Chapter 12 : That’s impressive

“Hey.. it’s okay, right..?”

“Yes. It is.”

Behind me, who was chewing on the leader’s corpse mumblingly, a female explorer tapped my shoulder and asked.

“Hey.. besides that, do you want to eat this..? It’s jerky….”

“No. I have to eat this. It’s not because I like it. Nor because I’m hungry.”

“Then..?”

“It’s because of the skill. Just accept it.”

“Ah.. then should we wait?”

Is there really a need to wait? It’s already all over anyway.

“Thank you. But I’m really fine. Do what you need to do.”

“We, we came to hunt the direwolf leader.. we’re done with our business too….”

“Then shouldn’t you return?”

“But you….”

“No, I said I’m fine.”

Condition? It’s an amazing state like never before.

The tough hide of the leader tears apart with just my fingers, no knife needed.

This made me sure.

‘The injured muscles were healed by what I ate.’

The increase in muscle strength is even greater than before, definitely feeling like the leader’s muscles have filled my body.

“Then shall we go?”

“Yes. You can go.”

“Uh…”

“Oh, if you have time, could you find my pouch nearby?”

“Hmm? Ah, okay!”

Power surges through my body.

The state is excellent.

My stomach is extremely hungry, definitely feeling like the raw food I ate before sleeping has disappeared from my stomach.

Still, it’s a bit tough.

I’m used to the smell of blood, but that doesn’t mean raw meat tastes good.

It’s dry without fat, making my throat feel clogged.

“Here, this is your pouch, right?”

“Thank you.”

“Are you going to eat more?”

“I’m getting up now. It doesn’t taste good.”

“Shouldn’t it not taste good..?”

Raw meat tastes good, but what’s the difference? Is beef supposed to taste good raw?

“Are you going back now?”

“Yes. But if I go back together, I can’t get the lead rank.”

“Uh.. by the time you caught the direwolf leader, I think you’ve already surpassed the lead rank….”

“Hmm.”

Is that so? That could be.

Anyway, no more eating the leader.

I’m no longer hungry and my body condition couldn’t be better.

I touched my left eye just in case, but there’s no special difference.

It feels like it’s not the leader’s eye, but the original normal eye I was using.

It’s still 8 o’clock, meaning the day hasn’t changed.

Still, the sun has set, so the extraordinarily sharp senses have returned.

No, they seem even more sensitive than before.

“Are you all going back?”

“We have to go back too. Other explorers have already gone to announce the defeat of the leader. We stayed here to protect you.”

“Oh, I see.”

Thanks for telling me that.

“I’m also planning to return before the day changes. How long does it take to the portal from here?”

“About 3 hours. Since it’s night, take it slow….”

“Then can I go first?”

“F-First?”

I lightly bounced on the spot. I was only trying to bounce lightly, but I rose almost a meter into the air.

It felt like entering a zero-gravity state.

With these leg muscles.. I can cut those 3 hours way down.

“Sorry. I decided to go early. Take your time and be careful.”

“Uh? W-wait!”

Before her outstretched arm could reach me, I shot forward at an incredible speed.

‘So damn fast..! Insane speed!’

The sensation of cutting through the wind is on another level compared to before.

Comparable to Rubica. Maybe not that much? Still, it’s an incredible speed.

“Hoo! Hoo!”

But side effects followed.

‘My lungs can’t keep up.’

Muscles get tired faster than before.

The reason they can’t exert power is probably because of oxygen supply issues.

That leader’s specs would have allowed better muscle use.

What’s the difference? Oxygen supply…

“The lungs.. ah, it’s the heart.”

Right.

Using muscles like a direwolf leader’s with a human heart and lungs means I can’t supply enough oxygen.

After running about 3 minutes, I start to get out of breath. This is a penalty now.

I slowed down slightly and jogged toward the portal.

Still, my speed was faster than when I used to sprint at full power in normal times, really feeling the power of the leader’s muscles infused with magic.

At this rate, I must be running at about 40 km/h.

“This is it..!”

Running toward the portal at an incredible speed, I soon saw the base.

I caught my breath a little on the way, but such a time reduction is amazing.

It definitely looks like training is needed to use the leader’s muscles properly.

As I entered the base, a guard shaking a torch at me said,

“Stop. Hey, are you okay?”

