Chapter 77
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 77
Chapter Title: Boss
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Ian and his crew stepped into the final room of the labyrinth.
It was a much larger space than any of the other rooms they'd seen so far.
The moment they set foot inside, an eerie chill seeped into the air.
...This doesn't feel right.
Everyone instinctively sensed that something was here.
Ian slowly advanced to the center of the room.
As he raised his torch, something hazy shimmered into view ahead, invisible until now.
Bathed in the firelight, it gradually took shape.
This labyrinth's boss: a banshee.
Ian muttered silently to himself.
Of all things.
He shouldn't have let himself think everything was going too smoothly.
Thinking they might clear it without using all the purification potions had jinxed them.
Spotting the ghostly monster materializing in midair, Rin and Lia took up positions at the front.
Ian shouted from the rear, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"It's a banshee! She'll scream during the fight, and that'll stack erosion on us!"
"H-how do we block it?"
"You can't!"
"What?!"
As a spectral type, it couldn't be stunned to interrupt its abilities.
They knew it was coming and still had to take it head-on.
"Then what do we do?!"
"End it as fast as possible!"
They had no choice but to take it down before it dragged on too long.
Everyone grasped immediately that time was short.
An opponent that could be easy or brutally hard.
If luck favored them with tolerable curses, they could buy time and lower the fight's difficulty.
But if the curses went south, they could lose what should have been a winnable fight.
It came down to how much erosion they could endure as it piled up throughout the battle.
A contest of luck and speed.
Just as the battle kicked off and Rin and Lia moved for the first strike...
The banshee's mouth opened, unleashing a shriek that echoed everywhere.
A splitting headache tore through their ears, and the heaviest wave of erosion yet—from anything in this labyrinth—crashed over them at once.
Everyone hunched in agony, but luckily, no one drew a curse this time.
"This is...!"
Moments later, the scream faded.
The banshee floated defenselessly, taking no action.
A gap!
Rin, staggering briefly, lunged in and swung her sword.
Her blade flew toward the banshee hovering motionless in the air.
But Rin's sword passed straight through the banshee without any resistance.
Like a ghost.
"Ack..."
Wait—no, it is a ghost...!
Rin turned to Ian in panic.
"How do we hit this thing?"
"Keep attacking! It'll start landing eventually!"
The banshee's signature: phasing.
A trait that nullified attacks by burning MP.
They had to keep hammering away until its MP ran dry.
As Rin and Lia closed in, slicing through the banshee's form several times, a sinister chill intensified.
The banshee's face whipped around, locking eyes with Rin.
"Rin, magic! Get to the back!"
The banshee's eyes gleamed, cold gathering in the air as frost spread across the floor.
Sharp ice shards hurtled toward the nearest target: Rin.
Having heard Ian and created distance beforehand, Rin dashed sideways, dodging the barrage of spells.
Lia seized the opening, circling behind and swinging wide.
Like before, her strike left only a trail of fiery light, passing harmlessly through the banshee.
...Feels like nothing's connecting at all.
Lia thought that as she swung a few more times and fell back.
True to Ian's instructions, Rin and Lia repeated the pattern: attack during gaps, then withdraw.
Fortunately, the banshee's responses were predictable.
It ignored incoming attacks and simply targeted whatever was closest.
True to undead nature, it followed basic, unintelligent patterns without strategy or reason.
Its cold-based attacks looked dangerous, but the telegraphs were obvious—no reason to get hit.
The banshee landed zero hits on Rin or Lia.
Stray ice shards were blocked by Mika's barrier.
The fight progressed steadily without real threats.
The problem? Time was running critically low.
Another scream.
The mounting erosion crossed the threshold, spawning fresh curses on Ian and the team one by one.
Rin and Lia, retreating hastily, felt unknown curses bind their bodies.
[Attack Power Halved] & [Dizziness]
Confirming both had combat-crippling curses, Ian yelled.
"Rin, Lia! Drink up!"
In a race against time, they couldn't afford debuffs tanking attack power and accuracy.
Both downed their prepped purification potions, curing the curses instantly.
