Chapter 93 Discovered
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Translator: JayM
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Discovered?
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Thud!
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped onto the ground as he exited the red portal.
Immediately, stale air filled his helmet.
He raised his head and looked up.
A hazy, ochre sky.
It was filled with red and yellow particles, as if a dust storm was brewing.
Why would a labyrinth have a sky?
The books he had read with Mion offered no answers.
Questions about the labyrinth's origins were omitted entirely, leaving only descriptions of its phenomena.
This meant that the majority of the content was based on experiences gained through direct confrontation, as the underlying principles remained incomprehensible.
While listening to Mion's lessons, although he hadn't shown it, Jeong Yoo-shin had sensed the lingering scent of blood.
How many had perished before the labyrinth's mysteries?
Thanks to their sacrifices, the "law" governing the Forest area of the labyrinth had been discovered.
In short, it was pain.
The law of "Darkness," which existed from the 1st to the 5th floors, drove those in lightless areas to madness.
The law of "Pain" on the 6th floor's Forest area drove those experiencing pain from injury or illness to madness.
The higher one's pain tolerance, the lower the chance of madness, but those with low pain tolerance would experience illusions and auditory hallucinations, ultimately succumbing to frenzy and death.
Madness and death brought about by poison and disease.
Truly malicious.
Jeong Yoo-shin lowered his head and looked around.
All he could see were countless intertwined vines, conifers, and deciduous trees.
A variety of densely packed plants cast dark shadows.
It was strange. Despite being a lush forest, there was no sound.
Thud!
While he was observing the Forest area, his party members emerged from the red portal.
“Skar.”
Iron Mask called out to Jeong Yoo-shin.
“No problem.”
Jeong Yoo-shin replied.
“We can’t extinguish the torch, can we?”
“Right. It’s too dark.”
“An open sky and a forest. It’s truly a strange area, just as I’d heard.”
Kubo, the dwarf priest, clicked his tongue as he looked around.
“…”
Mars, the rat beast-person, grimaced and diligently studied a new map without a word.
“Mars, is something wrong?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked.
“…It’s difficult to figure out where we are. This is my first time in the Forest area.”
“Let’s take it slow.”
Under Iron Mask’s direction, the party members proceeded into the forest.
Fortunately, there was a path between the trees, so they didn't have to cut through the undergrowth.
They walked slowly in silence.
The party members were tense and didn't utter a word. The quietness of the forest made them even more cautious.
They walked silently along the forest path for several hours.
“Oh! There.”
Mars, who had been walking for a while, pointed to a spot.
A small, watchtower-like structure was visible, peeking out from between the bushes.
The stone watchtower had collapsed, whether it was due to age or the labyrinth's mysterious influence was unclear.
“What should we do?”
The rat beast-person whispered to the party members while drawing closer.
Iron Mask spoke.
“We need to check it out. By the way, Mars, do you know where we are?”
“I’m guessing here, but I think this is the Murkwood area. It’s the outer edge of the Forest area. Looks like we’re out of luck this time.”
Hearing Mars’s words, Iron Mask pulled out a few pieces of parchment from his pocket.
Curiosity piqued, Jeong Yoo-shin moved closer to Iron Mask.
“What are those papers?”
“A list of requests. I brought them just in case.”
“Did you accept all of them?”
“No. I just wrote them down. How could I accept so many requests without knowing where we’d end up?”
“That’s true.”
As Jeong Yoo-shin nodded, Mars leaned in.
“Iron Mask, that doesn’t seem important right now, does it? Are we going to that watchtower?”
“We have to. We can’t move forward while leaving potential dangers unchecked.”
“Alright. Sigh”
Mars took a deep breath and crawled into the bushes while keeping low.
Rustle.
Jeong Yoo-shin gripped his sword and shield while listening to the faint rustling of the grass. He was ready to jump out at a moment's notice.
How much time had passed?
The dark forest.
Only the party members' faint breaths could be heard intermittently.
Each minute felt like an eternity.
Rustle.
Mars poked his head out of the bushes.
“There’s no one there. It’s empty.”
“Is that so?”
“But…”
Mars scratched his head.
“There’s something unsettling inside the watchtower. It looks like a sign, but it’s too dark to see clearly.”
