The Labyrinth Stratum Settlement
With our hunt for the Labyrinth stratum lord out of the way, the only thing left is to go back home—to the Clearflow Lake stratum.
I can’t walk, so I’m having Lammis carry me, as always. If anyone else saw this short girl easily lugging a vending machine on her back, they’d probably think it was pretty bizarre. I don’t feel strange about her hauling me around, and I have to wonder if that’s a good thing. In the end, being on her back puts me at ease.
We’re currently on our way to the settlement in the Labyrinth stratum where the transfer circle is located. But I have to say, we’ve got a big group here.
I look around at everyone again, thinking about how unique they all are.
First up is Lammis, with her blond hair featuring a side ponytail—not to mention the contrast between her adorable smile and ample chest. She’s my most precious partner in this world.
Next is her childhood friend, Hulemy, with hair the color of milk tea and a fiery, masculine spirit. She seems to be sensitive about her much flatter chest, but I think there’s actually some demand for that.
Then we have Director Bear, whose charisma affords him the impression of a dapper gentleman in a coat and hat, rather than a giant bear. He’s easily the most reliable person—er, bear—in this alternate universe.
After him is Karios, a gatekeeper in the Clearflow Lake stratum, who has a girlfriend despite his stern face and shaved head. There’s also his reticent partner, Gorth, sporting a square coif.
That just leaves the Menagerie of Fools and the Band of Gluttons.
I’ll start with the Menagerie of Fools, one of the more well-known hunting teams in this world. Their captain, Kerioyl, looks exactly like a gunman in a Wild West film.
He’s regularly accompanied by Vice Captain Filmina, a beautiful woman with wavy blue hair. She’s always cool and collected, and she never hesitates to put him in his place when he goes off the rails.
Shui is the tomboyish girl with really short hair. Two of her most notable character traits are her bluntness and her incredible appetite.
The red-and-white twins, Red and White, look so similar that you wouldn’t be able to tell them apart if not for their distinct hair colors. They’re also easygoing.
Finally, we have the Voracious Devils, also known as the Band of Gluttons. This team consists of pouch-panda fiends, which are rare even in this world, but they’re basically Tasmanian devil beast people.
Their leader, Mikenne, is the levelheaded one of the bunch.
Pell is the chubbiest and cutest of the four. His appetite is as impressive as Shui’s.
Short has a slim build and black hair. Serving as their group’s vice leader, he seems the most composed.
Suco, with her cute floppy ears, is the only female in the Band.
All the members of our group total fourteen people and one vending machine.
We’ll apparently be staying a short time in the Labyrinth stratum settlement before returning to the Clearflow Lake stratum. We’re going to help them trace an accurate copy of the map I recorded of this stratum, including the locations of traps.
People avoid the Labyrinth stratum due to its intricate passageways and terrible booby traps, so the Hunters Association is willing to put as much effort as they need into raising survival rates here as high as they can.
Until that’s all settled, the Labyrinth stratum settlement will be my home away from home.
It seems like they already know the location and activation conditions for most of the traps on the biggest path through the labyrinth. Monsters appear occasionally, but we don’t have any problems defeating them.
We arrive at the entrance of the labyrinth two days later without any notable incidents.
There’s no gate at the entrance, nor any guards. As we leave the labyrinth, I start to see scattered buildings ahead, but it’s a rather lonely sight.
Beyond the walls of the labyrinth stretches a vast wasteland, devoid of even a single blade of grass.
Structures dot the landscape—mostly simple log cabins and completely square stone houses. There aren’t even any walls around the settlement… What do they do about monsters?
“It looks pretty dreary, doesn’t it, Boxxo?” says Lammis.
“Welcome.”
“Yeah. I wonder why it’s so lifeless and lonely.”
“You don’t know, Lammis?” says Hulemy. “The Labyrinth stratum is really dangerous, but you can expect rewards that match the risks. Since the death rate here is abnormally high, there are a few hunters who managed to make so much money down here that they’ll never be able to use it all.”
