Reincarnated as a Phoenix

Chapter 19 – Dungeon

For a succubus, I really don’t see the appeal. In legend or whatever depiction of them, succubi are supposed to be extremely attractive and appealing.

As for Charlotte, she’s not exactly pretty, her eyes are a boring shade of blue, she hasn’t exactly got large breasts and she’s frankly just extremely boring.

The reason why I’m thinking about it is because Nathan can’t keep his eyes of her and I can’t see the appeal, he’s trying to be sly about it but it’s so freaking obvious! I don’t know if it’s admiration or love or something like respect but I don’t get it. Is it because she’s basically a celebrity in this world?

So, while watching these two, I’ve decided something, I’m might try and set them up. Why? Nothing else other than boredom, there’s not much else to do while we’re traveling. We’re travelling on foot to our destination by the way.

I really don’t know why those two weren’t allowed to use a wyvern but seeing that the dungeon is only a several days trip through the forest, I can deal with walking for a while. It’s a shame there’s no paths out here though.

During the trip, I’ve been trying to learn some more information about the people I’m travelling with but both of these two are extremely boring.

The priestess Charlotte always refuses to speak on her past in the slightest, I’m not looking for anything extremely personal or private but just anything that can make decent conversation out of, something like an old tale or an interesting story she has. The only thing she’s willing to go into detail on is God. Oh, she also likes to nag about my drinking as well.

Nathan’s biggest problem is that he’s hasn’t done anything, he’s willing to share about his life but the only things he’s ever done is guard work for that Lord Blake guy and knight training work now. His entire life is just nonstop training.

I think you can now see why I’m getting a little bored hanging around these two, I need another member of this party who’s willing to live life a little. There’s nothing wrong with living a boring life, I just find it a little hard to relate with. I’m not even that wild, just that these two are so tame.

Also doesn’t help I can’t find anything to level up in this forest. Other than a few rabbits, there’s nothing I can get for decent EXP. I’m so close to levelling up as well, it’s frustrating.

Anyway, back onto the unwilling couple again, I’ve got nothing else to do while were in this little campsite we’ve set up. We’ve already eaten and darkness is fast approaching, got nothing to do before we sleep for the night.

I think succubus-sama probably isn’t allowed to have relationships cause of the Lord’s will or something like that but you’ll be surprised on the number of religious figures who have sinned on their duties. I’m not going to make a joke on it since even I have lines I won't cross when it comes to certain jokes.

These two would be a perfect match for each other though, the both seem so boring it would be a match literally made in heaven! Maybe her God might even approve on it, she is a succubus after all. Keeping a succubus sin free might be asking a little much.

[<Has -user- already forgotten what happened with target -Leone-?>]

Oh, system is warning me in advance not to do something, I didn’t expect it to do that.

‘No, I haven’t Aesa but even if I piss succubus-sama off, she has to forgive me, right?’

[<-User- is thinking of a different religion>]

‘They’re basically the same thing, at least they seem the exact same. Put some faith in me, alright?’

Looking over to where those two are, the priestess is currently praying by a tree on the edge of our little campsite and the knight is cleaning the pot we used for food earlier.

“Hey knight, why don’t you go pray with her?”

Operation matchmaker begins, cupid Ikarus is ready for action!

“No chance Ikarus, I don’t pray very often. It makes sense for the priestess to though”

Damn, well that failed immediately. At least he’s not head over heels and won’t change his personality for her, just might make it difficult to match them together.

While I was thinking of another way to match the two of them up, intruders entered our campground.

“Keep your hands off your weapons if you know what’s good for ya!”

“The hell is that thing?”

“A mutated bird?”

“…”

Ah yeah, I’m in my bird form right now. At least they’re not calling me fat.

Four bandits enter our little campground clearly looking for some people to rob, this is definitely going to lead to a fight.

“Ikarus, how do you want to handle this?”

“It simple really, we’re going to kick som-”

Before I even had a chance to finish, an intense aura came from behind me and the knight. It seemed to make everyone in the vicinity freeze including me and the knight, it’s just that strong of an aura.

“You scoundrels’ have interrupted my prayer. I don’t like enacting on God’s will but sometimes, righteous deeds must be done to bad people”

She slowly walks towards me and Nathan and whispers something under her breath. Her face is completely full of disgust as well.

