Chapter 275 : Declaration (3)

The name of the labyrinth Alon found near Rosario this time was "The Labyrinth of Whispers," and it wasn't particularly well-regarded among Psychedelia users.

This was because the gimmick of the labyrinth was so vicious that players called it “truly filthy.”

Of course, as Alon told Evan, there were no monsters in the Labyrinth of Whispers.

Is that all?

There weren’t even traps that killed the player instantly if stepped on by mistake.

The path wasn't even complicated.

And yet, the reason nearly all players gave it the same “filthy” rating was—

Because of a special effect called “Delusion” that afflicted the entire labyrinth.

The moment you enter the Labyrinth of Whispers, all characters fall into a state of delusion.

It didn’t matter if the character was Eliban or another powerful character following him.

The moment they set foot in the Labyrinth of Whispers, all characters were guaranteed to fall into delusion.

Characters affected by the delusion status begin to wander around on their own, seeing various hallucinations and ignoring player commands.

It was a completely uncontrollable situation.

That was why most players unanimously described the Labyrinth of Whispers as “filthy.”

In truth, the layout of the Labyrinth of Whispers was almost linear.

But once inside, all the player could do was press the turn button while watching their character move freely.

And then—

“...Horrifying.”

Alon had now reached the end of the Labyrinth of Whispers, having personally experienced its full horrors.

He looked behind him.

[Meow-]

[Aaaargh—]

Far off, Blackie was enthusiastically licking Basiliora, who was screaming bizarrely after being caught.

And—

“Hm-hm, I’m grateful in spirit, but I cannot accept your love...”

Next to the two of them, Evan was leaning against the labyrinth wall, gazing into space with sentimental eyes and mumbling.

“...Who in the world is he talking to?”

That pointless question quickly passed.

Alon turned his gaze to the stone gate at the end of the labyrinth and the circular hole at its center.

The second reason players found the Labyrinth of Whispers so detestable—

Unlike other labyrinths, this one required a key to obtain the item.

In other words, if you made it here after enduring the dull process of passing turns but didn’t have a key, it was all for nothing.

From the player’s perspective, just hearing “Labyrinth of Whispers” would make them shudder.

“Whew—”

Remembering that unlocking the door would dispel the delusion, Alon quickly pulled out a ring from his inner pocket.

It was one of the artifacts presented to him in a flurry of gifts by Nangwon—“The Nameless Swordsman's Ring.”

Without hesitation, Alon inserted it into the circular hole in the center of the stone gate.

Wooooong~!

A strange magical hum rang out.

With a loud rumble, the thick stone gate began to split open from the center.

And then—

[Meow?]

[Huh...?]

“...Ah?”

With various gasps of surprise—

Alon could finally see what lay beyond the heavy stone door.

It was closer to a statue than a doll, yet calling it a statue made it seem more like a doll.

“Found it.”

Alon lifted the beast-like humanoid figure, something straight out of fantasy.

He nodded in satisfaction while examining the relatively compact statue.

It was the exact item he had been searching for.

“The Beast of Possibility... was it?”

The Beast of Possibility.

The item obtainable in the Labyrinth of Whispers had a simple effect.

It summoned the “user” in their strongest state for a limited time.

Though there was a time limit, just being able to summon the user’s strongest form made it incredibly powerful.

Of course, like the lotus he had obtained before the fight with Ulthultus—one of the monstrous beings—it was a one-time-use item, so he couldn’t afford to waste it.

Still, it was reassuring.

In the game, the Beast of Possibility transformed any character into their ultimate form, raised their level to 99, and unlocked all skills.

“Though since this isn’t a game, who knows how it’ll work here...”

In any case, since it was an artifact that could save him from danger, Alon carefully tucked it into his coat.

[Kyaaah~! Get off me!]

[Meow~!!]

Snapping out of it, Alon turned to see Basiliora having a seizure while Blackie swatted him with cat punches.

And—

“Marquis...”

“What is it?”

“Please return her.”

“...Return what?”

“Return my Aneta!!”

Evan, who had been standing absentmindedly after rising from his seated position against the wall, suddenly knelt and burst into tears.

“What on earth did he see...?”

Alon had no choice but to look away.

Having secured the artifact he wanted, Alon headed toward the Palatio Marquis’ estate.

Truthfully, he wanted to go to the Eastern Kingdom as Hazad had suggested.

But first, he wanted to organize his magical knowledge.

Until now, Alon had used magic haphazardly, adapting it to each situation on the fly.

“Especially, I need to properly define divinity and magic, match incantations and hand signs, and I still need to hear from Sparrow about spell formulas, and spar with Kylrus.”

