Chapter 10 – Boundary City

It should be about time—we ought to be seeing it soon.

The cramped mountain road continues for a while. After passing through rugged, bleak rocky terrain, one of the mountains abruptly ends, and the view suddenly opens up. The full panorama of Termwills from this high vantage point, along with the vast ocean stretching out behind it, leaps into view.

“Whoa! Amazing!”

“Wow…”

I can hear Forestbird’s excited voices from outside the carriage. Seeing their expected reaction, I can’t help but feel the corners of my mouth lifting.

“Theo-kun! Grace-san! It’s incredible!” Lucian informs us excitedly from the driver’s seat.

When Grace and I peer out the carriage window, we’re greeted by a breathtaking view.

“This is… truly amazing indeed…”

Grace also lets out an admiring sigh at the sight. I can feel my own heart lifting at seeing this view again after so long. Honestly, I think Termwills looks best from this high vantage point.

If the day ever comes when tourist magazines like those in Japan are made here, photos from around this area would probably grace the cover of any Termwills feature.

Termwills is a city with outer walls that form an almost perfect circle. The first thing that catches the eye is probably Theoreme Castle, towering at the city’s center. With the setting sun and ocean at its back, it shows us its silhouette.

Theoreme is an enormous, high-rise structure on a scale that would be impossible in any other city. Its majestic appearance, with towering spires that seem to pierce the sky, overwhelms all who see it. The castle, made of white stone, was indescribably solemn.

Arranged as if nestling against Theoreme is the Temple that serves as the Labyrinth entrance. Unlike the ridiculously scaled castle, it’s a relatively modest building… but it was designed and constructed later to harmonize with the royal castle.

Around that castle and temple spreads the cityscape of Termwills. The closer to the center, the older the architecture becomes, with more dignified stone buildings. Conversely, the further toward the outer perimeter you go, the more conventional the structures become.

That castle and the central cityscape… are said to have originally been part of the Labyrinth, though the truth is uncertain. If that were true, it would mean they’re essentially using ruins as they are, but aside from the fact that the castle’s interior is ridiculously oversized in both scale and decoration, the structure itself seems reasonable. By “reasonable,” I mean it hasn’t become labyrinthine—that’s all.

“I’d heard the stories, but this is incredible.”

Forestbird apparently had some longing for the Boundary City, but had planned to gain experience in the provinces first. So this would be the first time any of them had actually visited a Boundary City.

“That city’s underground is where the Labyrinth spreads out, right?”

“This location is too.”

When I add to Monica’s comment, everyone’s attention focuses on me.

“Huh?”

“Well, you see. The road we’re on now—the interior of this small mountain—you can assume the Labyrinth spreads throughout it entirely. That mountain over there that we can see is the same.”

“What the…?”

“Well, the mountain interior was originally a mine, but it’s said the Labyrinth eroded it and changed the internal structure.”

That’s why it’s called the living Great Labyrinth. Apparently it doesn’t just change the structure but the environment itself—there are places where you should have gone underground but plants grow thick like a forest. Though the forest section, “Dusk Forest,” is completely different from normal ecosystems.

There are also areas connected to the sea… but the fact that the lower levels aren’t flooded shows it’s still not normal.

It’s also common to be transported between sections via teleportation, making the overall structure of the Labyrinth

inscrutable.

Because of this, scholars and researchers apparently have headaches every day. There are even Quests to accompany researchers on the verge of neurosis for field investigations.

When they try to organize things to create an overall map or diagram, they regularly encounter things like sections where the area is clearly wrong considering the positional relationships and internal structure, or places that shouldn’t have existed before appearing or disappearing… It’s like something out of a ghost story.

This is also why it’s called a Boundary City and said to be connected to the Otherworld. The “Old Mine” directly below this location is a relatively low-risk, conventional Labyrinth since it’s shallow levels, but the deeper you go, the more its abnormalities become exposed, and the monsters that appear become increasingly dangerous. Exploration of the deeper levels progresses very slowly.

“Sorry… I might have been underestimating Termwills.”

“The Great Labyrinth makes it so you can’t return to your original location if you go to different floors or sections, so be careful about that. I think you know this already.”

“There are one-way doors… right?”

“It’s not that there are… all staircases beyond the tenth floor up and down have that structure. And the one-way doors connecting to adjacent sections are apparently recognizable as such.”

I’m speaking in hearsay terms, but it’s based on actual experience. There was a passage like that in a book I read in Father’s study too, so it’s probably common knowledge.

“Then once you go deep into the Labyrinth, how do you return?” asks Grace. A reasonable question. The Forestbird members seem to know this part, though.

