Labyrinth of Space and Time (Part 2)

Mercenaries lived through all sorts of dangerous jobs. If she was considered a rising star in that world, she was confident she could hold her own against certified mages.

Mage (thought): 'Just wait, brats. Once we get past this, I'll make you beg for mercy.'

Thanks to the two's bickering, the minor tensions were temporarily set aside.

As the eight of them turned their heads, the white-tattooed man began his explanation.

White-Tattooed Man: "There are two conditions to pass through the gate. Prove your ability, or sacrifice one to send one through."

As soon as the translation was relayed, Shirone asked.

Shirone: "What does 'prove' mean? Specifically, what do we need to prove?"

Archer: "Hey! Stop interrupting! I'm not translating for you!"

Shirone: "You said all eight of us have to work together, right? Just ask the question already."

The archer, with nothing to say, gritted his teeth and relayed the question. The white-tattooed man nodded.

White-Tattooed Man: "Descendants of warriors, step onto the altar of judgment and prove yourselves to one of the eight spheres. The divine language will answer. A red light means failure; a white light means success."

Shirone continued to barrage him with questions. It was as if he had hired the archer as his personal interpreter.

Shirone: "Is there a limit to the number of attempts? For example, can one person try multiple times?"

White-Tattooed Man: "You can try until your strength runs out. If one person succeeds, everyone can go to Kergo. If no one succeeds, you must turn back. This is the will of the labyrinth and the mission of the Kergo people."

Shirone: "You mentioned achievement and sacrifice. What about sacrifice?"

White-Tattooed Man: "One person's blood can allow one person to pass."

Shirone: "Does that mean someone has to die?"

White-Tattooed Man: "Yes."

Hearing this, Shirone fell into thought.

You could challenge as many times as you wanted, and if even one person succeeded, everyone could pass. But what if no one succeeded? The cruel rule was that one life could be sacrificed to let one person through.

Shirone (thought): 'Something's off. Is there a reason to go to Kergo that justifies such a brutal cost? It doesn't make sense to kill a comrade just to get a loop. There must be something more. In the end, even the mercenaries don't know the real secret of the Kergo ruins.'

Shirone wanted more translation.

Since the information he had gathered so far was useful, the archer reluctantly prepared to relay the message.

Shirone: "Are there any restrictions on sacrifice? For example, can we bring someone from outside or use a corpse?"

White-Tattooed Man: "From the moment you entered this chamber, you are one. No gate will open until everyone agrees. As the priest, this is all I can tell you."

Shirone realized the rules of this chamber were far more dangerous than he had thought.

Shirone (thought): 'Unanimous consent.'

Unifying the opinions of a majority was harder than one person dominating the group.

On the other hand, the mercenary leader had a different idea.

Leader: "What, it's that simple? Then how about this? We sacrifice these four brats and go in. I didn't realize there was such an easy way."

The leader grinned menacingly, but Shirone just found it pathetic.

Shirone (thought): 'This group's leader is too emotional. The others at least prioritize the mission.'

It was common sense that there was no need to ruin the atmosphere by talking about sacrifice when achieving the success condition would let everyone pass.

As expected, the mage intervened.

Mage: "Enough. Let's start. How long are we going to stay here?"

Leader: "Tch! Consider yourself lucky, kid."

The white-tattooed man crossed his arms at a spot where he could see all eight spheres.

White-Tattooed Man: "My explanation is over. Step forward one by one and prove yourselves."

Shirone's group and the mercenaries exchanged glances, calculating who should go first for the best advantage.

The leader pointed his iron sword at Shirone.

Leader: "Hey, you go first. Of course, I don't expect much, but do your best so we can at least get a feel for it. Who knows, maybe we'll take you to Kergo."

Shirone: "No. Why are you deciding that unilaterally?"

Leader: "What's wrong with that? You're really getting on my nerves! Should I kill you right now? Sacrifice you and go in?"

