Chapter Four

Chapter Four

“You’re making splendid progress. You’re nearly there!”

One morning, Karumi came and collected a status report from me. As we spoke, she flicked around the labyrinth manager UI as fast as ever, probably inspecting the labyrinth’s stats? It seemed like a very convenient way to dig into details on the labyrinth’s performance, but I wished she’d at least look at the report I’d prepared. I worked really hard on that...

“Your high expulsion ratio is quite satisfactory. I only see one cause for concern: the number of return visitors.”

I knew that would stick out like a sore thumb. Apparently labyrinths didn’t usually get a lot of repeat customers.

“Is that a problem?”

“There are no stipulations regarding it, but you’re more likely to be audited if any of your statistics are particularly out of the ordinary.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I can’t promise we won’t keep getting them.”

The easiest solution would be to just start killing the intruders, but I obviously didn’t want to go for that one.

“Please do whatever you can.”

“By the way, how come you’re wearing a ball gown?”

Karumi was wearing the frilliest pink dress I’d ever seen. It was such a departure from her usual business attire that I couldn’t even bring myself to maintain eye contact with her.

“Can we please not talk about this? Honestly, if you can, just forget you ever saw me like this.”

She must’ve screwed up again and gotten caught this time. If only I had the smartphone I left back in the office, I would’ve pulled it out to take a few pictures. On second thought, it was probably for the best I didn’t have it.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Mmgh! Mmmm!”

Once Karumi had arrived, Ann’s eyes had started gleaming, so I’d been forced to clamp my hand over Ann’s mouth for this entire conversation. Whatever she wanted to say was undoubtedly going to be an innocent and pure compliment, and I was nonetheless certain it would cut Karumi deeper than any knife.

◇

“Mr. Theodoran, was it? A pleasure. I’m Aoi, the manager of Labyrinth #228.”

Word arrived one day that a notable guest staying at the mayor’s house wished to meet the local labyrinth manager, and I’d headed there to pay my respects. I didn’t really have anything like a suitable meeting room at the labyrinth, so the mayor had offered us his living room so we could talk.

“Merchant extraordinaire Theodoran, at your service.”

The guest turned out to be a Daemon, perhaps a bit older than myself. A young man, mostly human-looking, though with a pair of horns coming out of his head. Finally, a really demonic Daemon! I mean, it would’ve been even cooler if he’d had blue skin or a pointy tail or whatever, but at least this was something. Now I was curious about what race he was.

“You appear to be staring at me, sir. Do you need something?”

“Oh, uh, excuse me. Can you tell me why you wanted to talk to me?”

Those glasses made him look like a real intellectual. I bet if I brought a picture of him back to my world, you could slap it on the cover of a women’s magazine and make bank. Between Ann and Deneb, I’d grown accustomed to beautiful Daemon girls, but this was the first time I’d seen such a handsome male Daemon. The elves around the village did have a certain quality about them, to be sure, but this guy’s air of effortless grace left one hell of an impression.

“I would like to purchase the magic potions you produce.”

He smoothly unrolled a contract on the table. It was all one piece of vellum, processed animal hide used as paper, and the handwriting on it was pristine. Somehow, I had a very bad feeling all of a sudden. I felt all the curiosity drain from me as I read the contract. Did he think I was an idiot? He was looking to buy a huge supply, thousands of potions, but the price per potion was paltry. He was offering less than Fez was, over at the stall he’d opened in the village for hunters to cash out their potions from the labyrinth. The contract even came with an exclusivity clause which only seemed to benefit him. And lastly...

“What is this part about providing the manufacturing process details?”

“I’d like to formally take custody of one of the Daemons you employ in the labyrinth for the purposes of potion making. I’ll cover their support costs, of course. This is a standard clause in any such large-scale contract; I’m only looking out for your own interests. I can’t imagine letting go of one of your subordinates who can perform alchemy would hurt your bottom line terribly much?”

Theodoran directed a cold, empty smile at me. Ann’s hackles rose, and a low growl came from her throat as she stepped up closer to me and put her hand to my shirt. Well, at least now I understood what he was after. He wanted it all. Cheap magic potions he could sell at a huge profit, and then the means to produce those potions himself down the line. Even if that didn’t pan out, he’d at least acquire someone who could inspect and provide quality control for the goods.

So he expected me to sell him Ann.

“Hahah... Hahahaha!”

This was hilarious. Did he really think I’d accept? I couldn’t stop myself from laughing out loud.

“C-Calm down, Aoi.”

“Boss, this ain’t good.”

Ann and Donnel both whispered to me, their faces pale. Why were they so concerned? Oh man, I totally lost it there for a second. How embarrassing. And here I’d been trying to teach Ann the importance of keeping up a good poker face when you were in the middle of a fight.

“Donnel, Carla, please escort our guest to the exit. Gently, please.”

Theodoran’s two guards, ogres built like towers of muscle, both took a step forward.

“Are you certain about this? You may find your life a touch more difficult than it once was if you choose to antagonize me.”

The fake smile disappeared from his face, replaced with surprise. If this were a normal labyrinth, perhaps accepting some cash in exchange for a subordinate wouldn’t have been that big a deal. But he was asking me to sell my family. I mentally reconsidered the way I viewed Theodoran, no longer thinking of him as a visitor and instead assessing him objectively. Yes, I knew that look in his eyes. He was just like the rivals I’d seen in big tournaments. That burning enthusiasm in his eyes. The will to never give up, to crush his enemies. I wondered, did I perhaps look the same? If neither side of the negotiation was willing to budge, then there was only one way to solve this. I recalled a very particular phrase I’d once heard, one which fit the scene like a glove.

