Darkness. And the smell of mold. Those were the two things my eyes and nose picked up on immediately.
I jerked my head around; the entire space within my line of sight was strangely dark, feeling like someone had just switched off the lights in a room. Or rather, my gut feeling was more like someone had just casually switched off the sun.
What the hell is happening?
I stepped back, my body accidentally brushing against a wall; it was damp and freezing cold, making me jump. My eyes were starting to adjust to the darkness now, and faint lights from the ground—and occasionally on the walls and ceiling of this space—gradually became clearer. They were mushrooms of all different sizes, but they all shared one trait: oversized caps that completely covered their stems, emitting an extremely eerie green glow.
"Wha—"
Before I could even get the word out, a hand clamped over my mouth.
"Shh." It was Ken; he put a finger to his lips, signaling me to stay quiet.
The aged eyes of the fifty-something knight darted towards our right.
I followed his gaze and saw 'it.'
A massive figure. It was covered in fur, sitting on the ground; its red eyes flashed with a chilling coldness that made me shudder, while drool constantly dripped from its mouth.
It was a bear, or something that looked like one. It was staring right at us, and next to it was the mangled corpse of something so badly mutilated its original shape was unrecognizable. But with the light from the nearby mushrooms, I could make out something that looked like a partially eaten human hand, missing two fingers.
Cold sweat began to pour. Sour bile rose in my throat, making me nauseous. I tried to swallow it back down and regulate my breathing, but the metallic stench of blood mixed with rotting meat, combined with the blurry image of a ravaged human corpse, only made the horrific feeling worse.
What the hell is going on? I was just in the dining hall of Philip's mansion, wasn't I? Is this some kind of illusion?
While I was utterly confused, Ken calmly drew his sword, gently positioning himself between me and the bear. He showed no signs of fear or hesitation.
"I'll hold this thing off, please find a way to run away."
Ken spoke nonchalantly, as if he didn't find it strange at all that we suddenly appeared in a cave, and facing a giant bear was just as normal as having dinner.
"Where is this place, Ken?"
I took a step back, trying to keep my voice from trembling. My hand touched the hilt of the Lion's Tongue, my eyes locked on the growling monster even as sweat dripped into them, stinging badly.
"What the hell is happening?"
"I don't know," Ken replied curtly. "But we should deal with this problem first."
As Ken and I whispered, 'the problem' began to move. Its speed was lazily slow. It swiped the mangled corpse aside and slowly stood up. Its furry body was now absurdly tall, easily four or five meters. Its forelimbs were even larger than my entire body.
And in the blink of an eye, it charged like a tank, swinging its thousand-pound paw at Ken.
*Clang*
The knight quickly parried, trying to use *Flow* to nullify that terrifying force. However, in that moment, the bear launched another strike, forcing him to dodge, escaping the blow by a hair's breadth.
Although old, Ken's legs were still very agile; he immediately utilized the force from the blow and the massive mass charging at him to deliver a kick. His target was the large bear's supporting knee joint. The sound of metal clanging, bones breaking, and the large bear's roar rang out together, creating a gruesome and cruel symphony.
This is a life-or-death battle. It's been a very long time since I've had to face one.
My legs began to tremble, my eyes wide open, my whole body frozen cold.
The bear stumbled, losing its balance, and Ken immediately swung his sword aiming for its neck to thrust. An extremely professional sequence of actions.
However, contrary to expectations, instead of being easily slashed through, the bear's fur hardened, creating a layer of sharp spikes just like a porcupine. It roared, continuing to swing another paw strike towards Ken, forcing him to retreat and keep his distance.
"Young Master Atur, like I said, please run away."
Ken's voice startled me. The bald knight remained as calm as if he weren't facing any danger, yet I could sense his ragged breathing.
Unlike the tiny goblins or harmless treants that are only E or F rank. This bear is no ordinary bear. It's some kind of monster, and its strength must be B-rank or higher.
It isn't something an Advanced-rank swordsman like Ken can handle alone.
I swallowed hard, glancing around but seeing only a way forward or backward. I don't know where this is; running doesn't guarantee escape.
"If I run and it kills you, it'll just come find me anyway."
I replied in a hoarse voice, the sour taste of bile beginning to fade. As the Lion's Tongue was drawn, I took a defensive stance.
"Aren't you afraid of getting a scar on your face and becoming ugly?" Ken smirked, he really doesn't know when to be sarcastic. "I thought you cared a lot about your appearance?"
However, that joke calmed me down significantly; my heartbeat began to return to normal. "I'm more afraid of dying than being ugly."
