Don't Reset the Companions
Each floor of the labyrinth sprawled across an area the size of a modest duchy.
So how were adventurers supposed to find the entrances leading to other floors across such vast stretches of land?
Maps?
That was the first method anyone unfamiliar with labyrinths would think of, but it was not the answer.
Once someone used an entrance to another floor, it vanished from that spot without a trace. No one knew when—or if—an entrance would regenerate in the exact same place. Mapmaking itself was meaningless from the start, because the labyrinth's terrain shifted constantly, however minutely, with the passage of time.
Special detection tools, then?
That was not the answer either. According to one account, after creating the Proof series and the Potion of Growth, the Sage had tried to craft such tools—only to fail in the end.
So what was the answer?
It was this:
"Jun, I think I can sense a tiny bit of holy power."
"Oh, is that true? Amazing, Miss Fortuna. I still can't feel anything at all."
The young lambs who believed in the Bright God and borrowed his—or her—power. They guided their party members toward the entrances by tracing the holy power that flowed from them. Inside the labyrinth they were not merely the healers responsible for the party's treatment and support; they were also the pathfinders who showed the way forward.
"Any idea where the entrance is?"
"No, not that far. We're still quite a distance away, it seems."
Even they could not find an entrance easily. If they were too far from one, or if the concentration of demonic energy in the surroundings was high enough to drown out the holy power seeping from it, they became nothing more than lost lambs, wandering aimlessly through the labyrinth with their companions—until they finally sensed that holy power again.
Had they been able to detect the holy power flowing from an entrance no matter where they stood, the labyrinth would have been cleared long ago—or at least brought to the brink of clearance. Naturally, neither the Church nor the Guild would have taken such a keen interest in Jun's ability, nor invested so freely in him.
"Really? Still, that's welcome news. If you can sense holy power at all, it means the path I'm leading us on isn't wrong."
"Jun, can you really feel the entrance?"
"I don't know whether it's the entrance to the next floor we want, or one that leads into a treasure room or a trap room—but I can definitely feel an entrance."
With that, the Church's speculation that Jun's near-superhuman spatial affinity would let him discover entrances had proven spectacularly correct. What kind of reaction would the Church people show once the expedition ended and he reported this fact? He was willing to bet they would not simply sit still.
"Jun, what exactly does it feel like that makes you decide this is the way?"
While he was imagining the Church folk bouncing around as if they had all taken some kind of drug, Fortuna turned to him with a look of intense curiosity. The rest of the party seemed equally curious; they stopped scanning their surroundings and looked at him as well.
"Hmm… like a breeze blowing into a room, I guess? Anyway, I can feel a kind of flow."
There were other sensations too—connection, continuity, abstract and ambiguous feelings—but people who could not sense space would never understand them, so he saw no point in mentioning them.
"A fitting analogy, my lord."
"Ah, right—Dohwa, you can feel it too."
Whether it was because she had absorbed Jun's mana or because she had taken up residence in his subspace, Dohwa had also been born with spatial affinity. He had not known how strong it was, but seeing her sense the entrance the same way he did suggested she was gifted to a degree that rivaled his own.
When Jun and Dohwa shared the same sensation, Fortuna seemed to grow jealous; she closed her eyes and began to concentrate.
"Flow… flow, is it."
"Just so you know, the flow you're feeling right now is nothing more than ordinary wind."
She flinched.
"I-I know that already! Hmph!"
Fortuna twitched as if he had struck a nerve, yet still tried to pretend otherwise. Jun chuckled and ruffled her hair. There seemed to be one other person under the same delusion, but he did not bother pointing it out. Even if he told them it was a mistake, they would not believe him.
Well, delusion is free—as long as you're the one who pays for it.
Jun clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked at the back of the fool lost in empty fantasies.
Then something registered on his radar.
"Halt."
He stopped the party, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on the radar. When he opened them again, he calmly drew Firmus from his hip and spoke to the others.
