Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Entering the Labyrinth 

A T FIRST GLANCE, the Teleportation Labyrinth was nothing more than a cave. There was nothing special about it on the outside, save for the cobwebs that coated the walls, courtesy of the spiders residing in the area. But that was about it. Other than that, it just looked like a hole in the side of a cliff. If you saw a photograph of it, it likely wouldn’t pique your interest at all. 

Seeing it in person, however, was another matter. Something about it just gave me the sense that there was a labyrinth hidden within. It had an unsettling air to it, and yet it was precisely that unsettling air which provoked my curiosity. I wondered if all labyrinths had a similar vibe to them. 

“Okay, Rudy, we’re going to do this just like we discussed. Got it?” 

“Gotcha,” I said. 

Paul clapped me on the shoulder and nodded. 

We took up formation just as we had discussed the previous day, and stepped inside. It was my first time in a labyrinth, and I didn’t feel much excitement. Just the weight of knowing that we couldn’t afford to fail. 

“Stay safe, my lord,” bid Lilia. 

“Please be careful, everyone.” 

Lilia, Vierra and Shierra would return to the city on horseback. When large clans entered a labyrinth to conquer it, their supporting members would make camp and wait outside. Fortunately, Rapan was only a day—or half-day, with some haste—away. There was no need for them to make camp in front of the cave. 

“Well, let’s be off.” 

It was dark inside, but not entirely so. The interior had a dim glow to it. Such poor visibility wasn’t ideal. It could be fatal. 

“I’m going to brighten things up,” I said. 

“Go for it,” Paul replied. 

As soon as we entered, I used the spirit scroll that Nanahoshi had given me. A bright ball of light leaped forth, circling around the top of my head. Geese also activated the same scroll for himself. He was acting as a scout for us, so he needed his own source of light. 

These scrolls could be used by anyone. Of course, they would last the longest if someone with an enormous mana pool, such as myself, used them, but apparently they didn’t cost much mana in the first place. Geese and Paul were delighted when I showed them the scrolls, saying, “Now we don’t have to carry around torches anymore.” 

It seemed having one hand occupied by a torch really was inconvenient. The light from these spirits was brighter than a torch, and even someone without much mana could sustain one for a while. If these scrolls got popular, torches might disappear from the market completely. 

“Paul, your kid sure brings some handy stuff along, eh?” said Talhand. 

“Well, I am proud to call him my son for a reason.” Paul puffed up his chest, which earned him an exasperated sigh from the dwarf. 

“But you sure ain’t a parent for him to be proud of.” 

“Aw, leave it. I’m already feeling down enough about it.” Paul spoke with a half-sigh, his shoulders sagging. 

“Come on, let’s just go on in.” At Geese’s encouragement, we stepped further into the cave. 

On the first floor, we were navigating what looked to be an ant nest. Silken webs were strung up across the walls and ceilings, and further within was a magic circle emanating a pale light. The spirit proceeded beyond that point, illuminating the area like a fluorescent lamp. 

“You said to be careful because some of the magic circles don’t light up, correct?” 

“That’s right, Rudy,” said Paul. “Make sure to follow Geese’s footprints precisely.” 

Geese was a full ten steps ahead of us. He was wearing a special pair of boots. Cross-shaped steel plates were mounted on the soles, leaving cross-shaped tracks wherever he walked. This wasn’t a magic item, though, but a product of adventurers’ wisdom. It was a convenient piece of equipment that kept the wearer from slipping, while also leaving a mark in their wake. 

It was easy to discover the teleportation circles on the first floor. The main monster on this floor was the Death Road Tarantula, but there was a much smaller, less mature variety of arachnid skittering about on the ground. These were the Death Road Tarantula’s primary prey. The sight would have made someone with arachnophobia faint dead away. It was in the midst of these swarms that you would spot completely empty spaces, ones that were circular or square in shape. These were the traps. If you were to put your foot in that empty space to avoid the crunch of spiders beneath your feet, you would immediately be teleported somewhere. 

Thus, we had no choice but to squish the little spiders where we trod. It wasn’t pleasant, but what else could we do? 

As for the B-rank beasts, the Death Road Tarantulas, they didn’t appear in our passageway. Occasionally, one or two would pop out, but once Geese spotted them, Paul would immediately dispatch them. There was no need for me to do anything at the moment. 

