Chapter 39: The Lost Message in the Labyrinth
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 39: The Lost Message in the Labyrinth
An original game developed by Edward Berten, one of Sohen's greatest wizards.
[The Lost Message in the Labyrinth]
The rules of the game were as follows.
Participants form teams of three and enter the maze through different entrances.
The goal is to solve the events they encounter, find the ‘Exit Scroll,’ and be the first to escape.
Since it's a form of role-playing, the three participants can each choose a class like Fighter, Rogue, or Wizard, and are also given a random status window.
“Here, 'events' refer to things like, 'You've encountered a goblin!', 'You've stepped on a trap!', or 'A beggar you happened to meet is begging!'”
“...”
“For each event, you'll be given a blank slip of paper. Your team will have 60 seconds to discuss and write down a solution on the slip, then cast the Message Transmission magic.”
Then, Edward waved his wand in the air, creating five boxes.
[Great Success]
[Success]
[Status Quo]
[Failure]
[Great Failure]
“The transmitted message will go into one of these five boxes, and each box will send you a reply.”
Edward gave a demonstration.
“For example, let's say you've encountered a goblin.”
Edward wrote ‘The warrior charges and strikes the goblin with a sword’ on the solution slip and sent the message.
The result was a Great Success.
With a pop!, a reply came back from the Great Success box.
[The warrior defeated the goblin and obtained a healing potion.]
“I'll show you the opposite case as well.”
This time, Edward wrote, ‘The wizard rushes in and attacks the goblin with his fists.’
The result was a Great Failure.
With another pop!, a reply returned.
[The goblin dodged the wizard's attack and counterattacked, inflicting a critical injury! If the wizard does not use a healing potion within 60 seconds, they will bleed to death.]
“It's like that. Do you understand?”
It was certainly similar to a TRPG, using pen and paper, but the difference was that you walked through a real maze instead of playing on a tabletop.
And one more thing.
While TRPGs usually determine the success of a solution with a dice roll, Edward's game was different.
“Depending on how rational the solution is, the probability of it landing in each box varies from 0.1% to 99.6%.”
A warrior charging a goblin was a decent strategy, but a wizard attacking with his fists was an insane one. That's why it landed in Great Failure.
“Therefore, this is a game that requires tactics, analyzing the magic and items your team possesses and allocating them appropriately.”
“Hah!”
Meldini suddenly exclaimed in admiration.
As an educator, it seemed he coveted the game itself.
“Berten! Have you any thought of lending this entire game to the university? It seems it would be perfect for training freshmen.”
“If you win, Professor Meldini, I'll consider it.”
“Can we lose before finding the Exit Scroll?”
Clorence asked.
“Of course. Let me explain the losing conditions. Let's say the wizard from before failed to treat his bleeding and died. Until someone resurrects him, that wizard cannot use Message Transmission.”
“...”
“If all three participants die, it's game over. And one more thing. Each participant starts with five message slips. If you use up all fifteen, it's also game over.”
“Got it!”
“I understand now.”
“Let's start the game!”
The wizards shouted.
“Are there any more questions?”
Edward asked for a final confirmation.
I quickly raised my hand.
The elders here were rich, so it was fine for them, but Yernil and I had no money and no items.
“What's the prize for winning?”
“An excellent question. Each participant can bet money at the start of the game. If you clear it, you'll receive twenty times your bet.”
Twenty times.
Not bad. Seeing the number of people here, there would be a total of ten teams. Beating that many was doable.
The problem was, we had almost no money to bet...
“Then, by any chance...”
Would something like this work?
“Could I bet the reward I'm supposed to receive today?”
“Hahaha!”
Edward burst out laughing.
Pleased laughter also spread among the surrounding elders.
“How bold.”
“Cute.”
“A young wizard should have that much nerve.”
“He reminds me of my younger self.”
“No, he doesn't.”
Edward paused for a moment with a smile, then answered.
“Unfortunately, the betting limit is 10,000 gold. The reward Caleb and Yernil are to receive today is more than that.”
“...”
“But very well. I'll make a special exception for you two.”
“Thank you.”
“Now then, it's time to form teams.”
