedgehog with its ”belly” exposed, rotated the remaining wheels helplessly in the air. One hedgehog is done!
「NUOOOO!」
Dante-san blocked a needle charge with his large shield and swung the mace down on the nose of the hedgehog he was facing. The needles around the face, which also acted as a defensive barrier, could not stop the blows from the vicious iron mace. After cutting it down to size, the automaton finally stopped moving.
「This is impossible, impossibleeeee!」
「Zerry-san, aim at its face!」
「I can’t do it!」
Even if Zerry-san was a close-ranged fighter, she could not wield a heavy weapon like Dante-san, so she could only dodge and run away from the hedgehog. The hedgehog doesn’t actually seem like a tough opponent for Zerry-san to handle, but since it’s the last one, I decided to take care of it. I shot Stone Bullet with【Earth Magic】. The attack destroyed the hedgehog’s face and brought its ramage to a stop.
「Fuu, is it over? It’s difficult to deal with automatons since they’re not living things.」Dante-san exhaled.
「No, it was a lot easier since Dante-san held down their first blow. I was able to assess the enemy.」
「Is that so? That’s good then.」
This is our third time diving into the Labyrinth of Fear. It’s already been a day since we entered the dungeon.
「There sure are a lot of enemies.」
Mimino-san said while removing the magic stone that powered the automatons.
We encounter a battle about once every hour, but the number of enemies ranges from 1 to 5, so the average is about 3. The automaton which says “Be Consumed By Fear” also shows up sometimes, but the majority were the animal-type.
「There should also be monsters here, but we haven’t seen any.」
「That’s right. Something also feels different about it from the other labyrinths.」Mimino-san said.
Of course, the documents we read in advance regarding the other labyrinths may not have all the specifications of that labyrinth, but even the large-scale gimmicks, traps, and automatons, were fairly inapplicable in the Labyrinth of Fear.
It is very likely that each labyrinth has a different personality.
「Reiji, how many have we defeated in total?」
「Hmm… the number of battles is 11 and the total number of automatons is 35.」
The load-carrying tray of Neko-chan, which I drove, was loaded with rare parts that Muge-san requested me to collect. Magic stones, sorcery parts, and Mithril in very small quantities.
A certain portion of the interior of the automaton contains Mithril. It’s hard to tell at first glance, but an engineer should be able to easily distinguish it. And I have【World Ruler】, so I can also tell it apart.
Most of the profits that Muge-san earned from selling the loots came from magic stones and Mithril.
「There are indeed many of them.」Dante-san turned gloomy, seeming to be thinking silently.
He’s probably thinking of the Golden Brigade. When the frequency of encounters with automatons is so high, there aren’t that many among the Golden Brigade who can fight and defeat the enemies individually. Now that more than two days have passed since Polina-san was rescued, we don’t know how many people are still alive.
「Dante, I’m done with the dismantling.」Mimino-san said.
「Okay. How is your mana, Reiji?」
「No problem.」
「Okay, let’s move on.」
We followed down the passage. The passage was about the size of a small room, just enough for an automaton to show up. If it’s going to show up in a narrow space, then there are methods to fight in such a space, but if it doesn’t show up, then all the better.
The next room we arrived at was different than before.
「A dead end?」
A large room surrounded by walls on three sides.
「It may be a dead end, but…」
「What a bad taste〜」Zerry-san said carefreely.
It was indeed a place that couldn’t be described as anything other than ‘bad taste’.
A huge gray face on the front. Faces on the left and right, too. There were three faces—the same three-dimensional model as found at the entrance.
The faces were just as big as the entrance, you have to crank your neck and look up. All the mouths and eyes were closed, and the shape was that of the human race.
「Something is written on the lips.」
Non-san, who held up the magic lamp, said. On closer inspection, letters were engraved on the thin upper lip.
『Those Who Seek Worldly Goods Without Fear.』
Only that.
We simply looked at each other. I don’t know what it means, but Polina-san said that when she was studying the colorful rocks, the floor disappeared, so we didn’t approach it carelessly either.
「Everyone, how about we all stay close together for the time being?」
Non-san’s proposal was easily accepted.
I examined the faces on the left and right as well. Sure enough, words could be found on the upper lips.
The right:
『Those Who Seek Truth With Fear.』
The left:
『Those Who Plea For Life In Fear.』
「…………」
We decided to go back to the entrance of the room for the time being—because there were no automatons or traps at the moment.
「How far was the last forked path?」Dante-san asked.
「The road was flat and it took about two hours to walk, including combat, so it will take less than 30 minutes if we run. However, there is no guarantee that the road will remain the same.」
Non-san answered, taking out a roughly-sketched map and a spring-type pocket watch. It is a must-have item for capturing a dungeon. The accuracy of the watch seems to deviate by a few minutes in a one day lapse, but that is an acceptable error range.
「Alright. Then the next problem is that ‘face’.」
「Reiji-kun, what do you think about those?」Mimino-san asked.
「There is strong mana only on the lips, so I think that something will be activated if you touch it.」
「’Something’?」
「I think the mouth will open and reveal the next passage.」
It’s just a guess, but looking at the circulation of mana, that face is designed to move.
「The guy who made this labyrinth is crazy smart, isn’t he?」Dante-san said, sighingly.
Of course, I was in total agreement with that statement. In fact, I think everyone had thought of that since the first time we challenged the labyrinth. There is just no denying that.
「Which one do we choose?」
Yes, that’s the problem.
「Money, of course!」
Zerry-san suddenly got excited.
「The word ‘Fear’ does cause concern, but if we look past that, I’m attracted to the word ‘truth’.」Mimino-san, who has a scholarly temperament, rather than an adventurer said.
「Perhaps we should choose the passage with less danger.」
The “safety first” Non-san suggested.
「It’s divided equally. Leaving aside my opinion… Reiji, what about you?」
「I……」
It was an atmosphere that seemingly looked like a majority vote. The three who have already answered and Dante-san looked at me.
I answered, with slight hesitation.
「The left. ‘Those Who Plea For Life In Fear’.」