Chapter 141
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 141
Chapter Title: 14th Floor - Lv. 459 The Forgotten Ones (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Clearing the impossible isn't a game.
The Labyrinth takes the form of a game, after all.
Or rather, this might be the original, and the developers—some bizarre entities—turned it into a game long after the fact.
Chicken or egg, doesn't matter. The point is, it follows a game's format.
So even if the sky falls, there's always a way out.
Our party, tossed into the vacuum, all saw the same message and held our breath.
At least it wasn't a total empty void of space.
That only shows up when free flight is possible in space, or at least limited flight.
Otherwise, you'd die no matter what, so the Labyrinth doesn't allow it.
Oxygen tanks were quickly distributed to those with poor lung capacity first.
They don't last long, and you rarely need them anyway.
Illuminating the pitch-black corridor with magical light revealed the 14th floor stage: the interior of a dilapidated spaceship hull, worn to hell at a glance.
The air that once filled it had long since vented into the void.
No artificial gravity either, so our bodies floated up lazily.
Party members grabbed whatever they could hold onto.
One wrong move, and you'd be a lost child in space with no way back.
Moving recklessly burns oxygen fast. By prearranged hand signals, only the kid and I would move.
The Girl tried to follow, but I stopped her for now.
The kid tried turning into a bat.
I blocked that. Bats can't fly here. The kid realized it right away and shifted to wolf form instead.
A bit of magical technique to stick her paws to the floor.
I demonstrated, and she followed awkwardly but competently.
This kid's an NPC whose only trait is raw talent, so stuff like this is a breeze.
The other mages watched and tried to mimic, but it didn't come easy.
That's magic for you.
True skill doesn't come from grand, flashy spells.
Even [Fireball], let alone higher magic, isn't hard to cast in theory.
You just need the mana and basic proficiency to handle it.
High-damage spells have surprisingly simple formulas.
But practicality? Totally different story.
Can you cast it stably and fast when it counts?
That's issue one. Then there are all the minor applications where unskilled mages show their limits.
For me, it's innate talent plus decades of drilled repetition and training.
The kid copies anything not overly complex like it's copy-paste.
It's a talent that warms your heart just watching, but flip side: with ability like that, her growth stalls.
What the future kid said wasn't exaggeration.
She learns quick, seems eager... but nah, she picks it up too easy, and she doesn't really love magic.
Even now, she mostly zones out like a numb doll, only doing what's asked.
Thought she'd improved after Barbaroi Clan took and returned her, but not really.
She's just... harder to read now.
Maybe too many emotionless years made her numb to it all?
Was planning to watch and see.
The Barbaroi Clan was already declining before the dragonkin pushed them out.
Those memories still burned vivid in the kid's little head.
They filled most of her barely twenty years.
Even Barbaroi's current glory hadn't overwritten them yet.
Humans naturally shun vampires, of course.
Other races aren't much different. Walking corpses hit that primal disgust.
Exiles accept vampires easier, though.
Undead are undead from the start.
Monsters clinging to unlife, preying on the living.
Just memories of persecution and hardship.
The East's tangled, scattered races made settling tough for vampires.
No good memories bred defense mechanisms.
Not all clansmen were good folk.
Kindness comes from Leeway.
Few stay kind in hardship.
The one who turned her young self was a good man.
But good deeds don't guarantee good outcomes.
The clan was already struggling. The kind, gentle one died for it.
The kid was abandoned.
The bare minimum care came from Clan Master Barbaroi himself.
No bullying in-clan, but no nurturing either.
No role for her.
Turned vampire too young to learn anything, so no proficiency even in basics.
She handled mana decently but couldn't circulate it well.
Her talent didn't fit Eastern mainstream magic.
So it went undiscovered.
No skills, no role.
Dead weight like this? Unheard of.
Even now, the kid barely recognizes her own talent.
Too easy, no sense of achievement.
Can't even tell if praise is praise.
She'd rather think nothing. Thinking just hurts.
Vampire body that won't die easy reinforces that mindset.
Settled attitude: do what's ordered, no feelings. Just zone out, let time pass. Feels good.
Even now.
Copying new dad's magic as a wolf? Easy.
Clear light gathers on her fluffy paws.
Once suction strong enough, she stops channeling.
Paws lock to floor.
Feels just like gravity.
Fine mana control was tricky at first, but getting used to it.
Won't get tossed as useless, so she's content with herself.