Shirone: "You're the one causing trouble. From now on, we need to unify our opinions. Don't you understand what 'unanimous consent' means? If even one person disagrees, we can't go back. Since this is everyone's first time, we need to decide the order carefully."

Leader: "Y-you insolent brat…!"

The leader was on the verge of losing his temper.

He hated how Shirone kept talking back, but what infuriated him most was that he couldn't refute the logic.

Mage: "Hmm."

On the other hand, the mage had a different perspective.

As Shirone said, unifying their opinions was crucial.

Mage: "We need to settle our internal conflicts. Let's gather opinions and decide the order."

Shirone examined the spheres on the altar.

Shirone (thought): 'That's the spacetime of the labyrinth.'

Having already experienced the phenomenon of "spots," he could roughly guess what was going on.

Shirone: "Even though they're small, they'll be hard to break. It's no exaggeration to say the entire world is contained within them. Mages with high firepower should go last, and warriors should go first. What do you think?"

The mage asked.

Mage: "No objections, but I have a question. Why do you think the proof method is physical strength?"

Shirone: "Are you asking if it's an observational object? But if I'm right, the inside and outside of that sphere are completely different dimensions. If only actions at the boundary are judged, then physical strength is the only option. Besides, Kergo is a warrior tribe."

Mage: "I'm convinced. Then let's decide the order that way. Should we start with the swordsmen?"

The mage looked at the leader.

But the leader, still upset, shook his head.

Leader: "No, I'll go later. What does this brat know, spouting nonsense? This is a simple game. Just go in and smash it."

The mage looked exasperated but didn't break the hierarchy.

Mage: "Sigh, our leader is like this. What should we do?"

Shirone: "Then we'll send our swordsman."

Shirone looked at his friends.

Since both Rian and Tess were swordsmen, it was obvious who would go first.

Shirone (thought): 'This is the most important role.'

The first attempt would allow them to roughly understand the rules. It was a heavy responsibility, so Rian wouldn't let Tess go first.

Rian: "I'll do it. It might end on my turn."

Tess readily yielded.

Tess: "Your confidence is baseless, as always. Anyway, be careful. There might be traps."

Rian: "Hmm."

With Tess's encouragement, Rian stepped into the center of the altar and looked around.

It felt different from the outside. The eight spheres seemed to be staring at him.

Leader: "Hey! Hurry up! Are you scared already?"

The leader shouted, but Rian didn't hear him.

From the moment Shirone subtly hinted at the plan, Rian had understood what he needed to do.

Rian (thought): 'In terms of war, I'm the vanguard. I need to gather all the information I can on my turn.'

Rian, having chosen the northern sphere, approached it step by step.

Up close, it wasn't as transparent as it had seemed from afar. It was more like a sphere filled with a hazy mist.

Rian: "There's no limit to the number of attempts, right?"

Rian, using his head, struck the surface of the orb with the back of his hand. When there was no reaction, he gradually increased the intensity of his strikes, tapping it repeatedly.

Rian: "Huh?"

At some point, the mist inside the orb disappeared, and the number 1 appeared on the now-transparent orb.

Rian: "1? What does this mean?"

At Rian's words, Shirone suddenly remembered something.

Shirone: "The divine language was said to provide answers. So, it was numbers. Rian, just in case, step back for now."

As Rian took a few calm steps back, the orb began to glow red.

Shirone: "It's a failure."

That was the entirety of the result.

They waited for about three more seconds, but no threatening situation arose.

Rian: "Hmm, I see. If you apply force, a number appears on the orb. A white light means a pass, right?"

Having understood the rule, Rian returned to the center of the altar and drew his massive greatsword.

The mercenaries were startled.

Mercenary 1: "What? Is he really going to swing that?"

Of course, he carried it for a reason, but seeing it in action was still overwhelming.

A burly warrior furrowed his brow.

