Chapter 158: The Low Sound of a Lute
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 158: The Low Sound of a Lute
The Ancient Armadillo, drawn by the screams of the two men, had been separated into fatty meat and a massive shell, serving as excellent bait and a makeshift shelter.
"How many?"
"Eight of them."
In an instant, we had caught eight Bear Fish, each weighing hundreds of kilograms. One was too small, so I threw it back into the river, but we managed to catch even more Bear Fish as they swarmed to feast on the carcasses of their own kind.
"Ugh—I’m stuffed."
My plan to return to the surface by this evening had crumbled because I’d suffered from mana overload, but everyone seemed satisfied since we’d had such a delicious meal.
The angry Auntie back home would probably be appeased if I brought her some Bear Fish, so that was fine.
Our bellies were full, and by a generous estimate, the sun would set in about three hours. Since we had focused on stealth and avoided combat on the way down, everyone was itching for some action. Now that they were well-fed, they were overflowing with energy.
"Let’s show our faces on the 30th floor and head back up."
"Sounds good. It’s been a while since I’ve had a full stomach. Does the fish the lad caught taste better for some reason?"
"It might be because I drained all the blood."
"Oho, I see."
The sap from the Ether Tree seemed to be doing its job well. They had spent a comfortable night at the base, their mana was overflowing, and their stomachs were full. Since they hadn't been moving much, their vitality was at its peak.
The 28th floor was a bit of a distance away, but when we had descended from the 28th to the 29th, we had landed quite close to the portal.
"First place!"
Showing incredible mobility as he squeezed his body into the small portal, Father arrived first.
"I’m second."
Thanks to moving through the air, I reached the portal quickly without any obstacles. Mr. Bontes, riding his cat, came in third, and Gerick took fourth, using an expensive slinger I had seen before in the Northeast. Mr. Gadel used wind magic to move his body quickly, but he hit a tree along the way and arrived in fifth.
Just because there wasn't a formal base didn't mean the area around the portal was deserted. On the 29th floor, there was a cave that served as a makeshift base, located only about 300 meters from the portal.
It was originally a place where a Cave Drake lived, but with fur rugs spread inside and glowing mushrooms growing on the walls, it felt like a fairly cozy base.
"Are you gents heading to the 30th floor?"
"Yep! That’s right!"
Despite Father looking incredibly young, a Cobalt-grade Explorer’s Plate still carried weight even on the 29th floor. As Father proudly puffed out his flat chest and rattled the distinctive blue-tinted plate, the others watched with curiosity.
To an average person, he looked like a youth with delicate features and a sharp, high-pitched voice. Combined with his bold way of speaking, he seemed almost cute if you didn't know his true nature. A few people were watching him with fond smiles.
Everyone was momentarily taken aback when three suspicious-looking companions entered late and surrounded Father, but seeing how familiarly he treated them, they just let it slide.
And so, we reached the end of the 3rd Stratum. With a send-off from nameless explorers, we headed for the 30th floor.
"Stay safe out there!"
"Yeah! Thanks!"
* * *
Three minutes after Yoo Eon’s party entered the portal to the 30th floor.
—Bang!
A door built into a section of the cave’s barricade was thrown open violently, and a woman stepped inside.
She had long, violet hair and wore a wide-brimmed hat that marked her clearly as a mage. Her outfit was flashy to the point of being excessive, signaling that she was wearing Battle Attire.
"Everyone, are you planning to go to the 30th floor?"
That was the first thing she said after bursting into the cave barricade. It was a bit startling, but the people here were at least Gold Grade. There were several Platinum Grades, and even some as high as Cobalt.
They weren't the type of people to easily bend their will to someone else's command, but they weren't hot-headed enough to resist without information either.
Those kinds of people were already dead.
"What’s this about?"
"I’m sorry, but as of this moment, the portal to the 30th floor is being sealed."
"Huh?"
What she pulled from her ample cleavage was none other than a Palladium-grade Explorer’s Plate. Only then did several people recognize her identity and gasp in surprise.
"Are you... the Lightning Flower...?"
"Yes, that’s correct."
One of the twelve members of the Mayerbridge Union’s No. 1 full party. Sepira Eclair, known by the alias 'Violet Lightning Flower.' The sound of water dripping from her wide-brimmed hat echoed quietly through the cave.
"W-what happened...?"
The words that followed from her lips were nothing short of shocking.
"An Irregular entity of the 3rd Stratum boss, the Megido Serpent, has appeared."
"An Irregular...!"
However, some explorers questioned her words. The reason was related to the Megido Serpent’s known range of activity.
"But that thing... doesn't it stay in the lake where it lives...?"
The Megido Serpent only inhabited Megido Lake, located in the northeast of the 30th floor. Although it was a massive lake covering a total area of 54 square kilometers, it was still only a small part of the vast 30th floor.
It was a Great Beast that wielded absolute power within its lake and the surrounding area, but conversely, it couldn't leave the water to exercise that power elsewhere.
