Chapter 317 Might Not Be Easy
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 317
Chapter Title: Might Not Be Easy?
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After 3 days, all preparations were completed.
The equipment and camping supplies check was also done.
Jeong Yoo-shin slung his greatsword and backpack over his shoulders and went down to the hall.
He found the 'Skars' waiting for him below.
The wolf beast-person Skar was also waiting for Jeong Yoo-shin with a bag slung over one shoulder.
The middle-aged Skar and TS Skar approached and patted Jeong Yoo-shin's shoulders.
"Have a good trip."
"Youngest, take care of yourself."
The moment Jeong Yoo-shin was about to open his mouth…
A handsome man with brown hair came into the inn with a bright smile. He was wearing plate armor with a backpack slung over his shoulder.
"Hello, everyone."
It was the attire of an explorer about to enter the labyrinth.
Jeong Yoo-shin wasn't surprised.
Dietrich had contacted him first 2 days ago.
What he wanted was simple. He asked if he could accompany them when they entered the labyrinth.
Jeong Yoo-shin and the wolf beast-person Skar agreed to it.
They thought of it as an opportunity and rather welcomed it.
They had already heard of Dietrich's inner thoughts, even if not all of them.
They had to keep watching him, but where they did so didn't necessarily have to be the city.
If they could all move together, wouldn't they be able to hear a more intimate story from the man?
Moreover, Dietrich was a level 35 swordsman. Jeong Yoo-shin already knew his skills from seeing him fight.
The latter stealthily suppressed the corners of his mouth from rising.
'I'm getting carried.'
He didn't want to show it, but honestly, he was happy.
How much had he suffered in the labyrinth?
At least this trip to the labyrinth would be comfortable.
So he had days like this too.
At that time…
The mystic frowned and looked out the window.
"This isn't even the rainy season. It's raining this much in spring? Something's strange…"
The 'Skars' also looked outside.
It was morning, but it was dark because of the thick black clouds in the sky.
The rain that started a few days ago showed no signs of stopping.
Jeong Yoo-shin stroked his chin.
Certainly…
The report he received from the small and medium-sized clans a day ago flashed through his mind.
It was news from the Coast Guard Clan.
'Did they say that a lot of fish have been caught in the river around Labyrinth City these past few days?'
There was also information that they had witnessed the disappearance of fish just recently.
Should he think of this as strange?
The continuous rain around the city…
The explosive increase in fish catch…
'What else was there? Ah!'
There was also a rumor that a rare artifact was discovered in the underwater cave area beyond the 20th floor. Although it wasn't certain whether it was true or not.
Jeong Yoo-shin glanced at the mystic guy.
Recently, the man seemed to be distracted by something.
Should he say that the mystic guy was anxious?
He was going to ask about Alhazred, but the latter had been stuck in the Mage Tower for the past few days, so he didn't have a chance to do so.
At that time…
Karin quietly approached Jeong Yoo-shin and handed him a small pouch.
"Take it."
"What's this? A snack?"
Karin's face turned slightly red.
"Y-You know what it is, don't you? That."
"Ah!"
The Panty Talisman imprint.
It was a charm that blocked hostile magic or spells with a certain probability.
"I put Cian's in too."
Jeong Yoo-shin tilted his head.
"Why Cian's?"
"I-I don't know. Anyway, you have to come back healthy. We'll be entering the labyrinth soon too, so we might not see each other for a while."
A few days ago, Karin and Cian also decided to enter the labyrinth.
Because they couldn't stay as intermediate-rank low forever.
He heard that they had formed a party with a female mage of intermediate-rank low from the Mage Tower.
Karin and Cian liked the female mage, but they didn't try to introduce her to Jeong Yoo-shin.
He couldn't figure out the reason, but he just let it be.
The labyrinth was rough, but he wasn't very worried about their skills.
Karin's dagger technique had already improved to the point where it was incomparable to before.
Cian was also the best at swordsmanship.
Moreover, since both of them were discerning women, they wouldn't have recruited a strange party member.
"We'll be back."
Among the 3 men, Jeong Yoo-shin said goodbye as the representative, and they left the inn, walked the rainy street, and arrived in front of the labyrinth entrance.
Because there were many rookie explorers, the line was quite long.
