episode_0020

The Labyrinth’s Floors.

Not everything has been uncovered yet.

However, it has been revealed that the floors are currently open up to the 25th floor.

Information piled atop the countless corpses of adventurers.

No reports exist on what monsters appear beyond the 20th floor.

Conversely, this means everything up to that point is already known.

However, it’s said the Adventurer’s Guild controls that information.

Because monsters that are too dangerous or rare have been appearing.

Still.

Now that a thousand years have passed since the Labyrinth first appeared, most of its secrets have been unraveled.

The 2nd floor is the nest of Hobgoblins.

But Hobgoblins aren’t the only things here.

Rustle. Rustle.

Stealthy presences could be felt from all directions.

They were distant—roughly 300 meters away.

‘Something’s…’

The Hobgoblin Champion.

Something felt different after killing that thing.

—Different?

Lysiel reacted to my muttering.

—How so?

‘I can sense presences a little better now.’

—Presences?

‘Yeah, like… strange presences nearby.’

Rather than strange, it was more that I wasn’t familiar with them.

Most of the creatures on this floor were Hobgoblins.

But sometimes, some from lower floors rise up and merge with them.

And this presence…

‘A spider.’

An Arachne.

A man-eating spider that preys on living beings.

It was heading this way.

‘If it’s carrying something on its back…’

A Hobgoblin Rider.

But one question lingered.

‘Why is it called a Hobgoblin Rider when the Arachne is the one carrying the Hobgoblin?’

More pressing than that curiosity was the need to warn the party of the approaching enemy.

“Three incoming.”

“Already…?”

“What kind of enemies?”

“Hobgoblin Riders.”

“Ugh.”

At my words, Glasses (Marcel) furrowed his brows slightly. Understandable. Even for me, who could sense presences, it was bizarre.

‘…Arachne.’

The English word for spider.

In the distance, Hobgoblins mounted on spiders began to come into view.

I drew my bow and aimed an arrow at them.

Creak.

The bowstring tensed. Marcel and Teresa stared ahead with tense expressions.

Elme quietly raised her sword.

Had she already started wielding the Champion’s Blade?

A cold crimson glow began to emanate from her sword.

“Speed Enhancement. Strength Enhancement.”

As Marcel chanted, I felt my body grow lighter.

A brief moment passed.

“They’re here.”

Fwip.

The arrow flew swiftly. Though my archery skills had dulled slightly after gaining the Sword Mastery.

Perhaps because I’d already honed the sensation.

The arrow shot straight into the Arachne’s eye.

Thud!

—Kieeeek!

The arrow lodged deep into the spider’s eye.

The Hobgoblin on top of it toppled over.

I nocked another arrow while carefully observing Teresa and Elme.

Teresa, who had just leveled up, looked restless, her fingers twitching.

“Hup!”

She lightly struck the Arachne’s head.

But the result was anything but light.

“Kieek?!”

The Hobgoblin was sent flying—still atop the Arachne.

Elme raised the Champion’s Blade. A scarlet heat radiated from her sword.

And then—

Slice.

The Arachne and Hobgoblin were bisected simultaneously.

As for me—

Thunk.

I nocked another arrow and killed the second Arachne.

“Kieeeek…!”

Then I closed in and severed the Hobgoblin’s neck with my Blood Dagger.

‘The difference is huge, though?’

The Hobgoblin Champion still seemed like an impossible opponent to face alone.

‘But these guys are way too easy.’

—Of course they are.

Lysiel appeared in response to my thoughts.

—A Champion is second only to a Lord of its species. They’re different from ordinary monsters.

‘Different from ordinary monsters?’

—Yes. They’re… No, never mind. This is information you’re not permitted to know yet.

‘What kind of nonsense is this?’

There are two things that make people angry—and Lysiel just used both.

I glared at her.

She pressed her lips tightly together.

‘Yeah, no way she’s telling me.’

I sighed deeply in resignation before shifting my focus back to the situation.

‘If it’s information I shouldn’t know…’

Then knowing it might be dangerous.

Some things are better left unknown.

Clomp. Clomp.

While I was organizing my thoughts, Elme approached me.

“How was the fight earlier?”

“You did well.”

“But I might not be able to fight like that from now on. The Champion’s Blade… it drains mana too inefficiently.”

It did seem that way.

Whisper of the Wind was usable even at lower efficiency, but the Champion’s Blade sucked up all my mana in mere moments.

‘Even if I had just used Dark Moon…’

That was just excessive.

“So, I was thinking… maybe we should take a more prolonged approach from now on.”

“Yeah, I’ll manage my strength too.”

Teresa, standing beside us, muttered with a dazed expression.

“What’s wrong? Tired?”

“I got a new skill after leveling up, but it’s hard to use.”

“…Skills do devour mana. In that case, the most efficient one here is probably Yuseong.”

Well, I was shooting arrows from afar and slashing with my sword.

As I retrieved the arrow from the Arachne’s eye, I pondered.

‘Still, the 2nd floor is manageable.’

Maybe we could start from here next time.

With that thought, our party pressed forward.

—

Kieeeeeeek!

An Arachne shrieked in the distance, spewing silk.

‘At least it’s not venomous.’

I ducked low, dodging effortlessly while keeping my eyes on the Arachne. A grotesque spider with multiple eyes.

This was one of the main monsters from the lower floors.

‘I really don’t want to go down there.’

But I had to.

Steeling myself, I swung my sword.

