Episode 63 - Farewell to the Labyrinth City
I thought to myself.
Now I'm just a regular
user. Since there are so many different kinds of labyrinths, I thought it would
be a good idea to create my own. It would be a lot of work to make a deep labyrinth,
so I decided to make a simple labyrinth with about three underground levels.
When an idea comes to
you, just do it. I went to the place where the first beginner's labyrinth was
located. I dug a hole with my line light. As I thought, the previous labyrinth
had disappeared without a trace. I wondered what had really happened to it.
The first floor above
ground has only a staircase to the basement and a statue. In front of the
stairs, I piled up a large golem with bricks I bought in town.
Fufufu, this place will
surely be called the Golem's Labyrinth! The bricks were soaked in the river to
absorb the water, and then mortar was used to hold them together. However, it
looks like it will collapse if touched. Well, there's nothing I can do if they
fall apart.
The basement floor is
just a maze. I dug a path as I felt like it. To be honest, I don't know what
I'm doing. I was lost when I had to leave. Even I, the creator, was confused by
it....... It turned out to be a terrifying labyrinth. The only problem is that
there are no demons in my labyrinth and no treasure chests, so I'm not sure if
visitors will come. I wonder if I should prepare a treasure chest myself.
When I was digging in
the second basement, I found a stream of water. This is the threat of nature.
With this thought in mind, I continued digging. The floor started to collapse,
so I hurriedly escaped to the first underground level. If it was just me, it
would have been nothing more than an oops, but now that Jispo was in the pouch,
I had to escape just in case. I couldn't let him get buried. I didn't want to
open the pouch and find the blood everywhere.
I really wanted to make
a labyrinth with three underground levels, but nature blocked my way. I'm the
kind of person who never gives up, but that doesn't mean I don't know when to
quit.
Let's just say that the
Golem's Labyrinth has been built up to the maze on the first underground floor.
Still, creating a labyrinth is a real hassle. I found out that if I didn't have
my mysterious power at work, it would be very difficult to create and manage a
labyrinth. It's not a job I'm suited for.
I decided to remain a
user, and left the labyrinth of Golem that I had created.
◆
The wristband had
disappeared from my left wrist. The magic effects of the glasses must have
burned it off. But I believe that I am now accepted by the residents of this
town as Golem-san.
I guess I don't need
the wristband. Yeah. It wasn't a hindrance, and it was useful sometimes, but I
can live without it. I don't like to carry extra things, you know.
◆
About two weeks after I
got involved with the six-star adventurers, I got another call from the guild.
God, they keep calling me back. They should schedule an appointment in advance.
I don't have that much free time to waste!
Sometimes, when I have
free time, I look back on the past and snap some photos!
There are quite a few
new photos engraved in my memory. Fufufu, I could be called a photographer
golem. I have 11 photos engraved in my memory. That's quite a few, isn't it? Well,
no, that's just because I'm of the digital camera generation, but 11 is a lot
of photos here!
There are 11 pictures
in total: Queen of Light, Maid's Idling,
Ichako and the Stupid Prince, Yamato Dragon, Hikaru's Showpiece, Mojiao's
Attack, Nodding Old Man, Devil and Angel (Mom and her daughter), Camome and
Jispo's Friendship, Chobibeard's Hidden Trick, and the Demon Sword Woman's
Crying.
By the way,
Chobibeard's hidden trick was amazing. It's hard to express in words, but it
was really amazing!
When I arrived at the
guild, I was sent to the old man's room. The old man seems to be the only one
there today. I haven't seen any of the five adventurers who came to judge me
since that day. They must have left town by now.
The first thing he says
is, “I'm sorry about the other day.” He has already apologized many times. I
don't need the endless repetition of apologies, because I don't care about what
happened. I don't know how many times he's done this, but I make a gesture of
not caring. I want you to tell me about what you need.
"Finally, I'm
ready to make you an adventurer. I've received a special dungeon card for you,
and I wanted to give it to you today."
What?! I had thought
that the talk of becoming an adventurer had died down, but it was still happening
under the radar. I'll accept your offer if I can get it!
"I was actually
going to appraise you with the appraisal stone when you registered, but now I
don't need that either. Just think of it as special recognition."
I don't understand, but
I nodded my head. The old man handed me a black card. The card had no stars on
it. Even though it was a special treatment, it still didn't have a star. I
guess I'll just have to get the stars one by one. I wondered if that would be
more exciting, and pondered how I could earn stars.
"This is a black
card, a card that has never been issued to anyone before. Apparently, there
exists a black hole in the night sky that swallows everything. This card was
made in honour of that. In other words, it is a sign of absolute strength that
can devour everything. I never thought I'd have to issue it, though."
Ummm, how can I earn
more stars? I want to get up to seven stars as fast as possible. I'd like to be
told, “That's the rising talent who got to seven stars the fastest.” I guess
I'll just have to conquer dungeons. I think that's the quickest way.
I wasn't listening to
what he was saying, so he warned me.
"Hey, did you hear
what I said? This card is special, so you won't get any stars. Don't make the
mistake of trying to earn stars with this card.”
What the hell? No stars
for me? I don't want such special treatment, so I appeal to him to give me the
same treatment as the other adventurers. But the old man keeps saying no,
saying it's impossible. The guild's members are quite stubborn and will
probably continue to say no without fail. While thinking about that, I put my
black card in my pouch and left the guild.
I also made sure to
remind Jispo not to eat the black card.
This is how I got my
starless black card and became an adventurer. However, since that day, I've
been called "It’s the Black Golem-san" a lot, and I feel like a
member of a shady black company.
