Memoirs of the Returnee

A Change of Mind (3)

…2 hours ago.

Gerkhen Kal Doon began exploring the maze.

As always, he didn’t have a team.

Only solo play.

But he wasn’t hasty. He calculated meticulously and planned perfectly.

First, he roughly inferred the size of the maze through magical mapping, then detected beyond the walls with 「Enhancement Magic: Scrying Perception」.

「Scrying Perception」 is a magic that radiates magic power like sonar to understand the terrain. The magic rank itself is only medium-low, but the performance varies greatly depending on the proficiency, so Gerkhen Kal Doon can detect up to a radius of 200m while standing in place.

So he advanced while maintaining 「Scrying Perception」.

It wasn’t difficult.

Until he was ambushed by some ‘phantom beast’….

“So what’s the trap? Just tell me that.”

I cut off Gerkhen Kal Doon’s story that seemed to be getting long.

He summarized the conclusion.

─From around here, there are many of those phantom beast roaming.

Swoosh-!

In the meantime, flashes of light are constantly being shot from the side.

I zoomed in on the flash-blasting guy with the SZX-9500.

It’s a floating mechanical octopus. The single eyeball is like a lens, and the tentacles sparkle like optical fibers.

It gathers its three legs into a triangle, and keeps shooting light.

─The octopus detects sound, magic, and movement and chases after them, releasing an unidentified Magic Spell. It resonates with the entire maze, and it seems to imprison humans in this prison…

Gerkhen Kal Doon scanned me up and down.

─…I don’t know why. Why not you?

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Swoosh-!

─Are you resisting?

“No.”

Swoosh-!

It’s strange.

I’m not trying to resist, and I’m not activating any Magic Body, but it just naturally doesn’t affect me.

I looked around the cell where Gerkhen Kal Doon was trapped.

“So. Can’t you get out of there?”

─So far. There’s no way.

“Hmm~ I see. Well, good luck. Get out on your own.”

I turned around, waving my hand.

─Hey.

Gerkhen Kal Doon stopped me. I just turned my head to look at him. I couldn’t help but smirk.

─…I can be of help.

I can be of help.

It can be interpreted in so many ways, and it has so many implications, I don’t fully understand it.

“What? I can’t hear you well?”

─….

Gerkhen Kal Doon bit his lower lip slightly. I took my gaze off him. I took a step forward.

“I’m going. Take care.”

─If you help me, I’ll help you.

Then Gerkhen Kal Doon’s words became a little more specific.

“Help? You want to party?”

─If you want.

Well, if Gerkhen Kal Doon is a party member, I won’t lose anything. At least he won’t betray me in this evaluation test, and he’s a sincere and strong guy.

But I don’t really want to do that.

“I’d like to help you too, but there’s no way. There’s no hint-”

Swoosh-!

“…But what about that bastard.”

The octopus that has been flashing since a while ago is annoying.

I ran towards the octopus. The octopus didn’t run away. I was about to split its head with a straight punch, but I hesitated.

Sniff- Sniff-

It smells.

For some reason, this octopus smells like money.

“…What is this.”

I took a closer look at it.

Gerkhen Kal Doon speculated it was a ‘phantom beast’, but it didn’t seem like a phantom beast.

Rather, it’s closer to an ‘Artifact’.

An Artifact that smells like money.

“….”

Is there a rule that says you can’t take the evaluation test items?

I was slightly worried.

“This seems to be worth some money….”

I put my hand behind the octopus’s head. There was a switch-like power button. As soon as I clicked it, the mechanical octopus lost power. As it fell to the ground, it spat out a key.

“Oh.”

How did I know how to operate it?

I don’t know either.

Perhaps it’s the instinct of a “Treasure Hunter”.

[…You can easily assess the value of an item.]

There was such a paragraph in the R-elix interpretation.

The meaning of easy value judgment also means that the item’s usage or structure is easily understood.

Anyway.

I put the mechanical octopus in my inventory.

By the way, there are standards for the [Dungeon System]’s inventory. You can’t put living things in it, and the slots it takes up vary depending on size and weight.

The “Mechanical Octopus” took up a whopping 3×3, that is, 9 slots.

“…This.”

Next, I picked up the key that was scattered on the floor.

I shook it as I returned to Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“Hey. I think I found it?”

Gerkhen Kal Doon inside the bars sparkled his eyes.

“I’m not sure if I should be helping my competitor.”

I waited for a moment.

─….

“What? No words? If you don’t like it, I’ll just go-”

─Thank you. If it opens.

Just a word of thanks.

However, I know better than anyone that Gerkhen Kal Doon finds it hard to say such things. In fact, it’s extremely rare for him to express likes or dislikes or gratitude.

Because he’s a man who knows the ‘weight of words’ better than anyone else.

The most truthful traitor.

