Chapter 164
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 164
Chapter Title: ????th Floor - Abyss (4)
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I wiped away her tears, let her blow her nose, and even helped her with some makeup. Pretty skillfully done, too. Using local materials, no less.
Where the hell did she learn this?
Anyway, once I tidied her up, the Girl finally seemed to grasp the reality of the situation.
"We're starting from day one today?! For real?"
She's saying something embarrassingly cheesy again. She is that age, though.
"Yeah. It was family playtime, so this much is fine."
"Playtime!?"
I cover her screeching mouth again.
The Girl squirms for a bit before quieting down.
When I let go, her face is beaming, unable to hide her grin. Great material, but the content's still so young. Still, her lively energy is nice to see. Even her flopping around is cute.
"It's been ages since I dated anyone. Decades, maybe."
When was my last relationship?
We're planning to stick together long-term anyway, and for the emotional stability of this kid who's basically become my daughter...
And honestly, what guy wouldn't like a pretty girl saying she likes him?
The Girl giggles nervously, her voice trembling as she replies.
"At school, friends' dating stories felt like tales from another world. And now I'm actually doing it in a real other world."
"Doesn't feel real? The Labyrinth feels real to you?"
"What if it's all a dream?"
Becoming an Exile might be better than that, in a way...
She'd been bawling so hard earlier that snot starts dripping again.
"Come on, blow your nose."
"Hngh!"
And just like that, the Girl starts chattering away again. She can't contain her bubbling emotions.
I just listened. Until she said everything she wanted to.
Lately, I hadn't done much real counseling.
But checking in on a key party member's thoughts and feelings is important.
And while my head knows that, my heart feels different.
Worn out or not, exhausted or not, world-weary or not.
In any situation, the best comfort for a person is another person.
Yeah. The goddess was right.
Nothing changes from before.
But just the slight shift in our relationship's label fills a corner of my heart with warmth.
However, if this warmth vanishes, it'll leave a colder wound than anything, tormenting the Exile.
Since I've accepted it, I have to make sure that doesn't happen.
The Girl realizes she's been talking too much and quiets down for a moment.
As I watch her fondly, she asks cautiously.
"Um, can you tell me that now?"
"What?"
She shyly averts her gaze.
"Your name."
My name.
Right. My name.
What was it again?
I haven't used it in so long, it's fuzzy.
Veteran Exiles use names less and less.
If you don't know each other's names, it's easier to forget when you part for another Run.
Names symbolize the person.
After going through that pain repeatedly, you stop asking, stop wondering.
Rookies mimic the veterans at first, then one day, they deeply understand why.
They're gone forever, yet definitely alive somewhere else.
In a way, it might hurt more than death.
Digging up my name from the grave of memories took time.
The countless titles I'd been called were mostly positions.
Mage, High Ranker, God, Leader, Master...
Thousands, millions of voices flash through my mind.
But none calling my name.
I realize that now.
Even when I took the petal fairy as my wife as the Fairy King, I didn't say my name.
I'd truly lived nameless with everyone.
Why now? Because I see this as my final Run? Or because I really like this kid?
I want to say it. Want her to call my name.
Saying it aloud felt awkward.
Like a special ritual.
In stable kingdoms, they do this at weddings.
Exchanging names privately, so guests can't hear.
Keeping it just between them forever.
The unfamiliar echo buried deep in memory slips from my lips.
"Siwoo. Yoo Siwoo."
The Girl rolls the name around in her mouth a few times.
Like a kid with a tasty candy, her face flushes with excitement.
I watch quietly, somehow wanting to look away.
After a while, she lifts her head and meets my eyes.
Then she smiles dazzlingly.
"I'm Hee-woo! Jeong Hee-woo!"
I thought it was as pretty a name as her smile.
Day 7.
During days 5-6, I drew maps of the Abominations that would wake first.
Including the goblins, the whole group memorized them.
You can guess their movements and behaviors from their forms.
No ranged attacks. They just overwhelm, crush, and devour with massive stamina and strength.
And they're all painfully slow. Their body structure doesn't allow speed.
One of those monsters people say don't live up to their level.
Of course, that's when you fight them right.
A pure warrior group or mage group facing Abominations in the Abyss might even outperform their level.
It's a matchup issue.
Warriors who can go toe-to-toe with Abominations are rare, and mages who can wipe them with unrecoverable mana are rarer.
Sustainable ranged attacks are for archers.
And the most convenient are physical ranged.
Our future stage army is a massive archer force above all.
The first ones to wake started lumbering toward us.
Just two, but it took 6 hours to kill them.
Layered barriers held back the Abominations for ages.
Not physically blocking, but the dumb lumps thought the barriers were new prey and ate them one by one.
Finally, the giant monsters stopped moving.
Arcana and I declared them dead, and the gunfire ceased.
The long battle ended.
More like a tense, unrelenting simple task than a fight.
The soldiers seemed relieved it was over, not joyful at victory.
We used up nearly all the weapons gathered over days to take down two.
