Chapter 3.3 (1/2)
Gorilla says, ”I've bought your weapon. Is there anything else you want to do?”
Sora recalls the request Elias made of him and says, ”Oh yeah… You mind if I stop someplace for a bit?”
”Alright, but speaking of which, where ya going?”
”I'm heading to the labyrinth that just popped up in this city.”
”Oh! I don't know much about it, but I've heard that labyrinth is pretty dangerous. Almost 30 people have already died in it, apparently.”
Almost 30 people have died!? The heck did them in? The monsters? The traps? Well, even if it's a bit scary, Elias asked me. I can't just not go.
Sora says, ”So, what about you? You coming or not?”
”Obviously I'm going. Although, if it gets dangerous, I'm running away.”
A ranks shouldn't run away… Then again, Gorilla is married. He can't just die and leave his wife behind.
Sora, not wanting to ask multiple more times, speaks to everyone at once. ”Are all of you coming?”
Yami says, ”Yes.”
Laila says, ”Of course”
Sura says, ”I will go.”
Now there's just one problem.
Sora says, ”Alright, but… about that. Where exactly is the labyrinth?”
Gorilla says, ”You seriously don't know! Honestly… it should be this way.”
Gorilla leads Sora and his party to a cavern bulging up from the ground. The opening is about 20m and 10m wide. ”And here it is.”
Surrounding the entrance are scores of armed people. Adventurers? There sure are a lot of them.
Sora, however, is more focused on the opening. ”It's huge!”
”Enormous. I've challenged other labyrinths, but it's my first time diving into something this gigantic.”
”I see. By the way, how are labyrinths created?” Elias' memories don't say much about this.
”Why do you want to know something about that? Well, I don't really know myself. Labyrinths just happen. The theory is beyond me, but some people claim it's a ~something or another~ gift from G.o.d.”
”There are a lot of mysteries.”
”Yep.”
”Well, I don't really care all that much about the theory.”
”What! Then why'd you bother asking?”
”Oh, for some reason or another. Anyway, let's go!”
Sora, his companions, and Gorilla proceed past the gathered adventurers and make their way to the labyrinth's entrance. Gatekeepers resembling the gate guards of the Nelga kingdom call out to them. ”Wait. It will be very dangerous up ahead. Those without strength cannot pa.s.s.”
Oh, is that all? I thought they were gonna charge a toll. This'll be cake.
Sora and Gorilla show their respective S rank and A rank guild cards to the gatekeepers.
The gatekeepers freeze as they stare at the pair of guild cards. ””Dang!”” Their faces pale as one rushes to say, ”Ou-our deepest apologies. Please, go on through.”
Why are they apologizing for? And why are they being so polite? They're not even saying anything towards Laila and the others. Then again, maybe they don't care since she's wearing a slave collar? Lucky us.
While Sora entertains such thoughts, they enter the labyrinth. The inside is pitch black.
”Uwaa, it's dark.”
Gorilla says, ”Wow, you can't see a thing in here. Hold on… Haa!” The surrounding area brightens at his cry.
Everything looks better, but brighten might not be the right description. Maybe it's more like a skill that grants night vision?
Yami and the rest of the party are shocked at becoming able to see. Gorilla apparently granted the ability onto all of them as well.
Sora say, ”Incredible.”
Gorilla says, ”You think? I find it pretty convenient.”
”Not that, I mean the labyrinth.”
”Ehh!?”
The inside of the labyrinth is like limestone, making it very beautiful. I'm so overwhelmed that a praise slipped out, but we've come to a very beautiful place.
”Masta, coming.”
A ringing sound,
—kata kata kata
Is followed by a skeleton holding a rusty sword in its right hand.
Sora says, ”What the, a skeleton? I'll leave it to you.”
”Yes.”
—Botsu
Instant win. No duh, skeletons are just small fry.
Gorilla says, ”I've seen it before, but that ojou-chan is seriously powerful.”
Sora pats Yami's head, pon pon, while saying, ”Obviously, she's my companion after all.”
”Hahahaha, I guess that's true! But, something even more serious is starting to brew behind you.”
”Behind me?”
Sora turns around to see Sura and Laila glaring. They're puffing their cheeks so much, their faces look like they're going to explode.
Laila says, ”Geh.”
Sora says, ”'Geh!'? What's wrong? Did you hear something, Lailsan? You just went, 'Geh!'”
”Yeah, I heard something. Jyus.h.i.+n, that 'Geh!' is a question to how much longer you're going to continue flirting.”
Sora moves his hand from Yami's head at those words. Yami, however, tightly grasps his hand.
”I, did my best. That's why, more.”
”Can't be helped.”
—Pon pon
Sora says, ”Kiiiiiii! Lailsan, did you hear what Yami said? This is just a reward for beating that small fry!”