Where had I heard it again? Ohhh, right, it was that famous empire-building MMORPG, Imperialization. The game was about the wonders and triumphs of the far western world during the Middle Ages. They’d beautifully recreated the American continents at about a one-half scale, which let them fit the entire world-wide user base onto a single server. There was no Japanese localization, but it’d still been a pretty big deal.

I’d started playing with a few friends back when the game first launched, but we’d begun running into problems when we decided to build a farm on the Pacific coast. There was this guild of Europeans who built a hotel nearby and harassed us daily. They were horribly vulgar. They were giving one of my guildmates a particularly hard time, and pretty soon he was talking about quitting the game. Once that happened, I gathered all my buddies together and hatched a plan.

I was in no mood to negotiate. I found their guild leader, pulled up the command to start a guild war, and pushed the button without hesitation. One of my guildmates tried to leave a parting shot in English, but it came out terribly garbled. Another of our pals thought it was hilarious, so he screenshotted it and uploaded it to his blog, and from there, it went viral. You could see it in all manner of parody videos and whatnot. The line was...

“So, it do be war.”

I murmured it under my breath, or at least, so I thought. Theodoran thought he was going to beat me down; I hoped he was ready to get his butt whooped in return.

“I’ll make you regret those words.”

Wow, he didn’t even blink. This guy wasn’t messing around.

He waved over his two ogres and left without another word.

“Snap out of it, Boss! You’re scarin’ the girls.”

Donnel stepped up and rapped me on the shoulder before gesturing at Ann and Carla. Ann was trembling, her arms wrapped around my waist, and Carla was huddled down on the floor, her tail curled around her and her fox ears laid back.

“Oh. Thanks, Donnel. Sorry, girls.”

I paused a moment to consider the potential consequences of what I’d just started. In my world, human history was a long saga of war and conflict. But perhaps that was not a mindset I should be bringing to a peaceful village like Milt. And I suddenly remembered what my guild pals had told me, after that day. That war had taught them the true meaning of suffering.

◇

“Theodoran? Can’t believe he came all the way from the capital to see you. Guy’s legendary for his predatory business tactics.”

Gathering intel was the first order of the day, but it wasn’t particularly hard work to learn what I needed to. Fez already knew all about the guy. It seemed our little tyrant had quite the reputation.

“Predatory? How bad are we talking here?”

“The usual: land sharking, coerced contracts. The kinda thing the commerce boards banned back when my ears were still the size o’ yours. With most of the old folks around here, you say this guy’s name and you’ve already ruined their day.”

“Is that right. Guess I’m going to need to set someone to escort Ann. Mary’s occupied, so it’ll have to be Carla.”

Donnel, with his decades more of experience, seemed the stronger of the two, but if Ann’s escort was going to be guarding her at all times, I wanted them to be another girl.

“Wait, how come? What exactly did the guy want from you?”

“Check it out.”

I handed the unsigned contract over to Fez. He grimaced as he read it, and when he finished he glanced over my way anxiously. No, maybe at Carla?

“Yo, Carla, what’s up with your tail? It cramped or something?”

“Mind your own tail, Fez!”

When Fez called her out, even more color drained from her face, and she just shook her head. I couldn’t believe how frightened she was. Personally, I found Mayor Hopper or even Fez more intimidating than Theodoran.

“Hey, Fez, can I ask you to look into this guy for me? I need to know how I can get at him.”

“Uhh, um, sure! That’s what friends are for!”

Friends, huh? The way he said it, maybe Fez wasn’t looking forward to this, either. I had a hunch I was going to be paying a pretty hefty fee for this info.

◇

“Fez came to the labyrinth’s workshop about two weeks before the free challenge period ended. “

“Aoi, where are you? They’re already on the way! Get your ass in gear!”

“Oh yeah? Thanks, Fez. I sure wish this could’ve waited until I was less worried about the labyrinth, but what can you do. How far out are they?”

I’d been expecting this, but I was still exasperated. Managing the labyrinth and dealing with Theodoran at the same time would be difficult. I’d have rather resolved the labyrinth’s performance review first, and then dealt with him afterwards.

But I hadn’t just been twiddling my thumbs. I’d been doing as much as I could to bog down Theodoran. Fez and the hunters were all the manpower I could spare, but they’d all followed my orders with such zeal that I was feeling bad for overworking them.

I hadn’t taken any drastic measures just yet. A few stalls and shops back in the city which were managed by Theodoran had suspiciously been struck with accidents. For example, unregistered carts filled with soil would mysteriously crash into them in the middle of the night. And, strangely, it seemed a whole lot of delicious horse feed had been left in the stables for Theodoran’s pack horses, and now they were suffering from diarrhea. In another nearby city, where Theodoran’s company had its headquarters, there had been a string of small fires. Very small ones, I promise.

No, no, I wasn’t burning down a city. I just figured nobody would care about a few unpopulated warehouses except their owner. But even so, when he’d received his orders, Fez had come bawling to me, begging me not to make him burn anything down. So I’d resorted instead to just handing him a pot, a brazier, and a funny little monster called a wheat fish. The fish had a fat tail, reminiscent of a mouse, which it used to dash around on dry land, and it was famed for sneaking into silos to steal grain. Thing was, even if you managed to catch one, it was so greasy and disgusting that it was borderline inedible. Most people who went looking for them did it to wring them out and harvest the oil, rather than to eat them and destroy their stomachs. Seriously, they were something you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy. But as reviled as they were, I’d found they made a whole lot of smoke when cooked, enough to make it look like you’d set a building on fire.

