185. Strategic Retreat

The skills had blended into the two Magic Eyes.

The Insight Eye now combined Night Vision and Synesthesia, while the Discernment Eye fused with Predator’s Sight.

This slightly eased the burden of my abilities. The suffocating feeling in my chest loosened a bit.

‘Should I try it out?’

If asked whether merging the abilities drastically changed my vision-no, not really. After all, I hadn’t activated the Magic Eyes yet.

‘I wonder what will happen when I activate them.’

To satisfy my curiosity, I simultaneously activated both the Insight Eye and the Discernment Eye.

In an instant, the scenery around me appeared entirely different.

With both eyes activated, an absurd amount of information flooded my mind through my vision.

The Insight Eye provided data on things I didn’t know.

With Night Vision and Synesthesia layered on top, even the darkest areas became transparent, and sounds and smells manifested as colors and shapes-overwhelming my brain with an insane volume of information.

“This is insane…!”

The Insight Eye allowed me to grasp not only information about everyone in the room but also everything that had happened here.

Especially with Synesthesia, the world began to look different as I could now see sounds and smells.

And when I activated the Discernment Eye on top of that, everything changed completely.

“Ugh…!”

“Are you alright?! You’re bleeding from your nose!”

“I’m fine. Ugh.”

I deactivated the Magic Eyes. I couldn’t keep them on for long.

My brain capacity still couldn’t keep up with the sheer volume of information the eyes provided.

What if I used them in battle? Against opponents with physical abilities equal to or weaker than mine, I could toy with them effortlessly.

Perfect domination-that’s what it meant. Of course, that’s only if I could sustain it long enough.

‘If I get used to the Magic Eyes, I might even be able to kill opponents stronger than me.’

My reflexes had already sharpened to a level comparable to most Platinum Badge rankers.

Thanks to the grueling, near-death training with the Evil Women in dreams, I could now catch arrows mid-flight.

If I pushed my reaction speed to the limit, I might even be able to take down a Platinum Badge.

‘Insane.’

If only I could maintain the Magic Eyes for longer, I could probably clear the 6th floor right now and descend to the 7th.

“With this, preparations are-”

“What’s wrong?”

“Gorgon has detected us.”

Just as I was about to take a breather, Gorgon’s gaze locked onto me.

But the moment Gorgon saw me, the Predator’s Sight engraved in my Discernment Eye nullified its detection and instead revealed Gorgon’s location to me.

‘So this is what Kairan saw.’

A wounded Gorgon, coiled up and flicking its tongue, faintly appeared in my vision.

Seems the little snake was resting just like us.

‘It looks panicked.’

When I blocked its vision by reversing the detection, Gorgon seemed utterly bewildered.

Now that I knew its location, if we struck now, we could easily kill it.

“I’ve located Gorgon. It seems injured. Should we move quickly to finish it off?”

I asked the party for their opinion. The gladiator brothers agreed-they were clearly itching to settle the score after failing to kill Gorgon earlier.

Meanwhile, Joshua had woken up.

“How’s your condition?”

“My arm still hurts a bit, but it’s not bad! That was a great performance!”

“So you can move.”

I wanted to rest, but killing Gorgon would let us rest easier.

Even though I’d blocked Gorgon’s vision, Medusa and Serpent-the nest’s master and the egg-laying monster-were still roaming around.

We needed to kill Gorgon before they regrouped.

“Since we’ve pinpointed its location, let’s rush in and kill it.”

“We’re just killing Gorgon and escaping, right?”

“Yes. That’s the plan this time. We’ll rest outside the nest.”

The team agreed. We quickly packed up and opened the door of our hiding spot, ready to finish Gorgon fast and leave.

“Huh?!”

The moment Maximus stepped into the hallway, he let out a sharp scream before being sent flying as if struck by something.

It happened so fast that we were stunned. Then, something lunged at Chloe.

“GAAAH!!”

“Why are Insectoids here?!”

Why would non-snake monsters appear in a snake nest?

From what Olivia told me, only snakes spawn here.

Meaning these weren’t native to the nest-they were invaders, just like us.

And if my guess was right, these were…

‘The ones who fused Gorgon and Kairan’s souls!’

Three monsters.

One Insectoid with the compound eyes of a dragonfly, the mouth of a locust, and a carapace so tough no blade could pierce it.

Behind it, a Dryad subspecies-a female monster with a flower bud on her head, resembling an Alraune.

And finally, a modified Imp draped in a black robe, reminiscent of the Black-robed Saint.

All three were bipedal humanoid monsters, and humanoids were usually highly intelligent.

They spoke human language.

“Keehaaa!! Found you at last!!”

The enhanced Imp cackled madly as it pressured Chloe. She activated her ability to kill it, slicing the Imp apart in an instant.

Did she get it?

“Damn it!”

No.

The minced Imp twitched before regenerating completely.

Even after being diced to pieces, it didn’t die?

“Immortality! It’s the Curse of Immortality!”

Ulysses shouted.

An Imp cursed with immortality? I didn’t even know what that meant, let alone how to counter it.

One thing was certain-Chloe’s left arm had been torn off by the Imp.

“Maximus!! Goddammit! Ulysses, handle the Imp! Joshua, take care of Maximus!”

Ulysses fired thorn vines at the Imp pressuring Chloe. If he could buy even a little time…

“Ah.”

The moment Ulysses attacked, the Alraune behind the Imp opened its closed eyes and stretched a hand toward the vines.

