Labyrinth Town

I watched the shadowy forest zoom past us as we raced through the sky. Well, I was doing all the running. The rest were kept in the air with Daniela’s wind magic as they were pulled along for the ride.

“‘Fly Float’ has existed for a long time. It is a fairly simple spell that allows you to move in the air. However, it is usually very slow. It is mostly something used to teach children wind magic in the early stages.”

“But you can move quickly with the aid of Legs of the God Wolf.”

“Yes, it is all about how you use it.”

Daniela nodded. Lemon and Manager had been very loud and excited about it at first, but now they seemed to be quietly enjoying the unusual view. It was a good thing too, because this was not likely to happen again…

Once we had crossed the forest, the circular town came into view. A town that was surrounded in a round wall. There should have been a charming town within. Well, perhaps it was more a town of greed that had fed off of the labyrinth. However, there was nothing of that now.

There was a castle instead of a town, and it was tightly pressing against the walls. A fortress, maybe. This thing was apparently the inverted dungeon. And since it had once been a town, there were occasional houses sticking out in odd places, which made the whole thing look even more disturbing.

“So, this is what they call a Labyrinth Disaster.”

Manager muttered.

“I can hardly believe it was a town… You’d think that this dungeon was always here.”

Lemon added. Indeed, it was not the kind of thing that most people would easily believe.

“Everyone, look down.”

Daniela was the only one not looking at the town, and so we followed her gaze. It seemed like a vast field that spread out on and on, but the sunlight was now casting shadows, which showed some small hills. A Minotaur was walking on one of them. And there was something else. Something that was half human and half snake. A Lamia? It slithered speedily through the grass and towards the forest.

“Monsters…”

“Aye. They must be from the dungeon. I was quite sure that our little Minotaur was from there, and it seems like it was not alone. The town has completely inverted.”

I gulped. So it was finished then. But, what did that mean for us? Should we help the residents escape? Exterminate the monsters? Try and destroy the dungeon? I wasn’t sure at all. The thing to do…was to get information.

“Let’s go inside.”

There was no other option. However, we should probably deal with those monsters first.

“There will be other Adventurers headed here as well. And those monsters will not be a problem for them. Besides, it will help them understand the situation here. They are like living sacks of information.”

That was uh, severe. But I wasn’t going to argue with Daniela on this. And the Adventurers from the capital were particularly confident. This wasn’t the kind of quest that would get stone classes sent. So it was probably a good idea to leave the monsters.

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We descended to the town’s entrance, but all we could see were walls. This was because another wall was behind the gate, blocking it. But I suppose none of us had actually expected the dungeon’s entrance to match up perfectly with the town’s. However, where were the monsters coming out from?

“Asagi. The wall is broken over there.”

Manager pointed to a part of the wall that had crumbled. I hadn’t been able to see it from above because there was a watchtower covering it. The tower was jutting out of the parapet and there was a crack below that spread out towards the ground. It seemed that the smallest impact could cause the whole tower to come down. And so we were careful as we approached it.

Once we were closer, it became clear that this was where the monsters had come from.

“This trail here…it is the Lamia.”

Lemon said as she crouched low and traced the ground with her finger. While it did wind from side to side a little, the trail was clearly leading towards the forest. Perhaps it was instinct that drove the monsters to a place that they could hide.

“Let’s go inside then.”

We all unsheathed our weapons and held them ready. And then we stepped foot into the fissure. The ceiling was falling away in several places… Not only that, but there were gaps all over the place, which let in a decent amount of sunlight. It was made of stone. But not just any stone. These were polished bricks that were stacked on top of each other. The fact that it suggested delicate human craftsmanship made it feel even eerier. It reminded me a little of the ancient elven ruins.

I expanded the reach of Presence Detection. There were a few monsters and also humans nearby. The closest was a small group of humans. But due to there being monsters near them, it was likely they would be fighting very soon. It would be ideal if we could reach them in time to help, but we had no map for this dungeon, which would make it difficult. And so after discussing it with the others, it was decided that we would instead try to minimize casualties by luring the monsters towards us.

“I can do mapping!”

“Will you do it for us?”

“Of course!”

Due to Lemon’s hidden ability, we would be able to map out the place as well. I had muttered about not having a map, and Lemon had raised her hand. It was nice having a capable junior with us…even though she was older. And so we switched directions a little. Manager would scout in the lead, I would be the middle guard, Daniela would be the leader and rear guard. Lemon would also support from the rear. And so I handed Lemon the hollow bag.

“Hey, wait a minute.”

“Huh?”

I took off the small figure that was strapped to the bag.

“That’s very cute.”

“Yeah. It’s important to me.”

It was ‘Gumi.’ A present from Merica, back in Senka village. I’d been carrying it for quite a while now, but it was in good shape. The string was durable too. But it would be better to put it away in the dungeon. I didn’t want to lose it…

“There are writing materials in the bag, so you can take them out.”

“Alright. …Hmm…this? Ah, there!”

“Yeah, that’s it.”

“I want this.”

“You can’t have it.”

Lemon had become enchanted by the bag very quickly. But this was something that Russell had given me. And I would not be giving it up.

After we were fully prepared, Presence Detection alerted me of a monster approaching. Daniela gave the order, and I moved behind Manager.

“I’m the scout here. So I’ll mostly take a supporting role during the fight.”

“Uh, but aren’t I the middle guard…”

“Do your best, part-timer.”

“Hey!”

Manager grinned and then disappeared into the shadows. Before I could try and stop her, the monster turned the corner and showed itself. It was a Lamia. The torso of a human and the bottom half of a snake. It held a spear with a stone head. It immediately hissed menacingly upon seeing us.

“Alright, Asagi. Rindo will likely take it from the back. So you are free to attack it head on.”

“Ugh…”

I suppose I was. Not only was this thing in our way, but it seemed very happy to fight us. The fact that it was so human-like above the waist made me feel a little uneasy, but it was a monster. It would definitely kill us. And so I sighed and then grunted with determination. And with the black emperor sword in hand, I charged forward.