09 — Anomalies in the Labyrinth of Trials
09 — Anomalies in the Labyrinth of Trials
After dinner, I separated from the group and headed for the labyrinth. My card thankfully still worked on the magic elevator, and soon, I was at the dungeon’s entrance. I made out a faint stench emanating from within and decided to down some Substance X for good luck before descending. It had been a friggin’ eternity since I had last leveled up anyway, and it wasn’t like it was going to happen anytime soon.
Putting aside my inner turmoil, I set my sights on the tangible struggle before me and drank my first mug of Substance X in what felt like a long time. The world spun around me, and I found myself barely remaining on one knee by the time my consciousness returned.
“I’m going soft,” I muttered.
I cut through the little shop and opened the door to the labyrinth. It wasn’t long before I encountered a ghoul, who I quickly dispatched with a cast of Heal. I picked up its gem, and only then did I realize the problem.
“What’s a ghoul doing on the first floor?” I mumbled. They weren’t supposed to appear for another twenty floors. “Something definitely smells, and it’s not the labyrinth.”
The monsters became more prevalent the farther down I went. Swiftly dealing with each wandering mob, I eventually reached the tenth floor boss room.
“If the monster swarm shows up in here, there’s no question about it. The labyrinth has been reactivated.”
I opened the door and paced to the center of the room. The moment I did, the dim chamber lit up, revealing the monsters before me.
“There’s less than the last time I was here,” I murmured. “Weird.”
The battle ended with a cast of Purification but not before memories of my first visit sent a shiver through my body.
“I can’t believe I got myself trapped in here with no magic at level one.”
I really should have died then. Somehow, I had pulled through, but the slightest misstep would have ended me right there.
I gathered the magic stones, beyond relieved that I wouldn’t have to relive the trauma, and pressed on.
“Even more.”
I didn’t get it. What were all these powerful monsters doing so early in the labyrinth? It should have been gradually losing power since I conquered it...unless it had gradually been regaining its power. Any guess I could conjure up was as good as the next, so I simply continued down from one floor to the next.
A single swing of my cleansing magic-infused Illusion Staff turned the undead into stones before they could even cry out in dramatic agony. At least I could still rely on old faithful.
In the case of the Flame Dragon’s dungeon, the labyrinth’s reactivation had been instigated by a group of adventurers tampering with a magic stone that had been a trap. But very few people knew of this labyrinth’s existence, let alone had access to it, and even fewer had the spiritual resistance skill necessary to make it to the very end. Meaning whoever the culprit was, they had to be formidable.
“It couldn’t be Estia,” I mused. “No.”
Her powers definitely met the criteria, but the Spirit of Dusk wouldn’t have put her in that much danger. Had this happened because I left the central magic stone untouched?
I headed deeper in search of clues but had to turn back before I could come up with anything.
“I’ll need more time to look into this.”
The bosses were missing in every main chamber, all the way to the thirtieth floor. I took what solace I could from that.
The pope needed to hear about this.
After breakfast the next morning, I told my team to remain on standby and went to meet with the pope in her chambers.
“Thank you for seeing me in private, Your Holiness,” I said on one knee.
“Think nothing of it,” she replied from behind her veil. “You would not come to me in this manner if it were not a matter of great importance.”
“Yes, Your Holiness.” I paused and began with the most pressing concern. “I have suspicions that the Labyrinth of Trials is active again.”
“What?!” the pope exclaimed. “Again, you say? How do you know this?”
Based on her reaction, I was the first person to bring it up. And if labyrinths reactivating was a surprise to her, maybe she wasn’t as knowledgeable about the dungeons as I had once thought.
“I was there yesterday and discovered monsters on floors where they shouldn’t have been appearing. So I continued on the assumption that the labyrinth had revived.”
“And what did you find?”
“It’s hard to draw any conclusions yet, but I’ve seen this happen before in Yenice. In the Flame Dragon’s Labyrinth of Will.”
“Do you know what caused it?” she asked.
“There was a trap at the very end, a large magic stone. I believe touching it alerted the Wicked One, and the unfortunate adventurers responsible were turned into undead.”
“You mean...” Her Holiness pieced it together. “You mean to say someone may have infiltrated the labyrinth! Is that what you’re implying?”
“Yes. It could have been the exorcist who took my place or maybe a knight who wanted to level up. Or it could be that the monsters were simply ignored until things got worse.”
The Spirit of Dusk was technically among my list of suspects, but I didn’t think Estia would do something so dangerous, so she was safe for now. True, the spirit could have nullified the awful smell or revived the labyrinth with her powers, but in her defense, I had already confirmed that she wasn’t an evil entity with a pretty high degree of certainty.
“Do you plan to delve into the labyrinth again?” the pope asked.
“Yes, Your Holiness,” I replied. “I’ve always been a good fit for this dungeon.”
“And how will you explain it to your attendants?”
She had an astoundingly valid point. The labyrinth was still confidential, and I was sworn to secrecy.
I put a hand to my chin and thought. “I’ll tell them you entrusted me with an important mission and have them train with the Knights in the meantime.”
“Very well,” Her Holiness replied. “My thanks, and my apologies for souring your return with such duties.”
“Yes, Your Holiness,” I said. “I want to mention that I spoke with Estia as well. About the Spirit of Dusk.”
