Chapter 4
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Floor 1 - Lv.2 Hunter (3)
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However, the girl was skeptical.
"If I stick my head out now, I'll get killed right away, won't I?"
"What if you just stick out an arm?"
"Won't it get chopped off?"
This was a curious reaction.
It was something only someone familiar with crossbows would know, yet she stated it so matter-of-factly.
And I knew she was right.
The moment I poked my head in to hide, I heard the sound of reloading a bolt.
Reloading a crossbow, which has stronger draw tension than a bow, is actually much harder than it seems once you've tried it yourself.
There wasn't even the sound of setting it down on the ground. Reloading while holding it at that speed was clearly the skill of a master.
They'd already seen me dodge once, so no complacency there. The next time I showed my head, it was game over.
In situations like this, it was usually a dead end. Charging straight down a straight corridor with a skilled sniper lying in wait was impossible without some special advantage.
I'd only said it casually; I was thinking of peeking out a little.
If it really didn't work, I was prepared to miss the timing and head back. There were ways to handle that too.
The girl had a thoughtful expression.
The girl spoke up.
"Let's do it this way."
"How?"
"I'll block one shot for you."
"What?"
It was a pretty ridiculous plan.
They wouldn't shoot the same spot twice at the same time, so she'd draw their attention first by stepping out.
She was confident she could block one shot for sure.
Then, in that brief opening, I'd take out the enemy.
"It's not a rifle or pistol; even if they just spray at me, I can handle it, right?"
For someone staking her life on it, she looked way too excited.
Was this girl on her first run? Some people lied about that sometimes.
There was no way to confirm until we reached the kingdom. That led to people hiding their true intentions pretty often.
I was the same way. You couldn't go around announcing you were on your 97th run.
I just let others imagine what they wanted.
"If you're that confident, you take it and shoot."
"I've never handled that gun."
I said in disbelief,
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Ah, my family was strict about that. Firearms were forbidden."
The Jeong Family always had some backstory with human weapons. Banning guns? Was this one martial arts-related?
Her dagger skills and joint locks weren't ordinary, though.
The girl stared at me and continued,
"Uncle, you've shot a lot of guns, right?"
"How'd you know?"
"You didn't serve?"
"No... Hey. Over there, it's K-2s."
The girl tilted her head.
"They don't give shotguns in the army?"
"You think they do?"
"Well, but Uncle, you handle it so naturally. Honestly, if you'd had a bit more leeway just now, you would've fired one and rolled away."
The little brat was nitpicking, but...
Everything she said was spot on.
If it'd been a surprise attack I anticipated, I definitely would've shot one and dodged.
My finger on the trigger had even twitched halfway through pulling it.
I'd judged in that instant that confirming the shotgun's presence wasn't ideal.
It was barely within effective range, so it might not do any damage.
But if they ducked behind cover first, that'd be trouble.
After a century of battling all sorts of things, even tiny actions sparked a flurry of calculations.
Anyone would end up like that.
But how did she know?
Just like always, the Jeong Family's child-rearing was a resounding success.
"Fine, we'll do it your way."
For all Exiles, the environment on Floor 1 was tediously familiar.
Every time you died, you respawned here.
The boring maze.
Roll around for years, and experience piles up.
Finding an ambush spot wasn't hard.
When life hangs in the balance, humans ditch conscience and morals first.
And there's a perfect excuse to justify killing.
These were people who'd just wake up in another world anyway, right?
Not true death, so no guilt.
The two snipers guarding the stairs near the maze center were the same.
This was a classic early-game opener.
Everything in the Labyrinth was experience points.
Humans counted as experience points too.
In this Labyrinth, you couldn't know ahead of time how threatening Floor 2 and beyond would be.
So farming every scrap, even from trivial spots, was usually the right call.
It was efficient from another angle too.
Easier to kill clueless newbies in the early game than hunt monsters.
Humans gave more experience than weak-ass monsters anyway.
The Labyrinth's system practically encouraged murder from the start.
And killing a few stragglers at the end? No one would ever know.
No reputation hit either.
That's why these two had clashed swords right after meeting, realized each other's savvy, and teamed up.
They thought alike, and in this run, they'd found decent partners.
Loot luck had been good too.
Some idiots had luckily snagged two crossbows, making them a threat.
But not firing right away marked them as newbies, and their sloppy stances were pitiful.
They'd taken them down easily just moments ago.
Bolts were scarce. Needed to conserve them.
They planned to ambush until the maze collapsed, picking off anyone heading for the stairs.
That experience would be a huge edge on Floor 2.
Or so they thought.
"Was that dodge luck?"
"Doubt it."
They'd let their guard down, sure.
Veteran Exiles were few and quick to grab gear.
At this hour, anyone wandering to the stairs was usually wounded—arrow in the leg or something.
If they didn't rush to the next floor and soak in the Healing Spring, their survival was iffy.
"If not luck... you think they knew and dodged on purpose?"
