Mushoku Tensei (LN) - Volume 12 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Her Emotional Perspective 

Roxy 

I HEARD A SMALL SOUND and my eyes snapped open. Everything around me was dark and narrow. Yes, that’s right—this place was narrow. After being warped numerous times, it was here that I’d arrived, in a space no larger than a cradle. It had only enough room for a single human, or perhaps two, to lie down. The ceiling was low, too, barely taller than my head. 

As long as I was within this small, cramped area, no monsters could come teleporting in. I sat at the edge of the space and leaned back against the wall, gazing at what lay before me. 

A magic circle, emitting a pale light. A teleportation circle. If I put just one foot on it, it would send me off somewhere. Most likely to a monster’s den. To a place clamoring with dozens of monsters. To my death . 

Just one month ago, I’d stumbled. I could make the excuse that it wasn’t my fault; I was evading an attack directed my way, taking a step back, when I tripped over a rock. I lost my balance and my foot found a magic circle. Despite the fact that I had gone over where the traps were before we headed into battle, I had still so easily stepped right onto one. 

The place I was teleported to teemed with monsters. There were twenty—no, thirty—of them. I was a magician, and a pretty good one, if I said so myself. I couldn’t cast without incantations, but I could shorten them, thereby casting magic faster than most other mages. Facing enemies in vast numbers wasn’t new to me. Even as I was surrounded, I didn’t panic. I thought only about eradicating my enemy, and soon did just that. 

But no matter how many I defeated, they just kept coming. Monster after monster, as far as the eye could see. 

The beasts of this labyrinth knew exactly where the teleportation circles led. This was their lair, after all. The trap were laid so the beasts could feast on unsuspecting adventurers. I was prepared to die. 

I defeated them all, but still, my mana wasn’t endless. Eventually, I would run out. I knew it would be over at that point. Even as my mana dwindled to twenty percent, the wave of enemies never ceased. The bodies were piling up, but still more beasts pressed in. 

I was completely cornered. Help wasn’t coming. Perhaps they’d abandoned me. If I were in their position, I wouldn’t bother saving a klutz like me, either. It didn’t matter how much mana you had; if you were fool enough to step on a trap, then you were just dead weight. 

No, I was sure they weren’t the type to abandon me. Perhaps when I activated the trap, they’d also gotten caught in it and we’d all randomly warped to different places. Or maybe they were lacking in combat strength with my absence, and had had to temporarily withdraw. 

Regardless, help wasn’t coming. 

Even as I felt the tears threatening to well up, I still desperately fought. Even as I felt my mana begin to dwindle. 

It was then that I spied a light: six magic circles contained in a spacious room. Monsters were appearing from all but one of the circles. Perhaps that was because there were no monsters at the other end. 

I had to choose, or die. I used the remainder of my mana to vanquish the horde, then hopped up onto the circle, which brought me to where I currently sat. 

Somehow, I’d managed to survive. My luck had held. 

I could make as much water as I needed with magic, and I had food packed in my backpack. I could recover my mana here and then find a way to escape. That thought in mind, I spent the rest of my day there. 

The next day, I stepped onto the only magic circle in the room. The place it whisked me off to was a passageway I was unfamiliar with. Apparently, it had been one of the random warps. 

I could sense no one in the vicinity. I mapped the area on my own and forged onward, intent on escaping this labyrinth. I’d considered waiting for help, but there was a possibility that Paul and the others had been wiped out as well. Random teleportation traps were just that deadly. 

I wove through the tunnels, discovering other teleportation circles. I left a symbol on the ground nearby for myself and hopped on. Once again, I was flown off to some unfamiliar passage. I repeated this process numerous times; the Teleportation Labyrinth was designed to make it impossible to get anywhere without doing so. I was careful not to step on any traps, watching out for circles that might be hidden beneath rocks as I continued forward. 

I had no idea if I was making progress or just going back the way I’d come. It was impossible to get your bearings in this labyrinth; it was no use relying on your sense of direction here. I was anxious, but even so, I had to press on. My food supply wouldn’t hold out forever, nor would my mind. So I defeated monsters, ate their meat, and continued. 

And yet, after teleporting countless times, I was once again sent into a den of monsters. I fought fiercely, and found yet another circle from which no beasts appeared. 

That was how I made it back to this cramped little space. Had many times had I repeated the cycle at this point? Five times, ten times? The circle before me would always send me somewhere different when I stepped on it, but in the end, I always wound up back here. My heart and mind were at their limit. My body was, unsurprisingly, exhausted. According to my internal clock, about a month had passed. 

