Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

A library came into view.

“You said it was a big library, and it really is huge.”

“Right? I was also surprised when I first came to District 4.”

We admired the grandeur as we entered.

A strangely fragrant scent of paper lingered in the air.

The atmosphere was calm and quiet, not just for adventurers.

As I turned my head, I saw books everywhere, countless shelves filled with books.

“Why are we at the library? Is there any specific information you’re looking for?”

“Do you know anything about magic, like a spell to track someone in the labyrinth?”

Yeriel thought for a moment and shook her head.

“Hmm. Sorry. As a priest, my knowledge of magic is limited to the basics that everyone knows. Should we ask the librarian?”

“Yes. That’s a good idea.”

It would be foolish to worry about it when there’s an expert around.

“Hello. Can you help me find a book?”

After greeting the librarian, who was clearly a magician in his robe, I stated my request.

“Yes. What kind of book are you looking for?”

“Is there any magic that can track someone’s location in the labyrinth or at least give a general direction? It doesn’t have to be magic.”

“Hmm. Whatever your intentions are for looking for such a method, the library is open to everyone, so I should do my job. For tracking or compass… just a moment.”

Fortunately, I was worried that he would question my intentions for searching with impure motives, but he didn’t.

The librarian placed his hand on a square-shaped magic item on the desk and chanted a spell.

“Invenio quaerio.”

Whoosh.

After a while, the librarian removed his hand, and a blue hologram appeared on the surface of the magic item.

He examined it carefully and spoke.

“You’ll find what you’re looking for in two books in the magic classification shelves on the second floor: ‘Common Magic’ and ‘Compendium of Curse Magic’. I hope you find the information you’re looking for.”

“Thank you.”

After expressing my gratitude, I left the librarian and headed to the second floor with Yeriel.

“Wow! There are so many bookshelves here too. You said these are the magic shelves, right? Let’s split up and search!”

“Yes, that’s a good idea. You’re helping me find the book even though you could be resting. Thank you.”

“Hehe, it’s nothing. I don’t have anything to do anyway, other than following you around, Ahren.”

We smiled at each other and started searching in opposite directions.

‘Mythology shelf. History shelf. Religion shelf. Novel shelf – Huh?’

As I passed by a shelf filled with novels…

I spotted a book glowing brightly in the corner of the shelf, catching my attention.

Huh, how come no one has noticed it? It’s glowing so brightly that it can’t go unnoticed.

I reached out and took the book.

‘Let’s see. The title is… not there?’

Strangely, the cover of the book was completely white.

I turned the cover and flipped to the first page.

──────────────

First, I, Sophia, the apostle of the goddess of wisdom, Nephthys, reveal myself as the author of this book.

I leave a small provision for the summoned transferrers, hoping that they won’t be easily used by a group or die in vain.

Labyrinth of Deity.

Commonly known as the Labyrinth of the Gods.

A compromise found by the gods after they stopped their war, and a game-like medium that summons people from Earth.

It’s a minor game, so not many users are summoned after clearing specific rifts.

Those summoned through this fall into three categories.

[Apostles]

Either the summoned person from Earth has an immense hidden talent compared to their previous life.

Or, by astronomical probability, they were destined to have their life turned upside down and live well in the future.

In this case, a massive amount of Karma is paid upon summoning, and an arbitrarily strong trait is granted through that Karma.

They are an extremely small minority, each receiving the favor of a god, and most of them become endlessly stronger through the traits they receive.

[Believers]

Most summoned people fall into this category, regardless of whether they are summoned by good or evil gods.

After clearing the game, the gods choose users who seem to have consumed less Karma and summon them.

Most gods, in order to stand above all other gods, guide them to enter the Great Labyrinth by granting them mundane traits related to themselves.

[Slaves]

In some cases, an evil god summons a person and finds them to be of poor quality.

They mortgage their lives, imprint a seal on them, and send them to the Great Labyrinth or use them for evil deeds in the Labyrinth City.

──────────────

‘Wow. What’s all this?’

[Chaos is surprised that such a provision was hidden in the library.]

As I flipped through the book, in addition to the three categories, there was information about groups that support and oppose the transferrers, as well as a list of apostles known in the Labyrinth City at the time of writing.

“Ahren, what are you staring at so intently?”

Hmm. It would be weird to hide this from Yeriel, right?

I showed her the book and its contents.

“Huh? Her waist is bent like a bow? …Hmm. That’s obscene. Is this your type?”

What?

“Do, is there a separate corner in the library for these erotic novels? If you like it, I won’t say anything…”

Damn it. Does the content automatically change to be readable only by transferrers?

Suddenly, I became a pervert reading erotic novels in the grand library.

‘Shit. Well, a pervert is better than a suspicious guy.’

[Chaos laughs at the situation.]

“Ahem. Anyway, I found the book. Is this it?”

[Common Magic]

[Compendium of Curse Magic]

“Good job, Yeriel!”

“Heh. Let’s read it quickly.”

I carefully examined the first book.

Alarm magic. Barrier magic. Basic magic based on magic power.

As I kept flipping through the pages, I found what I was looking for.

‘Compass of Fate. Ah, this is a magic that connects the locations of companions who entered the labyrinth together. It’s not what I’m looking for.’

I put aside my disappointment and flipped through the second book.

‘There are so many curses. This one’s not it either.’

Found it!

“The Curse of the Tracking Arrow!”

“You found it? It’s good that you found what you were looking for quickly!”

“I found it, but… it says we need to find a black magician, a curse magician, or a magic item. Let’s keep looking around District 4 for now.”

I borrowed the book that looked like an erotic novel, Sophia’s provision, and the book on curse magic.

Unfortunately, since I haven’t completed the new adventurer education yet, I had to borrow them under Yeriel’s name.

