Chapter 32: D-Rank Labyrinth — Banquet Hall of the Bloodbirds (2)
Chapter 32: D-Rank Labyrinth — Banquet Hall of the Bloodbirds (2)
To reach the place where the young jeweler’s body lay, we first needed a moment to restore both body and mind.
“This way.”
At the entrance to a steep mountain trail.
The endless staircase stretching upward as if it led all the way to heaven momentarily took my breath away.
Since this was the territory of beastmen, a race of natural athletes who loved physical exertion, there was of course no convenient means of climbing the mountain quickly.
“…Let’s go.”
It had been a long time since I last went hiking.
After briefly stretching in place, I began climbing the stairs.
Rosalia followed quietly behind me, but the expression on her face suggested she still had questions.
“You’re wondering why a dead explorer entered a labyrinth full of mountains, aren’t you? This labyrinth is large, so it contains many herbs, minerals, and beasts that explorers desire.”
Most of the expedition teams we saw earlier were centered around artisans or hunters.
“The Gemlord Guild is a jeweler’s guild, isn’t it? Inside the mountains of the Banquet Hall of the Bloodbirds, there are mining sites. If you go there, you can find extremely valuable minerals and gemstones. It’s dangerous—stay too long and you might die—but if you’re lucky, you can become rich.”
The young jeweler who died likely aimed for a sudden fortune and met disaster.
Given the labyrinth’s characteristics, it was unlikely another explorer killed him. It was far more likely he fell victim to the mining site’s gimmick.
Well, it’s a place that will definitely kill you if you don’t know the strategy.
A so-called “If you don’t know, you suffer” gimmick.
During the first attempt, you’re helplessly caught in it.
But from the second exploration onward, you can avoid it if you stay alert.
However, this was reality. There was no second attempt.
Because District Three’s irresponsible policy refused to assist explorers in any way, countless lives were fading pointlessly.
Tap, tap.
As I panted and forced my legs upward step by step, Rosalia tapped my waist and offered her back.
“…Thank you.”
Back in the Grave of the Earth Elf, she hesitated so much, but now she volunteered on her own.
Having long since sold off my shame in the second-hand market, I climbed onto her back without hesitation.
Burdened with the weak half-elf who kept slowing the climbing pace, Rosalia nevertheless ascended the stairs lightly.
“Until I fully grow, please continue carrying me like this often. Thank you.”
My Stamina stat still had a long way to grow.
At present it remained disappointingly low and needed improvement.
“….”
Rosalia, who had been running quickly while carrying me, turned her head slightly and gave me a strange look.
…Surely it was a silent declaration that she would diligently raise her incompetent cultist younger brother.
I clenched my fist in response to her unconditional and beautiful faith, then pointed toward the middle of the staircase.
“We’re almost there. See that unusually spiky tree over there? Just keep running in that direction.”
As the client dwarf had emphasized repeatedly, the body would be damaged if we did not retrieve it quickly.
We needed to hurry as much as possible.
“Please go a little faster.”
At my request, Rosalia increased her speed.
She grumbled with her eyes, but never refused.
It was behavior reflecting her trait Rapid Judgment—if an instruction seemed reasonable, she followed it immediately.
“There it is!”
Thanks to the assassin sister who ran tirelessly, we reached the destination just in time.
The entrance to the mining site was a large cave halfway up the mountain.
After getting down, I took a set of candles from my leather bag and handed them to Rosalia.
“Please light these.”
Unlike with Marlin before, I could not stick them on her head.
If I tried that, she might carve a neat groove into my skull and use it as a candle holder.
Fwoosh.
Guided by the flickering candlelight that pushed back the darkness, we proceeded deeper into the cave.
“Looks like today’s a bust.”
“Let’s take it easy and head back.”
We encountered an expedition team leaving after entering earlier.
“Oh, greetings!”
“…Greetings.”
The dwarf—likely the expedition leader and a blacksmith-class explorer—answered cautiously while staring at me.
Why was he gripping his hammer handle so meaningfully?
I had only greeted him politely.
“By any chance, have you seen an explorer who looks like this deeper inside? He’s a jeweler-class explorer who supposedly entered with a temporary expedition team.”
When I showed the photograph, the dwarf leader approached and examined it carefully.
“Hm. Just checking—did you kill him yourself and now you’re asking around?”
“Good heavens. Of course not. That’s a terrifying thing to even suggest.”
“…You’re a cultist, aren’t you?”
How did he know?
Then again, the Gemlord guild master recognized it immediately too.
“That’s correct. But why do you ask?”
“I’ve heard rumors of crazy cultists, dark mages, or demons who brag subtly about the people they’ve killed.”
Mentioning the three classic targets of prejudice, the dwarf continued while stroking his hammer handle.
“At least in the mining site, it was only our group.”
“Ah. This person has already died.”
“….”
“It’s a misunderstanding. I’m a kind-hearted cultist here to retrieve the body.”
“…We did see some unfamiliar things in the corner.”
After hearing the detailed location from the dwarf explorer, we parted ways.
Behind us, I heard several expedition members sigh with relief.
“Why were they all so tense?”
“….”
Rosalia formed a V shape with her fingers and pointed at her own eyes.
Since some time ago, we had been communicating through a game of charades.
It was oddly fun.
This clue was a bit difficult though.
“If you talk nonsense again, I’ll stab your eyes?”
She shook her head.