Mercenary 2: "It must be an alloy. If it were pure iron, even with a Schema activated, it'd be hard to handle."

Regardless, Shirone's group was excited.

Shirone: "Rian! Smash it with all your might!"

Having confirmed there were no dangerous traps, the only question was what score would appear.

Rian: "Don't worry. I'll destroy it completely."

Rian gripped the sword with both hands and lowered his stance.

Embarrassingly, his heart was pounding.

'The sword grandfather left me.'

Of course, he had stolen it.

'This is the perfect situation to test my full strength. A chance to see what I'm truly capable of.'

Rian's eyes widened.

Rian: "Alright! Here I go!"

With all his strength, he kicked off the ground and charged forward, raising the greatsword high above his head before bringing it down with a mighty swing.

The sheer force of the strike made everyone instinctively close their eyes, but instead of a deafening crash, a low, resonant sound echoed.

The orb didn't budge, and there was no recoil felt. It was as if the orb had completely absorbed the force of Rian's strike.

Rian: "Ugh!"

Rian froze in place, still in his downward-slashing posture.

The strength in his entire body was being drained away.

Even so, his mind was preoccupied with the number that would appear on the orb.

Pass or fail?

As the mist in the orb cleared, the number 241 appeared.

Arithmetically, this meant Rian's strike was 241 times stronger than a moderately strong punch, which seemed like a decent result.

But the orb glowed red again.

Rian was frustrated.

Rian: "Ah, seriously! That's so close! Shirone, can I try one more time?"

He had approached this as information gathering, but after receiving a failure, his competitive spirit kicked in.

Shirone: "Are you sure? Your legs look shaky."

Indeed, Rian's body, now away from the orb, seemed completely relaxed, as if all his strength had been drained.

Rian: "Ah, this? It absorbed all the impact. But it's not dangerous. I'll recover in a bit."

Shirone nodded.

Shirone: "Hmm, so that's how it works. It could be a handicap, but it doesn't seem too serious."

Rian couldn't let it go.

Rian: "This is really frustrating. Tch! If only I could use a Schema, I'd probably pass…"

The mercenary warrior burst into laughter.

Mercenary Warrior: "Puhahaha! What's this? So it was an alloy after all? You've been running around without even being able to use a Schema? Step aside. I'll show you how it's done."

When the mercenary volunteered so readily, Rian had no choice but to step aside. Even so, he muttered, "Just one more try," under his breath.

The warrior spoke confidently.

Mercenary Warrior: "That kid got 241, right? Then I'll easily surpass 2,000."

The warrior rolled up his sleeves and spun his flail.

Though he also carried a hand axe at his waist, seeing Rian's attempt made him think the flail would be more effective for delivering impact.

Mercenary Warrior: "Hoo, hoo."

After taking several deep breaths, the warrior's muscles began to swell.

Though his muscle fibers didn't grow significantly thicker, his entire body seemed to expand, making him appear 1.5 times larger.

Amy tilted her head slightly and whispered.

Amy: "Tess, that guy…"

Tess: "Yeah. He's a Schema user. Probably a strength-enhancement build. Well, it's expected for a warrior."

Mercenary Warrior: "Yahhh! Here I go!"

With a roar as loud as his size, the warrior charged forward, still spinning his flail.

'I'll smash it to pieces!'

Even without a two-handed weapon, the rotational force would deliver comparable destructive power.

With that thought, he brought the flail down on the orb as if he were striking down an enemy.

A low, resonant sound echoed, and his movement stopped abruptly. Like Rian, he felt a massive drain of strength.

Mercenary Warrior: "Ughhh!"

As all his strength was absorbed, the warrior finally managed to move and shouted.

Mercenary Warrior: "It's done! I hit it perfectly!"

The technique looked impressive, so the onlookers watched the orb with anticipation.

The number 248 appeared.

Mercenary Warrior: "What, what? No way! 248? Just 7 points higher than that kid? This thing must be broken!"