Part 2 of 8
As long as I keep doing damage little by little, while she can’t damage me at all, then my victory is assured.
On top of that, my real body has left the Great Elroe Labyrinth to embark on a journey in the outside world.
It’s impossible for Mother’s giant body to go there.
The moment I exited the labyrinth was the moment I won.
Now I just have to take my sweet time whittling away at Mother’s soul.
I never even dreamed that I’d be able to defeat such a powerful opponent like this.
I guess this is kinda like a dream, though.
Number one! Are you still slacking off?!
The former body brain comes back, complaining all the while.
Despite how violently Mother’s attack blew her away, she’s still totally unharmed.
Thank you, O Great Heresy Nullification.
Without that skill, I probably wouldn’t have had even the slimmest of chances.
Mother’s spiritual strength is basically on par with her real strength.
Which makes perfect sense.
The strength of her real stats is based on the strength of her soul, after all.
Sure, physical strength comes into play, too, but the soul is the main source of power. It’s not surprising that the spiritual body—essentially her soul itself—would be just as strong.
In other words, our spirit bodies are comparable in ability to our real bodies, too.
But in our case, we’ve been split into fragments by Parallel Minds, which means we each have only a certain percent of that strength.
The fact that this battle is still grueling despite the fact that Heresy Nullification negates any attacks against us just goes to show how enormous the difference in strength is between Mother and our real body.
We keep getting blown away, charging, and latching on again.
It’s only after repeating this cycle for days that we’ve finally reached the point where we’ve caused visible damage.
Hey, don’t ignore me!
Ugh, so annoying.
I haven’t been slacking off, either, you know.
Hey, former body brain.
What?
Doesn’t it seem strange to you?
I don’t have to clarify what I’m referring to.
There’s something strange about Mother’s actions.
In this spiritual battle, as long as we have Heresy Nullification, we don’t have to worry about getting hurt.
We know we’ll defeat Mother eventually, even if it takes a long while.
It’s obvious how this will end.
That being the case, of course Mother’s going to try to foil our plans.
The first counter came in the form of an arch taratect–led spider army that she sent after our real body, which was in an area too small for her to enter herself.
Arch taratects are particularly powerful subordinates of hers, able to hold their own even against a dragon.
She probably thought that would be enough to kill our real body.
But instead, our real body turned the tables on them using some rather nasty tactics, beating them at their own game.
That was all well and good.
But it’s what’s happened since that’s strange.
Since the arch taratects lost, Mother obviously has to make another move.
Otherwise, at this rate, she’s gonna die.
However, Mother hasn’t shown any signs of attempting anything else.
This is despite the fact that she still has underlings to control.
Ever since I ate part of Mother’s spiritual body, I’ve been able to see through her eyes.
I’m not sure where in the labyrinth it is, but somewhere there’s a huge spider army, including arch taratects.
Mother is at the heart of it all, unmoving.
Looking at this, I can tell that the force she sent after our real body before was only a small portion of her army of followers.
Why doesn’t she send the rest of them after our body?
I just don’t get it.
I mean, our real body is strong, if I do say so myself.
Sure, we were able to defeat the arch taratects only through the use of underhanded tactics, but we also fought an equally strong opponent—no, even stronger—the earth dragon Araba, and won in a fair fight.
Still, if two or more arch taratects attack the main body at the same time, they certainly have a solid chance of winning.
And yet, Mother isn’t doing that.
Even though she has way more than two arch taratects.
She just sits there idly while battling us spirit projections, as if she’s waiting for something.
Well, I’m sure if she sent such an impossibly large spider army after our main body, it’d just use Teleport to run away without hesitation.
…Wait a sec.
Could it be that Mother understands that, too?
She knows that I have no problem running away from a fight I know I can’t win?
That’s very possible.
Mother and I have been connected by her Kin Control skill since the moment I was born.
I doubt she pays much attention to every one of her countless children, but considering how uniquely I’ve been doing things, I might’ve caught her eye(s) somewhere along the line.
If Mother’s been using that skill to monitor my actions, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s familiar with my behavior patterns by now.
In fact, maybe she used that knowledge to carefully arrange that first army in a way that would make me think that I might have a chance of winning if I fought hard.
Really, if I had fought that army fair and square instead of using dirty tricks, I have the feeling my odds of losing were just a little higher than my odds of winning.
If it was just the arch taratects, I think I would’ve won.
After factoring in that mob of followers, my chances were pretty slim.
But that slim chance was key.
It would’ve been tough, but it wasn’t so terrible that I definitely couldn’t win.
If I think I stand a chance, I can’t bring myself to run away, even if my odds of losing are much higher.
In the end, of course, our side won with room to spare.
Still, if Mother actually thought things through that far ahead, then she must be craftier than I gave her credit for.
I’d say that’d make her as smart as a human being, or maybe even smarter.
In which case, her current lack of action is downright suspicious.
If she doesn’t do something, we spirit bodies are going to beat her.
Why would she just sit around like that?
Just biding her time, almost like she’s waiting for something?
No, not “almost.” That’s got to be it.
But what’s she waiting for, then?
As if to confirm my sneaking suspicions, Mother’s hitherto motionless body suddenly shifts into action, as does the enormous spider army around her.
All of them move at once.
