Labyrinth: Chapter 82/83

Chapter 82: Humble?!!

By the time the Beast Kingdom's delegation snapped back to reality, Gobta was already gone.

They stood frozen.

Staring at the spider leg still in his hand…

Their brains were on overdrive.

Wearing protective gear crafted by national-level artisans… not because they're strong, but because they're too weak???

…Huh???

Why does none of it make sense?!

Also...

They glanced down at the spider legs again.

A-rank monster.

A goblin… killed an A-rank monster… casually…

And that's considered weak???

That's insanely strong, okay?!

Let's not forget, the Orc Lord they fought before was only a special A-rank threat.

And this goblin just one-shotted an A-rank monster… doesn't that make him a special A-rank himself?

The most absurd part was—

Everyone gulped and looked toward the square.

There were more than 200 of these goblins… all wearing the same armor…

This is what they call weak?

Are you messing with us? How strong do you people think "strong" is?!

They couldn't even imagine it.

Stronger than A-rank… isn't that the same as Carrion-sama's level?

Are you kidding me…

There are people as strong as Carrion-sama here?!

That can't be true!

That's Demon Lord-tier!

"This is just nonsense!"

"If you don't want to say anything, then fine! But don't lie to us!!!"

"This is an insult to our intelligence!"

The Beast Kingdom's elder delegates were practically fuming.

They didn't believe Gobta's words at all.

More like—they couldn't believe them.

"Albis-sama!"

They began complaining to her.

"We came with sincerity, and they just keep stringing us along! This is outrageous!"

"This is basically humiliating Carrion-sama!!!"

"Enough!"

Suphia cut them off sharply, then turned to look at Albis.

Right then.

Albis was deep in thought.

Carrion had only informed the three Beastketeers about the demons involved in the Orc Lord incident.

Four Demon Lords—information so powerful it could shake the balance of the world.

Naturally, they couldn't speak of it carelessly.

But…

She remembered the group they had met at the party last night.

To be honest…

She couldn't get a read on any of them.

But she was certain—she couldn't beat a single one.

She quietly glanced sideways at the man in the lion mask.

Carrion-sama…

When are you planning to come out?

—————————————

Back at the square.

The Queen Ant held a report sheet as she delivered the latest Labyrinth status update to Chishiya.

"The first batch of Treatment Chambers has been completed."

"Construction of a deeper resting area is also underway."

"Well done. Thanks for the hard work."

Chishiya patted her on the shoulder.

Everything was progressing smoothly, both inside and out.

It felt like it was time to open up to the outside world.

"Chishiya! You're back!"

The moment he said that, a dark blur launched toward him.

"Rim, stop it!"

Shuna came running after.

"Nope~!"

Rim clung to Chishiya's neck like a scarf and shook her head furiously.

"Rim is hungry! Feed me! Feed meee!"

Chishiya opened her stat panel.

[Name: Rim]
[Energy Value: 3%]
[Labyrinth Resource Generation Rate: Stagnant]

…What?

Wasn't it over 30% just half a month ago?

So she burned through more than 20% already?!

Chishiya shook his head.

Guess he's been milking her a little too hard lately…

Currently, Chishiya commanded over 200,000 monsters.

Roughly 150,000 lived in Lapris full-time.

The rest were spread out around the central lake and surrounding areas.

In terms of tech and combat power, there were no shortcomings.

The only major problem was… food.

The territory was located in the Jura Forest.

Massive farmland wasn't viable. Agricultural space was extremely limited.

Gazel Dwargo also relied heavily on food imports.

So, the food for the 150,000 monsters basically had to come from within the Labyrinth itself.

Not to mention the recent spree of building wonders, crafting gear, constructing homes…

All of that drained resources mined from the Labyrinth.

Thanks to the Labyrinth's level-up, Rim's mana had increased significantly.

If it weren't for that boost, she'd probably be bald by now.

No.

Chishiya's expression turned serious.

Food was a huge problem. It had to be solved.

Especially with the Labyrinth leveling up, the quality of internal resources kept improving.

But the more you mined, the faster Rim's energy dropped.

"Chishiya-sama, who's this?"

Albis asked, brow twitching as she looked at the little girl clinging to him.

