Serafina came to me when I left the lending workshop and joined me there - she continues to be equipped with the 'Great Shield of Mirror Armor'. I returned the 『Shaking Tower Shield+3』 to her, but she seems to have it stashed away in her warehouse now.

　Serafina told me that the guild recommends using a special room when transferring to the Treasure Palace using the Trap Cube.

　On our way to the transfer station near the 'Green Pavilion' to get to that room, we saw the four members of the 'Four Seasons' - we quickly lost them because of the distance, but they seemed to be on their way to the labyrinth.

''Seraphina-san, do you know what's beyond that place?''
''Yes, there is an entrance to the 'Primary Color Plateau'. It's a labyrinth where the demons that appear in the seventh district have a habit of appearing in the maze, but at the first level, I think you'll be able to hunt consistently.
'I see ... well if that's the case, I guess I don't have to worry about it.
I'm sure Ryoko and the others won't do anything rash, but if you're worried about it, do you want to come with me?
Wouldn't you be put off by it if you changed your plans and went with him?

　Both Igarashi-san's and Misaki's opinions are reasonable - more than that, it would be rude for them to worry too much. They are also searchers who have built up a track record.

'Ryoko and the others are doing their best... we have to do our best, too.
'Yeah, right. Let's keep our heads up.

　In response to Elitia's words, we walk away. While we move, I decide to talk to Melissa about her skills.

'Melissa, while we're at it, I'd like to discuss some new skills...'
Okay, fine. You can always tell me if you want to, but don't worry about it.

　Melissa pulls out a license from her apron pocket and shows me how to operate it.

　◆Skills Acquired ◆.

　Cut off the headset, catcall, ambush
　Knifing, dismantling techniques1 Cooking1 Connoisseur1
　Magic Tool Creation 2

　Skills that can be acquired

　Skill Level 2
　Through a thousand pieces of paper: Ignore the target's defense and attack. Limited to weapons used
　Moonsault - Launches an attack that is easier to hit against airborne enemies.
　Scaling: When attacking a target, the enemy's defense may be reduced. Required Skill: Cut off
　Hangman's Cut: Attack by hanging the target up. The attacker is prone to local destruction. Required skill: Demolition Technique 1
　Scratch and Claw: Perform up to 8 consecutive combat attacks to inflict "bleeding". Required skill: Scratch
　Bone Crusher: Attacks with an additional blow attribute, regardless of weapon. This is more damaging than a normal attack.
　Loud Voice: Make a threatening voice to check your opponent and damage their magic.
　Dismantling Technique 2: Your dismantling skills will be improved and the types of materials you can acquire will increase.

　Skill Level 1.
　Silent Mu: Reduces the target's hostility to you.
　Thorn Out: Destroys the "thorns" that occur in the terrain.
　Cat Language Comprehension: You will be able to understand the language of cats and cat-type demons.
　Scratch: Performs 2 consecutive attacks and inflicts "bleeding".
　Spinning and Landing: Will not injure you if you jump from high places.
　Grooming: Restores systemic anomalies to the body.
　Catwalk: Crosses over extremely narrow spaces.
　Claw Sharpening: Increases attack power with claws. Elevated status abnormalities will be restored.

　Remaining skill points: 5

　Melissa has a wide range of options, probably because she learns the occupational origin of 'demolition shop' and the skill of 'warcat', which is derived from her race.

''You were talking about taking 'Grooming', so let's take that first.
'All right. And since I'm a 'demolition man', I need 'Demolition Techniques 2'.

　Melissa's hope is that there's no other way to go, so there are only 2 skill points left - 'Through a Thousand Pieces' seems to require a sharp, sharp weapon, so I can't use it even if I take it now.

　'Cat Language Comprehension' seems to be immensely effective in some cases, but 'Moonsault', 'Silent Mew', 'Thorn-Out', and the offensive skills may also be useful in some cases.

　New Skills of Melissa

　Dismantling technology 2
　Grooming

'I'll just get these two and then I'll take the rest when I need them. Because all of the combat skills are hard to match.
''I wish I could take them all, but I don't want to keep them and not use them.

　It's not easy to make last-minute decisions and acquire skills, but it gives you options in a tight spot. However, taking it beforehand can be advantageous, so it's a difficult thing to do.

　When we've finished examining the skills, we arrive at the transfer station and Seraphina controls where the door goes. We then enter a large, brightly lit room, similar to the one we use to open the box, but without the lights.

