Chapter 11

Interlude 1 The minotaur was in an excellent mood. In all its life in the labyrinth, it had never been so happy. The reason was quite strange: The minotaur had just suffered the first defeat of its entire life. It was not happy with the defeat itself, of course. Just thinking back on the unforgivable event made its blood boil, and its eyes seethed with fury. However, it would be able to fight that man again. How could it not be excited by the prospect of renewed purpose? What greater joy was there? I will win next time. I will defeat that powerful opponent. Victory will be mine. That is the goal I was born to achieve. Such were the minotaur’s thoughts. For that reason, it also began to look forward to the arrival of enemies other than that man. They didn’t come as frequently as before, but they did appear every so often. The human adventurers who challenged him all wanted to be the ones to triumph over the King of the Labyrinth. Truthfully, there were circumstances that brought them to the minotaur’s lair—circumstances it had no way of knowing. The year this minotaur was born in the Sazardon Labyrinth, left its boss room, and began to descend into its depths was the year 1079 of the Baldemost Royal Calendar. Two years later in 1081, it reached the bottom floor, defeated the metal dragon, and became the new ruler of the labyrinth. A massive reward financed by the king was placed on the minotaur’s head on two separate occasions, and for the next ten years until 1091, countless parties of adventurers challenged the minotaur, all ultimately becoming experience points that contributed to its growth. The year 1091 was when the minotaur wiped out the entire Fourth Division of the Imperial Guard. The number of challengers decreased dramatically after that. That didn’t mean they stopped coming, however. It just meant that those who did show up were especially strong. Rumors about the minotaur gradually spread to other countries. They spread north to the feudal states of Fenks, which were fighting to protect their independence; to the eastern country of Daad; to the great country of Mazulu, known for its gifted magic practitioners; to the massive empire of Gorenza to the southwest; to the wealthy principality of Yenna; to the border province of Sheradan, known for its unforgiving terrain; to the Free Cities of Karelia; to the country of Peza and its many martial arts temples and swordsmanship training halls; to the eastern borderlands; to the western borderlands; to the savage tribes of the Jami Forest. The rumors said there was an invincible monster on the bottom floor of the Sazardon Labyrinth. They also said that even parties of the highest-ranking adventurers could not leave a scratch on it and that it wiped out an entire division of the Imperial Guard. There were people who laughed off the rumors as nonsense. Others ignored them as irrelevant to their daily lives. As the rumors continued to build over time, though, the existence of the great minotaur was gradually carved into the consciousness of the people. The fact that the knight who nearly defeated the beast had acquired a sword blessed beyond compare and used its overwhelming power to elevate himself to the position of marquis further bolstered these tales. This minotaur might have been the strongest monster in the history of the continent. Before anyone knew it, the minotaur began to be thought of as not just the master of the bottom floor of its own labyrinth but as the king of all labyrinths the world over. There was also one more rumor: that the minotaur had a Bag, within which were all kinds of incredibly strong swords. It was said that whoever defeated the monster would receive a treasure trove of blessed weapons. Parties consisting of powerful individuals who had conquered labyrinths in other regions began forming with the goal of defeating the Sazardon Labyrinth minotaur. The one who managed to pull it off would be a hero, obtain unparalleled weapons, and earn incredible wealth. The promise of such lavish rewards brought strong opponents from all over the world to appear before the beast. The challengers were not many, and they didn’t appear all that frequently, either. Every so often, though, parties composed of the most distinguished adventurers the continent had to offer headed for the Sazardon Labyrinth. The minotaur fought them all gleefully. In order to defeat that man, it needed to learn much more about the ways humans fought. As it did battle with the adventurers, the minotaur would consider what it would do if their attacks were ten times faster, ten times more powerful, and ten times sharper. Those days of heart-racing excitement continued for some time.