by Okina Baba
As soon as I hear it, I feel the tears welling in my own eyes.
I try to control myself, to remember where I am, but I can’t stop it. My vision blurs.
I feel a hand on my shoulder.
It’s the third prince, my next-eldest brother, Leston.
He embraces me gently and strokes my hair.
I haven’t seen Leston very often, either.
But he’s a good-hearted person, and the brother I was closest with after Julius.
It’s too much for me to bear: I’ve passed my limit.
I cling to my brother Leston and sob uncontrollably.
For a while, the cries are all that fill the room.
“Father. I know we are all mourning Julius. However, we must think to the future as well. Let’s begin talks, shall we?”
The person who speaks up to dispel the dark atmosphere is the first prince, our eldest brother, Cylis.
To be honest, I’m not super-comfortable with him.
He’s always immersed in his work with a sour look on his face. I’ve never seen him laugh once.
Aside from my older sister, who I’ve never met, since she married into another kingdom, he’s the only sibling I’ve never felt an attachment to.
“Brother Cylis, Father and Shun are clearly in pain. Surely we can give them a little more time to grieve?”
“It’s all right, Leston. What Cylis says is true.”
“But, Father…”
“Restrain yourself, Leston. Father has spoken.”
“Brother Cylis…”
“All right. As a family, the depths of our sorrow know no bounds. But before we are individuals, we are royalty. And as such, we must fulfill our duties to the people. Only once that is done may we grieve.”
My father wipes his tears away with his sleeves.
His eyes are red and swollen from crying, yet they are filled with a powerful light.
Is this what it means to be a king?
Amazing. I wouldn’t be able to even come close to imitating it.
“The fact that Schlain has inherited the title of Hero…must mean Julius is dead.”
Tightening his lips, my father lays out the words that no one had spelled out yet.
Hearing it said aloud, I feel as if I’m being confronted with the reality of Julius’s death all over again.
“It is unthinkable that the next hero after Julius should hail from our kingdom again, never mind being his own brother. Perhaps fate does not smile favorably upon us…”
My father looks far from pleased by the fact that I’ve become the next hero.
It might just be because he’s mourning Julius’s death, but he seems genuinely bewildered that I was chosen.
It’s very rare for the hero to come from a royal family.
The qualifications that determine who’s chosen are unclear, but they have nothing to do with a person’s rank or social status.
It’s said that the title is given to a human with a pure and honest spirit, but no one knows for sure if that’s true.
When Julius was chosen as the hero, there was a lot of dispute over it because of his status as royalty.
A second hero belonging to the exact same royal family might cause unnecessary chaos.
That must be what my father is worried about.
“Schlain, this hasn’t been made public yet, but we received word that the demon army has finally begun its invasion. More likely than not, Julius lost his life fighting against them.”
The demon army.
I have heard lots of talk that the demons were becoming more active, but I guess the time has finally come.
So even Julius couldn’t defeat them…
“No information on the outcome of that battle has arrived yet. We sent a talented Spatial Magic user to investigate, but—”
At that moment, someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
“Thank you.”
I don’t remember the name of this person, but I think it’s one of the generals of our kingdom.
The man slowly walks to the middle of the room and kneels.
“I have come with intelligence regarding…the battle between the human army and the demon army.”
“Perfect timing. What’s the situation?”
“Sir… The battlefield is still in chaos, so I don’t know all the details, but it seems that our side has narrowly managed to drive back the demon army, at the cost of massive casualties.”
“I see. Go on.”
“What we do know now is that several fortresses have fallen. According to our reports, this includes Fort Kusorion.”
“What?! That enormous fortress?!”
“Y-yes, although that has not been confirmed. That area is in chaos, so many baseless rumors are flying about. There is hearsay and speculation afoot claiming that the demon army has summoned a massive monster or that the forts were blown away with the largest spell man has ever seen, but it’s difficult to confirm how much of that is true.”
“I see. But it’s been confirmed that the demon army has withdrawn, correct?”
“Indeed. That I can say without a doubt.”
“Understood. Thank you for your report. Please continue gathering information.”
“Yes, sir! Then, if you’ll excuse me…”
The general leaves the room.
My father closes his eyes and furrows his brow, pondering something deeply.
My brothers and I wait for his next words.
“It seems Julius’s death is not assured.”
“Indeed. There is still a great deal of confusion on the battlefield. What shall we do?”
“For the moment, let us keep Julius’s death and Schlain’s acquisition of the Hero title a secret.”
Not a soul could object to my father’s decision.
I don’t really understand politics myself, so I figured it best not to run my mouth.
“We still don’t know for sure whether the demon army has fully withdrawn. If we were to announce that the hero has died, we could cause needless anxiety among our people. I’m sure word will spread from the battlefield eventually and Julius’s death will become widely known, but until then, let us keep it to ourselves.”
