Side: Prim
We planned our assault on the Krater Labyrinth and decided to make preparations for it.
That said, our equipment, rations, and potions were mostly stashed in our Inventory. The ship, essential for the 4th Level, was recently completed, so that wasn’t an issue.
The real problem was Flam and I.
It’s been 5 months since we gave birth, and Mako and Mother have confirmed that our recovery has been smooth and we’ve passed our postpartum period. However, raising our children is much more demanding than we anticipated, making it difficult to go hunting.
Whenever we have free time, we head to Mylight, but we know the monsters there inside and out, so it’s not much of a rehabilitation.
Still, there are quite a few An and Catastrophe Species there, so we don’t let our guard down.
So today, Mina, Flam, Lydia, Ludia, and myself, along with Yamato and Sister Hilde, who are on their day off, a total of seven of us, came to the Solpreza Labyrinth.
Our objective is rehabilitation for Flam and myself, but we also had another goal: to see if Ancient Class adventurers could reach the 7th Level, the deepest part of the labyrinth, in a single day if they moved at full speed.
This was based on a previous instance where Yamato reached the 4th Level of the Instant Labyrinth in just under three hours.
While it’s impossible to generalize due to individual labyrinth differences, most are generally as large as a city.
Some, like mazes or indoor layers, can be a bit smaller.
Therefore, since the 5th Level of the Instant Labyrinth is a maze, which would slow us down, we decided to try the Solpreza Labyrinth. It has one more level but only consists of outdoor areas, and its Guardian is the A-rank Monster Gold Dragoon.
The 7th Level of the Solpreza Labyrinth is a nest of M-rank Monster Dragoons. If we can reach the deepest level in one day, it will be easier to hunt for materials, and more importantly, easier to obtain materials from the Gold Dragoon, which would be a great benefit to us.
“It should take about 6 hours. If that’s the case, we’ll have an hour or two to spare for hunting.”
“There will be some margin of error, but if this is the time including breaks, it would be an even more lucrative hunting ground if we stayed overnight.”
The Solpreza Labyrinth has a total of 7 levels, all of which are outdoor areas, but each individual level is quite large.
Furthermore, many high-rank monsters inhabit the labyrinth, so even though we flew the shortest distance, we got quite delayed.
Still, high-rank monster materials are valuable, and they are essential for us Ancient Class and Element Class adventurers, so we are grateful for their presence.
Moreover, if we can reach the deepest level in just a few hours, not a full day, it will be much easier to gather materials.
“By the way, about how long does it take for a Guardian to revive?”
“Ah, come to think of it, I wonder? Prim, do you know?”
“No, I don’t. Yamato?”
“I vaguely recall hearing something about it, but didn’t it depend on the Monster Rank?”
While Ludia’s question couldn’t be answered by me or Sister Hilde, Yamato had some knowledge.
Even though he knew, it seemed to be only superficial knowledge.
“I was curious too and looked into it. With a few exceptions, Guardians are at least P-rank, and as Yamato-san mentioned, the revival time varies depending on their Monster Rank. I believe it’s around a week for P-rank and about a month for M-rank.”
Lydia, who had been researching, told us. It takes about a month for a P-rank Guardian to revive.
The Guardian of the Solpreza Labyrinth is an A-rank Gold Dragoon, so it’s possible it won’t revive for nearly half a year.
However, there is one labyrinth confirmed where a G-rank monster is the Guardian, and that is the exception Lydia mentioned.
The location is in the Libertà region… no, was it Alegria?
“So, does that mean that A-rank monsters like the one in Solpreza Labyrinth might not revive for over half a year?”
“That’s what they say, but besides the Solpreza Labyrinth, A-rank Guardians are only found in the Lowcula Labyrinth, Felsa Labyrinth, and the Instant Labyrinth. Furthermore, the Lowcula Labyrinth is larger than Solpreza, and the Felsa Labyrinth has a staggering 32 levels.”
Ah, only four types of A-rank Guardians have been confirmed, and investigating them is difficult due to the nature of the labyrinths.
According to Lydia, the speculation of a six-month revival period is based on the assumption that the Krater Labyrinth’s Guardian, an O-rank monster, might take over a year to revive, so the actual time could be shorter than six months or even longer than a year.
Even if one were to investigate, it would require the strength to defeat the Guardian, and there’s always the possibility that someone else might defeat it in the meantime, so it would take time.
“Huh? Wait a minute. Didn’t the Gold Dragoon get defeated a few months ago?”
“Eh?”
“Seriously?”
But at this point, Mina opened her mouth as if she just remembered.
Wait, is that true?
“Yes, I think it was before winter or around that time, but I heard Lily Wish defeated it. I recall that a few materials were gifted as congratulations for Saya-nee-san’s pregnancy.”
