Hi, my name is Monica. I will be going to the labyrinth with Elle and the others. It's like a dream to be able to go with a Blue Star-class 《Bluesteller》 and Platinum-class 《Platinum》 alchemist.

　Incidentally, that was the deciding factor when I showed Fee-san the alchemy without the alchemy formation early in the morning.

''Mo, Monica.......did you learn that......on your own?''
'No. I used Elle's paper as a reference.
"You're referring to... just reading?
'Yes. I read it up, remembered the theory completely, and practiced it over and over again.
''I didn't expect........to find a platinum level [platinum] alchemist in this village.......''
'What?　I'm at the platinum grade [platinum] level?!
That's right. If you understand the theory and can use it, that's a platinum level. Maybe you can take the exam right now and pass it. As for the practical skills, well, I don't know about the paper part.
Heh heh ... oh, it's amazing. I can't believe I've grown so much.
Oh, by the way, you can only use Monica in this village.
'Yes but I'm kind of glad. It was worth the effort.


　As a result of these exchanges, I was able to get Elle's permission to accompany me afterwards. But you can't go into the labyrinth with a half-hearted heart. It is said in the village that it is really a different place. And so we entered the labyrinth.


　◇


Ready for war!　You two, cover me!　Decide at once!
"Yes, sir!

'Okay, we're built!　Fee, Monica!　Get behind me!
'Hiiiiiiii, they're coming after us!


　The first level of the labyrinth. I was terrified in front of a large number of giant spiders 《Huge Spiders》. Ordinary spiders are fine. But when there are this many of them, I imagine that I will be eaten alive from the head...yes, I imagine that.

　But the alchemy that Fee-san uses while going half-crazy is much more skilled than me, and Elle-san is even more amazing.

　Singular Alchemy 《Extras》. It's a large-scale alchemy, an alchemy that can be accomplished by combining many layers of alchemy groups and using a large amount of magic. However, it takes an enormous amount of time to use it, so it's not practical.

　However, Elle managed to do it. In a minute.

...Absolute Zero.

　It is a realm of absolute zero. In the blink of an eye, all the giant spiders, the Huge Spider, freeze in place.

　Overwhelming. There is no more appropriate word to describe this.

　Everything is outstanding. There is no alchemist who can use the Singular Alchemy 《Extra》 all by himself. Except for him......... I once again caught a glimpse of the heterogeneity of the blue star class 《Bluesteller》.


　Then I went to the kingdom once and we came to the labyrinth once more. The second time, it was smooth, as if I knew what I was doing. We move deftly through the second, third and fourth layers. But on the tenth layer, we have to realize that this labyrinth is a horrible place to live. This labyrinth is a horrible place to be.


''........What?　I'm trapped!
But are you sure about this?
No, you can't destroy it like this, can you?　The alchemy is completely played out. No way, the transference is also... feeeee!　Can you use the transfer?!
No!　There's a disconnect between the other layers and the alchemy!　I can't go through the First Pledge《Primamateria》!
...I'm trapped.


　The moment I entered the tenth level, the doors closed and completely sealed off. The alchemy has been resisted by the wall and there is no way out.

　Then we noticed something large wriggling [squirming] in the ceiling. That is.............................but it is an order of magnitude larger than that. It's probably a subspecies, but that one is far too big.


''Fee, Monika!　Let's do it!
"Got it!


　Elle's voice was the cue to enter the battle. This time the battle was really what we should call a fight to the death. In addition to using alchemy, they also use transference together. They would use transference to move the threads they spit out and attack us from their blind spots. Me and Fee-san responded to it, while Elle-san fought the main body alone. But I knew that Elle-san's magic power wasn't much anymore. I'm fighting that thin-winged dragonfly [Usubakagero] with only physical enhancements, but the subspecies also uses regeneration. We were completely trapped.

　That's when Elle-san used it. A pure white Philosopher's Stone.

　We managed to buy time while preventing the attack. And then Elle-san shouted, "Feeb!

''Feeb!　Monika!　Come here!


　At the moment, I was behind Elle in Fee's transition. But it was painful to see him from behind. He's bleeding all over his body and there's a pool of blood on the ground. But we can't stop it. Because if we don't do this, we will all.......die.


'Ki, ki, ki, ki, ki, ki...........................'


　As the subspecies squeezed out its last voice, everything froze. And at the same time, Elle-san collapses.

''........Oh, you did......I.......''
'Are you okay?　Ellegh!
'Mr Elle!　Please get a grip!!!!


　◇


　Then, when Fee's transition took him back to my house, I shared my magic with him and healed Elle. The wound, which was too painful to heal, quickly healed. But he did not return to consciousness.

''.......Is Elle-san going to be okay?''
The pass is over. I'm sure he'll wake up tomorrow.
Good, good...

　I'm really relieved. But despite Elle's deadly efforts, I didn't do much to help. To put it bluntly, I'm probably only contributing half as much as Fee-san. I'm ashamed and frustrated at my inexperience.

''........Mr. Fee, I want to be even better at alchemy.''
I guess that's good enough for now?
'But I wasn't that useful in the battle earlier...'
'You're not trained in alchemical combat when you say that, are you?　That's good enough for me to do all that.
No. That's not good enough. I want to be better and better at it. So I'd like to talk to you about it, and I'd like to enroll in the academy.
At the Academy?　But it's a little late in the season, don't you think?　Well, I'm also a principal, so I can twist it, but.......seriously?　There's no doubt that they're very hard on sub-humans. Especially the nobility. Ordinary nobles take a lot of pride in themselves. What do you think would happen if an alchemist who is even better than them comes in such a situation?　And by a sub-human alchemist.
The stakes will be high, won't they?
Yeah. It happens to normal people, too. Even more so with elves. They may not be persecuted or discriminated against, but they don't look good. Do you still want to go in?
'I'm ready. And if relationships make alchemy less important, then so be it. I've been making excuses all this time. One day, let's go. Someday, I'll go to the kingdom and learn alchemy. Someday, I'll become an official alchemist. But someday when is that...?　I've always been spoiled by my potential. I thought I could do it someday, but that someday I would have to decide for myself. But that one day has to be decided by me. And that someday is now. Elle and Mr. Fee. After meeting the two alchemists, I realized that I'm not ready for this. I'm not ready yet. And I will become an alchemist who can be not only for myself, but for someone else.
Well that's a good spirit.


　Fee smiles at me.

　I grew up in this village all my life and then never had the courage to let go of the comfort of this place. I have a talent. So I knew that one day that talent would grow. But there is a limit to what you can strive for alone in this village. The only way to get more specialized training is to go to the kingdom.

　The Kingdom of Canovaria is a human kingdom. There are sub-humans, but it's said that they are less than 10% of the total population. But even so, I've made up my mind. I won't expose myself to the kind of unceremoniousness I've seen this time. I would become an alchemist who could serve someone else.


　That's how I officially took the exam for the Canovarian Alchemy Academy.