Chapter 73: Get out alive (2)

Chapter 73: Get out alive
(2)

The
mystery of Reichem’s name is solved. The motive for the crime was
also revealed.

Even
I, a low-educated person who came from a background of manual labor,
would have risen up in rebellion if I had been slaved under someone
for 10 years.

Although
the circumstances were understandable, the fact remains that Reichem
was complicit in the slaughter and enslavement of innocent men.

When
she gets to the surface, she’ll get what she deserves.

“Balkan.
There you are! I finally found you!”

“You’ve
been working hard.”

A
day after Gurmimi’s confession, Joy Hog and the others found me.

They
looked tired, as if they had run nonstop to find me.

“What
struggle? It’s nothing compared to what you’ve done.”

“But
those people⋯”

The
party members gaped at the Temple Investigators near me.

“I
was lucky they let me stay the night with them.”

Yesterday
was indeed lucky.

As
expected from a group of wealthy and powerful temple investigators, I
was fed hot stew and bread, not preserved food.

I
was offered a bowl as well, which I gratefully ate, and when I
offered to stand guard, I was told to take it easy.

Not
everyone in the temple is this nice.

At
least the paladins and priests I’ve seen so far have the character of
good clerics.

“What…?!
Cohabitation?! The Holy Mother Earth Church will never tolerate such
lewd and sleazy behavior!”

Several
Paladins who were listening to me shouted in anger.

Trembling
eyes glanced at my body, and the more they did so, the more furious
the Paladins’ reactions became.

I
wondered if they reacted to the sight of a man’s body because they
were confirmed virgins for life.

“Balkan,
you can’t be serious⋯
you’re trading your body for safety⋯”

“That’s
bullshit.”

I
quickly explained and shared the situation with the party, as they
started to get the wrong idea.

“This
wizard was⋯
Professor Arpo’s assistant?!”

“No,
but that doesn’t make sense. The face of the assistant we saw when we
received the request was different from this one⋯”

“She’s
an illusionist, she can change faces at will.”

“⋯Now
that I think about it.”

“Ten
years⋯
That’s terrible⋯
She could have graduated if she held on a little longer⋯
Why did she do that⋯”

The
reactions were colorful.

Joy
Hog was left wondering why the assistant’s face looked different from
the one she saw when she was assigned to get the Hobgoblin staff.

Fusilini,
a wizard from the Gellan party who was said to be from the Academy,
looked at Reichem sympathetically.

‘She
can change her face.’

I
wonder if illusion magic can be used for that.

It’s
a shame, because it would have been a useful ability.

“Ugh!
Loosen this! Loosen this!”

Gurmimi
shouted as she awoke to find Joy Hog using a restraining device on
her.

All
the muscles in her arms and legs had been severed, so she had no way
to resist except to scream.

“Kek!”

I
struck Gurmimi in the nape of the neck, knocking her out again, and
dropped her straight into Gregor’s bag.

“Krrrrr,
I can’t lift it anymore, it’s too heavy!”

“Tsk,
tsk, tsk.”

“⋯⋯”

“⋯⋯”

On
the right side of the suitcase, there was still a delirious and
idiotic Gellan, in the middle was Reichem with her eyes closed, and
on the left, the head of Gurmimi, who had lost consciousness and
passed out, was sticking out.

The
three heads swayed wildly from side to side as they moved along.

Cerberus
the Suitcase, was definitely not an ordinary sight.

“Is
the party assembled?”

Nate
Elin came over after hearing the commotion.

I
bowed my head gravely to her.

“Yep.
Thank goodness.”

The
words slipped out with the nuances of checking out of an inn, but
Nate Elin nodded as if she didn’t care.

“Okay.
So you’re going to head up to the surface now?”

“Yes.”

Both
Gurmimi and Reichem, the targets of the request, had been captured.

We
hadn’t come in to hunt monsters, so there was no more business in the
Labyrinth.

All
that remained was to safely ascend the floors and return to the
surface.

“In
that case, can I ask you a favor before we go?”

What
favor?

I
haven’t forgotten your kindness last night, so there’s nothing I
can’t do for you, but if it’s a hard favor to fulfill, I might just
forget about it and leave.

“It’s
nothing.”

Nate
Elin hands me something in her hand.

It
was a hand-sized orb, bathed in a mysterious blue light, with a glow
similar to that of the relic alloy armor that Zernier had made.

“This
is an artifact that allows communication even in the labyrinth. I
would like you to bring this to the remaining investigators on the
5th floor.”

“You
mean to the rest of the investigators on the fifth floor?”

