Nigoru Hitomi de Nani wo Negau

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140. Chapter 140

The ceremony celebrating the birth of the conqueror was estimated to be on the scale of an entire city. Merchants from the surrounding cities gathered for the aristocrats and wealthy people who attended the ceremony. The merchants who had their stores in the city also livened up the streets every day, praising the Conqueror. The merchant mentioned their name just because one of the conquerors once visited the shop, what a strong merchant spirit they had.

The Trimagitack party members had less and less time to meet, as they were busy with the guests who came incessantly. But perhaps that was why they used their little free time to meet.

“That vice-guild leader said that Walm was a contract holder so he could only participate from the spectator seats. When I heard that, I thought of throwing him out the window.”

“That makes me happy, but there are also internal regulations within the guild. It would be unhealthy for such an organization to be so flexible, and keep making exceptions again and again.”

If exceptions were always made, discontent would build up within the organization. Walm, who used to belong to an organized society in his previous life, knew this firsthand. Bending the rules, as long as they produced results, could lead to disaster.

“Walm, why are you so cold about these things?”

Even if Merrill was angry at what appeared to be unfair treatment, after seeing that Walm, who was the concerned party, didn’t really mind, her anger withered away.

“Still, are you sure? It’s a great honor, you know?”

Said Hari, as if to remind Walm.

“It doesn’t suit me. The Adventurer’s Guild also wants to highlight the people of Belgana. Besides, I’ve got nice food and a bed for a while. So, no complaints.”

“You’re stubborn in a strange way.”

Marianthe, who was resting her cheeks on her hand as if to say she was already used to it, let out these words.

“Well, it’s not like he can’t attend at all. More than that, Walm’s armor, which has turned into “iron scraps”, seems like, will be ready in time for the ceremony.”

“Can’t believe there was a guy who received such a request to finish it in such a short period of time.”

“It’s the armor of one of the Conquerors. I’m sure anyone would be fired up. But well, thanks to those dwarves for their kindness I guess.”

Speaking of dwarves, there were few among Walm’s acquaintances. It was one of the few groups that came in and out beyond the 30th floor. It was a group of 4 dwarves and a beastman, sent by the Aleinard Forest Alliance, who were able to be true to themselves regardless of location.

“Since the material is, you know it. Apparently, they can’t leave it to others. The dwarves looked so enthusiastic about participating in the iron striking. Not only fighting, but they’re also good at blacksmithing work. Hard to believe that those insensitive dwarves are actually so dexterous.”

Said Merrill, while recalling a personal dissatisfaction. Behind the dynamism with which they split the monster’s head with a battle axe was the sensitivity and dedication inherent to craftsmen.

Nevertheless, Walm wasn’t dissatisfied. The armor that had gone out of shape in the battle with the Undead Dragon would be revived with a small amount of mithril and the ashes of the Undead Dragon. In addition, Walm’s intention to adopt the design of his old armor was accepted. So it would be finished without changing the basic design, but there would certainly be some differences.

“And Hari, how about it?”

Merrill asked Hari about his progress.

“Well, it’s an old acquaintance. So, it’s quite difficult.”

The two talked about the method of taking the crimson grass. Hari had gathered information from people he knew when he was in the church, but he was afraid that a strange rumor would spread, so he couldn’t proceed at will, and so progress wasn’t that great. After all, it was a treasure that was said to be able to cure all kinds of diseases. For those who didn’t have much time to live, it was an item they wanted so much that they would die for it.

“At first, I was going to look for it by myself. I’m saved.”

The only person who came to Walm’s mind was the healing mage on the border, Kopetsk City. However, even if the healing magician possessed a rare drug, it didn’t mean that the healing magician knew the solution. Moreover, Walm was told about the existence of the crimson grass, which was called the Hidden Treasures of Healing, so that he wouldn’t give up in despair, since the healing magician couldn’t give him a permanent cure.

“We aren’t strangers you know. We’re comrade-in-arms who’ve dived to the bottom. This much is nothing.”

Said Hari in a voice that sounded a little bland. But hearing that, Walm was at a loss for words. He couldn’t even bring himself to thank Hari sincerely after that, and ended up giving only a vague answer.

◆

“It’s really troublesome. Only scandals continue.”

The Vice-Guild Leader of the Adventurer’s Guild Belgana Branch, Raffaele, struggled under pressure from the Marquis family because of the slump in iron production from the Labyrinth. In recent years, the export of meat resources from the low-rank floors had been doing well, but the production of iron materials from the mid-rank floors onward had been declining. This was because the guild wasn’t fostering enough mid-rank or higher adventurers for the job.

Groups of promising adventurers were blocked by the wall of “difficulty jump” in the mid-rank and high-rank floors, and often had to endure the grief of destruction. Of course, Raffaele hadn’t simply remained idle. He promoted the promising adventurers to the guild staff and asked their opinions. They were also tasked to give lectures on practical skills and theoretical lectures. In addition, even highly paid healing magicians were stationed nearby in an effort to improve survivability.

When a rumor about the Manhunt, which was frowned upon, was circulating, there was no evidence in the search, so the guild concluded that the adventurer’s skills were lacking in general.

That said, compared to several decades ago when the guild thought they had fulfilled their role by sending users into the black hole after having intensive appointments with the civil officials, the current management system had improved dramatically―― supposedly.

The unbelievable news was that there was a clear report of a manhunt appearing within the Labyrinth.

Who would have believed that the party, which had the oldest member of the guild and who also acted as an instructor, was actually a criminal? Although it was dismissed as a false alarm and Fausto managed to escape, two of his party members were dead and brought back to the guild. Moreover, the one who had reported it was the Trimagitack. Of course, Raffaele couldn’t just ignore it.

“Now and then, people have broken the taboo in the Labyrinth, but I’ve never thought that the oldest member has been hunting people.”

The exemplary rebellion of Fausto, who spared no effort in cooperating with the guild, was enough to shake the guild’s management system. Raffaele was also busy dealing with it, and he couldn’t even take a good rest.

“Even so, it’s convenient that his true identity has been exposed.”

Roggo, Raffaele’s assistant and guard, guessed the current situation. Originally an excellent scout in the Labyrinth, Roggo was favorable to the elimination of manhunts. Calling it pus discharge might sound good, but from the point of view of those who had taken the responsibility and had to do the hard work every day, it meant nothing but trouble.

“That bastard Fausto seems to have harvested parties that had reached a certain level. I mean, he hunts his own juniors, you know? As if he’s breeding livestock… Think about the manpower and cost for the aftermath! There’s even an accusation that we’ve been neglecting the manhunts for many years on purpose.”

It ended up with a silly conspiracy theory that the guild was using a manhunt to gather profits.

Still, Raffaele couldn’t help but hold strong anger at the adventurer’s excessive gossip.

“If only, that wanderer had died quietly, it wouldn’t have taken so much trouble. And Fausto is old. Being a Manhunt isn’t a good match for his age. Bet, he would soon wither and rot in the Labyrinth, or, we can just wait for his retirement…”

Raffaele pursued Roggo, who seemed to have something to say, as he was acting like a stranger.

“Hmph, stop pretending to be a good person. This Labyrinth city isn’t a clear stream. In the stream where the crowd has swelled up to the point where it’s difficult to manage, spies from other countries, criminals, and necromancers must be lurking around, and human desires and conspiracy are also swirling. This is such a city. A balance between pure and impurity should be maintained, or it won’t work.”

The Adventurer’s Guild had removed the impurity together with the Marquis’ guards. But there was no end to it. It was like clearing the fog with one’s hands.

“The same goes for the brothel district and the slums. The Marquis attempted to take full control, but even the investigations failed. That’s the result of dealing with an opponent you don’t know. Worsening the security of the city by the end. In the first place, is it possible to completely control such places from inside the wall? In the end, it would be easier to handle by selecting some of the ruffians and making them official workers. At worst, just treat them like a crowd who likes to cross the line.”

“Now, now, rather we should look forward to the next meeting.”

Roggo mentioned an upcoming event.

“It’s just an inspection. I wonder if their business is doing well… But really, what a profit… Hahaha, looks like you’re being humble with your face and mouth, but always honest with your needs.”

Raffaele, looking from Roggo’s face to his lower body, snorted.

“I thought that mercenary would cause more trouble, but conquering the Labyrinth with the Trimagitack? Even the world couldn’t understand why that happened. But, with this, even with that manhunt incident, the profit will still be great at last. Even the displeased Marquis-sama, would be pleased. Above all, besides the regular inspection, to think that those ruffians invited us to the brothel to celebrate the conquest of the Labyrinth. How touching.”

In order to benefit from the advantages that the conqueror brought, those who were quick, acted swiftly indeed. And it was Raphael’s way to give “sweets” to those who behaved obediently. Roggo, his protégé, was one of them.

“Well then, Vice-Guild Leader, have fun.”

In the course of their conversation, Raffaele arrived at his desired brothel. Thus, ending his complaints.

“Hah, you too. It’s going to be a good night.”

Raffaele parted ways with Roggo at the fork in the long passage.

Raffaele was led by a dull red-haired woman. Although she had a shadowy, unattractive face, she was by no means bad-looking. She clearly had a moderate amount of flesh in the right place, probably because she moved those parts on a daily basis.

“You look good.”

Raffaele’s vision was obstructed by the darkness and the wafting incense smell, but because of his profession, he had absolute confidence in his memory.

“It was specially prepared, only for Raffaele-sama, to enjoy this day to the fullest.”

The woman who had lured Raffaele into the room entwined her long limbs and whispered in his ear.

“Alraune’s incense, it brings a sense of happiness, and eases your mood. Please forget about your daily hard work, everything else, and, just relax.”

The woman was good at putting people at ease. There was nothing wrong with that, even if it was nothing more than blatant flattery.

The woman expressed that she would gladly put on a farce without a cooling-off period.

And so, Raffaele generously accepted the sweet invitation.

“Now, now, who should I entertain, I wonder?”

Along with the snuggling woman, Raffaele overlapped his shadows with hers on the bed. The sweet scent corroded and numbed Raffaele’s mind and body.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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139. Chapter 139

For the first time since the Unification War, a conqueror had been born from Belgana, and the Labyrinth City was bustling with activity as if at a harvest festival. In contrast to the relentless heat of the city, the air in one room remained cold and stagnant.

“A conqueror has appeared. Above all, it’s the party to which that mercenary belongs.”

The mercenary wasn’t only the enemy of Giesel’s younger brother, but this time he tried to get in the way by becoming the conqueror of the labyrinth.

Giesel was even impressed by the fact that the mercenary had been involved in his life as if it was destined.

“Though it’s a bit strange, he has 《Demon Fire》 and demon eyes. Add the Trimagitack, and it’s not something that they can’t reach, I guess.”

Unlike Giesel, who felt a growing sense of danger, the old man explained without showing the slightest wavering.

