"First, before we step into the Labyrinth, let's do a quick round of introductions."
Even if this was just a one-day gig, we were going to be stuck together for several hours. It wouldn't hurt to know everyone's names.
"I'll start. My name is Sion. As you can see, I'm the porter for this excursion."
I offered my name and profession first. Given the social hierarchy, a porter sits at the very bottom, so it was only proper for me to break the ice. In this world, your job defines your standing—and a porter is naturally ranked far below a knight or a mage.
"My name is Rika. I am the Young Lady's escort knight."
"Uh… um, I'm Rien. A witch. Hehe."
"My name is Erika. I am but a humble lamb of the Goddess."
"What? Do I have to introduce myself too? You mean you don't know who I am?"
The Marquis's daughter asked the question with genuine bafflement. How on earth was I supposed to know her name? This girl was incredibly full of herself. It was almost impressive how she assumed her fame preceded her everywhere she went.
Then again, she'd probably spent her entire life being coddled and revered. If my father were a powerful Marquis, I'd probably be a bit of a brat too.
"No, that won't be necessary. I'll just refer to you as 'Young Lady.'"
"Fine then."
It didn't matter if I knew her name or not. Our paths wouldn't cross again after tomorrow. 'Young Lady' worked just fine—everyone else was calling her that anyway.
"Now, before we enter, we need to decide on an access point."
There are four main entrances to the Labyrinth, located at the cardinal points of the city. Each entrance leads to a different district.
"The north entrance leads to the Cemetery. The south leads to the Sewers."
"The east is the Botanical Garden, and the west is the Breeding Ground, right?" the Young Lady interrupted.
"Exactly."
"This much is basic knowledge," she huffed.
Fortunately, she wasn't a total ignoramus. She at least knew the layout.
"So, Young Lady, which will it be? For the record, I'm fine with any of them."
"Hmm."
She pondered for a moment before making her choice. "The Botanical Garden."
"The Sewers smell, the Breeding Ground is filthy, and the undead in the Cemetery are just… gross."
And so, we headed toward the eastern gate. If she wanted the Botanical Garden, that's where we'd go. The difficulty level was roughly the same across all four starting zones anyway.
"Here we are. The entrance."
I didn't have any last-minute prep to do; everything I needed was already tucked away in my inventory. This was a simple mission: slip in, give them about four hours of 'Labyrinth experience,' and get out. That was it.
No need to go deep, I thought. We'll stick to the upper floors. It should be perfectly safe.
It was a high-spec party: a knight, a mage, and even a priestess. I wasn't sure what the noble girl's specialty was, but her escorts seemed capable enough. I had nothing to worry about.
"Everyone, please step onto the teleportation circle."
To ensure a party enters the same instance, everyone has to stand within the circle together. If you go in separately, you'll end up in different locations.
"You might feel a bit dizzy."
"Pfft, please. How bad could it be?"
The Young Lady was radiating confidence. With her scoff echoing in the air, we vanished into the Labyrinth.
*
We arrived on the upper floor of the eastern district: The Botanical Garden.
True to its name, the area was a riot of overgrown vegetation. Roots and thick weeds choked the walls and floors, and the air was heavy with the scent of loam. Most of the monsters here were plant-types. If there was one advantage to this place, it was that the air didn't feel as stale as the other districts thanks to all the greenery.
I reached for a torch to light our way, but the priestess beat me to it. With a gentle smile, she cast Holy Light on her staff.
In a place as flammable as the Botanical Garden, magical light was far safer than an open flame. Her faith must have been quite high, as the radiance was bright enough to illuminate the entire corridor.
"Ugh… hurk!"
"Ugh…"
So much for confidence. The Young Lady was doubled over, retching the moment we landed. It seemed noble pride was no match for teleportation sickness.
"Wh-what is this? You didn't say it would be this nauseating! Ugh…"
"It affects everyone differently," I said calmly. "You'll get used to it after a few trips."
I'd dry-heaved plenty of times when I first started. The sensation of your brain spinning inside your skull was universal. I'd even seen people faint from the shock. It was a temporary phenomenon that vanished once your body underwent Mana Adaptation.
"Porter, do you have water? Give some to the Young Lady."
"Yes, just a moment."
I was already reaching into my storage.
"What? You… you have an Aether Pocket?!"
"Huh? Oh. Yes."
"Wait, what? Why didn't you say anything?"
The Young Lady looked flustered as I pulled a waterskin out of thin air. The others were staring, too. An Aether Pocket was a top-tier spatial relic—their shock was understandable.
"No wonder," the Young Lady muttered, rinsing her mouth. "I was wondering what kind of porter shows up without a rucksack. Huh."
She stared at me with newfound curiosity. "I've never seen an Aether Pocket in person before. What was your name again?"
"Sion. It's Sion."
"Ah, Sion. Right."
Even the knightess asked for my name again. It was clear she hadn't bothered to listen during the first introduction. To her, I had just been a nameless laborer—not someone worth remembering.
"Uh, um… how much can it hold?" the witch asked, her eyes sparkling.
"Whatever I put into it."
"Ooh… wow…!"
Since spatial relics were incredibly rare, I was used to this reaction.
"Let's keep moving for now," I suggested. "We'll start by hunting a few Gardeners."
"Are you leading the way?"
