Chapter 71: The Labyrinth of the Bandit King #2

Chapter 71: The Labyrinth of the Bandit King #2

Four adventurers advanced through the dark tunnels.

Dread, the labyrinth exploration expert, was at the forefront.

Immediately behind him was Rodrigo, the warrior.

In the rear, Windy the cleric and Stella the mage followed.

This was the standard formation for moving in a single file through a narrow corridor.

“Halt.”

Dread raised one hand.

Dread lowered his stance, wary of something invisible.

Then, as if performing a pantomime, he swung his dagger through the air for a while.

“A trap?”

“Yeah. It’s cunning. They laid out a thick, visible thread, and hid a transparent thread beneath it. If you touch it, poison arrows will rain down from everywhere – the ceiling, walls, and floor.”

Dread pointed his dagger at a spot in the air and spoke.

Rodrigo narrowed his eyes and stared at the spot Dread indicated.

Since he mentioned threads, it seemed like there were threads, but they were barely visible to the naked eye.

No matter how much he tried not to let his guard down, Rodrigo would have been instantly killed by the trap if he were alone.

“As expected, these are traps set by the Bandit King. Two types of threads…”

“Who said two types? It’s three. The first two are for misdirection, and the real one is laid near the ankles.”

Dread laughed as if it were amusing. But his eyes weren’t laughing.

“This is truly wicked. Just as expected of Akasha. Each trap is imbued with thick malice. Hey, everyone! When you pass, mimic the posture I’m taking. If you don’t follow exactly, you’ll become an arrow holder?”

Dread bent his body into an L-shape and hopped awkwardly, with one leg stretched forward, to cross over the threads.

It was a silly-looking posture, but no one laughed.

If they made a mistake, they would be shot by poison arrows and cease to be of this world.

“Oops.”

Rodrigo followed Dread and crossed the threads.

Next was Stella.

Perhaps because of her small size, Stella passed through the trap relatively easily.

And finally, Windy the cleric lifted her leg.

Swish.

For a fleeting moment, Rodrigo felt a chill run down his spine.

His body reacted before his mind could process it.

Rodrigo immediately drew the longsword hanging from his waist.

FWOOSH-!

Arrows, densely hidden in the walls like porcupine quills, were fired all at once.

Rodrigo, reacting swiftly, cut down more than ten arrows with a single stroke, but it was too much to block them all.

‘It’s over. I’m going to die.’

As he braced for the impact that would pierce his entire body and prepared to close his eyes.

Rodrigo slowly opened his eyes.

“This is…”

All the incoming arrows had stopped in mid-air. It was a scene as if someone had stopped time.

Staring blankly at the arrowheads glinting with poison, Rodrigo turned to Stella.

“Th-thank you. You saved me.”

A flow of mana, like a calm wave, surged. Stella was the only one in the party who could wield such mana.

More importantly, how could the skill to capture and stop dozens of arrows in such a short time be explained?

Rodrigo felt like he had witnessed a glimpse of talent whose extent he couldn’t fathom.

“Hoo, your specialty is telekinesis, you said? Truly amazing.”

Dread also said, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Stella simply shrugged her shoulders without showing off. Perhaps it wasn’t a performance grand enough to warrant such a fuss for Stella.

“Be more careful!”

Dread raised his voice. Windy flinched.

The party could have been wiped out by one mistake. They deserved to be cursed out.

“I’m sorry… It’s my first time encountering such a trap… I’ll be really careful next time.”

“First time? Are you lying now? I’ve seen you fall into traps at least six times?”

“Six times? No! I-I didn’t step on that many!”

Windy protested indignantly.

Whose word was the truth?

Rodrigo’s memory became confused again.

‘Damn it, my memory again…’

Rodrigo clutched his forehead.

***

Eventually, during the next break.

This time, Stella approached Rodrigo first.

“How are you feeling?”

“My body? You mean me? I’m fine. A bit tired, but no injuries.”

“You touched your head earlier. Your expression wasn’t good either.”

“Th-that’s…”

Stella stared intently into Rodrigo’s eyes.

That gaze, as if seeing directly into his mind, made Rodrigo feel uneasy.

“It seems you’ve noticed the anomaly, you.”

“Anomaly…?”

“At least you have strong mental fortitude, so you’re resisting it to some extent. Those two aren’t perceiving anything at all.”

Stella gestured with her chin towards Windy and Dread.

Stella lowered her voice and whispered.

“Dread said earlier, didn’t he? That Windy fell into a trap fifty-six times.”

“Ah- Right. What happened? Whose word is correct?”

