Tosho Meikyuu:Volume1 Chapter6
◇◇◇261 Pages until Memory Loss
2nd tower, 4th floor of the Library Labyrinth. 14 levels counting from the surface, a vertical displacement of 80 meters. Your group has arrived at the level where the Atelier of Kai Okutsuki, the Doctor Magna, lies.
"…We’re here."
"Yes, Okutsuki-san. Let’s hurry through as quickly as possible without alerting anyone."
Erika whispers as you pass by the guardhouse next to the elevator station.
The elevator is an important exploration base, and thus a target for attacks by Labyrinth creatures (monsters) and hostile guilds. Therefore, the ‘Apothecary’ has organized a specialized squadrons to monitor and guard each level.
(Armed guards with grimoire and long staffs. Security sure is tight here…)
"If the enemies break through here, they can ride the elevator and head directly to the populated area (Library). This is a base where humanity will be endangered if monsters pass through, so heavy security is to be expected. With the power of this True Ancestor (I) now, it will take lots of bloodsucking to break through. Prudent is is to lie low."
"Shh! Since you know, don’t say such scary things!"
As all of you watching the guards out of the corner of your eye, you hastily flee the scene.
You escape the guards’ sight by passing through the elevator hall formed by crumbling a wall (bookshelf)—and you are already inside the Library Labyrinth, where darkness and monsters reign. This is a dark and gloomy cavern of endless reading rooms.
(…This is the second level of Library Labyrinth. The air density clearly feels different from the shallow levels of the ‘Library’…)
"Please be careful. This ‘Reading Room’ lying within the darkness is the real Library Labyrinth."
Erika mutters with a tense look as she pulls out a ‘storage book’ from the blademail on her left shoulder. She tears off a page with a sticky note on it that reads, ‘Carrying Equipment’, turns it upside down and shakes it. Clink! It rolls onto Erika's palm.
"A ‘storage book’…I see, so you tear a page off to retrieve something?"
"Yes. It may be a little too bright to a vampire’s eyes, but we need light to avoid being mistaken for a criminal of some sort. Please endure this."
Erika pulls out a matchstick from her pocket and lights the wick through the windshield of the cantera. The flickering flame of the portable lamp clearly etches the Labyrinth's shelves onto your vampirized retinas.
"Now then, let us go, Okutsuki-san. Please follow me."
"No, I’ll go first. If the scenario writer really has this level under surveillance, the vanguard will be most dangerous. I can’t let you stand here."
"Mu, given yesterday’s battle, your immortality is powerless against poison or instant death traps.I'll go ahead and lead you to Teacher's Atelier."
"Umu. Simply comparing combat strength, she surpasses yours. Gender aside, the one with the obligation to lead the way into the Labyrinth is the one who is familiar with the path."
Yes, certainly. Magic power doesn’t differ in terms of gender, so there is little distinction between male and female Labyrinth seekers. Therefore, when many are moving through the Labyrinth, the order is simply determined by ability.
Usually, the team leader is at the back of the pack, able to access the entire party’s situation, while the vice-leader most adept at magic and seeking enemies is to walk in front. Currently, the most suitable position is for Erika to lead the front, Arteria to cover the back, and you, the weakest, in the middle.
"I'm the tagalong of this group…?"
"In this Library Labyrinth, a difference in experience can mean a whole world of difference between life and death. Looking at the three here, surely you are the weakest."
"…I hate to agree with a vampire, but I’m more familiar with this level. After all, I had a magic duel against the scenario writer's assassin just two days ago.
"… Okay, Erika, please take the lead…."
Even with the immortality granted by the True Ancestor, you can't deal with dangerous traps and criminal ambushes without a logic wall.
Leave this task to Erika and hurry on to your Father's Atelier.