The spider army splits up into several squadrons, each spearheaded by arch taratects, before dispersing. At the same time, Mother starts to move at a speed much higher than seems possible for her enormous body.
She got us.
Mother was waiting for this moment.
Contact the main body!
I can’t! Mother’s interfering with the connection somehow!
Seriously?
That’s not good.
I don’t know what skill she’s using, but she seems to have temporarily cut us spirit projections off from contact with the main body.
Now we can’t tell our real body that it’s in danger!
It’s all too clear now what she was waiting for.
The moment our real body went outside.
Now she’s distributing her troops throughout the labyrinth, where our main body will teleport to at the first sign of trouble—cutting off our escape routes in advance.
Then, when our body has nowhere left to go, the queen herself will lead the rest of her army to hunt us down.
From the bottom of a deep, dark pit, Mother begins to race upward at a horrifying speed.
And as soon as she approaches the ceiling, she opens her terrible mouth.
Out comes the attack that destroys everything: Breath.
A pseudo-breath attack using the Dragon Power skill, likely modeled after the kind used by real dragons.
However, just because it’s not the real thing doesn’t mean it’s weak.
In fact, it explodes with more force than a real dragon’s breath, smashing through the thick ceiling of the labyrinth.
The earth shakes as if the world’s been turned upside down.
Huge meteorite-size rocks plummet toward the bottom of the pit like rain.
After the debris stops falling, it gives way to a clear blue sky.
If I could, I would scream, You’re kidding me, right?!
Seriously, Mother? You broke through the labyrinth itself to get outside?
My sense of security, the assurance that surely Mother was too large to ever leave the labyrinth, vanishes in an instant.
Mother has escaped the cramped confines of the cage known as the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
And now, of course, she’s heading straight for our real body.
Who has no idea that any of this is happening.
ENTERING THE GREAT ELROE LABYRINTH
“U-um, hey. The thing is, I kinda can’t swim…”
After Basgath agreed to guide us yesterday, we finished our preparations and are now about to enter the Great Elroe Labyrinth.
Instead of the entrance that was guarded by a fortress, we’re currently standing by the ocean.
“Listen up. If you jump off this cliff, there’s an entrance to the Great Elroe Labyrinth on the ocean floor below. We don’t have any idiots who can’t swim here, right?”
That was the question that prompted Fei’s reluctant confession.
When everyone stares at Fei with disbelief, she shrinks in embarrassment.
Even Basgath was probably joking when he said that; I doubt he actually expected that someone in our group couldn’t swim.
Now he scratches his head awkwardly.
By the way, we’re all in swimsuits right now.
Which means that Basgath had already told us that we’d be swimming, and yet Fei held out until the very last minute to admit that she can’t.
“You really can’t swim?”
Hyrince breaks the awkward silence with a somber tone.
“Yeah…”
Fei’s voice nearly fades into the wind.
This is kind of…unexpected.
In both this life and her previous one, Fei has always seemed like someone who can do just about anything.
But now that I think about it, I guess I’ve never seen her swimming.
Of course, there aren’t any safe places for swimming, like pools, in this world, so we’ve rarely had the chance to do it here anyway.
There was a pool at the high school we went to in our previous lives, but since boys and girls had separate swim classes, I never saw her swim then, either.
In short, I have no way of knowing how bad she actually is.
“Fei, what’s the best you can do?”
“Beats me. In our old world, I couldn’t even swim eighty feet. And I haven’t tried it at all in this body.”
That wasn’t a very helpful answer.
Does that mean she can swim a little bit, just not eighty feet?
Otherwise, she probably would have just said she can’t swim at all.
Plus, with her status, I bet she could manage to swim somehow.
Her stats alone are higher than mine.
She is a dragon, after all.
“What should we do?”
Hyrince furrows his brow.
Fei is the strongest fighter in our group.
Since we’re going to battle Hugo, we can’t just leave her here.
“If you’re having trouble, I’ll help you get down there.”
Katia shoots me a glare as soon as I say it, but what else are we supposed to do?
Fei’s body is heavy.
She may be in human form now, but she still weighs the same as she did as a dragon.
When she’s in this form, she gets around this by using Heavy Magic to manipulate gravity.
But underwater, she might have to cancel the spell, since she won’t be able to control it precisely.
If that happens, I’m the only one who would be able to support her weight, since my stats are the highest.
It doesn’t make sense for anyone but me to take on that job.
Katia must know that, which is probably why she’s merely glaring at me and not saying anything.
I feel like it would be less intimidating if she would just say something, to be honest.
“Fei, you had better swim like your life depends on it.”
Katia directs her wrath toward Fei instead.
It sends a chill down my spine, even though it wasn’t directed at me.
Fei nods silently, but I’m pretty sure I see her face go a little pale.
“Hoo, boy. Are these kids gonna be able to keep it together?”
“I don’t know if I can promise that, but there’s not much we can do.”
Basgath’s raised eyebrows and Hyrince’s sigh are a little painful.
“All right, kiddos. Focus! The ocean is the water dragons’ territory. If you let your guard down, it’ll snap you up just like that!”
At Basgath’s scolding, we drop the light bickering and tense up.
“All right, here we go! Follow me, you lot!”
With that, Basgath jumps off the cliff.
The rest of us follow close on his heels.
Plunging into the water, I quickly look around.
Right nearby, Fei is flailing her limbs in a frantic attempt at swimming.
