Chapter 27
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Floor 3 - Lv.18 Gamer (5)
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The Exiles living in the camp, including the female archer, all prepared for battle.
They didn't even warn the 'refugees' who couldn't really be called Exiles.
It was an attack that was bound to happen sooner or later.
The goal of those occupying a floor like this was usually obvious.
They'd wait to see if Sudden Death was in effect or not. If it wasn't, they'd take over the entire floor for themselves.
The refugees would end up as slaves.
In the first run, you couldn't even casually kill yourself.
Experiencing restarts and not experiencing them were worlds apart.
Even a few runs made a difference.
Growing accustomed to death was closer to a mental illness.
Normal people would endure unfair treatment just to keep living.
"Well, well, looks like those guys over there got impatient and failed the commission."
"It's fine. Isn't it better to fight together than have Senior's party handle it alone?"
The female archer said that while gently shaking an arrow crackling with lightning.
I couldn't help feeling like, What the hell? Who gave you that?
"That's a solid business mindset you've got there."
"I was an entrepreneur on the outside."
"Talking about the outside world everywhere you go is kinda annoying, though."
"It's the trust I'm offering you, Senior."
I shrugged.
"Not really interested in hearing it."
"I'll hold back from now on."
She catches on quick.
She'll keep her distance.
Having someone like that under me is convenient. I felt it leading a guild of hundreds in the previous run.
If I were building the same setup as back then, she'd be prime recruitment material. But not this time.
This run's concept is closer to an elite few.
What I'm looking for is pure combat potential.
Ex-CEO doesn't cut it for my plans.
The previous run wasn't bad.
But it was like the illusion of a massive guild.
I learned just how hard it is to control veteran Exiles, each with their own agendas.
I tried human wave tactics thinking it'd work out, and it kinda did.
It got us closest to clearing, so it was worth the experience.
Even if it was a pain in the ass.
"You're not using special arrows right now, right?"
"No. I trust you, Senior."
"Good call."
She's brazenly acting like she knows what I'll do, but when a veteran shows goodwill, you accept it.
Leaving the female archer behind, I set our party's strategy.
First, the Girl.
"Just go out there and kill 'em all."
The Girl, her face still faintly flushed, pretended not to hear.
"No way, how can you say that to a delicate high school girl?"
"Oh please. Fix that habit of fiddling with your knife while acting innocent, then talk."
"Ahh."
Our Girl's stats and combat power already rival named NPCs.
If I ran into something like that early on, I'd write it off as a traffic accident. It's a natural disaster that wouldn't even dent my mentality.
But a named fixed NPC wouldn't stick around on Floor 3 for a month.
She's a mad dog I could unleash anywhere without issue.
Still, just in case, I warned her.
"Never use [Dash] offensively. Only to escape if it's dangerous. If you die, I'll cry."
"What're you even saying? I'm never dying. Hmph."
Of course I'd cry. Without this little one, this run would've been scrapped long ago.
This Girl, who feels like an Easter egg the devs hid, is what my remaining three years are riding on.
I have to protect her.
She's an irregular who shows up as the 100 years near their end.
So my guess is she's a lifeline for players who suck at the game but have insane grit.
I don't know how they planned to update the time limit in-game, but I've become that player now.
Embarrassing as that is, I need to clear it first.
"Hunter, take that guy and hold a decent position. I'm counting on you."
"Got it."
This was basically telling him to train the rookie.
True to his 12-year veteran Exile status, the Hunter got it immediately and dragged the rookie off.
If they pick a good spot, the Hunter at least won't die.
Not sure about the rookie.
But if the Hunter wants him alive, he'll manage.
Floor 2 was so weird he didn't seem like it.
A 12-year ranger specialist Exile has no equals among Floor 3's stragglers after a month.
And the map's a forest.
"Alright, then. Time to see the face of this so-called 'Gamer'?"
20-year vet, was it? Should be decently strong.
If I don't take him down personally, it'll be a problem.
As always, the Hunter raised his bow with a tired expression.
It was the fairy's bow.
The leader had found a better one, so the fairy's bow was fully his now.
The crossbow's durability had run out and vanished.
He'd used up weapons scavenged from Floor 1 that intensely, so he'd gotten his money's worth.
Of course he was satisfied. Holding the fairy's possession—even if it was the relic of one killed by his party member—put him at ease.
He just hoped no more hostile fairies showed up.
"Senior! Is this good?"
The rookie had ripped off a hut door to use as a shield instead of a weapon.
Whoever the carpenter was, it was sturdy and heavy. Bashing with it alone would suffice.
"Yeah. Just block the front."
The burly guy with the goofy grin stood beside him.
His face looked brutal enough to punch out a bear barehanded, but his actions were downright cute.
It wasn't just violence that tamed him.
The rookie newbie had learned what a veteran Exile really was over time.
Just like he had with the leader on Floor 1—once he grasped the situation, he'd become utterly loyal.
What the hell was that guy's 'kingdom' anyway?
Newbies acted like they'd do anything to get there.
That's how the rumors spread.
Rumors without substance just inflate over time.
The leader had scoffed at the paradise-like tales.
[If the kingdom was that great, would veterans bother dying and restarting?]
Solid logic.
The Hunter, who'd never seen it, had vaguely thought the same.
Confirmation just made it bittersweet.
"Haa."
"Uh, uh. Did I mess up?"
"No. Let's go."
The Hunter decided to hunt properly for the first time in a while.
People die from gunshots.
Arrows too.
Swords as well.
Obvious facts.
But in the Labyrinth, after hitting high levels and not dying for ages, you can forget that.
On Floor 3, without insane luck, you can't have that unrealistic durability.
So the Hunter shot.
