Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha (LN) - Volume 4 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Materials for My Disciple’s Weapon 

For a while after striking down the first Jyulapus Ent, I continued hunting others. The previous one had mutated from a birch tree, and I assumed the wood I’d collected was of good quality. Even so, I wanted to gather several other types of lumber. 

Although Jyulapus Ents were a type of tree-monster in general, they could mutate and materialize from a variety of trees. According to Lorraine, different types of lumber displayed different characteristics. Though Lorraine did also did say she didn’t have a specific type of wood in mind for this particular request, so I decided to gather a few others either way, just to be sure. In the end, I’d collected lumber from ebony- and fir-based Ents, which should be sufficient for my needs. 

I also ran into a Jyulapus Ent that had previously been a grapevine of some sort. It broke apart when struck, showering me with a highly corrosive acid. It also threw acidic spheres at me, making it a very troublesome foe. I was, of course, immune to poisons of all types, but even I understood I could be burnt by acidic substances. Fortunately, the robes I was wearing appeared to be somewhat acid-proof, and I managed to shrug off the attack. But even then, I really didn’t want to run into something like that again. 

In fact, after that encounter, I decided to stop hunting Ents altogether. If I were able to utilize magecraft, I’d simply fire a spell from afar, and in doing so safely discern between an Ent and a regular tree. That, however, was impossible for me at this point in time. I’d also thought of asking Edel, eventually doing so. But it was futile in the end. I was here for materials, and Edel only knew two spells: a blade of wind and a fireball. One would scar the lumber badly, and the other would burn the whole place down. Maybe it was still too difficult for Edel to control the output of these recently-acquired spells? Either way, this could only be solved by me working hard and learning proper magecraft in the near future. 

While it was Edel who’d first mastered how to channel and shape this power, part of him doing so was probably due to his desire to assist me. There were many monsters that could blend into their surroundings, the Jyulapus Ent being just one of them, and it’d be most troublesome if I had no way of telling them apart should the need arise—other than clubbing them with some sort of object, that is. I may be many things, but I am not a caveman by any measure. 

If one were in a place like the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, such worries would be uncalled for. But the same couldn’t be said for the areas beyond this floor. Progress was a good thing, yes, but monsters like that were worrisome. I supposed I just had to put my back into it. 

I continued walking, and soon the forest opened up into a wide clearing. In the middle of it was something that shouldn’t exist in a natural, real forest: a stairway leading down. Where exactly it led to was none other than the next level of this labyrinth, the fourth floor. 

That much was known to me instinctively. Thinking about it calmly, however, I realized I still didn’t understand the reason as to why these labyrinths were built. Who would have made such a place, and for what reason? Was it the work of the gods? Or perhaps the faeries? While there were many theories, the labyrinths’ existences yet remained one of the greatest mysteries of the world. 

Now, I had no hopes of solving said mystery. That would be something left to someone like...Lorraine, perhaps. 

My job was much simpler. All I had to do was defeat monsters—monsters much like the ones currently wandering around the stairwell. 

While I’d been looking forward to exploring the fourth floor, it seemed the labyrinth disagreed with my enthusiasm. Gathered and loitering around the stairwell were quite a few Forest Wolves. 

Forest Wolves, as their name may suggest, were wolf-type monsters that mainly lived in forests. They also inhabited the third floor. They were weak individually, since they were nothing more than slightly hairier wolves. But they were a danger when attacking in packs. The monsters themselves usually hunted as such; it was their nature. When quite a few of them were gathered, much like now, some of the wolves would howl, magically strengthening other monsters in the vicinity. They were every bit of worrisome as I’d mentioned. 

To make things worse, there were five wolves before me. What a hassle... 

But they had to be defeated if I were to proceed. They were blocking my path to the stairwell, after all, and running past them would be quite a challenge. 

I did have a choice, however. I could simply return home for today, and not proceed any further. Honestly speaking, I already had more than enough materials to create some wands: the Jyulapus Ent’s lumber for the handle of the wand, and magic crystals from the fallen Orc Soldiers mounted on the top as focus mediums. 

Due to the fact that Orc Soldiers were monsters commonly found on the fourth and fifth floors, materials harvested from them were adequate for the creation of a wand. But those Orc Soldiers had strayed far from their original floors and had caused the quality of their crystals to decrease...which fueled my desire to collect better magic crystals. We were making wands for beginners like Alize and myself, so materials of a slightly lower quality would suffice. But magical foci had a tendency to explode if they were synthesized from sub-par materials, and I didn’t want Alize to be using anything so dangerous. As such, I’d have liked to gather other types of magic crystals if possible...which has landed me here. 

Thinking about it more, I could even use the magic crystal of a Forest Wolf. But I still wouldn’t be able to return home; I’d yet to gather the materials I needed for Alize’s weapon. And since I’d already come all this way, we might as well return with some spoils from the fourth floor. Surely I’d be able to gather quite a few different materials there. 

Taking all those factors into consideration, I supposed I had little choice but to defeat the Forest Wolves before me. 

I placed a hand at my waist, drawing my blade. I channeled mana into my sword and body, strengthening them both. Forest Wolves were monsters that relied on their speed. A solid first strike would surely influence the flow of battle afterward. 

The first strike had to draw blood. 

I slammed a foot onto the ground, raising my sword for a preemptive attack. 

...Gyawaaan!!! 

With a piercing cry, the monster leaped away from me, having been slashed by my blade. My target was none other than the largest Forest Wolf in the group near the stairwell. If I had to guess, this wolf was the alpha. I couldn’t be sure, so I decided to strike first, though it would seem I was right on the mark. 

As the howl rang out, the other Forest Wolves in the surroundings entered a state of alert, glaring at me from where they stood. Then, they struck. 

It wasn’t a fatal wound, but it seemed the monsters were annoyed by the fact that I’d gotten a hit in on their leader. Loyal, yes, but all too predictable. Their movements were easy to read, so I’d say this was a successful first strike. 

I turned to the first incoming wolf, slicing into it and flinging it away with the weight of my blade, before doing the same to the next. No matter how quick they were, a straight, head-on attack like that would simply be deflected with a single, well-placed blow. There was no easier hunting than this—until the leader of the monsters soon noticed what I was doing. 

With yet another loud howl, it alerted the other Forest Wolves. 

It seemed Forest Wolves had quite the thick hide, I began noticing. A single attack from me didn’t really hinder them very much at all. As expected of the Labyrinth of the New Moon... The monsters here had a higher level of endurance, most likely because I was near the entrance to the fourth floor. 

I’d slain the Jyulapus Ents somewhat easily because I just so happened to be able to pinpoint their weakness. One could say I had quite an advantage over them. In the case of these Forest Wolves, however... This seemed to be quite the difficult encounter. 

Having regained their calm after an assertive howl from their leader, the movements of the Forest Wolves were visibly those of skilled hunters. It seemed like the wolves would no longer give me many openings to work with, so the situation was now that of a stalemate. If the battle were to stretch on like this, my stamina would surely wear out. For a moment, I thought of tossing Edel, who was currently perched on my shoulder and not fighting at all, toward the wolves as food. Edel’s response was swift: “Don’t even think of it” was the gist of his response. I suppose I’ll honor your request, mouse... 

In that case, I had no choice. 

Pork was the solution. 

I reached into my magical pouch, pulling out a slab of pork wrapped in a Maalt Hoonoki leaf—wrapped Orc meat, in other words—and tossed it at the monsters. Since I couldn’t use the mouse as bait, I’d use Orc meat. Not a very imaginative plan, but Orc meat was considered a delicacy to both humans and monsters. 

As the meat’s fragrance wafted past the Forest Wolves’ noses, they let their guard down for just a moment. It was just what I’d been looking for. 

I propelled myself forward in a familiar motion. Raising my sword, I channeled mana into the blade, aiming to land a decisive blow. 

If I were to sever something, mana was the best candidate. However, using mana to slice a hard object meant quite a bit of it would be used. I wanted to conserve my energy, so I limited the amount of mana channeled into my blade. Though, if my reserves of mana were emptied out in the worst-case scenario, I could just return home at that point. 

The leader of the Forest Wolves, as if noticing I’d been waiting for this moment, quickly gave three short barks. Probably something to the effect of, “Don’t be distracted by the meat!” A terrible thing to say, given that the leader-wolf itself was drooling at the scent of it. 

Is Orc meat really that delicious? Well, I guess it would be... 

The wolves noticed a little too late, however. By the time their attention had returned to me, I’d already buried the blade of my sword into one of the monster’s necks. 

So far so good, but as expected...this flesh was hard. The endurance of these monsters was markedly different from those of the previous floors. If it were a Goblin or a normal Orc, this amount of mana would have been more than enough to cleanly remove either of their heads. 

But these monsters could be sliced up, so it wasn’t impossible. A sign from the labyrinth, possibly, that the early floors with monsters easily slain just by a slight application of mana ended here. 

I tensed the muscles in my arm while increasing the amount of mana channeled into my sword. With that, the impaled wolf froze. With a heavy sensation, the blade sank deeper into the Forest Wolf’s flesh. With a swift motion, I pulled the blade through, its surface cleanly slicing through the monster’s flesh. A dull thud—and the Forest Wolf’s head was on the ground. 

Monsters were much more resilient than they looked. 

The wolf’s head, now on the ground, spun violently this way and that, still staring in my direction as it met its end. Its body, too, remained standing for a short while, shivering as it did so. I suppose it couldn’t live for much longer after being separated from its head, however, as it fell to the ground in a few seconds. The body was still, the head’s eyes now closed. 

...One down. Four more to go. 

The battle was far from over, but it’d be much easier from here on out. After all, these particular Forest Wolves were used to hunting in packs of exactly five. 

Why did I know this? Because there were now gaps in their patterns of attack. The timing of their approaches was visibly off. Their combination attacks had been relatively flawless before, so this new development made them significantly easier to deal with. 

The Forest Wolves, as if surprised by how I’d aimed for the lapses between their attacks, seemed stunned, not knowing how to react. In response, the leader-wolf, now visibly agitated, ground its fangs together before dashing straight at me. 

We can end this right now. 

I raised my sword once more, channeling mana into its blade as I aimed for the wolf’s neck. If I’d let them reorganize themselves and regroup, the gap in their attacks that I’d created would effectively disappear. Their pack of five was now a group of four. Now was the opportune time to strike. 

To the wolf, however, me dashing in to take advantage of this chance may have been the opportunity they sought as well. If I let up on the attack now, I’d have to start fighting defensively, in which case, the battle was sure to drag on. 

Forest Wolves were monsters known for their explosive potential, with quick, powerful strikes as their weapons. But they didn’t have much in the way of stamina. They were stronger than a normal wolf, but didn’t have the capability to fight for more than tens of minutes, and definitely not hours with an adventurer armed with mana techniques. If I did not finish this here and now, victory would depend entirely on when the wolves would tire out. 

Well, then. Let’s go. 

Raising the sword above my head, I turned to the leader-wolf, unleashing a vicious downward swing. It, too, had a trick up its sleeve, as its fur began glowing a dim green. Was it channeling mana into its body? While I didn’t know what it was about to do, I understood that the wolf was now fighting seriously. No... The fact that the monster was using this ability now—it could very well be its trump card. 

I could feel a certain pressure emanating from the monster. This Forest Wolf was somewhat larger than the rest, possibly because it was the leader of these monsters. 

But I couldn’t lose here. I was still Bronze-class. I still had a long way to go to become strong enough to defeat an enemy like this almost effortlessly... 

I focused intensely on that thought, bringing the blade down on the Forest Wolf’s neck. The blade dug deep, slicing straight through. I’d increased the amount of mana channeled into my weapon by almost 50 percent, hence the lack of resistance. It being the leader of these monsters, I hardly expected to be able to defeat it with the same amount of strength. 

With that, the attack was successful, and I pulled my sword through what remained of its flesh. Its head was now falling toward the ground. I’d won, but— 

It opened its mouth. With a resounding “woosh!” what appeared to be a green, shining blade flew out from the monster’s gaping maw, flying straight at me. 

Damn! 

I panicked as I bent forward, attempting to dodge the attack. The green blade of wind narrowly missed me, almost grazing my cheek as it did so. A thunderous sound rang out from behind me immediately after—the sound of something splintering and breaking. Turning around, I witnessed a large tree fall on its side, apparently having been sliced clean through by the spell. 

Is it still alive...? 

I should have noticed this upon slaying the very first Forest Wolf... But to think it could cast a spell in such a state. An unexpected development... 

The leader-wolf’s head was now silent, so I supposed that was its final attack. Even so, I had no intentions of letting my guard down. I vowed to be cautious with the remaining three monsters. I had to be careful even after they were slain. 

That said, the remaining wolves were now without a leader, and their movements were exceedingly simple to predict. They could also no longer launch any combination attacks. All they did was rush at me in straight lines, hoping to get a good bite in. 

I, in turn, simply cut them down one by one—it felt almost too simple. The difficulty of the encounter I’d complained about mere moments ago was nowhere to be seen. 

In the end, I only spent a few more minutes defeating the remaining wolves, now armed with firsthand knowledge of just how terrifying Forest Wolves that had banded together in packs could be. With a few decisive swings, the battle had met its end. 

The carcass of a Forest Wolf provided an adventurer with quite a few usable materials. There was its magic crystal of course, but also the wolf’s hide. In life, the wolves had strengthened their skin and fur as much as they could, so much so that even the sharpest sword couldn’t easily harm them. At a glance, the hide of a Forest Wolf was impossibly hard, but that very same hide was now surprisingly soft to the touch, having lost all its previous tension in death. The hide was smooth, pleasant to the touch. It was equally soft as I leaned against it, its fur warm. One could fall asleep stroking it. 

