TM-Chapter 39

The Message Lost in the Labyrinth

An original game developed directly by Edward Berten, one of Soren’s greatest wizards.

[The Message Lost in the Labyrinth]

The rules of that game were as follows.

Participants form teams of three and enter the maze through different entrances.

After that, they solve the events they encounter and find the ‘Exit Scroll’ to escape the fastest and win.

Since it’s a kind of role-playing game, the three participants can each choose professions like Fighter, Thief, Wizard, etc., and are given random status windows.

“The events here are things like ‘You encountered a Goblin!’, ‘You stepped on a trap!’, ‘A beggar you met by chance is begging!’ and such.”

“……”

“For each event, a blank note is provided, and you discuss as a team for 60 seconds, write a solution on that note, and use Message Transmission magic.”

Then Edward waved his wand in the air and created five boxes.

[Great Success]

[Success]

[Status Quo]

[Failure]

[Great Failure]

“The transmitted message will go into one of these five boxes here, and each box will send you a reply.”

Edward demonstrated it himself.

“For example, let’s say you encountered a Goblin.”

Edward wrote ‘The warrior rushes forward and strikes the Goblin with a sword’ on the solution note and transmitted the message.

The result was Great Success.

Bang! With that sound, a reply came back from the Great Success box.

[The warrior defeated the Goblin and obtained a Healing Potion.]

“Let me show you the opposite case too.”

This time Edward wrote ‘The wizard rushes in and attacks the Goblin with fists’ on the solution note.

The result was Great Failure.

Bang! With that sound, a reply came back this time too.

[The Goblin dodged the wizard’s attack and counterattacked, dealing fatal damage to the wizard! The wizard will die from bleeding if a Healing Potion is not used within 60 seconds.]

“It’s like this. Do you understand?”

Certainly, it’s similar to TRPG using pen and paper, but the difference is that instead of proceeding on a table, you directly walk through a maze.

And one more thing.

TRPG usually determines the success or failure of solutions by dice rolls, but Edward’s game was not like that.

“Depending on how reasonable the solution is, the probability of going into each box varies from 0.1% to 99.6%.”

A warrior charging at a Goblin is a decent strategy, but a wizard attacking with punches was a crazy method. That’s why it fell into Great Failure.

“Therefore, it’s a game that requires tactics to properly analyze and allocate the magic and tools that the team has.”

“Huh!”

Suddenly Meldini burst out in admiration.

As a professor, he seems to covet this game itself.

“Berten! Don’t you have any thoughts of lending this entire game to the university? It would be very useful for training new students.”

“If Professor Meldini wins, I’ll consider it.”

“Is it possible to be defeated before finding the Exit Scroll?”

Clarence asked.

“Of course. Let me explain the defeat conditions. Let’s say the wizard from earlier died because he couldn’t treat the bleeding. Then until someone revives him, the wizard cannot use Message Transmission.”

“……”

“If all three participants die, it’s game over. And one more thing. Each participant starts with five Message notes, and if you exhaust all 15 notes total, it’s game over.”

“I understand!”

“Now I get it.”

“Let’s start the game!”

The wizards shouted.

“Is there anything else you’re curious about?”

Edward confirmed one last time.

I quickly raised my hand.

The elders here are wealthy so they’ll be fine, but Yernil and I have no money and no items.

“What are the victory prizes?”

“Good question. Each participant can bet money when starting the game, and if you clear it, I’ll give you twenty times the betting amount.”

Twenty times.

Not bad. Looking at the number of people here, there will be a total of 10 teams, so that’s worth considering.

The problem is that we have almost no money to bet……

“Then perhaps……”

Would this work?

“Could I bet the reward I’ll receive today?”

“Hahaha!”

Edward burst into laughter.

Pleasant laughter also flowed from among the surrounding elders.

“How daring.”

“Cute.”

“A young wizard should have at least that much guts.”

“It’s just like seeing myself when I was young.”

“That’s not right.”

Edward smiled and pondered for a moment before answering.

“Unfortunately, the betting limit is 10,000 gold. The reward that Caleb and Yernil will receive today is more than that.”

“……”

“But fine. I’ll make a special exception for just you two.”

“Thank you.”

