"Rim! We're heading back!"
Chishiya called out from the hillside.
A black vortex opened in the air before him.
"What's that?" Megumin blinked in surprise. "Sensei, are you part of the Demon King's Army?"
Chishiya rolled his eyes.
"What nonsense are you spouting? I'm just a regular businessman."
"Tsk... I don't buy it." Megumin pouted.
Rim returned, dragging a Giant Toad in one hand.
"Chishiya. Giant Toad. Delicious."
"Amazing!"
Megumin's eyes sparkled.
"You lifted that thing with one hand?!"
"The people in Sensei's team are seriously powerful!"
This must be the result of Sensei's training!
The three of them stepped into the vortex.
In the next moment, they arrived inside the Labyrinth.
"This place is..."
Megumin looked around. The mana here was noticeably denser than outside.
She could walk on her own now.
"This is your training ground from now on."
Chishiya led her forward.
"Training?"
Chishiya nodded.
"That's right. Your first task is to mine 200 magic crystals."
He handed her a pickaxe.
"Huh?"
Megumin stared blankly, gripping the pickaxe.
This is hell training?
Why is it so different from what I imagined?
"Ahem!"
Can't let the girl get suspicious. Chishiya cleared his throat.
"This is actually the first step of your training."
"Tell me, what's the most important thing for a mage?"
Megumin raised a hand and struck a dramatic pose.
"Style! If a mage's battle isn't cool, then what's the point?!"
...Well, style is important. Chishiya sighed.
"Wrong. It's close-combat capability."
"The biggest weakness for a mage is getting ambushed."
"If a high-level fighter gets in your face, your spells won't even matter."
"So having self-defense skills is crucial."
Chishiya spouted complete nonsense with a straight face.
Like he knew what he was talking about.
No way I'm digging crystals tonight. Gotta offload this shift to someone...
Megumin nodded thoughtfully. "Sensei, but what does this have to do with mining?"
Chishiya stroked his imaginary beard.
"Of course it's related. This is the most direct way to build up your physical strength."
"It'll greatly increase your survival rate in battle."
And reduce my workload.
Megumin gripped the pickaxe tightly. "I understand, Sensei!"
"But is mining the only thing I have to do?"
Chishiya shook his head.
"If you finish the mining quota, your next task is to defeat monsters here and level up to 20."
"Level 20?! But I'm only level 6 right now."
"Also, are there enough monsters in here?"
"Don't worry, there's plenty."
Chishiya led her deeper into the Labyrinth.
Megumin followed, and as they passed through a rocky tunnel, her jaw dropped.
The upper level had been a pitch-black cave.
But this lower level opened into a vast forest.
Blue skies above, with clouds drifting gently.
You'd never guess this was underground.
Most importantly, she could cast Explosion Magic freely without bothering anyone!
"It's beautiful!!! Sensei! How did you even do this?!"
Megumin's eyes sparkled like stars.
Chishiya looked at her awestruck expression and rubbed her head.
"You like it? Good. Rest up tonight. Training starts tomorrow."
Megumin saluted energetically.
"Yes, Sensei!"
After sending her off to the cabin to rest, Chishiya sat down and opened the Labyrinth panel.
---
[Current Labyrinth Level: 1]
[Upgrade Requirement: 500,000 Reputation Points]
[Benefit: Crimson Demon Clan Bond (Increases mana concentration by 10%)]
[Monsters: Omitted]
[Minerals: Low-grade Magic Crystal]
[Herbs: Healing Grass (Low-grade)]
[Ecosystem: Cave Ecology, Forest Ecology]
---
The forest ecosystem was newly unlocked.
Cost him 3,000 reputation points.
The reason Chishiya had so many points was thanks to consistent magic crystal sales.
He'd sold 100 so far.
Bought 20 each time, five times total.
Who keeps buying this stuff?
The system responded.
[Ding!]
[Magic Crystal Buyer: Wiz]
"Wiz?"
"You mean that Miss Wiz who loses money every time she opens shop?"
"She actually bought from our company? I guess she's got decent taste after all."
"If she handles it right, she might actually make a profit for once."
Chishiya opened his personal panel.
---
[Name: Chishiya Shuntaro]
[Core Company Employee: Megumin]
[Account Balance: 1,000,000 Eris (Convertible at 100:1)]
[Reputation Points: 37,000]
[Labyrinth Level: 1]
[Special Ability: Explosion Magic]
---
Chishiya rubbed his chin.
He hadn't converted all his earnings to reputation points yet.
Better to keep some Eris on hand for emergencies.
"The last batch of mined crystals is nearly sold out. Gotta restock soon."
Let's see what else I can unlock with 37,000 points...
"Just selling magic crystals won't cut it long-term."
He browsed the system store.
[All Plant-type Monsters – 10,000 RP]
(Evolve automatically with Labyrinth level)
[All Orc-type Monsters – 10,000 RP]
[All Medicinal Herbs – 20,000 RP]
[Collection & Construction Team – 10,000 RP]
[Basic House Blueprint – 5,000 RP]
[Teleportation Anchor – 50,000 RP]
"Teleportation Anchor?"
"What's that?" Chishiya asked.
[Unlocks teleportation anchor placement in the outside world. Allows outside access to the Labyrinth.]
[Can be used for tourism development.]
Chishiya nodded.
"In that case, 50,000 isn't a bad price."
"Once I have the points, I'll make that my next goal."
He skimmed through the store and made a decision.
Purchased three things:
1. Medicinal herbs
2. Collection & Construction Team
3. Basic House Blueprint
Herbs couldn't be processed into potions directly.
But he could sell them raw.
As for the collection team, he couldn't stay inside the Labyrinth forever.
Someone else had to handle gathering and construction.
[Ding!]
[Purchase successful. Collection & Construction Team en route.]
"Huh? What do you mean by en route?"
Just as he was wondering, the ground beneath him began to tremble.
Then, something started crawling up from the earth.
When Chishiya got a good look, his scalp went numb.
"Oh hell no. Where did all these ants come from?!"
A dense swarm of Labyrinth Ants emerged from the ground.
Each one about 1.5 meters long.
In under ten minutes, they had completely surrounded him.
Chishiya stood frozen.
"This... is the collection team?"
"A bunch of giant ants?! Seriously?!"
(To be continued.)