Chapter 5 — E-Rank Labyrinth: Nest of the Sneaking Ghoul Pack (4)
Chapter 5 — E-Rank Labyrinth: Nest of the Sneaking Ghoul Pack (4)
“Do you understand?”
Marlin remained silent for a moment, thinking. Only after a short pause did she answer.
“There’s a part I don’t understand.”
“What is it?”
“The clear condition for this labyrinth is surviving for eight hours, right? Then how can we get out using a method like that?”
“Ah, I overlooked the possibility that you might be severely lacking in basic knowledge about labyrinths.”
“…….”
Meeting the gaze of the tiger beastman girl who stared at me with an unimpressed expression, I kindly added an explanation.
“Every labyrinth hides a special secret called a Hidden Piece.”
It was something like endgame content designed to encourage repeated playthroughs.
Because even the smallest hint was never provided, explorers could only discover them by risking their lives and experimenting firsthand.
Hidden clear conditions, items, NPCs, quests…
The types differed greatly depending on the labyrinth, but they all shared one thing: they were carefully concealed and almost impossible to discover through ordinary means.
“Even the Mysteries of the priests of the Harmony Church can’t reveal them?”
“Usually not.”
“So mysterious like a labyrinth… Other thieves used to say that about my burglary skills when they found out about them. I guess that’s why.”
I had occasionally seen that expression through the dialogue of companions in the game.
A fitting idiom for a labyrinth city.
“So this ghoul labyrinth also has a Hidden Piece, and the method you just mentioned is the hidden clear condition?”
“Exactly.”
Marlin nodded slightly before narrowing one eye.
“But do you always have to take risks like this to meet hidden clear conditions? One mistake and it feels like we’d lose our lives…”
“Don’t worry. Among all the plans I can think of, this one is the safest.”
“Do you mean everything is dangerous, but this one is just slightly less dangerous?”
Sharp.
Was this the power of a Sense stat of 19?
“Anyway, this is the best option. Can you do it?”
“…Well, what choice do I have? Even if I can’t, I still have to.”
Marlin nodded firmly.
“I’ll trust you, mister. So please—just keep us alive.”
The nuance was different, but it was a line I had also seen in the game.
[Marlin: I’ll obey your orders, so please spare me…]
A line that clearly revealed the designer’s ugly intent of saying, “You can exploit these kids however you like.”
In the game, no matter which option you chose, it essentially created a master–servant relationship. Even if you traveled together, you never built genuine friendship.
But now things were different.
It meant I could eliminate one of the cultist class’s greatest weaknesses: the constant risk of betrayal by companions due to lack of trust.
And so—
My heart couldn’t help but pound.
How high could the cultist class reach if only its advantages remained?
Could the age of “Super-Popular Deity Lidni”, something impossible within the system, finally arrive?
It’s not impossible.
Expectation surged within me.
But the future was time granted only to the living, so for now I had to focus entirely on escaping the labyrinth.
After all, what good was an Evil God if I didn’t survive to worship them?
“Ready? We’re prepared.”
Marlin gently stood up with Abel, whom she had forcibly woken.
I leaned against a tree whose trunk had grown sideways and nodded to them.
“Abel.”
“Yeah.”
The siblings inhaled deeply for a moment, then shouted together with all their strength.
“AAAAAA——!!”
A battle cry.
Though it was hardly grand enough to deserve such a title—just a loud shout.
Perhaps because they were still children, it lacked the fierce presence of a tiger, the true king of carnivores that could overwhelm even lions.
But intimidation wasn’t necessary.
What we needed was location signaling.
We needed to draw the ghouls wandering throughout the forest.
《The stench of rot is approaching from all directions.》
They reacted.
Their hearing wasn’t very sharp, but it was enough that they noticed something.
Now it was my turn.
Slash.
I cut my palm with the dagger.
I spread the wound wide and let the blood drip onto the ground.
It was bait to lure the ghouls, who were highly sensitive to the scent of living humans.
《Numerous ghouls are reacting fiercely to the natural scent carried by your blood and are rushing toward you. Are you planning a grand joint suicide?》
The phrase natural scent bothered me slightly, but I could investigate it later.
Once enough blood had spilled, I tore my clothes and wrapped my hand as a bandage.
“…Mister, they’re here!”
Soon the monsters carrying an overwhelming stench approached.
“Intruder—!!”
“Kihihihi!”
“Prey….”
Grotesque figures flickered in and out between the dense trees of the natural fortress.
Their speed made the attacks I had seen last night seem like slow motion.
This was the excessively agile movement that made countless cultist beginners rage-quit the game.
《Warning: Three ghouls are charging toward you.》
The leading group was almost upon me.
It would be rude to ignore the enthusiastic welcome of such eager predators.
Instead of fleeing, I waved my hand—my left hand still soaked in blood.
“Intrudeeer—!!”
“Kihihihit!”
Perhaps the fresh scent of blood had driven them mad.
They lunged without hesitation, slashing claws and bared teeth.
Goodbye.
Slash!
