Floor 9, Hounds of the Labyrinth (7)

From either side of the iron door, hounds behind the bars howled savagely. It was a growl brimming with hostility, as if they had no intention of ever approaching the iron door itself.

"Heh heh. Yeah, that's it—keep barking!"

The old man pounded his sword against the bars, egging on the snarling beasts like a man gone mad. Apparently that tedious defensive stand earlier had gotten under his skin.

I turned my gaze back to the iron door. Had the wave of flame Ha Heijeong unleashed actually reached it? A layer of dark soot clung to the firmly shut surface.

It struck me all over again just how lucky we'd been to get the key from that baby mimic. Without it, we'd have found the hidden room and still never opened it. Had anyone else ever forced a mimic to cough up a key like that? Even if other climbers made it here, they'd have suffered through the hounds and never gotten the door open.

Or died to the swarm, more likely.

While fleeing up the stairs, no one would have had the presence of mind to shut the hidden room behind them. There was a good chance the door wouldn't have closed again at all.

"Let's just pray nothing else comes bounding out of the hidden room..."

"Agreed. There are so many of them, and since they're quadrupeds, there's no telling where they'll charge from next."

The old man's voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I saw Cole give a nod. Fair point. The hounds' numbers were simply overwhelming, and among the party, only Ha Heijeong was truly suited to fighting many foes at once—and she was currently drained of mana.

Personally, I'd almost prefer a single strong one to come out. Not that I was bad against numbers either, but honestly speaking, my mana ran short compared to my other stats. I couldn't afford to fling lightning around with reckless abandon.

Dozens, I could handle. But if hundreds came flooding in like before, even I'd wear down eventually.

Left alone, I could take my time and kill them all, but that wasn't the situation. I couldn't fight while shielding every party member one by one. Please, just don't come surging in like a endless tide...

With that small, silent wish, I slid the golden key we'd wrung from the mimic into the keyhole above the iron door. Click. As I turned it, the sound of the lock releasing rang out clearly, cutting through the party's strange silence.

I was about to open the door without a second thought when it hit me—I turned back to the others.

"Everyone ready?"

"Yes!"

"Heh heh. Let's carve through them and get moving. Ideally a treasure vault with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no monsters in it, eh?"

The old man chuckled and drew his shield in tight. For all his oily patter, he was perfectly braced for whatever fight might come.

"Then I'll open it—"

"Hold on! Suhyeok, just in case, let me do it. A trap could spring the instant it opens. I've got a shield, so I'll be fine."

The old man abruptly shouldered his way in front of me. Hmm. Even if a trap did trigger, I was fairly confident I could dodge it...

"Alright, I'll back you up from behind."

I simply gave way to him without protest. Trap or not, it was better for me to be free to react instantly if something unexpected happened. He'd asked so nicely; no point being stubborn about it.

Instead, I took up my axe firmly in my right hand behind him, tensing the muscles in my arm so I could swing at a moment's notice. The old man hauled his shield all the way up to his chin, then carefully gripped the iron door's handle with his sword hand and pushed.

"Huh?"

Clunk. The door didn't open. It didn't so much as budge, as if a massive boulder were braced against the other side.

"...What the hell?"

...Hmm. That's not a push door, is it?

But the old man didn't seem to have realized it. He planted his shoulder into it and pushed again. Clunk. The door didn't move an inch this time either, and he tilted his head, baffled.

How has he not figured it out yet...?

"...I don't think it's a push door, sir."

"Ah—aha! Heh heh. Man, and here I thought I wasn't strong enough."

The old man laughed sheepishly and shot a quick glance at Cole. His eyes darted around naturally enough, but they couldn't escape mine. And suddenly I understood why it had taken him a beat to catch on.

Cole failing to pull the lever earlier must have left a pretty vivid impression on him. So he'd assumed the door was stuck because of his own strength.

"Heh heh. Then shall we try again?"

Grinning, the old man took hold of the door and pulled this time. Screeeech— the iron door groaned open, the shriek of metal on metal sending a chill down my spine with sheer volume.

Through the widening gap, small pupils began to come into view. The first thing I saw was a two-headed hound that looked well over three meters tall. Beside it stood a figure in a black robe, then another hound, and behind them all, on a small altar, sat a single black shoe.

That shoe was probably the reward.

"Battle positions! Harin, Cole—protecting Heijeong comes first!"

Two heads this time, huh? Not three.

A knockoff Cerberus, then. It looked similar to the hounds from before... were those things we killed its offspring? Except the head count doesn't match.

Well, not worth obsessing over.

My thoughts kept sliding off on tangents. Focus. Whether it was enraged by the scent of its young's blood or not, the beast was growling low in its throat, ready to lunge at any moment. And at the center of those pupils, the figure in the black robe.

That one's the black mage who revived the hounds, isn't it? I have to take him down first.

If I foolishly went for the big knockoff Cerberus first, things could get messy like before. Kill him in one stroke. I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠recalled the sensation from earlier—that moment so fast it felt like leaping through space itself. I channeled lightning into my legs, from there spreading it through my whole body.

