Chapter 188

“What were you eating to survive?”

“Hmm. There wouldn’t be any proper grass growing in that labyrinth underground, so I’m a bit curious.”

Asterios hesitated slightly at my words before speaking.

“In the labyrinth, moss and mushrooms grew, so I survived on those.”

“Moss and mushrooms?”

“Yeah. They grow well even in dark places, so I filled my stomach with them. And there were a few spots where water collected that I drank from.”

Hearing this, could those moss and mushrooms be the ones I gave to the dwarves? But why are they here? Did the dwarves give them as gifts?

And standing water… Drinking from such places would likely have caused stomach trouble…

Though, I suppose surviving somehow was the priority, even if it meant getting sick.

“Still, I wasn’t always eating just those. Occasionally, I’d help other people I met and received food in return.”

“Other people? You mean adventurers?”

“Yeah. I went around helping people who got into trouble because of monsters.”

Hmm… So you were wandering the labyrinth saving people in danger. What a good kid.

Thankfully, you haven’t resorted to cannibalism yet.

“Still, there weren’t always mushrooms and moss around… When there was nothing else, I ate the monsters.”

“Monsters?”

Well… Monster meat is technically still meat from living creatures, so it should be fine to eat…

However, if one consumes meat saturated with corrupted mana, it could accumulate within the body and potentially cause monster-like transformations.

In which case… perhaps this is how the Minotaur monster truly came to be.

“Hold on a moment.”

I floated slightly and placed my hand on Asterios’ head, sending a flow of mana to examine the mana accumulated within his body.

Due to the significant amount of mana already built up, his body had changed quite noticeably. Even though he’s still young, his size and strength surpass that of an adult… This must be due to the mana altering his physical form.

He seems to still retain his sanity for now, but if I had arrived too late… He might have truly become a monster of the labyrinth.

“Hmm… Your health isn’t in great condition.”

“What? I’ve never felt lacking in strength.”

“You shouldn’t eat monster meat anymore. It’s not good for your body. If you had eaten more, you might have become ferocious like the monsters.”

At my words, Asterios’ expression turned slightly repulsed.

“That… I don’t want to become a monster.”

“Well, while we can’t instantly reverse the changes that have already occurred, if you avoid eating monster meat going forward, you should be able to maintain your current state.”

I could withdraw the mana accumulated in Asterios’ body, but since it has already merged with his bones and muscles, doing so might leave his entire body riddled with tiny holes… He’d die almost immediately.

While it would be possible to regenerate and recover his body simultaneously while withdrawing the mana, that sounds a bit troublesome. Since I could handle it but someone at a normal human level couldn’t…

Since I can heal him but it’s too much hassle, let’s just leave it be for now. As long as he doesn’t eat more monster meat, the current state can be maintained.

It’s not a life-threatening issue, and thanks to the altered physique from the mana, he’s become incredibly strong anyway.

So for now, we’ll leave it as is.

“From now on, no eating monsters. Got it?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

With Asterios following my instructions obediently, we headed toward the exit of the labyrinth.

Although there were holes I created by rushing straight through when I first arrived at the labyrinth entrance, they weren’t large enough for Asterios to pass through comfortably – or even me for that matter. The walls seem to be sealing themselves automatically, almost as if they’re alive.

It’s as if the walls of this labyrinth are living things.

—

The Infinite Maze

One of the Seven World Prohibitions. Discovered at the site of the palace ruins of the former city-state of Minoa.

Unlike the other Six Prohibitions that strictly restrict access to only a select few, the Infinite Maze allows entry to qualified adventurers who meet certain standards and follow proper procedures.

While other Prohibited Zones are completely sealed off, the Infinite Maze has relatively lenient requirements for entry permits and lower grade requirements.

In a way, the Infinite Maze could be seen as the ultimate training ground for inexperienced adventurers to gain the skills needed to become fully-fledged professionals.

…

The Infinite Maze possesses baffling characteristics unmatched by any other dungeon. Most notably, maps become meaningless here.