The pelts of Forest Wolves were usually highly in demand, and were used in the manufacture of coats, rugs, carpets, and the like. They had to be carefully dissected and preserved since the pelts were worth a good sum of coin. While it couldn’t be made into weapons or armor, it was still an important source of income. 

Its fangs and teeth, however, could be processed into tools, so I’d be harvesting those, too. Its pelt was one thing, but the carcass of a Forest Wolf provided quite a few other useful materials too. It was most gratifying. 

After I was done harvesting the appropriate materials, I dug a hole in the ground, burying what remained of the monsters. I could have left the carcasses there, yes, but I’d fought these wolves right at the entrance of a downward-leading stairwell. Doing so would inconvenience adventurers ascending from lower floors, and even adventurers currently in this area. I could hardly think of any adventurer who’d find a gathering of monsters at the top of a labyrinth stairwell amusing. 

Edel also helped with the process, scattering the lingering smell of fresh blood with his wind magic. 

All that was left now were sprays of blood and scraps of meat on the ground, but there was little I could do about that. At the very least, such a small amount of blood and scattered scraps shouldn’t attract a huge horde of monsters... Maybe ten or so at most. Adventurers heading up from deeper floors were usually extremely careful during their ascent. If the debris here really did attract a fair amount of monsters, said monsters would be visible from afar. Adventurers who couldn’t defeat a large group would most likely give up and return home. 

Basically, there were no longer any outstanding issues here. 

Though I did have to remember what had happened here even as I descended to the fourth floor... It’d be all too foolish if I’d somehow walked into a monster horde of my own making, not knowing they were there, and perished in the process. 

A potential horde of monsters on the third-floor stairwell... A potential horde of monsters on the third-floor stairwell... A potential horde of monsters on the third-floor stairwell... 

Good. I’ve said it three times now. 

Still muttering the reminder, I made my way down to the fourth floor, taking care to tread slowly and carefully. 

Stepping out from the stairwell, I was greeted by what appeared to be a huge mountain made out of strong, weathered rock. We were now on the fourth floor. The mountain floated, a gigantic piece of rock casually suspended in the air. Surrounding the surreal sight was nothing but empty, bottomless space. 

The place I currently stood on was linked to the giant floating mountain by a single path. More precisely, the end of the descending stairwell was supported by a small floating rock...small compared to the mountain, I supposed. The platform I was on was approximately the size of a three-story house. Both were very rocky floating objects indeed, and no other path could be discerned from my position. 

What would happen if one fell into that seemingly bottomless space...? None of those who knew had ever returned. At least it seemed that way; no one knew anything about it. One could probably fall into the bottomless darkness and see what laid within. With one’s own eyes of course. 

Jokes aside, there were indeed a few fools who floated a robe or something similar down into the empty space. But they ultimately couldn’t tell just how far down the space went. It appeared even floating spells and magical tools were disabled upon falling off an edge, which made it impossible for one to investigate the apparently bottomless point. 

Now, I myself had wings, yes, but there was a high chance I could fall either way... I didn’t have the guts to try it out. I did, however, know that the fourth floor’s main segment was that very same mountain I was currently looking at, suspended in mid-air. 

The mountain was like a floating island of sorts. I found it most mysterious that something like this could exist in the labyrinth, but I supposed it was too late to be saying such things. 

To begin with, the mountain was at a much higher plane of elevation than the stairwell I’d just exited from... One could almost say that the platform the stairwell was on was floating in the opposite direction. The stairwell extended straight into the floating rock I was currently on, but the rock had nothing else around it. It was a mystery as to how such a stairwell could even lead an adventurer back to the third floor. 

Ah... They’re here. 

As I stood, absentmindedly admiring the strange scenery of the fourth floor, I noticed something faintly moving in the distance, along the path leading up to the floating mountain. 

Those were, of course, monsters. 

I’d heard rumors of this, about how they’d rush up to any adventurer entering the fourth floor, as if to welcome them. 

What an unnecessary welcome. 

It was a barren place, so to have one’s prey simply approach them in such a fashion did save the adventurer the trouble of looking for them...but location was an important factor to consider as well. There were no handrails at the edge of the path, just the snaking path itself and the endless ravine of empty space to either side. The adventurer would have no choice but to fight on that narrow space. Exhausting, if nothing else. 

Originally, the fourth floor was a place only recommended for Silver-class adventurers and above—and this was one of the reasons. 

There were many ways to deal with this situation, with methods often varying with party composition. A method that everyone could engage in was to run along the path as quickly as possible before the monsters appeared. They’d then be able to make it to the other side, and in doing so fight properly on solid ground, without any risk of falling. But due to the fact that I’d spent all this time staring at the scenery, this method was no longer available to me. 

Chance factored heavily into the potential success of this option. Monsters could very well appear in the middle of that narrow path, and the party would then find themselves in a dire situation. It wasn’t a method I could recommend. 

What methods could be employed, one might ask. The safest, and simplest, method was to attack from afar with magic. Since the winding stone path was an important part of the labyrinth, it was deceptively strong, and it couldn’t be damaged or destroyed by normal magic attacks. As such, it was possible to aim and fire long-range spells at the monsters as they ran along the path. If done well, an impact need not be fatal; it just had to knock the monster off-balance, causing it to fall into the bottomless space off the edges. In such a case, retrieval of materials would be regrettably impossible. There were many more monsters on the floating mountain, though, so there was little to worry about in that regard. 

This method was also effectively useless to me. I hadn’t learned any long-range magic spells, and couldn’t even use offensive magic. All I had was my Livelihood Magecraft. 

Edel still seemed tired as well as he was sprawled out on my head, unmoving. It appeared that Edel had no intentions to engage in combat for quite some time. While I felt Edel should have more stamina upon becoming my familiar... Well. That was probably the difference between master and familiar. 

In the light of all this, I only had one viable solution: a head-on clash with the monsters in question. 

I’d proceed carefully along the path, taking care not to fall off, while at the same time striking and pushing my opponents into the void. If I were to fall for whatever reason, I’d have a good opportunity to test out my wings, though I couldn’t be sure if they’d work. It’d be most preferable if I didn’t fall at all... 

Well, then, we should get going. 

The monsters were already at the halfway mark of the stone path. There were three of them in total. It seemed the labyrinth itself had a certain awareness about these things, which was why there were only three monsters as opposed to a horde. If one were to stay in this spot, unmoving, the amount of monsters advancing down the path would keep increasing. They most likely wouldn’t keep coming if one advanced normally. 

That said, I had no idea as to how much time I precisely had. It’d perhaps serve me best if I defeated the beasts quickly... 

Although monsters of all kinds appeared on the fourth floor, the members of this specific “welcome party” were set in stone. These monsters walked on two legs, much like humans did, and their entire bodies were covered with shiny, glistening skin, on top of which sat shining scales. Rows of sharp teeth could be seen in their jaws. They were armed with metallic equipment and weapons, with glittering eyes sitting in long, vertical slits. Through those very same eyes, they glared in my general direction. 

These creatures were none other than Lizardmen. 

In fact, Lizardmen looked very similar to the Wyvern-folk. The latter, however, were beastmen, and were simply a different type of sentient race, as opposed to monsters. But Lizardmen were nothing more than another type of monster, and would often attack any people they chanced upon. 

As expected, those very same Lizardmen began making a mad dash for me the very instant I set a single foot on that narrow path. 

The monsters held a variety of weapons in their hands: swords, spears, and even shamshirs (curved hunting blades). While I did momentarily wonder where the monsters would have procured their weapons from, I quickly assumed that they behaved much like Orcs did. In other words, said weapons were either stolen from fallen adventurers, or they appeared having already been equipped with them when reconstructed by the labyrinth. The weapons weren’t of very good material or make from the looks of it. If I had to guess, they were most likely armed with the latter. After all, adventurers who did make it to the fourth floor were usually armed with somewhat respectable armaments. 

Channeling mana into my body and blade, I braced myself, moving forward as I did so. Even then, I couldn’t move toward them too quickly, lest the impact of our weapons launch me into the air. I deliberately placed one foot in front of the other. 

The Lizardmen didn’t seem to have similar concerns in mind. They were running straight ahead, perhaps to gather enough momentum to push me into the depths upon contact. Considering that the Lizardmen were heavier than the typical adventurer, they may have assumed that such an impact wouldn’t result in them losing their footing. 

It would be most dangerous if we had any sort of bodily impact... But just then, a Lizardman was already before me, swinging its weapon in a large horizontal arc. I quickly crouched, dodging the blow, before sending a straight thrust into the monster’s armored chest. 

“Gigiii!!” 

With a surprised, grating cry, the monster before me was sent flying backward, only to slam straight into the very next charging Lizardman. The Lizardman in question was at least two times, if not three times as large as me. I could only assume it was that much heavier as well. 

The last charging Lizardman, unable to stop its attack due to the momentum in its motion, collided with the two before it, then promptly lost its footing, falling sideways down into the void. The Lizardman’s expression just before it fell somehow communicated great sorrow and regret, almost as if it were saying, “Ah, I’ve gone and done it now...” 

“Gi! Gi...gigi...” 

Its cries echoed as it continued falling into the abyss, until it could no longer be heard. In the end, would that Lizardman continue falling for eternity? Or would it eventually meet some sort of surface, only to be crushed by the impact? It was impossible to affirm from where I stood. 

All I could think about was how I would like to avoid a similar fate. To that end...I supposed I’d have to ensure that the remaining two Lizardmen went down as easily. 

I turned my gaze to the two remaining monsters, now on their guard after witnessing the unfortunate death of their compatriot. The Lizardmen retreated slightly, placing some distance between us. 

The Lizardman behind the first crouched down low, as if to avoid any collateral damage should the one before it be sent flying back again. The one in front, in turn, adopted a defensive stance, lowering its center of gravity to prevent being launched again. 

A somewhat troubling development, but I supposed that much was fine. I’d only decided to push one of them over the edge and into the abyss out of convenience. I could defeat the remaining two normally. I did require monster materials, and energy for Existential Evolution, so it was best to keep the remaining two on the surface. 

As of late, I’d discovered that monsters around the level of a typical Normal Orc didn’t provide very much, if any, life energy at all. I assumed monsters on the fourth floor would be able to provide me with what I needed. 

On another note, I didn’t feel the energy of the Lizardman who fell off the edge flow into me. It was either still alive, or perhaps monsters disposed of in such a way didn’t release any energy at all. 

I advanced slowly along the narrow path, intent on closing in on the two Lizardmen before me. 

Lizardmen in general were somewhat tall monsters, and they did appear somewhat larger as I approached. However, humans of such a size weren’t exactly a rarity. The monsters’ large sizes didn’t do them many favors when it came to precise maneuvers, either. 

As I approached, the Lizardman closest to me swung its weapon wildly, hoping to get a good attack in. I, however, moved faster than the Lizardman. Before it completed its swing, I’d already closed the distance between us, placing a good slash across its chest. 

This was the fourth floor. Considering the relative hardness of a Forest Wolf’s hide, I’d expected the skin of a Lizardman to be even tougher, and had infused my sword with even more mana as a result. But my blow merely grazed its flesh. 

Hmph. Only a flesh wound... 

The Lizardman before me retreated quickly as I continued my internal monologue. I supposed it had the upper hand when it came to brute strength. If I were to stray too close to it, the battle would become a simple comparison of strength, and I’d be at a disadvantage. 

I deduced that a hit-and-run strategy, much like the one that I had employed just now, would be more effective in this particular case. If I’d used a Fusion Art with mana and spirit...I’d surely leave a mark, if not a deep wound. Such a move, however, was resource-intensive. I had no idea of knowing just how many strong enemies laid in wait beyond this path. For now, I had to conserve my strength. 

In addition, while the blow I’d landed on the beast was but a scratch, it was by no means entirely harmless. I’d landed a well-placed slash on it, so a few more of these attacks, and the Lizardman would surely fall. As such, I could only justify using a Fusion Art if I was backed into a corner with no other choice. 

With that, I readied myself once more, adopting a combat stance as I approached the Lizardman. The Lizardman, on the other hand, changed its stance somewhat, withdrawing its arms and keeping them close to its body, as if to defend against similar attacks. Perhaps it was trying to prevent me from slashing its chest again. 

But with its stance now altered, the Lizardman had inadvertently shown me a weakness, an angle of attack. It was a defensive stance, yes, but not a perfect one. Due to the fact that its weapon was now close to its body, its reach and range had drastically decreased. The only reason I’d approached the Lizardman in the first place was due to its large body, so I was at a marked disadvantage when it came to attack range. 

As such, I made a quick strike, closing the distance between us as I struck. Even if the monster were to abandon its advantage for the sake of defense, the battle would only swing in my favor. 

I broke into a run, bringing my blade down on the monster once more. As expected, the Lizardman raised its own sword to guard against the blow, but its actions were significantly slower than before. Though, it did succeed in protecting its chest and torso region, and in doing so, had achieved its goal. 

But the beast didn’t expect me to follow up with a quick second strike to its face, and it couldn’t defend itself in time. 

“...Gigi!” 

With a pained cry, the Lizardman reared up, swinging its sword randomly in a mix of pain and fury. I disengaged in response, avoiding the blows. 

Now at a safe distance, I looked up at my foes once more. The Lizardman with the injured face had stopped swinging its sword, and was currently glaring daggers at me. Drops of blue blood fell down onto the ground, giving rise to white streams of wispy smoke upon impact. Their blood was strongly acidic, I assumed. I supposed this would be one adversary I wouldn’t be consuming...though I had quite some gluttonous tendencies myself. 

The Lizardman was now considerably hurt. Should I go in for the kill on my very next attack? I wasn’t quite sure. 

As I thought it over, the Lizardman before me slowly stepped backward, exchanging positions with its comrade who had been behind it all this time. 

Ah, yes. A logical move on their part. 

This particular Lizardman wielded a spear. A most troublesome foe, given the circumstances... Not a foe that I wanted to fight, but... Oh, but of course. I just didn’t have to fight it then. That was a solution in and of itself. 