　I take out a trap cube and place it on the floor and have everyone stand around it. Then I activate the trap cube - just by reminding myself of it, the crystal ball in the cube's metal frame begins to glow, and something similar to the feeling I always get when I transition comes.



　Whenever I transitioned, I felt like I was 'drifting in one direction'. But now there's a strange floating feeling of not being able to determine the direction.

''-- The destination of the transition is fluctuating. Causal law interference........reacting to the blessing on the contractor.......''
"Master, where we are headed is different than usual. Use my power when it should come.

　Ariadne and Murakumo are talking to us - our friends haven't noticed yet. That the destination of the "Trap Cube" is not the normal Treasure Palace, but that it has been 'rewritten' to a different place in response to us making a contract with Ariadne.

　◆◇◆

...This is the Treasure Palace...?
'Wait ... are you sure about that?　Because this place is....

　It was similar to that hierarchy that Ariadne was in - not a natural labyrinth, but a place that looked like it had been built by someone else, but never seemed to be built by human hands.

　The walls, floors and other structures were similar, but what was different was that it was much brighter than that place. When I looked up, there was no roof - I wondered if the one blue color I could see there was the sky. There is something fictional about the landscape.

''Oh, brother.......there's some very rusty money, but this........''

　What kind of process did you use to get here? Did they use the 'Trap Cube' just like us - there was a completely weathered white bone left at the end of the large room we were in.

　There was no equipment in sight. Is it in the 'box' held by the being that could be considered the master of this hierarchy, as it had been until now - the wreckage was not one, but an indication that at least one party had been wiped out in the past.

''This space........seems like things are weathering faster than outside.
'I wonder if time moves differently the longer we spend in here the more time outside passes, or...'

　If the time outside flows as much as the time that flowed in this space, if we don't leave this place in a hurry, it's possible that some days will pass if we don't spend a few hours here. I hope that's not the case, but we knew from the beginning that time flows differently inside the labyrinth than outside.

'Anyway, we'll have to move on or we won't start...'
'Yes, yes. Let's proceed with caution.
..........

　If anything, I'd like to think that she'll be caught by one of Theresia's search and trap detection - she's in the middle guard, but she should be able to detect more than Seraphina-san in the vanguard.

''Brother, is that... cloud you see behind the wall?''

　The side walls of the passageway have wide spaced slit-like gaps, so no air seems to be able to get in from the outside, but you can see the view beyond.

''Clouds........it looks like. I can't help but compare it to common sense now........but a huge box-shaped maze is floating in the sky. Is it such a place, or is the view beyond an illusion...?
'But........it's very similar to the place where Ariadne was. And just like that place, the wandering soul....
I knew it was something that would stay in place.

　Igarashi-san, who has a fearful streak, shakes her body when she hears Suzuna's story. I'm not exactly good at it either, but when I think of the regret of the searchers who lost their lives here, I feel the urge to clasp my hands together and pray, just like Suzuna did.

　Eventually, we arrive at a room that is even larger than the place we transitioned to - after a series of inorganic landscapes, the room is clearly different.

''This........is there ivy all over the room.......?''

　Igarashi wondered why the surface of what appeared to be 'ivy' had dried up and become hard as stone.

　The winding ivy spread out from the center of the room and ran down to the floor and the walls - only this room had a ceiling, and the ivy ran all the way up to it, tangled and netted together. The slits in the walls were also blocked by thorns, and the light that was leaking out was shining into the room in multiple streaks.

''Is that........a.......gear......no, a wheel......?''
There's a lot of ivy tangled up in there, and it looks like a stone, but...
'If we want to move on, we'll have to do something about the ivy that's blocking the passage over there. We'll have to try and cut it down with the help of the arihit.
'Elitia, wait a minute. There's something in this room....

　When I called out to her - Elitia's shoes stepped on the dry ivy on the floor.

''Huh........!

　Instantly, a breathtaking light fills my vision. Although the color is different from the one I saw before, this light----

　--|Intelligence Tram Awakening, which activates the self-defense mechanism from this--.

(--The 'parts' of the secret god........was that what it was all about.......!　

　Ariadne's warning that we heard when we were transferring. It was something along the lines of, "Because we have a contract with the Secret God, the place we are transferring to has been changed.