“Now it’s time to form teams.”

Edward took out a small box.

“In this box are the name tag notes that the guard sent you when you entered our mansion. I’ll return these to their owners.”

He used Message Transmission on the box.

Each note that returned to its owner had a number written on the back.

Someone got number 2, someone got number 5, someone got number 12, and so on up to number 29.

“You take turns in numerical order to either designate and pick a person, or designate a two-person party to join. You cannot change teams.”

But with 30 total people and 10 teams, there were no number 1 and 30 tags. The reason was because of me and Yernil.

“We didn’t get notes.”

“That’s right.”

Edward suddenly came down the central stairs and stood in front of me and Yernil.

“Everyone here today is a senior wizard, whereas these two are short on adventuring experience, young in age, and are a Magic University freshman and beginner Ranger.”

He said.

“So if you two were assigned high numbers, you’d be left as just the two of you until the end.”

“……”

“So here, I’ve specially prepared notes with your two names written on them.”

That’s why there was a delivery error.

“Now, I’ll hold them so you can’t see, so pick one. The winner will be number 1 today, and the other person will be number 30.”

Edward made me and Yernil draw lots with our names.

And when one was drawn, the name that came out was……

[Yernil]

“Congratulations!”

“……”

“Yernil, please choose your team members. You can pick Caleb, you can pick Izel, or you can pick Professor Meldini in the back.”

Hmm.

I glanced over worriedly and as expected.

Yernil’s face had turned pale!

***

‘This is terrible.’

Yernil was literally breaking out in a cold sweat.

‘I don’t understand anything!’

She only understood half of what Edward had explained.

So I just need to get out of the maze, right?

Yernil, who had lived a life far from magic, didn’t even know how to use Message Transmission.

They say that magic contained in wands can be easily used by anyone even without things like Memory Books.

‘But still, how could I……’

Yernil felt like she had become a walking bomb of nuisance.

“You must choose well. Since Message Transmission is quite a tricky magic, it might be a bit difficult for Yernil.”

Edward was making it even more frightening by saying such things!

“So choose a wizard with excellent magical abilities. One of the professors in the back.”

“Uh…… Uh uh……”

“By the way, while event resolution must be done through Message Transmission, you can freely use your own abilities for maze exploration. So just pick the most outstanding professor here.”

Yernil’s face turned bright red and she didn’t know what to do.

Whoever she picked would surely be displeased with that wizard. A complete beginner among beginners who had only entered the 1st floor of the labyrinth twice, and moreover a Ranger who couldn’t use any magic.

This was just like bringing a neighborhood bakery part-timer!

She would definitely only drag the team down.

For the same reason, she couldn’t pick Caleb either. Not in the real world, not in a game—she couldn’t be a burden.

“I……”

Yernil’s face grew hot and she slowly lowered her gaze.

“I don’t know…… I’m sorry, but could you give the choice to Caleb instead?”

Yernil thought it would be better to be number 30 and enter an empty spot at the last moment.

If no one wanted her until the end, it would be more miserable, but she’d feel less guilty.

Just give the choice to Caleb and let him create a dream team that could win……

“Then I’ll pick Yernil.”

Huh?

***

There were some cheering sounds from around us, and some young men chatted about something regarding Izel.

“Caleb!?”

Yernil looked quite surprised, and Edward was the same.

“Are you saying you’ll take care of the partner you brought yourself?”

“……”

“Caleb. I heard that you protected party members to the end even in the labyrinth. But this isn’t a labyrinth, you know. It would be fine to make a more interesting team.”

“I chose this party member because I want to win.”

“To win……?”

“Yes.”

“You picked a labyrinth beginner who’s ignorant about magic because you want to win? In a game played with Message Transmission magic?”

“Since we discuss and write solutions anyway, it doesn’t matter if there’s one labyrinth beginner. And being ignorant about magic might actually be the key in this game.”

“……”

Edward smiled broadly as if he’d been caught.

Yernil had an expression like she couldn’t follow what this was about at all.

But this was natural. Edward had been too obvious about it.

“Anyone can see that Yernil is the only non-wizard here, and if there’s someone most likely to make mistakes with the fifteen Message Transmissions, it would be Yernil, so Yernil would be left until the very end.”

