READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 9
In the vast expanse of the meadows, a group of humans was making their way forward.
A party of six, and their appearances were quite diverse.
Leading the charge was a sharp-looking man with a sword and shield, acting like the party leader. Right behind him, a woman in a hood, with golden hair billowing out, was scanning the surroundings.
Trailing behind was a short, stout man wielding an axe in each hand, wearing a Viking helmet, and in the center were a girl who seemed to be a priest, a girl who looked like a mage, and a man who appeared to be a porter with a gigantic backpack.
Compared to the other four, the priest and the mage girls looked incredibly nervous. The reason being…
“Hey, academy girls! Why are you so stiff?”
“W-well, we are at the entrance of the maze…”
It was their first time entering a maze. When Chrome, the dwarf with the Viking helmet, asked, the mage girl replied with such.
“Seriously? Even a guy like me, who knows squat, is managing just fine. Why are you ladies, who learned all that stuff at the academy, so wound up?”
“We’re just freshmen! All we learned were the basics!”
“Back in my day, there wasn’t anyone to teach us the basics! We just charged in! You youngsters really lack grit.”
“Do you even realize how much of a boomer you sound?!”
The mage girl, Eri, kept poking at the dwarf’s remarks. Of course, it was more like a playful banter than an actual fight.
At that moment, the sharp-looking human leader, Hugo, spoke up.
“Alright, Chrome, don’t be too rough on them. For guys like us, charging in and fighting is essential, but for mages, caution is a virtue, right?”
“Hey, Hugo. Those girls are tense to the point of being frozen. They’ll only waste energy like that! We’re just in Layer 3 right now. It’s unnecessary stress.”
“That’s not entirely wrong. Eri and Sia, don’t be too anxious! Remember, we’re still in the upper layers of the maze; you’re here to gain experience, so there’s no rush. Trust in your guides a bit more.”
“Y-yes…”
“O-okay, I understand…”
As Hugo spoke gently, the two girls replied, turning a little red.
Meanwhile, as Hugo said, the two girls were there to gain experience.
At Labyrinth Academy, they were freshman students undergoing a sort of trial.
The task: enter the maze as a member of a randomly designated guiding party and experience their first maze exploration while being evaluated.
This was a tradition at the academy. If only students from the academy were sent into the maze without experience, accidents could easily happen, plus the professors wouldn’t hold back their strength, making it hard to instill a sense of urgency about the maze in the students. Sending a professor would turn it into just another class activity.
So, suitable parties with some maze experience were selected to experience only the upper layers of the maze.
In the upper maze layers, changes in the environment or interruptions from transcendents were minimal, so a reasonably experienced party could navigate through fairly quickly.
Thus, in pairs of two, the mage girl Eri and the priest girl Sia were part of the same party under the guidance of their leader, Hugo, and they began moving forward with slightly relaxed tension.
‘Y-yeah. We’re just in the upper layers and at the entrance, so what’s the big deal?’
‘It’s just a test anyway…’
As they believed there wouldn’t be much to worry about, that’s when…
“Wait, Hugo. There’s someone up ahead.”
“Huh?”
Upon the words of Mirien, the hooded scout, Hugo turned his gaze ahead.
To him, it looked like just a black dot, but the scout saw it as a person.
After all, her vision was far superior, so he trusted her words.
“One person?”
“Looks like it.”
“Hmm…”
With that said, Hugo briefly pondered. Had that person separated from their party? Occasionally, people enter the maze together but end up scattering upon entry.
Something like a special artifact could prevent such a thing, and the academy had provided one for their party, ensuring they entered the maze without scattering, but…
“What should we do?”
That person didn’t seem to be part of a party. It seemed unfortunate that they had entered the maze only to get separated.
“Well… If they were part of a party, it wouldn’t make sense to ignore them since we have the academy students with us, but… it’s slightly concerning that they’re alone.”
The maze was a harsh and demanding place, but because of that, certain unwritten rules existed. Those who broke them could face numerous disadvantages in the maze.
It was hard to belong to a party, and in severe cases, they might even be treated as criminals. In fact, most of the time, people would fall down that path.
There were no grand rules. “You shouldn’t turn a priest into an enemy,” “You must not betray your allies,” or “Only self-defense killings are permitted,” and so on…
There were no convoluted legal systems; just a few simple rules. Moreover, helping someone in need when able could unexpectedly yield benefits.
Since the place was tough and grueling, the idea behind the rules was to not make enemies and assist each other whenever possible.
This was a code that was surprisingly well-kept. Since entering the maze, explorers typically receive emergency escape blessings, it’s almost unheard of for anyone to die from trials inside the maze.
Thus, if crimes or betrayals occurred, the survivors, with the blessings, would often reveal everything. Because of this, the crime rate within the maze was lower than outside.
Hugo considered this.
‘Plus, I’m in charge of the academy, and I can’t just casually pass someone who seems to be in trouble in front of the students.’
The maze wasn’t a place anyone could just navigate alone. Even in the upper layer, where there’s usually little danger, things could still get risky.
So, he wasn’t sure if they’d be right to leave that person behind. Of course, allowing an unexpected member to join was probably not a great look either…
‘But if it’s just a temporary accompaniment, that should be fine.’
As long as they’re not participating in the party’s core activities, it seemed reasonable to allow a surprise member to join for a bit. Especially since this was a trial, sending students to experience and learn was the primary goal, so seeing this as experience wouldn’t be bad.
Of course, this thought was contingent on the stranger being an upstanding person.
