Chapter 185
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 185
Chapter Title: 12th Floor - Lv. 652 Mad Wizard (2)
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Logan froze the moment he saw the tip message.
Something like this shouldn't appear. For a normal 10th-floor [Key Item], there wouldn't be any such description.
It should only provide basic info on the environment and the specific species involved.
As the floating sensation faded and his feet touched solid ground, the first thing he checked was the surroundings.
A snow-covered forest.
Jenny wore an expression that didn't hide her confusion either.
But these two were veterans who'd made their living in the Labyrinth for a long time.
They immediately stayed vigilant and issued orders to their new party members.
"You're the dagger user, right? Dagger Mastery boosts movement speed, yeah?"
"Yes!"
"Go scout the area with Jenny. The floor jumped way up. This luck-dependent Labyrinth..."
The two quickest members split off.
The petite archer Little was assigned to watch the flanks.
Fortunately, this wasn't a dense forest—trees were scattered sparsely—and no immediate major threats were visible.
"No telling how long this'll take, so we should find a base camp too. How much food did you bring?"
Orgel answered.
"Three days' worth."
"Good, that should be fine. We've got three days' too."
They advanced slowly, following the two agile warriors scouting ahead. If anything happened, they'd switch to combat instantly.
Not knowing where enemies might pop out, the archer scanned left and right between the two warriors.
An agility-focused archer would judge faster than a strength-based warrior.
Logan kept his thoughts internal.
'This is bad. Right when we just swapped party members...'
Parties rarely took in more newbies than veterans.
They weren't trustworthy yet, so if luck-based mishaps or disputes arose, problems would follow.
The veterans couldn't handle it alone.
Exiles always had to assume combat—not just against monsters, but other Exiles too.
By experience, Logan and Jenny had a bit more tenure.
They'd mostly cleared low floors safely, prioritizing caution.
Probably a party that stuck together since the tutorial without disbanding.
No helping it. In cases like this, a party betrayer was even scarier.
Even jumping on the 12th floor would be around 5th-floor level at worst, so Logan and Jenny could survive.
Over level 200 meant they'd steadily traversed lifts for years.
Even losing one member, they wouldn't go down easy.
He missed yesterday's DPS allies. They'd climbed from the tutorial together for 30 years.
They refused to abandon their humanity and retired due to old age—no stopping them.
If only they'd stuck with fairies or dwarves... That damn marriage business.
From our perspective, this was no headache at all.
It jumped a bit, but it was a known encounter.
With the party's current power, it was just annoying—not grueling.
But if we followed our forged histories, we couldn't wrap it up easily.
Logan, who seemed to have frequented lifts for ages, was shrewdly watchful.
Holding us back in case of bad intentions, with the rifle-toting kid right behind.
Even if we turned, he'd quickly subdue the frail archer and force a one-on-one.
He figured Jenny could handle Hwiwoo.
But we had no reason to screw them over.
Still, correcting their misconception was tricky—no time to forge new identities.
Even with Triad Council help, high-rankers would sniff it out eventually.
We needed countermeasures by then.
Reveal ourselves?
We'd watch a bit longer.
Logan and Jenny were seasoned adventurers; sticking to roles might get us out.
If not, kill them both here. Couldn't trust their silence.
Didn't want to, but necessities called.
Better minimize risks.
One night—we'd endure.
No dangers during the advance. The sparse shrubs didn't block sight much.
Soon, the two agile scouts returned.
Hwiwoo meekly followed behind.
Jenny spoke.
"Found a cave good for base camp. Had a bear hibernating inside—we took it out on the way back."
"That's why the silent fight. No other threats?"
"All clear. No beasts nearby. But I think I heard some dangerous roar—far off, though."
Agility sharpened senses too.
Leaf fairies had great hearing anyway. Logan trusted it.
"Winter too, huh. Sun sets fast. Might drag on, so Orgel, you and I prep camp. No lights."
The cave was small but bear-sized—room for five.
"Tch, nightfall too—bad luck. This sucks."
"Night hunts are needless risks."
"You handle basics well, at least. Why stick to low floors?"
"Safety first, right?"
"Fair point."
Logan sighed. Sun was dropping fast.
"You two are vampires? Handle bats?"
"I can."
"Summon a few bats, please. Night's not all bad—I'll take first watch with you, move at dawn."
Jenny shrugged.
"Woke up groggy anyway—nap works. Logan, what's the latitude here?"
"Far north. Sun won't rise quick. Full winter."
Under leader Logan's orders, Hwiwoo joined the rest shift.
Vampires like me and the kid didn't need much sleep, but mages considered mental fatigue for rests.
Before full dark, Jenny dragged the bear carcass. Skillfully skinned it, even removed fat.
No proper tanning, but short-term use yielded decent fur.
"Phew, gamey smell. Dagger no good with this?"
"Eek, weak stomach."
"How d'you dagger-fight then? Nyahaha."
While Jenny tallied fur value, I helped process.
Hibernating—two cubs too.
"You're good. Not your first?"
"Beasts are common. Learned it."
