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The Legendary Labyrinth in the Skies – Part 02

“Two in front, another one coming from the right!”

The dungeon had transformed entirely.

What had once been a bare cavern now had well-maintained passageways, a characteristic of artificial dungeons. But to Hikaru, this place was more reminiscent of a fortress’s interior. Small rooms lined the corridor, filled with traps, with enemies ambushing from blind spots.

These enemies were the ones they were fighting now.

Hikaru couldn’t help but marvel at how these familiar creatures moved on their pointed feet. Smooth, shiny bodies, pointed heads, blades for arms.

“No matter how many Golems come, they’re no big deal,” Selyse said, slicing through their arms and legs with her magic sword.

Golems, powered by sorcery, were predictable in their movements despite their speed. Hikaru recalled how Jillarte had easily handled the Automaton in the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas’ previous location. Selyse’s superior skills and weapon—a red magic sword found in the dungeon—made quick work of these Golems.

These Golems are too much for me.

Hikaru’s Stealth was useless against them since they detected movement mechanically rather than by presence or mana.

“Phew.”

Selyse sheathed her sword and let out a small sigh. Around her lay the remnants of five Golems, some missing their entire bodies. Their magic stones flickered faintly.

Sweat glistened on Selyse’s forehead. She took a flask from Sophie, drank, and wiped her face with a handkerchief.

“Wh-What is it, Hikaru? Why are you staring at me?”

“Oh, sorry. I was just impressed by how quickly you took them down.”

“It was easy with such a powerful sword.”

“I’m sure the magic sword helps, but your physical abilities are amazing. That’s a Rank B adventurer for you, I suppose.”

“You’re flattering me,” she said curtly.

She turned her face away, her ears reddening. Hikaru almost imagined a tail wagging.

I didn’t want to drag them into this dangerous place, but having the Four Eastern Stars here makes navigating the dungeon so much easier.

After a brief rest, they moved on.

The problem is this dungeon is nothing like the previous version.

The fortress-like labyrinth was a maze of complex passageways, and the path to Soaarunay at the end was unclear. The previous dungeon’s straightforward design, with numbered floors and a single descending staircase, now seemed very simple.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection had a range of about a hundred meters, making it impossible to find the shortest route.

If I allocate points to Expanded Detection, I might cover a larger area.

Hikaru’s Mana Detection was maxed out at five points. As soon as he had three points on it, Expanded Detection appeared. Its description read: Expanded Detection: Expands detection range. Max 3.

How much it would expand he didn’t know, but on an island over ten—or perhaps even twenty—kilometers in diameter, a larger detection range would be better.

“Wait a minute,” Hikaru said. “There’s someone ahead. A few people, actually.”

His Mana Detection picked up several figures.

“Could they be adventurers?” Selyse suggested.

There were supposedly adventurers stranded here, and the assumption proved correct.

They reached a spacious area. Grooves in the floor led to wheels designed for transporting a massive block of iron covered in dust. The turret attached to it indicated it was a fortress weapon.

Seven adventurers were huddled in one corner.

“Are you here to rescue us? Wait, the Four Eastern Stars? That’s a big name!” said a tall adventurer. He had lost weight, but he was still mentally strong. Three of his comrades lay motionless, while three others sat slumped. They began sobbing upon recognizing the famous group.

When they spoke with the group, they learned that these seven men and women were members of three different parties who had entered the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas for a survey. They had been caught up in the dungeon’s sudden flight. As the cave began collapsing, they tried to escape but ended up wandering into this fortress’s corridors, where the three parties eventually found each other.

Then, the Golems appeared.

“The others… they didn’t make it. Those things got them,” the tall adventurer said, biting his lip in frustration.

Fighting those Golems would be difficult for average adventurers.

“Hey, do you have any food? We’ve managed to drink water with magic, but we haven’t eaten anything for three days.”

“We brought some food. We can share it,” Selyse said.

“Thanks! We owe you!”

Realizing there was food, the seven survivors’ eyes lit up. When Serika handed them a bag of food, they cheered. Even the three who had been lying down jumped to their feet. The food was simple—hardtack, dried meat, and dried fruit—but they began devouring it eagerly. Eating too quickly on an empty stomach could be bad for digestion, but in the worst case, they could use healing magic to deal with it.

“What do we do, Silver Face? Should we go back?” Selyse asked, turning to Hikaru. Since there were other adventurers around, both Hikaru and Paula had put on their masks.

“We can’t take them with us further in, right? It’s not safe here either.”

“I don’t think going back is a good idea. We’re up in the sky. It’s safer to stay here.”

“I see. Hmm.” Selyse nodded enthusiastically, for some reason.

Hikaru found nothing enjoyable about the current situation. Little did he know that Selyse was simply happy to see him as Silver Face. It was similar to how Jillarte was attracted to Silver Face before knowing Hikaru’s real identity.

“W-Wait a minute. What do you mean we’re up in the sky?” asked an adventurer.

