―Name Sera Radiant HP 269/269 MP 109/109 Class Knight
Level 22
Strength 6.61 Stamina 8.24 Dexterity 9.54 Speed 11.02 Intelligence 5.74 Magic 8.00 Aptitude 1.57―
―Innate Skill Intuition 1.77
Acquired Skills Swordsmanship 2.14 Divine Magic 0.90―
―Magic “Shadows Adoring Grim Reaper” Rank 19―
After confirming Sera and Reaper’s status, I relayed our plan to everyone as we walked through the 31st floor.
“First, could you leave it to me and Rustiara? I want to confirm the results of our various training sessions.”
Reaper and Sera don’t have much initiative in the labyrinth, so their opinions were accepted without much opposition.
“Then, I’ll just watch,” Sera said.
“I’ll focus solely on protecting you and the Lady,” I replied.
Rustiara and I took the lead, searching for monsters that looked easy to defeat. We found a single small monster that had strayed from its pack.
―Crystal Ant Rank 26―
It was a crystal ant, commonly seen on higher floors. Rustiara and I, having gained the initiative with “Dimension,” began chanting spells from a short distance away.
“—’Flame Arrow’!”
“—’Quartz Paradox’!”
Rustiara’s body erupted in flames before mine, transforming into a fiery bird that attacked. Unlike a normal ‘Flame Arrow,’ the flames glided through the labyrinth as if alive. The crystal ant, walking down the corridor, noticed the incoming flames and tried to dodge by getting lower to the ground. Rustiara smirked. Raising her right index finger, she waved it like a conductor’s baton. The flames began chasing the crystal ant, like trained birds.
Her spell manipulation was superb. I couldn’t be outdone. While carving up the sandy ground with the ‘Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen,’ I infused it with earth-elemental magic power. The sand transformed into crystal, sharpening its shape like a stake. A shotgun-like barrage of magic attacked the fleeing crystal ant.
However, even while pursued by two spells, the crystal ant clung on with its surprising physical ability. It dodged the firebird, saw through the crystal shotgun, and scurried away with its many legs.
Or rather, our spell manipulation was also lacking. Rustiara and I grunted and poured more power into our spells. I made additional stakes grow like branches from the sides of the stakes it had dodged, catching the crystal ant off guard. Rustiara split the firebird into two, blocking its escape route.
Finally, we succeeded in making both our spells hit the crystal ant directly. However, we still hadn’t broken through its crystal body. Its surface was slightly scorched, and the thin stakes had only penetrated slightly.
“Hmph—’Flame Cutter’!”
“This is the finishing blow—’Quartz Bullet’!”
We added more spells, relying on magic power. It was a childish act, but we felt we couldn’t defeat it otherwise. This time, we focused on attack power. Sharp, blade-like flames and high-penetration triangular prisms of crystal flew through the air. The spells hit the crystal ant, whose movements had been slowed by the damage. But it still wasn’t enough.
Our spell manipulation was clumsy, and our power was lacking. It was true that Rustiara and I had grown from yesterday’s training. Any ordinary mage on the continent would have fainted at the sight of our improvement. However, our opponent was a monster from a labyrinth that no one had cleared beyond the 30th floor. It wouldn’t be easy. As a result—
“‘Flame Cutter’, ‘Flame Cutter’, ‘Flame Cutter’!!”
“‘Quartz Bullet’, ‘Quartz Bullet’, ‘Quartz Bullet’!!”
We resolved it with rapid fire. The crystal ant, worn down by the sheer quantity of attacks, disappeared in a flash of light. We watched it go, drenched in sweat. Without a word, we picked up the magic stone and were about to resume our labyrinth exploration.
Then Reaper casually said, “Hmm, wouldn’t it have been faster to cut it?”
We were pointed out that we were fundamentally wrong. We wore regretful expressions, and after a moment’s hesitation, we could only nod. Rustiara nodded, her eyes welling up, and said like a petulant child, “That’s true! But I wanted to be a mage today! I wanted to annihilate the enemies like a mage, broadly!”
“U-Um, I understand. Sister Rustiara wants to fight with magic. …Then, how about Sister Sera and I draw the enemy’s attention while you take your time composing your magic from the back?”
“Yeah, I’ll do that…”
Reaper gently soothed Rustiara and conjured a large black scythe from the air.
“Alright, Sister Sera. Let’s cooperate.”
“Ah, I’ll cooperate, Sister. Hey, Kanami, look over there for a bit.”
