Chapter 35: Chapter 34: Taking Up the Mantle

“I rolled a 14 with a plus 2 modifier for reflexes. So, 16.” Nico said after a quick check at his character sheet.

“Alright, as your foot sinks onto the trap mechanism, you hear the small click of gears, giving you just enough time to jump to the side before the arrows come shooting out of the wall.” Scarlet said, using her mana and an enchanted playing mat to create a 3D image of what she was describing. “You manage to avoid the worst of it, but one of the arrows still graze you for… 2 points of piercing damage.”

“Hm… could have been worse.” Nico mumbled, noting the damage.

“Can Leon hear anything reacting up ahead of us?” Charles asked. 

“Roll for it.”

“...19.” 

“Leon… Doesn’t seem to hear anything.” 

“Hm… I suppose that makes sense. If there are traps in this section of the labyrinth, then there wouldn’t be very many monsters to set them off.” Charles said, scratching his chin. “But does that mean we are going the right way to progress or the wrong way?”

“If there aren’t any monsters nearby, I would probably use some low level water magic to see if I can find any of the other traps and clear the way for us a bit. The loose stones around the triggers should have cracks that would drain the water.” Caesia suggested.

“Do it, but use the extended ritual. No need to waste mana. In the meantime, I want Racheal to see to Nico’s injury using our basic first aid medicine. Thomas and I will stand guard while the rest of you take a short rest.” Charles said, giving out his orders to the party.

As it turned out, this world had an equivalent to tabletop games, played by young Nobles which was supposed to teach them how to make decisions inside of a Labyrinth. Each player had a character based on their own abilities and they had to work together in order to progress as far as possible.

The game was designed to be incredibly brutal, in order to teach children to be careful. Because in the real world, you only get one life.

Scarlet quite enjoyed it. Though her abilities with [Illusion Magic] and high level artistry skills left her subjugated to the role of Game Master, for the improved player experience. Not that she minds. It was a lot of fun.

She likes this kind of party a lot better than the grand balls that the nobles usually had. Just a group of friends, having fun and playing games, without the feeling of a hundred eyes on you.

Though, unknown to the children, there was at least one pair of eyes on them.

At the Queen’s request, Typhus had swung by in order to check on the kids. Not that she needed to twist his arm. Not after what had happened.

The relatively young devil smiled as he watched them play. Admiring their innocence and enginuity. Hoping that the day when they would need the skills they were building would never come, but glad that they were preparing themselves all the same.

Satisfied with what he saw, he slipped out and headed down the hall, humming to himself as he went, until a large figure in a priest’s robes stepped out from around a corner. Joshua glared at the Half-Demon with his arms crossed.

“Fancy seeing you here.” Typhus said, not at all surprised to see the man.

“What were you thinking?” Joshua grumbled. “You of all people know how dangerous [Divination Magic] is. And yet you gave the girl books on it.”

“I only gave her what was safe for her to know. Nothing but the most basic of the basics.” Typhus said in his own defense.

“Clearly not. Considering what happened at her during the Class Selection Ritual.” Joshua said accusingly 

“...That… Wasn’t supposed to happen.” Typhus said, a look of guilt crossing his face. “I underestimated just how high her [Divination Magic] level had gotten. I had believed that the wards I had given her would have protected her during the ceremony. It seems that my preparations weren’t enough.”

“...Why? Why would you of all people give her access to [Divination Magic]?” Joshua said, trying to wrap his mind around it.

“...Because there might come a day when she needs it. The same way we needed it.” Typhus responded. “As horribly as things ended up. They would have been a lot worse if Jess didn’t do what she did. It was only because of the power she gave us that we were able to do what had to be done.”

The Big Ten had been the buzz of the entire world. A group of ten individuals who through some means had managed to Class Change to Tier 7. Something that was so laughably difficult, that even someone like Scarlet, who had trained with [Arcane Mana Resistance] and never slept, would have to spend 3 years doing nothing but training just to reach the Class Skill requirements for it, even ignoring the Class level and other Skill requirements. To a normal individual, with anything less than Tier 7 Holy Mana Regeneration gear, it was a feat that couldn’t be accomplished if one spent their entire lives working toward it.

Not only that, Edmar, who had only been in his 30s, had gone a step beyond, and become a Tier 8. Something straight out of legends.

Of course, this had not been power gained through normal means. It had required them to dabble in something that should have been left alone. And while they saved the day, it hadn’t come without its price. Even if that price didn’t have to be paid immediately.