"Too skilled for that. We've specialized in beasts for decades."
Couldn't light a fire. Exposing position with unknown threats was dumb.
All Exiles could tough out cold nights.
"Snowing. Bats okay?"
"Not frost."
No campfire camp. Night deepened.
At first light, they mobilized.
Bats flew recon.
A few sacrificed.
Logan was mildly impressed by vampire utility, but bigger issue:
"What snatched the bats?"
"Wyvern-like. But different."
"Chimera."
"Two-headed wyvern head? Yeah."
Monstrous birds ruled skies.
Sun up—they activated.
Sparse forest didn't fully evade monster sight.
"Island terrain too... Hidden mage's lab, huh."
"Random encounter. Rough luck."
"Hah, we'll manage. Broke tutorial—can't quit on 10th-floor jump."
"Of course."
Formed up. Low-flying bats subbed scouts.
Jenny and Dagger as wings.
"First vampire Exile this bat-savvy. Sun full up—hard to move?"
"Recon tough. Bats burn in light."
Lift to server entry—still like tutorial.
Sudden Death, stairs.
Reach stairs in time—clear.
"Promising structure. Mansion?"
"Chimera-maker's base. Boss prep."
Logan stowed chain-sickle.
Boss meant higher jump possible.
Check for fruit too.
Two quick warriors scouted separately.
Near mansion—flying bat recon risky.
Chimera mage might sense summons.
Mansion wouldn't flee. Warriors and archer Little checked traps, entries.
Not too close—alarm magic considered.
Cold, but sweat beaded.
Not first time, but rare.
Logan and Jenny called veterans, but just adventurers—not challengers.
Scraped by on safe-ish floors.
Slow, steady survival.
Couldn't not tense up.
"Looks good. But monsters inside—trouble."
"Lots with random limbs. Most base huge reptiles, though. Cold works."
"Hope so. Little, fire only?"
"Magic mods or not—weak to heat too. No temp control."
"Torch and charge—not bad."
Boss down to open stairs? Or bypass better.
Orgel grasped situations beyond resume.
Competent—post-clear, long contract viable.
Jenny and Dagger back. Found fruit.
"Yellow. Healing potion effect."
"More lives better. No spring, right?"
Mansion huge. Could be inside—or not.
"Two vampires—enter at dusk best. Go."
No main gate idiocy.
Well-maintained? Nah—worn walls, human-sized holes.
Party crawled through quick.
Stealth win—cheap clear.
Garden full of giant lizards—chimeras, dinosaur-like.
Dagger stepped up.
Ambushed nearby from bushes. One-shot.
Logan thought: Not high-level monsters.
Dragged, hid body. No blood drop.
Dagger assassin, not just dagger warrior?
Jenny, fellow agile, looked puzzled too.
Anyway, strong allies good.
No backstab now—mutual survival.
Little shone.
Plasma rifle quiet. Magic muffled sound—silencer-better than BBs.
Dagger throws louder.
Bursts grilled necks—Jenny/Dagger hid.
Stealth melee/ranged smoothed it.
Logan relaxed a bit.
Entered building. Unlike walls, no breaches—climbed.
3rd-floor broken window.
Storage, ventilated open. Surprisingly tidy.
"Weird. Too lived-in."
"Mad mage's servants?"
"Minions... If stealth thins 'em, easy."
Door cautious. Dagger, more assassin-like than Jenny, led.
Corridor silent. Eerily clean—luxurious even.
Jenny touched carpet.
"Too high-end..."
Logan chilled.
Out here, this luxury? Insanely strong owner.
Return to kingdom—huge profit.
Labyrinth: risk proportional reward.
"Listen. We're in deep shit. This clean inside? Wrong."
"Careful."
"Lv. 500+ boss maybe..."
Jenny grumbled low.
"We're barely over 200. 500..."
Dead meat. Unbridgeable gap.
Rumored-tier foe.
Still, push on.
Hide out—Sudden Death kills anyway.
"I lead now."
No more stealth. Combat ready. Noted defensible rooms.
Slow through quiet hall. Two warriors front, agile duo behind.
Archer rear.
Corner turn—something appeared.
Logan reacted.
Chain-sickle flew.
Scaly torso—sharp sickle embedded, bounced.
Logan twisted chain. Wall-bounce, extra sickle struck again.
Chain wrapped body.
"Attack!"
Even shouting, Logan couldn't hide chills.
Maid-outfitted scaly beastkin—he knew well.
Not leaf fairy. Dragon-blooded near-high race.
Dragonkin.
Triad Council warrior race—famously mighty.
Seeing the dragonkin maid, I thought:
Now I get this random encounter.
Hmm. Running it on this server—decent gains.
Some lift encounters tied to bigger linked quests.
Dragonkin level—not as bad as feared.
Kingdom servers good. Difficulty jumps capped.
Tutorial? Mad mage might summon Lv. 2,000 ancient god fragment.
More tests needed, but this way—cost-save via 30th-floor [Key Item] jumps to 50th maybe.
High efficiency then?
Revise farming plan. Shorter timeline.