Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 231

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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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231. Heuji’s Labyrinth 10th Layer

The next day, Countess Nex had recovered. Since she was originally a sickly person, even her recovered state was still frail.

The Countess apologized to the people in the lobby and resumed Neet’s magic lessons.

Serena did the same.

“Your Highness, what are you doing? Come here quickly.”

The old man’s voice summoned the Princess. Perhaps because Philia had gone out for a walk with Count Randy, his voice was dripping with arrogance.

‘Haah.’

Serena sighed deeply inwardly and went to Grey. Grey tapped his soft shoulder with his staff.

“The generous magic has designated that you learn mana field?”

“Yes.”

“Mana field. It’s a very versatile mana attribute magic. It can be used for attack, protection, and various other applications, so I agree with the great wisdom’s insight. It’s a bit difficult to utilize, but Your Highness will learn it quickly.”

Serena tried to hide her bitter feelings and listened attentively to the old man’s words. She would have preferred to receive theoretical lessons from Countess Nex, her original magic tutor, but that wasn’t possible.

“Very good. What conversation did you have with Mr. Krom, Miss Neet?”

“Cough. He said the lobby is like a marketplace. And he was curious about where the cart went. He seemed worried that we might have used it as firewood.”

“I see. Did you answer the messenger about what happened to the cart?”

“Cough. Yes. When I told him it was stored in the subspace storage, he seemed relieved.”

Countess Nex, who had inadvertently become Neet’s magic teacher, was delighted to be able to directly observe death attribute magic that she had only known in theory, so she taught Neet with sincere dedication.

So Serena had no choice but to request lessons from Grey. She was anxious about self-studying based only on the theoretical knowledge she had gained when afflicted with protagonist syndrome, so she had no choice.

“Excellent. The main purpose of conversation magic with messengers is to resolve the deceased’s worries, make their emotions gentle, and induce a contract. Even though I didn’t tell you, Miss Neet solved it. Miss Neet has talent.”

“Cough. I just told him what I knew.”

Neet seemed embarrassed by the praise and unnecessarily rubbed the smooth crystal skull surface.

“Since the other party is deceased, you could have ignored them, but you didn’t. According to records, that’s the quality of a necromancer.”

Neet was a gentle and diligent child, and Countess Nex was such a generous teacher with praise that Serena might have mistaken it all for flattery directed at the Princess.

Their magic lessons were peaceful and gentle. Since the student didn’t forget what she saw and heard once, the teacher didn’t need to say things twice. Instead, she only helped her understand what she had memorized.

In contrast, the Princess and old man’s lessons were.

“Why can’t you understand that!”

“How am I supposed to understand when you just said it! I’m human, so I need time to think!”

“You should think while listening to the explanation! When the explanation ends, you should understand ‘Ah, so this is how it works’ and move on to the next part! You understood quickly last time!”

4th tier. Another name for the wall where people who entered magic through the power of wealth feel the limits of their talent and stop.

When Serena learned the 3rd tier mana explosion, she consecutively mastered the 4th tier flame and ice explosions.

‘I thought it was manageable then, but mana field is different again.’

If you understand immediately after hearing a theoretical lesson, you’re not human. You’re a Grand Mage of the Empire. Serena wasn’t a Grand Mage, so she needed time to think.

But the old man seemed to have set his standards for students to match himself, demanding unreasonable comprehension. It was a very unfair demand.

‘If I understood 4th tier magic after hearing one lesson, I would have been called an apostle of magic, not an apostle of the labyrinth!’

“You’re being noisy, so be quiet.”

“How long should I wait?”

“Be quiet until I say it’s okay to speak.”

The old man’s eyes twitched. Fortunately, before Grey could shout ‘scold’, Philia, who had heard her master’s loud voice, returned.

“Lady Serena, are you alright? Does your head hurt from studying? How about taking a break? Shall I massage your shoulders?”

“You’re also being noisy, so be quiet.”

“Hiiing.”

Since Serena only told her to be quiet and didn’t tell her to go away, Philia secured the seat next to her master.

The old man, who had been acting all sorts of impudent when his aunt wasn’t around, suddenly transformed into a polite attendant.

“Since Your Highness finds it difficult to understand, may I explain again?”

But he was still the old man. He maintained the attitude that Serena, who understood less than him despite his impatience, was at fault.

Serena held her aching head and regretted. She regretted and regretted again.

‘I should have continued studying magic.’

She should have continued learning when Countess Nex was teaching. Then she could have learned magic happily while listening to Countess Nex’s kind and detailed explanations and candy-sweet flattery.

Serena studied with tears in her eyes. She endured headaches and boredom and worked hard at studying, which was the second most hateful thing in the world.

Knowing that she wasn’t very smart, she postponed rest and concentrated on magic study. Thanks to her efforts, the Princess mastered mana field in five days.

She attempted it cautiously once a day because the sacrificial materials that would be lost upon failure were precious, yet she failed four times. Serena wept bitterly inside.

