Tanker Interview
Yernil washed herself clean with soap and hot water.
Her skin turned smooth and slick, and her blood vessels expanded, making her cheeks slightly flushed.
The scent of soap rose from her wet hair and the back of her neck.
"Phew."
When she was bathing, she thought she would go straight to bed and pass out the moment she lay down.
"I… I can't fall asleep!"
The mattress was extremely comfortable, but Yernil was too tense to fall asleep.
Because of Back Attack in the living room.
She was a sound-mapping ability user.
"He's moving."
The undead Back Attack moving outside the door was drawn in her mind as clearly as if it were right in front of her eyes.
Thud. Thud.
"On the living room carpet!"
From inside her blanket, Yernil was tracking his position.
—Grrr…!
"By the window!"
—Huh? Thump. Smack smack!
"He's pulling up the grass in the flowerpot and eating it…?
Do undead normally eat plants?"
—Uuuh…
Now Back Attack pressed his head against the window and struggled.
"Does he think he can pass through without realizing it's glass?"
—Grrr!
Back Attack might be able to run across ice or jump straight up a wall, but he could not perform a magic show of passing through glass.
Glass protected by anti-destruction magic does not break easily.
—Gah!
So Back Attack slapped the window with his palm and clung to it.
"Unexpectedly… he might be kind of cute…?"
Yernil giggled under the blanket.
Back Attack started moving again.
On the coffee table.
On the carpet.
Beside the bookshelf.
In front of the kitchen.
Huh?
No, not that, Back Attack!
'You're not supposed to get on the dining table!'
Back Attack began chewing on the kettle on the dining table.
Sucking on the spout over and over, like he was kissing it.
Eek!
If you do that, Caleb and I won't be able to drink water tomorrow, Back Attack!
"B-Back Attack!"
From inside her blanket, Yernil bravely called out toward the living room.
"You shouldn't do that!"
It was to draw Back Attack's attention away from the kettle.
"Huh?"
And she ended up catching that sound.
She succeeded in drawing his attention. Too well, in fact.
As a result, Back Attack suddenly kicked off the dining table and leapt.
The sound of his body cutting through the air flew straight toward Yernil's bedroom.
"…!"
Yernil jumped up in fright, throwing off the blanket.
Bang!
The position of Back Attack's landing footsteps was…
"Right in front of the door!"
Yernil sprang from the bed like a deer.
The moment the doorknob turned with a click, she threw her body against the door and barely stopped it.
"Ahhhh!"
—Guaaa!
"No! Don't come in!"
—Grrr…?
"I'm sorry! It's my fault!"
—Gaah!
"Go back! Go suck on the kettle!"
—Gaaah!
"Please!"
So much for being cute.
Yernil pressed herself tightly against the door and groaned.
Tears even welled up in her eyes.
"Back Attack."
Caleb's voice came from outside the door.
"Caleb! Caleb! Please help me!"
"What are you doing…?"
I came out to drink some water and found the two of them wrestling on opposite sides of the door.
After I pulled Back Attack away and sent him back to the living room, Yernil looked at me with teary eyes.
More precisely, at the glass of water in my hand.
"Th-the kettle water… you're not supposed to drink it…"
"Why?"
I had already drunk half of it.
"..."
Yernil hesitated, looking like it might be better for me not to know, but then told me anyway.
"Back Attack sucked on the spout of the kettle with his mouth."
Damn it.
I didn't know that.
I immediately poured out the remaining water.
Tomorrow, after washing the kettle, I should put it in the cupboard where Back Attack's hands can't reach it.
"Caleb! Can I sleep with you?"
As I was heading back to my room, Yernil hurried after me, glancing nervously toward Back Attack.
"We took turns sleeping together in one sleeping bag in the labyrinth, remember!
You have two beds in your room, Caleb.
Can I sleep next to you?"
Hey now.
Yernil.
This isn't a labyrinth, and men and women should keep proper boundaries.
How could you have such scandalous thoughts?
Tsk, tsk!
If Confucius saw this, he would scold you!
"I'm not going to sleep yet."
Just kidding. I actually had something to do in my room.
"Why?"
"I need to study a bit."
"I won't bother you."
Yernil quietly followed me in and lay down on the bed next to mine.
Then she watched me study in silence.
[On the Labyrinth Eruption Incident from 12 Years Ago]
It was a paper I had borrowed from the library.
Here in the labyrinth city of Sohen, where I am now, a massive labyrinth eruption occurred twelve years ago and caused enormous loss of life.