I’d clearly gone soft. Back in my days playing Imperialization, we’d razed that hotel gang’s city to the ground. Well. I guess the situation wasn’t quite the same here, given there were actual lives at stake.

“He’s hiding out in a huge hunter caravan. I think they’ve got upwards of a hundred people.”

A hundred of them? It sounded like a tiny force compared to war in my own world, but when I considered it was just me, Mary, and the labyrinth against all of them, it felt overwhelming.

“Wait. A hundred hunters. How many...?”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Fez, how many of Theodoran’s hunters are human?”

“Can’t say for sure, but probably eight outta every ten?”

Theodoran couldn’t have known anything about Mary’s condition; Mary and I were keeping that secret to ourselves. There must have just been more human hunters looking for work than I’d thought.

“How long do we have?”

“They’ll be here in three days, early in the day.”

I couldn’t suppress a flash of admiration for Theodoran. I’d had Fez tracking his moves this whole time, but he’d given us the slip until the last minute. He’d really stolen a march on us, and we were going to have to rush our preparations.

“Here I’d been thinking of shutting down the place in a hurry, even if it damaged my reputation a bit.”

I looked over my records and took a few notes. We’d had a decline in challengers sometime after the two-month mark. Most of the hunters around these parts either had already made their two attempts or had found long-term contracts. We were ten people short of meeting our goal of expelled intruders. We could try to cheat. I could ask Donnel and Carla to make their forces challenge it, for instance. I didn’t really mind using underhanded tactics against Theodoran, given how he was approaching things, but I didn’t think it was a good idea to try the same with my labyrinth goals.

“Maybe I should get Suzu’s take.”

I rang up Suzu and told her about my woes.

“Wow, you’re pretty screwed. For what it’s worth, I’ve never heard about any labyrinth managers trying to scam the performance review like that, so I’d follow your instincts and do it right.”

On the video chat, Suzu was wearing pink pajamas and periodically rubbing her eyes. Had I woken her up? And was it really okay to wear clothes like that to a meeting? I figured she’d give me hell if I pointed that out, so I decided not to say anything.

“Huh, really? So you’ve never heard of labyrinth managers gaming the system?”

“The only thing I’ve ever heard was the embezzlement story you told me a few months ago.”

That at least clarified one thing for me. My labyrinth had already been victimized by one corruption scheme, so I’d wanted to ensure that was an outlier in this world, rather than the norm.

So I couldn’t take the easy way out. All right, what other options did I have?

“I suppose we’ll just have to roll out the red carpet for our guests. Fez, can you go talk to Mayor Hopper? I’m going to need as many workers as the village can spare for the next two days. And on your way, tell the receptionist back in Milt that the labyrinth is temporarily closed for renovation.”

“Sure thing, but what are you gonna do? You’ve only got two days!”

Like all games, the game of life was at its best when it threw the really hard content at you. I tried to keep my excitement in check as I thought about what was coming, and I gave Fez a confident smile.

“We’re gonna overhaul this place in record time.”

Fez looked at me in horror. Oops, did I put on my evil grin again?

◇

I swung my pickaxe to the ring of stone splitting. My only breaks came in ten-second spurts, when the pickaxe broke apart in my hands and I had to summon a new one with the <Dungeon Management Tool>. I checked my status screen periodically, and every time I saw my stamina drop below two digits, I chugged a magic potion and went back to work.

“This passageway is supposed to open up to the right. Stop digging to the left!”

“Aye aye, ma’am! My bad, ma’am!”

“Aye, ma’am! Watch the rear! Not enough room in the back, ma’am—this is as far as we can go!”

“Keep that rope taut! Don’t drop the load!”

The labyrinth’s passageways blazed with light from the hundreds of torches and lamps we’d gathered. Workers dug out soil and rock cubes and loaded them into baskets, where they were lifted up and out of the labyrinth, one after another. We didn’t have enough hands, so we’d asked the ladies of the village to take over management of the crew, issuing orders and directing the flow of materials. Their level of organization was a lot higher than the workers’, thanks to all that time spent managing meals for dozens of hungry laborers. I watched my stamina plummet again and again, but my fighting spirit burned brighter than ever. Man, I wished I could see all the progress from a top-down view. I thought back to the discussions in the village when I’d come begging for help.

“New construction, and you need it done quick? What are you up to, boy?”

I’d started with Barry.

“I want to bring back two of the traps we scrapped from the initial design: the drain floor and the killer pitfall.”

The first was a barely noticeable trap, one that constantly sapped the stamina from intruders. It was a small thing, but quite effective over the long haul. We’d initially forgone it because it wore out the maintenance workers as well, and because it was tricky to set up. The second was a ruthless trap which put the hunters’ lives at risk, so I’d decided against using it out of concern for their wellbeing.

“Oh yeah? How long do you have?”

“We only have until dawn three days from today, and we’ll need to rearrange as much of the labyrinth as we can by then. Feel free to use every drop of coagulant we still have left.”

“Oof, talk about tight deadlines. Best get started right away.”

“Fez told me everything. How many laborers do we need?”

Next, I’d gone to the mayor’s house to secure workers.

“Every Daemon the village can spare. I know I’m asking for a lot here.”

“So many? We’ll have to arrange to care for the children, at least. This will cost a lot more than last time.”

“...Can I ask how much?”

The mayor thought it over, calculated the undiscounted price, and gave me his fair assessment. Well, that blew up my budget.

“I get what the mayor’s saying, but this is crazy. Working this fast, we’re definitely going to see some injuries. I hope you’re prepared to provide treatment for everyone!”

