NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 1 Part 1
“Is this the Tower’s Great Labyrinth? …but the entrance door isn’t open.”
“That’s true. No one has ever seen this door open before.”
“Eh? Then how do we get in?”
In front of the Tower’s Great Labyrinth, Reito, the Swordmaster girl Shizune, the Giant warrior Gonzo, the Ninja girl Hanzo, and the Dark Mage Dain were lined up.
While Reito and Shizune were talking, a middle-aged man in front of them interrupted them.
“Hey, is this your first time challenging the Great Labyrinth? Are you sure you’re okay with that equipment?”
“It’s fine. I think there’s probably no problem.”
“Oh, yeah… you seem strangely confident.”
Then, even though no one asked, he started explaining about the Tower’s Great Labyrinth.
“Well, I’ll give you some advice, newbie. Take a good look at the door. There are five large crystals embedded in it, right?”
“Oh, that’s true.”
Reito activated his “Far Sight” and “Observing Eye” skills to look at the door, and sure enough, five jade-colored crystals were embedded in it, each one easily over a meter in size.
“That’s the teleportation crystal that will teleport you into the Great Labyrinth. You can touch it and tell it the floor you want to enter, and you’ll be teleported in an instant. However, while you can specify the floor, the exact location is random each time. If you’re unlucky, there’s a risk that you’ll be surrounded by monsters right from the get-go, so be careful.”
“Wow, it’s a magic tool like your aunt’s crystal card.”
The idea of using a crystal to teleport to another place was the same as the crystal card created by Reito’s aunt Maria. Maybe she used this teleportation crystal as a reference when creating the crystal card. She used to be a skilled adventurer, so it’s not strange that she knew about the Great Labyrinth.
Thinking about this, Reito asked.
“There are five crystals, is there any difference?”
“No, nothing in particular. By the way, if you’re in a group of adventurers, you can move to the same place if you touch each other’s bodies when you teleport.”
“That’s very kind of you. Why are you telling us so much?”
The man answered Shizune’s question.
“It’s a friendship between fellow adventurers. Well, if there’s another reason… please don’t die easily in the Great Labyrinth. It’s just a rumor, but the monsters in the Great Labyrinth are likely to mutate into subspecies or evolved species by eating corpses. That’s why I teach newbies kindly.”
“You don’t want them to die easily and become fodder for the monsters, right…”
“That’s right. Well, good luck.”
Then the man’s turn came. He waved at Reito and the others, then touched the crystal on the door and vigorously announced, “Third Floor!” And then, right before Reito’s eyes, the man disappeared. He seemed to have moved to the inside of the Tower’s Great Labyrinth.
“Wow… That’s amazing, he really disappeared.”
“To add to what he explained, once you enter the Great Labyrinth, it’s not easy to get out. Well, that doesn’t mean there’s no way to escape. You can only escape by using a teleportation magic tool inside the Great Labyrinth.”
“Teleportation magic tool?”
“There are only two ways to escape from the Great Labyrinth. One is to find a teleportation crystal that exists somewhere on each floor of the Great Labyrinth that leads to the outside world. The other is to use a different magic tool.”
“What do you mean by a different magic tool?”
“The magic tool is called a teleportation stone. It’s a small teleportation crystal that can be used to travel to other floors or the outside world. It disappears once it’s used or once it’s in the outside world.”
“So it’s a magic tool that’s only available in the Great Labyrinth.”
Hanzo also looked interested in Shizune’s explanation.
Soon after, it was Reito and his party’s turn. They lined up in front of the teleportation crystal.
Since it was their first challenge, they chose a floor with a lower difficulty level first.
~
“Let’s start from the first floor. The Great Labyrinth has five floors, but the higher the floor, the more dangerous the monsters and traps that appear. However, you can’t jump to the fifth floor in one go. It seems that the teleportation crystal that connects to the fifth floor is only on the fourth floor.”
“What, there are even traps?!”
“Of course. Are you scared now?”
“N-No… I’m just a little surprised.”
Shizune smiled teasingly at the surprised Dain.
Dain then shook his head and muttered to himself, placing a hand on Reito’s shoulder. As Reito looked puzzled, Shizune, who was next to him, grabbed him by the shoulder.
“Have you forgotten what that man said? You have to be physically in contact when moving.”
“Oh, I see. By the way, why couldn’t we bring Ullr and the others?”
Reito suddenly remembered something and asked, and Shizune answered.
“This teleportation crystal can only be used by humans. That’s why Ullr and the others can’t travel with us.”
According to her, there had been cases in the past where monster tamers have tried to bring monsters with them but failed. Either way, it seemed they couldn’t take Ullr or Suramin with them.
“Are you ready? Our goal this time is to get to the third floor.”
“Okay.”
“No problem.”
“F-Fine.”
“Let’s go, that we shall!”
“It feels like a field trip… Well, never mind. First floor!”
The moment Shizune mentioned her destination, the teleportation crystal lit up.
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