With a well-practiced motion, I propelled myself forward, approaching the Lizardman at a speed greater than any I had used in the current encounter. As expected, the spear-equipped Lizardman thrust its weapon at me, as if to knock me off this narrow path. I parried its spear with the back of my blade, increasing my momentum as I continued running at the monster. I was now near its chest, and even then I didn’t stop, instead neatly stepping to its side and running past the beast. It was a narrow path, yes, but there was enough space for the Lizardmen to change positions with each other—and that meant there would be enough space for me. 

With that singular motion, I was now behind the Lizardman with the spear. Yet I continued running, making a beeline for the sword-equipped Lizardman I’d injured earlier. I supposed the monster had intended to rest, or even spectate how I’d deal with its spear-wielding friend. But it could now only stare in surprise as I vaulted past its comrade. To think that Lizardmen were capable of such expressions... 

But that was neither here nor there. The injured Lizardman was now visibly panicking. 

But it was far too late. My sword was faster than its reactions. 

I swung my blade horizontally, catching the monster straight in the torso, cleanly launching it off the narrow path. The impact of the blow had horizontally displaced the beast, and it sent the beast falling, eternally, into the bottomless abyss below. 

Now was hardly the time to stop. I regained my momentum, and continued running toward the floating mountain. I knew there was one more Lizardman remaining behind me, but it was impossible to continue fighting here. I wasn’t too fond of fighting while constantly saddled with the fear of falling into the abyss. 

I also wasn’t very good with heights. While I did like some aspects of them, situations in which I could possibly fall were undoubtedly terrifying. This was why I continued sprinting forward, for the sake of reaching solid ground... All so I could reach that floating mountain, where I wouldn’t have to fear the abyss again. 

Turning around momentarily, my eyes met with those of the last Lizardman, chasing after me. Its eyes were bloodshot, probably furious at the loss of its friends, if I had to guess. 

Well, then, perhaps it made more sense to not group up in a trio, and not run down such a dangerous, narrow path. At least, that was what I thought, but given the mysteries surrounding the general ecology of labyrinths in general, it was impossible to guess their motives. Maybe they were forced to behave in a certain way by the labyrinth—in this case, to mindlessly attack anyone that set foot onto the fourth floor. In fact, from what I understood, these three Lizardmen always appeared so long as someone entered the area. To them, this may all be some sort of curse in and of itself. 

Even so, I had no intentions of going easy on the monster. 

The Lizardman stopped, facing me and readying its weapon once more, charging at me at full speed. 

Up until a few moments ago, I would have been terrified at this prospect. Its weight, combined with the reach of its weapon, compounded my fears of falling into the abyss. But now that I was on solid ground, there was nothing to fear. 

I ran straight at the monster as well, intent on meeting its charge head-on...only to step to the right at the last second. With a well-placed horizontal swing, my blade dug into its torso. Almost immediately, I followed through with a swing at its leg, and the Lizardman momentarily lurched forward at the force of the blow. This was the moment I’d been waiting for: its neck was now exposed. Channeling a significant amount of mana into my weapon, I brought my sword down upon its neck, pushing the weapon through skin, sinew, and bone. While my blade was met with quite a bit of resistance, it didn’t last, and soon the Lizardman’s head fell. 

It was a development very different from the hit-and-run encounters I had prior. I supposed not having much space to work with was significantly challenging to me. Yet another reminder that practice was required in such scenarios, so that I may fight at full capacity. 

In any case, with this, I’d cleared the first notable obstacle of the fourth floor. 

Gathering up what materials I could from the fallen Lizardman, I stepped forward once more... 

The floating mountain of the fourth floor was split into two main areas: a bare, somewhat rugged outer wall and a series of interconnected caves inside the mountain itself. The caves were as much a path as they were tunnels, and adventurers were often able to gather a variety of ores and stones from within. 

That was my goal. 

Given that I’d wanted to make and gift Alize a light metal blade of sorts, the fourth floor was the perfect place to gather the required ores and metals. 

I continued climbing up the floating mountain. Soon enough, I found an opening, and upon ascertaining that there were no monsters in the immediate vicinity, I carefully and quietly slipped into the cave. 

The layout of these tunnels was somewhat complex. It was said that one could become lost, never to return, should one go too deep. 

Under normal circumstances, a map of the complicated interior was required for navigation, and the typical adventurer would, of course, have to buy such an item. I, however, had the Map of Akasha. While it only displayed areas which I’d personally explored, there was now no possibility of me getting lost. Not having to purchase an additional map was also a bonus. In exchange, notes and points of interest typically shown on commercial maps were hidden from me, including areas where one could usually excavate for ore. I supposed I’d have to find all these locations myself. 

As I continued walking along the tunnels, I caught sight of a partially collapsed wall. If I had to guess, someone before me had dug for ore in this very same spot. While some of these spots were marked with traces of excavation by others, most of them weren’t. The possibility of ore yet remaining in this area was still high, though. 

I withdrew a small, plank-like object from my magical pouch. It was a cheap board of sorts, a tool that reacted to faint traces of magic. It was a type of magical tool in and of itself. 

I raised it to the gap in the wall before me. After waiting for quite some time, I felt the board move ever so slightly as it gave off a faint glow. With this, I understood one thing: the ore I’d been looking for all this time was somewhere in these walls. 

Specifically, I was looking for a type of metal known as “mana iron.” It was much stronger than normal iron, and it also had a good affinity for mana in general. It was a relatively expensive metal. 

Mana iron had some curious properties. If one were to channel mana through it, some of the mana would be absorbed by the metal, and the rest would be reflected and expelled. It was this expulsion of mana that the board in my hands was reacting to. I’d surely find some mana iron if I were to dig further into this partially collapsed wall. 

If I had Lorraine’s level of skill, I’d be able to discern if objects had mana in them at a glance—but of course, such feats were beyond me. 

Withdrawing a pickaxe from my pouch, I turned to the wall, bracing myself. 

Time to get what I came for. 

The sharp clanging of metal on rock echoed throughout the tunnels as I continued mining the walls. 

This particular pickaxe was made to be tolerant to mana. This allowed one to channel mana into it and continue excavating without any issues. 

I persevered, digging myself deeper into the wall. If this were to take a long time, I’d most likely not have enough magic... But things should be fine at this pace. 

I hope. 

After a while, a faint glimmer beyond the rock walls caught my eye. It seemed to be a vein of some sort of ore—ore that contained the mana iron I was looking for. 

I quickened my excavating pace. The ashen walls became noticeably harder as I continued digging, but with my now inhuman strength and the mana flowing through my veins, some slightly harder layers of rock were hardly a problem for me. 

I was able to extract the ore I required surprisingly easily. However... 

“The quality leaves much to be desired...” 

I turned around the piece of mana-iron-containing ore in my hands. Most of this ore piece consisted of impurities I didn’t need, and a single glance was enough for me to tell. 

If I were to use such a material, quite a large amount would have to be excavated for me to extract any sort of mana iron at all, and one would hardly be able to make a respectable weapon with ore of this quality. I wasn’t looking to create some sort of artisanal weapon far exceeding normal standards, but this ore was simply...too impure for my purposes. While I could tolerate some impurities within metals in general, the quality of this vein was severely lacking. 

It was ore that I had put a great deal of effort into excavating, yes, but nonetheless, I left it on the ground, intent on locating a better vein of ore. 

I was hardly disappointed, however. In fact, I’d already anticipated this to a certain degree. It was said that ore in this floating mountain improved in purity and quality the deeper one went into the tunnels, so I’d already known to some extent that an excavation spot relatively near an entrance wouldn’t provide me with many returns. I did want to excavate it in person, at least once, to affirm what I had heard before moving on, though. 

I suppose such was to be expected of a labyrinth—one could never see what it had to offer without delving into its innermost depths. 

I felt like I saw something flicker from the corner of my eye—a silhouette, or a shadow perhaps. Was someone else here? It wouldn’t be strange for other adventurers to be present. 

But...something was off about it. It was as if the existence of this being itself was...unstable. I couldn’t say for sure. 

In any case, I supposed I should have a look for myself... 

But...no. It was precisely because of my curiosity that I’d ended up with such a body in the first place. I should be placing my safety before all else... 

At least, that was what I thought. Soon enough, I, Rentt Faina, had given in to my curiosity. If I didn’t have such a personality, I wouldn’t have had to go through all that I had up till now. But I suppose me acting this way was very much a given. 

All I had to do was immediately escape should there be any sign of danger. Considering the amount of energy I’d expended thus far, I could safely say I could escape at a reasonable speed. 

But of course, it’d be most trying should I run into some sort of dragon again. Though that was a one-off case of bad luck. I supposed such a thing wouldn’t happen again. 

I approached the place where I’d seen the shadow. 

But... 

There was no one there. Perhaps it was just my imagination... 

“...Who are you? Where did you come from?” a voice said from behind me. 

Shocked, I immediately turned around, only to see a young girl standing before me. 

She was...very young. Perhaps about five or six years of age. 

But the aura she had about her was anything but childish. Her gaze was full of suspicion, even irritation. It was an expression only adults could muster. 

I was at a loss for what to say, my mouth gaping as I struggled to find the words. Just as I did... 

“...I don’t know. No... I... I am...” 

Another voice from behind me. Not one that manifested from my throat. 

It seemed like there was another individual behind me, so I turned around—only to come face-to-face with a strange individual, dressed in a tattered and ragged old robe. 

The robed individual did not seem very normal at all. Gazing upon him, I couldn’t help but feel that he was an unknown existence I could never understand, and my heart was filled with a great sense of unease. It seemed the individual was thinking, lost in thought at the girl’s question. 

Just who is this person... 

As that thought entered my mind, the young girl stepped right through me, continuing to speak to the robed individual. Now that I was observing her from a distance, I could see that the girl was somewhat...translucent. 

Did she even really exist? Or was she simply not physically here? Was that why she could not see me? 

Upon closer inspection, the robed individual seemed slightly translucent as well. 

“You don’t know? You don’t know where you came from? But to come here, you must have come from somewhere else...and yet, you don’t know?” the girl asked. 

The robed individual shook his head. “I... I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know...anything. I... I am. What am I? Where is this?!” 

As they shouted, their shaking intensified. Soon after, the hood on their head was shaken clean off. 

...Hey, now. 

I wasn’t expecting to see anything quite like it. I felt a deep sense of surprise rising up from within. 

The robed individual standing before me...was a Skeleton. A Skeleton with a faint light in its eye sockets... A Skeleton with logic, and a capability to reason. There was what appeared to be a complicated tattoo across its skull, the pattern glowing a faint blue. I’d never seen such a tattoo before... But this was unmistakably...a Skeleton. 

A Skeleton—a monster much like what I used to be, quite a while ago. 

...Who was that, I wondered. 

With a single step, I approached the two. I wanted to see this strange robed Skeleton up close. 

Unfortunately, as if sensing my intent, the robed individual slowly seemed to dissipate, fading out of existence, before vanishing into thin air altogether. The girl questioning him vanished too, her image slowly losing its color before fading into nothingness. All that was left in the barren tunnels were myself and the silent rock faces surrounding me. It was a most lonely feeling, as if what had just occurred before me was nothing more than an illusion. 

“What was that all about...?” I said despite myself. 

No one answered my query. The only response was an empty echo, softly reverberating through the tunnels. 

Were occurrences like this common on the fourth floor? 

No... That couldn’t possibly be true. If that really were the case, there would have been a flood of rumors about it in the taverns by now. At the very least, I should have heard about it, one way or another. 

Then...could it be possible that this strange phenomenon only occurred because of who I was? 

Why would that be the case...? Was it just a coincidence? Or was this something that simply had to happen? 

I had no way of knowing. 

After pondering the issue for a while, I gave up, realizing that I simply didn’t have any answers. I supposed I could think about it another time. 

There were many inexplicable things in the world—unsolved mysteries, including the reason for me becoming an Undead. It was important to discern between what one could know, and what one may never know. It was an important survival skill in its own right. 

For now, I had to focus on what I needed to do: material gathering. 

The deeper I went into these tunnels, the higher the purity and quality of the mana iron I sought. And so...I must continue moving forward. As for what happened today, I supposed I could just tuck it away in some corner of my heart, for now. 

“Guuugyaaa!!!” 

A cry most inhuman rang out through the tunnels. 

My sword was currently buried in the face of the monster before me—the face of a Mina Goblin. I’d been aiming for its neck, but the monster was more agile than I’d expected, and it ended up dodging the blow. 

As their name suggested, Mina Goblins were different from the common Goblin. For starters, they lived in places abundant with ore, commonly mountains and the like. They also possessed certain unique skills, namely, that of smelting. Although they were hardly as skilled as the Dwarves, and weren’t capable of creating precise instruments and magical tools, they knew enough about smelting to create swords, shields, and the like. 

This meant there should be a smelting chamber somewhere in this mountain, though I had no idea as to where exactly such a place could be. While adventurers had successfully located and destroyed said smelting chambers repeatedly in the past, another one would eventually pop up in its place. 

Infrastructure on such a scale didn’t seem like an easy undertaking... But then again, the labyrinth was a huge place. If one were serious about exploring the entirety of the fourth floor, one would definitely need more than one or two days. A few weeks, perhaps, or maybe even a few months. 

Even so, it might still be impossible for one to see everything it had to offer. Given the sheer size of the floor, it was very possible that several of these chambers were partially constructed, and should one ever be destroyed, the goblins in question would simply move on to the next one. If this were indeed true, these chambers would never be completely destroyed, no matter how much time came to pass. All that had to be done was to transport some specialized tools from one location to another, and that was that. 

