Chapter 126: The 12th floor (2)

Chapter 126: The 12th floor
(2)

When
I first fell into the labyrinth, goblins were a menacing enough foe.

-Tsk!

But
in hindsight, it wasn’t even on the axis of danger.

It
is not easy to conserve stamina when using Bunny from the first
floor.

It’s
also a waste of power to use her on goblins.

I
struck the goblin in the neck with the hatchet at my waist and
continued through the labyrinth.

“Waaaah!”

I
shouldn’t have been particularly surprised or reacted, but Ellie,
standing behind me, looked at me with a dazed admiration.

It’s
not every day you see a sight like this, and for good reason.

We
reached the edge of the floor at a brisk pace.

The
descent portal glowed with blue light.

“Please
wait a moment. I need to take a sample of the magic around the
portal.”

Ellie
pulled out the empty potion vial she kept tied to her belt.

“I
see. I’ll take a break then.”

“I
guess I’ll finally get to put my stuff down. Phew.”

The
pace of the party slowed slightly, but none of the party members
grumbled at Ellie’s words.

After
all, researching portals was one of the reasons she joined the party
in the first place.

No
one wanted to offend a mage, who was a valuable resource.

The
party took their places and took a short break, keeping a watchful
eye on their surroundings.

“Is
there anything I can do to help?”

“Oh,
oppa, umm, just watch from my side.”

Ellie
gingerly touched the magic around the portal.

After
the Wisdom stat in the status window went up slightly, I was able to
feel the magic a little more clearly.

Still,
with no magical knowledge, I couldn’t tell exactly what she was
doing.

“Magic
power changes slightly depending on where it is.”

As
if she had noticed, Ellie explained.

“In
desert regions, magic holds heat, and in cold regions, it holds
cold.”

“You
mean it’s affected by its surroundings?”

“Yes.
That’s why mages build up a reservoir of energy within their bodies,
and use it to manipulate their magic.”

Following
Ellie’s guidance, the blue grains that had been lingering near the
portal began to slowly flow into the potion bottle.

“The
magic I build up in my body through my own efforts is my own magic,
unaffected by the world around me, and I can use it to interfere with
the magic around me.”

Ellie
grinned, as if to say, “I’m pretty amazing.”

“That’s
right. No ordinary wizard can do something that advanced. They just
memorize books, carve out circuits, and spit out cookie-cutter
magic.”

Lammel,
the harpy mage who had come out to watch Ellie, agreed.

So,
that was an advanced technique.

I
stared down at my palm.

‘My
magic.’

If
I could clearly understand that, wouldn’t I be able to use something
like the sword ki?

I
also heard that the basis of sword ki is one’s own magical power.

-Pfft.

Ellie
carefully capped the potion bottle.

“Are
you done?”

“No.
I need to go outside and take a closer look with my lab equipment,
and take samples from the other floors.”

“We’d
better get up, then.”

Like
soldiers taking a break in the middle of a march, the party members
who had been lying down with their backpacks on grunted and pushed
themselves up.

Sure
enough, as we headed deeper into the Labyrinth, our packs, even when
streamlined as much as possible, seemed quite heavy.

As
I strapped on my feather-light subspace backpack, I felt a strange
sense of superiority.

“You,
Balkan. You’re giving me a bad vibe.”

“Hmmm.
Come on. Let’s go.”

I
coughed and went straight to the next floor.

***

I
spent three days in the labyrinth.

Second
floor, then third, then fourth.

The
party reached the end of the fourth floor with little difficulty.

“Is
it a coincidence? I don’t see any monsters imbued with magi.”

“Yeah,
well, there were at least three of them on every level last time we
went through the labyrinth.”

Joy
Hogg and Lammel talked quietly as they rested.

The
magi-clad beasts had been sparse since the Omen.

Since
the appearance of the Temple Investigators, or more precisely, since
the day Serif and Idelbert met and talked.

For
ten years, the darkness of the Labyrinth had been gradually
forgotten.

The
existence of the Magi began to be known again, even among low- and
mid-level explorers.

There
are three main characteristics known to the world:

-A
monster with magi is stronger than a normal monster.

-Resistant
to physical attacks and magic.

-Weak
to holy power.

“Well.
It’s probably best if we don’t meet them.”

“That’s
true.”

As
annoying as they are to deal with, it’s a good thing we didn’t run
into any of the magi infused ones on the fourth floor.

“I’m
done taking samples.”