“Hah, well, this much is a cakewalk.” Paul had a sword in either hand and was walking briskly ahead. Of those two swords, one was the blade he’d wielded all the time at home—his partner. Though it didn’t appear to be a particularly powerful weapon, he was able to slice those Death Road Tarantulas cleanly in two. That was less because of the blade’s sharpness and more because of Paul’s skill, I was sure. 

The sword in his left hand had a shape I’d never seen before: a kind of short blade, but neither short enough to be called a shortsword nor long enough to be called a longsword. The handguard wrapped around the wielder’s entire hand, with a slightly curved, double-sided blade. There was a hole in the middle of the blade, likely to prevent things from sticking to it. 

That said, he wasn’t using this weapon very much. Paul generally fought with only his right hand. I wondered what the purpose of his left-hand sword was. Or was he just a nerd in his final form? 

“Like taking candy from a baby!” Not that it was relevant at all, but whenever he defeated something, Paul would glance over at me. 

How annoying. He probably wanted to show off how cool he was. 

Okay, okay, I get it, Dad; you look cool, but please don’t let your guard down. 

“Paul! Keep your head forward!” And yep, there it was—Elinalise was letting him have it. 

“C’mon, it’s fine,” Paul said, “we’ve done the first floor dozens of times before. I’m not going to screw up that easily.” 

“Letting your guard down like that can cost you your life,” she warned. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know already.” 

“Besides,” Elinalise continued, “you’ve been going too far ahead this whole time. I am the one in front, am I not?!” 

“It’s the first floor. Not like it’ll make that big of a difference.” 

And so, their bickering began. I could hear Talhand behind me, expelling a sigh as he said, “Blegh, there they go again.” 

“Myself aside, this is Rudeus’ first time in a labyrinth, and as an adult, you should be setting a good example!” 

Paul argued back, “That’s why I was looking for an opportunity to strike up conversation with him, to help loosen up his nerves.” 

“What nonsense,” she scoffed. “You seem as giddy now as you were when Zenith first joined our party.” 

“Not much I can say when you put it like that. What’s up with you, anyway? You’ve turned into a real nag.” 

“Why, of course I have,” replied Elinalise haughtily. “You’re basically like a son to me. So I’ll scold you as needed!” 

Paul chuckled at that. “What are you on about, calling me a son? Did you spend so much time with Rudeus that you developed a soft spot for me, too? C’mon, enough with that. You calling yourself my mom gives me the creeps.” 

“Oh my, has Rudeus really not told you?” she asked, mockingly. 

“Told me what?” 

“Sylphie is my granddaughter. Since Rudeus married her, that also makes him my grandchild. In that case, as parents of my grandchild, you and Zenith are basically like children to me.” 

Paul froze. Slowly, he turned himself around and marched back toward me. With our formation broken, everyone else stopped as well. 

“Hey, what is she talking about, Rudy? Why’s Elinalise making these insane claims about Sylphie being her grandkid?” 

Oh, yeah. I hadn’t told him yet, had I? 

“Turns out, Laws was Elinalise’s son,” I explained. 

“Laws was?” Paul looked skeptical. “He never said a word about any of that to me.” 

“Well, there was a lot that happened in the past, so it seems like he wanted to keep Miss Elinalise’s identity under wraps,” I said. 

“Ahh, I see,” said Paul. “I can kinda understand that.” 

“More importantly, we should keep going.” I added, “And take care not to let your guard down.” 

“Y-yeah.” Paul sounded like it had sunk in this time. He returned to the vanguard, muttering as he went. “Seriously? So Elinalise is tied to our family now? I can’t believe this…” 

The news had come as quite a shock to him, it seemed. 

The first floor was a breeze. They must have traversed this path numerous times, just as Paul said. We continued down the passageway, taking occasional breaks, until we emerged into a room teeming with Death Road Tarantulas. Dispensing with swarms like this was my duty as a mage. 

But before we entered the spacious room, Talhand offered me a few warnings. “Listen up: No fire magic.” 

“Why is that?” 

“Fire fills a closed room with poison,” the dwarf explained. “Gotta be especially careful ’bout that as we go deeper in.” 