Come
to think of it, there were about twenty of them when I saw them at
the entrance to the Labyrinth.

Now
there are thirteen of them here, with seven vacancies.

There
were hints in the conversation I’d overheard earlier. The other
Paladins were talking about how they were worried about the remaining
investigators on the fifth floor.

“The
fifth floor is big, and we have to go all the way to the twelfth
floor, so we split up to be efficient.”

The
fifth floor was a strange floor where five species of monsters live
in their own villages.

It’s
a floor that most explorers skip over in favor of the Fountain
Scroll, due to its enormous size, complex terrain, and many monsters.

It
seems that a group of investigators sent to check on the changes in
the Labyrinth since the Omen found their way into it.

Even
with the high difficulty of the fifth floor, the story is told from a
low-level explorer’s perspective.

‘I
don’t know about low-level explorers, but if there are seven Paladins
and priests of the intermediate explorer class, they shouldn’t have
any trouble on the fifth floor.’

“⋯I
don’t think it’s my place to judge, there are other party members.”

In
order to fulfill Nate Elin’s request to bring the artifact to the
investigators on the fifth floor, we need to find a group of
investigators who are traveling through the fifth floor.

With
our current party strength, this shouldn’t be a problem, but it’s
outside of our normal schedule, so we need to coordinate with our
party members.

At
that, Nate Elin glanced at the party members who had been listening
to the conversation.

“Since
you’re helping the temple, I’ll pay you generously. How about a
five-point contribution per person?”

“Five,
five points!”

The
party members’ mouths dropped open at the generous offer.

Fifty
contribution points are required to become a mid-level explorer.

Right
now, the requests to capture the outlaw clan leader Gurmimi and the
crazy graduate student Reichem were worth 5 points, which was no
small feat.

“Balkan,
you must take it! When else do you get a chance like this!”

“You
need to maximize your contributions while you can. Just because you
want to, doesn’t mean you can!”

Jubeel
and Lammel grabbed my arms and shook them. Their eyes were glazed
over as they looked for a promotion.

I
looked away from them to the rest of the party.

“Joy
Hog, Hitolis, what are you going to do?”

“Fifth
floor⋯
I don’t see why not. Jubeel’s gotten her sword blessing, and we’ve
grown. And you’ve joined the party. There’s definitely more power
than there used to be.”

“With
Aldente, Fusilini, and Hope there, perhaps this is our safest
chance?”

In
effect, I was asking for a favor but the members of Gellan’s party
were eager to accompany me.

Even
as a mid-level explorer, you have to earn your way up the ranks.

Joy
Hog turned the decision over to me.

I
closed my eyes for a moment and pondered.

Should
I accept the request or not?

‘I
don’t want to fucking do it.’

Fifth
floor? Honestly, with the power I have now, I think it’s worth it.

If
I could find the investigators on the fifth floor, it wouldn’t be too
difficult.

Once
I find them, I can hand over the artifact and immediately rip off the
fountain scroll to escape.

But
even aside from the difficulty, there was a strong resistance to the
fifth floor.

[The
multiplier of 5 is dangerous]

Ever
since I interpreted [her words], I’ve had a strange feeling of dread
whenever I pass the fifth floor.

I
didn’t feel it this time because I went beyond it with a transference
trap, but the last time I passed the fifth floor with Ellie, I had
the urge to leave it immediately.

‘⋯What
should I do?’

Opportunities
to get contribution points don’t come easily, so should I accept the
request?

Or
should I trust my intuition and decline the request?

I
was deep in thought.

“No,
what are you guys talking about?”

I
heard Nate Elin’s incredulous voice.

“You
don’t need to go all the way to the fifth floor of the monster
village. The investigators are at the fountain right now.”

“What?”

What
the hell is this?

I
thought the Investigation Team was still on the fifth floor,
investigating the Labyrinth, wasn’t it?

“Look
here.”

Nate
Elin handed me the map. It was a location tracking map of the fifth
floor.

At
the end of the fifth floor, near the water fountain, there were the
markers of seven members of the survey team.

“These
guys. I left them to investigate, and they made it all the way to the
center of the fifth floor, only to turn back and stay here, unmoving.
I don’t think they’re mortally wounded, so I’m trying to get a
communication artifact to understand the situation.”

What?
Was that it?

I
thought it would be a risky request worthy of a five on the merit
scale, but no.

It’s
safe to say that I won’t be exploring the 5th floor myself and it was
a path I’d have to take to get to the surface anyway.