”Yeah, I heard. In that case, we just need to annihilate monsters too!”
Sura says, ”Right!”
Laila and Sura then take off into the cave. Everyone else follows behind them and descend down a spiraling stair case. According to Elias' memories, labyrinths gets stronger the deeper down you go. 1, 2, 3…
They reach the 4th floor, but have yet to encounter any monsters. Instead, they find heaps of magic stones scattered over the ground. They're the spoils Sura and Laila leave behind from their extermination. As such, Sora and the rest retrieve the stones as they continue chasing after the two.
This labyrinth has been a limestone cave since the first floor. Barely a thing has changed.
Gorilla says, ”We're in a labyrinth, but nothing's happened.”
Sora says, ”You're right. Judging from these magic stones, the monsters don't look all that strong either.” All the stones they've been finding so far have been 3~5cm, just like the skeleton's that was defeated when they first entered the labyrinth.
”Yeah, [for now], anyway.”
Yami says, ”Carelessness is bad.”
Sora says, ”Yami's right. This labyrinth has already claimed 30 lives. A powerful monster or a trap is bound to be hiding somewhere. If it's just a monster, great, but I'd hate springing an unreasonable trap.”
Gorilla says, ”An unreasonable trap… that would mean instant death. Well, as long as my magnificent self is around, something like that is nothing to fear!”
”Hey, saying—”
A sound creaks out from underneath Gorilla's foot,
—Gachan
And the ground underneath the party crumbles, leaving them to fall into the labyrinth's depths.
””Uaaaaa!?””
s.h.i.+t! That stupid Gorilla! Won't a drop like this be an absolute instant death?!! That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! With those thoughts, Sora activates a skill.
”Gravity(Gravity) Manipulation(Control)!”
Gorilla grunts like a real gorilla in surprise. ”Uhou!? Nii-chan, you can do something about this too? You're amazing!”
By using Gravity(Gravity) Manipulation(Control), Sora eases everyone onto the floor below. There they find Laila and Sura collapsed on the ground.
Did they trip the same trap?
Gorilla says, ”No way, are the ojou-chan dead?”
Sora says, ”They're fine, just unconscious.”
”At any rate, looks like we've found the 30 dead adventurers.”
The 30 corpses surrounding them are all mangled. The body of one person exploded and is scattered about while another's is bending in strange angles. All of them must'ave died on impact.
”Oh yeah, before I forget, we should at the very least retrieve their guild cards.”
”Yeah.”
They retrieve the guild cards with care. According to Elias' memories, leaving the bodies as they are could result in a rare monster appearing. As such, Yami burns them afterwards.
Sora gets mixed feelings watching her silently burn the corpses. He says, ”That's bad, Yami.”
Yami, not understanding the meaning behind Sora's words, looks at him and tilts her head. ”Mn?”
As Sora once more strokes her head, he hears, ”Ufufufu~”
Gorilla says, ”H-hey, nii-chan, try not to die?”
A s.h.i.+ver runs down Sora's spine, ”ha?” He hesitantly looks behind himself to find Laila and Sura standing back up. Surrounding them is the sfx, ”Gogogogo”.
Sora says, ”Goo- good morning…”
”Soraa!!”
”Sora!!”
—Ahhhhhhh
Sora faints and wakes up an hour later.
”That hurt…” Sora wakes up to find everyone enjoying sandwiches. Those must be the one's made by Gorilla's wife.
Not everyone is enjoying a tasty meal, Yami is missing. A doubt pops up in his mind as he looks around. Shouldn't I be laying flat on the ground? Isn't my field of view too high?
Sora's intuition reminds him of ”that time.” That means…
He gets up to try and confirm the truth, but, ”oh!?” Both his shoulders are held down by an enormous level of strength. He cannot get up.
The owner of that overwhelming strength peeks at his face. Yami says, ”Masta, it's still too early.”
”Like I thought, it's you, Yami… Why are you giving me a lap pillow?”
”Reasons?”
”What do you mean, reasons…?”
”Masta, here.” Yami pulls out a sandwich from a nearby basket and hands it to Sora.
Sora says, ”Oh, thanks,” and bites into it, mogu mogu. At the same time, he glances towards everyone else. Laila, Sura, and Gorilla are making a fun racket for some reason or another. ”They sure are energetic.”
”Yes.”
Sora finishes eating the sandwich, gets up from Yami's lap, and heads towards Gorilla and the others. Sura and Laila notice him getting closer and rush up to his side.
Sura says, ”Ah, Sora— the two of you are, icha icha, flirting again!?”
Laila says, ”Oh, Shujin, do we need to punish you again?”
Sora says, ”Yeah, morni— Wait, what do you mean punis.h.!.+? I was punished?”
”Yea, some of this and some of that…”