Chapter 15 – Uses of Maps

“My apologies, Theodore-sama. Have I caused you discomfort?”

“—Huh?”

When I turned around, Grace was wearing a slightly troubled expression.

Hearing her say that, I touched my own face. Damn, it showed on my expression, didn’t it?

I must have been making a pretty awful face. I need to be a bit more… calm. I don’t want to make Grace anxious.

“No… I’m not angry at you, Grace. But you don’t need to worry about things like becoming the Shield. I have a plan for this time.”

“Understood.”

Grace closed her eyes and bowed her head. …The Shield, huh.

Because she couldn’t do anything when it happened to Mother. She probably can’t forgive herself for that, just like me.

So she’s trying to protect me with what she can do.

She probably thinks that even if she gets injured, she can heal immediately, so temporary pain is nothing to her.

If I were in Grace’s position, I’d definitely volunteer to be the Shield too. Setting emotions aside, her proposal is definitely correct.

From her perspective looking at me… I suddenly became able to fight and started going to battlefields, so it’s only natural she’d be concerned.

But when it was the Killer Ants… even when Grace said she’d step forward to fight, I didn’t feel like this.

What’s different between Oslo and this group versus the ants… is that the Killer Ants were just following their instincts and habits. On the other hand, calculated malice directed at us… is something I simply can’t tolerate.

Yeah. I understand it logically and I’ve calmed down. But my emotions haven’t caught up yet.

I don’t hesitate to eliminate threats, but dealing with humans comes with too many complications and it’s endlessly annoying. Why can’t they just leave us alone?

“Hey, Theodore-kun? You mentioned having a plan… but you were wary of that group from the very beginning, weren’t you?”

“Yeah, well.”

“I was a bit puzzled when you confidently bought the map despite seeming so capable… but is that the reason?”

“That’s part of it.”

If nothing happens, that’s fine too. I can show Rosetta how to steadily conquer the Labyrinth using the map.

But if those adventurers take suspicious action, looking at the map will naturally narrow down the locations suitable for an

Ambush.

“The places they’re likely to ambush us are here, here… and here.”

As I brought the Light Ball closer and pointed at the map to show Rosetta, I could see her expression gradually darkening.

“The main location would be the third underground floor. This long passageway that intersects perpendicularly with the corridor leading to the stairs and stone monument. This is the most suspicious spot. They can establish firing lines with bows, and if they station people in the small room at the end of the passage and behind us, they can pincer attack us if we try to escape.”

When I pointed at the T-junction and explained this, Rosetta made a strangely sulky expression for some reason.

“This is way beyond basic. Who taught you such things?”

“I never said I was faithful to the basics, and I’m not sure why you’re sulking at me.”

It’s just a matter of looking at the Labyrinth’s structure to identify locations suitable for PK and being cautious about them.

I’m just doing what Kagehisa normally did for fun. Since I have the know-how and theory, it’s nothing difficult.

“Haa… seriously. I was thinking I’d look cool saving you and playing the protector when the opportunity arose. But with likely robber adventurers and you two being so capable, all my expectations have been dashed.”

“…You were thinking that?”

“I was. …So?”

Rosetta pouted her lips discontentedly. Is she a child?

“What do you mean by ‘so’?”

“What do you plan to do about that ambush, Theodore-kun?”

“Well. It’ll be quite a detour, but if we circle around from this area… see. We can take the Marksman from behind. Those guys saw me holding the map clearly back at the plaza. Combined with thinking we’re newcomers, they’ll probably assume we’re taking the shortest route.”

Well, I made sure they saw it, actually.

If they’re targeting us because we’re newcomers, they probably won’t suspect that newcomers would move according to theory. If they set up their trap carelessly, we’ll teach them a harsh lesson.

“So, if there’s a Marksman here, there’s a ninety percent chance it’s an ambush, and we’ll launch a preemptive attack without giving them a chance to speak.”

“…Somehow I’m starting to feel sorry for them.”

Rosetta shook her head and sighed.

“Haa. Fine then. This is beyond the stage or situation of whether to assess abilities or not. I’ll move too. If I let adventurers who moonlight as robbers get away, I’d be in a position to get scolded.”

As she said this, I tilted my head at Rosetta who wasn’t making any move to draw a weapon, and she said:

“My weapons are Fighting Arts and all forms of Healing Magic. And also—

the other side

(…)

of that magic. Don’t worry.”

The other side of Healing Magic… She’s got some pretty nasty cards up her sleeve again. Her choice of Fighting Arts is probably because she understands the structure of living organisms.