At the very least, Mina Goblins were capable of constructing simple magical tools, and were also able to prevent the heat and smoke from these chambers from giving away their location. This made finding such a chamber difficult. If these Goblins were armed with such knowledge, why not simply live at peace with humans, one may think, but in reality, certain groups of Goblins did live this way. 

The Mina Goblins on the fourth floor, however, appeared to have some sort of pride that man couldn’t possibly hope to understand. Perhaps this was the reason as to why they couldn’t be at peace with humanity in general. 

As a result of all their smelting and crafting, Mina Goblins looked different than the average Goblin, often armed with reasonably well-made armor and weaponry. Even the color of their skin was different; a sort of natural adaptation to their rocky habitat, perhaps. The skin of a Mina Goblin was earth-brown, compared to the green skin of a Normal Goblin. They were also significantly more muscular, probably due to all the ore they excavated in their free time. 

If Normal Goblins were small and annoying ankle-biters, Mina Goblins were very much like miniature, yet muscular gorillas. 

Truly horrifying. 

The speed of their swings, compounded by their sheer muscular power, meant that Mina Goblins were much more formidable foes than Lizardmen. To make things worse, they were also trained to handle weaponry, and had a certain amount of martial prowess to their movements. 

Although it had sustained a wound from my blade, the Goblin soon snapped out of its panic, immediately calming down and staring threateningly in my direction. As expected, monsters became increasingly more difficult to slay as one ventured into the deeper floors... 

It occurred to me that staying here for a while and absorbing the life force of these monsters wouldn’t be all that bad an idea. I didn’t mean to say that I hadn’t become stronger, but perhaps the pace of my descent was a little too fast. I should have gauged my own capabilities before deciding to go all the way down to the fourth floor, but it was a little too late for such thoughts. 

Despite that, I hadn’t sustained any grievous injuries, and I was still managing to fight my foes on relatively equal, albeit strained, footing. Things would indeed be bad if I’d decided to go any deeper. 

Or perhaps I should fight at that level of difficulty, and maybe reach new heights of growth by continually exposing myself to danger...? No, no. That would be far too reckless. 

In any case, those were thoughts better attended to at home. For now, it was more important to deal with the Mina Goblin before me. 

It was holding a large, two-handed axe in its hands, a weapon I’d find difficult to control, much less swing about. To the Mina Goblin, however, the axe likely didn’t weigh very much at all. 

The weapon was crude; not only was it heavy, it was also difficult to control... Yet the Mina Goblin seemed to have mastered it ages ago. It blocked my swings with the flat side of its axe, turning its two-handed weapon into a makeshift shield. As my blade deflected off its surface, it would immediately counterattack. 

“...Kuh!” 

I’d dodged a swing from the monster by a hair, yet the Mina Goblin didn’t let up on its attacks. The Goblin held its axe firmly, swinging it down as if to split me into two clean halves. While I was unsure if my body as it was right now would be easy to split apart in the first place, I wasn’t too keen to find out first-hand. 

Then, it suddenly dawned on me that death could come knocking at my door at any instance. 

I dodged as best as I could in a slight panic, eager to avoid the descending two-handed axe. My evasion wasn’t perfect, however, and the blade of the weapon grazed my cheek. A fine line was traced across my features...before healing up in seconds, disappearing altogether. 

It appeared that I now had the ability to recover from simple cuts relatively quickly. 

I did feel a slight sense of fatigue from that, though. I could heal myself, yes, but there were tangible risks involved in the process. After all, adventurers who had actually faced Vampires did affirm that they often healed up immediately after suffering most slashing wounds. 

While Lesser Vampires also possessed these regenerative qualities, the spike of fatigue I just felt may very well indicate that there was a limit to my regeneration...especially if I’d gotten terribly injured. I supposed even Vampires couldn’t regenerate indefinitely... 

While I didn’t know of anyone who’d conducted tests to affirm this, nor were there records to that effect, most individuals who did choose to fight Vampires often decided to go straight for their weak points. In such a case, regenerative limits didn’t really matter. After all, no one would go out of their way to slay a Vampire with a more roundabout method. 

Although my wound was light, the impact of the blow was significant, and I rolled for some distance before recovering, once again raising my blade toward the Mina Goblin. Affirming that I was about to launch an attack, the Mina Goblin raised the flat side of its axe once more, as if to defend— 

“...Gyaaaahh!” the Mina Goblin cried out as it swung its axe backward instead. 

What...? I thought to get a closer look, and there was Edel. My familiar had launched a spell at the beast: Wind Blade. By the time the Goblin had swung its axe around, however, Edel was already at a safe distance, much to my relief. 

With the Goblin now sufficiently distracted, I seized the opportunity, dashing forward and swinging my blade at its exposed head. My weapon cut deep, fracturing its skull, before splitting the Goblin into two clean halves. 

With a shudder, the Mina Goblin fell to the ground, fresh blood spewing forth from the separated corpse on the ground. 

Although I did proceed with the dissection of the Mina Goblin, it soon became evident that there wasn’t very much to recover from it. Its weapons and equipment, along with the magic crystal near its heart, were useful, but there was no tangible use for the rest of the carcass. 

I supposed I could remove its right ear and take it with me as a bounty, though there were currently no active hunting requests at the guild. Since I didn’t even remember seeing such a request in the first place, it was most likely a pointless venture—but I decided to take the ear anyway. A single ear wouldn’t take up much space. 

As for its weapons and equipment... Well, while they were indeed smithed with mana iron excavated from these tunnels, Goblin blacksmithing techniques weren’t all that impressive. The purity of the ore and the construction of the weapon left much to be desired. It was also a Goblin-sized axe, so it wouldn’t be of much value even if I did take it with me. 

I guess it was technically possible to melt the axe down and re-use the metal itself, but that would require putting more time and resources into the refinement process. At the end of the day, it seemed cheaper to simply bring any blacksmith a piece of ore containing mana iron instead. 

I decided to leave the axe where it lay. 

The magic crystal, however, was of a fair size and quality. I promptly decided to take it with me. The crystal could be used as material for the wands...and if that wasn’t possible, it could always be sold for some coin. 

Even so...I supposed this was all one could hope to extract from the carcass of a Mina Goblin. 

With that, I set out, starting my journey through these tunnels once more. 

I felt like I’d ventured deep into these tunnels. I could feel the air stagnating around me as I continued on. 

Given how these tunnels were, it wasn’t entirely impossible for certain sections to be filled with poisonous gas. While the concentration of these gases wasn’t high, I’d heard of certain tunnels occasionally becoming sealed off due to a sudden increase in gas concentrations. There were no such warnings from the guild now, however, but I couldn’t be entirely sure that there were no noxious gasses in these tunnels. 

Basically, it was safe to assume that the surroundings were poisonous to a certain degree. 

But I was particularly resistant to such poisons. I’d been completely immune to all sorts of poisons during my tenure as a Ghoul alone. I supposed the same also applied during my time as a Skeleton. 

Even though I’d since evolved into a Lesser Vampire, my resistance didn’t seem to fade. It was times like these when I felt grateful for this body of mine. I was able to progress without issues. 

I hardly felt like I was omnipotent or immortal—the fact that my regeneration seemed to have a limit reminded me of that fact. Perhaps I’d been somewhat reckless as of late, thinking it was fine for me to do certain, usually fatal things, disregarding the danger simply because I was an Undead. Maybe I just wasn’t very receptive to danger... No, if I had to describe it, it’d be more of a feeling—a feeling that this wasn’t enough to kill me. 

An overconfidence in my abilities, perhaps. Or maybe a condition brought about by my status as a member of the walking dead. Regardless, this case seemed more of the former, and so I slowed down, proceeding cautiously as I checked my surroundings. It was cowardly adventurers who often lived the longest—so goes the saying. 

Eventually, a large set of doors appeared before my eyes. 

Well, now...how should we go about doing this? 

Or rather, what should we do in the first place? This set of doors was obviously an entrance to a Boss Chamber. Would it be all right to simply step inside? 

My Undead intuition was egging me on. We should go. Let’s go inside already, it said. My old adventurer’s sense, however, was begging me to stop, reasoning that I should slay some more monsters in this area before attempting such a thing. It was undoubtedly the safer option. 

But...it couldn’t be too bad. 

Well, then...we should get going. 

All we had to do should there be any danger was run. Return to this place. 

It was a Boss Chamber, yes, but I could hardly imagine an inescapable chamber on the fourth floor. Under normal circumstances, said chambers were only found at around 40 floors deep. Considering the chamber I’d encountered in the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection, though, I suppose I could declare that as an ironclad fact... But even so, that was more the exception than the norm. 

Unlike the previous occurrence, I hadn’t entered some secret passage, gotten teleported somewhere, then overcome a series of obstacles to arrive at this door. No—this door simply stood here, plainly announcing its presence. If there really were some complicated mechanism to this whole thing, it would have been at least discussed by the adventurers who frequented this floor often. 

With all those thoughts in mind, my conclusion was that this was hardly a special room. It simply couldn’t be the case...and so, it should be fine to enter. 

I repeated this to myself, over and over again, as I placed a hand on the door. 

Was I being careless? Reckless? Or was I simply uneasy? And yet...I somehow just had a feeling that this boss room in particular wouldn’t pose much of a threat. 

At the very least...it was a room that one could escape from anytime. 

I did feel that something was off though. My so-called Undead intuition perhaps? 

Irregular and strange things would happen to an adventurer from time to time. If I were to get too caught up in the specifics and continuously hesitate, I’d never get anywhere. 

So...I supposed this was all right. I wasn’t wrong; I wasn’t being reckless. 

I gave the doors a good push and looked on silently as they swung open with a low rumble. 

Ah. It seemed it was a normal Boss Chamber after all. 

It looked like my deductions were largely accurate as I peeked through the door. 

There was, however, a bit of a problem with the boss monster perched in the middle of the room. With its huge body, glistening scales, four feet on the ground, and a large horn of ore and rock on its head... All of these factors were meant to showcase its strength. A single look at it was enough to suggest that it was by no means a weak foe—the monster before me was a Terra Drake. 

It was a Lesser Dragon of sorts, more accurately a subspecies that commonly preferred to live underground. It might be a lesser subspecies, but it was still a Dragon; relatively speaking, it was a monster of significant strength. It was a monster not normally associated with appearing on the fourth floor, but the possibility of it doing so was apparent. 

In any case, the Terra Drake in the center of the room wasn’t very big. It might be large compared to me, but if I were to compare it to a mature Dragon, it was somewhat smaller—about 25% of a mature specimen’s size. If I had to guess...it would be around four meters. If this were the case...then perhaps I could do something about this Drake. 

Even so...I couldn’t help but feel that its size was strange. Normally, Dragons of all types grew larger and gained strength as they aged. Given that this Drake was somewhat smaller than a mature Dragon, I suppose it wasn’t overwhelmingly powerful. 

Basically, I gave the matter serious thought as I sized the Terra Drake up. 

Then I glanced at the door. It wasn’t thick by any means. I could certainly break through it and escape if it came down to it. 

With that in mind, I could reasonably assume that this wasn’t a boss room of the inescapable variety. Of course, there was the possibility that the door was made of some sort of special material, making it difficult to destroy in that case. But it didn’t seem all that different from the rock walls around it, however. 

Perhaps it seemed a little silly to think about escaping before the fight had even begun, but this, too, was an important strategy to consider. If these were the factors at hand, then...very well. 

Gathering my thoughts, I slowly entered the room. The door showed no signs of closing even as I approached the center of the chamber. Escape from this encounter was possible, as I expected. 

This development filled me with a deep sense of relief. Slowly, I drew my sword, and began channeling mana into its blade. 

A combat stance. 

The four-legged Terra Drake didn’t move an inch. Instead, it merely continued staring in my general direction. Perhaps it was simply observing me, or waiting for me to get closer. Whatever the case, this meant I simply should strike first...or so I thought. 

Slowly, I accelerated, before breaking into a run. In the midst of my sprint... 

“...GUURRRGGYYYAAAAAA!!!” 

An ear splitting roar arose from its throat. 

But that wouldn’t stop me. Without any hesitation, I aimed for the head of the beast, swinging my blade as I closed in. Unfortunately... 

Tink! 

With a metallic clash, my blade was blocked. The Terra Drake had defended against my attack. 

This was nothing about how hard its scales were however. Given that Terra Drakes were a subspecies of Lesser Dragon, one would expect their skin and scales to be impressively tough, which was a reasonable assumption. I already knew that before my attack. 

While it was also true that I’d never properly fought a Terra Drake up until now, I did, at the very least, have some knowledge about the creature, including knowledge of its natural defenses. That was exactly why I’d channeled more mana than I ever had before into my weapon and body. 

Despite this, the monster was able to defend against my blow. What appeared to be a shield of rock and stone had risen up around the Terra Drake’s head as I brought my sword down. It was a helmet-like shield, made from the stone and rock scattered in the nearby area, most likely spontaneously crafted as soon as I swung my blade. 

This was none other than magic, and used by monsters at that. 

In fact, it was elemental magic. Compared to the magecraft that humans wielded today, elemental magic was very old. However, its usefulness and power couldn’t be underestimated. While incantations and the like were useful when it came to magecraft, a visual image of the spell itself was important as well. Elemental magic, on the other hand, drew on natural phenomena. As such, it was very easy to visualize. 

In addition, there were other ways elemental magic could be utilized advantageously, with one such way being what I had just witnessed. 

This was the ability to use one’s surroundings as weapons. For example, if earth elemental magic was used in a place where there was an abundance of rock and soil, it would be simple to gather and extract it from the surroundings. The amount of magic required to do this would also be reduced, and it would be possible for one to increase the destructive power of the spell, or even enhance one’s magic. This was exactly what the Terra Drake before me had done. It had gathered stones and rocks from its surroundings, and had used them to form a shield to defend against my attacks. 

Given the nature of the terrain around me, it was safe to assume that the rocks it was using contained veins of Mana Iron, and in high concentrations. These rocks, in turn, were further strengthened by the Terra Drake’s magic and formed a formidable defense. 