“What about Detoxification magic?” I asked. 

“Don’t work.” 

He was probably referring to carbon monoxide poisoning. If you used fire in an enclosed space, it would burn up the oxygen until you eventually lost consciousness. Just because the fire was created by magic didn’t change that fact. 

“Also, don’t go hittin’ the ceiling with your attacks. You can guess why, yeah?” 

“Because it might destroy the entire cave?” 

He nodded. “There you go. That’s also why you don’t go usin’ water magic. Use ice as much as you can.” 

“Got it.” 

If you used vast volumes of water, it would loosen the dirt. Still, a bit shouldn’t hurt. I could also use earth magic, though if I wasn’t careful, I might end up using the dirt of the labyrinth rather than conjuring my own. If that disrupted the internal structure of the cave, it might trigger a collapse. Using the type of magic that was recommended to me was the safest option here. So, ice it was. 

Thus, I decided to use the Advanced-tier water magic Blizzard Storm, a spell that brought lances of ice crashing down. That’s what I used to mop up the mobs in the back of the room one by one, careful not to hit Paul and the others. 

“Oho, you really are Roxy’s apprentice. You even use the same magic,” I could hear Talhand muttering behind me. Apparently, Roxy also utilized the same spell. That made me kind of happy to hear. “And no incantations, either. I can see why she’s so proud of you.” 

The words made my ego swell with pride as we wiped out the last of the spiders and moved on. 

We broke past the spiders’ nests and hopped onto the teleportation circle located further in. It took us to the back of a passageway, heading to a separate nest of spiders. We had already repeated this process five times since entering this place. Each time, we carefully cross-referenced the circles with what was written in the book. The others had already mapped out where each teleportation circle led on the first floor, but checking helped verify the book’s accuracy. We compared the circles’ shape, color, and characteristics, and once we were satisfied that everything matched the book, we continued in further. 

It took about an hour to arrive at each magic circle. Since we’d already done that five times, that meant approximately five hours had passed. The last area on the first floor was a web-covered room, deep within which were two circles lined up together. Their color was a bit more intense than that of the others we’d seen, and they were bigger, too. The darker blue one led to the next floor, but it had a twin circle with the same shape right beside it. 

To the uninitiated, either one looked like it could be the real deal. Yet there was a rock with a circle inscribed on it placed immediately before one of the circles. This was something Geese had left behind as a signal that it was the correct one. Once we referenced the book and confirmed everything was on point, we hopped onto it. 

From there, we were on to the second floor. 

On the second floor, the skittering floor spiders disappeared and the tarantula nests were severely reduced. You could actually see the floor now. Instead of spiders, we now had an enormous steel caterpillar—the Iron Crawler—slithering around. It was a meter tall and two meters long, giving it a rather short and stout appearance. The closest thing I could compare it to were the Ohmu from Nausicaä . Just as their exterior suggested, the creatures were tough and sturdy, but contrary to their appearance, they were actually rather fast. Their speed reminded me less of a caterpillar and more of a centipede. 

To add to that, they were buddies with the spiders, the latter of which would sling webs from the rear while using the crawlers as a shield. Once you were caught up in those webs, the heavy, one-ton crawler would trample you. 

Iron Crawlers were so tough that even Paul couldn’t defeat them in a single strike. That was where I came in. I could release two types of magic at the same time to strike the Death Road Tarantulas in the rear with my Blizzard Storm, then defeat the Iron Crawlers one by one with my Stone Cannon as Paul and Elinalise kept them preoccupied. Apparently, the Crawlers were tough enough to repel a normal Stone Cannon, but I didn’t experience any problems in that regard, as my cannons went right through them. Though, being bugs, if I didn’t hit them right and kill them on impact, they would start writhing in pain and thrashing about. 

“Nothin’ for me to do, eh?” While I worked diligently, Talhand grumbled about being bored. He was on standby next to me, just in case. To make sure his services weren’t required, we were all—Geese included—conducting ourselves as prudently as possible. Thus, as of now, there was nothing for Talhand to do. 

That was a good thing. As we progressed deeper in, it was comforting to know that we still had more firepower in reserve if it became needed. 

