Mushoku Tensei: A different path

(Third POV)

The Begaritt Continent, located in the southwest, is the only one of the five continents untouched by the Ringus Sea. Second only to the Demon Continent in danger, its vast, unforgiving deserts make the formation of nations impossible, leaving behind only scattered towns and isolated safe zones.

Yet, despite its treacherous nature, people still come—adventurers seeking fortune within its labyrinths and merchants eager to profit from the treasures recovered. Danger lurks at every turn, but the promise of Magic Crystals and rare artifacts keeps the cycle alive.

The continent's most famous city, Rapan, stands within the colossal ribcage of a slain Great Behemoth, a monstrous creature felled by Kalman II. As its flesh decayed, scavengers thrived, and burrowing ant monsters carved labyrinthine tunnels through the remains, birthing new dungeons teeming with peril.

For most, survival in Begaritt is a daily battle. But for one figure soaring above the sands, none of it mattered. His gaze was fixed on a singular destination—a labyrinth of immense size and significance.

***

A dragon of massive size glided through the scorching desert, its serpentine form shimmering under the relentless sun. Its scales, a dazzling fusion of gold and silver, rippled like liquid metal, scattering reflections across the dunes.

Though Eastern in design, it bore massive Western-style wings, their metallic membranes shifting from silver to gold at the edges. Regal antlers crowned its head while silken whiskers floated in the air, catching the wind like strands of divine thread. Its luminous eyes, brimming with ancient wisdom, surveyed the land below—a perfect balance of grace and might, East and West.

Atop the dragon's head stood a lone rider.

The masked man, Kagami.

He was not here by chance. He had come to prepare a trial—a test meant for Rudeus Greyrat.

Rudeus' rescue was already in motion, but Kagami had no intention of merely saving him. The fabricated world he had placed him in was never about survival. It was about power—growth—the path to his highest potential.

To ensure that, the arena of his trials had to be set.

In the distance, a cliffside cave loomed, its dark entrance barely visible against the sunlit rock face. The Teleportation Labyrinth.

The very place where Zenith Greyrat had been trapped.

The very place where Rudeus' training would begin.

As the dragon neared the entrance, Kagami leaped down, his boots sinking into the sand, sending up a small dust cloud.

With a simple gesture, he raised his hand. White flames engulfed the dragon, shrinking it in an instant. The fire condensed, twisting and folding in on itself until, with a flash, an object shot into his waiting palm.

A greatsword.

A blade of unparalleled craftsmanship forged from the remains of the Emperor Dragon King. This was the King Dragon Sword—a weapon forged by the legendary blacksmith Yulian Jalisco.

Kagami smirked beneath his mask.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again… Telling Paul to destroy the King Dragon Sword was the right call."

Upon arriving in this branch timeline, Kagami released the remnants of the Emperor Dragon King's soul—a fragment he had preserved from the main timeline, to reach the unsuspecting Kalman III, only to lose the sword in a weirder way than in the main timeline, and the newly born dragon flying away to get to its master.

As the sword had once been part of the King Dragon's body, it served as the perfect vessel for Kagami's Special Magic.

Its mind and memories were gone—an empty husk of what it once was. Otherwise, it would have sought vengeance against the half-breed who had slain it by sheer luck.

Now, it was simply a tool—a mount, a weapon, a means to an end.

Kagami only hoped that Rudeus would master it in this timeline because he would need to forge it himself in the main timeline.

For now, however, there was work to be done.

He turned toward the labyrinth's entrance, rolling his shoulders as he surveyed the terrain.

History was already diverging from its original course. Rudeus' self-imposed seal had created a ripple effect, making Hitogami's actions more unpredictable. Some factors remained controllable, but precautions were necessary—such as weakening Darius' influence in the Asura Kingdom to prevent hired assassins from interfering.

Kagami began inscribing Magic Circles at the entrance with tools he grabbed underneath his mantle.

The circles weren't defenses, merely alarms—silent sentinels that would alert him should anyone enter.

Apostles could infiltrate and take Zenith captive so she could be used against Rudeus. That, too, was an option for training—one that would give him a reason to push Rudeus further, to sharpen him against real enemies.

"Good. Done with the entrance."

It took only an hour to finish the setup and to give it the stamp of approval after testing it with the orb meant as the alarm. Once someone steps through, the orb lights up and sends out a screeching noise.

Once he was finished with that, he stepped inside the labyrinth.

Navigating the labyrinth required precision. He avoided unnecessary battles, either moving stealthily or outrunning the monsters entirely. The King Dragon Sword's Gravity Magic properties allowed him to immobilize threats while he sprinted along walls and ceilings, ensuring minimal interference.

