Chapter 71: Catch Them (9)

Chapter 71: Catch Them (9)

-Kagagagagak!

Gurmimi
barely managed to block the axe swinging in front of her eyes.

The
shock-sensitive illusion magic immediately collapsed, revealing a
rabbit head with a puzzled face.

Gurmimi’s
mind raced with a single question.

“How
could you see through the illusion?”

How
did he even know about illusion magic?

Illusion
magic is a very tricky and delicate magic.

Even
the same mage can’t easily distinguish between reality and illusion
unless they’ve studied it deeply.

And
the woman who was using illusion magic at her side now was a mage who
was quite skilled at it.

Reichem’s
eyes widened as she watched Gurmimi’s form in the distance.

Her
magic had been seen through by a man who, at first glance, didn’t
seem to have the slightest connection to magic, a man who was so
large and full of hard muscles.

It
was different from their first meeting, when they’d had a tracking
map and a sense of anticipation.

If
you were a good explorer, you could make such judgments on instinct.

But
now, what the hell?

With
a clearly hostile enemy right in front of him, he’s not looking at
the tracking map.

Is
this even possible?

It
made sense if someone blessed with the timely ability to see through
illusory magic had followed them into the Labyrinth.

‘No
one witnessed the use of illusion magic in the Labyrinth City, so
when did they get the information? And how? No way. Did we get
caught?’

Balkan
glanced at Reichem, who had slowed to a crawl in the distance, her
eyes rolling back and forth.

‘Yeah.
Think about it.’

He
didn’t answer their question since it would only put more
psychological pressure on them.

And
that psychological pressure will lead to burdens, which will
naturally create gaps.

So
what he needs to do now is swing the axe harder and harder!

-Kagakakakak!

Gurmimi
tilted her straight sword, deflected the axe, and swung her sword
upward from below in a circle.

-KANG!

Balkan
didn’t dodge, but slashed down the blade coming for his throat with
the Zirnier axe in his other hand.

-Kaang!

He
was only planning to parry the sword, but the blade snapped in two.

“What?”

Gurmimi’s
eyes widened in disbelief. She must have been surprised enough to
freeze for a moment.

This
was his chance.

Zzzzzzzz!!!

“Kaak!”

The
axe that Idelbert had given him grazed the nape of Gurmimi’s neck.

The
sensation of cutting through flesh tingles through my fingertips but
it was not a satisfying result.

Gurmimi’s
agility was such that even in that situation, she used her
rabbit-like leaping ability to narrowly avoid the axe.

“Kuluk,
gehek-!”

But
when I say slightly, I mean slightly damaged.

Gurmimi
grabbed the broken sword and clutched at her bleeding neck, which had
been slashed by the axe blade.

Her
white rabbit fur was stained with red blood. In a flash, Gurmimi
pulled a vial of potion from her waistband and held it to her mouth.

“Talian-!”

She
called urgently to Reichem, but it was futile.

“Your
friend is about to be caught, isn’t she?”

“⋯⋯”

Reichem
and Gurmimi were too confident that they would succeed in her plan.

In
other words, they were certain that the illusion magic would be
undetected.

That
confidence was completely shattered under the status window, and the
tide of battle turned.

“We
got the mage, Balkan, we’re coming!”

Joy
Hogg and Jubeel shouted as they tied up Reichem.

With
Balkan holding Gurmimi, the party had a general idea of the situation
and decided to capture the pesky mage first. Still, her proximity to
the seventh floor portal made her a high risk for escape.

Leaving
Hitolis behind to back up Balkan, the party pounced on the illusion
mage, Reichem, who was bluffing away in her Gurmimi disguise.

A
single mage was no match for two tanks, a swordsman, two mages, and a
cleric.

As
a result, Reichem unleashed a barrage of spells, but was quickly
captured by the party’s synchronization.

Gurmimi
glanced at the scene and made a quick decision.

‘Let’s
run.’

They
were careless and outnumbered. The ambush plan went awry and they
shouldn’t have fallen to the eighth floor in the first place.

‘That
asshole!’

Gurmimi
gritted her teeth as she stared at the helmeted man in front of her,
Balkan.

‘That
bastard ruined the whole thing by interrupting at every crucial
moment. ‘

Pushing
the regret aside, the red rabbit’s eyes found a way to save herself.

She
turned toward the blue glowing ascension portal.

At
the same time, Gurmimi’s thighs swelled up, and magic power began to
gather within them.

[◆
Blessing of Windy Legs]

–
Temporarily increase your Agility by a large amount.

–
Permanently decreases Wisdom by 1 per use of Blessing (currently -3).

– +4
Agility, additional +8 Agility when using a blessing

Gurmimi
steeled her resolve.

The
permanent drop in Wisdom was a great price to pay so she decided to
use a Blessing that would give her a huge stat boost to compensate.

Zzzzzzzzzz!

“Kahaak!”

Balkan,
however, was not the kind of benevolent villain who waited patiently
to see the hero’s transformation.

