Chapter 163
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 163
Chapter Title: ????th Floor - Abyss (3)
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"You don't seem to fully grasp it yet."
The little mage helped the girl to her feet and moved to a spot in the darkness where the light reached a bit better.
The goblins in the middle of their work glanced over slyly before bending at the waist in greeting.
"Pardon us. Mind if we borrow the light for ourselves just for a moment?"
The goblins did as asked. Their so-called work just involved stacking up all sorts of debris.
Applying magical treatments to it was the mages' job, and the little mage held a respected position as both a member of the great warrior's party and a mage herself.
With the goblins stepping aside briefly, the two could monopolize the scant lighting all to themselves.
The little mage used a touch of mana to conjure up something like a mirror.
"You probably don't know because you can't live staring in mirrors. But that's not the face of someone lacking confidence?"
The little mage grinned. Then she let the girl see her own reflection.
There was the problem of looking grimy from repeated battles, but even so, her beauty was striking.
Yes. The girl realized it now.
She couldn't even remember the last time she'd seen a mirror.
She knew she'd grown taller. She'd worked to readjust her body's balance when it got off-kilter.
But her reflection after so long felt pretty unfamiliar.
"This is... me?"
The little mage let out a sigh and thwacked the back of the girl's head.
"Even kids in their stormy rebellious phase wouldn't say something like that."
"Hiiing."
The little mage went through it point by point.
What made her pretty. What was alluring about her.
The girl listening to it all got so embarrassed she turned her head away.
"At first you looked way too young, but now you might even seem more mature than your age?"
Wrapping it up like that, the little mage grabbed both of the girl's cheeks with her hands.
Their gazes were almost level.
The girl realized that fact for the first time too. Until just recently, she'd had to tilt her head up a little.
"It's just because you can't doll yourself up in the Labyrinth, but honestly, it's cheating. No proper washing, no makeup, crappy clothes. Normally people would look all disheveled."
She dribbled a bit of water from her canteen to wet it, then wiped across the girl's face with the hem of her robe.
"Just a little cleaning and she glows?"
"R-Really?"
"Want to try some grooming you can handle? We can spare the time for a bit."
The girl surrendered inwardly to the ensuing rundown of makeup techniques and tips to watch out for.
This person really is like a big sister.
As expected of that advanced nation across the sea.
Day 5.
Still busy as ever, but the girl had vanished somewhere.
The goblins were diligently carrying out their tasks, but where the hell was this one off to?
No matter what, it was about time for the abominations to start moving.
I needed to reassess the overall scale, so I'd have to take her along.
Not planning to fight, just a matter of mobility.
With mana not recovered, I couldn't cast spells recklessly.
In emergencies, I needed fast feet, and the one who could carry me and move the quickest was the girl.
So I went looking for her, and...
"Hm?"
That's all that slipped out of my mouth; no more words would come.
The girl appeared, fidgeting bashfully. I thought it didn't suit her at all, but that only amplified the impact.
"Wh-what wind blew this in?"
"Uh, well... you see."
When people try stuff they never do, you start wondering if it's their time to go.
But more than that, I found myself questioning if she'd always been this fine.
Honestly, she wasn't the type for girly mannerisms.
She was a grinning idiot who bounced around like an elementary school boy, wild and carefree.
I'd thought she was a cute idiot, but cleaning up her grimy look made her a swan like no other.
"You saw it, right? You were stunned, weren't you? Right?"
And just like that, reality crashed back in. As my eyes narrowed coldly, the girl flinched.
"Th-that's not it."
"Hmph, trying to seduce me? You're a good ten years too green, kid. Go through another 1,000 runs first."
The brat talks big. My last romance was with a fairy.
A petal fairy, at that.
Who does she think she is, trying to dazzle with looks? Not just anyone can pull that off.
As I watched her with a sly grin, the girl kept fidgeting.
"No time, so hurry up and get ready for scouting again. I'll blindfold you this time."
Ways to suppress the tags that popped up automatically existed even back in the game days.
