Published: September 9, 2025
This is Satou. In labyrinth exploration games, we often clear stages without any resupply, but in reality, the issue of how to manage water and food would definitely be a problem. In another world, though, drinking water would probably be handled by magic.
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Out of the 32 labyrinth ants, there are about 10 left now. Along the way, Nana struggled to handle them all, and Pochi and Tama were nearly surrounded by multiple ants, but Arisa and Mia provided magical support from behind, and the situation was averted.
“Tama! I created a wall on the left side, so attack from the right. The side holding the fork is the right!”
“Okay~”
Arisa’s spell called Isolation Wall (Délassinate) was especially effective. There’s a higher-level spell called Labyrinth that can create a maze-like isolation wall to trap enemies or release them at will. It apparently consumes a lot of magic power, but she said she’d try it when more ants close in.
The female explorer party who were saved earlier were still nearby. Even after realizing they weren’t needed for reinforcement, they watched the frontline battle intently, occasionally murmuring words of admiration—they were clearly fascinated.
The main body of the ant swarm wouldn’t arrive for another ten minutes or so, but a small group of about twenty ants was approaching nearby through a monster passage adjacent to this corridor.
“Rustle~?”
“From beyond the wall, I hear a sound!”
While fighting, Tama and Pochi seemed to sense the ants crawling from the other side of the wall. It’s impressive they could notice that amid such fierce combat.
“Satou, marker!”
Mia pointed from her elevated position. The marker was blinking blue and red, looking purplish. Does it also detect enemies in the other passage?
“Your nobleship, that’s a sign of a spawning hole forming. Monsters will emerge from there.”
The leader of the female explorer party warned us.
This was not where Liza’s group was fighting, but near the marker behind us. At first, the corridor walls looked like stone, but then they seemed to become as thin as a mucous membrane, and a small passage appeared.
Well then, I’ll take care of this. Drawing my Fairy Sword, I cut the ants spilling from the wall in half with a single stroke. I just made sure not to cut the demon core in half.
Behind the female explorers’ location, a small spawning hole opened and an ant twisted out. They didn’t seem to notice, so I gave them a warning.
“Hey you, behind you.”
“Huh? Another spawning hole here! Jena, I’ll handle it.”
“Yes. Please step back, everyone.”
Following Jena’s orders, the carrier sisters retreated.
The two women in this explorer party “Beautiful Wings” had Ilna, the leader, at level 8, and the beautiful Jena at level 6. The ant that crawled out was level 5, so they should have no trouble.
Or so I thought, but they seemed to be struggling.
They were blocking the ant’s claws with shields while thrusting short spears, but the ant’s exoskeleton deflected their attacks, so they couldn’t deal much damage. They should try stabbing into the gaps in the armor like Pochi and Tama do.
The ant showed signs of trying to attack the beauty with formic acid, so I picked up a claw from a nearby corpse and threw it at the ant’s neck to disrupt it.
Using tongs from my bag, I extracted the demon core from the corpse and put it into a small pouch.
Liza’s group seemed to be finishing up their fight. After collecting demon cores, I glanced back at the female explorers, who were still locked in a back-and-forth battle. I thought it might be meddlesome, but I called out and finished the fight by cutting off the ant’s head. For a level 30 Demonic Sword user, this much should be routine.
I lightly waved in response to their thanks and headed back to where Liza’s group was resting.
“Master, shall we collect materials?”
“Just the demon cores. The ants’ exoskeletons are too soft to be useful.”
“Master, the exoskeletons can be used for armor and shield materials. The claws are slightly curved, so they are better suited for daggers or sickles than lances.”