Foreigner’s Mistake

Book 5: Chapter 48: Labyrinth ~ 06

In his slumber, Satoru heard a small noise from outside his consciousness and slowly woke up.

......Hmm

Ah, you're awake. Good morning

It seemed to be the sound of Rico preparing breakfast. Next to Satoru, a nude Minerva was sighing in her sleep. Minerva is an early riser in her flying dragon form, but in her human form, she seems to be a sleepyhead. Well, she have been up later than when she was in her flying dragon form - although surely that's partly because Leia lectured her last night, especially before bedtime.

Hmm~

He feel a little uncomfortable because he haven't been exposed to the sunlight. But he guess it's morning, because his watch shows 6:00 a.m. as usual. Since he was in the labyrinth today, he didn't charge his cell phone with the solar battery as usual. The battery charge is dwindling, but it's still at 78%.

He just sat in a daze, waiting for his brain to wake up. He doesn't really care about his blood pressure or waking up from sleep, but Satoru really values this two-minute slumber in the morning.

Leia, Rico, and Minerva understand this habit of Satoru's, so after greeting him, they don't speak to him until he makes his next move. When he stretched out his back to awaken his body, he was considered to be awake. Leia held out a piece of parchment.

Good morning, my Lord. Thank you for waiting. The chanting for Rico that you requested is ready.

Oh. That's fast. What about communication?

Leia's head twisted for a moment as she heard the question back from her head, which was a little clearer from her sleep.

CommunicationAahh, that thing where you can talk to someone from a distance? I see, communications. That's a good way to say it.

Leia nodded her head several times. Satoru remembers now that he may have told her the concept, but not the name.

Of course, no problem. I even tested it. I couldn't test how far the distance was, but considering the characteristics of the art and my Lord's magic power, I think this art could be used anywhere in the world. The only problem is that if one of us is inside a Wardtype of magic, you won't be able to contact the other. ......

That can't be helped..

Leia's wards seem to contain an element of radio frequency blocking. This is probably because it is a countermeasure against Distant Vision and Distant Hearing. The idea is the same as that of a cell phone, which cannot be used to make calls in areas where radio waves cannot reach.

Also, I need to prepare some ornaments for my Lord's reception...

Oh, I completely forgot about that. For the time being, some kind of board will do.

A board. ...... A little more elegance?

Unyuu, Leia's face twisted into one of sadness. It's not like Leia can't bear the thought of using a piece of wood as a substitute for a art she has prepared.

You can always reapply another one later.

However, Satoru does not have that kind of feeling. He is always practical in everything he does. Leia, who understood that Satoru had such a point, sighed in resignation.

Sigh.....Well, that's fine. Here's the chant.

He took the parchment and looked down at it - I was still dizzy.

Wow,......, another long one this time.

It can't be helped. There's no way to correspond to Communicate, so I had to make up a chant from scratch. I just happened to find a combination that worked, so I was able to do it so fast, but if it were true, I wouldn't have been able to do it so fast.

Of course, creating a art that doesn't exist in this world involves a certain amount of hard work. If this were the case, it would not have been possible to create it so quickly. In addition to the advantages of being the Immortal King, who does not need sleep, and can take time and not have their concentration interfered with by the desire to sleep, Leia was able to create it so easily because of her original knowledge and the various hints she had received from her conversations with Satoru.

Of course, Leia's talent is also a factor. The difficulty of putting together a puzzle of 10,000 pieces lies in the creation of magic.

Leia is amazing.

I don't need your sycophancy.

Leia laughed and let Satoru's sycophancy slide.

By the way, what is the classification of the art?

It's a combination of Rijutsu and Wind.

I knew it, Satoru thought to himself. He wasn't sure if the art was strictly based on the use of radio waves, but lightning could be classified as wind. He had expected that it would be a combination of wind and the other types of magic that were lumped together.

Based on these, let's check the elements that were completely left out last time.

What about the magic tremor?

Leia shrugged her shoulders.

There's no problem if it happens in this labyrinth. You can't use magic if you're worrying about it all the time. The Academy of Wise Men will take care of it anyway.

You're throwing everything at them. Well, we can't do anything about it, can we? ...... Oh, come to think of it, we haven't picked up any items so far.

Since entering this labyrinth, he have defeated his fair share of monsters, but none of them have any particularly useful items. There were times when they were used as food.