I remember the Band of Gluttons talking about that, too.
“That’s the sort of place this is,” continues Hulemy. “Only two kinds of people come here—formidable hunters with genuine skill and dumb-asses trying to get rich quick.”
For no particular reason, her gaze wanders over to the Gluttons. The four are talking cheerfully among themselves as they march.
As to my determination on which category they fit into… Well, I’ll keep that to myself.
“Hunters almost never come here, but the Hunters Association has to send enough workers to maintain this area’s transfer circle,” explains Hulemy. “It would be inconvenient if there weren’t any inns or places to eat just because few people pass through. So they basically only have the Hunters Association building, an inn that doubles as a restaurant, a weapons and armor shop, and an item shop.”
“Wow. Hulemy, you’re so informed,” says Lammis. “Wait, they call it a settlement, but it doesn’t have any walls for defense. How come?”
“For whatever reason, the labyrinth’s monsters never set foot outside the labyrinth. There aren’t any monsters in the outer wasteland, either, so the settlement probably doesn’t need walls.”
“Still, the Association would like to see a few more hunters visit this stratum. Prior to this incident, generating interest has been a laborious task. Thanks to Boxxo’s map, however, prospects are looking better. You have my thanks.”
It was Director Bear who broke into the conversation. He must have been listening beside us, waiting for a good moment to chime in.
“There are far too many areas in this dungeon that we still don’t fully understand. Our emergency response will be slow without a sufficient number of people stationed on each stratum. In the worst-case scenario, it could be too late by the time we’re able to take action. We cannot allow things to reach such a state, especially with all stratum lords reviving of late. I cannot help having a bad premonition about all this.”
This world is filled with things I don’t understand. Encountering two stratum lords in such a short amount of time must not be possible under normal circumstances.
“Boxxo, we’ll have you helping us create a map for the next few days, but we’ll give you an additional reward for the scenery you preserved from the skies.”
In that case, I have no complaints. Actually, I never had any to begin with. I was happy enough that he had brought Lammis along with the rest of the rescue party—even if I had already calculated that would happen.
Because of that, I’m not, to be honest, fully comfortable getting an additional reward, but I don’t even have the language ability to politely turn him down, so I’ll stay quiet and accept it.
Later, in the middle of our conversation, everyone suddenly stops walking. We must have reached our destination—the Hunters Association building in the Labyrinth stratum.
Unlike one in the Clearflow Lake stratum, this is an awfully small-scale building that looks more like a renovated two-story house. At best, it’s quaint, and at worst…well, at least it’s probably inexpensive.
Upon entering through the double doors, I see a counter by the wall and two round tables with several chairs. There’s a bookshelf, too. That’s about it for furniture.
Two women who probably work here sit on the opposite side of the counter, but besides them, the room is empty. As though they had nothing to do before we got here, one is reading a book, and the other is sleeping.
“Huh? Oh—Director Bommy! You’ve returned early. You found them already?”
One of the employees quickly let go of her book and rose in a fluster, bowing to Director Bear.
Her voice seemed to wake up the worker taking a nap, and after she gives a dazed look around, she bows in the same way as the woman next to her.
Director Bear’s real name is Bommy, is it? It doesn’t quite fit, if you ask me, so I’ll keep referring to him as Director Bear in my thoughts.
“Kesha, Uliwa, I know you don’t have much to do, but please remain a little more alert.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry.”
Kesha is the one with the black braid and glasses who was reading a book. The napping girl must be Uliwa. Her hair is cut short—she looks like the type of girl who would like athletic meets at school.
“Is the Labyrinth stratum director upstairs?” asks Director Bear.
“Yes, sir.”
“All right. Captain, Vice Captain, Hulemy, and…Mikenne, could you all please come with me? Everyone else may rest here.”
Lammis sets me down in a corner of the hall. It’s been a while since I spent any time under a roof. Then again, as a vending machine, I’m fine being outdoors, too.
