Minoa's Calf (4)
"What did you live on?"
"Yeah. Since no proper grass grows in that underground labyrinth, I'm a bit curious."
Asterios hesitated slightly at my words before answering.
"Moss and mushrooms grew in the labyrinth, so I survived on those."
"Moss and mushrooms?"
"Yeah. They grow well even in the dark, so I filled my stomach with them. There were a few stagnant pools for water, and I drank from those."
Moss and mushrooms—could those be the ones I gave to the dwarves? But why are they here? Did the dwarves gift them or something? And stagnant water... Drinking from places like that could've easily given him a stomachache.
Well, surviving took priority over any tummy troubles, I suppose.
"But I didn't always eat just that. Sometimes I'd rescue other people I ran into and get food from them."
"Other people? You mean adventurers?"
"Yeah. I went around helping people who were in danger from monsters."
Hmm. So he wandered the labyrinth rescuing people in peril. What a good kid. Lucky he never turned into a man-eater, true to his name.
"But moss and mushrooms weren't always around... So when there was no food, I ate monsters."
"Monsters?"
Well... Monster meat is biologically similar to any creature's flesh, so it should be fine to eat. But devouring tainted meat saturated with mana might accumulate that mana in the body, potentially causing monstrous changes.
If that had happened... He really might've become a true Minotaur monster.
"Hold still for a sec."
I floated up slightly, placed my hand on Asterios's head, and sent my mana flowing through to examine the mana accumulated in his body. A considerable amount had built up already, altering his flesh quite a bit. That's probably why, despite being so young, his body is larger and stronger than an adult's—the mana has warped his physique.
He's still holding onto his reason for now, but if I'd arrived any later... He might've truly become the labyrinth's monster.
So.
"Your health isn't great."
"Really? I've never lacked strength."
"No more monster meat from now on. It's bad for you. If you'd eaten more, you would've turned as ferocious as one."
Asterios's expression twisted in disgust at my words.
"I don't want that. I don't wanna become a monster."
"I can't reverse the changes all at once, but if you stop eating monster meat, you can maintain your current state."
I could extract the mana from his body, but it's fused into his bones and muscles. Pulling it out would leave his whole body riddled with tiny holes... and he'd die on the spot. I could regenerate his flesh while extracting it, but that's a hassle. I could do it, but a normal human couldn't.
Hmm. I could heal him, but it's too much work, so I'll leave it be for now. As long as he stops eating monster meat, it'll stabilize. It's not life-threatening, and that mana has made him incredibly strong anyway.
So. Leave it.
"No more eating monsters from now on. Got it?"
"Yeah. Got it."
With the obedient Asterios, I headed for the labyrinth's exit. I'd blasted straight-line tunnels from the entrance to his location, but they weren't wide enough for him to pass—barely big enough for me, even. The walls seemed to be sealing themselves up automatically.
It was almost like the labyrinth's walls were alive.
Infinite Labyrinth. One of the world's Seven Great Forbidden Zones. An underground labyrinth discovered beneath the ruins of the palace of the city-state once called Minoah.
Unlike the other Seven Great Forbidden Zones, it has a slightly different nature. Under certain conditions, even ordinary adventurers with sufficient rank can enter legally through proper procedures—it's a bottomless labyrinth.
While the others strictly prohibit entry to all but a tiny few, the Infinite Labyrinth has looser permissions and lower required ranks by comparison.
In a way, it might be the perfect training ground for inexperienced adventurers to gain the experience needed to become full-fledged ones.
...That said, the Infinite Labyrinth has features so convoluted they're incomparable to other dungeons. The biggest is that maps are meaningless.
A path open yesterday might be a dead end today, or a blank wall might sprout a new room. It's a living labyrinth that changes daily.
Every wall except the entrances and exits to each layer shifts randomly every day, rendering maps useless.
The silver lining is the guardian deity's blessing: stairways between layers and safe zones remain fixed, protected from other monsters.
Without that divine protection, adventurers descending would starve without resupply, dying in the depths.
And one more issue, alongside the ever-shifting walls: each layer's size keeps expanding.
Adventurer's Guild surveys show it grows by about 30 square meters annually. In terms of danger, it rivals the other Seven Great Forbidden Zones.
One might worry it'll eventually consume all underground space, but investigations confirm it's a separate realm from our world, connected only at the entrance. No need to fret.
The Guild Master at the time tried creating extra entrances to stabilize it by increasing traffic, but no matter how they dug around, they couldn't make new ones.
As if the entire labyrinth existed in another world, overlapping ours only at the gateway.
...Monsters continuously spawn within this ever-expanding Infinite Labyrinth.
The deeper you go, the stronger they get. The Guild manages it warily, sending adventurers to cull them.
To prevent the day when the labyrinth overflows with monsters bursting out into the world.
Chapter on the Seven Great Forbidden Zones
Asterios and I finally reached the labyrinth's entrance. I stepped lightly onto the stairs, but he hesitated, his feet rooted in place.
"What's wrong? Don't wanna leave?"
Asterios opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He seemed deeply conflicted—almost terrified.
He was probably afraid of his father, the king of Minoah.
"I..."
After a long pause, he finally spoke.
"Is it okay for me to leave here?"
I couldn't see his face behind the cow-skull mask, but his eyes betrayed his emotions: fear, terror, doubt.
"Why was I even born?"
"Why were you born..."
"Why did I have to be born like this, with these horns? If I hadn't been, my parents wouldn't have fought."
Words denying his own life. Words of regret. Words of fear.
His father the king denied him as a son. His mother the queen accepted him but couldn't sway the king.
Growing up between them, Asterios must have lost all certainty in himself.
Born a normal human, he'd have lived happily as a prince. But cursed with an atavistic beastkin body, the boy couldn't even claim that title.
"Do I... Does someone like me have any reason for being born?"
Laments. Self-curses. Agony as if he had no worth. Words declaring his life meaningless.
To Asterios murmuring such things, I replied.
"Life itself holds meaning."
No being is born with a predefined purpose. Well, I can't say none at all, but most lives aren't.
New life forms from love, nurtured through patient months in the womb, birthed amid tearing agony—all without inherent purpose.
Thus, life holds meaning in its very existence.
"You won't find a 'reason for being born' because there isn't one to begin with."
"B-but... The Dragon Goddess said every life has a reason for being born..."
Dragon Goddess? If she means the Life Goddess... maybe the sub-spirit I split off.
She's been working diligently, but her views differ from mine a bit. After 300 years of autonomy, she's evolved some...
I'll check on her later when I have time.
"A reason for being born? Maybe not. But a reason for living? That's different."
A reason to live can be chosen by pure personal will, not dictated by others.
So.
"Do you have something you want to do?"
I asked Asterios, who stood frozen, refusing the stairs.
"Something I want to do?"
"Yeah. Something you've always wanted to try. Something you desire. Anything at all—just name one thing you truly wish for."
Asterios pondered my question before answering.
"I want... to see the world."
"The world?"
"Yeah. I couldn't leave the palace as a kid, and since entering the labyrinth, I've never seen the outside. I want to explore it."
A world tour. Not bad.
"I want to see the elves' great forest, the tallest mountain where dwarves live. Travel everywhere and see it all."
The wish of a child raised in captivity. The dream of one denied freedom.
How could I, as an adult, deny such a pure wish?
So.
"Travel with me, then."
While we're at it, I can scout kids fitting the zodiac. Next up... a tiger sounds good.
Tiger. Tiger... Bengal tiger. Siberian tiger. Saber-tooth tiger.
Whatever works. Probably east, right?
Heading that way anyway, an extra companion's fine.
