Chapter 115 : Chapter 115
Chapter 115 : To the Labyrinth
Divine Sword Levatein.
One of the weapons symbolizing Cain, a sword that, true to its name 'Divine Sword', eradicates Demonic and excludes magic.
Since it was none other than the Divine Sword Levatein that cut off the head of the Destruction Dragon Tiamat, the value of that sword needed no words.
‘But that still exists? And in Akiro's Labyrinth?’
It was incomprehensible.
The Divine Sword Levatein would surely have been consumed as the price for using the Ascension Stone Fragment, so what on earth is the Divine Sword Levatein that appeared in Akiro's Labyrinth?
‘There's no chance it's real but…… if it's fake, that bothers me in its own way.’
Akiro's Labyrinth, by its nature, may contain things that cannot exist right now, and things that should exist might not be there.
It sounds like a play on words, but such a place was actually Akiro's Labyrinth.
Therefore, even if the rumor about the Divine Sword Levatein is fake, I felt the need to check it personally for now.
Thinking rationally, there's no way, but isn't there always a 'what if'?
‘I should look into it more first.’
I looked through more posts on the anonymous bulletin board.
-Anonymous55 : But wasn't Levatein Cain's weapon? Why is that in Akiro's Labyrinth?
-ImABabyNewbie : What's Akiro's Labyrinth? Is there something weird here?
-Hesen : I think I saw the Divine Sword in Akiro's Labyrinth, is it real...?
Scanning roughly, it seemed the information that the Divine Sword Levatein is in Akiro's Labyrinth didn't start from a specific person but from multiple eyewitness accounts.
In other words, the reliability of the information itself is high.
-Knight Commander : Hmm... Looks interesting. Should I go check it out when I have time?
The topic of Akiro's Labyrinth was currently hot enough that even a giant of the anonymous bulletin board showed interest.
-CyberRekka9 : Regarding this and that rumor about Akiro's Labyrinth recently.
It was to the point where even the official wrecker of the anonymous bulletin board jumped into this topic.
I looked through a few more posts after that.
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About the Divine Sword that appeared in Akiro's Labyrinth... Is that real?
But does the appearance of the Divine Sword mean its owner, Cain, appeared too?
I really don't know.
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Wow lol Saw the Divine Sword in Akiro's Labyrinth.
Fcking crazy FR
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And the conclusion drawn.
‘It's worth checking out personally for now.’
Whether the Divine Sword Levatein that appeared in Akiro's Labyrinth is real or fake.
***
Finding the inn where Luna was staying wasn't that difficult.
In the first place, there weren't that many inns inside Winter Castle, and there was only one high-class inn suitable for Luna to stay.
Luna, who spotted me, ran over with a face that looked genuinely moved.
“Oh my, oh my! Did you perhaps come all the way here just to see me right now? Because waiting was too hard? So touching. I teared up a little just now.”
“……I came because I have something to say, so stop acting foolish.”
“Tch. What is it?”
Seeing her change her expression completely as if asking where her foolishness until a moment ago went, I thought she really was an incomprehensible rascal.
Well, since the human called Dalnim-i was originally such a creature, I just accepted it.
“Do you know about Akiro's Labyrinth?”
“Labyrinth? No, I don't know much about labyrinths because they're complicated, and I've never been to one.”
Right, I knew she would say that.
Because the Dalnim-i I knew was also a human who absolutely hated complicated things.
“But why suddenly Akiro's Labyrinth?”
“Thinking of going there. Of course, with you too.”
“What? Surely it's not because of that Levatein something on the anonymous bulletin board? Is that real?”
“No, the possibility of it being real is low. The genuine article of the Divine Sword Levatein…… would be gone already.”
“Gone? What do you mean?”
“Just know it as such.”
There was no need to tell the story about the Ascension Stone and the price.
It's not that I don't trust Luna, but I didn't trust her enough to tell all my secrets either.
“Mmm…… I've never been to a labyrinth but…… well, it should be fine, since the great Lord Cain is here.”
“Akiro's Labyrinth is not an easy place.”
“Making weak sounds unbefitting of you.”
Luna grinned.
“So, when are you going?”
“We depart as soon as preparations are finished tomorrow.”
“Hmm, okay. I'll prepare until then too.”
“Understood.”
Having finished what I had to say to Luna, I turned my steps immediately.
There were many preparations to be made.
***
There were many preparations needed for clearing Akiro's Labyrinth, but the most important among them was, as expected, information about Akiro's Labyrinth.
I had every bit of information about Akiro's Labyrinth in my head, but my companion Luna was in a situation where she was ignorant about not only Akiro's Labyrinth but also labyrinths themselves.
Therefore, I intended to write a sort of manual about Akiro's Labyrinth for Luna to read.
There was nothing too difficult.
I already had the 2nd-floor guide written after receiving payment from DoDo in the past, and all I had to do was add the 1st-floor guide to it.
Isn't recycling important, after all?
‘Writing in Korean should be fine.’
Shall I call it a sort of cipher?
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Akiro's Labyrinth is a labyrinth artificially created by the Great Sage Akiro, and its time axis is slightly different from the original world.
Therefore, beings from the past may appear here, or beings from the future may appear.
Please keep this in mind and respond as calmly as possible to any abnormal phenomena that may appear in Akiro's Labyrinth.