“Alright. Let’s take a look and rest there for a bit.”
Everyone nodded at Iron Mask’s suggestion.
Mars led the way, and Jeong Yoo-shin followed.
As they pushed through the dense bushes, a weed-infested clearing and a fort came into view.
The watchtower looked even older than they had initially thought.
The cracked and crumbling stone walls were covered in green moss.
A rotten wooden door hung precariously at the entrance.
“…”
The party members cautiously approached the wooden door. Although Mars had said he'd scouted the area, they all became cautious at the unfamiliar sight.
Jeong Yoo-shin received the torch from Iron Mask and approached the entrance, opening the wooden door.
Creak.
Whoosh.
He illuminated the dark interior of the fort with the torch.
It was empty and covered in thick dust.
Except for one thing.
A strange leather board fixed in the middle of the fort with branches…
“Everyone, turn away!!! Don’t look!!!”
The dwarf priest yelled abruptly.
His voice was strangely filled with fear.
The party members quickly turned their heads away from the leather board.
“…Priest Kubo, what is that…?”
Iron Mask asked.
“Th-That’s a curse written in unholy language. Just looking at it or reading it can drive you mad or possess you!”
“P-Possessed by whom?”
At Jeong Yoo-shin’s question, the dwarf priest’s lips trembled.
“I… I can’t say. It’s too horrible to even utter. Please understand.”
“Then what should we do? Can we burn it?”
“N-No! Leave it alone! There must be a curse on such a sinister thing. Don’t touch it, and don’t look at or read the inscription!”
Kubo warned frantically.
“Alright. Calm down.”
Jeong Yoo-shin placed his hand on Kubo’s shoulder. Kubo, who had been panting heavily, exhaled deeply.
“Then we can rest outside the fort. As long as we don’t look at the inscription on that strange leather, we should be fine.”
“No!!!”
Kubo shouted impulsively.
Iron Mask stepped forward.
“Calm down. Mars scouted the area. This area is safe as long as we avoid that trap-like thing. Besides, haven’t we been walking for hours?”
The leader's gentle tone calmed Kubo down.
“Ugh… Alright. I was too agitated. I apologize.”
Jeong Yoo-shin and the party members sat around the torch and rested. Jeong Yoo-shin looked at the dense forest.
Now that he was out of the cave-like floors and was in a place with an open sky, he felt disoriented.
It was hard to adjust, so to speak.
It was completely different from the labyrinth he had imagined.
Of course, he had read about it in books, but the experience of seeing it firsthand was different.
The other party members seemed to feel the same way.
‘Maybe it’s the discomfort of not having a roof.’
The changed ‘law’ also bothered him.
Thinking about the ‘law’ of the Forest area, he understood why Iron Mask had chosen the party members in this way.
A priest whose defense was so solid he rarely got injured. Of course, Jeong Yoo-shin hadn’t seen him get hit yet.
A beast-person who moved well in the forest and had a keen sense of smell.
Iron Mask, who possessed excellent character and leadership.
Himself, who had a high pain threshold, strong mental fortitude, combat skills, and intelligence.
‘He has a good eye.’
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded inwardly and looked at their party leader.
Iron Mask was looking at a piece of parchment he had taken from his pocket. Was it the list of requests?
“Iron Mask, can we make some money here?”
“There are a few valuable medicinal herbs in the Murkwood area. If we’re lucky, we might even complete a promotion request.”
“Are you thinking of promoting your rank too?”
“There’s no reason not to if I can. I have to go deeper into the labyrinth anyway. To obtain the imprint I need.”
Jeong Yoo-shin nodded.
Whether positive or negative, “powerful” imprints could only be obtained by venturing deep into the labyrinth.
He remembered the Explorers Guild guild leader mentioning it subtly during the novice explorer class.
Jeong Yoo-shin didn't pry further. He had a hunch about what Iron Mask wanted.
‘Does he want to live?’
To crawl into a labyrinth rife with death just to live.
It was a grim irony.
Jeong Yoo-shin and the party members rested for a while in front of the watchtower.
Although they wanted to sit there longer, they packed up because the priest was getting anxious.
“Murkwood is on the outer edge of the Forest area. The distance to the teleportation stone is long, so we need to move carefully.”
