The Infinite Journey of a Certain Flame

After a long silence, Alicia began to explain the whole story.

After hearing her explanation, Kiana belatedly realized why she had come here.

In that instant, Kiana couldn't help but admire the girl's delicate sensibilities...

"Yes, she is indeed very important. It's just a pity she wasn't buried here..."

Kiana sighed, then slowly walked to the monument.

"Perhaps this behavior is boring and a waste of time. But I feel... if I, the only one who still remembers her, do nothing, it would be the greatest betrayal of her sacrifice."

"Is that so... Hmm. Well~" Alicia smiled and then said, "It's not the only one now~ I'll come every year on this day from now on."

"Thank you."

Kiana smiled and said it was over, then took out a carving knife and began carving words on the tombstone.

There were things she wanted to say, things she wanted to convey.

...

With the carving knife, lines of rough but clear inscriptions suddenly appeared.

Once the engraving was finished, Kiana sheathed the blade and waved to Alicia...

Then it transformed into countless points of light in this world...

"...You seem more like a fairy than me, Kiana..."

After witnessing this strange sight, Alicia nervously went forward to examine the inscription, only to discover that Kiana had written just three sentences before leaving.

"The work we do while upholding our beliefs will never be meaningless, regardless of whether the outcome is as we wish."

"We protect the beautiful things, the things that are about to become beautiful, and the things we consider important. They may seem insignificant, or even futile, but that's only because they are just seeds at the moment."

"These seeds that nurture beauty will one day bloom into flowers covering the mountains and fields."

Your name is Spider...? (So what if I was reincarnated as a spider?): Chapter 1: I've been reincarnated as a sword saint, and it seems I'm invincible?

Within the dark and gloomy labyrinth, the rustling of the wind and the roars of monsters echoed, their sounds like the scythe of death slicing towards the humans trapped within.

"Roar~!!"

Another frenzied howl rang out, a sound that sent shivers down the spines of the humans, their hearts pounding as if they were about to leap from their mouths.

Their fingers trembled slightly, and their legs trembled slightly. Under such circumstances, anyone would know that there was no way out and they could only grit their teeth and rush forward.

"roar!!"

Another ferocious roar rang out, followed by screams of agony. The monsters that had been roaring just moments before were now all lying on the ground, their eyes wide open as if they were dying with their eyes open in disbelief. Their throats were making gurgling sounds, and their chests were heaving. They seemed to have been bitten by something, and blood was flowing down their faces.

Slaughter and death are the unchanging melody of this world.

Even for humans, these monsters are the most dangerous and terrifying enemies, and the labyrinth filled with monsters is a real-life hell on earth.

But because of the allure of wealth and glory, many people still flock to this place.

Some of them were expeditionary or rescue teams composed of soldiers from the kingdom, while others were bandit groups composed of civilian thieves who made a living by picking up equipment from corpses or by directly robbing and killing their own kind.

Of course, besides these two types, there is another type of group that explores mazes.

That is... the adventurer's party.

Now, a five-person adventure team has ventured into the labyrinth, traversing mountains and rivers.

'boom! ! ! '

A stone suddenly crashed to the ground with a loud thud, startling everyone. Many people looked around in terror, their eyes filled with panic, and their feet involuntarily moved backward as if they were running away.

"Run!"

In this group of five, the people running at the front were a man and a woman. The man had a full beard and wore armor, exuding a bandit-like air, while to his left followed a petite and heroic woman in leather armor and a longbow.

She had long, smooth, jet-black hair cascading over her shoulders, and her face possessed a pure and ethereal quality. Her beautiful eyes sparkled with a subtle light, making her exceptionally attractive.

Beside the girl stood a tall young woman, wearing a purplish-red mage's robe that revealed a section of her fair, jade-like calves. She had a delicate oval face, arched eyebrows like crescent moons, a straight nose like a mountain peak, and lips as red and tender as flower petals. Her long, glossy black hair reached her waist, making her look exceptionally fresh and beautiful.

Behind them, three monsters were chasing them. They were menacing and ferocious, looking extremely terrifying, and kept attacking them.

Seeing the monsters attacking them, the people cried out in alarm, but there was nothing they could do but keep moving forward. However, they could still clearly hear the roars and angry howls of the monsters getting closer and closer behind them.

Seeing this, cold sweat broke out on their foreheads. Their hearts were filled with fear. They didn't want to die; they were terrified of death. They were just ordinary humans, not much different from monsters, which is why they felt fear.

"Awoo~"

Just as the group was about to shake off the three-headed wolf-like monster...

