Ch.4242. Labyrinth, Emergency

Demonic Blood is spreading in this place.

Despite realizing this shocking fact, our situation remained unchanged.

Whatever happened, we needed to solve the immediate crisis.

“Ms. Shiro. I’ll block with my shield first.”

“Got it.”

I raised my shield to face the corpses.

‘Instantaneous Hardening.’

I strengthened the shield’s durability as I struck them down.

With Frost Wolves and upper-mid rank 4 Lesser Drakes mixed in, they might have seemed manageable, but these creatures contaminated with Demonic Blood had actually grown stronger.

I blocked one coming from the left with my shield and killed another charging from the front by stabbing its head with my sword.

I frantically maintained our battle line while waiting for Shiro to prepare her magic.

‘They seem to be around mid-rank 4.’

Dozens of monsters.

Each one comparable to a Yeti.

Monsters controlled by Demonic Blood lack intelligence, so targeting their weaknesses could kill them in one hit, but there were limits to this approach.

Even blocking with all my might, we kept getting pushed back, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to hold on.

“Adel, be careful.”

I ducked down at Shiro’s signal as she finished preparing her magic.

-Swish!

A blizzard whirled through the air, and the white snowflakes all turned into blades that began tearing through the creatures’ bodies.

4-star magic, Blizzard Pierce.

“Ms. Shiro! Let’s escape now!”

Most of the monsters in front of us had been dealt with.

Nevertheless, the corpses contaminated with Demonic Blood kept trying to crawl out from the red walls and floor.

We used that brief window to put some distance between us.

Fortunately, the newly emerged monsters couldn’t properly recognize us, and we easily dispatched the few that followed.

After running for about a few minutes:

“…I don’t feel that energy anymore.”

The ominous pressure that had been suffocating us was gone.

“…Haa.”

Shiro closed her eyes and sensed the energy around us for a moment, then exhaled with relief when she realized we were safe.

“I’m glad we lost them. Adel, are you hurt anywhere?”

“I think I’m fine. But what about you, Ms. Shiro…”

She came forward and grabbed my arm.

“Let me check. Stay still for a moment.”

She examined the arm she was holding, then checked my legs, back, and even my neck before finally letting go.

“How does it look to you, Ms. Shiro?”

“Your armor is fine. You’re sure nothing hurts?”

“Yes, of course.”

After catching our breath, we started moving again, walking slowly.

Now that we knew Demonic Blood was spreading behind us, we couldn’t afford to stop walking.

“Ah, Ms. Shiro. Let’s go this way next.”

“Alright.”

I guided Shiro toward another destination as we gradually advanced.

Another altar existed on the opposite side, and we needed to synthesize Shiro’s Source there first.

If battles were going to continue, it would be wise to quickly acquire various rewards.

‘The way to escape from here…’

Originally, we would be sent to the 6th floor after 24 hours.

But the message that just appeared informed us that the floor rules had lost effect due to interference from outside the Labyrinth.

In other words,

‘We need to find an escape portal.’

A portal appears on the 5th floor that bypasses the 6th floor and goes directly to the 7th.

It’s always in a different location so it would take time to find, but ultimately there was only one way to escape this bizarre phenomenon.

Somehow search the 5th floor to find the portal.

‘I hope it’s only like this here.’

If the entire Ice Tower had changed like this, it would be devastating.

If the monsters had simply become stronger, that would be one thing, but those contaminated with Demonic Blood were different.

Once you get even a small wound, the surrounding skin decays, and if the wound is serious, you can’t properly heal without a high priest.

That’s why I included two priests in my 12th floor entry party. From the 10th floor onward, monsters contaminated with Demonic Blood become more common.

As I was pondering how to handle the situation,

‘…10th floor?’

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

According to the world setting, Demonic Blood is the energy the Demon King spread when he was defeated by the hero.

That’s why people live hidden in the Labyrinth City to avoid it.

But why are the 10th floor and above of the Labyrinth contaminated with Demonic Blood?

And why has that energy spread all the way here?

“…”

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

After all, I’ve entered a game. Maybe there are inconsistencies in the minor settings?

Since thinking about it now wouldn’t yield any answers, I decided to let it go for the time being.

***

After walking for about 30 minutes, we finally reached the altar.

“…What’s this?”

Taking the right path at a fork in the road, we found a square space with a small stone altar.

“It doesn’t seem to be contaminated with Demonic Blood. Let’s go in.”

We entered the space, and I encouraged Shiro to climb onto the altar.

“I’ll check the corners, so please examine the altar, Ms. Shiro.”

“Okay, got it.”

The structure automatically synthesizes when you step on it, so she just needed to stand there for about three seconds.

As I was casually dusting off the corners:

“Ahng?”

…?

Shiro made a strange sound and placed both hands on her chest.

It seemed like the sensation of her Sources merging caused her to make that sound.

“…”

“…”

Shiro turned her head to the side, pretending nothing had happened.

“Adel. There doesn’t seem to be anything here.”

Is she embarrassed?

“Something just happened to you, didn’t it?”

“…”

At my words, Shiro flinched and stared into my eyes.

“…No.”

“Really nothing?”

About ten seconds of silence followed.

This scenario is a bit different from what I expected.

Originally, Shiro was supposed to realize that her heart area felt empty, notice that she now had two Sources, and understand that she had grown stronger thanks to the altar’s power, despite her confusion.

“…I’m sorry. I suddenly felt something strange in my heart, and I… made that sound without thinking.”