The Death Road Tarantulas were spitting their webs at us. I thought tarantulas didn’t create spiderwebs, but these guys were clearly different. Their webs came straight for me at times, but I was able to avoid them all with my demon eye. Even if one did strike me, it would be neither painful nor an inconvenience, since I could just use fire magic to burn my way out. 

“Gah, dammit!” grumbled Paul. 

Elinalise seemed to agree. “Ugh, these things are so sticky.” 

Having said that, the vanguard couldn’t dodge every single one, so the two of them were covered in webs. 

“Here, take this. But don’t go wastin’ it, you hear?” said Geese. I could burn my own way out, but he had brought along a liquid to dissolve the webs, which the others were diluting with water and using. He told me it was a unique medicine, popular across the Begaritt Continent, and caused no bodily harm. While it didn’t cause harm, Elinalise huffed about how it irritated her skin. Almost like detergent. 

Maybe I should take some home with me to try washing dishes with, I thought. 

“Okay, let’s take a quick break here.” Geese called out to us after we finished fighting, and we plopped ourselves down where we stood. Talhand and Elinalise immediately stood to take watch. 

Paul immediately removed his armor and belt, then proceeded to start scrubbing off the beast blood splattered over them. He was trying to speed through his equipment check in the short time allotted for our break. Seeing how practiced his hands were reminded me that he was a pro in this field. 

“What is it? You better hurry up too, Rudy.” 

“Oh, yes.” 

After receiving a stern rebuke, I turned my attention to my own equipment. There wasn’t much for me to inspect, considering I was firing my magic at range. 

That aside, Paul was being awfully quiet. On the first floor, he’d come up to me when we took breaks, asking “So what do you think?” and stuff like that. I guess it was to be expected, since this was the second floor, but he’d turned serious. The “cool” dad. 

“Tch, this damn stuff won’t come off.” Paul started cursing as he tried desperately to scrub away at the bodily fluids—or whatever that gunk was—glued to his armor. 

“Why don’t you try that medicine that Mister Geese was just using?” I said. 

“That’s for getting the webs off, isn’t it?” Even so, he applied some to his cloth and resumed his furious scrubbing. When he did, the armor came out sparkling white, just like in those bleach commercials! Okay, not white white—it was armor, after all— but at least it was clean now. “Oh, it came off! Thanks!” 

“Not at all.” 

So it was detergent. It might make Sylphie really happy if I bought a bunch before I returned. I wouldn’t mind putting it to use around the house, if possible. 

Paul re-equipped his armor as soon as he finished cleaning it. He then drew his sword and strode over toward Elinalise. I debated switching off with Talhand myself, but Geese’s voice stopped me. 

“Boss, don’t worry about lookout.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“It’s fine,” he said. “That old man hasn’t done any work anyways. ’Sides, there’s somethin’ comin’ up here I’d like to get your opinion on anyways.” 

“Is it really okay for me to stand in for my father on that?” 

“’Course. You’re much smarter than him, anyhow,” said Geese with disinterest, plucking the book and two maps from his bag. 

He spread the maps out side by side. One was beautifully drawn, while the other was still only partially complete. 

“We’ll be at the third floor soon. This, right here—this is where Roxy got separated from us. If we’re lucky, she should still be around that area, if the book is anythin’ to go off of.” 

“All right.” 

According to the book, teleportation traps only sent people to areas on the same floor. Even though it was called a random warp, it wouldn’t suddenly transport you right in front of the boss on the final floor. Roxy had warped on the third floor. We had no idea if the circle she had stepped on was a randomized teleportation circle or one with a fixed destination, but if she was still alive, there was a good chance she was on the third floor. If luck favored her, she could have even made it to the second or first floor. 

However, she’d already traversed those floors numerous times. Considering Roxy’s strength, if she’d been able to make it to the second floor on her own, then she would have already left the labyrinth. It was difficult to imagine she would head further into the fourth floor. 

Geese asked, “There’s no magic that can help find her, is there?” 

“No, there’s not.” I tried thinking of some way I could utilize the spells at my disposal to try to find her, but nothing came to mind in the moment. 

“Boss, just use your intuition for this. Where do you think Roxy would be?” 

“My intuition, huh?” I stroked my chin. 