"Enemies. Nine o'clock, five hundred meters. Five skeletons."
"…Really?"
Dennis raised his sword and shield, preparing for battle, yet still doubted the information Jun had given. No—he had doubted Jun's detection ability from the very beginning. Even a saintess of the Church could not gauge an entrance's location when she was far from it, and even a grand mage of the Magic Tower could not use detection magic because of the interference from demonic energy. So how could mere affinity let someone pinpoint an entrance and survey the surroundings? The Church and the Guild had said the possibility was extremely high, but Dennis could not simply accept it. If it really were possible—
It's too much! To already possess that kind of strength and have this power on top of it!
Recalling the lightning storm like a dragon's breath he had witnessed in the underground training hall, Dennis clenched his teeth. To a young man who wanted to become a hero, the boy behind him who already wielded a hero's power was an existence he could never accept—no, one he did not want to accept.
"…O God, look down upon us and watch over us."
"…Let the flames become three arrows and burn the enemy."
Knowing full well what was in his heart, his two childhood friends prepared for battle with not a shred of doubt. That fact stung Dennis bitterly.
"Dennis, focus."
"Y-Yeah, I know."
At Jun's cold voice, Dennis recalled the bone-chilling killing intent he had felt earlier and at least pretended to concentrate, glaring in the direction the enemies were supposed to be. Not that it did any good. The darkness and fog everywhere limited visibility to less than fifty meters.
In conditions like this he claims he found enemies five hundred meters away? He should at least make sense. Just wait until they don't show up.
Dennis began rehearsing what he would snap at Jun when no enemies appeared. Unfortunately, it seemed he would never get the chance to put that fantasy into practice.
Heh heh heh…
Clack-clack-clack…
"What the—it was real!"
The eerie laughter and the sound of hard things grinding together grew steadily clearer. The moment those sounds reached right beside them—
Whoosh!
Violet ghost-flames bloomed within the fog. The dead's ghost-fire, burning on the fuel of rage and greed toward the living, instilled instinctive terror in the living.
"Blessing of Light!"
"Fire Arrow!"
Light spreading from Susan drove back the fear the dead had summoned. The arrows of fire Amber created shot forth to punish the undead.
Demerit: 10 points. Far too wasteful. In a situation like this you should concentrate the light.
I concur, my lord. Her control over the element is abysmal.
For novice adventurers who had only just begun exploring, the reaction was decent enough. In the eyes of an angel and a divine beast, however, it fell far short—hopelessly short.
Did they tense up too much because it's their first real fight?
Jun was disappointed as well, if only to a lesser degree. The blessing's effect had been negligible, and only a single fire arrow had actually hit an enemy—despite the ample preparation time they had gained by spotting the foes first.
No. Don't jump to conclusions. Watch a little longer.
Jun steeled himself and simply observed the party. He had already told them to fight as they saw fit so he could gauge their skill.
Clack! Clack!
Four skeletons burst through the fog. Having lost a comrade to the fire arrow, they thrashed their bones in even greater frenzy.
"I'll hold them! Get the next attack ready!"
Martial Art—Shield Charge
Dennis charged with his shield raised, then slammed into the skeleton running at the front with every ounce of his strength and weight.
Thud!
The skeleton, nothing but bone, bounced away helplessly like a wild animal struck by a carriage.
"Hahaha! Come on! Come at me!"
Emboldened, Dennis laughed loudly and swung his sword. Even at three-to-one the skeletons were being pushed back one-sidedly.
Yes! This is it! I'm plenty amazing myself!
With his rare double core and swordsmanship that drew admiration from everyone around him, he was more than capable of becoming a hero. Wanting to ask if they agreed, Dennis glanced back over his shoulder.
But the gazes of his party members fixed on him were…
"Dennis! Watch out!"
"You idiot! What the hell are you doing?!"
"…Demerit: 30 points."
Utterly cold.