“...She seems remarkably unchanged from her confrontation. The Old Ones didn’t leave any mark on her at all, as far as I can tell. Though we should keep our eyes peeled for signs.” Typhus said uncomfortably.

He hated the Old Ones more than anything else. Even more than the monster who had created him in that god forsaken land. But more than his hatred as the hunger for survival, a hunger that never went away, even as his strength surpassed the mortals around him. As he became a phantom which no one could catch. He could still look to the sky and see the food chain at which he and everyone else sat at the bottom of.

The world was a vast and unforgiving place, with all the races put together populating less than 5% of the total land mass, and everything else being a wildland, filled with monsters which had existed for thousands of years, and which hadn’t crushed them yet more out of lazy disregard for their existence, rather than anything else. And that was ignoring the existence of the Gods and Demons, who Typhus knew from experience too barely give two shits about humanity’s wellbeing.

To guarantee survival, power was needed.

“Typhus… Please. Do your best for her.” Joshua said, surprising the Half-Demon. He looked at the Priest to find him slumped down, looking even older than usual. He was so tired. 

It reminded Typhus that despite the old man’s strength, he was still a mortal man. While Typhus had been the youngest of the Big Ten, even he was now in his fifties. Joshua hadn’t been young, even during his glory days, and was now approaching a hundred. The old man didn’t have that many years left in him. Even with his monstrous stats, his health was slowly failing him. There were days during the winter chiles when his old bones would let him get out of bed without the use of magic.

...Typhus found the thought saddening.

The pair had rarely seen eye to eye. They had some fights, centered around Joshua’s belief that Typhus wasn’t good enough for Jessica, who he viewed as his own daughter, and Typhus’s insistence that the Church couldn’t be trusted.

The fact that they both turned out to be right didn’t help matters. Typhus had failed to save Jessica, and when Joshua had turned to the Church for help, they had betrayed him.

Even so, they were sort of like family. An extremely dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless. Joshua was like an obnoxious father-in-law or something.

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“I won’t fail again.” Typhus said, trying to sound certain for the old man.

“...Thank you.” Joshua said solemnly, turning and looking out a window, tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t think my old heart can handle another one.”

He stood there quietly for a few moments, before he was interrupted by a voice. “Master Joshua, are you alright?” One of the maids of the Dalhurst house asked him as she came up behind him, with Typhus having vanished from sight. 

“Yes. I’m fine. Just lost in thought.” The old man said, clearing his eyes.

“I was just about to get the children for dinner. Would you like to join?” The maid asked.

“No. I think I will be retiring for the night. Thank you.” Joshua said, walking away with a heavy heart and leaving the young maid very confused.

---

 

“Scarlet, I don’t think I am ever going to get used to the way that you eat.” Caesia said with a small giggle.

“Shut up. If I knew it would turn out like this, I would have never started training my metabolism skill.” Scarlet mumbled in embarrassment.

“Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. It looks really cute, when you have your cheeks puffed out with food, like a little chipmunk’s.” Caesia said, trying to make Scarlet feel better, but only making her more embarrassed. Maria giggled as she nodded her head in agreement.

“Besides that, no one can argue with the results.” Raphaela said, leaning forward and staring at Scarlet intently. Or rather, at her chest, as Scarlet’s diligence when regulating her body had resulted in an early puberty. It really was still the chest of a normal 12 year old, comparable to Caesia’s, but it was enough to get the boob obsessed girl’s attention. “I don’t see how you are going to manage to blend in at an all boy’s school when you have those. How did I not see them during the Class Selection Ceremony?”

“Ah well… I have a special bra for that. It bends the space around my chest area to keep it flat underneath my clothes.” Scarlet admitted, getting even more embarrassed as she had to explain about the ‘bra of holding’.

“Why!? Why would you create such a horrible thing!?” Raphaela said, giving a gasp of horror.

“That is enough out of you.” Caesia said, moving behind the younger girl and pinching both her cheeks, drawing out a squeak. “Honestly, don’t you know any better than to bring up a subject like that in front of a bunch of boys?”

The five young noblemen did their gentlemanly best to pretend to have not heard anything while Maria and Iris, Charles’ mother, giggled.

But their laughter stopped when the door to the dining hall opened and the strong smell of alcohol wafted into the room. “Huh? Is everyone having a party already? But I… I haven’t even told everyone yet…” Duke Bryce said, blinking in confusion as he came in, his bottle of endless wine still in his hand.

“Grandpa…” Charles said with a slightly upset look, the same way he always did when the old man entered the room.

