Chapter 20: The Labyrinth of Girls

The four of them arrived at the labyrinth, and Amelia and the girls appeared somewhat fatigued. Sensing this, Dennis made the decision to allow them some rest in the shade of a nearby rock.

“Is this hole the labyrinth?” 

Following Ameila’s inquiry, Dennis nodded and explained once again to be cautious inside the labyrinth.

“Listen, no matter how frightened you become, never let panic overtake you. If you feel scared, just stay behind me.”

“Yes” “Understood” “Okay”

Together, they ventured into the labyrinth. Amelia and Jasmine were cautious and fearfu, while Finne’s eyes shimmered with excitement. Their individual personalities were clearly evident.

“The labyrinth is so dark,” 

Finne was wide-eyed and scurrying around. 

“Don’t worry. We have light. It may be a bit dim, but you’ll get used to it.”

After approximately five minutes of walking, they came across a green slime.

“So, this is a slime?” 

Amelia stared at the green slime with wide eyes. Finne and Jasmine did the same.

“First one…. will Finne fight?”

“I will.”

With enthusiasm, Finne stepped forward, wielding her Nail Rod. She swung the Nail Rod down and attacked the green slime. Although the first two strikes didn’t hit the core, she managed to finish it off on the third attack.

Indeed, it seemed that she couldn’t obtain the true name from the first slime. Still, Amelia and the others searched and moved around, defeating several green slimes one by one.

During that time, they also endured the slime’s electric shocks, which helped them realize that they couldn’t let their guard down against these types of monsters. Finally, they arrived at a small, dome-like space with mineral deposits.

“There are seven green slimes inside. Let’s go all at once.”

Finne exclaimed with enthusiasm.

“Wait… Look up at the ceiling.” 

Dennis stopped the three of them from rushing in.

This small dome-like space was the place where Dennis obtained the true name of “Magic Essence”. It was also the location where numerous slimes were clinging to the ceiling.

“The ceiling… Is there something up there?”

Amelia and the others looked up at the ceiling, their breath catching in their throats. The sight of numerous green slimes wriggling around was enough to make the ceiling appear as if it were rippling.

“It’s… kind of creepy,” 

Jasmine expressed her thoughts. And Dennis couldn’t agree more.

“Sir Dennis, are we going to defeat all of them by ourselves?”

“This number is challenging for you guys. I’ll take down only thirty percent of them, so when I give the signal, come inside.”

Dennis held the quaking blade in his hand and entered the small dome-like space. He started taking down the slimes crawling on the ground. As he did so, the slimes clinging to the ceiling suddenly dropped down in unison.

“Big brother!” “Aaah!” “Kyaa!”

Amelia and the girls exclaimed in surprise.

Dennis remained calm. He maneuvered through the descending slimes, evading them while swiftly eliminating them with the quaking blade. After taking down around thirty percent of them, Dennis gave the signal.

Amelia and the others, who had been waiting near the entrance, joined the battle. With serious expressions, they swung their Nail Rods with all their might. Gradually, the number of slimes began to decrease.

“Ah!”

Finne exclaimed, startled by something. Dennis realized that the girl had successfully obtained the true name of “Magic Energy”. This time, there didn’t seem to be any black slimes, so they wouldn’t be able to obtain the “Magic Essence” like he did.

Even after acquiring the “Magic Essence”, Dennis had defeated hundreds of slimes, but he had never encountered a black slime. It must be an extremely rare existence.

Following Finne, Amelia and Jasmine also obtained the true name of “Magic Energy”.

“Don’t stop moving. There are still slimes left.”

Amelia and the others, who had obtained a true name for the first time and momentarily halted their attacks, regained their composure and resumed the battle. When all the slimes had been defeated, Amelia and the two girls sat down, completely drained, as if they had given it their all.

“Big brother Denis is quite strict. Even though we’re all girls.” Amelia said.

“I was actually plenty easygoing. You should know that I had to take on these slimes all by myself before.” 

Dennis replied, prompting Amelia and the others to nod in agreement.

“Now, it seems that all three of you have obtained the true name of ‘Magic Energy’.” 

The three girls exchanged glances and nodded happily.