Something didn't feel right…

This girl… seemed incredibly powerful…

"She's just a greedy brat."

Chishiya brushed Rim's head aside like swatting a fly.

"Anyway, let's keep moving."

...

After leaving the square,

Chishiya led the group to tour the Labyrinth's infrastructure and ongoing projects.

Everyone's expressions were incredible.

Especially the old guys from the Beast Kingdom.

They blinked, wondering—

Did I just… see an ant moving bricks?

And then… turning back into a person?

And now they're walking off, arms around each other, heading to get drinks…

This is bad. My eyes must be going.

Ants turning into humans… that's gotta be a hallucination.

They forced a chuckle and shook their heads.

But as they continued to tour the silkworm farm, the medical center, the trading market, and the arena...

Their smiles started to fade.

Then stiffened.

Then warped into pure disbelief.

Is this really something humans can build???

How many Dwarf craftsmen did Gazel Dwargo send?!

How could you possibly build all this?!

Some of these facilities… don't even exist in Dwargo!

Their brows furrowed.

Something's not right here.

That feeling only grew stronger as they reached the far side of the city.

There, they saw a massive swarm of ants constructing a building with bamboo scaffolding.

And finally—

They snapped.

What. The. Hell.

Out in the open.

A huge crew of elite Army Ants was hard at work.

One of the three Dwarf brothers stood at the center, blueprint in hand, directing the build.

The structure being erected looked almost holy.

Thirty-nine steps, separated into three tiers.

All leading to a blue-and-white domed building above.

Everyone stared, throats tight, completely speechless.

Fuze turned to Kaijin.

"Kaijin-san… what is that building?"

Kaijin glanced back at the delegation.

He smirked and replied nonchalantly.

"Oh. That's just a standard library."

…???

Everyone froze, brains catching static.

They stared at the building again. Then back at Kaijin.

…Standard?

Where? Where is this "standard"???

Are we all looking at the same structure?

If you told us it was a royal temple, we'd believe you.

But a library???

And you called it "standard"? Again with that cursed word?

It's bad enough that goblins wearing magic steel armor are considered weak…

Now this?!

(To be continued.)

Chapter 83: Unexpected

Fuze's mouth twitched.

"Ordinary… yeah… totally ordinary…"

"Haha… well, I guess dwarf craftsmen really are something else…"

"This kind of design would be considered top-tier anywhere else…"

"But to dwarves? It's just average…"

The messengers looked at each other.

And silently came to the same conclusion.

Whoever designed buildings of this caliber… is the one they need to recruit!

"Kaijin-sama."

The old man at the front bowed respectfully.

"Were you the one who designed this brilliant structure?"

"Perhaps we could discuss things further."

"A man of your talent being in such a small country is a waste."

"Our kingdom would be honored to hire you. Name your price."

Clearly, all these cutting-edge technologies must be the work of the dwarves.

This tiny country was just leeching off Dwargo's expertise.

If I can win over Kaijin…

Carrion-sama will surely reward me.

He might even… bestow a name on me!

Then becoming the fourth Beastketeer isn't a dream!

The wrinkles on his face seemed to smooth out.

His lips curled into a broad, confident smile.

All that was left was Kaijin's answer.

Kaijin calmly stroked his beard.

"My lords, I'm afraid there's been a misunderstanding."

"I didn't design these buildings."

"…Huh?"

"Kaijin-sama, then who did?"

Wait… there's someone else even more skilled?

The old man slowly lifted his gaze.

Kaijin continued, "Everything you see here—including the library before you—was designed by Chishiya-sama."

"To be honest, I couldn't build something like that even if I tried."

"But Chishiya-sama calls it just a standard library."

"If you want to recruit someone… you should start with him."

"..."

The air froze.

Then came the collective outburst—

"WHAT?!"

Chishiya: "??"

He glanced back, brow raised.

What are you screaming about? You're scaring the monsters.

The cicadas have been buzzing all morning and you people think I can't hear you?

Chishiya's gaze slid toward the man in the lion mask standing behind the group.

Even the leader's eavesdropping and pretending not to?

Chishiya couldn't be bothered and turned back to the dwarven brothers' progress report.

Behind him, the delegation stood slack-jawed.

