Month: January 2023

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134. Chapter 134

The 36th floor of the Great Labyrinth of Belgana was a step down that even the dwarves wouldn’t enter easily. As if rejecting people, there was a solemn silence on this deep floor. Only soft breathing and the sound of footsteps stomping irregularly on the stone pavement reached Walm’s eardrums.

Walm let his gaze slide from the darkness spreading beyond the passage to his feet, the walls, and the ceiling. And then he finally glanced at Hari, who was walking ahead of him, to see if anything was out of the ordinary.

Behind Walm were the party members Yuna, Marianthe, and Merrill, who were in charge of his back. Walm’s role in the formation was to assist Hari, who was a little further forward. In short, his role was that of a link between the front and the back, so he had to act flexibly.

Compared to the passages up until now, the 36th floor was unnecessarily wide in both height and width. Even if the Cyclopes walked side by side, they could move comfortably. This meant that three-dimensional vigilance was needed more than ever before.

Hari raised his fist as they solemnly stepped further into the depths of the Labyrinth. At the warning hand signal, the others suddenly stopped and held their breath. Although it was faint, Walm’s ears heard the sound similar to when a Temari, a Japanese highly elastic handball, bounced around. Of course, there were no small children playing around in the Labyrinth.

The dull sound grew louder and louder, as if to indicate the direction it was going. Right, the sound was coming toward the party.

“We’ve been completely detected. Ready for battle, here they come.”

Judging that a battle was inevitable. Merrill, the leader of the party, issued a clear order.

Hearing it, everyone caught their breath and began to prepare. Walm prepared his magic, and Yuna attached an arrow to the string.

Seven monsters approached with a speed as if they were flying.

“Three Chimeras, four Cerberus.”

Hari reported the type of monsters that were approaching.

Walm, who had battle experience with Silver Wolves and Orthrus, compared them to Cerberus. Clearly, the three-headed wolf was clearly larger. The difference was like between a young and an adult wolf.

The Chimera was one size larger than the Cerberus. The head of a lion had the lower body of a goat, and a large snake grew from the tip of its tailbone. Such a horde of grotesques furiously charged at the party.

Walm shot the manifested fireball into the center of the flock. Although the seven had nimble legs, there wasn’t enough time to dodge the fire.

If some were injured, the fight would even end in the party’s favor. That was Walm’s intention, but the three chimeras puffed out their cheeks and spat out flames. Blue and crimson mixed like a pretty firework, although any normal human caught by it would be burned fast.

The passage, where darkness had reigned before, was lit up by flames, and the monsters’ appearance became clear.

“The fire has been offset! They’re coming from the left and right!!!”

Walm, whose fireball was stopped by flames, warned his companions.

Dodging the spreading wave of flames, the monsters split left and right.

“Walm, Yuna, that side is yours.”

Merrill joined Marianthe and Hari in the battle against a Chimera and four Cerberus. The wind-attribute magic Merrill shot made the fire dance even crazier.

The other two Chimeras were conspicuously given to Walm and Yuna. Merrill’s side had to deal with even more monsters. There was nothing to complain about.

Arrows sprung from the taut strings and passed through waves of fire to reach the Chimera’s body.

The Chimera shook its body, and the arrowhead that should have pierced its skin fell to the ground with a slight tremor.

“Hard”

Yuna leaked words in frustration. Distance might be a factor, but the density of heavy muscle and bone and the dense magical barrier that stretched around the body were the real culprits. Even the flame didn’t hurt it at all. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Chimera had a fire attribute, the same as Walm.

“HERE, YOU DEFECTIVE CREATURE!!”

In a loud voice from his belly, Walm challenged the monster. Perhaps because of his elegant choice of words, the Chimera lunged at Walm, who held a halberd in his hand.

Walm slammed the halberd down with the right timing, but the chimera’s rear leg muscles quickly tensed and let go. Right, the Chimera jumped to the side to avoid the halberd’s blow.

Walm followed the “synthetic beast” moving to the side with his eyes.

“Walm, it’s going over there.”

Another Chimera that was facing Yuna, had shifted its aim to Walm. Turning around, the fired arrows hit its thigh and hip joint, but it aimed its drooling jaws at Walm as if the arrows were a trifle, and tried to bite his windpipe.

” <Burst> !!”

After kicking the ground, Walm used wind attribute magic and accelerated his body with a punch. And the lion’s jaws bit nothing but air.

Walm escaped considering the distance that could be reached with its giant body, but the giant snake that grew from the tail read his course and thrust its poisonous fangs at him.

“Damn it!!”

The body of the snake’s head, hit hard by the bottom of the halberd, writhed and sprayed venom into the void. But before Walm could catch his breath, the Chimera turned around Walm, trying to strike his head with its claws.

Any resistance was futile.

Hardening his resolve, Walm fixed the bottom of the halberd to the ground and hardened his stance. The shock came immediately. He continued to hold the handle against the force that made his arm creak. The blade, digging into the Chimera’s forearm bone, severed the bone and tore the flesh.

Walm kicked up the bottom part of the halberd with his heel to the side. Then he twisted it with all the strength his whole body could muster.

The Chimera’s half-cut arm couldn’t stand it, and its muscle fibers cracked. At the same time as the torn arm fell on the cobblestones, the chimera let out an unpleasant scream.

It hurts a lot, doesn’t it?

Walm found satisfaction in that scream. Shamefully, considering the other Chimera, he couldn’t just give his attention to one for that long.

Walm slashed the remaining arm with a claw-shaped blade of the halberd. It wasn’t enough to sever the arm, but it was certainly effective enough to slow the Chimera’s movement.