The mayor put out a summons, and the villagers gathered to discuss terms. More and more people congregated, until it seemed like the entire village was there. For whatever reason, Deneb ended up their representative.

“Aoiiii, what’s got you all in a hurry? This is gonna cost you a fortune! I don’t see how you stand to make any money if you go rushing around like this.”

I looked to Ann and Mary, and I had my answer. I mentally braced myself for the teasing.

“I have to do this because my family’s in danger.”

“So there you go, everyone! He’s doing it for his family.”

“Family? Makes sense.”

“Yep, no reason to try to talk him out of it.”

“Oi, Chief, let’s get rolling. Where do we start?”

“Jenny, round up all the women just like before. We don’t have a second to spare.”

A tear sprang to my eye. I wanted to thank them all from the bottom of my heart for their support, but honestly, I was too damn embarrassed. Best to just pretend I’d never delivered that cheesy line.

“Okay, Aoi, what do ya need me to do?”

“What, you’re gonna help?”

When Fez came to me offering his services, I was so shocked I gave him a rather rude response. I’d hired Donnel and Carla to fight in the first place, so I was planning on asking them to do that once again, but when it came to Fez, I honestly hadn’t even thought about how I could put him to use. I supposed I could forgive myself this one. When you’re orchestrating this many people, it’s only natural to forget someone.

“Can you go buy some rope from the village? Don’t skimp—it’ll need to be strong enough to support people’s weight. Oh, and how about you put some of those potions at your stall on sale at a cheap price? I’m sure they’ll sell like corncakes.”

“Sure, but who’s gonna take the hit for my loss?”

“I was thinking this could be your contribution to the cause.”

After a long pause, he answered in a chipper tone of voice.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna fly with the missus. She’d probably rip my tail off and beat me to death with it if I cut into the store’s profits like that.”

Apparently he’d been balancing the value of our friendship against the risk to his own life and limb.

“Aoi, we’re done with this side of the tunnel, just need to get the blocks out. The chief said to stick to the plan!”

“Got it!”

Once I secured the blocks to a rope, Fez, who’d put on a headband and joined the workforce, started lifting them up. I sprinted down the tunnel to my next digging spot. I worked away, carving into the solid bedrock below the first floor of the labyrinth, turning it all into stone blocks. As we progressed down the line, the labyrinth slowly changed shape under the influence of my <Dungeon Management Tool>. The reinforcing wood holding it up began to bow in places, under the weight of many dug-up blocks we’d glued together with coagulant. The whole thing looked like it was made of pixel art. By this point, we were clearly skimping on the aesthetics a bit.

◇

Mary helped around the workshop, stirring pots, bringing firewood from storage, just doing whatever she could. But the entire time, she was in agony. At the root of her suffering was a letter handed to her by a Daemon hunter early that morning.

“Withdraw your aid. Betray them, if need be. If we accomplish our goal, I will pay the ransom of any humans who support my cause.”

The letter bore Theodoran’s signature and seal. The alluring offer tugged at her, not for her own freedom, but rather for the sake of the many ransomed humans. As a knight, sworn to protect mankind, she should have obeyed the commands in the letter. But Mary couldn’t bring herself to do it. It tortured her in a way she hadn’t experienced in months.

“Maryyyy, can you go get us some firewood? We’re going to be out soon!”

“Absolutely, I’ll go and fetch it immediately!”

She refused to think of it and threw herself into the work. She’d worry about the letter when the time came.

◇

“I don’t hear any screams. They must still be far away.”

I put my hand to the handle of the cursed sword at my waist and strained my ears, listening for the sound of our intruders from the guardian’s room.

“No footsteps either.”

Mary murmured beside me. Just how far away could she hear footsteps?!

We’d spent every minute remodeling for the two days we had, and we’d finished this morning—just in time. Aside from a few personnel taking shifts in the workshop just in case, all the exhausted villagers had returned home. No doubt they were fast asleep, getting ready to go to work again come tonight. I’d gotten a report from reception that a group of hunters had registered to challenge the labyrinth today. All told, there were 63 humans and 21 Daemons, and in the middle of the list was Theodoran.

When summer had started, so long ago, I’d bought a brand new suit, but after the repeated washings it was looking a bit worse for wear. I had no armor to speak of, but my vest and leather pouch were packed full of potions. A number of people had recommended that I wear some leather armor beneath my suit, but I’d given up on the idea fairly quickly. Sacrificing mobility could be fatal.

I’d calmed down a lot when Fez informed me that Theodoran’s hunters were more the mercenary caravan guard type, rather than the type that hunted monsters for a living. In game terms, rather than a sudden difficulty spike, this looked more like a bug, or a major balance issue. A bunch of caravan guards sounded like easy mode. On my left hand, I wore a black glove I’d recently acquired off Tundra—the lone purchase I’d allowed myself for this encounter. I hadn’t exactly been able to afford splurging on it.

Magic Hands (three-meter radius) == 4.2 million DL

Seller: Manager, Labyrinth #89

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Reviewer: Manager, Labyrinth #315

- A retro magic glove, the real deal, for all you folks nostalgic for the days of yore.

Nowadays, you can find 2x or even 3x boosting gloves out there, but back in the day, this was the only one on the market. They were a mainstay of labyrinth warehouses. Back when this fellow started selling them, people thought they were pretty cool cause you could wash your hands without ruining them (you just needed two of them). You could argue that’s what justifies the prices.

(Edit: Changed my review to reflect how it compares to the newer competing products.)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Reviewer: Employee, Labyrinth #172

- Others have a wider range of effect, but this one’s my favorite.