The author of this paper was Professor Ishirov.
He personally conducted various experiments and studies on the labyrinth eruption phenomenon from twelve years ago and recorded the important characteristics of the site.
[The labyrinth eruption twelve years ago was a typical explosive-type major eruption.
Up to 3,000 monsters appeared, and a large portion of them were monsters from the Abyss.]
[The name of the target identified as the cause of the major eruption was "Henry."
He was a possessed individual from another world who had been hiding in the southern slums of Sohen.]
[The reference photos below are on-site photographs taken using the practical magic "Photography."]
I turned the page and looked at the reference photos.
Henry's house, completely destroyed, appeared.
With most of the walls and roof collapsed, the poor possessed man's belongings were exposed.
A broken water jar.
A rug soaked in water that had spilled across the floor.
A shattered chair that looked like it had been used to resist the monsters.
It seemed he had been eating at the time of the attack, as crushed tomato salad was scattered across the floor.
And the body in the middle of it all…
'It's almost impossible to recognize the shape.'
It looked like a scene where an anxious puppy, left alone after its owner went out, had torn up a bunch of tissues and made a complete mess.
And…
[Message left in the room by the possessed individual (decoding required)]
There was a piece of writing that Ishirov had photographed.
It was in English.
[To All The Possessed]
'To all the possessed.'
[Watch out for MAGIC UNIVERSITY]
'Beware of the magic university.'
Hmm.
Does that mean to watch out for assassination factions like Meldini?
Or…
'Is there something more inside the magic university itself?'
That could be it.
There is one issue I have found suspicious all along.
'Why did the magic university suffer especially heavy damage during the labyrinth eruption?'
Because the mages fought bravely?
That might be true.
But what about this hypothesis?
'There were already many possessed individuals inside the magic university.'
And in the case of the incident twelve years ago, after the target who triggered the eruption—Henry—was eliminated, what if the monsters searched for other possessed individuals and swarmed toward the magic university?
If that is the reason the magic university suffered particularly heavy damage during the incident twelve years ago…
Then perhaps the real problem is not Meldini.
Perhaps inside the magic university, there may be something like a cartel of possessed mages hiding their identities behind Meldini.
'Or perhaps Meldini himself is a possessed individual.'
I don't know.
Isn't there a possibility like that?In all the time Meldini has been acting so aggressively, could it be that he never once cast a lie-detection spell on himself to self-verify?
Anyway, until I can clearly distinguish friend from foe, I have to absolutely hide the fact that I'm a possessed individual.
Thud.
I closed the book and slid it back onto the shelf.
"Yernil."
"Yes?"
"I figured you'd be tired, so I was going to just let you sleep today, but since you insisted on staying up and came all this way, I guess it can't be helped."
"Huh…?"
"You're not sleeping tonight."
"Gasp…?"
Yernil tensed up slightly, and I pulled out a thick stack of documents from my bag.
"Help me with an experiment."
They were a bundle of scrolls I'd bought from the black market that morning.
To everyone playing the god-tier masterpiece Labyrinth of the Abyss—this grizzled veteran Caleb has something to tell you.
Studying the game's judgment mechanics is essential for survival!
12:30 a.m.
Almost all the mages at the magic university had gone home.
There were only a few places left on campus with the lights still on.
The library, operating 24 hours a day and shining like a lighthouse in the darkness.
Dormitory room 308, where Caleb was deeply absorbed in his experiments.
And…
[Professor Ishirov's Office]
Ishirov was seated at his desk, receiving a visitor.
"You still haven't gone home?"
Meldini asked, wearing his coat and holding a bag.
"You even stopped by my office on your way home. Thank you."
"I heard you skipped the freshmen orientation today?"
"That's correct. Professor Dalstream attended in my place. I've been far too busy with a new project."
"You mean the one where you track the soul of a possessed adventurer?"
"Yes."
"Hm."
Deep wrinkles formed between Professor Meldini's brows.
"Who's in charge of that?"
"The much-talked-about freshman said he'd form a party himself and handle it."
"That kid enrolled?"
"Yes."
"I tried probing him a bit, but he scowled so hard that I wondered if he'd just stormed off."
"He enrolled. And he also joined my club."
"Professor Ishirov."
Meldini's brow furrowed sharply.
"Do you truly trust that kid?"
"..."
"Is that kind of talent something that can be explained away with a word like 'genius'?I've heard every testimony about what he did in the labyrinth.They say he drove an ice spike into a Venomic Spider's poison sac just before it burst, stopping the explosion."
"Is that so?"