The first ten layers seem to be pretty well explored, so I'd expect to find some tools on the 20th layer and beyond.

If you see an item that you like, pick it up. I've got a lot of money in my wallet, but it's not infinite.

Besides, we could always ingratiate ourselves with the Academy of Wise Men.

That makes sense.

Satoru smiled in return.

Satoru replied "Okay" to Riko's voice, "Dinner's ready," and woke Minerva up first. Leia's handwriting was clean and easy to read, but Satoru was slightly afraid of misreading it, so he felt more comfortable copying it down in hiragana in his notebook.

As he devoured his breakfast, he reread the text several times, and when he finished eating, Satoru took a breath.

Then, let's do it

Satoru receives the ring from Rico and immediately begins chanting. He carefully holds out his hand to the ring, and reads the chant for six minutes. This time, too, he managed to read it all the way through without biting.

Grant Items

With a swoosh, the light that floated in Satoru's hand was sucked into the ring. Leia, who had been watching the moment the art was performed, shivered. She felt a tremor of magic power. After all, the magic power that was poured in this time would probably be in the ten thousands of digits.

One more thing, my Lord's Grant Items for communicate.

The expression on Leia's face when he said that a board would be fine for now was so sad that he decided to use the knife sheath that he usually carry. The chanting here is not that long. The light that was in Satoru's hand was stored in the sheath of the knife.

Leia nodded, "Yup". The art itself seems to have succeeded without any problems.

Here, Rico. Give it a try.

Returning the ring to Rico, Leia urged her to experiment. Rico took the ring carefully, put it on, and looked back at Leia.

How do you use this?

It's activated by words. The Flight is remains the same. About, Communication is I connected to the Lord.

Well, then, ...... Flight.

*float* Rico's body floated up. She was about to lose her balance, but as expected, Rico has a great sense of balance. She regained her bearings in a flash.

Oohhh, ......woow, oops

Rico floated about 30 cm and maintained her floating position with her sense of balance. She was in a happy mood.

Imagine in your mind how you want to fly. The image is similar to Contraction. Then maintain your equilibrium with Light Work.

Ohhh, ......... like this, I guess.

*woosh* Rico's body flew into the air. She almost hit her head on the ceiling, but she quickly avoided it and flew freely around the room.

Ohhh~. I'm flying! This is amazing!

Rico shouted happily. She seemed to have made the sensation of flying her own in no time at all. She changed her stance and put her feet on the wall, and adjusted her speed by recoiling.

You can keep flying for one hour (40 minutes). You'll get used to it in a while. Also, try Communication from a distance.

Flying to the corner of the room, Rico whispered a words to the ring.

I connected to the Lord.

She took a breath and whispered to the ring.

Um, can you hear me?

Rico's voice echoed from the sheath of the knife on Satoru's waist. It seems that no particular words or spirits are needed for reception.

I can hear you.

Wow. I can hear Satoru's voice. ...... Hee~, this is convenient. Hey, Leia. How do you end a conversation with this?

It's an Remove Spell

Remove Spell

As soon as Rico, who was floating in the air, suddenly lost her strength and fell, Satoru kicked the ground quickly. He flew about 10 meters in an instant, catching Rico's body in midair. His own momentum killed him by kicking him into the wall - he couldn't absorb it and nearly drove half his body into the wall, twisting his body in panic to pull Rico away from the wall.

Ah

Rico was suddenly carried in a princess carry by Satoru, and Rico looked up at Satoru in confusion. She realized that the spell of Communication had been lifted at the same time as the spell of Flight had been lifted.

Are you okay?

Yeah, ...... I would be fine even I fall that high.

Rico responded lightly to Satoru's worried voice. Although it was close to the ceiling, it was only about four meters high. As a user of Light Work, this height was nothing to her. But she was honestly happy that Satoru had come to her rescue, and her cheeks reddened slightly.

No, no, no. Well, I'm glad you're okay.

He set her down from the princess carry and returned to Minerva and Leia. Minerva's eyes were wide open.

Danna-sama is amazing. I couldn't see you at all.

It had been a long time since Satoru had dashed at full speed. It seems that Minerva's eyes were not able to catch his speed. Satoru chuckled, wondering how fast he was going. Leia looked a little reluctant and gave a small bow to Rico.

