Chapter 43: C-Rank Labyrinth — Nightmare World (1)
Chapter 43: C-Rank Labyrinth — Nightmare World (1)
A priest is a class that serves the good gods.
To be precise, after the era of the Grand Crusade when the balance between good and evil collapsed, priests of Evil Gods were degraded to nothing more than “cultists.”
But in Nightmare World, that was not the case.
The timeline here belonged to a future where every good god had perished.
Only faith toward Evil Gods remained, and so the cultists had finally reclaimed their original title of priest.
“How utterly foolish.”
A low voice of a demon priest sounded from the darkness.
“You could have preserved your fragile breath by retreating to the world of fate after indulging in the filth of pleasure. Why commit such a misguided sin and sink into the silence of solitude?”
It was clearly a situation that required serious focus, yet—
“What is he even saying?”
—Pfft.
Pendrick and Astrimia were chuckling quietly beside me, making it difficult to stay immersed.
And apparently the Evil Gods were having trouble focusing as well.
《Sorry for interrupting, but the Wise One cannot hold back their laughter. Honestly, I find it funny too. XD》
Crackle, crackle!
The Evil Gods were giggling without any sense of timing.
Why could they not behave more dignifiedly?
Their cultist was carefully conducting an exploration, after all.
“For fireflies falling into peril, no silence shall be permitted.”
Flames blossomed simultaneously in the priests’ hands.
“Burn.”
Just before the fireballs were launched—
Slice.
The priest who had been rambling moments earlier lost his head.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Heads continued separating from demon bodies and falling to the ground.
Only after six of them had been killed did the remaining priests frantically look around and unleash bursts of fire, but it was useless.
“…….”
Rosalia.
The elf assassin capable of blending with shadows dashed through the enemy ranks, repeatedly swinging her daggers.
“You will regret this…”
After severing the head of the final demon priest who left behind such a stale last line—
Rosalia rose from the shadows behind me and tapped my back.
“Well done. Let us go.”
This time Rosalia eliminated them easily because the enemies were careless.
Next time, things would not go so smoothly.
As we sprinted forward, the enormous eye gradually grew closer.
Because we were all wearing the Curtain of the Night Sky, the eye could not perceive us.
After one day it would begin to see through the disguise, so we had to escape far away before that happened.
…I’m out of breath.
My Vitality had reached 6, but running without rest was still difficult.
Pendrick was breathing heavily as well, clearly approaching his limit.
Fortunately we reached the shoulder before collapsing from exhaustion.
—Something is shining over there.
Astrimia pointed her blade toward the center of the vast shoulder.
A rectangular gate flickering with murky green light.
《Spatial Transfer Gate》
《A transfer gate opened by an entity presumed to be a black mage. It appears to be used when issuing commands to the King of the Dead by speaking into its ear.》
“We will reach the ground through that.”
“…Won’t enemies be waiting on the other side?”
“It’s fine.”
As we approached the gate, I spoke to Astrimia.
“The moment we cross, release the brightest light you can.”
—Understood.
The three of us stood side by side before the gate, closed our eyes, and stepped forward together.
A severe dizziness swept through my head, reminding me just how advanced and convenient the gates that functioned as labyrinth exits truly were.
Shhhhh—
As dazzling starlight shone through my closed eyelids, we immediately ran to the right.
“Ugh!”
“Lonely Silence!”
“…Enemies.”
Ignoring the voices coming from all directions, we ran without stopping.
If we stopped, we would die.
Rosalia, as an assassin, had no chance of victory in a direct confrontation with numerous enemies.
Looking up while running, I saw that the massive eye that had once seemed so close was now far above us.
Just a little more.
The King of the Dead stood roughly between the center of the entire region and the northern edge.
Using the eye as a landmark, we had to estimate our position.
Just like sailors of the past navigating by constellations.
“We need to shift slightly to the right as we go.”
If we continued straight, we would reach a decent hiding place.
It was not perfectly safe, but it was the only location where we could rest even briefly during this three-day exploration.
—Grrrr.
As my breath reached its limit, a low growl echoed from beyond the darkness.
Our position had been discovered.
Red glows appeared everywhere.
More than forty pairs of long, slit-like eyes.
《Demonic Watchdog (Level 1 + Level 2)》
《A beast of the demonic realm raised by black mages. The danger rises sharply as their numbers increase.》
“…….”
Rosalia immediately attempted to turn into a shadow using Shadow Folk to deal with the pack, but I raised my arm to stop her.
“No. They are not alone.”
Among the countless red eyes were enemies we would never have noticed if the Eye That Perceives Truth had not revealed them.
《Demon Black Mage (Level 5)》
《A black mage addicted to the power of the demonic realm. A formidable enemy.》
“There are two black mages controlling the dogs. Prevent them from assisting the pack and look for an opportunity to assassinate them. Move carefully—especially beware of curses.”
“…Be careful.”
Rosalia spoke aloud with concern for me before disappearing into the shadows.
Meanwhile, the watchdogs continued closing in.
Now it was the moment for the genius swordsman and the Ego Sword to step forward.
“Pendrick, Astrimia. I leave it to you.”
“…Can I do it?”
Pendrick, still merely an aspiring explorer, asked cautiously.
His voice was filled with tension.
“You can.”
If he could not, I would never have brought him somewhere this dangerous.
“…Understood.”
Pendrick slowly stepped forward.
The watchdogs accelerated toward him.