"Suhyeok, which one should we—?"

I blasted off before the old man could even finish. A span shorter than the blink of an eye, and the black-robed mage was right in front of me. I caught sight of his grotesque face mid-chant, lips muttering some sinister incantation—reptilian scales, a species I'd never seen before.

Startled by my speed, the mage froze mid-spell, eyes going wide. Trying to dodge, was he? Too late. Before the startled black mage's eyes could even finish widening, I brought the axe down.

"Urk—"

CRACK—! My axe, scattering lightning, buried itself in the black mage's forehead. He didn't even manage a groan. His eyes bulged wide a beat too late. Through the gap between the brows of a mage dying with open eyes, brains mingled with blood and came streaming down.

Hm. I suppose you could call that a kind of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠instantaneous movement magic, too...

—Okay, stop. Apparently Ha Heijeong's spell impressed me more than I thought.

Two knockoff Cerberuses left. I've burned through most of my mana, but... I could still beat them down with raw strength and it wouldn't matter one bit. I wrenched the axe free of the collapsing mage's forehead, glistening blood scattering from the blade into the air.

"Whoa..."

"Sir, just guard the party! I've got this!"

Ignoring Seo Harin, who stood gaping in astonishment, I shouted to the old man. Normally I'd have liked to let the party members fight and build experience, but time was tight. Even rushing back now would be cutting it close.

Rationing my lightning to conserve mana, I charged the knockoff Cerberus.

"Krehng!"

"Krehhehng!"

The hound wailed from both maws at once as it rushed to meet me. Two heads—which to hit first? The question flickered through my mind for half a second.

Eh. Just break both.

I swung the axe wide and brutal, in a horizontal arc. The first impact half-shattered the left head. On the second, the axe bit halfway into the right. Ignoring the massive hound as it crashed into the ground, I glanced back.

Good—it came for me too.

Sore about its master's death, maybe? The other hound had also ignored the party members and charged straight at me. One big step to the right. Sidestepping its charge, I drove the axe down into its flank.

"Kyaaeng!"

The shock sent the hound tumbling across the floor. Giving it no room to recover, I pushed off hard from my left foot and leapt, bringing the axe down again. Crunch. Crunch. Two thick necks snapped, a heartbeat apart.

And that was the end of the hidden room.

We'd finished it off cleanly, but I had the feeling things would have gotten considerably complicated if I hadn't taken out the black mage first. Thinking it over again, it had been the right call. When I turned to the party members, they were all staring at me with bewildered eyes. Was that too easy?

The old man, Mister Hosu, caught my glance and finally managed to open his mouth.

"Wow, damn... Suhyeok! You alright?"

The question that followed was pure formality. Concern for my wellbeing took a clear backseat to the sheer awe in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine."

I answered absently and turned back around. Time to claim the reward—that shoe.

More than anything else, the words step on empty air caught my eye. How much more versatile would my fighting become with these on? My heart was hammering with anticipation. I picked the shoes up carefully.

The bars outside aren't going to open again just because I grabbed this... right?

Contrary to my worries, no sound of the bars reopening came from beyond the iron door. Now it was time to hustle back toward the exit.

"We're getting out of here."

I smiled at the party members, who were still half in a daze.

"Oppa! What WAS that earlier? That was so cool! Wham! Bam! BAM!"

"R-right? And here I was worried the hounds would break loose, and he just one-shots the black mage!"

"Haha."

On the way back to the exit, all I could offer Seo Harin and the old man's burning praise was a faint smile. Maybe they took that for modesty, because Cole spoke up with a serious face.

"Suhyeok, you need to be a little more confident. Whenever our party hits a dangerous moment, it's always Suhyeok who resolves it easily. Same with you, Heijeong."

"Aw, come on, no."

"...Are you doing it on purpose? To help us grow?"

"Absolutely not."

Cole's question had hit the mark dead center, and my face stiffened. Well... it was about time someone noticed, wasn't it?

How many times had I deliberately held back in combat now? A few on the 7th floor, and quite a lot more on the 9th—I'd even been training Seo Harin along the way.

"Hmm... understood."

With that, Cole said nothing more. At the same time, Seo Harin and Mister Hosu fell silent too, as if lost in thought. For all his words, Cole seemed not to quite believe my answer. Apparently he was now convinced that I and Ha Heijeong were deliberately holding back to help the party grow.

Not that I could come out and say it outright.

From our side it was consideration, but from theirs it might well feel like being treated as dead weight... Wasn't the best move for everyone to know and pretend they didn't? With my limited brainpower, I couldn't come up with anything better.

In that strange atmosphere, the party walked on toward the exit, Cole occasionally calling out directions. I wasn't worried about things getting awkward with them. They were all people with their heads screwed on straight.

There won't be many others besides me and Ha Heijeong who'd extend them this kind of consideration.

It might confuse them now, but soon enough they'd be grateful for it. They were people with bright futures ahead of them—I just hoped they'd keep working hard and keep up.