“Adventurer Yeriel’s name has been confirmed for a 3-day loan. Please be aware that a late fee will be charged if you fail to return the books on time.”

After leaving the library, I wondered where to go first.

… Well, there’s something I need to do first.

I can’t expect Yeriel to keep accommodating my stubbornness. I have to say something.

I led Yeriel to a secluded corner of an alley with few people.

I opened my eyes wide with Chaos’ eyes and looked around to see if anyone was hiding, but there wasn’t even a single mouse in sight.

‘Good. This place is safe.’

I lowered my voice and spoke.

“Yeriel.”

“Yes, Ahren.”

“Do you want to go first?”

“Yes! You asked the librarian if there was a spell to track someone, right? Then you looked through the books on common magic and curse magic.”

That’s right.

“Did something important happen? Can you tell me about it?”

Yeriel twiddled her fingers and smiled awkwardly.

“Hehe. If it’s something I can help with, I’ll do my best! Of course, if it’s difficult to talk about, I understand.”

Damn it. I have to tell such a kind person that I need to kill someone in the labyrinth because of a grudge.

‘Let’s think calmly. If I tell Yeriel about the transfer, will it cause me any harm?’

Honestly, the chances of that were low.

You saw it in the book, right? There are groups that support and oppose the transferrers.

It’s been a few weeks since I fell into the 3rd floor.

From now on, Yeriel and Evelyn will be inseparable in our lives in the labyrinth.

Since I know that revealing myself as a transferrer won’t get me killed right away, it’s only right to tell at least these two.

‘Now that I think about it, Evelyn spoke of the name of the game because she suspected amnesia and wanted to distinguish whether I was summoned by a good god or an evil god.’

Anyway, if I suddenly ask her to overlook me killing someone without any good reason, I’ll just be seen as a crazy psycho.

All the image and achievements I’ve built up so far will crumble.

I made a decision.

“Actually, when I saw Isaac’s face at the guild, I remembered something I had forgotten.”

It’s not a lie because I had forgotten his face until I saw him again.

“Huh! Really? What memory is it?”

Even now, my teeth clench involuntarily.

“One day, I was walking happily, rejoicing in the good fortune that would change my life, when I bumped into him. At the time, he was so focused on the item in his hand that he ran into me.”

Huff. I sighed and continued.

“He apologized and grabbed my hand to help me up. That’s when it happened. A magic circle appeared under his feet and started to swallow his body.”

“A magic circle on his feet? So, someone intentionally sent him somewhere… Was it because of him that you were also dragged into this?”

Yes. That’s right. I nodded slowly.

“He seemed startled at first, but soon his face lit up as if he knew exactly where the magic circle was heading. He kept laughing and saying strange things, even though I was shouting at him to let go of my hand.”

Squeeze.

Unconsciously, I clenched my fist. Even now, as I relived the memory, my anger rose.

“I managed to tear my hand away until I shed tears of blood, but it was useless. Another god, who was watching my resistance, found it interesting and summoned me.”

“Oh no…”

Yeriel looked worried.

“When I came to my senses, I was in a gate, where I met a god and was thrown naked into the third floor of the Great Labyrinth. You know the rest, right?”

“Yes. …I don’t know what to say. It must have been so hard for you.”

Yeriel held my hand tightly.

“You were suddenly swept away and thrown into an unfamiliar place against your will. You had no one you knew and lost everything. I would have been desperate.”

Despair… As soon as I fell into the gate, I went crazy.

“To be honest, it may be blasphemy, but at first, I resented both Isaac and the god who summoned me.”

That’s how it was. At the time, I judged that there was more than one cause for the transfer.

“But no matter what, I couldn’t keep harboring even a small resentment towards the god, and she gave me powerful traits to survive here, so my feelings towards her have faded a lot…”

[Chaos glances at Ceres and lowers her head.]

“Isaac, the initial cause, didn’t even recognize my face. He was too busy flirting with you.”

Yes. Even if he didn’t act like he recognized me, at least he should have recognized my face… If he had!

“When I realized that I was nothing to him before the transfer, I felt so angry that I wanted to kill him. I thought I would forget his face and focus on my future, but I couldn’t.”

“He, he’s terrible! He took away someone’s entire life, and now he’s flirting and mocking you? Ugh!”

Yeriel’s face turned red, and she jumped around.

“So, I’m sorry, Yeriel… but this time, I have to settle things with him in the labyrinth. Can you overlook it if I kill him?”

Jerk.

Yeriel lowered her head and shuddered at the word ‘kill’.

“He’s the only person who knew my face before the transfer, so I have to settle things with him to eliminate the risk of him revealing that I’m a transferrer.”

But after my firm words, she quickly raised her head and spoke with determination.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to say more. Do what you want, Ahren.”

“…”

“Even if you commit murder, as long as it’s not a senseless, indiscriminate killing, I’ll stay by your side.”

She hugged me as if to comfort me.

“It must have been so hard for you. That disgusting guy, Isaac or whatever, is nothing compared to you. So, don’t even think that I’ll be disappointed or change my view of you!”

She released the hug and smiled at me.

Then, she whispered softly.

“This must be a huge secret about the transfer. Thank you for trusting me and telling me. I won’t tell anyone, and I’ll take it to my grave! Don’t worry!”

“Thank you… I’ll tell Evelyn myself. Haha, the atmosphere has become strange. Come on! Let’s explore District 4 before it gets dark!”

“Yes! It’s too difficult to find a black magician or a curse magician right now, so let’s go to the magic item store first!”

I don’t know why she trusts me so much.

Right now, I was just grateful. The biggest privilege I received in this other world might be having good people around me.

I felt a warmth in my heart as I took a step forward.

Let’s go. To the magic item store.