Chapter 17
Chapter 17
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Spilling the Tea on the Party's Collapse
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With the party already shattered, goblin extermination was a lost cause. If I wanted to make money in the labyrinth, I'd have to wait for the next opportunity.
"It wasn't about the money anyway."
The reason I'd entered the labyrinth was purely to explore and investigate it—not to earn cash.
The priest was dead. The one-handed dealer was dead. All that remained was one deranged spearman and a kind-hearted warrior with a gentle soul.
We couldn't continue exploring the labyrinth any longer.
Chrrrrk.
I unfolded the 1st-floor map that the armored knight had kindly given me.
My current position was automatically marked on it.
'It's quite a distance to the escape portal...'
Not the deepest part of the 1st floor, but right in the middle of the inner depths.
An area where mid-to-small goblin nests occasionally lay in ambush.
It reminded me of the first time I'd gotten trapped in the labyrinth.
Back then, I'd wandered for days before reaching the portal. At least four days, I think.
'But the situation now is incomparably better than back then.'
The biggest difference was food supplies.
I had plenty of drinking water and preserved rations, and my equipment was sufficient too.
'There's one risk factor, though...'
I subtly checked on Jermi. The guy who'd gone mad with grief over losing his lover and made an irredeemable choice.
On paper, his stats meant he couldn't beat me.
'Still, you never know.'
The status window didn't account for variables like fatigue, condition, or carelessness.
Did I really need to stick with him while taking on that risk?
'If I ditch Jermi and go alone, he's as good as dead.'
Either raped by goblins until he went mad with pleasure and died, or overcome by grief over his girlfriend and offed himself.
I pondered for about ten seconds. In this urgent situation, it felt like an eternity.
Uncomfortable cohabitation with another guy VS solo death march + risk of fatigue leaving me defenseless to goblin rape + risk of being ambushed by females trying to do the same and sold into slavery.
Regrettably, after a month living in Balerus, I'd learned just how inhumanely slaves were treated.
No basic human rights—just livestock or tools.
In the end, the scales tipped ever so slightly.
"Fuck it. He did save my life, after all. A man with a conscience wouldn't backstab me."
I let out a needless sigh.
I'd sworn never to trust people easily again. But it wasn't that simple.
It was all Diana's fault for rekindling my worn-out sense of compassion.
"Kek, kekekek!"
Goblin cries began echoing from afar.
Well, after all that commotion, it'd be weirder if they didn't agro.
"Yeah. Come on, you fucks."
It was all or nothing now.
Crackle. Crackle.
Jermi cracked his eyes open at the sound of the campfire.
The first thing he saw was a wall of goblin corpses piled high, their eyes rolled back in death.
"Hiiik!"
"About time you snapped out of it."
As he startled back, a low voice echoed through the cave.
"...B-Balkan...?"
"Yeah, it's me. Before anything else, let me ask you one thing."
Shing—
Balkan drew his axe as smoothly as flowing water and aimed it at Jermi.
"Do you remember everything? Think hard and speak straight. If you flip out and lose it again, I'm leaving you behind."
"Pardon? Remember...? Ah..."
Jermi immediately realized what he meant.
Anya. My love. My light. The light I'd shared since childhood was shrouded in darkness, and my sun would never rise again.
"Ugh... Hnng..."
Nam Sujin watched Jermi bow his head, emitting breaths that could have been laughter or sobs.
'Is he crazy? Should I have killed him after all?'
If he snapped wrong, he could end up like Adolf—throat skewered like a kebab.
I'd confiscated his spear just in case, but he might still charge barehanded.
Gripping the axe, I approached him cautiously.
"Anya's... dead, right?"
Jermi murmured without lifting his head.
"Yeah. She's dead. Adolf too. You killed them."
"......"
Nam Sujin stated the facts plainly. Jermi's eerie silence dragged on.
He was recalling the atrocity he'd committed. Driven mad by his loved one's death, he'd made an irreversible mistake.
After a long silence, Jermi spoke in a trembling voice.
"Could you... give me a knife?"
"A knife? You think I'm nuts enough to hand you a blade?"
What if he suddenly flipped and stabbed me? No way was I tossing him a weapon.
I squinted at Jermi.
His eyes were hollow. Dead eyes, they call them.
'If that's acting, he'd win an award.'
"Planning to kill yourself?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation. No attachment to life whatsoever.
"I... I don't deserve to live anymore..."
'...This is a problem.'
I'd fended off over a dozen goblins solo to keep him alive. Specifically to use him in combat.
And now suicide? It wasn't unexpected, but his resolve caught me off guard.
Think. How to make him drop the suicide idea and fight monsters instead.
"You're not even a man. Cut your dick off and die."
"...Pardon?"
Whoosh!
I tossed the nun's dagger at his feet. He stared blankly between the dagger and me.
"What're you waiting for? I gave you the knife—get to dying. Your lover's dead, and here you are whining about suicide instead of revenge? Makes me lose any respect I had."
Flash!
Jermi felt a shock like lightning piercing his body.
'Revenge...!'
Why hadn't he thought of that?
And why hadn't he charged right after Anya died?
What had he done when the fight broke out? Frozen in shock and terror, unable to move.
The man before him had saved his dazed self.
Without his help, he'd have just watched Anya die pointlessly before dying himself.
Anya with her head pierced by a goblin flashed in his mind.
Along with the grinning goblin rummaging through her skull.
Grind!
His teeth ground together in rage beyond limits.
'I have to kill every last goblin fucker.'
Nam Sujin sensed Jermi's aura shift in an instant as he trembled, clutching the knife.
Those empty eyes now blazed with thick fury and purpose.