Sorry, Rico.......I must have messed up a bit. I made it so that the Flight can also be dispelled by the Remove Spell.

Rico laughed and shook her head from side to side.

This is something I just need to be careful about. Besides, while flying and ......,uh, Communication. It's hard to imagine a situation where you would do that, right?

Maybe so. ...... Well, if you don't mind, Rico, fine

It's certainly hard to imagine a situation where you need to use Communication while using Flight. Of course, if you use it at the same time, the dwell time of the Flight will be reduced, so you can't leave the Communication on. After talking about these precautions, Leia looked back at Satoru.

By the way, when connecting from my Lord to Rico, it would be I connect to my servant. By the way, my Lord. Are you tired?

No, not at all.

The last time they were in town, she thought it wouldn't be a problem even if his magic power was a little low, but now they were in a labyrinth. They'll be exploring later. She was thinking that they should avoid unreasonable exploration if he was allowed to consume magic power, but Satoru dismissed it very lightly. He doesn't feel any sign of fatigue, even after using the magic of Grant Items.

........How bottomless is my Lord's magic?

At the sound of Leia's voice, Satoru cowered in silence. Satoru himself does not understand the extent of his own soul. It is at least 100,000, and in all likelihood, if he is not tired after consuming 10,000 units, It's not going to be 100,000.

After applying the Hardening reinforcement that was applied yesterday to all three of them, the preparations were complete.

Now, can you try the floor-shedding I mentioned yesterday?

Yeah. However............I wonder how to imagine it

Satoru twisted his head. He had never even thought of pulling out the floor to break through the dungeon. Leia also twisted her head.

There are two ways to think about it. Either you can imagine soil becoming sand, or you can simply break the rock into pieces.

I understand that soil becomes sand is earth-based, but breaking rocks apart?

That's the art of logic. I once saw an example of a swordsman attacking an opponent behind a wall.

Hmmm ......?That's .......

Attacking an opponent behind a wall - I remember seeing something like that in a fighting manga I used to read. In other words, depending on how it is used, Rijutsu can be used to see beyond walls in various ways. Come to think of it, there are also Distant Vision and Distant Hearing art, so it would be possible to see through walls, for example. It wasn't that he wanted to peep into the room, but he thought that it might have been one of these arts that someone had been watching Satoru and Minerva in another room at the Academy of the Wise.

At that time, he could feel the eyes on everyone but Sheryl, so he called out to her as he was leaving, but she looked quite surprised at that moment. He knew he had hit the nail on the head, but he didn't blame her because he thought it was okay. The other party was a patrol, and it was her job to monitor the people who asked her. He didn't think it was the highest authority in the academy that was peeping in on him, though.

Oh well. Well, let's give it a try.

Satoru put his palms on his feet, and drew an image in his mind of the rocks turning to sand. With a thud, about a meter below his feet turned into sand, and his body was swallowed up.

Oops

He also added the image of creating a ball of air around him. With a pop, a sphere was formed around him. No sand can enter this sphere. As he drew the image of the sphere turning into sand, Satoru's feet gradually sank.

Indeed, the rate of turning into sand is much lower than that of the walls and rocks so far. It may have been a magic blocking device, but still, when the floor of the floor he was on was at his eye level, the resistance under his feet suddenly weakened. Satoru suddenly felt the force of gravity and was sucked down to the floor below.

Ouch!

He failed to land on his feet and fell on his buttocks, but it seemed he had reached the lower floor. The surrounding area is a corridor, and the layout seems to be different from the upper floor. He forgot to bring a light, so it's pretty dark, but soon it will be dark enough to perceive the surroundings... Even if his eyes are accustomed to it, it's still pitch black, but he can see so much. It's convenient, but it also scares the hell out of him because his senses are going to go crazy.

.....But it's good, isn't it?

He looked up and saw a gaping hole. Oddly enough, the floor - now the ceiling - that had been breached by Satoru's magic seems to be recovering, albeit very slowly. He was impressed by his skill.

Danna-sama?

Minerva's face could be seen from beyond the hole. Satoru waved his hand in the air, but then recalled that she might not be able to see him because it was dark.

I'm okay

Ohhh! As expected of my Lord!

