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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: The One-in-a-Hundred-Thousand Man (4)
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Serena lay down on the blanket. She closed her eyes, listening to Sir Lucas's voice as he assigned the night watch shifts.
She had thought that after all the day's surprises and excitement, she wouldn't be able to sleep. But the moment her head touched the floor, sleep came pouring in, as if her needless worries had been just that—needless.
Everything grew quiet around her. Serena opened her eyes, certain that this was a dream. A place with no floor, yet somehow she could stand. It was the lucid dream she'd had on her first day falling into the labyrinth.
Just like the first time she'd dreamed this, the dream world was empty. She pushed through the pale fog that seemed to hide something, but it was all vacant.
"Are you there?"
Serena called out to the one she'd met in dreams and after death. Looking around for the robed figure, she found the one she sought.
The robed figure stood before her, just as always. The moment Serena spotted the hem of the robe, she dropped to her knees.
"You who transcend dreams and death. Are you, perhaps..."
Since reincarnating as a princess, Serena had rarely bowed her head or bent her waist to anyone. The times she'd knelt could be counted on one hand.
How many people could make a princess kneel? In this kingdom, only one—the sovereign. But if the other party wasn't among the living, there were more occasions to kneel.
"Are you perhaps a god?"
The robed god nodded, affirming Serena's question.
'It's real.'
Serena marveled. She'd thought gods were as common as dirt, yet here she was face-to-face with a real one.
'Even the God of Magic used auto-replies.'
The only god she'd contacted before had sent nothing but an automated will, without appearing in person.
"My knowledge is shallow, so I don't know much about the great beings who reside in the heavens. May I ask about the domain you oversee?"
"The labyrinth."
Serena blinked. In a world so full of gods that even the local back hills and streams had their own, she'd never heard of a god of the labyrinth.
She'd never seen a priest of one, nor even a tiny shrine like those for stream gods. Nothing about the powers of a labyrinth god.
"This time is short, so use it more efficiently, child."
The God of the Labyrinth advised her in a gentle voice.
'Ow, just tell me quick.'
Serena set aside her wandering thoughts and asked her most pressing question first.
"Did I really die and return to the past?"
"Yes, child."
"Then... if I die again, can I return?"
"Yes."
"Is there a limit to the times?"
"No. You can stop whenever you wish."
The God of the Labyrinth held out a palm. The golden path that had tempted Serena unfurled once more. She gritted her teeth and averted her eyes from the dazzling light.
"I told you I wanted to free the people trapped in the labyrinth. Why send me back to the past?"
"Conquer the labyrinth, and all those trapped inside will be freed. Be strong."
'I have to conquer the labyrinth?'
If this reincarnation genre was a labyrinth conquest story, they should've laid some foreshadowing! Serena grumbled inwardly.
"What about the gacha? Did I really pull Sir Lucas from the gacha menu?"
"Yes. I saw something fun in your memories and applied it. Now you can pull those trapped in the labyrinth. Use it well."
'The 100,000 swallowed by the labyrinth are gacha prizes?'
Serena's mind reeled.
"Then, those pulled from the gacha are freed from the labyrinth?"
"Yes. He's freed. If he leaves without dying in the labyrinth, it'll be complete. Even if he dies, conquest will free him."
'Then pulling more is better, right?'
In that case, securing gacha currency was the top priority.
"What do you use for the gacha? How do I get it?"
"That would spoil the fun if I told you right away. You'll learn as you conquer the labyrinth."
The God of the Labyrinth smiled faintly, like an old grandparent hiding pocket money around the house and telling their grandchild to find it. Serena just wanted cash or a bank transfer.
I want to know quick.
She bit her tongue to avoid saying it aloud, lest she hear "Heh heh, such greed" and lose even the basics. Humility and modesty were the highest virtues before gods, whether in her past life or this reincarnated world.
The fog thickened. The dream was ending.
'Something else. Quick, something else.'
"My return triggers on my death, right?"
"Yes."
"Is the return point always the same?"
"I set it to when you touched my statue."
'So it was then. That ugly thing was a god statue?'
She tabled that thought and fired off the next question.
"What are the stars floating above people's heads?"
"Well? What do you think the answer is?"
'Ugh, seriously.'
Serena grumbled inwardly and shared her guess.
"Something like combat power or utility rating in the labyrinth."
If it were rarity, Philia would be five stars.
'Philia has five stars, but only the yellow ones count.'
That fit perfectly.
Lavenda was one star. An ordinary civilian with no combat training. Great at massages, but useless in the labyrinth.
Chrome was two stars. A fifty-something grandma smashing rat skulls? It checked out.
If she were younger, maybe higher? Or maybe the tools in her cart, foraging skills, and rat processing added points.
Sir Lucas, three stars. That made sense.
Knights were combat experts in her past life too, but in this world of monsters, dungeons, and labyrinths, they had to be even stronger.
'Ralph and Philia are confusing.'
Ralph had one yellow star, but four more behind: two transparent, two gray.
'Originally three stars, but docked for holding a spear? Changeable, so transparent color?'
If the transparent stars lit up yellow when he held a sword?
Not too far-fetched.
That would make active knight Sir Lucas equal to squire Ralph in combat rating.
Serena held judgment, unsure if Sir Lucas was a disgrace to the Royal Knights or Ralph an exemplary squire.
'Then what are the gray stars?'
Philia, one star. Made sense like Lavenda, but what about the four gray stars trailing?
"What do the star colors mean?"
"You'll learn that in time."
'Come on.'
Would it kill him to just tell her? A tutorial or manual would make life so much easier.
In the novels from her past life, they often gave a helper in situations like this. Why was she so shortchanged? Reality? Or was she the protagonist, but with a twisted author?
