Chapter 37
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: 5th Floor - Lv. 96 Blanche (2)
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The sleek, form-fitting suit that perfectly accentuated her slender, beautiful figure was practically Blanche's signature.
Her expression was faint and emotionless.
Her eyes were so devoid of feeling that you might mistake her for something inorganic.
And yet, she was beautiful.
She was a flawless work of art, sculpted without a single imperfection.
She might not quite measure up to a Flower Petal Fairy, but among humans, she was one of the rare few whose beauty could rival a fairy's.
That deadly allure, combined with her terrifying potential to upend the early game, had seared Blanche's existence into every newbie's memory.
For now, I raised my hands.
I lifted both arms high above my head.
I probably looked like a student standing at attention, and that was exactly the point.
Blanche's gaze was locked on the eye of Akasha at my waist.
Oh shit, was I in trouble?
That weapon, wreathed in a purple aura, was clearly something special just by looking at it.
No matter what it was, it had to be tempting enough to spark greed.
Fortunately, Blanche lowered the arm she'd slightly raised.
I let out a silent sigh of relief, careful not to show it.
She'd been about to unleash a Shockwave. If it'd hit, I'd be dead.
First things first—maybe I could talk my way out of this...
Then she vanished in a smooth flicker.
Back to square one, agonizing over my options.
What should I do?
Resist? Play it off like, "Not bad, dodging that,"?
Or just stand firm, betting she wouldn't kill me?
A million thoughts raced through my mind in an instant.
In the end, I chose to stay perfectly still and compliant.
I only realized my gamble had paid off when a cold blade pressed against my throat.
Yeah, she had to get through this floor somehow, too.
"What's your purpose?"
Her drowsy voice brushed past my ear.
It carried the weary boredom of someone dulled by rote tasks.
For a 17th-year Exile with top-tier starting combat power, the kingdom route must feel like a tedious slog.
Even so, there was something in her tone—like the low growl of a lioness in the dark.
A voice I'd heard endlessly, yet it felt so alien now.
Unlike random NPCs you'd never meet twice, fixed named ones like her stirred up this strange nostalgia.
I delivered the line I'd prepared.
"Mars HS-2701 sector. Target assassination failed."
"......"
"So I chased her all the way to the moon."
"......Are you with the organization?"
Hook, line, and sinker.
I pushed away the knife at my throat with my hand.
Her arm withdrew without resistance.
I turned to face Blanche eye to eye.
I flashed a smile, playing the enigmatic mastermind hiding dark secrets.
"Codename: Orgel."
The fact that my game nickname matched her boss's name was pure coincidence.
That was how I'd managed to recruit this destructive NPC into my guild in a past run.
A fluke that happened only once, despite facing her dozens or hundreds of times over 97 years.
It was after the kingdom, in a situation where we inevitably crossed paths and I had to subdue her.
Fearing repercussions, I'd planned to kill her off—until she muttered something about a failed mission.
And it just so happened to be my nickname.
We'd both misunderstood for a moment.
We quickly realized it was just a coincidence with the same name.
"......You expect me to believe that?"
"That's up to you, Blanche. I never thought I'd see you again here, either."
The skill I'd honed most in this Labyrinth wasn't combat prowess.
It was deception and manipulation.
As I'd told the Girl, this place was crawling with monsters that could crush a human with one hand.
My starting stats were pathetic.
In my early years, I'd often been outmatched in specs and slaughtered by outlaws.
It took time to build the proficiency to overcome that.
Until then, my path was psychological warfare.
Act strong. Act like I knew something. Act like I had hidden depths.
Actually, the last one was true.
Even Blanche's listless demeanor in Provence was part of my own past.
"Want me to help you choose? Your family was freed after you went missing."
"......Bullshit."
"The planted explosives functioned perfectly."
"......"
Of course, I had no idea if that was true.
I'd only heard it as the conclusion she'd reached for her own peace of mind in a previous run.
It might have been self-delusion.
But that's what mattered now.
It was the answer she'd crafted for herself back then.
Which meant it was exactly what the current Blanche wanted to hear most.
For a split second, her gaze wavered.
The emotionless agent worked for her family's sake.
A pretty common trope.
I'd heard it straight from her mouth, though.
"Orgel...... Really Orgel?"
My nickname slipped from Blanche's lips.
She'd said even she didn't know much about him due to all the secrecy.
I had no clue why she'd have such a backstory.
If this Labyrinth world was some hack writer's fever dream made real...
Maybe he'd tossed that in as a nod to me.
Blanche was a relatively late addition to the named roster, so it was possible.
I'd been spamming massive bug reports since beta.
Word was I was a big deal even inside the company.
It was such an indie-vibe dev that someone might've snuck in an Easter egg behind the CEO's back.
Blanche licked her lips.
With a hint of regret, her eyes drifted back to the dagger at my waist.
"Fine. I'll buy it for now."
"Good call. Anything we can use, we will..."
"I said I'll use it."
Her dry tone was utterly devoid of even a hint of hesitation—pure ice.
I kept a straight face, but inwardly, I was pumping my fist.
The divine word had descended.
"Wait, how the hell did you pull that off? Her, of all people, acting all docile? That human butcher? The killing machine? That psycho who looks like murder personified?"