◆
Lately, I have been
spending my days in the labyrinth without any change. There's nothing special
about it, but it's a fulfilling day to say the least.
There was one time I
dove into a labyrinth where there were no gatekeepers, and it was a disaster.
That labyrinth was the only one that was really bad.
The stairs leading down
to the underground level were completely dark and difficult to see. When Jispo
saw the stairs, all the hair on his body was already on edge. His heart was
beating so fast that I thought he would die if we continued on together, so I
told him to stay hidden in this area and I would go on alone.
I'm a golem, so there's
no problem, but the stairs to the first underground level must have been
airless. That's what I call a labyrinth. The first underground floor was a vast
square room. It was about the same size as the space where Hikaru and I had
confronted the evil dragon. There are many openings in the back wall.
In the middle of the
room, there was a black, rubbery, humanoid figure.
“This is a road that
leads to many different pasts. Once you advance, it's a straight road back.”
Suddenly, he started
talking about something. I wondered what he meant by road leading to the past.
"If you go back in
time and change history, you will defeat me and make progress.”
Saying that, he
suddenly shot out a black ray of light that was covered with a buzzing light. I
wondered how it could be a ray of light when it was black, but I received it
with my right hand.
Then my right arm
disappeared.
!? Hah!? Seriously!? If
that thing touches me, would my body disappear as well? And for the first time
in my golem life, I feel my life is in danger! What should I do, I thought as I
looked at my opponent. I dodge all the black rays of light that keep coming at
me. For some reason, only the Pouch is not hit by the rays. Even the rays are
twisted. Damn it.
{Log: The effect of the
[Enlightened One] has resolved the state of agitation}
Damn, it's hard to keep
my balance without one arm. I looked again at the place where my right arm used
to be. My right arm was still there as usual.
Ah, there it is. It's
back. I see... it's restored! I guess the restoration works automatically on
me. Every once in a while, a black beam of light would graze my body, but my
body would be restored immediately.
Fufufu, that's my metal
body. I think I can manage now. I'm curious to see to what extent it's safe for
it to disappear, but I don't feel like trying.
I fire my line light
with all my might at the black rubber humanoid. I'll call it Hitogata now. With
a thud, the creature is obliterated and hits the back wall. The back wall that
the linelight struck is intact. The wall is sturdy.
Normally, the Voice of
the World would tell me about the damage done, but not this time. Why is that?
I thought it was a close call, but as I started to move toward the door, more
Hitogata appeared in front of me. This time there were two.
"For me to be
eliminated, this visitor is different from those who came before.”
"I am the guardian
of time. No one can defeat me."
Then two of them
attacked me. I dodge their attacks, step into their territory, and hit one of
them with all my might. I then kick the other one away. Both of them are blown
up to the wall, but they both launch attacks at me immediately. Are physical
attacks not enough?
I once again used an
all-out line-light to eliminate the two Hitogata.
I was about to move on
when I realized that I had a formidable enemy. There were three of them this
time.
“I'm afraid we have a
problematic visitor.”
“I was defeated twice.”
"But I am the
guardian of time. No one can defeat me."
Hmmm... Could it be
that these guys will multiply indefinitely? No, I can't have that kind of foolishness
in my life. I used the line light with all my might to wipe out all three of
them at once.
Bad thoughts seem to
come true, and four Hitogatas appeared immediately.
"What a fearsome
power."
"A fearsome
enemy."
"Three times, I
have been defeated."
"But I am the
Guardian of Time. No one can defeat me."
After that, I continued
to take down the Hitogata. I couldn't let myself get hit by their black rays,
so I managed to dodge them and responded with my line light. I'm facing a 100
Hitogatas. I just want to go back now. I know you mentioned the past, but I
don't really want to go back to the past.
I quickly raised my
right hand. Eh, what? and Hitogatas stopped their movements. I gestured to
Hitogatas to ask if I could leave now.
“You want to go back?
……. Okay. Go.”
A hundred of them
disappeared, leaving only one behind.
"You will be the
first to ever return."
Oh, it was my first
time. Incidentally, when I asked with a gesture if anyone had been able to
return back to the past, all I was told was, "No one has.” I turned back
the way I had come, keeping wary of Hitogata.
As I climbed the
stairs, Jispo came running out of the shadows.
"Chu-chu-chu?"
(Boss, you've been in
there for three days, what's wrong?)
Well, I've been
fighting for three days. For the first time since I became a golem, I thought I
was going to die. I don't want to come here anymore. I only gestured that I had
almost died, but Jispo didn't seem to believe me.
◆
One day, I received
another call from the guild. I wondered what was going on, and headed for the
guild.
I heard that something
was going on in the island nation where the demon tribe lived. The demons, who
don't interact much with other races, are in a serious crisis and have requested
our help. 5-star adventurers and above have been sent, but things aren't
looking good. That's why they asked me to go to the island country where the
demon tribe lives.
I had enjoyed the
labyrinth city enough. I nodded my head in agreement and immediately set out
from the city in the means of transportation arranged by the guild. My
departure was sudden, but unexpectedly, many people came to see me off.
"G-Golem-san!
Please come back again sometime!
"Golem-san, I'll
never forget what you did for me!"
"Golem-chan! Be
well!
"Golem-san, I'll
be a cool adventurer just like you!"
I wave widely. Jispo
also popped up and waved at the crowd. I guess this is the result of my time in
the Labyrinth City. I left the labyrinth city with the scene in front of my
eyes firmly burned into my mind.
{Log: Golem activated
the shutter of his mind. Farewell labyrinth city recorded}
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