"There are many people."
Dietrich muttered.
From afar, a few members of the White Night Mercenary Group spotted Dietrich and greeted him.
"Are they new recruits?"
The wolf Skar asked.
Dietrich nodded.
"Yes. Talented people from the border villages came in this time. I dispatched them on this labyrinth exploration to raise their levels and cultivate their teamwork. Since I had a senior mercenary accompany each party, there shouldn't be a big problem."
After waiting for a long time, the magic circle came into view.
And the sight of the Elf Kingdom's soldiers in orderly formation around the magic circle also became visible.
Jeong Yoo-shin scratched his head.
For some reason, should he say that the elf women's gazes were stinging him?
Elf Queen Ellasein, who was holding a staff, was also standing still and glaring at Jeong Yoo-shin.
She didn't seem to have any intention of approaching him and talking, so he just gave her a light eye greeting and stood in front of the magic circle.
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the gloomy sky, then closed his eyes and muttered inwardly.
'I'm definitely getting carried this time. Let's suck some honey.'
A light flashed…
…and Jeong Yoo-shin, the wolf Skar, and Dietrich entered the labyrinth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
3 weeks passed.
Under the guidance of the wolf beast-person Skar, Jeong Yoo-shin easily broke through the labyrinth floors.
Since he already knew all the 'laws' of the surface floors, there were no major difficulties.
Passing the 10th floor, Ash Village…
They arrived at the 20th floor, Dwarven Hold.
The city hadn't changed at all.
However, torches were burning all around, so it looked a little brighter.
The 3 men took a seat in a shabby inn.
Dietrich ordered some liquor. The orc innkeeper brought out a liquor bottle and put it down on the table.
The orc innkeeper seemed to recognize Dietrich, but he just took the money without a word and returned to his spot.
Dietrich swept back his greasy hair and tilted his glass.
"Wolf-ssi, how far are you planning to go?"
"Up to the 30th floor."
"We're passing through the underwater cave area."
Dietrich stroked his chin, thought for a moment, and then opened his mouth.
"You two, have you by any chance heard the rumor?"
Jeong Yoo-shin and the wolf Skar looked at each other, then turned their gazes to Dietrich.
""What rumor?""
"I mean the reason why it's continuously raining in Labyrinth City."
"..."
"You already knew."
Dietrich looked at Jeong Yoo-shin's expression and immediately came to a conclusion.
"What does that have to do with the underwater cave?"
"I don't know. I heard that one of the explorers came out with a statue that had a bizarre appearance. By any chance, wouldn't that artifact and the strange phenomenon happening in the city now be related to each other?"
Jeong Yoo-shin's face hardened.
Dietrich's eyes were sparkling.
It looked as if the man had been bewitched by transcendent power had started to take a step forward once again.
He thought they had shared a friendship while exploring the labyrinth for nearly a month, but was it just his delusion?
As expected…
Did a person not change easily?
Indeed, it was a funny thing.
If he was a man who would break his beliefs after being hit a few times, the wolf guy would have stopped the ‘him’ in the other world long ago.
Dietrich, noticing the gazes of Jeong Yoo-shin and the wolf Skar, made a bitter smile.
"I’m sorry. Without realizing it..."
Jeong Yoo-shin tilted his glass.
Bitter and murky cheap liquor passed through his throat and heated his stomach.
"I checked through the small and medium-sized clan’s intelligence organization, but the truth hasn’t been revealed. It's something we don't know."
"Skar-ssi’s right. Rumors always include uncertainty. But isn't it a bizarre phenomenon?"
"We can just check it ourselves."
The wolf Skar muttered while looking at Dietrich briefly.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
The 3 men spent a night at the 20th floor, Dwarven Hold, and then stood in front of the transfer stone the next day.
When the wolf Skar put his hand on the transfer stone, 2 portals were created.
Wooooooosh!
A blue portal for returning home.
A red portal to move to the next floor.
The wolf Skar went in first, next was Dietrich, and lastly, Jeong Yoo-shin stepped in.
His vision flashed.
And he felt a damp and bumpy floor.
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his eyes and looked around.
As if only the water had been drained from an undersea cave, there were puddles here and there.
And unknown sea creatures were wriggling and crawling on every rock.