The voice sounded like it was about to faint from shock.
Not many veteran Exiles hadn't died to Blanche once or twice.
They'd clearly never seen her like this before.
Truth be told, neither had I. First time in my Exile career.
'Chaos, it's a trade secret.'
"Right, yeah. You're a lunatic too. Should've known better than to ask."
When Blanche said she'd buy it for now, it at least meant she wouldn't kill me.
Now I had to push that to "won't kill anyone on this floor."
Not an easy task.
But I'd barely managed it and made my way back to the Girl.
I found her vomiting her guts out.
And the elf archer-mage diligently rubbing her back.
"What the hell happened now?"
The mage looked at me with wildly trembling eyes.
"S-Senior? Is she from a world with magic, by any chance?"
"Nope."
The little mage's eyes went fully dead.
Hold on. No way. You're kidding, right?
I remembered the Girl's Intelligence stat.
It started at 12. Expanding her Mind Map through level-ups had bumped it to around 17.
Still too low for smooth magic use without backlash.
Which meant...
No way.
"She used magic? For real?"
"Y-Yes......"
Life's a bitch. What the actual fuck.
I knew talent was real, but this pissed me off.
Of course, she hadn't properly controlled her mana—just grasped the flow.
Forcing it out like that, with her meager correction stats, meant massive backlash. Worse than what I'd get.
I needed to diagnose her myself right now.
I swished a Healing Potion in my mouth and channeled mana into her body as she heaved.
Circulating mana like this was less efficient than basic spells anyway.
As serious mana operation kicked in, burning pain followed, like her body was on fire.
Actual damage was ticking in.
And healing at the same time.
Felt like alternating between ice baths and saunas.
Her internals were messed up in multiple ways.
Now I saw blood mixed in the vomit.
First, force-fed her the potion.
People from magic-less worlds never get exposed to mana.
Zero resistance.
Like radiation.
Something I'd learned in the Labyrinth: radiation was a form of mana to begin with.
Without sufficient resistance, it shreds you from the inside out.
That's why folks from magic-less worlds need Intelligence stats before they can wield magic smoothly.
The game didn't have this limitation.
Just one of the problems that cropped up in reality.
"Her guts are this wrecked? Damn, she must've pulled it off for real. What was it?"
"She said she missed her sister, so she tried making fire after watching her do it."
"Huh."
My face must've looked pretty deflated.
The little mage fidgeted awkwardly.
"But 'sister'?"
"Yeah, higher year than me. I got pulled in at fourteen."
Ah, right—she'd bluffed about being 10th-year.
In reality, this mage was the older one.
Ripped away at such a young age. Tough break.
Fourteen. Not quite middle school freshman vibes. Korean age, maybe.
"Japanese?"
"Y-Yes!"
Best not to dig deeper. Exiles' old lives were taboo.
Still, the Girl picked up magic way too easily.
Talented freaks are everywhere.
Even Earthlings sometimes bloomed into great mages overnight.
But the Girl's starting stat spread made her a waste for a pure mage build.
I'd have to think about shoving some magic-line sub-class on her later.
The more she could do, the better.
Jack-of-all-trades only turns into master-of-none when you're incompetent.
Small elite crews like this were supposed to be versatile.
Minus her starting gear, she was fixed named-tier already.
As I pondered, the little mage started gauging my mood.
Probably thought she'd screwed up.
"Alright, head back to your party. Ask if you've got questions. I can spare a moment here and there."
I'd overlooked her on 3F, but this little mage had solid growth potential too.
My target, the pint-sized vampire, might've croaked before I even found her.
Better lay groundwork for backups.
Her party leader wanted it anyway.
"Thank you!"
She bowed at a perfect 90 degrees with booming enthusiasm.
Then scampered off, looking thrilled no matter what.
Mages, no matter the world, were always knowledge-hungry nerds.
I gave the elf archer more details on exactly what kind of monster Blanche was.
Other parties started eavesdropping subtly.
I didn't chase them off.
Info was king in this Labyrinth.
After making sure they knew I'd neutralized Blanche as a bystander, I laid out various plans for tackling the pyramid boss.
But it was surprising that, out of everyone on 5F, only me and the little mage had faced her before.
That sparked some discord.
"That fixed named— is she really that big a deal?"
A guy who looked far from cautious asked me point-blank.
He seemed lucky with loot.
Plate-armored warrior.
Decent axe as a weapon.
Pretty fortunate.
I thought for a second.
Some types were like this. Probably under 5 years in.
Adapt quick, grind 2-3 years, get lucky rolls—boom, baseless confidence.
Ignorance is bliss. Spot on.
Glanced sideways; the elf archer was stifling a smirk.
She was competent but underrated herself.
Kingdom gates wouldn't hold her back long, with or without this run.
Exiles came in all flavors.
"Fine. You're out of the plan. Do whatever. Watch from the sidelines and drop to 6F if you want."
The axe warrior's face twisted.
Felt insulted, huh.
Whatever. Ignorance earns you that.
Better to call out idiots like him early.
One fuckup in a key moment could doom us all.
He stomped back to his party, steps oddly heavy.
Something felt off. Suspicious.
Definitely plotting trouble.
I'll tell Blanche: once the pyramid activates and headcount locks in, just kill him.