Walm then quickly moved away from the writhing chimera and focused on the other synthetic beast.

Even in a weakened state, Chimeras strangely still had enough combat power. Whether a claw, an irregular fang, or the snake’s poisonous fang. There were still many possibilities for an attack. If one were to take it straight, the situation would tip in one fell swoop. Since Walm had experienced this firsthand, he prepared himself for dealing with another one.

The onrushing Chimera inflated its throat and spat out flames as if it were vomiting. Walm pulled up the corners of his mouth and thought how brave it was to challenge him with fire. The demon mask in his waist bag frolicked like an impatient toddler waiting for an attraction. Unusually, Walm agreed to give a performance and jumped into the flames without hesitation.

“Walm?! Dodge!!”

Yuna screamed.

From the side, it was a moderately strong fire, but for Walm, who had been wrapped in 《Demon Fire》 before, it was still lukewarm.

The Chimera with its mouth wide open sensed something unusual, but it was already too late.

The spearhead tore open the soft palate and reached the brain. Walm quickly moved the halberd he carried on his hip left, right, back, and forth to gently agitated the brain.

Sensing the torn magical barrier, Walm pulled out the halberd, which had done its job, as he bathed in the soothing flames that slowly died.

Strangely but as expected, the Chimera still hadn’t completely stopped moving. Although the lion’s eyes had lost their vitality, the giant snake that grew from its tail straightened up and stared at Walm.

“Snakehead, you too?”

Walm deflected his upper body and dodged the horizontally extended claw while thinking that he had to get rid of the snake’s head as well.

The Chimera kept charging, taking advantage of the difference in physique, but its movements were slower than before.

I see…

Given the sluggish movement, Walm was convinced that the giant snake was taking the role of an auxiliary brain and was apparently not used to taking the initiative in the body.

The Chimera didn’t move as precisely as when controlled by the lion head, but still, its physical strength wasn’t to be underestimated.

Walm hesitated whether to take care of the half-dead synthetic beast in front of him first or the remaining Chimera, but Yuna’s words helped him make a quick decision.

“Finish it, I’ll buy you time.”

Yuna shot arrow after arrow as she ran toward the Chimera without a functioning arm. The aim was exactly what she said it was. To buy time. The joints of the Chimera’s limbs were like a standing target in her eyes. Of course, Yuna’s chances of hitting them were high. Walm trusted her and turned back to unfinished business.

The synthetic beast swung its limbs like crazy because it couldn’t catch Walm. As he followed the erratic dance pattern, he timed his halberd. Its shoulders were stripped of flesh, the axe-blade of the halberd dug into its knees, and the spearhead scraped some of its flanks. Feeling unbearable, the claws were swung down, but Walm anticipated the trajectory and slashed his halberd up.

Without much effort, Walm sliced off the wrist. Well, the opportunity was created by the synthetic beast itself. Lacking a forearm, the chimera swung under its own weight. With the unfamiliar three legs, it was impossible to stop Walm. And seeing the good timing, Walm approached the snake head.

The snake spat out venom desperately with its mouth wide open, but the flames that were created in an instant protected Walm. The poison that was to touch him evaporated.

No more blockage.

Like a Shinigami (Reaper) wielding a scythe, Walm cut off the snake’s head with the claw-shaped blade of the halberd.

The synthetic beast’s gigantic body trembled, stopped moving, and crashed to the ground. The severed head of the snake emitted an ominous noise that sounded like a squeak, but was silenced by Walm.

Immediately Walm went to Yuna’s side.

Yuna was holding the bow with one hand and slashing her short sword with the other hand.

Surprisingly, the snake that grew from the tail was cut off and carefully stabbed to end its life.

When Walm saw this scene, he remembered that Yuna boasted of being strong in close combat. In other parties, she could even serve as a vanguard.

Walm crept up from his blind spot and struck with the halberd he had positioned above his head. The 《Strike》 severed its shoulder from its spine in one fell swoop. The Chimera’s posture was disturbed as it lost control of its lower body. Still, it hadn’t died. Walm couldn’t help but be impressed by its tenacity.

However, the resistance lasted only a short time as Yuna plunged her short sword into the lion’s eye socket. The blade penetrating the roots became the deciding factor, and eventually, the Chimera was completely obliterated.

“Next.”

“Mm.”

Not many words were needed. Both made their way to the next target, where lively attacks and defenses were still underway.

Cerberus, which had been pierced by an icicle and passed out midair, jumped into Walm’s field of vision. It was like an avant-garde work of art that was difficult for ordinary people to understand.

Another Cerberus, with its head crushed as if it had been hit like a mole in whack-a-mole, stood in the corridor that had been turned into an exhibition hall.

Another Cerberus bared the cross section of the neck, as if it didn’t want to lose in the appreciation battle. It conveyed in detail the methods and tools used by the master to create this art.

Only two materials hadn’t yet been fully processed. Both had already gone through the preparation. At least Yuna and Walm managed to arrive at the right time to complete the work.

When Walm, who had rushed over, raised his head, Marianthe signaled him with her gaze.

Marianthe, who had correctly understood the intention, raised the mace and restricted Cerberus’ course. Thus Walm was able to hit Cerberus safely. One of its heads was missing, and part of its forearm had been twisted like a dead tree. With the remaining two heads, the Cerberus noticed Walm’s approach and barked.

Using his stepped leg as an axis, Walm slashed his halberd at the Cerberus. The horizontally slashed axe blade sliced under both jaws. Just with that, the heads rolled to the ground and the body stopped moving.

