Episode 129: Welcome to the Labyrinth

For now, I decided to leave the room.

"Huh? You're okay with me asking questions?"

"As they say, seeing is believing. I'll just take a little stroll around here. It'll be much smoother if I see things firsthand before we talk?"

"I see....Wait, no, actually, that's risky. It's dangerous. I'll come along too."

"Be my guest."

You're surprisingly considerate, "Gambler" guy.

Opening the white door reveals yet another bland, monotonously white space.

Smooth walls, smooth floor.

It's like a manga panel where the background was skimpily drawn (I won't mention any specific examples, though).

After walking around a bit, you realize the entire space is actually a massive labyrinth.

"Ah, I see....This is truly a 'labyrinth'—a dungeon, if you will."

This architect is undoubtedly someone who's deeply into Wizardry-style RPGs.

That's how complexly the structure here was designed.

So close to forgetting the path I've walked, it felt almost inevitable.

"With a blade, I could carve the path into the wall."

Unfortunately, that's impossible. The walls here seem to automatically repair themselves no matter how hard you break them.

"What?"

Well, that's a real pain.

"Then we'll have to resort to the old-fashioned method of mapping by hand."

"Yeah, that's right."

Suddenly, it hits me.

"Hey, uh, Gambler guy—do you have a notepad... or something to write with?"

"No, I don't."

"What about writing tools?"

"No, I don't have those either."

"Seriously? Then we can't map anything!"

I'm not exactly great with memory, you know...

Relying on memory to navigate the labyrinth will likely take a considerable amount of time.

If we linger here much longer, we might collapse from exhaustion before even facing this so-called Dungeon Master.

Fortunately, thanks to my《Hunger Resistance》, we don’t have to worry about starving to death...

"Relax. This so-called 'Dungeon' is designed so that food, miscellaneous goods, and such aren't a problem."

"Huh..."

That's a relief, at least.

"I just found it a moment ago, but if we go a bit further ahead..."

At that moment.

I felt a cold splash of water hit me from above.

"――Huh!?"

Glop, glop, glop—something slimy and unpleasant was creeping into my eyes, ears, and nose.

"……g-guh…!?"

I had no idea what was happening, but there was no doubt I was being attacked in a way I'd never experienced before.

……Oh no, this is bad.

I might die.

"Stay calm, don't move! I'll handle this!"

My dulled hearing finally caught the voice of the "Gambling Master."

"Could get hot... —《Fireball》!"

Grrr...

A sizzling sound echoed near my ear.

『Pikiiii—!』

A piercing shriek rang in my ears, and the mysterious object covering my head vanished like smoke.

...Ah, this.

"An 'Magic Creature,' right?"

"Yeah. A 'Red Slime.'"

"A slime? Red?"

"There are these 'Magic Creatures' scattered throughout this level—there are just a lot of them. Right now, I've confirmed three types: red, blue, and yellow. They're weak to magic corresponding to their color, but if you use magic of a different type, they seem to multiply....And when you defeat one, they drop this."

The "Gambling Master" picked up a golden coin that had appeared at the spot where the "Red Slime" had vanished.

"……What's that?"

"It's 'Gold.'"

"What?!"

"Earlier I was about to say, but just a bit further ahead, there's a place where we can shop. Looks like we're supposed to use that as a base to tackle the 'Dungeon.'"

He placed a hand on his forehead, striking a "darn it" pose.

For some reason, I suddenly got the feeling that the long, long journey needed to clear this "Master Dungeon" was beginning to come into view.

"Could it be... we can't just leave this place easily?"

"Looks like it."

The "Gambling Master" grimaced as he spoke.

"After all, this space was designed specifically to subordinate 'Players'."

Guh... Grrr...

This is trouble.

If we're trapped here and can't contact our comrades... They're surely worried sick.

Or worse, they might take reckless gambles just to find me.

That's definitely something we should avoid at all costs.

"For now, I'll guide you to the base. We can figure out our next steps there."

Yes

After walking a short distance down the white tiled path,

――The Adventurer's Inn

You come across a pair of double doors marked with a sign that reads "Closed."

"Explorer..."

Muttering with a flat tone,

"This is the place I was talking about—the one where you can shop. You can eat here and even stay overnight... It's worth this much in exchange."

In her hand was a single golden coin.

"Gold."

"You'd better prepare yourself....You might end up seeing this sign more often than your parents' faces."

"Why do you think that?"

"Every 'player' who came before us just naturally fell into 'subordination,' it seems."

"Seriously?"

"Dead serious."

I see.

That's why the "Gambler" needed allies.

There are cases where even with information already gathered, it would take a full year to clear it.

"Huh!? I-Is it a year (..)?"

I can't help but let out a cry from the top of my head.

"That doesn't add up, does it? The world changed like this just about three months ago, right?"

You're right, that is strange... But I only realized that in this world, anything could happen, was three months ago.

Well, now that you mention it, that does make sense.

"Maybe time flows differently inside here—like the 'Room of Spirit and Time' from 'Dragon Ball.'"

Hmm. Possible.

As expected, comparing it to 'Dragon Ball' makes it much easier to understand.

"Anyway... let's go inside, partner."

Already calling me partner after only ten or so minutes of meeting?

Well, I guess there's no helping it now.

Wishing we could conquer the "Master Dungeon" as quickly as possible.

I stepped into the 'Adventurer's Inn' alongside the gambling expert, who was a good head shorter than me.