The Only Way to Reach the Flying Island – Part 01

The Adventurers Guild in the capital of Ponsonia was in an uproar from early morning. Despite being ten times larger than guilds in other cities—and with several branches throughout the capital—the place was packed. Not only adventurers but also local residents had gathered.

The reason was the Fire Drakon.

Some wanted to know where the Fire Drakon had gone. Others wanted to know if there were adventurers capable of defeating it. Some wanted to know if it was safe to leave the capital. Others wanted to know if it was safe to stay.

These concerns were shared by residents, peddlers, and adventurers. However, since the guild had no information, the receptionists could only apologize and say, “We don’t know.”

In the midst of this chaos, a young boy with rare black hair appeared.

“I’d like to buy some information,” he said.

“I’m sorry,” one of the receptionists said, “but we’re still investigating the Fire Drakon incident and can’t provide any information.”

“I’m not here for the Fire Drakon. I want to know about the floating dungeon.”

The boy lowered his voice, and the receptionist blinked in surprise.

Hikaru, the black-haired boy, guessed that her surprise was partly due to the timing of the question and partly due to the fact that he knew about the floating dungeon.

“Please, come this way.”

Did the adventurers know about the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas or not? Perhaps, or even if they did, they had no means to reach it, so no one was talking about the legendary dungeon. They were all preoccupied with the Fire Drakon.

Hikaru followed the receptionist to a secluded booth.

“What do you want to know? This is highly classified information, so it will be expensive.”

“I want to know its current location.” Hikaru handed over some gold coins. “Tell me the position of the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas. If possible, I’d like to know where it was observed on specific dates.”

“Th-That’s a lot.”

In essence, Hikaru was asking for information on the dungeon’s location. For a typical dungeon, this information would be freely available.

Of course, the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas was a hot topic and its movement made its location valuable, but the receptionist naturally wondered why he was offering so much money.

If someone handed over several ten thousand yen bills to find out where a celebrity was seen an hour ago, anyone would be perplexed.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Well, I want to see the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas with my own eyes! Who knows if I’ll ever get this chance again? I plan to hire guards and go see it,” Hikaru answered with a beaming smile.

“Oh, I see.” The receptionist nodded, understandingly.

She concluded that this wealthy boy intended to go sightseeing. As long as he viewed it from a distance, it should be safe. So, she brought a map and showed Hikaru the guild’s information, including observation points and future route predictions.

Finally, she cautioned, “Make sure you don’t get too close. Not directly underneath the island, and don’t approach it either. Just observe from afar.”

“I understand,” Hikaru replied with a smile.

That was a lot easier than expected, he thought as returned to the apartment owned by the Four Eastern Stars.

“Welcome back!” Paula greeted him.

“Huh?”

Hikaru looked a little confused. She appeared a bit restless and seemed to glance behind her briefly.

“You’re back. How did it go?”

“Welcome back.”

In the living room, Man Gnomes Granryuk (real name Rikido) and Yoshino greeted Hikaru as he entered. Granryuk, a member of Distant Girdle—a group tasked with gathering information and goods from outside the village—was tall and solidly built, even among Man Gnomes. However, he was about the same height as Hikaru.

Yoshino was a member of Ultimate Mirk, a group of researchers. She had a straightforward and easygoing personality, making her easy to get along with.

Both of them were fed up with the closed nature of the Man Gnome village. Now that the Great Labyrinth of Runay-aas had surfaced, they wanted to take action instead of staying cooped up in the village, so they followed Hikaru—Silver Face.

These two did not know that Silver Face was Hikaru, so it was bothersome for him to keep wearing the mask.

“Basically, the Great Labyrinth is moving north.”

A large map was already spread out on the living room table. When Hikaru came to this unit earlier—to fetch the short wand wrapped with the Fire Drakon’s hair—it had been a mess, littered with garbage left by Sara and Serika of the Four Eastern Stars. But it seemed they had cleaned up while Hikaru was out, as the room was now tidy.