He installed the same alert system on each floor connecting Teleportation Circle and tested its reaction to his corresponding tool.

Then, he made modifications.

He altered the floor connections, transforming each teleportation point into a trap—redirecting anyone who used it into monster-infested chambers. The S-Rank Labyrinth had now ascended beyond its already formidable difficulty.

Each setup took days, intricate and meticulous.

But Kagami wasn't needlessly cruel.

Here and there, he left Magic Items and Tools—small rewards amidst the trials.

"Just a little sprinkle on the whole life-and-death adventuring. Who says the process can't be rewarding?"

***

A week passed as Kagami meticulously fine-tuned the alarms and monster traps, ensuring there were no mistakes. His work brought him to the sixth floor, where the Teleportation Circles led directly into the monster dens. Below them lay the path to the boss room and the crystal at the heart of the Labyrinth.

With his arms crossed and one foot tapping against the stone, he mulled over his next move. Should he leave the entrance to the lower Teleportation Circle open beneath the three existing traps? Or should he increase the difficulty by adding more?

"Hmmm… this is supposed to challenge Paul and Rudeus, but it would also put the others at serious risk. What to do, what to do…"

He stood there for half an hour, weighing the risks and rewards before settling on a compromise. He removed the stacked stones covering two of the traps, remnants of the last failed attempt to conquer the Labyrinth.

With the final decision made, he turned his attention to the last preparation. Stepping onto the red-glowing Teleportation Circle embedded in the ground, he let the magic take hold.

The world around him warped for a moment.

Once the teleportation was completed, the change in scenery was undeniable.

The room was massive—more akin to the grand reception hall of a palace. Its oblong shape stretched to the size of a baseball field, with thick stone pillars anchoring the corners. The ceiling soared so high that it required craning one's neck to take it all in. Below, the floor was lined with intricately engraved tiles, each bearing unique, textured patterns.

And in the depths of this ashen, palace-like structure, a beast stirred.

A hulking monster, twice the size of a red wyrm, uncoiled itself from the darkness. Emerald-green scales shimmered under the dim light, covering its stout, powerful body. From its torso, nine heads slithered, each moving independently as sharp eyes honed in on the intruder.

The Manatite Hydra. A monster from the time before the second Great Human-Demon War thought to have been annihilated when the continent split apart.

Awakened by the disturbance, the creature loomed forward, ready to crush any fool who dared trespass into its domain.

Kagami exhaled, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the King Dragon Sword.

"Alright, Kajakut," he muttered, shifting into a battle-ready stance. "No killing. This is just preparation."

With a flick of his wrist, he hurled the greatsword. It spun horizontally like a Pokéball mid-throw, slicing through the air toward the Hydra.

Then, the flames erupted.

White fire engulfed the blade, and in an instant, the Emperor Dragon King emerged.

As its massive form materialized, Kajakut's left wing lashed out, striking the Hydra's outermost head with enough force to send a shockwave through the others. One after another, they crashed into each other like dominoes before the entire beast was sent flying into the far wall. Talons clamped down, pinning its stout body in place.

The Hydra retaliated, its jaws snapping hungrily at the dragon's plated hide. Teeth shattered against impenetrable metal, reforming almost instantly—only to break again in a futile cycle.

Kagami clicked his tongue.

With Kajakut's sheer size, the room suddenly felt claustrophobic. A second dragon wouldn't fit here, and maneuvering would be limited.

"Hmmm… I didn't think this one through," he muttered, stroking his chin. "Oh well. Guess I'll work with the limitations."

Squeezing past Kajakut's massive frame, he made his way toward the enormous crystal at the heart of the Labyrinth. It pulsed faintly, sustaining the monsters within, preventing them from simply wasting away from starvation.

He considered his options.

How could he make this boss room more difficult—challenging but not impossible?

Magic traps were an option, apart from the teleportation traps already set up. More monsters could be effective, although the Hydra would probably eliminate them, as they would be intruders like Kagami or others.

Crossing his arms, he swayed slightly from side to side, debating his next move. Then—

"Hm? What the… No… No, no, no, no, no. This can't be right!"

His eyes locked onto the crystal.

Something was wrong.

Zenith wasn't here.

The crystal she was originally supposed to be teleported into was empty.

Kagami froze.

He immediately pulled out a cloth and wiped across the crystal's surface, clearing away any dust that might have obscured his view. But no—no matter how much he cleaned, the reality didn't change. The inside was empty.