No more thoughts.
Looks up at new dad for next order.
Stars and lines cluster. Shiny, beautiful world.
Lines and lights she knows as vampire form move.
Head part looks at her.
Inner stars and lines wriggle.
Doesn't get it fully, but learned recently: that's a praising face.
Only recently learned her whole world is mana.
Was I too hasty?
Everyone questions themselves sometimes.
I'm always confident, but this insane setup's new even for me.
Too rushed?
The kid obediently went hunting air pockets as ordered, but anxiety gnaws.
Tried everything, but still not sure.
Folk skilled at reading me are usually the ones who think they're smart.
That's why they're useful.
Ones like the kid, no emotional swings? Willpower's paper-thin usually. No clue how to handle her yet.
Normally, easier to replace than fix.
Problem: no replacements now.
Barbaroi Clan's regular magic talents were either wimps or sturdy-minded at least.
Trusted future kid's grit too.
But this one's different?
Feels like I gotta do something.
Anyway, I move.
Air pockets exist somewhere.
First-timers die not even knowing that.
Labyrinth's minimal difficulty tweak.
Could call it generous.
Not just space stages: extreme environments count as difficulty too.
No-air is top-tier hard, so enemies are weak accordingly.
Vampire perks: no breathing pain at all.
No breath needed? Vacuum ain't that bad barehanded.
Body pressure won't balloon you, no air for heat transfer so no real cold.
Hold breath, it's nothing.
Undead heaven.
So naturally...
Enemies here are undead too.
Sense light, something slithers from the dark.
Space was a massive black blob to the kid's eyes.
Learned it's filled with dark element.
Vacuum lacks matter, but mana particles persist.
Not dense, but universe-scale volume dominates.
This vast space is mostly dark element.
But mana thin, so spotting enemies was easy.
Passed breached, exposed sections into corridor depths.
Saw something wriggling to life.
Kid killed her light.
No light needed; her eyes catch world outlines.
From hazy dark, thick shadows clump and walk out.
Knew what to do from earlier lesson.
Don't engage.
Undead long-rotted in space's overwhelming dark.
Undead core: dark element.
Even plain zombies terrifyingly buffed.
Kid carefully leaked mana to lure a zombie.
Light gone, some zombies stagger blindly airborne.
Grip ruined ship corridor with brute strength, advance slow.
Kid retreats steady to giant hole to space.
Zombies push on, reach hole edge.
Simple spell, no name needed.
Telekinesis-like physical shove.
Triggers as zombies loosen grip.
Hit ones fling outside ship.
Mouths work like yelling, but no air, no sound.
Watches zombies drift to infinity, then moves on.
Close call, but found room with air left.
Sealed medical isolation space.
Built tough for airtight seal, near ship core, so intact.
Stuff barely decays in vacuum.
Best preservation ever.
Hull damage from space rocks, rare collisions.
Had to clear path, dragged zombies out, barely reached.
Non-undead party faces turning yellow.
Air safe?
Light mana probe, then short teleport everyone inside.
No choice, exhale. Not bad.
"Hoo, this is brutal."
"Unbreathable experience like no other."
"Environmental deaths dodge potions. Lucky it's close. Much oxygen left?"
"About half gone."
"Emergency rations then."
The Girl scowls hard.
"Gotta keep moving like this?"
"Could bubble air with magic. But fights'd suck."
Melee fighters basically sealed.
Can't close in or dodge quick.
"Too much!"
"Why usual parties stick together. More restrictions ahead."
"Gonna learn magic too!"
"Smart. Elder, lesson please."
Gaspin' Orc elder looks up.
"Huh? Me? Not teaching shamanism."
"Basics."
Girl's face pales.
"W-wait, studying?"
"Nothing else to do."
"Ugh. Fine."
Undead party members help in spots like this.
"Where's the kid?"
"Sent her back."
"Damn. Shouldn't have?"
No choice. Can't suffocate everyone.
Girl grabs hand.
Goddess speaks.
Too many undead? Hid party in corner for now. Vampire has no life signs, hard to detect, but needs rescue.
Good, not critical yet.
Girl, hearing it, asks puzzled.
"Same undead? Why target her?"
"They're soaked in dark element. No other elements here, so her different mana screams 'alive'."
Can't embrace dark though. Screws mind bad.
I head out, Girl grips tight.
"Bring our daughter back safe!"
"Uh... yeah, sure."