“There are stones called Transference Stones scattered inside… if you use them in front of the stone monuments placed throughout, you can return. With a Red Transfer Stone, you can return immediately on the spot, but if you use that, you can’t bring back anything you picked up inside the Labyrinth.”

“So the red ones are for emergency evacuation?”

“That’s right. By the way, normal Transference Stones can’t be taken out. Red Transfer Stones are different—they can be taken outside the Labyrinth, so they fetch high prices. Many people die because they want to bring the red ones back and don’t use them when they should, misjudging the situation, so it’s good to discuss and decide in advance what situations call for using the red stones.”

When entering the Labyrinth, you can teleport from the stone monument at the entrance to any floor you’ve visited before… but normal Transference Stones disintegrate if taken outside the Labyrinth. The deeper the floor, the higher the risk of teleporting there.

That’s why Transference Stones only function within the Great Labyrinth, and procuring them locally is the basic approach.

Things like finding a stone monument but having no Transference Stone to return, or getting lost while searching for a Transference Stone, then being killed by monsters there and respawning… that kind of thing happens. Though unlike BFO, there’s no respawning.

“Right. Then let’s discuss it later. I’d hate to argue over something like that and die,” says Robin, and everyone nods. With this attitude, Forestbird should be fine.

“Transference Stones can also transport supplies from within the Labyrinth, right?” Lucian asks, tilting his head, so I nod.

“Yeah. You can draw lines like with chalk… and create simple transfer gates to transport items. I think if you go to the Guild to get permission to descend into the Labyrinth, there’s probably something like a brief training session.”

“I’m not good at remembering those detailed things,” Fitz says, furrowing his brow.

“I don’t think it’s that difficult. From what I’ve read in books, at least.”

By drawing a paired exit Magic Array outside the Labyrinth in advance, you can send items from inside the Labyrinth to that location.

As long as the blueprint is correct, this Magic Array can be drawn with normal ink, but the transfer won’t function unless it’s drawn by the same person. It’s best if the entire Party draws it together.

That’s why businesses like rental storage shops thrive in Boundary Cities. Some inns catering to adventurers have rental storage attached with the cost included in the lodging fee… but drawing transfer Magic Arrays in rooms at inns without such facilities is forbidden.

You can’t send living things with normal Transference Stones, but considering risks like fires and various other dangers…

“Theo-kun, you’re so knowledgeable.”

“I studied from books.”

“…Are there any other things we should be careful about?”

“Probably to check the moon phase well when teleporting down into the Labyrinth from the entrance. Aside from the new moon… you should absolutely avoid full moon days. Well, I think the staff at the entrance will warn you then.”

“What happens…?”

“On new moon days, the walls just close, open, and move, changing the route, but on full moon days, the locations you get teleported to from the entrance become danger zones themselves.”

Or rather, they do become danger zones.

Among BFO players, it’s called the Hidden Labyrinth… well, it’s quite profitable.

“Just walls closing and opening is scary enough.”

“Since it’s said to change where no one can see, it might not be that dangerous. If you know the timing from the start, you won’t get lost due to preconceptions, and it won’t become an inescapable structure. Right after new and full moons, new treasures drift up from the depths, so it’s a good target.”

I haven’t heard stories of people getting crushed by structural changes or parties being separated, so that part might be user-friendly… but maps are basically useless on new moon nights, and even if you try to utilize them, you have to rewrite them regularly.

Given the property that things of the same nature and Element gather in the same section, it’s possible to prepare countermeasures based on the tendencies of where you’re heading.

“Even after all that, they say it’s not that bad up to around the twentieth floor. When considering whether to advance further, it’s good to check if you have Transference Stones and proceed with caution.”

“Theo-kun’s ‘not that bad’ doesn’t exactly reassure me.”

“Yeah.”

How rude.

“Who built something like this, and for what purpose?” Grace asks a fundamental question.

“Some say it’s a trial ground, others that it’s protecting ancient Treasures… there are various theories. The truth isn’t really known. There are no records of the deepest part, and no one has seen it.”

Humans just utilized it because the Labyrinth was there, even building a city around it—you could call that tenacious or something else entirely.

As we continue while I tell them about various aspects of the Labyrinth, Termwills gradually draws closer.

Descending the small mountain and passing through the hilly area, we find grasslands spreading out before us. A gentle road continues toward Termwills.

Even though the sun is about to set… there’s a long line at the outer gate for entering the city. Being a major city, you can enter day or night… but with this situation, it looks like the wait will be quite lengthy.