107. Giant Hunting

“You two, wake up now. It’s time to get moving.”

At Raphael’s voice, I barely managed to open my eyes. I wanted to sleep more, but you can’t sleep in late in the labyrinth.

Above all, as the porter responsible for breakfast, I had to wake up unconditionally when the party members got up.

“Raphael-nim. Do you know how long it’s been since we entered the central section?”

“I’m not sure either. I just woke up myself.”

“I see…”

According to Raphael, the Saintess had kept watch alone without waking the others for their shifts.

Thanks to that, everyone had recovered somewhat from their fatigue. The Saintess seemed to have spent the time meditating alone.

She said delivering one big strike required an enormous amount of divine power.

“By the way, you two. You’ve gotten quite close lately.”

“Yes. Well, being stuck together all the time…”

“I’ve never seen Logie act so clingy with a man before. She must really like you.”

“Raphael! What nonsense are you spouting?!”

“Hahaha. Why so angry, Logie? Hehehe. I guess it’s about time for the little one to start looking for a man.”

“……”

When Raphael teased her, Logie’s face turned red.

Then Raphael, who had been laughing while teasing Logie, shared an amusing story.

“Porter, you know what? This girl here used to always pick fights with me when she was little.”

“She picked fights with you, Raphael-nim? Really?”

“Raphael…! Please, not childhood stories…”

“What do you mean ‘please’? Hahaha. This girl had such a fiery temper when she was little. Despite her small size, she was always causing trouble. She’d keep coming at me even after getting beaten up.”

“Ugh…”

Logie, seemingly embarrassed, covered her face and bowed her head.

“I-I need to go prepare.”

With that, she quickly excused herself, saying she needed to get her armor ready.

She has her cute side.

“Hehe. Did she confess to you first?”

“Ah, well. Haha.”

“She’s straightforward. And a serious one too. You can rely on her.”

“I’ve definitely noticed that.”

“Take good care of her. It’s hard to find a woman like that out there.”

“Yes. Thank you for the advice.”

“Don’t mention it. She’s like a little sister to me. I hope things work out well. With you being a dimensional pouch holder, you’ll make good money. No need to struggle with poverty. Haha.”

Raphael briefly wore a sad expression, as if recalling something from the past, then looked at Logie fondly before nodding as if satisfied.

“Now, you should get ready too. The Saintess wants to hold a strategy meeting.”

“Yes. Thank you, Raphael.”

Raphael headed toward the bonfire in the central plaza.

Sasaro and Paramelle had already woken up and were checking their equipment near the bonfire, while the Saintess-who might not have slept at all-sat in front of the bonfire chewing dried beans with vacant eyes.

The tension on the party members’ faces was palpable.

Today, we had to hunt the Cyclops, a mid-boss-level monster on the 7th floor. It wasn’t just any 7th-floor monster but a mid-boss-level one. No wonder they were tense.

Only the Saintess seemed completely unfazed.

“You’re awake.”

“Ah, Halsi.”

As I was taking out food from my inventory to distribute to the party, Helena approached.

“You two, really. You were chattering away so loudly for so long.”

“Huh? Wait, were you listening to everything Logie and I were talking about?”

“It was entertaining. Talking like that to a girl who knows nothing. Hahaha. You shameless pervert.”

“Dammit.”

Helena laughed as she tore into jerky. That damn old hag heard everything.

Embarrassing, but what can you do when the other person has sharp ears?

“Fufufu. This is fun. It’s been a while since I’ve gone on a party hunt like this.”

“We’re going to hunt a giant. What’s so fun about that? We might die.”

“Well, death has always been by my side, so I’m not afraid. It’s just fun. Going on a hunt with young folks like this. If it weren’t fun, that’d be strange. Makes me feel young again too.”

“That’s a seasoned remark.”

“Well, I am actually quite old.”

She seemed to find something endlessly amusing as she looked around at the party members, giggling.

“What about Roy?”

“He woke up four hours ago and has been swinging his sword ever since. He says this body performs much better than his old one and that he might be able to break through the Gold Rank barrier this time.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s what he says. Seems he wasn’t satisfied with his original body. It’s only natural to be happy when you feel like you’ve completely overcome your limits.”

“I suppose.”

Roy seems extremely satisfied with this heretic’s body.

‘I should start preparing too.’

The creature we’re facing today is on a completely different level from the heretics.

We have to hunt a giant that crawled up from the 7th floor.

‘A one-eyed Cyclops.’

Area-of-effect fear skills against sentient beings, curses, monstrous strength, and unyielding vitality.

To kill it, we’ll need to use every means and method at our disposal.

“The easiest way is to break its legs.”

Before entering the garden section, we held a strategy meeting. Saintess Fria, staring into the bonfire, emphasized that we needed to target the giant’s legs.

