Chapter 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 3
Chapter Title: Floor 1 - Lv. 2 Hunter (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After a few rounds of such forceful takedowns, the Girl started helping out naturally.
She wielded joint locks with surprising ease.
I couldn't help but wonder what kind of backstory the Jeong Family had cooked up this time.
After some time that felt like mindless repetition, I paused for a breather.
"Bad luck."
"What do you mean?"
The Girl quickly latched onto my mutter.
"I spotted a few places on the way where weapons might've dropped, but they were all picked clean."
"Don't we have weapons? Like this?"
She smoothly drew her dagger. It was standard-issue starter gear everyone got in the Labyrinth.
Even as a dagger, it was a proper combat dagger over thirty centimeters long, but it wasn't what I was after.
"Subduing these worthless punks one by one is inefficient. I need a weapon that makes them crap their pants the moment they see it."
Above all, it was a stamina issue. My trash stamina was already pushing me to the brink.
With my starting stats, even intimidation had its limits.
Even if I relied more on technique than raw strength, it still drained stamina.
The gear that spawned on Floor 1 was generally crappy, but better than a dagger.
Something like an iron mace that looked like it'd kill on impact, or a spear that'd hurt like hell if it stabbed—those would suffice for show of force.
I needed to win without fighting.
I needed these lowlifes to piss themselves and submit the second they saw what I was holding.
By now, I'd tossed about thirty survivors up to Floor 2.
My finely tuned internal clock, honed over countless years, told me forty minutes had passed since I woke up.
"Time's running out. Guess we'll have to settle for this."
The maze starts collapsing after an hour.
It's called Sudden Death, designed to prevent Permadeath Squatting.
On Floor 1, it wasn't complicated, and obstacles were few.
Back in the game days, it was just a measure to stop players from farming every corner of each floor indefinitely.
That led to the meta of farming right up to the wire before Sudden Death hit.
Now that it was real, what did Sudden Death mean?
I figured it was the world's way of saying, "Die a lot and get used to it."
"I see."
Even after my explanation, the Girl trailed off, sounding unconvinced.
Coming straight from the 'real world' until moments ago, it was probably hard to believe.
Anyway, Floor 1 farming was a bust. Not a single decent blade in sight.
But my NPC luck was good. The Girl beside me was a rare companion, valuable beyond her starting stats.
Her school uniform suggested she'd been yanked from class, yet she showed no hesitation.
No worry, anxiety, or confusion.
Instead of those expected emotions, she brimmed with everyday cheer.
It wasn't normal, but that's what made her precious.
She was already intrigued by my actions and tagging along—that was a bonus.
The start was genuinely solid.
In my countless Runs, plenty ended with suicide right at the outset to jump to the next world.
"Still, let's search ten more minutes."
Not fully grasping what I meant, she followed without complaint anyway.
Weapons that should've spawned in obvious spots were missing—clear sign someone had looted them first.
The next group of three we ran into was different. They were armed with proper cold steel and didn't seem fazed at all.
Not soft-hearted veterans like me. Their weapons already dripped blood.
I sighed.
"Every Run, there's always packs starting human hunts from the jump. Right?"
One aimed a battered but sharp halberd at me and laughed uproariously.
"Skinny bastard, don't care what year you're on—scram. I'll let you live."
The most common type with rotten hearts.
Lawless scum.
In a world where might makes right and life is cheap, they figured they'd do whatever the hell they wanted.
And they grouped up well, too.
Dealing with them one by one would never end.
In a way, they were more exhausting than boss monsters.
"Oh, and leave the girl."
And as expected, guys like them all thought alike. The moment they felt power and dominance, it got worse. They looked horny as hell.
I glanced at the Girl. A fresh-faced high schooler with a perky, vibrant look that matched her natural cheer.
Of course degenerates would swarm her.
Beauty wasn't much of an advantage in the Labyrinth.
Anyway, I shook my head.
Couldn't hand this kid over.
The Girl thought the same; she'd already drawn her dagger, gripping it loosely for now but ready to strike.
No tension in her at all.
Me neither.
Truth was, human hunters like these were usually noobs. Even if they'd survived a few Runs, they'd never reached the kingdom—small fry.
I asked the Girl.
Partly to test her.
"Can you take all three alone?"
"Huh? Me solo? No way."
"Just asking. Grab two."
"Isn't that too much for a delicate high school girl?"
Her retort made me chuckle at the absurdity.
"A delicate high school girl grinning like that with a knife?"
"Oops."
She slapped a hand over her mouth, but the beaming smile had already slipped out.
No aversion to killing.
In the outside world, it'd be a massive red flag on her personality, but here? Different story.