The last remaining Chimera had already fallen silent. There was no way to withstand the onslaught of Merrill, Hari, and Yuna. The three of them knew each other’s methods well. Of course, their teamwork was better than if one of them formed a duo with Walm. Even though no one said anything or signaled with their eyes, their bodies moved naturally, choosing the best move that got the most out of each other.

The feast that suddenly began ended with the departure of the organizer. The party members gathered under Walm, who explored the surroundings.

“No more monsters?”

“Seems no. It’s very quiet.”

With the approval of Merrill, who was sensitive to signs, Walm finally exhaled in relief.

“Is anyone hurt?”

Walm examined the appearance of the three. There was some dirt on the skin, but there were no injuries. Still, optimism was a no-no, so he asked. After all, Walm, who wasn’t a healing magician, couldn’t judge whether there was internal bleeding.

“Nope, nothing, in particular.”

“I’m fine.”

“Me too… Only, if I’m to say something about the fight, I think the most dangerous moment was when Walm jumped into the flames.”

“Did you see it?”

Embarrassment hit Walm. He felt as if he had been seen playing a prank.

“Since Yuna screamed, she definitely saw it.”

“Seriously, if you are planning on doing acrobatics, could you tell us in advance? It’s bad for our hearts, you know.”

Walm, who was scolded by Merrill and Marianthe, honestly admitted his fault.

“That’s… my bad. I didn’t think that you all, don’t like fire diving performances.”

“Who hates to see an exciting performance? No one. So don’t worry, next time, I’d like you to properly show it to us.”

Walm, who had lost his escape, shrugged. After all, he was in this party. He might have to do it for real.

Marianthe ended the talk as everyone seemed to want to continue having a leisurely conversation.

“Alright, let’s stop it here for now.”

“Even though the number of monsters appearing was said to be less after the 36th floor, you’re right, seems we’ve talked too much.”

“You got that information from drunken dwarves with alcohol, didn’t you?”

Marianthe shook her head with a suspicious look. Sure, eliciting information from the dwarves with alcohol might have been cheap. It was quite easy to make them say, “Ah…”, after they got sober. However, even if they didn’t look like a bunch of liars, to what extent could a drunken dwarf’s story be believed? That would depend on the person.

“Even if the number of monsters appearing is really less than on previous floors, it’s still an exciting place.”

The Chimera, which possessed both nimbleness and toughness, didn’t die easily and also could spit out flames and poison. Such monsters wandered around in groups. Considering this, Walm could understand that the number of adventurers who wanted to conquer the Labyrinth wasn’t that many.

“Are you scared? Want to turn back?”

Walm defied providence, said he wanted to heal his rotting eyes, and acted for it. If he raised the white flag at this level, there was no way he would ever reach the place where the so-called crimson grass, one of the Three Hidden Treasures of Healing, was supposed to bloom. Fortunately, there were five strange people who were striving down with him.

Walm looked each of them in the eye, one by one, and said,

“Finally, we’re starting to see the bottom. It’s too late to go back now that the five of us have come this far.”

Merrill nodded in satisfaction at Walm’s words.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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133. Chapter 133

Quickly raising the arms to the ceiling to stretch the stiff body was Merrill.

Next would be to open the window, and let the bustle of the city pour into the room along with the outside air. People chattered like birds, hooves pounded on the cobblestones, and merchants called hoarsely for customers.

Merrill had been born and raised in this walled city for 18 years, and it was a sight that never changed.

“Today’s going to be a good day.”

Merrill pulled up a chair, sat down, and drank water from a water bottle. Normally, drinking water was created with water attribute magic, but even a small amount of mana shouldn’t be wasted. After all, today was the day to challenge the bottom of the Labyrinth.

Merrill recalled the labyrinth days and thought that all the experiences as an adventurer and challenger would soon be called into question.

Thinking about the party members, Merrill noticed that among them, the presence of the mercenary who had recently joined was increasing day by day inside and outside the labyrinth.

The first encounter took place on the mid-rank floor of the Labyrinth. Merrill, attracted by a supposedly rare challenger who dived to the mid-rank floor alone, learned of the mercenary’s existence for the first time that day.

Just by chance, Merrill exchanged a glance with the man, and that alone made Merrill shudder.

Merrill didn’t know exactly the vibe that the mercenary wore. A fiery strength could be felt, but at the same time, he had an air of decadence and rejection. Merrill thought he felt like a Hungry Wolf.

The next time Merrill reunited with the mercenary was in a sea of ​​bloodshed.

The body of the mercenary, who had engaged in killing with the oldest group of the guild, was in a complete mess, and was forced to move even after vomiting blood. Strangely, his golden eyes, which could only be described as muddy, had lost none of their fighting spirits despite the severe injuries.

If Merrill hadn’t started arguing with Fausto, the fight would have continued until one of them ran out of strength or was completely annihilated.

Merrill sensed that this mercenary was exactly what the party, which lacked in the vanguard, needed.

Speaking of miscalculations, the mercenary jumped into the Labyrinth immediately after his release from house arrest. Even the so-called Labyrinth Maniac would take a rest period. However, as if in a rush, the mercenary threw himself into the Labyrinth.

Fortunately, the destination was the same. Merrill dived into the labyrinth with the other party members with the aim of chasing after the mercenary.

The prediction hit the mark. Even the high-rank adventurers had to carefully prepare their equipment and thought of a formation, more so a lone wolf. And at last, the mercenary was seen standing on the floor they could reach.