If it’s break time for them, that means it’s work time for me. I’m extremely familiar with everyone’s preferences, so I line up all their favorites in my display. Having bought things from me many times before, they make their purchases one after another with practiced motions. Once they’re done, they lay the snacks out on the round desks and start to unwind.
“E-excuse me, but what might that thing be?”
Before I realize it, the two employees from the reception area have approached; unable to hide their curiosity, they ask the Menagerie of Fools about me.
“Hmm? Oh, Boxxo? Um, he’s an awesome magic item that you put coins into to buy whatever ya want.”
I should have expected that my top customer in the Menagerie would praise me to the heavens. Thanks, Shui.
Seeing everyone else enjoying their food, the two reception employees audibly gulp.
“Let’s buy something. We only ever eat at that cafeteria.”
“You’re right. The cafeteria food doesn’t taste bad, but I’m sick of it…”
Well, they have only one eatery-slash-inn in this settlement. I’d get sick of it, too. Come to think of it, I wonder if the eatery-slash-inn is doing okay financially. Maybe they actually get subsidies from the Hunters Association or something along those lines.
After inspecting what the other people bought, the lady with the black braid and glasses purchases milk tea and a can of oden. The other one buys some corn soup and cup ramen.
They sniff at their purchases and poke the cans a bit, and after fiddling with this and that, they seem convinced that the items are harmless. Nervously, they each take a sip—and then their eyes pop open.
“Oh, this is better than I thought!”
“What is this? It sure goes down well. It’s so sweet, I could get addicted.”
Thank you for the glowing reviews. I’ve scored two new customers, so now I suppose I’ll settle down and check on my points. I wonder if I have even more now that we’ve defeated a second stratum lord.
[Vending Machine: Boxxo—Rank 2] |
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DUR 200/200 |
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TGH 50 |
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STR 0 |
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SPD 20 |
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DEX 0 |
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MAG 0 |
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PT 517,654 |
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{Features} Cold Retention, Heat Retention, Omnidirectional Vision, Hot-Water Dispenser (Cup Ramen Mode), Two-Liter Support, Candy-Roll Vending, Paint Change, Boxed-Item Support, Vending Machine Surveillance Camera, Solar Power Generation, Wheels, Electronic Billboard, LCD Panel, Oxygen Vending Machine, Magazine Vending Machine, Ice Vending Machine, Dry Ice Vending Machine, Gas Vending Machine, Balloon Vending Machine, Vegetable Vending Machine, Egg Vending Machine, Cardboard Vending Machine, Coin-Operated Vacuum Cleaner, High-Pressure Washer |
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{Blessings} Force Field |
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{Inventory} Octo Croc Coin |
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I, uh, have so many features that I’m not really sure what’s going on anymore. Most have been helpful and have worked the way I wanted, but the electronic bulletin board was a mistake. I didn’t think about how I could have put whatever letters I wanted onto it—and if I had, I probably would have been able to speak freely to begin with.
There might be a different way to use it in the future, so I’ll keep it in the back of my mind.
Other than that, I increased my durability and toughness quite a bit, but I can’t get a proper sense for how tough or durable I am right now.
I’m aware that Lammis’s running tackle damaged me because of her Might. I’d like to take a hit from a really strong enemy at some point, just to see, but even if I never get the chance, it’s not like I’ll have any complaints.
Anyway, back to my points. They’re above 510,000. I got close to a million from defeating the Octo Croc, but this time, I received about half that. I have trouble deciding whether that means the Flame Skeletitan was just worth less points than the Octo Croc or if it’s because the others racked up damage on it before I landed the finishing blow.
Either way, I know one thing—I don’t have a million points. If I do reach a million again, I should definitely take a Blessing this time. Yeah.
With that fallacious vow in my heart, I finally relax in this place shielded from wind and rain, and for the first time since falling into the Labyrinth stratum, I decide to sleep.