“……”

“But if you invited us as guests, treated us this well, and prepared gifts, you wouldn’t have designed a game where Yernil would feel embarrassed, would you? There are many other games, but you specifically chose this one.”

Even giving crazy choices like number 1 or number 30, forcing Yernil to either pick first or be picked last?

Either way, Yernil would inevitably feel burdened and be perfectly set up for humiliation.

And there would definitely be guests who would find that situation itself uncomfortable.

There might be talk later about embarrassing someone they personally invited to the party. But someone like Edward wouldn’t have designed it so carelessly.

“In this game, Yernil has a hidden advantage. Right?”

And at the end, ta-da! Actually, Yernil has this!

……Revealing it to everyone while giving the guests laughter and Yernil a thrilling sense of reversal and power.

It would have been that kind of prank.

“I decided to bet on that.”

“Haha.”

Edward burst into laughter again.

“What if there’s no such advantage?”

“Then you’ll create one for us from now on.”

“Ah-.”

Edward lightly patted my shoulder.

“I really can’t beat you. Did the professors notice?”

“Not at all.”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“There’s an advantage? For that Elf lady?”

“Everyone.”

Edward took out another note.

“The final rule of this game, ‘The Message Lost in the Labyrinth.’ I’ve cast Transmission Disruption magic on the entire mansion.”

“Transmission Disruption?”

“All wizards transmitting messages have a certain probability—”

He used Message Transmission on the note.

“—that their message won’t enter any box and will get lost in the labyrinth.”

Edward’s transmitted message didn’t enter any of the five boxes.

Instead.

Flutter-. Flutter-.

A reply falls from the sky.

[The message lost in the labyrinth has summoned the giant monster Gorgon!]

And a huge Gorgon phantom suddenly pops up before our eyes.

“Random replies with anything written on them come back. It might even be beneficial, but random results themselves aren’t good for adventures.”

“……”

“But this rule only applies to ‘wizards’.“

Edward pointed at Yernil.

“This Ranger lady here is an exception.”

“Huh!”

“Hah! This guy!”

“What a trick!”

The wizards burst out with sighs.

“So in today’s game only, Yernil will have a higher success rate for Message Transmission than even the professors.”

Edward gently comforted Yernil.

“I’m sorry, Yernil. I wanted to let you feel like a pawn in chess reaching the opposite end and promoting to a Queen.”

He shook his head.

Looking at me.

“Someone ruined it though.”

“……”

“Well then, everyone. Shall we form teams now?”

***

“……Phew.”

Yernil barely let out a sigh of relief.

“I was so nervous thinking I’d be left alone at the end with no one taking me.”

“That would never happen.”

“But weren’t you going to pick Izel, Caleb?”

Yernil whispered in my ear.

How did she know?

“You kept talking about Izel, so I thought you were going to team up for the game.”

That was the original plan.

I was going to ask about Enver and the possessor while playing the game together.

But……

“Actually, I just picked you because you looked too nervous.”

This was true.

You looked like a quiet girl who got forcibly summoned to the stage on a middle school field trip.

And I probably won’t miss Izel either.

Because……

“Now, participant number 2, please choose your team!”

Izel Berten was number 2.

She showed her number tag and approached me.

“I’ll join Caleb’s party.”

As expected.

Just as I had been interested in Izel, she must have been interested in me too.

Since Professor Enver had told her that story earlier, she’d be curious about what kind of labyrinth knowledge I have……

‘Huh?’

Suddenly the atmosphere among the young men in the back started buzzing.

This situation had become a somewhat interesting picture for the high society social circles of wizards.

‘Izel picked that team, didn’t she?’

‘No matter how much advantage the Elf has, wouldn’t a professors’ party still be better?’

‘Isn’t that the kid who’s only been in the labyrinth twice? It’s his first wizard game too.’

‘Why did she join that team?’

‘Because of Caleb?’

‘Because Caleb didn’t pick her first?’

‘Was she the type attracted to bad guys?’

‘She rejected me when I asked to do something together……’

‘My world collapsed today.’

I might actually be a natural tank rather than a wizard.

Why do I keep drawing all the attention everywhere I go……