"Yes. I know where the Gardener clusters are. I'm not much of a fighter, so I'll serve as your guide."
I knew the upper floors like the back of my hand. Thanks to my Map Creation ability, I knew exactly where the monsters gathered and where the portals to the lower floors were hidden. I didn't need a physical map.
"You memorized the paths without a map? That's impressive."
"I didn't memorize them, exactly. I have a skill called Map Creation."
"What? Map Creation? Huh."
The knightess was impressed again. The way she looked at me had shifted completely from when we first met. It just goes to show: competence earns respect. Even a porter gets treated like a human being if he's useful enough.
"There they are."
We soon stumbled upon a group of Gardeners. They were the most basic mobs in the Botanical Garden—bipedal carnivorous plants with jagged teeth and gaping maws. Think of them as the plant equivalent of goblins.
They fetched a decent price at the Alchemist's Guild; apparently, their reproductive organs—the stamens and pistils—were used in high-end medicines.
"Alright. They're all yours."
"You're not going to fight?"
"A party where the porter has to fight is a failed party," I replied simply.
"Is that so?"
It was a fundamental truth. A porter's job is to manage the gear and the loot. If the porter has to draw a weapon, it means the party is on the verge of a total wipe.
Of course, it wasn't that I couldn't fight. But with four combatants in the group, there was no reason for me to step in. Besides, I was technically the guide today. I needed to gauge their abilities so I could provide a proper report to the Guild later.
"They don't look like much. I'll handle this, Young Lady."
The knightess stepped to the vanguard, drawing her sword. She moved with sharp, disciplined precision, cutting down a charging Gardener in a single stroke. Her form was solid—the mark of someone who had trained for years. She was a true knight, her swordsmanship far more systematic than the rough brawling style of most Labyrinth adventurers.
Her skills would probably hold up even on the middle floors, I noted.
However…
"Huh?"
She didn't seem to realize that her opponent was a 'monster,' not a person. Her style was specialized for dueling humans. It wasn't suited for the messy reality of monster hunting.
"Damn it!"
The knightess gasped as a Gardener she had sliced in half reached up and grabbed her ankle.
Monsters are far more resilient than humans. They don't feel fear, and the plants in this district don't even feel pain. If you don't destroy them completely, they'll keep clawing at you until their very last breath.
"Fi— Fireba—"
"Wait!" I barked.
"Huh?! Why…?"
"This is the Botanical Garden. Fire magic is a terrible idea here."
"Ah."
The witch had been seconds away from launching a Fireball to help the knightess. She was clearly skilled—she'd been about to cast it instantly without an incantation—but she lacked common sense.
This place was a tinderbox. One stray Fireball and the entire floor would go up in flames. We'd either be burned alive or suffocate from the massive clouds of toxic smoke produced by burning monsters.
"In this situation, do this."
I whipped my sling around and let fly, smashing the head of the Gardener clinging to the knightess. The stone hit with the force of a bullet, pulping the monster's skull. People often forget that a sling can be just as deadly as a bow in the right hands.
"Hmph. Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"Th-this is bad… we made the porter fight… we really are duds…" the witch whimpered.
"Ugh."
The Young Lady scowled. She clearly remembered my comment about a party being doomed if the porter had to intervene.
"By the way, Young Lady," I asked, "what exactly is your role in this party?"
"Me? I'm a Rogue."
"A Rogue? Then you…"
"My job is to open the treasure chests."
"I see. Right."
Now that I looked closer, her only weapons were two decorative daggers. A Marquis's daughter playing at being a Rogue.
"So, you don't fight at all?"
The knightess bristled at my question. "It would be a disaster if the Young Lady were to be injured in combat."
"Right. Of course."
So this really was just a picnic.
A knight who didn't understand monster biology. A witch who didn't consider her environment. A 'Rogue' with zero combat capability. And a priestess who just stood in the back and smiled.
"Wow."
I decided not to think too deeply about it. They were hobbyists, not professionals. They weren't here because they needed the money; they were here because a noble girl had a romanticized idea of adventuring. My job was just to make sure they got their 'experience' and made it home in one piece.
"Alright, let's explore a bit more."
Accepting their incompetence actually made me feel more relaxed. We'd do two more laps around the Gardener territory and then call it a day. I tossed the dead Gardeners into my inventory and prepared to move on.
Or at least, I tried to.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…!!!
"Wh-what is this?!"
"Porter! What's happening?!"
"Ugh… it's shaking!"
"Mr. Sion! Is this normal?!"
The entire Labyrinth was convulsing.
"I—I've never seen this before! Why now?!"
In my six months of exploring these halls, I had never felt an earthquake. Then, a terrifying thought struck me.
A Great Upheaval?
I'd heard rumors from veteran parties. Every once in a long while, the Labyrinth would 'twist.' Its very geometry would shift and rearrange itself. Adventurers called it the Great Upheaval.
"Quick! Grab onto the person next to you!!" I screamed.
When an Upheaval hits, the Labyrinth flings you to a random location. If you aren't holding onto your companions, you'll be scattered across different floors!
"Damn it!!"
I lunged forward and managed to seize the Young Lady's wrist. But the knightess, the witch, and the priestess were too far away.
A split second later, darkness swallowed us whole.
The Great Upheaval had claimed us.
Damn it.