episode_0158

158. 2nd layer (4)

Whatever the reason, since I had decided to continue exploring, I had to do something about that strange fountain.

Julie and I moved back to the empty lot to observe the creatures that the fountain was spitting out.

“Does it smell a bit fishy?”

“That’s right.”

By the way, is this woman talking while blowing wind in my ear when she could just whisper next to me?

It’s like the hot, sticky breath you feel when your faces get close to each other during sex, tickling your ears.

“Did you get hit?”

“Stop joking.”

“Huh~”

“Oh my…”

“Just wait.”

Julie, who had been making such a strange snorting sound, disappeared from sight again.

The stealth ability is definitely there.

As I stood there for a moment, Julie appeared, holding one of the corpses in her hand.

Bam-!

Crash-!!

“Uh…”

“Ugh… I think my hands smell like blood.”

Whoosh-

Choop!

Then he threw the body to the floor and tore his hand open, and the liquid that had been on her wrist disappeared in an instant.

“Let’s take this first.”

“Should I take it?”

At my words, Julie looked at me quietly.

“Then I caught it without being caught. Do I have to move it too?”

“That’s right. Ugh!”

Even though Juri talks cheerfully, she gives off a slightly scary vibe like a bully… She gives off the kind of vibe that makes it seem like you’ll get screwed if you try to tease her, so I can’t do anything about it.

I quietly returned to my companions, dragging the corpse, which reeked of blood.

“Wow. Cain, what is this…”

“Gee…gross!”

“Oh my, it smells terrible.”

Sia, Lauren, and Claude frowned, covering their noses.

“What about me who brought this? Mr. Juri, why did you bring this guy?”

“Well, let’s take it apart.”

“Yes?”

Phew-!

Hey, when did you take my dagger again?

Julie began to rip the body apart with her dagger.

Crunch-! Crunch! Phew!

“Ah, it’s a bit tough.”

Strangely, it seemed like he was clumsy at using a knife, but he was also used to it.

At the sight of the thing disintegrating in real time, Lauren eventually foamed at the mouth and passed out, and even Sia vomited.

Claude and I kept watching.

“What, there’s no magic stone?”

“Really? It’s usually in the head, heart, or navel?”

That moment when I was talking to Claude about the peculiarities of the corpse.

Phew-!

Shudder!!!!

Julie stabbed the corpse with a dagger right in the center, where the genitals would be.

And as I was swinging the daggers here and there, I felt my knees tingle without me realizing it.

“Um… None.”

“Is the verification complete?”

“Okay. Well written.”

He handed me a dagger with a strange liquid flowing out of it that was not blood, and I immediately opened the water bottle and washed the dagger.

And when I looked to the side, I saw Claude also curling his legs and shaking his shoulders.

“Let’s do it well.”

“Uh…”

Claude nods his head like crazy to what I say, and Juri smiles brightly as if it’s the right answer.

He knows what kind of kid Claude is and showed him in advance so he wouldn’t tease you.

“Jury? So, did you get anything out of it?”

“Hmm… that’s a little strange.”

“Really?”

“The body structure is like a humanoid monster, but it’s a little strange.”

“Uh….”

“Here’s the upper arm. The thigh and…”

Hey, Teacher Juri? Your explanation is too detailed.

Julie snickers as she sees Claude flustered at the sudden start of an anatomy class.

“I know because I’ve split it up a lot.”

“Aha.”

“So there is no magic stone?”

“There’s that too. Have you ever heard of something similar among monsters?”

Ask me a question without giving me the answer right away.

Obviously…

“Uh… I’ve heard of a monster that keeps coming out of a tree-like nest.”

“That’s right. The nest of red tide.”

“Ah.”

I heard it once while drinking with Mr. Hawk.

Among the monsters that appear after the 3rd level, there is a monster called Red Tide that looks like a crow made of blood.

They continuously emerge from the nest one at a time, and it is said that if the nest is not destroyed quickly, the number will increase indefinitely.

It is said that the power is infinite, and that it replenishes by absorbing the blood of explorers obtained through battle or the corpses of surrounding monsters.

They say that the magic stones only come out from the main body of the nest and not from the rest.

“Red Tide’s Nest is also a monster that frequently appears on the 3rd floor. It’s annoying to deal with, but it always drops low-grade magic stones or higher.”

“But. Why is there something like that on the 2nd floor…?”

“What. The labyrinth has always been like this, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You guys know better after rolling around for 2 years, right?”

Yeah, we get less damage thanks to the Lucky Totem Sia.

I couldn’t bring myself to say that and just laughed awkwardly.

“They look very different, but if these don’t have magic stones in their bodies, then the fountain is the main body.”

“But how do you attack that? That red tide nest is a 2-meter tree with a circumference that is about the size of four adult men, but that is…?”

“Uh…”

Even Julie couldn’t give a clear answer to that question.

“First, throw that away. It smells too bad.”

“Yep.”

I thought she was beating around the bush, so I stared at her intently. But she wasn’t really jealous of Juri, who was spewing murderous intent. Really.