Besides, Eris would probably like it if I had a few scars or something. As long as it's not on my back, I'll have a story to tell her about this life-and-death battle. Then get some affection points and see Eris's cute side!
Okay! Let's kill this fucker and I will proudly tell my lovely wife about it!
Grrrrrrrr*
The porcupine bear opposite began to scramble up, its cloudy red eyes bursting with killing intent. It let out an ear-piercing roar and charged at Ken again with sharp claws capable of slicing through armor.
Ken calmly swung his sword to parry; this time he managed to use *Flow*, successfully deflecting the bear's attack path and turning that very attack force into a counterattack, slashing through the tough fur.
Blood sprayed out, but it was only a shallow wound.
The bear's other forelimb wasn't just for show; it launched a swipe from the side, clearly intending to block Ken's retreat.
That was when I appeared.
With the Lion's Tongue, I launched a *Perfect Reverse* strike, hitting right at the palm of that forelimb.
*Slash!*
Although I didn't achieve a Perfect score, the aftershock of the secret art was more than enough to knock that paw away, making the bear stumble as if it had slammed into itself.
My hands went numb, and I quickly retreated. Meanwhile, Ken knew this was his chance. He charged forward, thrusting straight into the tear he had created earlier, then ripped it open, widening the wound as much as possible.
Blood gushed out like a waterfall, splashing all over us.
ROOOAAARR!!!!
The bear roared again, its limbs flailing wildly, its massive head snapping crazily like it had rabies. We immediately backed off, constantly parrying and exploiting the monster's openings to wage a war of attrition.
At this moment, I felt strangely calm. Although my whole body was moving continuously, my mind was clear, and my breathing was slow.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side, the bear grew more furious, attacking madly. It was strong, fast, and deadly, but its attacks were predictable. Before it struck, both Ken and I could already determine how our counterattacks would be executed.
In the end, blood from the massive monster kept pouring out; every step it took made the cave even damper. The red liquid stained the glowing mushrooms, turning them a dark brown.
It seems it wasn't as scary as I thought.
This is the first time I've understood the meaning of the Water God Style's calmness. The philosophy of using the enemy's own strength and stupidity to defeat them is truly effective.
After nearly ten minutes of continuous fighting, Ken's blade finally pierced through the porcupine bear's throat, severing half its head and finishing it off.
"Phew..."
I let out a long breath, slumping down on the ground. Even though this fight wasn't as long as the marathon sparring sessions with Paul or Ghislaine, I felt utterly exhausted. I heard that a normal boxer can throw punches continuously for dozens of minutes, but in the ring, they get tired after just two, turns out that's no joke.
"Your swordsmanship has improved faster than I thought." Ken pulled his sword out of the bear's neck decisively. "It seems taking you to Roa and spar with the Sword King was indeed the right decision."
"I didn't want to get my arm chopped off."
I sighed. Even though I only intended to practice swordsmanship to get a title and be capable enough to defend myself in politics. Or at most, go on an adventure and do a few simple quests. But I didn't expect it to actually save my life in a situation like this.
But... What happened?
"Sir Ken." I looked towards the knight who was using the monster's fur to wipe off its blood. "What is going on?"
"I don't know," Ken replied immediately. However, he seemed to hesitate a bit before continuing. "Perhaps we were teleported."
"Teleported?" I couldn't control my voice, raising it slightly. "Why?"
By whom? To where and how?
"I don't know," Ken replied as he sheathed his sword. "I guess so because I experienced this a few times when I was an adventurer."
Is that why he was so calm?
"But usually, I only got teleported inside labyrinths," Ken continued, his eyes never resting but constantly scanning around. "I've never seen anyone or myself get teleported from outside like we did."
So basically, all we know is speculation, that we were taken somewhere by teleportation. I had read about something called teleportation magic; it's like a parallel branch to summoning magic. And there seem to be no documents or records I could find that actually talk or show any study about it.
If we can't know the reason, there's only one other thing worth caring about.
"So where the hell are we?"
Looking around, I could clearly see this was a rather deep cave because I couldn't find any light coming from either end of the tunnel.
"Probably inside some labyrinth," Ken replied as he went to check the corpse the bear was eating earlier.
"Labyrinth?"
"Um. That's the only explanation for why there's such a high-level monster here."
"Oh…"
I had read and heard Ghislaine say that a labyrinth is a natural or artificial cave where magic power gathers strongly and gradually forms magic crystals as its heart. How strong or weak that magic crystal is depends on natural factors and the labyrinth's existence time. The richer the crystal is in mana, the more monsters it attracts to live in the labyrinth and absorb the mana inside to thrive.