One month and no progress. I was just going in circles. 

The fighting wasn’t easy, either. I was hit countless times, and felt myself growing faint from blood loss. At some point, the beasts had begun trying to block off the circle so I could no longer escape. Despite their appearances, these monsters were quite intelligent. It would take everything I had to break through. 

My joints hurt. I was out of food. The monsters were tough and tasted awful. Their flesh was so toxic that you had to use detoxification magic just to eat it, and I could feel it eroding my stamina. The only thing I had left in abundance was mana. 

I felt completely cornered. I had no idea what would happen next. If there were more enemies next time, or if they coordinated their attacks better, they would tear me limb from limb and devour me once I used the last of my mana. Even if I were lucky enough to break past them, I would just find myself right back here. 

Those thoughts alone kept me from stepping onto the circle again. The beasts had likely noticed my presence. They knew I was here, in this cramped space. They also knew that if I used the circle in front of me, I’d wind up right back at their den. I was sure they were waiting for that. They were waiting anxiously for me to make a fatal mistake in my exhaustion. 

I could feel it. There would be no next time. 

For the first time, I became conscious of death. 

My corpse would never be found. The beasts would leave nothing of me to find. I would die, and no proof of my existence would remain. 

It was terrifying. I was terrified. Before I realized it, I was grinding my teeth together. Driven by the impulse to scream, I gripped my staff tight. 

I had seen death countless times before. As an adventurer, I’d watched people die right before my eyes. I had seen monsters split brawny warriors in two as easily as if they were cutting through butter. I had seen wise magicians squashed like rotten tomatoes. Skilled thieves and swift swordsmen had been felled before me. 

When I witnessed their deaths, I knew in the back of my mind that it would be my turn someday. And yet, I simultaneously believed I’d able to make it through. But now, faced with the very real prospect of death, I was terrified. 

I still hadn’t accomplished anything. There was still so much I wanted to do. I had a dream. That’s right, a dream. I wanted to become a teacher. I loved teaching people. I had no talent for it, but I enjoyed it. That was why, once this was over and we’d safely rescued Zenith, I planned on taking the teacher exam at the University of Magic to become a professor. 

My master, the one I’d had a falling-out with before I left, was at the University of Magic. We might wind up bickering again, but I had a feeling we’d get along better now. He loved being the center of attention; I wouldn’t be surprised if he’d been promoted to vice-principal while I was gone. 

I wanted a taste of normal happiness. If I became a professor, I could even get married. I could fall in love with a man, marry him, and share passionate nights together. As a demon, I had the stumpy little body of a child, but even so, I had to have a chance. 

“Hah.” 

A self-deprecating chuckle slipped from my lips. I couldn’t believe I was allowing myself to indulge such fantasies, even under these circumstances. 

I was going to die. None of my dreams were going to come true. My death would be a miserable one. There was no one to save me now. I’d never heard of anyone in my predicament being saved before. 

I don’t want to die, I thought. 

I stepped onto the circle, because I really did want to live. 

My instincts were correct. I was teleported to an unfamiliar passage, where I left symbols to mark previously undiscovered circles. I went through numerous other circles, then, as if it were predetermined, found myself right back in a monster’s den. 

I knew at a glance that it was impossible. The beasts had heaped the bodies of their dead brethren to block my escape route, and it seemed the space on the other end of the circle was too cramped for the monsters—or their corpses—to teleport. I had no choice but to clear the way if I was going to use it to escape. 

“While facing this horde?” I asked myself. 

They were arrayed in an impeccable formation, branched out around the mountain of corpses that blocked my escape, protecting it. The Iron Crawler directly in front of me moved as if it were dedicated to defense, while the tarantulas behind it began spitting their webs to stall my movements. Still further back was a large, mud-covered human shape—a Mud Skull—which was hurling stones my way. 

They’re almost like an army, I thought to myself as I began weaving my magic together. “Envelop me in the earth’s magnificent armor. Earth Fortress!” 

I crafted a shield from the earth around me. It wrapped around me, covering my body up to my head in a dome-like shape. I cut off the spell before it consumed my body completely. As long as it rose up to my collar, it would be enough to stop the Iron Crawler from charging. 

“Scatter the falling droplets, blanket the world in water. Water Cascade!” 

Countless spheres of liquid formed around me, transforming into bullets that shot through the air. It was an extremely weak spell, fit only to temporarily stop them moving. Knowing that, I immediately began the next incantation. 