From the side, Merrill, who pretended to meet the mercenary by chance and persuaded him to join the group, must have looked really funny. Because even though Merrill had never had a romantic relationship with anyone, Merrill went to great lengths to persuade someone else in this way. At least that was the intention.

For better or worse, Merrill’s intentions were ruined by the interference of the insensitive dwarves. It got to the point where Merrill almost did a facepalm.

Merrill, who somehow managed to regain composure quickly, lured the mercenary to a familiar shop. Fortunately, the interest and purpose coincided and the invitation to the mercenary to join the party was successful.

During the Labyrinth dives with Walm, he showed more than Merrill had expected.

Walm showed that he could suppress and restrain the enemy with fire and wind attributes magic before contacting the enemy. Even if he was in hand-in-hand combat, he skillfully used his halberd to keep monsters at the range, demonstrating tenacity in actual combat. On top of that, he could overwhelm his opponents with the brute force of his 《Strike》.

Seeing this performance, Merrill was stunned, and even more so when Walm said that if his eyes were in normal condition, he would have been able to use a skill that could affect a wider area.

As the days went by, the impression that Merrill had associated with Walm as the Hungry Wolf when they met for the first time was immediately revised. Especially knowing that Walm was sociable enough within the people in his circle. He also showed a good sense of humor in the gloomy Labyrinth and maintained a good relationship with the other party members. Even with Hari.

Merrill began to suspect that the sense of distance Walm exuded and his rejection of strangers was due to the Catastrophe that happened in the Northern Countries. Of course, this was only Merrill’s prediction. Although Merrill was praised by the Guild as the Trimagitack, in reality, Merrill had no experience in war. Therefore, Merrill couldn’t carelessly and recklessly dig deeper to get more information. Even if Merrill was curious.

Now that the party had Walm, who was ripe enough for the role of vanguard and middle guard, Merrill’s mana could be conserved even further. The skill that earned Merrill the name Trimagitack would use up half of the mana pool if fired just once. And there was certainly something big waiting for them at the bottom. How much mana Merrill could save would be the key to the conquering strategy.

“uh, oh, OOOOHHH, HHHAAAA!!”

“Eh? Walm?!”

Merrill, who was diving into the sea of ​​thoughts, heard a scream. And clearly, the owner of the voice was Walm.

Quickly, Merrill jumped out into the hallway and saw Marianthe and Yuna coming out of each room. The missing members were Walm and Hari. There were still vacant rooms available in the rented house that belonged to Merrill’s party, and so Walm, who had joined the party, had also begun sleeping under the same roof.

“What about Hari and Walm!?”

“N-no no way, did he finally do it!?”

Marianthe’s voice trembled. It was a situation she didn’t even dare to say in a joke. Even Yuna, who was bad at showing facial expressions, looked a little uneasy.

Merrill felt restless, but as the person in charge of the party, an affirmation must be done. So, Merrill pushed open the door of the room assigned to Walm.

For some reason the hinges and boards squeaked harder than usual, ringing in everyone’s ears.

When the three of them slowly peeped, they saw two intertwined men rolling around on the floor, making loud noises.

Merrill’s consciousness wandered into the faraway place for a moment.

Marianthe quickly screamed.

As for Yuna, she couldn’t prevent her mouth from opening.　

“W-what are you guys doing?!!”

“Ugh, noooooo, uugghh. Help! It’s a misunderstanding.”

Hari refuted the false accusation, but no one seemed to want to defend him because of his usual behavior. The three looked at each other and thought about how to clean up the mess.

“Oh, ooooh, my, mind’s, fa, ding.”

Hearing Hari’s anguished voice, Merrill finally realized that Walm’s right arm was wrapped around Hari’s neck while grabbing Hari’s left arm, and tightened his left hand against the back of Hari’s head.

Hari’s consciousness was rapidly threatened by the so-called bare tightening.

“Walm, stop there!”

“More than that, even Hari will die, you know?!”

Merrill and Marianthe rushed over and pulled them apart.

Walm, who had regained his wits, and Hari, who had taken some fresh air, sat down. And with a headache, Merrill began the questioning.

“Ahmm, so, what happened? Let’s start with Walm.”

Prompted by Merrill, Walm embarrassingly began to explain.

“When I woke up, Hari’s face was right in front of me, and I couldn’t help but strangle him in surprise and fear.”

“Guilty!! As expected, you tried to do it after all!!”

“Hari, you…”

Marianthe raised her voice of condemnation, and Merrill was at a loss for words in sorrow.

Hari hurriedly apologized.

“It’s a misunderstanding. When I heard a noise and looked into the room, Walm was moaning in sleep, so I shook him to wake him up.”

Hearing this explanation, Merrill and the others breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, they were angry and wondered why such a thing had to happen early in the morning on an important day.

“……Certainly, Walm often groans in sleep.”

“Still, there’s this thing called, “a sense of distance”. And Walm, to strangle him immediately, you’ve gone too far.”

The two men, forced to sit on the floor, bowed and apologized sincerely.

“I’m sorry. I made a ruckus. Next time, I’ll pay attention to my sense of distance. I accidentally pushed my body forward. I couldn’t control myself any better.”

“I’ve a conditional reflex, and my body moved on its own. I’m sorry.”

Merrill felt rattled by Hari’s apology, but for the time being, it could be said that the matter was settled. If something worse had happened and there had been no choice but to disband the party. This would be the worst joke of the year, especially since this should be the day to aim for the bottom of the Labyrinth to become the conqueror.

“…I’m hungry.”

Yuna’s weak voice made the exhausted Merrill smile.