He realized that rushing around everywhere had made him neglect what truly mattered.

This time, he planned to take some time to solidify his magic foundation.

“I should plan a relaxed schedule first, then go to Raksas to borrow a ship from Radan. Or maybe it’d be better to go straight to Hazad.”

While Alon sorted out his upcoming plans and returned to the Marquis’ house—

***

In the capital of the Kingdom of Ashtalon—

“It’s been a while.”

“Indeed. I didn’t expect to see you like this. Your son has done quite a splendid job rampaging, I must say.”

King Stalian V and Zukurak—the Scarred clad in a black, dusky armor—were conversing.

“That part, I must admit, I feel keenly.”

“Is that so? Well, it’s your son who should be feeling that the most, not you.”

“Oh, he’s definitely feeling it.”

King Stalian V affirmed.

Zukurak stared at him for a moment, then chuckled and nodded.

“Well, of course he is. I heard his life was threatened every other day. That’s a hard-earned, valuable experience.”

“...Ahem.”

King Stalian V made a slightly uncomfortable expression at the sarcasm leaking from Zukurak’s helmet.

However, he didn’t bother to refute Zukurak’s words.

After all, King Stalian V was someone who had directly witnessed how a single sentence could escalate things to the worst-case scenario.

“Well, it’s better to think of it as a blessing, then.”

As he swallowed his frustration,

Suddenly, a strange remark was made, prompting King Stalian V to ask, “What do you mean by that?”

“Just as I said. It was actually a good thing that it happened back then.”

“I’m asking what that means exactly.”

Zukurak tilted his head and said, “Hm? Oh—now that I think about it, that rumor probably hasn’t reached here yet.”

He muttered to himself, then looked at King Stalian V.

“If that guy had said such nonsense now, the pointy-eared folks would’ve come running to turn your son into a pincushion.”

“Pointy-eared...? You mean the elves?”

“Yeah.”

King Stalian V raised a question at Zukurak’s words.

He had heard bits and pieces from Zukurak that Alon had some kind of relationship with the elves.

But for them to come after his son just for saying something foolish?

That didn’t make sense, and just as he was about to ask further—

“Because that person is about to become royalty.”

“What?”

“You didn’t hear? He’s about to become an elf royal.”

At Zukurak’s following words, King Stalian V instinctively opened his mouth in shock.

“He’s becoming... an elf royal?”

“Yeah. That’s what I heard.”

Zukurak shrugged.

King Stalian V held his head, dizzy from the news.

“The Marquis Palatio is becoming elf royalty...?”

Startled by the shocking revelation, he tried to recall the marquis’s face.

He wanted to check if the marquis had long ears.

But—

“I’m sure his ears weren’t long.”

Alon’s ears didn’t look anything like an elf’s.

They were clearly human ears.

“Can I ask just one thing?”

“What is it?”

“Is the Marquis Palatio... an elf?”

King Stalian V couldn’t help but wonder if the marquis had been hiding the fact he was an elf all along.

But—

“Hah? There’s no way he’s an elf.”

“Really?”

“Of course. That man isn’t an elf.”

Zukurak’s sharp reaction only deepened his curiosity.

Zukurak stood up from his seat.

“In any case, I have some work piled up, so I’ll be dealing with that now. I’ll probably see you again in a few months, once the strange gates have increased.”

“Ah... yes. Let’s do that.”

King Stalian V sat there, still full of doubt.

Then suddenly, realization struck him.

He remembered that even if the Marquis Palatio wasn’t an elf, there was still one possible way he could become royalty among them.

“I’m pretty sure I heard the elf ruler is a queen.”

King Stalian V, thinking intensely, opened his mouth again, which had only just closed.

He had understood nothing earlier, but with this thought—

“No way...”

All his questions started fitting together and being resolved.

So King Stalian V reached a conclusion.

“The Marquis Palatio... is becoming the elf queen’s consort...?”

In the end, he arrived at that ridiculous conclusion.

It was purely a misunderstanding.

But it was a misunderstanding ridiculous enough to shake the entire Allied Kingdom.

And just as that odd misunderstanding was taking root—

“This toast is quite good.”

“Better than sweet potatoes?”

“Sweet potatoes might be slightly better than toast.”

“Does it matter? You’re eating sweet potatoes between slices of bread, so it’s practically the same thing as eating sweet potatoes.”

“It’s different in its own way.”

“......”

Alon, “Mmm. Delicious.”

Was enjoying a new—or rather, familiar—culinary delight.