Side: Rika
After defeating the swarm of Amazons, we decided to take a short break in the Safe Area.
It hadn’t even been two hours since we left the previous Safe Area, but since we defeated not only over a hundred Amazons but also Garum-species monsters, and the fourth floor ahead is still unknown, we should rest our bodies as much as possible.
“Mina and Flam’s Unique Magic was amazing, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. I knew they had been trying to fuse Mace Quake and Tidal Blaster for a while, but I never thought it would actually work.”
As Mana and Prim said, Mina and Flam, after evolving into Ancient Class, had been attempting to use their respective Unique Magics, Mace Quake and Tidal Blaster, as a single spell. However, that attempt had unfortunately never succeeded before.
“I had thought of a few patterns, and one of them involved using my Barrier Magic.”
“This time, Mina-san covered Mace Quake with that Barrier Magic, and I think that’s what made it work.”
I had never imagined that Barrier Magic could do something like that.
“It’s similar to Layering techniques, so maybe it’s a form of Layered Magic?”
“There is a Ritual Magic that is used by multiple people, so if we were to classify it, wouldn’t it fall under that category?”
“Ah, that’s right, I remember hearing about that.”
Ritual Magic. As the name suggests, it’s a magic used by multiple people by performing a ritual. However, the magic it targets is Guild Magic, so it feels a little different. Moreover, Mina and Flam’s Unique Magics are further fused by Fusion Magic, so the name “Layered Magic” that Mako gave it feels more appropriate.
“Now that it’s complete, all that’s left is to improve its precision.”
“That too, and I’m also struggling with what to name the magic.”
“The name of the magic is important.”
By being conscious of the magic’s name and sometimes voicing it, one can clearly weave the image of the magic. Therefore, the magic’s name is quite important.
“Yamato-san, do you have any good suggestions for a name?”
“Me? Well, if you ask me out of the blue…”
Yamato is bewildered when Flam asks him, but that’s understandable. It’s not like you can immediately come up with a magic name when asked out of the blue. Well, come to think of it, Prim’s Extreme Flame Wing, Blazing Wing, was named by Yamato, and she said she thought of it quite quickly.
“How about… Multi-Storm Blade?”
“Layered magic, a rain of elemental magic arrows, and a greatsword. It’s easy to imagine, so isn’t it good?”
It’s easy to imagine the magic, and it’s not bad. Mina and Flam look very happy, so this might be decided.
“Thank you, Yamato-san. We’ll do our best to improve its precision from here.”
“Oh, okay.”
So, it’s decided.
“Next is the breakdown of the monsters defeated in this floor.”
“Let’s do that. Although, it’s mostly Goblins, Amazons, and Garums.”
“There were quite a few of them, though.”
Checking with Questing, it felt like there were even more.
“Hob Goblins 34, Redcap Goblins 54, Goblin Prince 6, Goblin Princess 3, Garums 34, Terra Garums 10, Stella Garums 3, Luna Garums 1, Amazons 87, Venus Amazones 53, Virgo Amazones 24, Amazoness Princess 5, Amazoness Queen 1. That’s 315 in total. Quite a number.”
“It’s fewer than the second floor, but still a lot for one floor.”
The second floor had over 500. They say Solpreza Labyrinth had around 150, and Instant Labyrinth had just over 100, so this is an incredible number.
“There were over 200 on the first floor too. It’s truly incredible that one floor has as many monsters as an entire labyrinth.”
“The ranks are high too. Isn’t this labyrinth designed assuming the presence of Ancient Classes?”
I really agree. After all, this Krater Labyrinth had P-R rank monsters on the second floor, and even M-C rank monsters on the third floor. Even the notoriously difficult Solpreza Labyrinth and Instant Labyrinth only start to see P-rank monsters from the fourth floor. Without Ancient Classes, you wouldn’t even be able to clear the second floor.
“It’s estimated that this Krater Labyrinth was born less than a month ago. It can only be a guess, but perhaps the labyrinth felt a sense of crisis because many people evolved into Ancient Class at Seryado Volcano.”
Lady Hilde repeats the speculation conveyed by the Saber’s Guild, and indeed, that possibility cannot be denied. Little is known about labyrinths, but thus far, labyrinths have either been low-floor or high-floor. Low-floor labyrinths are said to go up to the tenth floor at most, with B-rank monsters appearing from the first floor. It’s not uncommon to see monsters of G-rank or higher, so they are labyrinths that choose their visitors. Conversely, high-floor labyrinths can have over thirty floors. The Float Labyrinth in Amister has 18 floors in total, but it’s considered shallow for a high-floor labyrinth.