“Wow. Cough cough. Princess, you’re amazing.”

Neet was young, so she performed the ritual once every three days and hadn’t yet mastered corpse manipulation.

Serena listened to the young child’s admiration with one ear and let it flow out the other.

‘I have age and learning, so I should succeed.’

“Now that you’ve learned mana field, next comes attribute application. After that, we’ll learn mana arrow and use the application electric chain. Since you can’t use lightning, we’ll have to substitute with that.”

Grey was already planning the next curriculum. A chill ran down Serena’s spine.

If mana field was this difficult, she couldn’t see how she would master other magic combined with different attributes, which were advanced application versions.

‘All application magic of mana field is 5th tier. Lightning was learnable immediately thanks to mental imagery, so this won’t be easy either.’

Serena touched the translucent spherical barrier surrounding her with her hand. The mana field elastically pushed away Serena’s hand like bouncy jelly.

Expanding the size of this mana field or changing its strength was the next task given to the Princess.

‘Let’s start with moving while maintaining the basic mana field.’

Even just the basic mana field would prevent instant death from eyed arrows like last time.

***

While Serena was meditating and organizing her mental imagery, the 2nd group conquest party returned from not the 2nd Layer, not the 3rd Layer, but the incredible 4th Layer.

“Cough, sister!”

Neet ran toward them but stopped when she saw the black, massive creature following behind her beloved sisters.

Squawk.

Sesi had tamed a Labyrinth Chicken and brought it back. Serena glanced at Sesi’s stars. It was 2 stars.

‘Does she need to tame stronger monsters to become 3 stars?’

“We’re back! Did Neet do well?”

“I tamed a new magical beast! Since we already have Chicken, this one is Chickie!”

Was it necessary to name magical beasts brought back for eating? Serena couldn’t understand Sesi’s sentiment.

“Amazing that you tamed even a Labyrinth Chicken. Was it difficult or anything?”

“Hehehe. It wasn’t hard at all. It came when I called it. It was really easy.”

Sesi sent a look craving praise while tugging at her innocent clothes. Not to be outdone by her sister, Hana boasted of her own achievements.

“I found all the traps! I could just feel them, so it was damn easy!”

Olive, jealous of the odd-numbered sisters’ abilities, advised her sisters instead of rolling on the ground.

“Hmph. This big sister will give life advice to young ones whose blood hasn’t dried in their heads yet. At times like this, you should say it was difficult to get more praise.”

“Really? I was struggling! It was dizzying trying to navigate without relying on my senses! My head hurt!”

“Huh. I was also, um, really struggling. I was so scared I might not be able to tame it!”

“Whether it was difficult or easy, you did well.”

“Hehehe.”

“Hehehe.”

Having received the praise they wanted, the sisters blushed and twisted their bodies. Serena sent a warm gaze to the bear hungry for praise and waited for Low’s report.

“They said goblins appear starting from the 12th floor, so this time we only looked around the 11th floor and came back.”

“It took this long just to look around one floor?”

When Olive teased, Low glared at her.

“The round trip took two days.”

No labyrinth adventurer takes two days just to look around one floor. Usually, they endure to stay in the labyrinth as long as possible and explore more and deeper.

Conquering just one floor or one layer and returning was a luxury only enjoyed by Heuji’s Labyrinth conquest party.

“Hana’s ability is definitely amazing. Since she knows the location and direction of monsters and traps, they’re easy to find. She doesn’t know trap disarmament methods, but if she learns and can disarm them directly, it’ll be even more amazing. It’s a bit regrettable that her combat power is lacking, but that can be filled with magic weapons.”

Low, who served as 0.5 people as a guide, clenched his fist as if envious of Hana’s ability.

“Duri is always strong, but…”

Low moved his lips as if he had more to say, then rubbed his bald head.

“Hmm. I’ll observe this a bit more and then tell you.”

“Tell me now.”

Serena disliked developments where information that could be learned through a few conversations early on was only revealed right before the ending credits.

“Ah. It’s nothing bad. It’s just that Duri is a bit… stronger than any bear I know. Being a hunter and all, I know various bears, but Duri is exceptionally strong.”

“Isn’t it because of the power given by the great one from heaven?”

Grey, who had been confidently listening to the report alongside the Princess, answered. The Mysterious Stranger nodded vigorously and rubbed his hands together.

“Young master’s thoughts are exactly my thoughts.”

If someone other than the blessed recipient investigates the power bestowed by the great one from heaven, they could incur divine wrath. Low said no more and reported about Sesi.

“As for Sesi. She’s also amazing, but since this is also power given by the deity, I have nothing more to say. I’ve worked with Monster Tamers before, and they all had different taming methods. She tamed a Labyrinth Chicken as quickly as a condor or bat. If the Princess is fine with it, taming monsters from deeper floors to use during the second team’s exploration wouldn’t be bad either. Yes, yes.”