“Summon”

As she says that, a bright light transparent sword appears in her grasp and once it’s fully formed, she arrives next to me and Nathan.

“Now repent for your sins”

She points the large sword at the stunned bandits and within seconds, a gigantic light laser beam falls from the sky and incinerates the bandits not even giving them the chance to react and also not leaving a speck of dust. The only thing left is the scorched earth where the attack landed.

…

(Nathan) “That was… something”

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(Ikarus) “*Gulp*, erm…”

“I’m sorry you two had to see that side of me but sometimes, bad things must be done to bad people, it is the Lord’s will after all”

Okay, I really have no idea how to react to this. She literally just obliterated them in the blink of an eye. Taking a look at Nathan, his eyes are now just full of admiration. Am I supposed to react like that as well? The only feeling I can feel is fear. Wait a second, I’m pissed as well, I forgot about something. Who cares about how overkill that was?

“Damn it succubus-sama, you stole all my EXP!”

I’m really pissed off now, for all I know, those bandits’ levels could have been in the hundreds. I would’ve levelled up so many times.

“EXP? I’m sorry Ikarus-sama but I don’t know what that is”

“*Sigh*… In the future, please can you make sure NOT to kill them. I have to land the final hit”

“I’m sorry but the Lord’s will doesn’t work that way. I’m unable to hold it back”

Well, my plan to ponce off the priestess and get all this free EXP is ruined. I’m going to have to work for it, she’s just too powerful and will one hit most things.

“Can you at least be a little patient next time? Only step in and fight if I need help and Nathan… stop drooling”

“I’m not though!”

“I was being patient; those heathens have been watching us for an hour”

Those bandits have been watching us for that long? Even the knight seems oblivious to that. It’s probably is a good thing she’s here then.

“Urgh… I’ll stay up and watch for intruders first then. I’ll wake one of you in a few hours”

“No need Ikarus-sama, preserve your energy. If anyone approaches, I’ll awaken long before they get close. You can rest too Nathan”

Ah, the joys of being overpowered. Once my curse is cured, I’m gonna power level my arse off! Every bandit in the world is going to become my cannon fodder!

“I won’t turn down a good night sleep”

“Fine, I’m finding a tree to sleep on. Wake me if anything happens”

__________

“Do we have any more details on this dungeon or not then?”

“All Leone and Alistair told me that this dungeon could be completed by a child”

“His highness wasn’t really all that descriptive”

All three of us have arrived at the dungeon. From the outside, it just looks like a simple cave but we all know it’s the right place from a sign hanging above it.

“Sierra? The empire is called Sierra?”

(Property of the Sierran Empire. Trespassers will be prosecuted)

“Ikarus, how have you only just realized that?”

Okay, Nathan saying that has irritated me, everyone just says the empire or the capital so how the hell am I going to know about it? I don’t pay that much attention to my surroundings.

“Because names are freaking pointless knight… Wait, I’m being slightly hypocritical”

[<Aesa agrees with -user-. -Aesa- definitely agrees>]

“Actually Ikarus-sama, Sierra is the continent but the empire owns most of it hence the name”

“I didn’t ask succubus-sama”

“Why do you keep calling priestess Charlotte succubus-sama?”

“Just forget bout it knight, I can’t stop myself… Anyway, how do they stop people entering it? There is no door or anything”

“I’ll show you Ikarus-sama”

The priestess walks over to the entrance to the cave, puts her arm out and starts mumbling something under her breath. Then a faint static covers the entrance for a split second and is quickly gone.

“If you were to enter without disabling the barrier, you would have been obliterated”

Well shit, it’s a good thing I didn’t rush ahead into the cave then. That would have been the ending of Ikarus-sama. For some reason, I don’t like being called Miss but I’m fine with sama, am I a weeb or something? I guess I kinda am.

“Couldn’t they have put up a better sign saying you will die if you enter? Ah forget it, let’s just go”

All three of us walk into the cave and quickly come across a blackened obsidian hallway that connects with the cave.

‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before, might be Déjà vu’

All three us continue down the hallway and after a minute of walking, we find a large close black door in our way. The door has writing engraved on it saying,

(Enter the labyrinth at your own risk)

“How the hell can the two of them say this place is going to be easy? It’s the freaking labyrinth!”

“You can read that Ikarus-sama?”

“Is that…  demonic tongue?”

‘Aesa, do you know why I can read that?’

[<Phoenix species can translate any language>]

‘Now you tell me!? Actually, thinking about it, I never asked’

“Ikarus, what’s the labyrinth then? You sound like you’ve heard about it”

Answering Nathan is going to irritate me again so I’ll keep it short when telling them, I know way too much about Greek myths, this world keeps having things like this come up. It’s almost as if someone keeps ripping off old myths and thinks, oh, that would be interesting to write about.

I swear, this world better not turn out to be a novel where I’ve somehow reincarnated into it, that would be such a shitty plot twist. The ending would be crap as well, I’d probably end up waking up back on Earth with no memory of what’s happened knowing my luck. If given the choice, I’m never returning to Earth. Never underestimate the importance of a flamethrower and a power kick.

Anyway… back on topic, need to ignore my annoyance of annoying writer-kuns.

“*Sigh*… long story short, it’s a maze that holds a mythical creature within it. I don’t know if the minotaur is alive or dead though”

There’s another reason for my irritation, my sense of direction is trash. Seriously though, navigating a purposely complicated maze might push me to my limits. At least I have a ring full of alcohol to get me through it.

“It shouldn’t prove that much of an issue; God will protect us all if things go wrong”

“Yeah, his highness did seem adamant on this being really easy”

At least I like their optimism, as much as fighting a mythical minotaur would be pretty epic, I doubt I’m skilled enough to perform such a task yet.

Just before heading in, I realize I have a massive problem.

“Can you two go ahead quickly? There’s erm… something I need to do quickly”

(Charlotte) “What is it Ikarus-sama?”

(Nathan) “Everything alright Ikarus?”

I’m getting embarrassed answering this but I can’t go in right now, it’s impossible. My bird form won’t fit.

“Ahem… I kinda can’t fit through the door, I already know I’m too big, no point in trying”

I also kinda need to go for a toilet as well, nature calls after all. Rather go now than in an enclosed area, just being thoughtful for others. I’m going to stop this now.

__________

Once I finished what I was doing and turned into my human form as well as put my clothes on, I joined the two of them in the next room, the entrance room to the labyrinth. It was a blackened room also but didn’t have much in except two things, another doorway leading into the labyrinth and a sealed case.

(Charlotte) “I can see why the empire hasn’t completed this place yet. Such a waste of forgotten magic”

In a sealed glass case in the middle of the room, presumably the reward for completion is within it. The reward is something all of us really look disappointed with.

“Is that… supposed to be armour?”

(Charlotte) “It’s enchanted as well so you can’t use the effects hidden under clothing or metal. Even more shameless”

(Nathan) “It is a bit… revealing”

Have you ever seen that video game troupe where the best female armours are the ones that actually have less armour, basically just showing off more skin? This was literally just a bikini, no exaggeration, just a black skimpy two-piece bikini. Absolute joke.

“Think I’d rather die than run around wearing that, not even exaggerating”

“That might be taking it a little bit too far, Ikarus-sama”

“I’m really not. I shouldn’t pay any attention to you though, I bet you’d wear it if your God wanted you to”

“I would be forced to agree since the Lord always knows best despite it’s obvious shameful nature”

Why did I even say that? Of course, she would agree, her personality is only about God. Oh, and obliterating bandits, that side of her I can deal with.

“Should we start exploring the maze then or stand around gawking at the revealing outfit?”

Is Nathan getting impatient or was that a joke? I found it a little funny though.

(Ikarus) “Calling that an outfit is a bit of a stretch but let’s go then”

(Charlotte) “Agreed”

__________

“I hate my life”

“It’s not that bad Ikarus”

“The Lord will guide our way out”

“Then tell him to hurry up and get on with it already!”

We’re currently resting at a spot in the maze, have no idea where abouts were in it or how long we’ve already been searching for. Could be hours, days, weeks, years. Okay, I’m exaggerating but you get my point. There is nothing to go off so we could be walking in circles for all we know.

