Transparency
We proceeded down the stairs and reached the first floor of the labyrinth, where wolves would appear.
「They say the wolves in this labyrinth aren’t very strong.」
I see.
When I asked Mear-san for details, she said the monsters in this labyrinth were suitable for beginners. The first floor was like a meadow.
It was pretty strange to see a meadow underground, but there was no use thinking about it. Scholars much smarter than me had tried to figure out how it worked and came up with nothing.
While we walked around the meadow, I activated Visual Enhancement. The effect was as expected, to sharpen visible details and expand my field of view. Since this practically gives me the eyes of a hawk, it’s useful for detecting monsters at a distance.
Bingo. I saw a wolf resting in a dense space of trees a little further into the meadow.
「Mear-san. There’s a wolf nearby, right where we’re headed.」
「What? R-Relius, can you… actually see that far?」
「Y-yeah. Well. I’ve been able to do it recently.」
「R-really? As usual, you’re amazing.」
Mear-san was surprised at what I could do. I got the skills by chance, though. It was pure luck.
「Oh yeah, I wanted to ask — the labyrinth monsters are coming out of the wall, aren’t they?」
When I activated Visual Enhancement so as not to miss the wolf, I was able to witness it being born from the wall of the labyrinth. Even if it’s common knowledge, it’s still surprising to see it with your own eyes.
「Yep, that’s right. That’s why it’s common knowledge to stay away from the walls.」
「Oh, you might suddenly get attacked by a monster, huh?」
A quick surprise attack can make even a weak foe dangerous. There’s no need to go out of your way to hang around where you could suddenly get ambushed.
As soon as we reached the forest, we found the wolf. It was alone.
「Mear-san. I want to try out a new skill, is that okay with you?」
「N-new skill? Come to think of it, can you see your skills?」
「Yeah. When I went to the city the other day, I was able to buy some skills.」
Mear-san looked surprised at my words.
「Really…? Being able to see skills sure does come with its perks, huh?」
「Mhm. So, can I give it a try?」
「Yeah, alright.」
I’d actually wanted to go over this with Mear-san before we went into the labyrinth, but I hadn’t had a day off until now. I took out a knife and activated Transparency.
It was a skill that can make make things transparent, but it only works for something that has no awareness. In other words, it can’t be used on humans.
When I learned that, my dream of turning invisible was ruined. I fell asleep depressed that day.
I threw the invisible knife into the wolf.
The knife hit the wolf’s body with a splash of blood. The wolf looked around in surprise. It seemed to understand a knife was stuck in its body, but its expression is suspicious.
I think this is the advantage of making a weapon transparent. Being able to strike from a distance with an invisible object is a big advantage, but it doesn’t enhance the attack itself.
The wolf jumped at me; I dodged and countered with a kick, blowing it away.
After rolling several times on the ground, it came to a stop and disappeared, leaving only the materials behind. In a labyrinth, there are no monster corpses, they only leave behind a portion of their materials and disappear.
From the point of view of an adventurer, it saves the hassle of dismantling the monster, but for me it simply reduces what I get. It seems my physical ability is substantially improved.
This is because I mass-produced rings and put them in my pockets. As you might have expected, it was a hindrance to fight with a bunch of rings on my fingers, so I found a different method.
However, accessories like rings couldn’t get many skills on them. Even the best one only had 80 points, enough for just one S-rank skill with some left over. It was possible the value was decided to some extent by the size of the equipment. Comparing a knife to a sword, the sword would have more points.
As I was collecting the materials, Mear-san approached with a fascinated expression.
「Relius… you’re getting even stronger.」
「Uh… am I really?」
It’s possible some of the increase is related to leveling up, but it’s difficult to see from my own perspective.
All I can get is a sense that the degree of effect skills have has increased, such as from Muscle Strength Enhancement. Of course, my base power level has also improved, but it’s not to the degree that I’d start accidentally bending forks.
「But you’ve also been doing well recently, haven’t you?」
「I guess so… what, did someone tell you about it?」
「Yeah, some of the adventurers who stayed in the inn.」
Mear-san had started getting invited to join other parties. She had regained her composure by returning to a 100% request completion rate.
「Your Divine Treasure is so great, clearing the labyrinth will be a breeze, won’t it?」
「Of course, Relius-san, I don’t intend to slack off. I’ve already done a light warm-up exercise, so are you fine to keep moving?」
「Let’s go.」
I looked around for more wolves… and quickly found one.
「Mear-san, I got another one. Let’s go that way.」
Mear-san looked at me with envy.
「Man… detection skills sure are convenient, huh?」
「Do you want me to add it to your equipment?」
She shook her head.
「N-no, it’s fine! If I rely on you too much, I won’t become a truly strong adventurer!」
Well, she’s got a point. I wouldn’t be able to fight nearly as well without my equipment. Increasing the strength of my equipment is fine, but I have to grow more on my own as well.
She’d reminded me of that fact once again.
Once we reached the wolf, Mear-san attacked it immediately. A beautiful fire burned the wolf to ashes.
Having such a good Divine Treasure is a benefit after all. Will I be able to make even more amazing weapons in the future?
In order to see the day when it’s possible to make wonderful weapons that can stand side by side with Divine Treasures, I need to level up even more.
「This has been easy so far. If it keeps up, we should reach the lowest floors in no time.」
「Alright then, let’s do our best!」
「Right, I’m counting on you!」
We kept up a good pace on our way to the bottom of the labyrinth.
Bound Pleasures 
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