Hiyama watched him leave and sighed, "You naive boy, don't blame me. If you must blame someone, blame Shirazaki Kaori for falling for you."
....
After dinner, Meld, the Kingdom's General in charge of looking after the students, kept everyone behind.
Under the curious gazes of the students, Meld spoke in his rough voice:
"Starting tomorrow, we will embark on an expedition to the Olucus Great Labyrinth as part of our practical training. We will prepare the necessary supplies, but don't mistake this for the practical training against monsters outside the Royal Capital!"
"In any case, everyone, you must work hard! Get some good rest today! Dismissed!"
After saying what needed to be said, Meld quickly left.
As the students fell into an uproar, Hiyama silently thought from the back.
It's finally starting.
The Olucus Great Labyrinth.
It is said to be a Great Labyrinth with a total of one hundred floors.
Not only is it one of the seven Great Labyrinths, but the deeper the floor, the stronger the monsters that appear.
Despite this, the Labyrinth is often used for training by adventurers, mercenaries, and new recruits.
Because the Labyrinth makes it easy to estimate the strength of monsters based on the floor, it is convenient for training.
Moreover, the quality of the magic stones contained within the monsters there is far superior to those of monsters on the surface.
And in the story, this Olucus Great Labyrinth is also an important turning point that triggers the protagonist's transformation, but now that Hiyama Daisuke has become Hiyama, what kind of butterfly effect will it cause?*
Additional Chapter Rules
Accumulate 2500 fresh flowers for one additional chapter!!!
Accumulate one thousand recommendation tickets for one additional chapter!!!
Accumulate fifty monthly tickets for one additional chapter!!!
Accumulate 10 patron rewards for one additional chapter!!!
This is the author's first time writing a book on Feilu. Since new books usually have additional chapter rules, I just copied them. Please don't mind!
This book's subject matter is relatively niche, so it needs everyone's support even more. The author thanks all the readers!*
Chapter 5: I Have One Condition!
The next evening,
Hiyama and the others, along with several Knights led by Meld, arrived at Horayad.
This town specializes in providing accommodation for adventurers challenging the Olucus Great Labyrinth. It is said that new recruit training also frequently uses this place, so there is a Kingdom-operated inn in town, and the group stayed there.
Everyone was assigned a single room, and the environment was quite good, as it was an inn specifically for important Kingdom figures.
Hiyama looked at the distributed monster encyclopedia for the lower levels of the Labyrinth for a while. Tomorrow's Labyrinth Strategy will only go as deep as the twentieth floor.
It seemed very safe, but Hiyama knew what was about to happen there, and he had to be fully prepared just in case.
For this, Hiyama spent the entire afternoon purchasing many things at the market.
Afterward, he took out his status board to check it.
Status Board: Hiyama Daisuke
Age: 17 Gender: Male
Level: 1
Vocation: Fire Mage
Strength: 30
Stamina: 40
Resistance: 38
Agility: 52
Magic: 60
Magic Resistance: 45
Skills: Fire Affinity, Language Comprehension, Legendary Fire Affinity Talent
In addition to the two skills that the original Hiyama already had, there was also a Legendary Fire Affinity Talent rewarded by the system. This Legendary Talent allows Hiyama to cast all fire-attribute magic without chanting and increases the power of fire-attribute magic by three times.
For his vocation, Fire Mage, this is a terrifying talent.
If this status board were shown to the King and the Church, Hiyama's treatment could instantly be elevated to that of a "Hero."
Of course, Hiyama would certainly not do that now.
Just as he was thinking,
"Knock knock" a knock sounded.
"Finally?" Hiyama put away his status board, his eyes gleaming.
Whether the mission can be completed depends on tonight.
"Nagumo-kun, are you still awake? It's Shirazaki. Is it convenient to talk now?"
As Hiyama expected, Shirazaki Kaori's voice came from outside the door.
Hiyama unlocked the door and opened it, only to see Kaori standing outside, wearing only a pure white nightgown with a cardigan over it.
Shirazaki Kaori's face immediately lit up with joy when she saw someone open the door.
But it didn't last even half a second before it froze on her face.
"How can it be you, Hiyama Daisuke!"
Shirazaki Kaori covered her mouth in surprise.
