The entrance to the labyrinth was as unique as anything Lily had ever seen and still inspired awe and wonder whenever she saw it. A single stone arch, simple and unadorned, stood in the middle of the square. There was no vast tower, no imposing fortress, or anything of the sort. If you looked through the arch, you could see the interior of the labyrinth, but where its actual exterior lay remained a mystery.

Some believed that it was hidden underground somewhere and the arch was a portal linking it to the surface. Some theorized that it occupied a separate plane of existence, with the arch being the only thing anchoring it to our reality. Regardless of the truth, it filled the young woman's heart with awe to see something so completely inexplicable and magical. Dozens more just like it peppered the globe, she'd heard, but when she thought of labyrinths, this was the one she always thought of.

Entry was easy enough: No special pass was needed for entry, the only notice was a sign that proclaimed this to be the entrance to the labyrinth, and to enter only at one's own risk. A few guards were stationed around the entrance to keep order, but otherwise, the kingdom more or less left the labyrinth alone. Kingdoms that tried to assert dominance over these structures often found themselves defeated, as entire armies had been known to march in, and never be seen again.

It was better to leave exploration to those brave souls willing to risk their lives than to risk losing tens of thousands of soldiers with nothing to show for it.

Making sure her protective barrier was up, Lily walked through the opening, and into the labyrinth proper. The halls were wide enough for a dozen men to walk side by side without their shoulders touching, and the ceilings were tall enough that even giants could stand here and not be able to touch the ceiling. More than enough room to fight anything that might come your way.

If there was anything else that would catch the eye, it would be the fact that the torches that lined the walls at regular intervals were always lit, and that the entire structure was perfectly, impossibly clean. Not a speck of dust could be found on the walls, and despite all the blood that had no doubt been spilled in these halls, the floors were the same monotone grey. Without a map or a guide, it was very easy to get lost here.

*At the first intersection, take a left,* Rine instructed. Lily nodded in understanding, following the directions given as she went. The halls seemed largely devoid of monsters today, which likely meant that adventurers were wandering the halls. That was fine. During her first expedition down here, swarms of monsters had pounded against her barriers, only to be denied. These days, monsters tended to avoid Lily, seeming to have figured out that there was no way to harm her with her barriers up. She didn't try to pick a fight with them, and they left her well enough alone.

In fact, Lily would often leave scraps of food for the creatures to eat when she left. Many of the creatures on the first floor were small, pathetic creatures, and always looked to be near to starving. It might be just an apple, a scrap of jerky, or a loaf of bread, but the denizens of the labyrinth accepted her offerings and gave her a wide berth.

Lost in her thoughts, she turned a corner, and almost ran into a wretchling, the runtish, green-skinned humanoid as surprised to see her as she was to see it. No, not it, Lily noted, but her, taking in the impression of feminine curves and a slight swell of the chest beneath the dirty rags the creature wore, along with its long, wispy green hair. It appeared to be winded, but uninjured. However, the creature was clearly hungry, its frame gaunt even for one of its race.

After a tense moment where the two stood and stared at each other, Lily reached into a small pouch at her waist and pulled out a few pieces of the dried beef she'd kept as a meal for this expedition. She needed to lose some weight anyway, so she could do without. She placed the jerky on the ground, then stepped back. The wretchling looked at her, at the food, then quickly scooped up the meal and ran off.

*Interesting,* Rine said, after the moment had passed. *I didn't think the creatures here were capable of that kind of rational decision making. In my day, all the creatures of the labyrinths were mindless things that thought only of killing anything not spawned here, and even the goblins were no exception.* He paused, then added, *My apologies, you call them wretchlings now. Of course, it's been a long time since I was last here. A lot has no doubt changed since my day.*

As she continued her journey, Lily quietly asked, "So, the labyrinths existed back in your day? I'm surprised that they weren't built back then."

*Many of them were ancient, even in my time,* Rine stated, in what she was coming to recognize as his scholarly tone. Whatever Rine was, he loved to share information with others. *I dedicated a lot of time and effort to studying these structures, and while I'd managed to unravel nearly all of their mysteries, their origins will likely forever evade me.*

"That's an awfully big boast, saying you know almost everything there is to know about these things," Lily said, carefully making her way to the next intersection. Even the wisest scholar threw their hands up in frustration when it came to these structures. They resisted any attempt to conquer or understand them. They simply were, the way that the moon and stars were. You knew they existed, but no mortal could hope to understand naught but that singular fact, nevermind conquering them.

*Keep going straight until I tell you to stop,* Rine instructed, *and it's hardly a boast. You're standing in the very proof of that statement.*

Walking forward, she asked, "What does that mean?"

