Chapter 179

01 There was a labyrinth in this city. When the sun hung low and cast the sky in red, adventurers who had finished their day’s work received money for the materials they had obtained by defeating monsters. Then some of them would head to the bars with their companions, while others hurried home, where their families awaited their return. People returning from work scoured the marketplace and open-air stalls for dinner ingredients. Stall owners advertised their prized dishes in loud voices, and their wares sent delicious smells wafting toward potential customers. Even children who hadn’t had their fill of playtime were driven home by their empty stomachs, wondering all the while what the day’s dinner would be. This peaceful, mundane sight could be found in any city. An evening scene that might unfold anywhere, regardless of time or place. Some might even watch it play out with a fond nostalgia. But unlike those other cities, this one had a labyrinth. Could there have been pots of soup steaming in the houses awaiting the return of their occupants? Perhaps there was a basket of bread on the table, along with plates of meat or fish. This city was surrounded by a sturdy protective wall to keep out the monsters of the Fell Forest. Similarly, each house was surrounded by a stone wall in case of the unthinkable: a monster invasion. People ate heartily in these secure homes, then went to bed without a care. Greeting another day of safety and hoping for a happy future beyond these ordinary days: everyone in the city wished for the same thing. From the rich to the poor, the happy to the unhappy, the young to the old, everyone held the belief that the sun would rise and tomorrow would come. This was despite the fact that the place they lived, the foundation of their livelihood, was situated directly above a labyrinth that went down more than fifty strata. No matter how high they built their walls, a veritable hell of a maze, crawling with monsters, lay just underfoot. The boss of the Labyrinth had long ago devoured the spirit Endalsia, a former guardian of this land, and what little remained of her existence was beginning to vanish. The lives of the humans Endalsia dearly loved now rested on what might as well have been a thin layer of ice, although only a few people knew the troubling truth. Yes. This was the Labyrinth City. There was a labyrinth in this city, which was both an important part of everyone’s daily life and absolutely incompatible with it. 02 “Hrm, a monster ate this patient’s leg. Tore it clean off and crushed it into bits of meat and bone. When it was healed, it was shorter than it had been originally. A high-grade specialized potion was used…” Robert muttered to himself as he read diagnosis and treatment records from the Labyrinth Suppression Forces’ medical team with great interest. These documents detailed information on soldiers who’d been treated with multiple high-grade specialized potions by Nierenberg and others. Back then, there had been an extremely large number of injured soldiers, and the treatment for this particular one had been postponed as a consequence. The limb had been connected only by the bare minimum, just enough so it wouldn’t rot, and treatment was administered at a later date. When the injured man finally received proper care, the soldier’s provisionally attached leg was so damaged, it was beyond the healing capabilities of a high-grade potion. To start, the amount a potion restored was determined by its rank. For missing limbs, perhaps one could think in terms of the flesh, bone, and blood that had been lost. Generally speaking, a special-grade potion could restore a full limb’s worth. However, that didn’t mean a soldier with a missing arm who drank such a concoction would grow a new arm. It meant the potion could be applied to the wound while pressing the severed limb against it to compensate for the missing tissue, thus attaching it to the body again. If the wound was smooth—if, for instance, the limb had been severed by a sword—a high-grade potion was probably all that was required to reconnect the limb. However, if the teeth or claws of a monster had torn the limb from the body, there wouldn’t be an even cut. The skin and muscle tissue would be shredded, crushed by fangs, or even chewed. Both the bones and the muscles would have lost their natural shape at that point, having been split vertically or smashed. The wound itself would also be messy. So even if the arm or leg was recovered, flesh from the wound was already sitting in a monster’s stomach or rotting on the ground in the Labyrinth somewhere. Treating something in this condition required a substantial amount of healing ability to both restore tissue and reconnect the limb. When someone who’d lost an arm drank a special-grade potion, it could heal the complex network of bone, blood vessels, nerves, muscles, fat, and skin tissue to a satisfactory degree. This was only if several centimeters were able to grow back, however. Unfortunately, the exact number of special-grade potions needed to induce this kind of healing was unknown. Moreover, the more time that had passed since the injury was sustained, the more the body would forget its previous natural state, decreasing