“It looks like they brought back fangs and claws, but I don’t think it’s a complete Undead Dragon.”

Said Fausto doubtfully.

The old man gave an answer.

“The firepower shouldn’t be insufficient to bury a complete Undead Dragon. A real dragon isn’t a cheap existence to the extent that it can easily fall. The fact that all five came back, means they didn’t make an offering. Did they find a way to deal without it? Even so, that doesn’t change what they’ve accomplished. A conqueror isn’t something that can be measured by power alone after all.”

Even if the Undead Dragon was imperfect, the Trimagitack managed to kill it. From this information alone, Giesel concluded that his subordinates would have a hard time putting the plan into action. Besides Merrill, the people from the Adventurer’s Guild and the Borgia soldiers would be on their way too.

“Giusto, why you must get killed by a troublesome guy.”

Even the loss of a large number of members entrusted to Giusto was already a pain.

Giesel couldn’t help but wonder about his younger brother, who continued to cause him trouble even after death.

“Stop lamenting, Giesel.”

Giesel grimaced and shook his head at the soothing words one normally said to a toddler. Only an old man from the slums could say such words to Giesel.

Fausto was the only one remaining silent in restraint, but such a serious man probably wouldn’t even be able to say something witty.

“Do you have a good idea, old man?”

“If more continue to dive deeper, an increase in the city’s overall strength inevitable. If more conquerors are born, our plan will be stuck. Just the fact that a conqueror is born, the city, no, the people within will get motivated. I think, it’s time.”

The dead tree-like old man, whose expression wasn’t easy to read, was certainly smiling. What kind of feeling spurred up within the old man? Giesel had no way of knowing completely. Even if Giesel relied on Fausto to decipher it, nothing good would come out as he still had his fake mask stuck to his face since his blunder in the Labyrinth.

The most important thing, however, was that the old man, who usually gave commands only with a wave of his hand, moved directly. Finally, he emerged from the darkness.

“No holding back huh? Well, whatever the means, it’s fine with me as long as the mercenary dies.”

Giesel was only a supporting character, as a “Monster” hiding in the darkness was about to appear on the main stage. For the Labyrinth City, this would certainly be a turning point.

Accompanied by “Death,” Giesel would also attend the feast. If he could take revenge in the process, that would be the best outcome. That would calm down any complaint that might come from his foolish brother in the netherworld.

In the sludge-like slum, the malice that had been nurtured and expanded over the years about quietly made its appearance.

◆

After being injured in a battle with a group of manhunts, Walm was placed under house arrest in a guest room after being treated. He never thought he would end up back in the same place in such a short time. This time, however, it was much larger than the last room he was housed in. And not only were meals served, but snacks as well. The treatment was much better than when he was treated like a suspect. Of course, Walm wasn’t so childish as to be openly grumpy. After all, it was only natural that there should be a difference in treatment between the conqueror and the suspected suspect.

While Walm was being regularly treated by a healing magician, Merrill, who had the lightest injuries, went outside and responded to having a discussion with guild officials. After all, the long-awaited conqueror had finally been born. Expectations were high, and there was no end to the number of visitors, from the people of the Adventurer’s Guild to the army and nobles. Besides, information about the bottom of the Labyrinth was scarce, and everyone was desperately trying to extract even a small amount of it from them. Merrill, who belonged to the Adventurer’s Guild, used the Marquis’ family and the Guild as a shield, but still, she had no time to rest.

In order to take care of the exhausted Merrill, Walm provided a certain ingredient to the Adventurer’s Guild. It was the meat of the Kraken, which was now reborn as dinner and placed before their eyes. From simple salt-fried Kraken tentacles to flour-coated fried Kraken tentacles. The Guild’s cook was indeed excellent.

“…… C-can you really eat this tentacle?”

In the Labyrinth, Merrill, who was always calm at all times and even buried the Undead Dragon, had a trembling voice. Walm had also eaten octopus and squid in his previous world, but he had no experience of tasting something similar since he was born in this world. The appearance of Kraken tentacles was only slightly larger, and the shape itself wasn’t that much different. First off, Walm was sure he would’ve no problem eating them.

“It’s prized by sailors, you know.”

“Well, I know it’s a delicacy and a luxury ingredient, but the way it looks just…”

“You guys too. No need to hold back.”

Walm had no acquired dislike for tentacles that originated in the sea, but Merrill, who had no experience with these ingredients, had to gather much courage to eat them. He urged the others to eat too, but the others just continued to stare at the tentacles. Even Hari made some complaining noises. Strangely, or maybe not, from Walm’s point of view, it took more courage to eat the meat of the peculiar humanoid pig (orc).

Marianthe pushed back the plate as if to oppose Walm’s words and actions. And the hard sell that disguised as good intentions enveloped her.

“Walm and Hari are the most seriously injured, so you two have them first.”

“Nnnnnn, isn’t that a little cowardly, Marianthe?”

Hari was unusually agitated and tried to resist.

A sudden wait-and-see contest began, with no end in sight.

Thinking that nothing would happen at this rate, Walm suddenly thrust the tentacles into his mouth with a fork.

“Eh, aah”

Merrill let out a voice, as if Walm had ingested poison. Walm, on the other hand, was busy savoring the flour-coated fried tentacles. The chunky, thick meat was really chewy. The texture of the sucker was like an accent, as if it were bursting in his mouth. The more he chewed, the more umami spread across his tongue.

“Is the taste, okay?”

Marianthe timidly asked.

Walm, who was chewing well and enjoying it, swallowed and answered.

“It’s delicious. In terms of texture, it’s closer to elastic meat than fish.”

Walm was no stranger to describing the taste of food, but he was no food expert. He couldn’t do a better job of describing it to get the message across, and decided the most effective way would be to eat one after another.

“It smells good, right?”

It was rare for Walm to be stared at while eating, but they all looked so serious.

Having finally given up, Merrill took the first bite.

“……I’ll take a bite.”

Merrill tentatively brought the food to her mouth and began tasting the tentacles. Everyone held their breath and watched.

“Umm, it’s delicious.”

Merrill, who had her shoulders stretched out, smiled.

After the vanguard took the first hit, the other party members jumped in as well. They all carried the tentacles to their mouths as if the restraining rope had been cut.

Even the meat of the Kraken, which they were so cautious about before eating, once it was in their mouth, they couldn’t help but sing praises.

After dinner, which consisted mainly of seafood, Walm walked out of the Guild House. Thank you to the daily healing magic and rest, his wounds had healed enough for him to walk by himself.

When Walm felt the heat in his stomach, burning from his abdomen to the top of his head, he thought that this must be the result of eating the Kraken meat. He could also feel that his heart beat faster than usual. Such immediacy. The Kraken meat was undoubtedly had excellent nutrients and good for restoring stamina. It was even said that Kraken meat was popular among aristocrats who longed for heirs. Because if they ate it, the dead vigor would be resurrected.

The bustle of activity still echoed from the nightless city. While exploring and walking around the less popular places, Walm arrived in front of an old stone monument. It was a memorial monument. Dated from the time of the Unification War, it was derelict and half-ruined.

Walm took two cigarettes from his waist bag, lit them, and took one to the base of the monument and the other to his own mouth. He did it knowing full well that this would never be a substitute for incense sticks.

Breathed out the purple smoke inhaled. Smoke dispersed into the sky. Only a bitter taste was left on the tongue.

Walm knew this wasn’t good for his lungs. Still, it was necessary. He had learned that death was heavy. Even more, after he was put in a very different position than his first life. It was necessary for him.

It was said that over time, people’s deaths might fade, be forgotten, and eventually disappear. Deep down Walm wished that were true.

Smoke slowly rose from the base of the cenotaph. As Walm continued to stare dully ahead, he cooled himself with the night breeze. He drifted away with the smoke while thinking of nothing but something vague. However, he had to end his rambling walk soon, for footsteps were approaching.

“Are you done with your work?”

When Walm turned around, there stood Lisi, who had finished her work. She must have watched Walm walking around nearby.

“Yes, I’ve finished today’s work. Hmm, this may be a little late because I couldn’t make time, but congratulations on conquering the Labyrinth.”

It seemed the receptionist had dutifully come to deliver the words of congratulations.

Walm grabbed the cigarette and turned to Lisi to return her thanks.

“Thank you for taking the trouble to say that even outside of work hours. And thanks to Lisi’s advice, I could do that. If I’m still alone, perhaps, I may still be wandering inside the Labyrinth, or already dead. Really, thank you.”

Walm revealed his true intentions without deceit. He alone couldn’t have overcome the repeated difficulties after the 35th floor.

“Supporting challengers is, after all, part of my job. Besides, I’ve already received your thanks.”

Lisi slid her sleeves to reveal a silver bracelet with a crimson grass motif. She was wearing the item given by Walm.

“Considering the result, it turned out to be a very cheap gift huh…”

“That’s impolite, you know.”

Lisi, who got her mood soured, pouted slightly. Walm acknowledged his embarrassing gaffe and shrugged his shoulders as if to surrender.

“Sorry. I was born in the countryside and raised in the military, so I’m not familiar with the term “polite”.”

“Fufufu, I think I’ve heard a similar excuse before. But well, even if you say so, it seems like you don’t forget to respect the dead.”

Following Lisi’s line of sight was the cigarette Walm offered to the monument. The smoldering fire continued to spew purple smoke into the night sky.

“Not with good intentions. I reluctantly did it out of guilt. I’m just a coward.”

It was the same in the previous world. Walm left random offerings at a dilapidated shrine that no one visited, and even took calls from customers after hours. If he had had the strength to pretend not to see it, he could have lived differently.

The embarrassed Walm frowned. Seeing that expression on his face, Lisi asserted without hesitation.

“Still, it seems to me that you have a strong sense of duty. Compared to those who just talk and do nothing, you’re much more trustworthy.”

“Such kind words. Thanks.”

In the midst of the silence, Lisi raised a question.

“Walm-san, did you find what you were looking for at the bottom of the Labyrinth?”

“Somehow I found it.”

The treasure Walm was looking for, the crimson grass, was quietly staying in his magic bag. It also meant that there was no longer any reason to wander around the Labyrinth.

“What are you going to do about the party?”

“I’ve achieved my objective. Following the contract, I plan to leave.”

After all, in a sense, Walm’s role was nothing more than a temporary side guy. The Trimagitack with an even better reputation than before would have no problem finding a better companion than a bloody soldier.

“Have you talked about it to the party members?”

“……No”

The problem was that Walm returned from the Labyrinth in a bad state and missed the moment to withdraw from the party. Still, he was reluctant to continue relying on the party’s good intentions and prolong the relationship.

“I don’t think they want Walm-san to leave.”

Walm didn’t interfere and continued to listen to Lisi’s words.

“Merrill-san must be very busy right now. After all, guests are constantly coming to visit. Even so, she cares about Walm-san, and the same is true for the others. So until the ceremony is over, you should think about the option of properly joining them. As the guild employee ―― and as an individual, I really hope that you will stay.”