Akiro's Labyrinth basically consists of floors 1 to 5.
Safe zones within the labyrinth generally have some amount of food and water, but depending on the situation, there may be absolutely none.
Therefore, when entering the labyrinth, please enter after securing sufficient food and water to last at least a month.
Akiro's Labyrinth has the property of changing its structure every time you enter.
To escape the labyrinth, you must find an exit, and at the exit, there exists a staircase leading to the next floor along with an exit to go outside.
Abandon the thought that you can break through Akiro's Labyrinth easily and quickly.
Unless you have mastered all of the thousands of possible patterns existing in Akiro's Labyrinth, there is no way to break through Akiro's Labyrinth easily.
Akiro's Labyrinth is basically a labyrinth that tests the explorer's patience, self-control, and improvisation.
I say it once again. There are no such things as shortcuts or easy ways.
Akiro's Labyrinth basically takes the form of a maze. Therefore, upon entry, please move according to the right-hand rule.
However, in exceptional situations to be described later, briefly leave that spot and once the situation ends, return to that spot and continue to implement the right-hand rule.
Each floor of Akiro's Labyrinth has a safe zone where you can rest, and the first thing to find upon entering each floor is the safe zone.
The safe zone is an area where the entire zone glows green, and areas glowing blue or other colors are not safe zones, so please leave those places promptly.
If an unexpected situation to be described later occurs before finding the safe zone, please refer to the additional explanations for each item.
If you feel an unknown eerie chill from behind your back, do not look back and evacuate to the safe zone immediately.
You must not look back until you arrive at the safe zone.
If you haven't found a safe zone, find a safe zone without looking back as much as possible.
If you discover a wandering manticore, evacuate to the safe zone immediately. The fact that you discovered a manticore means the manticore has also picked up your scent.
The manticore is a demonic beast normally treated as level 7 or higher, exceeding the level of an average visitor to the 2nd floor of Akiro's Labyrinth.
If you haven't found a safe zone, resist with your best effort.
Occasionally, if you hear an unknown voice in your ear, ignore it.
That sound is no exception even in the safe zone, and once it starts to be heard, that voice will endlessly tempt the explorer to head down the wrong path.
Ignore the voice.
If you encounter a man wearing a smiling mask, do not show hostility if possible.
The man wearing a smiling mask normally possesses strength of level 8 or higher, and it is not easy for players below that to oppose him—that entity is presumed to be an afterimage of a high-level player who visited Akiro's Labyrinth in the past—.
If you do not antagonize the man wearing a smiling mask, in most cases, he will just pass by with a smile.
If the man wearing a smiling mask attempts an attack even though you did not antagonize him, evacuate to the safe zone with all your might.
If you haven't found a safe zone, resist with your best effort.
By any chance, when you view this document inside Akiro's Labyrinth, if you see items after number 11, ignore them.
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Mm-hm, written well.
With this, the writing of the rough manual about Akiro's Labyrinth was finished.
‘This much should be enough up to the 2nd floor.’
Anyway, it's not like Luna is going alone, and since she's accompanying me, it should be fine to make her aware of just this much for now.
Due to the nature of the labyrinth, there are occasional cases where the party gets separated, but it's only occasional.
Having finished rough preparations like that, I headed straight to Edric's office.
Knock knock─
“Come in.”
As I entered Edric's office, Edric gently put the documents he was examining into the drawer and spoke.
“What is the matter?”
“I plan to depart immediately tomorrow morning.”
“If it's departure…… is she accompanying you too?”
“Of course.”
With that, Edric, who was somewhat tense, let out a faint sigh.
“Is the destination decided?”
“I haven't decided specifically yet. For now, I'm thinking of going south.”
Since the place where Akiro's Labyrinth is located is south, it wasn't particularly a lie.
“Is that so……. Understood. I will issue the leave permit right away. Wait a moment.”
Edric wrote the leave permit and held it out to me, speaking as if he was ashamed.
“I'm sorry, as it feels like I'm making you shoulder a heavy burden.”
“It's something I have to do, so you don't need to mind it.”
“Hmph. Thank you for saying that. Winter Castle will not forget your dedication.”
It seemed Edric considered that I was sacrificing myself to drag a dangerous figure like Luna out of Winter Castle.
Well, I had no intention of correcting that misunderstanding though.
“Then I will get going now.”
“I wish you luck in battle.”
***
The next day came.
Leaving the barracks early before the special task force members woke up, I headed to the inn where Luna was.
“Huh? You came early.”
Whether she knew I would come or simply wasn't a morning sleeper, Luna was already having a simple meal on the 1st floor of the inn.
“We depart immediately.”
“Okay. But did you eat breakfast?”
“Not yet.”
“Then eat here before going. They cook well here.”
I wondered if breakfast would go down in this situation, but since I was destined to chew on jerky for a while once I left Winter Castle anyway, I decided not to decline.
“What's delicious?”
“Hmm, everything was generally okay? Since it's morning, I recommend the stew.”
Following Luna's recommendation, I ordered the Stew of Eternity which was said to have been boiled for 50 years at the inn, and handed the parchment I prepared in advance to Luna.
It was a manual where explanations about Akiro's Labyrinth were written.
“Hmm? What is this?”
“Read it.”
Not long after receiving the parchment, Luna's expression crumpled suddenly.