Ellie
has finished sampling the magic from the up and down portals on the
fourth floor.

The
party stood back up and prepared to head to the fifth floor.

“Fuck.
I’m so fucking tired.”

“⋯⋯Sorta,
kinda, kinda scary, hmm⋯”

Lammel
and Hitolis held their breath in silence.

The
party almost got wiped out on the fifth floor during the last
labyrinth.

Lammel
lost her leg and was crippled, and Hitolis was somehow tainted and
nearly turned into an idiot.

‘I
was even cursed.’

It
was a situation where they were so traumatized that they couldn’t
take a step forward.

“Holy
shit, Lammel! Hitolis! I like you guys!”

Our
party had a mental care machine for great mental defense.

“Eww!
Ewww! Joohahahahaha!”

“Ouch,
you crazy bitch, you’re splashing breast milk on the staff!”

Jubeel
lightened the mood by spitting out her breast milk.

In
exchange for the foul smell of breast milk, the party came to life.

“Can
I help you?”

“⋯⋯⋯khem.
Mmm, I’m sorry. I won’t take it out again.”

Suddenly
revitalized by Ellie’s words, Jubeel put her clothes back on and
hugged her chest tightly.

Ellie
was a surprisingly good counter to Jubeel.

Forming
up again, the party crossed the descent portal with their hands on
each other’s bodies.

-Woof!

The
fifth floor was reached with a slight feeling of floating.

Without
bothering to look around, we tore through the fountain travel scroll
to the edge of the floor.

The
multiple-of-5 floors with fountains were convenient because they
allowed you to skip the tedious exploration process.

-Wheeeeeeee-!

Ellie
glanced behind her as she gathered the samples once more, and heard a
strange wind noise.

At
the time, it sounded like the wind was whistling through the
labyrinth.

-Boo-boo-boo

Bunny
on my back rattled as if in resonance with the wind.

It
wasn’t the wind, but the axe itself that was vibrating after a
humiliating tremor, as if helpless with shame.

[⋯subject,
over, bastard⋯]

I
heard a voice in my head but it didn’t come through my ears.

It
was a strange sensation, like a direct slap to the brain but the
voice was familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

It
was Bernie’s voice.

I
instinctively pulled Bunny away.

“Go,
what the hell, Balkan!”

“Is
it an attack?!”

The
party looked around quickly at my sudden action, but there was no
sign of any explorers coming or going, let alone a beast.

“⋯No.
It’s not an attack⋯Bernie⋯”

I
stood still, staring at Bunny.

The
giant, oversized axe rattled as if it were making an announcement.

[I’m
going to make you regret doing this to my body⋯
for sure⋯]

The
voice slammed into my head like a telepath.

[What
the hell are you talking about after keeping your mouth shut all this
time?]

I
thought to myself, and realized that I could get through to Bunny.

[Hey,
you! Use respect when calling this body, not that stupid Bunny
name!]

Bunny
was still not on the subject of tools.

There’s
nothing like violence to make someone understand their situation.

I
think she needs to be punished.

-Taaak!

[Kkwowow⋯?!]

I
hit the golden ornament in the center of the axe, and immediately a
pitiful groan echoed in my head.

After
a short, sharp groan, Bernie’s response faded again.

What
the hell.

No
way, did she pass out?

After
just one night?

“Bunny?
The Bernion from that fairy tale?”

“Isn’t
that the giant lumberjack and his axe? What a great sense of naming.
It suits you well.”

“No,
it’s not Bernion, it’s Bunny⋯”

“I,
I think it suits you well!”

“⋯⋯”

Maybe
the name Bunny was too cute.

The
party members and Ellie were already calling Bunny “Bernion”
when they saw her.

I
sighed and put Bunny back on my back.

Bunny,
the talking oversized axe.

Formerly,
the Gluttony demon.

I’m
sure she’s deeply entangled in the Labyrinth, but her pride is still
too strong to let her speak.

‘Let’s
take it one step at a time, surely, without stumbling in our
impatience.’

I
took a quick breath, cleared my head, and focused on the task at
hand: exploring the labyrinth.

And
so another week passed.

***

Ssshhhhh!!!

A
sharp sound ripped through the air.

The
ceiling of the labyrinth opened, and a hail of arrows rained down
from above.

“Wind
Cutter!”

Lammel,
who had used all her stored mana, looked to the sky and hastily cast
a spell.

“Deep
Wind!”

Ellie
joined in, casting her wind elemental magic.