One shot, one kill, for sure.
Arrows flying nonstop, one per second, thinned the enemy ranks at a terrifying pace.
The rookie was awed.
"Wow. That rapid fire is... insane. Anyway, amazing."
"Eyes front."
"Whoa, right."
Their position was in the camp—basically a refugee village—where a proper-looking hut stood.
There'd even been a makeshift watchtower, but the Hunter had yielded it to the female archer.
Senior's courtesy.
Flanking enemies appeared.
The Hunter drew his mace.
With a thunk, a guy raising a wooden club collapsed.
An arrow in his head.
Glancing at the watchtower, the female archer winked.
She's got great people skills.
The Hunter wasn't confident he could do the same.
But more flankers came.
He'd brought ten quivers from the Abyss. He wanted them no matter what, so he'd bundled and hauled them to Floor 3.
Half were gone already.
That many corpses piled up before the Hunter and the rookie with his door-shield.
No sane person would charge head-on.
The rookie, having betrayed once, showed no mercy after picking a side.
Some of the shattered skulls were crushed by that raw strength.
He blocked a swinging sword with his mace.
Crude, but the all-metal mace didn't even nick.
Then a headbutt.
Kick to the falling foe.
Toss the mace up briefly.
Switch to bow.
Nocking an arrow flowed like water.
A foe rounding the corner gaped.
Arrow straight down his throat.
Catch the falling mace midair.
Smash the already-down guy's head.
Only then did the rookie block in front with his shield to help.
"That was so cool, bro. Like a movie."
"The leader's even more insane, so don't make him carry you."
He said that, but he was a bit pleased.
Honestly, on Floor 2, he'd felt worthless.
Just a foraging machine—no real difference if replaced.
Veteran Exiles accepting him was pure goodwill.
He still questioned if he was needed.
Probably just a convenient temp subordinate.
Whatever. The Hunter's goal was the kingdom too.
A weird tingling ran through him, nonstop level-up notices.
After sweeping the goblin village on Floor 2, EXP had stalled. Now it poured in.
No guilt killing people, but a touch bittersweet.
Aim the bow again.
The outlaws' momentum, like a flood, faltered.
Without the Hunter's party, their ambitions might've succeeded.
Glance right—a natural disaster raged there.
The Girl in her fluttering, pitifully innocent Grove Fairy garb wrought total devastation unlike her looks.
Even from afar, her movements blurred.
Something flashed by, and two or three froze.
Before corpses hit the ground, more piled up.
"Human blender..."
Not an unfair nickname.
The Hunter shook his head and loosed another shot.
Ting!
Eyes widened.
A blatantly off sound, arrow bounced by a transparent barrier.
Not the first time seeing it, but rare. [Auto Shield]? How on Floor 3?
Then it hit him.
This Labyrinth is ruled by probability.
Pierce those odds, and anything's possible.
But the Hunter wasn't worried.
From the shadows, black stealth trails fluttering.
His leader appeared beside the enemy.
This guy's weird?
The presumed 20-year vet was nowhere, just spectating from high ground.
Finally found something off, closed in.
"What are you?"
"H-heek!"
Pathetic yelp, ass planted on ground.
Not what I expected.
Chuck a dagger.
Ting, transparent barrier blocks it.
Foe's face filled not with shock, but confidence.
"Ha! Haha. Can't pierce it anyway! Filthy NPC scum!"
Sigh, what the hell is this idiot?
Headache hit right as I thought that.
Did this moron have to trigger my trauma?
Because of that...
Shook my head.
Recalling that soft sensation isn't good for mental health.
Love's a mental illness. Can't get bewitched.
Plus, she's a minor.
How old am I? 25+97 or something.
"Good, I held back. It'll get better after some time."
A shaken heart needs a reboot overnight.
I feel it often. People need restarts too.
Poke around him with daggers.
Barrier pops up each time.
"You banking on that?"
One solid fact.
This punk's no 20-year vet.
Gamer build, knows stuff, fooled everyone.
[Auto Guard] probably gambled into, lucky proc, then veteran act.
Doubt he even planned the raid.
"What're you staring at, you fuck? No way through anyway."
Confidence recharged, he stands, aims a flashy magic item arming sword at me.
I chuckled dryly.
"Catch."
Toss the arrow with the chipped tip.
He grabs it reflexively, sees lightning sparking on the head.
"G-gaaahhh!"
Tried throwing, too late.
I plugged ears, turned away. Boom, fur standing on end.
Nothing like Trdongt's lightning, but it's still a bolt.
Dagger pokes again.
No more shields around the charred, twitching 'Gamer' on scorched ground.
"Hey, you know that's just a surprise-defense one-trick, right?"
"B-but how's this arrow on Floor 3..."
Go to the Abyss from Floor 2, you could pick one up too?
Will to fight gone.
Just in case, kick away the dropped arming sword, approach.
Face desperate.
Squat to eye level.
Other outlaws wouldn't dare near me.
Plenty leisurely.
"How many hours you got?"
Time to shatter that fragile ego.
Face cycles: confusion, surprise, realization. Terror.
"3000 hours..."
Whisper in ear.
"I hit 35000 before getting trapped. Know that?"
Let him go now. Useless anyway. He knows nothing I don't.
But right before he EXP'd, I paused.
"Th-then? The vanished rank 1, Orgel?"
"What? Say that again. What'd you just say, asshole?!"
He knows my pre-Labyrinth game nick.
Shock—my grip on his collar trembles.
What'd he say? Did I mishear?
Realized he was choking only now.
Let go; he hacks and laments.
"Fuck this shitty world. Rank 1's hot too. Fuck. Couldn't even beat the game..."
What the fuck is this guy saying.