*While most of the labyrinths that dot the world were built long, long ago, a few, like the one you're in right now, were built by me personally.*

When Lily made a disbelieving noise, he explained, *When I had stated that I'd learned all that could be learned of these structures to one of the other Celestial Sages, she challenged me to prove it. I did so by building several replicas and challenged her to find a single difference between my constructs and the originals. She spent three years combing each and every inch of them to try and find a single flaw before finally conceding defeat.*

Struggling to keep her jaw from dropping, Lily asked, "So... you built this place just to win a bet?" That was like saying that he'd hung the moon up in the sky because he didn't like it being dark at night. It was like outright admitting to being a god.

*Yes,* Rine admitted, *but also to prove that they weren't likely of divine origin. If a sufficiently powerful mage could replicate these structures with enough research, then they were no doubt originally constructed by mortal hands.*

Looking at the massive structure around her, Lily couldn't help but ask, "Just... just how powerful are you?"

*I believe I mentioned that back in the day, people thought the Three Celestial Sages were gods made flesh,* Rine quipped. *Did you take that to mean we were weak?*

That... that was deeply unnerving to hear. She'd understood that, if he was a powerful mage from ancient times, he was probably stronger than any mage alive. However, if he was capable of something like this, he was stronger than every mage on the planet put together...

*If you think that's scary,* Rine added, *then you should know that I've encountered beings so powerful that even my strength at the height of my power would be insignificant in comparison. There are things out there that are powerful enough that entire worlds could vanish if those eldritch entities were angered, and the only thing that protects us from them is our own insignificance in this vast and uncaring universe.*

"Please stop, or I'm going to just curl up in a ball and whimper for the rest of my life," Lily begged, shivering. It's one thing to learn that there were people powerful enough to be considered gods. It was another to learn that there were beings who could wipe out even those 'gods' effortlessly.

*Fair enough,* Rine conceded. *Now stop here, and turn to your right.* After she did so, he instructed, *Now, place your right hand against the wall.*

Lily did so, and after a second, a small section of the wall beside her hand lit up. Twelve small circles appeared, each one with a character in Elderscript. It took her a moment to recognize them as digits, as well as a symbol indicating acceptance and denial.

Chuckling at her surprise, Rine stated, *Since you're well-versed in Elderscript, it makes things a little easier. Press the index finger of your left hand briefly against the lights in this sequence: 8439627. Then, press Accept.*

Confused, Lily did so and was rewarded by the wall parting, revealing a small chamber within. *Step inside,* Rine instructed, *and brace yourself. It tends to descend a little faster than is comfortable.*

Steeling herself, Lily entered the chamber and was startled when the wall closed shut behind her, a light illuminating the small chamber from above. Then, there was a sudden feeling of downward movement, catching her by surprise. "What... what the hell is this?"

*This was once called an elevator,* Rine explained, *and it was a common method for ascending or descending large structures. Our destination is at the bottom of the labyrinth, and this is the fastest, safest way there. I thought you'd prefer this route to spending months dodging monsters as you work your way down through the depths. During summer break, we can go adventuring, but with the time allowed, we'll have to cheat to get what we'll need in a timely fashion.*

"Fair enough. So, just what is it we're doing here?" Lily asked, still moderately uncomfortable. As Rine had said, the feeling of descent was a bit too fast for her preference...

*At the bottom of the Labyrinth is a hidden control chamber. It will allow us to construct and add to the first floor the chamber you described to Madeline earlier. It also possesses the capability of constructing any object or treasure that the dungeon can create, and even creatures, although we won't be utilizing that function today. I used it for testing the capabilities of the dungeon to make sure everything worked the way it should. There, we can construct the magic ring you'll be taking out with you, along with many other things we'll need so we can continue your training after the tournament.*

When Lily made an inquisitive noise, he explained, *A few books that you'll need to study, a couple of items you'll need for intensive training later down the line, things of that nature. Plus, I suppose that a dimensional storage bag and a few other things for your own personal use would not be out of the question. And, since I'm such a nice guy at heart, I might be willing to allow you to create a few items of your choice. And...*

He stopped, then said, *Nevermind. You haven't formally agreed to anything yet, so I shouldn't put that on you.*

Curious, Lily asked, "What is it?"

*No, no,* he insisted, *Until you've formally agreed to the familiar contract, there's no point in getting it. We can come back later.*

"I don't see a reason to make a second trip here for a single item," Lily bluntly replied. "If it's something that we'll need so we can free you, we may as well get it now."