Edward took out a small box.
“Inside this box are the name slips the guard sent when you entered our estate. I'm going to return them to their owners.”
He used Message Transmission on the box.
The slips that returned to each owner had a number written on the back.
Some had 2, some 5, some 12, and so on, up to 29.
“In numerical order, you can either pick a person to join you, or choose a two-person party to join. You cannot switch teams.”
But with a total of 30 people and 10 teams, numbers 1 and 30 were missing. The reason was me and Yernil.
“We didn't get our slips.”
“That's right.”
Edward suddenly came down the central staircase and stood before Yernil and me.
“Everyone here today is a senior wizard. In contrast, you two have short careers as adventurers, you're young, you're a freshman at the magic university, and a novice ranger.”
He said.
“So if you two were to draw a late number, you'd be the last ones left.”
“...”
“That's why I've kept the slips with your two names on them separately.”
So that's why there was a delivery error.
“Now, I'll hold them so you can't see. Please pick one. The winner gets number 1 today, and the other gets number 30.”
Edward had us draw lots with my name and Yernil's.
And when one was drawn, the name that came out was...
[Yernil]
“Congratulations!”
“...”
“Yernil, please choose your teammate. You can pick Caleb, you can pick Isel, or you can pick Professor Meldini behind you.”
Hmm.
I glanced over, worried, and just as I expected.
Yernil's face had gone pale!
*
‘This is bad.’
Yernil was literally breaking out in a cold sweat.
‘I don't understand any of this!’
She had only understood about half of what Edward had just explained.
So, we just have to get out of the maze, right?
Having lived a life far removed from magic, Yernil didn't even know how to use Message Transmission.
They said the magic in the wands could be used easily by anyone, even without something like a memory book, but still.
‘Still, how can I...’
Yernil felt like she was a massive liability.
“You must choose carefully. Message Transmission is a surprisingly tricky spell, so it might be a bit difficult for Yernil.”
And with Edward scaring her like this, it was even worse!
“So please, choose a wizard with outstanding magical abilities. One of the professors behind you.”
“Uh... um...”
“For your reference, while events must be solved with Message Transmission, you're free to use your own abilities to explore the maze. So, you should pick one of the most prominent professors here.”
Yernil's face turned bright red, and she didn't know what to do.
No matter who she picked, that wizard would surely be displeased. A complete novice who had only entered the first floor of the Labyrinth twice, a ranger who couldn't use any magic at all.
It was no different from bringing a part-timer from the local bakery!
She would definitely just drag the team down.
She couldn't pick Caleb for the same reason. This wasn't the Labyrinth, but she couldn't stand being a burden in a game.
“I...”
Yernil's face grew hot as she slowly lowered her gaze.
“I don't know... I'm sorry, but could you give the choice to Caleb instead?”
Yernil thought it would be better to be number 30 and just fill an empty spot at the very end.
It would be more miserable if no one wanted her until the end, but she thought she'd feel less guilty.
She'd just give the choice to Caleb and let him form a dream team that could win...
“Then I'll pick Yernil.”
Huh?
*
Something like a small cheer went up from the crowd, and some of the younger men started chattering about Isel.
“Caleb!?”
Yernil looked quite surprised, as did Edward.
“Are you saying you'll take responsibility for the partner you brought with you?”
“...”
“Caleb. I heard you protected your party members to the very end in the Labyrinth. But this isn't the Labyrinth. You could make a more interesting team, you know.”
“I chose her because I want to win.”
“To win...?”
“Yes.”
“You chose a Labyrinth novice who's a complete stranger to magic... to win? In a game played with Message Transmission magic?”
“Since we write the solutions after discussing them anyway, it doesn't matter if there's one Labyrinth novice. And being a stranger to magic might actually be the key to this game.”
“...”
Edward smiled as if he'd been had.
Yernil looked like she had no idea what was going on.
But this was obvious. Edward had been too blatant about it.
“Anyone can see that Yernil is the only non-wizard here. If anyone is likely to make a mistake with the limited fifteen message slips, it's her. So she would have been the last one left.”
“...”
