Chapter 80: Randomized Labyrinth
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"If possible, I would very much like to experience it."
Scheherazade replied.
"I... I would like to try as well."
Ren Kougyoku said shyly.
With all three in agreement, Lucian unlocked the permissions for the World Teleportation Gate.
"This is..."
The destinations offered by the teleportation gate were divided into two main categories.
One was the 'External Worlds', and the other was the 'Instance Worlds.'
Under the External Worlds category, they saw the coordinates for the Danmachi World and the Magi World. If one selected the Danmachi World, a sub-menu expanded to reveal various specific location coordinates Lucian had recorded, including a log for every single floor of the Dungeon.
The second category was the Instance Worlds, which offered two choices: the Colosseum and the Randomized Labyrinth.
"The Labyrinth!"
Seeing the word 'Labyrinth', all three women reacted simultaneously.
The concept of a Colosseum was self-explanatory and easy to grasp. Ren Kougyoku, however, looked visibly eager to try it out.
It was hard to imagine that such a gentle, shy woman actually dreamed of becoming a martial general.
"My Labyrinth might be quite different from the ones you're imagining, but if you clear it, you'll still receive a mystery reward."
Lucian asked with a smile, "Which one do you want to try first?"
"The Labyrinth."
The three answered in unison.
"The Labyrinth it is, then."
Lucian gave a brief explanation on how to use the World Teleportation Gate, then led the three women inside.
With a flash of light, the group arrived at the labyrinth's entrance.
A sudden wave of tension washed over the three women.
Neither Scheherazade nor Yamraiha could use their magic here, and Ren Kougyoku hadn't brought her Djinn Equip. It could be quite dangerous.
"Relax. Even if you die within the Divine Court, you will be resurrected. There's no need to worry about your lives being in actual danger."
Lucian offered a word of comfort, adding, "Resurrection is also a basic welfare benefit for Divine Court residents. It functions in the outside world as well, though there's no guarantee it'll work under certain extreme environmental restrictions."
They could even be resurrected?!
That was even more absurd than the powers of a Magi. For a moment, the three felt as if they were trapped in a dream.
Becoming a resident of the Divine Court is just too good of a deal!
And to think such an incredible fortune had simply fallen into their laps... The three of them had already made their judgments and finalized their decisions.
You'd have to be brain-dead to refuse an offer like this.
"Let's go."
Lucian took the lead and stepped forward.
Towering walls, densely packed corridors, and massive drops in elevation left the three women slightly dazed.
"This is... a labyrinth?!"
Without a doubt, it was a true labyrinth.
Winding passages twisting up, down, and diagonally in every conceivable direction. Looking ahead, there was no end in sight. Just a single glance was enough to make one feel dizzy and disoriented.
Realizing they were trapped within a world with no visible end, a suffocating, overwhelming sense of pressure immediately crashed down upon them.
"Come now, ladies. Let's find the exit."
Lucian smiled warmly.
"You truly have a twisted sense of humor," Scheherazade deadpanned, though she still took the first step forward.
"As a labyrinth, isn't the difficulty a bit too high?"
Ren Kougyoku asked as she hurried to keep up. "Speaking of which, just how large is the scope of this labyrinth?"
"If an entire world is dedicated to being a labyrinth, making it too small would be boring."
Lucian replied casually, "As for exactly how large it is... Hmm, about the size of the Kou Empire's entire sphere of influence, give or take."
"""Huh?!"""
The group froze in their tracks, immediately abandoning any lingering thoughts of actively searching for the exit.
They couldn't find it. It was completely impossible to find. It was just too big!
The three of them rounded a corner, only to find themselves staring at a dead end.
The moment they arrived, a flash of light illuminated the corner, and dozens of monsters materialized out of thin air.
"Minotaurs, Liger Fangs, Silverbacks. These are specialty monsters from the Danmachi World. They're all Level 1."
Lucian gave a brief introduction.
"Is this really the time for introductions?!" Ren Kougyoku cried out in a slight panic.