The map, belonging to Granryuk, was more detailed than those sold at the Adventurers Guild. It showed not only the major highways but also outlying villages and many routes over the mountains.

Pointing at a spot on the map, Hikaru continued, “We’re currently here, in the capital of Ponsonia. The Great Labyrinth was originally located on the outskirts of the holy city Agiapole, in the Theocracy of Bios.”

He picked up a small object from the table. It was a piece used in a game similar to chess, with a castle mounted on its base.

Hikaru placed the castle piece on the outskirts of Agiapole. “North of Agiapole is the city of Parametria, which is on the border with Ponsonia. Yesterday, the Great Labyrinth passed over Parametria.” He moved the castle piece northward towards Parametria.

“That must have caused quite a stir.” Granryuk frowned.

Hikaru nodded. “But it passed quickly, so the chaos was minimal.”

“Wait, Silver Face. Isn’t it moving at an incredible speed? We only arrived in the capital two days ago.”

“Exactly. The dungeon is moving much faster than we observed.”

Hikaru moved the castle piece further north, reaching the territory of the Quinbrand Empire.

“Judging by its speed, it’s probably around here now.”

“In the empire’s territory?”

“If we leave immediately and use the Black Wedge Gate, we can reach the northern part of the empire ahead of the Great Labyrinth by going through the capital, G. Quinbrand.”

Hikaru moved the castle piece further north to an area in the middle of a mountain range, devoid of notable towns.

“Wait, Silver Face. How do you know the Great Labyrinth will keep moving north?”

“It’s not heading directly north. It’s veering slightly east. You should know its destination better than anyone.”

Granryuk fell silent.

“There’s no point in keeping quiet now, Rikido,” Yoshino said. “We all know the destination is here.”

Yoshino picked up a different piece—the king piece—and placed it on a location at the very top of the map, a region far to the north of the continent, where the borders of the Quinbrand Empire and the Forestia Federation met.

“Our village, the Man Gnomes’ settlement.”

Hikaru nodded. He knew the general location of the Man Gnome’s village.

“Soaarunay Saak has somehow obtained the exact location of the Man Gnome’s village. She will arrive in about seven days.”

Silence fell over the room.

This was an emergency. The Man Gnome village, hidden in a large cave in the mountains, had survived long wars with the Saak family by remaining concealed. But now, Soaarunay knew its location and was heading there.

Why was Soaarunay heading to the Man Gnome village? A peaceful negotiation was out of the question.

Nevertheless, Hikaru knew what he had to do.

“I’m going to the Great Labyrinth. Using the item I got from the Fire Drakon.”

Hikaru had told Granryuk and Yoshino about the Fire Drakon, though they had never imagined him summoning it.

“Are you serious?” Granryuk said. “You don’t even know if it will be useful, do you?”

“I don’t think the Fire Drakon would give me junk. Of course, it’s still a gamble, so it’s up to you. There’s a lot to do, like informing the village about the emergency and evacuating the residents.”

“I’m not sure if they’ll even listen to us if we head back now.” Granryuk chuckled dryly.

“This isn’t the time for that,” Yoshino added. “All the Distant Girdle have been recalled to the village, so we’re the only ones with information from outside.” She gave Granryuk a reassuring pat on the back.

“So, the plan is set. Let’s get moving.” Hikaru turned behind him, to the door leading to the hallway. “What about you, Four Eastern Stars?”

There was no response.

“If you want to hide, fine. We’re leaving.”

“Argh, how did you know?! I’m supposed to be a pro at hiding!” Sara emerged, clearly frustrated.

“He might’ve sensed our presence,” Sophie said.

“Or our smell!” Serika appeared.

“…”

Selyse peeked out from behind the door, showing only her eyes. She didn’t step out, just watched. Hikaru wondered what was wrong with her. He considered saying something, but with no one else commenting, he decided to ignore it.