“Blue Goddess sweeping down from the heavens, wield thy staff and cover this world in frost! Icicle Field!” 

The droplets of water that had previously rained down on the creatures’ faces now crackled as they froze over. This was Frost Nova, a combination of the spells Water Cascade and Icicle Field, and it froze the entire front line of the enemy in place. From there, I continued pelting them with my magic. 

“King of Frost, supreme ruler of the arctic lands, sovereign wrapped in all white whose frigid cold robs all heat. Freeze thy enemy, oh glacial king who governs death! Blizzard!” 

I finished my shortened incantation. I generally used this spell to unleash frozen lances around me, but now they fanned out radially, soaring over those I’d frozen solid and skewering the beasts lying in wait behind them. I wasn’t actually going to defeat the front line; they were frozen statues that would act as a wall between me and the rest of their ilk while I pounded the ones behind them with my advanced magic. 

These were the same tactics I used when I traversed that labyrinth near Shirone. They guaranteed victory. However, as soon as the ones in the rear died off, more monsters came pouring through the magic circles in the room, stepping right past their fallen comrades. The place was brimming with beasts again in the blink of an eye. 

My heart was brimming, too. With despair. “I suppose it really is hopeless.” 

If I didn’t move those corpses, I wasn’t going to make it out of here. But there were too many for just me to handle. 

“Grr!” 

The Mud Skull was launching boulders at me from a distance. It had already shattered part of my Earth Fortress, and the sluggish Iron Crawler was bearing down. 

A chill ran up my spine. I could feel a cold sweat coming on. 

“Take up thy burnt blade and pierce through thy enemy! Flame Slice!” A fiery sword flew through the air, scorching the worm’s carapace. The creature writhed in pain before death took it. 

Iron Crawlers were vulnerable to fire. Using fire magic in a cave could wind up signing your own death warrant, but even so, I had no choice. 

“Envelop me in the earth’s magnificent armor. Earth Fortress!” 

Once again, I created a wall of earth. My mana was dwindling, and I began to panic. What should I do? How was I supposed to make it out of here? 

Think, I told myself. 

I racked my brain, even as I continued to launch magic and blast away my enemies. But nothing came to mind. Was I trapped? Was this the end? Was I really going to die here? My body went on autopilot, vanquishing my enemies for me as I entertained those thoughts. 

“Ah!” My feet stumbled. My mind was fuzzy. I could feel my mana drying up. I had only a few more spells left within me before I fainted. “No…” 

I tightened my grip on my staff. 

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die. 

I felt my entire life flash before me. 

My first memory was of the disappointed looks on my parents’ faces when they realized I was the only person in our quiet village who couldn’t mentally converse with anyone else. They taught me how to speak because they pitied me. 

As for magic… I started learning magic after a traveling magician came through our village and left a deep impression on me. Equipped with Basic-tier water magic, I set out from my village, going on to meet the three boys who would form my first party. We became adventurers and traveled together for several years, until one of us died and the party disbanded. 

I set out for the Central Continent, where I met numerous people, and discovered and enrolled in the University of Magic. It was my first time taking formal classes in anything, and it had a lasting impact. I earned good grades, was talented, and accomplished a great deal, earning the jealousy of those around me. At the dorm, my friend and I would lounge in bed, talking about all manner of things. 

I met my master after several years there. He was the one who taught me Saint-level water magic. I learned it so easily that I let it go to my head. My master groused at me, which pissed me off, so I graduated and left without saying a word to him. 

After that, I set out for the capital of the Asura Kingdom, certain someone as exceptional as myself could find work there. I was wrong. Unable to find a job, I moved to the countryside, but found no work there, either. I was at a loss for what to do when I found a recruitment ad for a home tutor. 

That was how I met Paul and his family—including Rudy. Watching Paul’s many sexual encounters titillated me; Rudy’s talent shocked me. I was jealous, but also felt a growing sense of respect for him since, unlike me, he didn’t let it go to his head. Before I departed, I taught him Saint-tier water magic. 

I began delving into a labyrinth near the Shirone Kingdom next. The Shirone Kingdom hired me to teach magic to Prince Pax once I was done, a task that reminded me yet again of how amazing Rudeus was, as well as how little talent I had as a teacher. Then Rudy’s letter came, and I worked tirelessly to craft a textbook on the Demon God tongue for him. When my job eventually grew too disgusting to bear, I left the Shirone Kingdom. 