She doesn’t seem to be drowning, but she’s not really getting anywhere, either.
Grabbing one of her hands, I pull her along.
I don’t know if it’s the Heavy Magic or the effect of the water, but she doesn’t feel heavy at all.
It shouldn’t be too hard to reach the entrance with her.
I start swimming, following Basgath.
We dive deeper and deeper. After maybe thirty feet or so, the entrance to the Great Elroe Labyrinth comes into view.
Basgath swims into the gaping hole in the rock face first.
He’s followed in order by Hyrince, Ms. Oka, Anna, and Katia.
Just then, I suddenly feel a presence behind me.
Turning apprehensively, I see a huge creature swimming toward us serenely.
A water dragon.
It looks just like the Loch Ness Monster.
As soon as it sees us, the water dragon charges without hesitation.
“Mmph?!”
Fei struggles to get away, but all she can manage is whipping around in the water, making very little progress.
I try to quickly move us away, too, but of course the water dragon has the edge on underwater maneuvers. At this rate, it’ll catch up to us before we get to the entrance.
If it reaches us, it’s all over.
Fighting a water dragon while holding my breath underwater would be nothing short of suicide. On top of that, my weapons are currently in Basgath’s Spatial Storage bag, so I’m unarmed.
Fei glances at me and sees my panic, then turns around and opens her mouth.
A torrent of brilliant light rushes out from her throat.
It’s a breath attack!
The breath surges through the water toward the water dragon.
Defending itself, the water dragon counters with a breath of its own.
The light dragon’s and the water dragon’s attacks collide, sending shock waves out through the water.
Luckily enough, the waves push Fei and me right into the entrance to the labyrinth.
As we’re sent spinning through the narrow tunnel, our bodies tumble off the walls repeatedly.
Not wanting to get separated, I pull Fei toward me and hang on tight.
It’s almost like we’re hurtling through a waterslide with no safety measures whatsoever.
For a second, it feels like we’re floating.
Finally, we crash to the ground magnificently.
In my attempt to shield Fei from the impact, I end up getting slammed that much harder.
Somehow, we’ve made it to the cave at the end of the tunnel.
Opening my eyes, I see Basgath with a torch in hand.
His body is pretty scratched up.
Everyone else has a considerable amount of scrapes, too.
We were basically flushed at high speed through a fairly long tunnel, so I guess we’re lucky the damage wasn’t worse.
It’s certainly better than it would’ve been if we’d ended up fighting that water dragon.
However, although the wounds are shallow, our bathing suits have all been torn in some places.
Ms. Oka and her childlike body are fine, but Katia and Anna have been left in a pretty suggestive state.
Also, Katia is glowering at me as she covers up her ripped swimsuit with her hands.
“Urk, sorry.”
“I won’t dare to ask what that apology is for, but perhaps you could let go now?”
At Katia’s cold words, I realize I’ve been holding on to Fei this whole time.
Suddenly deeply aware of her soft skin pressed against my body, I hastily pull away.
“S-s-s-sorry!”
“Hmm. Well, you saved me, so I guess we’ll call it even.”
I bow my head in gratitude to Fei’s generous decree.
“Argh! With a start like this, I dread to think how the rest of the journey’s going to go!”
Privately, I couldn’t agree more with Mr. Basgath.
At any rate, since we’re all scratched up, we’d better treat our wounds.
We have to change into our regular clothes, too, but it’d be better to take care of our injuries first, right?
Although the women probably don’t want to remain in this state any longer than they have to.
“Well, at least we managed to enter safely, more or less. Welcome to our hell on earth, the Great Elroe Labyrinth.”
Groaning at Basgath’s dramatic line, I set about preparing some healing magic.
MOTHER ATTACK
Having decided at random to head toward the mountains, I enjoy my first stroll since being reincarnated.
In my previous life, I was an honorary shut-in who left the house only to go to school (I don’t really remember going anywhere else, anyway). But this time around, I’m a healthy young spider who enjoys the outdoors!
Since I never left the Great Elroe Labyrinth until now, I guess technically I’ve been a shut-in this whole time, but that’s ancient history now!
Walking is super-fun!
I guess humans really do need sunlight to live.
Can’t produce vitamin D without soaking up some sun!
Not that it matters to me, since I’m a spider now!
Still, just enjoying a little sunshine is raising my energy levels waaay up.
Really makes you realize how great the sun is.
Although I guess I don’t actually know if this planet calls its star the sun or what have you.
As a side note, there’s only one sun here, too.
I don’t know if there’s a moon yet.
I’ll probably find out when night falls, but I can’t help but wonder if there’ll be two moons, like an honest-to-goodness sci-fi/fantasy world.
Now, that I’d like to see.
The stars are probably different from Earth’s, so I’m a little curious about that, too.
Man, I’m looking forward to nighttime.
In my old life, when all I did was play games, I could never have imagined being this interested in nature.
Speaking of nature, Appraisal works really well on the flowers around here.
I was kind of surprised that it showed the names of every single plant.
If my Appraisal level was still low, it’d probably just label the whole mess “grass.”
Anyway, since I spent a long time curiously Appraising everything, I haven’t gotten as far as I expected.
But I guess it’s not like I’m in any rush.
Enjoying my leisurely walk, I eventually pass through the plains and reach the forest.