Schlick!

Half of the Arachne’s right leg flew off.

“Kieeeek!”

The crimson Hobgoblin riding it glared at me.

I killed it with my Blood Dagger from the shadows.

“Hah… hah…”

I gulped down some water and glanced to the side.

Teresa and Elme were catching their breath, taking a moment to rest.

‘There are way more now.’

Unlike right after we arrived on the 2nd floor.

This time, they came in waves of five or six, leaving no room to breathe.

“This is nothing like what I heard.”

“I think there are two possibilities. Either something happened on this floor, driving the monsters into a frenzy…”

Or.

‘Someone’s herding them to hunt us?’

I twisted my lips.

—I think so too.

Lysiel nodded, appearing beside me.

—Compared to monsters that drop fixed magic stones, humans carrying rare items are far more valuable.

‘Makes sense.’

I glared coldly in one direction. Elme seemed to share the same thought.

“What should we do?”

“I could hide and ambush them.”

“That’s not ideal. Herding monsters is usually the work of high-level adventurers.”

Meaning the ones doing this were at least Level 3.

‘That’s doable, isn’t it?’

I thought so, but the party disagreed.

“Seems I’ve made a grave miscalculation.”

Glasses (Marcel) adjusted his spectacles and spoke.

Teresa tilted her head.

“…Huh? What?”

“My abilities have apparently elevated yours too much. They must’ve realized I’m a highly skilled mage with powerful artifacts.”

“…”

Well, better than wallowing in despair.

“Regardless of Marcel’s thoughts…”

“Five Hobgoblins ahead.”

“Ugh, give us a break already!”

Elme groaned.

I fired an arrow from the rear before finishing off a Hobgoblin with my Blood Dagger.

‘If I went all out, I could wipe them in one go.’

But something felt off, so I held back. Instead, I harassed them with arrows.

“…”

Elme, extracting a magic stone from a Hobgoblin, paused as she touched green powder.

Our eyes met.

She gestured subtly.

After forming the party, we’d established a few signals—for situations like encountering hostile adventurers.

Whatever she saw…

The usually reserved Elme glared fiercely and signaled.

‘Kill them all.’

I melted into the shadows.

—You truly suit the Labyrinth.

‘Huh?’

Was that an insult?

Saying I fit in with medieval savagery?

It was absurd.

Just as I was about to retort—

I realized I was smiling.

‘…Guess I’ve been stressed about those bastards.’

Seemed that way.

—

—Kill Elme.

The order came from the clan.

A back-alley request from their superiors.

Their boss had personally delivered it—meaning it was a high-profile job.

Failure wasn’t an option.

But Damon didn’t want this mission.

‘Kill one of his party members?’

It was madness.

The moment he received the order, he knew.

The first day Han Yuseong arrived at the cradle.

When he’d faced that monster’s overwhelming pressure head-on.

He didn’t want to earn that thing’s wrath.

But disobeying the clan meant death.

If Yuseong killed him, it’d end with his death. But defying the clan? His comrades and family would pay too.

Still, he had one card left.

[Goblin Lure.]

A substance barely effective on Hobgoblins—more suited for lower floors.

The Guild imprisoned or disappeared anyone caught with it, all under the guise of protecting novice adventurers.

Few knew its formula.

But Damon was one of them.

‘They’re complete monsters.’

Hobgoblins were being slaughtered. Even Hobgoblin Riders atop Arachnes fell in seconds.

“…Are we in danger?”

“They probably figured us out already.”

Their movements weren’t aggressive. Likely mistaking them for higher-level adventurers.

Thankfully, they hadn’t noticed yet.

‘We need to retreat.’

A new plan was needed.

These monsters could take them all on at once.

“Let’s fall back.”

Damon’s words drew everyone’s attention.

“We misjudged their strength. The boss should handle this.”

“Y-Yeah, Damon’s right.”

“Then we’ll stop tracking them and—”

The woman’s cheerful voice cut off abruptly.

Thunk.

An arrow pierced her skull.

“H-Huh?!”

“W-What?! An ambush—!”

The group panicked, scattering in all directions.

Damon was no different.

Except his reaction diverged from the others.

‘This is definitely…’

Han Yuseong’s bow.

That monster was hunting them.

The realization nearly made him faint.

Clutching his sanity, he barely held on.

Thud.

Thud. Thud.

“P-Please…!”

One by one, his teammates fell.

With each arrow, a life was crushed. And soon, it would be his turn.

“Spare me…!”

The last thing he heard—

Thud.

—before darkness took him.

—

“What’s with this guy?”

I stared at what seemed to be the enemy leader.

‘This was a paralysis arrow.’

I’d aimed for his thigh to take him alive.

It grazed his leg, but it shouldn’t have knocked him out.

Just as I thought that—

A blue window appeared.

[Sub-Quest completed.]

‘Huh?’

A Sub-Quest?

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, another blue window popped up.

[Sub-Quest] Chapter 2. The Shadow’s Ally.

You have clashed with a hidden faction, and your relationship with them has turned irreparable.

“Ah.”

I sighed.

Back when I first met Elme and killed Hanul, the Sub-Quest had asked me to choose between the path of light or darkness.

‘But…’

These guys were likely connected to that faction.

And since I killed them…

I’d officially made an enemy of them.

[Sub-Quest completed.] [You have chosen the path of light.] [Defeat the lurking faction!]

‘…This just got annoying.’

Truly.