"Couldn't do it myself."
A precise shot from an unseen angle.
No skills or decent stats on Floor 1 made such feats impossible.
The two fell silent, uneasy.
Combined, their Exile years didn't even hit 30.
Rarely, ancient veterans over 30 years solo would die and restart.
They were monster freaks, barely human.
Had they poked the wrong bear?
The thought hit them both.
"Nah, even so, nothing they can do right now."
"Shh, focus."
The Labyrinth's early game was mostly fair. Sever the neck, death. Crush the heart, death.
Hell, just nick an artery and they'd bleed out fast.
They clung to that fact.
The girl slid out from the corner like a ghost.
Not just peeking—she fully committed to draw their eyes.
Even so, if they weren't watching straight on, it'd be hard to spot her.
Ghostly movement.
I lunged out right after, shotgun ready.
Had to catch them deep in the shotgun's effective range.
Dull gunshot.
Almost simultaneously, a clear metallic ping.
The ambushing sniper's bolt fired, deflected by the girl's dagger.
I pulled the trigger at nearly the same instant.
With a deafening blast, the guy prepping his second shot toppled backward.
I twisted my arm with the recoil, swinging the muzzle.
Next shot.
The remaining one didn't fall. He'd ducked behind the corner fast.
But blood sprayed. Arm hit.
Combat ineffective for now.
Phew, it worked. Honestly, I'd been half-doubting it.
I turned to the girl with an approving smile, but she was grimacing, clutching her ears.
"What? You okay?"
She couldn't hear. No surprise—my ears were ringing too.
Close-range blasts numb hearing for a while.
But I didn't wait for the tinnitus to fade.
Rushed over for the kill confirm.
Spotted a trap mid-corridor.
Floor-collapse type.
This was a way better ambush spot than I'd thought. Without projectile blocks, surviving multiple bolts would've been tough.
They must've figured we'd only have knives or swords at most.
Leapt the trap, closed in, reloaded on the move.
Breath ragged, but no stopping.
Racked the shotgun—empty shells ejected. Slammed in two more, back to firing stance in about a second.
The guy hiding around the corner wouldn't have recovered yet.
Fired once into the downed one.
He'd only been knocked out, clinging to life—now dead.
As I calculated the experience, the girl caught up and patted my back.
Pointing at the shotgun and her ears—probably "stop shooting."
I nodded, switched grips.
The 3-kilo metal lump made a fine bludgeon swung right.
Rounded the corner to agonized screams piercing the ringing.
"Surrender! I surrender! Mercy!"
The girl ignored it, reversed her dagger grip, and went to stab down.
I stopped her.
"Hold up."
His expression was off.
Resigned, yet desperately hopeful. Contradictory.
Life wasn't precious here. Especially not on Floor 1. So that face meant ulterior motives.
"What year Exile?"
As expected, he answered readily.
"12th year."
"What'd you do outside?"
"Hunter in California."
"Not just a hobby, then. Classes you've run?"
"Ranger classes, plenty of experience."
Not bad. He noticed my softening gaze, tension easing a bit.
The girl asked curiously,
"Not killing him?"
"You like killing people?"
"No, but you killed those guys."
The close-range shotgun corpses weren't pretty.
The surrendering man flinched, hands up.
I shook my head.
"He didn't surrender."
"Oh my."
The girl sheathed her weapon in mock surprise.
Just noticed—holster on her thigh under the skirt. Stylish. Mine was just belted.
"Hunter, so you know forests and mountains well?"
"Don't know your years, but you're a veteran over me. I promise I'll be useful."
"Good, you're in. Let's go."
The middle-aged American wore an unreadable mix of relief and disbelief.
The girl voiced it for him.
"You're accepting him too easily, aren't you?"
I scratched my head.
"In this place, the safest bets are guys who fold first out of fear."
"...Your words are harsh, but true."
The man said, hastily bandaging his gushing arm.
Scared we'd ditch him.
The girl still looked puzzled.
I explained,
"Teaming with a veteran Exile skyrockets survival odds. Hard to betray before getting what you want anyway."
"Even so, this easy? First time."
The man grumbled, pain forgotten.
"I don't sweat the small stuff."
This world could end you on a whim of luck anyway.
If saving time was the goal, no choice.
How many runs had I lost despite perfect prep?
No traps from ambush spot to stairs.
The Hunter paused to mourn his brief ally and loot gear.
Too bad—the dead guy's crossbow was snapped by shotgun pellets. Birdshot shreds wood easy.
Early gear had crap durability anyway.
Before descending, the girl whispered,
"You'll explain all that Exile stuff, right?"
Come to think of it, this girl followed me blindly despite knowing nothing, just because she liked me.
I'd forgotten amid her combat savvy.
But the whisper hinted at more.
I read her mind and replied,
"Don't worry. You joined my party first, so you're ranked above the Hunter."
"You read my mind so well."
The high school girl beamed.
Party hierarchy mattered a ton.
Even in online games.