Well, traveling through this labyrinth is certainly interesting. (And somehow boring at the same time.) This place has consistently gone against my expectations.

  The stories have painted these labyrinths as well, labyrinths. I had expected this place to be a maze. That it would have so many twists and turns that we wouldn't be able to move through them at all. It would take the searchers hours to figure out the route through the place. (They are supposed to be geniuses at going through mazes. I have no desire to compete with them on that front.)

  The labyrinth we are in is about as simple as it can be. Well, calling it a labyrinth is a bit too much. It would be more precise to say that this is a tunnel. We have been going straight into the tunnel for the last couple of hours. At least the scholars have been willing to explain this simplicity. They believe that undeath has reduced the minotaur's power.

  They certainly are not willing to explain the exact mechanics of how such a thing could happen. Affinity to mana is related to the soul, as far as I know. As you know, my knowledge in that field is negligible.

  To get back to the point, the ability of a minotaur to create its labyrinth is also dependent on its earth mana. The more earth mana they can control, the more complex they can build their labyrinths, it seems. Undeath has somehow reduced its affinity to earth mana.

  This minotaur can barely maintain this labyrinth. I would say that the labyrinth is even more dangerous now than the labyrinths I have heard of in the stories. After all, dealing with a bunch of traps is pretty easy. For all their talk about the complexity of formations here, I am sure that I will be able to dismantle the traps here. I will be able to detect them at the very least.

  Even if I (or the scholars) failed to do any of this, at least none of us is at risk of actually dying. They did try to leave a couple of traps for us, though they proved pretty ineffective. Even Anthony managed to detect the traps well before any of us were at risk of setting them off.

  The scholars would have detected this even before me. (Only due to that technique of theirs. My raw mana sense is still more sensitive than theirs.) They certainly managed to dismantle it before it became an issue for any of us.

  Right now, the danger of this place is infinitely worse than any trap that they could have left for us. To explain this, I have to explain how exactly these labyrinths are supposed to work.

  These labyrinths are crafted from the earth mana of the minotaur. The earth mana works to enhance the durability of these walls. The earth mana is the only reason that the walls of this place can handle the weight of the ground above us.

  The earth mana of a minotaur is supposed to be potent. It is supposed to increase the durability of the wall enough that we can fight in it at our full power. Now the problem is that, as I have pointed out before, the minotaur's ability to use earth mana is compromised.

  Right now, there is enough mana in the walls that it is barely able to hold the weight of the earth above us. I would say that there is only enough mana that the walls are being put under strain. That means that the labyrinth that we are walking in is a death trap. Right now, the wrong step is enough to bring the entire thing down on us.

  Now, I can deal with traps at least. (And if I can do this, the scholars can do it ten times better than me. At least on this one specific thing.) Even in the worst case, a trap will only be able to injure us. It certainly won't be able to kill us.

  The ton of rocks above us will certainly kill us. Even now, I can imagine the rocks falling on top of us. I can imagine the rocks crushing our eyes into jelly and crushing our bones into fine dust. Now I can feel the shiver of my fear crawl up my spine. I sometimes wonder why I torture myself like this. Well, I guess that I should just focus on the work for now. After all, my imagination never allows me to think clearly.

  Right now we are following the three searchers step by step. We have made three lines following each of the searchers. We are following each of their steps as precisely as we can. The scholars take each step by studying the ground around them with their mana strings. They are studying something about the rock that tells them whether they can step on it.

  Each step of ours is followed by an uncomfortable stare at the ceiling. We are looking for signs of the thing cracking in any manner. The scholars can pick the safest route, but it certainly does slow us down quite a bit. I am sure that it is taking us longer to walk this straight path than trying to move in a complicated labyrinth.

  We had a couple of close calls as well, even with all of our preparations. Once, it was due to an impatient step taken by John. The entire patch of the ceiling above him fell on top of his head. Thankfully, the ceiling held and didn't collapse further. The man was wise enough to take the rock head-on. He did not move needlessly. He also did not step anywhere that he was not supposed to step on.

  If he had taken another wrong step there, that could have led to the entire roof falling on all of us. Once that happened, all of the others finally understood just how bad a situation we were actually in. They began moving very carefully after that.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Soon enough, even that proved pretty pointless since the searchers were the ones to take a wrong step. The place that they stepped on was enough to cause the entire tunnel to shake. I was sure at that moment that we would have been crushed to our deaths.

  Well, the only silver lining in all of this is that we don't need to fight. With how fragile the walls here are, the minotaur would be stupid to send its underlings after us. I am sure that it won't mind losing a few of its creatures to get rid of us. The only thing holding it back is the fact that the tunnel's collapse might affect the labyrinth.

