Death March — Fixed

“Tek here, when I was in primary school, I loved to play at the sports days, not that I did well. When I became an adult, I would occasionally go to the gym with friends, just to make sure my muscles didn’t atrophy. I wonder if there are any facilities like that in this world.”

Right now, I am falling--

I had prepared myself enemies to enter when the door beside the throne was opening, but instead, the one who came out was a beautiful woman--who was identical to the one who was caring for Mia.

Right as I was distracted by that, the true mechanism designed to reject me from the Master Room activated.

The entire floor disappeared.

To make the entire room into a pitfall, even a death trap should have limits--no, the Trap Discovery skill didn’t activate, so it might have been an impromptu trap.

I don’t think that I’d die, even at my current falling speed--but I’d hate it if I get sunk so deeply into the ground that I can’t get out for a long time.

Maybe I should stick something into the wall, to decrease my speed, like is often seen in Manga.

Taking out a sledgehammer, I kick it powerfully, the reaction force shifts me, allowing me to collide with the wall on the opposite side--since I was already close to it.

The wall is smooth, so there is nowhere I can grab onto.

I take a massive black-iron Great-sword from storage and stab it at the wall--and with a deafening ‘Ping’ noise, it bounced the tip off, throwing me into the other wall. Speeding up my perception, making time seem to slow down, I rotate my body and brace against the wall with my feet. The sword is long enough that I can press the tip against the other wall, and with a horrible screeching noise, my falling speed begins to rapidly decrease. The tip of the sword is almost worn off, so I was about to lunge forwards and stab the sword into the wall--but the wall suddenly disappeared as the shaft expanded into a massive cavern.

I fell into deep water at the bottom of the hole.

Luckily, while I was in the position to belly flop, the weight of the sword allowed me to change position and fall straight down, feet first--I only felt a little shock. But, I sunk quite deeply into the dark water. I quickly dropped the sword, watching it disappear into the dark water, deeper than I could see, even with my enhanced vision--this allowed my velocity to decrease enough that I didn’t just keep sinking. I didn’t hit the bottom.

While swimming up to get to the surface, I activate ‘All Map Exploration’.

The map reads ‘Maze of Trazayuya’.

Apparently, the maze consists of twenty levels, each of which are five hundred meters in diameter--it’s quite small compared to the labyrinth in Labyrinth City, apparently.

According the to book I’ve read says that it has at least two hundred floors that have been explored, with possibly many unexplored below them. Furthermore, each floor is several kilometers wide, so this one is obviously smaller.

Moreover, most passages are systemically perpendicular. It’s basically the definition of a maze--while the Demon’s labyrinth felt kind of biological, this maze is very obviously artificial.

My head finally breaks the surface of the water.

The place that I’ve fallen into is blocked off by stone walls--I could see some moss growing on the walls; according to the map, the 20^th level is three hundred meters above me.

It looks like this level is modeled like the outside, and from what I can see on my map, and radar, there is no enemies here.

The exit is two kilometers to the west, a bit further to the east, there’s a hidden room called ‘Trazayuya’s Room’. Judging from the name, it’s most likely the room where Trazayuya stayed when making the maze--the secret of the maze is probably hidden in here too.

I really want to save Mia as soon as possible, but she doesn’t seem to be in immediate danger, so I am incredibly curious as to what is in Trazayuya’s room--it may just be my desires, or intuition, but I feel like I must go there.

I apologize to Mia in my heart, and begin swimming to the hidden door.

It’s hard to swim because of my clothes--particularly my boots--knee-high leather boots aren’t optimal for kicking water.

Since no one is here--I put my clothes inside storage; I had discovered that I could directly put what I am wearing into the storage.

***

The hidden room is protected by the same kind of riddle that was in the labyrinth in Seryuu City, but thanks to the De-Riddle skill, I easily break it.

As it opens, the door let’s out a moldy smell--the walls and floor aren’t made from stone, but some material that seems to be similar to resin. This looks like someone’s research room--it also has a dining room, bathroom and bedroom; judging by the accumulated dust, the Mage probably hasn’t come to this room.

Sitting one one of the tables are many books and memos, I don’t know how many years have passed, but most of the books besides the Magic books have really badly deteriorated--so I put them in storage, so I can read them through the menu.

It’s obvious from both the maze’s name and the hidden room, but the creator of this maze is called Trazayuya; he is an Elf, moreover, he’s from the same hometown as Mia.

All the books are written in the Elven Language--if I didn’t get the language Skill from Mize, I wouldn’t be able to read them--or trying to read them might have given me the skill.

There are some places where the ink had blurred, so it was difficult to read even through the menu--if I took them out, I wouldn’t be able to read them at all.

The memo is about the guy’s anguish, or rather his over-protectiveness for his race: ‘We, the Elves, have a very weak attachment to life--when faced with a desperate situation, we don’t struggle as much as other tribes. Because of this, a lot of our younger generations died in the labyrinth. This maze is an absolute necessity for when the Elves need to flee from danger, and need a safe location.’

There are other details like: how the maze has something called a Maze Core, which functions like a Labyrinth Core, though it cannot grow up like in a labyrinth--but it sucks up Magic Power from the surroundings and refines it into Magic Cores, just like a labyrinth.

Then I found some disturbing words:

‘The facilities required to make artificial Monsters by inserting Magic Cores into existing creatures in specialized cultivation tanks have been completed.’

Could Monsters have originally been normal creatures that were modified some time in the past?

Certainly, the Monster’s that I’ve fought up until now all look like deformed normal creatures--but the Demon was very different.

Worrying about this isn’t good, so let’s get back on track.

Trazayuya has made three prototyping facilities: A facility to cultivate and research Monsters; a facility to produce golems; and a facility to create dolls that would serve people. However, since he earned the cooperation of from the Ratman community nearby, he abandoned the last one.

