episode_0066

Burkan had been giving me strange looks since earlier, but that wasn’t important right now.

‘The ones behind us.’

There were people chasing Burkan.

“……No wonder it’s been so quiet. These bastards have been causing chaos.” “But why are the elves coming here?” “It’s because of their race’s reproduction.”

Glasses adjusted his glasses in response to Rosenta’s question.

“Reproduction… You don’t mean…?” “Yeah, it’s exactly what you’re thinking. Elven men are too frail, so they use the ‘seeds’ of other races to reproduce.” “……So that’s why they’re kidnapping men?” “Orcs have the highest fertility among the five races, and their endurance makes them natural-born warriors. To the elves, they’re the most compatible.”

At Glasses’ words, Burkan’s expression twisted. He glared at Glasses and spoke.

“We live fiercely, and we die fiercely. Even if our hearts burst, we fight to the death against our enemies. That is who we orcs are.” “…….” “You may not understand us. But we fight until our last breath for the greatest battle. Our entire clan is driven by that instinct.” “Not all of them are like that, though?” “No, not all. Some orcs wish to die in peace. We leave those orcs to the elves.” “I see.” “But they’ve crossed the line. They’ve even kidnapped those who wish to die on the battlefield and bound them. To us orcs, that’s no different from death.”

As he spoke, Burkan drew his sword.

A massive blade, as tall as I was. Its width was broad—similar to the greatsword Vulkan wielded.

“……My apologies for this.” “Don’t be. You may see us as savages, but we have our own way of life.”

Burkan fixed his gaze in one direction, glaring.

“So, my friend, lend me your strength.” “What’s the plan?”

I looked at Erme.

While I did contribute significantly to decision-making, Erme was technically our party leader.

-No need to look at me.

A voice pierced my mind.

Erme was speaking to me.

-It was already planned, but from now on, you’ll be acting as the party leader, Yuseong.

Her voice sounded oddly lighthearted.

-It was a burden for me anyway, and you have sharp instincts. I’ll relay it to the rest of the party, so handle it as you see fit.

‘She trusts me, huh.’

No, that was part of it, but… It felt more like she was relying on me.

“I’ll help this time.” “Thank you, friend. I’ll return the favor in kind.”

Burkan nodded.

And so, the group prepared for battle.

I sidled up to Erme and asked quietly.

“There’s another reason the elves are here, isn’t there?”

No matter how I thought about it, it was strange.

If they were hunting men, wouldn’t it be much easier to ambush them elsewhere or on the lower floors?

‘Not the human labyrinth, but the orc labyrinth, for example.’

It was a lingering question.

From their perspective, wouldn’t the orc labyrinth be the best place? Yet the elves had invaded the human labyrinth.

And they had descended all the way to the 4th floor.

‘There’s a reason.’

If they were after men, they could’ve just snatched them from the lower floors and left. But the elves had made a different choice.

They had deliberately come here to negotiate with the orcs.

‘They went out of their way to descend to the 4th floor.’

Something was up.

“You noticed something strange too, didn’t you?” “Yeah.” “Do you know… what the elves’ labyrinth is like?” “No, I don’t.” “Most who should know, do, but…” “It’s a problem unique to the elves’ labyrinth, so it can’t be helped.” “A problem with the elves’ labyrinth?” “It’s a truly horrific place. I never want to go there.”

Erme muttered in a gloomy voice. It was rare to see her this emotional.

Risiel nodded in agreement.

-Be grateful for the environment you’ve been given.

‘Is the difference between labyrinths that severe?’

-That severe. Labyrinths fundamentally differ by race, and they spawn the natural enemies of those who settle there. For example, where those orc bastards settled, golem-type monsters appear. Where dwarves settled, spirits or inanimate objects emerge.

‘…From the lower floors?’

-They’re about as strong as goblins. The baseline is low, but the peak is high, and they have racial traits while also lacking them. Your kind—human labyrinths—are a fusion of the best traits of all labyrinths. That’s why other races come to conquer them.

‘Then these elves…’

-Exactly. They’ve secretly invaded the human labyrinth.

‘Isn’t that a violation of the treaty or whatever?’

-It’s not entirely black and white, but… you’re half right.

Risiel nodded.

‘Then why hasn’t the Adventurer’s Guild…?’

Just as my thoughts were connecting, I looked ahead.

A faint presence was rapidly growing. From the darkness of the cave, a woman stepped forward, having hidden herself until now.

-Hah, a daughter of the Black Lure family.

Risiel sneered as she looked ahead.

‘You know her?’

-Know her? The ones with an inferiority complex toward our Darkmoon family. You know how elven families worship swords, spirits, and bows, right?

‘Yeah.’

The Darkmoon family revered swords.

The other families worshipped spirits and bows, she had said.

Risiel often boasted that the Darkmoon family’s swordsmanship was the greatest, having inherited the Eclipse, the essence of elven identity.

But the other families had something comparable.

‘I wish it were bows.’

I knew multiple sword techniques, but with bows, I only had Charging Shot.

-…Already thinking of stealing techniques, I see.

‘If I get stronger, you benefit too, right?’

-The result being the elves’… No, never mind.

Risiel gave a cold smile.

-Since it’s come to this, crush them all.

‘Of course.’

I glared at the elf at the forefront.

The elves glared back.

The leading woman stared at us before turning to Burkan.

“Burkan, you ignored our deal and sided with humans.” “What we heard from you was: ‘Die honorably or die disgracefully.’” “You find our offer disgraceful? What part of it is disgraceful? We’ll feed you, let you live comfortably, and if needed—” “We are beings with wills. We refuse to be enslaved by the likes of you!” “Tch, typical orcs. Humans at least become docile when they see our looks. Hey, human.”

