episode_0021

Not long after heading down the left path.

I cautiously proceeded, touching the cave walls in case I stumbled upon another magic-imbued warp stone.

“Phew….”

The stagnant air and dampness due to the enclosed space filled my nostrils with a musty odor.

“To think that there are warp stones capable of transporting through a maze of this scale, compared to the Giant Ent being the boss of the labyrinth.”

Even as I moved forward, it didn’t make sense.

Utilizing my knowledge from the old days, warp stones leading to underground mazes were only found in B-rank upper dungeons.

No matter how much I pondered, it didn’t make sense unless someone intentionally placed these warp stones or they occurred for artificial reasons.

As I continued touching the walls, I soon arrived at an open area.

“…What’s this?”

There was a sense of brightness around me.

No, it was definitely brighter.

The place was adorned with many sparkling objects.

Though faint, these objects emitted multicolored lights, adhering to the maze walls here and there, gently painting the dark maze with hues like watercolors.

“What are these things exactly?”

Orange, blue, green.

Curious about what these multicolored objects, each emitting different colored lights, were, I approached the wall.

And once again, I couldn’t help but be surprised.

“No way, these are all warp stones?!”

They were even quite rare warp stones.

Stones valuable enough to bestow enchantment attributes suitable for high-level gear if refined.

Was this a warp stone labyrinth?

“What kind of stones are these…?”

Among them were stones I had never seen before.

Whether they were unknown stones to the public or ones not seen even in the old days, I couldn’t tell.

“Are these stones related to teleportation magic? If not…”

I brought a sword to one of the unnamed stones attached to the wall.

And tapped it a few times.

-Thud. Thud.

Nothing happened.

Since there was no reaction, it seemed these weren’t trapped by spell magic.

“…Should I pick them up?”

It felt like crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed.

It was a gut feeling. My instincts were telling me so.

As I pondered, in that moment,

-Swish!

-Thud!

“….?!”

Instinctively, I turned my head to the side.

Something had flown past me, grazing my head.

What flew past and hit the wall was a small rock.

Thanks to the split-second sensing of vitality and the reconstructed aura of vigilance, I narrowly managed to dodge it.

The rock had caused a shallow cut on my ear, blood trickling down lightly.

I turned to look where the rock had come from.

“Goblin?”

With a body barely reaching a meter, and its grotesque green skin, there stood undoubtedly a goblin on the opposite side of the cave, glaring at me.

In one hand, it held a peculiar pickaxe.

Why would a goblin be here?

A race that usually dwells in windy hills or forests establishing their territory in such deep underground mazes?

It seemed a bit odd.

“Gieeek! Gieee!”

Oh no, it seems there’s no time for contemplation.

The goblin, with a furious expression, was charging towards me as if possessed.

“Swoosh.”

-Thwack, thud.

Easily, I dodged the goblin’s attack and swiftly severed its head.

Blood from the headless goblin painted the cave floor.

“Why are goblins here, though…?”

But then, it happened.

“Sssss!”

“Gieeek! Gieee!”

From the cave across where the slain goblin emerged, two more creatures appeared in succession.

One was a spider-type monster, Big Spider, a B-rank lower-tier creature from memory.

And the other was a goblin archer wielding a bow.

“What kind of combination is this?”

I was taken aback.

Not only was it surprising to see a B-rank Big Spider, but it also appeared alongside a goblin.

Goblins and Big Spiders don’t have a symbiotic relationship.

They each have different habitats, and they are entirely unrelated.

When creatures with no connection invade each other’s territories, they fight to the death until one perishes. But appearing together in succession…?

This was an unprecedented experience in the game.

As a result, I felt a sense of dissonance along with doubt.

“Sss!”

Without giving me time to think, the Big Spider rushed towards me at an incredibly fast speed, almost reaching my nose.

The rapid movement of its eight legs reminded me of a cockroach.

Amidst my doubts, I gripped my sword and took a defensive stance.

“Kieee!”

“…?!”

As the Big Spider approached, a Goblin Archer behind it aimed an arrow at me.

“What, are they coordinating an attack?!”

I barely managed to block the Big Spider with my sword, bearing its weight.

“Huup!”

With all my strength, I slammed the Big Spider onto the cave floor.

-Assessment!

“Sss…!”

The Big Spider writhed in agony as it flipped over.

But it didn’t end there.

“Kieeeek!”

The Goblin Archer swiftly released another arrow.

Upon seeing the arrow coming towards me, I swiftly stepped aside to the right.

“Krrk!”

-Swish! Thud!

A narrowly missed shot. The arrow embedded itself in the wall where I had been standing moments ago.

“Annoying…”

“Kieeeek! Kiee!”

“…?”

As soon as I moved away,

the Goblin Archer leaped towards me, now standing where I had been, on guard.

At that moment, I noticed something strange.

“Why…? It would have been much more stable to intercept from the distance where he shot the arrow at me just now.”

It seemed like this battle wouldn’t end quickly.

“Sss! Sssss!”

“Kieeeek! Kiee!”

“Hehe….”

Well, let’s see how this goes.

Setting aside all my doubts for a moment, I grasped my sword again and took a stance.

…

“Pant, pant….”

It was quite a tough battle.

Whenever I aimed for the Big Spider, Goblins protected it and aimed their arrows at me.

If I focused on the Goblins, the Big Spider swooped in to attack me.

A coordinated attack between Goblins and the Big Spider—this was a new experience for me.

If I hadn’t been quick enough, I would have almost lost the fight against the Big Spider.