the chance of being able to regenerate the lost limb. Then there was the subset of potions known as specialized potions. Such potions had been known to restore gouged muscle, even if those concoctions were only of high grade. Ones specialized for bones could heal compound fractures and even completely restore missing bones. With specialized high-grade potions already carrying such efficacy, if one used multiple specialized special-grade potions, it wasn’t impossible to completely regenerate missing arms or legs. One such mixture had healed Sieg’s Spirit Eye, after all. The ingredients for such draughts were more than a little difficult to acquire, however. Considering the materials that went into them, ten gold pieces for a single specialized special-grade potion seemed almost too reasonable. Mariela was just now becoming able to make specialized special-grade potions, but how many people in the Labyrinth City had lost hands or feet? The boss of the Labyrinth would most certainly take control of the ley line and destroy the Labyrinth City before all the necessary potion materials could be gathered and the resulting concoctions could be distributed to everyone who needed them. That was why the Sage of Calamity’s ordering Nierenberg and Robert to treat everyone in the slums seemed a truly insurmountable task at first. However… “So, by deliberately breaking and crushing, then using a specialized potion, you forced it to heal and compensate for the deficiency? I see. This says a lot about how specialized potions restore tissue.” The medical team—particularly Robert and Nierenberg—had been having a fervent discussion about some new methods. “If this is possible, couldn’t you take about half of what you need from healthy parts of the body, add that to it, and then restore it?” “But how would you add to it? If you leave it cut open like that, it would likely start to decay.” Actually, the only ones engaged in heated conference and conjecture were Nierenberg and Robert. All the other members of the medical team were more or less being dragged along for the ride. “…Cut into healthy parts of the body?” “…‘Add to it’…” Other members of the medical staff muttered to one another as they slowly moved away from Robert and Nierenberg. If there was an injury, it was to be healed using magic or potions. That much was common sense to them. Cutting open a perfectly healthy body and deliberately creating more wounds seemed nothing less than pure madness. “A Proxy… No, there are medicines that will let a body survive for a fairly lengthy bit of time even when it’s cut open. If we put those to use, we can probably utilize the restorative effects of special-grade potions and the reparative effects of specialized high-grade potions to reconstruct the tissue.” “I see. Surely if we go that route…” Proxies. These were the living dolls Robert had once used through the black arts. Robert had hit upon a method he called “black new medicine,” which allowed the Proxy to take on the medicine user’s wounds. Although such things were considered heresy to most, the techniques he employed had inarguably practical uses. Even so, it was hard for most of the medical team to accept. Excluding Nierenberg, of course. This was the birth of a truly dreadful duo. Nierenberg, who gleefully opened soldiers’ wounds to administer treatment, was scary enough, but Robert had provided a supplement to Nierenberg’s methods. The two had a frightening synergy. Without a doubt, this dark collaboration would cause Labyrinth City medical treatment technology to spiral up in the coming days like dragons climbing into the heavens. Their revolutionary method would almost certainly have brilliant effects, but normal medical engineers absolutely couldn’t keep up with it. Before the paradigm of the medical community could adapt, the changes might simply collapse the entire thing. The medical engineers watched Nierenberg and Robert in shock as the two smiled slightly and the fervor of their conversation increased. “That’s the act of a demon. Nobody could ever hope to pull it off…” Robert ignored the scornful comment. This is not the work of some fiend. That woman is far more vicious than any such creature… In the short time since he’d been taken under the wing of the Sage of Calamity, Robert had become painfully aware of the futility of searching for a reason why he couldn’t do something. 03 Robert was at a loss for words the first time he saw the thing in the temporary atelier. “That’s why you generally use a nozzle to focus the stream, and then the drops of water pop. Ah, while you’re at it, freezing them might make it easier. You don’t exactly make them get colder and freeze them. It’s more like you let them get colder and freeze.” The girl spoke as if she was telling Robert how to do it, and although he understood the words she was saying, he didn’t comprehend her meaning at all. “Ohhh, we’ve discovered a new technique!” the girl exclaimed as she extracted lunamagia without the use of any tools. This was the girl from the apothecary who was friends with Robert’s younger sister, Caroline. The older brother might have doubted anyone who’d said that the owner of Sunlight’s Canopy was harmless and innocent at first. But even