“We can’t afford to cover this entire labyrinth with a fine-tooth comb,” said Geese. “So if we’re gonna look for her, we’re gonna need intuition.” 

“All right, then how about this area?” For the sake of it, I randomly selected one of the empty areas on the unfinished map. 

“East of where she teleported, huh? ’Kay, then let’s start the search there.” 

He was just as casual in his response. I did feel like heading dead east was the most efficient way to go. After all, there was no one in our group with the analytical capabilities to pinpoint her location. We would have to search the areas they hadn’t already investigated, regardless. 

“Frankly, with Roxy gone from the mix, we couldn’t even break through to the second floor. This is all thanks to you, Boss. Those Iron Crawlers are nasty beasts.” 

“I bet.” 

The monsters in this labyrinth were resistant to Talhand’s preferred school of magic. Paul was the group’s primary damage dealer, but if he got wrapped up in webs, he couldn’t completely cover their front. Vierra wasn’t very reliable, either, and she couldn’t cover for other people as well as Elinalise could. In order to get through here, you needed someone who could use ice or fire magic. It was no wonder they’d been stuck without Roxy. In fact, it was a miracle they’d been able to make it back out without her. 

“I thought we could make do somehow, but there aren’t many magicians in this area, and not a one with the grit to challenge the Teleportation Labyrinth.” Geese had tried to find a solution on his own, apparently. Now that I thought about it, he had been attempting to recruit someone when we first saw him in the guild. It didn’t look like it had gone well. 

“It seems we’ve put you through a lot of trouble, Mister Geese.” 

“Eh, don’t worry about it. Also, I told you to call me ‘newbie,’ didn’t I? You give me the creeps talkin’ all polite like that.” 

“Got it, newbie. I’ll introduce you to a nice girl monkey after this is over and you can have her pluck the fleas off your back.” 

“Ooh, not bad, since I can’t even go to the adult districts here.” He paused. “Hey, wait! Who you callin’ a monkey?!” 

There was a lot I wanted to discuss with Geese, but I would leave things there for now. 

After that, Geese and I confirmed which route we’d be taking next. The map he’d created was easy to understand. Compared to the perfectly mapped-out first floor, there were several missing sections on this map on the second floor. Roxy and Zenith wouldn’t happen to be in any of those sections, would they? Continuing on without checking them made me a bit uneasy, but we had to get to the third floor. The best place to search wasn’t the closest, but rather, the place Roxy was most likely to be. 

“Geese, where are we right now?” Elinalise suddenly inserted herself into the conversation. 

Geese answered by pointing to a spot on the map. “We’re around here right now.” 

“Then we’ll be moving beyond the second floor soon.” 

“Yeah, but we’ll still have those spiders and worms comin’ out.” 

“Monsters that change formation partway through. This certainly is an unpleasant labyrinth,” she said. 

“You can say that again,” Geese agreed. 

Elinalise ran a hand over her hair. Her usual proud curls were looking somewhat unkempt. “By the way, Geese, why do you call Rudeus ‘Boss’?” 

“Heh heh. We got to know each other in a Doldia jail.” 

“A Doldia jail?” she asked. “You mean the one that Ghislaine talked about before? How in the world did that happen?” 

“I’ll tell you more about it when we get home.” Geese grinned, leaving it there. 

Thinking about the Doldia cell brought back memories. I’d experienced true freedom back then. I couldn’t walk around naked like that anymore, though. Well, okay, except for in bed. 

I clearly wasn’t too nervous if I could afford to have thoughts like those. 

And so, our group arrived at the third floor. It had probably been about ten hours since we first entered. We were moving quite swiftly. 

“I thought it would take us several days to delve this far.” 

“It would if we didn’t have a map,” Paul said in response to my casual remark. It made sense that going in blind was very different from following a map. 

There were no more small spiders on the floor. Occasionally, we’d discover a web strung up on the wall, but there was little sign of life. Instead, I could feel something unsettling in the air, radiating from deep within the cave. 

The real thing started here. First, we had to find Roxy. 

“…” 

Just then, her familiar scent came wafting through the air. No, it wasn’t my imagination. This really was her smell—her presence that I felt. I wouldn’t mistake this. I could feel my heart race. 

She was here. I was certain.