Clearing labyrinths always made me realize all the things I lacked, so it felt a bit like I was being taught a lesson. This time, I’d realized that I was the only one out of my companions who struggled to fight shadow wolves. It wasn’t like I couldn’t kill them at all; I just couldn’t deal with them immediately when they took me by surprise. Panic began to set in. I’d fought monsters much stronger than those before, so why was I struggling so much?
“You move the same way as you did before we went to Grandol,” I heard Estia mutter. Was she implying that I wasn’t applying the training I had done in Grandol?
“But I always put safety first...” I said.
“Ah, I’m sorry, sir.”
I took a step toward her, curious about what she’d meant. “I’m not angry. But if you have any concrete advice for me, I’d like to know. We’re risking our lives here, so it won’t help me if you hold back on telling me what you’ve noticed.”
She turned toward me as if she’d made a decision and began explaining. “I think that you rely too much on your sight.”
“What do you mean?”
“It felt to me like your intuition was better when you were training in Grandol.”
I agreed that I could sense things better back then, but was there really that big of a difference? I decided to ask my master and the others for their opinions.
“Do you four agree with Estia?”
“I thought you were intentionally leaving yourself open,” Brod replied.
“It feels like you’ve lost your combat intuition, sir,” Lionel added.
Damn. It seemed that I’d really wasted everything I’d learned from my training in Grandol.
“Before, you could kill demons without your sight or hearing, even though your level was much lower. But it seems like your claws have dulled since the last time we saw each other,” Ketty said, rubbing salt into the wound.
“We actually brought you to this labyrinth so that you could regain your fighting instincts and the senses you developed in Grandol,” Kefin confessed.
So, while my physical abilities had improved, my combat instincts had taken a hit. Those words danced through my mind.
“We don’t have time to blind you and destroy your eardrums like the Whirlwind did during your training back then, but we wanted you to notice what was wrong for yourself,” Lionel told me.
Was it really that terrible? I was too scared to ask. “So I’ve accidentally lost all the weapons I’ve worked so hard to polish?” I muttered.
“No, you haven’t lost them,” Lionel said. “Your true weapons are your sense of danger and your willpower. You’ve probably just become a bit too comfortable after gaining those new powers of yours.”
That was a nice thing to say, but it didn’t change the fact that I’d lost the abilities Brod had helped me cultivate in such a short amount of time, almost as quickly as I’d gained them. I did agree with Lionel that I’d let my ego get the better of me, but I hadn’t intended to let myself grow complacent. Regardless, the fact of the matter was that my combat instincts had grown dull after not fighting for so long. At that moment, I fully understood how dangerous it was not to be aware of one’s own condition.
“So you didn’t tell me because you wanted me to figure the problem out on my own?” I asked.
Lionel nodded. “Yes. Although we could have pointed it out to you, I believe it was more beneficial for you to come to that conclusion on your own. That way, it will stick with you and be harder to forget. Moreover, acknowledging your own failures can help you remember the determination you had when you were focused on improving.” His words were severe yet kind at the same time. This gave me a glimpse of the inner struggles he and Brod had gone through after their levels had been reset.
“So the reason I haven’t been able to beat master in a duel, and I didn’t notice the demonized knight’s attack in Ebiza, is that I’ve grown complacent?”
“Heh. You lost to me because my fighting instincts are better and I’m more experienced than you. I told you before that levels and stats aren’t absolute indicators of one’s strength, didn’t I?” Brod said.
“Ugh...”
“You only had one real fight in the three months you spent in Neldahl, didn’t you?” Lionel asked.
“Yeah. Against the Water and Wind Dragons.”
“How nice. I wish I’d been there... Ahem. My apologies, sir. I believe that you relaxed a little too much during these three months. Besides...”
“There’s something else?” I asked in shock.
“The stronger the new powers one acquires, the more they want to use them. Every warrior feels the same way. But there is no need to destroy the foundation you’ve built upon.”
“I’m not a warrior,” I reminded him. Then, I let out a long sigh. “Estia, everyone, I’m sorry. And thank you. I’ll do my best to keep your advice in mind and put it into practice, but it might take some time for my instincts to become as sharp as they once were. I’ll probably cause you a lot of trouble along the way, but I’m counting on you to have my back.”