‘If they’re a criminal, they need to be dealt with swiftly.’
With that thought, Hugo turned back around.
“There’s one person ahead who seems to be alone, likely separated from their party. I’m thinking of going over to join forces, what do you all think?”
“…A person?”
Upon hearing this, Chrome, the dwarf warrior, stepped forward. He too recognized that someone was ahead with a keen gaze.
“Hmm… I hope they’re not a criminal or anything.”
“C-c-criminal?!”
At that statement, Sia, the priest girl, tensed up and exclaimed. Hugo replied,
“We won’t know until we investigate. Let’s talk to them first, then decide whether to join.”
“B-but, is that okay? Having an unplanned member might cause trouble for the trial…”
“Don’t worry. It seems we might be encountering someone in distress, so we would just temporarily accompany them, not using them as a core member. There’s a sort of unwritten rule in the maze. It’s wrong to commit crimes outside, and killings for reasons other than self-defense are forbidden, for example. However, if you help someone in a predicament, you may get unseen benefits. Let’s consider this as an experience and go talk to them.”
“Ah, I see.”
With that, even the academy students appeared to understand and nodded their heads.
Thus, the party moved forward.
***
Meanwhile, Yujin and Tiamat’s situation.
“…Where is this…”
Standing in the middle of the vast meadow, Yujin murmured while looking around.
“Where exactly are we? This doesn’t feel like outside the maze.”
『Going by the aura I perceive, it seems like around Great Maze Layer 3. Did something go wrong?』
“Well, I was aiming to exit, you see. But I kind of bounced off like I hit a wall.”
In response to Tiamat’s question, Yujin answered that he had attempted to leave the maze via spatial leap but ended up bouncing off like hitting a wall.
“It seems like the spaces inside and outside the maze are disconnected.”
『Really? I wasn’t quite aware, being deep inside the maze myself. Then, it looks like we have no choice but to break or tear through the space?』
“Wouldn’t that attract the attention of the gods? Even if we try to avoid it, bursting out of the maze’s space from the get-go might…”
『Hmm… That seems a bit troublesome, yeah?』
“…Then for now, let’s try heading towards where we can find the exit? It’s not urgent. And, conveniently…”
As Yujin spoke, he turned in one direction.
“It appears some necessary people might be arriving right on cue.”
***
“Excuse me! Are you alone?”
Meanwhile, a party quickly approached him. Their leader, Hugo, spoke to the solitary figure.
The lone figure donned slightly ragged clothing. By the getup, he seemed to be a mage, but it looked worn out, as if it hadn’t seen proper light in quite some time.
As he turned around…
“Ah, yes.”
“!”
The party fell momentarily into a stupor at the sight of him.
Contrary to his inky black hair and shabby attire, the young man was looking at them with half-closed eyes and had a pale complexion.
The young man’s appearance was nearly perfect, save for the fact that his eyes were half-closed. His features were arranged as if they were crafted by an artist.
Facing a person with a softly smiling face resembling a gentle embrace, one could easily feel like they were wrapped up, much like a snake capturing its prey in an instant.
However… was it because of his half-closed eyes and that inscrutable smile?
Somehow, there was an instinctive feeling of suspicion towards this handsome figure.
Nonetheless, Hugo forced a smile and asked,
“In that case, would it be alright if we help you? After all, the maze is a dangerous place…”
“Ah! That would be rather rude, wouldn’t it?”
“It’s fine. In a place like a maze, we should help each other. You can stick with us until you join another party.”
Hugo assumed the stranger had separated from their party, so he said this. However, an unexpected reply came from the stranger.
“Oh, I don’t have a party. I’m all alone.”
“Eh?”
Alone without a party? At that, Hugo tilted his head, and the young man bowed his head.
“Now that I think about it, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Yujin. I came into the maze to collect magical materials.”
“Ah… I see.”
Yujin had entered the maze to gather magical materials. At that, Hugo nodded as if he understood.
Occasionally, there are those who, knowing the risks for knowledge or magical materials, boldly enter the maze alone.
Those who lack the budget for materials or have no time to search for a party often recklessly plunge into the maze like this.
Since the maze also provides emergency escapism, there’s no real surprise in those mages taking such reckless steps.
Hugo asked,
“May I ask how far you intended to go for materials?”
“I was thinking of going down to Layer 5.”
“Layer 5…”
Upon hearing the mention of Layer 5, Hugo made a peculiar expression. That also happened to be where the academy had set the examination spot. What a strange coincidence.
“In that case, would you like to join us? We have ample supplies, so it shouldn’t be a problem to accompany you for a bit.”
“If that’s the case, I’d really appreciate it. I came in a rush without any time to find a party.”
“I see.”
Hugo’s prediction seemed to be right. He turned around and spoke to the others.
“Given your situation, it should be fine for us to travel together for a while?”
“……”
“I have no objections.”
“Ah… Yes!”
“Understood…”
“Um, do you need my opinion on this?”
The scout, Mirien, remained silent, while the dwarf warrior, Chrome, shrugged, signaling he didn’t mind either way.
The mage and priest girls nodded as well, while the porter scratched his head.
It seemed that a majority had agreed. Seeing this, Hugo nodded and turned back to Yujin.
“Then we look forward to working with you, Yujin. I am Hugo, the leader of this party.”
“Haha, likewise, Hugo.”
Yujin shook hands with Hugo, responding pleasantly.
Thus, the black-haired visitor from another world, Yujin, joined Hugo’s party.