He could also see Leia's face. Once Leia and Minerva are out of the way, Satoru jumps up to the floor. He returned to the eleventh floor and looked down at the hole that was slowly recovering. It will probably close in a ten minute or so. The magic of lost technology, which is capable of self-repair at a level that is impossible even today, is still a great technology.

Minerva is smiling, even though she doesn't understand what's going on, Leia is excited, but Rico looks a little unhappy.

Rico, you're looking a little strange.

What do you mean by strange ....... well, right? I like the idea of having it easy, but I'm afraid of the monsters down there.

Well, you're right to be worried, Rico. But it is useless.

Leia shrugged her shoulders and looked back at Satoru.

My Lord, when you dove into the sand earlier, you made a ball made of air, right?

Yeah. I kind of imagined it.

He only did that because he didn't want to get buried in the sand, but it just worked out better than he expected.

If that's the case, it wouldn't matter if there was a monster on the other side of the fall. It can repel most attacks.

Haa, ......, I'm stunned.

It seemed silly to be worrying about every little thing. Rico knew better than most that she should not be careless, but the source of her carelessness kept coming one after another, so she could not relax.

The rest was the shock of the fall. Leia, give me the art you used when you landed in Galmul.

Glide right. Got itGlide

Leia is more than capable of handling the unfamiliar arts.

The rest of you three, just hang on to me. Let's go.

Even though Satoru was far away from the Ares, the magical tremor that Satoru had caused with his Grant Items had reached Ares. It's not as big a deal as it was the other day because the epicenter is farther away than it was the last time.

Magic tremors are a chain reaction. I don't know what kind of being lives as Lord in the Labyrinth of No Return, but perhaps the magical tremor the other day inspired the Lord living in that labyrinth to do something.

The High Mentor's face was completely exhausted as he repeated his explanation that it was like an aftershock from an earthquake. He can't help but be angry at Satoru for making him feel so helpless. He was convinced that the magic tremors that are occurring in the places where they are moving are caused by Satoru, whether it's the last time or this time.

The other day and this time, I don't know if it's him or Leia Lwenstadt, but it's annoying.

In front of Sheryl, the High Mentor blurted out, not hiding his annoyance. The High Mentor, whose nature was described as being like a tranquil lake, was nowhere to be seen. Sheryl only cast a worried glance at the High Mentor, who was clearly disturbed from the other day.

In the first place, what are they doing to cause such a huge magic tremor twice?

In order for a magic tremor to occur, it usually requires a level of ritual magic. If it were ritual magic, it will take at least a day to complete, but it is clearly abnormal to have so many magic tremors occurring without a proper environment.

Sheryl bowed her head apologetically.

As long as we can't get too close to them, there's nothing we can do to investigate.

Sheryl had the same desire to investigate. However, even if she wanted to investigate, contacting the other party would be extremely dangerous. The High Mentor finally realized that he had been complaining too much, as she had been entrusted with the command of Satoru.

Oh, I'm sorry, Sheryl. I didn't mean to spill my grievances to you. Forgive me.

He grudgingly said he was complainingIt seems that the High Mentor's heart is quite a bit on edge. Sheryl's heart was filled with worry again. I'm not sure if it's really safe to leave it to the High mentor in this state to deal with SatoruShe think so, but Sheryl doesn't think it's acceptable for her, the leader of the group, to have any doubts about the High Mentor who is in charge of the Academy of the Wise. Sheryl had a somber look on her face, and the High Mentor diverted the subject slightly.

Well, fine. It's a good thing that so many magical tremors have occurred in succession. We can use it to persuade the Holy Sword Clan

That clan will not be swayed by half-hearted events. They have accepted Academy offer and are on their way to here, but depending on how Academy proceed, they may decide to come but refuse. If the only piece who can compete with Satoru refuses, there is honestly nothing Academy can do.

ITo be honest, I'm worried.

The High Mentor's eyebrows twitched at the truthfulness of her muttered words.

Worried?

Sheryl opened her mouth hesitantly, feeling small regret for letting her true feelings out.

Yes. The Holy Sword Clan is the same clan that defeated the Demon King, but they are still human beings. Is it really safe to take on that man who is not different from Five Dragons?

*heh* The High Mentor laughed. The smile was even more cruel than ever, and an icicle ran down Sheryl's spine.

I see. You know the name of the Holy Sword Clan, but you don't know its true nature?