“Fufufu, that’s right. Let’s have breakfast first. Today is an important day. Well, I’m glad it’s just a joke.”

“Right. I thought it was a big deal. Oh, but the tightening technique was effective on Hari too, huh? I’ll keep that in mind for sure.”

As the party marched out into the hallway, Marianthe began to imitate Walm’s choking technique. Of course, Merrill couldn’t relax, but at least the stiff tension had gone. And since this happened before the dive, Merrill was grateful. Still, Merrill told no one about it and kept the feelings inside.

Felling the breeze and warm sunlight coming in from the open windows, Merrill thought once again that it was certainly a good day to challenge the bottom of the Labyrinth.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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132. Chapter 132

The Labyrinth dive, which also served as a meeting point for Walm and the Trimagitack, was filled with repeated battles like someone was grinding a brand-new metal part. This behavior was as if it was trying to check if there were any problems by stressing the new part called Walm in various ways.

Although Walm was vaguely aware of these intentions, he behaved as he always did. After all, if he changed his movements more than necessary, it wouldn’t even be a test. Instead of diving deeper, the party actively searched for and destroyed monsters to test Walm.

In response, Walm turned countless of them into a pool of blood with his halberd.

Such long battles continued until the dwarves appeared on the hunting grounds.

There was no need to think much about the reason for the discontinuation of today’s dive. Their nature and fighting style attracted monsters. Moreover, they attacked all the monsters as if they were competing with each other. Was it a dwarven greeting? Or a show-off to celebrate Walm’s joining in the Trimagitack?

Considering the loud laughter that remained in Walm’s ears for a while, the answer might be that they were purely competing for the number of prey.

Leaving the Labyrinth, Walm returned to the shop where he exchanged greetings with the Trimagitack’s party members. And after a meal, a meeting for deepening the relationship began.

“We are lucky to have Walm in our party. He fulfilled the role of the vanguard we relied on Hari, even more than we expected. On top of that, the suppression by magic lightened the burden on Yuna and me.”

Merrill looked at the seated members and confirmed that there were no objections.

“With these members, it’s okay to seriously aim for the bottom of the labyrinth and to be the conquerors. But before that, I would like Walm to make some corrections and share his thoughts.”

Walm wasn’t haughty enough to insist that he himself could tear off every obstacle in front of him. He had plenty of experience fighting with a small group, but he had learned that fighting in a dark, enclosed space, especially in a labyrinth where monsters were constantly approaching, required any party to follow its own course of action, taking into account the particular fighting techniques of each member.

“Sure, no objections.”

“As I said earlier, Walm plays the role of the vanguard more than we hoped for. As expected of someone who could reach that depth alone. But that’s also where the problem lies. Even when he teamed up with Yuna, he attracted too many enemies to himself. Depends on the time and situation that’s good, but I want you to rely on Yuna more.”

“I’m, also strong in close combat.”

Even though Yuna was expressionless when she said that, Walm could tell she was proud of herself.

Certainly, Walm clung to the vanguard role assigned to him and had no clear idea of what would happen if the vanguard collapsed or broke through. Now that he had time to think, this thought that it should be okay as long as the vanguard wasn’t breached was rather arrogant and short-sighted.

“We could clearly see how enthusiastic you are in wanting to reach the bottom. But, it wouldn’t be a good decision to get injured in a situation where there was no need to take risks.”

Until now, Walm had concentrated on throwing himself into the labyrinth, with a mindset that he had to finish the fight in a short time. After all, he was alone. With several people, it might have been possible to proceed differently, but Walm alone had no insurance and his options were limited. And that diving alone must have a bad effect on him.

Merrill, who had given Walm time to chew and swallow the words, continued.

“Use your comrades, of course in a good way. Walm was a soldier, right? You must have comrades in the line of battle who acted together with you, right?”

Sometimes Walm acted alone. But most of the time, he didn’t fight alone. Walm could say that from the bottom of his heart. After all, when he jumped to the deadly land with swear and curses out of his mouth, he had his comrades in arms whom he trusted to protect his back.

“……Right, I had.”

“Well, I know it hasn’t even been a few days since you joined. What do you think? Are we that incompetent? Or, is it that we can’t be trusted yet?”

“No, neither of them. I’m sure it’s because of my nature, to put unnecessary strain on my shoulders. I’ll rely on you guys more next time.”

“Good answer.”

After receiving Walm’s response, Merrill nodded with satisfaction.

“Of course, you can rely on me. I’ve confidence in my sturdiness.”

Hari, who had been silently listening, spoke with an affectionate expression. Even his buttocks could withstand a direct blow from a mace. To him, a half-hearted attack must have felt like a child’s prank.

“Ah, yeah, of, of course.”

Walm gave a half-hearted reply. It would be nice if he could take the words literally, but considering Hari’s words and actions so far, he couldn’t seriously affirm that.

Marianthe felt the same way, and she voiced the concerns that Walm couldn’t speak out loud.

“When Hari says that, it feels like it has some other implications.”

“Marianthe, it’s not good to have unnecessary suspicion in your friend.”

“Huff, that’s an advice fit of a warrior monk, but…”

Merrill comforted Marianthe, who seemed indecisive.

“Sometimes Hari comes to his senses.”

“What if I give a strong stimulus to his head…”

Marianthe, interrupting her words, stared at the mace she had been leaning on.

Merrill sensed the intent of her gaze and moved into action.

“Marianthe, you should stop. It may heal, but it may also get worse.”

Said Merrill, with a head-shaking.