Saya’s pregnancy was revealed around autumn, and it’s understandable for Lily Wish, who grew up with her like a sibling, to give her a gift.
However, Saya’s pregnancy was discovered around the time I and Flam gave birth, so it hasn’t even been half a year, even if they had conquered it at the fastest pace.
If an A-rank Guardian takes about half a year to revive, the Gold Dragoon might not have revived yet.
“Ah, darn… I should have investigated that a little more.”
“It can’t be helped. Besides, if we knew when Lily Wish defeated it, it would help our research.”
“That’s true. Still, it would be a waste of effort if it turns out to be for nothing, so if it hasn’t revived yet, we’ll just hunt the Dragoons as much as we can.”
I hadn’t even considered the possibility that the Gold Dragoon might not be there.
However, it is a monster that a few Ancient Class adventurers can defeat, so it’s a perfectly plausible scenario, and I should have considered it.
“We have no choice but to do that. Besides, there might be evolved forms with higher ranks than the Guardian, so looking for those might be a good idea.”
Yes, looking for evolved forms, as Flam suggested, is a good idea.
In fact, the Solpreza Labyrinth has seen the appearance of an A-rank Monster Disaster Dragoon, and it was none other than us who defeated it.
The Gold Dragoon is A-rank, so it’s one rank higher.
Well, even if we don’t find it, Dragoons are M-rank, and there are many other monsters of the same rank, so it would still serve as a source of materials.
“Evolved forms, huh? If it’s a Dragoon, besides the Disaster Dragoon, there’s also the Volcanic Dragoon, Vortex Dragoon, and Mirage Dragoon, right?”
“Those three have been confirmed. Like the Disaster Dragoon, they possess three attributes, making them delicious prey for their materials.”
As Yamato said, the three Dragoons Ludia mentioned are classified as A-rank. Like the Disaster Dragoon, which has water, wind, and lightning attributes, each possesses three attributes.
I believe the Volcanic Dragoon has fire, earth, and darkness; the Vortex Dragoon, wind, water, and ice; and the Mirage Dragoon, light, lightning, and fire.
All of them have been sighted in the deeper layers of labyrinths and have never been defeated. However, I don’t remember which labyrinth they inhabit.
Or rather, it’s not unlikely that some Union has already hunted them.
“Ah, indeed, if there are Ancient Class adventurers, they can certainly be hunted.”
“Yeah. So, as Flam said, it’s a good idea to search for them here. Perhaps there are even Disaster Species among them.”
“Ah, that’s certainly a possibility.”
Mina agreed with Yamato’s statement, and indeed, that possibility cannot be ruled out.
However, if we’re talking about Dragoon Disaster Species, they would be O-rank to C-rank in Monster Rank, posing a threat close to O-rank to A-rank Demise Species, and some individuals might even surpass them.
Before that, Dragoon Disaster Species have not been sighted in any labyrinth.
Well, given the existence of Nidh, it’s not unlikely that they inhabit some labyrinth.
“It seems plausible for the Krater Labyrinth.”
“Right. We can discuss that later when we get back. Well, shall we go?”
“Indeed. If the Gold Dragoon is there, great. If not, we’ll explore some islands and look for evolved forms.”
“Yes.”
Oh, the abnormal and catastrophe species of Dragoons, the deep labyrinth layers, and the revival of Guardians, all these interesting topics made us talk for a while.
But we can’t just keep talking indefinitely, and it’s not something we can decide on our own. As Yamato said, we need to discuss it again with Mana and the others after we get back.
Besides, whether the Gold Dragoon is there or not is also connected to investigating the Guardian’s revival period.
If it’s there, we’ll just defeat it. If not, we’ll defeat other monsters.
However, contrary to my expectations, on the way to the Guardian’s chamber, we only managed to hunt a single Ignis Bird, a Gust Dragoon, and a Fortress Whale each.
Because of our high speed, even if the monsters find us, they often can’t attack us.
It was similar on the way; we only hunted about 20 monsters.
Prioritizing movement was essential, so it couldn’t be helped.
“It’s really not here.”
“Indeed. It’s a shame, but let’s give up for now.”
“Yeah.”
And the Guardian, the Gold Dragoon, was unfortunately not yet revived.
We could find out when it was defeated by inquiring at the Hunter’s Guild, and we could make some predictions, but even then, it’s not absolute. Even if our prediction of a six-month revival period was correct, there would be a margin of error of about a month before or after.
“In that case, let’s explore some islands and try to find evolved forms.”
“Yes, let’s. I hope we find something.”
“Me too.”
There’s no point in lingering here if it’s not here.
After a short break, we headed towards the unexplored islands to the west.