Ahead, a strange howl suddenly came, and a black bear several meters tall suddenly leaped out. Its eyes were blood red, like lanterns, drool hung from the corners of its mouth, its tongue was like a steel whip, its fangs were like sharp swords, gleaming with a chilling light, its claws were like iron pincers, and its tail was incredibly thick, a full half foot long.

In the critical moment, the archer raised his hand and shot an arrow that struck the black bear squarely in the right eye!

"Awoooooo!!!"

Driven mad by pain, the giant bear began to attack indiscriminately, and the adventure team took the opportunity to sneak away.

"Finally...we've shaken them off."

"Where are we now? Is there any way back?"

"Don't ask me, I don't know either!"

The burly man at the head of the group beat his chest and stamped his feet, feeling despair at his current predicament: "Everything was fine until three wolves suddenly appeared halfway through! Ugh! I should have known better than to accept that prince's commission!"

The adventurers fell silent for a moment, then suddenly the girl in the skirt started sobbing.

"Oh no, what am I going to do... Waaah! I'm still young, I don't want to die in this maze..."

"Don't cry!" the big man shushed her, covering her mouth. "There are monsters everywhere here. If you attract other monsters, they'll all die!"

However, instead of summoning the monster, they heard footsteps coming from the dark tunnel nearby.

'Tap tap tap!'

The sound of the leather boots hitting the ground was perfectly rhythmic, like a series of iron hammer blows striking everyone's hearts.

"Wh...who are you?"

"Waaah!"

"Stop crying! Get ready, the monster is coming—!"

"you..."

Finally, just as the adventure team was on the verge of exploding from the torment of unknown fears...

A beautiful, melodious, and spirited female voice drifted over.

"Why did we venture so deep into this area? It's teeming with high-level monsters; it's very dangerous."

As the words fell, a woman wearing a silver cloak and carrying a heavy greatsword on her back slowly appeared in the torchlight.

That wisp of white hair peeking out from under the hood, and that composed demeanor, seemed to reveal the identity of the newcomer...

"Excuse me, are you... the renowned swordswoman Kiana Kaslana, who has gained fame throughout the kingdom these past few months?"

Seeing that their target had finally appeared, the adventure team leader breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly asked in a polite manner.

Speaking of this sword saint, she is known to everyone in the kingdom, from nobles to farmers working in the fields; almost everyone knows her.

Such renown is only worthy of the rulers of the entire kingdom and even the most sages of the church.

The reason why this newcomer, who seemed to appear out of nowhere, has achieved such fame is...

"While on a mission, we also thwarted the demonic alliance..."

"Demonic attacks! He single-handedly slew several earth dragons..."

"Defeat hundreds of renowned challengers from across the kingdom within a month..."

For some reason, Kiana didn't feel proud listening to this bearded man reciting his "great achievements".

On the contrary, I felt somewhat ashamed...

"...Yes, these...were all accidents."

Kiana removed her hood, calmly observing the adventurers in silence.

Your name is Spider...? (So what if you were reincarnated as a spider?) : Chapter Two: Demon Race, right? If you don't want trouble, don't mess with me.

As is well known, the world of swords and magic often contains familiar elements such as demons, monsters, humans, and other races.

And this world is no exception.

However, there is a slight difference...

The humans in this world... seem quite weak?

No, it should be said that it's so weak that it's beyond words; it's the kind of walking experience pack.

This is Kiana's experience after traveling for several months.

Compared to monsters and demons, the combat power of humans is unimaginably weak; some monsters can wipe out a large number of people with just a glare.

Although some individuals within the group are quite capable, these alone are not enough to change the current situation.

"You came here, aren't you afraid of dying?"

After a brief silence, Kiana looked at the tearful magician girl with a hint of resignation: "What's your name?"

"Lia...Sword Saint, my name is Lia."

The terrified girl rolled up her sleeves and wiped her eyes, hurriedly introducing herself, looking extremely frightened.

"You're already this scared, why are you still being reckless? You...you should still be very young."

Kiana stroked her chin and approached the adventurers, asking in a calm tone.

Seeing that she seemed to be blaming him, the middle-aged man wiped his sweat.

"Um... His Highness the Prince sent us to inform you that he hopes you can return as soon as possible, so as not to... allow the monsters to go berserk."

The labyrinth is inhabited by a vast number of strange and varied monsters, any one of which can easily sway the battlefield and cause the massacre of cities and villages.

While it's good that the newly appeared swordsman is willing to personally enter the labyrinth to exterminate the monsters, what if the monsters go berserk after being killed and begin to flee the labyrinth in large numbers?