The Labyrinth (1)

Today, Edward's class rewarded me with a magic tent.

It's been a while since I've gotten a class reward.

I'd be more excited if it weren't for the fact that it's a required Labyrinth item that every other cadet gets.

A day before entering the Labyrinth class ended early.

There were enemies to defeat in the labyrinth, so it wasn't as exciting as the night before the field trip.

Edward wanted me to be well rested for my first time in the Labyrinth.

'My wife and I are traveling for a while.'

I remember Edward's last words. Perhaps it was more of an excuse than a consideration.

For the time being, the instructors were not teaching, and labyrinth activities were replacing them, so it could be considered a vacation for the instructors.

However, not everyone got a vacation, and they seemed to take it in turns.

Reina, whom I had passed on the road earlier, had a dark expression on her face. Perhaps she hadn't gotten a vacation this time or maybe she lost a bet.

She didn't have much luck.

After class, I prepared myself for the enemy in the labyrinth.

The labyrinth was full of monsters and traps. However, the enemy I had to face this time wasn't a monster spawned in the labyrinth. Rather, they were "impurities" that were accidentally mixed into the labyrinth.

Naturally, the academy doesn't realize this until later, as the game is supposed to be about advancing the story.

They're slow to react, thinking it's just a strong monster. That was to give the player time to play.

However, it was too much like a monster.

The enemy I have to face this time is the Lycanthrope. It's what people call a werewolf.

He is part man, part beast, and can easily be mistaken for a monster. It's partly because lycanthropes are so rare.

Many wounded students would suddenly emerge from the labyrinth, and when they saw their wounds, they would assume it was a wolf-like monster.

Of course, this creates a sense of dissonance for the player, letting them know that this is not a normal occurrence.

I already know this, so I don't need the dissonance.

This lycanthrope is probably the first "boss" the player encounters.

Werewolves have a highly developed sense of smell and while this is a strength it can also be a weakness.

Due to his habitual sniffing, the paralyzing mushroom powder is deadly to him.

Herong Mushrooms are used for medicinal purposes and monster hunting, but they are also sometimes used for criminal purposes.

Because of its versatility, it's not always easy to find, however, I have a quest.

I happened to have the Herbalist quest, and there was an easy route to get the mushrooms.

[My apprentice seems to be well-prepared.]

Sierra, who was floating beside me, spoke to me.

She didn't question my actions and trusted me completely.

She said her student would at least not do something stupid and he couldn't be bothered to question me now.

As I walk past Sierra, I see Rumbo's son, Ram, the only other active herbalist in the academy, walking beside me.

When I visit Rumbo's house at this time of year, I am greeted not by Rumbo, but by his son Ram.

Rumbo, an accomplished herbalist, had fallen ill and had been incapacitated for some time.

I agreed to talk to the bedridden Rumbo and escort Ram as he went out to gather herbs to help him heal. It was a forest inside the academy, so there wasn't much danger, but that's what a father's heart is for.

Rumbo would need something to reassure him and as a reward, I get a free herb of my choice.

Ram's escort and a herb of my choice as a reward, this was how Rumbo and Ram's quest was organized.

As I was walking along with Ram, he turned around to look at me and opened his mouth.

"Brother Zetto, how do you walk around so well? Hehe, do you think it's rude to ask…?"

"Haha, it's okay, I get asked that a lot."

As we walked through the forest, I explained the senses to Ram, who was ahead of me.

Ram's eyes light up as he listens to my explanation.

"That's amazing…"

To Ram, the idea of senses was a wonderful one. He was still a child, even if he took after his father in his knowledge of herbs.

There weren't many children in Academy City, so his innocence was rare.

"When you grow up, will you follow Mr. Rumbo and become an herbalist?"

I asked Ram because the forest was so quiet that it was the perfect setting. Most kids this age have at least one big dream.

"Well… I'd like to be a cool academy cadet like Zetto, but being a cadet isn't a career, is it? Right now I'm learning a lot about herbs, and from what I've seen of my father, he doesn't have a problem making a living."

"…"

I was left speechless by Ram's down-to-earth answer, which was hardly expected from a nine years old child.

[Ho-ho…The kid's got a pretty good answer.]

Sierra, who was listening to the conversation, muttered.

Ram certainly seemed filial. Maybe it was because he lost his mother so young.

"What are you going to do after you graduate, Zetto?"

Ram asks me as he jumps over a protruding tree root.

"Graduate?"

In the game's happy ending, the epilogue shows the player's character graduating.

I wonder if I can go back to the real world or do I have to live here forever?

I'm not sure.

I had a lot of work to do before the ending but I was in such a hurry that I hadn't had time to think about it.