The second I get close, I notice that all of the living creatures in the forest start fleeing immediately.
Yeah, yeah.
Almost forgot—I’m a dangerous monster who crawled out of the labyrinth and all that.
I guess it makes sense that normal animals would want to run away from me.
Kinda feels like I’ve been brought back down to earth for a second.
Okay, that takes the wind out of my sails a little.
Oh well. I shake it off and start exploring the forest.
The animals may have run away, but the plants are obviously still here.
Discovering some kind of fruit growing in the forest, I Appraise it, then try a bite.
Mm!
So sweet! So tasty!
Thanks, Mother Nature!
Oh man, I’m sooo happy.
Maybe I can just live in the forest, eating fruit, until I evolve into an arachne.
Hmm?
Did the ground shake a little just now?
Like a magnitude-3-ish earthquake?
Seems like there are earthquakes in this world, too.
I never felt any shaking while I was in the Great Elroe Labyrinth, so I had no idea.
Maybe it doesn’t happen as often here as it does in Japan?
I guess Japan probably has shakes a little too often.
My thoughts are interrupted by Danger Perception going off alarmingly.
My whole body stiffens, warning me that I’m in danger.
I haven’t felt fear like this in a long while.
This particular sensation seems familiar.
It’s the same fear I felt when I was first born.
Huh? You’re kidding me, right?
I mean, that thing could never come out of the labyrinth.
But the alarm bells in my head are growing louder by the second.
My senses are screaming that I can’t stay here.
Dash!
I run away at full speed, trying to put as much distance between the source of danger and myself as I can.
Immediately, I sense a huge amount of power converging on me from far behind.
This doesn’t look good.
I change my course, veering to the side.
Using my Skanda skill, which I’ve had since birth, I continue gaining speed, running away with all my might.
Seconds later, the forest I was just standing in…is gone.
At the edge of my vision, I see a torrent of black energy.
It resembles Araba’s breath attack but with a different attribute and far more powerful.
I’m guessing that was the Dark attribute.
And it was even stronger than Araba’s full-powered breath attack.
Not to mention, this was launched from miles away. Yet it managed to destroy a section of a forest, then still had energy to spare to shave off a fragment of the distant mountain I was heading toward.
Araba’s breath was powerful enough to destroy my home, sure.
But this isn’t even on the same level.
I’ve seen this insane amount of power only once before.
In the Middle Stratum, when I saw a swarm of wyrms led by the fire dragon Rend all but wiped out by a single attack.
I look back to see what created this attack.
It’s the same giant beast I expected to see.
This is my third time seeing it with my own eyes.
The first time was when I was born.
The second time was when I saw that fire dragon get beaten down.
And the third time is now. My mother, the queen taratect, is aiming her fearsome power right at me.
Run!
Run!
Run awaaay!
I don’t know how she got out of the labyrinth or how she knew where I was, but there’s no time to worry about that right now! Just gotta escape!
The instant I saw Mother in the flesh, I became acutely aware that I didn’t stand a chance.
I didn’t think it would be possible at this distance, but I manage to Appraise her somehow. Maybe it’s because my Parallel Minds are still connected to her.
<Queen taratect (Weakened) LV 89
Status: HP: 20,557/20,557 (MAX 24,557) (green) +0 (details)
SP: 19,097/19,097 (MAX 23,097) (yellow) (details)
Average Offensive Ability: 20,439 (MAX 24,439) (details)
Average Magical Ability: 17,977 (MAX 21,977) (details)
Average Speed Ability: 20,400 (MAX 24,400) (details)
MP: 18,301/18,301 (MAX 22,301) (blue) +0 (details)
: 19,991/19,991 (MAX 23,991)
(red) +0 (details)
Average Defensive Ability: 20,286 (MAX 24,286) (details)
Average Resistance Ability: 17,946 (MAX 21,946) (details)
Skills:
[HP Ultra-Fast Recovery LV 4] [MP Rapid Recovery LV 10] [MP Lessened Consumption LV 10] [Magic Divinity LV 3]
[Magic Power Conferment LV 5] [Magic Power Super-Attack LV 1] [SP Rapid Recovery LV 10] [SP Minimized Consumption LV 10]
[Destruction Super-Enhancement LV 5] [Impact Super-Enhancement LV 6] [Cutting Super-Enhancement LV 3] [Piercing Super-Enhancement LV 5]
[Shock Super-Enhancement LV 5] [Status Condition Super-Enhancement LV 10] [Battle Divinity LV 9] [Energy Conferment LV 10]
[Ability Conferment LV 6] [Energy Super-Attack LV 3] [Divine Dragon Power LV 6] [Dragon Barrier LV 2]
[Deadly Poison Attack LV 10] [Enhanced Paralysis Attack LV 10] [Heretic Attack LV 7] [Poison Synthesis LV 10]
[Medicine Synthesis LV 10] [Thread Genius LV 10] [Divine Thread Weaving] [Thread Control LV 10]
[Psychokinesis LV 3] [Throw LV 10] [Expel LV 10] [Dimensional Maneuvering LV 10]
[Kin Control LV 10] [Egg-Laying LV 10] [Concentration LV 10] [Thought Acceleration LV 9]
[Future Sight LV 3] [Parallel Minds LV 9] [High-Speed Processing LV 10] [Hit LV 10]
[Evasion LV 10] [Probability Super-Correction LV 10] [Stealth LV 10] [Concealment LV 2]