“We should focus on its ankles.”

“Right. But it won’t just wait for bugs to crawl up to its ankles. Unless you can stealth past its eye or the bait can reliably draw its aggro, if you enter its attack range, you’ll be crushed to death.”

“So ranged attacks are the only answer?”

“Ranged attacks aren’t the answer either. Most arrows won’t pierce its skin, and even if they do, it’s hard to inflict significant damage. And if we try to tear it apart with magic, giants are notoriously resistant to magic.”

“This is insane.”

Sasaro sighed and covered his face. He must be thinking, “What kind of mess have I gotten myself into in my later years?”

“Actually, the best weapons against giants are siege weapons.”

“Siege weapons?”

“Yes. According to the literature I’ve read…”

Paramelle racked his memory and shared the most effective giant-hunting methods.

Just like using siege weapons to assault a fortress, dealing with giants this way minimizes casualties.

“The problem is we can’t bring siege weapons into the labyrinth…”

“That’s impossible by conventional means.”

But I can make it possible.

Here, we split into two opinions.

First, we find a way to take down the giant ourselves.

Second, bring siege weapons down and deal with it.

“The issue is whether we can prepare siege weapons immediately or not.”

“The labyrinth city is far removed from war. There’s no reason to make or possess siege weapons there.”

“If we unleash about three Platinum Rank adventurers, they could serve as siege weapons.”

“Then wouldn’t it be faster to just bring Platinum Rankers down?”

“Among the current generation of Platinum Rankers, the ‘normal’ ones are all retired. They won’t want to enter the labyrinth again.”

“Ultimately, we have to hunt the giant ourselves. If we take too long, who knows what tricks the Black-robed Saint might pull.”

The Saintess concluded.

We definitely needed to deal with the giant swiftly.

If we delayed any longer and the Black-robed Saint and the Yeti Chieftain managed to tame the giant, it would be a disaster.

“Raphael and I can attack the giant’s legs. Paramelle, provide full support to Raphael. Sasaro and Roy, handle any nearby trolls and heretics.”

“Yes, Saintess.”

The Saintess would take the right leg, while Raphael and Paramelle would break the left.

Sasaro and Roy would handle all other enemies besides the giant.

Logie would do her best to protect me.

“Halsi. How proficient are you in magic?”

“Me? Well, I can do anything within reason.”

“I mean, how far can you go?”

“Hmm. What kind of magic do you need?”

“Magic that can destroy the giant’s eye.”

“There are about seven spells that can destroy its eye in one hit. Of course, this body lacks the mana capacity, so I’d collapse immediately after using one.”

“…What?”

The Saintess looked at Helena as if she were insane.

“Porter-nim.”

“Yes?”

“Is this person a braggart? Being able to use seven 9th Circle spells… That would mean her magic skills surpass even the Tower Master’s?”

“Uh, well. It’s possible.”

“Can I believe that?”

“Yes. You can believe it.”

“Hah. Unbelievable. Putting a Platinum Rank soul in a heretic’s body. This just got a lot easier.”

The Saintess grinned.

With two confirmed Platinum Rankers and four Platinum Rank-level Inquisitors.

Plus, though only a Silver Rank, a swordsman overflowing with enthusiasm.

“And the porter with scrolls.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You have a role too. Just having a Platinum Rank mage on our side is already worth ten people. But if things go south, we’ll have to rely on your scrolls.”

“Ah…”

The three scrolls I have.

Spirit Summoning, Teleportation, Object Teleportation.

Spirit Summoning would be meaningless against a giant.

The Saintess must mean Teleportation and Object Teleportation.

“If things go wrong, do everything you can to kill the giant.”

“Can I… really do that?”

“By the time the porter moves, I’ll probably be half-dead. The others won’t be in good shape either. You’ll have to kill the giant, recover our bodies, and escape the labyrinth.”

“…Insane.”

“Ah, of course, with me and Halsi here, there’s no need to worry too much. This is just planning for the worst, so don’t be too scared.”

“Exactly! Don’t be scared. I’ll kill the giant.”

“Raphael… You’re overflowing with confidence…”

“Paramelle. You’re the one lacking enthusiasm!”

Looking at Raphael, brimming with confidence, I somehow felt things would work out.

“Alright, let’s go. We’ll probably have to run fast. With the forest burned down, the giant will spot us much quicker.”

The garden section, once lush with trees and all kinds of plants, was now mostly reduced to ashes and dust.

With all cover gone, it was better to sprint toward the giant as fast as possible.

From a distance, it would just pick up boulders or debris from collapsed buildings and hurl them like projectiles.

Whoosh-!!!

“Damn it! It’s already throwing things!!!”

A boulder came flying.

The giant hunt had begun.