I inherited these way back when. I’m kinda jealous of the way other ones let people lift more and stuff, but you know, I just don’t feel right when I go out fishing or gathering seaweed if I’m not wearing these.

It was a magic glove that let you grab distant objects. Ann and I used them to lift blocks after digging them, but you could also hold people in place with them. This would’ve been far more useful against single hunters than against this mob, obviously. I hadn’t thought of it myself; the idea had come up when I’d called Suzu last night to try and relax. Suzu didn’t seem to spend much time worrying about combat. Her labyrinth didn’t really require strength of arms to operate, so she was mostly concerned with items that were useful day-to-day, and with identifying new commodities.

“It’s been two hours since we heard the first scream. If they were going to make it this far, they’d be here by now.”

We’d set the tripwires and piled anchor traps so they wouldn’t be triggered by a small number of intruders. After all, a giant pitfall in the middle of a passageway could very well kill people. I’d realized that we didn’t want to take that kind of risk with our normal customers. The pit trap was three meters deep, as wide as the passage itself, and three meters long to boot. The walls were as near to vertical as we could make them, so you’d need special equipment to climb out. Without stakes or a rope you couldn’t get people out of it, and that was not to mention the fact that anybody who fell in would likely be incapacitated by their injuries. The trap was bound to take out a few adventurers. I’d seen my share of nasty pitfalls in games, and I was grateful to a certain tabletop GM who’d taught me how lethal they could be, despite their cartoonish reputation. The way Barry had grimaced when I’d told him I wanted one, it was clear he too was aware of the injury they could cause.

“Wonder if Theodoran’s having fun, now that the kiddie gloves are off. He has no idea who he’s up against.”

And so the first day ended without a single hunter reaching the guardian’s room. The invaders had exhausted their first attempt at the labyrinth, and many had to be rescued at nightfall. You should’ve seen the way they argued and fought over who got to use those stakes and ropes to get out first.

◇

We’d survived day one, but the clang of picks and shovels continued through the night.

“I’m clearing these out. Anything left over there?”

“You checked there’s no one still stuck in the pit, right?!”

The villagers were engaged in all manner of work, prepping the labyrinth for the next day’s assault, but most of them didn’t have the strength or stamina to dig. They had their hands full just repairing the already-revealed pit trap. They removed the anchors used on the first day and greased the walls of the trap to ensure it wasn’t a total cakewalk. I also had them sand down the walls above, so the invaders wouldn’t have an easy time of attaching ropes.

While they repaired the big pitfall, I was digging another, smaller trap—one that would make it more difficult not just to get through the labyrinth, but also to use any tools. I also suspected it would lead to a lot of injuries. Honestly, I was having trouble even getting the blocks out of this one after digging them up. It was much more problematic than the first pitfall. That was why we’d decided to build it last, so it didn’t get in the way of our other efforts.

This one would be an unavoidable, deep pool of oil, designed so that when it was disrupted, it slicked several passageways, making it a nightmare just to walk around. You rarely saw this kind of trap in modern games, but it was an easy and effective way to make tools unusable, unless you had a ton of cloth on hand to wipe them clean. Oil solidified and dried, so maintaining a trap like this was a nightmare, but fortunately this was a one-night-only production. In general, you could work around the difficulties of an oil trap by digging into walls and floors with stakes, and with liberal use of rope to pull yourself along. The walls being made of such smooth stone was going to give those adventurers a hard time of it. Even if they did make it through all this to the guardian’s room, ready to face the boss, they were going to be suffering a major debuff from traversing our oily hell of a labyrinth.

People would need torches in the labyrinth, so I was using nonflammable oil to avoid things getting out of hand, though honestly the risk to me and my family wasn’t all the great. I’d been considering just buying cheap, flammable oil on Tundra and calling it a day. It was pretty sticky, too, so we could’ve easily made a deep bog out of it. If an invader had caught fire in there, they’d have been a goner for sure. We also had the option of using a tar pit to keep the heat from dissipating once the oil was ignited. Tar was so cheap that we could add it pretty much anywhere we felt like around the labyrinth and upgrade the lethality of all our existing traps while we were at it. Humans were all too fragile. The fatality rate would have soared if we’d sprinkled the floor with dirty wooden stakes; just imagine the rate of infection, if they didn’t hurry to get those nasty wounds cleaned.

I hoped Theodoran and his crooks were properly grateful for the mercy I was showing them.

“You know, I think I’m a pretty stand-up guy, all thing considered, but this does make me worry about what it’s like in the labyrinths on the front lines.”

I was starting to have my doubts about the company’s hiring strategy. Were hardcore gamers the right people to trust with this kind of power over life and death?

◇

“Ann, we’re going to the labyrinth. Stay in the village with Donnel and Carla while we’re there.”

Yesterday had finished up our quota for the performance evaluation, so I would’ve liked to simply close the labyrinth, but I was sure Theodoran would’ve kicked up a fuss, and I wanted to avoid a scandal. I strapped the cursed sword to my waist and stood up. Coming after us while the labyrinth was closed would be an outright crime, and I didn’t think a nobleman like Theodoran would go so far, but the doubt still rattled around in the back of my head. I was worried about the sheer numbers they could bring to bear, so I had Donnel, Carla, and their crews camp outside for the night to keep an eye out for surprise attacks. Ann would be safer staying in Milt until Theodoran left. Though, that said, my life was probably in a lot more danger than Ann’s at this point.

“Okay, then. Stay safe, you two.”

“Mhm.”