I’d thought I’d gotten stronger, yet I’d ended up holding my friends back even more than before. In the end, I was glad Brod and Lionel had dragged me here.
“The Whirlwind and I have lost our levels as well, so we’ll be able to compete with you to see who improves faster,” Lionel said teasingly.
“I’ll have your back, chief!” Ketty assured me.
“If you work hard, you might be able to get your intuition back by the time we finish clearing the labyrinth,” Kefin said.
“I’m sure you can do it, sir,” Estia encouraged me.
“Thanks, everyone. Okay, let’s keep going!”
Having been made aware of my shortcomings, I tried to stop relying on my sight as much, focusing instead on trying to detect the monsters’ presences and mana signatures. The map had a few mistakes, and we ended up having to retrace our steps a few times due to dead ends, but aside from that, we were making good progress. Before long, we reached the thirtieth floor and headed straight to the boss room without even stopping for a break, where three shadow bears and five black bears awaited us.
“Is it just me, or did the difficulty of the labyrinth spike all of a sudden?” I said.
The monsters were over three meters tall, and the pressure emanating from their massive frames was on a whole other level than that of the wolves.
“Careful! Shadow bears can hide in darkness!” Kefin shouted.
How was it possible for such a massive creature to disappear into the shadows like that? It was so unfair! Grumbling inwardly, I, along with my companions, focused on trying to detect the presence of monsters. Lionel intercepted their attacks, while Ketty and Kefin targeted their arms and legs to weaken them. Estia kept the monsters occupied, drawing their attention away from Lionel and me as she dodged their strikes like she was dancing. Soon, Kefin and Ketty joined her, launching a coordinated three-pronged attack that quickly brought the beasts down. As for Brod, he charged the black bears with no regard for his life, swiftly cutting their heads off.
I cast a quick spell to heal him and Lionel, all while focusing mana into my Illusion Sword to take down the monster that was attacking me.
“Sir!” Lionel warned me.
Thanks to him, I managed to sense the monster quickly closing in from behind me, and I quickly launched an attack at it.
“Flame Blade!” I yelled, swinging my Illusion Sword. A dragon materialized from the blade, swiftly biting into the bear, causing it to ignite and burn away until nothing was left but its magic stones.
Staying alert, I readied myself for my next target, but the monsters had begun to panic, giving Kefin and the others the opportunity to swiftly take them down. Brod faced off against the last shadow bear in a one-on-one duel and emerged victorious without any trouble.
“Phew, we managed to clear this place without any issue. I’m a bit hungry, so should we stop for a meal?” I suggested once we’d finished gathering the magic stones. However, I quickly noticed that my companions were acting a bit strange.
What did I do now? I wondered as Lionel marched over to me.
“What was that attack, sir?! Not only can you use magic, but you can also directly use the powers of the dragons now?!” he exclaimed.
Uh...I’m pretty sure I showed you that in Merratoni already...
“Luciel! Why didn’t you use that attack during our duel?!” Brod barked at me next.
Well, because that would have been dangerous... Yeah, no, I shouldn’t say that.
“You can use other magic attributes by swinging your sword?” Kefin asked me, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
“I haven’t tried yet, but maybe?”
“It’s no wonder you thought you’d gotten stronger with attacks like those,” Lionel said.
“Considering how scared the monsters were, it must have been quite powerful,” Kefin added.
A pensive look crossed Lionel’s face. “So you’re not using your full powers unless absolutely necessary... I see. I shall work harder to regain my full strength as soon as possible.”
“Perhaps the Dragon God might approve of you!”
Lionel and Kefin were visibly excited, while Ketty and Estia simply stared at me with awkward smiles.
“I see. You thought I’d become weak to the point where you needed to worry about me,” Brod muttered, his face expressionless. But I was too preoccupied with Lionel and Kefin to offer him any comfort.
“Stop it, you two. You’re making a big deal out of this. Besides, the Dragon God lives in a scary place, so I don’t want to go there, ever.”
The two exchanged thoughtful glances before responding in unison, “I see.”
Praying that our little conversation hadn’t raised any flags, I began getting everything ready for our meal.