The First Challenger
There was no sign that anyone had opened it before.
The first challenger.
Though he was only the eighth to reach the underground labyrinth, he would be the first to challenge Sword Saint Ryleigh.
His heart began to beat a little faster.
I couldn't get the Hydragon's Soul from the labyrinth merchant, but Ryleigh — him, I will clear no matter what.
As expected, rumors weren't worth trusting. He had scoured every labyrinth merchant that appeared in the underground maze, and the Hydragon's Soul was nowhere to be found.
But clearing Ryleigh — that, he would accomplish himself.
Gracia laid his hand upon the door.
In that instant—
Entering the chamber of 'Sword Saint Ryleigh'.
Please enter the challenger's name.
The challenger's name will be announced to all entrants.
A name. A name, was it.
Gracia decided without hesitation what name he would enter.
Player Talk erupted into chaos once again — all because of the message that had appeared before the eyes of those who had entered.
People were betting on Gracia's victory. After all, Gracia had never failed a challenge he took on. He was a perfectionist — if he wasn't certain of winning, he simply didn't engage. The fact that he had challenged meant he was confident he would win.
Pangenia still had no kingdom composed solely of players. Individuals ruled a handful of cities each, but founding a kingdom required ten cities — and only a single king could exist.
If this Abyss Labyrinth fell to Gracia, the number of cities he officially controlled would become four. Combined with the other heroes, they would truly be at the threshold of founding a kingdom. Even without that, Gracia had been steadily preparing to become a king.
<2,000,000>
Greed planted his hands on his hips and roared with laughter.
Two million!
Greed's value had been displayed at a full two million — more than eight times the two hundred thirty thousand he had previously gambled away.
"Hahaha! Don't take it too hard. You never know, do you?"
You never know? There would be no upset. No anomaly capable of surpassing a value of two million could possibly arise.
Many had come here, staking their own worth to play the game. Greed had never put himself on the line, but the reverse cases were countless — and not a single one among them had exceeded one hundred thousand.
And now someone thought they would surpass two million?
His victory was already certain.
Flush with triumph, Greed looked upon the human. His own turn was finished; now it was time to assess the human's value.
A hundred thousand? No — maybe around two hundred thousand?
He had pressed this hard, after all. The result might differ from every challenger before. But even then, two hundred thousand at best.
<1,000,000>
One million!
Honestly, it was astonishing. A human worth a million! But still, it fell short of his own value of two million.
"A shame. If you'd just pushed a little harder, you might have wo—"
That was the moment.
Suddenly, the leading digit changed.
<2,000,000>
······Equal to his own?
No — this was still mid-judgment. There were too many factors to consider. His authority couldn't weigh them all at once. Sometimes it happened like this. The number could still drop. So it wasn't final. Not yet.
The finalization was—
<4,000,000>
Why does it keep going up?
<8,000,000>
······?
<16,000,000>
······Is it broken?
Why does it keep doubling?
<32,000,000>
What is this?
Wrap it up already.
But it didn't end.
<64,000,000>
······································· Surely not?
It's going even higher from here?
Greed dropped flat to the ground, his body trembling violently.
He was terrified. He had felt true fear — before a "value" he had never seen or experienced in his entire existence. Before the overwhelming being standing before him!
"How do I challenge Sword Saint Ryleigh?"
"T-t-t-tickets. Collect a thousand of them."
"Tickets? The ones that drop from event monsters?"
"Y-yes. H-however, I do not recommend that method. Do that, and you will face the worst possible version of 'Sword Saint Ryleigh' — complete with every last 'Oppression' stacked on top."
"Then? What method do you recommend?"
"Insert this ticket into the labyrinth merchant!"
CRACK!
Greed shattered his own crown. From within it, a golden ticket appeared — and he was telling the human to insert this golden ticket into the labyrinth merchant... that is, the vending machine.
Greed's hands shook as he barely managed to hand the ticket over. He couldn't bring himself to meet the human's eyes.
How could such a number······.
It wasn't a malfunction. His authority had functioned perfectly. And the human's value that emerged from it — that number was so astronomical that even a god might not produce such a figure. Merely recalling it made Greed shudder with terror.
A special pass granting access to Sword Saint Ryleigh's chamber.
Sword Saint Ryleigh.
He was a muscular old man with a thick mane of white hair. Dragging a half-shattered iron sword along the floor, he appeared bound by four chains — one on each wrist and ankle.
The moment Gracia faced him, countless messages flooded his vision.
'Sword Saint's Oppression' — All stats decreased by 5.
'Sword Saint's Oppression (2)' — Field of vision narrowed.
'Sword Saint's Oppression (3)' — Healing disabled.
'Sword Saint's Oppression (4)' — High fever status applied······.
An endless feast of debuffs unfurling one after another.
Gracia smiled.
"Sword Saint Ryleigh. Once the 'Great Sword' of the Gu Empire."
The Great Sword — that was how the histories of the Gu Empire had named Ryleigh. But the Great Sword had fallen. He had been buried alive here in the Abyss, along with the countless knights who followed him.
"As one who inherits the same 'Sword Saint lineage,' I wished to converse with you. Alongside your blade."
Whoosh!
A single sword rose into the air, radiating a brilliant light — a blade that cast a blue dawn-glow, as though it did not belong to this world. It was a Unique-grade weapon, and once the sword of Sword Saint Ryleigh himself: Blue Dawnlight.