"Abnormally extensive knowledge of labyrinths is a common trait among otherworldly possessed individuals."
"He used to explore labyrinths in Wyndham. Perhaps that's where he learned it."
"That's possible.But were all Wyndham adventurers skilled enough to escape after killing a Back Attack in a hastily formed two-man party with meager supplies?"
"..."
"If he's just a genius mage, that would be wonderful. I'd love it if that were the case!"
Meldini exclaimed.
"But we can't rule out the possibility that he's possessed."
"What are you trying to say?"
"Verify whether that kid is possessed or not.You're his club's supervising professor—you should be able to do it."
"Haa."
Ishirov let out a quiet sigh and walked over to the window.
There was a large flowerbed on the windowsill.Red flowers fluttered their petals as they caught Ishirov's scent.
"Do you know what kind of flower this is?"
"Isaacberry?"
"Correct. When the soil is rich in nutrients, it blooms into a beautiful flower and bears sweet fruit."
Ishirov continued,
"But if the soil lacks nutrients or there isn't enough rain, the Isaacberry stops bearing fruit and instead releases an intense fragrance, turning into a monster that devours the small animals drawn in by its scent."
"..."
"Whether that freshman is possessed or not—does it truly matter?As long as he keeps entering the labyrinth and contributes to the university, isn't that enough?We are severely lacking in mages right now."
Ishirov spoke calmly.
"I will become the soil, Professor Meldini.I'll make myself into rich, fertile ground using my knowledge as nourishment."
He held out a watering can.
"Could you be the one to hold the watering can, Professor Meldini?"
"Tsk."
Meldini clicked his tongue softly.
"You still haven't come to your senses, even after what happened twelve years ago.Why do you think the university is short on mages in the first place?"
"..."
"I'll be watching."
With that, Meldini left the office.
[Party Recruitment Interview]
▶ Party Leader: Caleb▶ Openings: 1▶ Role: A warrior skilled in close combat who can hold the front line
A new party formation had begun at the Adventurers' Guild!
Ordinarily, a labyrinth newbie like me—an ex-convict slave—trying to recruit party members on my own should attract almost no applicants.
Even in the game, at this point you're supposed to run around persuading people one by one to join your party.
But…
That's a lot.
In the interview room borrowed from the Adventurers' Guild, there were close to twenty applicants, plus a crowd of onlookers.
No matter how famous I'd become as a rookie who killed a Back Attack, there was no reason for people to swarm like this.The reason they came was…
"Whoa, he really controls a corpse.""Are these guys insane?""They're taking that thing into a labyrinth?"
Back Attack.
"C-come over he—!"
Yernil was dragging Back Attack into the interview room like a hunter taming a wild animal.
"No! Not that way! Come sit on this chair here—!"
It almost looked like she was handling a small child.
"You're not supposed to climb on the chair! Don't wall-walk! Kyaa! Don't pull my hair!"
The reason I deliberately brought this troublemaking undead here was because necromancy is somewhat controversial in this region.
It isn't legally forbidden, but morally people tend to go, 'Is that really okay…?'
So before forming the party, we need to clearly state our objective for entering the labyrinth and select someone who can ideologically agree with it.
And also generate a bit of buzz.
"When the Adventurers' Guild announced our party recruitment, they probably already explained this, but our goal for this labyrinth run is to locate the point where Mr. Back Attack's soul is preserved and use it to revive him."
I explained the spells currently placed on Back Attack.
"Once we enter the labyrinth, Back Attack will act as a guide, true to his role as a thief.He'll move toward the place where his soul is resting."
This part was Professor Ishirov's idea.The base spell is Lost Item Tracking.It seems Virtanen once used this spell on Abison's ID to locate Abison's corpse—though that became unnecessary once I brought the body out myself.
By applying a variation using a soul chain to the lost item tracking spell, you make the undead walk toward its own soul.
We follow behind, and when we reach the destination—ta-da!We steal Back Attack's soul!
…That's Ishirov's idea in a nutshell, and it's similar to the method I first used in-game when I searched for a soul's resting place.
Of course, this alone isn't enough.There are a few additional things I have to do personally while following the undead.
"Only those who are willing to enter the labyrinth with undead Back Attack and participate in finding his soul, please proceed with the interview."
In-game, you can directly view stats, but here, that's not possible—unless you actually sleep together as party members.
So instead…
"Please come forward and lift the oak barrel."
We began a brute-force strength test interview.
To be able to throw an oak barrel like Virtanen did, you need at least 15 strength.