I had no concrete proof of all this, of course, but it remained unchanged that the Drake had successfully defended against my attack. If one were to think about it normally, rationally, this would be the endgame. 

I launched a surprise attack, one infused with high amounts of mana. One of the strongest attacks in my arsenal, and yet...the Drake had defended itself so easily. But if I were to give up here, I’d never become a Mithril-class adventurer, no matter how much time I put into it. 

I still had many moves left. I kept my ace up my sleeve, and that rock shield may yet have some sort of undiscovered weakness. 

I momentarily retreated, instead intending to observe the Terra Drake’s next actions. The Terra Drake, as if reading my mind, charged at me in response, closing in at a fearsome speed. 

Just as I realized how bad the situation was, I found that the Drake was already before me. Panicking, I dodged to the side desperately. The Terra Drake’s response was swift. Pivoting its giant body, it spun, swinging its tail sideways and down. Just as I thought I’d dodged the blow, in came its tail, hardly giving me any breathing room. There was nothing I could do but raise the flat of my blade. The Drake’s tail made contact with my body. Soon, I was sailing through the air. 

Wham! 

I slammed into one of the chamber’s walls with a resounding thud. I could hear pieces of fragmented rock raining onto the ground around me. Such was the force of the impact, the power of the blow. 

To make things worse, the Terra Drake was far from done. It pressed the attack, charging directly at me. 

I must avoid another hit... 

That was the singular thought that filled my mind as I felt the previous impact radiate through me. 

I’d simply receive yet another hit from its tail should I dodge to the side again. In that case... 

I remained still, allowing the Drake to continue its charge. I was aiming for a specific moment, with a foot against the wall, just before it hit me. 

My goal was the Terra Drake’s back. 

Could I really do this...? 

It was almost like the very flow of time itself stretched out—each moment felt like an eternity. I was in a most vulnerable state. 

If it came to it, I could infuse spirit into my wings and quickly launch myself away. But the Drake would surely give chase again if I did so. 

Please...work. 

Slowly but surely, the grains of frozen time flowed on. 

The head of the Terra Drake was now close enough... Slowly, I stretched out my leg, aiming for its surface. The monster still hadn’t noticed. 

The Drake made contact with where I’d been moments ago, kicking up a large cloud of dust, impairing its vision. 

I, on the other hand, didn’t have a normal sense of sight. Instead, I could see as most Undead did: via body warmth. 

Thank you, oh body of mine. 

In fact, being able to shrug off being slammed into a rock wall with light dizziness and vertigo was in no small part due to this body as well. Under normal circumstances, I would have definitely died. 

I stepped down, my foot now unmistakably on the Terra Drake’s head. At that very moment, I’d already raised my sword, its blade descending upon the beast. 

If the Drake had noticed me, I’d be vulnerable, exposed to a counterattack. However, this was also my single, greatest chance. If the attack connected, I’d be able to fell the Terra Drake with a single blow. 

Those were the thoughts in my mind as I brought my sword down. However... 

The blade of my weapon pierced its neck. A little more and I’d have it, but... 

Almost instantly, a rock shield formed around its neck, knocking my blade away. It seemed I wouldn’t be able to finish it so easily, though I did leave behind a considerable wound on the monster. 

It was now evident that the shield wasn’t impervious to attacks. Unfortunately, it was equally evident that such an attack would no longer work on the Drake. 

I ran swiftly down the Drake’s back, intending to escape from its field of vision. Even a Terra Drake couldn’t accurately pinpoint the location of a foe on its back. As if understanding this, the Drake instead began thrashing about, trying to dislodge me. 

I supposed it was about to start spinning in place again, but at this point, my two feet were already firmly on the ground. I’d landed by the Drake’s side where I could now see its underbelly. 

It’s now or never. 

With that in mind, I liberally channeled both mana and spirit into my weapon. It was time... The Mana-Spirit Fusion Art. 

Swinging my weapon in a large horizontal arc, I brought it across the Drake’s exposed belly. Unlike the hard scales around its neck and back, the skin of a Terra Drake’s stomach was considerably softer, and easier to slice into. There was, of course, the fact that I was using a Fusion Art, but I hadn’t anticipated for there to be this little resistance. I supposed this was the monster’s weak point. 

This, too, was written in the monster codex I had read. However, it was extremely difficult to have the Drake show its belly to an enemy of its own volition, making it a difficult area to hit. I was lucky this time. 

The Terra Drake had a surprising amount of vitality. It refused to die even with its belly sliced open. Almost immediately, it stood up once more and headed in my direction. With a few stomps of its feet, spears of rock and earth arose from the ground, one after another. I dodged the earthen spears one by one, closing the distance between us to finish the job. The monster, upon seeing my approach, intensified its attacks. Spears of earth and stone now formed in mid-air and were sent rapidly hurtling toward me. 

Perhaps it was due to its injuries, but the Drake seemed distracted, and its magical attacks were anything but accurate. Even so, the attacks were impressive in terms of impact. Still, they weren’t much of a threat, compared to the Drake’s behavior before. 

I arrived at the front of the monster and jumped up high, aiming for its head. I supposed that rock shield would be appearing right about now...and as expected, it did just that. 

As I brought my sword down, the Terra Drake attempted to put up its shield once more. The integrity of the gathered rocks, however, had decreased drastically. Loosely-gathered rocks were nothing more than soft flesh before the force of my Mana-Spirit Fusion Art. 

With a single, smooth motion, the blade of my weapon sliced cleanly through the Terra Drake’s neck, and its head fell. Almost at the same time, its body went limp, collapsing onto the ground with a loud, booming thud. 

The entire body of a Terra Drake made for good materials, lest we forget its magic crystal, too. Scales, teeth, claws, eyes... All these parts made for useful, high-quality materials. Considering the capacity of my magical pouch, it was extremely regrettable that I couldn’t transport the entire carcass back. 

Realistically speaking, it was sufficient to simply gather the magic crystal, scales, fangs, claws, and eyes. It was as if I were picking out parts to eat. 

Ahh, if only I had a larger magical pouch... Perhaps one would show up at an auction soon? I couldn’t purchase such a pouch at a run-of-the-mill store. There was the issue of price as well...though I could simply sell the rest of the Tarasque to cover the expense. 

In any case, procuring a considerably large pouch might be quite difficult. Even if I did, I wouldn’t get rid of my old one. In fact, having two at my disposal would make transporting materials that much easier. 

After some time, I’d finished dissecting the Terra Drake. It was now time to move on. I was considerably tired, however, and it occurred to me that I should return as soon as possible. I did have enough magic crystals at this point. But I had yet to excavate a suitable vein of Mana Iron. 

I guess I could press on...just a little longer. 

This mentality of mine was perhaps a little too reckless... 

There were two doors in the chamber that had once housed the Terra Drake. I had entered from one of those doors, so the other was presumably the exit. It had remained closed all throughout the battle, but it swung open as soon as the Terra Drake was defeated. 

This must have been the way forward. 

I was surprised at what I saw beyond those doors as I slowly approached. There were no obvious paths beyond that door, instead terminating much like a cliff would. I could see small footholds and grips, a means of descending this sheer surface. 

While I wasn’t facing a mountain, I could tell where I was judging from the darkness that lay before me, and the fact that I was surrounded by a sea of stone. 

It was a large hole in the ground; a cavernous depression. This space was wide, perhaps stretching on for at least a kilometer in each cardinal direction. The ceiling was high as well. 

Although my surroundings were dark and visibility was poor, I could say with certainty that this place differed greatly from the tunnels that I’d been passing through up until this point. In addition, there was a lot of equipment—magical tools perhaps—simply lying about. It reminded me of a mine. There were even tracks and mining carts lying about. For all intents and purposes, this appeared to be a man-made space. 

This was, however, a location in the labyrinth. It was all but impossible for humans to simply create a mine here, so it was safe to assume that this, too, was something created by the labyrinth’s mysterious devices. 

There were occasionally tales of places within labyrinths that contained towns, cities, castles—impossible sights that couldn’t possibly have been crafted by the hands of men. 

With that in mind, a place like this wasn’t all that mysterious. The only mystery in all this was the very existence of the labyrinth itself. If anything, odd features on the various floors, such as this one, were considerably more normal. 

It was still fair to say that this strange sight had caught my attention, though. Were references made to parts of human civilization when the labyrinths were created? Given that castles and towns could be found within them, my assumptions most likely had some degree of truth. 

Normally, labyrinths featured forests, caves, and other natural landscapes. Human settlements were somewhat natural occurrences as well, and if one thought about it that way, the sight before me wasn’t all that strange. 

Then there was the fact that labyrinths continued creating monsters, no matter how much time went by. That by itself was an astonishing display of creative force. 

Regardless of why this space was formed, the fact that I was now standing it in did not change. 

This was a mine. A place for excavation. I had come here in search of high-quality Mana Iron so...this was the place to do so. 

I slowly descended the cliff, sticking close to the wall. Eventually I reached the bottom, and I began observing my surroundings. I couldn’t see very far due to the lack of light, but I did recall seeing the moving silhouettes of some monsters from my observations while at the top of this pit. There were no silhouettes near where I’d landed though, so I was able to descend without too much worry. 

After some time, it became clear that there were no monsters in my immediate vicinity. A bit of relief for the weary adventurer. There were instead more mining carts, and what appeared to be a magical tool of some sort, as well as a switch-like object. 

Hmm... What should I do? 

Would anything happen if I pressed that switch? The safest thing to do would be to not touch it at all...but that would be a most boring development. Safety took precedence over my boredom, of course, but...there didn’t seem to be any traps, or danger, in the immediate area. I’d also come from above, so it wasn’t like anything would fall from the ceiling, nor was I standing on a pitfall trap... 

If I was going to press the switch, then maybe I should just get it over with. If anything untoward happened upon its activation, I could simply turn it off again. 

...Well. I couldn’t discount the fact that I may not be able to turn the switch off, but... 

Whatever the case... Click. 

With a soft, mechanical sound, the switch depressed under the weight of my finger, and almost immediately, the darkness was illuminated by light. Instinctively, I looked up. It seemed the light source was very high up indeed, its rays shining down into this massive pit. 

In other words...this was a light switch for the mine’s lights. 

...I was simply glad it wasn’t a trap. 

The lights didn’t light up the entire space, but instead illuminated my surroundings, up to a few tens of meters. I supposed there were other switches like this one in the darkness, and that the rest of the pit would remain dark if they weren’t pressed. 

I, of course, could see in the darkness to some degree. My much-vaunted Undead Sight was mainly used to track living creatures, however, so it didn’t do much for inanimate objects like switches. While I couldn’t say being a Vampire was completely without benefits, it just so happened that my vampiric abilities weren’t very useful in this situation. 

All I had to do was find some rocks containing veins of Mana Iron, then excavate it. But to do so, I needed a normal light source. I supposed there was no other way than to dig, find a switch, and repeat ad infinitum. 

As I stood contemplating the situation, I noticed the presence of monsters close by. Observing quietly, I saw the silhouettes of what appeared to be two Mina Goblins slowly approaching the illuminated space. The lights had turned on, so someone or something must be here...was probably what the goblins thought. 

So, this was a trap of some sort after all...? 

This meant that illuminating other areas would draw monsters to them in a similar fashion, though I couldn’t be absolutely sure. 

In any case, I needed to deal with these two Mina Goblins before inspecting my surroundings for ore. I’d seen some promisingly-colored walls when I’d inspected the pit from above. All I had to do was find them, excavate the Mana Iron, and that...was that. 

Or so I thought... 

Clink! Clank! 

The sound of my pickaxe hitting rock echoed through the air. I’d already disposed the two Mina Goblins that had wandered into the light earlier. They were formidable foes, but they didn’t seem to have any companions. After I slew the two of them, no other Mina Goblins showed up. It seemed camaraderie wasn’t a Goblin’s strong point. 

With that done, I circled around the pit, following the curved walls, striking at any parts that looked promising. I did, for the record, look for the appropriate switch, and managed to illuminate the area I was currently working in. 

It seemed like someone had been here before me, as there were traces of excavation in this particular wall, and I could see veins of metal shining through. Surely I’d be able to gather high-quality Mana Iron here. 

Honestly speaking, even the rocks at my feet that had crumbled off the wall were of a respectable quality. I could tell just by picking one up and staring at it. 

In that case... 

Of course, if I was going to dig for ore, a piece from the ground wouldn’t do. I intended to go from vein to vein, searching for the perfect place, then I’d excavate a great amount and bring that all back home. 

For now though...this was enough. I left that vein behind, and headed toward yet another possible excavation point... 

The feeling of fear and apprehension began setting in only after the third excavation point I’d visited. By then, I was all filled up and ready to return... It was then that it happened. 

I’d been observing and walking along the walls of this strange pit all this time, until I finally began understanding the structural intricacies of this place. 

The ground I was walking and excavating on was actually on top of another space—another floor, I surmised. I somehow had a feeling that this other floor beneath me existed. Perhaps it was because my surroundings were too dark, and that was why I didn’t notice. I didn’t know that there may be something lurking in this space beneath my feet. 

I suddenly had a feeling—a feeling that something was there. It just so happened that the light shining onto the third excavation spot illuminated this cavernous space below, so I slowly approached, carefully hugging the cliff walls as I looked down. 

It was then that I saw it—a terrifying monster. 

What faint rays of light shining through the cracks had already hit the ground of the next floor, I thought. Then the ground itself began moving, ever so slowly. 

My eyes and Undead Sight could see creatures in the darkness. This much was true. However, there were exceptions. For instance, one’s abilities may fail to activate when faced with an incredibly strong foe. For the first time in my life, I experienced this firsthand. 

What, exactly, was this thing lurking in the darkness? The dim lighting made it hard to discern. 

