Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Labyrinth’s Effects

Translator: ShiroiKaze/Soyokaze Translations

That day we planned to rest, without entering the labyrinth, so Marle’s special training started the very same day.

She may be a pampered child, but the academy is going to have practical training in the labyrinth, so we can’t be overprotective of her.

Academics are a must, along with training in physical strength, fighting skills, and magic.

“And so, Marle, for your first day we’ll start with physical training through the morning. In the afternoon Yuuri will be in charge of your academic learning. Any questions?”

“None! Thank you for your help!”

“Ummm… Why am I here too?”

Lined up next to Marle, wearing clothes that are easy to move in, I asked in doubt.

I mean, it’s supposed to be her training, so that question seems obvious.

“That’s because you’re joining in, Yuuri. Succeeding in the labyrinth is more rough than we expected. You’re going to need at least enough endurance to walk a few kilometers.”

“That’s… Well sure, but…”

“Which is why you’re joining in. Relax, I’ll be sure to give you a massage later.”

“I have a feeling it’s not going to end there, but… I understand. I’ll participate.”

It’s certainly true that traveling this massive labyrinth is going to require enough stamina to march long distances.

Getting the necessary stamina now probably wouldn’t be a bad idea. This time I’ll finally break away from being a little string bean!

“Well then, hurry and get started… Is what I was thinking, but first a question for you. What do you think is the most important conclusion on the battlefield?”

“Important conclusion…? That’s winning of course, right?”

She was born in a generation which has only heard of war in fairy tales, so it makes sense she would answer that way, but… That’s not quite right.

Well, I haven’t exactly been in a war either, but I do have knowledge gained from reading and movies.

So rather than from experience, I could answer from simple information.

“That is incorrect, Marle. The correct answer is survival. Even if you’re on the winning side, it doesn’t mean much if you’re dead.”

“Oooh, I see.”

“You got it. And the most important things for survival are not magic or skills, but decision-making and stamina. We’re going to train that stamina into you now.”

“Right!”

The two of us answered together.

Marle is raring to go too.

And so, following Haster’s guidance, we ended up running around the grassy plains on the outskirts of the city.

~*~

“Wheeze,wheeze… Cough, groan”

“Haa, haa…”

Thirty minutes later. We had all run around the untouched prairie.

I’m already dead tired, but Marle seems like she can still keep going. She’s more tough than I realized.

“Actually… Isn’t she… Too… Tough…?”

It’s only thirty minutes… Is something you might think, but it’s a whole lot harder to run on unpaved, weather-beaten earth.

Moreover, our bodies are those of children who haven’t even developed.

The fact that I could run for thirty minutes is practically a miracle.

Even if she has more physical endurance than me… The difference being this large is actually a shock for me.

In the end we continued running for a total of one hour, stretched and did calisthenics for flexibility, then climbed trees and walked across logs to train our sense of balance. After that, our morning training was over.

~*~

“I… I am… The teacher… For the afternoon. It’s going to… Be really tough… So I hope… You’re ready!”

shake, shake, twitch, rattle

While my legs shook like I was part of a sketch comedy, I stood in front of a blackboard.

My body hasn’t had a chance to recover in only the time of our lunch.

“Yuuri, you don’t need to stand if it’s too hard…”

“If I don’t stand, then I can’t reach the blackboard.”

“Ah~…”

Marle gave me an eyes-half-open look as if to say it just figures.

“Let’s leave that aside. According to the red book you bought from Miss Remy—“

“Red book?”

“It’s what we call reference books for tests in my hometown.”

“Oh, I see.”

“Anyway, that doesn’t matter… Let’s continue. First, according to the information, the questions are from the basics of historical legends, geography, language, and arithmetic. Let’s go after these and get a good grasp of them.”

“Okay!”

“For history, we will have Haster-Sensei come and teach us.”

“You aren’t going to be teaching, Yuuri?”

“I’m not so good with history.”

Seeing as I came from a different world in the first place, I’m hardly well-versed enough in this world’s history to be teaching it to someone else.

As for the ratio of questions on the test, the ones based on history were the most plentiful, so we were starting from there.

It has nothing to do with me getting some rest. It’s true, okay?

~*~

After three hours of commentary on history, a one hour test was given to check her understanding.

Wha? The result was 80% correct… Was she always this smart?

“80%… Are you a genius, Marle?”

“I don’t think so? But it feels like things are staying in my head really easily today.”

“Hum…?”

She hasn’t drunk the “Dragon’s Blood” yet.

Let’s “Appraise” her.

The result showed her various abilities far exceeded those of an average 10 year old, and were closer to those of an average adult.

“… Without it?”

“What’s wrong?”

“Did something happen?”

I told her and Haster how her abilities had greatly increased.

When I checked her a few weeks back, she still had those of an ordinary child.

Her current numbers are nearly than 1.3 times those of back then.

“Hrmm… I had heard the inside of the labyrinth is a field with a special power; that it rapidly increases your growth as your battles pile up… That may just be the cause of it.”

“But I haven’t grown much at all?”

“It’s probably because you’ve grown an unbelievable amount already. The amount of magic power you have is no joke, you know?”

