Labyrinth: Chapter 1: The Labyrinth

In a dilapidated wooden house, Chishiya Shuntaro rubbed his head and opened his eyes.

"Where is this?"

He struggled to sit up from the bed, glancing at the unfamiliar surroundings.

The room was about 20 square meters, simply furnished with a wooden bed and a wooden table.
An oil lamp burned on the table, casting light over the dim space.
Wooden boxes were stacked in the corner, containing some fresh water and bread.

"I… got reincarnated?"

Chishiya had been an anime fan until he was sixteen.
After entering high school, he focused on studying.
He majored in financial management in college and helped wealthy clients invest.
Because of his unique insight, he caught the attention of a major investor at the age of twenty.
With that opportunity, he founded his own financial firm.

Right after a drinking party, a dump truck had hit them head-on.

When he opened his eyes again, he was here.

"You’ve got to be kidding..."

Back to the pre-modern era overnight, seriously?

"But where exactly is this place?"

Chishiya rubbed his temples and stood up from the wooden bed.

He opened the door.

A cold wind blew in.

What lay before him was a pitch-black cave.
Blue minerals embedded in the rocky walls gave off a faint glow.
The air was damp and smelled of bat droppings.

Huh?

Don’t tell me I got knocked out and dumped in a coal mine?

Click, click...

A strange sound followed—chewing.
It reached Chishiya’s ears.

He turned around.

Behind the wooden house, a massive pink dragon lay curled up, chewing on a black corpse.

The corpse didn’t resemble anything alive.
It looked like… a wolf?

“Eh???”

One man and one dragon locked eyes.

"This must be a mistake. Let’s try that again."

Chishiya smiled stiffly, closed the door, and opened it again.

“……”

Nothing had changed.
The giant pink dragon was still lying at the entrance.

“Fuck!”

Chishiya bolted.

He only got two steps before the dragon raised its claw and grabbed his leg, lifting him clean off the ground.

"Chishiya, you're finally awake! Lim is hungry!"

The dragon spoke and it was a girl’s voice.

Chishiya: “???”

Then, a voice echoed in his mind.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for entering the anime world.]

[Unlocking the Underground Labyrinth Enterprise System!]

[You are now the administrator of this underground labyrinth.]

[Labyrinth Demon: Lim has been bound to you.]

What the hell?

[Thinking of a way to help the host understand the current situation simply.]

[This underground labyrinth contains rich resources and a diverse ecosystem.]

[It can be roughly understood as a farm in another world.]

[You are now the owner of this farm.]

‘Owner?’

‘Then can you tell her to put me down first?! I’m gonna puke!’

Pah...

Lim seemed to sense his thoughts and let go.

Chishiya fell straight to the ground.

Damn it…

He rubbed his lower back, wincing in pain.

That really hurt…

Just a bit higher and I’d be a goner.

“So what can you do, System?”

Chishiya forced himself up and addressed the mechanical voice in his head.

[This system will assist the host in managing the underground Labyrinth.]

[Functions include but are not limited to…]

[Setting monsters, minerals, herbs, traps, special rooms, ecosystems, etc...]

Looking at the functions listed in front of him, Chishiya didn’t fully understand all of them, but he got the general idea.

The underground Labyrinth was like a farm.

The system was the AI that managed it.

Monsters, materials, and resources were like the crops.

“Retrieve the detailed information of the Labyrinth.”

[Received.]

[Current Labyrinth Level: 1]

[Upgrade Requirement: 500,000 Reputation Points]

[Monsters: Dogs, bats, fishmen, insects, slimes.]

[Minerals: Low-grade magic crystals, iron ore, copper ore, rare metals...]

[Herbs: Healing Grass (Low-grade)]

[Ecosystem: Cave Biome]

–Hint:

[The host can unlock new Labyrinth features by earning reputation points.]

[Recruit core staff to gain special employee skills.]

“Special skills?”

As Chishiya pondered, the pink dragon in front of him suddenly transformed.

Its body shrank into a small girl with pink hair and dragon horns.

“Hey… Chishiya… Lim is hungry! She needs food!”

“Hungry!”

She bit Chishiya’s arm.

“Ow! What the hell?!”

Chishiya clenched his teeth and grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, lifting her like a kitten.

[The Labyrinth Demon’s energy is low. Please replenish it immediately.]

[Otherwise, the demon will go berserk.]

“Berserk?!”

Chishiya was stunned.

A message appeared in front of his eyes.

[Name: Lim]
[Title: Gluttonous Dragon/Demon]
[Energy Level: 1%]
[Resource Production Rate: Halted]

“Resource production rate? What does that mean?”

Chishiya asked as he carried Lim back inside.

He pulled out bread and water from a large box in the corner and handed them to her.

[The Demon God is a direct manifestation of the underground Labyrinth.]

[Her energy reflects the Labyrinth’s energy.]

[Simply put, she is the Labyrinth, and the Labyrinth is her.]

[To manage the Labyrinth is to manage her.]

Huh?

Chishiya’s head filled with question marks.

He looked over at Lim.

She licked her fingers clean and popped the last piece of bread into her mouth.
Then she looked up at him with big, innocent eyes.

“Chishiya, Lim’s still hungry.”

“……”

[Energy Level: 3%]

[Resource Production Rate: Halted]

[Core Staff: 0]

Chishiya: “This really is starting from scratch…”

Inside the wooden house, Lim was fast asleep on the bed.

Chishiya sat in a chair across from her, watching her exaggerated sleeping posture.

He couldn’t help but sigh.

I thought I was finally on top of the world.

And now I’m back to square one.

When will I get to live a life where I make money lying down?

Chishiya rubbed his aching head.

He didn’t understand this world.
He didn’t know its customs or rules.
He had no one.
No money.

All he had was this Labyrinth…

(To be continued.)