“Father, what of Schlain?”
“Unfortunately, in light of today’s events, Schlain will have to withdraw from school immediately. And, Schlain…please be prepared to announce yourself as the new hero at a moment’s notice.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I know this is all very sudden, but from now on, you are the hero. You must carry on in Julius’s footsteps and take up arms on the front lines of battle as humanity’s greatest hope. Now, you may not be prepared for that just yet. We have little time until word gets out about Julius’s death, but…you will have to steel yourself in that short period.”
Humanity’s greatest hope?
I…I won’t suddenly be ready to shoulder something like that.
“You will need time to sort out your thoughts, I’m sure. Take the remainder of today to rest.”
My father’s voice has become gentle.
I suppose I should take him up on his offer.
“Thank you. Excuse me.”
With a few short words, I leave the room.
My father and Leston look after me with concern. Cylis’s eyes are cold.
I close the door behind me to cut off their gaze.
I feel like I could collapse on the spot, but I manage to keep walking forward.
THE TEACHER AND THE THIRD PRINCE
“So Shun inherited the Hero title.”
“This is terrible.”
“Yeah. And something suspicious seems to be going on around here. I might not be able to handle it on my own.”
“Understood. I will return at once.”
“I’m sorry to bother you while you’re so busy already.”
“A teacher always does her best for her students.”
“I respect that about you.”
&nbs
p; “Thank you. Although I don’t remember being such a hot-blooded character, myself.”
“Have you reported to Master Potimas?”
“I have. In the worst-case scenario, we may need to consider having the elves shelter Shun.”
“I see. Yes, that may be for the best.”
“You don’t object?”
“I don’t want to lose another brother after Brother Julius. Of course I want to do whatever will keep him alive, even if it means I can never see him again.”
“Very well. We’ll do our best, then.”
“All right. I’m counting on you.”
LABYRINTH’S ZENITH, I CALL THEE MOTHER
Several days have passed since I made up my mind to reach the outside.
Exploring the Middle Stratum has been going smoothly.
Yep, it’s been all right so far.
Ever since I crossed the sea of magma where I was attacked by the fire wyrm and made it to proper land, things have proceeded uneventfully.
That’s right, uneventfully.
In fact, maybe too uneventfully.
Liiiiiiterally nothing is happening, actually.
What I’m trying to say is that all the monsters around here, like the seahorses that used to attack me at every step, have instead been running away as soon as they lay eyes on me.
Now, that’s surprising.
Aren’t you guys supposed to be an aggressive species?
Shouldn’t you get all fired up when you see a strong opponent worthy of your time?
Fleeing is disgraceful for a species supposedly known for its love of fighting, you see.
I know the reason they’re acting this way, though.
It’s the Fearbringer title I got in the battle with the fire wyrm.
On top of the title applying a “fear” effect to anything within my line of sight, it also comes with a bonus skill called Intimidation that carries a similar effect. It’s like I’m the biggest bully in school.
Thanks to that, as soon as other monsters see me, they scatter with their tails between their legs.
Apparently, the fear effect is strong enough to overcome even a monster’s most basic impulses.
And unfortunately, I can’t turn off the effects of the title.
I can switch the skill Intimidation on and off, but even when I deactivate it, the result is the same.
So now all the warlike species of the Middle Stratum have turned into a bunch of cowards.
Because of that, I haven’t had a single monster battle.
Meaning I can’t get any food or experience points.
I’m fine on the EXP side, I guess.
I’d like to keep earning more and raising my level if possible, but since no one in the Middle Stratum would dare oppose me, that’s not as big a deal.
On the other hand, I’m about to find myself in a serious food supply problem.
My only source of nutrition in the labyrinth is the flesh of other creatures.
I won’t have anything to eat if I can’t take down some monsters.
If they were on land, I could ambush them before they could run into the magma…but apparently, my aura of fear cancels out my Stealth skill or something, ’cause now everyone notices me long before I get near them.
They book it into the magma before I can touch them.
Once they’re in there, I can’t do a damn thing, y’know?
Argh, I wish I had a fishing line that wouldn’t burn up.
Not that I have bait to use as a lure anyway.
Currently, my red stamina gauge that was nice and full after eating the fire wyrm, eels, and so on is now slowly but steadily decreasing.
It won’t be an issue this very instant, but I’ll die of starvation once it runs out. I have to come up with a plan before that happens.
The ideal situation would be to get out of the Middle Stratum and into the Upper Stratum before it reaches a critical point.
There’s no magma in the Upper Stratum, and with my speed, I could easily catch any monster that tries to run away.
If it weren’t for this stupid magma, I wouldn’t be having this problem in the first place.
The most powerful enemy I’ve faced in the whole Middle Stratum is this hot mess.
Well apparently, I spoke too soon.
Ever since I arrived in the Middle Stratum, or maybe around the time I got Pride, I’ve been getting a lot stronger.