Without giving an immediate answer, Walm pondered.

The gruesome battlefields, the crumbling homeland, and the memories of his dead comrades continued to bind Walm even after he left the land of Highserk. He was so drunk at the time that his thoughts felt as if they were stuck in the mud. But that feeling of rotting in the mud was fading now.

Had his earlier encounters and experiences in the Labyrinth City caused his bad memory to fade, or had he grown a little as a person? Walm didn’t know.

Next to the pondering Walm, Lisi waited without saying anything.

After a while, Walm opened his mouth.

“Honestly, I’ve always hated adventurers. Thought that I would despise being friends with them. Even so, I’ve gotten used to them… I’ve come to like them a little, better than before…… Right. Ever since I came here, Lisi, you’ve helped me a lot. So yeah, I won’t be stubborn, and will have a talk about the future after the ceremony is over, as you suggested.”

Lisi nodded with satisfaction at Walm’s answer.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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138. Chapter 138

In Belgana, there was a facility called the Guild House, which was managed directly by the Adventurer’s Guild. The Guild House, which was clearly separated from the general reception area, contained everything needed for long-term activities in the Labyrinth. Of course, there were costs associated with activities such as registration and usage fees, but the benefits were far-reaching. It was fully equipped with a variety of assistance from numerous staff members, materials processing area, excellent healing magicians available at all times, and more, from a nap room to a food shop.

Regular general lectures provided knowledge about the monsters that appeared on each floor, and for those who wanted to gain experience for actual battles, it was possible to dive into the Labyrinth by signing a contract with a high-rank adventurer who had been certified by the guild.

More than few wanted to save money, thus they went to the mid-rank floors of the Labyrinth and beyond via the general entrance. The results of that were clearly visible in the statistics published by the Adventurer’s Guild. There was a large gap between the casualty rates of the general entrance users and the Guild House users.

Peyrouse, who began coming in and out of the mid-rank floors, finally had a surplus of funds at his disposal and began to actively use the Guild House. Although he had been made leader of the party despite his reluctance, he accepted the role and thought of what was best for the party. And he realized that he lacked many things, so he began taking general lectures, first aid, crisis management, and also personal combat training from a Borgia soldier.

Peyrouse had heard from his mentor, the Borgia soldier, that adventurers were expected to be part of the defense force in times of need. After all, the Great Labyrinth of Belgana belonged to the family of Marquis Borgia, and the Adventurer’s Guild was only entrusted with its management and operation. In short, the adventurers were treated like a reserve force with no maintenance costs. Peyrouse didn’t remember becoming a soldier, but he wasn’t so ungrateful that he would only accept favors and not cooperate. Now that he had left the farming village, his home, Belgana was his second home. Of course, he hoped that everything would turn out well here.

Peyrouse’s party had a break from Labyrinth until yesterday. Naturally, everyone had enjoyed the rest they wanted. But as expected, after the break, the movement became heavy and stiff.

So today, Peyrouse received a morning lecture on priority actions in the Labyrinth. With the knowledge from the lecture, he wanted to get used to it slowly. Then in the afternoon he relieved his heavy eyelids in the nap room.

Outside, the sun had already set and the twin moons were about to make their presence felt. Fortunately, day and night didn’t matter for those who wanted to dive into the Labyrinth.

One by one, members gathered in front of the reception desk, which also served as a meeting room. Leake was the only one left, but he wouldn’t be on time. Besides having a habit of being late, he was busy with something.

Peyrouse, who had become accustomed to being kept waiting, changed the plan, for he was growing tired of waiting.

“Should we have a snack, or something to eat until the Leake arrives?”

“It’s two hours early. But well, you can’t even eat slowly when you’re in the Labyrinth, so let’s eat now.”

With Donna’s agreement, Peyrouse made his way to the store. He didn’t wait for a word from Matthio, because he was always hungry. Even if he was asked, the answer would be the same. As proof of this, Matthio immersed himself in the sea of thoughts and freed his mind from the real world. Nevertheless, perhaps lured by the smell of food, he stumbled after Peyrouse. Of course, it was the usual orc meat.

“Orc meat――”

“…..Urgh, you can eat it even in the Labyrinth, why do I’ve to eat that here too?”

Donna reflexively rejected the word orc meat. Even Matthio blatantly frowned.

Peyrouse and his party member took the orc meats they had retrieved from the Labyrinth outside and used them in their daily diet. The taste was delicious. Still, eating the same food all the time would tire normal people out quickly. Sure, it could be toned down with different ways of preparing it, such as baking, boiling, frying, and other trial and error. Even so, it would be amazing if one didn’t get tired of orc meat after eating it three times a day.

As if ridiculing Peyrouse, a sweet smell drifted, entered his nose, and stimulated his brain.

“Kuh, sweets huh…?”

Belgana had a stable supply of orc meat from the Labyrinth, and along with salted fish, it was a cheap food representative. Confectionery made from wheat was more expensive than these foods. No wonder adventurers who usually eat only fatty and salty foods were hungry for sweets. But the prices displayed on the board weren’t coin bag friendly. In the first place, orc meat was cheap or even free. For those who wanted to save money, orc meat was a winner.

The fragrant smell of sugar invited the party. Matthio succumbed to the lure of sugar and approached with somnambulant steps. Peyrouse cursed that this was a sinful place to lure adventurers with an outrageous smell. But even he couldn’t resist the temptation. And Donna followed from behind.

Contrary to the lonely wallet, Peyrouse’s stomach was satisfied. Forced to make unnecessary expenses, the hatred was growing even bigger for Leake that had not yet been seen.

Fortunately, Leake soon appeared.

“It’s too late. Did he take a detour again huh?”

In contrast to the sweet smell clinging to the clothes, Peyrouse spread bitterness, but he then noticed that Leake was acting differently than usual.

While waving his arms, the approaching Leake opened his mouth and said,

“Sorry that I’m late, but that’s not the point. It seems that a conqueror has emerged from the labyrinth. The Conqueror suddenly came out of the restricted section of the Guild House, causing a big fuss!!”

“Huh!? Someone has conquered the Labyrinth?”

Peyrouse had reached the mid-rank floors, but even at the beginning of the mid-rank floors, which had been thinned out by those working in the same industry, he still selected his prey carefully, even now. When the depth increased, the number of people would decrease. Troublesome and strong monsters would rush in at regular intervals, and there was no time to properly rest. Even if Peyrouse and his comrades wanted to rest after doing their best, as soon as they saw a monster, they must be ready to fight again.

“So, who concurred the Labyrinth?”

Donna spoke quickly, as if hoping Leake would be quick to tell her. As an adventurer, it was only natural. Even Peyrouse who didn’t say it out loud, was deep down curious.

“It seems to be the Trimagitack. There’s a crowd over there. Let’s go see!”

Peyrouse followed Leake. They weaved through the crowds and were scolded by the other adventurers for pushing, but they kept pushing on, taking advantage of the small gaps. After passing through countless crowds, Peyrouse caught up with the figures. The Trimagitack members, accompanied by a guild staff, was on their way to the treatment center from the Guild House. Their worn equipment indicated that they had survived countless life and death battles. It was clear they were all injured by the fierce attacks that their armor couldn’t withstand. There was no glamor. Only one word: “exhausted” that accompanied them.

“Uh, what a terrible injury. As expected, coming out unharmed isn’t an option.”

“They’re exhausted, but… an adventurer who’s full of injuries, looks strangely cool.”

“Right.”

Replied Peyrouse to Donna’s words, but his eyes were still stolen by a man. To be exact, the mercenary who recently joined the Trimagitack. The armor worn by the man looked like as if it had been mercilessly crushed by something huge. His broken limbs were fixed with splints, and he was supported by the leader of the Trimagitack, Merrill.

“ah, uh”

The gaze of Peyrouse staring intently at the mercenary was noticed by the dark and muddy eyes. Such a cold look was directed to him. Still, he didn’t look away from the man. When he first met the man, he was just terrified and horribly confused, but now his curiosity outweighed his fear. To be more precise, there was also a sprinkle of envy.

“Even though it’s dark, it’s, dazzling.”

When Peryrouse saw the mercenary’s back, that figure became an unforgettable memory and imprinted itself on his mind. A movement that was difficult to detect, a flash could easily knock out even the Bone Collector. Peyrouse tracked the owner of this dazzling figure with his eyes. A ferocious man who could reach the 30th floor alone, even if there were ten Peyrouse now, such a feat couldn’t be imitated. A single blow from him and a pile of corpses would be left behind. Still, Peyrouse was determined. To get closer to where such a power lay.

Although Peyrouse threw nothing at the mercenary named Walm, he continued to send silent praise to those who conquered the Labyrinth with all his might.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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137. Chapter 137

At the bottom of the Labyrinth, where the aftermath of the battle could still be felt, Walm gazed into the everlasting darkness. In the void where the summoning formation of the hexagram had appeared, there was no longer a trace. With the flickering of the embers, the darkness that enveloped the surrounding area spread and narrowed, repeating the advance and retreat of the visible area.

“Walm, is it okay now?”

“Yeah, it has calmed down.”

“Glad to hear that. Hari, do you want water?”

“For now, I don’t, need it.”

Hari and Marianthe, who were seriously injured, were staying by Walm’s side. Unlike Walm and Hari, who were unable to move, Marianthe had only a dislocated shoulder and damaged ligaments in her knee and could still walk, dragging her feet.

While Merrill and Yuna were scouting the surroundings, Marianthe was assigned the role of caregiver.

Emergency thoracentesis had restored calm to Walm’s breathing, and the holes in his lungs were blocked by the magic that had been squeezed out of Hari’s leftover mana. Of course, Hari ran out of fuel soon after, and the wounds carved in various places were only given first aid. [TN: Thoracentesis is a procedure performed to remove fluid or air from the thoracic cavity]

Walm and Marianthe got their broken bones bandaged with splints, and Hari, who had lacerations all over his body, was wrapped in bandages soaked in medicinal herbs. If someone, who didn’t know what was going on here, came to see, they would be mistaken for a new kind of monster or a mummy that had been buried by some evil method.

The influential party was nowhere to be seen, just a bunch of people moving awkwardly and sluggishly, which was like a group of old people having their daily gatherings.

“Hey, Marianthe. Cigaret—”

“Even if it’s a joke, the answer is no. You had a hole in your chest just a little while ago. I can’t even laugh if smoke comes out of your chest, you know.”

“I don’t even have any… just said out loud what came to my mind, to pass time.”

“Huff, I thought you were serious, but as expected you too, what a strange guy.”

Marianthe sighed because Walm was hard to understand.

Walm lamented at the unexpected treatment, but Hari, who was also seriously injured, defended Walm in a voice that sounded like an insect trying to communicate.