However, the moment the monsters lunged, a cold glint flashed in her eyes.
Bang! With a single palm strike to its abdomen, Ren Kougyoku sent a massive Liger Fang flying into the distance.
Moving with sharp, agile strikes, she unleashed a flurry of punches and palm thrusts, easily wiping out the surrounding monsters in moments.
Scheherazade and Yamraiha were also quite nimble, but because they couldn't use magic, their combat capabilities couldn't compare to Ren Kougyoku's.
Despite looking like a frail, delicate princess, Ren Kougyoku belonged to the martial faction.
Humans in the Magi world housed Rukh within their bodies, allowing their life energy to materialize physically. Their upper limits were significantly higher than those of ordinary humans in the Danmachi World.
Even though these were considered relatively strong monsters among Level 1s, she defeated them with ease. Based purely on physical capabilities, she was likely equivalent to a Level 2 adventurer.
Leaving aside Yamraiha, who was a traditional magician, both Scheherazade and Ren Kougyoku were proficient in Magoi Manipulation—which happened to be one of the original prototypes for Lucian's Life Sage Art.
Clap, clap, clap~ "Well done," Lucian applauded. He then produced a small dagger, lightly sliced open a monster's chest, extracted a magic stone, and tossed it to Ren Kougyoku.
"What is... this?"
Ren Kougyoku looked at the magic stone in confusion.
"It contains a completely foreign type of energy." Yamraiha spoke up, observing it closely. "If we took this back to our world, it might serve as a medium for pure, natural magical energy."
Yamraiha was highly talented and had actually invented items capable of storing magical energy.
According to her own confident claims, the magical storage devices she carried were entirely unique to her in their world.
However, she was still bound by the limits of a conventional genius. She couldn't be compared to someone wielding outright cheats, nor did she possess the world-breaking talent required to invent technology capable of altering the fundamental laws of reality.
The neighboring Reim Empire had already begun developing science and technology under Scheherazade's influence. Compared to the miracles of Magi and Metal Vessels, Scheherazade placed far more faith in the creative ingenuity of humanity.
This was despite the fact that she herself was a Magi, capable of trading her physical stamina for infinite magical power.
"This is a magic stone."
"In the Danmachi World, there is a massive pit known as the Dungeon," Lucian explained. "These monsters spawn within the Dungeon, growing stronger the deeper you go. Every single monster has a magic stone embedded within its body."
"The nation built directly above the Dungeon is called Orario. It is famous precisely for exporting these magic stones and their related crafts."
Another world...?
"Just how powerful is the strongest monster?"
Ren Kougyoku asked curiously.
"I'm not entirely sure. The Dungeon is an existence on par with the Gods, and I haven't reached the absolute deepest levels yet."
Lucian shook his head. "But just going by the Floor Boss of the 69th floor... the current Sinbad wouldn't necessarily be able to defeat it."
The three women felt their hearts drop slightly.
In the Magi world, Sinbad was hailed as the High King of the Seven Seas. He possessed seven Metal Vessels and was the ultimate 'Singularity' of their world.
He actually only stopped at seven Metal Vessels because the Dungeons literally barred him from entering anymore due to a quantity limit. Otherwise, he probably would have collected over a dozen.
Furthermore, his mastery over magical manipulation was the strongest in the world. Even Scheherazade, a Magi, couldn't match his sheer output.
But no matter how strong he was, he was still bound by the upper limits of humanity.
And no matter how powerful a normal human was, they could never defeat a Dungeon Capturer equipped with a Djinn Equip.
His future exploits of breaching the Sacred Palace and fighting David for the ultimate throne were, of course, a completely different matter entirely.
As for the standard combat power of a Dungeon Capturer, they generally ranged between Level 5 and Level 8 in Danmachi terms. Sinbad, prior to his ascension to godhood, was no exception.
While there was a massive qualitative gap between Level 7 and Level 8, the explosive destructive power of a Dungeon Capturer could not be underestimated. This was especially true considering every Djinn Equip possessed its own unique, devastating 'Extreme Magic.'
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