“But you invited us as guests, treated us so well, and even prepared gifts. You wouldn't have designed a game specifically to embarrass Yernil, would you? Especially when there are so many other games you could have chosen.”
On top of that, you gave her an insane choice like number 1 or 30, forcing her to either pick first or be picked last?
Either way, it would be incredibly pressuring for Yernil and a perfect setup for humiliation.
And some guests would surely find the situation itself uncomfortable.
Gossip might spread that he embarrassed someone he personally invited to his party. But there's no way someone like Edward would design something so carelessly.
“There's a hidden advantage for Yernil in this game. Isn't there?”
And at the end, you'd go, ‘Ta-da! Actually, Yernil has this special ability!’ ...revealing it to everyone, giving the guests a laugh and Yernil a thrilling sense of reversed power.
It must have been that kind of prank.
“I decided to bet on that.”
“Haha.”
Edward laughed again.
“And what if there is no such advantage?”
“Then you'd probably make one for us now.”
“Ah.”
Edward lightly tapped my shoulder.
“I really can't win against you. Did any of you professors notice?”
“Not at all.”
“I still don't get what you're talking about.”
“An advantage? For that elf lady?”
“Everyone.”
Edward took out another slip of paper.
“This is the final rule of the game, ‘The Lost Message in the Labyrinth.’ I have cast a Transmission Disruption spell over the entire estate.”
“Transmission Disruption?”
“Every wizard who transmits a message has a certain probability of—”
He used Message Transmission on the slip.
“—the message failing to enter any of the boxes and getting lost in the labyrinth.”
The message Edward sent didn't go into any of the five boxes.
Instead.
Flutter. Flutter.
A reply fell from the sky.
[The lost message has summoned the giant monster, Gorgon!]
And a massive illusion of a Gorgon suddenly popped up before their eyes.
“A random reply with anything written on it comes back. It could actually be beneficial, but getting a random result is never a good thing on an adventure.”
“...”
“But this rule only applies to 'wizards.'”
Edward pointed at Yernil.
“The ranger lady here is an exception.”
“Hah!”
“Hah! This guy!”
“What a prankster!”
The wizards let out a torrent of exclamations.
“So, for today's game, Yernil will have a higher success rate with Message Transmission than even the professors.”
Edward offered Yernil some light consolation.
“I'm sorry, Yernil. I wanted to let you experience the feeling of a pawn reaching the other side of the board in chess and being promoted to a queen.”
He shook his head.
While looking at me.
“But someone ruined it.”
“...”
“Well then, everyone. Shall we form our teams now?”
*
“...Phew.”
Yernil finally let out a breath of relief.
“I was so nervous, thinking I'd be left alone at the end and no one would pick me.”
“That would never happen.”
“But Caleb, weren't you planning to pick Isel?”
Yernil whispered in my ear.
How did she know?
“You kept talking about Isel, so I thought you wanted to be on the same team for the game.”
That was the original plan.
I was going to ask her about Enver and the possessors while we played the game together.
But...
“To be honest, I just picked you because you looked so nervous.”
That's the truth.
You had the expression of a quiet middle school girl being forced onto the stage during a school trip.
And I probably won't miss out on Isel either.
Because...
“Now, participant number 2, please choose your team!”
Isel Berten was number 2.
She showed her number and walked up to me.
“I'll join Caleb's party.”
As expected.
Just as I was interested in Isel, she must have been interested in me too.
Professor Enver told her about me earlier, so she must be curious about my Labyrinth knowledge...
‘Huh?’
Suddenly, the young men in the back started murmuring.
This situation had just become a rather interesting scene for the high society of wizards.
‘Isel picked that team?’
‘I mean, even if the elf has an advantage, wouldn't a team with professors be better?’
‘Isn't he a kid who's only been in the Labyrinth twice? And it's his first time playing a wizard's game.’
‘Why did she join that team?’
‘Because of Caleb?’
‘Because Caleb didn't pick her first?’
‘Wait, is she into bad boys?’
‘She turns me down every time I ask her to do anything...’
‘My world has crumbled today.’
Maybe I wasn't a wizard, but a natural-born tank.
Why do I keep drawing all the aggro everywhere I go...?