Hi, Havion here, hope everyone is doing well. Once again (and probably many times more in the future), apologies for the lack of updates. Cialaxis mentioned in the last announcement post about the author of Teihengyo’s inactivity as well as our waning interest in the project, so there isn’t anything much for me to add to that.
Instead, we’ve decided to be a little less ambitious and pick up something ‘complete’ and relatively short (~36 chapters) , contrary to its title: “S-Rank Swordsman Who Was Left Behind By His Party In The Hardest Labyrinth Heads to the Unknown Deepest Depths While Being Completely Lost ~ My Instincts Tell Me That This Way Probably Leads To The Exit.”
Let us know what you think. Once again, sorry for slow updates and thanks for the support!
Translator: Havion
“Can you stop that?”
Ziel grabbed the leader, Godach’s arm on the very morning of their adventurer party, <Future Plan>’s[1] first attempt at the most difficult labyrinth — <Abyss>[2].
“……Aaahhh?”
“I kept quiet because I just joined, but isn’t she also a member of the same party? Being a luggage carrier doesn’t matter. Please stop your attack, it’s unpleasant to look at.”
Even more so if it hits.
Ziel gripped Godach’s wrist strongly.
It was something that happened right outside the party’s lodging’s entrance.
The tens of members of <Future Plan> were gathered there. Right in the centre of the group were Ziel and Godach.
A large man donning a mithril armour — The stout-armed man who brought together 40 fates into a single S-ranked party — Godach face contorted into a scowl as he glared.
On the other side, although with a visibly inferior physique, the black-haired bespectacled young man whose height is tall and presence sharp — Ziel — faced that glare without backing down.
“Do you have a problem with the way I do things?”
“Unfortunately so. The contract didn’t state that I have to agree with all that you do and have done after all.”
“Err, Ziel-san, I don’t really mind…”
The grey-haired girl with water-blue eyes who found herself stuck in between the two at the time was one of the party’s supporters — The one in charge of mapping, luggage carrying, and other miscellaneous tasks — who goes by the name Kuraha.
“So she says.”
“This isn’t about what the person themself thinks. It’s just that I don’t like it. Don’t tell me that you plan to continue nagging about how the supporters are [deadweights] or [useless] even after we enter the dungeon? …We are about to challenge this country’s hardest labyrinth which only allows S-ranked challengers. Please let me do it comfortably.“
Godach glared at Ziel for a good whole 10 seconds.
However, seeing Ziel not taking a single step back, he clicked his tongue once and shook his arm off.
“Don’t get too full of yourself, greenhorn whose only point of pride is your sword… Once we enter the labyrinth, you are to follow my commands with absolute obedience.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Letting a huff, Godach turned his attention towards his surroundings.
“What are you guys standing around for? Let’s go!”
The members hurriedly prepared the move out. Godach left the lodging’s entrance in large strides, followed by the sounds of many footsteps.
Seeing his back, Ziel let out a sigh.
“Ex, Excuse me…”
Kuraha addressed him reservedly.
“I’m sorry, for you to have to cover for me…”
“Ah, don’t mind it.”
Although the girl bowed her head, Ziel just lightly waved his hand.
“As I said, I just personally couldn’t stand it. I should apologise instead if this causes undue attention towards you” (Ziel)
“No, please do not apologise for something like that!”
The two of them followed after the other members.
Those who have completed their preparations are getting onto a carriage parked in front of the lodging. Naturally, Ziel and Kuraha are the last to enter.
While swaying, Kuraha began by saying “Excuse me,”
“Ziel-san, were you scouted to join the party?”
“Yeah,” Ziel nodded.
“Though I did not register as an adventurer until now. But the thought of challenging a labyrinth no one is able to traverse seemed interesting.”
“Are you the legitimate successor of a famous sword style?”
“Legitimate… Legitimate huh…”
Ziel’s expression turned dark.
“That kind of thing isn’t a big deal. It’s not like such a thing is set in stone anyway. But if you’re asking whether I was taught how to handle a sword, then yes, I was.”
“But, I heard that the eastern country succeeded in killing a dragon. Godach-san…leader-san said so when he decided to scout you, Ziel-san.”
“That guy was taken down by both the master and I. Right now, I am travelling around the world in order to be able to take it down myself…whoa,”
The carriage shook greatly as it travelled across the pavement.
While Ziel’s body was afloat, Kuraha supported the tied up luggages with her hand to prevent it from falling.
Though that act was unneeded, and meaningless beyond giving peace of mind.
“It didn’t even budge.”
Ziel said, a little surprised.
“Anyone can do this much…”
“That’s not true. …Well, I can’t do it anyway.”
Ziel said shyly.
“I’m not good at tying things with strings, and I can’t even wear any defensive equipment. Look, even my shoes require such a belt for me to wear it.”
“If you are fine with it, would you like to wear one of the spare armours? I can help attach it for you…”
Ziel refused, saying “It’s fine”.
“Kuraha, have you been doing this for long?”
“This would be my second year. I started when I was 15…umm, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“What should I do to become strong?”
Ziel went wide-eyed.
Kuraha hung her head, seemingly discouraged.
“Ah, umm, I understand that I’m asking a lot.”
“No, that’s not it…why me?”
Instead of asking the seniors of her party.
To explain, she began telling her story.
