Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Chapter 1 - Floor 1 #11
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[Heavenly Demon Divine Art Lv2 has leveled up.]
[Patience Lv3 has leveled up.]
“Hero, you look exhausted. Didn’t you get any sleep?”
The moment he opened his eyes, Cheon-ho responded to the question with a wistful smile.
‘I slept, alright.’
About an hour after sunrise.
[Heavenly Demon Divine Art Lv2]
Thanks to meditating all night, the Heavenly Demon Divine Art had leveled up by one.
The skills in the Labyrinth World operated on what could be called a proficiency system, so the fastest and most reliable way to level them up was simply to use them as much as possible.
‘Patience went up by two levels, huh.’
It had to. There was no way it couldn’t.
“By the way, Lucille.”
“Yes, Hero.”
“Something interesting popped up.”
Cheon-ho said that while pointing to the window of light above his head.
[The Labyrinth World remembers your cooking.]
[The God of Cooking marvels at your achievement.]
[The God of Cooking blesses you.]
[Umami Infusion Lv1 acquired.]
Lucille blinked.
Then she wore a blank expression.
“Eh? What?”
Why that?
No, why the hell is that showing up?
“Lucille?”
“Ah, no. I mean... um...”
Truth be told, there wasn’t much room for interpretation.
It was literal.
The Labyrinth World remembered Cheon-ho’s cooking.
As if it were remembering an achievement or a legend.
Chicken stew imitation made by simmering Cockatrice Skeleton bones.
‘I-it’s definitely impressive, and novel, sure!’
But did it really warrant the Labyrinth World keeping a separate record of it?
‘It... kinda makes sense?’
Now that she thought about it, she could understand.
No one who had ever entered the Great Labyrinth had probably tried making chicken stew flavor out of Cockatrice Skeleton bones.
And honestly, it had tasted incredible.
“Hmm, looks like the God of Cooking really liked your cooking, Cheon-ho.”
And the God of Cooking.
Cheon-ho narrowed his eyes slightly.
“Lucille, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask, especially after that thing with the God of Healing last time.”
“Yes, Hero.”
“Can the gods watch us anytime, anywhere?”
If so, that would be a problem.
It would mean the Plague God could watch him too.
But fortunately, Lucille shook her head.
“No, that’s impossible. They can only do it during special events like quests or this cooking thing, when the Labyrinth World’s system is focusing on you.”
“The Plague God too?”
“If it’s something related to the Plague God, probably. But for something like this cooking matter, neither the Plague God nor the God of Healing can observe you or me.”
“Hmm.”
He got the gist.
The gods of the Labyrinth World didn’t seem omnipotent so much as superhumans with special powers.
“Anyway, that’s good.”
The blessing from the God of Cooking.
‘Umami Infusion? Isn’t this basically MSG?’
They were already short on seasonings of all kinds.
Umami Infusion was a godsend in the truest sense.
“Y-yeah. The God of Cooking must have really loved your cooking, Cheon-ho.”
Truth be told, Lucille didn’t know much about the God of Cooking either.
Unlike the God of Healing, it wasn’t an actively involved deity.
‘They must like unusual things?’
That’s what Lucille was thinking when...
“Lucille, in the Labyrinth World, is it rare to eat monsters?”
The reason the God of Cooking liked his dish.
‘It’s not just because it was tasty.’
He hadn’t been able to fully showcase his skills due to the lack of ingredients, after all.
So the likely reason was rarity.
An unusual dish.
One not easily found in the Great Labyrinth.
Lucille blinked again at Cheon-ho’s question.
‘Rare? You think?’
Rat meat aside, simmering broth from Cockatrice Skeleton bones?
She stopped herself.
The words didn’t make it out of her mouth.
She swallowed dryly along with her words, furrowed her brow, and said.
“Almost never. Honestly, I’ve never even heard of it.”
“Hmm.”
Why was that?
Why didn’t anyone eat them?
As Cheon-ho began pondering seriously, Lucille made an indescribable face, but only briefly. She suddenly realized why there was such a huge gap in thinking between her and Cheon-ho.