Even without words, it was clear he'd made a resolution.
I could only hope it led him down the right path.
"Feeling sane now?"
"Yes. Thanks to you. Thank you, Big Brother."
'You gave my life meaning again.'
Jermi bowed deeply to Balkan.
What else could he call the man who'd not only saved his life but reignited his purpose?
'He must've said those harsh words because I was pathetically despairing.'
How could he not be grateful?
"Cut the 'Big Brother' crap. You're creeping me out like some gay dude."
Nam Sujin handed over the spear and watch as he spoke.
"Th-this is...?"
Jermi gripped the spear and stared blankly at the watch.
"You're on night watch from now on. Wake me in three hours."
It was already 23:00. Fatigue was setting in.
Diana's advice about managing condition echoed in my mind.
'No warm breakfast from Diana tomorrow morning, huh...'
With that thought, Nam Sujin fell asleep immediately.
"...So. Wait, hold up. Say that again. What?"
"I'm going to resurrect Anya."
I stared at Jermi spouting mad nonsense.
He was holding Anya's severed head. The neck cleanly cut.
The path was too rough to haul the whole body, so this was a compromise.
"We'll head to the surface, get a preservation spell on Anya's head, then explore the labyrinth for a miracle that revives the dead."
"......"
The labyrinth overflowed with mysteries and secrets beyond human understanding—blessings and curses alike.
No one could claim for sure that a miracle to raise the dead didn't exist somewhere in its vast depths.
Whether such a method truly existed didn't matter.
What mattered was the hope that it did.
"Fine. Do whatever. Handle the head yourself."
"Yes, Big Brother. Let's go, Anya. Stay safe in the backpack, okay?"
"......"
This was mind-numbing. But let's think positive. At least he wasn't throwing a fit about leaving Anya behind.
I quietly looted Adolf's corpse. Not for items, but proof of his death.
Couldn't exactly lop off an ear like a goblin, so I took his staff and the cross necklace from his neck.
"I'll take your rations for emergencies. Thanks for the meal."
A moment of silence for the departed Adolf, then I severed goblin ears, stuffed them in the pack, and moved on.
Crack!
After hunting goblins all night and traversing the labyrinth, one realization hit me.
'This is more manageable than I thought?'
I carefully rationed my stamina. No rush, and Adolf and Anya's sacrifices left me with ample food.
Checking Diana's watch, I took proper rests en route to the escape portal.
Splat!
One or two goblins charging me were no longer a real threat.
'Come to think of it, food and fatigue were always bigger issues than the goblins themselves.'
Unless dozens swarmed like in the nest, most losses in multi-foe fights came down to exhaustion.
Stab!
"Gotcha, you bastards!"
Jermi successfully skewered a goblin with his sharp spear.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
Not satisfied with one thrust, he stabbed the corpse dozens more times.
Even in a one-on-one, it'd been a desperate struggle.
At Level 1 with no extra stats, goblins were no pushovers.
'...Then what about me...'
I tucked away the fleeting doubt.
No point inflating useless delusions—focus on reality.
Jermi's combat prowess was mediocre at best, but still useful enough.
As I'd felt before, partying up made things easier.
Less burden, and above all, reliable rest.
"Let's rest here for today. Help me build the goblin wall."
"Yes, Big Brother!"
Since the suicide fiasco, Jermi kept calling me Big Brother. I'd told him to stop, but he persisted, so I let it slide.
"Ugh... Fucking exhausted."
Manageable for a shattered party didn't mean easy.
Constant vigilance—not knowing when or where trouble might strike—left my body stiff.
Walking like that piled up fatigue fast.
'Come to think of it, Kakchi was great at scouting.'
As archer-cum-ranger, she had a knack for spotting monsters.
No sign of her now after she fled, but the near-rape and first-party chaos popped up occasionally.
"Big Brother, you sleep first. I'll take watch."
He insisted, so I didn't refuse. We'd nabbed nearly 30 goblins today—fatigue was real.
Leveled up too. Seemed like the EXP bar for level-ups was growing.
'1st floor limit?'
Goblins alone had caps on growth.
Next time, form a proper party and aim for 2nd floor or higher, I thought, resting my head on the ground.
Step.
Footsteps approached.
Not one or two— at least four.
'30 meters away, exactly seven.'
The Great Helm-enhanced senses pinpointed their positions and numbers.
On reflex, I sprang up and drew the axe from my belt.
"Jermi. Grab your gear."
"Huh? Gear...? What do I extend?"
"The spear, idiot!"
At my shout, Jermi flustered but gripped his spear.
I peeked my helmeted head over the goblin wall.
"Fuck..."
I'd found the goblin wall's fatal flaw.
If your hearing sucked, the blocked view meant enemies could get right up close undetected.
"...Wow. What are the odds? Running into you here again."
A smiling woman. Face from the Explorer's Union.
The one who'd offered to treat me well if I joined her party. Intentions too obvious—I'd refused.
"Big Sis, you know her?"
"Yeah. Saw her briefly. Very briefly."
Someone popped out behind the woman and asked.
Five women armed with dripping bloody swords stood behind her.
Their gear splattered red. Bad vibes.
"...Hmmm. My eyes didn't deceive me, after all."
The woman eyed me up like appraising merchandise, from helmet tip to toes, with a sticky gaze.
But I couldn't focus on it.
My eyes were fixed lower, on the woman.
Her head crushed like an elbow rest, staring at me in shock.
"Ah, ah..."
Kakchi was there.
"R-run away!"
After Kakchi's scream.
Shrieeeek!
The air tore with wind, and the woman moved instantly.
I quietly pondered.
The one who needed to run didn't seem to be me.