“Then what is it?”
As I continued guessing, we advanced deeper into the cave.
Soon we reached a vast open chamber, large enough to equal three university campuses combined.
A cavern filled with colorful minerals in every direction.
Most of them were gemstones.
If someone mined them all, they could live a life of unimaginable wealth.
But as always, labyrinths were never kind to explorers.
《A mining site that was once the main source of income for primitive beastmen. Gems are scattered everywhere, but if you exceed a certain amount of time, your body begins turning into mineral. Even the beastmen only allowed the fastest and strongest inside, yet these foolish explorers grow greedy and cause countless tragedies. Idiots!》
Labyrinths tempted explorers with enormous rewards.
But they punished greed.
There was no authority you could complain to about such unfairness.
If you wanted to survive long, you had to appease the labyrinth’s temperament.
“Let’s hurry. We have about twenty minutes of safe time. Even exceeding it slightly will start the mineralization process.”
Crude lanterns were embedded densely in the ceiling, so candlelight was unnecessary here.
After setting the candles down, Rosalia alternated her gaze between the mine interior and the entrance.
“You’re suggesting we leave when the time runs out and come back in? Labyrinths are not generous enough to tolerate such tricks.”
The twenty-minute daily limit did not reset simply by leaving the mine.
To enter again, you had to leave the labyrinth entirely and reenter it.
That was why the expedition team we met earlier had trudged out in defeat.
Thud, thud.
“Getting angry at the ground won’t solve anything. Let’s just go.”
I led the elf—who had been venting frustration by kicking the ground—toward the location the dwarf explorer had described.
At the bottom of a gentle but deep pit carved into the wall, we found them.
Human-shaped minerals scattered everywhere.
“More victims than I expected.”
Roughly six.
The full size of an expedition team.
They must have formed a temporary team for mining, yet none knew the strategy—resulting in the worst possible tragedy.
《To say this in advance: explorers who have turned into mineral have low value as offerings for sacrificial rituals. They may look tempting, but I advise restraint.》
“I wasn’t planning to offer them anyway.”
What exactly did this Eye think of me?
A professional in Evil God worship?
I had absolutely no intention of using minerals as sacrificial offerings.
“Which one is him?”
They all looked similar from the outside, so I asked the Eye That Perceives Truth.
Text immediately appeared.
The body I needed to recover lay beside a brilliant green emerald.
His arm stretched upward as he had reached for it, but his body had already turned into iron ore.
《The mineralized corpse of the dead explorer Eric (Human, 16) whom you seek. He discovered a beautiful gem and happily tried to mine it, but mineralization began. He attempted to escape in panic and died. Incidentally, his iron content is very low, making him little different from an ordinary stone.》
Approaching the young jeweler’s body, I saw that his expression and clothing were preserved exactly as they had been in life.
Perhaps that was fortunate.
If more time had passed, even his appearance would have fully turned into mineral, and a proper funeral would have been impossible.
I gently covered the explorer’s eyes with cloth and offered a quiet prayer.
“Arteine, since asking our Evil Gods might be a little inappropriate, I pray to you instead. Please guide this young explorer to the sanctuary under your protection.”
Now as before—
I truly hated seeing children die meaningless deaths.
After praying to Arteine for the boy’s soul, I received a brief complaint.
《You prayed to that hypocritical goddess! The Wise One fumes in anger!》
Crackle!
“Well, I can’t exactly ask Evil Gods who only possess a shabby underground hell to guide his soul. If he had been a villain, that would be different. But he was just a child trying to earn money. It’s better to send him to a heavenly paradise.”
After presenting reasonable logic, the troublesome divine clients withdrew quietly.
“Still, I trust and rely on Lidni and Sue’je far more than Arteine. Though you already know that.”
To prevent lingering resentment, I even provided a bit of aftercare flattery before standing up.
“Lady Rosalia, can your shadow hold something this large?”
The walking pocket-dimension assassin answered with action rather than words.
The iron-ore corpse of the explorer slipped neatly into her shadow.
As expected, Shadow Folk was an extremely convenient Mystery.
However, it seemed the capacity had nearly reached its limit.
Rosalia pointed at her shadow and shook her head slightly.
“I understand. There’s nothing else to take anyway, so let’s leave.”
Our objective had been accomplished, and we were about to leave to obtain the Hidden Piece.
Then—
《I have discovered something new that may interest you.》
Suddenly the Eye That Perceives Truth displayed text.
It even paused for dramatic effect.
《Among the explorers here, I found one whose internal organs have not yet fully mineralized. That dull silver orc over there. I mention it in case you overlook that he is in an ideal state to be offered as a sacrifice.》
So that was it.
It was suggesting I offer him to Lidni.
First, I examined the orc the Eye indicated.
《The corpse of Ymir (Red Orc, 22) who died a meaningless death. A berserker who would do anything to grow stronger. He secretly killed explorers in labyrinths multiple times. This time he also plotted to murder the explorers who entered with him, but he did not know the mining site’s characteristic and turned into mineral instead. A pitiful fool.》
“…Hm?”
Reading the text, I frowned unconsciously.
There was a reason.
Ymir.
Red Orc.
Berserker class.
A character whose name ended with “-mir,” which never appeared in the game.
Whenever cultist gameplay bored me, I sometimes leveled a warrior-class alternate character for fun.
…Why are you here?
I was stunned.
Naturally—in a positive sense.