A salty smell vividly stabbed his nose.
It was basically a cave, but it was wider compared to the surface. The floor was much more slippery too.
This was the 21st floor.
'The underwater cave area.'
The law here was called 'Sweet Song'.
For a certain period of time, a bizarre song would echo in the cave.
What if you listen to the song for a long time?
Of course, you went crazy.
Jeong Yoo-shin had no worries. Because he had already packed earplugs in the city and put them on before coming to the underwater cave floor.
The wolf Skar looked at Jeong Yoo-shin and Dietrich and made hand signals.
'We fell in a place close to the transfer stone. We're lucky.'
At that time…
The ears of the wolf Skar, who was sending hand signals, twitched.
'Enemy. Prepare for battle.'
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed the greatsword slung over his shoulder with both hands.
Dietrich took a position on the left rear.
And the wolf Skar raised his fists on the right rear.
Jeong Yoo-shin took the front.
A formation made to drive monsters to Jeong Yoo-shin, for whom leveling up was essential.
After waiting for a moment, something crawled out from the surrounding puddles.
A humanoid form.
Pale gray skin.
Eyes that were eerily large and didn't blink, along with gills.
Scales sparsely visible on their bare upper bodies.
To describe them, they closely resembled bizarrely shaped fish-men.
A type of monster commonly seen in the underwater cave area.
Fish-man.
The weapons the fish-men had were mostly harpoons, cutlasses, and a huge crossbow equipped with a harpoon instead of a bolt.
"Hoo. Fuck."
Jeong Yoo-shin spat out a curse.
A total of 15.
He could tolerate their terrible appearance, but the rotten fish smell they were giving off was terrible enough to make him vomit.
The wolf Skar gestured with his hand.
'Charge.'
Jeong Yoo-shin shot out like a bullet.
In the first place, it was a party with 3 vanguards.
Other than charging or counter-charging, they had no particular strategy.
Still, it was enough. Because all three of them were strong.
The surprised fish-man thrust its harpoon toward Jeong Yoo-shin.
Kaaaaang!!!
But it hit the latter’s armor and bounced off.
"Hup!!!"
He struck down with his greatsword with all his might.
Wooooooosh!!!
The greatsword, swung in a straight line, tore the fish-man's head and shattered its skull.
Craaaaack!!!
Red brain matter and bone fragments shot up into the air.
The fish-man with its head split in two fell backward.
Instant death.
Nothing more to see.
He quickly turned his gaze.
The fish-men came charging at him while thrusting their respective weapons.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn’t dodge, grabbed the ricasso of his greatsword, and took a half-swording stance.
From bottom to top.
He lifted the greatsword.
Chaaaaaang!!!
A harpoon coming in at extremely close range was caught by Jeong Yoo-shin's greatsword and flew up into the sky.
Enormous physical strength.
The martial art of the greatsword, which he had intensively trained under the middle-aged Skar along with his level up, shone for a moment.
Instead of stepping back, Jeong Yoo-shin took another step forward.
He put strength into his shoulder and body-slammed a fish-man's solar plexus.
Smaaaaaash!!!
"Kuwek!!!"
The fish-man, with its chest bones shattered, vomited a handful of blood.
He swung his greatsword toward the staggering and retreating fish-man.
From bottom to top.
Swoooooosh!!!
The greatsword flashed, tore the fish-man's groin, split its heart, and then even cut its head in two.
Splatter.
Dismembered innards poured onto the floor with thick blood.
Thump!!!
The fish-man's corpse, split exactly in half, collapsed on the floor.
Jeong Yoo-shin licked the fish-man's blood that had entered his helmet.
It was bitter, yet sweet.
'This is good?'
The armor he got this time was so sturdy that he felt like he could just charge his body in and engage in a brawl.
Thwack!!!
A huge harpoon shot by a fish-man flew toward Jeong Yoo-shin.
The latter, who sensed the killing intent, quickly raised his hand.
[Telekinesis]
The flying harpoon stopped abruptly in the air.
'Go.'
It then slowly turned around and flew like a ray of light toward the fish-man holding the crossbow.
Swoooooosh!!!
Thwack!!!
The fish-man’s head was pierced and it fell backward.
Jeong Yoo-shin grabbed his greatsword again.
