My First Labyrinth
Elly had put in a request with Rydia to teach me. Rydia was a veteran adventurer with an actual title to her name. Of course she wouldn't do it for free. I didn't know the exact amount, but it must have been a considerable sum. In this barbaric era—both in the best and worst ways—I never expected to receive this level of goodwill, something I'd never experienced even in my previous life. The inside of my chest tickled, and a silly laugh slipped from the corner of my mouth.
“Heh, heheheh…”
“Ugh.”
For some reason Rydia frowned like she'd seen something she shouldn't have, but that wasn't important right now. I had to do something about this boiling enthusiasm.
“Lady Rydia! Let's go right now! I feel like I could slaughter every last monster on the first floor without leaving a single one alive!”
“Calm down. There's no way you could do that without a weapon.”
“I can do it! If it's me!”
“…That's exactly why it won't work. Because it's you.”
Rydia let out a deep sigh and pressed down on my bouncing shoulders. Her fingers were slender. But the powerful strength that pinned my body to the ground instantly cleared my head.
“You're weak, Yona. Bold and quick, but hopeless in every other way.”
“Ugh…”
She'd directly pointed out a flaw I was already aware of. Because it was true, it hurt that much more.
The Pan continent was a world where anyone—man or woman—could grow as strong as they wanted thanks to the labyrinth. Children, however, were the exception. That fact was no different from Earth. Their bodies hadn't finished developing, and their magic power or aura either hadn't awakened yet or, even if it had, the quantity and quality were pitiful.
The clerical classes weren't much different. Unless they were special cases like saints or saintesses, most believers' accumulated faith simply became holy power over time. In that sense, it was a profession where career mattered far more than gender.
That's why children are weak.
But… I possessed a 3-star skill drawn from gacha. It was a pickpocketing technique, so it wouldn't help much in direct combat, but it had undeniably given me a respectable level of flexibility and agility. Still, it seemed even that felt insufficient to her.
Rydia patted my shoulder.
“It's fine. What your specs lack can be supplemented with other things.”
“Like elixirs?”
“…Those are expensive. The effect is certain, but inefficient for the price. I meant a weapon.”
With that, Rydia pulled a small dagger from her belt.
“I'll lend it to you.”
“This is…?”
“My spare weapon.”
I examined the dagger I'd received from Rydia. It was heavier than expected. The size was perfect for my arm length. Unknown characters were engraved in the center of the silver blade, and the keen double edge was sharp enough to raise goosebumps.
“If you sold this, it'd probably fetch a high price.”
“…I said I'm lending it.”
I quickly averted my eyes from Rydia's gaze—which was sharper than the dagger itself—and asked another question.
“By the way, is it really okay to lend me something like this? It looks valuable.”
“Yeah. It's no big deal.”
“…A weapon like this is no big deal?”
Rydia gave me a smug little smile as I stood there stuttering.
“I'm a successful adventurer.”
“Well, yes.”
“And I have plenty of money.”
“……!”
I see. To me it was an expensive item, but to Rydia it was just something reasonably useful.
“Wait, the wallet I saw last time didn't look that abundant?”
“I bought new equipment.”
Of course. High-ranking adventurers earned a lot, but they also spent a lot. If you were content to stay where you were it wouldn't matter, but to reach greater heights you needed better gear. Skill was the foundation, of course.
As I nodded in understanding, Rydia took the entire sheath from her belt and fastened it to my waistband. Her movements were strangely careful. It felt like she was trying to avoid touching my body as much as possible. Like she was silently insisting I have no ulterior motives. I'm a harmless woman.
“You don't need to be that cautious…”
“Yona. You're in that kind of relationship with Senior Elly, aren't you?”
“Haa… I wish we were.”
“?”
Rydia tilted her head in confusion but finished securing the sheath properly. When I slid the dagger back in, the weight at my waist suddenly felt solid. That heaviness turned into reassurance and confidence.
“Now that I have a weapon, let's hurry!”
“Yeah.”
Not long after, we arrived at the center of Labyrinth City. This wasn't the guild-affiliated smithy I'd visited before—it was the square where the adventurer guild headquarters stood.
“This place is always noisy no matter when you visit, Lady Rydia.”
“Lots of people.”
Adventurers of every race strutted around in menacing gear, openly advertising that they were professionals, while street vendors shouted to attract their business. Some people frowned, clearly uncomfortable with the chaotic atmosphere… but their strangely out-of-place vibes suggested they were visitors from outside Labyrinth City. Probably here to post requests.