Of course, anyone who approached it without knowing would be in danger, but the Megido Serpent possessed a level of strength that made its position as a mere 3rd Stratum boss seem strange.
Unless someone was a complete fool, they wouldn't go anywhere near it.
And that was exactly why the entrance to the 30th floor was currently being sealed.
"...The Irregular Megido Serpent is currently using magic to draw the lake water out, and it is sweeping across the entire 30th floor."
The Megido Serpent, whose estimated combat power rivaled a 5th Stratum boss, was now destroying the 30th floor without any restrictions on its movement.
Upon hearing Sepira’s words, the listening explorers thought of one particular group.
"J-just now, about five people headed for the 30th floor...!"
"What...! What were their grades?!"
"The one I checked was Cobalt Grade... but it was a young kid..."
"No way...!"
Sepira, who specialized in lightning magic and possessed near-top-tier mobility, had left her team—who were returning from the 7th Stratum—and rushed back up the Labyrinth for the safety of other explorers.
Since Labyrinth portals allowed movement every five floors when returning, she had passed through the 30th floor and witnessed the Megido Serpent’s current power with her own eyes.
'Even with five Cobalt Grades, it won't be easy... No, saying it won't be easy is too optimistic.'
It was a guaranteed slaughter. Even if they somehow luckily realized an Irregular Megido Serpent had appeared and managed to avoid its gaze, survival would still be difficult.
The lake water the Megido Serpent had pulled out amounted to at least hundreds of billions of tons; the mere act of it dragging that water around was equivalent to a natural disaster.
Sepira shook her head as she recalled the scars on the earth she had witnessed, looking as if a tsunami had swept through. She couldn't possibly guarantee the survival of those who had just headed to the 30th floor.
"This can't be..."
"If only I had arrived a little sooner...!"
But such "what-ifs" were useless. In the end, the only way they could survive was if all eleven remaining members of the Mayerbridge Union’s No. 1 party came up to the 30th floor.
And they had to slay the beast before those people were swept away by the Megido Serpent’s tsunami.
A deep sigh filled the cave. Everyone bowed their heads in the somber atmosphere, united by one commonality shared by all explorers who had climbed this far to the 29th floor.
It was 'effort.' The feeling of helplessness that despite how hard they had run, they could not resist the whims of the Labyrinth.
"...I’m sorry to dampen the mood."
"No, how could the Lightning Flower say such a thing?"
"I have one thing I’d like to ask. Does anyone happen to know the names of those who just went up... or is anyone here an acquaintance of theirs?"
"Why do you ask?"
"If I can identify them, it will help with the processing of their status later..."
"Ah..."
Unfortunately, no one knew their names. However, one man who had briefly spoken with Roland had a small bit of information regarding their appearance.
"I remember the kid. Deep red hair and lime-green eyes..."
"Hmm... that alone might make it difficult to identify them."
"Oh! And she was carrying a sword. It wasn't a normal sword, but a slightly curved, single-edged blade—"
"The companions looked unique too. One person had hair that stuck up like this."
Sepira wrote down every piece of information they gave her. As she listened, she thought, How can they be this unique? A massive back with a bare torso and a large cat tattoo. A strange mage draped in a flamboyant, rainbow-colored robe.
An eccentric person with a weird hairstyle plucking a lute. And a young girl with red hair.
"And there was one really handsome guy too...?"
"A handsome guy?"
"Yes, there was one person who looked much younger than those three."
"Hmm..."
She wondered if they were joking because the testimonies sounded so ridiculous, but most of them gave similar descriptions. Sepira, the Lightning Flower, felt a strange sense of déjà vu. She tilted her head and asked, just in case.
"About that young girl. Where was she wearing her sword?"
"Ah, I remember that. It was on her right hip."
"...!"
At his words, Sepira finally realized the source of her déjà vu.
"Roanmarie's Poltergeist...!"
* * *
"What is this?"
"Is the 30th floor usually this desolate?"
"It shouldn't be."
The ground was strangely damp, and the giant trees that used to soar toward the sky were now sprawled across the ground as if they’d suddenly gotten sleepy.
"Oh, a fish."
"Father, don't just pick up and eat strange things. It’s covered in dirt."
"Aie, fine."
Something had definitely gone wrong with the 30th floor. Mr. Gadel, who was watching from the side, looked at the fish tucked under Father’s arm and let out a hum before offering an answer.
"Something must have happened at Megido Lake."
"Megido Lake?"
"The lake where the 3rd Stratum boss sleeps. That thing doesn't leave the lake. That fish is a species that lives in Megido Lake."
"Does that mean we’re near the lake?"
Mr. Bontes shook his head, adding the information that not a single tree grows around Megido Lake.
"Hmm, then does that mean that earthworm bastard came out of the water?"
"No way, how could an aquatic creature... Gerick? What’s wrong?"
—Tring...
"A vibration...!"
The strangely low sound of a lute. The three men, excluding me, recognized the situation the moment they heard that lute sound.
"Fuck...! Where! Where is it coming from!"
"It’s coming...! Kiyoooooooot!!!!"