Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

The morning after parting ways with Derrick’s party.

At the break of dawn, I woke early and prepared to head to Orarium.

‘I said I’d go to the bank alone yesterday, so it’s time to head back.’

I planned to check in with Lumia at the inn in Roten to see how she had been spending her days since receiving the book. Was the content too difficult for her? Did she lack the materials needed to acquire the traits? I’d also planned to check whether anything unusual had happened in the 3rd District where Yeriel was staying.

“Yawn.”

Despite drinking a considerable amount of beer the previous night, I was fortunate to have avoided any hangover thanks to my overflowing mana, which purged the intoxication.

It was 5 a.m. now.

After a quick wash and donning my armor, I knocked on the door to the next room before heading downstairs.

Knock, knock.

—Mmm… Who is it at this hour?

“It’s me. I thought I should at least let you know before I leave.”

I had considered just leaving a message with the innkeeper, but that might’ve seemed cold.

—J-just a moment.

Amidst the bustling sounds from inside, the door opened slowly, and a still-drowsy Veronica peeked her head out.

“Sorry, I’m not fully awake yet.”

“It’s not like this is the labyrinth or anything. Mind if I come in?”

“Sure. Just don’t mind the mess.”

Though she looked worried about the state of the room, it was spotless inside, leaving me puzzled over her concern.

Covering her face shyly with her small hands, she said, “Waking up like this and being seen… it’s embarrassing. Let me at least wash up quickly.”

I shook my head, feeling like I was inconveniencing her.

“You’re beautiful even without washing up. You could go around all day like this, and no one would think it strange.”

“…Really. If you keep saying things like that, it’s troublesome.”

“Haha. Care to sit for a bit? I won’t stay long, so it won’t take much of your time.”

With a brief exchange like that, my city tour with Veronica ended without any issue. Meeting Derrick, Bernard, and Lesia—old acquaintances I hadn’t expected to see—left me feeling warm-hearted as I headed to the station.

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.

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When I stepped off the carriage, dawn had broken, and the day was brightening.

Upon entering the inn, the empty and silent interior greeted me with a slight sense of loneliness.

Tap, tap.

I heard faint knocking sounds coming from the backyard.

‘What’s this noise?’

Now that I thought about it, Roten—who was usually seated at the counter reading the newspaper early in the morning—was nowhere to be seen.

Creak.

Opening the back door and following the noise, I stepped into the spacious backyard.

What I saw took me by surprise.

There was a large, complex wooden structure in the yard, with Lumia moving busily atop it while Roten stood by, arms folded, watching her closely.

“Lumia?”

“Ah!”

Standing on one leg atop a long wooden beam and trying to balance, Lumia wobbled slightly when she heard my voice but managed to land safely before catching her breath.

“Oh, you’re back!”

Roten greeted me warmly, and I asked him in surprise what all this was about.

“Just a few days ago, there was nothing in the backyard except for a shed and a small garden.”

“Haha, Lumia asked for help with training. How could I refuse?”

Training… Ah.

“Is this because of the book she acquired?”

“Exactly. I couldn’t make sense of it myself since I’m no beastman, but based on what Lumia explained about the training methods, I decided to lend a hand.”

“So, you made all of this in just a few days?”

Roten shook his head.

“No, no. I commissioned the Dwarven Guild Cooperative. I specialize in cooking and swordsmanship; they’re the experts in crafting. Everyone has their strengths, no?”

“Still… may I ask how much the construction cost?”

Roten had gone out of his way to modify the backyard for Lumia’s training. Feeling responsible as the party leader, I thought about contributing to the expenses. However, Roten simply laughed it off.

“Don’t worry about it. This old man just needed something to occupy his time. Besides, it wasn’t expensive—just a favor for an old acquaintance.”

“…Thank you for everything, as always.”

When I thought about it, Roten had done so much for us.

Despite the lack of guests at the inn because of Lumia staying there, he never complained, saying it was just a hobby in his old age. On top of that, he had taught me techniques, provided us with rare items, and more—all out of kindness.

As I was expressing my gratitude, Lumia approached him with affection and offered her thanks as well.

“Grandpa, thank you. I’ll repay you someday.”

“Haha, let’s not make a fuss. You’re both making me blush!”

Roten chuckled and suggested we wrap up the morning training and have breakfast together.

