NBAA Vol. 8 Chapter 1 Part 4
The moment the words were spoken, they were instantly transferred, just like when they moved from the first floor to the second floor.
Immediately after, a large amount of sand hit their bodies.
“Bwahh⁉ What is it, that it is?”
“S-Sand?!”
“Ugh…?!”
“Calm down! Everyone, don’t leave!”
While everyone was confused, Reito quickly pressed his palms against the ground and used the skill “Earth Block” to manipulate the surrounding earth and create a wall.
But it immediately collapsed. He realized that the ground was sand.
“…Desert?!”
He peered out from the gaps between his half-open eyelids. The place they were standing on was covered in a huge amount of sand, just like a desert, and he realized that it extended all the way to the edge of the sand dunes.
The third floor seemed to be a desert floor. Moreover, violent sandstorms were constantly hitting them.
“Buhaaa?! At this rate, we aren’t going to make it…”
“Calm down! Reito, you can use the Mind’s Eye, right? Gather everyone in one place!”
“Got it.”
“I can do it too, that I can.”
Reito realized that he couldn’t rely on his eyesight after hearing Shizune’s words, so he activated his Mind’s Eye skill to look around with a sense other than his eyesight.
Hanzo and Shizune could also use the Mind’s Eye like him, so they pulled Gonzo and Dain, who were covering their faces with their hands, and gathered them in one place.
“What should we do from here?”
“There should be a resting spot on this floor. Look for a building.”
“Even if you say a building… I can’t see anything with my sight!”
“You guys follow me closely! We’ll explore!”
“Sorry…”
The sandstorm was so intense that normal humans couldn’t see anything. If they hadn’t mastered the “Mind’s Eye”, they wouldn’t be able to grasp the situation around them. Gonzo and Dain held hands with Reito, Shizune, and Hanzo and moved so as not to get too far from them.
“Shizune-dono! There’s a building over there, that there is no response to my Detect Presence!”
“What is the direction?”
“I will lead the way, that I will.”
Hanzo moved ahead toward the building she had discovered.
In this situation, Hanzo, an assassin with excellent sensing abilities, had the advantage. A few minutes later, Reito and his team spotted a rocky mountain.
Hanzo thought it was a building, but it was actually a cave in the rocky mountain.
She led them inside.
“Thank goodness…! I thought I was going to die!”
“This is… definitely a resting spot.”
“Eh? This is it?”
Reito and the others were finally able to rest after escaping the sandstorm. As she was shaking off the large amount of sand from her clothes, Shizune looked around the cave and nodded (by the way, Reito had used the magic “Photosphere” to light up the inside of the cave).
“Look closely at the wall here. There is a magic circle to ward off monsters.”
“Oh, it’s true. There is some kind of pattern.”
“Also, the moment we entered this cave, it became quiet, right? This rock mountain itself is like a giant barrier stone, and not only does it keep monsters away, it also blocks sand, wind, and even sound.”
“Now that you mention it… it really is quiet.”
Indeed, as soon as they entered the cave, despite the sandstorm outside, it became completely quiet inside, and neither sand nor wind entered. As Shizune said, there were countless magic circles inside the cave, and no sign of monsters.
“This is a resting spot… a safe zone even in the Great Labyrinth?”
“We got lucky. Hanzo, this is all thanks to you.”
“I am embarrassed when you say so, that I am.”
“No, this is not the time to be saying that⁉ How can we move forward in a sandstorm like this?”
Shizune praised her, and while Hanzo was scratching her head in embarrassment, Dain pointed outside the cave.
It was true, as he said, with the sandstorm occurring outside the cave, they wouldn’t be able to move around properly.
“Why is there a sandstorm inside a tower in the first place?”
“If you say that, it’s strange to have grasslands and wildernesses inside the tower.”
“Well, that’s true, but…”
“You shouldn’t think too deeply about the events that occur in the Great Labyrinth. Don’t worry, this sandstorm will definitely stop after a certain period of time. I’ve experienced a similar environment in another Great Labyrinth in the past.”
“This is a ridiculous place…”
As long as they’re inside the cave, they’re safe, but as long as the sandstorm was occurring, they couldn’t go outside. So, Reito and the others decided to take a break here.
Fortunately, the cave was neither too hot nor too cold, and the temperature was kept comfortable, making it a perfect place to rest.
“Is there a teleportation crystal somewhere on this floor? It’s going to be hard to find.”
“It seems that the building itself where the teleportation crystal is located is covered up by this sandstorm. Let’s proceed with even more caution from here on.”
Then, Hanzo’s voice, who had gone to the deepest part of the cave, rang out.
“Shi-Shizune-dono! There is a hot spring at the back of the cave, that there is!”
“What⁉ Is that true?”
Reito and the others rushed over, and just as she said, there was a vast space at the back of the cave, with a green hot spring spreading out there.
Even the usually calm Shizune seemed surprised. Holding up her palm, she cautiously invoked her “Observing Eye” ability to survey the hot spring.
“I wonder if it’s safe to go in here? I don’t think it’s a trap…”
“Do they set traps at resting spots?”
“No, they don’t. At least the resting spots I’ve visited didn’t have anything like this hot spring…”
“Is this… a green medicinal bath? This is the first time I’ve seen something like this occurring naturally!”
“Do you know anything, Dain?”
As Shizune carefully examined the hot spring, Dain put his hand in the hot spring without hesitation next to her, checking the temperature.