“Don’t say that, Marianthe. It’s human nature to want to smoke after a big job.”

“Hari, don’t suddenly say something like that… you sure you’re okay?… You didn’t hit your head hard, did you?”

Marianthe feared that there was something else behind the external damage to Hari’s head. But whether she was serious or joking, even Walm couldn’t tell.

They let their bodies rest while they weaved insane conversations. After the party advanced into the deep floors, they didn’t have much time to rest or sleep. So, at the moment, Walm could tell that the time when he had nothing to do was the best.

About half an hour later, familiar footsteps reached Walm’s ears. Of course, Walm wasn’t the only one waiting for their return after exploring the surroundings.

“How was it, Merrill?”

Merrill, carrying a familiar halberd on her shoulder, answered Marianthe’s question.

“There was a familiar black hole in the center of that. It’s not certain, but if we jump into that, guess we can go back to the surface.”

“First of all, we can relax I think.”

During the fight with the Undead Dragon, Walm suggested a strange method. If the Labyrinth got upset and the way back to the surface wasn’t opened for them, they could rot here.

Walm stroked his chest in relief, knowing that the situation he feared didn’t come true.

“It took me a while to find it, but I also recovered Walm’s halberd.”

As if to show off, Merrill tapped her shoulder with the handle. The halberd was blown away flashily in the fight, but no noticeable damage was seen.

“That’s, thanks.”

Walm had a long relationship with the halberd he picked as a battle trophy during the Battle in the Myard Border. Walm didn’t claim that there was no substitute for it in this world, but the familiar halberd had become like his own limbs. For Walm, the value of the halberd exceeded even a large gold coin.

Walm tried to hold the halberd, but his arm, trembling with pain, didn’t move as he wanted.

“I’ll put it here.”

Merrill, not seeing it, quietly placed the halberd on the stone pavement next to the one Walm was using as a pillow.

Merrill and Yuna, who surrendered themselves to fatigue, lowered their waists and joined the gathering.

Now, no one stood at the bottom of the Labyrinth.

“First of all, there seems to be no further danger. So, it’s a little early to be happy, but it seems we’ve conquered the Labyrinth.”

There was probably no other way to conquer the Labyrinth that was so unbelievable than what they did. Contrary to the lofty title of Conqueror, Walm couldn’t even stand up straight, let alone walk on his own. Right now, he was nothing more than a wounded man sleeping in a temporary treatment center on a battlefield.

“……I don’t mind some more noise you know.”

Merrill must have expected applause and joyful voices, but Walm, who had failed to die, didn’t even have the strength to rejoice. Yuna was taciturn, and Marianthe wasn’t the type to show her emotions willingly. If it was the normal Hari, he might have spoken the maximum amount of flattery on top of the applause, but now he was on good terms with Walm, since he was seriously injured. The only thing he could do was to move his mouth and mumble through the bandages.

“If Hari and I suddenly jumped up and started singing and dancing, that would be unpleasant, right?”

“Not that it’s unpleasant, but… more likely, I’d be terrified.”

Merrill, who imagined the scene Walm had spoken of, clouded her expression.

“Briefly, do it.”

At Yuna’s urging, Merrill sent a grudge with her gaze.

In Walm’s eyes, Merrill seemed to be sulking for some reason.

“Everyone’s cold… Well, if possible, I want to throw my limbs out and go to sleep now. Anyway, let me talk about something important. Once we get back to the surface, for a while, seems like we can’t have a nice calm talk like this.”

Merrill took out two magic bags. One belonged to the party, the other was an item Walm had received from Gerard Berger, the War God of Highserk, during his time in Highserk’s army.

“I’ve collected as many Undead Dragon’s fangs and claws as I could. As catalysts and materials, they are said excellent. No doubt the Guild and Marquis Borgia will ask to sell a considerable amount to them. That said, some will remain in our hands.”

Even Walm, who was ignorant of geography and history, had heard of the family name while spending time in the Labyrinth City. The Borgia family was one of the great noble families of the Galmud Archipelago, ruling over the Labyrinth City and also the coordinator of the continental side, except for the main central island and the surrounding islands. Their rise dated back to the Unification War 100 years ago. At least that was what Walm had heard.

“If you don’t bring a souvenir, the guild will be troublesome. Is there anything I can do to avoid endless long talk?”

Perhaps there had been a similar case in the past. Marianthe, who looked like she was remembering the past, shook her head slightly.

“Seems, you’ve got it rough.”

“There’s no danger. But Walm. You’re not an exception, you know? A person has conquered the labyrinth despite temporarily joining the party in a contract system. If it spreads that you don’t belong to any organization, you’ll definitely be followed. So, be careful, okay?”

“That’s troublesome…… I’ll keep that in mind.”

Receiving Walm’s reply, Merrill continued.

“Back to the main topic. Next is, this.”

A decaying wooden box was taken out of the magic bag. Something inside swayed, making a faint metallic sound. Walm guessed its identity.

“Gold coins, huh?”

“Close, but it’s better.”

Inside the open box was a bar. Even at the bottom of the Labyrinth with a scarce light source, the metal shone with a characteristic luster when it received a faint light. Walm narrowed his eyes and said the name.

“Mithril bar?”

“Yes. Moreover, nothing else mixed in.”

The mithril with no “poison” and no signs of rust, was light as a feather. Moreover, it had the property of channeling mana easily. Due to excessive demand, there were always supply shortages. As far as Walm knew, there were a variety of uses for it, such as tableware, decoration, weapon, and catalyst for many. Of course, it was highly sought after by the wealthy. Most weapons that were made of mithril, because of its high price had only a small amount of it added to them. And that alone, was enough to distinguish them from iron weapons.

“Nnnn, even if you split it for five people, everyone would get more than enough.”

It was no wonder Hari let out a voice while lying down staring at the mithril. Walm’s sense of money was about to collapse in front of a lump of it. After all, even after splitting the mithril bar by five, the amount he got would be more than enough to buy several eye medicines.

“W-well, we should be happy that it’s mithril. I mean, what if the box was filled with iron scraps…”

Even Marianthe couldn’t hide her dismay. Speaking of exceptions would have been the first to get over the shock, Yuna and Merrill.

Merrill hit Walm on the back of the head, while others were dazzled by the magical silver.

“Do you know what this is?”

A colorless and transparent bottle spread into Walm’s field of vision. He gasped as he looked at the thing inside. It was a plant, blood-red crimson in color from stem to leaves. The fluted, upturned petals and stamens looked like fingertips reaching into the sky in a pool of blood.

“C-crimson grass?”

A healing treasure, a crimson-colored herb that was said to bloom forever, was hung in front of Walm through a bottle. The gazes of the party members, glued to the mithril, finally moved away at Walm’s words, which were squeezed out in surprise.

“Is this crimson grass, so strange.”

“Well, beautiful or not… it’s beautiful, but…”

Contrary to the dusty bottle, the crimson grass retained its freshness, giving off a bewitching beauty. If one said that it was a high-quality artificial flower, Walm would believe it. Looking at it with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but feel why it was said to be immutable.

“It, doesn’t seem like it grew out of the ground.”

“It was stored next to mithril. Well, I wanted to surprise you a little.”

“You sure only a little?”

While Walm complained, Merrill was happy the little mischief had succeeded.

After leaning forward for a while, the people who had been so focused on the flower viewing regained their composure.

Then, while pointing at the crimson grass, Marianthe asked.

“So Walm, “that thing”, do you plan to swallow it whole here?”

“S-swallow it whole? I mean, isn’t it better to chew it first?”

Walm didn’t know how to answer Marianthe. Was it really okay to just eat it like a vegetable side dish or a meat dish? After all the hardships he had gone through, he had managed to get his hands on the crimson grass. But right, he didn’t know the proper dosage or how to use it properly.

“……it, doesn’t look delicious though?”

“Wait, will it work just by eating it?”

“Use it like ointment?”

Question after question surfaced without a clue about the solution. When the situation got out of control, Hari, who was lost in his thoughts, slowly opened his mouth.

“You should take the crimson grass through your mouth. And instead of swallowing it whole, chewing it is the correct way. That said, it would be best to consult with, an alchemist or healing magician. But it is what it is. So, you should choose the person carefully.”

The party’s only healing magic user came up with the right answer even in a chaotic situation. The warrior monks who served as guardians of the church were as good at showing people the way to salvation, no less than the high-ranking priests.

The respect for Hari increased inside Walm once again.

Soon Walm noticed the sound of escaping air. The source was the long breath escaping violently through the bandage.

Right, it was Hari.

“……Oi, Hari”

“Such passionate eyes――”

“Don’t. Don’t say anything more.”

Doubt turned into certainty.

Gratitude was blown away in an instant.

Simultaneously with the voice of restraint, Walm threw shreds of the bandage. He breathed a sigh of relief when he successfully covered Hari’s eyes.

Merrill resumed the conversation as if such a series of events had never happened in the first place.

“For now, it’s decided how to handle the crimson grass. Walm, you should keep it in a magic bag until you decided to use it.”

“If you lose it, you’ll have to go around in the labyrinth one more time.”

As soon as Merrill said that, Walm put the crimson grass into the magic bag. The Undead Dragon’s material was filled to the limit until a repulsive feeling was transferred to his hand, as if to reject any more of the magic bag. With a sideways glance, Merrill was about to put the mithril bar in the magic bag as well.

With that and now that the items and equipment of the party member had been gathered, there was no longer any reason to stay at the bottom of the Labyrinth. Unfortunately, Walm and Hari couldn’t even walk. And the result of the short discussion was a voice of agony coming out of Yuna’s mouth.

“He, hea-heavy”

“Nnn… sorry.”

Yuna, who had Hari shouldered on her back, lurched forward. Even though Marianthe and Merrill had the item and equipment, carrying a rock-like warrior monk was hard work. Even so, Yuna’s physical strength, which continued to develop as she strung the bow on a regular basis, had fulfilled its role splendidly.

Followed right behind with pitying eyes was Marianthe, who used her favorite mace as a cane to help her walk.

Last in line were Walm and Merrill. Walm wanted to be as tough as the halberd, but his left arm and ankle were broken and his lungs were anything but normal. Merrill silently held his shoulder out to him, even though she was carrying something already.

Merrill supported Walm’s arm with her right hand to keep it from coming loose. Without saying it, the distance between them shrank naturally and their bodies came into close contact. When Walm hopped around awkwardly and lowered his gaze to his feet, Merrill silently kept pace with him.

Overlapping shadows simply swayed as they walked.

“Hey, Walm.”

A sigh hit the skin. Small, yet certainly Merrill’s warm voice shook Walm’s ears.

“……What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just that… Well, I’m so glad I could form a party, with you.”

“What is it…? Why so suddenly?”

As Walm lifted his face, light green hair and eyes with a different iris color spread out in his field of vision. Two people with contrasting eyes stood a very short distance away. Strangely enough, the colors that had seemed so flashy when they first met now felt comforting.

