Gacha Addict in a Matriarchal World

The entrance of the labyrinth loomed before us. I placed one hand on the giant stone slab.

“Shall we go?”

“Sure.”

Holding Lydia’s hand, I inwardly resolved to enter the labyrinth.

Vwoom-

As soon as the thought formed, a place deep within me, indescribable and elusive, began to resonate, and soon my entire body was engulfed in the sensation of being pulled elsewhere.

It felt as though I had traversed a lengthy tunnel in the mere blink of an eye.

The sensation, foreign and brief, soon faded. Lydia’s voice gently reached my ears.

“Jonah. We’ve arrived. Open your eyes.”

Had I unwittingly closed my eyes? Upon opening them, I found myself in a landscape vastly different from the Pangrave Square we had just left.

A meadow unfolded around Lydia and me, its expanse soon halted by a dense forest.

A clear boundary line, signaling to adventurers that this was the sole haven.

This circular meadow was indeed a safe zone. Except under extraordinary conditions, monsters were barred from this area.

Each level of the labyrinth contained a few of these safe zones, and entering through the entrance would randomly place one in one of these havens.

However, maintaining physical contact while wishing to move to the same floor would transport both to the same safe zone. This was why Lydia and I were holding hands during the teleportation.

This is also a rule of the labyrinth, believed to be imbued with the power of the goddess of love herself… or so the lore suggests.

“Wow… I knew about this, but experiencing it firsthand is something else.”

“I felt the same way initially.”

Lydia smiled, nodding her head. Looking past her, I noticed a grey tombstone.

It resembled the slab from the Pangrave Square but was reduced to about 2 meters in size. To exit the labyrinth, one simply needed to touch this slab again to teleport.

After all, the safe zone wasn’t just created for resting but also for facilitating smooth travel between the labyrinth and the overworld.

After releasing Lydia’s tightly held fingers, I circled the slab.

“Let’s see… It should be around here somewhere.”

“Found it!”

Somewhere on the corner of the slab, a large number 23 was written amidst divine script that would normally be unreadable.

It means this was the 23rd safe zone on the first floor. Originally, it was just a setting I threw in for my convenience, but…

In this world, it is widely believed that the goddess showed consideration for the adventurers by writing the numerical parts in the world language.

I also thought that was a reasonable interpretation, so I decided to go with that setting from now on.

“Knock knock.”

As I verbally hit the gavel, Lydia peeked out from the side of the slab and opened her mouth.

“Jonah. Have you found which section it is?”

“Ah, yes! I think this is Section 23, Miss Lydia!”

“Section 23…”

Muttering softly, Lydia reached for the multi-purpose belt at her waist. The belt had several similarly looking pouches attached, from one of which she pulled out a neatly folded stack of papers.

Lydia pushed that stack of papers in front of me. The first thing that caught my eye was the word ‘Floor 1’ written at the top… Was this that?

As if to resolve my question, Lydia immediately opened her mouth without any delay.

“It’s the map of the first floor. Do you know how to read it?”

“I don’t. But I should be able to learn quickly if Miss Lydia teaches me.”

As I said that with a chuckle, Lydia studied my face for a moment and then opened the map she was holding.

There was a roughly squished oval that seemed to claim it was land. However, the giant tree symbol drawn in the center and circles and numbers marked here and there were organized in an easy-to-understand manner.

“The location of the safe zone and the center does not change. But everything else in the labyrinth changes in real-time.”

Lydia stretched out her white finger and pointed to a circle marked with the number 23.

“This is where we are. Section 23. It’s in the left corner. Most of the monsters around here are goblins, so you’re lucky.”

“That’s true, the closer you get to the World Tree in the center, the stronger the monsters that appear, so it’ll be best to start by fighting goblins.”

“Right. Since Jonah is weaker than a goblin.”

“?”

Weaker than a goblin. It sounded harsh, but upon further thought, it was true.

In my settings, the combat power of a well-armed goblin was similar to that of an unarmed adult male.

If we fought head-on, I would obviously lose. Although, the story would change if I struck first with a sword.

Though I had first entered the labyrinth with the enthusiasm that I would slice down weak monsters like goblins.

Her cruel yet accurate analysis drained all of my motivation away.

“Kui kui…”

As I imitated the cry of a creature even weaker than a goblin, Lydia tilted her head in confusion and then continued to explain.

“To not get lost in the labyrinth, you need to plan a clear route.”

“Just repeat moving from one safe zone to the next, right?”

“…Did you study this too?”

“Yes, something like that!”

Lydia’s eyes were wide in surprise. I stood with my chest puffed up in front of her, clearing my throat proudly.