But she doesn’t seem to realize it at all.

Is she that concerned about making a strange sound in front of me?

“Hmm. By the way, you said you felt something strange in your heart? How do you feel now?”

I maintained a reaction that showed I wasn’t bothered at all.

It might be fun to amplify Shiro’s embarrassment with some WWE-style teasing, but that wouldn’t benefit us in our current situation.

‘I’ll bring it up again after we leave the Labyrinth.’

Of course, I’m just postponing it, not giving up entirely.

“…It feels like my heart is empty.”

“In what way?”

“Yes. It feels like my Source has disappeared… but it’s more like it’s been mixed rather than gone. The individual sensations of each Source haven’t disappeared.”

She can even feel that?

I only had a vague sense of becoming stronger after getting two Sources, but with her heightened senses, she seems to be aware of such details.

“My body feels lighter, and my mana flow seems more stable now. Adel, why don’t you try stepping on it too?”

She came down from the altar and urged me to go up.

“Adel, don’t you feel anything?”

“No.”

Of course, nothing happened to me since I had no Source to synthesize on this altar.

“…”

Shiro stared at me as I came down from the altar.

“Is something wrong?”

“…Adel. I really did feel something, so… don’t misunderstand.”

Is she worried I might think her explanation was just an excuse?

“I’m not misunderstanding anything. After all, you told me yourself, right? It’s not an implausible situation, so of course I believe you.”

“…I see.”

Afterward, we continued walking down the opposite path.

“Thank you, Adel.”

“Don’t mention it.”

“When we get to a safe place, can I hug you then?”

It feels like she’s raising some kind of flag.

“Of course. You’re always welcome to whenever you want, Ms. Shiro.”

I moved forward feeling an inexplicable sense of unease.

***

The flag was just a flag after all.

Unfortunately for the monsters, we didn’t encounter them even once until we left the 5th floor.

[You have cleared the 9th floor of the Ice Tower.]

[After the final reward is given, all participants will exit once everyone is ready.]

Fortunately, once we left the 5th floor, we couldn’t feel any trace of Demonic Blood contamination or its energy.

Although the rewards up to the 8th floor weren’t great, the 9th floor reward and the Mana Stones we collected on the way up were satisfying enough.

Mana Stones worth hundreds of thousands of Ars, and:

[The common rewards are ‘Mana Sensitivity Potion (Rank 3)’ and ‘Strength Potion (Rank 3).’]

[Mana Sensitivity Potion (Rank 3): Permanently increases mana sensitivity ability.]

[Strength Potion (Rank 3): Permanently increases strength.]

[The rewards given can only be used inside the tower. Please use them before exiting.]

Since it was the final floor reward, they kindly explained the effects.

Of course, they left out the most critical part.

“How should we divide these? They seem to enhance abilities.”

“You can drink both if you want.”

I appreciate the thought, but it didn’t feel right to accept this much.

If you drink two stat potions from a Hidden Dungeon in a short period, you’ll die.

Since we had to drink these before leaving, we absolutely needed to split them.

“No, we should share these. How about I drink the Strength Potion, and you take the Mana Sensitivity Potion, Ms. Shiro?”

“Yes. That sounds good.”

Although Shiro still uses a sword, magic is her primary focus, so mana sensitivity suited her.

‘I’ll learn magic too eventually.’

My ultimate goal was to become a magic swordsman who could enhance my own body.

I needed mana sensitivity too, but considering my half-elf racial value and the parts that would be filled by Sources later, it was sufficient.

We drank the potions, and I felt a sensation like power boiling up inside my body.

“That was an unusual experience. Seeing Demonic Blood in person after only hearing about it… I wonder what this place really was.”

It must have been a series of unknowns for Shiro.

“Indeed. We should report this to the Association when we get back. With this many Mana Stones, it would be suspicious if we didn’t reveal their source.”

“Yes. I’m curious how much we could collect if we kept gathering until the Labyrinth closes.”

I just realized that Shiro doesn’t know about the Labyrinth closing yet.

“Let’s be careful, we might end up right back on the 5th floor when we exit.”

Pretending to be tense, I continued my train of thought.

‘Demonic Blood.’

In fact, this was a puzzling element not just for Shiro, but for me as well.

[Confirmed that all participants are ready.]

[Exiting the Labyrinth.]

I closed my eyes for a moment.

…

When I opened them, we were in the plaza.

The brilliant sunlight was dazzling.

“…We’re outside.”

I surveyed our surroundings as Shiro murmured.

The plaza was filled with many people, but something seemed different from usual.

“Ah… Aaaah…”

“It’s finally over.”

“That was a filthy experience. I wonder how the Imperial Family will handle this?”

“It’s my fault. It’s all my fault…”

There seemed to be a higher proportion of traumatized protagonists, and even the veteran explorer uncles spoke as if they had awakened from a disgusting nightmare rather than expressing relief.

‘What’s going on?’

As I wondered what had happened in the Labyrinth while I was gone:

“Mr. Adel, Ms. Shiro?”

A blonde priestess rushed toward us urgently.

It was Airi.

“You two are alright. Thank goodness.”

“Did something happen in the Labyrinth?”

“…What? You didn’t know?”

She opened her eyes wide as if asking if I was serious.

“Demonic Blood spread throughout the entire Labyrinth. The damage was especially severe closer to the 3rd floor, the Aries Labyrinth… Mr. Adel, you didn’t know because you were in the middle floors?”

“…”

It seems a lot had happened in the Labyrinth while I was away.