“Thank you, Walm.”

At a distance where their cheeks touched, Walm responded with an embarrassed look.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

I was busy with RL stuff, thought I could finish it all quick, but… life isn’t that simple.
Anyway, here it is.

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136-2. Chapter 136 – Bottom of the Labyrinth (Part 2)

Walm closed in the distance. In response, the Undead Dragon mowed down its arm.

Having detected the trajectory, Walm gradually changed his course as if to attract attention. The Undead Dragon’s blow could shatter stone slabs with ease, but its vital mobility relied on a pair of arms. This meant that a fatal blow could be avoided if there was no error in the distance calculation.

Merrill and Yuna, coming around the side and back, respectively, launched a fierce attack while Walm tried to get the dragon’s attention. Merrill lunged in and tore open the wound without stopping, and Yuna shot an arrow into the scar left by the 《Trimagitack》, which was on its throat to the chest.

All this happened while the nostrils tried their best to suppress the pungent smell that leaked, spreading on the floor.

When the Undead Dragon turned its attention to the two, Walm fired a fireball to draw it back in, as if to say that he wouldn’t allow cheating.

“I’m done carrying!”

Marianthe joined the battle line after moving Hari.

Everyone focused on cutting out the exposed flesh and torn parts, but even though it was incomplete, the total length of the Undead Dragon was still over 20 meters. Moreover, the magical barrier was still there. Hitting it was like cutting a huge stone with a small iron file.

“Don’t focus on the front!! Pay attention to the arms and fangs!”

Certainly, the Undead Dragon lacked the original mobility, but even if the movement capabilities were limited to both arms, its attacks weren’t weakened, and instead, it became more precise. In addition, the after-effects of the breath attack and repeated fatigue robbed everyone of strength and power.

“Avoid, Walm!!”

Until then, the Undead Dragon had ignored Walm as if he were a small bug. Now it turned and moved its neck to bite him with its open jaw. This sudden change sent a shiver down Walm’s spine, so that he immediately stepped on the ground and slipped on his back on the stone pavement using the halberd as a push.

And, the head of the Undead Dragon passed under his feet.

“Damn it, the halberd…”

Walm narrowly escaped death by a bite, but the halberd was flung away from the dragon’s huge body and disappeared into the darkness.

Then, Walm, thrusting his elbows to the ground and straightening up, pulled the longsword from his hip. What a pity. The halberd was a good choice against a huge opponent, but there was still one weapon left. Fortunately, it wasn’t all that bad. The Undead Dragon that had made a major attack had collapsed in its stance, exposing its weak points defenselessly.

Of course, the other three weren’t so despondent as to let this pass. On the other hand, the Undead Dragon dug its claws into the stone slab and tried to attack until it fully regained its stance.

Walm’s face hadn’t loosened with joy. The Undead Dragon still had some fighting power left after all. Aside from being undead, it was a remnant of a dragon. That alone was enough to judge it as a tough opponent.

While Walm grasped the whole body of the Undead Dragon, he focused mainly on the head and arms, which were the starting point of the attack. And he noticed a difference. Until now, the Undead Dragon had straightened itself by digging its claws into the earth. This time the claws closed as if grasping something, and he noticed pressed pebbles coming out of the gaps.

“Stones incoming!! Moveee!!!”

Shortly after Walm’s warning, the bone arm was mowed down, and the pebbles were thrown. The three dodged to avoid the dragon’s pity trick, but Yuna got caught in the attack.

Countless pebbles rained down from above onto the stone pavement. Yuna slowly slumped as the debris rolled around on the ground and disappeared into the distance.

“Yu, Yuna!?”

“Mari, don’t stop!!”

Marianthe, distracted by the collapsed Yuna, reacted too late to the approaching bone arm. She was caught by one of the arms and hurled like a catapult, falling to the ground without being able to recover.

After sinking the two, the Undead Dragon seemed satisfied with the result and so he tried to repeat the attack in the same way.

Neither Walm nor Merrill got their focus shifted on their fallen comrades. As their numbers dwindled, they could only repeat risky attacks, and at a dangerous time, moved to a distance.

Walm didn’t know how much time had passed. His breathing was frantic and his limbs were shaking. His grip strength was also weakening. He had dragged out the fight, using not-so-much mana he had left to fend off the frequent, very dangerous attacks. And now, even the Undead Dragon’s unshakable magical barrier was cracking. But if it continued like this, they would be the first to roll on the ground.

“At this rate, it’s only going to get worse for us. I’ll burn it with my skill.”

“Walm, your eyes, gonna be okay?”

“I don’t have enough mana left to melt my eyes… Can’t even say, if I could burn it, to death.”

Even in the midst of broken conversations, the onslaught didn’t stop. Walm continued the conversation with a harsh breath.

“Huff, haahh, if that’s, the case, close range then.”

“Yeah, I need a way, to jump in and…  an opening.”

“I’ll launch you with wind magic. After that, I’ll support you until my mana, runs out.”

“When the skill got activated, get away immediately. Or you’ll get caught up.”

Walm, who managed to ask for opinions, temporarily suspended the attack, moved away from the Undead Dragon, and joined forces with Merrill. When the two of them had gathered themselves together, the Undead Dragon gleefully approached.

“Walm, here I go! <Gust>!”

A gust of wind that appeared at the bottom of the labyrinth, which should have been calm, hit Walm’s body. Fortunately, the target was approaching at full speed. It literally didn’t have enough hands to deal with Walm in the air. In desperation, it tried to bite Walm, but the black fangs only bit into nothing.

Walm chose the wound on its shoulder that had been pierced by 《Trimagitack》. The blades of the longsword he had taken in his other hand penetrated like driving a wedge.

“Walm! BURN IIIIIITTTT!!!”

A blue flame overflowed from Walm’s body, and a storm blew. Within the blink of an eye, the Undead Dragon’s entire body was engulfed in flames. The rotten flesh was scorched, and decaying liquid and fat oozed out with an unpleasant sound. It was as if the entire body had melted. At the same time, the demon eyes made a sound as if they had been pierced by a burnt nail.

Still, Walm clenched his teeth as if to suppress the pain. As in his mind, he understood that as long as this pain lasted, he could be sure that the Undead Dragon would continue to burn.

“Walm, get away now! You will get caught!!!”

Merrill’s desperate cries were in vain, and the Undead Dragon grabbed Walm with its convulsing arms. His armor crumbled and his whole body creaked. His left arm snapped and bent in a direction that shouldn’t be possible.

“Gah… haaah, ugh, guhh, uuggrhhh!!”

As if to say that this was a test of endurance, Walm continued to emit blue flames. Thinking that the 《Demon Fire》 would invite everything it touched into the Netherworld.

The left half of the Undead Dragon’s body was tragically discolored, the hand that had reached for the flame source called Walm began to melt, and the fingertips that had melted had their nails peeled off. It was the Undead Dragon that failed to endure.

A dragon that had lost its intelligence instinctively feared its own loss as well. So after realizing that it was no match for fire, that even crushing a human was dangerous, it sent Walm away with the arm that had only slightly rotted flesh. The dangerous object must be kept as far away as possible.

The stone pavement welcomed Walm with the sound of dry blows. The 《Demon Fire》 was forcibly stopped by the impact and the intense pain, and a roaring noise ran through Walm’s vision. Everything was unclear. He couldn’t know front, back, left, or right, though, he still tried to get up by relying on the ground he came into contact with.

The Undead Dragon’s roar didn’t stop, indicating that the battle wasn’t yet over. And now only Merrill was left.

Walm could feel his faintly remaining mana. He could still, and had to fight, he thought. He scolded his trembling legs and tried to stand up like a newborn fawn, but his legs couldn’t follow his instruction. When he lowered his eyes to his feet, he found that his ankles were bent like soft, long onions. Still, he tried to stand up on his remaining leg, but an excruciating pain ran through his chest and he collapsed. He had difficulties breathing out, no matter how much air he inhaled.

“Aah, ugg, ah…”

Felling like drowning, his heart contracted. Lying helpless on the ground, he tried to look ahead. In his noisy vision was Merrill, swinging her sword. The Undead Dragon was charred and melted, but hadn’t yet given up its life.

“Don’t stand, Walm!! I, will take care of the rest. Please wait there.”

Pitifully, Walm could only entrust the fate of the battle to his only companion that still standing. Dozens, no, hundreds of attacks and defenses were repeated. Merrill continued to be wounded by the Undead Dragon. Although it was a gruesome fight, it was as if she was performing a sword dance. Sure, they belonged to different races, but they were both the same, covered in wounds, and the balance of the fight could easily tip with the slightest misstep.

“Just, a little, more…”

Merrill, who had kept breathing on her shoulder, tangled her legs. This small opening was too fatal.

The Undead Dragon knocked down bones that could no longer be called arms.

Walm begged Merrill with all his might to avoid it, but his crazed auditory canals picked up a familiar wind noise. The arm that was supposed to hit Merrill directly was deflected slightly and ended up just destroying the ground.

“I will, support”

Walm strained his half-consciousness and tilted his head to see the adventurer aiming two arrows at the Undead Dragon.

Yuna, who fell to the ground after being hit in the head by a stone, returned to the battle line. Fresh blood overflowed from her wounded forehead and stained her eyes red. Despite these circumstances, the skilled archer pierced the eye of the Undead Dragon, which magical barrier was cut off, as if she were threading a needle.

Walm smiled as he spat out the blood that had accumulated in his mouth.

Yuna pierced the remaining eye with the arrows. The dragon’s gigantic body shook and its posture collapsed. Merrill ran in and took a characteristic stance. Her mana was clearly lacking. Nevertheless, she chose this stance.

Merrill, who had just jumped up, slashed down her longsword. The slash was aimed at the Undead Dragon’s neck and went down from its eye socket, slashing its shoulder as if tracing the wounds she had inflicted deep with 《Trimagitack》. Her landing wasn’t exactly graceful. But who could despise her clumsiness at that moment?

Merrill had undoubtedly finished the job brilliantly.

While Walm kept watching the result, the Undead Dragon’s body collapsed like a dead tree reaching its limit. The rotting liquid flowed down, spreading a foul odor, and the rotting flesh began to melt all at once. The Undead Dragon, which had become nothing but bones, was completely dead for real.

Walm, who had been nervous all the time, finally could close his eyes in relief.

“Yuna, check on Hari and Marianthe, I’ll check on Walm.”

Even though Merrill was exhausted after so much fighting, she gathered her leftover strength to run to Walm.

“Why were you so reckless!! You idiot, wake up. Don’t let go of your consciousness.”

Don’t be so unreasonable, was what Walm wanted to reply, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t speak. For his lungs, which had abandoned their normal functions, even letting out a single word was an extremely difficult task.

Merrill removed Walm’s clothes to check on his condition.

