Orario City, also known as the Labyrinth City, is the center of the old world — a place where beings from all walks of life gather, city of the gods, and where legends are made.
This is where dreams are fulfilled or fall — a place where adventurers go to explore, challenge themselves, and become stronger.
The city sat at the edge of a vast grassland, with four entrances located at the four cardinal directions.
Boundless Crimson Highways are found in the northeast, and an endless Great Canal lies in the northwest. These paths spread throughout the Old, Given, and even the New World. They were built and owned by the Chaos Sovereignty and have existed since the beginning.
Paths of absolute safety — heaven for those who follow its rules, and hell for those who do not. All beings, no matter their level of power, are equal under its laws.
In the distance, behind a lone tree, the figure of a man suddenly appeared like a ghost.
He wore a white cloak with golden edges, a white shirt, black pants, and boots. He held a magic staff in his right hand — 6 feet long with a curved edge. At the center of that curve was a black crystal, and when you looked closely, countless glowing bubbles floated within — each one an omniverse. The staff's wooden surface was etched with countless runes sealing the power deep within the crystal.
On his waist hung a white book bound by chains. On its cover was the image of a serpentine dragon with countless wings and eyes — a grimoire of immense power, chained and sealed.
During my teleportation, I changed my look this way. I now look like a proper mage.
My gaze landed on the city in the distance.
Its huge wall stood proudly, and the gates were visible from here.
Southern Gate of the Labyrinth City Orario
The large southern gate was fully open. Beyond it lay the crowded and lively scenery of the city.
Buildings with medieval aesthetics, magic lamps, heaters, and stoves — everything ran on magic.
The gate was guarded by adventurers, and at the corner stood a booth manned by Guild employees. In front of them stretched a long queue of people wanting to enter.
There were at least ten queues divided into four groups: three for foreigners, three for foreigners with rides such as horses or wagons, three for residents and registered adventurers, and lastly, one special queue for nobles, high-ranking Familias, foreign royalty, and Guild employees.
I walked toward the queue for foreigners and waited. There were about a hundred people before me — this would be a long wait.
A few hours later…
A beautiful elf girl with silver hair sat behind a booth. She smiled and asked, "ID?"
"I don't have one," I replied honestly.
"Is that so? No big deal. That thing isn't that important anyway — it just speeds up some processes," she said, pulling out a magic phone from nowhere.
Seeing that, I was a bit surprised and instinctively analyzed the device. The result was shocking — that phone was a ???-level artifact. It possessed countless terrifying functions, mechanisms, and abilities — and that was only the surface. The hidden depths beneath could drive one insane if uncovered. So I stopped — I wouldn't poke the dragon's nest or I'd be chewed alive. These phones were only available to the Guild and its employees.
Well, that fits them, huh? Only Chaos Sovereignty could distribute such things like candy. After all, the weakest in that country is at ??? Level.
The elf girl began speaking with the phone.
"Adel, if you may," — Elf girl.
"As you wish, bestie," — replied the AI cheerfully.
The smartphone projected a holographic interface showing my basic information and criminal records. I had no idea how it obtained the data, but one thing was certain — terrifying.
It displayed my name, height, weight, age, and more.
My criminal record was listed as "None," which is… almost true. I won't talk about that.
The elf girl read the info, nodded, and smiled. "You're totally fine. Pay the entrance fee and you can go."
"How much?"
"Two hundred valis."
"Can I pay with gold?"
"You can."
While paying the entrance fee, I felt a malicious gaze lock onto me. I sensed no threat, so I ignored it and proceeded into the city.
I walked along the crowded main street, looking around like a country bumpkin. Elves, Dwarves, Beastmen, Amazonesses, Pallums, and even Gods filled the crowd — their faces bright with smiles.
Shops lined both sides of the street: clothing stores, furniture shops, construction suppliers, magic item shops, bookstores, blacksmiths, and more. All of them bustling.
As I observed them, I noticed something unusual — about one in every ten gave off a distinct feeling. When I extended my senses inward, I realized their interiors didn't match the exterior scale.
Each had ??? floors — each floor surpassing ??? entirely in size, each larger than the last. I was stunned. I scanned the others with the same feeling and found similar results — some even more extreme.
And those buildings were alive. Each possessed its own avatar to interact with people — all of them beautiful women. From what I know, these entities are called Living Constructs: Model Building Shops. They originated from the Chaos Sovereignty and are among the most respected and powerful entities there.
"They're everywhere… Even though we ruled the Given and Old World, we are not its true rulers," I muttered as I walked.
I followed the street leisurely and checked the time using a magic clock — a watch made of pure mana that adapts to the world's flow of time.
A magic circle formed, and a thin clock materialized.
The clock read 36:00 PM — lunchtime. In this world, a day equals 72 hours — three Earth days.
After checking the time, I dismissed the spell, and the clock dissolved into particles of light.
I searched for a good restaurant using my nose. I'm a good chef too — I've trained all my senses to identify fine cuisine at a glance, by touch, smell, taste, or even the sound of cooking.
While doing so, my magic senses caught a familiar feeling.
"These things are everywhere…"
My gaze locked onto a restaurant. It was a Living Construct as well — yet strangely, no one seemed to notice it, as if it didn't exist.
Now that I think about it, all the Living Constructs I've encountered were ignored — no one even glanced their way. I have my guesses why, but I won't talk about that for now; I need more clues to confirm.
It would be troublesome to investigate now, so I ignored it, planning to explore when the time was right.
A few minutes later, I found another place — Lamber Tavern, a normal one.
So those guys are still following me, huh?
While checking out the tavern, I once again felt a gaze filled with bad intent. I ignored it and entered the tavern.