Marianthe, who had no words to answer, gave up the rough treatment that she thought at that moment with a feeling of deep regret. Truth was, even Walm wanted her to choose a gamble as a last resort.

“Next, let’s talk about magic and skills. I haven’t shown it yet, but my “skill” is the reason they call me the Trimagitack. Also, Marianthe can use bestowing magic――” [TN: For now, I’ll call it this]

The exchange of opinions after diving into the Labyrinth covered a wide range of topics, from combat to rest and meals. As expected, no amount of time would be enough for five people with different values, circumstances, and origins to deepen their understanding of each other.

And so, the evaluation meeting, which began at sunset, continued until the twin moon reached its zenith.

◆

Walm wasn’t a member of the Adventurer’s Guild. Therefore, when he joined the Trimagitack, he was classified in the employment form as a Porter or Guide. Nevertheless, this caused chaos in the Adventurer’s Guild. The reason was the black hole, which was the only connection to the Labyrinth.

In the Great Labyrinth of Belgana, there were several black holes, both public and private, but Walm used the one for the people who were just starting out and had poor skills. The black hole that the Trimagitack used, on the other hand, was for those aiming for the mid-rank floors and deeper, and was only available to mid-rank and high-rank adventurers belonged to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Although the destination was the same labyrinth and there was no difference in the hole itself, the waiting room and attached facilities were different. In short, Walm couldn’t enter the Guild House, but even if he could, he would only see nothing more than a bulletin board and a reception desk where requests and recruitments were posted.

In any case, the members of the Trimagitack stopped using the black hole they usually used, and together with Walm, they repeatedly entered and exited the Labyrinth through the black hole for those aiming for the low-rank floors.

It was the Adventurer’s Guild Belgana Branch that panicked over this. Because for them, an influential party was a valuable existence now that Fausto’s party, the oldest and most influential, had defected. If an influential party used a black hole for the low-rank floors, a rumor would naturally spread. It might even become a bad example for the other parties.

By expanding the interpretation of the internal regulations more and more, the guild decided that those who weren’t registered as adventurers, could enter the Guild House through a contract method. Good news indeed. However, Merrill rejected the proposal on the grounds that special treatment would set a bad precedent. Therefore, they continued to use the black hole for low rank.

The passage leading to the waiting area was traversed by countless people earning their money in the Labyrinth. In such a passage, Walm followed the members of the Trimagitack as he looked around. Merrill’s path was undisturbed. Probably people purposedly did that. Also, occasionally a fledgling adventurer would approach to exchange a greeting with Merrill.

“You’re pretty popular.”

It was inconceivable for Walm to receive a greeting just before diving into the Labyrinth.

“Same with my ability, but my appearance is also cool…… Walm, sneering at others isn’t cool.”

Merrill, who didn’t like Walm’s reaction, protested. Having received a warning, Walm silently followed Merrill.

When they arrived at the waiting area, a party called out. This time, the one being called out wasn’t Merrill, but Walm himself.

“Are you going deep diving now?”

Walm searched for the owner of the voice from his memory.

The adventurer was a man named Peyrouse who had just gotten out of his fledgling career. Behind him stood three of his companions.

“Yeah, that’s right. Did you earn a lot lately?”

“With the thing you gave us, seems that we all can have new equipment soon.”

“Thing I gave? Aah, that one. Glad that it’s helping you.”

The man spoke of the sharp spear of the Bone Collector that Walm had defeated in the Labyrinth. A male member of Peyrouse’s group held it on his shoulder like a treasure.

After a few words, Walm wrapped up the conversation with Peyrouse.

Since joining the Trimagitack, the number of people talking to Walm had increased. This affirmed Walm the importance of social credibility and made him silently lament the unreasonable world.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Walm looked back. It was Merrill who had finished the reception, smiling as if to say that what Walm had done earlier wasn’t forgotten. Perhaps there was a sprinkle of mischievousness behind the smile.

“It was my bad, so stop laughing like that. After all this time, people are finally looking at me normally So I haven’t gotten used――”

“Oh my, that’s a very touching story…… Alright, shall we go now?”

Merrill, flushing away the whining effortlessly, began moving to the transfer room.

It would be long before Walm could return to the surface. As he thought about it, something bothered him. And that something felt like it was pulling at the back of his head. Turning around quickly, he realized it was coming from the reception.

It was Lisi, the receptionist, who was watching Walm’s back with a worried look.

As their eyes crossed, Lisi interrupted her busy work as a receptionist and shook her hand lightly. The sunlight streaming through the skylight made the silver bracelet on her wrist glow.

Walm responded by raising his left hand. He hadn’t yet thanked her for helping him with the party recruitment. Even the matter concerning the use of the black hole exchanged with the guild had Lisi in between. She helped fill in the hole that might take place in Walm’s matter. So, he thought that he should make time to properly thank her.

“Walm quick, or you’ll be left behind.”

“Sorry. I’m going, now.”

Marianthe called Walm back from the sea of thought as his steps slowed. This was no different than a confused and lost toddler being called by his mother. At least that was how Walm felt.

Without letting himself sink into the sea of thoughts again, Walm averted his gaze from Lisi and focused his attention on the Labyrinth which he would continue to dive into from now on.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

TN : Happy new year, I’ll be active again.

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131. Chapter 131

Accompanied by wind noise, a sharp arrow rode the wind to cut through the darkness. Peeking out of the darkness was a Lizardman, which was the target. The Lizardman was shot through in the forehead and rolled to the ground, exposing its long, thin tongue.