My whole body is stained with fatigue.

My gambeson is ragged, pants full of holes and soaked in blood.

To others, I’d look like a near-dead half-corpse walking around.

But my face is full of vitality.

“Yes. I’m incredibly fine.”

“What do you mean by incredibly fine….”

I’m crazy. Vitality wells up all over my body.

I covered a distance that should take 3 hours in just 30 minutes.

I even have energy left, maybe enough to run that distance again.

“Going to the surface?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The recall stone can send me higher than now, or to a base every 5 floors.

So since this is the 5th floor, I can go directly to the 4th floor or the surface.

If I use the recall stone beyond the 5th floor, like 6th or 7th, I can’t go directly to the surface; I have to come back to the 5th floor first, then to the surface.

“All right then.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

A portal, slightly paler than the one leading down into the labyrinth, opened. I stepped inside, squeezing my eyes shut.

“Hey, are you alright?”

“Yes. I’m fine. This isn’t my blood.”

“I see… But, your clothes are all torn up.”

“It’s fine.”

It was 9 p.m., so hardly anyone was entering the portal at this hour.

The first floor of the guild was bustling with adventurers, chugging mead and beer while boasting about their exploits.

“Oh my…”

“Hello.”

Dalia, leaning on the guild desk with her chin propped up, opened her eyes wide in surprise when she saw me.

Yeah, I probably did look a bit like a walking corpse.

“Ahem! One brass-ranked adventurer, returning from an expedition?”

“Yes.”

She handed me a form, and I filled in the rightmost box with my highest cleared floor: ‘5’.

When I handed it back, she blinked in disbelief, then smiled as she took it from my hands.

“Great work. You made it to the 5th floor alone?”

“Yes. So it seems.”

“I was a bit worried, given how dangerous things have been lately. Are you hurt?”

“No injuries. This isn’t my blood.”

“Oh…?”

“It’s probably the blood of a direwolf alpha.”

Dahlia’s eyes flicked up, then sideways, then back to me, giving me a once-over before closing her eyes briefly.

“Hold on… don’t tell me…”

“Tell you what? Did something happen?”

“Well, I heard a report that a direwolf alpha on the 5th floor was taken down by a lone adventurer with black hair… but…”

“That’s probably me.”

“Y-you’re lying! Those guys just arrived about 10 minutes ago after a 3-hour trip back!”

Dahia turned her head sharply, pouting in disbelief. I mean, I get it. It does sound a bit far-fetched.

It’s hard to believe that a guy who barely made it to the 3rd floor on his 6th labyrinth expedition suddenly cleared the 5th floor and soloed a direwolf alpha on his 7th.

Just as I was trying to figure out how to explain this, a loud voice erupted beside me.

“Oi! Isn’t that the corpse guy?!”

“What now?”

A male adventurer in rugged armor pointed at me, his eyes wide with recognition.

Dalia’s eyes darted back to me in shock.

“Geldon? Is it true?”

“Yeah! This is the guy who was lying next to that direwolf alpha’s corpse!”

“I’m still very much alive.”

“Well, that’s a surprise!”

For once, Dalia’s face showed genuine shock.

A rare sight.

A moment ago, she just seemed startled, but now she looked utterly incredulous.

“R-really? I told you to hang in there, but I didn’t expect this…”

“Yeah, seems like your encouragement worked wonders.”

The guild closely monitors alpha creatures.

They’re too powerful to be roaming the lower floors, so when one shows up, it often means low-ranked adventurers will get wiped out without a chance to fight back.

To prevent such tragedies, the guild tracks their movements and either lures them away from portals or takes them down if they stray too close.

“It’s impressive, though. First time in four years.”

A senior guild employee, who had been watching this exchange while munching on a pie, walked over and placed a hand on Dhlia’s head.

“What do you mean?”

“Soloing an alpha at brass rank. Last happened four years ago.”

“So this isn’t the first time?”

“Yep. Still, you’re quite something.”

Of course, it still needed to be confirmed.

Once the guild cross-checked my story with other adventurers and verified the kill, my rank would be adjusted accordingly.

“I’ll come back tomorrow. I need to get going.”

I should check in at the inn quickly and stop by the appraisal center before 10 p.m. to assess my current condition.