Chapter 59 – / 59
/ 59
My name is Ares. It’s not my real name. Since coming to this world, I have been using this name.
I can’t remember my real name. It is said that this is because the Hero summoning ritual includes such a suggestion. I guess it’s to make it easier to adapt to this world… Although I don’t really understand it.
It may seem like an arbitrary story, but other than those small details, the people here basically provided us with as much convenience as possible.
There were no major inconveniences in actual life, and we could only focus on training to become stronger.
There is only one reason to become strong: to defeat the devil.
The devil is, as the name suggests, a devil. It’s a story that can only be seen in comics or movies, but it was a bit embarrassing to actually hear something like that. But since we were actually in a world we didn’t know anything about, we couldn’t dismiss it as a joke.
It is said that the Demon King has a vicious and cruel nature, and he, along with the monsters under his command, kills innocent people and causes destruction. The people here also tried their best to resist, but their strength was too much, and in the end, they summoned us, the warriors, as a final alternative.
It is said that this is not the first time a hero has been summoned, but it is a historic event that has already happened more than ten times. The Demon King was resurrected almost every hundred years, and each time a Hero was also summoned.
However, in our case, there was something different from the warriors summoned so far.
The point is that it is not me, but us.
It seems that there has always been only one hero until now.
At first, the people here seemed confused by this unusual situation. Since the survival of the country is at stake, it is only natural.
However, soon all four of us were recognized as warriors, and are now training without a hitch. However, it is said that it has not yet been revealed why four people were summoned instead of one.
But I felt like I knew the reason.
I feel embarrassed to say this to myself, but in reality, we were so close that I wondered if we had a deep connection from our past lives. Obviously, if there wasn’t even one person, I wouldn’t have been able to demonstrate my power.
Of course, I often hear people say that the gender ratio is too imbalanced to explain it as a simple friendship. But I don’t think it’s particularly problematic. Of course, it would be a lie to say that I am not conscious of it at all, but I don’t want to hurt someone by acting carelessly.
Marie, Sarah, Luna… They are all really nice and good kids.
We all pledged to work together to defeat the Demon King and return to our original world safely.
…
It seems like an unprecedented situation has occurred.
It is said that the Demon King was resurrected earlier than expected.
If everything goes according to plan, it is said that after we are summoned, we will be resurrected about a year later. But we have been here for less than a month.
And in reality, it is true that we are still far from being called warriors.
However, she couldn’t just remain frustrated. The Demon King was already joining hands with the Orcs to show off his power, causing chaos in the empire. He no longer has time to relax.
First of all, if Princess Demi’s words are true, the Demon King may not have completely regained his power as he was resurrected earlier than expected, so he will not appear in person for the time being … But that is also just a guess. He couldn’t relax.
In the end, we decided to go exploring the labyrinth much earlier than planned. In fact, it was closer to actual training rather than exploration. For warriors who have to deal with monsters more than people, the monsters in the labyrinth will be the best training partners.
Luna’s teacher, Aisha, who helped us explore the labyrinth, was a really pretty and kind person. She says she’s over a hundred years old, but in reality she looks like she’s only in her twenties. She said that all the prisoners were like that, so the female jinns were jealous. I think we are still too young to worry about getting old.
As a bonus, another connection arose. I would say it was an unexpected and welcome event.
Besides us, there were people who came from the same world as us.
He introduced himself as Minwoo.
Surprisingly, Minwoo was the janitor at the school we attended. I vaguely remember Sarah’s words and we greeted each other warmly.
Minwoo was different from us, he seemed to have come here through an unknown accident. In reality, Minwoo uses the name of the old world entirely, and unlike those of us who are called heroes, he is an ordinary person who does not have any magical powers. According to Aisha, he seems to be a descendant of a former warrior, but he himself does not seem to have any special powers.
Actually, it was nice to meet Min-woo, but considering Min-woo’s position his, I couldn’t see it as a good thing. It must have been like a thunderbolt in the night that wasn’t for him.
Still, Minwoo was an enterprising person who knew how to find happiness even in misfortune. Surprisingly, he was thinking of settling down here.