Mary didn’t sound too good. Maybe she hadn’t slept well? Perhaps aware of the danger we would face today, I hugged Ann for a bit longer than usual before leaving the cabin.

◇

Ann watched Aoi and Mary heading off for the labyrinth until they were just out of sight, at which point she turned to Donnel.

“Mister Donnel, did you memorize the trap locations last night, like I asked?”

“Know ‘em like the back of my paw, lassie. I learned them just the way you said.”

“Miss Carla, did you get any sleep?”

“Don’t you worry about me! Though I am a bit sleepy.”

Ann went around behind the cabin, took out her poleaxe from its hidden location, and checked it over to make sure it was ready for use.

“Aoi may look like he’s ready for anything, but he can be pretty sloppy, so I’ve gotta protect him.”

“Uhh, right. ’Course.”

“S-Sure.”

Ann had easily convinced the two veteran hunters to support her plan, thanks to the strength of her pure conviction. The moment she’d stood up straight and tall, looked them in the eye, and said she wanted to be a help rather than a burden, the game was already over.

“Say, have you heard about the slithering stalker? It’s a monster that sneaks up behind people when they least expect it!”

Donnel and Carla exchanged puzzled glances. This was a new one to them.

“You can only find them in our labyrinth. They stalk you from the moment you enter, and they’re really scary and super strong.”

Ann flashed a sunny smile.

“C’mon, let’s go be monsters.”

◇

They were still gathering up in front of the room. Eleven, no, twelve of them. I’d expected them to get past the traps this time, now that they were certainly more properly equipped, but I was a little surprised to see him waiting until the last moment to amass troops rather than just charging in with what he had. What a good idea. Is this Theodoran’s work, or does he have some skilled hunter calling the shots? All things considered, this was not a very high turnout. Had they run into trouble along the way? Maybe they just hadn’t brought enough rope.

“They’re readying weapons. Prepare yourself.”

Even though they were on the other side of the wall, Mary could tell what they were doing. If you asked her about it, she wouldn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary, but Mary was really something special.

I took the cursed sword in hand and focused on the coming fight. The sword converted my imagined techniques into physical motion, pushing my muscles and joints to their very limits to achieve my objective as quickly and effectively as possible. I was as strong as I could possibly be, given my status.

I made a fist with the black glove on my left hand. As I did, the hardened soil blocks all around me creaked and lifted up into the air. I raised them all up to my chest level. Man, this glove was seriously not all that great. I could see why people were talking up the newer models. I mean, sure, it was cool and all, but I had to expend all my own grip strength to hold these things, and then I had to lift them with my own arms too. My muscles were aching. Wish I could’ve sprung for the power-boosting gloves.

“Mary, you take care of the Daemons. Even if there’s only one of them, that’ll be a help.”

“Okay.”

“Charge!”

“Follow me!”

As the door slammed open, I hurled all the soil blocks at it. One hunter took a brick to the head and collapsed on the spot, but the rest rushed in, flooding the room. Not one of them batted an eye at their fallen comrade. They were used to battle. I leaped forward, closing the distance.

“Get in position!”

“Aye!”

I jumped with all my strength to clear the line of spears thrust at me.

“Take this!”

I leaped all the way to the ceiling, impacted and took a handhold momentarily, then launched myself forward again, above the spears.

“Focus, Aoi. Do the Phantom Flash.”

I kicked off the ceiling again and aimed the dull side of my blade at Theodoran. It was difficult to maneuver mid-air, but I used the glove to push off the floor and course-correct. I feinted at the hunter next to Theodoran, then turned to slash at him.

“How is he doing this?! That’s impossible!”

Theodoran parried my Phantom Flash in a hurry with a crystalline blue sword. Wait, he blocked it?! Where’s he get off calling my moves impossible if he can do that? He looked like the brainy type, but apparently he had pretty impressive combat abilities. Only thing for it was to keep pushing.

“Sorry for doing the impossible here, I— Guh!”

My field of vision went dark for a moment, and I pulled back in a panic. I groaned at the sudden strain and jumped backwards, trying not to injure myself further.

Cracks spread across the ceiling from where I’d landed. Maybe I was pushing the limits of how much the coagulant coating could strengthen it; blocks were falling out here and there. Failing to take out their leader in a preemptive strike was a major blow to my plan. Now they’d have their guard up. I returned to my initial position and took in the situation.

It didn’t look like they were using any kind of disruptive magic on me, at least. That meant something else was wrong. When a computer doesn’t have the specs to run a demanding game, it goes blurry and stutters. The same thing was happening to my senses. This had happened to me once before, the time I faced Mary in her Extended Knight Armor. The cursed sword had controlled my body just fine, but my brain hadn’t been able to keep up. The software in my head wasn’t as powerful as the hardware. If this was beyond even me, then we had to be talking about a task more complex than playing Dance Dance Rebellion and Shamisen Hero at the same time. After all, my natural state was sitting in front of a monitor, mashing the keyboard and madly clicking the mouse.

The intruders formed up, settled their lances, and advanced.

“Hard mode, finally.”

I broke into a grin. I was having a blast, fighting with my own fists just as though I was in a game. I wanted more of it, to fight until I dropped. Moments like these were what a gamer lived for! I was having a hard time even holding myself back from jumping straight at them. Damn, I was fighting myself even more than I was fighting them. Cool down, Aoi. The number one rule in a first-person game was, don’t get outnumbered. I needed to find a way to tilt the scales. Their leather armor was soaked in oil, and probably heavy as a result. Their spears were surely in the same condition, and difficult to wield to boot. In spite of all that, they handled themselves well.

“Execute Appraisal.”

