"Hmm~ If that brave man uses 『Limit Break』, he should be able to win, right?"
"Perhaps. If I activate a skill higher than Limit Break, I can definitely win. But the subsequent weakness is a problem... Ordinary recovery magic can't heal the fatigue caused by Limit Break."
"...Hmm~ If it's regeneration magic, maybe it can be cured."
Hearing Yue say this, Kaori showed a subtle expression.
"For my part, I want to conserve as much mana as possible. After all, regeneration magic consumes a lot of mana, and I'm the only one who can use it right now... We've only just entered the maze, and no one knows what lies ahead. And I just used regeneration magic in a hurry."
"Well, then let's get rid of the enemy before the hero uses [Limit Break]. "
If they continued like this, would the Great Labyrinth eventually accept Kouki and his companions as conquerors? — Hajime couldn't help but feel troubled. If Kouki and his companions couldn't obtain Age of Gods magic, they wouldn't be able to resort to the strategy of "leaving them all to the heroes if a large number of Noin appear."
That's why Hajime hoped that they could achieve victory here in one go and prove to the Great Labyrinth that "we are strong!"
However... as Kaori said, we don't know what we'll encounter ahead. In that case, it's best not to use Age of Gods magic continuously and waste a lot of mana. Although there's magic crystals to store mana, Yue and Tio are not only unable to contribute to the battle now, but there's no telling when they'll recover.
In addition, in fact, both of them had their equipment confiscated, so they could not be careless, lest they lose Jingzhou.
"Master, I understand what you're worried about. I don't think you need to be too concerned about the results of the battle."
"Hmm? What do you mean? Are you talking about the theme of the Great Labyrinth?"
When Hajime was troubled, Gobutio offered him advice. She might be a complete psychopath, but she's also a well-informed and observant person, so her words are valuable. She's still a hopeless psychopath, though.
"Hmm, I guess what Hartrina wants to test is the 'bond'."
"Bonds... Come to think of it, there's a word like that written on the stone tablet at the entrance."
"That's right. That doesn't just mean that you need to be guided to the tree by the demihumans. It also means that the bonds you form with your companions will be tested during the conquest. Seeing through fake companions, accepting companions whose appearances have changed drastically, protecting or abandoning companions who have lost their fighting power... I think this is exactly what tests the "bonds forged between companions."
"...I see. If the end is just ahead of us after overcoming this trial, then it truly can be called a 'signpost'. In that case...Amanogawa and the others accepted Sakagami and fought alongside him, just now they gave their lives to each other. At this point, even if I were to take care of the enemy, it wouldn't be a problem. From now on, as long as Amanogawa and the others pass the 'test of our bond', then there won't be any problems."
"That's right, but these are just my speculations."
That being said, Tio's speculation was quite plausible.
At the same time, if Tio's speculation is true, the trials here do not simply require combat ability. Then, given the combat power of Hajime and his group, this Great Labyrinth may be very suitable for Kouki and his group as the first place to obtain the magic of the Age of Gods.
Hajime considered Tio's opinion over and over in his mind, then glanced at the giant tree man.
Unable to break through the Four-Point Barrier and Ling's Holy Spell, the giant tree man seemed to be enraged. Its attack became even more fierce, and the surrounding trees were already full of stirring, filling everyone's view.
Seeing this, Hajime made a decision.
"Taniguchi, I'm going to burn all these trees now. If you don't want to die, don't remove the barrier."
“—Huh?”
Perhaps it was the sudden telepathy, or perhaps it was the terrifying content—Ling broke out in a cold sweat.
Guanghui and the others looked at Ling with confusion, but then their expressions immediately turned into astonishment.
Hajime retrieved the "Full Moon Wheel" from the "Treasure Vault" and placed it outside the barrier. Using the ring attached to the sensor stone, he began to remotely control it. The full moon wheel began to spin, effortlessly slicing through the surrounding trees before soaring into the air. There were over twenty full moon wheels in total.
The full moon hovering in the sky then began to rain down black liquid.
Amidst the patter of rain, black liquid spilled onto the ground. It was tar formed from the melting of Fulham ore, burning at a temperature of 3,000 degrees Celsius.
Hajime used the portal function of the Crescent Moon Wheel to transport the large amount of tar stored in the "Treasure House" into the sky.
Shia and the others beside him seemed to realize what Hajime was about to do. They cried out "Uwaa ...
Indeed, if one wants to remove the excessive number of trees in one fell swoop, that would be the most effective method, but...
Hajime ignored their gazes and dropped a small spark of fire into the circle of the full moon wheel in his hand.
At that moment, the sea of trees was dyed red again.