“Not only his limbs, but also his ribs are broken, and his chest, is swollen. Damn it, is the air trapped in his chest cavity?”

“Merrill, they’re not completely okay, but Hari and Marianthe are alive.”

Yuna reported the current situation without emerging from the darkness. Despite getting knocked out in a flashy way, Walm was relieved with his muddy consciousness that they were a very persistent companion.

“Yuna, is Hari conscious!?”

“Yes. He could speak because he cast healing magic on himself.”

“Bring him here, the air continues to accumulate in Walm’s chest. If left alone, his heart may stop.”

Hari, who was carried on Yuna’s back, lay on the ground with Walm. As if there were a big fish auction in the harbor, Yuna and Merrill, as well as Marianthe, who was dragging her weak leg, surrounded the two and looked at their condition.

“I know that you’re seriously injured, but could you give me instructions, Hari?”

“For the sake of my comrade. That much. No big deal. First, take out the blood-draining needle tube and distilled liquor from my tool bag… That’s it. Wash your hands with it. Huff, huff… between, the second, and the third rib, is the puncture site. Pierce the needle there. Above the nipple. A little more to the right, there. Insert the needle vertically, slowly. As it enters the chest cavity, air will come out with the sound of the injection.”

A new pain spread through Walm’s chest, but once it reached a certain depth, strangely, he found it easier to breathe. In his fading consciousness, Walm heard the sound of air escaping from his chest.

“Nice sounds. The air, is coming, out.”

“Good. It’s a success, Walm.”

Merrill relaxed and smiled with a tired expression on her face. Walm, whose communication capabilities were limited, weakly raised his trembling arms in response.

This was the moment when the Trimagitack conquered the Great Labyrinth of Belgana.

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TN: The “Dragon” of the Undead Dragon in here is written with this kanji “龍”. The other Dragon that appeared in the story and was written with this kanji is the Flame Emperor Dragon and the other one just mentioned, the so-called Merciful Sea Dragon.

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

This ch is too long. No choice but to split it into two.

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136-1. Chapter 136 – Bottom of the Labyrinth (Part 1)

After subduing the Earth Dragon, the party went down the stairs, one step at a time, vaguely outlined by luminous moss. This should be the last stair.

Walm soles hit the stonework. He couldn’t see beyond the darkness even after counting 100 or 200 steps. And after several hundred steps, an indescribable unease hit him. He could have been under the illusion that the road to the bottom would continue forever.

“The back, has gone.”

Not a specific expression. Nevertheless, what Yuna was trying to say was perfectly conveyed to all.

Supported by the sparse glow of the luminous moss, the party continued to descend, but the path to the bottom they had taken so far was cut off.

Guess, it ran out of power?

As if to oppose this optimistic thought, Walm felt a gentle touch on his skin and for some reason, his eyes felt slightly warm. His instincts warned him not to be swallowed by the darkness.

Not only Walm, but they all stopped. Quickly, Merrill gave instructions to all in an unchanging tone of voice.

“Let’s keep going.”

Aimed the bottom with a steady step, without being ruled by impatience. Half an hour or several hours later, Walm’s disturbed sense of time had increased immeasurably. At that moment his eyes, searching for the next spot, suddenly caught sight of the bottom. The light had been cut off on the way down, but the stairs had done their work.

Walm’s vision suddenly darkened. Now he was faced with a decision. Whether or not he should light a fire. That would be enough to secure visibility for sure, but if a monster was lurking in the darkness, it would give away their whereabouts and make them all a perfect target.

“Walm”

Being called out, Walm sensed the intentions and quickly manifested fire on his palm and transferred it to the lamp, which he took out from his magic bag.

Walm then looked around. The floor was the same as before, but neither the walls nor the ceiling could be seen with the naked eye.

“All around alert, this place is out of the labyrinth’s logic. Let’s prepare ourselves.”

Merrill’s voice, urging caution, disappeared into the darkness. That alone showed that this was an anomalous space. In the Labyrinth, which was a closed space, the sounds always echoed. But here there was no echo, no matter how much noise they made. Moreover, even the staircase they had descended was gone. Not that it had been removed, it was just swallowed up by the darkness.

“Should I put some markings on the ground?”

“……I can’t see any scratches or cracks. Probably, it’s useless. It’ll just be swallowed by the Labyrinth in no time.”

“You mean, you want us to fumble around?”

The flabbergasted Marianthe let her gaze wander into the darkness.

Now that the retreat option was cut off, they had no choice but to keep going, but they didn’t know which way to go.

Is this correct……?

Whether proceeding blindly was the correct choice, Walm got lost in a dead end of thought.

As each member concocts a plan, a sound is heard in the labyrinth, which until this point had been silent.

A harsh, gigantic metal scraping noise.

Walm, mobilizing even his six senses, if any, saw fire running out of the darkness. It spread as if crawling on the ground, revealing the darkness.

The ground spread in flames, revealing a single path with no obstacles like a VIP road. Black water flowed into the trench carved in the ground and fire dwelled on the surface.

“Apparently, it’s a welcome for us.”

“That’s, a pretty polite invitation.”

“Let’s accept the invitation. Even if you get off the path, nothing good will come out after all.”

Very obvious.

Walm knew that they were going to jump into the tiger’s mouth, but he didn’t know where else to go.

“It’s a crazy world, but to think that it’s twisted to this point, I’m impressed.”

“The Labyrinth is also called a space, a playground for the Superior Beings. Only in limited places like those with a Dragon Vein, or something like that, can their influence reach…… or so I’ve heard. Well, it’s just a theory by scholars, and you know they always advocate outrageous theories. So how much can you trust it I wonder…”

“One thing’s for sure, it’s not a logical theory.”

Walm, who had been silently listening to the conversation, secretly agreed with Marianthe.

As they continued, the flaming trench branched into a complex circle. No one could grasp the whole appearance, but the radius seemed to exceed 50 meters.

“Shall we go around the circle?”

“Let’s go to the center. Something might happen.”

In response to Walm’s question, Merrill made a strong decision.

It was a space where logic was separated from the surface. It was too late for Walm to be a coward now. More so, considering the fact he jumped to the bottom voluntarily. He had to leave it to chance.

As Walm moved toward the center, his nostrils irritated. The smell that caused this was the smell he was accustomed to smelling on the battlefield.

“What, is that stench…”

“It’s the putrid smell. But it’s too thick.”

Even Walm, who had been put to sleep with hundreds of decomposing corpses, felt a stimulus similar to when smelling something he had never smelled before. It wouldn’t be surprising to find a group of corpses piled up to the height of a small mountain enshrined there.

When the party reached the center, the flame spread along the hidden trench as if it were timed. It now became where they were surrounded by flames, but only to the extent where it could be jumped over.

“They sure have a bad hobby.”

The flames continued to intersect, and Walm felt a strange sensation as he watched them.

It looks familiar. where did I see it?

As the stench continued to disturb Walm’s concentration, he frantically searched for his memories, and they all connected in one fell swoop.

“Is this a “geometric shape”?”

“Eh? “Geometric”, “shape”?”

Walm, concentrating on his thoughts, couldn’t answer Marianthe’s question. He recognized the identity of the shape he had seen in his distant memory. It was a Hexagram, which history was old and had various meanings in his previous world. In the area where Walm lived in the previous world, it was called the “Kagome-mon (Kagome crest)”, which could be seen at old shrines, because it was considered a sign to ward off evil. And this six-pointed geometric star, treated like a sacred object, was surrounded by bizarre characters, so it was hard to believe that it was the same.

Then Walm heard the sound of chains rubbing together directly above him. Judging from the doubtful faces of the others, it was definitely not an auditory hallucination of Walm’s

“Let’s get away from the center. I feel something bad may happen.”

“That sounds like a good idea.”

As the party hurriedly left the place, there was a roaring sound as if metal was being stirred together, and the putrid smell became stronger than ever.

What Walm saw after he escaped from the hexagram was a gigantic chain hanging loosely from the void. Even in the dim darkness, only the center was swallowed by complete darkness and it was impossible to see through.

“You’ve got to be, kidding me…”

Even Marianthe, a first-class adventurer, was at a loss for words.

While being deprived of freedom by chains, something crawled out of the darkness. Its lifeless eyes fixed their sights on Walm and let out a roar. That alone causes the air to tremble, and a gust of rotting-smell-filled wind blew.

A type of monster Walm never wanted to see again.

The same kind of monster that caused the cataclysm of the northern countries was about to make an appearance before Walm.

“Undead Dragon”

Hari revealed the true identity of the monster. Stagnant scales as if stained with ink or mud, irregular fangs falling out, and carrion exposed to the atmosphere clearly indicated that the dragon had become undead. The demon mask trembled with excitement as if to match its appearance to the world.

“I heard that, the record about the bottom was lost in the Unification War, but this is… we’re doomed.”

Not only among dragons and monsters in general, but also among all living creatures, one of the monsters that stood at the peak of power was about to be born from the darkness at the bottom of the Labyrinth.

“It may be fake, but still, it’s an opponent that could kill an army. What to do――?!”

While Hari was still asking for an answer, Walm had turned the kneaded mana into a fireball. He shot it at the Undead Dragon and let the blue flame dance on its head.

The enraged Undead Dragon clattered its chains.

Although it was a blue flame that had a tremendous effect on undead, its effect against dragon species was weak.

“Let’s kill it before it fully comes out.”

While the party members were in confusion, Walm tried to come up with a simple solution.

Walm had been inoculated against the horror of standing before the dragon species. In Dandurg Castle, 10,000 people were burned along with the headquarters by the Flame Emperor Dragon’s《Dragon Breath》. In comparison, the body of the Undead Dragon was damaged and rotten, and it was trapped in a chain that seemed to paralyze its movements, and it was just on the way to crawling out of the black hole. There was no reason for Walm to hesitate in attacking the Undead Dragon, which could hardly be called a sacred being.

“You’re, right.”

As soon as Merrill, who had kneaded mana, said this, she took her special stance. Mana swirled around her body, and accompanied by a dazzling flash, 《Trimagitack》was released.

The Undead Dragon twisted its body, but there was no way to dodge the attack, and the exposed parts of its huge body were enveloped in light. The impact reached Walm on the ground. The curtain of rotting flesh and blood cleared and the field of vision opened. The wound ran from cheek to shoulder, but it was only an effective blow, not a fatal one.

“It’s a blow that could crush even the scales of an Earth Dragon.”

Merrill’s face contorted as she said this.

“How many?”

“Even if I squeeze it, two shots at best.”

Not that it didn’t work, but even if Merrill fired two shots, would that be enough to finish it off? Even 《Trimagitack》 lacked firepower. So, what about the maximum firepower of 《Demon Fire》? Same answer.

Walm escaped from reality, thinking that it might be possible if there were three or four Merrill, but denied that it was nothing but an impossible delusion.

“Too bad it’s in the air, I can’t get my hands on it.”