It was then that I learned about the Displacement Incident. I met Elinalise and Talhand, two people so unrestrained in their behavior that it came as a shock to me. We set out together for the Demon Continent, where I reunited with my parents and confirmed that they really did love me. Then I ran into Kishirika. And then, after that… 

All those memories ran through my mind in an instant. An Iron Crawler was bearing down on me. Thanks to my fire magic, the room had heated up, and the effects of the Frost Nova were wearing off. 

I can’t do this. I don’t want to die. I don’t want to! No! I screamed in my head. 

“No, nooo!!” I swung my staff around futilely. Webs came flying at me, wrapping around it. In moments, it was ripped from my hand. “I don’t want to die, please, someone, anyone, help me…!” 

I inched backward, but there was just a wall behind me. The Iron Crawler was coming. No, not one— many . 

There was nothing left for me to do. I was going to be eaten alive, wasn’t I? No, anything but that. 

“Someone, please…” 

Oh. The Iron Crawler was already… 

I snapped my eyes shut in the face of the impinging crawler. 

I guess I won’t be able to see my mother and father anymore. 

That was the last thought I had. 

*** 

I waited for a bit, but the end never came. Maybe I’d just died instantly. Maybe it was already over. No, that couldn’t be… But I couldn’t even hear anything. Was this the afterlife? 

Timidly, I peeled my eyes open. An unimaginable vista spread out before me. 

It was a world of ice. The Death Road Tarantulas, the Iron Crawlers, and the Mud Skull had all turned into pure white statues. The latter of the three was at the back of the horde. I heard a crack as its body began to crumble. The human skull, its vital core, hit the ground and splintered. Even the inside of it was frozen solid. 

The gulf in power between this spell and mine was vast. My own Frost Nova could only freeze the surface of things. But this…this had most likely killed everything in the area. 

“…Huh?” Confused, I reached out to retrieve my staff. “Eek!” An icy cold sensation shot up my fingers and I dropped it on reflex. It clattered to the ground, echoing amidst the silence. 

I heard a voice, perhaps reacting to the sound. 

“Oh, thank God!” 

A young man came walking toward me, weaving around the ice statues. The moment I saw him, my heart started pounding. I could feel the blood rush to my face, warming my cheeks. This man…was my ideal type. 

He was tall, with soft hair and gentle features. He was draped in a gray robe and held a staff, but looked well-built for a magician. There was a clear look of relief on his face as he approached, gazing down at me. 

“Eh? Huh?” 

He embraced me with those well-built, warm, strong arms. His scent—a familiar one, one that smelled of sweat—filled my nose. He partially knelt and nuzzled his face into my neck, seemingly overcome with emotion as he inhaled deeply. 

That was when I realized something. I hadn’t bathed at all in the past month. “Ah!” As soon as I realized, I shoved him away. 

“Huh?” He looked surprised. 

Crap. I’d done something terrible! After he’d gone to the trouble of saving me! But I didn’t want him to think I was stinky. 

Oh, wait, maybe now wasn’t the time to be worrying about that… Um, was it? I couldn’t really think straight. “M-my apologies,” I said. “It just kind of stinks…” 

“I-I stink? I’m sorry.” Shocked, he sniffed at his sleeve. 

“No, not you! My body. I’ve been in here a month.” 

“Oh, that’s what you meant.” He looked relieved. “It really doesn’t bother me, though.” 

“Well, it does bother me.” Oh, forget it. That didn’t matter right now. First, I needed to thank him. “Thank you so much for saving me.” 

“Not at all. It was only natural.” 

Natural? I didn’t see how he had any obligation to face that kind of horde to save me. 

Oh yeah, his name! I had to ask his name. “Ahem. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I said. “My name is Roxy Migurdia. If you don’t mind, may I know your name as well?” 

His entire body went stiff when I asked that. Had I said something weird? 

“M-make my acquaintance…?” 

Confused, I said, “Huh? Oh, have we met somewhere before? If so, I must apologize, I’m afraid I don’t remember.” 

Come to think of it, I did get the feeling I’d seen him somewhere before. But where? He did kind of resemble Paul, but surely I wouldn’t forget someone like this. 

“You don’t…remember…” His face went pale. Had I made him angry? I did feel like we’d met somewhere before. His face was familiar, as if I’d seen him long ago… “Don’t…remember…” 

He shook his head a bit and staggered backward. Suddenly, he slapped a hand over his mouth and then— 

“Bleeegh!” 

He threw up. 

Soon after that, I discovered the young man was Rudy—Rudeus Greyrat, all grown up. Paul and the others, who caught up a few moments later, took me into their care. With that, I had narrowly escaped death.