Well… Information regarding the safe zones in the labyrinth, and the exploration methods using them, etc., were all stuff I already knew, but still.

Shrugging my shoulders, I stuck myself right next to Lydia. Close enough that my cheek touched her stiff armor.

“…Hm?”

Perhaps it was because the distance between us suddenly closed. Lydia tried to back away in confusion, but ignoring her, I took another step closer and reached out to the map.

Then, Lydia fidgeted uncomfortably, looking like someone who had just been caught doing something bad. I smiled slyly towards her and spoke.

“I won’t say anything to Ellie, so please just stay still. It’s hard to look at the map.”

“I pity Senior Ellie. To be with such a man…”

“Could you please stop talking like I’m some sort of gold digger? I’m only interested in Ellie’s body and wealth!”

“That’s exactly what a gold digger is.”

“Ah, I’m a gold panner at most. I have no intention of leaving Ellie even if she becomes poor.”

Is it because it’s a world where gender roles are reversed? Whether it’s Ellie or Lydia, everyone thinks I’m only interested in wealth when I say these things. But I clearly said “body” and wealth.

Initially, Ellie was a character I had meticulously created. Now she’s a person, but… anyway, it’s certain that I’m that much more attached to her.

And for me to pretend not to know Ellie just because she’s a bit poor? That’s impossible for me.

Ignoring Lydia’s odd gaze, I carefully examined the map and pointed with my finger.

Starting from Section 23, then to 17, 6, 92, and finally reaching Section 40, I traced a winding line and asked.

“How about this? I planned this route targeting the Wandering Goblins among the goblins.”

The first floor is home to not only goblins but also Horned Rabbits, Iron Wolves, Giant Mantises, Hop Goblins, etc. Various monsters appear on this floor.

However, the only ones I could handle were goblins… specifically, the weakest ones, called Wandering Goblins.

Not only were these creatures so weak that they were abandoned by their group, but they also mostly moved alone.

Lydia briefly looked at the trajectory my finger had traced over the map. Then, not long after, she nodded her head.

“Well done. That’s the first half of how to read a map.”

“What about the other half?”

“Not getting lost. Striking before being ambushed. Avoiding traps. Being wary of other adventurers.”

Could that really be considered part of map reading?

While I blinked in confusion, Lydia took a palm-sized compass from her belt and showed it to me.

“This compass can be used in the labyrinth.”

“It doesn’t point north, but towards the center of the floor, right?”

“Yes. In the case of the first floor, it always points towards the World Tree.”

Each floor of the labyrinth contained a divine relic. It’s only natural when you think about how the labyrinth was formed in the first place.

And this compass was attracted to such relics. Thanks to that, it was possible not to get confused about the direction towards the next safe zone.

…Of course, such a strategy was only possible on the upper floors where the mapping had been completed.

Even just going down to the middle layers, most of the floors had an incomplete map, and by the time you reached the deep layers, just finding a new safe zone in the uncharted territory would land you a huge reward from the guild.

But was there really a need to go all the way down to the deep layers? Just going to the middle layers would be enough to live comfortably…

No, it was too early to worry about that now. I shook my head vigorously to discard any unnecessary thoughts and checked my equipment.

I checked the knots on my armor, prepared the wooden arrows on the wrist crossbow on my left hand, and held the dagger Lydia had lent me in my right hand.

Lydia nodded, looking satisfied with my preparations, a compass and map in hand.

“This is Jonah’s first time in the labyrinth. So, I’ll handle the small stuff like finding directions, spotting traps, dealing with adventurers…”

“If Miss Lydia does everything, then what should I do?”

“Kill the monsters.”

Saying so, Lydia continued in a serious tone.

“Monsters are also living beings. Many hesitate before swinging their weapon.”

“Ah?”

“…Though, I don’t think Jonah would.”

“Aw, I’m embarrassed.”

“…….”

Lydia looked at me with the same wary eyes as before but soon sighed and pointed to one side of the forest.

“Over there. Move according to your judgment, but stop if I say so.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Picking up the weapon, my confidence, which had plummeted, surged back.

I had been disheartened earlier by the comment that I was weaker than a goblin… But, although I am a kid, I’m no ordinary kid.

I’m the actual person who wrote about the habits and weaknesses of goblins. There’s no way I can’t catch at least the weakest Wandering Goblin.

With a smirk, I headed in the direction Lydia had indicated.

“Young cock! Stop right there, gob!”

“Kyaaaaaaak!!!”

“Give me your seed, gob!”

“Don’t come at me with your breasts out!!”

“It’s my first time too, so I’ll be gentle, gob!”

“I don’t need a goblin’s virginity!!”

This is insane.

Why is this damn goblin in heat…