Wind
blades and dense air stretched out from below to meet the arrow
baptism.

-Ting!
Ting! Whiz!

A
few arrows bounced off the wind, changing their trajectory but the
trap on the ninth floor was no joke.

There
were still more arrows raining down on us than we had neutralized.

“This
way!!! Shields up!!!”

Joy
Hog, the forward, shouted as she ran to protect those behind her.

Lammel
and Jubeel quickly clustered around her.

Joy
Hog’s shield glowed blue and grew in size.

It
was a defensive artifact but it’s small.

-Boom!

The
arrow traps that had fallen from the ceiling of the Labyrinth were
still raining down.

And
there are still three figures who have yet to reach Joy Hog’s shield,
Hitolis the priest, Ellie the wizard and me.

We’ll
be in trouble if they’re injured.

“Ellie!
Hitolis! Get down!”

I
shouted at them both, swinging the Bunny with all my might.

Luckily,
Ellie has cast a spell, so the amount of arrows coming at them is
less than the amount hitting the ground around them.

I
steady myself with my lower body, hold my core, and rotate my waist
and arms like a batter swinging a bat.

I
engage every muscle in my body, all at once and explosively.

My
body, which has just begun to step into the realm of superhumans,
generates a gust of wind with the swing of an oversized axe.

-Whooooooo!

The
fierce wind from the axe deflected the arrow’s trajectory.

-Pabababab!

The
rain of arrows aimed at the two of them fell to the ground without
piercing their bodies.

Once
I was sure they were safe, I put the artifact axe I’d unsheathed
above my head.

“Enlarge.”

I
muttered a small incantation, and the magic drained from me, the axe
blade growing to cover my body.

-Thud!
Thud!

I
braced myself for the weight of the blade and for the heavy
vibrations.

The
rain of arrows scraped against the blade and fell to the ground.

My
patience was short-lived.

Thrrrr-

The
axe, now back to its original size, was strapped back to my belt and
I looked around.

There
were arrow marks everywhere, like the floor after a rain shower.

“Is
everyone okay?!”

I
shouted for confirmation, and Joy Hog, Lammel, and Jubeel crawled out
from under the shield that rose like a turtle’s shell.

“Damn.
That was dangerous. The further we go, the harder it is to detect
traps.”

“So,
no injuries, thank goodness.”

“I
saw it. Balkan just swung his axe, and the wind blew it right into
the-”

She
seemed unharmed considering the way she rambles.

I
quickly checked on Ellie and Hitolis.

“Phew,
phew.”

“Thank
God, we made it. We were almost late for the barrier.”

Hitolis
and Ellie breathed a sigh of relief inside the hastily constructed
barrier.

I
exhaled as well.

This
labyrinth never lets me relax.

“Poisoned
arrow… sniff sniff. Oh. This is a stimulant.”

Joy
Hog pulled an arrow from the ground and sniffed it.

She
pulled out a small vial and wiped the arrowhead clean of the
stimulant.

As
I watched the pink liquid drip into the vial, I asked.

“⋯Why
are you taking that?”

“Because
the stuff in the Labyrinth is far more effective than the stuff you
can buy on the market, whether it’s poison or aphrodisiac.”

Joy
Hog grinned sinisterly.

“It’s
also used to mate livestock, and to make a night of it even more
intense. It’s very effective.”

“Oh.”

“It’s
quite salty when gathered and sold, so be quick. The poison can also
be used to coat weapons for combat.”

The
reason for entering the Labyrinth was to obtain blessings or
artifacts, but primarily to earn a living.

Money
is the reason for fulfilling various requests and taking various
risks.

Having
solved the immediate danger, the party, in true explorer fashion,
plucked the arrows from the ground like women gathering the harvest.

“Ahem!”

A
startled voice came from behind them.

All
eyes in the party turned toward the arrow.

Ellie,
who had been the first to help, hastily hid her hands behind her back
under their gazes.

Such
awkward behavior.

⋯What?

I
quickly walked over to her.

“Ellie.
Let me see your hand.”

“Mmm.
It’s no big deal⋯”

“Come
on!”

I
shouted, and Ellie held out her hand, which she had carefully hidden
behind her back.

There
was a tiny scar on her fingertip.

On
top of the scar, where an arrowhead had grazed it, was a thin layer
of pink liquid, also known as Labyrinth aphrodisiac.

I
quickly checked Ellie’s face.

“Why,
why do you look like that?”

Her
breathing quickened
a
little.