“That sounds good. Riding a carriage all morning has left me famished.”

Perfect timing, as I was already feeling hungry.

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.

.

Breakfast was a hearty meal of a large piece of roasted meat, a vegetable soup with rich ingredients, two boiled potatoes, rye bread, and a glass of milk.

“Thanks for the meal.”

Since arriving in the labyrinthine city, I’d noticed how much my body had changed—my appetite included.

“I’ll… go wash up. This is embarrassing.”

Blushing from being sweaty so early in the day, Lumia quickly finished her meal and darted upstairs to wash.

Roten also went to tidy up the backyard in preparation for evening training.

‘Next on the agenda… I should head to the Magic Tower. First, I’ll arrange Lumia’s access pass and look into Aira’s prolonged sleep.’

Seeing Lumia’s dedication, I felt the need to resolve these issues quickly.

.

.

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Creak.

“Hmm?”

Yes, everything felt like it was going smoothly—until the inn’s door quietly opened.

In walked Yeriel, her complexion far darker than it had been just a few days ago.

“I’m back…”

Her drooping shoulders immediately filled me with concern.

‘Did something unpleasant happen while I was with Veronica?’

Recently, she had been much brighter and more cheerful, but now, it was as if she’d reverted to the reserved person I met when we first crossed paths.

“…Sigh.”

As she closed the door and let out a heavy sigh, I couldn’t hold back my worry.

“You look terrible. What happened? Did you get into a fight yesterday?”

Had someone like Evelynn scolded her again?

Carefully probing her recent events, I tried to draw her into conversation.

“Ahren! Ah… Well…”

Though her face briefly brightened at the sound of my voice, Yeriel hesitated, fiddling with her fingers before finally speaking.

“I… won’t be able to go to the labyrinth for a while. I probably won’t come to the inn often, either.”

“Wait, what?”

Damn. Good premonitions never seemed to come true.

Her sudden announcement left me dumbfounded.

‘Not going to the labyrinth for now? Why? And how long?’

There’s no way they’re saying the dungeon would be inaccessible for over a year without any explanation.

If that were the case, they would have outright told me I should leave the party. Even knowing I would never let them go.

Suppressing the storm of questions swirling in my mind, I looked at Yeriel, whose expression was gloomy.

Of course, since she had hesitated and had a hard time bringing it up, I was careful not to sound accusatory.

“Ugh. It’s not exactly decided yet, but they said it would take at least two or three months.”

Take at least two or three months, she said.

It seemed like someone had directly intervened to stop Yeriel from exploring due to some issue with her.

…In truth, the cause was obvious.

Who else, other than Evelyn, her only remaining family and a senior adventurer, would have such a direct influence on her actions?

“Your mentor stopped you, didn’t she? Don’t tell me the Church of Light is involved, or some priests you know are tangled in this?”

“N-no. It’s not that serious.”

[Chaos grumbles that this girl loses all her confidence the moment anything goes slightly off track.]

“Yeriel, in the six months I’ve known you, have I ever been the kind of person to get angry or disappointed over something like this?”

As soon as I finished speaking, Yeriel’s eyes widened, and she shook her head furiously.

“No! Never! I was just worried that because of me, the party’s schedule would be disrupted, and it might cause a lot of trouble─”

“Then look me in the eye.”

Her eyes, like a rabbit’s, filled with worry and anxiety, looked up at me.

“No matter how long it takes, I’ll listen. Can you calmly explain everything from the beginning?”

The story that followed was this:

The issue began with the sharing of bodily control and temporary changes through the timeline pocket watch.

After successfully completing the subjugation, the problem was the ‘Blessing of Light’ that had evolved due to traces of divinity absorbed in the process.

Yeriel’s physical abilities, which had mostly hovered around E+ to D-, the average for low-level adventurers, had suddenly leapt by three or four tiers to top-level C across the board, disrupting her overall balance.

To make matters worse, the divine power coursing through her wasn’t the pure white kind typical of ordinary priests but an unstable golden light infused with the unique traits of the Blessing of Light, accelerating her imbalance.

In other words, her rapid growth, beyond what anyone could have imagined, had turned out to be detrimental in the short term.