I was looking for the weak link in the chain of their offense. Most of them had vitality and stamina in the double digits, although one of the Daemon hunters had conspicuously high stats. Fortunately, Mary had already taken her down during the initial onslaught. The only ones remaining were Theodoran and nine of the foot soldiers, all human.

“All right, cursed sword, don’t fail me now.”

I knew how to deal with insufficient specs. It was perfectly common for the most recent releases to make even a high-end gaming machine cry on their default settings. And there was the answer: all I had to do was lower the settings. Please, sword, if you can control my body, then can I at least configure how you do it? First, I lowered my monitor resolution and sound quality to the minimum. Those two were more of a luxury than a necessity in the first place. No good... I still felt weighed down. Okay, take out the colors. No good? Might have to just turn off the visuals entirely and go with sound only. I blinked a few times. I could feel the air on my open eyes, could sense the light hitting them, and I even vaguely knew where everyone was, but I couldn’t see a thing. My other senses were also hazy. Just how far had I gone in lowering my settings?!

But it had worked. I could feel the strength in my arms and legs. It was time to attack.

I kicked off the ground and dashed forward, the sound of my figure cutting through the wind a faint whisper.

“Ready lances! Intercept him!”

I heard the clash of metal on metal, felt danger at my side. I slid to the left and leaped again, getting into position to fall from above on their flank.

“Dodged again. He’s even faster now! How, how?!”

“Stab the monster!”

Hear the whistle of a lance in the air and dodge. Now, parry with the sword in one hand, twist, sword singing in counterattack. Several of them fall. Turn again, jump to land on the ceiling, ready to launch down.

“From above? You sure this guy’s human?!”

Soften the landing and get in position. Slash right, spin left. So far so good. Now, intercept that attack with a vertical slash. Ah, resistance. Little nick to my right arm. Nothing I can’t handle.

“He got my hand! I can’t hold my lance!”

“Leave this to me. Watch my back!”

Dangerous target closing in. Low slash from the left. Follow it with a horizontal cut to the right. Phantom Flash. Parry the counter with a low left slash, then harry him from the right. Don’t let him get used to the rhythm. Four, five, six, seven strikes.

“Gah! How’s he so damn fast?! Ggrh. Now, impale him!”

More incoming. Grit your teeth and parry the lances. Crap, this is bad. Heavy hit to the left thigh. Not going to be able to move well, I should retreat.

“I won’t let you get awa— Guh!”

Crouch and jump back and to the right. Now, reach out and grab him with the glove. Feel the weight in your hand. Got ‘em.

“Kkh. Ngh...”

Tighter, tighter. Don’t let go. Landing, now jump back again with everything you’ve got. Count the seconds until you hit the ground, and get ready to jump again once your feet touch. Don’t. Let. Go.

“Aoi, please, release him!”

Mary’s scream cut through to me. Sword, reload default settings!

My senses came crashing back, along with a monstrous headache. When I looked, the group of intruders was far away from my position. I unclenched my left hand, and one of the hunters collapsed to his feet, gasping and coughing.

“Did I grab him by the neck? Sorry.”

After apologizing, I looked around. One of them was out of commission, two were severely wounded, and Theodoran had taken a moderate injury. Two of them had lost their weapons as well. I had a gash on my right arm, and a big hole in my thigh, which hurt like hell! I reached out for my best potion, in the top pocket of my jacket holster, and broke it open. The liquid seeped in through my vest, the vitality potion penetrating under my clothes. The horrible pain retreated. The profuse bleeding stopped, and, as usual, I felt the wound closing itself at a speed that left me shivering. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to this feeling.

With every pulse of my heart, my headache throbbed. Even if I dropped my settings again, moving was going to be a tall order right now.

“Hey, Theodoran. Can we talk?”

I forced out a smile and addressed my attacker. My body was screaming at me to rest, ready to give out at any second. I wasn’t even doing anything, but my vision and hearing were fading in and out. I was not in good shape.

“Would you like to reconsider my offer of a contract?”

“Maybe if you make a few changes. I wouldn’t mind going at it until one of us is crushed, but at this rate, I think someone’s going to die. You’re not ready to go that far, are you?”

As a labyrinth manager, I was considered a Daemon, and Theodoran was thus my countryman. I wanted to avoid having to kill a fellow citizen, if at all possible.

“I acknowledge the offered price per unit was a tad low considering the current market. I miscalculated, assuming a novice labyrinth manager wouldn’t be savvy to their products’ value, and I am prepared to move on the price. That said, I will not yield on either the exclusivity clause or on my demands regarding manufacturing technique.”

“Those are not on the table.”

“Then I’m afraid this negotiation is over.”

Theodoran’s eyes blazed with determination. Was he truly just motivated by money?

“Draw daggers! Throw!”

“Aoi, no!”

Mary ran to stand in front me, holding out her shield. One of the hunters cursed.

“Knights don’t protect Daemons! If you’re gonna die, die for a human!”

Mary had positioned herself to deflect the daggers, but she stopped dead in her tracks, the shield falling to her side. She stood there defenseless as the daggers bore down on her.

Time slowed, and my thoughts accelerated. All I could think was, I don’t want Mary to meet a dead end here. Even if it means...

I didn’t even hesitate.

My joints shrieked in protest, but the cursed sword still moved me just the way I wanted it to. I wrapped my arms around Mary and spun her behind me as fast as I could. I felt the daggers hit home, stabbing into me one after the other. Even slicked with oil, they felt awfully sharp. These guys didn’t skimp on their equipment. Two sunk into my left leg, three into my back, and one of them pierced straight through my chest.

