Published: September 9, 2025
Satou here. As the classics show, labyrinths seem to captivate people’s hearts so much that they form an entire game genre. Although, in another world, it looks like the romantic aspect is overshadowed by an American dream-type vibe.
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“Ugh, stairs again this time…”
“Arisa should probably start some strength training or jogging to build up her basic stamina.”
“Ughhh…”
I lightly pushed the back of a tearful-looking Arisa and continued up the stairs.
Beyond the entrance of the labyrinth was a wide staircase. It wasn’t an ordinary staircase or spiral stairs, but zigzagged. Originally, it was probably a sloped path with a high ceiling and wide width, and stairs were fitted onto it.
Along the handrails of the stairs, arrow slits were evenly spaced, allowing arrows to be shot downwards.
This was probably for dealing with monsters invading. In the middle of each zigzag landing, there were gun emplacements with cannons draped in cloth, manned by two soldiers each.
The soldiers seemed bored and were playing a board game like shogi. They weren’t drinking or dozing off, so that was better than nothing. The soldiers weren’t just human tribe but also strong-looking demi-humans like werewolves and lionmen.
Since it was boring until we finished the stairs, I did a little full map exploration.
It’s huge.
Even compared to the labyrinth ruins under the Duke’s Capital, it was unbelievably vast.
With just three sections of this labyrinth, Seryu City’s Demon's Labyrinth could probably fit inside it completely.
The searched area was labeled "Selbira’s Labyrinth: Upper Layer," but it looked like there were hundreds of sections in total. The Demon's Labyrinth and the Duke’s Capital labyrinths also expanded as you went deeper, so this one must have at least twice as many sections.
Each section seemed to have roughly a hundred interconnected corridors and rooms in three dimensions. Some sections only had one room, while others contained nearly a thousand small rooms.
And despite being so huge, only about 30 sections had explorers. Most were concentrated in the first section and about seven adjacent sections. Underground there were about 2,000 explorers, 500 soldiers, 300 carriers, and 400 bandits. There were also a few dozen other people.
Halfway up the stairs, Arisa and Lulu were exhausted, so Liza and I offered to carry them. Lulu shyly buried her face into my back, which was ticklish. Lulu aside, Arisa definitely needed some stamina training.
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The first room in the first section was crowded with people. It was bright due to magical artifact-like lights growing out of the walls. To give you an idea, it was about the size of three standard gymnasiums connected side by side.
All the soldiers except those at the stairs seemed to be in this room. About 90% of them were practicing sword swings on a slightly lower platform to the command of what looked like a veteran soldier. There were also magic soldiers like Ms. Zena, but fewer than in Seryu City.
Still, even though the "Red Ice" group had reported a large monster outbreak, everyone seemed relaxed. Maybe a big monster outbreak was just everyday life here.
There were also street vendors. I admire their courage, selling in such a place.
Most sold food stalls, sharpening, equipment repair, or sundries, but some were more interesting.
“Hey, noble, want to touch the ‘Treasure Vault (Item Box)’ for good luck before leveling up? One silver coin per person, but if you’re lucky, your retainers or slaves might get a ‘Treasure Vault (Item Box)’ too!”
Sounds interesting, but since all my members already touched Arisa’s ‘Treasure Vault (Item Box),’ it was pointless.
“Noble, do you have enough rations and water? One meal for one copper coin. Interested?”
“Noble, do you have a map? We sell the first section’s map set for one silver coin.”
Vendors called out like that, but I wasn’t interested and declined. I was slightly tempted by the rations, but since I didn’t know the ingredients, I passed.