She doesn’t seem to need worrying about… Let’s continue with the Labyrinth conquest. First, processing the Goblins we just defeated.

“Abstraction.”

I raised my hand toward the fallen Goblin corpses and activated the sixth-class Dark Magic.

A red mist rose from the Goblins’ bodies and gathered in my palm. The mist solidified into red crystals about the size of rice grains.

As for the Goblin corpses with their Magic Stone components extracted, they disappeared as if melting into the Labyrinth floor. Well… it’s a familiar sight.

“…You can even use Magic Stone Extraction Magic.”

“Yes. But with Goblins as opponents, I don’t think it’s cost-effective at all.”

Still, I used this magic mainly for confirmation. I wanted to experiment and verify how this behavior manifests in reality. Unlike outside, in the Labyrinth there’s no need to dispose of corpses because of this.

When monsters become corpses, the Magic Stone components naturally separate, but the Termwills Great Labyrinth absorbs such monster corpses.

Meaning if you extract, you can’t gather Materials either… but ordinary Goblins aren’t useful as Materials to begin with.

Yet unless you use this magic on large numbers at once, extraction isn’t really worthwhile… making them quite unprofitable opponents.

Especially since the Goblins in the Great Labyrinth don’t go outside, they don’t damage livestock or crops and aren’t even Guild Subjugation targets. Their position is a bit different here.

So even if we dawdle around here, we won’t break even. Let’s move forward while collecting the Transference Stones scattered along the path.

When a Kobold charged at her with a club, Rosetta threw her entire body forward. She effortlessly deflected the downward strike, pulled it down in a circular motion, and finished it by stomping through the medulla oblongata as it rolled on the floor.

Her series of movements had no hesitation. It was a flowing, graceful Combat Skill like running water. Thanks to that, there was little bleeding, Grace wasn’t getting too intoxicated by blood, and my Staff remained intact. That’s because I could manage with just Staff Martial Arts.

“So, this detour you mentioned is this way?”

Rosetta indicated the path continuing to the left as she asked.

“Yes. That’s right. When we approach that location, I’ll extinguish the light.”

We advanced our steps to the third underground floor in question, defeating sporadically appearing monsters along the way without much difficulty. The monsters spawning on shallow floors are weak, and their numbers aren’t that great either.

We ignored the small rooms along the sides. With the new moon approaching, considerable time has passed since the structural change, so most treasures have probably already been collected.

“Theodore-sama. I found a Transference Stone.”

Grace picked up a pea-sized Transference Stone that had fallen in a corner of the passage. Even without entering side rooms, you can collect Transference Stones just by walking through the passages.

Most Transference Stones you can pick up are small like the one Grace just brought. Unless you have a certain amount, it’s insufficient for return, let alone transfer, so you need to continuously collect them while exploring the Labyrinth. But well, I think we’ve secured enough for the three of us to escape. When we find the next Transference Stone, we can gradually transfer things like ant mandibles and Kobold tails.

Determining the bare minimum amount of Transference Stones needed for return is somewhat difficult. When transferring from the stone monument, if seven or more people go simultaneously, the required amount of Transference Stones suddenly increases. That’s why exploring the Labyrinth is normally done in groups of up to six people.

The location in question was gradually approaching. I extinguished the light, cast Night Vision Magic, suppressed our presence, and advanced through the passage.

And then—we reached the spot. Peeking carefully around the corner, I saw two men thoroughly covered in cloaks, with cloth wrapped around their heads to hide their faces, watching the far end of the passage. One carried a Bow in hand. The other had a Staff. …A Magician, I suppose. Probably to cast Night Vision Magic on the Marksman.

There’s only one reason to hide their clothing and faces. Insurance in case they let someone escape. They’re creating room for excuses like that. They seem quite experienced.

Well… no matter how you look at it, they’re clearly hostile so we’ll attack… but if we launch a preemptive attack and it turns out to be a mistake, even by remote chance, that would be problematic. For now, let’s test their reaction with a non-lethal magic.

The magic to strike with is the fourth-class Wind Magic Air Burst. It fires a mass of air compressed by magic, causing it to burst and scatter a loud noise and powerful Shockwave. While robbing them of their combat ability—it will also

draw out

(…)

those waiting further down the passage.

Probably because they have Night Vision active. They reacted to the faint light of the Magic Circle and turned around… but everything was already too late.

“Get blown away.”

Right in front of their faces, the Shockwave and loud noise exploded.