The Safety Devices Fail
Twenty minutes had passed since they entered the labyrinth.
X's party had been pressing forward, cutting down golems shaped like goblins, kobolds, and all manner of other monsters. The fighting itself had been relatively straightforward. The three new teammates had stumbled a little at their first sight of a monster, but that hadn't lasted. All they had to do was hold their assigned positions and carry out the roles they'd already been taught.
"Everyone, let's take a short rest."
At X's word, they each set up perimeter-alert equipment around them and carved out a space to rest. It wasn't that they'd fought anything intense enough to need a break. They just needed a moment to collect their thoughts.
"X, hold on. Something's off."
By the time Circe spoke, X had already sensed the anomaly himself.
"This labyrinth is strange, isn't it?"
"Even granting that it's bigger than expected, the enemies we've run into are way too strong. This isn't a level first-years should be facing."
X agreed with that. Thinking back on the types and numbers of monsters they'd encountered, it was bizarrely excessive. More than ten goblins or kobolds at a time. Orcs that even seasoned adventurers would struggle against. X and Circe could win if they put their minds to it, but the other students absolutely could not.
X's suspicion naturally turned toward Professor Leder.
"Think he's trying to give Class F all the lowest scores just because we're Class F?"
"There's no way a professor would be that insane."
"We've seen more than one or two insane people."
"..."
X thought back on what had happened in the original work. There had been scenes of Leon taking evaluations, too. None of those scenes had featured an anomaly like this. Andras, possessing Beatrice's body, had pulled various schemes to get close to Leon's party—but those events were supposed to happen later. It was a bit too early for them to be unfolding now.
If I had to pin it on someone, it'd be because of me...
X considered attaching a spare Observer's Perspective to Leder to read his Synopsis, then shook his head. Reattaching Observer's Perspective would consume Editing Points. He hadn't even unlocked System Level 3 yet. Spending them on something that was still just a suspicion would be a waste.
He couldn't exactly crack Professor Leder's skull open and pull the answers out, so he dropped the subject there.
"We'll look into it once we're out of the labyrinth. It might just be my imagination, but the situation right now doesn't look ordinary."
"I don't like babysitting kids either. Let's get out of here fast. It's not like our evaluation's going to come out low anyway."
"Then let's hurry, before something happens."
Just as they were about to set out—
Jingle— jingle-jingle....
The alert they'd set up for perimeter watch chimed, signaling an intrusion.
"Everyone, positions."
At X's command, the teammates moved fast. They immediately killed the lights, received the Cat's Eye spell, and finished preparing for combat.
Night-vision enhancement. The darkness of the labyrinth is no longer an obstacle.
As long as they were in this labyrinth, they would treat anyone they met as an enemy. The moment someone entered their field of vision, they would attack.
Everyone was tense, watching for the intruder, when—
"W-wait, don't attack! I'm a Class F student!"
A boy's voice, trembling with fear, reached them. It was a voice X remembered.
"Jeffrey Rayne?"
"Ah, that voice.... Could it be His Highness Prince X? Yes, that's right. I'm Jeffrey Rayne."
They could tell it was a person, not a monster—but that didn't mean they were dropping their guard.
"Atel, Ames. Don't drop your guard. We still haven't identified friend from foe."
"Y-yes!"
"Yes...!"
X shot a look at Atel and Ames, who had been about to lower their weapons, and snapped their wariness back into place. Circe was covering the opposite direction with Lola. There was no chance of a sudden ambush from behind.
"Jeffrey. Where's the rest of your team, that you're wandering around alone? If you're planning an ambush, you'd better hurry it up."
"W-wait a moment, Your Highness! We're in serious trouble! This place is dangerous right now! My teammates have already been hit!"
"Get to the point. Hit by what."
"The Safety Devices aren't working! Everyone's badly injured, but the recall function didn't activate! If we don't treat them soon, they might be in real danger!"
The worry had become reality. They'd never been injured themselves, so there had been no way to know the Safety Devices were malfunctioning. They'd only thought the monsters were abnormally strong.
"We have to go rescue them, now!"
At Jeffrey's tearful words, Ames cried out in urgency.
"The evaluation doesn't mean anything in a situation like this! We have to save people first! If someone gets seriously hurt..."
"Calm down. I'm not planning to leave them. Of course we have to rescue them."
X looked ahead again and spoke to Jeffrey.
"Lead the way. Keep this distance, though."
"W-wait! If a monster shows up like this, it's dangerous—couldn't I join up with your group?"
"We can handle that much. Stop talking and take the lead. Lady Lola, could you come here for a moment?"
X whispered something quietly to Lola. Her expression grew serious; they exchanged a few words, and then she quietly nodded.
"Th-then please just follow me."
Once Lola had returned to her position, the party followed Jeffrey. Because their leader X was still showing wariness, the others didn't let their tension drop either.
As they were following Jeffrey—
"We'll arrive at where my teammates are soon."
He glanced back carefully and spoke to the party.
"Could you put your weapons away? It's already a sudden situation, and if they see weapons they'll panic. It'll also make it harder to control the situation."
"Have you secured the area?"
"Yes, the people who are still unhurt are keeping watch nearby. So please put your weapons away for the injured."
"...Fine."