“Even the arrows are blocked by the magical barrier and the scales, no use.”

One arm of the Undead Dragon stuck out of the black hole. Now the other arm should be freed.

Walm fired a fireball, thinking that it wouldn’t hurt to try. Nothing to lose after all.

Merrill prepared for the second shot. She frantically examined the hanging Undead Dragon to see if there was a way, but she could find no answer.

“Damn it, the upper body is out”

Cursing, Walm lowered his gaze to the ground. The summoning circle, the troublesome six-pointed geometric star, continued to glow. As he gazed at the flames, a gamble came to his mind. If it failed, it would mean they would even more lack effective hits, but it was worth a try.

“Merrill, the ground. Break the trench!!”

Merrill, who was on the verge of projecting 《Trimagitack》, believed Walm’s words and forcefully turned the trajectory and mowed down the ground. The ground was shattered by a flash of light. The trench, which emitted a suspicious glow, now only glittered faintly, as if the mana supply had been cut off. The Undead Dragon that was crawling out of the void let out an unprecedented scream and fell from the sky.

Walm looked up and saw the gigantic black hole, that appeared in the darkness, had vanished like an illusion.

“Half of its body is torn off?!!”

Marianthe screamed in disbelief. When the summoning formation was destroyed, the path that connected the space was cut off, resulting in the Undead Dragon’s lower body being torn apart.

Walm’s plan was partially successful. If there was a miscalculation, it was that the Undead Dragon, having lost half of its body, didn’t die, but dug into the ground with the claws of both arms and stood up.

“Strange, I mean even with just the upper body, it could still move?”

Hari readjusted his mace. He wanted the Undead Dragon to die quietly, as Walm wished, but even if it was rotten, it was still a dragon. As expected, it wouldn’t die so easily.

“Merrill, can you still shoot?”

“One more shoot is the limit.”

“If you aim at the severed woun―― sh*t.”

Walm recognized the signs. He couldn’t forget it. After all, with that blow, the Dandurg Castle had been driven to the brink of fall.

“Breath is coming!!”

Muddy mana poured from the Undead Dragon. The center moved from the chest to the throat.

“We can’t avoid that.”

“Mari, Bestowing Magic, to the limit!!”

“I bestow you, as much as I can, take it!”

Mana flowed from Marianthe who grabbed Merrill’s shoulder. Even for Walm, who had come into contact with various magic so far, Bestowing Magic was a rare magic that he encountered for the first time.

Though as expected, Walm couldn’t just stay still in admiration. He tried to stop the Undead Dragon from firing the attack with a fireball, but it showed no signs of flinching. A mass of compressed magic flowed from its throat into its mouth, and the huge jaw opened. From the depths of its black fangs, 《Dragon Breath》 was released. At the same time, Merrill also fired 《Trimagitack》 which sucked up all of Marianthe’s mana.

“Woaaahh, aaaahhhhhHHH!!”

A stream of dizzying mana clashed. The floor below the confluence point was shattered by an invisible force and instantly evaporated. At the end of the confrontation, the aftermath seeped through and spread to the surrounding area. As if eroding, the tri-colored flash turned black and was overwhelmed in one fell swoop. Walm created a pillar of flame and began another interception attempt, but he could not stop it. The arms of Walm and Merrill, who were in the lead, were grabbed and thrown backward.

It was Hari who did this.

“Lie down on the ground, I’ll be the shield!”

“Hari?!!”

The warrior monk jumped out in front of Walm and the others, and like a tree stretching its roots to the ground, Hari stood and surrounded his body with a magical barrier.

Hari’s magical barrier, which had been sublimated to the skill 《Indestructible Body》, allowed him to beat and bend iron with his bare hands, and even catch swords with his own body. However, even if the incoming attack was the breath that had been repeatedly interrupted, it was still a 《Dragon Breath》.

“Ugghhh, uuuuahhhhh, AAAAHHHHH――!!!”

With a scream, Hari was swallowed by the breath.

Walm felt his body tortured like a sharp stone dragged through the rippling riverbed. Yet he escaped with his life. He spat out the blood collecting in his mouth and straightened up on his halberd. The other three fared similarly.

Walm, busy moving his eyes and neck, found Hari, who was like a worn-out cloth. The skin was as if filed off, and blood oozed out from here and there, but the original form of firmness remained. It may be a small gift for gradually reducing the breath, but more than that, the mistake of the Undead Dragon, which lost half of its body and a large amount of mana after spitting out an incomplete breath, was a big mistake that could bring a turning point.

“Can you still do it?”

“There’s only half a body over there. We’re just injured. It’s enough to deal with it.”

“Marianthe, carry Hari to a safe place. Yuna, can you still do it?”

“Mm”

Small tricks would no longer work. With this in mind, they were aware that the real final battle would soon begin.

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TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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135. Chapter 135

How much time had Walm spent in the Labyrinth where even day and night were ambiguous? Not that he cared that much, because he had already descended four floors since the 35th floor, and now he should be on the 39th floor.

In addition to the three-headed wolf and the synthetic beast with which he had become familiar, he encountered monsters such as Earth Spiders and Human-Faced Beasts. The characteristics of these two monsters were as insidious as those of the other monsters, and Walm could never like them.

The hairs that covered the Earth Spider’s entire body stood upright like wires, and if you touched it, it would feel like countless needles were piercing your skin. Its chelicerae contained neurotoxins, and it shot out sticky threads from its spinneret.

The first thing you would notice about the Human-Faced Beast was its eeriness. The face, which was as if a human face had been sewn onto a giant lion, was too ugly. When it chased you, a high-pitched screech emanated from the gaps between its fangs, which were as uneven as wild grass. Got distracted, and countless sharp objects covering the tip of the tail would come at you. [TN: Basically, something like a Manticore, but since the author didn’t put how it should be called, I’ll leave it as it is.]

And yet, Walm couldn’t help but be in a dilemma about whether such monsters were somewhat reasonable compared to the monsters that were currently attacking him.

” <Gust> incoming!!”

At Merrill’s shout, Walm jumped back.

Directly from above, along with the unpleasant flapping of wings, the mana turned into a roaring gust of wind. Debris was swirled up and a gust of wind blew through, making even Walm in his armor feel like he was floating.

“You half bastard, I’ll definitely turn you into roasted skewers!”

Flying around the sky in a phantasmagoric manner was a monster called Gryphon. Like the Synthetic Beasts and Human-Faced Beasts, it was a mixed-race monster. Was it popular on the 36th floor and below to be mixed-race? Regardless of the reason, Walm was irritated by the Gryphon, which naturally had the characteristics of an eagle and a lion.

Although the magic shot down from above was considered extremely annoying in itself, there weren’t only one but two Gryphons flapping their wings. Moreover, another kind of monster was moving on the ground, not caring about the violent gusts of wind.

With the sound of a string snapping, Walm reflexively pulled back half of his body. Accompanied by an arrow-breaking sound, the cobblestone flew away as if an explosion had hurled it away. And just like that, it flew in the direction of the attacker.

It was an armor of iron without other contents. To be exact, almost all of its contents were iron. Iron golem was the name of the monster. Strangely, such a stupid monster without a brain possessed mobility comparable to that of a human being, and light emitted from within. The origin of its brilliance was Mithril. In short, although it was made of iron, underneath it was a magic stone spread thinly like human blood vessels, which connected to a core made of magic stone that had a little amount of magical silver mixed in.

If one wanted to recreate it by human hands, one would need about the amount of steel equivalent to the equipment of a squad of heavy cavalry, a large magic stone, ten craftsmen and workshops, and elves or dwarves skilled in working with magical silver. In addition, several magic users and horses for transportation would be needed to carry out this operation. In the army of the Highserk Empire, these quantities of gold coins could leisurely feed a unit the size of a company.

And the Iron Golem, which would cost as much time and effort in addition to the already large amount of materials, put pressure on the group. Although it was a humanoid monster, it had an enormous weight. Even in gusts of wind that could easily blow humans away, it calmly brandished a weapon.

Of course, Walm didn’t remain idle and had already launched a fireball from the front. But the fire only made the Iron Golem’s appearance a little more clumsy. One would be difficult enough, and there were three, armed with a sword, spear, and bow, ready to rampage.

“Unnecessarily hard, one or two attacks are impossible to finish it.”

“Let’s clean up the Gryphons first. I’ll stir them up.”

Merrill decided to postpone the time-consuming Iron Golem, since Walm’s Fireball, which was supposed to be a quick solution, didn’t seem to have much effect.

Merrill kneaded up mana and the wind swirled around. The Iron Golems, sensing signs of large-scale magic, leaned forward to intervene. Quickly, Marianthe and Hari blocked their path.

“Look over here, stupid!!”

“You are worthy to help my hitting training.”

Marianthe’s mace sparked and rubbed against the Iron Golem’s joints. As expected, the joints were thin compared to other areas. It was crushed, causing the arm to fall off and the Iron Golem to go berserk like a broken toy.

Hari struck the other Iron Golem with his weapon, the Spirit-Infusing Rod. Although the Iron Golem had human-like movement, its movements were no better than those of a second-rate adventurer.

“I’ll deal the one with the longbow――!?”

Walm tried to take care of the last Iron Golem, which had prepared its longbow to intervene, but instead was surprised by the spectacle.

Yuna, who was supposed to be not a good match for the thick Iron Golem, seemed to have something that she couldn’t compromise as the same archer. She perfectly pierced the Iron Golem’s finger that held the arrow. The arrow slid down awkwardly, and only the sound of the empty shot of the string rang out. It wasn’t any different from an instrument that couldn’t even make a sound.

To overturn the situation, the Gryphons tried to release magic, but Merrill’s speed was slightly faster. Ironically, the same <Gust> was chosen to pull the Gryphons to the ground. The wind magic shot directly above moved the Gryphons in the air as if caressing them, albeit with slight violence.

Although the place was wide, it was an enclosed space. The escape of the wind was limited, and thus the wind hitting the ceiling and walls stirred and swirled the air.

The Gryphon, which sense of balance was disturbed and couldn’t catch the wind, flapped its limbs and fell off its back.

At the same time, holding his breath and sharpening his focus was Walm. He prepared a fireball and shot it up. The fireball unleashed its contained flames upon contact with the drowning Gryphon in the air.

Explosive flames instead of a death agony blossomed in the air, and Walm’s long-cherished wish, a roasted Gryhpon’s meat, rained down from above.

Such a blissful moment could only be enjoyed for a moment as Walm must turn his attention to the second Gryphon, but Yuna’s quick shot had pierced the feathers and skin of the wings, resulting in it losing its altitude and mobility. By the time the fourth arrow pierced it, it was unable to dodge the <Ice Lance> extending from the ground and was dragged to the ground, dead.