Even as the tar rained down, the giant tree people continued their attack without a care in the world. However, under the 3,000-degree Celsius flames, the giant tree people were completely defenseless and were burned to ashes. Although they should not have vocal cords, it seemed as if their dying screams could be heard.
The rising air currents generated by the heat swept up the flames like a tornado, even burning the ground black, and turning everywhere into a fiery red like lava.
The scene gave one the illusion of hell manifesting on earth. If one were to step outside the barrier now, they would undoubtedly be reduced to charcoal... no, perhaps not even ashes would remain.
Although the tar is very hot, it burns relatively quickly.
The hellfire created by Shi also extinguished naturally in about fifteen minutes.
However, due to the futile struggles of the giant tree people, the fire spread to the ordinary trees in the sea of trees, almost causing a large-scale forest fire...
Fortunately, Kaori desperately put out the fire with her water magic. Currently, Kaori was the only one with a high magical aptitude, so she was very active in various aspects.
"Since we've already reunited with Yue and the others, burning everything is fine, right?"
“…Hajime-kun, I think your idea of destroying everything first and then talking about it isn’t a good one.”
"Wherever Hajime-san is, there's destruction... If my father and the others witnessed this, they'd probably enjoy coming up with a new nickname for Hajime-san."
Kaori's eyes looked as if she was looking at a problematic person, and Hajime couldn't help but look away.
Although Hajime thought that the Great Labyrinth was meant to be destroyed, but...
Even Shia was dumbfounded by him, making Hajime feel like he had done something bad.
The vampire princess who advocates the supremacy of the beginning, and the useless dragon who denies that his master should restrain himself, are both on the affirmative side, so the situation is currently evenly split between the two sides.
“Nagumo-kun, what happened just now was… no, it was nothing. He was already firing bazookas and dropping bombs randomly. This is normal for him, right? So cheer up, Shizuku…”
"It's okay, Shizuku-chan. Although Suzu still has times when she wants to escape reality, she'll get used to it soon. She should be able to, so don't worry."
Seeing the devastation wrought by the Vulcan outside the barrier, Shizuku and Suzu seemed to have suffered a mental shock. Their eyes were vacant as they comforted each other. Ryuutarou's ogre looked at them worriedly, but he had nothing to say, as his own ogre body was also covered in cold sweat.
Some distance away from Shizuku and the others, Kouki gritted his teeth and glared at Hajime.
Even with his ultimate weapon, he couldn't defeat the enemy, but Hajime could easily defeat him. Even though he told himself that he came here just to close the gap in strength with Hajime, he still received Hajime's help time and again. If this continued, could he really obtain the magic of the Age of Gods? — Anxiety welled up in Kouki's heart.
Guanghui shook his head to get rid of the negative thoughts, but he heard the sound of something breaking behind him, so he hurriedly turned around.
"The monster is regenerating?"
Just as Guanghui had predicted, a massive tree rapidly rose from the charred ground, accompanied by a tremor. The massive tree that had grown in the blink of an eye was identical to the giant tree man from earlier; it could truly be described as a rebirth.
Although Guanghui and the others were on high alert, the regenerated giant tree man did not attack. After a while, it began to create a tree hole like the entrance tree, and the trunk split to the left and right, revealing a space in the middle.
"I thought it was a mid-boss, but it turns out it's also the door to the next level."
Hajime nodded as if suddenly realizing something, and without hesitation, he headed towards the tree hole, with Yue and the others following behind. Kouki and the others, who had been on the defensive, also lowered their guard and hurriedly caught up.
The cave was a nondescript space, but after everyone entered, the entrance to the tree hole began to close again, and almost at the same time, the ground beneath their feet began to glow.
"It must be another transfer..."
Hajime saw a magic circle almost identical to the one at the entrance to the tree activated, and while saying this, he hugged Yue Gob and Gob Tio beside him. Although even if he hugged them, if the teleportation circle separated them, there was a high possibility that they would be unable to resist, but at least it was better than doing nothing.
Yue and Tio were currently unable to fight, so any mishap could be fatal. Therefore, no matter how small the task, as long as he was able, Hajime would do it because he couldn't afford to lose them both.
"……beginning."
"Master, Master... Wuwu, you are so gentle to me, I don't know how to react."
Perhaps sensing Hajime's worry, even though the two looked like goblins, anyone with a discerning eye could see that they were clearly emitting an aura of joy, with Tio even displaying a rare shyness.
Shia and Kaori ran towards Hajime, wanting to hug him as well, but...
He was a step too late, and in the end, he only saw the two people reaching out their hands to him, and the strong light obscured his vision.
