26 Special chapter: The Twin Nightmares of the Labyrinth
Thoughts in italics
Monologue in normal text
Bolded skills
System in bold normal text
sounds in bold italics.
[] Karada-chan
{} Miho chan
() Akira-chan
"" Kumo chan speaking/monologue.
'' Mc speaking.
. Monologue
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WARNING:
This fanfiction will contain spoilers from the Light novel, read at your own risk.
Leave your comments, it would help me a lot.
thanks for reading.
my pat reon: pat reon. com (slash) thenewshinka
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What a horrible moment
That was my first impression when I was told about this job.
I had just received a letter saying that my son had been born, and I was looking forward to going home, when the task arrived.
In addition to not being able to be by my wife's side while she was in labor, now I won't even be able to go to see my son's face before I am called to duty.
Although the empire is in a festive mood now that a long-awaited prince has finally been born.
The current swordsman king has been blessed with few offspring and had half-heartedly given up until he finally had a son.
The child's name, Hugo, was announced throughout the country shortly after his birth. It is easy to imagine how extremely happy the swashbuckling king must have been.
I would like to celebrate the birth of my own child in a similar way, but in any case, which fills me with melancholy.
Of course, this is mainly because I cannot go to meet my son, but the nature of this mission makes my heart grow heavier.
I have been tasked with taming the mysterious monsters in the Great Labyrinth of Elroe.
If I cannot, I must destroy them immediately.
These are my instructions.
The request came from the small kingdom of Ohts, which contains an entrance to the Great Labyrinth of Elroe.
This labyrinth is essentially the only means of travel between continents.
Except for teleportation points, only royalty or extremely wealthy people have the privilege of using them.
The kingdom of Ohts asked our empire for help because of the strange increase in the number of monsters in the Great Labyrinth of Elroe.
The empire immediately sent troops stationed closer to the border with the kingdom of Ohts.
This unit is composed mainly of second and third sons of nobles, but they are no less powerful than any other troop.
It was assumed that they would find the cause of the anomaly and quickly return home.
And that is exactly what happened.
However, it did not go the way we expected.
The troops actually fled home.
They fled from two mysterious spider-like monsters.
Which is not very strange, as sometimes spider monsters tend to stay in small groups, although it is somewhat odd that there are only two of them.
According to the report, one look at the two monsters already told them that it could easily annihilate them all.
The cause of the so-called outbreak was that the surrounding monsters had fled from these spider monsters, driving other monsters out of their habitats.
The investigating troops reported that the monsters were beyond their capabilities and that a special force should be assembled to defeat it.
At first, this report was laughed off as utter nonsense.
However, the detailed written report and the testimony of the labyrinth guide who accompanied them confirmed the danger of these monsters.
At a minimum, individually your hazard level is A.
Together they may even reach S level.
If any of these dangerous monsters were to emerge from the labyrinth, the damage would be catastrophic.
But at the same time, strange rumors began to spread.
Two spider monsters that help humans were spotted in the Great Labyrinth of Elroe, one white and the other black.
A local investigator immediately sought the source of this rumor.
It turned out to be a group of adventurers who claimed to be attacked by a dangerous Elroe Baradrad in the Upper Layer, when a black spider suddenly defeated him, and a white spider cured the dying members of their group.
What a complete nonsense
That was my thought on the matter.
As a monster tamer, I am much more knowledgeable about monsters than the average person.
Monsters have little intelligence, but they are not completely brainless.
But only a monster of legendary class would have enough intellect to take such an action.
If this story is true, those spider-class monsters must be of legendary class, and one with considerable intelligence.
There's no way I can beat a beast like that.
However, if those monsters really helped people, then perhaps they are friendly to humans.
Maybe that means I could tame them with a little luck?
And now, my turn has come.
If these spider-class monsters are really two legendary-class monsters as the rumors indicate, I doubt I have any chance of winning.
Maybe if it were one, I would have a minimal chance, but being two and apparently forming a team, the actual chance is zero.
Even if that is the case, it is safe to say that individual monsters are A-rank.
Taming such a monster is quite difficult.
To form a contract with the Skill Creature Training, one must either gain the monster's acceptance or force it into the contract with brute force.
Monsters are rarely willing to subordinate themselves, so it is usually necessary to defeat them first.
So, he would have to leave two A-rank monsters immobile without killing him.
In a situation where it is hard enough to win, this condition makes it even more challenging.
Especially with two monsters that at least their individual danger level is A.
If it is higher than that, even thinking about defeating them would be extremely difficult.
And yet.
"Ahem. To think that someone like me should explore a maze, at my age? How unfortunate."
