Chapter 36: Lane 2

Our shadows stretched long as we stood before the entrance to the Great Labyrinth of Sia Kalt.

Traces of the fight were clear.

The ice rocks were shattered, and deep sword marks remained here and there.

And on the snow…

“This…”

Harwin crouched down and examined the bloodstains on the snow.

His sharp eyes scanned the surroundings.

“It looks like someone carried it here. There are two sets of footprints, and it’s evidence of something… no, someone being carried into the labyrinth.”

Klaus’s face turned pale at Harwin’s words.

The ice still clung to his clothes, not melting.

“Sir Edgar…”

His voice trembled.

Adrian took a step closer and grabbed his shoulder.

“Wake up. You must go to the temple now.”

“But…”

“My potion is only a temporary measure. Your wound was fatal. You need proper treatment.”

Adrian’s voice was firm.

His words spoke from his experience as an alchemist.

I agreed with him.

Klaus’s condition was much more serious than it seemed.

If it weren’t for Adrian’s potion, we wouldn’t have come this far.

“And we plan to enter the labyrinth. We came to see the flowers, but we will also look for Sir Edgar.”

“B-the King of Bugs…” Klaus seemed hesitant, but soon nodded.

“No… thank you… thank you very much.”

His figure limping down the mountain became smaller and smaller.

The sunlight reflected and sparkled on his footsteps.

Silence settled.

The cold air dug deep into my lungs.

It felt like swallowing a blade.

Harwin spoke first.

“It seems… more dangerous than I thought.”

His voice lacked his usual playfulness.

It had been a long time since Harwin, who always joked around, had been this serious.

“Are you… thinking about going back now?”

I looked at the entrance to the labyrinth that unfolded before my eyes and thought for a moment.

I remembered a story my grandmother told me when I was young.

The legend of the Sia Kalt Labyrinth, which was one of the eight great labyrinths that was barely known.

The story that the bodies of intruders would turn into ice statues and their souls would be trapped in the ice wall forever.

Despite that, a strange attraction rose in my heart.

It was the same feeling I had when I first stepped into the village as an adventurer.

I was anxious and scared, but I was certain that something precious was waiting for me inside.

I shook my head.

“Since when have we only chosen the safe path?”

A smile appeared on my lips.

“This is my first time here, but strangely I’m not scared. It feels like… I had to come here.”

When I first decided to become an adventurer in my hometown, the townspeople all said I was crazy.

They said it was reckless to choose the path of an adventurer at such a young age.

But we’ve come this far.

It felt like a flame was burning deep inside my heart.

The real reason I became an adventurer.

My longing to see a bigger world.

I had a feeling that the flame would burn even brighter here.

“I… just have that feeling. Flowers must be good things.”

Harwin looked at me with a puzzled look.

“Do you have any proof?”

“No, it’s just a hunch.”

“Oh, you idiots.”

Adrian sighed and gave me a pitiful look.

“Actually… I couldn’t tell you because of Lord Klaus, but I’m more suspicious of the knights.”

“Actually, according to Oldin, flowers are purely divine beings. And the warrior and the saintess also became stronger after meeting the flowers.”

Yes.

Klaus’s story made me a little uneasy, but about the rumored flower…

I’ve only heard good things.

Adrian thought for a moment and then continued.

“If the flower was really dangerous, the warrior and the saint would not have left it alone. But why were they so aggressive towards the knights?”

“Maybe… they had another purpose.”

“Wow, that’s right.”

Harwin said in admiration.

I was secretly impressed.

It was important to have a smart person in the party.

“Okay, let’s approach it friendly.”

The two nodded at my words.

We slowly stepped into the labyrinth.

The ice cave was much deeper than we had expected.

Unlike the entrance where light came in, the inside gradually became darker.

But strangely, the ice wall was emitting a faint blue light.

As if it were storing light and slowly releasing it.

With every step, I could feel the ice floor reacting subtly.

It seemed as if the labyrinth recognized our presence as if it were alive.

The ice crystals on the wall became more mysterious the more I looked into them.

It seemed as if another world was contained within the beautiful ice.

Sometimes blue, sometimes purple, they spread faintly.

Water droplets occasionally fell from the ceiling.

The water droplets froze before they reached the floor and sparkled like small crystals.

The floor was already full of such crystals.

On the floor, newly added footprints continued over the bloodstains.

It was certain that someone was supporting the knight named Edgar down.