That’s how I perceive Gerkhen Kal Doon.

“It’s a bit boring though.”

I inserted the key into the magic barrier. There was no keyhole, but it fit perfectly, and when I turned it with a clank, the barrier was temporarily deactivated.

“Come out.”

“….”

When Gerkhen Kal Doon walked out and the magic barrier was regenerated, the prison flashed. It seemed like another mechanical octopus had captured one more person.

─….Huh? Where is this?

But it was a familiar face.

Soliette.

“Wait, I’ll open it soon.”

I walked straight up and inserted the key into the magic barrier. Soliette walked out with a grin.

“What happened?”

“Met an octopus, didn’t you? A mechanical one.”

“Yes.”

“It shoots some strange magic spell, and if you get hit, you end up in prison.”

I explained to Soliette, who was clueless.

“Is that so?”

“Yes….”

Then, my eyes met with Gerkhen Kal Doon’s.

His pupils were coldly sunk. His eyes were like those of a dead fish.

“…What. Why. I can discriminate against people a little.”

A three-person party was formed.

It was a somewhat unbalanced party.

First of all, all the members were all swordsmen, and in terms of ranking, they were 1st, 2nd, and 4,000th.

We advanced as quietly as possible.

We didn’t lose our way. Thanks to Gerkhen Kal Doon’s 「Scrying Perception」.

By the way, when this 「Scrying Perception」 reaches its peak, it becomes the famous 「Sky Network」.

If Soliette has a talent leaning towards the sword, Gerkhen Kal Doon has a talent that comes once in a hundred years in terms of magic….

“Wait.”

I, who had such tremendous talents, stopped them.

Because I was practically the party leader.

Sniff- Sniff-

And then I smelled it.

Sniff- Sniff-

The smell of money.

No, the smell of treasure.

Sniff- Sniff- Sniff-

I followed the smell.

In a few minutes, I found a treasure chest at a dead end.

“Oh. There’s something here.”

Soliette looked surprised. Gerkhen Kal Doon had a doubtful face.

“It could be a trap.”

I approached and opened the chest. I was a little hopeful. Maybe two pieces of gold?

Clank-!

“….Ah, what.”

I was disappointed.

It was food.

Three red bean buns, a can of water, a one-touch tent, and a piece of card.

“It seems like we need to collect these card pieces.”

The card seemed to be a necessary item to escape from this maze, and there was a user manual in the tent.

[One-Touch Tent: It unfolds when you press the button. It lasts for 4 hours when used. You can safely hide your body from the phantom beasts of the maze.]

“It seems like these are scattered around the maze. There’s nothing but card pieces-”

I turned around and was surprised. Gerkhen Kal Doon’s eyes were anchored on the red bean buns. Soliette was also trembling and reaching out her hand.

“May I, may I drink some water? Of course, it’s what you found….”

She licked her parched lips.

“Ah.”

It seems like I was only thinking from my perspective. The two people who scanned the entire maze too quickly probably wouldn’t be without food problems.

“You guys eat it all.”

I threw three red bean buns to Gerkhen Kal Doon and the water to Soliette. Gerkhen Kal Doon gave one of the three to Soliette. Soliette also left about 1/3 of the water and gave it to Gerkhen Kal Doon.

It felt strangely natural.

As if something like this had happened before.

Could it be true, the old rumor that Gerkhen Kal Doon received training from the Arkne family?

“Let’s set up the tent and rest for today.”

I looked at my wristwatch.

Remaining time, 34 hours.

We’ve been wandering this maze for almost 6 hours.

Crunch, crunch, crunch-!

Amidst the noise of Gerkhen Kal Doon eating the red bean bun, I pressed the button on the tent.

Whoosh-!

A tent large enough for four people spread out in a corner of the maze. I unzipped the entrance.

“It’s cozy.”

Inside the crimson tent were items like lamps, pillows, and sleeping bags.

“Come in. Let’s rest a bit.”

“Yes.”

Crunch, crunch-! After Gerkhen Kal Doon finished eating even the crumbs of the bun, he came in.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

The three of us sat silently.

Smack, smack- Smack, smack-

In the quiet tent, Soliette and Gerkhen Kal Doon savored their food.

Well, it must be insufficient. Especially for knights, their basal metabolic rate is no joke.

“There’s more food.”

For these guys, I emptied my backpack.

Lunch box, triangle gimbap, 3 liters of water, ramen, pot, chocolate, meal kits, etc… all things given by Terence’s party.

“!”

“What the?!”

Gerkhen Kal Doon’s eyes widened, and Soliette looked as if she had discovered gold.

“Where did you get all these treasures?”

“I happened to meet a party. Haven’t you eaten much?”

“Yes. Everyone would be the same.”

A growl- sound came from Soliette’s stomach.

“I have these instead of food. I’ll share.”