Sera responded to Reaper’s request with kind eyes—or rather, with greed-filled eyes. I’d suspected it for a while, but Sera was weak for cute girls. So weak it felt criminal. As instructed, I looked away. Then, sensing Sera undressing from her maid outfit with ‘Dimension,’ I quickly canceled my magic. The embarrassing sound of fabric rubbing against skin reached my ears. Then, the sound of flesh and bone contorting echoed out, and Reaper spoke in Sera’s place.
“You can look now, Big Brother. Please hold Sister Sera’s clothes and weapon.”
When I turned around, Sera was in her beastified form. It seemed she was serious. I put her freshly removed maid outfit into my ‘Inventory,’ and we changed our formation.
“Alright, now Sister Sera and I will go first. I’ll handle the detection with ‘Dimension’ too, so you two in the back, focus on your magic.”
Reaper, with her surprisingly vast experience, gave instructions to everyone without hesitation. Then, our labyrinth exploration resumed.
We walked through the 31st floor, a sea of sand. Due to Reaper’s restless lead, we soon encountered new monsters. A large, spider-like monster appeared. However, due to its slender body and smooth movement, I understood it was a different species from a spider. This monster seemed to be like a water strider running on the sand. It would likely fight without being affected by the poor footing.
―Sand Surpricer Rank 32―
“I’ll go and distract them with Sera! —Magic ‘Dimension – Twilight’!”
Reaper mounted Sera’s back and unleashed a magical darkness. The darkness enveloped Sera’s massive body like a black cloak. Then, the darkness surged. The beast’s four legs kicked off the sand, achieving a speed that defied the adverse conditions. In terms of Speed stat, Rustiara and I greatly surpassed Sera. However, the scene unfolding before our eyes was the opposite of those numbers. The dark wolf ran faster than anyone else across the sea of sand.
The Sand Surpricer ran with equal fervor. It slid smoothly across the sand like ice skating, and a contest resembling a car chase began. Sand dust billowed, and the crystal water strider and darkness clashed repeatedly. The battle quickly turned. Sera wasn’t alone. Riding on her back, the dimensional magic user gave her an advantage. Darkness lingered from their movements, warping dimensions and obscuring vision.
Combined with Sera’s high-speed movements, the two finally cut off the Sand Surpricer’s vision and got behind it.
“Got its back!”
After Sera’s massive body slammed into it, Reaper’s slash Hyuga. One of the Sand Surpricer’s many legs was sliced off. Even with one leg lost, the Sand Surpricer retaliated using its remaining legs.
“You’re slow to turn! You’re not a match for me yet!”
But it was in vain, only cutting through the empty darkness. Reaper and Sera were no longer in that darkness. They continuously moved to the Sand Surpricer’s blind spots, never allowing it to target them. Their fighting style was far beyond mere distraction; it could be called overwhelming. Nevertheless, we continued to prepare our magic as instructed. Reaper’s ‘Dimension’ sensed the completion of our magic.
“It’s about time…”
Reaper, moving in perfect sync with Sera like a single entity, guided the magic to a position where it could be easily unleashed. Then, she snapped her fingers.
“—And the night shall break—”
All the surrounding darkness cleared. The Sand Surpricer was confused by the sudden expansion of its vision.
“Hyaa!”
Reaper’s kick struck its back. Losing its balance, the Sand Surpricer collapsed onto the sea of sand. It was perfect. It was the ideal moment to unleash our magic.
“Flame Arrow!”
“Quartz Bullet!”
The full-power magic from the two rear guards was unleashed.
A flame of supreme power and a crystal bullet of maximum output were fired at the Sand Surface.
Crimson flames roared, and rotating bullets pierced through their center.
“Did… did we do it!?”
Rustiara shouted. I echoed her with anticipation.
“Did we get him!?”
However, what remained after the flames vanished was the Sand Surface, which was trying to move despite taking a crystal bullet to the chest.
It was certainly a severe injury, but it hadn’t been enough to defeat it.
At that moment, the Reaper’s merciless scythe swung down.
The Sand Surface, cleanly split in two, disappeared into light.
“…Isn’t it faster to just cut it, after all?”
The Reaper offered a wry smile.
It wasn’t sarcasm, but genuine advice from the bottom of his heart.
Rustiara and I nodded slightly and drew the swords at our waists.
As expected, it wasn’t something we could accomplish in a day or two. We had to admit that.
“Since we’re all here together, it’s best for everyone to develop their own strengths. Trying to patch things up hastily will just lead to accidents.”
To the Reaper’s irrefutable logic, Rustiara and I could only nod again.
We didn’t even have the energy to argue.
We had intended to show off the results of yesterday’s training with great enthusiasm, but it had ended in utter disaster.
We walked with our heads down.
Seeing this, the Reaper tried to console us.