His gauntlet tightened around the crystal.

"How?" he growled under his breath. "I calculated everything—the timing of the teleportation, the exact moment of the disaster—everything should have ensured she would be here."

A deep, guttural snarl interrupted his thoughts.

*Rawr*

"SHUT UP!"

Kagami snapped, his voice echoing through the hall. The Hydra recoiled slightly, still struggling under Kajakut's grip.

Exhaling sharply, he forced himself to think.

Panic wouldn't solve this.

Slowly, he lowered himself to the cold stone floor, sitting cross-legged with his arms folded against his chest.

He needed to figure this out.

And fast.

'It couldn't be an apostle's doing. Not yet. It hasn't even been a year since the disaster. Freeing someone from the crystal requires a magic expert backed by Hitogami, and even then, it takes an absurd amount of time, effort, and materials. The Hydra is still here, and I've found no traces of anyone entering the Labyrinth before me. So… hmm~… Could it be that interfering with Rudeus' fate triggered some kind of chain reaction in the fabric of history that I—'

The thought barely took shape before realization struck like a hammer.

There was only one possible culprit.

And the rage that followed made his body quiver, his mask threatening to crack under the weight of his fury.

'First, the death vision in Millishion. Then, the revelation of Zenith's location alongside the Manatite Hydra. And now, you used your already dwindling power to redirect Zenith's teleportation destination? Damn you, you outgrown brat. This wouldn't have happened if not for your summoning. Stop sabotaging my plans just because you pity him.'

The same culprit responsible for the Metastasis Event used the same power Kagami had exploited to fabricate this timeline.

That person had done their own interfering in time, undoing Kagami's careful calculations.

He exhaled sharply. He found it of no use to dwell on it any further.

"*Sigh*... Well, Plan B it is."

Kagami had always prepared for contingencies. Without the power of Future Sight, there was no such thing as a flawless plan, at least for the cause he was going after. But even so, the idea that Zenith's teleportation had been altered hadn't even crossed his mind in the slightest.

"Maybe I should take Kishirika captive and turn her eye into tools to find Zenith."

His body, being that of a reformed slime, had its limits when it came to magic. He mostly relied on his knowledge of the main timeline.

However, with circumstances already changing, the Demon Empress might not even appear at Wind Port since Hitogami might have had some influence over her presence there.

"Ugh. And I'll need to gather more energy for Plan B," he muttered, rubbing his temple. "Might as well check on him while I'm at it. Haven't looked in a while."

With a practiced motion, Kagami shut off his senses and shifted his consciousness into the grey void—a subconscious realm he shared with Rudeus.

Inside that realm, he was without his clothes, his man-shaped slime body showing its permanent smile on his face.

But what he found inside this realm caught him completely off guard.

The white dragon and the black three-horned demon—manifestations of Rudeus' cursed power—were no longer chained. They were dissolving, their fragmented essences dripping into the center of the void.

"… No way."

Droplets of light and darkness merged, swirling into the beginnings of a malformed grey egg where Rudeus would have been.

Kagami was speechless. He had expected Rudeus to awaken his cursed power during the battle against the Black Dragons, but instead, Rudeus had sealed himself within a crystal after absorbing too much mana at once.

This, however—this was beyond anything he had anticipated.

"They're not just fusing; they're merging with his soul. He's becoming something entirely new."

Kagami's grin widened. "This is perfect. He'll be even stronger, but I must ensure his soul prevails. Good thing there are plenty of bandit groups around this continent. It will be easy to fill up on soul energy."

Kagami pulled himself from the subconscious void with renewed confidence, returning to the present.

As he pondered the situation, a realization struck him.

"Perhaps embracing Plan B from the start would have been the wiser choice after all."

He stood, shaking off the lingering tension. The Hydra, still struggling under Kajakut's grasp, caught his eye. Another thought crossed his mind.

"Actually… I could use some extra cash." His gaze darkened. "I've already looted too much from Orsted's stash in the Dragon God's Pit. Even if this world is already starting to break down."

Pulling a dagger from his belt, Kagami strode toward the restrained Hydra, and his steps were drowned out by the beast's frantic writhing.

"Stop whining. Kajakut, hold him still," he murmured, his voice as cold as the dagger in his grasp. "You'll regenerate anyway. Now… stay still."

The chamber filled with the wet sounds of slicing flesh, the gleam of extracted materials, and the rhythmic cycle of injury and regeneration.

A former tool of war—once feared, once mighty—was reduced to nothing more than a source of profit, its agonized screeches echoing through the empty hall.

///