Their mouths opened, but no sound came out.

They stared at the young man speaking with the craftsmen.

He designed these buildings?

Even to a layman, it was clear the construction required advanced calculations, material optimization, and exact load balancing.

If you didn't have the right expertise, forget building it—you couldn't even sketch it.

But Chishiya pulled it off?

That meant…

Everything they'd assumed was wrong since the beginning.

None of this was built under Dwargo's guidance.

It was his work.

Are you serious…?

A project of this scale… pulled off by a brand-new, barely-established country?!

…Now they understood why Gazel Dwargo was so eager to form diplomatic ties here.

Once they processed that,

All the old guys who had mocked Chishiya earlier broke out in cold sweats…

This young man… is not someone to be taken lightly!

Good thing they hadn't crossed the line…

All thanks to Carrion-sama not finding out…

Otherwise, they'd be dead.

Meanwhile, at the back of the group…

Carrion stared at Chishiya with growing interest.

He could finally understand why Milim had chosen to stay here—and refused to leave.

This kid was fascinating.

Not only did he command terrifyingly strong subordinates…

Even his architectural tech had surpassed Dwargo's.

They'd uncovered a real gem here.

No need to keep hiding anymore.

Just as he was about to make an appearance—

A group of silver-armored soldiers, led by a tree elf, began walking toward them.

It was the Pegasus Knights.

At the front of the group stood none other than the Dwarf King, Gazel Dwargo.

Carrion's eyelids twitched.

Fuze and Youm's eyes went wide.

That's… the Dwarf King!

Why was he here?!

Sending three Beastketeers was already a huge deal.

But Dwargo had gone even further.

The king himself showed up?!

Was this also… for Chishiya?

The two of them slowly turned to look at Chishiya again, swallowing hard.

This was getting ridiculous…

—————————————

Under the eyes of the crowd,

The Dwarf King stepped forward and held out his hand.

"Long time no see, Chishiya."

"So many guests. Quite the lively gathering."

"Hope I'm not interrupting?"

As he said that,

His gaze swept across the square.

Chishiya gave a small smile. "Not at all."

As if you didn't know. I literally signed your guestbook.

Everyone here is pulling some kind of stunt…

"So what brings you here?"

The Dwarf King gestured toward the crate being carried by the Pegasus Knights behind him.

"This month's shipment hasn't been delivered yet."

"I came to pick it up."

You really think that excuse sounds believable…? Chishiya remained silent.

"Hahahahaha!"

A booming laugh echoed through the air.

"You sure know how to spin things, Dwarf King!"

"You're just afraid our Beast Kingdom's gonna snatch the kid, aren't you?"

The voice came from the crowd.

Carrion ripped off his lion mask.

He called out to Chishiya with a grin.

"Hey, you're Chishiya, right? Wanna talk with me for a bit?"

His voice rang like a bell.

Completely oblivious to the horrified looks around him.

The orc elders' expressions shifted from calm, to stunned, to utterly blank.

Carrion-sama? Wasn't he supposed to be in the capital?!

Why is he here?!

And he's been with the delegation the whole time?!

Doesn't that mean Carrion-sama heard everything they said earlier?!

As Carrion walked past them, he shot them a glance.

He didn't say a word, but his eyes were like an arctic wind…

The elders instantly lost feeling in their legs. Some collapsed where they stood.

It was like falling into a pit of ice.

We're done for…

On the other side—

Before Youm and his team could even process the Dwarf King's arrival,

Carrion appeared.

Not another one…!

They were losing it.

First the Dwarf King Gazel Dwargo.

Now Demon Lord Carrion.

Youm clutched his head.

As a mercenary, he seriously felt out of place here.

A little later,

He let out a deep sigh.

Gazel Dwargo and Euranazia both sent their top leaders.

Blumund even sent the regional Freedom Association branch chief.

Only Falmuth…

Heh.

He gave a self-deprecating chuckle.

They just sent a mercenary group.

The difference in leadership really showed.

They couldn't even recognize true power…

Falmuth, his birthplace, was definitely heading for a fall under this kind of ruler…

Well…

He sighed again.

Doesn't matter if I can see it now.

Just hope… we don't end up as enemies.

(To be continued.)