With that description, a labyrinth is like a living entity; it lives in symbiosis with monsters, creating a closed and complete circulatory system. The labyrinth provides mana for the monsters, and the monsters protect the labyrinth from being found and destroyed by external forces like humans.
Just like how zooxanthellae algae and coral coexist.
And in this symbiosis, a guardian monster is usually created; it's like the boss of such a place, usually the strongest and most terrifying. Thinking back, that porcupine bear already tired us out; if we meet the boss of this place, I don't know how terrible it will be.
Along with that, the large and prolonged gathering of mana can change the properties of many inanimate objects. That's why labyrinths are where unique magic items exist.
My own Lion's Tongue sword was found in such a labyrinth.
Based on those characteristics, I realized this place really looks like a labyrinth. Because there's no way such a high-level monster would crawl deep into a cave for no reason.
"As for the question of where we are, I think we have the answer." Ken held up a card and extended it towards me.
I took it and looked. It was an adventurer card, written in the language I hate most in this world.
"Demon God Tongue?"
What I could read was that this is a B rank adventurer card.
"It's written in Demon God Tongue huh?"
Ken raised an eyebrow and looked back at the arm—the only intact part left of that unfortunate person. That arm had blue skin, plus scales on it, so I guess it must be some demon race with reptilian characteristics.
But that means...
"There's a high possibility this is the Demon Continent."
Ken confirmed, and I nodded.
For some reason, it seems we have been teleported to the most dangerous continent in this world: the Demon Continent.
And even worse than that, inside a labyrinth of that Continent.
…
Alright, let's summarize the situation. For some godforsaken reason, it seems Ken and I have been teleported to the Demon Continent—a place everyone knows is the most dangerous in the world. I've never been there, but rumor has it no one who goes there ever returns.
Why? Because the Demon Continent is home to countless monsters, the weakest of which are D-rank. That means the feeble wild animals here have the destructive power of at least a fully grown elephant.
And to top it off, we're stuck inside a labyrinth, which probably isn't some simple, cute little maze. If I had to guess, it's quite large and likely ancient, filled with countless powerful monsters.
Let's take, for example, the porcupine bear Ken and I just killed. Upon closer inspection, it seems it wasn't a bear but some kind of mole-like creature. And we found a shattered set of armor, likely belonging to the unfortunate soul we found eaten by that porcupine mole. The armor was made of some alloy that both Ken and I agreed was tougher than the best armor available in Asura.
Yet that monster could smash it to pieces. Truly terrifying.
It seems the effective way to fight creatures like this is not to get hit. Because just one hit, and someone like me is dead for sure.
Basically, that's my situation. A scenario I wouldn't have imagined getting into even if I died and came back to life a dozen times.
"You don't look worried at all, do you?" I looked at Ken and asked.
Unlike me, who was losing my mind wondering what to do, Ken was just casually walking around, observing the surroundings like an archaeologist examining ancient specimens. He looked strangely calm.
"The first rule of survival is to always stay calm, Young Master," Ken replied. "That's why I taught you the Water God Style, remember?"
"Even so…"
"Instead of being scared, we should be calculating the initial steps for survival and returning to Roa," Ken cut me off decisively. He took out a short knife and stabbed it straight into the giant mole, making a *thump* sound. "Every second you spend worrying is another step towards death."
That's true. Maybe I should calm down. After all, I still have a 'reliable' bodyguard knight by my side. Plus, my swordsmanship is decent enough. So the calmer and more alert I am, the more I can focus my mind on finding a way back sooner.
"So what should we do?" I asked Ken, who was nonchalantly carving meat off the mole with his knife. "And you're not planning to cook that thing, are you?"
After all, he used to be an adventurer, so that action must have a purpose. But carving meat? That hideous creature? At a time like this?
"Yeah, I'm taking the edible parts," Ken confirmed immediately.
"Seriously…?" I suddenly felt nauseous. "I think we should find a way out of here instead."
"You won't know how long we'll be stuck in this labyrinth. So preparing in advance is never redundant."
Ken seemed genuinely serious about his plan. He not only carved out the fattiest parts of the meat but also took the monster's skin, turning it into a storage bag. Seeing that, even though I didn't want to, I had to go over, observe Ken working, and learn how he prepared it.
After all, I think he's right. We don't know how big this labyrinth is or where the exit is. The worst thing that could happen is both of us starving to death here.
"You don't need to stare at me working like that. It's better to observe the surroundings."
"Alright."
Honestly, I didn't want to watch that gruesome scene at all. So I decided to look around for more clues.
First were the glowing mushrooms. They seemed to keep glowing after being picked, so I took the biggest ones to use as light sources, illuminating the way when we reached darker places.