Until now, Walm had worked hard to reduce monsters using magic to avoid one-on-one battles. After joining the group, however, he held back to focus on checking the movements of the group members and preserving his mana.

The three remaining Lizardmen rushed in, oblivious to the death of their brethren. And each Lizardman seemed to have decided to engage in one-on-one. Of course, this movement was also intentionally directed by the human side.

Just like Walm, Hari, a warrior monk playing the role of the vanguard, crushed the Lizardman’s head with a hexagonal mace, not caring what kind of swordplay the Lizardman would unleash.

On the other side, a person shifting the center of gravity of the upper body was Merrill, who was called the “Trimagitack”. With that slight move, the downward-sweeping cutlass was dodged and the approaching lizardman was counterattacked with the longsword. The wrist and also the head of the Lizardman fell off without resistance as if cutting soft butter.

What a magnificent performance.

In this way, much work was taken off Walm’s hands. A simple movement of the halberd to deflect the spearhead of the Lizardman and insert the clawed blade of the halberd into the arteries of the Lizardman. And with a simple motion of shifting his center of gravity backward while pulling the halberd, the neck burst open and blood spurted out. That was enough to make the Labyrinth regain its silence again.

Nevertheless, such a reality was enough to shake Walm and make him fall into “idleness”, he even had the luxurious time to turn the halberd to splash the clinging blood.

“Do you have a complaint, Sir?”

Said Merrill, putting away the sword, with a sprinkle of teasing.

In fact, Walm was seen spinning his halberd. He realized it too and felt like a child swinging a twig in idleness, only to be seen by his friend. Of course, it gave him a slight sense of shame.

“No, I’ve no complaints. It’s more than I expected, that I feel complicated.”

“If a party aiming to be the conqueror has trouble on the mid-rank floors, that would be absurd, isn’t it?”

That was a very good opinion. Still, for Walm, who had always been at a numerical disadvantage since his military service and had become too accustomed to diving the Labyrinth alone, he couldn’t help but get restless when he was placed on the side with more numbers.

Fortunately, there was no further investigation from the new comrades, and when Walm saw archer Yuna step in on the Lizardman’s head to retrieve the arrow, he mingled with the others to collect the monster’s relics.

While Merrill looked around the surroundings as a guard, the rest of the members collected the valuables. That was the formation.

The monsters that stood in the way were equally returned to the labyrinth, as the party dived deeper.

The swarming Dullahans and Doll Slimes were swept away by Walm’s fire attribute magic. Even if they sacrificed one of their compatriots to close the gap, waiting for them was a hexagonal mace that Hari called the Spirit-Infusing Rod. The proud armor of the Dullahan and the Doll Slime was shattered unevenly like a broken tin doll. Finally, Merrill and Marianthe would crush anyone who dared to pass through.

Although it was a Labyrinth dive that Walm had tried himself more than a few times, before he knew it, the depth had reached the 30th floor. Although the formation was rough, he effortlessly reached the floor he had worked so hard on just because he was in a party.

Walm couldn’t help but feel the high level of skill of Merrill and the others who had protected each other’s backs so far. And even though a brand new foreign object called Walm had slipped in, the overall movement continued to follow the optimal path as much as possible.

The Ogre that was attacked by a quick shot of the archer, fell down from its head. Walm shot the fireball on his hand against the Ogre that jumped over its brethren who had become an obstacle. Such a large monster, receiving a direct hit in the air, spread blood and flesh everywhere.

Now, there were four of them left, but they too had all suffered the aftermath of the attack and lost some of their bodily functions.

“Newcomers will come from behind.”

At the same time as Merrill’s warning, Walm’s five senses picked up the new movement. It was a group of Centaurs, the heavy cavalry of the Labyrinth, shaking the ground and approaching with a charge.

“Walm, Yuna, both to the front.”

With Merrill’s brief command, the formation of the party changed.

Merrill, Hari, and Marianthe would deal with the high-risk heavy cavalry, while Walm and Yuna would deal with the remaining Ogres.

As Walm charged with his halberd, a flying object flew through from behind.

As expected, this must have been the support of Yuna, the archer.

Having anticipated the movements of Walm and the Ogres, Yuna must have given preference to the one that wanted to engage in battle with Walm. Sure, it wasn’t a fatal hit, but the arrow that entered the base of the shoulder from the collarbone took a lot of pressure off Walm.

One of the Ogre’s arms lost its power as if a supporting string had been cut, and the war hammer that should have hit Walm went in an unexpected direction. The halberd no longer had to be brought into position, and so could be wielded in a straight line, undisturbed. The claw-shaped blade of the halberd, which entered under the chin, reached the Ogre’s brain.

Walm turned the handle of the halberd as he changed his focus, glancing sideways at the next prey. The first fireball had burned half of its face. It wouldn’t be Walm if he didn’t take advantage of this newly made weakness. After all, he knew what it felt like to have only one functional eye.

Sending his halberd downward, Walm sliced through the Ogre’s ankles from the blind spot.

The Ogre, losing its legs, could no longer support its own weight and fell forward. Waiting for the Ogre who tried to get up was the axe-blade of the halberd. The blade, entering the side of his head, penetrated only halfway, for that was enough.

Of the remaining two, one leapt toward Walm with the momentum of someone craving for a hug. He quickly changed his center of gravity in the opposite direction and moved to the side. The second Ogre stuck a longsword in Walm’s way. Walm caught it with the claw-shaped blade of the halberd.

The Ogre tried to engage Walm in a clash of weapons, but instead of accepting it, the spearhead of the halberd made a high-pitched sound as it slid on the surface of the longsword. It went so far that it finally took all four fingers except the thumb.