Next to me is the most powerful wizard in the empire, Master Ronandt.
He is, in fact, an amazing magician, but his personality can be quite difficult.
It can be savage and selfish, to say the least.
That man will coldly ignore orders and abuse those around him.
"Master Ronandt, if these monsters turn out to be of rank S or higher, we will need your power. Please try to bear with me."
"I know. Whatever happens, I'll handle it with ease. Consider your safety guaranteed."
The man is generally in a good mood and fun, but the problem is that his attitude does not change at all even if he is in the battle hood.
Even so, there is no denying its strength.
He is known as the strongest human magician and has the power to back up that claim.
Our group for this mission is composed of myself, Master Ronandt, thirty warriors of the empire and four guides.
I would have liked to bring the labyrinth guide who was in the previous group, but he flatly refused.
He said he did not wish to go near that thing again.
It's a shame, but there's nothing to be done about it.
I guess I should appreciate the information that even an expert veteran maze guide was so terrified of that monster.
Not that this information is exactly reassuring.
In any case, our first duty is to locate the monster.
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"Hmm, isn't this the place where the wyrm's corpse is said to have been found?"
"Yes, it should be."
"Well, there's nothing here."
We have reached what is known as the great passage.
According to the report, this is where the monsters were last encountered.
However, although we have found the nest that supposedly contained a dead wyrm, there is nothing inside.
Well... technically, I guess there's nothing besides a few hard objects that could be leftovers from the meal.
I look around the nets again.
Judging by the dust on the threads and the condition of the interior, it seems very likely that the nest is abandoned.
There are no signs of recent use.
"It appears to have relocated to a new nest."
"You see. Then I suppose we should comb the area thoroughly.
"Good."
We spent the next few days carefully searching the surrounding area.
However, we have yet to see signs of the monsters in question.
"Nothing yet."
"Quite strange. Guides, is there anywhere in this area yet to be explored?"
The four guides think for a moment, until one finally speaks.
"There's a road nearby that leads to the Middle Layer - maybe there's a chance the monster went there?"
"But a spider monster should be weak to fire. That's why we've never considered it before."
That makes sense.
The chances are low, but not impossible.
The Middle Layer of the Great Elroe Maze is known as a magma-filled inferno.
Without the proper equipment, it is impossible to explore it.
And given our rations and exhaustion from the last few days of research, we should probably retire early.
"All right. Then we'll investigate that path to the Middle Layer, and if there's nothing there, we'll leave the maze."
The guides take us to the road in question.
"But what!"
The guide walking in front suddenly lets out a scream and freezes in an unnatural position.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. What is this? I can't move...!"
"Wait!"
Another guide starts to approach but Master Ronandt stops him.
"Raise the light and look carefully. It's terribly hard to see, but there's thread in the way."
Following Ronandt's words, I also take a closer look.
Indeed, I can distinguish the thread that occasionally catches the light.
"What's that?"
"We may have found our monsters."
Upon closer inspection, the son is arranged in an orderly radial shape.
It is unmistakably a spider's web.
"Somebody cut the thread and let it go."
One of the soldiers approaches to free the trapped guide with a sword.
However...
"Oh, can't it be cut?"
Master Ronandt seems impressed.
The sword thrown down by the soldier, like that of the guide, had stopped moving as soon as they touched the thread.
The soldier tries to pull the sword, but it does not move.
"Guide, be patient. This may get a little hot."
"I-It's okay."
Master Ronandt uses Fire Magic.
He handles it expertly, to burn the thread around the guide without hurting her.
At least that's the plan.
"Hmm? Isn't it burning?"
Minor magic or not, the spider thread is supposed to be extremely flammable, but the web remains intact.
"I'll have to increase the firepower, then."
Flames emerge from Master Ronandt, enveloping the thread.
However, it is still in the same condition.
"Oh boy, this thread certainly is tough, apologies in advance."
Master Ronandt now uses Flame Magic.
Flames erupt violently from Master Ronandt, enveloping the thread.
A dazzling light fills the dark cave passage.
"Oh wow, that was a little bit too strong."
The guide manages to escape. Although with a slightly burned arm.
The problem is that the flames have now spread along the passage.
"Now I have."
"Okay, if the monsters are there, they will surely be enraged."
In that case, we can forget about any hope that they might be friendly.
This means that taming them would be effectively impossible.
"If we're lucky, maybe this network this network is abandoned, too."
"One can certainly hope. Since they have not yet appeared, they must either be absent for the time being, or have stopped using it altogether.
That would be nice.
If the adventurers' claims are true, these spiders apparently roam freely in the labyrinth.