“Well, don’t be too surprised,” Selyse began, explaining the current state of the dungeon. They looked skeptical but knew a Rank B adventurer from the Four Eastern Stars wouldn’t lie.

“We plan to quell this dungeon, so it’s best for you to stay here.”

“But with this little food… I’m sorry. I don’t mean to complain after you gave us some, but the thought of waiting here for days…”

“I understand your concern. Let’s go over what we know. We’ve mapped a route out of the dungeon that we can share with you. We’ve taken care of the Golems along the way, so you should be able to leave safely, but we’re very high up.”

“I-I see. Getting out is good. But did you really kill the Golems?”

“Yeah,” Selyse confirmed.

The adventurers seemed to accept this, albeit reluctantly.

In return, Hikaru’s group gathered information about the route the adventurers had taken. If they retraced it, they could reach the cavern area and descend to the dungeon’s deepest part.

It will take time, but we have no choice but to proceed methodically.

Hikaru reminded himself not to rush. He worried about Lavia, but they were making progress here. They had landed on the floating island and entered the labyrinth. They were steadily moving forward.

As for food, Hikaru thought they could survive by eating what they would find in the biotopes on each floor as they descended. So, it was lucky to get information about the upcoming route from the stranded adventurers.

The adventurers looked anxious despite the food they received. If left to their own devices, they might follow the path out, but there wasn’t much they could do once they reached the exit. In three days, the floating island would reach the airspace above the Man Gnomes’ village, but a safe landing was unlikely.

Soaarunay will probably attack the Man Gnomes.

Hikaru wondered if the elders had heeded the warnings from Granryuk and Yoshino. Did the Man Gnomes have the means to defend itself?

“Selyse, we can give them more food,” Hikaru said. “I packed extra in my backpack.”

He had brought the backpack he found in the dungeon. Made of purple leather, it held about three times its apparent capacity due to some spatial distortion. While the weight remained the same, it was useful for carrying bulky items like dried food. Serika could use water magic to hydrate the food and turn it into meals. They had enough to last half a month for everyone.

I wouldn’t want to live on preserved food for half a month, though.

Grasping Hikaru’s intention, Selyse handed out more food to the adventurers. She also warned them about the dangers ahead. If they decided to head outside, they would be on their own.

“Let’s go,” Selyse said, and they left the adventurers behind.

---

“The Golems’ signals disappeared?”

Soaarunay Saak stood in a control room in the deepest part of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. The bluish glow of the giant floating magic stone illuminated her gaunt face, disheveled hair, and the dark circles under her eyes.

She was staring at something on the table that resembled game pieces.

All the pieces were identical, like pawns in chess. Magic circuits engraved directly on the board’s surface emitted a bluish-white light. The fifty-or-so pieces were also glowing, but ten of them gathered in one spot, their light extinguished.

“They were killed? There were adventurers that got lost inside, but they should have died since there had been no movement for the past few days.”

Soaarunay fell into thought. She could only monitor the presence of intruders on each floor of the dungeon and the operational status of equipment, including the Golems.

“Even if this was the adventurers’ doing, they couldn’t have destroyed ten of them. More intruders, maybe?”

Her first thought was an intrusion by the Man Gnomes. The Man Gnomes’ village would undoubtedly be aware of the dungeon’s ascent and its approach. They wouldn’t just wait for it to get closer without doing anything.

However, she’d assumed they would attack from the ground. Considering the labyrinth’s altitude, an attack from nearby mountaintops was possible. But she never imagined they would actually infiltrate the dungeon.

“How? It should be impossible.”

If magic or magical weapons could reach from the mountaintops, they could possibly launch people as well.

“No way. They wouldn’t sacrifice people like disposable bullets. But I would.”

The Saak family, having clashed with the Man Gnomes for ages, understood their thoughts and values.

“If it’s not intruders… did the Golems have an accident? That seems more realistic.”

The Golems were programmed to act autonomously. One could have gone berserk, and the others might have gathered to subdue it, leading to a friendly fire that resulted in about ten Golems being damaged. This scenario seemed far more likely than intruders.

“Well, whatever. As long as I place one here, it should be fine even if there were intruders.”

She placed a piece, much larger than the others, in one spot on the table. When she infused it with mana, it glowed a distinct red.

“Now… I have other things to do.”

Soaarunay stood before a control panel for the labyrinth. As she ran her fingers over the panel, an image appeared on a metal plate in front of her. The image was blurry, with distortions at the edges, but it was a genuine real-time video.

“Being in Japan actually paid off. Capturing light through a lens onto an imaging sensor and recording it as video data. I thought it could be recreated with sorcery.”

The video showed the labyrinth’s path ahead. It was a boring view of rugged mountain terrain, but it was the culmination of Soaarunay’s sorcery, completed over two sleepless days.

“Seeing the outside from the control room is amazing. The Man Gnomes’ village lies ahead. Now, what kind of utopia do they live in?”

Though her face was haggard, her eyes sparkled, and a twisted smile of delight formed on her lips.