Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 11

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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11. Labyrinth

‘Damn it. Get it together, Serena. I can’t die like this. Positive thinking!’

Serena widened her eyes and shook her head vigorously. Even though she had been reincarnated, she was still afraid of death.

Knowing that death wasn’t the end made her even more terrified than before.

‘There’s no guarantee I’ll be born as a princess in my next life.’

Could she even be born as a human in her next life? And even if she was born human, what if the environment was terrible?

Even in her previous life’s homeland, just going a little north would reveal hell on earth.

Her previous life was decent enough to get by, and this life she was a princess, so wouldn’t the chances of being born into worse circumstances in her next life be higher?

‘Look at me. I lived an ordinary life in my previous existence but was reincarnated as a princess. Living virtuously or not is all meaningless—it’s just random luck, isn’t it?’

Since she had been reincarnated as a princess, she wanted to enjoy the privileges of being at the top of the social pyramid until she died of old age.

To do that, she had to survive and get out of here.

“Lavenda. Tell me everything you know about labyrinths.”

Heuji City had no labyrinth, so they were excluded from the information network where labyrinth-owning nations communicated among themselves.

Philia’s husband was from the Empire, which had the most labyrinths, but he probably wouldn’t have told his beloved wife about something as uninteresting as labyrinths.

So among the five people currently trapped in the labyrinth, Lavenda was the most knowledgeable about labyrinths.

Lavenda, who had become a labyrinth expert after going on a few labyrinth tours, opened her mouth. Everyone held their breath and listened intently.

“Vieta’s Labyrinth is, as those who know would know, currently developed as a tourist destination. It was discovered during the reign of Lido V, who was four generations before the current King Nido III.”

This was a story from about 100 years ago.

A shepherd walking on a mountainside looking for a lost kid goat discovered the remains of what appeared to be ruins.

The shepherd thought it was ordinary ruins and stepped inside.

But that place was a labyrinth full of mysteries and wonders.

“A labyrinth is a mysterious space that defies our common sense. Anything can happen, and it’s an unknown realm where you shouldn’t be surprised no matter what occurs. A place where things happen that those who haven’t experienced it could never dare imagine, no matter what they see, hear, or experience. The shepherd entered such a place to find a kid goat.”

“Your speech suddenly became so eloquent?”

“It’s what labyrinth guides say to tourists before entering the labyrinth. I memorized it.”

Since it was a guide’s script, she even imitated the exaggerated voice modulation and excessive emotion.

While speaking, Lavenda seemed to forget her tension and adjusted her posture more comfortably.

“The shepherd wandered through caves with labyrinth green moss, labyrinth rats, and labyrinth slimes looking for the kid goat. Though the shepherd only had a torch and dagger, the child bravely explored the cave.”

‘They really put “labyrinth” in front of everything. Is that really what they call them?’

The shepherd wandering through the complex cave used the kid goat’s bleating as a compass. And in the deepest part of the labyrinth, he discovered a boss labyrinth rat attacking the kid goat.

“They say the shepherd bravely defeated the boss labyrinth rat with just a dagger. As a reward for killing the boss rat, he got gold coins and left the labyrinth with the kid goat to report to the guards.”

The guard who received the report immediately reported to the king. Lido V, who was Vieta’s king at the time, reportedly shouted with joy.

In labyrinths, monsters and resources regenerate. The same goes for wall, floor, and ceiling materials.

In labyrinths with trees, wood appears infinitely, and in labyrinths with stones, stones appear endlessly. Over time, gold coins are restored and byproducts can be obtained from monster corpses.

That’s not all.

In this world, there are rare magical tools that can only be obtained from labyrinths.

Magical tools that once-in-a-century mages and alchemists could only create using materials worth a national budget appear in treasure chests in labyrinths. They also rarely drop when you defeat boss monsters.

This is why rulers of nations with labyrinths try to restrict labyrinth access and monopolize related information.

‘Fortunately, it’s not a structure that forces people inside.’

Sometimes in creative works featuring labyrinths, there are settings where if you don’t conquer the labyrinth and leave it alone, monsters will burst out and attack people.

This world’s labyrinths didn’t have that.

‘That’s why I let my guard down.’

If such a setting existed, she would have trembled thinking ‘Did they really reincarnate me to conquer labyrinths?’ and prepared, but since it wasn’t the case, she let her guard down.