if he had, and he had gone to confirm it with his own eyes, he would have quickly arrived at the exact same conclusion. The girl called Mariela was the epitome of ordinary. Incidentally, Caroline had casually confirmed that Mariela had also been in the cellar where Estalia had slept at the time of Robert’s arrest. Back then, the once-cursed man had most definitely shouted things like “Where?! Where are they?!” and “Hand over the alchemist!” at the top of his lungs. Ironically, the alchemist he sought had been right there all along. I didn’t even notice her… How disgraceful. The mere thought of it was torture to Robert. His humiliation over the mistake was so great that he would rather have returned to his lonely cell than endure it. It’s too late now, though. I sold my soul to the flame devil. It’s been ordained that my body will burn in eternal suffering… Even that might have been preferable if it were true. However, in reality… “Rob, we’re out of ice. Don’t just stand there! Go make some more, lickety-split! Work for that money you borrowed.” The woman Robert thought was a flame devil was apparently called the Sage of Calamity and was the alchemist’s master. Thanks to the miraculous seal the Sage of Calamity had burned into the back of his left hand, Robert had been able to spirit Caroline away without anyone noticing—a feat that had saved her life. However, neither his life nor his soul had been taken in exchange for the power to accomplish it. Instead, this seal was a favor in return for a debt the sage owed Robert’s ancestor. Thus, it had come free of charge, despite being so incredibly rare. Thinking it would claim his life in payment, and due to the urgency of other matters at the time, Robert hadn’t transcribed the mark. However, he soon discovered that he would continue living even after the mark had faded. Yes, Robert was still alive, and part of that life was the shame of being forced to witness someone propose to his sister while he was frozen in an idiotic pose. If only I’d thought to draw what that seal looked like… It was a complex design, so Robert probably wasn’t expecting a copy to have as great an effect as the original, but at least it would let him vanish whenever he felt the embarrassment of that memory. “Rooob, haven’t you made the ice yet?” The Sage of Calamity clinked the rim of her glass with a cocktail stirrer and urged him to get on with it. If the red-haired master were not so loud, she could have been a beauty who caught every eye in the city. However, her habit often left her drunk in the middle of the day, and her crude tapping on the glass did little for her charm. Even knowing the kind of person she was, Robert could have accepted his servitude to her if it were compensation for the seal she’d granted him. Instead, however, the golden-eyed sage claimed the reason was “a debt of five silver coins, plus interest.” Normally, if a steward of the Aguinas family were ordered to return such a piddling amount, he wouldn’t be asked to work it off, because the family’s assets belonged to Caroline now. However, the sage had demanded that Robert earn his own keep. I’m not working for a devil, or to compensate for the seal, but as collateral for a debt… This is depressing. I want to disappear. Sulking, Robert used ice magic to fill a bucket with the stuff. Perhaps because of those feelings of melancholy, residual curses leaked from his body and into the ice. “Aah, what do you think you’re putting in there?! Fire!” the Sage of Calamity shouted with some delight as a blaze engulfed Robert. Ugh, she burned me again… Although he hated her forehead poke attack, he hated when the sage burned him, too. It gave him a feeling of extreme discomfort, as if countless years’ worth of deep stains were being forcibly cleansed. Or perhaps it was more like being stripped naked and washed from head to toe. Either way, every time the Sage of Calamity used this magic on him, Robert also noticed the residue of curses he couldn’t completely control—curses he’d thought had seeped deep into his body and soul—fading more and more with each lick of the flames. Unbelievable. Nothing but unbelievable things happen here. “Good job, Mr. Robert! Now, Master, I’m done for today, so we’re going home.” Apparently, Mariela had finished making high-grade potions while Robert was dawdling. She grinned and gave a thumbs-up at seeing that her master had imbibed less alcohol than usual. “Whaaat? Mariela, you still have magical power left.” “I do, but I have no more materials. Now let’s go home and practice special-grade potions!” Mariela wore an expression of triumph, while Freyja clung to her bottle. The soldiers guarding the alchemist smiled and asked things like “You don’t need a nap today?” while apportioning the completed high-grade potions into storage vials and carrying them out. Speaking of the quantity of those high-grade potions… Why is everyone so comfortable with all this?! Robert wondered. Everything related to Mariela’s work in this temporary atelier was terribly bizarre, from the making of high-grade potions with no tools to the immense amount of magical power the girl possessed. It was also strange that the alchemist worked every day until she ran out of magical energy