[Silence LV 10] [Odorless LV 1] [Emperor] [Heretic Magic LV 10]
[Shadow Magic LV 10] [Dark Magic LV 10] [Black Magic LV 4] [Poison Magic LV 10]
[Healing Magic LV 10] [Demon Lord LV 5] [Satiation LV 10] [Destruction Super-Resistance LV 4]
[Impact Nullification] [Cutting Super-Resistance LV 4] [Piercing Super-Resistance LV 4] [Shock Super-Resistance LV 4]
[Flame Resistance LV 2] [Flood Resistance LV 1] [Gale Resistance LV 1] [Terrain Resistance LV 2]
[Bolt Resistance LV 1] [Holy Light Resistance LV 9] [Earth Resistance LV 8] [Heavy Super-Resistance LV 1]
[Status Condition Resistance] [Acid Super-Resistance LV 3] [Rot Resistance LV 8] [Faint Resistance LV 5]
[Fear Resistance LV 8] [Heresy Resistance LV 9] [Pain Nullification] [Suffering Nullification]
[Night Vision LV 10] [Long-Distance Vision LV 1] [Five Senses Super-Enhancement LV 10] [Perception Expansion LV 8]
[Divinity Expansion LV 2] [Ultimate Life LV 10] [Ultimate Magic LV 10] [Ultimate Movement LV 10]
[Fortune LV 10] [Fortitude LV 10] [Stronghold LV 10] [Deva LV 10]
[Sanctum LV 10] [Skanda LV 10] [Taboo LV 10]
Skill Points: 164,500
Titles:
[Kin Eater] [Foul Feeder] [Poison Technique User] [Monster Slayer]
[Thread User] [Assassin] [Human Slayer] [Fearbringer]
[Merciless] [Monster Slaughterer] [Wyrm Slayer] [Dragon Slayer]
[Champion] [Monster Calamity] [Lord] [Human Slaughterer]
[Wyrm Slaughterer] [Human Calamity]
>
What kind of beast is this?
Her stats are all higher than 20,000!
Mathematically, that means she’s around five times stronger than Araba.
How am I supposed to win?
Seriously, those stats are even worse than I imagined.
I was prepared for them to be more than 10,000, sure, but double that?
I guess the one silver lining is that her stats have been reduced for some reason.
They’ve all lost about 4,000 points each.
Maybe that’s thanks to the hard work of my Parallel Minds?
That would mean that I’m the one who reduced her stats this much.
Man, am I amazing or what?
Unfortunately, that still doesn’t mean I stand a chance of winning.
Even when she’s weakened, her lowest stat still far exceeds my highest.
I have to run away.
Jumping into a fight I can’t win is tantamount to suicide.
And I definitely don’t want to die like that.
If I’m completely backed into a corner, then sure, I’ll go down fighting my hardest, but right now I still have a chance of surviving if I run away.
There’s still a lot of distance between Mother and me.
Because her speed is higher than mine, she would catch me eventually in a chase, but it’d still take her a while to close the gap.
Also, that powerful breath did manage to reach my position in spite of the huge distance between us, but I’m sure I’ll be able to tell when she’s preparing a huge attack like that.
It shouldn’t be impossible for me to escape the blast radius in time, either, I think.
Anyway, while I’m running away from Mother, I’d better start putting together a Long-Distance Teleport spell in a hurry.
Unlike Short-Range Teleport, Long-Distance takes time to prepare.
Even with my Height of Occultism skill, I still need a few minutes.
And since I have to concentrate on constructing such a complicated rune for it, I can’t use any other magic at the same time.
Generally speaking, it isn’t something I can use during battle.
But it’s the perfect spell for escaping.
I can teleport to anywhere that I’ve been before, no matter how far away.
As long as I can complete the spell, my retreat back into the Great Elroe Labyrinth won’t take even a second.
Right now, the pleasant scenery of the outdoors seems far more dangerous.
Better to hide in the complicated labyrinth, safe in a narrow passage that Mother can’t easily enter.
I just have to last a few minutes until the Teleport spell is ready.
But now I sense Mother chasing behind me at a frightening speed.
So damn fast!
How can such an enormous body be this speedy?!
I glance backward for a moment.
Wow. She’s basically causing natural disasters just by moving.
Wherever her feet land, huge chunks of earth go flying. The areas she’s passed through are completely wrecked, like a huge tornado just hit.
The wind generated by her speed alone is enough to mow down everything in her path.
You know those monster movies where the monster stomps around, destroying streets and buildings? Yeah, this is worse.
Mother is basically the incarnation of destruction right now.
Just running by is enough to wreak havoc on the world around her?
This is no joke!
If she so much as steps on me, my little body is gonna get decimated!
But now is no time to be frozen in fear.
That’s ’cause, like, judging by Mother’s mouth, it kinda seems like she’s charging up another breath attack.
While moving toward me at full speed.
Um, wait a second.
Can you really shoot that breath while moving?
Don’t you normally have to stop to charge a big attack like that, never mind fire it?
This doesn’t seem fair!
Panicking, I change direction.
I’m trying to get out of the straight line where I assume the breath is going to hit.
But Future Sight kicks in, showing me a horrifying scene.