And supposedly, they can even use Teleportation, which only a few humans have mastered.
If that is true, that means that if they are out now, they can teleport back here at any time.
"Everyone, be prepared for battle at any time," I tell the soldiers. "We must be ready for anything."
"Oh, there's no need to worry about that. As long as I am here, you need not fear any monsters."
Normally, Master Ronandt's confidence would be reassuring, but in this situation, it just seems delusional.
The thread burns and the fire disappears.
With the fire extinguished, we carefully advanced along the road.
The charred remains of the yarn cover certain parts but over a considerably long distance.
"Only certain parts were burned, other parts are still intact."
"So, it seems, so certain parts of this web have a higher resistance to fire than others, I guess one part must be from one of the spider monsters and the other from the other."
"The part that caught fire is quite fragile once it catches fire."
"Yes, it looks like it. The flames have apparently spread quite far."
Continuing along the path that seems too long to be called a nest, we come to a large open area.
"What is this?"
"The entrance to the Middle Layer," a guide replies.
Come to think of it, the air is pretty warm.
The path we have been following seems to have been gradually sloping downward.
"Hmm?"
There is something down there.
It's hard to say what exactly it is, due to the downhill slope, but there are several big things lying around.
"Everyone, be prepared."
Even if it is just one, we must be prepared for any hostile movement.
The troops enter formation and approach carefully.
I hang back with Master Ronandt and the guards, pulling an Appraisal Stone from my breast pocket.
"Uh-oh. An Appraisal Stone, right? And level 9, I see."
"Yes, Appraisal is indispensable for a summoner - do you use it too, Master Ronandt?"
"Umu, I have the skill at level 9."
"That's very impressive. Since I use the Appraisal Stone frequently, I've gained enough mastery to reach level 4, but level 9 is simply impossible."
"For an ordinary person, no doubt. So, what does your Appraisal tell you about that?"
I further point out.
To the corpse of a huge spider monster.
"The corpse of an Arch Taratect, it seems."
Arch Taratect.
A legendary monster higher than S rank, just one step below Queen Taratect.
Its hazard level is S.
And it has been reduced to a mangled corpse.
Not only that, but there are also three large Taratect corpses nearby.
Plus, the corpses of many other spider-like monsters nearby, too many to count.
"And look closer - see that? It looks like they've been partially eaten."
I hadn't noticed from this distance, but apparently, Master Ronandt did.
"Which means that something not only defeated the arch Taratect but took advantage of it."
A shiver ran through my body.
Two creatures that feed on S-rank monsters?
Can such creatures exist?
If we were to come across creatures like these...
...we would be finished.
Even with super elite forces and the strongest mage in mankind, there is no way anyone could defeat a monster like that, let alone two.
We should withdraw now.
But my judgment comes a second too late.
Nightmares incarnate teleport right in front of us.
The two spider monsters appear before the corpse of the Arch Taratect.
Compared to the huge Arch Taratect, it is quite small.
The two are similar but have a black body except for a small grayish pattern on the back while the other is white with the same pink pattern.
Frighteningly, the pattern resembles a skull.
Of its eight legs, the two front legs are larger than the others and extend in the form of scythes.
And his eight pairs of eyes stare at us.
My body instinctively cringes at the sight.
I can see the men in front of me shaking in their boots despite orders to be "ready for anything."
But I can't blame them.
How could anyone avoid trembling when something like this suddenly appears in front of them?
The two monsters look like monarchs, king and queen, ruling over everything around them.
(N/A: I laughed when I wrote that since they are both women).
Just a glance at them is enough to make you shudder.
It's just as the reports say.
Even without using Appraisal on them, I could tell in an instant.
These are not the kind of monsters that guys like us could do anything with.
"O-Oooh?"
Hearing a strange groan, I turn to my right to see Master Ronandt staring at the monster wide-eyed and trembling intensely.
So, even he has been a victim of the fear that this monster brings?
The terror that the creature inflicts on us is not only due to its appearance.
He must have some Skill related to Intimidation, but I'm still surprised that even someone as powerful as Master Ronandt wasn't able to resist him.
"Master Ronandt?"
"How... how can this happen? Such power, such power... impossible. what is this creature?"
"Master Ronandt!"
"...Yes, yes. I apologize."
"What happened to him?"
"Those monsters... they look relaxed, but they have a truly immense amount of Skills activated at once. Impossible..."
Master Ronandt should be able to see the monster's active skills in a way that I cannot.
From the way he mumbles to himself, he doesn't seem to be in his right mind.
It does not appear to be an effect of the Fear condition, but it still does not bode well.