The elf turned to me.

“Don’t you want to come with us?” “An elf once said something similar to me.” “…Since you’re still here, I guess they died. Was it the brutish Darkmoons or the scheming Dark Spells? Ah, the Darkmoons recently said they had no heir, so it must’ve been them.” “Black Lure, then.”

Given how she disparaged the other two families, she was likely from the Black Lure family.

I grinned.

Their specialty was bows.

One of the families that traditionally produced rogue-type heroes.

They used branches of the World Tree to craft their weapons, wielding hero-grade arms imbued with the power of spirits and darkness.

“Hmm, if you know my family, you’re not entirely hopeless. For a human, your looks even surpass ours… Good, I like you. Come with us.” “No thanks.” “Sorry, but that’s already decided. Ah, I haven’t introduced myself. Silvarion Blacklure. The woman who will be your husband.”

Silvarion Blacklure.

With that, she lowered her hand.

Whooosh!

Bows charged with mana aimed at us from behind.

‘In such a narrow space…’

Dozens of arrows flew toward us.

Each one carried immense mana, making them dangerous—

‘They’re weaker than I expected?’

They were less powerful than Charging Shot. There should’ve been something more, but I didn’t see it.

-You’re the odd one here. Normal arrows don’t pack that much power.

‘I guess.’

I drew a throwing dagger and hurled it at Silvarion.

‘Shadow Dance.’

Mana infused the dagger, and it began to multiply mid-air.

‘So damn useful.’

Against stronger foes, it distracts. Against weaker ones, it kills.

I scanned the surroundings. The orcs charged first, followed by Teresa.

Rosenta and Erme guarded Glasses in the rear.

I stepped far back and nocked an arrow.

“Hah, using a bow against us? How arrogant.”

Silvarion spoke as she cleanly severed an orc’s arm.

“It’s not just any arrow, is it?”

I drew the bowstring and activated Charging Shot.

Crackle.

Mana drained in an instant as purple lightning coiled around the arrowhead.

It condensed further.

Seeing the fully charged arrow, Silvarion’s eyes widened.

“Stop him, now!”

Arrows flew, but Erme’s sword deflected them.

Some targeted Glasses, but—

Thud!

Rosenta punched an arrow out of the air.

‘Doesn’t that hurt her hand?’

What kind of brute-force method was that?

But I pushed the thought aside. The mana in Charging Shot had reached its peak.

BOOM!

With a sound like tearing air, the arrow shot forth at blinding speed, piercing through the elven ranks.

KRZZZZT!

Purple lightning incinerated the elves.

—

‘Are they just that strong?’

Maybe it was their enchanted gear or their bonded spirits.

Shockingly, not a single elf had died.

‘I meant to kill them.’

The fact that none had died was a bit of a shock.

“Kuhahaha! As expected of my friend! That strike was fiercer than most elven arrows.” “You’re better than our shamans.”

An orc nearby gave me a thumbs-up. I awkwardly smiled and looked at the elves.

“Just hand over your weapons quietly.” “You’ll spare us?” “…….”

Honestly, I didn’t really want to.

‘But there are eyes watching.’

The thought that the kidnapped men were treated relatively well made me hesitate.

The elves reluctantly surrendered their weapons and armor.

“How much is all this worth…?”

Erme’s voice was dreamy as she stared at the elven gear.

‘Risiel.’ -What? ‘Any weapons like Whisper of the Wind here?’ -…There’s something similar, but they probably left it behind. More importantly, Whisper of the Wind is one of the Darkmoon family’s treasures—! ‘So, nothing.’

Ignoring Risiel’s glare, I helped gather the weapons.

Teresa, with her superior strength, happily carried the bag. Normally, Glasses would’ve done it, but with the orcs around…

“Hmm, with this, we might be able to take on the 4th-floor boss.” “The boss on the 4th floor is still alive?” “Indeed, my friend. The reason we ran into these elves was because of the boss room.” “Makes sense. No wonder they had such good gear. Ah, this is silk from the 3rd-floor Arachne boss room! They weren’t hunters—they were golden goblins!” “How dare you compare us to goblins, human?!” “La-la-la~”

Erme grinned, her eyes practically turning into gold coins.

“Seems like we’re lucky? It’s like we hit the one day all the deep-diving adventurers are resting.” “The ones who took over might come up soon. Let’s move fast.”

We cheerfully headed toward the boss room.

‘Something…’

Felt off.

A strange premonition. Usually, heading to a boss room felt like striking gold.

But this time—

‘When was the last time…?’

This feeling was recent, so I remembered quickly.

‘Nokgolma.’

When that bastard had rampaged through the lower floors.

But I couldn’t stop the party’s advance just because of a bad feeling.

Soon, we reached the boss room.

“Two orc party members. We’ll use the Adventurer Guild’s Golden Scale to measure contribution and split the loot accordingly.” “I like it. Watch how we orcs fight, my friend!” “Something feels weird.” “……Weird?”

At my words, Burkan’s expression turned grave.

The others reacted the same way.

“You felt something off the moment we entered the boss room? This is just the 4th floor.”

Everyone took it seriously.

Just because I said it felt weird?

-If someone of your caliber says it’s weird, it usually is. Be careful…!

Risiel’s warning.

At the same time—

CRASH!

Burkan’s body was sent flying, slamming into the door.

‘Ah, fuck.’

No wonder today felt lucky.