Oh crap!
I switch gears again, abandoning my sideways movement to take to the sky with Dimensional Maneuvering.
Immediately, Mother jumps up high.
She fires her breath through the air I just leaped from.
Then sweeps horizontally.
The breath attack devastates a wide swath of land in seconds.
Even in the air, I still get slammed by the shock waves, sending me into a tailspin.
Still, at least the damage is minor.
If I’d stayed on the ground, I would’ve taken a direct hit from that breath.
Compared to that, I prefer losing about 30 percent of my HP any day!
If the shock waves alone cause that much damage, a direct hit would’ve freaking vaporized me!
I manage to gain control in the air and keep fleeing.
I don’t want to waste precious seconds getting back down to the ground.
In fact, the ground’s been blown to bits anyway, meaning I couldn’t even if I wanted to.
If this is what it’s like when she’s weakened, I would hate to see Mother’s full-power breath when she’s in her normal state.
I glance back at Mother.
She lands on the ruined ground like it’s no big deal, raising an enormous cloud of dust.
I’m pretty sure I saw the earth literally shake when she hit.
Then, ignoring the impact of the landing, she goes right back to running toward me.
A part of me can’t help thinking that she looks pretty badass, charging toward me with a cloud of dust rising in her wake.
It really is like a scene out of a movie.
Just much, much scarier.
Jumping with that giant body, landing, and breaking into a run again without a second thought? How aggressive can you be?
This ain’t some CG animation. It’s reality, and it’s coming for me.
Why do I have to deal with a situation that would make a Hollywood director wet themselves?!
The distance between us is already around half of where it started a minute ago.
In other words, she’ll catch up to me in another half a minute.
The Teleport should be ready just seconds before that.
As long as I don’t screw this up, I’m gonna make it!
But seriously, I better not screw this up.
Mother starts activating magic spells as she runs.
I’m working on a spell while I run, too, so I guess I can’t complain this time.
I can’t, but I want to!
Judging by the looks of it, Mother is using the Dark Magic spell Dark Bullet.
It’s a very simple spell, the weakest level of Dark Magic.
That’s all well and good, but the amount of shots and their range are definitely not normal.
The greater the range of the magic, the weaker it becomes.
If Mother wants to damage me from several miles away, she’d have to use a huge amount of MP.
And have the magical prowess to perform it, too.
It’s no surprise that Mother can do something like that, of course.
But I still think it’s unfair that she can fire so many that it’s like a rain of bullets!
I dodge and weave around the fusillade as I push forward.
As a result, my speed slows down, and Mother is catching up to me that much faster.
I did consider simply tanking the hits as I run.
My magic defense is pretty high, and I’ve got Dragon Power to dispel magic, too.
I might not even take damage at all if I get hit.
However, the problem isn’t the damage itself but the time I’d lose.
When an attack hits you, besides the damage, it has a certain impact.
What if that slowed me down?
Or worse yet, if it caused me to lose my balance and fall, it’d all be over in an instant.
Dodging is the best option to keep unknown variables out of the equation.
I thought that was the right decision.
However, it was based on incorrect assumptions.
See, I thought this magic barrage was meant to slow me down.
But I was wrong.
It was meant as a distraction.
By the time I notice, it’s too late.
A third breath attack has been charging up in Mother’s mouth.
I have no time to take evasive action before the breath shoots forth.
My body is about to be swallowed up by an oncoming wave of destruction.
Just before it hits, my teleport magic is complete.
I activate it immediately and escape into the Great Elroe Labyrinth by a hairbreadth.
I made it.
If the teleportation had been even one second later, I would’ve died.
As it is, about a quarter of my body was annihilated.
Two of my hind legs are gone, and even a piece of my abdomen.
The fact that I’m still alive must be thanks to either my nature as a spider or the grace of my skills and stats.
At any rate, I can’t just leave things like this.
I have to use Healing Magic to fix myself up right away.
As soon as that thought flashes through my mind, I check my surroundings again.
This area is a sort of midpoint between the Middle and Upper Stratums.
I teleported here, since I’d built a home here once.
Now, it’s where a massive army of spiders has been lying in wait for me.
NAVIGATING THE GREAT ELROE LABYRINTH
I don’t know where I am.
A vast, empty space.
And a lone woman is there with me.
Her body is disappearing, like it’s melting into the space, leaving only part of her upper body behind.
It’s heartrending to witness.
Then, mechanical words spill from her mouth.
“Proficiency has reached the required level.”
“Experience has reached the required level.”
“Proficiency has reached the required level.”
………
“It hurts.”
My eyes flash open, and I jerk upright.
Quickly, I check my surroundings.
A lamp emits a faint light.
The walls it illuminates are natural rock, and the ground, too, is hard enough that I can feel it through my sleeping bag.
The Great Elroe Labyrinth, Upper Stratum.
Now I remember where I am and why.
That’s right. We came to this labyrinth to cross between the continents.
We’ve been in here for two days now.
It’s currently night. We’re sleeping while keeping watch in shifts.
Aside from the water dragon attack right at the start, our trip through the labyrinth has been going fairly well with Basgath as our guide.
The monsters we’ve encountered thus far haven’t been a problem.
Many of the monsters that live in the Upper Stratum of the Great Elroe Labyrinth are poisonous, which would normally make things harder, but most of the party can cure poison with Healing Magic.