“Hey Charlie. Ah, and little Rayray is here too. That’s great.” Bryce said, giving his grandchildren a huge smile as he half stumbled towards them. “You don’t lay out a feast like this for nothing. So. What’s the big occasion?”

“Charles and his friends have all managed to Class Change to Tier 2 and reached the Tier 2 Class level cap. And little Racheal has reached level 56.” Iris informed her stepfather. “We are celebrating their accomplishments.”

“Really? That’s great! Way to go you two.” Bryce said, reaching out and ruffling Charles’ hair, until the boy batted his hand away.

“Don’t patronize me.” Charles said bitterly as he looked up at the man. “I might only be starting out, but one day, I will be stronger than you are.”

“Is that so?” Bryce said, his grandfatherly smile never faltering. “Well… I’m afraid that after today, that’s going to be just a little bit harder.” The Duke stood tall as he revealed his shocking news. “It’s taken 30 years, but I’ve finally done it. I’ve managed to become the world’s second Class Changed Tier 8.”

The room was in silent shock at his declaration. People with Tier 8 classes were legends. It was no exaggeration to call the King the strongest man in the entire world because of his Tier 8 Class. And now, Charles’ grandfather had just come out and said that he had achieved it out of seemingly nowhere.

“Ho…” Charles started before he bit down on his disbelief and just scowled at the man in that childish manner that only his grandfather could draw out of the otherwise ideal noble. “Don’t be so cocky. I don’t care if you did become a Tier 8. I’ll make it to that level ten times faster than you did. And then, I will go even further and be the first to reach Tier 9.”

“Is that so. I’m glad to hear it.” Bryce said fondly, putting a hand on his shoulder and going down onto one knee so that they could see eye to eye, while Charles was still sitting in his chair. “With the exception of Typhus, those of us in the Big Ten are getting old. His Majesty and I will continue to defend the peace for as long as we can, but sooner or later, new heroes will be needed to take up the mantle, and there is no one I would rather trust with that mantle than you.” Bryce then held up his wine bottle to Charles with a smile. “I think it is about time you have a taste of this.”

“...I don’t want to drink alcohol.” Charles mumbled, turning his head away.

“Who ever said this was alcohol?” The Duke chuckled, surprising his grandson. “Only try a small taste. Hold out your finger. I’ll just put a drop on it.”

Charles did as he was told, holding out his finger and put the drop of the liquid on his tongue. The boy started to gag, spat it out, rubbing his tongue on his sleeve in an attempt to get ride of the taste as his grandfather laughed. Charles was going to shout angrily at the old man, until he noticed something. A small trickle of mana.

“It tastes like shit doesn’t it? I know. I’ve been drinking it nonstop for 30 years and still hate the taste. But the effects are worth it.” Bryce said.

“It… It’s a mana potion.” Charles said in disbelief.

“That’s right. I’ve been using it to further my training for the last 30 years.” Bryce said with a said shake of the head.

“Where? Where did you get something like that!?” Scarlet said, standing on her chair and staring daggers at the bottle. She had examined it years ago, but she had been unable to learn the alchemy behind it, and had just learned about the diamond like material it was made of. She had believed that it had produced normal alcohol and that the mana she felt was a residue that came from the method of its creation. She couldn’t have imagined that the magic residue was because it was a type of mana potion.

“I found it deep in a Labyrinth. And I mean really deep. Level 68 or something.” Bryce said, scratching his head, before pushing the bottle into Charles’ hands. “That bottle has served me well, but I’ve reached the end of the line for me. Even if I try, I won’t get any further. Which is why I want you to have it. It will help you get further into the Labyrinth than you otherwise would be able to. Just make sure to use it more sparingly than I did. Don’t want you getting drunk.”

Charles didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at the bottle in his hands. “All this time. All this time you were drinking this for training?” Charles said in a small voice before looking up into his grandfather’s smiling face. He felt a twisting guilt in his chest, as he had believed his grandfather to be nothing more than a drunk, but instead, he had been continuing his training, not accepting his current level and searching for greater heights. Forcing his everything so that he would be able to fight the battle that no one else could. “I’ll… I’ll make you proud.” Charles said, his voice breaking a little as he tried to swallow his emotions.

“That’s a good boy.” The old man laughed, ruffling his grandson’s hair again. “Grow strong Charles. Strong enough that no one will ever be able to hurt the people close to you.”

“Yeah... I will. I’ll be the strongest there has ever been.”