The Stones of Blessing
The Stone of Blessing.
The thirteen gods of the labyrinth grant their Blessing of the Gods to climbers they favor through the Stone of Blessing.
When a climber chosen by a god approaches, the Stone of Blessing blazes with light.
The gods were picky.
When you were just starting out, the chance of receiving a blessing was low.
By contrast, exceptional climbers drew the attention of many gods.
When that happened, the climber would, in turn, choose one god from whom to receive a blessing.
The sword spirits spoke while looking at the two glowing Stones of Blessing.
It was rare to receive a blessing on the first floor, and even rarer for a beginner to be chosen at all.
And yet I’d been chosen by two gods from the very beginning.
“E-eh? Wait, Ivan, you were chosen by two gods?”
“I’ve never seen anything like this...”
Hena and Nierel were just as stunned.
It was Hena’s first time seeing the Stone of Blessing glow, and Nierel said she’d never heard of anything like this happening on the first floor either.
“It seems so, but...”
I was the one most at a loss.
I had only just learned about the Stone of Blessing.
As for gods, I’d only ever heard about them in passing.
And now, out of nowhere, two gods had chosen me.
I had no idea what I was supposed to do.
So, um... what am I supposed to do? Do I choose a blessing?
I asked the sword spirits in confusion.
They’d said a blessing only worked for a single attempt at the labyrinth.
Once you left, it vanished.
But was it really all right to ignore the gods after they had chosen me?
...Women?
Leave it to the Lustful Demon to make that kind of comparison.
I listened anyway.
“His pride would be hurt. Maybe he’d think, ‘How dare a mere human not choose me?’ That sort of thing.”
I understood what the Lustful Demon was saying.
Dealing with gods was no different from dealing with people.
So I had to worry about a god’s favor even while exploring the labyrinth.
A blessing was a powerful force, but apparently I couldn’t choose too carelessly.
I’ll leave, then. That means I don’t need to choose right away, correct?
In any case, it wasn’t something I was going to use now.
I passed by the Stones of Blessing and headed toward the teleport stone.
“Let’s go.”
“J-just leave it alone and go?”
When I said we were leaving, Hena asked in confusion.
She was still a beginner, so she didn’t seem to know much either.
Nierel, who had more experience, explained in her place.
“When you’re leaving the labyrinth, it’s better not to touch them. The gods understand that much. It’s surprising enough that you were chosen on the first floor... Ivan, you really are amazing.”
“I’m the one who’s surprised, honestly. Let’s hurry and get out of here.”
I forced a smile and changed the subject.
Nierel kept marveling as she operated the teleport stone.
Meanwhile, the sword spirits were chatting among themselves about the Stones of Blessing.
The two gods who had chosen me right after I conquered the first floor.
Apparently they were the god of darkness and the god of knowledge.
The statue with closed eyes seemed to be the Stone of Blessing for the god of darkness.
The book-shaped statue was probably the Stone of Blessing for the god of knowledge.
“It’s ready! Everyone, get close together!”
By then, Nierel had finished operating the teleport stone.
Bright light burst from the stone and swallowed us, and I felt the strange sensation of my body lifting into the air.
***
After escaping the labyrinth.
Nierel and I carried Kane and Dogo’s bodies to the place Hena had asked us to bring them.
“I’m truly grateful to both of you. Thanks to you, I at least managed to recover Kane and Dogo’s bodies...”
Hena thanked us with empty eyes.
“What will you do now?”
“First, I think I need to treat Tomson. Then I’ll explain everything to him and bury Kane and Dogo...”
She said this trio had come to the labyrinth this time to earn money for Tomson’s medical treatment.
“Tomson had his senses taken away by the god of darkness. We’d only just managed to gather enough money to wake him up, but...”
“...I wish you luck.”
“...Hang in there, Hena.”
Nierel and I offered her our modest condolences.
Hena smiled weakly.
“Yes. Thank you both. We were the ones in the wrong, but you didn’t even get angry.”
“Let’s forget about that now.”
We decided not to blame them any longer for having led us astray.
They had already paid a price greater than the crime.
There was no need to create any more grudges.
“Then let’s meet again if we get the chance.”
“See you again, Hena!”
“Yes! Take care on your way!”
Nierel and I smiled, said our goodbyes, and parted ways with Hena.
Honestly, while I’d been inside the labyrinth, I’d still been angry about being deceived.
But once I was alive and out in the world again, everything looked beautiful.
Yes. What was the point of tormenting someone who was already suffering?
It wasn’t as if they’d done it out of malice toward me.
And you can’t exactly be angry at people who are already dead.
The Invisible Sword still seemed angry.
“Nierel, what are you going to do now?”
“I’m thinking of trying for the sixth floor again!”
“I see. Then I’m sure you’ll be lucky.”