“B-but, it’s good to gradually eliminate weaknesses too! If we keep training, they might become strong weapons someday…!”
The Reaper flailed his hands, desperately trying to cheer us up.
I wanted to die at the thought of making such a young child worry.
So, I could only nod slightly again. My spirits, having sunk to the lowest level, simply refused to lift.
The Reaper sighed and, with no other choice, began to lead us.
Thus, led by the leader Reaper, we advanced through the 31st floor.
***
Unlike before, this dungeon exploration had taken a more straightforward turn.
The Reaper scouted ahead, and if they encountered any monsters, he would cut them down. It was a continuous cycle of this.
Basically, Sera would cause a distraction while the Reaper delivered the finishing blow.
This was because Sera’s attack power wasn’t enough to damage enemies. We might need to prepare a weapon specifically for when she transformed.
While accurately measuring the size of her wolf form with ‘Dimension,’ I watched their battle.
Rustiara and I, meanwhile, had retreated backward in shock. Even so, the battles ended without issue, which only made it harder to recover from our shock. In the back of our minds, we had expected to be asked for help by the struggling Reaper and Sera, with them saying, “What can you do?”
Unlike the dejected rear guards, the front line was engaged in cheerful conversation. Incidentally, since it wasn’t practical to keep changing into a maid outfit, Sera was currently just wearing a large coat.
Her transformation ability was an eyesore, so I had given her something that fit her size. Now, it matched the Reaper’s.
With that coat, she could fight even after transforming.
However, the eyesore couldn’t be completely neutralized. No matter how large the coat, the wearer was naked underneath. The Reaper disliked underwear, so the two girls fighting in front were essentially naked under their coats, a scene that was borderline criminal.
“You’re amazing, Reaper. What’s going on with your scythe?”
I could hear their friendly chatter.
“This scythe *is* me. As long as I have magic power, I can summon and dismiss it at will! It’s limited to my scythe, but it’s similar to your ‘Inventory,’ big brother!”
“I’m envious. I wish I had as many special abilities as you…”
“You can turn into a puppy! That’s super enviable!”
“A puppy!? No, that’s not a dog, it’s a wolf…?”
“Huh? That thing is a wolf…? It’s a pretty small wolf…”
“No, even among our clan, that’s considered large.”
“Huh? Really?”
“If possible, please call me a wolf. ‘Puppy’ is, well, embarrassing and doesn’t suit me.”
“That’s not true…! It suits a cute big sister like you, puppy!”
“No, please stop. Even if you’re lying, it’s embarrassing. Cuteness is something that applies to you and the young lady.”
“That’s not true! Right, big brother!!”
Perhaps sensing the silence from the rear, the Reaper tried to change the subject.
But the content was the worst.
“Why are you bringing me into this…? Look, you’re glaring at me!”
Sera directed a look that could kill at me.
Slowly, Sera threatened me.
“Tell me honestly, Kanami. You’re like a guardian for that child, aren’t you? It’s your role to clearly state the truth of things.”
“U-um, cuteness…”
To be honest, I thought Sera was cute.
Unlike the others, she was full of compassion, pure like a girl, and loved cute things. Her inability to be straightforward was also childishly cute. The others were either too straightforward or too detached, far from cute.
In my mind, she was vying for first place with Dia.
Incidentally, for Rustiara and the Reaper, it was the opposite. Their mental fortitude was so “manly” that it was a bit far from cute.
However, I couldn’t say all of that honestly.
“Rather than that, Sera is a cool woman. But I kind of understand what Reaper is saying. I think Sera is a woman who possesses both coolness and cuteness.”
For now, I tried to skirt the issue with safe words that didn’t choose either.
“Y-you! You’ve been charming innocent girls like this, haven’t you…! You villain…!!”
Sera’s face turned red with anger.
It seemed she didn’t like the diplomatic remark. She probably wanted a clear denial. But it was too rude to directly say a woman wasn’t cute. It was an insurmountable problem from the start.
Sera turned away and moved forward.
It looked like half anger, half embarrassment.
Frankly, no matter how I answered, I suspected she would have been displeased. But I had to believe I had made the better choice.
I continued to walk behind Sera as she pulled the Reaper’s hand and moved forward.
Gradually, Rustiara’s and my spirits began to return, and we started participating in the battles. In fact, we felt like we would lose sight of our purpose if we didn’t force ourselves to recover our spirits and get back into the fight.
We sliced our way through the labyrinth with the brute force of the four front-liners.
However, the path was different from yesterday.
Instead of heading straight for the stairs, the Reaper was wandering around inside the labyrinth.