Wouldn’t that make it the same logic as a game, where your growth decreases as you gain levels?

Well, that type of trend already exists in actual abilities though…

“We did have an out-of-the-norm number of battles yesterday. There is a real possibility her growth is a result of that.”

“In that case, won’t she soon reach a level at which using the “Dragon’s Blood” would be perfectly fine?”

“I suppose. If she used it now, she probably wouldn’t reach mine or Alec’s abilities, but she’ll probably catch up soon.”

If she can get stronger than normal by fighting battles in the labyrinth, that could make a big change in her training agenda.

Come to think of it, Bahamut said the upper floors would be tough even for us, but there’s hardly anything out there stronger than we are.

I highly doubt he was stronger than us when he first entered the labyrinth.

But if he grew that strong through growth in the labyrinth, then it makes some sense.

“Which means it might be best to continue taking her along with us into the labyrinth then?”

“That… I wonder? All we’ve done so far is wander around the first floor. We have no idea how dangerous the floors above it are, so bringing her along is spite of that…”

“That’s a good point.”

“I…”

“Hm?”

Marle is fidgeting about as if there’s something she’s having trouble saying.

I know exactly what those signs mean. Yes—

“Need to use the bathroom?”

“No! I wanted to say that if I’m going to the labyrinth, then I want to do so when I am actually useful!”

“We aren’t going to force you along. We would have it tough by staying in the labyrinth for long periods of time anyway. How about you come along with us in the lower floors when you have the time?”

“Ah, umm… In that case, I will.”

But seriously, the labyrinth is just way too huge. Even just progressing through and capturing the floors is a huge job.

According to what Miss Remy was saying, the monsters on the lower floors don’t go near the adventurers who have made it to the upper floors as much. So she said making it back to the floor you were on doesn’t take as much time, but…

Even so, getting to the current 232nd floor is quite the distance. When searching the floors, four layers in a day is the limit. Even just passing through would probably only allow for ten layers maximum.

Which means just joining in a search of the upper layers would require staying in the labyrinth for 8 nights.

When Bahamut talked about it, he mentioned he spent five years in the labyrinth, but now I understand why.

“To increase the rate at which the labyrinth can be cleared, it might be best if we consider a means of transportation within the labyrinth.”

“I suppose so. When I heard that story I thought, “Yeah, right!” but seeing the actual thing, it is pretty huge.”

“Maybe we should try thinking of a horse carriage that can be ridden up to the upper layers.”

“Wouldn’t it get attacked if a horse was pulling it?”

“Yeah, good point…”

If a horse entered the labyrinth, the monsters inside would rightly see it as easy prey.

Besides, with the stairways leading to upper floors, it would be tough for a horse carriage to go up to the next floors…

“Hmmm, it takes legs to climb stairs after all. I guess there isn’t any golem-type magic out there, huh?”

“Hm? There is.”

“There is?!”

“It’s outside my area of expertise, so I don’t know much about it, but a magician well-versed in earth attribute magic should know.”

If there is, then tell me, please!

Which means it’s just a question of who to ask, but… If, like usual, I’m doing the development, that means there’s definitely a problem.

Didn’t I just say I would tone it down?

Maybe it would be best to suggest it to the guild and have them use their personal ties? But as a newcomer, I don’t have any kind of persuasive power with them.

Wait, if I need someone better acquainted with the guild to talk to them, then there’s Miss Levy, isn’t there?

“Teleportation magic is our ace in the hole, so we’ll save that for now… It might be worth a try to suggest development of a golem-pulled carriage to the guild.”

“You’re going to?”

“I don’t have any weight with them, so Miss Levy will.”

“Her, huh… I suppose with how she’s wandered the world a big more, her thoughts might be more persuasive.”

While we talked, the practical application of ideas unfolded one after another.

It would cost a lot if we made it for individual parties, but if it was enlarged to carry a large number of people, those costs would decrease.

If we made connecting routes every ten levels, they could be ridden one after another, and you could probably reach the front lines within a day.

An escort for the carriage (pending) would be… Unnecessary I suppose. The ones riding it are adventurers, after all.

Assuming a battle does break out, having no roof on it would probably be best, to allow for quick participation, right?

“Fufufu, your vastness has become your enemy, World Tree…”

With how wide and tall it is, a large style carriage can easily pass through.

The state of the art rail system of my old world in Japan was complex enough that it was sometimes called insane. Using it as reference, I may be able to make a World Tree Railway system.

If we keep the fare cheap, the adventurers would be able to use it freely, and they’ll probably be glad for it.

It should even help speed up the labyrinth clearing. It would increase the input of manpower on the front lines, after all.

One possible problem would be from the country’s side, looking at the guild with enmity, but… We’ll think of some way to wrap it up so they’ll accept it.

For example if we say, “If the number of people on the front lines increases, the danger will increase, and so might the deaths,” or something like that, they’ll probably fold.

“Mister Haster, Yuuri’s got an evil look on her face again…”

“It happens all the time, best to just get used to it. I’ll be sure to punish her later… Sexually.”

Why do I need any kind of punishment here, Haster?!

Several days later, the “World Tree Adventurer Transport Golem Plan” was organized and set up by the guild, or something like that…