Unwanted Undead Adventurer - Episode 36

“…You’ve been encountering a lot of crazy things lately, haven’t you? It’s almost like you’ve been cursed by something,” Lorraine, the owner of the house, says with a dumbfounded look on her face as I explain various things that happened in the labyrinth after I return from there.

“It’s not like I’m doing it out of choice, either…”

But when I think about it, I realize that I happily walked into the uncharted area of the labyrinth where the dragon appeared. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to feel the dragon’s presence anymore, but I can’t help but wonder if I’m jumping into danger by choice.

“I’m sure you’re right… In the first place, seeing crazy things is just what being an adventurer is like. I’m not sure if it’s worth mentioning now, but… This is the magic tool, right? There doesn’t seem to be any problem with it,” Lorraine says, looking at the magical tool that the white-haired woman gave me, the Map of Acacia.

It’s an excellent tool for automatic mapping of labyrinths, and I recently discovered that something I carelessly put on is cursed. I want to be very careful about what I receive from people, so I asked Lorraine to check if there’s anything strange about it, like a curse. I can kind of detect that, but there are cases like the mask I’m wearing where there’s a special curse. It’s difficult for me to examine it in detail. On the other hand, Lorraine’s knowledge and experience as a scholar allows her to appraise many items. I heard that she is also a certified appraiser for the Adventurer’s Guild. Just having that qualification makes it easy to get a job, so it’s usually difficult to get, but I envy the fact that she was able to get it in her spare time.

“…By the way, have you figured out how to use it?”

It’s good that she gave it to me, but the explanation on how to use it was just to let magic flow through it, so other than that, I’m not sure how to use it.

Lorraine replies, “I’ve looked into it, but I don’t think I can do it on my own. She said that if you pass magic through it, it’ll show you a map, but my magic doesn’t seem to work on it… You try it.”

She then hands me the map. I do as she asks, and the blank parchment displays the same map of the Labyrinth of the Moon’s Reflection as before.

“Yes, this is amazing, it’s… What’s this dot…?”

I take a closer look and see a number of black dots moving around on the map. Wondering what they are, I touch them, and then names appear below the dots.

“This is…”

“Oh, it’s probably the name of the person who’s currently exploring the labyrinth. To think that we can find out something like that… This is terrifying technology. It’s a national treasure,” Lorraine says with admiration.

In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it. Apparently, I got a tremendously good deal. Although one wrong move and I’d have been killed, so it’s probably a toss-up in the end.

After some tinkering and testing, I find out that it’s possible to change what it’s showing by passing magic power through it and willing it to do different things. For example, if I want to change from the map of the Labyrinth of Moon’s Reflection to a different map, I can do that by telling it to. I also find out that people will only be shown walking inside the labyrinth if the labyrinth is completely mapped out.

I’ve completely mapped the Labyrinth of Moon’s Reflection, but I’ve barely mapped the Labyrinth of the New Moon. So when I try to display the map of the Labyrinth of the New Moon, I find that the parts I’ve walked before are displayed, but the dots that show people walking aren’t there. I look at it for a while and conclude that they must not be showing up, since it’s impossible that there’s no one walking around at this time of the day. So, when I wonder why that is, I decide that it’s probably because it hasn’t been mapped enough.

There may be other possibilities, but that’s the most likely one, I’m guessing, because the levels that I’ve already mapped are displayed. It’s definitely useful, but I also know that it has its limitations.

I also ask about the robes I received.

“What about the cloak?”

“I don’t think so… Don’t worry, you’ll have no problem wearing it. It looks like a pretty good one.”

“Is that so?” 

She handed it over pretty easily, considering.

“Yeah. It seems that the magic resistance is very high, and blades don’t pass through. I’m not sure what a good swordsman or a sharp blade could do, but I’d say it’s a lot more defensive than regular armor.”

That’s another good thing I got, I think. At first I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to report anything to the Adventurer’s Guild after all the effort I put into finding and exploring the uncharted areas, but now that I think about it, it’s probably a good thing that I got a useful map and strong armor. In the first place, even though it was an uncharted area, it was still the Labyrinth of Moon’s Reflection, which is only accessible to copper-class adventurers. Although there was a possibility of a modest reward, it wouldn’t have been that worthwhile as an achievement.

Okay, this search was worth it. I decide to think so.

I’ve made sure to bring back the magic stones that I got from fighting monsters along the way, except for the one from the Giant Skeleton, and Lorraine buys them from me, so my pockets are full. It seems that, even if I pay Clope the other half of the cost of the weapons, I won’t be in the red.

“The last thing I want to talk about is the woman you encountered… I still don’t know anything about her. Personally, I’m curious about the technology capable of building living quarters in the labyrinth…”

I feel the same way about this. She just appeared out of nowhere and kicked me out with almost no explanation. I’m not sure I’m perceptive enough to figure out who she is just from that. There’s no doubt that she was an incredible fighter, but there are probably as many people who surpass me as there are stars in the sky. I might be able to hold my own against someone near the bottom of silver class, but any higher than that, it’s going to be tough, and if they’re gold class, there’s a good chance I’ll be killed instantly. That’s about the extent of my abilities.

Of course, I’m not going to stay like this forever. I’m going to get stronger and stronger. I’ve got a growing body, which is necessary for that. It is possible that I’ll be a monster no matter how hard I try…

“I’m going to try to go back there again.”

“After you got kicked out? You’re very brave.”

“She never told me not to come. She just told me not to report it,” I say, and Lorraine thinks for a moment.

“…Well, now that I think about it, you’re right. But that’s just semantics. She obviously doesn’t want you to come.”

Lorraine’s probably right about this. But I’m curious. I have a faint hope that she’ll listen to me at least one more time. Well, if it’s impossible, that’s okay. I just want to try.

So Lorraine says, “Be careful. From what you’ve told me, that woman is not normal. You never know what might upset her.”

“Yeah,” I nod to Lorraine, knowing better than anyone just what kind of person I went up against. She won’t kill me out of the blue this time, but I know I have to be careful.

◇◆◇◆◇

However, the next day, when I go to the labyrinth, it turns out to be a waste of time. Just yesterday, there was a passage that was the entrance to the uncharted area, but today, it has completely disappeared.

It’s a wall, no matter how you look at it. Just a wall.

Even when I touch it, all I feel is the touch of a cold wall. With this, the trail to the woman has been completely cut off.

“Who the hell was she?” I think with intense curiosity, but no one can give me an answer.

Will we be able to meet again someday?

With this feeling in my heart, I have no choice but to leave the labyrinth.