“I admire adventurers. I loved listening to tales of heroes ever since I was a child…and would like to someday venture into places unknown just like them. That was my dream. That’s why until I became old enough to be an adventurer, I studied various things…such as backpacking followed by map making, as well as various other mundane topics.
“Yeah,” Ziel nodded.
It’s no wonder that among the other supporters, Kuraha’s work stood out better than the rest, he thought.
“Then, you thought of improving your battle skills as an adventurer.”
“Yes. It’s not enough to only have survival skills during an adventure, it’s important to have the power to face off against monsters as well. …But, ”
“No one will teach me,” she said.
“When I joined <Future Plan>, I heard that there is a step up training course for supporters to become a main member but…in reality, it was all [See and remember] and [If you can’t do that, that just means you don’t have talent so give up]”
“I see, “ Ziel gave a nod.
“It means there isn’t a system to raise people internally. Hence, they bring in people like me from outside as reinforcement, huh ”
He kept the thought that it’s a reasonably logical thing to do to himself.
However, if this goes on…thinking about the problems that would occur if this system spreads throughout the adventurer industry, as well as the dishonesty of presenting a different set of conditions than what was mentioned prior to being hired, Ziel personally doesn’t think it is right to leave this matter alone.
This is probably the first and last time he would be a part of this party to conquer this dungeon, he silently thought.
“Well, I understand that it is shameless of me to ask this of you, I’ll pay as much as I can for the tuition fees later, so…”
“Whatever.”
“Eh?”
“Basically, no matter what you do, you will get stronger”
Without listening to the end of Kuraha’s request, Ziel said this.
“As long as you don’t get injured or fall sick, you can get stronger by basically doing anything. Battles are…in fact, this isn’t limited to just battles, every action you take adds up.”
“It adds up, does it?”
Ziel began by saying that what he is going to say may be difficult to understand.
“For example right in front of you…well, if a red wolf or whatever charges straight at you, what would you do?”
“Eh? That’s…I’d aim for a counter…”
“If it was you, it would probably be better to foresee the charge beforehand and set a trap in advance.”
Although the question was in bad taste, Ziel continued.
“Regarding battles, there isn’t anything clear-cut like when it will begin or what action should be taken or avoided. The cards each person has is different after all. The timing to use those cards is similarly different. What is important is you have a grasp on what cards you have. From there, skillfully deal those cards. …No matter how useless a card, there is always a place to use it.”
“When you say that I will be stronger no matter what I do, you mean…”
“It’s better to have more cards in your hands. As long as you do something, you will contribute to your overall combat strength. The rest is…well, the versatility of your cards I guess. A well trained hand would increase the chances of pushing through unfavourable situations. A hand with a wide range of uses would have a significant influence towards this overall strength.”
“Err,” Kuraha seemed perplexed.
“Y, you’re quite the theorist, Ziel-san…”
“I’m just a sophist.”
Ziel was a little embarrassed.
“I may have said all that, but the sword is all I have. I’m completely useless at anything else…you could say I really pushed through with a single card. I just turned my envy of others into such a reasoning.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s right.”
Ziel nodded, then tapped on his glasses.
“For example, I have extremely poor eyesight… Moreover when the dragon was killed, my eyes received a curse, causing the effects of body strengthening to only provide it with a simple [Increased toughness]… Therefore it is very likely that I would not be able to do things such as identifying the labyrinth’s traps.”
Before Kuraha could respond,
“Furthermore, my sense of direction is beyond bad. …Actually, before I came here, I intended to begin my travels in the opposite direction of this country.”
“Eh,”
“That is why…”
“This is just an assumption,” Ziel said before he continued.
“If I — who only knows how to swing a sword — charge into the labyrinth, I would probably never come out.”
“It’ll be over if even my glasses break, ” Ziel adds with a laugh.
“I see,” Kuraha was barely able to respond when she was given a small case while being told that “That’s why could you help hold onto these spare glasses?” and “I would be really troubled if these are gone”. The carriage came to a stop right when she received the case.
“Oh, we have arrived.”
“Ah, I’d better hurry…”
Seeing Kuraha carrying a luggage that is taller than her, Ziel said “But well,”
“Putting aside the complicated stuff, if you just want a card that’s good for battle in general, I don’t mind teaching you after we conquer the dungeon.”
“……Eh?”
“Swordsmanship.”
Not understanding what was said to her, Kuraha just stopped moving.
Then, a “Is that fine?” softly leaked out from her lips.
“It’s fine,” Ziel lightly replied.
“Taking in a disciple…isn’t really that big of a deal. It’s not like it’s some secret swordsmanship passed down to a single child, and it seems that master as well as grandmaster have already taught it to many others.”
Though he shyly added at the end,
“If you are fine with me anyway.”
Kuraha has a ‘I can’t believe this’ look plastered on her face.
“Please take care of me, ” the girl bowed her head beyond 90 degrees while her hands were moving pretty much automatically to complete the preparations to get off the carriage.
19 and 17, a young man and woman who will be challenging the hardest difficulty labyrinth, have made a small promise right in front of it.
By the way, 2 hours later the young man’s — Ziel’s — glasses let out a ‘crack’ sound and broke, leaving him all alone in the middle levels of the labyrinth
Notes:
[1]: The party’s name is read as “Future Plan” but written as “The Next Peak”
[2]: The labyrinth’s name is read as “Abyss” but written as “Never Seeing The Sky Again”
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