The first thing I understood was that what I’d seen, a carpet of smooth, shining rock, was nothing more than a part of a larger creature. Its skin, or hide, which seemed to continue on indefinitely. Then, just ever so slightly, the light shining from above illuminated what appeared to be the creature’s face, just for a split second. 

An eye. An eye as large as my entire person. 

At this point in time, I was still unsure. Should I escape? It seemed the creature’s eye was currently closed. It appeared to be asleep; I could see that much, even at this distance. 

I felt a wave of terror wash over me. I could never, under any circumstances, challenge this monster, not even with my current abilities. 

I couldn’t let the monster notice me, become aware of my presence. Instinctively, I felt a strong pull; I had to leave this place as soon as possible. 

For some reason, during my journey down to the fourth floor, I’d felt that I could keep advancing. So long as I was cautious in my advance, I wouldn’t be exposed to any potentially fatal dangers. 

I’d read up on the different types of monsters and their strengths, the various traps, and all sorts of other dangers present before my journey. My assumption that I could keep pressing on was nothing more than an internal rationalization. 

However, what lay beneath me now... I didn’t have to assume or rationalize anything. A single look was enough to tell me that this foe, this existence, was beyond me. 

What lay beneath me was none other than an Earth Dragon. It had an almost frog-like, bearded face, with eyes that betrayed intelligence and logic. On its back were two tiny wings, seemingly out of place with the rest of its huge body. 

Its size, however, was anything but frog-like. Forty...? No. Fifty meters perhaps...? It was huge. Massive. Entire towns and cities would crumble to dust should it thrash around with its giant body. Buildings wouldn’t even last a single second. There were even quite a few legends of angered Earth Dragons flattening entire villages, towns, and even kingdoms and countries. 

It did much more than just thrashing about. It could easily cause earthquakes with its sheer size and power. The earth would ripple and shake, buildings would crumble, streets would be swallowed and destroyed. Stones falling from the sky would make short work of any who attempted to escape, and those lucky enough to get out would become feed for its minions. 

To think something like that laid here... 

There were no reports. Nothing at all. 

Why? How? Something so large... There was no way no one knew about this. 

As I continued thinking, observing the Earth Dragon from a distance, its previously closed eye suddenly opened. With a deafeningly loud rumble, the dragon stood and began moving. 

This was bad... Had I been found out? I see... So my life would end here and now. 

A familiar feeling assaulted my body. It was what I’d felt when I first encountered a “Dragon.” A feeling close to surrender, yet much akin to release...along with the sheer emotional force of seeing a legendary creature up close. 

It was a relatively rare experience to feel. One would simply think it was all right to die right there, and a part of me had felt that way as well. 

This may be a given, but I couldn’t simply die in a place like this. I was going to become a Mithril-class adventurer. That was why I hadn’t given up, even after my body became like this. 

With all that said, however...what, exactly, was I to do in such a situation? All it took was a single swipe of the Earth Dragon’s massive limbs and I’d surely give up the ghost then and there. 

There was an impossibly large gap between us, one that couldn’t be compensated for just because I was an Undead. 

I... I couldn’t do anything. Not one single thing. I didn’t feel like I could do anything at all. 

That gigantic life form apparently hadn’t noticed me yet. Perhaps it already knew of my presence, but felt I wasn’t worth the effort. All I could do was pray that this was the case. 

I suddenly realized I could hear my own heartbeat. My own heartbeat, in this lifeless body of mine. I felt a cold sweat come over me, my muscles slowly cramping up. I was shivering, but I did my best to stifle all sound, like my life depended on it. 

Then— 

For a single instant, I felt our eyes meet. 

Or...maybe it was just my imagination. 

Slowly, the Earth Dragon turned around, and with its great limbs, began digging—deeper and deeper. Its massive body began fading into the ground. 

Consider the fact that we were in the middle of a large, floating mountain. The so-called ground here was in fact hard, solid bedrock. Not that this mattered to the Earth Dragon. It simply continued to casually dig. 

As expected of an Earth Dragon. 

All I could do was stand there, taking the utmost care in not making a sound as I did all I could to hide my presence. 

A small rain of rocks and debris was dislodged by the Dragon’s digging. I, in turn, had to dodge, deploy a shield spell... There was quite a bit for me to do. The dislodged rocks weren’t even a type of attack, merely a side effect of the Earth Dragon’s subterranean movement. However, each individual rock had as much force as the Terra Drake’s stone spears... It was truly terrifying. 

Surely, a Mithril-class adventurer would be able to fight something like that head-on. I suddenly became very aware of just how far away from my goal I was. 

One day, I would surely defeat this monster. 

One day... I thought, deeply and solemnly. 

I...see. 

I was staring at where the Earth Dragon had once been. It was now a place dominated by loneliness, without a single trace of the sheer strength and power that was present there just moments ago. I stared out at the now-empty space. Although the Earth Dragon had just been there, all that remained were a few fallen rocks. 

If this was how the beast had always moved around, then this was the reason why there’d been no reports of it up until now. Perhaps there had been an adventurer or two that had run into it, but they were either all dead, or had kept their silence, in no small part due to the sheer terror they may have felt. 

If I weren’t an Undead, and didn’t have a different mentality from most humans, I could have simply stood still, unable to move, or perhaps even wet myself in fright. Such was the sheer terror I felt. 

I could feel the Earth Dragon’s pressure, much like sharp pinpricks on my skin, even though it was now a fair distance away. If the Earth Dragon’s mana was like that of a lake, then my reserves of mana would be nothing more than a cup of water. 

Given its massive size...even if I were to raise my sword against it, would my attacks feel like toothpicks pricking it? Would it even feel a thing? I didn’t believe I could injure it, or do much of anything to it really. 

An adventurer who could remain calm in the face of such an encounter... At the very least, they would have to be Platinum-class. There wasn’t a single one of those individuals who were based on the fourth floor. 

...Sigh. 

Was my luck good today? Or was it terrible? I supposed not dying was a good thing. 

I made a mental note to be more careful in the future. I really should stop putting too much confidence in my abilities, even if it were for the sake of collecting information... 

Go home, Rentt. Go home. 

I could no longer muster up the strength to do anything else today. All I wanted was to return home, tuck myself under clean sheets in a safe place, and sleep. Ah, and maybe I could get Lorraine to whip up some Hot Wine for me... Yes. Let’s do that, Rentt... Let’s do that. 

“...An Earth Dragon, you say? I see you have had yet another outrageous encounter, Rentt. Perhaps it is safe to assume that you are being haunted by something...” Lorraine, the owner of this abode, said, exasperation and disbelief written all over her face. 

After my encounter with the great beast, I’d left the Labyrinth of the New Moon behind, returning back to the world above. After selling any and all perishable monster materials to the guild, I returned home, shaking and shivering all the way. 

I kept magic crystals and materials that weren’t easily perishable, including the items required for the creation of Alize’s weapons. I couldn’t exactly grab a hammer and start refining the Mana Iron in my possession, so I’d set it aside, intending to pay Clope a visit and put in the appropriate customer order. I’d take Alize along in such an event. 

Clope had his quirks, ones I was familiar with. If the individual the weapon was being forged for wasn’t present, I’d surely be bombarded with questions. 

“Even I’d be willing to believe that at this point. For starters, what was an Earth Dragon doing there? There was no news! No news at all from the guild. Not to mention that was only the fourth floor. Isn’t that strange?” I said, gulping down the Hot Wine that Lorraine had made for me. I was almost complaining and airing my grievances, much like any drunk adventurer at a tavern. 

In truth, I wasn’t really that drunk. The Earth Dragon appearing had nothing to do with Lorraine. I had no intentions of complaining to her, of all people, but I just needed to voice my discontent, my outrage, at something. I just had to. 

It was like this: 

The situation I’d faced was much like that of an Ogre suddenly appearing on the first floor of the Moon’s Reflection. Or perhaps a giant horde of Goblins suddenly appearing in the streets of a relatively safe city... It was an unreasonable occurrence. No matter how much one prepared, it was simply impossible to avoid situations like that. Even if one were to escape calmly and rationally, one would first need to have the capabilities and strength of a Platinum-class adventurer, so it goes without saying that I couldn’t match that by any means at this point. It was impossible. 

Perhaps it was because Lorraine understood how I felt, or because she’d seen through my drunken ramblings and simply let it slide, but she responded with an empathic smile. 

“Well, Rentt. It is not impossible for a strong monster to appear on a shallow floor... But an Earth Dragon on the fourth floor is truly unreasonable. It goes beyond you simply having bad luck. However...you returned with your life intact. Should you not be grateful about that? Come now. I have made quite a few dishes for you to eat. How are they? Delicious, no?” 

The table was lined with plates of food, all prepared on a much grander and luxurious scale than usual. Each of these items was made by Lorraine’s very own hands, and adequately infused with some droplets of blood so they’d taste palatable to me. 

The food was truly delicious, as was the wine. 

Nom nom... Gulp...gulp. No, wait. That wasn’t it. 

“It’s delicious, but...” Was Lorraine attempting to distract me from the issue? 

I looked up, looking into her eyes. She nodded curtly in response. 

“Well...yes. I suppose there are some things to be concerned about. According to what you told me, Rentt, did the Earth Dragon not disappear back into the ground...?” 

“Yes. It was near what appeared to be a mining spot, like an excavation pit of some sort.” 

“There, you say? I see...” 

Had Lorraine been down to the fourth floor before? It sounded like she recognized the place I was describing. 

“Do you know of it...? This has been bothering me for some time... Was that place created by the labyrinth to look like that, Lorraine?” 

“...Not exactly, Rentt. That facility was made by the hands of man...albeit, quite a long time ago. Just like how you had ventured into the pit to excavate ore, others had done the same. Mana Iron was mined there, you see. That pit was most likely a purpose-built mine, Rentt. Perhaps dating back a few centuries, if not thousands of years.” 

The discussion had greatly increased in scale. If that facility had existed that long ago...did that mean Maalt didn’t even exist back then? Was the labyrinth that ancient? 

Although I’d initially planned on developing a better understanding of the labyrinth’s inner workings and its monsters, delving into history was something else altogether. While I did have some knowledge on the history of the Kingdom of Yaaran, and Maalt, anything regarding civilizations that came before lay firmly in the heads of specialized scholars. 

“Take the Mana Iron we are currently talking about, for instance,” Lorraine continued. “The excavation techniques of the Dwarves shine when it comes to mining this particular material. If one desired a large quantity, it would be faster to get in touch with them, and simply buy the required amount. However, such was the case when that excavation facility was still active. If I had to guess, Rentt, Mana Iron was most likely a precious resource back then, and procuring it was most likely very difficult. Mana Iron is still valuable today, yes, but with an increase in the amount of potential ore veins and locations one could extract it from, it is hardly as costly. If this were not the case, even if it were only the fourth floor, no civilization would purposefully build an excavation facility in a place where monsters roamed free.” 

Lorraine had a point. But if that were true... 

“Why, then, are the magical tools still where they lie there?” 

“Are you asking about how they still remained where they were, or why they were still operational, Rentt?” 

“Both, really.” 

I had a hard time believing that adventurers wouldn’t just make off with the tools, given that they were valuable instruments. As for the tools themselves, it was strange for them to continue operating now that there was no longer anyone infusing mana into them. No matter how well-made the magical tool, it was all but impossible for it to continue operating indefinitely, barring some very specific exceptions. 

Lorraine nodded, before calmly answering. “In truth, Rentt, the answer to both those questions is one and the same. The magical tools were simply consumed by the labyrinth; a reasonable assumption, no? As such, anyone who attempts to bring such a tool back would then find it impossible to do so, and these tools would continue operating for eternity. Not a system I understand very well at all, yes, but...that is just how it is, Rentt. There is little to be done about it.” 

Consumed by the labyrinth... 

This referred to the phenomenon of dead adventurers and monsters eventually disappearing if left alone for long enough in the labyrinths. Were magical tools susceptible to this too? 

However...considering the fact that the weapons of dead adventurers occasionally appeared in treasure chests, I supposed that wasn’t too strange. But in that case... 

“Were there instances of items being consumed by the labyrinth, then reproduced as they were before...?” 

I’d certainly heard of no such phenomenon. 

“Ah, yes. There are, in fact, some examples, Rentt. Not many, but enough for our purposes. Have you heard the story of Good King Felt, Rentt? The king who built a city within a labyrinth?” 

Good King Felt... It was a story of a king who’d left his original kingdom, leading an ethnic group of citizens who were being unfairly persecuted by the kingdom. They wandered the lands, eventually chancing upon a gigantic labyrinth, within which the Good King built a city... Or so the legend goes. The story was featured often in picture books, plays, and the like. Good King Felt was a well-known folk story character. 

Of course I knew about him. 

“Ah. I have. But what of it?” 

“That is no mere story, Rentt. It is a historic record of events. I know of the labyrinth that he had built his city in...and there, standing to this day, is that exact same city.” 

“Wh-What?!” I’d never heard of anything like that. 

As if anticipating my surprise, Lorraine continued on cooly. “Yes, yes, Rentt. I know how you must feel. However, you must keep this fact to yourself, yes? That the story of Good King Felt is real. After all, the existence of this city is still treated as a huge secret in my own hometown to this day. If you value your life, Rentt, then surely you will remain silent?” 

“Come on now...” I’d been suddenly told of this terrible secret, and now it sat in my mind. 

“Given these facts,” Lorraine, ignoring my protests, continued on once more, “the case of the excavation facility is not all that strange, Rentt. But of course, the only one in this kingdom who would believe in such a theory is yours truly.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“You see, Rentt, the people of this kingdom, be it the adventurer’s guild, or the townsfolk of Maalt... All of them simply assume that the excavation facility on the fourth floor is an oddity created by the labyrinth. But of course they would think they way. The theory of man-made magical tools installed by the hands of man being absorbed by the labyrinth and made to work forever... Hardly a popular theory, I would say. Do you believe in it, Rentt?” 