X immediately sheathed his sword. Seeing that, the teammates reluctantly disarmed as well. They'd come running because there were injured people, but the suspicious circumstances weren't just one or two. They wondered if they really needed to put the weapons away, but since X had done it, they didn't harbor any major doubts.
And just as X was about to step forward—
"There's one thing I want to ask."
X stopped walking and asked Jeffrey.
"How did you know where we were?"
"...What?"
"You're the one who approached us knowing our location. I didn't think we'd given our position away."
"N-no, I clearly saw your light. That's why..."
"You even saw that we were holding weapons? In that situation?"
"..."
Jeffrey shut his mouth. While the others were still puzzling over what that meant—
Jeffrey drew his sword and suddenly lunged.
"You said we wouldn't get caught...!"
"You idiot, Jeffrey...!"
At the same time, two hidden figures appeared from the rear, their weapons aimed at Circe and Lola.
So it was a trap after all.
Attacking the mages first, who were vulnerable in close combat—that was textbook ambush tactics. Simultaneously, arrows and magic came flying furiously from the darkness behind Jeffrey. X's party had put their weapons away, so even a brief moment of vulnerability would exact a heavy price for the ambush.
It worked...!
The opposing team's leader, Jeffrey, had run ambush operations many times. He definitely had the sense that he'd fooled X. Ambushing a prince because of a deal with a noble was a frightening prospect for the aftermath, but this was happening during an evaluation. If a problem arose, that noble would take care of it, so for now he just had to do his job. They had Safety Devices, so no one would get seriously hurt.
With this, I'll make my entrance into politics too...!
Unfortunately for him, he'd picked the wrong opponent.
The blades, arrows, and magic of the ambush slammed into a barrier and died.
A massive rainbow-colored defensive shield envelops the entire party.
The ambush leaves not even a scratch.
The rainbow-colored shield was large enough to cover X's entire party, and so solid that the ambush didn't even leave a mark. Lola's Iris Barrier had been prepared well in advance.
"Everyone, prepare for combat."
Thanks to that, X's party had a moment of breathing room and finished getting ready to fight. When the ambush failed, Jeffrey and the ambush team's faces went pale with shock. In contrast, X looked at Jeffrey with a cold, expressionless face and let out a sigh.
"Let's find out what kind of dirty trick this is first."
X tightened his grip on his sword, and four blades of light appeared and surged forward.
White Light Sword
Four phantom blades surge toward vital points.
In the middle of the labyrinth, one-sided violence erupted.
"So you pulled this stunt to get in my good graces? While you ambushed me, Gausolt, the son of Count Burckhelm, would 'rescue' me and win my favor?"
"Yes..."
"Unbelievable. I'm actually speechless..."
Five people were kneeling in front of X. They had been beaten to within a hair of triggering their Safety Devices. In front of X's party with their full power revealed, their strength was utterly helpless.
X would normally have tried to fight at their level, but this wasn't the time for that. The reason he hadn't disqualified them was because there was something he needed to confirm.
"So where is Gausolt?"
"Lord Gausolt should definitely be nearby..."
"And yet he still hasn't shown up, even in this situation. You must have been in contact. Call him with that."
"Y-yes...!"
Jeffrey hurriedly pulled out his Mana Phone and tried to contact someone. But even after waiting a long while, for some reason it wouldn't connect.
"Wh-what.... It was working just a moment ago..."
"Can't get through?"
"Y-yes..."
X furrowed his brow and assessed the situation. The first thought that came to him was that Gausolt might have abandoned Jeffrey. Cutting off a tail when trouble hits was a very noble thing to do. Even more so for a noble steeped in vanity. But remaining silent even after everything had been exposed like this was strange.
"Hand over your Safety Devices for now. You people go back and report the situation to the professor. This is no longer a situation where we can conduct an evaluation."
"Situation...?"
"Didn't you notice? The monsters placed in this labyrinth are abnormally strong. Not so strong we can't beat them, but not a level we should be expected to handle."
"Uh.... I did think they were a bit strong..."
"If you understand, then hand over the Safety Devices. Unless you want to get beaten and sent back that way."
Jeffrey's group held out the Safety Devices on their wrists with dark expressions. Without delay, X struck Jeffrey's wrist to activate the Safety Device's recall function. Now they would go to the professor, report the anomaly, and this evaluation would be put on hold for a while.
"...It's not working?"
That was the plan—until a new problem arose.
"Jeffrey, was what you said earlier about the Safety Devices being broken actually true?"
"N-no! That was just something I made up to lure you in..."
"This one really does seem broken."
"I don't know anything about that!"
X struck the other people's Safety Devices after that as well. When he struck his own party's, the result was the same. Every Safety Device was broken.
All Safety Devices: INOPERABLE
Recall function has failed.
"Circe. Can you fix them?"
"No, I can't. For something like this I'd need at least a blueprint..."
As they were trying to think of a solution to this sudden anomaly—
AAAAAAAGH—!!!
AAAAAAAH—!!!
Agonized screams rang out from somewhere.
Safety Devices broken. Training monsters with abnormal settings. If they ran into a monster they couldn't handle, there was one problem that would arise.
"Let's hurry."
He didn't know which lunatic had cooked this up, but one thing was certain.
"Getting out of here is the top priority."
This place was dangerous. There wasn't a single person here who didn't know that.