‘Even though I recovered from protagonist syndrome, I should have prepared since you never know what might happen.’

Even though her family was full of discord, the world was peaceful. So she let her guard down, and who would have known she’d be thrown into a labyrinth? How unfair.

‘There’s a reason possession stories are popular. Reincarnators who know nothing live such pitiful lives.’

Anyway, Lido V was delighted at the thought of obtaining resources from the labyrinth and gathered elite soldiers to order the conquest of Vieta’s Labyrinth.

The result was disastrous.

This doesn’t mean the conquest party was annihilated. Vieta’s Labyrinth had nothing for the conquest party to conquer.

“Is the labyrinth really safe enough to go sightseeing?”

“Other labyrinths aren’t, but Vieta’s Labyrinth is fine. It’s already been conquered.”

“I heard labyrinths are hard to conquer?”

“I heard Vieta’s Labyrinth only has one floor.”

Vieta’s Labyrinth was only one floor. It was the lowest-grade labyrinth on the continent, where the boss labyrinth rat that the shepherd defeated was the boss monster.

The rarity of resources obtainable from labyrinths is proportional to the labyrinth’s grade. Vieta’s Labyrinth, which ended at the first floor, was grade 1 difficulty.

Lido V couldn’t believe that the labyrinth discovered in his country was just a pathetic grade 1 labyrinth and searched every inch of it.

It was a waste of resources. He only reconfirmed that Vieta’s Labyrinth was the continent’s only grade 1 labyrinth.

The resources obtainable from such a labyrinth were herbs, low-grade potions occasionally restored in treasure chests, and very rarely, very very rarely, a few restored gold coins.

Great expectations lead to great disappointments. Unable to overcome his heartbreak, Lido V abdicated the throne to his eldest daughter, the heir.

The daughter who became queen thought differently. Even then, Vieta had a high reputation as a tourist nation.

The new queen opened the labyrinth as a tourist destination.

Vieta’s Labyrinth was a conquered labyrinth. Maps, traps, monsters, treasure chests, herb habitats, and so on. The maps were perfectly made.

Because it was conquered, the restoration speed of monsters and traps was slow, and the level of rarely regenerated monsters was manageable enough for ordinary soldiers to handle.

About once every two years, they would close the labyrinth, kill all the monsters, and destroy the traps. That was it.

All that remained was collecting entrance fees from tourists who came to see the labyrinth.

“People pay money to go see that?”

“Of course. It’s a must-see course. People come from all over the continent.”

“My goodness, they must have money to burn.”

“Actually, I want to go see it too!”

“I was also planning to go with Serena.”

That’s right. After the founding festival ended, Serena was planning to take leave and visit Vieta’s Labyrinth. Since it would be awkward for an unmarried royal to go alone to the edge of the continent, she planned to join the married couple Philia and her husband on their trip.

‘Who would have thought I’d end up doing labyrinth tourism in front of my own house.’

Serena sighed inwardly.

Krom grumbled about why anyone would pay money to see such a thing.

Hanson’s eyes sparkled with interest, apparently enjoying hearing stories from other countries that were hard to access due to his social status.

“That’s all I know.”

Since she gradually imitated the guide’s way of speaking, making it entertaining to listen to, the group was disappointed when Lavenda’s story ended.

“Isn’t there more? When you first talked about labyrinths, I think you mentioned something about eating people and swallowing them.”

“Oh, that? That’s just rumors…”

Lavenda looked around hesitantly, not wanting to ruin the brightened atmosphere.

“Tell us the rumors too.”

“Well… do you know about Messa Labyrinth? It’s a labyrinth on Messa Island north of the Empire.”

“I’ve heard the name.”

“I’ve heard of it too.”

“Isn’t that the first labyrinth that comes to mind when you think of labyrinths?”

“Serena, I know about it too.”

Messa Labyrinth. It was a famous labyrinth that not only Serena but everyone had heard of at least once.

If Vieta’s Labyrinth was the world’s weakest labyrinth, then Messa Labyrinth was the world’s strongest labyrinth.

Messa Labyrinth’s estimated difficulty was a whopping grade 9. It was a legendary labyrinth that even the Gangpae Nation, the Empire at the center of the continent, couldn’t conquer for 200 years despite pouring in massive resources.

