Deeper into the Great Forest
This time, I decided to push farther into the Great Forest. Sure, we'd run into that bandit party along the way, but clearing out Horn Rabbits had been straightforward enough. Other adventurers used them to practice party coordination or learn how to read movements and strike first. Me? I moved faster than a Horn Rabbit, so they were actually easier to handle than muscle-heavy goblins. There was nothing left to learn here, so no point in wasting time.
"Right. Lady Rydia, today I'll take the lead."
"...It's still too early. Right now you should focus on sharpening your eye for spotting ambushes and traps rather than trying to navigate on your own."
Rydia sighed more than usual today, but she shook her head firmly, making it clear she had a point to make. I understood. It was only natural to stop someone who'd barely entered the labyrinth a few times from suddenly volunteering to be the guide just because they'd killed a few monsters. But I was genuinely confident. After pulling the Pathfinding skill this time, I doubted I'd get lost on the first floor.
With that in mind, I shrugged and joked, "It's fine, it's fine. Have I ever made a mistake except when dealing with that Horn Rabbit?"
"You haven't. But the labyrinth isn't a place you survive just by being strong. Yona, you still don't know its true terror."
"Maybe not. But I do know one thing." I stared straight into Rydia's eyes and continued. "That no matter what happens, just like with the Horn Rabbit, you'll help me, Lady Rydia."
"Well, that's..."
"Just this once. If I head down the wrong path, feel free to stop me immediately. After that, I'll obediently follow your instructions."
"......"
"I trust you. My knight."
"...Hngh."
Rydia's face flushed as she swallowed hard. Her gaze wandered everywhere for a long moment before she finally let out a deep sigh.
"Haa... Yona. That's cheating."
"Eh?"
"...So I'll let it slide just for today. It's forbidden after this."
"Whoa! Thank you, Lady Rydia!"
I beamed and rushed toward her, intending to hug her and bury my face in that generous chest, but—
"Where do you think you're going?"
Her hand caught my forehead, stopping me cold.
"It's just a girl's chest anyway! Why are you being so stingy about it?!"
"You're the one being weirdly obsessed. It's literally just a girl's chest."
"That's... that's...!"
When the question was turned back on me, I had nothing. Or rather, I had plenty to say, but nothing I actually wanted to voice. As I hemmed and hawed, Rydia offered a gentle smile.
"...Don't be in such a rush. Even without physical intimacy, neither I nor Senior Elly will abandon you."
"Huh?"
My eyes widened at the sudden shift in topic. Rydia's expression grew even more tender, and I could sense a certain resolve in her gaze.
"It's alright. You don't need to hurry and become an adult. That's for me and Senior Elly to handle. Yona, you can simply move at your own pace."
"???"
I had no idea why this conversation was happening, but she looked completely sincere, so I nodded. Saying something like what the hell are you talking about? after she'd spoken with such gravity would only make things awkward for both of us.
"Yes. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good. Such a good boy."
Rydia smiled with satisfaction and stroked my head. I wasn't sure what had just happened, but it seemed I'd given the right answer. I grinned and reached out with both hands. Rydia immediately covered her chest.
"...No, not that. Please hand me the map and compass."
"...Understood. But if anything seems off, like you said earlier, we return to the original plan immediately."
"Yessir."
I accepted the map from a somewhat flustered Rydia and set my sights on a point roughly midway between our current location and the World Tree. The moment I made the decision, I felt something like a sharp stake drive straight into my mind. It wasn't painful despite the sharpness—it was simply a strange, foreign sensation. The stake only I could feel began to spin, then started pulling me firmly in one direction.
Just as I thought. It was like having another compass permanently embedded in my head, always pointing toward my destination. Normally, explorers had to rely on a single special compass attuned to divine remains, which was an insanely difficult and delicate process. You had to pinpoint your exact location, identify the remains' position, then calculate the proper angle toward your desired safe zone based on both. Even slight deviations during movement could send you down the wrong path, requiring constant compass checks and adjustments. It was something you could manage with experience, but gaining that experience demanded considerable time and effort. Since it was the only method available, everyone grudgingly stuck with the inconvenient system.
