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"Wow! This is sooo weird," I say, as soon as we cross the door of the boss room and access the tenth floor of the Altamira labyrinth.
That is, the No man's zone.
It is true that, together with Alessia, we had done some research on the subject in the library of the capital to prepare ourselves for this moment.
But, now that we are actually here, it is very strange to see the lush and immense forest in which we appeared.
This leads me to think...
'What are labyrinths really? How will the space inside them work?'
Above us, a cloudless, azure sky and bright sunshine greet us, while all around us, large trees grow close together, partially blocking out the sunlight in all areas within sight, except for the path where we appeared.
Behind us is an archway of roots and branches that forms a kind of portal, through which we just appeared.
However, it is not connected to any wall and appears to have formed in the area to provide us with an entrance.
'It seems to be something similar to the illusory doors that are created when I use space travel.'
A few moments after we have passed through the portal, the archway of roots quietly unravels behind us, the roots retracting slowly into the ground.
'I don't like this thing about the roots moving on their own....
If those roots decided to trap us, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves. There are too many of them...
I hope there are no arboreal monsters in the labyrinth….
I'm more than satisfied with the kind of animals and insects we have seen so far; we don't need anything else'
Fortunately, it seems that the paths of the labyrinth appear without any kind of problem on my interface map.
So it will simply be a matter of spending some time exploring until I have a large portion of this floor etched on my interface map.
"Yes, this atmosphere is a bit intimidating," says Alessia with a half-smile, looking around curiously.
'- We finally made it to the no man's zone! I can't wait to explore it'
"Is it really necessary for us to keep going down the floors of the labyrinth? Couldn't we just go back to floor 9 and fight there whenever we want to train?" asks Delia, who, unlike Alessia, does indeed seem genuinely intimidated by the dark and dangerous atmosphere of the wooded areas around us.
"We could do that... but eventually that would cease to serve us in becoming stronger, as the levels of the monsters will always remain the same, which would cause us to stagnate..." I say, looking cautiously at Delia.
"... Besides, we don't do this just for the strength and wealth we can get. It's fun to explore the labyrinths, don't you think?"
"Yeah, I guess," says Delia, unconvinced.
"Hmm, if you want, from now on you could stay home while Alessia and I explore the Altamira labyrinth. Some other time we'll go to the Bajamira labyrinth. That one is much safer for low-level people..." I say thoughtfully.
"... Besides, in that labyrinth, there is no place like the No Man's Zone, since it's not a big labyrinth."
'There's really no need for Delia to come with us if she doesn't feel ready. She now already has more than enough level to have a long long life expectancy. Sometimes I forget that she didn't choose this, unlike Alessia and I, and that she's only doing it to accompany me.'
"No! We have to look out for each other, for better or worse. What kind of... wife would I be if I didn't look out for the welfare of my... spouses?" Delia says with conviction.
'- What? What did she just say?'
'W- wife? s-spouses? No, no, no. I have to clear up this misunderstanding quickly. I'm not ready for this...
It's true that internally I have sometimes thought of Alessia and Delia as my wives, but that doesn't mean I want it to be a reality....
After all, everyone knows that married women tend to get fat....
Come to think of it...
My parents are married, and neither of them is in bad physical shape....
But I don't know if I can take them as a reference for anything....
Anyway...
Maybe my idea that married woman tend to get fat is just an unfounded stereotype.'
'- I don't dislike the idea of being Master's wife, but I don't really need it. We are already united by a much deeper bond.'
"I don't know how to feel about those words, Delia, so-" I start to say, but Alessia abruptly interrupts me.
"What do you mean? Do you plan to replace us with others?" says Alessia, scowling at me.
At times, Alessia is far more intimidating than the dark and dangerous area under the trees of the no man's zone.
"No, no, how can you think that?" I quickly respond.
"So?" she asks, crossing her arms and looking at me impatiently.
"It's just... I don't really know how to explain it, but the fact that I'm not comfortable with those words has nothing to do with how much I love you and Delia..." I say, sighing.
"...You are my partners, my lovers, my companions, and you are irreplaceable to me. I think the fact that I recognize that is worth a lot more than being comfortable with any stupid words."
"Haa.... I guess that's true..." says Alessia, visibly relaxing, "...but I'll still make sure you never forget it, just in case."
"Are you sure you should be having this kind of conversation in this place?..." asks Delia nervously.
"....I think there's a group of monsters approaching us, according to what Blue Wind is telling me."
Emir and Alessia: !!!
'She's right.... we shouldn't have been so distracted....
But it's interesting to know that Blue Wind can also sense the closeness of enemies....
That will surely serve to keep Delia safe when she's working at the clinic....
Wait…
She always tells Delia when I am approaching her…
So does that mean the stupid spear sees me as some kind of enemy?....