"Graduation… I don't know, maybe I'll join some rich family and become a knight or something?"

I took Ram's difficult question as a joke.

"Puh-huh, money is the best."

Ram's laughter echoed through the forest. I wondered if this was really a conversation with a nine-year-old boy.

We were walking through the forest when suddenly, Ram takes off running like a beekeeper trying to catch a wasp that might harm his precious bees.

I'm his escort, so I run after him.

When I caught up to him, I found him squatting in a corner of the forest, gathering some nearby grass.

"…Why do you run without telling me?"

"We're inside the academy anyway, so what's the danger? It's just that I'm worried about my father… I found it."

"Herbs to cure Mr. Rumbo?"

"Yes! …This should be enough. I was just about to run out of them when my dad got sick…"

Ram muttered as he picked himself up off the ground and put the gathered herbs into a basket.

"Phew… I guess I'm done looking then… What did big brother Zetto say he needed?"

"…Herong mushrooms. Do you think we can get them around here?"

"Herong? It's hard to find, but fortunately, I can get them around here."

"It shouldn't take too long, right?"

"Of course not, I'm Ram, son of the legendary herbalist Rumbo!"

Ram said in a confident voice as he held up his forearm to me.

"Let's see, if it's a Herong…"

Muttering his own unique name for the Herong mushroom, Ram looked around.

Ram and I wandered a bit further into the forest in search of Herong mushrooms.

"So, why are you looking for Herong?"

Ram asked me as we searched for the odd mushroom.

"Hmm… I have an enemy I need to defeat, and I want to use less energy in the process?"

"Hehe~ Well, the Herong has a great effect on monsters, so… Oh, by the way, the Labyrinth opens tomorrow, right?"

"How do you know that?"

"My father told me that when you're trading inside the academy, it's better to know what's going on at different times of the year."

"Oh."

It felt like the stationery shop owners in front of the school knew what classes were being taught at the academy.

I couldn't think of anything else to say to Ram's overly realistic response and a long silence followed.

It was more like a walk than an escort, as there was nothing particularly dangerous.

Birds chirped and the fragrant smell of grass that refreshes my nose. The greenery everywhere made me feel relaxed, it was the first time in a long time that I felt relaxed.

"Ugh!"

As I slowly followed Ram, he spotted something and exclaimed. Soon after, Ram takes off running again.

Having gotten used to his sudden movements, I calmly followed him.

Ram and I arrived at a fairly large boulder and underneath the boulder was a narrow space.

"Herong grows well under rocks like this. We have to be careful because there might be poisonous creatures around."

" Poisonous?"

"Herong is a mushroom that retains a little bit of the poison from those creatures. Isn't that interesting?"

Ram explained to me.

As Ram was smiling so brightly, I noticed something near his legs, noiselessly approaching him.

I quickly pulled out my sword and slammed it down on the creature's head.

"Whoa…!"

The sudden movement startles Ram and he falls backwards.

I take a closer look at the creature and realize it resembles a snake. But it had a lot of legs that shouldn't be there.

His legs wriggled around, it was quite a gruesome sight.

"This is one of those venomous creatures I was talking about earlier… When it dies, it stops spilling poison… but you can't eat it."

Ram explained again, trying to calm his frightened heart.

They spread their poison… The flora and fauna were so alien to me that everything seemed so strange.

I splattered the creature's blood from my Spectral Sword.

"Thank you… I didn't even feel it coming… Your senses are great, but could you please not tell my father about this…? I'm sure he'll give me a hard time."

Ram bent down to thank me, then gave me a bitter smile.

"It's no big deal, it was my job so I'll just be more careful next time."

He's still a kid, though, so I'm not sure he was too careful. I'd have to ask his father to teach him better.

"Still, it being here…"

Ram looks around a bit more cautiously, then ducks his head to peer under the rocks and murmurs.

"…I guess I'd better cover my nose from now on."

Ram grabbed something like a pair of tongs from his waistband, covered his nose with one hand, and poked around under the rock.

I did as he said and covered my nose.

He must have found a Herong mushroom.

Ram then pulled himself up. At the end of his pincers was a yellow, oddly patterned mushroom.

With his mouth shut, Ram reached into a small pouch on his arm and placed the mushroom in it. He then pulled the string of the pouch tight to seal it.

"Huh… That's it. This is the Herong you wanted, and it won't leak out if you carry it like this."

Ram let out the breath he'd been holding and handed me the pouch.

"That's good."

"Then please bring me more herbs in the future!"

"Haha, I will."

I laughed out loud with Ram.