and collapsed, although she hadn’t done so today. When young children ran themselves ragged playing, they could suddenly pass out even if they were in the middle of eating. Kids that young didn’t feel bitter or get upset about that kind of thing. Even though Mariela was in her late teens now, she continued to do alchemy and wear herself out like a child. When Robert learned from Caroline’s letters about the start of potion sales, he’d thought there were several alchemists involved. Technically, there were two: a master and a pupil. However, only the pupil was actually making the potions, while the master was content to simply tease and agitate. It was completely absurd for Mariela to be training to make special-grade potions, or so Robert had thought. He had judged Mariela as utterly average, but after seeing her perform alchemy once, that evaluation was proven completely inaccurate. She boasted a large quantity of magical power and incredible skills. If Mariela ordered magical tools used for making special-grade potions from the imperial capital, she would probably be able to craft the difficult draughts right away. No, Robert was certain she could do so even with the old magical tools left sleeping in the Aguinas family storehouse. Mariela’s ability exceeded the need for the latest technology from the capital. However, when Robert tried to tell Mariela this, the sage had quickly silenced him with a forehead poke attack. He even tried asking the Sage of Calamity about it when Mariela wasn’t around, but all Freyja did was laugh meaningfully and evade the subject. Robert had asked the fiery woman this question several times now and had only once gotten an answer of any real substance. “Humans are free yet bound by chains. They can go anywhere they want, become anything they want, and decide everything themselves, including the place they belong and what their own limits are. So, Rob, that’s why you shouldn’t decide your own limits by saying things like ‘It’s difficult; I can’t do it; this is all I can do.’ Remember this: If you tell yourself you can do something, you just might surprise yourself and manage it.” The speech opened his eyes a little to the drunkard sage’s extremely unorthodox methods. Robert couldn’t figure out exactly what she wanted to make Mariela do even if he tried, but Freyja probably had a goal that could only be reached if she pushed Mariela like she’d been doing thus far. Perhaps the Sage of Calamity’s seemingly absurd guidance had some merit, because in the span of just a few days, Robert witnessed the young alchemist learn to process ley-line shards without any tools whatsoever. This Sage of Calamity is more wicked than any demon… From Robert’s perspective, dissolving ley-line shards in Drops of Life using skills alone was not the work of a mere mortal. And the next thing he witnessed Mariela do—Crystallize Medicine—was something he’d only seen in ancient texts. He had always thought it was some old fabrication, a fairy tale. Even Mariela herself seemed surprised, proudly crying, “Oh hey, I did it! It’s so pretty!” after using Crystallize Medicine on every material she had. The young alchemist then promptly put them into vials and placed them on a shelf. She was laughing like a preschooler collecting beads; such an accomplishment was hardly the time for such a childish display. Robert’s evaluation of Mariela came full circle, and the girl returned to looking rather mundane in his eyes. In many ways, it was foolish of me to take her so seriously in the first place. Robert, who knew firsthand that it was meaningless to search for reasons he couldn’t do something, researched ways to heal the injured of the Labyrinth City with the skills and potions he had now. Of course, he had no plan to use evil methods such as curses and other taboos. If he did, he was positive fiery calamity would come running on two legs and unleash a combination of flame and forehead pokes. “If you go to the Labyrinth Suppression Forces, they can heal your lost limbs. I heard they even let you start a tab if you can’t afford to pay up front.” It didn’t take much time for such rumors to spread throughout the Labyrinth City. A chance to heal grievous injuries and descend into the Labyrinth again was a tempting offer. When it became apparent that people who’d resigned themselves to their lot in life now had a chance to start again, the number of people who wanted to follow in their footsteps increased. Denizens of the City who had long since given up and forgotten their desire to leave the slums regained their drive when they had their limbs back. Renewed, they took up their old swords and began venturing into the Labyrinth once again. Another day had ended, and the sun was setting. The sky was the same deep red it always was at that time. Did the people of the City now see a bright future in the dusk, where before they’d only waited for darkness? There was a labyrinth in this city. A fearsome thing that had taken their limbs, their futures, and the lives of their comrades. It threatened their way of life, even now. However, the people were now able to stand against it on their own two legs again. They believed a peaceful tomorrow would come after they weathered the battle.