Foreigner's Mistake

Book 5: Chapter 50: Labyrinth ~ 08

Make a hole in the floor and climb down, and repeat several times. When he reached the 45th layer, he found himself in a small room, so he decided to take a break.

The time was past noon, nearing the third koku (14:00). It is said that the basic rule in this world is to eat twice a day, and only some royalty and aristocracy eat exactly three meals a day. Satoru, who is neither a prince nor an aristocrat, but just a commoner, finds it very difficult to change his long-established habit of eating three meals a day.

This day's snack was jerky. It was made from the meat of a rampaging bull-like monster that they had defeated in the labyrinth, which Rico had torn into small pieces, seasoned, and Leia had dried it with magic. These were done while Satoru was attempting to drill holes in the floor.

What is your impression of this labyrinth so far? As a former master of the labyrinth, I'd like to hear your opinion.

He raised his eyebrows at the question as he chewed his jerky vulgarly, making a kucha-kucha sound, and looked diagonally up at Leia.

How should I put it? ...... It's certainly a tough labyrinth, isn't it? It's just my hunch, but I think there's something off.

Ohh? What is the reason for this?

Leia slightly shrugged her shoulders. Minerva, who had just stepped on a trap by wandering around, sat down so as not to walk carelessly.

It's true that all the monsters are tough, but they're not in control. I have a feeling this labyrinth does not have a wise master.

Leadership, right?

Ahh, that's what I thought, too.

Rico nodded. Satoru was still unfamiliar with the common sense of this world. According to Rico's explanation, even though monsters don't have the knowledge and wisdom of humans, they do use their brains in unexpected ways. In addition, the type of monsters that stay in labyrinths and are ordered by the Lord to hunt intruders are said to be quite intelligent.

For example, you can lead them to a place with a large trap. There are many ways to do this. But I can't find any. The monster is just a force to be reckoned with. I don't know how to say this, I don't feel any emotion or wisdom in it.

You mean it's mechanical? Satoru puts his hand on his chin and thinks.

Besides, I'll add, well, I'm sure we haven't fought much, but aren't all monsters after the 20th layer is a magical creatures that don't need to eat?

Satoru has no knowledge of monsters. After the 10 layers they left today, they've fough a herd of chimeras at layer 20, a one-eyed giant at layer 26, a rampaging bull on layer 28, a wood golem on layer 32, an ice-clad wolf on layer 38, and a wraith on layer 43. The chimera at layer 20 is a normal carnivore, and the rampaging bull at layer 28 eats mushrooms, algae and other fungi, but all the others are monsters that live by magic.

Leia nodded after making a small sound of admiration at Rico's tsukkomi.

That's a good point. In other words, there is a high possibility that there is no master intervening to feed them.

Aside from monsters that can live on magic power alone, other monsters need to eat. When Leia was the master of the labyrinth, she used to order her servants to feed the monsters that needed to eat.

Hmmm ......, when you put it that way, I feel like I'm off. But well, now that we're here, I want to confirm it.

Well, that's right.

*Yaawnn* Minerva made a big yawn. Minerva has been out of action since the layer 20, where she held off half of the Chimera horde with a Wind Wall. She have been checking Satoru's hack every time they go down, but fortunately that was the only time they were suddenly attacked.

I think I'll take a nap for about an hour (40 minutes). Both Rico and Minerva must be tense and tired.

Minerva's face brightened up.

Sex?

Naps! Sex is at night!

Will you do it at night?

Minerva asked excitedly, and Satoru laughed and nodded his head.

Yay! I hope it's night soon~

It may have been too early to give Minerva, who had already started to get excited, fuel. Satoru shrugged his shoulders.

After that, the labyrinth-breaking through the floor continued smoothly.

While Satoru was destroying the floor with his magic, Rico was searching the area, taking care not to be spotted by the monsters. It takes about 10 minutes to break through the floor. If it were a normal wall or floor, it would only take a second, but even with Satoru's magical power, that's not going to happen in the labyrinth of the Ancient Magic Kingdom.