I also started checking for tracks. Based on the footprints and what was left around the mole initially, I found a few quite interesting clues. First, regarding equipment, there were two swords around here, one of which was broken in half, while the deceased only had a single scabbard. Plus, I couldn't find anything that could emit light like a torch or any food around here.
That means the person who died here had companions, and they ran away.
I guessed so because the sword matter was quite clear; someone dropped it in panic. As for the torch, although it could be explained that this person might have night vision, exploring a labyrinth without bringing medicine or food meant someone else must be carrying it.
Next, I started considering the direction that group went. This part was a bit tricky. Basically, there wasn't much dust in this cave. Although damp, the ground was quite hard, making it difficult to leave footprints. As for bloodstains, apart from what we caused and the initial corpse, I didn't find anything else clearly indicating the direction the group of this dead person went. When Ken finished, I told him what I had found, and he did the rest.
So he just pondered for a moment and then pointed straight ahead.
"This corpse is lying face up, so we should go in the opposite direction of the feet," Ken concluded.
"Eh? Why?"
"Because there's a high chance this person was killed by the monster while facing it, so when they died, they fell backward. And if the monster was in the opposite direction, no one would run straight towards it."
"Hm… I see."
With the force of the impact and inertia, a person facing the monster would fall backward. Quite reasonable.
"Plus, the position where we appeared was right in front of the mole. Monsters are fierce, but they aren't stupid, especially strong ones like this one." Ken jutted his chin towards the mole monster. "They know where their prey ran, so they won't turn their backs on them. And the direction it was looking is also the opposite direction of that person's feet."
So we have two important pieces of data to know where we should go. After all, if we go in the direction those people ran, there's a chance we'll find the exit, right?
Come to think of it, Ken is quite good at deduction. He's like those detectives in the manga I read in my past life. Maybe this is also a necessary skill for being an adventurer? I wonder what adventurer rank he reached.
"Anyway, that's just speculation, so don't expect too much," Ken added. "And you should pray that those people aren't enemies."
"If they couldn't defeat this monster, doesn't that mean they are weaker than us?"
"If it were always that simple, it would be great. You can't be sure until you see it with your own eyes, Young Master Atur."
Ken has a point. Even though we defeated that monster, it was largely because our skill set countered it hard; it barely landed a hit. Plus, the way the mole went down was mostly due to blood loss weakening it. So you could say we lack significant destructive power.
So when we meet those people, for example, if they outnumber us three or four times? Even if we are stronger, being outnumbered is still tough for us.
It's lucky I know a little Demon God Tongue. So communicating with those people might be a bit less difficult. And I hope they aren't the type who can't be negotiated with.
"Before we go, we have to deal with these corpses," Ken looked at me. "You can use Fire magic, right?"
"Eh? Why do we have to burn them?"
"Because corpses in a labyrinth might turn into monsters again. Remember to make a small flame, otherwise, we'll suffocate from toxic fumes."
"Oh…"
So I followed Ken's instructions, placed the mole's corpse and the unfortunate person next to each other, and used a fireball to burn them together. Then I took a few usable pieces of equipment like weapons and some miscellaneous items that could still be used as 'money' in the Demon Continent before setting off in the predetermined direction. Bringing the deceased's adventurer card back could be exchanged for money, so I took it along too.
The tunnel we walked seemed endless. Occasionally there were glowing mushrooms growing, so finding the way was quite easy. Some sections were completely flooded, and there were bug-like creatures that could suck blood, causing Ken and me quite a bit of trouble to deal with. Besides that, we also encountered a few other smaller mole monsters, defeating them wasn't too difficult.
After walking continuously for nearly two hours, I started to get tired and decided to rest, trying to cook the mole meat. Of course, not forgetting to use detoxification magic first; I don't want to get diarrhea or drop dead for a stupid reason like food poisoning.
And dear Lord Millis, I swear I saw my next life the moment I put that meat in my mouth.
That damn thing was as tough as a car tire and smelled like burnt rubber. The taste was disgustingly fishy, like something that had been rotting for days. I was about to decide starving to death was better, but thinking about not seeing Eris again, I gritted my teeth and chewed.
This is the first time I've found the normal food in this world not so bad. At least it's edible. Yet Ken didn't seem to have a problem; he chewed the meat slowly, his face not changing expression at all.
"Don't you find this hard to eat?" I asked, "after all, it was eating something that looked human just now."
"Compared to things I've eaten before, this is nothing."
"What the hell have you eaten, Ken? Ah no no, no. I don't want to know, please don't tell me. My day has been bad enough."
"The story is when I was in the Strife Zone…"
"I said don't tell me! La la la!"