"Nagumo and I swapped rooms, so of course it's me." Hiyama put on a 'didn't you know?' expression.
In fact, Hiyama knew in advance that Shirazaki Kaori was coming to see Nagumo Hajime tonight, so he specifically went to Nagumo Hajime to propose swapping rooms.
Given his current relationship with Nagumo Hajime, Nagumo Hajime naturally agreed without hesitation.
"Then... then I'm sorry, I came to the wrong person."
Shirazaki Kaori tried to leave in a hurry.
But unexpectedly, Hiyama grabbed her hand.
"Hiyama-kun, what's wrong?"
"I guess you came to find Nagumo Hajime to persuade him not to participate in this Labyrinth expedition, right?"
Shirazaki Kaori was about to pull her hand away from Hiyama, but upon hearing his words, she couldn't help but freeze and say, "How did you know?"
"It's not convenient to talk at the door, come in," Hiyama said.
Shirazaki Kaori was initially resistant, but she couldn't control her curiosity and was half-coaxed, half-pulled into the room by him.
Hiyama closed the door.
And this scene was just seen by someone....
After Shirazaki Kaori entered, she sat down at the table by the window, looking wary.
Hiyama poured her a cup of tea, prepared one for himself, and sat on the chair opposite her.
"Thank you."
Shirazaki Kaori was startled, but still took the teacup and politely thanked him, then sipped the tea in small mouthfuls.
The moonlight spilling in from the window illuminated her pure white form. Her black hair had a faint halo, making her look like a true angel.
However, more than an angel, Hiyama felt that Shirazaki Kaori at this moment was more like a small cat.
"Let's get to the point. I know what you want to say to Nagumo Hajime," Hiyama said.
Shirazaki Kaori was drawn by his words, put down her teacup, and looked at Hiyama.
"You're worried that something will happen to Nagumo Hajime this time, so you want him to refuse to participate in this operation, right?"
Hiyama seemed to see through Shirazaki Kaori's thoughts.
"That..." Shirazaki Kaori hadn't had a chance to speak when Hiyama interrupted her.
"Nagumo Hajime won't agree to you."
"Why?"
Shirazaki Kaori glared at Hiyama with some resentment.
"As Nagumo Hajime's only friend, I understand him much better than you do," Hiyama said with a smile.
Shirazaki Kaori's eyes widened. She had heard yesterday that the two had become friends, but she didn't expect it to be true.
If it was truly as Hiyama Daisuke said, then she could basically give up the idea of keeping Nagumo Hajime in town and out of the Labyrinth.
Thinking of this, a gloomy feeling couldn't help but rise in Shirazaki Kaori's heart.
"But if you're really worried about Nagumo Hajime's life, there isn't no way," Hiyama said lightly.
"What way?"
Shirazaki Kaori's eyes lit up as she asked.
"It's simple, I'll just watch over him."
"I am a fire-attribute Mage. As long as I save my magic power specifically to support Nagumo Hajime, he won't be in any life-threatening danger."
A Mage's magic power is limited. If Hiyama specifically focused on Nagumo Hajime's safety, he wouldn't have any extra magic power to use for front-line support.
And if such "slacking off" behavior were discovered, Hiyama would probably not fare well, and Meld would be very angry at the very least.
"It's just, I have one condition."
"Condition?" Shirazaki Kaori asked somewhat blankly.
"Of course there's a condition. Otherwise, why would I give up this opportunity to make a good impression and choose to help Nagumo Hajime instead?"
Hiyama sighed, this girl was really quite naive.
"Aren't you friends?"
Shirazaki Kaori was stunned.
"Friends? I only approached Nagumo Hajime for my own purposes. There's no talk of friendship."
Hiyama sneered.
"What!"
Shirazaki Kaori looked shocked. In her worldview, she would never have imagined someone doing such a thing.
"Now that you understand, I'll tell you my condition."
Hiyama continued slowly, regardless of what she thought: "As long as you confess to me here, we have a deal."
Shirazaki: "!!!?"*
Chapter 6: Why Is She So Proficient!
"Confess to you?" Shirazaki Kaori finally reacted, and immediately felt a bit angry.
She hadn't expected Hiyama to be this kind of person!
Wasn't this threatening her with Nagumo Hajime's safety, trying to get her to go out with him!