Chapter 69: Uninvited Guest of the Labyrinth
Looking at the tender pink little hand restored by healing magic, Sophia was moved to tears. She wanted to cry. *Uwaah, this world is just too cruel.*
"Lord Shirazawa, isn't this going a bit too far?" Mera frowned, looking worriedly at the Young Lady lying on the ground, having lost all will to live.
"No, this is just a small test of her mettle," Shirazawa replied calmly, his tone carrying an inexplicable indifference. "If she can't even handle this level of injury, how can she ever become strong?"
Mera opened his mouth to argue, but the words were shoved back down his throat by Shirazawa's fierce glare. *Well... Young Lady, I've done all I can.*
"Alright, let's continue this wonderful journey!"
"Ka-ka!"
Unlike the gloomy atmosphere around Sophia, Ariel raised her arms and cheered, followed by the two little lolis behind her. Shiro shot out a thread, hoisting Sophia off the ground to begin a new round of soul-crushing training.
*You can't stop, Sophia. As long as you're still breathing, you have to keep moving forward.*
Shirazawa tossed his hair back and followed with elegant poise, enjoying the sight of the devastated Sophia below. *Mmh, how refreshing. This is quite fun~*
"Sigh~" Seeing this, Mera sighed and followed the group.
The once peaceful party became even more rowdy. Deep in the lightless forest, the tragic screams of an infant girl echoed.
"Waaaah—my footy-foot is gone!"
"Waaaah! My hand-hand is gone again!"
"Waaaah! My head, my head is moving out!!"
"Hmph!"
"Hmph!"
"O(∩_∩)O Haha~ fun."
"Ka-ka~"
"Sigh..."
[LanLi: Does this count as child abuse?]
...
Possessing the
With this skill as a safety net, the two spiders became even more unscrupulous. Sophia had to die at least once a day; otherwise, it would be a waste of the skill's cooldown.
Thus, the "Creative Ways to Die Contest" began. Poisoned by poison magic, impaled by a dark magic spear, drowned by water magic, pierced by earth magic, and so on...
But even with such high-intensity training, Sophia's skill proficiency increased very slowly. She didn't have a god-tier skill like
Sophia: *Holy crap, twenty years?! For twenty years I have to die once every day?!*
Shirazawa: *Hmph! You should be grateful it's only twenty years.*
Sophia: *Master, I was wrong, uwaaah...*
Shirazawa: *I forgive you.*
Sophia: *Really?!*
Shiro: *Hehe...*
Sophia: *...*
...
Another month of long-distance trekking passed. Since they didn't need to sleep, they traveled day and night. Sophia had gone from her initial heartbreak and despair to a state of gradual numbness, slowly getting used to the training.
Habit is a terrifying thing.
"Another town, look!" Ariel's voice sounded like divine music.
A ray of holy light shone into Sophia's vision, dispelling the darkness and gloom. *Hope amidst despair! I feel like I can do it again!*
"Wahahahaha~!" Sophia couldn't help but laugh maniacally. "Finally! One month! Do you know what I've been through?!"
"Forty-three thousand two hundred minutes! Do you know how I survived?!"
"Finally, finally I can rest, uwaaaah..."
Looking at the infant weeping with joy, Shirazawa's mouth twitched. "Is that really necessary? Isn't it a bit much?" he muttered.
"Uwaah~ what would a demon like you know!!" Sophia pointed at him with teary, aggrieved eyes.
"Hmph!" Shirazawa snorted dismissively, wearing a "can't be bothered with you" expression.
Sophia didn't want to stay a second longer and ordered Mera to take her to the town.
"We're going now. Don't be sad; when I get back, I'll personally cook you a delicious meal," Ariel said, ever-considerate, comforting the two wounded souls.
"I'll leave it to you then," Shirazawa nodded, waving goodbye.
"It's just us again," Shiro murmured softly, hugging her shoulders, uncomfortable with the sudden quiet.
"Ka-ka!"
Maybe it was a comfort, or maybe they were just hungry. The Puppet Spider girls opened their somewhat stiff mouths toward the two. The previous two spiders had been recalled by Ariel, replaced now by two new Puppet Spiders. Shiro had likewise fitted them with silk faces, features, and exquisite clothes.
*If only the little ones could talk.* She thought about how to install voice-producing devices for the little lolis.
Seeing her tinkering away again, Shirazawa didn't stop her, simply sitting quietly to keep her company. However, his thoughts traveled back to the Great Labyrinth. Suddenly, an unexpected "freak" nearly blinded his eyes.
"Holy crap, where did this naked guy come from?"
"What's wrong?" Shiro asked, confused.
"No, nothing." Shirazawa didn't want Shiro to see such an eyesore.
In the Upper Stratum of the labyrinth, an uninvited guest had appeared. It was the old man Ronandt, the Empire's Chief Court Mage and the strongest human, whom Shiro and Shirazawa had spared once before.
...
After witnessing the
"Eh?" Just after entering, Ronandt sensed something unusual. "Where did all the monsters go?"
The Upper Stratum, usually crawling with monsters, was terrifyingly empty. Walking further, he found nothing but bones. But soon, he found the answer. Before him was a sea of white—a spider army nearly filling the entire cavern. From every tunnel, spiders were dragging monster corpses, handing them to eighteen uniquely shaped spiders at the center. These eighteen leaders then continuously birthed clones to expand the white legion.
"This... this is!!!" Ronandt was shocked. "Are they cultivating a spider army?!" He gasped, cold sweat dripping from his brow. "No, no, this is unscientific!"
However, what shocked him even more was their training method—it was horrific.
"Subarashii! Nanto subarashii!" (Wonderful! How wonderful!)
His fanatical shouting startled the white army. Ronandt's face stiffened. But for the sake of magic, he marched toward the army.
*Thump!* "Please, Lord, take me as your disciple!"
*Thud, thud, thud!* Ronandt kowtowed amidst the spiders.
"Huh?!" The Parallel Minds were completely bewildered.
*Is this old guy brain-dead?*
*Don't know. Anyway, stay away from him so it's not contagious.*
*Should we kill him?*
Seeing the fanatical look on the old man's face, everyone backed away.
*Clearly a pervert. What bad luck.*
*Chase him away! It'd be a mess if he died here!*
Thus, the group of spiders tossed Ronandt aside and continued their training.
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