“Reaper, where are you going? The stairs are that way.”
My ‘Dimension’ had locked onto the stairs leading downward. She should have been able to sense them too, given the distance.
“Yep, I know. But there’s something interesting over there.”
“Something interesting?”
I expanded my senses to match the Reaper’s ‘Dimension.’
And then, I discovered the ‘interesting thing’ she was talking about.
An altar stood in a sea of sand.
I recognized something similar. It was identical to the altar on the 24th floor where we found the ‘Ruf Bringer’ while exploring the labyrinth with Snow.
Again, a sword was plunged into the altar, as if offered.
“See? Isn’t it interesting? Isn’t collecting things in the labyrinth not so bad?”
Like a child who had found the toy corner, the Reaper ran ahead.
We had no choice but to follow.
The shape of the altar was a trapezoid, like the top half of a pyramid in the desert.
In front of the sword on the platform, the Reaper’s cheeks flushed as she stared at it.
Before the Reaper could move, I used ‘Gaze.’
–Raked Blade
Attack Power 5 Mental Contamination +1.50–
“W-wait! Don’t touch it!!”
“Huh? Why?”
I stopped the Reaper just as her hand was about to touch the sword.
“Before, I picked up a cursed sword in a labyrinth… It seems this one is also no good.”
The text that appeared was extremely disturbing.
Warily, I tried to examine it further with ‘Dimension.’
Then, as if by chemical reaction, a murky, eerie mist began to billow from the sword.
“Oh! My magic suddenly overflowed! You were a fake!”
Reaper leaped back like a beast, putting distance between them.
“It’s just a defective item. Let’s destroy it.”
I raised my sword, signaling to everyone that we would break it.
Reaper nodded in regret, but Rustiara was not convinced.
“Wait! Hey, hey, isn’t it cool to handle cursed weapons?”
Rustiara’s eyes sparkled like a child in the toy aisle.
“Hey, stop it. It’s not funny, even as a joke.”
“It’s a staple of heroic tales, cursed weapons. Like the protagonist desperately saving a companion who has equipped one. Come on, won’t someone try it? It’s okay, I’ll definitely save you.”
“That’s way too self-produced… No, we’re destroying this.”
“No, for example, if you hold that sword and overcome the curse, don’t you think it’ll evolve into a very strong weapon?”
“…No, it’d just be a sword with a criminal record.”
I hesitated for a moment. I hated that I empathized, even a little, with Rustiara’s romantic notion.
I shook my head desperately and swung my sword sideways.
The Aris Family’s Treasure Sword Rowen was far superior as a sword.
The Raked Blade shattered easily.
Rustiara lamented with deep regret.
“Ah, ahhh… Ugh, if only Kanami hadn’t ‘watched’ it…!”
“If you hadn’t, it would have been precious.”
“But to be able to identify curses on things… Kanami’s appraisal ability is convenient, isn’t it? Other abilities might be explained by Dimensional Magic, but I can’t even begin to guess the mechanics of this one. What kind of magic construction framework is it…?”
Rustiara lightly tapped my face. She seemed to be checking my eyeballs for ‘something’.
It’s something I’ve been curious about for a long time.
Why do I possess something as convenient as ‘watch’? Why can I wield Dimensional and Ice Magic from the start, and have such favorable aptitudes?
If I could unravel the mechanics and reasons behind it, I felt I could fundamentally solve many of my questions.
And, I am close to reaching that answer.
My life in this different world up to today has provided enough information to get me this far. And I have the ability to process that information accurately.
However, the answer I’m approaching is…
“However, Reaper’s idea of collecting things isn’t bad either! Shall we keep searching one after another at this rate!”
“Ooooh!”
“Let’s gather weapons and power up!”
“…It’s in the labyrinth right now. It’s not good to lose focus.”
With the current information alone, I could only speculate, not be certain. Rather than spinning my thoughts fruitlessly, it would be better to steadily advance my dungeon exploration.
I shook my head behind my companions who were cheerfully leading the way.
It seems the Reapers have changed their policy to prioritize searching for altars. I have no objections, as it allows for thorough level-grinding. I’ll let the Reapers do as they please.
The party advanced through the 31st, 32nd, and 33rd floors, searching for altars.
We generally ignored the flying monsters on the 32nd floor. Although they sometimes called for reinforcements, Reaper’s dark magic made it easy to evade them.
Reaper’s magic truly showed its worth in escape. While obscuring their presence with darkness and pinpointing the optimal escape route with Dimensional Magic through ‘Night of Dimension’, the monsters had no way to pursue.
Fighting only winnable opponents and escaping from troublesome ones. Reaper possessed the most essential ability for dungeon exploration.