“Are they also going to find flowers?”

Harwin muttered.

“I think so. The rumored flowers are sacred beings that even the saintess acknowledges.”

Harwin tilted his head at Adrian’s words.

“But… will they revive the enemy they attacked?”

“I don’t know. But the people ahead of us definitely hold flowers sacred.”

That must be the case.

They must have been so certain that they would take a knight who was so injured that he could not possibly be saved to such a depth.

“It seems our judgment was right.”

“How come we don’t see a single monster?”

“Didn’t the knights or the two people ahead of us take care of it?”

“There’s no sign of battle either.”

It was too suspicious that we hadn’t encountered any monsters at this depth.

In this strangely quiet place, there were only long trails of blood and footprints.

“Shhh!”

Harwin suddenly raised his hand.

“There’s… someone ahead.”

The three of us immediately formed an instinctive formation that had been honed through long collaboration.

If our guess was correct, it would be the people who would take the knight Edgar.

However, we must always be prepared for any eventuality.

Harwin hid in the shadows and took out his bow, while Adrian fiddled with his potion pouch and dagger with both hands.

I drew my sword, but did not completely remove it from its sheath.

I held my breath and stepped forward.

Tension floated in the air.

And then a figure emerged from the darkness.

A man was supporting an injured knight, and a female warrior was on guard.

The female warrior’s eyes were sharp.

Her hands were already holding the handle of the greatsword.

Even at first glance, I could feel the intimidation emanating from her.

It was not the aura of a normal adventurer.

The female warrior, who had noticed us, immediately took an attack stance.

At that moment, Adrian quickly took out an advanced vitality recovery potion from his pocket.

The red light of the potion sparkled in the darkness.

The light seemed like a sign of reconciliation.

The female warrior’s sharp eyes wavered for a moment.

“Who…?”

The female warrior asked warily, but her expression softened when she saw the potion Adrian was holding.

It felt like the tense atmosphere was slowly dissolving.

The man let out a sigh of relief.

The knight the man was supporting had a pale face and several large wounds.

What was noticeable was the ice crystals surrounding the wound.

It was a sign of severe frostbite.

Adrian approached the knight without hesitation and fed him the potion.

His movements were precise, as expected of a skilled alchemist.

“Really… thank you very much.”

“Brian. And this is Hafel, and my brother Edgar.”

So that injured knight was Edgar.

And Hafel… That name seemed familiar.

“Hafel of the Unbreakable Will, where Oldin meets at the inn.”

Harwin whispered.

For a moment, he remembered the story he had heard at the inn.

“Are you going to see that flower?”

Hafel looked slightly surprised.

“Yeah, that’s right. What about you?”

We introduced ourselves one by one.

As we talked, Brian also found out that he had met a flower with the Indomitable Will Party.

A flower with great power and various abilities called Licorice.

And of course, he was on his way to find Licorice to help the knight recover.

“Let’s go together.”

I suggested first.

Harfel and Brian nodded at the same time.

“I’ll carry my brother.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. Thanks to Adrian, Edgar’s chill has subsided a lot.”

Harfel thought for a moment and then said,

“Then I’ll take the lead. I’ve been with Licorice and the bugs before.”

Naturally, our positions were decided.

Adrian decided to check on Edgar’s condition periodically, and I guarded the entire formation from the rear.

The five of us faithfully fulfilled our roles as if we were long-time party members.

Harwin went ahead with Harfel, stopping every so often to look around, and Harfel followed his signal, preparing his greatsword and moving forward.

Brian followed Hafel, carefully carrying his younger brother, while Adrian checked Edgar’s condition while checking the potions.

I protected the group from behind, occasionally communicating with Harwin with a glance.

Strangely, we communicated well even though we didn’t say much.

Like old comrades, our movements blended together.

As we went deeper into the labyrinth, the blue color of the walls became darker.

Occasionally, we could hear the sound of water dripping and wind from afar, but there was no sign of any monsters.

“There hasn’t been a single monster,” Harwin said in a low voice.

Brian nodded.

“My guess is that it’s the influence of Lycoris. This labyrinth is now her territory.”

Harwin’s eyes widened at his words.

“Her? A flower that’s a woman?”

“Of course,” Hafel smiled.

“You’ll know when you meet her.”

For a moment, I felt my heart pounding.

It was the moment when I realized that we were about to meet a truly mysterious being.