One who inherits the same Sword Saint lineage. One of the reasons Gracia had succeeded the title of Sword Saint was precisely this Blue Dawnlight.
What reaction would he show? Seeing his beloved blade of old — seeing another wield it?
Sword Saint Ryleigh stopped dead in his tracks at the sight of the sword. Had he recognized his own blade?
"You are······ not him."
Ryleigh opened his mouth. But what did he mean, "not him"?
The reaction was strange. Ryleigh's entire body was trembling as if seized by a chill.
"You are not him······!"
FWOOOOSH!
Black flames erupted from Ryleigh's entire body, spreading like wings. Both pupils flooded crimson. Anyone could see he was far from sane. A madman.
"It seems you are in no state for conversation."
Tch. Gracia clicked his tongue softly and opened the space of all swords.
A thousand blades rose into the air—
KRAKAKAKAKAKAKABOOM!!
—and shot forth like a machine gun. Each blade that struck detonated on impact, birthing thunderous roars. Attacks that no opponent, whoever they might be, could possibly withstand.
When roughly three hundred swords had reached Ryleigh, Gracia raised one hand.
Halt!
After the rain of blades ceased, the mist cleared — and Ryleigh's body stood unscathed.
Clank!
Instead, the shackle on his left ankle had come undone.
Phase 2, is it.
Then did that mean there were phases up through five? It seemed the pattern progressed to the next stage once enough damage had been absorbed to release a shackle. No matter how much damage you dealt, you still had to advance stage by stage. Patterns like this were more common than one might think.
"Interesting."
In that case — how far could he endure?
The thousand swords grew stronger the further back they went. Could Ryleigh truly withstand his assault until every last shackle was undone?
Gracia stretched out his hand once more.
"Y-you're planning to challenge Sword Saint Ryleigh?"
Just as I was about to gather every last treasure and leave, Greed asked.
"I'm considering it."
Honestly, a one-on-one against Sword Saint Ryleigh in the current situation was out of the question. Even with the golden ticket wiping the debuffs and allowing a fight under better conditions, predicting victory in a fair match would be difficult.
Of course, with Greed along, it would be somewhat easier. Level 12, and Greed himself was a ruler of the Abyss. If I attempted the clear with the rest of the party as well······
Maybe a ten percent chance of winning.
That was why I was deliberating. What I'd gained from Greed was by no means inferior to what clearing Ryleigh could offer. Just processing the treasures I'd already obtained would keep me busy enough. Pulling back might be wiser than betting on low odds.
Then Greed spoke with an expression of the utmost gravity.
"I have watched Sword Saint Ryleigh for a long time, having burrowed deep into this Abyss. He is so overwhelmingly powerful that he sealed himself with four seals."
"Sealed himself? After sinking into the Abyss?"
"Do you know the structure of the Abyss?"
"Not well."
The Abyss was unknown territory. Opportunities to set foot there were limited, and its rulers were always aggressive, leaving little time for proper exploration.
"There are four kinds of rulers in the Abyss. Those who have always lived in the Abyss. Those who sank into the Abyss. Those who burrowed into the Abyss. And those who are the Abyss itself."
Greed was the third case — one who had burrowed into the Abyss. A ruler of what was called the Overlapping Abyss, the Lower Abyss!
"Sword Saint Ryleigh is one who 'sank into the Abyss.' The problem is that, on rare occasions, among those who 'sank,' some become 'those who are the Abyss itself.'"
"What's the difference?"
"The moment one becomes the Abyss itself, they forcibly erode one of the cities of the sky."
"······Horrifying."
I had witnessed a case of 'forced erosion' exactly once — a perfectly intact city sinking into the Abyss. At first, people thought it was a warp malfunction. Later investigation revealed the warp was still functional even as the erosion occurred, and chaos erupted. So that had been connected to the birth of one who 'is the Abyss itself.'
"If all seals are released, Ryleigh becomes one who 'is the Abyss itself.' He knows this, which is why he sealed himself. Are you truly certain about this?"
Worrying about a mere human was something that should never have been possible for Greed. But the one before him was a human of 'astronomical value' — a being of such different caliber that one might even doubt whether he was human at all.
If he began the clear of Sword Saint Ryleigh, the four seals would be stripped away. And then another city of the sky — a human city — would suffer forced erosion. Every human in a forcibly eroded city would be annihilated. Not a single one would survive. That was why he was asking if it was truly all right.
"Do you know what criteria 'forced erosion' follows?"
"One of the cities connected to this 'labyrinth.'"
"Then all of them, essentially."
Every possibility was open.
And then I stopped short.
Wait. Cities connected to the labyrinth?
In Pangenia, every city was connected to the labyrinth by warp. And on Earth, too, there were countless warps linked to the labyrinth.
I honestly couldn't understand why warps connecting Earth to the labyrinth had come to mind. After all, only players possessed the Broken Fragment of the Golden Rule, and players simply needed to head to the labyrinth from Pangenia. Only now did the reason Earth was connected to the labyrinth become clear.
Forced erosion······ if that were to occur on Earth.
"Is there no way to prevent 'forced erosion'?"
"There is not."
An immediate answer.
······No way?
If Greed said so, it would be true. My head throbbed.
Then should I interfere somehow so that no one could clear it?
Kakakakakakak!
Hell was freely rummaging through the mountain of treasure piled high behind me. A truly free spirit. Looking at that creature, every worry and concern seemed to wash away. It was the same now.
"······There might be a way after all."