Through repeated battles and escapes, we found several altars. However, the items on the altars were nothing special.
—Call Outer
Defense 6, Mental Contamination +1.20—
—Arloken Face
Defense 4, Magic Resistance 1, Mental Contamination +0.50, Confusion +1.00—
—Blood Sword
Attack 4
Temporarily increases attack power by siphoning blood.
Mental Contamination +0.50, Excitation +1.00—
And so on…
“They’re cursed again…”
“Kanami! Let’s try equipping cursed items! It’s okay, it’s okay! If this were a heroic tale, I, the protagonist, would overcome curses with ease!!”
Most of them were cursed items, always bearing the description ‘Mental Contamination’. Standing beside the complaining Rustiara, I silently destroyed the cursed items. If they couldn’t be dispelled, they were dangerous to even touch, so it was unavoidable. I did freeze the fragments, once the danger of mental contamination was gone, and put them in my ‘Inventory’. Perhaps they could be reused.
Occasionally, we found uncursed ornaments, but they offered no significant effects. They were merely decorative items without any magical power.
Useful weapons and armor were a rarity, perhaps one in ten.
After about several hours of dungeon exploration, we finally found a decent weapon. It was a milky white sword with a feather motif.
—Helvirshine Family’s Holy Twin Sword: One Wing
Attack 2
Having lost one wing, its original power is diminished—
I relayed the results of my ‘watch’ to my companions.
“—This isn’t cursed. It seems to be an item from the old Helvirshine family.”
Rustiara, who had placed a crown, found among the ornaments, on her head, rejoiced.
“Y-Yes! Finally!!”
“But it’s only one of the twin swords. If there were two, they’d be strong… but as it is, it’s useless.”
“Find it! Find the other one!”
Rustiara issued an order, and Reaper deployed ‘Dimension’.
“I found another altar very close by, Big Sis!”
“Alright, let’s go!”
I and Sera followed behind the two who dashed off.
Upon reaching the altar, which was no longer novel, Rustiara stood dumbfounded. Her gaze was fixed on the center of the altar. She tearfully stared at the spot where the sword should have been.
“It’s, it’s empty…!”
“Yes, it’s empty. So the other one must have been here, right?”
“You should have said so earlier! I got so excited!”
“Even if I had, I thought you wouldn’t believe it until you saw it. I wanted to let you dream until the last moment.”
“I certainly had a dream, thank you! Damn it!!”
Beside the two who were enjoying life, I broke out in a cold sweat. An empty altar was one thing. If there were no remaining traces, there would be no problem.
However, the fact that there was an indentation where the sword had been was strange.
We are on the 33rd floor. The area beyond the 30th floor is beyond the reach of any explorer from the Allied Nations. That’s why we have been able to freely approach the altars. Yet, this altar shows signs of someone’s visit.
This means someone is currently deeper within this labyrinth. Someone who visited the 33rd floor before us and pulled out the sword from the altar—
“What?! Is there really nothing!?”
I calmed Rustiara, who was searching around the altar.
“Rustiara, give it up. Collecting weapons in a labyrinth was too ambitious in the first place. It’s better to hunt monsters steadily.”
“Ugh, a big turnaround with a treasure hunt is better…”
“We’ve aimed for a miraculous turnaround enough. Let’s move forward seriously.”
I suggested proceeding further. Through ‘Parallel Thinking’, I had finished speculating about the ‘someone’ in the depths of the labyrinth, and my body was brimming with fighting spirit.
The possibility of ‘someone’ being there first led me to think of Glen, the strongest in the Allied Nations. However, from our conversation the other day, I felt that was unlikely. The remaining possibilities were Fenrir, the Sword Saint, or the party from the ‘Seven Knights of Heaven’. And then there was the Palinkron Legacy, empowered by the Guardian’s strength. It wouldn’t be strange for Palinkron to be exploring the depths of the 30th floor alone. Rail’s words, stating he was in the Valt homeland, were not in doubt, but I still judged Palinkron as a possibility.
My fighting spirit propelled me forward.
“Alright, let’s head to the 34th floor. Reaper, if you encounter any troublesome enemies, hinder them.”
“Yeah, got it. I’m getting tired of collecting junk too. Shall we proceed ahead?”
Holding Rustiara’s hand, who was sulking, we headed for the stairs. Monsters that approached were quickly repelled by Reaper’s ‘Night of Dimension’, allowing us to reach the 34th floor directly. Rustiara, who had been muttering “Treasure hunt—cursed sword to holy sword evolution—then a sudden turnaround…”, was finally calmed down when Reaper listened to her complaints.