What was a pathway yesterday might be a dead end today. Rooms may appear where none existed before – a living labyrinth that constantly changes daily.

Fortunately, thanks to the blessings of the maze’s guardian deity, certain areas like stairways between floors and some safe zones remain constant, offering protection from monsters.

Without these divine blessings, adventurers entering the maze would surely starve without regular supply runs.

Another notable feature: each floor of the maze continuously expands in size every year by approximately 30 square meters, according to research conducted by the Adventurer’s Guild overseeing the maze.

Considering this continuous expansion, one might worry the entire world will eventually become a maze. However, studies indicate the maze exists in a separate dimension connected only through its entrances, so such concerns are unfounded.

Attempts by the Guildmaster to create additional entrances to stabilize the maze’s growth by increasing visitor numbers proved unsuccessful despite extensive excavation around the existing entrance.

It’s as if the entire maze exists in another world, with only the entrance overlapping with our own.

…

As the maze continues to expand, new monsters keep appearing within. The deeper the floor, the stronger the monsters become.

To manage this threat, the Adventurer’s Guild deploys numerous adventurers to clear out monsters and prevent a catastrophe where hordes of monsters burst out from the maze into the outside world.

—

Arriving at the labyrinth entrance, I lightly stepped onto the staircase while Asterios hesitated, rooted to the spot.

“Why are you stopping? Don’t you want to leave?”

Asterios seemed about to speak but closed his mouth again, showing obvious hesitation and fear. Perhaps he’s afraid of King Minoa.

“I…”

After a pause, he finally asked:

“Is it really okay to leave here?”

Through the cow-skull mask, I could see his golden irises revealing emotions of fear, doubt, and questioning.

“Why was I born?”

“Why was I born like this? Why did I have to be born with these horns? If I hadn’t been born, maybe they wouldn’t have fought…”

Self-denial. Regret. Fear.

The king denied him as his child.

The queen wanted to accept him but couldn’t defy her husband’s wishes.

Caught between them, young Asterios lost confidence in himself.

If he had been born an ordinary human, he could have lived happily as a prince.

But due to the cursed genetics giving him a cow beastman’s body, he was denied even that title.

“Do I even have a reason for being born?”

His lamentation. His self-cursing. His painful declaration that his life has no meaning.

“To seek meaning in one’s birth is futile. Nothing is born with a predetermined purpose. At least, most lives aren’t.”

Life is conceived through love. The mother endures months of hardship and the pain of childbirth out of affection for the child within. Birth itself carries no specific purpose.

“Therefore, life inherently has meaning simply by existing.”

“To search for the meaning of one’s birth is pointless when it doesn’t exist in the first place.”

“But… The Goddess of Dragons said all lives have a reason for being born…”

The Goddess of Dragons?

Ah, if she means the Fragment of the Goddess of Life I created separately… She seems to be doing her job diligently but has developed differing views from mine.

After 300 years of autonomous work, some changes must have occurred.

I should check on her sometime later.

“While the meaning of one’s birth may be unknowable, the meaning of one’s life is different.”

The meaning of living can be chosen freely by one’s own will, not dictated by others.

So…

“Is there anything you want to do?”

“Yes. Something you want to try. Something you wish to pursue. Anything you desire to do yourself – tell me just one thing.”

After pondering for a moment, Asterios replied:

“I want to see the world.”

“The world?”

“Yeah. I couldn’t leave the palace as a child, and since coming to the labyrinth, I’ve never seen the outside world. I want to explore it.”

World travel, huh? Not bad.

“I want to see the Great Forest of Elves, the tallest mountain where dwarves live… I want to travel and see many places around the world.”

The wish of a confined young boy. A wish from one who lacked freedom.

How could I deny such a wish and call myself an adult?

“Let’s travel together then.”

While traveling, I might as well look for suitable companions for the Twelve Zodiac signs.

Next, hmm… A tiger would be good. Any kind of tiger… Indian tiger, Siberian tiger, sabertooth tiger… They should be somewhere to the east, right?

So having a travel companion in that direction would be convenient.

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