“So, does that mean the Krater Labyrinth is a new type of labyrinth that doesn’t fit into either category?”
“Based on everyone’s investigation results, it would appear so.”
That sounds like a troublesome matter. The birth of labyrinths isn’t limited to Torencia. So, one day, a labyrinth like the Krater Labyrinth might be born in Amister as well.
“Even if you say it depends on the results, we’ll be exiting when we reach the fourth floor, so it seems like it will take a long time to reach a conclusion.”
“We might be able to draw some conclusions from the investigation results up to the third floor.”
“Indeed. Well, let’s leave drawing conclusions to Lady Hilde and the Hunter’s Guild, and we can investigate when we have free time.”
“We have no choice but to do that.”
As Mana and Prim say, the conclusion must be left to Torencia and the Hunter’s Guild, and even if we investigate, it will be difficult without time. Sir Yuri is giving a wry smile, but there really is no other way. Well, as the mistress of Memoria and the provincial governor of Feel, it’s difficult for me to come to investigate the labyrinth.
“By the way, Hilde, how are you feeling?”
“Yes, I’m fine. It was difficult right after, but I think I’m getting used to it now.”
“I see, that’s good.”
Yamato is concerned about Lady Hilde, but there’s nothing that can be done about it. After all, Lady Hilde has evolved into an Ancient Vampire. She evolved during the battle with Virgo Amazones, and at first, she couldn’t quite grasp her senses and struggled a bit. Even so, she dodged all the Amazon’s attacks, and Yamato and Prim noticed immediately and moved to support her, so it didn’t escalate into a major issue.
“It’s not a bad thing that she evolved before heading to Solumne.”
“There will be idiots doing unnecessary things, but since she has the title of Queen of Torencia, there’s no way she can avoid it.”
Lady Hilde’s evolution into an Ancient Vampire is something Torencia welcomes. She will be heading to Solumne soon, and after that, she will abdicate and marry Yamato. While this doesn’t bring direct benefits to Torencia, the next Queen, Princess Brynhild, is Lady Hilde’s younger sister, and if a Vampire daughter is born between her and Yamato, that child will be given succession rights. It is certain that there will be unscrupulous individuals in Solumne trying to curry favor with Lady Hilde or marry her. However, if they try to forcefully approach an Ancient Class, the outcome is obvious, so this is a reassuring factor.
“Since Alka will be coming at night, isn’t it unnecessary to worry too much?”
“At night, yes. But from the perspective of the defeated nation, Solumne, if they can take the Queen of the victorious nation as their own, they might become the next Emperor of Solumne, you know? That’s why they will try to absorb Sister Hilde by any means necessary.”
As Emperor Reinhardt also said, if by any chance Lady Hilde were to fall into the hands of such a scoundrel, there’s a possibility of war breaking out between Amister and Torencia. Therefore, even if the public order in Solumne deteriorates, it seems they are firm on the policy of disposing of such individuals.
“If anyone dares to do something foolish in front of me, I’ll make them regret being born.”
Yamato says. Even though it wasn’t a relationship he desired, Yamato intends to take responsibility, and he cherishes us, including me. So, if such scoundrels appear before him, they will truly regret being born.
“You can do as you please with that.”
“Th-thank you, Yamato-sama.”
Lady Hilde is blushing, which is cute.
“Well then, Yamato-sama, shall we head to the fourth floor soon?”
“Let’s do that. We still have time until noon, but I want to investigate the fourth floor a bit too.”
Aria-chan interrupts the conversation, but indeed, I want to investigate the fourth floor as well. However, at this rate, the fourth floor might be G-rank at least, or even P-rank if things go badly. If it’s like previous labyrinths, this could be the deepest layer, but if it was born because over 20 people evolved into Ancient Class, it’s impossible to estimate how deep it is.
“That’s also a factor in the investigation, isn’t it? Let’s go.”
Mana says cheerfully, but perhaps because there are many hunters, their faces show a curiosity about the next floor. After marrying Yamato, she has also renounced her succession rights and is no longer involved in troublesome politics, so she’s incredibly lively. Frankly, I envy her, but in my case, I can’t step down from my current position until I give birth to Yamato’s child and that child reaches adulthood, so that’s still quite far off. According to Mother Dragon Gaia, Mana will be the first to give birth to Yamato’s child, followed by me, Prim, and Flam. That’s about 20 years away. Tomorrow, work awaits me in Feel and Memoria, but since I’m also allowed to visit Valentia and Solumne, I can’t complain too much. I should switch my mindset and work hard.
