The Ore Labyrinth

The three slave girls arrived safely at their destination labyrinth.

It was a fair distance from town, but they'd been able to take a carriage for most of the journey, so it didn't take too long.

Standing before the labyrinth entrance, Alexia spoke up.

"This is depressing."

"Is it? It doesn't seem like a particularly difficult labyrinth."

The completion rate was high, so highly accurate maps were available.

Azu finished studying hers, stowed it away, and replied to Alexia's grumbling.

"It's the fact that I'm playing adventurer at all that's depressing."

Alexia leaned her weight against her battle-axe.

She was completely unmotivated.

"It's not 'playing adventurer.' You are an adventurer."

Elza said this while opening the labyrinth entrance.

Azu followed, and Alexia trailed reluctantly behind.

"I am a lady of proper noble lineage. This is not the sort of thing someone of my station should be—"

"We've heard that many times already. Just cast a light spell, please."

Alexia replied with a half-hearted "yes, yes" and illuminated their surroundings with a light spell.

"Magic really is convenient. Not having to carry torches is a lifesaver."

"My magic is a torch replacement. Wonderful."

Azu's words made Alexia's shoulders slump.

True to the map, it was a straight path for a while.

Along the way, dog-sized Lizards appeared, but they were cut down by Azu, crushed by Elza, or incinerated and hacked apart by Alexia.

"This is easy…"

"Right? It's only the first floor, and there's nothing worth picking up, so let's just head down."

They advanced without difficulty.

On the second floor, Iron Lizards that had transformed by eating iron began appearing, but aside from Azu, the difference was negligible.

For Azu alone, the number of strikes needed went up slightly.

According to Alexia, Azu did possess mana, but it wasn't yet enough to properly use the Sealed Sword Grungaus.

If she could wield the treasure sword to its full potential, enemies of this caliber would fall in a single blow.

They began encountering treasure chests, but they only contained iron ore.

Master had told them beforehand that iron ore wasn't worth taking, so they left it.

His strict orders were to fill their packs with silver ore rather than waste space on iron.

Alexia showed no signs of physical fatigue, likely due to her knight training in marching. Stress, however, was clearly building.

She was following Azu's orders, more or less, but only because she'd calculated that she'd lose any two-to-one vote against Azu and Elza.

Having to obey anyone's commands at all was the real source of her displeasure.

Fortunately, she was channeling her frustration into the monsters. Azu noted it but pressed onward.

They reached the third floor.

In addition to Iron Lizards, Copper and Silver Lizards began appearing.

Copper Lizards were soft and weak. From the third floor on, copper ore turned up in treasure chests and Lizard drops, but it was too heavy for what it was worth. They collected only what was needed for the quest.

"Looks like the missing adventurers are on the fourth floor."

Azu stopped and spread out the quest form alongside the map.

"How can you tell?"

"Apparently their adventurer tags are pinging from there."

"What? They can track your location? And people call adventuring a free profession."

Azu's answer only deepened Alexia's irritation.

"I heard that our tags can only be checked if Master authorizes it."

"Which means that man can see them. I bet he's monitoring us to make sure we're actually working."

"Hmm, I think he's just focused on running the shop."

Elza laughed wryly.

Adventurers worth monitoring were rare in the first place. The tracking feature only really got used when adventurers went missing, like now.

Alexia glared at her Slave Bracelet and adventurer tag with undisguised contempt.

"Let's get moving. I don't want to linger."

"Agreed. The stairs should be just ahead."

They pressed forward and found three Gold Lizards prowling around a treasure chest.

"That looks like… a good chest."

"What do we do?"

"Sigh… They're just Lizards. Makes no difference."

Alexia channeled mana into her red brooch, amplifying her magic.

Her fire spell, massively boosted by the brooch, was gathered and unleashed on the Gold Lizards.

The searing flames reduced the Gold Lizards to nothing, leaving only the gold portions mostly intact.

"That's amazing, Alexia-san."

"Naturally. This brooch makes an excellent catalyst."

Azu clapped without thinking. Alexia's mood improved a touch.

The sheer force had been staggering.

This was the firepower they needed.

Azu had been fed up with Alexia's constant complaining, but this display made her reconsider.

With Azu and Elza supporting her, they could achieve remarkable results.

They collected the remaining gold (it was hot, so they cooled it with water first) and opened the treasure chest.

No trap.

Master had lent them a trap-detecting ring for this expedition, so they could open chests without worry.

Inside sat a silver ingot.

The gleam of refined silver was beautiful.

Why a refined silver ingot would appear inside a labyrinth treasure chest was a mystery, but apparently that was just how it worked.

They stowed it in a rucksack and headed for the stairs, descending.

This labyrinth had a particular trait: the more valuable ore you carried, the more aggressively the Lizards came after you. Azu's party had strength to spare, so they could farm while collecting, but the party from the quest hadn't been nearly as capable.

Their packs filled to a comfortable weight.

They scoured the fourth floor, and by the time the Lizards on this level had nearly stopped spawning, they found an empty, abandoned pack.

The owners had probably dropped it while fleeing. The Lizards must have eaten whatever was inside.

Azu thought they should have just turned back, but there was blood, too.

They were injured.

The path ahead was a dead end.

They advanced deeper and spotted figures.

Azu approached with her sword raised, checking the situation.

A boy and a girl lay collapsed there.

It matched the information on the quest form.

They were weak but still barely breathing.

Elza used a healing miracle, and their complexion improved considerably.

They took the opportunity to rest, gave them water, and left them be for a while. Before long, the boy woke up.

"Where… am I…?"

"Hello there."

The boy scrambled for his sword and spun toward Azu.

Once they explained the situation, he calmed down.

The girl woke up shortly after.

She'd injured her leg, and they'd been hiding in the dead end with no way out.

After feeding them and having Elza heal her again, the girl was nearly back on her feet.

Alexia proved surprisingly attentive, looking after them.

Azu had the boy sign the quest form, then escorted the pair to the third-floor staircase.

They could have tagged along until Azu's group cleared the labyrinth, but the boy was eager to get out.

He was a warrior, the girl a mage.

As long as they avoided combat, they'd be fine.

The two thanked them profusely before climbing the stairs.

Azu's group moved on to the fifth floor.

… The atmosphere shifted.

The labyrinth walls changed from plain rock to a black mineral.

From here on, Great Lizards that had consumed the ore would appear.

Lizards that ate this black mineral were reportedly stronger than the rest.

It apparently contained trace amounts of Damascus ore.

Not enough to be worth refining, though. The ratio was too low for the cost.