Leia said that the quantity of monsters in the labyrinth was moderate. However, the quality was high. She guessed that it was probably some kind of laboratory from the time of the Ancient Magic Kingdom.

It is believed that many such labyrinths were built during the time of the Ancient Magic Kingdom, because deep underground, there would be no obstacles to research and spies could be easily dealt with. Of course, some of them were used as mere prisons, while others were used as treasure houses.

Ancient Magic Kingdoms. ...... I don't know why they were destroyed.

The Seven-Day Disaster was the trigger, but no one knows what it was. I'm sure my teacher Yarth and the Feather Dragons know about it, but my teacher Yarth was tight-lipped about it, and I've heard that there have been cases of people asking the Feather Dragons and the Five Dragons about it, but they've all refused to tell.

Hmmm ......

It is said that the humans surviving today are the slave class and barbarians who were not recognized as citizens during the time of the Ancient Magic Kingdom. For some reason, every single citizen who had benefited from the Magic Towers of the Magic Kingdom was wiped out.

I don't know how, but it is said that the people of the Magic Kingdom were able to draw out their magic power freely through the magic towers. The prevailing theory is that the magic in the Magic Tower flowed backwards, destroying the soul..

Once there, the human race almost perished, but the few people who survived were able to build a society again, and although they could no longer use magic, they were able to use sorcery, so it is said that it took more than 200 years for them to flourish again by using these skills. Elves and Dwarves have never been replaced by humans. The reason is simple. Because humans were the most fertile.

I heard that the people who survived the Seven-Day Disaster started to increase the number of people again by giving birth and increasing the number of people.

So there must have been a food crisis, right?

Of course, there was. But with the help of the Elves, Dwarves, and Aquatic tribes, they were able to overcome it.

Hahh. ...... Humans are more stubborn than I expected.

Oh, you have a similar history in my Lord's world?

Hmmm. I'm still feeling good.

Leia jumped off Satoru's shoulder with a recoil and turned around.

If that's how you feel after descending nearly 50 layers in one go, I can't stop you ......,But don't overdo it. It looks like we're just in a small room, so how about we stop here for today?

He looked at his watch. The time is almost 7pm. The sun was already setting, and normally they would have finished eating dinner. Satoru nodded his head, realizing that the time had progressed more than he had expected.

You're right, let's take a break here.

I understand. I'll prepare dinner, then.

Rico also responded, slung down her backpack, and immediately began to prepare for the night camp. After carefully checking the room for traps, she started to prepare the fire.

Leia applied the usual Five-Layered Barrier and Hardening one of the doors just in case, to prevent anyone from entering. At Rico's request, Leia prepared clay soil, made a simple fire pit, lit the wood, and prepared a tub of water.

Minerva took the leather from Leia and prepared a bed. Recently, she have been able to do that much.

Meanwhile, Satoru just sits idly by. This is a result of the concern of his magical slaves, who do not want their Lord to take any trouble. Leia had told him before that "My Lord should just stand there like a proud man", so he was really just sitting around.

Hmm. We're conquering the labyrinth at an unbelievable speed.

Leia, who had finished everything she had to do, sat down next to Satoru.

Normally, the labyrinth is conquered in one layer a day, two at the most. Even for a party with a lot of confidence in their abilities, three layers is their limit. Ten layers on the first day was an unbelievable speed, but even if they were cheating, skipping 49 layers in one day was not something that was possible.

By the way, my Lord.

Hmm?

Why are you trying to get used to the Disintegration?

In response to Leia's frank question, Satoru shrugged his shoulder a little.

It's simple. Disintegration is a rijutsu, right? It is the most common art.

Leia nodded silently. It is a field in which rijutsu is often used as an adjunct to other art, and as such, the number of art is quite diverse.