There was no time to rest.
This time, three of them rushed in at once.
He positioned his greatsword flat and pierced the belly of the fish-man rushing in at the very front.
Puuuuuk!!!
The fish-man, its abdomen pierced, vomited blood and struggled.
He kicked the other guy rushing in from the side.
And he grabbed the chin of the guy coming around from behind and put his fingers into its mouth.
Crunch!!!
The fish-man bared its teeth and bit down, but it couldn't pierce the sturdy gauntlet.
"Huuuup!!!"
He put strength into his hand and tore off its chin.
Riiiiiiip!!!
Tough muscles and jawbone were torn off.
"Agagagak!!!"
The fish-man with its chin gone screamed while drooling blood.
Jeong Yoo-shin threw away the torn-off chin, raised his fist, and struck the fish-man's face.
Thwack!!! Thwack!!! Thwack!!!
Once. Twice. Three times.
Every time the heavy gauntlet struck the fish-man's face, its disgusting eyeballs burst, and its cheekbones and frontal bone were shattered.
The fish-man's face was crushed to the point where its form was unrecognizable.
The fish-man, who had already lost even the strength to resist, collapsed and convulsed.
Jeong Yoo-shin raised his boots and stomped on the fish-man's cervical vertebrae.
Craaaaack!!!
The thick bone was crushed, and the fish-man died just like that.
"Truly terrifying."
Dietrich muttered quietly while swinging his sword and cutting a fish-man's neck.
At some point, fear lingered in the eyes of the fish-man group.
To think that an unholy monster would feel fear.
Dietrich had watched Skar for 3 weeks, but the latter was an unusual figure.
He completely twisted the monster's expectation that he would only use a greatsword and showed off his martial arts.
And not only that, but his scheming of using even his imprint skills to seize the flow of battle was also excellent.
Dietrich felt like he knew the reason why he was given the alias 'Butcher'.
The terrified monsters stepped back one by one.
However…
When Jeong Yoo-shin raised his hand, the monsters stopped moving and stiffened.
[Telekinesis]
Jeong Yoo-shin's eyes glinted as he gradually applied strength.
Would it be possible?
He had received telekinesis training from TS Skar.
This was a chance to check how much he had grown.
5 fish-men simultaneously floated up into the air.
"Kreeeeeeek!!!"
A few of them shook their heads and shouted something, but he couldn't hear them because he was wearing earplugs.
Craaack.
The arms of the fish-men floating in the air were bent at bizarre angles.
"Kueeeek!!!"
The fish-men’s bodies trembled.
Next, their legs.
Broken leg bones tore through their flesh and popped out.
The fish-men foamed at the mouth.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't stop there and focused on their cervical vertebrae.
'If I grab them with an invisible hand and twist...?'
Snap.
Small cracking sounds. The necks of the 5 fish-men tilted simultaneously.
Jeong Yoo-shin opened his eyes wide.
Just a little more…
Crack.
The fish-men stopped even their screams and just trembled.
Their cervical vertebrae slowly bent.
'More!!!'
Craaaaaack!!!
In the end, the necks of the 5 fish-men were bent at bizarre angles.
They also died instantly.
Their cervical vertebrae seemed to have been shattered to pieces as well, as the fish-men's necks were dented here and there.
Jeong Yoo-shin dusted off his hands and slung his greatsword over his shoulder.
"Easy."
Thump!!! Thump!!! Thump!!!
The corpses fell to the floor.
The wolf Skar approached Jeong Yoo-shin, patted his shoulder, and then took out the pot he was carrying on his back.
'Well done. Now let's eat.'
Jeong Yoo-shin lowered his gaze and looked at the scattered fish-men corpses.
"..."
This might not be easy.
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T/N - Sorry for not uploading this yesterday. I could have sworn I did, but I guess I forgot. 😅 (4/12/26)
And so we get to see the MC’s growth through this fight. I gotta say, I was especially impressed by his telekinesis. Remember when he could barely keep his greatsword afloat with it? I think it was in the fight with Rex.
Also, Dietrich hasn’t given up yet, huh? Any bets on what will go wrong in this run? The more the MC believes nothing will go wrong and that he’s getting carried, the more I think something will really go wrong.