She took out three weapons from her inventory. They were swords about 60~70cm long, made by tempering beast bones with fire.

“I prepared in the mountains.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon also opened his backpack. There were many things like the hind legs of beasts frozen solid with Magic Spells.

“Hey, put that away. It’s practically a corpse.”

“…….”

Gerkhen Kal Doon hesitantly put them back in his backpack.

Ding-

「You have a message from EliseEEM.」

「Sender: EliseEEM」

: Are you trapped in the maze prison?

Suddenly, I got a message from Elise.

She’s got EXP to spare. It costs 3 every time she sends a message, but why does she keep sending them?

「No, I’m not trapped. Are you? 」

If she was imprisoned, I was thinking of helping her. It’s give and take.

「Sender: EliseEEM」

: Would I be trapped? It seemed like you entered the maze without any thought or preparation.

Well, Elise’s party member has Layla. If they put their minds to it, they wouldn’t be defeated by phantom beasts or the like. Their Magic Spell proficiency is higher than most active players.

I spoke while opening a triangle gimbap.

“This tent only lasts for 4 hours, okay? Let’s rest for at least 3 hours.”

“I agree.”

Gerkhen Kal Doon nodded his head and grabbed a chocolate first, and Soliette started preparing to cook ramen.

* * *

From then on, it was a continuous cycle of farming and advancing.

We found our way with Gerkhen Kal Doon’s 「Scrying Perception」, I discovered and opened treasure chests with my 「Treasure Hunter」 skill, and the three of us would gather to peer inside.

When a mechanical octopus appeared, I would take care of it. We repeated this process until we completed the card pieces.

It was a card key.

A card key like the ones used to enter apartments.

Now, the remaining problem was the maze itself.

“……24 hours left.”

Soliette said. Gerkhen Kal Doon had gone a little far to detect the surroundings, and we were sitting side by side in a corner, waiting.

“That’s right. We’ve been wandering for 16 hours and still haven’t found the way out.”

Suddenly, there was a presence. Our heads turned simultaneously in that direction. It was a mole.

“Is it a familiar?”

“It seems so. Probably from another team.”

Soliette approached the mole. I stood next to her.

“Do you see us-?”

The mole looked at us alternately.

“Which team are you from-?”

At Soliette’s question, the mole ran away without answering.

Just then, Gerkhen Kal Doon returned. He gestured to us and said,

“I found it.”

“You found it?”

Gerkhen Kal Doon nodded.

“I definitely feel a different wave.”

…….

At the same time.

In the middle of the maze, Elise was standing blankly.

Blinking her eyes, she was replaying the scene she had just seen through the mole’s eyes.

Soliette and Shion.

The two were sitting side by side. They were close together, like good friends.

Had they formed a party together?

Had they agreed to form a party from the beginning?

“…….”

Elise was curious.

She was curious without a reason to be.

When did they get close, and how?

From the time when Shion was showing off Knightmare to Soliette, to now, just three months later, what on earth happened in between?

Elise unknowingly bit her nails.

-Elly. I think I’ve almost found it.

Suddenly, Layla whispered softly. Elise looked at her in surprise.

-Oh really?

-Awesome.

Kain and Asher reacted as quietly as possible. After all, that mechanical octopus could come at any moment.

-Yeah. Follow me. Let’s go right away.

In such a maze, the combination of Elise and Layla is overwhelmingly advantageous. The two can summon nearly 50 familiars combined.

-Follow me! Let’s go.

-……Yeah.

-Good~ We’re really going to make it into the top 10, aren’t we?

Elise’s party followed Layla.

But she kept zoning out.

She felt strange.

Should she say it was a churning feeling?

Or should she say her chest felt stifled?

Somehow, a feeling she had never felt in her life.

So, a feeling she couldn’t explain.

Also…

Elise didn’t know why.

Why Shion’s face kept popping up. His smile while riding the hot air balloon, since last night, kept recurring.

While finding the way in the maze, while eating, while fighting, why did it float up like a cloud in every gap and then scatter again?

Elise opened her message box.

[5029]

There was still no reply.

“Sigh.”

-Ah. Elly!

Layla tapped Elise’s arm.

-Why did you sigh so loudly? What’s wrong?

Layla asked urgently. Elise answered in a tired tone.

-Nothing.

-Just now! You sighed loudly.

-…Did I? Sorry.

Elise shook her head.

She didn’t know why, but it was clear that she was becoming strange.

At least it’s not a normal state.

Is it because she’s tired, or because her mental state has been damaged by various things?

She needs to correct it before she becomes more strange.

-Let’s go. Are you sure you found the way?

-Yeah. Just follow me.

In the first place, there’s no need to worry.

Whatever Soliette and Shion do, whatever relationship they have, it’s a matter that has nothing to do with her and is useless to her…