In my opinion, it's probably the strongest of all the magic arts. It's simple, but I think it's the strongest.

"Oh," Leia amazed. The feeling that Satoru is getting is something that Leia, who lives in this world of magic, does not have. After all, their common sense is different.

What makes you think that way, may I ask?

Satoru tilted his head.

There are many arts, earth, fire, wind, and water, but the basic principle of things is that to eliminate them, you must have a counter-attribute or a rijutsu. Isn't that right?

Indeed.

I've seen and used a lot of arts so far, but rijutsu is versatile and wide-ranging. You don't have to worry about the opposing attribute, and it's very versatile.

The range of Rijutsu is so wide that it made him wonder why people in this world don't place importance on Rijutsu. Perhaps there was some reason, but he knew that the reason was something he could ignore.

We talked about the laws of physics before, right?

Yes.

If it can control the laws of physics, it's almost impossible to defeat it. If you're familiar with rijutsu, you can probably take on just about anything. It's the same reason you came up with the idea of a art that incorporates control.

...... I see.

Thoughtfully, Leia put her hand on her chin and looked down. Perhaps her mind was spinning at high speed.

The same goes for, Transfer. It's something that's impossible in my world, but once I get used to it, I can use it, right? However, I'm not sure if I'm capable of using that art, which requires detailed calculations, as I'm basically a simple person.

He doesn't think he'll be able to use it. For now, the only time she's used the Transfer is when the two of them were still working with just two of them, when they escaped from the Deepest Labyrinth, once Leia returned to her labyrinth, and on the way to and from the Thieves Guild in Galhassan from where they were camped for the night. It's a very useful art, but it requires a lot of magic power that even Leia hesitates to use it lightly, more magic power is required depending on the distance, and you must know the terrain and situation of the destination. For example, if you specify coordinates, and those coordinates are even slightly off, you could end up flying far into the sky, or even into the ground. If you are blown into the sky, you can deal with it as much as you want, but if you are accidentally Transfer deep into the earth, what awaits you is death.

Satoru has an enormous amount of magic power, but he uses it very roughly. He is aware of the fact that he is not able to control it properly. This is the reason why he believe that the Transfer art, which requires detailed calculations, is dangerous to use by him.

The strongest theory of rijutsu - indeed, that theory has been around for a long time. However, Rijutsu consumes a lot of magic power in comparison to its effect. It was said to be inefficient. ...... Well, considering my Lord's absurd soul, that efficiency can be somewhat ignored.

"I see," Satoru agreed. The amount of magic power required for the effect was high, which was probably the reason why Rijutsu was not as popular as he thought. But if that was the only reason, it was useless to Satoru, who did not have to worry about running out of magic power.

I agree. As long as I can ignore efficiency, I still think it's a shortcut to master it.

Even if you have a huge amount of magic power, you want to have one thing that you can do with certainty, Satoru thought. He wanted to avoid the possibility of becoming a typical poor dexterity. Perhaps it was just that it hadn't yet taken shape as a art, but considering Satoru's magical power, there were probably many ways to do it. For example, like when he disarmed the trap.

Certainly. I'll think of a way to move with that in mind.

Yeah.

Danna-sama, after we eat, let's have sex.

I know, I know.

Minerva, who seemed to have set up the bed, patted the leather of her bedding in appeal. Satoru nodded with a wry smile. Even as a magical slave, her frankness about sex has not changed in any way. It is natural to refrain from having sex when pregnant because of the possibility of miscarriage, but he wonders if Minerva will be able to withstand it.

Also, so far Minerva has not shown any signs of pregnancy. It's only been seventeen days since Satoru started having sex with her, so it's not surprising that he doesn't know yet, but since she doesn't have any physiological phenomenon that corresponds to menstruation, it's completely unknown whether she can get pregnant through normal intercourse. If Leia's theory is correct, the child to be born will be neither human nor flying dragon, but a half-breed called a Ryujin.