On top of that, since our stats are so high, the monsters rarely even get in a hit on us before we crush them.
Hyrince, our tank, has been protecting us by manipulating the monsters into focusing their attacks on him.
Thanks in large part to him, we’ve been able to push forward without any difficult battles.
We were worried about labyrinth sickness, too, but so far no one seems to be afflicted by it.
In the labyrinth, there’s no sunlight, no sense of the passage of time, and you never know when a monster will attack you.
Dealing with this for days on end causes many people’s health to falter due to the physical and mental distress.
This is collectively referred to as labyrinth sickness.
To be honest, I was pretty frazzled myself during my first day in the labyrinth.
It’s not particularly hot or cold, but it’s cramped, and the air feels heavy.
The darkness is so absolute that without the light of Basgath’s torch, we wouldn’t even be able to see directly in front of us.
Monsters can suddenly attack from the shadows.
In such a constantly tense environment, fatigue builds a lot faster than it would on a normal day’s worth of travel.
You can’t blame me for getting a little glum knowing that we’ll have to keep this up for days.
We have to reach the elf village before Hugo does.
That makes me want to get out of the labyrinth as quickly as possible, but rushing like that can be fatal in here.
People who can’t remain calm and proceed at a reasonable pace inevitably fall victim to labyrinth sickness in no time flat.
Basgath explained all this to us during our first day.
Fortunately, if we can make it through the labyrinth within our estimated time, we should have no trouble beating Hugo to the elf village.
We can’t get impatient.
I wipe the dried sweat from my brow.
What was up with that dream I just had?
“Are you all right?”
Ms. Oka peers over at me.
Our night watch shifts are in groups of two.
The current guards are Ms. Oka and Basgath.
Apparently, she called out to me because I was groaning as I woke up.
“I’m fine. I just had a bit of a bad dream.”
I hide my worries with a smile.
In the end, it was only a dream, after all.
“That there is an ill omen.”
My words were intended to dodge the subject, but Basgath latches onto them.
“An omen?”
“Yeh got that right. Have yeh heard of the Nightmare of the Labyrinth?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
Basgath usually shouts, but since the rest of our group is sleeping, he’s speaking in a hushed tone.
Naturally, his tone lends itself to creating an ominous atmosphere, as if he’s telling a ghost story.
“I have,” Ms. Oka offers. “It refers to a legendary-class monster that suddenly appeared in the labyrinth some ten years ago, correct?”
“I’m surprised yeh know that. I figured a little girl yer age wouldn’t be familiar with such an old story.”
“Yes, I just happened to hear about it some time ago.”
A legendary-class monster.
That refers to a monster deemed higher than danger level S, said to be impossible for any human to defeat.
“The Nightmare is a living calamity of the Great Elroe Labyrinth, on par with the queen herself. If yeh had a bad dream, that might mean that the Nightmare is going to show up…”
“But isn’t it already dead?” Ms. Oka asked.
“That’s what they say.”
“You don’t believe it?”
“Aye. They say it was killed like any ordinary monster, but I don’t buy it. A beast like that wouldn’t go down easily. If yeh ask me, it’s still alive somewhere, watching and waiting for its next prey.”
“That almost makes it sound as if you’ve seen it for yourself.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Truth be told, I was the one who first discovered the Nightmare.”
For some reason, Basgath puffs up his chest.
I guess that is impressive, probably?
“See, back then there was a monster outbreak incident, so a group of knights was sent in to investigate the cause and thin out the monsters. I was their guide. Turns out, the reason for the outbreak was that the Nightmare had driven all the monsters in its vicinity out of their homes. But we didn’t know that, which explains why we walked right into the Nightmare’s lair. I’ll never forget that moment. The second our eyes met, I thought I was a goner.”
Basgath shudders at the memory.
“Sounds like you’re lucky that you made it out alive.”
“Yeah, about that. The Nightmare has some unusual habits, see. If yeh don’t attack it, it’ll let yeh go. In fact, it might even heal yer wounds.”
“What?”
“Unbelievable, right? I hear the party that was sent in after us to kill it got wiped out in a flash. Maybe they pissed it off or something. And yet, other times it’s been known to help people, as if on a whim. It’s a mysterious, unpredictable monster, that.”
What kind of inconsistent monster is that?
Is it even a monster at all?
“But one thing’s for sure: The Nightmare is outrageously strong. Yeh seem pretty strong from what I’ve seen, boy, but there’ll always be someone stronger than you. In this world, there are some fights you just can’t win. Remember that.”
Those words bring Sophia and Ronandt to mind.
I couldn’t so much as lay a finger on either of them.
“Yes, I know. There’s always someone stronger.”
I clench my fists tight.
If we keep facing off with Hugo, I might have to fight those two again.
If I do, will I be able to win?
No, I can’t think like that. I have to win.
To protect all of humanity and to keep the world from falling into chaos.
I have to stop Hugo, which means I have to beat those two.
“Sounds like yeh got some foes of yer own. But don’t get too fired up about it, hear? Everyone has things they can do and things they can’t. Trying to do the impossible anyway won’t change a thing. Just stick to what yeh can do.”
Basgath tries to reassure me, though I can’t say I agree.
“But there are some things I have to do.”
If you run away from things you can’t do, you’ll never be able to do them.