I wasn’t a goner yet. My hands trembling, I smashed two potions from my belt. Still, even moving now was going to be difficult. Theodoran’s next move should have been to send in his four remaining soldiers and watch from the back. If I pushed myself to the limit, I could take out four goons, but if I was wrong about that, the only things I had to rely on were guts and luck.

“Aoi? Why did you...?”

When my legs nearly gave out, Mary supported me, staring at me in confusion. Even when I tried to command the cursed sword to move me, all I did was sink further to the ground. If I truly couldn’t fight anymore, I was going to have to find another way. Forgive me, Mary.

“I’m protecting you. I’m not ready for our time together to be over, Mary. Are you?”

I was so far gone that I wasn’t sure I could even form words, but I tried anyway. I faintly thought, if nothing happened now, maybe I’d made a wrong choice and ended up on a bad route. But I still had faith. I believed we would make it through.

“Knight, seize that man. Aren’t you sworn to protect?!”

So, Theodoran was trying to make her betray me? I had a feeling he and I would’ve been good friends, if we were gamers. Hell, he didn’t even want her to kill me, just restrain me? I had to hand it to the guy for keeping a cool head.

◇

“Aren’t you sworn to protect?!”

Theodoran’s shout unearthed the sweat and agony of Mary’s training, the blood and death that accompanied her on the battlefield. But buried among those was also a long-cherished memory. Theodoran, if nothing else, let me thank you for that reminder.

The dusty, nearly forgotten memory sent Mary back to an old cathedral, a majestic castle watching over it in the distance. She was still small, and a familiar warmth wrapped around her tiny hands.

“What do you want to be when you grow up, Mary?”

“I wanna be strong!”

“You do? How come?”

The nostalgic voice clawed at her heart and wrung tears from her eyes. She reminded herself, That isn’t where I belong anymore.

“I wanna be strong enough to protect Mother and Father!”

“I see. Then maybe you should become a knight.”

“What’s a knight?”

“Knights are people who swear to protect what they hold dear.”

Of course...

“Really?! That’s perfect! Then I’m going to become a knight.”

I remember, now. I remember why I became a knight.

“That way, I can protect everyone I love!”

The force that had long pushed her forward subsided, as though a tired old motor finally gave out. But in its place, rusty, forgotten gears began to turn, and a new fire kindled inside her.

◇

At Theodoran’s appeal, a spark flared up in Mary’s eyes. Oh, shit. Did I miss a flag somewhere? Well, if Mary betrayed me, at least it would make for an interesting story. As a gamer, you’ve got to learn to savor the bitter endings as well as the sweet ones.

“Aoi, would you grant me one wish?”

Mary’s voice was strangely playful for a betrayal event.

“What is it?”

“Spoil me rotten. Never stop protecting me.”

That was quite the tall order. In spite of my wounds, I had to laugh.

“Haha, what a line. Sure. It’d be my pleasure.”

I was pretty sure that was two wishes, not one, but I just nodded along anyway. There was only one choice for me.

“Thank you, Aoi. I, Mariet, do hereby swear to protect and cuddle you, in exchange for the same, until the end of time, even if I make this whole world my enemy.”

A sudden breeze tossed Mary’s hair, and I watched as black chased it from tip to root. Her silvery sword and armor flashed once and turned to scarlet and gold. Her clear blue eyes flared up and turned a ruby hue. She hadn’t lost her aloof aura, but the doubts that clouded her mind had burned away.

“Execute Appraisal.”

Mariet

<Dark Knight>

Vitality: 240/240   Stamina: 300/300   Willpower: 380/380

Skills: <Dark Knight: Master> <Knight Armor: Expert>

Wow, Dark Knight? Huh, and she lost her last name too. I wish I could say I planned this all out, but seriously, I did not see this one coming. I was pretty sure I’d used up all my luck on this event. Hard mode was fine and all, but gambling on long shots like this was not my style. Thank goodness it’d all worked out in the end.

This had to be what Karumi had told me about. Mary had changed alignment, switching from the humans to either the Daemons or just the labyrinth itself. This was the change a knight had to undergo, if they gave up being a guardian of their people. Still, I had never expected to see Mary cloaked in darkness.

“Rest. Leave this to me.”

As she readied her scarlet shield and sword, I only had the strength to nod in return. Mary blurred, throwing herself headlong at the enemy and blowing away three hunters with a single slash of her sword. She thrust home the sword and shield with an unearthly grace, and as she danced the hunters piled up along the wall.

Oh man, I’d totally seen this before. This was like a scene from one of those Warriors games. Well, that did fit the fantasy setting, but that genre wasn’t really my cup of tea. I was into more realistic games.

“Ready to surrender, Theodoran?”

After making short work of the hunters, Mary directed her sword at their leader and held it at the ready.

“It appears I am defeated. Would you mind not holding it against my hired help?”

“Sure. I couldn’t care less about them. All I want is to protect the people I love.”

My heart skipped a beat, hearing Mary deliver such an evil yet lovable line with so much style. Oh man, she’s a keeper.

“I surrender.”

“Excellent. Then I will be handing you over to the authorities for... Wait a moment.”

Theodoran rolled his eyes and grinned at my goofball of a knight.

“Aoi, under what charges should I arrest this man?”

Mary looked at me with some concern. I couldn’t help but smile.

“Attempting to extort or bribe a labyrinth manager is a serious crime.”

She may have fallen to darkness, but Mary was still Mary. Theodoran began to wilt, and she ran to catch him. And as I contentedly watched that scene, my eyelids began to feel awfully heavy...