But no casualties. That's worth celebrating.
Our group was down to under 200.
Many goblins were already injured when they fell here.
The Abyss's harsh environment sent many souls back to the goddess.
As I pondered next plans in the center of our surprisingly solid makeshift fortress, someone approached the tent.
The goblins' top commander now, a colonel.
The once-trembling colonel had grown familiar with me over the week.
"We pulled a ton of ammo from the Abominations' guts! Soldiers are sorting it now."
"Good. Stockpile as much as you can. More will come."
Like many Federation officers, he commanded decently.
From what I'd seen, this nation had high average talent with little variance.
No heroes, but diligent in their roles. A communist paradise, maybe.
Maybe goblins are just like that.
Great for someone commanding everyone.
The soldiers moved exactly as I wanted, no variables.
The colonel left, and the Girl arrived.
"Oppa! How do you do this?"
"Ahem."
"What's with the ahem? You hate me calling you Oppa that much?"
"A kid who hasn't even shed blood calling me that gives me hives. You know how old I am mentally."
"Pfft, calling you Uncle feels like sugar daddy stuff."
"Ahem..."
That's the vibe.
She chatters as she approaches, her steps brimming with energy.
Even the Abyss's darkness seems to sparkle around her bouncy gait.
Her smiles are more frequent and brighter.
Flowers could bloom with each step, and it wouldn't look odd.
Anyway, I gave her more pointers on mana use in close combat and handling Abominations, as requested.
Of course, no actual combat for her. There might come a time to risk it, but safety first.
This isn't favoritism at all.
No need for rumors. The little mage didn't spread it around, but word got out naturally.
Nothing changed, though. Everyone expected it anyway.
But the old man, lacking human sensibilities, was blunt.
"You do it?"
"No... I'm not going there."
"Heavens, what chaos! Isn't that a big deal?"
"Yeah, issues galore. She's cute and pretty, but whether she's mature enough is another problem."
"Hm, fair. She's flawless as a strong bride, but she bounces too much. Warriors should be taciturn off the battlefield."
The old man rambles on orc views of romance.
I just laughed.
Can't help that she still feels over half like a little sister. That's why she's cute.
But the funny part?
"Yeah, she's innocently pure."
Our Hee-woo, who learned romance from comics, was a blank slate beyond imagination—truly unaware of anything beyond what's depicted there.
Never seen high-rated stuff, apparently.
This Jeong family is old nobility. She reeks of sheltered heiress.
From her stories, the Jeongs pop up often in that Korea's history. Lots of generals.
Scholarly noble house, strict with kids. Confucianism wins here.
Wonder what hell their Three Kingdoms was like on a superhuman Earth.
Anyway, I warned the old man, most likely to blurt something out.
"Ignorance is bliss. Keeps things from going too far. Let's keep her that way. Her happiness first, right?"
"Hah. Bold or what? Dunno."
The old man shakes his head, chilled.
"Honestly, doesn't feel that impressive. Because..."
"Yeah, gotta figure out the Labyrinth first. Tough for Exiles."
"No different from death, essentially?"
"Can't be sure souls stay together."
"True."
Thinking about it, the Labyrinth proves souls exist.
"Exiles have no souls. Maybe because we move to next Run."
"Just gone. Maybe 'cause we're outsiders."
Ominous signs only, as always. I decided to ignore possibilities.
Day 10.
Incoming Abominations were slow enough to spot and prepare from afar.
But their numbers grew. Goblins tired from overwork; some went mad.
The Abyss's darkness eats minds. Even with strong faith, losing yourself is hard.
I played god.
Comforted goblin soldiers, showed miracles sometimes, calmly hunted approaching Abominations.
Slept in shifts day and night, repelling foes.
Impossible without gear dropping from Abominations as spoils.
Still, soldier equipment improved bit by bit.
Our party too.
Even Arcana got a new staff.
If they swarmed too much, we'd fall fast, so mobile units led harassment ops.
Stifling, breathless, tight combat.
Day 15.
All nearby Abominations cleared. More breathing room meant more scouting.
Layer transitions in Abyss are stairs, like much of the Labyrinth.
Portals appeared midway, but we skipped them. Unknown depths, no need for risks.
With goddess's power, we can escape safely within her reach.
Can't clear the whole layer—Abominations spawn endlessly from the darkness.
Once area secured, stair search became priority.
Our party handled most scouting, so soldiers got at least a full day off.
Found upward stairs.
"Good. Might run into Abomination packs right away, so stay sharp. Hope no demons."
Goblins thrilled to use stairs. Federation oddly adores and idolizes Exiles.
Move to next layer in perfect order.
No loading screen team message.
And then.
"Mages! Barriers up!"
No time to worry about mana.
I poured remaining mana into cooling.
It was hot. Unnaturally so.
The whole Abyss layer blazed.
Everywhere boiled with melted debris magma.
"Whoa, insane. Like part of a collapsed planet?"
Rare to see Abyss as this superheated hell.
Should've expected it.