I snorted slightly at Lorraine’s question. But of course I believed it. Did Lorraine even have to ask such a question? 

“It’s almost like you’re testing me with those words, Lorraine. Surely you understand as well. There’s no reason to not believe what you said. If I began doubting your words, then who would I trust? Who is the individual who’d so seriously investigated and researched this body of mine, if not you yourself?” 

I spoke true. I’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who’d believe a tale as tall as mine. In fact, I couldn’t think of anyone other than Lorraine who’d actually conduct research sincerely regarding my...condition. 

Hypothetically speaking, there’d probably be a few individuals who’d be all too eager to examine me should I show them my body and ask them to teach me its secrets. But those individuals would most likely treat me as a lab animal, a test subject, and would butcher me terribly, leaving me to wander in one research facility or other. I’d be like a caged bird for the rest of my life. At the very least, I was sure they wouldn’t allow me to roam about as freely as I could now. 

Lorraine smiled at my slightly heated response. 

“...Yes, yes. It is as you say, Rentt. I apologize. Perhaps I, too, am a little drunk.” 

For a moment, it seemed like Lorraine was looking toward an unseen place far, far away. I inquired after her, concerned. 

Lorraine shook her head slowly. “No, it is nothing. I was simply...reminiscing. About the time I had spent back in my homeland. After all, the people there treated me as an oddity, an irregular, no matter what I said.” 

“Eh?” It was extremely rare for Lorraine to speak of her past. 

Her homeland... If memory served, it was the kingdom that Lorraine had lived in before she came to Yaaran. If I could recall, it was known as the land of knowledge... Hmm, what exactly was it again? 

“Your homeland... Was it the Empire of Rermutt?” 

“Yes, that is it. Quite the memory you have.” 

“A rural bumpkin I may be, but surely I’d remember the hometown of a dear friend. Though it is quite far, and I’ve never set foot on its lands.” 

From what I’d heard, the empire occupied a large area of land, and was based somewhere in the west. In addition, the Church of Lobelia had quite the presence in the empire... 

But of course, I’d heard all this from Lorraine. 

The Kingdom of Yaaran, being a small kingdom in the east, hardly felt the influence of the empire. Perhaps it was more accurate to say that the Empire of Rermutt simply had no interest in a small, boring kingdom like Yaaran. Yaaran wasn’t even really known for any notable exports. The empire had nothing to gain by conquering this place... 

That was what I thought, having lived for most of my life in this kingdom myself. 

If the Empire of Rermutt ever did invade Yaaran, it would be after Yaaran itself had been absorbed into some other, bigger kingdom. After all, Yaaran was a boring, rural kingdom...and that was all it was. 

I felt sad just thinking of that. It wasn’t that bad a kingdom, all things considered! Though, many other aspects of Yaaran did leave much to be desired... 

Unaware of my inner monologues, Lorraine pressed on. 

“Unlike the Kingdom of Yaaran, the flow of time almost seemed faster in that place. Now that I think of it...it was truly a tiring existence. Its citizens would work hard every day, kicking their competition to the side, or using them as stepping-stones on their way to the top. The empire was filled with such individuals. Considering that the empire and its citizens were reasonably prosperous, I suppose I cannot fault their approach..but it was a good example of a lack of moderation, if nothing else.” 

“Is that why you came here?” 

Lorraine seemed to freeze up slightly at my question, but eventually nodded. 

“That was one of the bigger reasons, yes. Perhaps I could say I was simply searching for some peace... But enough of that. I lived quite the different life back in the empire than the one I do now, you see. I was quite the academic elite. If I felt really up to it, I could easily aim for the seat of chancellor at Rermutt’s First University.” 

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar noun. A mouthful, for a country bumpkin such as myself. 

“...What is this...Rermutt First University?” 

“Ah. My alma mater, I suppose. A castle of knowledge, and one of the most prestigious in the empire. However, anyone could enroll so long as they worked hard. Not too impressive from that angle, yes... The seat of Chancellor was one that was most desired among the empire’s academics—well, one of them, anyway. I, too, was no exception. I had attempted to obtain that very same seat for myself. Many things happened, and I had quite a few achievements under my belt. However...there were quite a few individuals who got in my way, for the purposes of obstructing my research of course. I had laid out some truths, yes, in ways anyone could understand. However, those individuals denied whatever I said with all their might. 

“Do you understand, Rentt? Suppose that there is an orange before you. I claim that it is an orange, yes? But then someone comes along and says it is an apple. Before long, another will claim that it is a loaf of bread...and the naysayers simply continue to multiply. Soon enough, I would been seen as the one in the wrong, as far as public perception would go anyway. Even so, no matter how I looked at it, the object before me was none other than an orange. One could lose their mind thinking about all this.” 

“That’s...” 

It was all too familiar of a tale. At least, I understood that much of human subtleties to understand it. 

In other words, there were people who were discontent with the pace at which Lorraine was rising to the top, and quite many of them at that. Although one couldn’t discount the possibility that the person in question sincerely didn’t believe that they were looking at an orange, in this case it was obvious they were trying to prevent Lorraine from reaching her goal. 

What a terrible series of events, I thought...and perhaps this showed on my face, for Lorraine chuckled softly in response. 

“Well...I suppose I was bad at dealing with people back then. I was just a child. Perhaps I would be able to react better as I am now... I would think so anyway. Now that I’ve thought back upon it, it was not too terrible of a place, you know. Though it was still a trying place to be... I was tired about so many things, which is why I came here. Suddenly, and out of the blue... Somehow, it just happened that way.” 

“...Was that not reckless of you, Lorraine? From what I heard, it seemed like you were in charge of some important work.” 

“And so it was, yes. However...if I had not done so, I would have surely lost some degree of my sanity. I wanted to say goodbye to those days, to that boredom and the constant feeling of irritation that plagued me. Honestly speaking, I felt a sense of release after coming here. It was a sort of mental stimulation I had not felt in such a long time, and I was excited. It was good that I came to Maalt, yes... And, of course, this was where I met you.” 

While I’d known all this time that Lorraine was a scholar from Remrutt, who’d come all the way to Maalt because she got sick of her previous life, this was the first time I heard about it in such detail. 

I’d never really believed Lorraine’s tale about how she was just some second-rate scholar from Rermutt, reassigned to Yaaran without any title to show for it. I’d known her for over a decade now and bore witness to her academic and technical prowess firsthand. 

I’d discussed the possibility of Lorraine becoming a court scholar in Yaaran before, just with a little bit more effort of course. Lorraine, however, was never too keen or pleased with that prospect, and I eventually stopped bringing it up altogether. I supposed Lorraine had no interest in factional infighting and politics...but I never imagined that she came from such circumstances. 

Even so...I now greatly preferred that Lorraine remained here instead. After all, she’d helped me countless times and was my closest friend in the township of Maalt. 

No matter one’s past, all one had to do was enjoy their days from here on out. 

For some reason, this was what I thought as I finished the rest of my meal. 

The next day... 

Plans were in place for me to meet the auctioneer staff at the Stheno Trading Company. The subject of our discussion was none other than the issue of the Tarasque materials. To think that the items would sell for several times their estimated auction value... I found myself looking forward to this. 

The problem was the issue of the buyer. What kind of person were they...? The rich and powerful often had certain discriminatory views. In fact, many of them were quite strange, and this realization caused some degree of fear to creep into my being. 

Perhaps they would be an idiosyncratic, whimsical person, much like Laura was. But that didn’t seem very possible... Laura was, after all, a bit of an exception. 

Then there was the issue of evaluating the materials I had collected yesterday. I had to show them all to Lorraine for a once-over since it was impossible for me to gauge if those materials were acceptable just by looking at them. They were most likely quite all right, is what I thought. 

The reason I had put this off for a day was because I’d returned very late the night before. Then there was the sheer amount of materials I’d brought back to consider, as well... 

“Ah. Already awake, Rentt?” Lorraine asked as she entered the living room, leaving her bedroom behind. 

She wasn’t in her pajamas ,though. Lorraine had already changed, and she now looked like how she always did, in her mage-like attire. 

I could never really grasp if Lorraine was a morning person or not. But thinking about it, the only times she was sleepy was when she burned the midnight oil, working on some experiment or research document. I suppose Lorraine was a morning person in that case. 

“Yes. The amount of time I spend sleeping has shortened drastically ever since I’ve become an Undead. In fact, as a Ghoul, I hardly slept at all.” 

“You do sleep a bit now, no? To think that you now require sleep after going through Existential Evolution... Quite interesting. Perhaps you are now closer than ever to becoming human again, Rentt.” 

“I’d be glad if that were the case...” 

There was no way of knowing for certain, though. I was capable of sleeping as and when I desired, and could wake up whenever I felt like I should. I hadn’t actually tried it, but I felt like that was very well within my capabilities. 

“Becoming more human is one thing, but to have your sleep shortened...I am envious, Rentt. Too many a time have I been ambushed by sleep just when I had gotten to the best part of an experiment... Alas. I suppose it is simply a necessity of mankind.” 

“Ever the scholar, I see. But I like sleeping. I’d love to return to a body in which I could sleep well again. I can only sleep lightly now, and I only do it because this body requires it. It’s hardly enjoyable...” 

Even so, the fact remained that I was capable of sleep, and I ended up sleeping one way or another. It was difficult to break free from an ingrained habit. 

While becoming an Undead brought with it many advantages, I noticed that I’d also lost quite a few things. The capability to enjoy a good night’s rest was one of them. 

“An interesting topic, in many ways. But we should set that aside for now. You were going to show me the materials, yes? And of course, the Mana Iron has to be refined as well,” Lorraine said, interrupting the conversation. 

It was a conversation we could have anytime, so I supposed she was right to hold off on it for now. We were somewhat short on time. 

It wasn’t simply about showing Lorraine the materials on hand. Lorraine had to go through the trouble of extracting the Mana Iron, forming the metal into ingots via alchemy. What I’d extracted were rocks containing veins of Mana Iron within, not refined ingots. The ore that I’d harvested was high in purity, but it wasn’t something that could be used immediately without any processing. 

I could bring the ore to the Blacksmith’s Guild, but that would cost me a fair amount of coin. While I’d excavated the ore myself with the aim of saving some money, unexpected expenses crept up at every corner. Honestly speaking, while part of going on this excavation trip was out of consideration for my disciple, Alize, spending some coin on creating the weapon was fine. However, since Lorraine was capable of refining the ore as well, I decided to simply leave it to her expertise. I could just pay Lorraine any fees that may occur. Knowing her, though, she’d most likely refuse payment for something so simple. 

“Yes, but it’s by no means a huge amount...” 

Saying so, I placed each of the materials onto the table. 

This was Lorraine’s experimental table, which was wider and larger than her dining table. There was more than enough space for me to lay out the spoils. But I wasn’t going to just dump everything on the table. For now, the magic crystals and Mana Iron ore would do. I’d have to pull out the lumber collected from the Ents one by one as there were quite many, and they were large pieces as well. Although Jyulapus Ents were commonly the size of shrubs, stacking piece after piece of lumber on the table would quickly get unwieldy. 

“Quite a few pieces here and there, eh, Rentt? Hmm... This is an Orc Soldier’s magic crystal, I suppose?” 

As expected of Lorraine, she was able to tell which monster it came from by size alone. 

While magic crystals had quite a few distinctive characteristics, including color and shape, to be able to identify the monster it came from just by looking at a crystal was surprisingly difficult to do. At the very least, I couldn’t do it. 

The quality of a crystal was easy to discern at a glance. This was an important fact, considering quality was often linked to price. The ability to tell if a crystal was worth much at all was what truly defined one as an adventurer. Those who were able to precisely identify a crystal, however, were in another class altogether. The dissection chambers staff, or hobbyists who loved to collect crystals... And Lorraine, of course. These people had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of magic crystals. 

“Yes. This one came from the second floor.” 

“The second floor, Rentt? Ho... Then perhaps a flood is imminent, yes? Rare monsters appear in such events...and I do look forward to it, but...” 

“You shouldn’t be enjoying floods at all, Lorraine. It’d be best if it didn’t happen in the first place.” 

Even so, floods weren’t too dangerous so long as the adequate preparations were made. If the flood were severe, it was very possible for it to wipe out nearby towns and cities, but such occurrences were rare. 

“True, yes, but no matter how much one struggles, floods are bound to happen. In which case, would it not be more advantageous to enjoy them?” 

“Well... I suppose. If you put it that way.” 

“Ah, yes, as for the Mana Iron... Hmm. As expected, Rentt. This is some good-quality ore... Hmm? This is...?” 

Lorraine raised up a piece of ore she held in her hand. She stared at it for a while, saying nothing. 

“What is it, Lorraine?” I asked as she continued inspecting the piece. 

“Do you not see the difference in color, Rentt?” 

As she said, there were traces of yellow in the Mana Iron ore piece. Mana Iron was, from what I knew, usually more purplish in color. Why, then, were there traces of yellow in this rock? How mysterious... 

“Could you explain?” 

“If I had to guess... You excavated this where the Earth Dragon was, yes? Most likely, the mana of that creature has changed the characteristics of the metal within. After all, Mana Iron is highly sensitive to mana, even without any refinement. Even so...such a pronounced example is somewhat rare, for all intents and purposes...” 

“Do you mean to say it’s no longer usable as Mana Iron, Lorraine...?” 

If that really were the case, I’d have wasted my entire excavation trip. To think I’d given it my all, shaking as I ran home all the way after escaping from the Earth Dragon... Now they were all unusable? This was too much. 

Lorraine, however, quickly assuaged my fears. 

“Not to worry, Rentt. To begin with, there are quite a few pieces in here that have not been affected. If you ever need Mana Iron in the future, we could simply draw from this supply. However, the affected pieces...” 

