**Side: Ludia**
April has arrived, and the day we head to the Krater Labyrinth is drawing near.
Much has happened over these past two months, but I’d say more of it has been good news.
The labyrinth training exercise at Memoria General Academy, held at the end of February, concluded without any major issues. Apparently, no Anomalous Species monsters appeared, and since the Hunter’s Guild Headquarters had announced the students’ presence in advance, no hunters interfered. There was a minor scuffle during the overnight stay, with some of the less experienced students falling asleep mid-activity and others being too excited to sleep, only to doze off during the next day’s travel. However, these were all predictable problems. Since it was the first time, I suppose they’re considering it a learning experience for future expeditions.
Then, on March 6th, Rosemary safely gave birth to a human baby boy. The child, named Albert, is the long-awaited heir of the Fallheight Count family. Grand Order’s Master Rex, now a father, was overjoyed, as was Dianos, who serves as Sub-Order’s Master to Feel. Mina, of course, was also thrilled to have a new nephew. Mako, along with the rest of us, helped with the delivery. It took about eight hours, but I’m just glad the baby was born safely.
Then, about three weeks after Rosemary’s delivery, on March 30th, Saya also gave birth to a baby girl at the Rabitry. Sayuri was present for Saya’s birth, which was surprisingly quick, lasting only about two hours. Saya’s baby was about to be born breech, but thanks to the “Bleaching” magic that Mako chanted, the baby was born headfirst. I remember Saya and Sayuri sighing in relief. The baby girl was named Glass. She was celebrated with great joy, and we all sent congratulatory gifts to both mothers.
April 5th marked the first birthday of Asuma, the eldest son of Yamato and Lady Rika. A ceremony for his heavenly succession was held at the Knights’ Guild in Memoria. Asuma seems to have been bestowed with wind attribute magic and Tree Magic. Lady Rika was delighted. Tree Magic is almost a necessity in the Marquisate of Amatista, which boasts vast Cherry Tree Gardens, so not only Lady Rika but also Lady Elisabeth and the mansion’s butler were in a frenzy.
The spring break at the General Academy, from March 21st to March 30th, ended, and the new academic year began on April 1st, with the entrance ceremony held on the 2nd. There are 212 new students this year, with 20 of them being children of nobles. The first-year students who have now advanced to their second year also include a few children of nobles, excluding royalty. Considering that a royal student was expelled during our own entrance ceremony, they haven’t caused any trouble or drawn much attention so far. However, there are three sons and four daughters of Valenti noble families among the new students, three of whom come from families with problematic reputations. I heard the teaching staff is on edge. Since I’m not involved with the academy, I can only wish them luck. The second-year students have begun their specialized guild-based classes, and Mako, as a part-time lecturer, will be teaching about two to three times a month. Yamato, also a part-time lecturer, is the Lord’s Assistant of the Marquisate of Amatista due to his heavenly rank, so he only teaches about once every few months. The development plans for the Treasure Tree Islands of Kobaldia Ruins and Olden Island are gradually taking shape, and I’ve heard that a meeting will be held after the Krater Labyrinth conquest.
While the new noble students at the academy are a cause for concern, I don’t think they’ll do anything foolish right after enrollment. After all, it’s public knowledge that a prince from a developing nation was expelled during last year’s entrance ceremony, had his succession rights revoked, and was subsequently confined. Furthermore, it was announced that the former prince’s health deteriorated in confinement and he died of illness a few months ago. In reality, it was a disguised execution, but while ordinary people might not know the truth, nobles certainly would. Therefore, I hope they behave themselves.
Today, three days after Asuma’s birthday, we depart for the Krater Labyrinth. The party consists of ten people: Yamato, Prim, Mana, Athena, Mina, Flam, Mako, my sister, myself, and Eos. Sir Yuri and Aria are still students at the academy, and Lady Hilde and Lady Rika cannot leave due to their official duties. Ed, Raus, Lucas, and others also have circumstances preventing them from joining. Lady Apricot, being a Normal Class, would be too much to ask to accompany us. The butlers are mostly High Class, and taking them would disrupt the management of Alka and the heavenly ranked residences in various regions. Eos’s participation is also difficult, but since the more combatants, the better, we’ve made a special request. Marissa, Mana’s exclusive attendant, will be staying behind this time. Thus, the party comprises two Element Classes and eight Ancient Classes, for a total of ten people. Prim is level 97, Mana is level 96, so they might evolve into Element Classes during the conquest. Even Flam, the lowest-leveled at 84, should be able to manage unless there’s a swarm of Demise Species. We plan to traverse the path at full speed with our Ancient Class members, so we can’t bring the children. I apologize, but they will be under the care of Lady Rika, Fiana, and Lady Apricot, with the butlers providing assistance. The children have started solid food, but they still need milk.