Originally, I planned on using some rope I had in my ring to tell us which direction we’ve already been in. I did start doing that until it quickly because apparent, this maze is way too big to track. Actually, I’d say it’s impossible to track, it seems like it’s purposely designed this way.

Thankfully, the only positive is that it’s not dark despite the labyrinth looking like it’s made from obsidian though. No idea why but the light level is always just light enough to see what’s ahead and around you.

“If this was a hedge maze, I could just switch form and fly up over it. This sucks!”

“There’s no point getting stressed out about it Ikarus, we’ll find our way out eventually. It isn’t like we’re pressed for supplies or anything”

Yeah, I have a stupid amount of food and drink stored in my ring as well as it also doesn’t seem to spoil while inside it. We could probably live several months in here if we ration well enough, I’ll die from boredom beforehand though.

“I could deal with it more if someone allowed me to enjoy myself without passing judgement”

I take a nasty glare towards the priestess; she makes comment every time I start drinking. It ruins it when you have a religious nut moaning at you nonstop.

“Ikarus-sama, please contain yourself. You do not need the devil’s drink to survive”

“Who knows? I might actually die from boredom so we’ll find out soon enough if it was keeping me alive”

She glares back at me while the knight gives a quiet giggle, clearly trying to hide it.

“Urgh… I’m getting impatient now. Break time is over, let’s go!”

__________

“… in the mineesssss!”

“What are you singing Ikarus?”

“A bleak song for a depressing time, this place is slowly starting to chew me up”

“You really need look at the positive Ikarus-sama. Once we get out of here, you’ll be one step closer to receiving the Lord’s blessing”

She does have a point but it’s not going to help me right now, my irritation of enclosed spaces is different to my fear of heights, I’m not able to get over this with just a leap of faith. Or being dropped by horrible dragon.

As for what I was singing, it’s very old song about miners and a dungeon being dark. I for very, very obvious reasons cannot show how good my singing skills are since the inter-planet copyright police will find me for using their song lyrics. No, I’m not being paranoid, they actually might get me for singing just a single line, I can get away with just a few words, right?

“I’ll sing another mining song if you want, it’s not as depressing as the firs-… is that new?”

Through the never-ending hallways of the labyrinth, a room can be at the other end of the hallway were currently in.

“I told you it’s not that bad, Ikarus”

“The Lord does work in mysterious ways”

“This place gives me claustrophobia so just leave me alone”

We all head into the room and in the centre of it sits a pedestal with a piece of paper on top of it. The priestess goes to pick it up and reads it.

“To continue, one must make a sacrifice. Place the sacrifice on the pedestal”

“Is that it?”

“That’s all it says Ikarus-sama”

(Nathan) “What do we need to do then?”

Okay, this seems odd, it isn’t an overly complicated riddle but what do we need to sacrifice then? The pedestal isn’t exactly large and could only hold something small, what could it want though? There’s nothing that we can kill of that size though.

…

I think I’ve figured it out, this makes me angry.

“This fucking perverted dungeon!”

“What’s wrong Ikarus-sama?”

“It’s perverted?”

I’ve figured it out, why else would the reward be a bikini armour? It’s asking for underwear, that’s got to be the sacrifice. Who the fuck comes up with such stupid shit?

‘I’m right, aren’t I Aesa?’

[<Ahem>]

‘The fact that you just did that proves I’m right, I guess it’s better than having to cut off a finger or something like that but still, I’m not going to entertain this’

“Well it’s… asking for underwear, I think. Think about it, the reward is that stupid piece of armour”

A look of embarrassment appears on both the other people’s faces after realizing what I meant.

(Nathan) “It seriously wants… underwear?”

(Charlotte) “Both Leone and Alistair did say it would be easy… It’s unfortunate but I’ll sacrifice myself so we can carry on”

This is so stupid; I’m not letting this dungeon win this easily. I bet there’s something from my ring it might accept instead… Wait, I have something similar… muhahaha.

“Ahh hell nah, we ain’t doing dat. If it wants a sacrifice… I’ll give it a sacrifice”

A devious smile appears on my face, I know exactly what I’m putting on there. Hoarding loads of crap in my ring will finally pay off, muhahaha.