Because the spider monsters, who seemed quite calm at first, were starting to look angry.
This is bad. They are getting ready to fight.
And the soldiers, sensing that anger, automatically ready their weapons.
It is of no use. At this point, I see no hope in trying to befriend these creatures.
Suddenly, a strange feeling of discomfort overwhelms me.
Is this... Appraisal?
But who?
Is it possible that these monsters could be using Appraisal on us?!
How is that possible!
I've never heard of one monster, much less two, that can use Appraisal.
To confirm this, I use my own Appraisal Stone.
But Appraisal's results astound me.
Absurdly high statistics
An immense amount of Skills.
We have no chance of beating something like this, let alone the black creature who seems to be the stronger of the two.
"What!" shouts Master Ronandt.
Apparently, I activate Appraisal at the same time as I do.
His mouth opens in surprise.
"H-Height Of Occultism!"
Master Ronandt seems particularly puzzled by one of the skills possessed by the monsters, the "Ede Saine."
Personally, I have never seen or heard of that Skill.
But that's not all.
The Ede Saine has multiple skills that I have never seen before.
In addition, there are several that I am familiar with that are of a very high rank.
And one is even completely immune to fire, which would explain why a certain part of the nest did not burn.
And that's still not the end of my shock.
It happens when I'm halfway through looking at the list of skills.
Suddenly, the Appraisal results disappear, replaced by the phrase Appraisal Blocked.
Appraisal... blocked?
I have never heard of such a thing.
"W-wait! Show me more, more!"
"Master Ronandt," I exclaimed urgently. "Please come to your senses!"
The magician seems to have gone mad.
At the same time, I shout to the men.
"Retreat! We can't beat these things! Retreat at once!"
But the cry comes too late.
The eight soldiers at the head of the group collapse.
I don't know what happened to them.
The Ede Saine did not seem to be doing anything.
They were just standing there, staring at us.
And yet, that was enough for eight men to fall without warning.
What type of Skill is this?
Which one did?
Since I could not see all of the creatures' skills, I have no idea what is causing it or which of the two could have done it.
But either way, these monsters don't stop there.
The Ede Saine are starting to do something strange.
It is as if you are peeling off your own skin.
This bizarre vision terrifies the soldiers.
One of the soldiers, overcome by the fear of seeing his comrades fall, attacks the white Ede Saine.
But his sword never reaches the creature, instead the other creature detaches its head while the white one seemed to be preparing something.
A second later, a wall of earth rose as the black creature returned to its original position.
W-what speed and such brutality, I take his head off in a second without hesitation.
Are these the creatures that helped the adventurers in the past?
Wait. From what I saw in the skill list, the white creature didn't seem to have Earth Magic.
There was one type I had never heard of, Abyss Magic, but I think I saw all his other magic skills.
And Earth Magic was definitely not among them.
Could it be that the black creature showed it to them or threw it at the same time it devoured the head of the soldier who attacked them?
"What!" shouts Ronandt. "You created magic out of nothing without using a Skill!"
I can't believe my ears.
Is that really possible?
Even the strongest human wizard alive is clearly disturbed.
No, this cannot be something normally possible.
This is not the time to be stingy with my skills.
I have to bring out all my trump cards if I have any hope of survival.
Even then, I will consider myself lucky if I make it.
Summoning. My Summoning Skill is at level 4.
In other words, I can summon a total of 4 monsters at this location.
My best hope is to use the monsters to buy time for the soldiers to escape.
But how long could I contain such beasts?
My summoned monsters appear.
Kirekock, a monster bird.
Rock Turtle, a monster turtle.
Feveroot, a tiger monster.
Suiten, a water wyrm.
All of them powerful monsters, which I would not normally use lightly.
I'm sorry, excuse me, everyone. Let's go on the attack!
When I order my summoned monsters to attack, I once again shout at the soldiers to retreat.
Kirekock's Wind Magic launches a direct hit on the Ede Saine.
At first this surprises me, but when the dust raised by the magical attack clears, I understand why.
The Ede Saine are unharmed.
For these monsters, it wasn't even worth dodging the magic of the Kirekock.
Still, it bought us some time.
Thanks to the Kirekock's main attack, the slow-moving Earth Turtle has reached the front lines.
Earth Turtle's high defense is its main advantage.
With the shield in place, the other three monsters begin their attacks.
Kirekock's Wind Magic descends from the sky, while Suiten's Water Breath brings an explosion of boiling steam.
Feveroot attacks directly after the first two shots hit the targets.
His excellent speed and high attack power are on display as he leaps towards the Ede Saine.