　--A place where those who have made a contract with the Secret God may be invited to when they use the 'Trap Cube'. It wasn't hard to imagine that what was there was related to the Secret God.

''Everyone, get away from the ivy under your feet!　That's.........!

　The dry surface of the ivy shattered, revealing a blinding green.

　Yes - it wasn't tangled in the wheel and spread out. This ivy and wheel were beings that moved with their own will.

　The demon that I encountered ◆.

　? Wheel of Will In Combat Level 8 Lightning Disabled Drop: ?

　Some of the ivy that had been spreading across the floor peeled off and gathered towards the center of the room - the wheel.

　And then the surface of the wheel cracked, and out of it appeared - a black wheel. On the axle that connects the two wheels, there is a part of the axle that can be ridden by a person.

　The one that appeared there was a female figure that resembled a being that embodied the will of the spider - a chariot driven by the queen who received the crown of thorns.

I am the car of the star that drives in the sky. I am the car of the star that drives the sky, and I will test those who stand before me.

We're coming, Mr. Atobe!

　Current Situation

　'? Wheel of Will activates Royal Thorn → Physical Absorption

　The thorny ivy covered the enemy's surroundings - like a protective barrier. The spirit body standing leisurely in the middle of it seemed to look at me and laugh.

''--Everyone, don't touch it with a normal attack!　Right now, only magic other than lightning will work!
But then... but then...!

　Either Misaki's card will roll you into a blast, or Suzuna's Blazing Wind - both of which are both physical and magical, and will be absorbed if you hit them properly.

　Probably because the power of the magic surpasses the physical attacks, it's possible that they can gradually reduce their strength. However, it won't be so naive as to be able to defeat it with that - we have to disable that ivy somehow.

'Those who avenge the crown of thorns will writhe and dance in their agony - they will wither away.'　

You don't want me to...

　Current Situation

　'? The Wheel of Will activates "Dancing Rose".
　Aricht activates Force Shoot Freeze → ? Hit the Wheel of Will. Interferes with the action.

　In between the thorny barrier, I aimed at the main body of the enemy - it was the right thing to do to employ the 'Ice Stone'. If I didn't have it, the only pure magic attack I could release was the 'Force Shoot', which would have been insufficient in power.

''--No, not yet...!

　But what I didn't realize - the enemy, who looked frightened, had forced me to resume the move I was about to release.

''--Gentlemen, avoid!

　Current Situation

　'? Wheel of Will activates the property of Crown of Arrogance → prevents skill interruption
　Aricht activates Support and Defense 1 → Target: Everyone in the party
　'? The Wheel of Will activates "Dancing Rose".
　Kyoka activates the Blink Step.
　Elitia activates "Sonic Raid".
　Teresia activates Axel Dash.

　Instead of the thorns that were used as a barrier, the remaining thorns that were transmitted to the floor and walls move like living things - and instantly entangle the legs of the members who don't have evasion skills.

''Kuu...!
'Kyah....
No, no, no, not my legs, my legs...!
Huh...!

　Current Situation

　Seraphina, Suzuna, Misaki, and Melissa are legally bound and blood sucking.

A restraining attack that 'Supportive Defense 1' can't prevent...!

　I'm not a jack-of-all-trades - I knew that, but I was overconfident in my skills.

　If I'm caught here too, my chances of winning are infinitely more remote. I can hear Ariadne and Murakumo's voices - but the first choice is.

''--Please........!

　Current Situation

　Aricht activates "The Boat Jump".

　I'm not going to be able to get away from the slow coming thorns.

　But Hannya's shin guards overturned that perception. I'm not going to be able to get away with it, but I'm going to follow it.

　The shin guards emit light and I "fly again" in the air. I can control my posture in the air as if I am not my own body - like the warrior from whom the legend of the boat jump originated.



Arichto, run!　If you use those skills, you'll run out of magic!

　As Elitia warned, the 'Eight Boat Flying' clearly cut down on its magic power with each flight.

　As long as the enemy absorbs the physical attacks, they will receive the threat of 'Dancing Rose' many times. Should I aim to interfere with the "Eye Stone" - but even if I stun it, it will still use an ability that will force me to complete the skill.

　The enemy is a plant and a wheel - a combined demon with metal parts. Those two weaknesses, we--.



　I took out the magic stone that I kept in my suit's inner pocket. I took out the magic stone I got from the island of illusion - the tidal water stone created by Coralpigo.