Rodrigo also whispered softly.

Could this girl already know the truth that Rodrigo didn’t?

“To be precise,”

Stella continued.

“Windy has fallen into poison arrow traps sixty-five times so far.”

Rodrigo’s jaw dropped.

He didn’t know how to react.

Is this a joke? Is she saying this for fun?

It was utterly unbelievable…

However, Rodrigo couldn’t refute it immediately.

“You have an expression that suggests you’ve realized something.”

Stella said, carefully examining Rodrigo’s face.

“I’ll explain what the anomaly is. Ah, before that, I should probably give you some background knowledge. About this labyrinth.”

Rodrigo just nodded blankly.

“Akasha, who was a member of the Hero’s party, made a decision. She decided to create a labyrinth to protect the treasures she had accumulated throughout her life. Akasha immediately began a major construction project and modified the ancient labyrinth into a hell of traps. That’s what’s known to the public.”

Rodrigo knew this story too. Perhaps there was another truth he didn’t know after this.

“And, this is the backstory – Akasha eventually degenerated into a madman and died in the labyrinth. Of course, she was a difficult party member to handle even in the game, though she was strong. She had to be managed with daily condition management and mental checks, but Michael now wouldn’t have been able to do that – Ah, sorry. Forget what I just said. That’s a different story.”

⋯Game?

It was a story Rodrigo found hard to understand. Was it a reference to some magic he didn’t know well?

More importantly, the story of Akasha’s death was shocking.

‘How does Stella know that?’

He wanted to ask about the source of her information, but for now, hearing about the anomaly was the priority.

“So – where was I, ah yes. Akasha, unable to let go of her obsession even in death, became a deranged specter wandering the labyrinth. She herself became the curse that guards the labyrinth.”

“Curse… then…”

“Yes. This phenomenon of being trapped in the labyrinth and repeating the same situation countless times is also caused by Akasha’s specter.”

Rodrigo felt a sense of relief.

It was fortunate that he wasn’t the only one experiencing this phenomenon of his memories fading and repeating like a hamster wheel.

Moreover, Stella, a capable mage, was by his side.

Rodrigo didn’t know how to escape, but perhaps Stella knew a way.

“But you know, this curse isn’t the end of it. I have a question. How many people are in our party when we first entered the labyrinth?”

Stella said, holding up her index finger.

“Of course, it’s four.”

Rodrigo himself, Stella, Windy, and Dread….

Even a child could count that many.

Stella gave a wry smile.

“Four? Yes. I think so too.”

“Is that question important?”

“I just realized it a moment ago. You see, our party was actually only three people when we first entered the labyrinth.”

He felt stunned, as if he had been hit on the head with a hammer.

Rodrigo looked back at the party members.

That couldn’t be right. No matter how many times he checked, it was me, Stella, Windy, and Dread. Clearly four.

Then how could he explain the extra person?

“At some point, there became four. While wandering, lost in the curse that repeats and repeats. Akasha’s specter has infiltrated our party.”

Stella explained as if lecturing students in an easy-to-understand manner.

She was also in a difficult situation, but why was she so calm, as if talking about someone else’s problem?

The words that she had strong mental fortitude, which is why Rodrigo noticed the anomaly, came to mind.

Perhaps Stella’s mental fortitude was even stronger than Rodrigo’s. That’s why she had figured out the cause of the anomaly.

“I think the curse will be broken if we can identify who Akasha’s specter is.”

“I see…”

“Of course, it won’t be easy. As you can see, Akasha has abandoned her appearance and is disguised as a third person.”

“If it’s a disguise, can’t we inform everyone and check? Even with a rough method, if we examine wigs or skin makeup-“

“I don’t think that would be easy.”

Stella shook her head.

“Akasha’s disguise technique is not ordinary. It’s not a disguise applied to the skin, but to the soul. Why else would she be called the Bandit King? You won’t be able to reveal it by examining her appearance.”

“Then how should we find her?”

“We have no choice but to find irrefutable evidence and corner her. Akasha will try to eliminate us one by one by taking advantage of the opportunity while hiding among our party. We have to catch that moment.”

One of them is a murderer disguised as the Bandit King Akasha’s specter…

His heart sank as if a heavy stone had fallen.

He didn’t even know when she infiltrated.

He didn’t know who she had disguised herself as.

When everyone is off guard, Akasha will finally reveal her true identity from the shadows.

“I want to save everyone, but honestly, I’m not confident. I’ll try my best, but… For now, at least try to survive as much as you can. Protect your own body yourself, not someone else.”

Stella concluded her explanation.