“Asmi. Let’s go.”
—Yes!
Wrapped in a summoner’s Curtain of the Night Sky, Astrimia emitted warm starlight.
One star appeared upon the blade.
The first star—Dubhe.
Whoooosh.
Starlight aura enveloped the sword.
—Grr!
—Bark! Bark!
Watchdogs rushed from all directions.
Pendrick stood still for a moment, then swung Astrimia horizontally.
[Powerful Cleave].
A First-Tier Mystery that delivers a powerful slash.
Slice!
Astrimia severed the neck of the first charging watchdog and immediately cut down two more.
Pendrick was only a Level-1 swordsman and lacked experience.
His stance was clumsy and his swordsmanship slow, yet every strike precisely split the enemies’ bodies.
The aura—which ignored more than thirty percent of enemy defense—compensated for his imperfect technique.
Crunch!
Eventually one watchdog succeeded in biting Pendrick’s shoulder.
But it was not a serious problem.
Crack!
Pendrick’s skin hardened and turned gray.
Body of Resistance.
A Mystery that temporarily alters the body in response to attacks that cause injury.
The watchdogs’ teeth and claws could no longer inflict meaningful damage.
“Look at me!”
If Pendrick was fighting this hard, I could not stand idle as the expedition leader.
Whenever Pendrick was about to be in danger, I burned a watchdog using the artifact Spark of Glory, while the Eye That Perceives Truth transformed into a crow and pecked out watchdog eyes when opportunities appeared.
If I had been alone, I would have been surrounded and turned into half-elf chew toys.
But now I had reliable front-line support.
“Asmi!”
Pendrick swung the sword again.
It was still Powerful Cleave, repeated again and again.
But—
Its power was no longer First-Tier.
Even Level-2 watchdogs with higher Soul Rank than Pendrick were being split in half.
…Of course it should be that strong.
Pendrick’s second trait—
Master of the Sword.
Its effect raised the tier of all sword-related Mysteries by two levels while holding a sword.
“Come at me!”
As their numbers rapidly dwindled, hesitation appeared in the watchdogs’ movements.
The genius swordsman seized the opportunity and charged forward, cutting them down.
A mere Level-1 explorer.
An explorer without even a bronze badge was overwhelming monsters.
Tingle.
As if impressed, Sue’je suddenly sent a will filled with deep interest.
Pretty one, I see now why you insisted on recruiting that stylish fellow.
I nodded.
“I told you. Pendrick will one day become the leader of the Twelve Heroes.”
In the game, Pendrick was the strongest and best companion.
And that remained true even now.
“How dare—!”
The head of a black mage who had been stubbornly resisting while summoning green demonic mist suddenly flew sideways.
“…….”
Rosalia, having killed the last enemy, sheathed her dagger and rose behind me from the shadows.
The battle was over.
As expedition leader, I patted both members on the shoulders.
“Well done.”
“That was exhausting…”
Pendrick had nearly depleted his warrior-class resource—Vigor—and his voice was weak.
Rosalia remained silent as usual.
“I would like to suggest we rest, but we cannot. Because of that fight, more enemies have likely discovered us.”
Even though Astrimia’s starlight had gone out, priests and black mages who had already noticed us would be approaching.
We had to move quickly again.
While running toward the temporary shelter, I spoke quietly to Pendrick.
“Did your Soul Rank increase?”
“Oh, yes! I think it did!”
The genius swordsman had now reached Level 2.
He had already entered labyrinths several times before meeting me, so this battle provided the remaining experience he needed.
It was not only Pendrick who advanced.
“I also leveled up.”
I was now a Level-3 Cultist.
Between the Corrupted Statue of Metherd, the Bloodbird Blurrybe, and the sacrificial ritual, I had defeated only valuable monsters.
It was time.
《Through your accomplishments, your Vitality has increased by 2 and Faith has increased by 1.》
My most important stat had risen by two.
My Vitality was now 8.
With Ghoul Mobility, it could reach 14.
At that level, most attacks could no longer kill me instantly.
“There you are!”
Just as our speed began to slow, murky green thorns shot toward us from afar.
Fifth-Tier black magic—
Hell Needle.
A type of Mystery that my companions could not afford to take.
I ran forward and took the entire attack myself.
Crack!
Thorns pierced my entire body.
Not only physical damage, but mental erosion as well.
《Do you acknowledge that I am the greatest helper?》
The Eye That Perceives Truth used Membrane That Defers Wounds for me.
My life force would now decline very slowly.
Boom! Boom!
Hell Needle continued flying.
But now I was a Level-3 Cultist.
With my Soul Rank increased, the efficiency and power of my Mysteries had improved as well.
Using Ghoul Mobility, whose duration had increased to about two minutes, I endured the damage and blocked every incoming black magic attack with my body.
Offensive black magic is manageable…
The curses that came with it were not so easy to ignore.
Weakening curses.
Fatigue curses.
Agony curses.
All combined, my legs trembled, but I forced myself forward.
“What kind of lunatic are you?!”
The unseen black mage shouted in shock, revealing his position.
Rosalia would never miss such an opportunity.
“Urgh…”
The moment I heard the black mage collapse, I drank a vitality potion and continued forward.
“There’s no time to celebrate killing one. Move.”
In this labyrinth, even the slightest mistake meant death.
And that was precisely why—
It felt wonderful.
I was alive.
And I intended to remain that way.