1 Prologue - Awakening (Day 1 - 1)
The Great Labyrinth of Orcus.
This is the name that was given to the labyrinth. And for hundreds of years, adventurers explored and challenged it for personal gain, fame and even wealth.
And even for hundreds of years, no adventurer, even those who were the strongest, had ever explored deep enough due to the power the monsters beyond Floor 65 had since the deepest the humans had gone was at this certain floor.
But, ever since then it had been one of the most popular sites for adventurers to challenge.
Not really, since nobody was simply able to just go deeper down into the 65th floor since at these moments, only 45 floors of the Labyrinth have been fully mapped.
It could be said that the Labyrinth in itself was going to stay there until the end of time. Nobody had ever cleared it, and the humans decided that if someone does clear the labyrinth, they would be given whatever they need.
Obviously, wealth and power.
Up on the north, inside a certain Holy Mountain, several robed men and a certain priest began chanting prayers continuously in front of an altar.
A magical circle full of glyphs was glowing brightly, and someone was about to be summoned.
"The greatest pawn is about to come.... Make haste in preparing..." The old priest said, smiling creepily as many thoughts were made around his mind.
However, what he didn't know was that many people will be summoned instead of just the Hero.
But!!
Seriously, why should we start here? This isn't the story of that certain Hero Party with several irresponsible and delusional members, when there's somebody down there who is our real Main Protagonist?
Right....
*The narrator is having a coffee break this moment, go to the next paragraph to proceed*
Now where were we?
Down in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth of Orcus, in the Abode of Traitors, a skeleton sat in solitude, with only ancient magics keeping it from decomposing and breaking apart.
If anybody else had seen the corpse, they might appreciate how well-dressed it was, and probably might just steal whatever belonging he has, on rare occasions it won't, only burying it and leaving it untouched.
But now, the eyesockets of the skeleton suddenly gained an eerie purple light, before a purplish glow surrounded the body.
At the same time, a gigantic crystal manifested above the throne, and roots deep from the ground came out, holding the crystal in mid-air.
The monsters in the Labyrinth have also been weakened throughout this process, and the stronger ones were not much affected by it.
This whole, slow process took several minutes, causing earthquakes to engulf the whole Labyrinth, its 100 floors, and the land above it.
After the process was done, in mere milliseconds, the skeleton regenerated, starting from the organs, to nerves, to blood vessels, until eventually the original body was restored.
It was given life.
He was given life.
Awaken, Master of Labyrinths.
"*Gasp* !!!" The man's eyes opened quickly, gasping whatever air that was missing from him.
He controlled his breathing, eventually collecting his thoughts as he stood from the throne.
"Where am I?" Asking himself, he patted his chest with the intention of cleaning some dust off, only for a huge amount of dust to leave his clothing.
"Damn, some dust went into my mouth! Ptui~! Like seriously, what the hell happened, did someone kidnap me, or what?"
'The only thing I remember was that.... Sheesh, I think I died slipping down the stairs, and getting my eye and brain pierced by..... The sharp tip of an umbrella, great. Ow, I think I've also forgotten some good things about myself, except my knowledge, ow....'
Grumbling, he began walking around the abode, examining each piece of the rooms.
There was an object giving out light, and it's the only thing that gave out light and honestly, he preferred it was there than some torches or something else.
All of this felt familiar, and as he was still recovering his memories, he knew this place was a safe haven of some sorts.
Although he noticed something like...
[ Updating System.... 10% ]
Which wasn't important as right now. Our protagonist found a library within the Abode, just before he did enter, he decided to get his own clothing cleaned up from the dirt that built up.
This time he was careful enough not to have dirt on his face and mouth.
Looking at the mirror, he noticed a handsome face that was probably twice as handsome when no glasses are present. Far better than his completely average, mildly fat look.
He still had black hair and blue eyes, but now he has a long ponytail that reached down to his waist.
And wearing British gentlemanly clothing, that's a cool plus.
"Nice looking, secret agent! Thank you, sir!" Our protagonist commented on himself, coolly shifting his glasses.
His memory was still jumbled up ever since his death, and having a headache made him lose some focus.
The library he entered wasn't as massive as those libraries on a campus, but that didn't mean there wasn't enough books for him to read for many
A sleeping girl contained in a capsule, no, correct that, several girls in similar capsules. And all of them had the same face, and the same maid uniforms.
There were a few capsules that don't have anybody contained, though.
The only thing is, except the one in front of him whose eyes were closed, the others have hauntingly empty eyes.
"They're all dead." He concluded, sighing before he glanced at the maid girl in front of him. "Well, I guess it's time for you to wake up, my servant."
As if responding to that order, the girl opened her eyes, and the capsule containing her opened.
Regaining movement, the girl stared at him. And her expression mildly shifted from blank, to straight. As if not really expressing anything.
"Master Oscar, you're awake? How long has it been? 920 years, no, maybe two thousand years and a few hundred more? I am called Lievre, your personal assistant maid." She was wondering, obviously.
'920 years and even more? Oscar? That's not my name and I'm not as old as an Asian Granddad....'
Shaking his head, he observed at the girl's figure.
".... Cute." He couldn't help but comment this, because that was his first impression on the girl.
"Thank you for your compliment, Master. But, is there anything wrong?"
A short time had passed, he led the maid to the living room, sitting in the couch to ask something to her while she had cleaning materials equipped.
"Who am I?" He asked.
"You? You are my master and creator, Oscar Orcus. I was your last creation while you spent your last days. Now, I wonder, was this your plan all along?" She asked, and Oscar was just speechless.
'Nope.... Maybe not, but the original owner of this body must have, so....'
"Sure. I'm still recovering my memories at the moment, it would be better to get myself some rest here. After you clean, go prepare a meal. I'm starving...."
"Understood. Maybe you should be resting in your room."
"...." He didn't reply, only resting his body on the couch where it seemed comfortable enough for him.
'Maybe resting will allow me to remember more. I am sure that I was reincarnated into another world. Plus, it soothes my headache.' Oscar concluded, his eyes closing to welcome rest.
In his brief rest, he began to recollect his memories, and his mind became a little more clearer.
The maid gently shook him awake, and once he was up, he was presented with a meal that was enough to sustain him for a long time. A bowl of salad, pork stew, and a salmon-like dish.
"Here's your meal, Master. I've learned many meals and cuisine techniques to know what to cook."
He enjoyed the meal, leaving only a bit for her, but she denied since she didn't need food for sustenance since she only needed to consume mana.
While Oscar ate, he had a simple conclusion.
'I am in the world of Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekaisaiyou. Or just Arifureta for short. That means....'
"..... Haa..... what a drag...."
[ ~ TO • BE • CONTINUED ~ ]
Author's Note: The MC is Lazy, meaning he looks for easier and more practical ways to do stuff. Not the boring lazy guy who slumps a lot and procrastinates too much since I am basically trying to balance it.