“Actually, if it had just been physical, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But the influence of the newly evolved trait was too significant…”

She had appeared normal during the Black Tower Defense, protecting the crystal pillar, and even upon returning.

But evidently, to a high-level adventurer like Evelyn, something felt amiss.

‘Right. This world isn’t some video game where you just click a button, and your stats go up with no side effects.’

No matter how extraordinary the power may be, granting a regular human the opportunity to grow stronger, it doesn’t mean there’s no risk.

Gaining strength requires grueling practice to control it, and whenever something changes drastically, you have to adapt to match it—be it physically or mentally.

“Evelyn said people like you, with a naturally blessed body, wouldn’t even need to worry about this kind of thing unless all their stats suddenly jumped by five or six tiers overnight.”

Hmm… that’s true. Even though I had gained stats and traits and felt myself growing stronger, I hadn’t sensed anything breaking down or going awry.

None of my acquaintances ever worried about such matters either.

Perhaps I owed it to the process of “reconstructing the body to its optimal state” upon transmigration, which had purged my system of impurities.

As Yeriel’s trembling voice steadied, she continued.

“On the flip side… most people, like me, can’t handle such drastic changes easily. Most don’t even get the opportunity.”

That’s fair. Judging by the growth I saw in Derrick and Bernard over the last six months, the answer becomes clear.

“So, the reason you said two to three months?”

“Yeah. I said two to three months because it depends on how quickly I can absorb what my mentor and the resident priests are teaching me.”

Adapting to her body’s changes and regulating the unique divine power might take up to three months, but it wasn’t a fixed duration. Neither Evelyn nor the senior priests could guarantee the timeframe.

“They said they’d take this opportunity to help me build a solid foundation so this won’t endanger me again.”

Yeriel looked dejected.

“You won’t abandon me just because it takes a while, will you? Promise me?”

She pressed her fists against her eyes, pretending to cry.

“If you recruit another priest, I’ll cry my eyes out! I’m serious!”

“Come on, did you really think I’d kick you out of the party or hold it against you just because you can’t explore the dungeon right now?”

“But… if I can’t come to the inn, I’ll barely get to see you… and my mentor scared me, so I got anxious…”

“Stop worrying about silly things. I told you clearly last time, didn’t I? That I’m going all the way with you guys.”

After a relieved sigh, I added:

“Sometimes, I’ll have to explore alone because of rift restrictions or commissions. Other times, I might enter with just one or two party members. Are you going to cry every time I don’t bring you along?”

She shook her head vigorously, her lips pouting.

“If I told you I had to take a year off to recover, would you look down on me or leave the party to find new companions?”

Another vigorous shake of her head.

“Then my answer’s the same. Whether you’re sick or need to step away temporarily, you’ll always be my comrade… and more than that, someone precious to me.”

Even now, I couldn’t forget the moment Yeriel risked her life to swear before the God of Light, within a week of knowing me, to prove my innocence against Scarlet’s tirades.

From that moment, we’d shared an unshakable bond.

[Chaos pouts, grumbling about being left out despite being the one who was closest.]

‘Well, you’re not exactly human.’

[Chaos rolls their eyes but begrudgingly lets it slide this time.]

With a small laugh, I pressed Yeriel’s soft cheeks with both hands.

She’s an adult, so why is she this cute?

“I’ll visit whenever I can, so go take care of yourself as your mentor instructed. Think you can manage that?”

“…Yeah.”

“Good. Promise?”

“Got it.”

Geez, I was so worried, thinking something serious had happened.

If it really takes long, I’ll just explore one of the easier rifts Sena mentioned.

I already have a plan for that anyway.

After letting go of her squished cheeks, I was about to ruffle her hair as usual when—

“Eek!”

Suddenly, Yeriel stood on tiptoes and kissed me.

A soft, quick peck.

“…!”

Her face turned tomato-red, and she fiddled with her fingers, stammering.

“We’re already connected across different timelines, so… so this much is fine… right…?”

“Technically, that’s from another world—”

Peck.

She stole another quick kiss, this time on the cheek.

“Hehe, I did it… I don’t care anymore!”

With a high-pitched squeal, she flailed her arms and dashed away.

[Chaos, amazed at how pure-hearted she is, clicks their tongue, saying she can’t even get mad.]

Watching her innocent retreat, I stood there, stunned, as if I’d just been electrocuted.