“Wither.”

Instantly, Ulysses’ signature skill vanished.

The vines withered completely under the Alraune’s command, and the Insectoid-who had sent Maximus flying earlier-slashed at the stunned Ulysses.

BAM!

“Blocked!”

Abraham intercepted the Insectoid charging at Ulysses.

The problem? The Imp that had downed Chloe was now rushing toward Abraham.

Ulysses, who had fallen on his back, shouted at me.

“They’re from the 7th floor!”

My mind went blank at his words.

From the 7th floor?

Why the hell are 7th-floor monsters here?!

The bigger issue was that if I used the Discernment Eye to fight them, Gorgon would detect us.

After a brief pause, I forced myself to think.

What’s the best way out of this?

With our vanguard-Maximus and Chloe-downed, winning was impossible.

If we can’t win, survival is the priority.

A way to escape the nest alive.

“Tch. Damn it. Jack.”

“Y-yes…?!”

“Sorry, but I can’t keep carrying you.”

“Huh? W-wait!!”

Stab.

“I’ll revive you later.”

“Y-you… insane…”

I slit Jack’s throat.

Frankly, Jack was dead weight in battle.

His level was zero, and he had no abilities, so reviving him wouldn’t cost more than 100 gold. Hell, I could just stuff him into a golem body-no extra cost needed.

‘Deadweight stored in inventory.’

Joshua couldn’t use his abilities.

Ulysses was neutralized after his vines were nullified and overwhelmed by the Alraune.

Maximus had taken a critical hit to the chest from the ambush.

That left only Abraham and Chloe.

“Ghk…!!”

“No! Chloe!”

Correction. Only Abraham remained.

Chloe had fallen to the combined assault of the Alraune and the Imp.

Not all Platinum Badges were as strong as Moira.

Even among them, strength varied.

Chloe and Maximus were skilled warriors, but…

Were they top-tier Platinum Badges? No. They were actually among the weakest.

Just strong enough to qualify.

Not strong enough to solo mysterious monsters presumably from the 7th floor. If they were, they wouldn’t have struggled so hard against Gorgon.

What if we had real monsters like the Saintess before her death, the Tower Master, or Moira?

They could’ve easily slaughtered these three.

But our party lacked that level of strength.

Joshua and Ulysses were pure supporters, useless in close combat.

Abraham was holding his own against two, but if the Alraune intervened, he’d fall too.

What if Kairan were here?

She was exceptionally strong even among our party.

Had she been here, she might’ve detected them earlier and countered.

Maximus wouldn’t have been ambushed so easily.

With Kairan, we might’ve succeeded.

But I hadn’t sent her alone against Gorgon.

My misjudgment as the leader had set off this snowball effect.

And this was the result.

I had to make a decision.

As the leader, it was my responsibility.

Even in the worst-case scenario, I had to ensure the team made it back alive.

Even if they died, their bodies couldn’t be lost in the labyrinth.

‘I’ve grown numb to seeing people die.’

Or maybe I’ve just become indifferent.

Watching death clears my mind.

My duty is now crystal clear.

I’m the porter.

The only one who can carry everything and escape the labyrinth.

In this situation, it’d be easier if everyone except me died-it’d untangle the mess.

“Sorry, Maximus.”

“W-wait…!”

I slit the throat of Maximus, who had taken a fatal blow from the ambush.

His breath quickly faded.

Without Chloe and Maximus, fighting was impossible.

Only one option remained.

“Hahaha! You… you’re just like me!”

“Thanks to that, I’ll survive. Joshua, you understand, right?”

“Fine. Fine, fine. I admit it. Without a vanguard, it’s over. See you upstairs.”

“Let’s do that.”

I snapped Joshua’s neck.

Another party member gone.

Three left.

I approached Abraham, who was desperately fending off the 7th-floor monsters.

“Don’t tell me you’re…”

“We have to survive.”

“Hah. Your eyes have changed. You’ve abandoned humanity for survival.”

“Because we have to live.”

“A fair choice.”

Ulysses stepped forward.

He, too, accepted death.

Stab.

I pierced his heart in one clean strike.

His corpse went into the spatial pouch.

Jack, Maximus, Chloe, Joshua, and now Ulysses.

All stored in inventory.

“Hah… hah…”

“Abraham.”

“Ghk… Giving up…?”

“We don’t have the strength to kill them.”

“Hoo… I see. I admit it…”

Abraham exhaled his last breath, and I stabbed him in the back.

“What? Betrayal? Did you think killing your comrades would make us spare you?”

The Imp giggled as I retrieved Abraham’s corpse.

I didn’t answer.

Instead, I activated the Ring of Spiritualization.

“Huh?!”

“He’s running!!”

Of course I am.

What else can I do?

If I can’t win, fleeing is the smart move.

‘Just wait. I’ll bring the Tower Master.’

I’ll bring Helena and Fria too, now that they’ve grown.

If we can’t handle it alone, we’ll just gang up on them.

Most importantly, I’m the only one who can open and close the entrance between the underground city and the snake nest.

If I seal it, they’ll be trapped here.

They can either descend or wait until I return.

‘Have fun playing with the snakes.’

I won’t let them escape downward.

Once outside, I’ll send the corpses to the Church for revival, then return with stronger allies.

I’ll kill all three and steal their souls.

One loss won’t break me.

I’ve lost before.

I won’t despair or falter over something like this.