Rine paused, before finally admitting, *Alright. You talked me into it. It won't technically free me, but it will be something we need so we can officially perform the Familiar contract despite my unique circumstances. We'll get it while we're here.*

The 'elevator' came to a sudden stop, letting out a little ding as it did so. The wall in front of her opened, revealing a chamber. Unlike the dungeon proper, this room looked more like a king's personal study, with fine oak furniture and a comfortable looking bed at one end. One wall was lined with several rectangular glass panels, their purpose unknown. One wall also had an alcove, large enough to fit an entire horse inside.

*Ah yes, my home away from home. I spent a lot of time down here, working on perfecting this dungeon. The others were just copies of the finished product, but this one was the first one I made, so I made it far more comfortable than the other control chambers elsewhere. Even when it was done, I'd often come down here to get away from my problems for a bit.*

Rine paused, before admitting, *It makes me nostalgic, seeing this place again.*

After a few seconds, he said, *Alright, enough of that. Reminiscing won't get us where we need to go any faster. Move over to the glass panels over there, and I'll walk you through everything we'll need to do.*

--------------------------------------

Six hours later, Lily was riding the 'elevator' back up, quietly calculating the value of everything currently stuffed inside of the dimensional storage bag she held tightly in both hands, but struggling due to the sheer size of the numbers involved. The bag itself was incredibly valuable, but the things she'd put inside...

*It's sad that items that were so simple and commonplace in my day are considered worthy of being national treasures in this fallen era,* Rine lamented. *I mean, we used to give rings of fire absorption to children who stuck their hands into an open flame, but these days, I guess our trash is your treasure.*

That alcove she'd seen was able to construct just about anything she'd ever imagined possible and many more things she never dreamed existed. It was a license to mint gold coins, just sitting there where no one else knew about it. And after taking care of everything they'd need for the days and weeks ahead, Rile had apparently been in an absurdly generous mood, as he'd given her permission to spend the next two hours producing anything she wanted since they'd managed to get things done well ahead of his planned schedule.

After spending a few minutes looking through the list of things available, she'd almost wanted to cry. Two hours wasn't even enough to scratch the surface, and even if Rine had promised they could come back later, picking what she wanted or needed now had proven a challenge.

This dimensional storage bag had already held items so valuable that even the term 'National Treasure' wouldn't do them justice when they'd completed Rine's list. Wars would be fought over this bag, if its contents were ever discovered. There were things so precious here that no kingdom on the planet could afford to pay for them, bar by forming a consortium. There were things here that she didn't believe it was possible to produce, but Rine promised they worked exactly as advertised. She fought down the urge to swallow the sack, all the better to keep it safe and prevent her from losing it. And then there were the things she had selected.

*I probably should have waited on giving you free access to the constructor, but you did a fantastic job down there and you deserved a reward. I was honestly worried that we'd be down there for longer than I'd scheduled, but you picked it up far faster than I imagined possible.*

Rine paused, before reminding her, *Just remember that those things aren't toys. They might have been common baubles in my day, but they're priceless treasures now. If you start showing off with this stuff, it could get you in a lot of trouble. So, unless you're using them, keep them in the bag, and don't let anyone see you with them unless it is absolutely necessary.*

Lily nodded, not trusting herself to speak. A few of those items were rare, but not absurdly so. They were things she could sell so she wouldn't have to worry about pocket money for a while. She'd also produced enough mana crystals to not only supply Madeline, but the entire Academy for the next six years, faculty included. The rest... well, she couldn't even bring herself to try and catalog them in her head, fearing that doing so might suddenly make them vanish.

She'd selected an item to serve as a gift to Madeline, and while it wasn't magical, it was certainly incredibly valuable. Something... special for Crassus, which had surprised Rine. Healing potions of varying degrees of power and effectiveness. Practical and more common items, things Lily couldn't normally afford, had also been produced. Many of the other items would be incredibly useful for any aspiring practitioner of the mystic arts.

And then, there was that item. Despite herself, she reached into the bag and pulled it out. It was a simple ring adorned with a heart-shaped gem. When she'd asked about it, Rine had explained that, if it was worn while cycling mana through the ring, it would cause the body to start burning off excess fat, causing it to melt away far faster than exercise alone could accomplish. Lily had started instructing the constructor to spit it out the moment he'd said 'excess fat' with such speed she'd nearly broken a finger.

Rine had warned her that the item was incredibly dangerous if overused, and forced her to agree to a long list of conditions before finally conceding. If Rine had been of the habit of buying souls, this was something that not only Lily but many women in the world would freely sell their immortal soul for, a means to quickly burn fat without strenuous exercise.

As she looked at the ring and gave a small laugh at the thought of finally being able to shed the baby fat that stubbornly clung to her short frame, Lily felt that odd sensation that indicated that somewhere, Rine was rolling his eyes. Asides from that, he spoke only a single word, one that expressed his full opinion on the matter better than any eloquent speech could.

*Teenagers.*