“What, you don’t know about it? It’s a green medicinal bath, a green medicinal bath! It’s water mixed with several herbs that are the raw materials for healing potions! I’ve never seen anything natural like that before!”
“It’s like a bath where herbs are used as bath salts? That’s a pretty extravagant way to use them…”
“Now that I think about it, there’s a green flower-like thing at the bottom of the bath, I wonder if it’s a medicinal herb?”
At the bottom of the green medicinal hot water, there were lush plants that he had never seen before.
Perhaps this medicinal herb had influenced the natural occurrence of the green medicinal spring.
“Unlike normal healing potions, green medicinal baths don’t have an immediate effect, but soaking in them for a long time has the effect of healing injuries and fatigue. That’s why nobles like to ask experts to make it for them when they take a bath.”
“Wow… you know a lot about it, Dain.”
“Eh, no… well, yeah.”
“…?”
Dain spoke in a panicked voice for some reason after hearing Reito’s words. That aside, it was the perfect place to rest, so Reito and the others gratefully decided to soak in the green medicinal bath.
~
“It feels so good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a foot bath, that I have.”
“It’s amazing that just soaking part of your body can have an effect. I wonder why I didn’t make one at home…”
“Phew…so relaxing.”
“It’s been a while for me too…it feels so good.”
“I would really enjoy it if not in a situation like this.”
They couldn’t go in naked, so they made do with a foot bath and soothed their fatigue. After all, they had reached halfway through the Great Labyrinth, with only the fourth and top fifth floors remaining.
“Now that I think of it, what kind of monsters really appear on this floor?”
“They’re rock doll golems. And they’re not just any rock dolls, they’re sand dolls. Luckily we haven’t encountered any so far.”
“Sand dolls?”
Reito could imagine they’re rock dolls made of sand, but this was a weak statement that’s uncharacteristic of Shizune. Reito was curious and was about to ask her, but Dain answered first.
“Sand dolls are literally rock dolls made of sand. The difference between them and normal rock dolls is that physical attacks have no effect on them.”
“What? So physical attacks don’t work on them?”
“To be precise, no weapon works on them. Whether it’s a sword, a spear, or an axe, their bodies are made of sand, so they can’t be damaged. What’s more, they regenerate at an incredible speed. Wherever there is sand, they will revive again and again as long as you don’t destroy their core. They’re a nuisance.”
“Their weakness is magic. Water-based magic is especially effective. Like other rock dolls, they’re weak against water and ice, so they’re the perfect opponent for my Four Seasons.”
According to Dain and Shizune’s explanation, sand dolls were a difficult opponent unless one could attack with the water attribute. Reito suddenly thought that it would be reassuring to have Kotomin, who could handle water attribute spirit magic, but it might not always be useful since it requires… a large amount of water.
“The third floor is enveloped in heat, just like a real desert. So if you don’t have a lot of water with you, you’ll collapse from dehydration, and the sand dolls can’t be defeated without a water attack. That’s why it’s said to be one of the most difficult floors in the Tower’s Great Labyrinth.”
“So that’s why you told us to prepare extra water before we left.”
“Let’s also take this green medicine water with us. It can’t be used as drinking water, but you might have a chance to use it in the battle against the sand dolls.”
Reito agreed with Shizune’s suggestion and searched through his belongings for a tool that could be used as a container. It was at this point that Reito noticed something.
“Hey, Dain. You said earlier that this was the first time you’d seen a natural green medicinal bath.”
“Eh? What’s with that all of a sudden… what’s the deal?”
“But isn’t this Great Labyrinth itself an artifact? And if you think about it, this resting spot in the Great Labyrinth was created by humans, then it can’t be called natural, right?”
“Ah.”
“Now that you mention it… that’s certainly true.”
Reito turned his gaze to the green medicinal bath, feeling a vague sense of incongruity. This hot spring itself was created by humans — if that’s the case, he might be able to find out what principle this green medicinal bath was made by investigating it.
“If there’s a secret, it’s the plant at the bottom here. Let’s pick some of it. Maybe I can pull it out and see what comes out.”
“No, it could be just a mandrake.”
Reito reached into the green medicinal bath and tried to pull out the plant growing at the bottom. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t pull it out.
“Hmmmm…! I can’t pull it out, what should I do?”
“Step back a bit.”
Next, Gonzo reached into the green medicinal bath and tried to pull out the plant. However, even his strength was not enough.
“I can’t do this… sorry.”
“No, you don’t have to apologize. I was just thinking that if I take this plant home and cultivate it, I might be able to make a green medicinal bath…”
“If even the strength of a giant can’t pull it out, does that mean it’s rooted deep underground, or does it have some special mechanism?”
“Okay, this is the time for Dain’s shadow magic. Pull it out with ‘Shadow Bind’.”
“No, my magic isn’t that versatile!”
The herb that grew at the bottom of the green medicinal bath was definitely rooted in the water. In fact, it seemed to be so firmly rooted that even Gonzo couldn’t pull it out. He wondered if he could pull it out with magic power, but it would be a bad idea to stimulate it too much.
“Shall we go on now? The sandstorm seems to have stopped.”
“Shizune, you have been in this Tower’s Great Labyrinth before, right?”
“Yes, but I only went up to the fourth floor, and I didn’t know there was a resting spot like this on the third floor. Just because you’ve experienced the Great Labyrinth doesn’t mean you know everything…”
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