Dennis observed Amelia and the other girls with mixed feelings. He was relieved that they, including his sister Amelia, had safely obtained the true name of “Magic Energy”. However, he couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied with the fact that they had achieved this with less than twenty percent of the slimes compared to the number he had defeated.

(In my case, I struggled to the point of thinking I might die. Is this the norm? If so, then I must have unbelievably bad luck.)

After taking a short break, Finne’s stomach rumbled audibly.

“Are you hungry? Let’s have lunch.”

“Yay!”

Finne seemed quite hungry, as she immediately took out rye bread and a water bottle from her backpack and started eating. Amelia and Jasmine laughed and pulled out their own lunches from their backpacks, resigned to the situation.

After finishing their lunch, Dennis started teaching them about how to use “Magic Energy”. However, since Dennis didn’t possess the true name of “Magic Energy”, he had to rely on the theories he had read in books and materials, organize them in his mind, and proceed with training.

After about three hours of training, Amelia and the others learned the tricks of using “Magic Energy”. It all started with being able to sense the presence of Magic Energy within their bodies.

Once they could sense the magic energy, they trained to control it. In today’s training, they managed to gain a little control over it.

When they could circulate the Magic Energy within their bodies, their physical abilities improved. It was like a fifty percent increase compared to their usual capabilities. If Eckhart had used this ability in the match before the king, Dennis would have surely lost, as his “Magic Essence” didn’t possess such enhancing powers.

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s gather the zinc and head back.”

Dennis hadn’t completely exhausted the zinc deposits. He knew that iron was more valuable than zinc, so he had focused on mining on the fourth floor until now.

He handed each of the three girls a rock hammer for mining. A rock hammer is a tool with one side shaped like a pickaxe, similar to a regular hammer.

These custom-made rock hammers were specially crafted by Dirk, the blacksmith. Dennis had realized the limitations of using a warhammer for mining and had requested these tools.

The sight of the three girls digging in the ore deposit was adorable, as if they were playing pretend. However, after each of them had dug around two kilograms, they grew tired.

Dennis decided to stop the mining and head back. After returning to the surface and loading the zinc onto a cart, Amelia and the others started rubbing their eyes, looking sleepy as if they had run out of energy.

“Are you all feeling sleepy? You can just hop onto the cart,” Dennis suggested.

“But…” 

Jasmine struggled to keep her eyes open, but Amelia and Finne climbed onto the cart and sat down before falling asleep. Jasmine couldn’t resist any longer and also climbed onto the cart, soon falling asleep and letting out gentle snores.

Dennis pulled the now heavier cart back to the town.

“We’ve arrived in town. It’s time to wake up,”

Finne yawned and sat up. Amelia and Jasmine also woke up and stretched.

“Sorry for falling asleep,” Amelia apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s sell the zinc at the general store.” 

At the general store, they sold six kilograms of zinc and received forty pals and four copper coins each.

“Is it okay for us to have these?” 

Finne asked, placing the copper coins on her palm to confirm.

“These are what you mined and brought back. You can take them without hesitation,” 

Four copper coins amounted to a modest sum, equivalent to the cost of a single meal. Nevertheless, it was the first money they had earned themselves, and it brought them joy. They held onto the coins tightly.

After bidding farewell to Finne and Jasmine, Dennis returned to the mansion and pondered whether to challenge the fifth floor. He had yet to descend to the fifth floor, which was the final floor of the Rock Mountain Labyrinth.

The monsters on the fifth floor were called Carbuncles. They resembled foxes, with horn-like crystals made of magic essence on their foreheads. According to the information he found in the study of the mansion, they were rare creatures known for their ability to unleash lightning balls.

What made them rare was the fact that defeating these creatures granted the true name of “Crystallization” or “Lightning Strike”. It was uncommon to encounter monsters that yielded two true names.

Dennis hadn’t descended to the fifth floor because he wasn’t fully prepared. The troublesome aspect of battling Carbuncles was their lightning ball attacks.

However, according to the information he had, Carbuncles weren’t considered particularly formidable creatures. After acquiring the true name of “Armor” from the Armored Lizards on the fourth floor and becoming proficient in that Mana Art, defeating them should be relatively easy.