“Are they defective after all?” 

“Nothing like that, Rentt. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Mana Iron that has been altered by an Earth Dragon’s mana... This type of material would easily fetch a large sum of coin. You could even smelt weapons or equipment from it. Magical tools, even. Perhaps they might even come with a special effect or two.” 

“A...special effect, you say?” 

Lorraine nodded, providing her answer. “I cannot be absolutely sure that this piece in my hands would have the same effect, but... Say, a sword forged of enchanted ore like this could very well summon spears of rock and earth without expending the user’s mana. In other words, this ore could be used to smelt enchanted swords, armor...even magical tools of the same vein. The possibility is somewhat high.” 

Enchanted swords and armor... Basically, equipment that had been enchanted with strong magic. They would be special pieces of equipment. They were exceedingly rare, and if one were to purchase them, one would best prepare for several platinum pieces to disappear from one’s wallet. 

However, with all that said, there were actually quite a few individuals who used such weapons. They were either very skilled, or very wealthy. A second-rate adventurer much like myself would usually have nothing to do with items like that. If I were to ever wield such an item, it’d be after slaving away at numerous requests, saving up a large sum of coin. Or perhaps I’d increase my adventurer rank, become famous, and receive it as a reward from a client. Oh, or perhaps I’d be lucky, and find one in a chest in a labyrinth. 

To actually craft such a weapon, however... 

I suppose there was some value in having run into the Earth Dragon after all, despite the ever-looming terror of death. 

There was a problem, however. Crafting with such material was no doubt incredibly expensive... There was no way I could come up with such funds. Would I have enough after selling the Tarasque materials? 

I could discuss all this with Clope at the smithy, but even so, I couldn’t ask for too much of a discount. Hard work and skill should be compensated in kind. 

Until I had enough coin to smelt it, this ore would just be sitting here in the meantime. I made a mental note to at least discuss this with Clope later. 

“...I suppose this goes without saying, but this enchanted ore can’t be used as a base for Alize’s weapon, right?” 

“Perhaps somewhere down the road, Rentt. I, however, would not recommend you gifting something like this to her right away. It would not do Alize any good, from an educational standpoint. If she were to wield a strong weapon, a weapon much more capable than her, from the get-go...she may very well form misconceived notions about her own capabilities.” 

I supposed that was true. However, even if I were to hypothetically create enchanted equipment from this ore, I didn’t feel like I was capable of using such powerful equipment at this point in time. Perhaps I’d be worthy of such a weapon if I got just a little bit stronger... But of course, I still wasn’t quite there. In that case, the idea of an enchanted weapon would have to be shelved for a while. 

But...if I saved up enough money, I’d very much like to craft such a weapon. I really wanted to swing it around as well. 

...To prevent Alize from becoming an adventurer with such bad perspectives, it was prudent that her first weapon not be forged from such a material, I thought. 

“Well, then... I’ll discuss this with Clope later. Now, for the remaining ingredients. I collected quite a few types of lumber from the Jyulapus Ents... Would these do as materials for the wands?” 

I arranged the magic crystals and ore neatly on one side of the table before placing down the pieces of wood I’d gathered from the Ents. I didn’t take out everything, of course, but a bit of a sample from each. These were fragments that had splintered off during the battle. I arranged the fragments on the table, deciding to take out the actual pieces later. 

Lorraine glanced at the samples on the table before turning to me. “Birch, fir, and...ebony. I see. I had thought you would bring back some strange lumber or another, but I see you have unexpectedly returned with useful materials.” 

I’d been praised for my efforts. 

Actually...was that praise at all? It was almost as if Lorraine had expected the worst, for some reason or other... 

“What do you mean by ‘strange lumber’...?” 

“Lumber that was not strong enough, or was difficult to work with. I assumed that may happen. My fault, yes, for not warning you beforehand about them. What you have brought me this time isn’t bad at all. However, ebony may be a little too heavy for someone of Alize’s stature. Birch or fir will suffice for our purposes.” 

Come to think of it, the ebony Jyulapus Ent was somewhat heavier than the other two. While I didn’t have to exert much strength to place the materials into my magical pouch, each of its blows in combat carried with it a certain sense of weight. 

...Hmm? 

“Was ebony a bad choice for a wand then...?” 

“To some extent, yes. However, it would actually be a good fit for you. After all, you have the strength for it. And you most likely swing your weapons with considerable force. Ebony is a relatively strong material, so that alone would not break it. A good fit for you indeed. But it is a difficult material to work with... It will be a challenge, Rentt!” Lorraine said, with a somewhat mischievous smile on her face. 

...Well. I did collect this lumber myself, after all. I supposed I could have her shoulder the responsibility in this particular case. 

“And the magic crystal...?” 

“Spoiled for choice, yes? Do not hesitate too much, Rentt. Simply pick the color you like. I will have Alize do the same when she crafts hers.” 

The crystals I could use for the wand were either that of the Mina Goblins, Orc Soldier, or Terra Drake. Other than those crystals, all the others were harvested from the first or second floors. Lorraine had specified that only one from the third floor or below would work. 

“I wanted to ask... Is the magic crystal of a Goblin or Slime simply unusable in wands?” 

“I would not say so, Rentt. It is not impossible by any means... But there would certainly be issues with the amplification and control of mana, among other things. Alize, in particular, has large reserves of mana within her. If such simple crystals were used, some basic spells from Alize would almost certainly cause it to crack.” 

“...Unable to contain her mana, I suppose.” 

“You could say that, yes. However, if one has been utilizing mana for a long time, moderation of one’s own mana flow is possible. Even a wand made with such a weak crystal could last quite a while in that case. It goes without saying that Alize hardly has the required experience. Hence, it is impossible.” 

Now I understood. As it was a wand that was to be regularly used in practice, it’d be a big problem if it continuously broke. Considerable effort was required, and another wand would have to be made, should such a thing happen. 

While I’d heard stories of mages breaking multiple wands while learning how to craft them, magic crystals on cracked wands often exploded when used, and were quite the hazard. There was no need to go out of one’s way to court such danger. 

“With that being the case, Rentt, may I take all these magic crystals?” 

I nodded. I’d gathered all these for the lesson, after all. While the responsibility for gathering the required materials for the lesson originally laid with the teacher—in this case, Lorraine—she’d offered to pay me for my field work. 

I, however, refused to accept any payment. To begin with, I was paying both Alize’s and my own lesson fees. If anything, I was deeper in debt to Lorraine. 

Lorraine was, of course, a most capable mage. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to receive such tuition without paying a large sum up front. 

However, I couldn’t simply accept a monetary reward for my efforts. Lorraine did protest at my decision, saying I should take what was given. Even so, I insisted on not taking any payment. 

Lorraine was insistent on me receiving some coin for my efforts, but I was insistent in my refusal as well. We should probably just give each other some leeway in that case and not charge for services in both ways. I had no intentions of simply mooching off Lorraine’s goodwill. 

In reality, however, I felt like I had already done plenty of that... 

After our short discussion about payment, Lorraine continued. 

“Well, then, next is the refinement of the Mana Iron ore.” 

Ore refinement... 

There were quite a few ways to go about doing it. For instance, the blacksmith’s guild often housed magical tools for this purpose—the large-scale refinement of ore. This was probably the most well-known method. There were older, more primitive methods that didn’t rely on magecraft or magical tools, but they were more expensive, and also took much more time. 

In border settlements, small-scale refinement operations were often present. Larger ones were somewhat rare. Yaaran was a rural border kingdom, so I could very well find a small-scale ore refining operation in a mountain village somewhere, though I wasn’t sure if I’d ever have the opportunity. 

As such, most ore was refined with the aid of magical tools. However, there was yet another way to go about it: 

Alchemy. 

Strictly speaking, refining ore with magical tools was considered alchemical in nature as well. After all, those tools were made with alchemy. It was, however, possible to control one’s mana to perform the refinement without specialized tools. This was the very same method that Lorraine was going to utilize. 

Alchemy was by no means restricted to mages alone. There did exist alchemists who weren’t mages. But having some degree of control over one’s mana made research in the alchemical arts all the easier. If one lacked this control, they’d have to use certain magic crystals, or specialized mana-moderating magical tools. It was all quite troublesome. 

Lorraine, being the skilled mage she was, was capable of performing the refinement process with only one hand, and perhaps an eye closed. In fact, that was exactly what Lorraine was currently doing. Her hands were placed on some pieces of Mana Iron ore on the table. 

“Well, then. Without further ado...” Saying so, Lorraine concentrated. The process had begun. 

I couldn’t understand it, given that I couldn’t even see where Lorraine’s mana was currently being focused. But the ore soon reacted to her mana and gave off a faint, purplish glow. Soon after, its form began changing. The glowing parts of the ore seemingly dissolved, becoming a glowing liquid. That was most likely the purified Mana Iron. 

Like a series of snakes, the veins of Mana Iron began peeling away from the rock. 

Cling. Clang. Soft clattering could be heard as small fragments of impurities flew out of the liquefied Mana Iron. The purified Mana Iron snaked and flowed, slowly gathering into a puddle on the table. The puddle then grew, and it became a large, metallic piece. 

“...Hmm. I suppose this is all,” Lorraine said, grasping a rectangular piece of purple metal as it floated in the air. 

“You’re done?” I asked. 

“Yes, Rentt, it is finished. Quite well done, if I do say so myself. I am not one to toot my own horn, but most alchemists are not capable of creating an ingot of such high purity, I’d wager.” 

With that, Lorraine extended her arm, handing the Mana Iron ingot over to me. I stared at it. Despite Lorraine’s joke about being overconfident in her work, the ingot was, in fact, very well made. I couldn’t say with certainty exactly how refined an ingot was once it reached a certain point, but a single glance was enough for me to know that the piece I was holding had a much higher point of purity compared to one obtained from, say, the blacksmith’s guild. 

But of course, the latter was a mass-produced product, whereas the ingot I held in my hands wasn’t. The methodology employed was different as well. Considering the fact that a smelter usually improved upon the quality of ingots after receiving them from the guild, it was simply impossible to compare the two. 

The piece I held in my hands was of a much higher quality. All in all, Lorraine had done more than well enough on her task. 

“I may as well deal with all the other pieces as well. Would you prefer that, Rentt?” Lorraine asked. I nodded in response, emptying out all the Mana Iron ore pieces in my bag onto the table. 

“Ah... Some of the enchanted pieces are in here as well. I’ll split them up. Other than the yellowed pieces, should I just gather all the rest?” 

“Ah, yes, the enchanted ore. While there would be some pieces with alterations on the inside, I will deal with that during the process. I could do all of it at once, but it is indeed tiring. Splitting them up would be the wiser choice here.” 

It seemed that Lorraine was more than capable of purifying both the normal Mana Iron and the ore that had been enchanted with the Earth Dragon’s mana. This was apparently more mana-intensive, however, so I set about separating them. 

From what Lorraine had said, the chance of failure was much higher should the two be mixed together. A trace amount wouldn’t take too much effort to remove, though. With that in mind, I neatly organized the ore pieces at hand. 

“So many...” 

Lorraine wasn’t referring to the amount of Mana Iron on the table, but to the enchanted ore that had been tinted with the Earth Dragon’s mana. About a third of the pieces were that way. From what I could see, quite a few ingots could be created. 

“Are you sure this Earth Dragon of yours did not simply release a wave of mana into its surroundings? Normal adventurers would most likely have passed out had they been present...” Lorraine said, ever so casually stating a terrifying fact. 

It may very well have been due to this body of mine that I didn’t suffer any ill effects. A normal adventurer wouldn’t have died had they been present, but they could have been attacked by monsters in the vicinity after passing out, which would eventually lead to their deaths. 

“No point dallying, yes?” 

Lorraine placed her hands over the pile of normal Mana Iron and began focusing once more. Her progress was much faster this time around. Perhaps she’d developed a better understanding of the metal’s structure. 

Ingot after ingot piled up on the table. 

“...All right, then. This is all we get,” Lorraine said, about half an hour after the purification process had started. 

She was incredibly fast. The average alchemist, in comparison, would take a full day to do what Lorraine just did before my eyes. 

“Next would be...this.” 

Lorraine placed her hands over the enchanted ore. I could sense her concentrating as the ore began responding. 

“Will you be all right, Lorraine...?” 

I couldn’t help but be worried. The sheer speed at which she worked was somewhat intimidating. 

“Ha. This is nothing...” Lorraine said as ingots began piling up once more. 

Unlike the purple Mana Iron ingots that I was now used to seeing, these new ingots were yellow. They were yellow, but they were also more pure in appearance. While their glow was somewhat faint, I could feel a certain sense of pressure—an aura that was absent from the normal Mana Iron ingots. Was it just my imagination? 

“All right, then. I suppose we are done,” Lorraine said after ten minutes, a significant decrease from the batch before. Even so, her work was perfect, as far as I could tell. 

“As expected of you, Lorraine. But for you to do all this for free... I feel guilty.” 

I would’ve expected to spend at least one gold coin if I’d gone to an average alchemist. It’d take them a day to do this, and the purity of the ore meant that a large amount of mana was required for the job. 

Lorraine just shook her head. 

“Should I be feeling guilty for the fact that I am researching a unique existence in the world then, Rentt? One that could not be found anywhere else? Surely such an experience would be worth a thousand pieces of gold coins, if not more. After all, it is very much possible to find an alchemist who is capable of doing what I just did, but impossible to find a being such as yourself. Don’t worry too much about it, Rentt.” 

Was I the only one of my kind? At the very least, I hadn’t met anyone else who was quite like me, and neither had Lorraine. The prerequisite of being eaten whole by a dragon was quite the tall barrier to entry in and of itself... 

“Well, then, I suppose we could consider this a fair exchange of services?” 

Lorraine nodded at my suggestion, and that was that.