Thinking that, I stealthily caught the tip of Rydia's fingers.
“…….”
Rydia flinched and looked back at me. The reaction was stronger than I'd expected. Even though I hadn't done anything wrong, I started babbling.
“Th-the crowd is complicated! I just didn't want us to get separated… Should I grab somewhere else?”
“…This is also a secret from Senior Elly.”
So saying, Rydia offered me her pinky finger. I took it and followed along, feeling the stares from every direction. Shock. Ridicule. Envy. And eyes filled with raw lust.
Well, the last one—the leering—was something I'd gotten used to ever since possessing this body in a gender-reversed world, so I could ignore it… but what about the rest?
Curious, I looked around and spotted a similar pair a short distance away. A male archer dressed like a complete newbie on his first labyrinth run, and a veteran female adventurer kneading his ass as they walked. The man kept his head down, trembling, looking utterly humiliated.
“Aha?”
Now that I saw it, while no one was being quite that blatant, there were several parties where the balance was clearly off. Most were like the earlier pair—the woman eyeing the male rookie with lewd interest, or the man clinging to a decent-looking adventurer. There were proper parties where veterans genuinely raised newbies… but those were surprisingly the rarest. And even then, only when every member belonged to the same clan.
I'd added the setting that “favors” were common among adventurers, but I never imagined it included this kind of transaction happening in broad daylight.
Only now did I understand why those women had groped me while offering to use me as a baggage carrier. It wasn't that they were especially perverted—it was just how things worked here.
Thanks to that realization, I finally understood how my earlier behavior must have looked. Like a kid already trying to butter up a woman to get something out of her. And they were shocked that the woman in question was none other than Rydia.
I did my best to ignore the sidelong glances and tightened my grip on Rydia's pinky.
“Lady Rydia. Lady Rydia.”
“What.”
“Are you planning to do things to me that you can't tell Elly about?”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then walk more confidently. Stop making that guilty face.”
“Ugh…”
After a brief moment of hesitation, Rydia nodded. Good. That should ease some of the awkwardness.
Thinking the matter had been resolved nicely, I shrugged.
“Well! Since Elly and I still aren't in any kind of relationship, I don't think you need to be that concerned!”
“…….”
Rydia frowned at me like I was the greatest villainess in history. Why? Why was she looking at me like that? Nothing had happened yet, so we really weren't in any kind of relationship! If she was so upset, Elly should have just jumped me already!
Grumbling in resentment, I followed her around a few more corners. Then, beyond the adventurer guild headquarters, a massive gray stone slab came into view. At first glance it looked like a tombstone, its surface densely covered in incomprehensible characters.
The language that only those with divinity could read and use—divine script.
Naturally, even I couldn't read it.
…Though I knew what it said.
Since I'd written the setting myself, I'd memorized the whole thing.
“This is…”
“Yeah. The entrance to the labyrinth.”
It wasn't my first time seeing it, but it still felt surreal every time. Like someone had pulled the exact image from my head and made it real.
For reference, the wide open space where the entrance stood was called Pangrave Square.
Originally the labyrinth had been pure chaos. But once you passed through the door said to have been created by the Goddess of Love, you entered a version with proper balance patches applied. Unless you wanted to be dumped in some unknown area and die fighting monsters far beyond your level, you had to use the main gate.
That was why it was always crowded.
There were so many adventurers trying to enter that the line was long, but it moved quickly. Soon it was our turn.
Rydia placed her hand on the rough surface of the slab.
“The usage is simple.”
“You put your hand on the slab and think that you want to enter, right? You can also teleport straight to the deepest floor you've ever reached.”
“…You know it well?”
“I was originally an adventurer aspirant. I looked up everything in advance.”
The basic framework was mine, but how people developed and used it was up to them. I'd been checking to see if anything had changed… but it seemed something this significant was hard to repurpose. There weren't any special precautions to note.
I had heard rumors about research into a teleport gate that would recreate the same effect with magic. Everything had failed so far, but… well, they'd probably succeed eventually. Very fitting for a fantasy world.
I smiled faintly and placed my own hand on the slab.
“Shall we go in?”
“Yes.”
The labyrinth settings I'd agonized over so much in my previous life. The chance to experience them firsthand was finally here.