“Because there’s normal food available.”
“Huh?”
“Normal food.”
Instead of jumping to reply, Cheon-ho wore a cautious expression.
Lucille thought as she looked at him.
‘You don’t think rat meat and Cockatrice Skeleton bone broth count as normal food, right? Please say no.’
Of course, they had all tasted great.
Yeah, they really did.
Feeling embarrassed all over again, Lucille cleared her throat and continued.
“Ahem, as I explained before, there are fairly ordinary areas inside the Great Labyrinth. It’s such a vast place, after all.”
“Fragments of the world before it labyrinthized... you mean, pieces of the originally normal world?”
“Uh... yes, exactly. In areas controlled by our side, they even farm and raise livestock. They supply that food to heroes like you.”
“I see.”
He could roughly understand. It was like packing a lunch before heading into a dungeon.
‘Still, in a pinch, wouldn’t people eat monsters?’
If you were like him or Lucille and ran out of carried food, you’d have no choice but to eat monsters.
He wouldn’t touch anything humanoid, but something like a Giant Rat or Mad Crawler was honestly no different from a wolf or bear.
“Anyway... as far as I know, it’s unheard of.”
“Hmm, got it.”
Cheon-ho decided to think simply.
Whatever others did, right now the only edible thing available was monsters.
Plus, hadn’t the God of Cooking praised it?
‘Alright, let’s try a new dish for dinner tonight.’
The God of Cooking had kindly given him Umami Infusion magic.
‘Now that we have a pot, boiling’s an option too. Braised pork? Raw beef might be a bit much. Ah, I want flour. With flour, the menu options would explode.’
Cheon-ho seriously contemplated the menu with a straight face, and Lucille watched him think.
‘He’s seriously pondering the structure of the Labyrinth World.’
As expected, he wasn’t just strong.
He was thoughtful, wise, and truly reliable.
“Hmm.”
For reasons he couldn’t quite grasp, Lucille was looking at him with eyes full of fondness.
Feeling oddly satisfied, Cheon-ho shelved the dinner menu ideas in his mind for now and said.
“Anyway, let’s get ready to head out.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Lucille smiled brightly and lightly flapped her wings.
&
Lucille the angel was surprisingly(?) versatile.
She could use inventory, as well as extremely useful spells like purification magic, alarm magic, and healing magic.
But that wasn’t all.
Lucille was kind and pretty and cute and lovable—
‘No, that’s not it.’
Cheon-ho shook his head and looked up at the sky.
He could see Lucille slicing through the ash-gray sky.
Flight.
Lucille’s wings weren’t for show.
They weren’t just blankets—they could fly.
And one more thing.
Lucille could locate the approximate position of stairs leading down to the lower floor.
It was a basic ability for angels serving the five goddesses.
The ultimate goal of the five goddesses and their angels was to conquer the Great Labyrinth and liberate the Labyrinth World, after all.
A single floor had anywhere from five or six to dozens of staircases.
“He-ro! O-ver—the-re—!”
Lucille shouted something from the sky.
Unable to hear clearly, Cheon-ho stopped for now, and Lucille glided down like a pigeon to land on the ground.
“The direction seems right. It’s still a bit far, so I can’t confirm clearly, but from the shape, it looks like stairs to the lower floor.”
It was already cold, and after flying in the sky too, Lucille’s white cheeks were flushed red.
‘Guess I should make her a scarf.’
Wonder if there are foxes or deer in the labyrinth?
With soft, fluffy fur.
“Hmm, I see. Good work.”
“No, this much is nothing. And...”
“And?”
“Not the stairs, but I spotted something noteworthy. It’s not far, so you’ll see it soon enough if we keep going.”
She was pointing atop the hill, so something must be beyond it.
Cheon-ho nodded for now and headed toward the hill with Lucille.
“You see it over there?”
The moment they reached the hilltop, Lucille pointed to the left flank.
Sure enough, amid ruins reminiscent of an ancient city, one building stood out.
“It’s a tower.”
“Yeah, at least seven stories high.”
The surrounding buildings were at most two stories, so seven stories was eye-catching.