Sure, I’ll acknowledge it.
As I am right now, I probably can’t beat Sophia or Ronandt.
But I’m going to beat them.
I’ll find a way to win.
Besides, it’s not like I have to do it all on my own.
I have friends I can depend on.
“That so? Well, do yer best, as long as it don’t kill you.”
“I will.”
“All right, then. Lots of people die because they tried to do something they couldn’t. It don’t take much to kill a person, y’know. If yeh die because yeh bit off more than yeh could chew, don’t that mean yeh should’ve sized things up better beforehand?”
Basgath’s unexpectedly serious advice surprises me. Then I realize something.
He’s probably seen this happen to people many times before.
“Fighting to protect something is a fine thing to do, boy. But it ain’t shameful to run away from an enemy yeh know yeh can’t beat. If yeh die there, yeh can never fight again, right? If yeh can’t win this time, just run away, get stronger, then try again. Although there are some beasts in this world yeh’ll never reach no matter how hard yeh try.”
A guide spends all his time in the harsh environment of the labyrinth.
And this man has continued carrying out his duties well into old age.
He must have had experiences that I can’t even begin to imagine.
“But what if you’re not allowed to run away?”
I asked cautiously.
The fight we’re heading for is one we can’t shirk.
The fate of humanity may even hang in the balance.
If we lose, Hugo will likely plunge the world even further into chaos.
So I can’t afford to lose or run away.
“Huh? Just ignore that and run anyway. What’s wrong with trying to survive? If anyone has a problem with it, just tell ’em to take care of it themselves.”
Basgath’s answer wasn’t especially helpful.
“I told yeh, didn’t I? There are some things yeh just can’t do. Every person alive has their limits, eh? Thinking yeh can do anything is nothing but arrogance. Or pride, at best.”
Both Ms. Oka and I widen our eyes at Basgath’s bitter words.
“I’m not saying it’s good to duck yer responsibilities, o’course. As a labyrinth guide, I’ll protect my clients even if it costs me own life. But everyone has a certain amount they can handle. If the responsibilities forced on yeh are more than yeh can handle, yeh ought to at least consider running. Sure yer not taking on more responsibilities than yeh should, boy?”
I can’t seem to answer right away.
Responsibilities.
Because I’m the hero.
Because I’m a reincarnation like Hugo.
If I put it that way, it’s easy to convince myself.
But if I ask myself if all that responsibility should fall to me, I don’t know how to answer.
“’Course, if it’s more than yeh can handle but yeh still wanna give it a shot, far be it from me to try to talk yeh out of it. I’m just telling yeh what I believe. In the end, what’s most important is what you yerself want to do.”
What do I want to do?
The answer is obvious.
I decided to follow in my brother Julius’s footsteps.
And Julius would never run away.
He was a hero among heroes, who truly desired world peace above all else.
“Thank you for your advice. But I still don’t think I can run away. I’m the hero, after all.”
My voice is steady.
Sophia and Ronandt are powerful, but I can’t afford to hesitate now.
After we defeat Hugo, there’s still the battle with the demons to contend with.
And with them, that “white” little girl who killed Julius.
A monster in the truest sense of the word, who was able to defeat my powerful older brother with ease.
I’m going to have to fight her someday.
So I can’t stop until I’m strong enough to win that fight.
If anything, the idea of running is ridiculous.
“I truly appreciate your concern. But this really is what I want to do.”
“Is that right? Then I won’t say anything else. Do yer best, boy.”
I bow my head, and Basgath smacks my shoulder encouragingly.
Ouch.
“What I really want to do… Right. Of course. I mustn’t regret it.”
Distracted by Basgath’s merciless shoulder pounding, I didn’t quite hear Ms. Oka murmuring to herself quietly.
It’s been five days since we entered the labyrinth.
We’re about halfway through.
Since we’re a small group and all of us have high stats, we’ve been able to push forward along the shortest route at a fast pace.
There’s still the slight possibility of labyrinth sickness, but since Basgath is a veteran guide, he’s been moderating our pace so that we can make progress without pushing ourselves too hard.
I was worried that empire soldiers might ambush us along the way, but according to Basgath, that would be impossible.
The empire tends to avoid the labyrinth in the first place, and attempting such a thing would be much more dangerous than it would be effective.
With the many mazelike passages, anyone planning on laying a trap would have no way of knowing which path we would take, meaning they wouldn’t know where to wait.
Thus, our only enemies in the labyrinth are monsters.
And so far, they haven’t been much of a threat.
We have Hyrince as our tank, Ms. Oka bringing up the rear, and Katia, Fei, and I serving as either vanguard or rear guard.
Since Mr. Basgath is our guide, he doesn’t generally participate in battle. On the occasion that he does, though, he shows enough strength to hold his own with our other members.
We might be a ragtag team, but I’d say we’ve come together pretty well.
Aside from one person.
“All right, stop. Time for a little break.”
Everyone halts at Basgath’s call.
He quickly confirms that the area is safe, then spreads out our baggage so that we can rest.
As everyone else settles down to relax unconcernedly, one person alone all but collapses, breathing heavily.
“I’m so terribly sorry,” she whispers to me.
I shake my head, patting Anna gently on the shoulder.
Anna is an excellent mage.
But among all the high-class warriors here, she can’t help but fall behind.
Part 2 of 8