The bones and ice shattered, and the entrails were spewed from the beak. The curled toes twitched slightly. Although the Gryphon was already dying, Merrill’s longsword showed no mercy, stroking its head before slicing it to death. No human could show mercy after being attacked from the sky and bombarded with magic after all.

Now the troublesome Gryphons bared their flesh on the ground, but there were still three Iron Golems left. As if to vent their accumulated frustration, Walm and the others attacked the Iron Golems without holding back.

Although they were outnumbered, the Iron Golems brandished their weapons and charged at them with their huge bodies, but none of the people who had survived many battles up to that floor were stupid enough to get caught.

Two heads were carefully smashed so that both were turned into just a pile of iron scrap. The remaining one was the one where the core was exposed when the arm fell off. What a good weak point to attack. When Walm threw in flames there, they spread through the blood vessel-like things made of magic stones, and fire erupted from the entire body. The last iron golem, swinging its remaining arm wildly, suddenly collapsed as if a string had been cut, ending its function.

After confirming the death and the surroundings, the party members gathered. Though they managed to come this far, they couldn’t completely avoid damage, some parts of their armor were deformed and clearly, many battle scratches had run through them. If anyone got hurt, Hari’s healing magic would heal the wound, but that wouldn’t stop the fatigue from accumulating. While their physical strength was lost, they couldn’t afford to lose their spirit too.

As Walm wanted to spit out good words to maintain the good spirit, he noticed something. Fresh dirt was stuck to Merrill’s head. Its true identity was a piece of Gryphon’s flesh scattered around when it died.

“It’s sticky. It even has the fragrant smell of roasted birds.”

It was rare, but Merrill failed to avoid them all. After letting out a voice of dissatisfaction, Merrill directed a resentful gaze at Walm.

“What? Do you hate makeup?”

Walm, seeing the splendid figure of Merrill, made a joke as usual, but for some reason this time his joke made the light atmosphere heavier and somewhat cold.

In a quieter tone than usual, Merrill said to Walm, who wasn’t sure what kind of landmine he had stepped on.

“Huff, even though we’re friends… do you think it’s okay to say that to a girl?”

“Huh? Girl?… Eh? Hah?”

Walm struggled to digest the meaning of the words.

Forcing his reverberating brain to process them at maximum speed, Walm then called Hari.

“Hari…”

“What? Of course, Merrill is a girl.”

Hari looked down at Walm and folded his arms as he said something so obvious.

“…I see, Merrill is…”

“Walm, you’re unbelievable. No, maybe I should praise you instead. I mean, how can you not know the gender of the party member who will be with you to the bottom of the Labyrinth.”

Perplexed, Walm sought help from the other members, but the women showed no mercy.

At the same time, a thick, rough hand was placed on Walm’s shoulder.

It was Hari’s.

“People make mistakes. Apologize.”

What choice did a person like Walm have? He had clearly made a fatal mistake. Even more so in the depths of the Labyrinth. It might even affect future movements.

So, with a trembling voice, Walm apologized sincerely.

“…..I, am truly sorry, for mistaking, the gender, of, my comrades.”

Walm bowed his head at an angle of more than 45 degrees and apologized. Cleary said the words, so there would be no misunderstanding.

It was vague now, but memories of the world of the past when Walm was called Takakura Raizou, crossed his mind. When he made his first big mistake after joining the company, he used to say similar things to his clients.

“Hahaha, do you really have to say it like that? Really?”

“Laughing at an apology, is, an immature behavior.”

When Walm returned his timidly lowered gaze to Merrill, the frown on her face had gone and instead an insidious smile was there.

“Fufufu, should I forgive you then?”

In terms of cooperation, the four of them had done it many times before, to the point where they could correctly guess each other’s intentions without saying much. And they teamed up to play along in this little performance. Walm realized that they were deliberately making the atmosphere heavy to pressure him to apologize.

At this point, Walm was on the verge of agonizing because of the complicated feelings that were rising up inside him, however,

CLAP!!

“Well, that was entertaining. Now, shall we get ready?”

Merrill clapped her hands and said so.

Hearing this, the other party members dispersed as if the interesting spectacle was over. Walm was still conflicted, but regardless, the others had regained their spirits, as if they had just shown a brief lighthearted performance.

After cleaning up the monsters, the party continued to move forward. Including this, only two floors remained to reach the bottom.

◆

The party wiped out strong, nameless monsters on the way, as they increased the depth of their diving. The destination they arrived at was the 40th floor, the last floor before reaching the bottom of the Great Labyrinth of Belgana.

Searching for a passage that led to the innermost, the party finally reached the one that seemed to lead to a huge hall.

Walm had encountered irregular situations several times in the Labyrinth, but so far, the large room was where he had the most irregular encounters.

“There’s no detour.”

A straight path connected to the room, as if to say, “Come,” lay before Walm.

“Obviously, something is there.”

“There’s no other way. We’ve to go forward.”

Hari turned and waited for a response from Merrill, the party’s leader.

“… Let’s go. It would be a problem if monsters came from behind while we are hesitating.”

With Hari in the lead, the group headed into the large room.

Walm carefully searched the walls and ceiling, but found nothing suspicious. Though disappointed, so be it. It wasn’t something bad after all.

However, Walm felt a faint vibration in the soles of his shoes as the party approached the center. He suspected it was just a mistake, but the vibrations only grew stronger.

“It’s, shaking?”

“Down, something’s down there!”

The unstoppable tremor finally made the earth shake and the floor rose. Parts of the walls and ceiling couldn’t withstand the shaking and fell down. A large number of cobblestones rolled in as a huge neck was lifted. Something bounced its thick tail off the rubble covering it, and its rocky arms stretched out from the gap. Its entire body was covered with stones, and two twisted horns protruded from its head.

At this sight, Hari screamed unbearably.

“This guy ―― it’s “Earth Dragon”!!!”

A monster of the same class as the Crawler that Walm had once encountered was trying to block their path.

Walm had no intention of looking silently at the flashy appearance and shot a fireball he had worked out into the crawling head. Explosive flames enveloped the body, and the flames scorched the stone pavement.

A roar came back from the raised dust. Although some soot marks and scratches remained, the Earth Dragon was still alive. Walm shot fireballs several times in succession, but it didn’t seem to flinch. Merrill also repeatedly attacked it with <Ice Lance> and <Air Blade> but was repelled by its thick scales.

“……Among the dragon species, it’s said to be one of the hardest. Ah, Attack is coming!!”

The Earth Dragon that crawled out swung its tail and ran toward the party. While the party members dodged, Merrill, who stayed behind alone, formed a diagonal ice pillar on the ground. The ram-shaped block of ice and the Earth Dragon collided head-on.

Walm expected a good fight even though he knew the ice couldn’t fight back, but the ice was shattered without a fight, much easier than he expected, and the fragments rained down on the surroundings like hail.

Hari’s and Marianthe’s battle mace struck the slowed legs, but a metallic sound resounded, a sound that shouldn’t come from a rocky creature struck by a mace.

“Guh, the surface can be scraped, but that’s it.”

The two slipped through the arms that swung down to them in a way like when people got annoyed by flying bugs and took their distance.

Walm also threw in a <Fire Lance> without delay, but it didn’t do much.

“Tearing that off isn’t easy, you know.”

“Yuna, can you aim for the eyes?”

“I hit it once, but there was a barrier on its eye, and I can’t pierce it.”

The strength that no one thought was in a living creature even reached its eyes. A thick protective layer protected the eyeballs, perhaps due to the effect of being buried in the ground for a long time.

Means to attack were sealed one by one, there was no choice but to destroy the rock-like scales one by one.

“Once, I’ll use “it” once. It’s more than good enough that I’ve been able to save it so far.”

Until now, Merrill had used a variety of magic, but now her body swirled with visible mana. The colors that resulted from the three types of attributes were indescribably vivid. At this dazzling spectacle, the demon mask trembled with excitement, oblivious to its owner.

“What are you going to do?”

It was Marianthe who answered Walm’s question.

“Right, Walm, it’s your first time. But let me tell you, the reason why Merrill is called the “Trimagitack” isn’t only because she can use three different types of attribute magic. That’s the name of her skill.”.

Merrill, wrapped in a mana that fascinated Walm, lowered her waist and made an extreme stance until the longsword was hidden behind her back. The Earth Dragon sensed the inevitable situation and tried to stop it without any arrogance. It ignored the other attack, turned its twisted horn towards Merrill, and roared.

The Earth Dragon was spreading out in Walm’s field of vision.

“Merrill!!!”

Merrill smiled at Walm’s cry announcing the danger. Immediately after, the longsword was swung in such a way as to split the air, and the mana, accompanied by a flash and a shock, overflowed into the air.

Walm’s eyes drowned in light, he needed to squint to see what was happening. A brilliant attack, which was the result of three different attributes mixed in together, reached the Earth Dragon and spiraled around it.

The stubborn scales continued to resist the torrent of mana, but when one of the scales cracked, it spread to the entire scale in an instant.

The Earth Dragon let out an echoing cry as it was swallowed by the light.

Walm’s eyes stung and felt as if heat ran through them. The ≪Holy Slash≫ he had once received in the defensive battle of the Sarajevo fortress came back to his memory. What could he do now? He could only utter a dry voice, as if he wanted to be strong.

“Haha, that’s amazing.”

The scales of the Earth Dragon, piled up like strata, were mercilessly shattered. Half of its face and throat were scraped and bruised. Seeing such a scene, Walm was speechless. The effective range was limited, but with this skill, one could break through even a “living castle wall”. No wonder Merrill was called the Trimagitack.

“I wanted, to put on a cool look after the blow, but… seems that’s not going to happen.”

Merrill, who had expended a large amount of mana, looked tiredly at the center of the explosion, from which dust continued to fall. The Earth Dragon, which had lost more than half of its face, became a one-eyed monster and let out a roar. Walm didn’t know if it was anger or grief at having its proud scales broken. The only thing for sure was that it was the best time to attack.

“Aim for the shattered parts. The skull was hard, but better than scales.”

“Well, I’ve no objections.”

It was an attack as if the insects were gathering in the wound, but the party had not much strength left after the series of fights. Merrill also used her trump card, the ≪Trimagitack≫. She couldn’t afford to incur more damage for the time being.

“Merrill will take a break, and we’ll do the rest.”

“Please let me.”

Flames began to dance, and the smell of burning flesh filled the nostrils. Arrows continued to travel lushly through the wind, iron grasped relentlessly at flesh, and the sound of dry blows echoed through the room. Each time the earth shook, the cobblestones crumbled and the walls cracked. When the chorus ended, only a mound of rocks stood still.

“Finally, huh?”

After defeating the Earth Dragon, the party took a step deeper toward the bottom of the Labyrinth.

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TN: The “Dragon” of the Earth Dragon in here is written with this kanji “竜”. The other Dragon species that have appeared in the story and were written with this kanji are the Lake Dragon and the Crawler.

TN: Join my discord channel if you want.

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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.