The
second or so that Gurmimi prepared to use the Blessing was too long
for him. Without delay, he swung his axe.

He
was going to cut off her legs.

Kudduddup.

‘The
axe won’t come out?’

Gurmimi
had slightly higher stats than Balkan, such as strength and agility.

And
right now, Gurmimi’s leg was an explosion of muscle and magic.

The
strength was such that even Zirnier’s axe could not easily cut
through it. The blade was blocked by bone and muscle and could go no
further.

“Off⋯
Aaaaaaahhhh!!!!”

With
that, Gurmimi took a step, her thighs tightening.

It
was not a normal stride.

“Balkan-!”

Joy
Hog’s shout came from the far side of the portal, right next to the
captured Reichem.

A
stinging pain shot up his back, accompanied by the sensation of his
arm being stretched.

Gurmimi
was moving at breakneck speed, the axe embedded in her thigh, and
Balkan, who was clutching the handle tightly, had come along for the
ride.

The
suddenness of the situation caused him to roll around on the ground,
but he didn’t lose his grip on Gurmimi.

Aldente
tried to extend her jelly arm, but she couldn’t reach Gurmimi or
Balkan. The speed difference was too great.

“Get
up to the seventh floor!”

Balkan
said urgently and grabbed Gurmimi by the thigh.

The
next moment, a blue portal of ascension swallowed Balkan and Gurmimi.

Joy
Hog watched in horror, then quickly tossed the captured wizard into
Gregor’s pack.

“We’re
right behind you!”

The
rest of the party bunched together and stepped through the portal.

At
the end of the eighth floor, which was suddenly silent, only two
portals glowed in the darkness.

***

With
the sensation of floating, the landscape around them changed
instantly.

I’ve
never been on the seventh floor before.

Gurmimi
gritted her teeth and managed to cross the ascension portal.

“Kaak!”

Gurmimi
couldn’t keep up with her speed and slammed into the wall of the
Labyrinth immediately after stepping through the portal.

I,
whose body was intertwined with hers, also hit the wall of the
Labyrinth and fell to the floor. Luckily, Gurmimi was cushioning me,
so I wasn’t too badly hurt.

And
I hadn’t let go of the axe in my hand until that moment.

The
blessing had already expired, and Gurmimi’s thighs were looser than
before.

Not
too flabby, not too firm, just right for chopping.

I
raised Idelbert’s axe with my right hand and brought the blade of
Zirnier’s axe down.

-Kaaaah!!!

Like
a sculptor chiseling marble with a hammer.

Zirnier’s
axe vibrated loudly, digging into the bone and muscle of her thigh in
an instant.

The
pain was so great that Gurmimi let out a pitiful scream.

Gurmimi,
who was still trying to stab me in the back, lost her grip on the
broken sword in unimaginable pain.

I
immediately kicked out and knocked the sword away.

Then,
as she was struggling, I struck again.

-Kaaaaaang!

Another
blow, and Zirnier’s axe, embedded in Gurmimi’s thigh, sliced
through bone and flesh and popped out.

This
time, there was no scream.

Grunting
and gritting her teeth, Gurmimi’s body sagged. She had passed out.

“Hah.”

I
sighed and flopped down on my butt against Gurmimi’s stomach

“Finally,
I got you. You asshole.”

Overall,
I was lucky. It was also because Gurmimi focused on running away
rather than fighting directly. If it had gone to a war of attrition,
I would have been seriously injured.

“This
bitch is the reason I’ve been through the portal so many times.”

Pfft!

I
slammed my fist into Gurmimi’s stunned rabbit head.

I’m
glad she took the up portal instead of the down portal.

Going
to the ninth floor would’ve been a surefire way to die, but the
seventh floor is much better. It’s the way back to the surface
anyway.

“Gurmimi’s
here,” I think to myself, “and the Joy Hog party will find
her on the tracking map.

I’m
told the seventh floor is an average sized floor. They’ll find me in
two days, no matter how long it takes.

And
that means we’ll be alone for up to two days.

If
we’re lucky enough to be near each other, they’ll be here in a day,
but I’m not that lucky.

“Fuck.”

Footsteps
came into my recovered perceptual range, and there were quite a few
of them.

My
hand naturally tightened on my axe. With a sigh, I assessed my
opponent.

Not
Joy Hog party, at least. There are far more of them.

About
thirteen. There was no hesitation in the clatter of heavy armor and
the steady strides of the men. As if there’s nothing to be wary of on
the seventh floor.

Even
if I wanted to duck, there was nowhere to hide in this open space.

I
stood up quietly and faced the approaching opponents with my hand on
my axe. If they were outlaws, I would resist, but if they were good
explorers, I would⋯

Then
I stopped in my tracks.

“What
the hell, how did you get here already?”

They
were neither outlaws nor explorers, but a familiar face.

A
golden-armored paladin, Serif’s escort.

[Nate
Elin LV.40]

A
group of investigators from the temple, led by her, watched me with
interest.