She didn't know about the author's character, but the dream world warped. She sensed she'd wake soon.
"You said my memories were fun? No plans for status screens or level-ups? Map or compass would be great! Before I died, the trend was handing out buffs like candy! Don't know Satisfy Pass? Readers won't stick around! Even I wouldn't!"
If this were a novel from right before her death, free gachas would've spat out five-stars instead of a three-star Sir Lucas, busing her to the deep labyrinth.
Modest goals? Forget five-stars—six breaking limits, seven transcending humans, blasting ten floors a day. Rewards galore, adored by all.
But this wasn't a novel; it was Serena's reality.
"Awake?"
Disgrace to the knights or average newbie? Unclear Sir Lucas greeted her.
Ralph grimaced behind him, stifling a yawn. Looked like he had the last watch.
His lip from yesterday's hit was bruised purple, the other side swollen for tomorrow.
'A knight pulled at one-in-a-hundred-thousand odds.'
Among the Royal Knights, plenty chatted well with Serena. Why this Oran Archduke loyalist she barely knew?
Setting aside whose side he was on, for a knight, his fists weren't light.
Serena activated positive thinking.
'Yeah. Look on the bright side. No baby at least.'
Royal Knights vs. babies or kids. Who were more numerous in Hwajichen?
Serena comforted herself that Sir Lucas was a 'jackpot.'
The one-in-a-hundred-thousand man, Sir Lucas, thankfully had no plans to starve the group further.
He provided breakfast for the three commoners. Thin gruel.
Even from afar, Serena could see hers, Philia's, and Sir Lucas's were thicker.
After a breakfast so sparse it went down easy, Sir Lucas set out to scout the Royal Mausoleum again.
He picked Chrome and Ralph as companions. Serena voiced wanting to join, but...
"No."
He cut her off flat.
"You guard the Duchess and the Count's wife."
"Yes, sir!"
Maybe because she'd mentioned seeing rats yesterday, he had Lavenda hold a shovel. Not stopping there, he placed the cart in the passage center as a barricade.
'Oh. Didn't think of that.'
Even if his attitude grated, he was undeniably a knight. A combat expert. He shone where Serena hadn't thought to.
Sir Lucas separately warned Lavenda and Philia. Roughly: keep an eye on the weird Serena, don't let her out.
'That's why reputation matters.'
With her parents unwell, even minor antics from Serena got taken seriously. But wasting more time was a no-go.
"Sir Lucas. If you see something that shouldn't be in the mausoleum, remember my words."
Sir Lucas ignored her and left the lobby. Serena snorted softly and turned away. There was something in the lobby to check.
'This is the statue. Touching it updates the save point.'
Shaped like an unskilled sculptor gave up midway on hard stone. Minus the peeling vermilion eyes, unrecognizable as human. Ugly statue.
This was the God of the Labyrinth's statue.
'Whoa, moss and dust on a god statue.'
Serena reached out absentmindedly, stopping just short of touching.
'Touching updates the save.'
Multiple save slots would've been nice, but she had one. Just one!
Too many early mistakes to change the update point now. Everyone eyed her suspiciously anyway.
"What a pity this statue of some god is left like this. At least brush off the moss."
"A statue?"
Lavenda pointed at it with a finger. Her face screamed, 'That?'
"Serena! Does that look like a statue to you? Are your eyes okay? How many does it look like?"
Philia openly questioned her lady's mental and ocular health.
"I see your fist clenched instead of fingers spread just fine, so no need to worry, Countess Landry."
Footsteps echoed from the passage—not long after they'd left. Sir Lucas, Ralph, and Chrome returned from scouting.
As Chrome moved the cart, Serena clearly saw Sir Lucas's flustered face.
"Duchess!"
As expected. Cart aside, he beelined for Serena. She suppressed a laugh, adopting a haughty princess expression.
"What did you see?"
"How did you know?"
"Know what?"
"That this place!"
Sir Lucas glanced around, covering his mouth, not wanting to reveal the separated spot's nature yet.
"How did you know this is the labyrinth?"
'Died and found out.'
Telling the truth would make their stares even weirder.
Serena racked her brains for a plausible lie. Using her unused brain hurt like dying.
"Do you know I planned to tour Vieta with the Landry couple after the Founding Festival?"
"First I've heard."
"Vieta's top tourist spot? The labyrinth. I researched it out of interest, and this felt just like Vieta's."
"But labyrinths are rare. Low odds—how were you sure? Did the royals know about this one?"
'Ah, that's what you thought? Logical.'
Sir Lucas pieced his knowledge into a solid conclusion. Unfortunately, it missed the labyrinth's mysteries.
"The royals didn't know. If they did, they'd have conquered it. I'm a mage, aren't I? The mana flow differed from the mausoleum, leading me to think labyrinth."
Pure bullshit. Mana flow my ass. Serena couldn't sense air flow without a fan blasting.
'Tried wetting my finger. No dice.'
"I see."
Thankfully, Sir Lucas bought the princess's fib.
"What did you see?"
"Saw a door, thought it was a burial chamber, entered to check."
Not treasure, but he'd seen the Floor Boss. No wonder his face paled.
"And?"
"Saw an undead rat."
"And?"
"Pardon? I took it down. Came straight back."
Sir Lucas one-shotted the Floor Boss undead Labyrinth Rat that had stumped Serena's group. Knowing it was undead, no complacency—he diced it until combat-ineffective.
'Knight through and through. Different breed.'
With Sir Lucas, could they face the second floor's Minotaur?
Serena prayed the one-in-a-hundred-thousand man wasn't a disgrace to the knights.
