After leaving the A rank party, I aim for the deep part of the labyrinth with my former students
After taking a moment of rest and organizing our information in the fortress city of Kiasa-ke, we set out toward our destination: the Old Royal Capital, Jo-Koco.
I did consider staying a bit longer to gather more intel carefully, but I decided it would be more reliable to conduct the investigation directly on-site.
"Yuke, the setup’s done. Now you can use GoPro-kun."
"Thanks, Rain. I appreciate it."
I took the inactive GoPro-kun and tried turning it on.
It floated gently into the air, blinking its lens as it spun in a circle.
"Looks like it's working. What was causing the malfunction?"
"Probably... the concentration of environmental mana and the differences in the magic communication channels. Also, your mana changed a bit, Yuke."
"I see. I feel a bit ashamed as an alchemist. I need to study more."
At my words, Rain puffed out her chest proudly and said "hmph" with a smug expression.
As a magical artifact enthusiast, Rain's skill sometimes even surpasses mine, a professional alchemist.
This time too, she managed to repair the malfunctioning GoPro-kun perfectly.
"If the communication channels are different, does that mean livestreams won’t reach Welmeria?"
"Hard to say… we won’t know until we try. Also, livestreaming is..."
"Yeah. It’d basically broadcast our movements. Let’s just record a few clips for Clover’s distribution later."
This was, after all, a quasi-covert, state-selected mission.
A live broadcast would be reckless. It’d be safer to edit the footage later and present it like a travel vlog.
Thinking that made me naturally picture Marina in my mind.
I used to love watching her edit videos with that cheerful look on her face.
If that red-haired girl really was Marina, we'd know for sure once we reached Jo-Koco.
But if it really is Marina... what am I supposed to do?
From the note she left, it seemed she left of her own will.
Just like I once left the Thunder Pike.
She must have had her reasons. But would she respond with "yes" if I just asked her to come back, without offering anything else?
I had refused back then, hadn’t I?
Now that I think about it, that might have been Simon’s desperate plea for help.
It was one-sided and irrational—but even so, he said he needed me.
That might have been our last chance to make things right.
Not that it matters anymore...
"Yuke-san! Monster!"
Nene’s voice came from the driver’s seat, interrupting my thoughts.
I immediately opened the carriage door and stepped forward—and saw a monster I had never seen before blocking the road.
"Ugh, what is that thing? It’s disgusting," Jamie muttered mercilessly.
I silently agreed.
It really was a revolting creature.
With a sticky slap-slap sound, it walked toward us—its form so unsettling it defied description.
It was like a huge white slug walking on four thick legs. It had no head, just a large vertical slit where its neck should be, revealing a red, gaping mouth.
My cheek tingled sharply.
That sensation could only mean one thing: this monster had to be of otherworldly origin.
Still, it was exceptionally grotesque.
"Be careful. We don’t know what it can do."
The moment I warned them, the creature’s mouth opened wide.
Its neck writhed like it was peristaltic, and a bubbling noise followed.
"Scatter! It's about to breathe something!"
Yelling, I grabbed Rain and leaped back.
A moment later, a pale yellow steam-like liquid spewed from the monster’s mouth.
The range wasn’t huge, but standing in front of it would’ve been fatal.
A horrible stench, like acid and rot mixed together, spread quickly.
I realized what it had spat—stomach acid.
Its form was disgusting, but its attacks were even worse.
This world beyond felt fundamentally incompatible with my aesthetic sense.
I even found myself feeling nostalgic for the time when I purely pursued the Abyss Gate.
"I’ll provide cover!"
Silk fired several bundled ice-element arrows at once.
Good call. Judging by the creature’s skin structure, it probably couldn’t handle extreme temperature changes.
Just as expected, its skin froze from the cold.
"Paralyze! Slow! Venom!"
I followed up with a string of debuff spells.
They were surprisingly effective.
Could it be that, despite its looks, it’s actually closer to our kind than we thought?
That said, I couldn’t find any visible eyes—so Blindness probably wouldn’t work.
Meaning it likely detects prey through sound or vibration.
"Loud Sonic!"
Following my hunch, I blasted it with a focused burst of sound from my fingertips.
It’s usually used against bats or giant worms, but—it seemed to work this time too.
"Shiiiiiaaaahhh!"
The monster twisted in agony.
Nene didn’t miss that opening.
"Gotcha!"
She dashed forward low to the ground, and like a magic trick, pulled out several large knives and drove them into the monster’s head.
The creature thrashed violently, its bluish-purple blood splattering everywhere—but then Jamie’s spell struck.
"Energy Bolt!"
A dozen or so Energy Bolts launched at once, piercing straight through the monster’s body.
Moments later, the monster collapsed slowly, as if sinking to its knees.
"Target down."
In response to my words, GoPro-kun began flying around the monster’s remains.
I’d left it running during the fight, but that worked out—now we had data recorded for review later.
"As soon as we get close to Jo-Koco, this happens."
"Yes... this doesn’t bode well."
Silk let out a quiet sigh, glancing at the now motionless creature.
We’d had relatively smooth progress up to this point, so the sudden appearance of an otherworldly monster was a bit heavy on the mood.
More importantly, it likely meant that the same kind of phenomena that occurred in Finis was now happening in Jo-Koco as well.
"I’ll scout ahead on the road. You guys can start moving again, just at a slower pace."
"Got it. …I’ll take over as driver from here. If we run into another fight, it’s better for me to be in position from the start. Silk, you and the others save your strength in the carriage."
While waving my fingers, I cast Refresh Mana, a spell to maintain Jamie’s mana recovery, and climbed up into the driver’s seat.
"Understood. Let’s hope nothing else turns up ahead."
"Yeah, let’s."
Looking at the limp, unmoving white monster behind us, I let out a small sigh.
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