——Chirp, chirp.
The sound of birdsong, heralding the arrival of morning, accompanied the sunlight, which seeped into the dim room through the cracks in the curtains. As if urged by the birdsong, the occupant of the room stirred a few times, then pulled the quilt over his head, building a strong fortress.
At the same time, a crackling sound was heard, and a particularly clear voice was heard. The next moment, the demon roared.
—Ring, ring, ring, ring, ring, ring!!
A shrill noise broke the morning silence, shouting at the occupant of the room.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"
To protect himself from the demon, the room's owner retreated even further into his fortress. However, he couldn't ignore the noise forever. He slowly reached out from under the covers and roughly patted his surroundings, searching for the demon's location.
That hand had more than ten years of experience in defeating demons, so the third time it slapped it, it hit the demon's head and successfully stopped the demon's unbearable screams.
However, even though the beating didn't last long, it was still too much work for him. As if his strength had been exhausted, the room's owner's arms drooped limply, then shrunk back into his fortress, and then remained motionless.
Then——
"Hajime~ wake up~! You must have stayed in bed again~! Hurry up and get up~!"
A familiar voice with a drawn-out ending came from downstairs - it was the voice of my mother urging me to get up.
Although the room's owner, Hajime, had indeed heard the voice in his semi-conscious state, he pulled the blanket back over him, as if to show his determination to fight to the end, and further strengthened the fortress's defenses.
"I really can't help you~ I'm so sorry. I trouble you every morning, but can you please help me today too?"
“——”
Mother's voice could be heard again from downstairs. She was speaking loudly on purpose so that Hajime could hear.
Hajime was not unaware of his mother's seemingly helpless tone, but he knew who she was talking to and what would happen next, so he had no desire to get up obediently.
After all, the morning routine was one of the happiness that Hajime felt every day...
Knock knock, there's a knock on the door.
However, that person knew there would be no response, and also knew the reason for no response, so after a beat, he immediately opened the door. Then, that person stepped into the room with small footsteps and gently called out to Maruko, who was curled up on the bed.
“…Wake up, Hajime.”
"..."
Even so, Hajime still did not react. Because Hajime wanted to hear his beloved girlfriend's voice a little longer in this half-asleep state before regaining consciousness.
“…Hajime, wake up! If you don’t get up, I’ll…”
"..."
This time, a pair of gentle hands rocked his body. Even through the quilt, he could feel those small hands, and a smile naturally appeared on Hajime's face.
"...to push you down, and to push you down sexually."
"Okay, I'm going to get up. Don't say anything so sensational so early in the morning."
I felt a chill on my back!
Hajime woke up in an instant, suddenly threw off the quilt, and at the same time, his black hair stood up randomly, and he blinked his eyes, which were the color of Japanese eyes.
Before his eyes was a beautiful girl with blond hair and red eyes. She had a charming smile on her face and for some reason she stared at Hajime and licked her lips.
Hajime smiled wryly and said good morning to her:
"Good morning, Yue."
“…Well, good morning, Hajime.”
Being able to spend time with his beloved lover, Shi smiled with his eyes narrowed, feeling the first happiness of the day.
Afterwards, Hajime was teased by his mother and laughed at by his father. After making preparations for the morning, he followed Yue out of the house.
They are going to school.
Seeing Hajime yawning and lazily walking on the way to school, Yue beside Hajime looked up at him with her head tilted in confusion.
Her casual movements are also very cute...
Whenever passersby passed by them, they were all so mesmerized by the moon that some fell into ditches, others bumped into telephone poles, and accidents happened all the time.
Although it caused a disaster to the people around her, Yue didn't care about what was happening around her at all. She walked forward with light steps, then turned around lightly.
Because she was wearing a Western-style uniform, her skirt fluttered in the wind. Her golden hair, gleaming in the morning sunlight, swayed in the wind, exuding a sweet fragrance.
Yue continued walking backwards, observing Hajime's expression with concern.
"...Stayed up late again?"
"Yes, because the job my father asked me to do went surprisingly smoothly. By the time I realized it, the sky was already getting light."
"...It's good to be focused, but you should take care of yourself and not be too aggressive."
"Okay, I'll pay attention."
Hajime and Yue were talking peacefully, a sweet atmosphere spreading between them.
Yue has been Hajime's lover for quite some time, and their passion for each other has not diminished in the slightest.
Yue wanted to stay with Shi, so she forced herself to stay at Shi's house, and before she knew it, she had even completed the enrollment procedures.
At first, the family was in a commotion when they saw a beautiful girl suddenly appear as Hajime's lover.
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