Ram was a good-natured, sticky little guy. When he grows up, he might be a better businessman than Rumbo, since Rumbo was a bit on the blunt side.

With all our work done, we set off for Rumbo's house.

"Oh, by the way. If you're going to use it on a monster, you might want to bring a cloth to cover your nose and mouth… I have one at home. Do you want one? For what you did earlier… But I won't tell father."

"That sounds good."

As luck would have it, there was an additional reward.

I was just about to prepare the cloth for such a mask.

Lycanthrope's developed sense of smell made him vulnerable to the Herong mushrooms, but I had developed my senses to the point where I had "superior senses."

From what he told me, the cloth is used professionally by herbalists… so it should be much more effective.

Ram and I were walking through the city, chatting about this and that. From here, it was just a short walk to Rumbo's house.

Then I saw someone I recognized on the street. She tilted her head and her pink, bobbed hair moved with it.

It was Kaen.

'I don't know if it's a coincidence that we're here now or if she intended it…'

I wonder when I'm going to be able to take off that stupid mask, because one day she's going to show her true colors.

Kaen casually walks over to me and greets me, as if she's just now recognized me.

"Uh, Cadet Zetto?"

"…You must be Ms. Kaen, it's been a while."

"Hehe, you recognize me just by the sound of my voice. Who's the boy next to you…?"

"This is Ram, son of Mr. Rumbo, the herbalist."

"Hehe, Mr. Rumbo had a son?"

Kaen covers her mouth with her hand and looks surprised. She seemed to know Rumbo, too.

Well, since Rumbo is the only herbalist in the academy, I suppose it's only natural.

"Brother Zetto seems to be popular, judging by the way the female cadet was staring at him earlier…

Ram, who was under Kaen's gaze, backs away and looks at me with envy.

[I agree with the boy, you're quite the ladies man, my apprentice…]

Sierra, who had been silent, narrows her eyes at Ram's comment.

"We're just normal friends."

"Yeah… just friends."

Kaen matches my answer. I wouldn't exactly call her a friend, but she seemed to recognize my intention.

"More than that, your sword has changed…?"

Kaen asked me, keeping her head straight ahead and glancing at my Spectral Sword.

"Oh, it's the sword my master left me… I've finally gotten good enough to use it."

"Aha… Master…"

As I've noticed every time, Kaen's acting is a little on the clumsy side.

She doesn't know the full extent of my transformation, but she's already seen the sword change from afar.

She has a lot of other questions for me, and she begins to pry.

"What's that pouch on your waist?"

"This is…"

"I got that for him! Zetto said he needed a Herong!"

Suddenly, Ram, who had been quiet, threw his hands up in the air and shouted.

"Herong…? You mean the Herong mushroom? The one with the paralyzing effect…"

Ram's exclamation made Kaen question. She knew what a Herong mushroom was.

"Yes! He has an enemy that he needs to defeat, and he heard that it would be easier if he used the Herong."

Ram replies innocently.

…He wasn't wrong. Herong mushrooms are hard to come by, but it's not like I'm breaking any laws by having them.

However, Kaen's focus begins to waver at Ram's answer.

[Hmph? That woman, Kaen, is looking at you with a lot of suspicion, and she's been watching my apprentice from afar lately… it's very suspicious.]

Sierra observes, trying to read Kaen's intentions.

I don't know what Sierra will demand of me if she realizes that Kaen is already The Sword Saint apprentice.

"An enemy to be defeated… Ahaha, you mean the Labyrinth that will open tomorrow…?"

Finally, Kaen scratched the back of his head as if she understood.

"Yeah."

I replied with a shrug and judging by the look in Sierra's eyes, I should probably get the hell out of here.

There was nothing more to talk about with Kaen.

We weren't in the same class, and we hadn't talked much.

"Well, if you'll excuse me, I have some errands to run."

I said, and we went our separate ways.

As I hurried away, I heard Sierra's muffled voice in my head.

[She wants to ask you a question…]

Suddenly, Sierra turned in the direction I had been walking, where Kaen was.

'What is she going to do…?'

Sierra's intentions were unknown but on this crowded street, I couldn't stop her.

She couldn't get very far away from my side, so I walked as fast as I could and before I knew it, Sierra was back by my side again.

[I can't figure out what that woman, Kaen, is thinking.]

As if she's been watching Kaen, Sierra says something meaningful in a low voice but I can't answer her right away.

She's well aware of that, so she continues without a response.

[…She has a serious look on her face, muttering something about being overrun, losing her purity, and her grandfather's sword techniques. Do you have any idea what she's talking about?]

Sierra's next words left me with a big question.

'Purity? Taken? By who?'

Something…strange is going on here.