A Commonplace Story Of Overpowered Sorcerer

The Great Orcus Labyrinth. It was a massive dungeon said to span a hundred floors. As it was one of the seven great labyrinths, the deeper one went, the stronger the monsters they faced. Despite the dangers, it was a very popular training spot for adventurers, mercenaries, and new troops alike. The main reasons for that were because it was easy enough to measure the relative strength of the monsters one would have to face based on the floor they were on, and that the mana crystals contained within the monsters were of a higher quality than the ones harvested from monsters on the surface.

A mana crystal was the core of a monster; it was what made a monster a monster. The more powerful a monster, the bigger and purer a mana crystal it held inside. Mana crystals were an important component in magic circles. A magic circle only needed to be drawn to be able to cast the spell inscribed within, but it would have reduced effectiveness without powdered mana crystals used in the engraving of the circle. In fact, it would only be one third as powerful.

Mana crystals allowed for the more efficient transferal of mana, which was why they improved effectiveness so much. In addition, most commonplace magical tools used mana crystals as a power source. Because they were used by the common folk and not just the military, mana crystals were always in rather high demand.

However, monsters that possessed high-quality mana crystals were also capable of using powerful specialized magic. It was specialized because while they had large quantities of mana, monsters were incapable of using magic circles or chants, meaning that they could only ever use a single type of spell. Still, being able to unleash that spell without needing a magic circle or incantation was a powerful asset. It was the number one reason one could never let their guard down when fighting a monster.

As an aside, after the kingdom's troop acquired Magic Gun, they had the same powerful asset in a fight against the monster. The Magic Gun was universally accepted by the soldiers because of the ease in deployment. For the court magicians, the Magic Gun artifact received a split reaction. Some Court Magicians couldn't accept the Magic Gun existence because it rendered their training and effort in shortening their chant null while the rest accepted it with open-mindedness and even liked it. Those who accepted the Magic Gun were mostly the scholar type Court Magicians.

Besides, the artifact that produces the cartridge still needs the knowledge of spell formula craft. And only knowledgeable magicians, the scholar type, could input a new magic formula to create a new type of cartridge other than those had been produced by Rio and Hajime.

All that aside, back to the present situation.

Rio and the others arrived in the outpost town of Horaud, together with Captain Meld and a few of his knights. It was a small town that primarily existed to service the adventurers who traveled there wishing to challenge the Great Orcus Labyrinth. As the labyrinth was also used as a training arena for new soldiers, the kingdom maintained a state-run inn at the town, which was where the students were all staying.

Rio was a bit dissatisfied when he was forced to sleep in a normal room for once. He'd become accustomed to the luxurious room he acquired in the castle. Regardless, Rio reminded himself that he would dive into Labyrinth and there was a big probability of staying in there for several nights until he arrived in the abode of Oscar Orcus.

He shared his room with Hajime, who had the whole room for himself in the canon timeline. Hajime happily dived into his bed with a relieved sigh. Meanwhile, Rio saw his antic with an amused smile.

"Hey, Hajime, I'm going out," Rio called out Hajime suddenly.

"What did you mean by that? Where are you going to stay?" Hajime turned around in his bed and threw an inquiring stare in Rio's direction. At this moment, Rio had his hand on the door's handle and was about to leave Hajime behind.

"To tell you the truth, I cannot sleep. Well, since we are going to enter a Labyrinth, which is basically a den of monsters, to train, I cannot sleep due to the excitement. So, I'll try to have a leisure stroll and see what this town can offer."

"Is that so?" Hajime had a thoughtful appearance as he responded towards Rio's explanation. Of course, Rio wasn't being honest here. There was no way he would tell Hajime that he was trying to find a brothel because he was lonely.

"Well, then, have a nice trip... I guess. I'll have quick maintenance for my artifacts while you're out." Hajime nodded shortly before pointing at the briefcase where his Magic Gun and several cartridges were stored safely.

Afterward, Rio opened the door and exited the room. He immediately saw a feminine silhouette approaching in the corridor. He then discovered that the silhouette belonged to Kaori. Rio soon understood as to why Kaori was visiting Hajime's room this late. Although Hajime and Kaori had become an official couple due to his meddling, they had yet to enter the second stage. Don't mention the third stage when they hadn't kissed yet. Furthermore, some students hadn't accepted it yet. And you may have expected who are these students.

"Oh, my, Rio? Are you going out?" Kaori asked him with a beaming smile as she got closer.

"Yep. Can't sleep. I take it that you're going to have a special time with your boyfriend?" Rio said and questioned Kaori for formality sake.

Kaori nodded her head and her smile deepened as she heard Rio mentioning Hajime as her boyfriend. Though it had been several days since they became a couple, Kaori seemed still over the moon as if it just happened yesterday.

"Anyway, don't do something you two will regret later. You two are still young..." Rio couldn't help but tease Kaori. And when Kaori heard that, her pale skin turned very red in mortification. If it was anime, Rio was sure that Kaori's soft brown eyes would become swirls and steam would come out from her ears.

"Mou! Rio, you meanie! Don't tease me!" Kaori pouted at him but seemed not truly affronted by Rio's teasing.

"Ahaha, well, don't mind me. Just go to your sweetheart. He's giving his artifacts maintenance."

"I see. Won't I disturb him?" Kaori seemed fretful as she asked Rio that.

"Worry not for I believe Hajime will be happy if you accompany him. Now, go inside! Shoo!" Rio stated while giving Kaori a shooing motion. She pouted once again before entering the room with a spring in her steps. Afterward, Rio heard a commotion both Hajime and Kaori caused. He couldn't help but shook his head in exasperation.

Afterward, he went out of the inn after telling Captain Meld. There was a little complication when Captain Meld wanted him to take a knight or two as his escort, but Rio had been able to dissuade Captain Meld's worry and could stroll alone without escort.

After finding an empty roof, he laid his back on it and stared at the moon. Rio then subtly erected a barrier to fool Ehit who had been keeping close eyes on him. His illusion barrier would make Ehit see him sleeping on the roof when in truth, he used his Space Magic to teleport back to his private room in the castle, surprising Liselotte who was in the middle of cleaning the room.

"Wha-what? Sir Rio! How? When? Why?" Liselotte was so fl.u.s.tered when she discovered Rio in his room. After all, she had seen him and others went to Horaud.

"None of that! I'm very lonely without you, so I decided to spend tonight with you! Now, accompany me, my Liselotte!"

Rio ignored Liselotte's confusion, carried the perplexed maid to his bed, and did her here.

That night, passionate sounds filled Rio's private room when it should be empty. And yet, no one knew about it because the barrier that Rio put around his room.