…What kind of place is this labyrinth, really?

Stepping over the bodies of the Goblin and the Big Spider, I walked back to where the Goblin Archer had been earlier.

“Phew….”

Taking a deep breath, I pondered while looking at the gemstone stuck on the wall.

“…Did the first Goblin that appeared here also try to protect this spot?”

Perhaps because of this gemstone.

Both the initial Goblin and the Goblin Archer seemed intent on guarding something here.

If there’s anything worth protecting here, it must be this gemstone alone….

“….”

A stone emitting a white light.

It was indeed fascinating that the gemstone emitted a white light.

Usually, gemstones emit iridescent colors, so….

Curiosity piqued, I reached out towards the gemstone.

And the moment my fingertips touched it.

-Whoa!

“….!”

Startled by the sudden intangible change, I immediately withdrew my hand from the gemstone.

The color of the light in the gemstone had changed to a bluish hue.

“What…?”

I checked my hand and body for any changes.

There were no external changes, but it felt like some of my magical power had been drained.

Perplexed, I looked back at the gemstone.

It was still shining brightly on the wall.

The only difference was that it had changed from white to blue.

“…A gemstone that absorbs magic power, how peculiar. I should investigate further.”

I must have obtained a pickaxe from killing the previous Goblin.

I thought about digging it up and taking it with me for examination.

I picked up the pickaxe lying next to the Goblin corpse.

Then, with all my might, I struck the gemstone that had absorbed my magic power.

-Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the sound of crumbling rocks, the gemstone was dislodged and fell to the ground.

I picked it up and examined it closely.

“….”

There was no repeat of the magical draining phenomenon as before.

The light was still a shade of blue.

“I don’t know what it is… but for now.”

He put it in his pocket.

There was no time to waste anymore. He had to find his comrades.

Having encountered danger here, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t encounter it over there.

I sheathed my sword, took a sip of water from the bag I brought, and moved forward into the darkness once again.

With slightly hastier steps than before.

***

“Monaka! Monaka!”

“….”

“Snap out of it. You can’t lose yourself here!”

“….”

In an, as yet, undisclosed part of the deep labyrinth underground.

Monaka was in shock amidst the endless maze of caves and spaces filled with darkness.

Naturally, witnessing her longtime companion Andrei brutally killed before her eyes must have been shocking.

Adventurers specializing in C-rank missions typically hunt weaker low-level monsters.

Therefore, their lives are relatively safer compared to higher-ranked individuals.

Hence, she probably hadn’t experienced seeing someone being killed right in front of her.

“Monaka….”

Zeke shook Monaka’s shoulders with both hands.

“….”

No response.

“Argh… damn it!”

Zeke slammed his fist forcefully onto the stone floor.

-Thud!

-Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud….

The sound of his strike echoed through the cave.

“We need to find Victor. We can’t stay like this and do nothing…!”

Zeke lifted the slumped Monaka onto his back.

Then, gripping his sword with one hand, he proceeded down the cave path.

Inside the deep cave, only the sound of Zeke’s echoing footsteps could be heard.

“Huff, huff….”

After a few minutes.

While traversing the deep depths.

“Ssssss!”

“Sss! Ssssss!”

Unidentifiable sounds started coming from somewhere.

“What’s that sound?!”

Zeke raised his guard towards the direction of the sound, brandishing his sword.

“Ssssss!”

The sound drew closer.

Zeke swallowed nervously.

Just as the eerie scratching sound, akin to chalk on a blackboard, began to discomfort his ears.

The source of the sound revealed itself.

“Ssssss!”

“…Big Spider?!”

The creature was a monster Zeke was familiar with.

A B-rank monster, the Big Spider.

Though not even half the size of a Giant Ent, it possessed potent venom that caused excruciating pain and instant death upon a single bite.

Additionally, due to its agile dexterity, even veteran B-rank adventurers paid attention to this monster.

“It’s not just one but two…?”

Zeke clenched his teeth and gripped his sword tightly once more.

Then, he turned to Monaka on his back and said,

“It’s okay… It’s okay, Monaka! I will somehow…”

That’s when it happened.

“Ssssss!”

From where the Big Spider emerged, the simultaneous sounds of several Big Spiders echoed through the cave.

Not one or two.

Estimated to be at least five or more.

The multitude of Big Spiders, along with the two already confronting Zeke, joined forces and revealed themselves, making the situation even more terrifying.

“Ssssss!”

“Sss! Ssssss!”

“Oh no….”

Zeke’s pupils dilated.

He felt fear. This wasn’t a problem that could be solved with mere bravery.

Zeke glanced at Monaka who was still lost in her gaze.

“….”

In that moment, Zeke gently placed Monaka on the cave floor.

And whispered to her,

“I’m sorry, Monaka… I will definitely… definitely come back to save you!”

Zeke sprinted at full speed ahead.

And screamed,

“Gah, aaaaargh!”

His scream was not one of helplessness or anger at his failure.

It was a primal scream, overwhelmed by sheer terror, much like that of a newborn baby.

“Ssssss….”

“….”

The pack of Big Spiders approached the fallen Monaka.

For some reason, instead of attacking, they lingered around her.

“Skitter, skitterskitter.”

“Skitterskitter.”

A pack of Big Spiders that seemed to be communicating among themselves.

Soon, one of the Big Spiders in the pack extended its head and hoisted Monaka onto its back.

Then, it began to move in the direction it had come from, gradually disappearing into the darkness.

The other packs of Big Spiders followed suit, vanishing into the shadows one by one.