Five
points for contribution when all I had to do was hand over a
communication artifact to a group of investigators stuck in the
fountain.

It
was the kind of bullshit request that would make any other explorer
burst into tears and question its fairness.

“Will
you do it?”

“Just
leave it to me.”

***

Since
the path was the same anyway, our party accompanied the temple
investigators as they explored the seventh floor.

“Hmph.
That must be the elite Paladins of the temple⋯
they’re definitely
huge.”

“Hmph,
hmph. Still, I don’t see many sword-wielding kids.”

“Keep
your eyes open, Jubeel. There’s a Paladin over there with a much
cleaner sword than you.”

Nate
Elin slashed the creature’s neck with her pure white blade.

Our
party stared at the scene in disbelief.

“That’s
quite a difference.”

“She
didn’t become the direct escort of the Holy Lady’s for nothing.”

I
stared blankly at the sword energy Nate Elin had drawn as I listened
to the party’s comments.

‘I
wonder if I could do something like that.’

My
fingertips tingle as the floating pellets of magic energy kept
nagging at me.

I
was tempted to draw my axe and swing it right now but it would be a
waste of energy. The opportunity to catch a bus doesn’t come around
often.

We
breezed through and reached the end of the seventh floor.

“Please
take good care of my request.”

“Leave
it to me.”

After
receiving a communication artifact from Nate Elin along with a
location map of the fifth floor, we crossed our respective portals.

The
investigators to the eighth floor, us to the sixth.

We
reached the edge of the sixth floor in a flash and the portal to the
fifth floor stared us in the face.

What
was on the fifth floor that made [her] and I feel so repulsed by it?

“Balkan.
We’re ready.”

I
put my doubts aside and made physical contact with my party members.

We
stepped through the ascension portal, and the familiar feeling of
floating returned.

Boom!

“Chop-chop?

I
immediately felt my gaiters getting damp. I looked down and saw
ankle-deep water.

As
soon as I touched the water, my stamina and energy gradually
recovered.

There
is only one place in the Labyrinth that offers such healing water,
the fountain at the end of the fifth floor.

As
luck would have it, it was at the end of the fifth floor.

“Heh,
what the hell?”

“We
saved a silver coin. This is the first time I’ve not used a scroll
to transfer to the fountain on the 5th floor.”

The
other party members were also surprised. I can’t be this lucky.

No,
I’m not lucky, because the luck that should have happened on the
other floors happened on the fifth floor.

“Hey,
seniors?!”

Just
as I was thinking that, I heard Hitolis panicked voice.

Hitolis
seniors are the paladins and priests of the temple.

They
were also the ones we had to hand over the communication artifact to.

I
immediately turned my head toward the source of Hitolis voice.

Five
paladins and two priests, dressed in the armor and robes of the
temple, sat side by side at the fountain.

My
gaze went straight to the Paladin seated in the center or, more
accurately, to the thing he was hugging.

A
very distasteful, unpleasant and repulsive black egg.

He
clutched it dearly, as if it were the greatest treasure in the world.

[]

They
gazed up at the top of the fountain with their mouths open in a daze,
and spat out an unintelligible sound.

It
seemed to be neither a language nor a meaningless breath.

[⋯Hara]

But
my ears gradually began to recognize the unknown sound as human
language.

A
sensation similar to that of hearing [Her] censored voice.

[⋯Doubly
so]

The
corners of everyone’s mouths twitched.

I
don’t know exactly what’s going on, but I do know that they’re in a
state of immense joy and elation.

“⋯What
the hell?”

The
bizarre sight threw the party into confusion.

I
silently gripped Zirnier’s axe, stroking the communications
artifact with my other hand.

Immediately,
I heard Nate Elin’s voice in my head.

-What,
why you⋯

“Nate
Elin. I think we’re fucked.”

-What?

I
don’t know what the hell is going on but my survival instincts, honed
over many crises, are telling me that I’m fucked.

Tsk,
tsk!

[Worship]

The
black egg that the Paladin held so dearly began to crack.

[Worship!]

I
immediately stiffened my legs and gripped the axe hard enough to
break it.

Desperately,
I scraped the magic around me.

[To
■■■
■,
who will be reborn!]

-Tsk,
tsk!

[Worship!]

-Chirp!

Soon,
the black egg was completely shattered.

The
being enveloped in [darkness] that burst forth from it grew in size
until it seemed to swallow the fountain whole.

I
was like a small fish, helpless to do anything, being swallowed by
the shark’s jaws.

Overcoming
my helpless senses I said out loud.

“Giant.”