“The stairs are that way.”
Lucille pointed straight ahead again.
They wouldn’t need to stop at the tower if heading straight for the stairs.
But Cheon-ho turned to look toward the tower instead of the stairs.
His father’s words came to mind.
‘If you see a tower, go in.’
‘Why?’
‘Because it’s there.’
‘Dad?’
‘Well, to answer seriously... whether it’s a beauty locked in the tower, hidden treasure, or a reclusive mage, there’s always something. For the record, that’s where I first met your mom.’
A tower.
Like a treasure chest, something you had to open on sight.
‘And... I’ve got a feeling.’
Hero’s intuition, perhaps.
An indescribable aura of jackpot.
“Lucille, let’s check out that tower first.”
“Won’t it be dangerous?”
“If it is, we run.”
Lucille blinked.
It sounded logical yet not, all at once.
But she nodded soon enough.
They’d only been together a day, but Lucille fully trusted Cheon-ho.
“Got it. Let’s be careful.”
“Yeah.”
Cheon-ho gripped his Wrecking Hammer and took the lead.
On the way, a few bone monsters including Giant Rat Skeletons attacked, but the slowpokes were no match for him.
About thirty minutes later.
Cheon-ho and Lucille arrived at the tower’s entrance.
A gray tower built of stacked stones, and up close, its scale was impressive.
“Lucille, I’ll take point. Follow behind.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Lucille swallowed dryly and nodded, so Cheon-ho slowly approached the entrance.
A door like a city gate, but much smaller, stood firmly shut.
Cheon-ho pressed his ear to it and listened, but heard nothing unusual.
‘Let’s go.’
You had to open the lid to see what was in the treasure chest, after all.
Cheon-ho pulled on the thick, ring-shaped door handle. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked; it was heavy, but the door began to creak open.
Ruuuuumble—
Finally, the door fully opened.
Air colder and drier than outside rushed out.
The tower interior was filled with darkness.
Cheon-ho reached out to Lucille, who naturally handed him a pre-made torch.
What might come out from inside.
Cheon-ho gave the Wrecking Hammer to Lucille and drew his easy-to-wield kukri in one hand.
“I’ll go in first.”
“Yes, Hero.”
Lucille replied with a tense face. Cheon-ho slowly stepped inside.
And right then.
The darkness vanished.
More precisely, the moment Cheon-ho entered, lights on the ceiling and walls ignited all at once.
Cheon-ho quickly scanned the interior.
Lucille let out pure admiration.
“Wow.”
The tower’s interior was spacious. A large, ornate staircase led upward, covered in a red carpet.
And bookshelves.
Ones filling nearly half of the first floor.
Cheon-ho focused his senses.
No sign of human presence.
“Lucille, feel any magic?”
“I’d need to get closer, but... for now, aside from the ceiling and wall lights, nothing magical.”
Then all that was left was to check directly.
Cheon-ho extinguished the torch and cautiously entered further.
Instead of heading to the center of the roughly fifty-meter-diameter room, he approached the nearest bookshelf.
A commonplace bookshelf like in any library.
Packed full of books.
In case of emergency, Lucille cast purification magic.
Cheon-ho reached out to the bookshelf bathed in pink magical light and carefully pulled out one book.
“Hmm.”
[Etiquette 100 for Dignified Imperial Citizens]
Unfamiliar script, but readable.
Cheon-ho opened the book. He flipped through slowly, even touching the pages with his fingertips.
‘They like books, huh.’
Lucille thought that while watching his profile.
His eyes shone with delight as he caressed the book.
A scholarly hero, as expected.
As Lucille smiled warmly, Cheon-ho inwardly cheered.
‘Oho! This’ll work! This makes it possible!’
He ignored the content.
Imperial etiquette or whatever, who cared.
What mattered was the paper the book was made of.
Not parchment.
Paper.
Inferior to modern paper, but soft enough for book-making, clearly.
And what that implied.
Cheon-ho looked around.
At the over twenty bookshelves and the books within.
‘Now I can go all out.’
Soft paper.
Cheon-ho had acquired toilet paper.
&