Once it became reality, they diversified even more. Cases where you overcame them dramatically on your own... all sorts of things became possible.
In the real Labyrinth, not the game.
The girl scratched her head vigorously, then strode over purposefully.
She chewed on her lips and said,
"Fine. Should've done this from the start."
"Done what?"
Her eyes sharpened back to normal. There was the usual her. A swan, sure, but swans didn't suit her.
No matter how I looked, she was more like a bird of prey?
And birds of prey let out a lion's roar in a chick-like voice.
"Duel me!"
"What?"
The little mage, who had been hiding nearby watching closely—even using magic to observe—ended up clutching her face.
That... that... that idiot moron!
As for the little mage, outside she was a middle schooler.
But objectively, she had decent looks and the assertiveness to make use of them.
Thinking back, they were all green romances, but she'd had plenty outside.
Coming to the Labyrinth turned it into something more desperate.
To survive, you couldn't be picky about methods—even gender could be a weapon.
Low-year exiles who let their guard down against a little girl were pretty common.
That's how she'd endured until securing her value as a mage.
Before her Intelligence stat was high enough for cold rationality, she didn't even need to fake weakness.
That's why the elf archer's party was great. They valued her utility from the start and kept her around.
Grateful for that.
Thanks to it, she could join a truck party like this one.
Naturally, she'd gained a lot of Labyrinth experience that way.
If you're pretty anyway, bugs swarm. Better to screen and choose them yourself before they come.
Survival was that kind of game.
So she'd picked up ways to at least maintain minimal grooming for that purpose.
No choice for a one-trick mage like her to survive.
From yesterday, she'd pulled out every trick in the book.
The material was so prime it got her excited; she even spent precious mana on primping.
Normally, just getting a bit cleaner stands out among refugee hordes.
The girl had grown into looks that shone even when dirty.
Strictly speaking, she hadn't done much.
No need for whitening. She was pale anyway.
Substitute cosmetics available even in the Abyss weren't really necessary.
Just a touch to liven up her vibrant vibe. Makeup suited her weirdly well.
The girl always had a cheeky expression, but surprisingly, she had a classic goddess face.
With baby fat, she looked like a prankster, but now grown tall and slim, keeping her mouth shut made her a fresh bloom.
Of course, she couldn't keep that mouth shut, so account for it in the vibe.
Light makeup emphasizing bright, cheerful, bouncy pep.
And clean the clothes.
Clothes meaning Federation paratrooper gear made for vampires' close quarters, but at least ditch the grime.
Full body check: perfect, no coordination needed. Clothes aren't wings; she's the hanger with wings.
The pint-sized feel from when she was slightly below average height was gone now that she'd shot up.
Tidy the hair a bit too. This was key.
No maintenance, just hack it when inconvenient: hobo vibes.
Just trim to a neat bob.
Enough to show a glimpse of that snow-white nape.
Even greasy unwashed hair looks glossy if you're pretty.
If the little mage had looks like this, would early Labyrinth life have been easier?
Probably not.
This pretty would be poison instead.
Moderately passable is way better.
This kid's got innate toughness, so she'll be fine.
Is this kid an NPC?
Too perfect to be real, but at the same time, makes you think she's the protagonist.
No jealousy.
In Labyrinth life, everyone's the protagonist of their own story.
Showed her to the hunter and the youngest; got "ooh" reactions. The old man tilted his head suspiciously, but.
"Doesn't look illegal now."
The slum-priest-like youngest gave that curt assessment.
The girl pondered briefly if she should take it as a compliment.
Decided to think positive if possible.
"Visuals: total pass!"
The girl's cheeks flushed pink. Embarrassed, it seemed.
"R-Really?"
Now the important part: mental reprogramming.
No point lecturing on unexperienced stuff, so drill responses to scenarios.
Even ran repeats to avoid bugs.
Of course, squeezed in between tasks with quick meets.
Not perfect, but sufficient.
And it just got smashed.
Bugs always happen, after all. A bug it was.
Watching the girl charge into combat yelling for a duel, all mangled, the little mage sighed as if the ground would cave in.