Thanks to my Pathfinding skill, however, I no longer needed to constantly verify if I was heading in the right direction. I'd essentially skipped the most difficult part. Of course, the skill wasn't all-powerful. I'd planned to use several safe zones as waypoints, but the skill ignored them and simply plotted the fastest route to my final destination. Being a 2-star skill, its mechanics were probably quite simple.
That said, there were workarounds. I could designate specific safe zones I wanted to pass through and repeatedly set the nearest one as my target. That was how most adventurers navigated using maps anyway. The limitation was clear: I had to clearly visualize my destination, couldn't set intermediate paths separately, and would only see the shortest route.
That meant its efficiency would drop sharply in the middle layers where maps were unavailable. It couldn't be helped since this was Pathfinding, not Pathmaking. Besides, expecting a 2-star skill to let me breeze through the middle layers and beyond would be shameless.
"Alright. Let's head this way, Lady Rydia."
"Be more cau— Never mind."
"You can give advice if you want."
"...You wouldn't know since you only party with me, Yona. There are several unspoken rules among adventurers. One of them is to avoid questioning the navigator's decisions unless absolutely necessary."
"There's a rule like that?"
"Yes. It helps the party function smoothly. We have maps and various techniques now, so we can manage somehow... but think about why the labyrinth is called a labyrinth."
"Ah."
This was something I'd put real thought into when setting up the world, so I knew it well. Frankly, "dungeon" would be a more familiar term. And a tower rising into the sky sounded cooler than underground tunnels. Yet Pan Grave was called neither dungeon nor tower, but a labyrinth. The reason was simple. Pan Grave wasn't a place where treasures were hidden or trials were overcome. It was simply where the gods' corpses and the disasters called miracles they left behind slumbered. A place where countless powers intertwined and distorted concepts. Where twisted spacetime, rather than towering walls, trapped adventurers. A place that buried mortals beside gods. The people of the Pan continent didn't necessarily understand all these details... but they seemed to instinctively know what mattered.
The reason a labyrinth was a labyrinth. I thought it was a statement that cut straight to the core.
...Still, it felt surprisingly good knowing so many people had noticed the traces of my hard work. I barely managed to suppress the smile threatening to break out as I spoke.
"Understood. Even if no monsters appear in the labyrinth, I'll always stay cautious."
"A commendable attitude. ...By the way, why do you keep grinning like that?"
"I just thought of something nice."
"Hmm?"
She still looked suspicious, but since there was nothing to criticize, she stepped back half a pace and began following behind me as she'd promised. At first, Rydia watched with her arms crossed, as if gauging how far I could go. But once I navigated without hesitation even once, her mouth fell open in an o shape. It was rather undignified in many ways... but since the only ones who'd seen it were me and the monsters we'd encountered on the way, it was probably fine.
Using the special compass and my Pathfinding skill, while slaughtering every monster we encountered, we reached the safe zone at the edge of the Horn Rabbit habitat. Having explored the labyrinth much faster and safer than when she'd acted as navigator before, Rydia grumbled with clear envy.
"This is cheating."
"My talent is pretty overpowered, isn't it? Jealous?"
"......"
Rydia pressed her lips tightly together. But that sulky expression itself was the answer. I shrugged once and headed toward the next safe zone.
Not long after, the forest's atmosphere changed completely. Nothing had actually changed—the vegetation was the same as at the entrance. The air itself had simply grown heavier. That was the only way to describe it.
I was carefully making my way through the trees more cautiously than usual when, suddenly, my Pathfinding skill began ringing sharply. It was as if warning me that something dangerous lay ahead. Normally the feeling was mild reluctance, but this intense aversion was new. There was definitely something there.
I picked up a suitable stone and threw it toward where the skill whispered. Shweee— Thud!
"Grrrr!"
A beast's growl came from behind a tree. It must have realized it was discovered. A figure emerged with a lazy gait from behind the thick trunk. An enormous body the size of a bull, fur as stiff as steel, and sharp fangs and claws. An Iron Wolf revealed itself.
"Ah! A wild Elly has appeared!"
"...Stop joking around and focus, Yona."
I couldn't help it. These days, even seeing a regular wolf felt welcoming instead of a wolf beastman.