As Low said, taming strong monsters would greatly help the second team’s conquest party, which relied heavily on Duri. Serena thought about whether there were any monsters worth taming.

‘Labyrinth bees are scary because they swarm together. The 6th layer Labyrinth Alligators aren’t much help unless there’s water terrain. After that, there are no monsters, at most the large labyrinth rats from the 8th layer?’

Despite hearing a good suggestion, there were no monsters worth taming.

Grey, who had been listening and thinking alongside her, seemed to reach the same conclusion as he made a subtle expression.

“Hmm. There are no monsters worth taming. Uncle Low. Has the 14th floor Labyrinth Rat Leader been restored?”

Why was he suddenly asking about the leader’s restoration? While Serena wondered, Low answered that it had.

“Yes.”

“Did you defeat it?”

“No. The kids seemed tense and tired from fighting the undead, so we deliberately just checked the Leader’s Chamber and returned.”

The Guide listening to the report looked puzzled.

“So you didn’t enter the Leader’s Chamber? How do you know the leader was restored if you didn’t go in?”

The Mysterious Stranger pointed to Compass.

“Hana told us there was a monster beyond the door. Since you made such a fuss about half light and half darkness telling Olive to complain, we only took the Path of Light, so don’t worry.”

“You can sense monsters behind doors too? Kraaaah!”

Olive felt defeated by Compass’s ability and wiped the lobby floor with her entire body.

“Sister Olive. Your clothes are getting dirty, so wipe with a rag.”

Grey threw a dry rag to Olive and returned to the main topic.

“The 14th floor Path of Light leader was a Labyrinth Chicken, right? How about taming the floor leader? Unlike regular Labyrinth Chickens, it can use special abilities, so it would be useful.”

‘Can leaders be tamed too?’

In games with monster taming elements, boss monsters could never be tamed. Even if they could be tamed, it was absolutely impossible in the early stages.

“That’s a great idea! I’ll try it next time!”

Instead of asking back whether floor leaders could be tamed, Low rubbed his hands together saying it was a good idea. In this world, boss monsters could apparently be tamed too. Serena alone had been harboring prejudice based on game knowledge that it would be impossible.

‘It’s like a game yet different from a game.’

Serena sighed inwardly and looked at Sesi and the chicken that would soon have its neck cut to become daily bread.

Chicken Golem, the lobby’s resident chicken, was arrogantly looking down at the lobby from atop the head of a chicken dozens of times larger than itself.

‘If we tame a boss monster, will it become 3-star?’

Unfortunately, that question would be answered a bit later. This was because Duri, the main tank and dealer of the second conquest team, had a new conquest schedule.

“I’m fine to go. I rested hard and trained hard while you all conquered the 9th layer!”

“It’s not time yet, Count Ralph.”

The Young Knight who wanted to return to the first conquest team dejectedly dropped his shoulders. Serena looked at the intermittently trembling gray star and encouraged Ralph.

“Duri didn’t rest much either, aren’t you tired?”

“Wooong.”

The giant bear shook its equally giant head. Serena petted the palm-sized bear ears.

The Princess finished a light breakfast and put on new shoes. Magic shoes that, while not letting her head touch the sky when jumping, allowed her to jump higher than usual.

“Is everyone ready? Yo?”

“Of course! Ah! I have a request in advance!”

The Alchemist looked around at the second conquest team and remaining group staying in the lobby.

“Whenever it may be, if you find labyrinth rats on the 1st layer, please capture them alive without fail. I’ve been inconvenienced by the lack of test rats for drug analysis.”

The 1st layer was a perfectly conquered floor, so monster restoration was very slow. That’s why he was making the request in advance.

“Now I’m ready.”

“I’m also prepared.”

“Woong.”

“….”

“Done.”

“Then let’s go!”

Heuji’s Labyrinth first conquest team left the lobby listening to the Guide’s energetic call.

The party that arrived at the 9th layer’s 35th floor using the Teleportation Room went down the stairs behind the bars.

“Those floor treasure chests. I’ll open them all someday.”

As they went down the stairs, the Guide’s excited voice became less frequent. When the stairs ended and the floor became visible, the Guide completely shut his mouth.

A corridor appeared that was ordinary except for being somewhat long and dark. Olive lit a lantern. There was nothing special.

The end of the corridor was wide open without a door, showing white light. Wind blew from the end of the corridor, carrying small white fluff.

The fluff melted into water as soon as it touched Olive’s cheek.

‘Snow?’

Indeed, as they got closer to the exit, the surrounding temperature gradually dropped.

From a temperature perfect for activity, a cold that naturally made them hunch their shoulders and rub their hands struck the party.

Thanks to her fur, Duri didn’t feel the cold and opened her snout to swallow the snowflakes carried by the wind whenever she saw them.

The party that endured the cold and fierce wind to reach the end of the corridor checked the 10th layer and opened their mouths.

After passing through the long corridor, that place was a snow country.

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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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