Mika maintaining the barrier, Tanya, and Ian each picked up one more curse.
"Tanya. Holy water next."
"Got it!"
The fight neared its end.
The banshee's hazy form sharpened; attacks were starting to land a bit.
Almost there.
But just as that thought hit, exhaustion caught up to the two fighters.
The scream—unbearable no matter how many times they'd heard it.
A skull-crushing headache struck, and Lia finally faltered, halting mid-step.
"Ugh..."
Body heavy as lead
Her whole body felt waterlogged and limp.
Screams always led straight into a big attack.
Knowing that, Lia tried to retreat—but her body wouldn't budge.
Unable to bear her armor's weight, she staggered and dropped to one knee.
The banshee's gaze fixed on Lia, who hadn't escaped in time.
Rin shouted urgently.
"Watch out!"
Cold extended from the banshee, surging toward Lia.
"Lia! Shield up!"
Ian dashed behind Lia.
Holy oil ignited, white flames roaring from his raised lantern.
Frost coated the floor amid the pouring chill, but the pale blaze held it back.
Ian assessed from behind Lia's shield.
Banshee's status, the team's condition, time left...
Lia couldn't fight like this.
Rin alone might drain the rest of its HP—but one lethal curse in the meantime could doom the party.
They could force a win...
But at high risk of severe injury or death.
They could scrape up another shot later, but losing a core member was irreversible.
In the brief respite from the holy oil, Ian reviewed everything and decided.
After countless scenarios in the labyrinth, one skill had emerged:
Abandoning failure cleanly—before losses snowballed, with minimal damage.
Ian chose to forfeit the run and retreat.
"Fall back. When I signal, drink this and bolt for the exit."
"We're so close... If I just hold on a bit..."
"No."
Ian handed Lia a stamina potion, then shouted to Tanya and Rin.
"Tanya! Smoke bombs on my signal—all of them! Rin, cover Lia's exit for a sec!"
"Yes!"
Tanya prepped the smoke bombs as ordered, biting her lip.
They were right there.
Even to Tanya, a labyrinth newbie, it had been a flawless run.
No major mistakes. They'd have succeeded nine times out of ten.
If just one more purification potion for Lia.
If she hadn't used that crucial one herself back then.
Her head knew it was unavoidable, but it gnawed at her heart.
A purification potion shimmered in Tanya's vision.
Yeah... if only there was just one more...
"...Huh?"
"Tanya! What's that?!"
Ian's shout snapped her back.
A real, solid erosion purification potion gripped in Tanya's hand—not a hallucination.
——.
Tanya heard the voice.
Like the song-whisper from the spring.
...This sound again.
In the whisper, she sensed a will growing clearer.
Not the sound changing—she was starting to understand it.
No language.
A primal intent, predating words.
It spoke to Tanya.
Something glowing flew toward her.
Clearer light than at the spring.
Tanya realized it had granted her wish.
"You gave this...?"
...Affirmation.
Sensing that meaning, Tanya nodded.
No time to ponder what it was or the situation.
No time for thanks.
The fight raged on right in front of her.
Glancing at the potion in her hand, Tanya murmured inwardly.
I've gotta get this to Lia fast.
——.
The potion bottle vanished in a blink, just as suddenly as it appeared.
It felt illusory, but now she understood.
Something unseen took the vial from her hand and ferried it through space.
"This is..."
Lia stared at the potion now in her hand.
And not just that.
"Tanya! Did you do this?!"
"I-I think so!"
Holy water, acceleration orb, stamina potions...
Her near-empty holster brimmed full again after the long fight.
The flying lights moved as if reading Tanya's thoughts.
As Tanya watched, the forms zipping around the room sharpened in her sight.
...Fairies?
Tanya murmured, gazing upward.
- [Spirit Magic] Trait
- Summons a fairy.
- : Ignores strikes, teleports through space.
- : Occasionally gifts random items to summoner.
- : Performs summoner's non-combat actions.
※[Item Collection] [Item Transfer] [Item Throw] [Quickslot Register]