The Ogre dropped the longsword and tried to grab Walm. As a response, Walm extended his bent elbow, turned his palm, and pierced the Ogre’s eyes with the lower part of the halberd.

The hand of the Ogre, which had lost its sight, caught nothing but air, and when it realized it missed its target, it swung its arm around unreasonably. Walm slipped past it without delivering a final blow. It was an action to quickly prepare for the last ogre that had stayed behind, but it was an unnecessary move. The last Ogre, too absorbed in its target, Walm, bared its defenseless back to Yuna.

Receiving an arrow on the side of the head, the Ogre’s eyes turned white as the strength left its body.

Only one remained, the Ogre that had lost both eyes. But just as Walm turned his attention back to it, he saw that the Ogro that a moment ago was thrusting its arms desperately into the air, seemed to be breathlessly sinking into the ground.

From a distance, Yuna quietly annihilated the horde of Ogres, which gave their attention only to Walm.

Walm was about to go off to rescue Merrill and the others in charge of the newcomers, but the fighting had already stopped. The heads of the poor Centaurs were being smashed by Hari’s Spirit-Infusing Rod and Marianthe’s mace. It was as if they played whack-a-mole. Those that had their forelegs and heads severed were probably in a fight with Merrill.

“That was good support.”

“Mm.”

When Walm thanked Yuna for protecting his back, he received a short reply. Basically, talking was troublesome for Yuna, so the conversation with her was extremely short. Walm believed that…… in any case, Walm convinced himself that it wasn’t because he was hated.

“Seems like, your side is done too.”

“To begin with, they were weak opponents. Compared to your side which killed Four Centaurs about the same time, I’m probably on the slower side.”

“Well, it’s not like the sooner the better.”

Merrill moved the handle to shake off the sticky liquid on the longsword.

Walm also noticed a presence behind him as he cleaned the halberd. The owner of the look was Hari. With a serious look, he asked Hari if anything strange had happened.

“Did something happen?”

“No, it’s nothing. I’m just having trouble choosing between Merrill’s colorful eyes and Walm’s muddy eyes. Aaaah, don’t look at me so seriously with those eyes. Or you will get me “excited”.”

“……Huh?”

Walm couldn’t immediately understand Hari’s words. Still, instinct screamed danger. So without thinking, he contorted his face as he took a step back.

Walm gave Merrill a protesting look, as if to say that something strange must be going on in Hari’s brain. That Hari was a weirdo to the core.

Unfortunately, the adventurer known as the “Trimagitack” only gave a silent head shaking, before giving some supplement explanation.

“His personality, and abilities are overall good, but only this side of him, I can’t fix, I’ve already given up.”

“? Were you looking at the other with a perverted gaze again? Really, stop it.”

As Merrill abandoned the responsibility, Marianthe noticed the series of disturbances and thus reprimanded Hari.

“Don’t say it like that. It’s human nature to be fascinated by beautiful things like high peaks and the sea. Don’t worry, Marianthe’s angry eyes are fine in their own way.”

“uhh――that’s why you got kicked out of the church!!”

Marianthe, feeling her patience reaching an end, struck Hari on the buttocks with a mace. A dry sound rang out, and a metallic protrusion dug into his muscular buttocks, but Hari didn’t move in the slightest. Even if it wasn’t swung with full force, it was basically a weapon blow that could beat an average full-armor soldier to death.

Walm couldn’t help but wonder what kind of flesh Hari had to receive such a blow with his buttocks and remained calm.

“Don’t get so angry. Anger slows you down.”

“Aahh!! Aaahhhh!!! I don’t want to hear that, especially not from you.”

“As you can see, glaring or getting angry at Hari only has the opposite effect, so don’t do that.”

“… Yeah, I’ll for sure keep that in mind.”

If it was a bad joke exchanged in a pool of blood, Walm might have tried to think of another bad joke. But no matter how he felt about it, it was serious.

Walm, offering the offering called Marianthe to Hari, quietly distanced himself.

This kind of ruckus must be a routine for the party…

Yuna, who diligently collected the arrows without paying attention to them, finally uttered a voice after collecting some.

“Walm, it’s great that you didn’t break the arrows.”

If the not-so-cheap arrows could be reused without damaging them, nothing was better than not breaking them. The Highserk Empire Army, which was in a rather sad financial situation, had used what was available. They must. Even arrows that pierced decaying corpses were picked up with pleasure by the archers.

“It’s an old habit.”

Despite their short relationship, Yuna, who Walm thought lacked emotion, looked happy. Had he needlessly shattered her arrows, he would have been branded a brutal man in her heart. Perhaps.

Hari and Marianthe ended their argument and began scavenging the Centaur’s corpse.

There was a saying that the “grass next door looks greener,” but now that Walm had come close, he understood that it was a pile of wild, strange grass. Each person had their own quirks, but Walm was not sophisticated enough to judge other people.

“What’s wrong, Walm?”

Walm lowered his gaze as he lost himself in thought, but Merrill’s light green hair entered his field of vision. At the same time, Merrill’s eyes, with one iris a different color than the other, stared at Walm. It seemed to him that the eyes were watching not only his face, but also his thoughts. And that, made him feel he could understand Hari’s feelings a little.

“I was thinking about how lively the party this is.”

“You’re saying it like it’s someone else’s problem. Remember, Walm is also among those lively guys.”

“Hahaha, you’re right.”

In a gloomy labyrinth, a light smile naturally spilled out of Walm’s mouth.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.