*

*

*

The labyrinth that we entered at noon has now been in for about four hours.

After Juri brought out the thing that the fountain had vomited out and put on a dismantling show, everyone was taking a break from the smell and the visual shock.

“Oh.. You’re good at mapping too?”

“Yes, it’s essential for survival.”

As I was looking at the map, I suddenly heard Julie’s voice exclaiming in admiration as she rested her chin on my shoulder.

Because of the nature of Julie’s outfit, a lot of her skin is exposed and there are a lot of areas that come into contact, so it feels stranger than you might think.

“You. Are you more capable than I thought?”

“I’m a little.”

“You never fail to praise the little one.”

“If not, what will they say about me being humble?”

“Ugh..! Got caught.”

Looking at her speech, it was hard to keep my composure because it sounded like the speech of a very rough girl in her past life.

Aside from everything else, I still don’t understand why this woman is acting this way.

If she had been observing our party, especially mine, she would have seen that I was a huge womanizer and had an excessive amount of sex with Lauren, but she didn’t say anything.

Unless we do something fatal to Lauren, would they still be this friendly, even if they think that they are long-lived and will have more days to live after we die?

“What are you thinking?”

“Yes?”

Even though he couldn’t see my expression, he suddenly asked me if he felt something from me.

Is this woman as sensitive as Lauren?

“I wonder if I am worthy of such favor.”

“Favor? Me?”

“Isn’t it?”

Juri paused for a moment at my answer.

“Who? You? Or you guys?”

“Both.”

Slurp-

Julie, who was leaning against my back with her breasts, hugged my body with her arms wriggling like a snake.

“Uh…”

“Shhh…”

Lauren and Sia were sitting on their suitcases, patting each other on the back, while Claude stood guard ahead.

It means that no one is watching right now.

Actually, it wouldn’t be a big deal even if Lauren or Sia noticed now.

“Good party. You guys.”

“Is that so?”

“Even if it’s the second year, this kind of atmosphere doesn’t come out easily.”

In fact, it’s amazing that none of the kids I came with died in the past two years.

Julie’s face, which was resting her chin on my shoulder, moves slightly.

It seemed like he was looking at his colleagues.

“First priority is to ensure Lauren’s safety.”

“I guess so.”

“And….”

For a moment, her words pause.

And then a soft voice came out of her mouth.

“I just wonder what it would have been like if I had been with a guy like you, or a party like you, when I was going in and out of the labyrinth for a long time.”

The tone of voice I first heard after meeting her.

It was a word that felt like a sigh, somehow.

“I’m a little nervous because you guys are being targeted.”

“I see.”

“Yeah. That’s it.”

Juri’s body sticking closer and closer.

And we stayed there in silence for a while, feeling her slow heartbeat on my back.

*

*

*

*

match-!

“Hey everyone. I think you’ve rested enough now. Do you want to come and meet up?”

After a while, Julie broke away from me and started clapping her hands, calling her colleagues together.

As we sat around the lantern, Julie told us her plan.

“I checked while dismembering that guy’s body, and there was no poison.”

“Really?”

“Uh. One less thing to worry about in battle.”

“Thank goodness.”

“And…”

It wasn’t even a big operation.

Her suggestion is for Lauren and Julie to circle the vacant lot, corner them, and deal with them together.

And also check how close you have to get before the fountain reacts.

“If that’s the case, I can do it too.”

“No, first of all, we need to save power.”

“Um…”

I usually do a lot of scouting and exploration, so I was a little offended when he told me to leave, but Julie pointed to Lauren and spoke.

“Lauren, you said that all statuses are still 1?”

“Yes.”

“This year, my punches back at the World Tree didn’t even hurt her.”

“It might be because Jury’s status has been weakened…”

“My strength status is 10? Even if it weakens, it should be at least over 5”

The land of the elves, where the World Tree was located, existed in a location unknown to humans.

But because of what Juri said, the scope was narrowed to some extent.

“Can I tell you something like that?”

“Because they’re Lauren’s friends.”

Cool. By the way, what is the status 10?

“That’s right, Juri! That chestnut hurt a little bit back then. Haha!”

Phew-!

“Eww!!”

This time, it seems like he’s controlling his strength, but Lauren falls down clutching her head.

“Honestly, every time I asked her to help me train, I got my back bent by that bitch a few times. Even when I hit her with all my might, her head would only slightly cave in and then come back.”

What is that? It’s scary.

“Anyway, it’s not poisonous, but we don’t know what kind of attack pattern it will show, so we have to reduce the variables as much as possible. If possible, it’s better to go with the sturdy Lauren. Lauren’s position right now is a tank.”

“That’s right.”

“Well, if you think it’s dangerous, I have many ways to save Lauren. What do you think?”

“Yes, I understand. Let’s do that.”

In the end, I agreed to Juri’s plan because I couldn’t find anything to refute.

Claude looks very excited to see Juri fight, and Sia seems to have become close with Juri and gives her a blessing, telling her to keep up the good work.

Exploring with a level 6 explorer.

I’m looking forward to it.