Nierel seemed to have overcome something on this trip into the labyrinth.
She had originally been a ninth-rank climber, so it made sense for her to return to her own floor.
“Ah, and thank you, Ivan! Thanks to you, I think I found a little confidence!”
Just as we were about to part, Nierel made an “oops” sound and spoke up.
I asked her what she meant.
“I didn’t really do anything, did I?”
In the end, it had clearly been Nierel’s own skill.
I had been surprised she didn’t make a mistake, but that was only possible because her own ability was outstanding to begin with.
“It’s just... I can’t really explain it, but thanks to you not believing in me, I found some confidence!”
Nierel scratched the back of her head as she spoke.
It was a ridiculous sentence.
But there was one thing wrong with it.
“I did believe in you. I believed you would make a mistake, Nierel.”
The sword spirits giggled at my answer.
Had I been too blunt?
But I didn’t think it was the wrong answer.
“Ah...”
When Nierel heard my reply, the smile briefly faded from her face.
I wondered if I’d hurt her feelings, but then she smiled again and said,
“I see. Then expectation and belief were different things.”
“Pardon?”
“Nothing! Anyway, thank you, Ivan! Thanks to you, I think I can challenge the sixth floor again! Ah, b-but of course, I don’t know whether a party will even take me...”
“I’m sure it’ll work out.”
I wasn’t sure, but I smiled anyway.
Nierel, the elf archer who slipped at crucial moments.
At the very least, she had overcome that stigma on this trip into the labyrinth.
“Then bye!”
Nierel waved brightly and skipped away.
“Now it really is all over.”
After saying goodbye to Nierel, the party was fully dissolved.
With that, my first trip into the labyrinth had truly come to an end.
.
.
.
.
On the way back after the party had dispersed, the sword spirits chattered about this trip into the labyrinth.
There were all kinds of opinions, but the overall evaluation was good.
I was satisfied that it had ended safely.
I had enough money now that I wouldn’t have problems for a while.
“I’ll head straight to the inn. I want to rest for a bit.”
I went directly to Bagon’s inn.
I didn’t care about anything else; I just wanted to throw myself onto a bed.
In the labyrinth, not only was sleeping uncomfortable, but I’d spent most of the time on edge, doubting my party members.
As I walked and replied occasionally to the sword spirits’ conversation, I eventually reached Bagon’s inn.
“Ah, Ivan!”
When I entered, Mayrin greeted me with a bright smile.
She immediately called for Bagon.
“Father! Ivan’s back!”
“What? Hahaha! You came back alive! You were so late I thought you’d died!”
Bagon greeted me with his booming laugh as well.
It had only been one night, and yet both of them welcomed me with such sincere warmth.
For some reason, that made something stir in my chest.
I couldn’t have said what it was, exactly, but I smiled back at them, genuinely glad.
“Yes. I’m back. Do you have a room? I’m so tired I feel like I could pass out.”
“Hahaha! Sounds like it was a very intense trip into the labyrinth. We do have rooms, but sit here first. I’ll make you something to eat. If you’ve just come back from the labyrinth, it’s best to eat and sleep properly. Otherwise you’ll wake up dizzy. I won’t charge you for the meal, so don’t worry!”
Bagon slapped the bar table a few times and disappeared into the kitchen.
I felt like collapsing on the spot, but I accepted his kindness.
“Eat up!”
After a while, Bagon brought out the food.
There were vegetables, bread, tender stewed meat, and stew.
I’d thought I might skip it because I was so tired, but before I knew it, my plate was empty.
Eating in the noisy inn made it feel real that I had actually returned alive from the labyrinth.
After finishing my meal and sitting there a little longer amid the bustle, I went upstairs, fell onto the bed, and collapsed.
“Yes. Good night, everyone.”
I said good night to the sword spirits and shut my mind away.
It had been a while since I couldn’t hear their voices, so it felt a little strange, but before long I lost consciousness.
***
“Ugh...”
I came to with the sensation of my head swaying.
There was no strength in my whole body, and every muscle felt stiff and sore.
The bed seemed to be pulling me back down.
As soon as I woke, the sword spirits all called for me at once.
They must have shaken me awake with their mental voices.
“Is it already time to get up? My body still feels heavy...”
When I looked outside, the sun was already climbing toward the middle of the sky.
Apparently, I’d slept all the way until noon because I’d been so exhausted.
“Pardon?”
At the Lustful Demon’s words, I checked the date and found that two days had really passed.
I’d thought I’d only slept through one night, but it had been nearly thirty-six hours.
No wonder the sword spirits had woken me.
“I’ve never slept this much before. But I still want to sleep more.”
Even after sleeping so long, I still felt like lying back down.
The aftereffects of the labyrinth trip were substantial.
But the sword spirits weren’t about to let me crawl back into bed.
“What needs doing?”