I knew she didn't like me, but I didn't think it was up to this extent.'
' - It's ironic that the one who has the least experience with labyrinths is the one who is highlighting our mistakes. But I have to admit she's right'
"Blue Wind is right. There are five monsters approaching us from that side..." I say, pointing towards one end of the path.
"...that's the maximum number of monsters there can be together in the no man's zone, as long as we stay on the paths. It looks like the labyrinth is welcoming us to this new floor with everything it can throw at our faces."
Looking carefully in the direction I'm pointing as I try to aim my bow at them, I can barely make out the silhouettes of the monsters in the distance.
'They must be several kilometers away... It seems that the length of the corridors in the No'man zone is much longer than on the lower-level floors.'
However, thanks to my user interface, I can tell that the approaching monsters are three Teriars and two Wind Cheetahs.
The teriar is a monster very similar to a panther but considerably bigger. It's about 2 meters tall and 4 meters long.
The wind cheetah, on the other hand, also resembles the animal of that name, with light brown fur adorned with white patches surrounded by small black spots, and it has a size similar to the Teriar.
'Hmm...
We don't know what kind of magic these monsters might have…
Since when we only faced them in the Bajamira labyrinth, they didn't perform any kind of magic due to the limitations of that place.....
We only know that the Wind Cheetahs can reach a great speed and that the Teriars can attack and propel themselves by expanding and lengthening their forelegs...
But here they will surely be able to perform some kind of magic....
With that in mind, should I try to eliminate some of them from a distance before they notice us?…
or would it be better to try to get as close as possible before starting the fight?....
I think the huge distance may be a beneficial factor for them…
Especially for the Wind Cheetahs, which need to run a certain distance to reach their maximum speed'
'- How strange... Why is master hesitating so much to attack those monsters? Ahh, right'
"Master, you should try to take out the Teriars with your arrows before they get too close. Their magic can make our fight extremely difficult." says Alessia, prompting me with her gaze to make a decision.
"How do you-" I start to ask, averting my gaze from the monsters and lowering my bow.
I don't understand how Alessia knows about the kind of magic the teriars can perform, and I also don't understand how she could distinguish them from this distance.
Apparently Alessia's vision is much better than mine.
But Delia is once again the voice of reason, stepping closer to me to cover my mouth with her small hand.
"I hate to repeat myself, but do you really think this is the time to be distracted by issues that aren't of immediate importance? I think you should focus on what's in front of us, Emir. You're very distracted today," says Delia, growing more and more nervous as the silhouettes of the monsters begin to take on a more definite shape in the distance.
'Again, she is right. Could it be a side effect of having more points in intelligence that I've been analyzing some things a lot more lately?....
If so, maybe I shouldn't raise that stat much more from now on. I don't want to become a person who thinks a lot more than....
Agh, I'm doing it again. I have to concentrate'
Silently, I take Delia's hand that she's covering my mouth with and give her a thank-you kiss on the back.
Then I look back in the direction of our current enemies and aim with my bow.
'Considering what Alessia said, the Teriars should be my priority target, but... is it my idea or are these monsters a bit small?'
As the shape of the monsters becomes more and more distinguishable, I get the impression that their size is much smaller than that of Bajamira's labyrinth versions.
'Haa... let's focus on what's important. Activate Strength profile'
Holding my breath, I aim at one of the Teriars and prepare an arrow.
After a few seconds, I release the arrow.
Even with the wide distance between us, the arrow flies in a straight line with perfect accuracy and speed towards the dark feline.
In a matter of milliseconds, it sticks into the head of one of the Teriars, freezing it and instantly destroying the monster's head, after which it disintegrates into golden particles.
At the same time as my arrow hits the monster's body, the other four spot us and start running towards us.
In just a few instants, the Wind Cheetahs reach a blinding speed, preventing me from aiming my arrows at them.
Delia tries to target them with Blue Wind, but they are too fast and agile, and the talking spear simply pierces the empty air every time she reaches out to try to attack them.
'It wasn't my imagination; they're definitely smaller. But, despite the size difference, I don't think they're weaker.'
As this happens, the two remaining Teriars lag a bit behind, but they also approach at high speed, thanks to their extendable forelegs.
Seeing them approaching, Alessia dashes out to meet them while dodging the two wind cheetahs by a hair's breadth.
' - I have to stop those monsters from getting to where Master is. If those monsters use their ability near him, Master's arrows will be rendered useless by the increased weight.'
"Alessia, I already told you not to take risks like that! We have to stick together," I shout in the direction of my girl while I store my bow in my inventory and draw my greatsword at the same time as I activate my Agility profile to prepare to receive the Wind Cheetahs.
But the blonde girl ignores me and keeps running towards the two farthest enemies, not even bothering to turn around or respond to my words.
'Agh, this new reckless Alessia really gets on my nerves. Sword breathing style'