I wonder how the Monsters that live here get food, do they cannibalize each other, or are there ‘food’ Monsters being produced?

Even after the maze was completed, the other Elves didn’t come here.

There is one thing at the end of the memo:

‘No one would forget my failure in just one hundred years--it’s possible my life will end soon, if I can’t get treatment; this maze will be sealed until my countrymen need it in the future; I believe that the day will come where the Elves lead the world once again -- Trazayuya Bornean.’

I see, so this is why Mia is needed--still the Mage is good to have figured out how to break the seal without finding this note--I may have obtained a lot of interesting information, but I still haven’t found the way to save Mia.

I’m definitely a little worried with a scribbling that read: ‘Explosions are romance!’, it was also underlined a few times--but I don’t think people other than the military would build something like a self-destruction mechanism into a facility that is made for people’s safety--

Since there doesn’t seem to be any entrances into the actual maze here--this room was situated below the lowest floor, though I have no idea why Trazayuya would make his room all the way down here--Well, there is a Magic Circle in the corner that may function as a teleported, but it is basically destroyed--useless for me.

I could leave here easily enough, because the map showed that on the other side of the lake was a river that would lead out and back to the side of the mountain; where I could find the main entrance to the maze and work my way through, to make so that Zen (the Mage) wouldn’t throw me out again.

Soon I see the road that leads from the underground lake and to the exit, it’s a fairly short distance, but I can’t run because of how narrow it is and because of the stalagmites poking out of the ground here and there. Flowing water drops from stalactites far above in the darkness. The road is narrow, but very tall.

While being careful not to step on creatures that look like translucent crabs that scuttle all over the floor, I continue walking to the exit.

***

The exit is part way up a cliff, around five meters from the ground.

I try checking my map, but it seems that I’m in an unexplored area, with a shrug, I use All Map Exploration.

This is apparently a place called ‘Ash-Rat Principality’, and it’s located around five mountains away from the highway which we were traveling on--it seems that there is a Ratman community on the side of a nearby mountain. Even though the map calls it a principality, there are only a population of around a thousand Ratmen in total, and they are all in the nearby village.

The entrance of the maze is located near the summit of this mountain.

Since it’s dark, I take out the second Light Drop, so I can see my surroundings--looking at the cliff, I can’t see any decent footholds; well it can’t be helped, I drop down the five meters to the ground.

Since I left the maze, it’s been a lot more obvious, but there is absolutely no sounds from animals--at first I thought that because it is early winter, but now I can also see most of the trees have shed their leaves--and the leaves are withered.

It seems wrong, like something is killing them--I may be over thinking it--but right now, my top priority is to get to the entrance of the maze.

***

Finding a slope, instead of a sheer cliff, I run up the mountain.

There aren’t many obstacles since all of the trees, and the underbrush, have died and wilted away. Along the way I see a big tree, and then a dot appears on the radar--looking at the map, it’s a level twenty of the Fairy species.

I wonder if it’s a treant.

If I continue along this course, I will pass by near it, but since I could easily escape if it turns hostile, I see no reason to change course.

Sitting at the base of the tree--is a woman in a nurse’s outfit.

Well, I do like her clothing--but at least thing about the place you are when using an illusion--

“Excuse me, o young gentleman over there.” Her speech is old, sounding almost Victorian.

The Heads-Up-Display indicates that she is a Dryad, level 51--a race well known for their charm and illusion skills.

“Do you have to be so hasty in the middle of the night? If you don’t mind, how about a cup of alcohol?” The woman points to a red table and chairs that appeared out of nowhere, with food and alcohol sitting on top of it.

The Dryad approached me and took my arm while I was distracted, I can feel her soft chest pressed against my arm.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have time to accompany you, if you have business, please say it quickly?”

After I said this, the illusion disappeared, and a girl with green hair that is long enough to touch her feet appears, completely naked; she looks like she is around sixteen or so, I guess?

But she is pretty shapely, so the feeling before wasn’t one of her illusions.

Her expression changed bewitching to stern--however, it’s the face a child whose not used to being angry, so it is more cute than scary.

“Become mine, Human!”

“I’m sorry, but how about proposing again in two or so years?” I can’t help but answer like that--Arisa seems to have infected me a little.

The girl rolled her eyes, “No, become my meal!”

“What do you mean? I may have said state your business quickly--but for something like that, I will need a little more explanation,” I sigh, looking at the girl and sitting on the ground.

With a sigh, the Dryad sits down in front of me and begins to explain.

Apparently, all kinds of trees have rapidly been dying out for several months, making the animals disappear. Furthermore, the Earth Veins in the mountain were cut off recently, so she is dying.

When I asked, out of curiousity, the girl gave a basic overview of what Earth Veins are: They are what people on Earth--before the Discovery--called Ley Lines.

This is most likely because of the ‘Maze of Trazayuya’.

“This is because you Humans sucked out the mountain’s nourishment.”

“I could give you some of my HP and MP, but I can’t allow you to eat me.”

“If you give me your Magic, then I’ll eat it,” she smiles cutely as she talks, running her tongue around her lips.

“That’s okay.”

I let her suck my MP--I had though that it would be like a Vampire, sucking from the neck, but it turned out she sucks it from my mouth.

Frankly speaking, she kissed me--quite skillfully.

She tasted of honey, and something similar to pear.

Kissing a naked girl out in open--I definitely wouldn’t let my old friends from Earth see this.

The girl was satisfied after she sucked out three hundred MP.

I left, denying the girl’s pleading for me to stay because I had such a ‘delicious taste’, which she said while drooling, and her cheeks going red--

The walk to the maze’s entrance was rather boring.