Huh? Y-yes. I don't know the details.

Sheryl, who is not a member of the royal family, does not know the details of the legend of the Holy Sword Clan, which is known only to the royal families of various countries. The only thing she knows about it is that it is the strongest clan that only comes into play when a disaster like this occurs.

The Holy Sword of the Holy Sword Clan is the one that holds everything. That sword is

Sheryl shuddered when she heard the High Mentor's next words. If it's true that if the Holy Sword is as powerful as the legend says, they might be able to win.

But it's an act of stepping on the tail of a tiger that doesn't need to be foughtI couldn't tell him about the fear I had been harboring for a long time until the end.

Satoru's search for the labyrinth was going well.

There were no particular enemies in the area where he had descended, so he took the time to create a 2 meter square of sand and jumped downstairs when the hole was completely open, and repeating the process nine times, exactly at the 20th layer. As before, he turned the floor into sand, surrounded himself with a ball of air, and jumped down with Leia on his left shoulder, Rico on his left side, and Minerva clinging to his right side.

Whoa!

Satoru shouted in surprise.

A huge male lion, maybe four meters long, attacked Satoru's leg. However, its fangs did not reach him, and he was bounced back by the curtain of air. The four of them landed softly on the ground and immediately scattered.

I'll use my sword!

Satoru immediately judged that the distance between them was too close for him to be able to use the art, so he unsealed the Giant Killer on his back, sank his waist, and slashed with a fierce spirit. The slash was delivered at breakneck speed, killing the lion who had attacked him with a single sword, but Satoru knew immediately that his decision to use his sword in a special attack had been wrong.

There was more than one enemy. There were at least ten of them right in front of him.

And then, glittering blades of ice about three to four inches long danced around Satoru. With a roar, the ice blades attacked the group of lion-like creatures.

Ice Chakram! Minerva! Get behind me! Wind Wall!

Yeah!

As expected, Leia's judgment is quick and accurate. She immediately identified the type of monster and instructed Minerva to avoid being surrounded while using magic of the opposing attribute.

It was the first time for Minerva to use magic in a real battle, but she had already experienced a fair amount of fighting when she was a flying dragon, and with her resourceful wind magic, it wouldn't matter if it was too powerful in this situation. A roar sounded and a wall of wind appeared behind them. The pressure of the wind was so great that the lion behind could not even get close.

Rico holds her bow in a defensive position behind Satoru, between Leia and Minerva, so as not to get in the way.

They are truly reliable companionns.

Satoru readied his Giant Killer in his waistband and faced the 10 or so lion-like creatures in front of him, ready to fight. The ice blade that Leia had released danced menacingly.

A moment before he stepped in, Satoru imagined the wind around the Giant Killer, turning it into a kamaitachi as soon as he swung his sword.

He stepped into the middle of the pack with his swift feet and with a single shout, he slashed sideways at the lion in front of him.

Oryaahhh!!

A blast of air erupted. The moment Satoru's magic-powered Giant Killer was wielded, a kamaitachi appeared and slashed all of the lions in front of him. Some of the walls of the labyrinth, which boasted of their sturdiness, were slashed to pieces.

Ootto

The head of a lion-like creature blown by the blast created by the kamaitachi attacked Rico, but she calmly placed her hand on the flying head and easily avoided it. It was a very light movement.

...... What a power

Leia was stunned by the power of the art that Satoru had unleashed. The true identity of the group that is now hostile is a chimera. It is a kind of magical creature that is based on a lion, with elements of other monsters mixed in, and its magic power turned into miasma. It is resistant to fire, and its stubbornness and speed, as well as the power of its fangs and claws, make it a difficult opponent.

Are you all right?

Satoru looked back at Rico. Rico smiled back.

No problem. As long as I'm focusing on dodging, I'll be fine.

If you want to attack from here, there will be an opening. If Riko, who has a light body to begin with, focuses on dodging, there is no way she will be attacked.

Hey, are we over yet? There's still a lot of behind me.

At Minerva's slightly prolonged voice, Satoru turned around and said, "Oh". The chimera in front of him had already turned into a mass of flesh.

They are resistant to fire. Water or ice magic are effective.

In response to Leia's voice, Satoru thought of the many icicles in his mind. Forty or so sharp icicles formed around Satoru and attacked the Chimera behind at once.