At that moment, the bodies of the charging ghouls suddenly split apart and collapsed simultaneously.
The severed pieces flew forward due to inertia and landed directly in the center of my overnight handiwork.
“In…tru…der.”
Even after being cut apart like victims in a detective story, the ghouls did not die.
Centered around their heads, their bodies began regenerating.
A superior regeneration possessed by only a few monsters.
Even the one whose brain had been split into two pieces slowly regenerated and rose again.
But—
As soon as their bodies grew to a certain size, they were cut apart again.
《:O》
The same happened to the other ghouls approaching.
Excited by the scent of blood spreading from my waving hand, the undead charged in endlessly—only to be sliced apart by the thin, razor-sharp spider threads.
The moment their bodies regenerated, they were cut again.
From that point on, the process repeated infinitely.
The ghoul pack proved their near-immortality by collapsing and rising again endlessly in agony.
“Grrr….”
Some even managed to crawl up the tree where I sat.
I stabbed one in the forehead with my dagger and shoved it back down, sending it back into the lively infinite resurrection party below.
Since they possessed intelligence, they must have realized it by now.
They had fallen into an inescapable trap.
The murky blood pouring from their bodies painted crimson lines across the invisible threads in the air.
《Web That Binds All Things: A result created by sharpening the threads to the utmost thinness. It should be your first time using this Mystery—why is your proficiency so high?》
Under normal circumstances, the ghouls would have noticed the threads and avoided them.
But now they were completely entranced by the blood pooling on the ground and incapable of rational thought.
“T-this is so simple….”
Marlin peeked out from their hiding place and looked up at me with wide eyes.
She seemed shocked by how easily I had neutralized the ghouls.
That was understandable.
I had been shocked too the first time I successfully used this strategy.
It was a method I personally discovered through experience and analysis.
It had even spread across overseas communities where players began copying it.
“Mister… is it over now?”
“Almost.”
This labyrinth had two clear conditions.
The official one:
Survive for eight hours.
The hidden one:
Render all ghouls combat-incapable.
Bzzzt.
Just as the violently thrashing pieces of flesh began to slow from exhaustion—
A flickering red square rose from the center of the space where the siblings had been hiding.
《Gate leading outside》
《The labyrinth has been successfully cleared! The Forerunner of the Twisted Truth praises your achievement.》
E-Rank Labyrinth
Nest of the Sneaking Ghoul Pack
Clear.
“I didn’t expect it to be solved so easily….”
“Easily? I almost died.”
My head still throbbed from forcing my mental energy to its limit to produce the threads.
Carefully climbing down from the tree, I saw a ghoul hand rolling near my feet glow faintly and transform into a silver book.
A hidden reward.
《First-Tier Mystery Tome — Ghoul Mobility》
《Temporarily grants agility equal to that of a ghoul. Such an excellent Mystery from an E-Rank labyrinth! Even the Wise One is surprised.》
…This is it.
A First-Tier Mystery with remarkable efficiency.
A generous reward reflecting the developers’ philosophy: “Hardship deserves compensation.”
I carefully stored the silver book before speaking to the siblings still staring at the shredded ghouls.
“Kids, let’s go.”
Everything that needed to be done in this foul-smelling labyrinth was finished.
When we passed through the red gate with Marlin and Abel, my vision spun wildly before stabilizing.
Outside the labyrinth was a tavern.
《An unfortunate tavern forcibly closed after the E-Rank Labyrinth [Nest of the Sneaking Ghoul Pack] appeared. Later purchased by the Harmony Church and now operated as a facility for explorers.》
“…We’re back.”
“I’m tired.”
The siblings collapsed onto a nearby table.
Marlin lay down with her forehead on the table and spoke weakly.
“Mister… can we go home now?”
“No. We still have to complete the expedition exit procedure.”
“Ugh….”
“Rest for a moment.”
I was about to wake the Harmony Church priest sleeping on a blanket in the corner, but I paused and looked around.
The tavern I had only seen through graphics.
If I didn’t look around now, I had no right to call myself a veteran.
I wandered around like a tourist until I suddenly opened a window.
Outside was late night.
Cool wind blew from the dark street as I looked over the city.
Then words appeared before my eyes.
《Labyrinth City Pletika》
《A paradise for explorers where thousands of labyrinths lurk. Are you prepared to spread the achievements of the Wise One?》
Pletika, the setting of the game.
A city containing thousands of labyrinths—and now the place where I would live.
I wanted to wander around sightseeing, but I likely wouldn’t have that luxury.
After taking a deep breath like performing a ritual, I looked up at the sky.
Even the constellations are the same.
The moon and stars scattered faint light across the sky.
It was beautiful, but difficult to appreciate.
Because the Eye That Perceives Truth had thoughtfully placed a message floating beside the moon.
《S-Rank Labyrinth — Nightmare Dungeon》
《If it is not cleared within five years, the great demon residing at the top floor will emerge, crush all life, and burn the entire continent.》
Five years.
If I failed to reach the ending within that time—
This world would be destroyed.