If gods existed, they'd sympathize. Or just having the kid nearby would give distant eyes?
The girl didn't regret it, at least not yet.
Separate from how strong Uncle was, she had the edge here.
People really shouldn't try new things. Once embarrassment hit critical, her mind flew off somewhere into the Abyss.
Now only one thought remained.
The girl's pure heart would seize it with strength.
The wall-slam from back then came to mind.
Asked about it; apparently a guy thing.
But wasn't this good too?
"Wh-what the hell, hold on."
"It's what you always do."
"True, but!"
A sword formed from fatigue appeared. Less a dagger, more a one-handed sword.
Meaning she needed to claim range superiority somehow.
The girl knew her advantages and unleashed everything she'd learned so far.
Timing off-beat entries, psychological warfare adjusting gap positions deliberately, and boldly tanking wounds when needed in brutal melee rushes.
Despite the overwhelming physical gap, Uncle busily countered, moving frantically.
Weapons clashed, sparks flying to briefly illuminate the Abyss's dark.
Exchanges at speeds invisible to normal eyes.
Straight dagger thrust.
Uncle was definitely a beat late, but still brought his blade flat to meet it.
Then a bizarre pull warped the force's direction.
The girl countered with mana to redirect.
But technically, she couldn't win.
So pivot the sword's path as axis, rotate.
Plant foot, kick to torso.
Uncle's other hand met the kick in precise sequence.
Fingers, palm, wrist, elbow—sequential force dispersal leaked all power elsewhere before she knew it.
Normally, end here. Grabbed, magic contact attack; no barehanded skillset to tank it.
But Uncle didn't use magic. Precisely, couldn't.
Waste precious mana on sparring? Unbearable.
That was her sole chance.
Use the dagger's most threatening edge as bait.
Sweep leg; if dodged, high kick.
Spinning back kick.
Grab and toss.
It had been a while.
Fighting purely with body, no magic tricks.
And finally.
Deflecting simultaneous attacks from all angles left an opening.
Uncle's chest and gut exposed.
But the girl's limbs were smacked aside, unable to control direction.
Forcing it would wreck her body.
So she slammed in with her shoulder instead.
A bang, and he crashed into debris.
The Abyss was surprisingly clean. Most germs don't survive here.
No decay.
Debris just weathered buildings, gear, sometimes ships over ages.
Smashed through a few crumbling walls, charging to a small room.
Uncle pinned against the wall, immobile.
The girl slammed her left hand into the wall vigorously and declared,
"I win!"
Uncle replied, dumbfounded to the point of bewilderment.
"Uh, yeah. You win. What the hell is this?"
The girl hopped right onto the flow heated by battle and victory.
"Said I'd make you confess, Uncle? I lost."
"What?"
"Good thing I grew taller."
Normally, she'd have to struggle and climb. Now, on tiptoes, she reached.
Lips met lips.
First time, but nothing particularly novel.
Still felt good. Something swelled warmly inside.
And tears too.
"No. Kid. Why cry? This is ridiculous. I'm the one who got hit."
Uncle, in full panic mode, wiped her streaming tears.
"But lately, it's been nothing but near-death after near-death. I can't help, can't even stay by your side. Nearly died myself. Next run, won't know anyone."
Petty worries to subtle ones piled up, all melting away.
Plus accomplishment of pulling it off.
Victory or confession, who knew— all mixed, raining down.
Uncle, looking awkward, finally sighed at the girl starting with sniffles headed toward full bawl.
"Baby. That one doesn't count. Lip bump isn't a real kiss."
The girl's elementary-level knowledge, never advanced, couldn't process it.
"If you're gonna do it, do it like this?"
The girl's mouth was suddenly blocked. Tears stopped dead; eyes went wide round.
The little mage, observing with even magic deployed, relaxed seeing the good outcome.
And at the same time, a corner of her heart burned.
"Sigh, if only all couples would just explode..."
Love was an extravagant luxury in the Labyrinth.
This party was awfully extravagant.