A spear of earth rises from the ground to meet him.
Unable to react in time to its sudden appearance, Feveroot is pierced by the spear.
Immediately after that, Kirekock falls out of the air.
As fast as if something had knocked it down.
It crashes violently to the ground, emitting an unpleasant sound as it sinks.
What is going on?
Just like that, Kirekock is crushed by an invisible force.
Meanwhile, Suiten continues to unleash his Water Breath.
But the Ede Saine seem completely unconcerned.
Slowly, the white one turns to Suiten and casts a Wind Magic deed.
First earth, and now wind?!
As I watch in shock, the Wind Magic makes the breath attack and Suiten disappear along with it.
Only the Earth Turtle remains.
But he's not moving. It can't.
Using Appraisal to determine the cause of his strange behavior, I discover that he now has the state alteration Paralysis.
Not only that, but all of their statistics are rapidly declining.
Its HP, too. In just a few moments, the tenacious Earth Turtle is reduced to a shell.
My summoned beasts, who have passed so many trials with me, have all been slaughtered.
And yet, it is neither sadness nor anger that dominates my mind at the moment.
It is fear. Shameful, and inexcusable towards the poor beasts who died for me.
But even knowing that, I can't resist the fear that wells up from deep inside me.
I want to run away from this place right now.
However, as the leader of the force, I cannot flee before my subordinates can escape.
My soldiers began to evacuate in the short time that the summoned monsters won them at the cost of their lives.
But it wasn't fast enough.
I forcibly restore Ronandt-sama's consciousness, who comes to his senses when I hit him, and have him prepare large-scale teleportation magic to evacuate the troops.
Even so, it will take some time before all troops are within range of the Teleport spell.
There are only a few seconds left. But in those seconds, a nightmare unfolds.
Wind, Water, Earth, and Fire Magic fly wildly.
They seem to be firing at random, but each shot takes the life of one more soldier.
Other soldiers faint without even being hit.
It is the same mysterious attack that brought down the Earth Turtle.
An attack that could drain even the high HP of the Earth Turtle in an instant.
Unable to bear it for so long, the soldiers faint one after another.
Magic flies to Master Ronandt as he prepares teleportation magic.
Knowing that my Mp will run out soon, I summon more monsters to protect Master Ronandt.
The magical attacks come again and again.
Each time, I summon another monster.
I drink an MP recovery potion, then another.
I summon while drinking. My MP gradually recovers.
However, the amount consumed is greater than the amount recovered.
One spell, one invocation, one spell, one invocation.
After countless repetitions, I finally run out of beasts to summon.
And yet, the magical attacks don't stop.
In any case, there are clearly more than before.
As I search for solutions, I discover that only Ronandt and I are the only two left alive.
"Máster Ronandt."
"We have no choice. At least I'll get the two of us back alive."
Ronandt tries to activate the Teleportation spell, but the black Ede Saine appears directly in front of him.
"Máster Ronandt!"
"Huh?!"
A jet-black spear shot towards him.
It is filled with an awful lot of magical power, making those Earth, Water, Fire and Wind spells look like child's play.
And he heads straight for Master Ronandt.
Ronandt is too focused on building his own spell to avoid it.
And I've already used all my invocations, I have nothing to use as a shield.
The rest happens in the blink of an eye.
I use my own body to block the dark spear.
My body seems to explode.
The black spear pierces through me to attack Master Ronandt behind me.
Master Ronandt's right arm and part of his side are hit.
Getting in their way must have altered their trajectory a bit.
Master Ronandt looks distressed as he activates the teleportation spell.
The world around me deforms. I close my eyes instinctively, and when I open them, we are no longer inside the labyrinth.
"Huh?"
People gathering around us in shock.
"Someone, bring healing or magic items," Master Ronandt orders, his face contorted in pain.
This must be the empire's magic research laboratory, then. Immediately, there is a clamor all around us.
"You must hold on a little longer."
Master Ronandt uses Healing Magic on me.
"Almost half of your upper body has been destroyed. I'm surprised you're alive."
"Guh..."
I try to say something, but all that comes out of my mouth is blood.
My body slowly begins to recover.
My HP is slowly coming out of the red as well.
While Master Ronandt ignores his own wounds to heal me, other healers rush to treat him.
I take a single breath, completely exhausted.
There were a lot of sacrifices, but we survived.
"What good is it to be the "strongest human wizard"? I couldn't do anything, nothing..."
As my consciousness fades, Ronandt's bitter voice echoes unpleasantly in my ears.
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Hi, it's been a while, eh?
I don't promise to upload as fast as before, but I will upload something from time to time.
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heh
