Chapter 45: Labyrinth
“A labyrinth, as in a dungeon?” Leo asked after learning about the true identity of this mysterious cave.
“Yes. Although we don’t know how or why they are created, they appear randomly in the Wilderness, and they are usually filled with monsters inside. However, if we explore the labyrinth, there’s a good chance that we could find an artifact, especially if it hasn’t been explored yet.” Miss Camille explained.
“I see… You said that you’d acquired one of your S-Rank artifacts from inside a labyrinth, right?”
“That’s right. I acquired the Elder’s Ring of Regeneration inside an S-Rank labyrinth,” she nodded.
“Oh? Labyrinths also have a ranking system?”
“They’re mostly ranked by the monsters inside. If there are mostly E-Rank monsters inside, it will be considered an E-Rank labyrinth. There are some exceptions though. For example, if a dungeon has too many dangerous traps, its rank could be raised.”
Leo then asked, “Since this labyrinth appeared in a place with mostly E-Rank monsters, this should be an E-Rank labyrinth, correct?”
“That’s how they usually work.” Miss Camille nodded.
And she asked, “Do you want to explore it? We will be able to hunt monsters much quicker inside labyrinths since they are usually packed with them. You might even be able to finish your quests today.”
Before Leo could respond, the Magic System appeared before him.
<You have received a Special Quest>
[Quest: Explore Labyrinth]
[Description: Explore and clear the labyrinth]
[Time Limit: 3 days]
[Reward: 20,000 Magic Experience, 100 Magic Points]
“I just received a special quest from the Magic System. It’s telling me to explore the labyrinth, and I have three days to do it,” he said.
“Of course, I was going to do it even without needing the quest!”
“Alright.” Miss Camille nodded.
“Let’s go. I will explain more about labyrinths as we go.”
Leo nodded and followed her into the cave.
Once they walked a couple of meters into the cave, Leo was surprised by what he saw.
“There’s a staircase here…?” He was baffled to see such an unnatural occurrence.
“Don’t question it. Just accept things the way they are. You’ll save yourself some headaches this way.” Miss Camille said as she descended the staircase.
“Anyways, all labyrinths have multiple floors. Some may have 5 floors while others can have over 50 floors. It mostly depends on their difficulty. Labyrinths of this level should have at most 5 floors.”
“What about the monsters?” He asked.
“That is all random, but you can expect at least a couple on each floor.”
A few minutes later, Leo said, “This staircase is still going? How far down are we going?”
“We should be there soon.”
After another two whole minutes of walking, they finally stepped inside the labyrinth.
Leo’s eyes widened with shock when he saw the scenery inside the labyrinth.
“What the hell? I thought we went underground. Why is there a freaking sky?!” He exclaimed after seeing the clear sky above them, not to mention the other scenery that made it seem like they were outside.
There were trees in front of them, and the ground was even filled with greenery, almost like they had entered a forest.
“Welcome to the labyrinth for the first time. Remember when I said to not question it? Just treat it as though you’re in a dream— or that you had been transported to another world.” Miss Camille said to him.
Leo looked at his surroundings with a dazed expression on his face.
It didn’t feel like he had been transported to a different world when he first came to this parallel world due to how natural everything felt, but entering the labyrinth definitely gave him such a feeling.
“How big is this place? I can’t see the end.” He asked a moment later.
“This place is actually smaller than it looks. It’s probably around three kilometers from one end of the room to the other,” she said.
“Three kilometers? That’s still quite large.”
“Not if you compare it to the largest labyrinth in the world. That place is so vast that nobody has managed to fully explore it even after 200 years, and it is estimated to be as big as this entire world.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, and it’s the only EX-Rank labyrinth in the world.”
‘EX-Rank… Same as my magic talent, huh?’ Leo wondered to himself.
“Are you done admiring the view? If so, let’s move.” Miss Camille said to him sometime later.
“Yes, let’s go.” He nodded.
The two of them started wandering the first floor of the labyrinth.
A few minutes later, Miss Camille said, “There’s a monster up ahead.”
“Got it.” Leo followed the direction of the mana disturbance until he could see the monster.
‘What the hell is that? A tree monster?’ He wondered to himself after seeing the appearance of this monster, which was literally a small tree with red leaves as its hair and an angry face on its trunk.
‘Whatever. It doesn’t really matter.’
He quickly casted Void Spear, throwing it at the tree monster.
When the Void Spear struck the monster, it exploded like someone had planted a bomb inside its body, causing sharp wooden splinters to fly everywhere.
Leo subconsciously used Dark Shield, protecting himself from the splinters.
‘Wow… I should really be careful and choose how I kill monsters more wisely. That could’ve gone really bad if I didn’t have Dark Shield…’ He sighed in relief afterward.
Miss Camille approached him from behind and asked, “Do you know what you did wrong just now?”
“Yes… I should have used Black Bullet instead.”
“No, you should’ve used your sword. That way, there would be no risk of it exploding in your face.”
“I see… I guess I have been too reliant on magic since I started focusing on it.”
She nodded, and she continued to speak, “Anyways, that monster just now was a Crimson Treant. They can use earth magic, so you need to watch out for that.”
“I understand.”
They continued to explore the first floor of the labyrinth shortly after.