After having breakfast, we entered the Krater Labyrinth. Everyone used Wing Burst and Flying, heading straight for the second level. We encountered several raids but fortunately, no demons were attacking anyone, so we reached the second level safely. We continued flying and reached the third level in just over an hour. On the third level, as well as before the floor transition to the fourth level, an Amazoness Queen sometimes lies in wait. We’ve decided to defeat it if we encounter one. They are M-C rank monsters, and it takes a considerable amount of time for them to respawn after being defeated. However, we don’t know when it was last defeated, so we can’t be sure if it’s there or not. Still, we must assume it is, or even we could suffer unnecessary damage. As we approached the floor transition, we slowed down and proceeded with caution. As expected, it had respawned. Prim immediately charged in with Flare Penetrator and instantly annihilated it. This was the first battle for my newly completed Hihishirokane battle axe, Crimson Wing, and I never expected the Amazoness Queen to be its first victim. Oh, our Hihishirokane arms and armor are also complete, and everyone is properly equipped. I’ve also equipped the Fighting Tool Flare Grapple on my hands and feet. The arm blade on the gauntlet of Flare Grapple has been removed and replaced with a retractable short sword blade on the front of the fist. The appearance of everyone else’s equipment is the same as Lapis Lazuli silver, so their usability hasn’t changed. We continued into the fourth level and decided to take a lunch break, as it was a good time to do so.
“Just over three hours to get here. We arrived faster than I expected.”
“The second level is vast, but each volcano has its own characteristics. Being able to completely ignore that by flying made a big difference.”
While eating our respective lunches, we reflected on the journey to the third level. As Yamato and Mana said, even moving at top speed to the fourth level, we had predicted it would take four to five hours. The reason for this was the size of the second level. The first level is also as vast as Bestia, but at that size, Ancient Classes could clear it in tens of minutes by moving at full speed. Today, with a bit of a blizzard, it took less than an hour, which was within expectations. The third level is like the city of Bestia itself and is mostly a straight path, so we cleared it in about thirty minutes. However, the second level is about half the size of Aura Island, and with different ecosystems in each of the numerous volcanoes, if you’re not aware of which volcanoes harbor which monsters, you can be attacked by flying monsters. In fact, Cold Drakes, Island Drakes, and Ice Rocks inhabit the snow-covered volcanoes, while Sky Scorpions inhabit the sandy volcanoes. Lance Marines, which can fly momentarily and inhabit the volcanic waterfall on the floor transition, would sometimes fly towards us from underwater. Furthermore, the second level has various environments, leading to a wide variety of monsters. This is also why there are so many hunters, but unfortunately, there are also many reckless hunters. We had to help a few of them.
“It’s fortunate that despite needing to rescue a few groups, no one complained.”
“Agreed. Well, unless you’re incredibly unlucky, you can’t even clear the first level with just Normal Classes. Hunters like that shouldn’t be here in the first place, so I suppose the hunters’ morale is high.”
“I suppose so. Well, it was a good meal.”
“Thank you for the meal. We’ll head off after about another thirty minutes of rest.”
“Indeed. Shall we fly from here as well?”
Ah, a thirty-minute break, got it. As for what comes next, as Mina suggested, flying seems to be the fastest option. However, this fourth level is as vast as the second level, and the only landmass is a small island with a floor transition. We can’t descend to rest even if we get tired. We have the Tree-made Multi-functional Beast Carriage and the Airship Hull in our Inventory, so we could deploy them if necessary.
“To prioritize moving forward, we’ll skip that here. In fact, we can skip right up to the eighth level.”
“Yes. Royal Crawlers and Imperial Crawlers are on the eighth level, so today we’ll hunt there and then set up camp in a Safe Area.”
“Considering the size of the floors, that seems like the safest option.”
Well, that makes sense. The eighth level is a forest floor inhabited by M-I rank Royal Crawlers and A-C rank Imperial Crawlers. Both are Crawler species. Royal Crawlers spin thread that becomes Royal Silk Cloth, and Imperial Crawlers spin thread that becomes Imperial Silk Cloth. They are high on our list of desired monsters to encounter. Not only do they sell for a high price, but we also use them for our everyday clothes and underwear, so we definitely want them.
“Personally, I’d also like the liver of a Scissarhell Grizzly.”
“Ah, isn’t that an ingredient for Noble Potions?”
“Yes. Moreover, Scissarhell Grizzlies are Anomalous Species. Noble Potions made from their livers have healing capabilities comparable to Extra Potions, and they also seem to significantly ease the conditions for healing missing limbs.”
Oh, is that so? The potion names are the same as the healing magic for clarity. Thus, Noble Potions, as the name suggests, have healing power equivalent to Noble Healing. However, limb regeneration still depends on the rank of the Grizzly species used as material. If it’s from a normal species, it’s nearly impossible. With a higher-ranked species, recovery is a matter of luck, and with a rare species, it’s only about 30%. Noble Potions made from the liver of an Anomalous Species have only been available a few times in the past, but they reportedly allow for limb recovery about half the time. For Mako, a healer, this is a crucial material to secure as a failsafe in case her magic runs out. Although, as an Element Healer, her magic is unlikely to run out.
“If I were to be greedy, I’d want a Catastrophe Species liver, but there are no confirmed sightings, so I can’t be too ambitious.”
“You can’t say for sure they don’t exist; it wouldn’t be strange if they did.”
Well, the eighth level also has A-rank monsters, so it’s possible there’s a Catastrophe Species Grizzly, which would likely be A-C rank. If that’s the case, when we reach the eighth level, we’ll search for Grizzlies along with the Crawlers.