Mars said without even looking at the map.
The party members left the old watchtower and slowly moved forward.
Kubo seemed to have been quite shocked by what he had seen in the watchtower, as he still occasionally shuddered.
Mars, who was walking through the dim forest, stopped and pointed to a spot.
“Oh?! That’s a Purple Forget-Me-Not. This flower is quite valuable.”
“How much?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked.
“Wait a moment… 10 silver coins. Per root.”
Iron Mask pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket, scanned it, and answered for Mars.
Jeong Yoo-shin pulled a small shovel out of his backpack and rushed towards the flower.
“Hoo. Fucking nice.”
“Dig carefully. The roots can’t be damaged, according to this.”
Iron Mask coached from the side.
“Trust me. Do you know how gently I handle the white mouse every night? Huh?!”
“…Skar, I don’t understand what you’re saying. Just calm down.”
“Alright.”
Jeong Yoo-shin squatted down and carefully dug around the Forget-Me-Not.
Slowly. Gently.
After about 10 minutes of effort, he managed to dig up the Forget-Me-Not with its roots intact.
Jeong Yoo-shin shook off the dirt from the roots, carefully placed it in a leather pouch, and put it in his backpack.
“Where to next?”
“…Let’s go.”
Following Mars, they collected various plants as they moved.
There were blue mushrooms used as catalysts in magical experiments.
They also picked flowers with a mix of red and yellow colors that were used in hemostatic agents.
Even the weeds growing by the roadside were essential herbs used in potions.
Jeong Yoo-shin grinned from ear to ear.
‘Intermediate-rank explorers have been enjoying this honey hole of farming all this time?’
He now understood why people were so desperate to be promoted. No amount of explanation could compare to the experience of holding the money in one’s own hands.
Iron Mask’s voice also became noticeably pleased.
“…This is a Taltar flower. To see a flower usually found only in gardens here…”
Jeong Yoo-shin popped his head in.
“Oh! How much is that worth?”
“It’s just ornamental. It’s not very expensive.”
“Tsk.”
Jeong Yoo-shin quickly pulled his head back and looked around.
He realized that it was darker now than before. He had been so preoccupied with money that he had been walking while looking only at the ground.
“Mars, are we going the right way?”
Jeong Yoo-shin asked.
“We’re going the right way.”
Mars replied while looking ahead.
“…”
Jeong Yoo-shin looked at Mars’s back.
Something felt off.
For the past few hours, Kubo had been trembling with fear, and Mars, unlike when they first arrived in the Forest area, was now navigating the forest with expertise.
Iron Mask also sensed the strange atmosphere and put the parchment with the list of requests back in his pocket.
“Mars, turn around.”
Iron Mask urged.
“Why?”
“Let me see your face.”
Mars turned around and looked at his party members.
“Why are you guys acting so strange all of a sudden? It’s creepy.”
Mars’s face looked the same as when they first met.
He was the same rat beast-person, with nothing different or changed. His voice was a bit lower, but that was all.
‘Or am I wrong? Maybe it’s just my imagination.’
Perhaps it was just their excessive vigilance stemming from suddenly snapping back to reality after being so preoccupied with money.
Jeong Yoo-shin relaxed his tense body.
At that moment…
“Y-You. Who are you?!”
Kubo stepped forward and shouted.
“Priest Kubo, what are you talking about? It’s me, Mars.”
“No. That ominous feeling hasn’t disappeared since we left the fort. It wasn’t my imagination!”
Mars shook his head.
“Sigh… Iron Mask, Skar. Priest Kubo seems very tired. Should we rest for a bit? There’s a resting place just a little further ahead.”
Jeong Yoo-shin stepped forward.
“No. Mars, let’s be sure. It’s true that your current state seems strange.”
“…”
Silence fell over the quiet forest. No one spoke, and everyone just stared at Mars.
After a long silence, Mars’s mouth opened.
“…Discovered?”
A grotesquely low voice spread through the dark forest.
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T/N - Well, that certainly was creepy. Most likely, Mars actually read the sign and got possessed.
Also, I’m liking the concept of this labyrinth more and more. The “laws” are pretty interesting, though they all seem to lead people to madness in the end.