In fact, he seemed to be very close to Aisha already, and he offered to help us explore the labyrinth. For those of us who still have many shortcomings, we were just thankful.
He decided to join us on our exploration of the labyrinth. As a professional masseuse, he seems to have decided to take care of Sera and Luna’s bodies. Receiving his massages on a regular basis seems to help in many ways. Marie and I politely declined, but Sarah and Luna decided to take turns getting massages from Minwoo for beauty, health, and training.
There may be risks as you have to follow the labyrinth exploration as an ordinary person, but it is said that there is nothing to worry about because Aisha is there.
Ah, just before leaving to explore the labyrinth, there was another new person who joined. It was a beautiful woman named Chloe, and surprisingly, she was an elf. In fact, she didn’t really realize what a surprise it was to those of us who weren’t from this world, but it was definitely a surprise since elves hadn’t been discovered in over a thousand years.
It seems that Chloe followed Minwoo. I don’t know the specifics, but seeing Aisha knowingly or unknowingly being wary of her, it seemed like a strange love triangle had formed around her and Minwoo. I don’t know how they feel, but to me, as a third party, they just seemed like good sisters bickering.
There were many twists and turns, but in the end we made it to the labyrinth.
Our immediate goal is to gain as much strength as possible and awaken as a hero while the imperial army buys time against the demon king’s army.
I don’t know how far we can actually achieve, but we plan to try our best.
For the peace of the people here, and for us to return to our original world safely.
…
Although I received an explanation from Aisha in advance, the labyrinth was a more bizarre and mysterious place than I expected. Those of us who vaguely thought of something like a huge maze or cave were shocked by its metaphysical structure.
It was another small world.
It is known that there are several labyrinths in the desolate land, but to be exact, they are a little different. All labyrinths are connected to each other to form one huge world. However, there were several entrances.
The inside of the labyrinth is divided into various areas. No one knows how big the labyrinth is or the exact number of spaces it has.
The labyrinth constantly changes its appearance. Sometimes it looks like a green forest, sometimes it looks like a barren desert, and sometimes it looks like a dark cave. I thought I was definitely underground, but there was a place where I could see the sky and sunlight.
And in each space, monsters of a form appropriate for that location welcome explorers. It is said that most of the types and numbers of those monsters have not been identified.
Exceptionally, there are safe spaces without monsters. The place, called the Safety Area, was used as a resting place for adventurers tired from exploring the labyrinth. There are also cool streams and natural hot springs, making them ideal for soothing a tired body.
Mr. Minwoo called himself a porter. It is said that he has something like a camping set that can be carried lightly with magical devices.
For those of us who have little experience camping, let alone actually going on an adventure, Minwoo has already become an indispensable person. If it weren’t for him, we might have spent our first night in the labyrinth sleeping on the street with nothing. Even though it was a mixed party.
From the first day of exploring the labyrinth, we started fighting monsters without any hesitation. It was their first time experiencing combat and their first time encountering monsters, but to everyone’s surprise, they didn’t feel much resistance to dealing with monsters.
However, Sarah found it very difficult. Although the monsters were scary, they seemed to be repulsed by the violence itself. That part was something I had to get used to little by little. It may be something she can’t help as she is a soft-hearted person, but she has no choice but to overcome it on her own somehow.
Perhaps out of consideration for Sarah, when he finished his first day’s work and arrived at the safety area, Minwoo suggested that Sarah get a massage. She was considering Sarah, who was having a hard time.
While the women were washing in the stream, Minwoo and I set up a tent together. A total of three tents were set up. Minwoo and I used a small tent, and there was a large tent used by the women. The last remaining small tent was a separate space for Minwoo to massage Sera and Luna. Since it was a proper massage, it seemed like a separate space was needed.
Even though it is a simple massage, does it require a lot of time since it is a professional massage? Even as the night deepened, Minwoo rarely returned to the tent. I didn’t show it, but I was quite tired from my first training in the labyrinth, so I ended up falling asleep first, even though I knew it was rude.