  After all, if one part of the labyrinth were to fall now, it might lead to the remaining part of the place falling as well. Like a castle of cards, with a card at its base removed. That would be enough to kill the creature as well. Granted, we would also end up dead in the process.

  Still, I would have preferred to have fought an entire legion of these creatures. It would have been much better than our present situation. At least with a legion, you know just how screwed you are by looking at them. Anyway, we have been getting too much experience fighting the creatures in the last few weeks.

  Well, I have recorded enough about our situation now. Anymore, and I am going to be losing my mind in panic. I will continue this record when we reach something worth recording about.

  (After about an hour.)

  We have finally reached a place that can be considered safe. Well, calling it safe is a bit too much. Let's call it, being sure that the labyrinth won't collapse on our heads with a wrong step. Beyond that, only the gods can tell.

  To describe the place that we are in, we are in some kind of a crossroad. Ignoring the one that we just came from, the room that we are in opens up into three separate tunnels. As for what we are doing right now. Well, the searchers are studying these three paths. The Aegis is doing whatever they are doing.

  As for the sentinels, they are just sitting there with me. Well, John is circulating his mana to heal the wound on his head. It is nothing life-threatening, but a decent-sized swelling has formed on his head.

  Again, I find myself with nothing to do. I have been passing my time by trying to study the three tunnels that we can go to. The first thing that I can tell you about the tunnels is that we can enter any of these three tunnels. The walls here are suitably enforced by earth mana.

  That also means that we can be attacked by a horde of undead from these tunnels at any moment as well. Maybe that is what the minotaur was waiting for. That we would enter into this place so that it can strike us here. Well, since the moment that I had this thought, I have been keeping an eye on the tunnels.

  I have been relying primarily on my mana sense for this. Sadly, my mana sense is injured once again. (Well, I guess I should have expected that.) That means that the range of my mana sense has fallen once again. The interesting thing is that I am not as injured as I was expecting to be this time. That will have to wait for some other time. Well, other than me, Eric is also keeping an eye on the paths, so we are about as safe as we can be.

  "Captain John, we have completed our survey of the three paths.", searcher Amelia speaks. Her voice breaks my flow of thoughts. Right now, the place is as silent as a grave. (I work myself into panic with comparisons like that only.) The voice of searcher Amelia breaks it like a hammer.

  "That is good, searcher Amelia.", the man replies. "Why exactly are you telling this to me?"

  The man is a bit loopy since he has been meditating to heal the wound on his head. That is why he has yet to realise just how much respect the lady has given him.

  "Well, you are the expert at hunting monsters, captain.", she replies. "Who else will I be sharing this information with?"

  Fuck, what is this lady thinking? I turn to look at Anthony, who has been doing nothing with his troop. The man picked the farthest location from the sentinels. I can see the cogs turn in the man's head as he rises in obvious anger. Before he can say anything, though.

  "So what is the verdict, searcher?" I speak. "What are we facing? More importantly, when are we leaving?"

  "Well, the searchers wouldn't have come for my opinion unless they were confused." the man speaks. He turns to her. "I assume that all three tunnels have undead in them."

  "Yes, captain. All three paths out of here are travellable.", the lady speaks. "The problem is that there is a troop of undead in each of these paths, so we don't have an idea of where to proceed."

  "Well, can you find out the strength of each force here?" John replies.

  "Certainly, captain.", the lady replies.

  "Well, then what is the problem, searcher?" Anthony replies. "Just find the force with the most strength, and that is where we must hit. The minotaur would naturally keep its strongest underlings with it."

  I look at John, who has taken on a focused look. The man is thinking quite intensely.

  "Well, let's not be too hasty about that. The minotaur knows we will make the same assumption.", the man replies to searcher Amelia. In the process, he completely ignores what Anthony has just said. "I have never hunted a minotaur, but I have to assume that it is similar to a wight in behavior."

  As he is saying this, Anthony's face is worth looking at. It almost feels like John has just slapped the man on his face. He opens his mouth like he is about to say something, but wisely keeps quiet. Once John enters his hunting mode, he doesn't give one shit about politics. That is what makes him such a good hunter.

  "Now a wight is a type of undead. They tend to draw their power from their corpses.", he speaks. "That is why they tend to be the strongest near their graves. That means their strategy usually involves tricking people into coming near their bases. It is a risk that they can afford to take. After all, beating them near their corpses is supposed to be impossible. I assume that the minotaurs must try for something similar."

  "Yes.", is her only reply.

  "Well, then the creature will be found in the tunnel where the undead are the weakest. It is inviting you into its grave. That would mean making yourself look appealing to an attacking force.", John replies. "Though we can't just enter the place. That would give the undead in the other two tunnels the chance to stab us in the back. After all, it won't just let us waltz into its base. You all should sit. This is going to take quite some planning."

  Saying that the man sits down, lost in his thoughts, as he begins to cook up a scheme.