“I see. And you suspected her due to her connection with the spirit. I’m glad to see you’ve come to trust her.”
“For the time being, Your Holiness,” I corrected her.
“Ever cautious. I will have Granhart investigate the matter of the exorcist who succeeded you.”
“Please do. If I may ask, I’ve been curious about your class, Your Holiness.”
“Spirit summoner,” the pope replied. “Naturally, I have been blessed by the Elemental, but I am not its chosen one, nor am I the one fated to join you. I do, however, wield the choice of who is.”
I had almost expected Her Holiness to be the one I was waiting for, and I couldn’t tell whether the pounding in my chest was because of that or the effects of the Substance X from yesterday. That would make the pope...what, my mother-in-law? Something to that effect? I didn’t know how I felt about her holding sway over who my soulmate would be, but beggars couldn’t be choosers.
“If you’ve been blessed by the Elemental, then does that make you the last mystic of the spirits?” I asked. “The previous Spiritsworn?”
The one with the blessing that the Earth Dragon had said I was supposedly drawn to. But that didn’t seem right if it included Her Holiness.
“You’ve heard of the mystics, have you?” the pope responded. “That is an astute observation. Only those who can wield the power of the spirits can inherit the Elemental’s blessing, and in truth, I was shocked to see such a class among your jobs. There is much I wish to share with you, but alas, I can not defy the will of the spirits.”
So if I had been promoted to a spirit knight, I would have earned the Elemental’s blessing? Was that the only way? I had a feeling it wasn’t.
“Does this relate to why you wanted to postpone my class advancement?” I asked.
“Yes, in part. Of course, had I not, you would have lost your holy magic for spirit magic, which I should think would be rather inconvenient for the both of us.”
“I have to agree.”
Holy magic was kind of my shtick and pretty important to the whole “not dying” thing I was trying to do, which I would have failed at fairly early on if I had been without it.
She nodded. “Then we are in agreement. Shall we return to the subject at hand?”
“Yes, Your Holiness.”
She gave a mild smile and said, “My blessing allows me to know the whereabouts of others blessed by the spirits, and the closer they are, the more accurate my readings become.”
“Even someone like Estia, who’s been possessed?”
“Ah, so you know. And here I thought the Spirit of Dusk might have revealed herself to you directly. So shy, that one.” Seriously, how much did Her Holiness know that I didn’t? Too much, if you asked me, but leave it to Lord Reinstar’s daughter. “I summoned Estia to the Holy City so that the Spirit of Dusk would know I am always watchful. Magic leaves traces, you see. She can not hide within Estia.”
What was she, some kind of spirit radar? She hadn’t brought up Lihzalea, though, so I refrained from doing so too. The spirit had mentioned something to do with human experiments and I figured freaking Her Holiness out with information like that wasn’t such a good idea.
I was almost somewhat comfortable with our intel on the Spirit of Dusk when more awful possibilities came to mind.
“Could the Spirit of Dusk’s power entice, hypnotize, or control people?” I asked.
“I certainly hope not. One could be made to simply forget about such abilities or how to prepare for them, so it is fortunate that the Spirit of Dusk is not our enemy. Even if Estia were someone of such character, there is still the business with Forêt Noire.”
I had a feeling I wouldn’t get any answers about that whole affair even if I asked. But I still needed information in order to create countermeasures against Lihzalea.
“I see. I’ve heard some talk of the demons, so I only ask out of concern should they use similar kinds of magic...although maybe I ought to be concerned with the demons themselves rather than the Spirit of Dusk.”
“There are many monsters with mind-altering abilities,” the pope said, “so it stands to reason that demons may possess such powers as well. Rest assured, you and anyone else blessed by the spirits have little to fear in that regard.”
“Well, you see, Your Holiness, there is another person I met who shares Estia’s powers.”
“And where is she?”
“She disappeared. I wanted to bring her with us, but she simply vanished.”
“Hm. We have scientists studying the Spirit of Dusk. I will bring this to them.”
Perhaps we would eventually find a way to help Lihzalea.
“Thank you, Your Holiness,” I said. She hummed in approval. “Now, I have Forêt in the stable inside our hermit key. Would you like to see her?”
“You have her?! Truly?!” the pope exclaimed with glee. Her voice was like that of an innocent child, all traces of mystical dignity gone. “Let me see her!”
I turned the key, opened the door, and shouted into the stable for Forêt. She immediately trotted out, and upon seeing Her Holiness, Forêt galloped up to her and began licking her cheek. She never looked that happy when she was biting my head.
“Yes, I missed you too!” the pope giggled. “That tickles!”
At least it put Her Holiness in a good mood. The pope hugged Forêt’s neck and began murmuring something to her at a volume too low for me to hear. She continued to speak with Forêt for some time, communicating in a different way than the Spirit of Dusk had done a few days prior.
When they were finished, the pope asked me, “Could I bid you leave her here with me for a time?”
Forêt looked at me in a way that left little room for refusal.
“Well, if that’s what she wants. I’ll come back later and leave the hermit key with you for now.”
“I thank you, Luciel. I would have you meet with Estia now. She is with Granhart. Tell the ladies to return on your way out.”
With Granhart? In that macabre torture chamber? I wasted no time and headed that way, warning the pope’s attendants about the sudden equine company before leaving.