That’s how I was able to beat the eels, fire wyrm, etcetera, etcetera.
I might’ve gotten a little too full of myself after I won that battle.
There’s always someone who’s stronger than you.
In my case, it’s someone I already knew existed.
As I was traveling through the Middle Stratum, I found a huge hole.
It was a massive shaft that ran through the Middle Stratum to the other layers, similar to the one I fell through that led to the Lower Stratum.
But the instant I laid eyes on this particular pit, I felt an incredibly strong sense of danger emanating from it.
Since being reborn in this world, I’ve had countless brushes with danger.
However, I’ve felt an extreme sense of crisis and fear on only three occasions.
Two of those were when I sighted the earth dragon Araba, a harbinger of death that I met in the Lower Stratum.
The third time…is slowly coming into view at this very moment.
Eight enormous eyes gleam in the magma’s glow.
Eight legs, so large that they tower like buildings, easily bore holes into the sheer walls.
In terms of shape, it’s not too far from how I looked before I evolved into a Zoa Ele.
But the difference in size and presence can only be described as huge.
For the first time since being reborn in this world, I feel overwhelmed with despair.
Hello, Mother.
Long time, no see.
Looming before me is an enormous spider monster, the one who gave birth to me.
Even if this is the largest labyrinth in the world, I doubt there are many of these creatures hanging around. If there were, I’d already be dead.
This must be the same one I saw shortly after being born.
Unfortunately, I can’t Appraise it because it’s so far away.
If I could, I’m sure its stats would be so horrifying that I’d probably have to laugh.
I am curious, but I definitely don’t want to get any closer.
Despite all the distance between us, my legs are already wobbling.
I don’t need to use Appraise to know in my gut that I should be terrified.
My mother moves slowly down the wall of the pit.
Then another enormous shadow draws near.
This monster is similar to the fire wyrm I defeated earlier, but it’s definitely one size bigger, plus it has wings.
It must be a higher-ranked monster than the fire wyrm.
In which case, maybe it’s a fire dragon?
This possibly-a-fire-dragon flies toward my mother.
A swarm of Middle Stratum monsters follows close behind.
Ohhhh?! What’s going on?! Is this an epic monster battle?! A territorial dispute?!
I gulp, swallowing my spit.
It feels like I’m watching a giant monster movie in the theaters.
But instead of seeing things play out on a screen, it’s happening right before my eyes. This is intense!
My mother and the fire dragon army fiercely stare each other down.
I’m not close enough to Appraise them, so I don’t know their stats, but if this fire dragon is comparable to that Araba, the fight might be evenly matched.
In terms of physique, Mother definitely has the advantage, but the fire dragon has its minions to make up for that.
However, my hopes for a lively monster battle are unexpectedly betrayed in an instant.
Mother matter-of-factly points her fangs toward the fire dragon and its army.
Immediately after, the wor
ld trembles.
I’m not using the phrase as a metaphor. The ground is actually shaking.
Even though I’m theoretically far removed from the danger zone, the aftershock is enough to knock me off my feet.
The vibrations run through the ground as if the entire labyrinth itself is screaming.
If I had to describe it with a sound effect, it’d probably be RATTLE-RATTLE! or KABOOM!
I don’t really know what kind of attack it was. It was far beyond the scope of my comprehension.
All I know is, once I get back on my feet, I see a freshly made enormous crater where the fire dragon army once stood.
Between this and Araba, I gotta say, do super-strong monsters have a hobby of making craters or what?
Maybe I’ll understand when I’m old enough to be able to make one myself?
Ha-ha-ha… Okay, enough joking around.
Magma is flowing into the new crater.
Oh, I guess that’s how magma lakes are made?
Huh? Wait. The fire dragon army… There’s not so much as a crumb left behind!
Apparently satisfied with the results of her destructive attack, Mother slowly starts going back down into the pit.
Man, I figured she was crazy strong for an Upper Stratum monster, but this is a whole other level.
I’m sure that species normally makes its home in the Lower Stratum, or even the Bottom Stratum.
If that thing was wandering around the Upper Stratum all the time, it’d be enough to destroy the entire ecosystem there.
Maybe she went to the Upper Stratum to lay eggs or something.
Her offspring consists of taratects that are both “small” and “lesser,” after all.
The fact that such an insanely powerful beast gives birth to such garbage-level small-fry baby spiders could probably be one of the Seven Wonders of the Monster World.
O Great Mother! Why couldst thou not hand that incredible strength down to your children?!
My life in the labyrinth would’ve been so much easier!
Oh, but in that case, I guess the family feuds would get pretty vicious.
Those guys will happily kill and eat their siblings if they’re hungry enough.
If all of them had the same degree of power as Mother… Yeah, that’d probably bring down the whole labyrinth.
All right, maybe it’s better this way after all.