The group of 30 Chimera were helplessly annihilated.

After the battle, Leia collected the chimera's fangs. Their fangs are useful as a catalyst for magic, but they are also popular simply as a craft. If it were true, she would have liked to remove the skin as well, as it is a popular material for leather armor and the skin of a whole animal is also popular as a craft item, but she decided not to, as it would take too much time.

Even so, my Lord's magic power is truly in a different dimension.

Is that so?

Satoru shrug his shoulder at Leia's muttering as she deftly collected the chimera's fangs.

It certainly that there is a way to put magic into a sword and make it fly, but it is surprisingly difficult. There are also armors that are suitable for this. I don't think the Giant Killer is suited to carrying magic.

It seems that sturdiness is this sword's strong point.

He have been using it a lot. Even though it's been used quite roughly, this sword hasn't warped or spilled its blade so far. Since it can withstand Satoru's power, he can say that its durability is quite high.

It is said that it was originally used as a decoration in the festivals of the Dwarves. It is said that the warrior who wielded the sword won a contest of strength during a Dwarven festival and received it.

Hoo~. So it's a historic weapon, huh

The weight is just right for Satoru, but Leia and Rico can't even hold it properly. Minerva can barely hold it using Brute Force. It weighs about 30 pounds (45 kg). Even so, it is balanced as a sword, and its robustness is well known. It is the only sword of its kind in the world. That's why Sheryl is able to use it as a landmark for Detection, but Satoru and the others are still unaware of this fact.

Rico, who was helping Leia, turned her attention to Minerva, who was walking unsteadily.

Wait a moment.

...... What's up?

Minerva. Don't move from there.

Nnehh?

Minerva made a strange noise, but did as she was told and stopped moving on the spot. Rico swooped up to Minerva's feet and looked at them. The rock at her feet was sinking unnaturally.

...... Is it a trap?

Maybe. I think it activates when you take your foot off, but I don't know what kind of trap it is.

Satoru's question was answered by Rico, twisting his head. He's impressed that Rico were able to notice it, but he can't be impressed all the time.

...... Let me try it out

Suddenly, Satoru crouched down at Minerva's feet and placed his hands on the ground. He turns his attention to Minerva's feet, and through the image - he sees a mechanism. He ollowed the trap - He could see the spear bedding on the side wall.

....... I got it. Looks like a spear-flying trap.

Eh?

Ignoring Riko's confused voice, Satoru focused his attention further.

I'll try one more thing ......

He send the image of shattering the spear bedding at the end of the path. A series of burstling sounds came from a nearby side wall, startling all three of them except Satoru.

...... Minerva, take your foot off the ground.

Okaay

While keeping an eye on the side wall where the spear was supposed to come out, Minerva took her foot off the ground at Satoru's command. As soon as she did, there was only the sound of a small burst of air.

...... What's going on?

Riko asks Satoru, realizing that he seems to have disarmed the trap. Satoru shrugged his shoulders.

Nothing. I was just trying to use magic if I could do something, and it worked. I was conscious of looking at a trap, and I saw a spear in my conscious mind, so I smashed it.

...... What's that? You're really amazing, Satoru.

Rico was taken aback. Surely there was a way to disarm the trap by using the magic. But it must have been a technique that required a great deal of training. The only person in Galhassan's Thieves Guild who could use it was the previous guild master, Threnody. Rico knew that it took a lot of concentration and magic power to do that. Satoru's power was incredible, because he was able to do it so easily with just a thought.

In terms of magic, it's probably a combination of Clairvoyance and Farsightedness, and the one that broke the spear was probably Disintegration, but... It seems my Lord is getting used to magic.

Disintegration, huh......

At Leia's explanation of the art, Satoru suddenly thought. He did not use the four attributes of earth, water, fire, and wind to destroy the spear earlier. He simply put the image of it crumbling away on it. In terms of classification, it would probably be called a Rijutsu. There is a wide range of combinations in Rijutsu. If he could master them, it would become a tremendous power.

I'm going to try breaking the floor with that image for a while. I'd like to get a little more familiar with that art.

...... Have you got an idea?

Sort of

Satoru nodded in response to Leia's question. He doesn't know if he's right or not, but failure is the mother of success, and there's no better way to find out than to try.