She could've refused if she hated it.
Better to do it well if it had to be done.
What followed barely qualified as a fight.
It took about a minute to put the arrogant trio down for good.
The Girl charged without hesitation and slit one's throat. The panicked second guy resisted hard but ended up with a blade in his heart.
Sadly, I wasn't a character with those starting stats.
I struggled, trading blows a few times before finally cutting his breath short.
Fighting reach-disadvantaged weapons like daggers against longer ones was a pain.
And their muscle edged mine out. Even deflecting technically, my joints ached.
Alone, I'd have bolted without looking back.
Confident in my ingrained skills, but 3v1 at the absolute start was suicidal risk.
Anyway, with my stamina already on fumes, I was utterly spent now.
No more melee if I could help it.
"Are there lots of guys like this?"
The Girl hadn't asked once why we were killing them.
My "human hunters" line must've sufficed.
Blood stench hit as she approached.
"Your clothes are soaked. Gotta rinse at a Healing Spring."
I pointed at her uniform. She'd dodged their weapons, but not the arterial spray. Her shoulder was bloodied red.
"Ah, blood stains if you don't wash it quick."
"No school to go to now."
"Hmm... yeah, true."
Her reply sounded glum. She scratched her nose, looking wistful, lost in thought.
Good sign.
Some arrivals had no attachment to home. Those types rarely wanted to return and might do anything in a party.
Sometimes their goal became riches and glory in the Labyrinth itself.
Sadly, the only motivation this world offered was "going home."
Better if she missed home. Suited my situation.
"No, answer me. Lots of those guys?"
Her tone held faint hope.
No, but thrill-killing would be creepy.
She caught my expression and huffed.
"Ah! Not like that. Just asking 'cause they seem like a hassle."
"...Yeah. Tons."
"Hmm."
What was the "hmm" for?
Anyway, I started looting the corpses—these helpful idiots who'd brought the long weapons I couldn't find.
Then I spotted something unexpected.
"What the hell? A shotgun here?"
Under the first guy the Girl killed lay an antique-looking barrel.
Maybe he was their leader.
Explained why the others kept glancing his way.
But why not use it from the start?
We'd be dead.
I realized the answer as I thought it.
We looked harmless: one skinny guy and a high school girl. Hard to seem threatening.
Definitely noobs.
The Labyrinth didn't let you judge foes that way.
"Whoa, I know what that is. Double-barrel shotgun, right?"
"Double barrel."
Lucky break.
Shotguns were way too rare for Floor 1 spawns.
Early game, proper firearms barely appeared. Thrown weapons topped out at slingshots or bows.
Best case, a crossbow.
A Floor 1 shotgun was cheat-level for several floors ahead.
But the shells from the dead guy only numbered ten—not a ton.
Guess he was saving it as an ace up his sleeve.
Checking the others just in case, Sudden Death kicked in.
A distant rumble echoed as structures sank.
The maze crumbled from the edges, dooming anyone not headed down.
Everyone died like that a few times at first before mustering the will to advance.
A system forcing you to learn that staying put meant death.
Back in game days, Floor 1 was a low-difficulty tutorial stage, like controls practice.
Maybe the same now.
Death experiences made you thrash to survive.
The mindset for Exile life: endless forward momentum and adventure.
Fitting for a world that used to be a game.
Eventually, everyone got used to dying.
Whether that familiarity was good, who knew—but it was essential.
Lives were weightless here since you respawned anyway.
Newbies learning what you truly lost would come later.
But some didn't take dying lives lightly—they built their foundations on them.
Not admirable intent.
Heading to the nearest stairs, I nearly bit it.
Sharp whoosh around the corner.
Not a trap.
My instincts, polished over endless Runs, rolled my body before I even thought.
Scrambling back behind cover, another shot grazed past my leg.
Too short for an arrow—a bolt.
The Girl swiftly snatched one.
"No poison."
Why check that first? But it was spot-on.
My calf stung, blood visibly flowing. Naked eye confirmed.
My jeans already torn. A precious body you couldn't see outside a fresh Run.
Tears welled up.
"People?"
"Yeah, two."
One aimed first; the other waited for a miss.
They'd prepped, but probably didn't expect the second shot.
Late follow-up saved me.
"Far?"
"About thirty meters?"
On the edge of shotgun range. Could just blast, but their aim was decent.
"Go around? You know other paths, Uncle?"
"I do. But it's collapsing?"
"Slowly" meant human walking speed. Few straight paths here.
Detour to another stair now—make it in time?
"Uh, frontal assault then?"
"Nah. Talk it out."
"Huh?"
"Got the best negotiation tool."
I patted the shotgun. Without it, I'd have bailed.