The imperial treasury is said to be full of rare treasures obtained from that labyrinth.

When Messa Labyrinth was discovered, the Empire changed its national policy from conquest wars to labyrinth conquest. Thanks to this, Messa Labyrinth became even more famous.

“Messa Island is a large island close to the continent with mithril mines, so it had a large population. Just before Messa Labyrinth was created, the island’s population was close to 50,000…”

Even considering it was a rumor, the number was quite large.

“As many as 50,000? Heuji City has 100,000 citizens!”

“The island would sink.”

“As expected, the Empire has many people.”

Whether it was an exaggerated number typical of rumors or whether they were large in stature befitting the Empire, Lavenda’s story continued regardless of Serena’s thoughts.

“But 200 years ago one day, when a labyrinth was created on the island, 50,000 island residents and the city were swallowed by the labyrinth. Rumors spread that island residents caught up in the labyrinth’s creation are still being discovered in Messa Labyrinth. Sometimes as dead corpses, sometimes as undead.”

Lavenda’s voice grew quieter. Everyone held their breath and focused on her story.

“And sometimes as living people who remember events from 200 years ago as if they happened yesterday.”

Everyone was at a loss for words. Then one by one, they began voicing ominous predictions.

“Then does that mean we’ve also been swallowed by the labyrinth, Lady Serena? That we didn’t fall into the labyrinth below due to an earthquake?”

“Wasn’t it an earthquake? Were we devoured by the labyrinth? The scale was massive. Surely not all of Heuji City!”

“That can’t be.”

Serena spoke decisively on purpose to dispel people’s anxiety.

“I’ve never heard of a labyrinth swallowing people or cities. As Count Randy’s wife thinks, there was an earthquake and we fell into the labyrinth that was underground. Don’t entertain such absurd thoughts.”

“Yes. It’s just a rumor. That’s why I hesitated to mention it.”

Lavenda tried to calm people down. However, it was far from enough to soothe their growing anxiety.

“Everyone, focus on me.”

Serena deliberately raised her voice to gather attention.

“The absurd story Lavenda mentioned might sound similar to our current situation and could be concerning. But we should focus on the obvious truth she mentioned earlier.”

Everyone had been sitting while listening to Lavenda’s story. Serena stood up alone and looked down at the people.

“Lavenda just said that the Shepherd conquered Vieta’s Labyrinth all by himself. The Shepherd would not have been an adult yet, and his only weapon was a single dagger.”

“Yes. The Shepherd’s outfit from that time is also displayed in the exhibition hall.”

“The time it took to conquer it was also short. How long did you say it took?”

“Half a day. He entered at lunch time and came out when the sunset glowed.”

“Did everyone hear that clearly? A child younger than us with inferior equipment conquered the labyrinth and escaped in just half a day. That means we can do it too.”

“But still. He would have had an open exit.”

Just as Serena was deliberately hiding several sad truths to boost morale, Krom dampened the mood. Serena almost attacked the elder instead of respecting him as she had been taught in her previous life, but held back.

“Ahem. As far as I know, some dungeons have escape routes or magic circles inside that lead to the outside. I’ve heard there are labyrinths like that too.”

“Ah, that’s right! He said that! He said there are labyrinths with magic circles that lead outside or teleportation magic tools!”

“So Count Randy said such things. Did you hear anything else?”

“It was boring so I only half-listened… uh, umm…”

Philia rubbed her fingers together as she desperately tried to recall. Count Randy had chattered endlessly about all sorts of stories to capture his beloved wife’s interest.

He never stopped talking, so she mostly let it go in one ear and out the other, never knowing she would regret it like this.

‘Honey, I’m sorry! Next time you tell boring stories, I won’t just let them pass by and will just say they’re boring!’

Philia apologized to her absent husband and searched her memory.

“Ah, that’s right! He said such places are usually in boss rooms! He said there’s a high probability they appear when you defeat Floor Bosses or Stratum Bosses! But what are Floor Bosses and Stratum Bosses? Do you know, Lady Serena?”

“I know.”

Those are just bosses. I’ve seen plenty in games.

Since Heuji’s Mausoleum had become Heuji’s Labyrinth, it was time to change their goal of finding the antechamber.

“From now on, we conquer this floor.”

Serena and her party began conquering the first floor of Heuji’s Labyrinth.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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