Chapter 31
Chapter 31
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: I Want to Go to the 2nd Floor (3)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Every time I checked the status window, one question nagged at me.
Everyone's stats were all jumbled up in different ways.
Since stats get randomly distributed every time you level up, some people end up with certain stats sky-high or rock-bottom, while others get them spread out evenly.
Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, but aside from me, they all shared one thing in common.
'Stats go up every time they level.'
It was as if their bodies needed time to adjust to the stat increases.
And that was my question.
'If I dump all 5 stat points in at once, can my body keep up right away?'
Improving physical abilities requires recovery time. Torn muscles need that essential period to heal and grow stronger.
Agility. A word that literally means moving your body with speed and quickness.
So, what changes would my body undergo if my agility stat spiked like that?
The answer came immediately.
Shweeeeeeee!!!
A rain of arrows poured down from the ceiling in a life-or-death crisis.
Crack, crackle—
The moment after I invested the stats, in a fraction of a second...
'It evolved. One step further.'
The speed at which my body moved surged dramatically.
Even the rate at which power gathered in my muscles showed a clear difference.
"Urk—!"
"Kyaaak?!"
I gripped Kakchi's hand tight and swung it hard, hurling her forward.
Jermi hadn't let go of Kakchi's other hand either, so the two flew out of the trap zone like a chain of sausages.
At least I'd saved them both.
I looked up at the dense barrage of arrows raining down. I stood right in the center of the circular arrow storm.
Even the me from a second ago could've somehow survived this arrow rain.
'But I wouldn't have dodged it perfectly.'
My armored head and torso might've been fine, but my legs and arms would've taken three or four arrows.
And with the potions I had, I couldn't heal that kind of damage. At that point, exploring the 2nd floor would've hit a major snag.
What about Kakchi and Jermi? No time to save them, so they'd have turned into porcupines and died, obviously.
But now?
Pababababa!!
Dozens of arrows thudded densely into the stone floor. A spine-chilling sight.
We survived. All three of us safe.
'That was close.'
Honestly, it was razor-thin.
If my judgment or reaction had been even a hair slower, I'd be holding hands with all the lives I'd taken, touring the River Styx by now.
"Big Brother!!"
Jermi came rushing over, panting, and grabbed my hand tightly.
"Caring for your party member before yourself! Lightning-quick judgment and action! Sniff... I'm still so far behind...!"
Jermi, whose life I'd saved, clung to me with tears of感動 in his eyes.
"If we'd taken arrows, Anya in the backpack would've been badly hurt too...!"
Ah. That was the issue. Let go already. You're suddenly coming off super burdensome and creepy, dude?
"Insane... This insane bullshit... Never happened even once before..."
Kakchi looked utterly indignant about getting screwed by a trap the moment we entered the 2nd floor.
Well, yeah. Nearly got her head pierced by arrows before she could even detect or check for traps. Normal reaction.
"Thanks to you, we survived, Master. And... I'm sorry. I didn't notice the trap."
She'd bragged about the 2nd floor being her turf, but screwing up right at the start had her looking deflated.
Kakchi bowed deeply to me at once. Her pure white back trembled visibly.
Not the aroused quiver from before. This was darker, stickier—a shake mixed with negative emotions.
For a split second, I recalled Kakchi getting beaten like a dog by Deluna.
The way she'd endured the pain silently, even with her eyes swollen shut.
"What're you talking about. A slave's the master's property. Who else is gonna protect my stuff?"
"...Pardon?"
A slave is the master's asset. Gotta protect my own assets myself, right?
I patted the head of Kakchi, who lifted it hesitantly in confusion, then went to the arrow field and yanked out arrows embedded deep in the stone.
Purple liquid coated the arrowheads. Poison, obviously. The labyrinth was dead serious about screwing over explorers.
"Perfect use for these. And no need to feel down. Just do better from now on. Long road ahead."
I handed her the arrows with some comforting words, and her eyes instantly welled up.
"...Yes..."
Densi accepted the arrows with a faint smile.
Tadak!
Three pebbles flew from Kakchi's hand and clattered to the floor.
Twitch, twitch.
Her ears flicked each time.
She cupped her palm to one ear, probably to hear better. Squatting like that, she kinda looked like a bunny mimicking one.
"Don't touch those floor tiles or that wall tile. Just follow exactly in my footsteps."
Kakchi carefully stepped, avoiding specific stone tiles.
Jermi and I quickly matched her footprints, hopping tiles accordingly.
"Phew. We're good. No traps for a while ahead."
"...How do you know from tossing pebbles?"
Curious, I asked. Kakchi swept her side hair behind her ear and fiddled with her ear rim.
"Tossing stones on the floor makes a faint vibration. It travels through walls, floor, ceiling... and sometimes you hear a weird rattle somewhere."
Kakchi gathered the stones as she explained.
"I don't know exactly how labyrinth traps work. But nine times out of ten—"
Whoosh—!
She hurled a stone hard at the wall tile she'd mentioned.
Click.
The tile depressed slightly, and—
Rumble!
The floor where we'd just been split in half, revealing a pit.
"—it's a trap."
I peeked into the pit. Dozens of sharp spears pointed upward.
""Ooh...""
Jermi and I could only gawk in admiration. A trick only Kakchi's exceptional hearing could pull off.
"The trickiest are the muffled arrow rains and the silent transfer traps... I've only seen the latter once, so I'm not great at spotting them."
"Transfer trap?"
The name alone sounded ominous as hell. Already shitty labyrinth—where the fuck does it transfer you to now?
"Varies by color, but sometimes they drop you deeper down. Actually, Deluna's party got to the 3rd floor via a transfer trap. Nearly died..."
Kakchi shuddered, not even wanting to imagine it.
"Lucky it was just the 3rd. Anything 4th or below, and I wouldn't be here..."
The labyrinth's difficulty spikes sharply every multiple of 4: 4th, 8th, 12th floors.
Beginner explorers call the 4th and 8th the Walls of Wailing.
"...Fucking dangerous trap."
"Yep. Step wrong, land below 4th on bad luck? Life over that day."
"Wait, 'caught in it'? Not someone stepping on it directly?"
"Transfer traps are AOE. Light spreads out—if it hits you, you're trapped."
Labyrinth's most dreaded hazard. Someone else triggers it, you get dragged in by bad luck.
With the maze forcing you to climb back up layer by layer via ascent portals, getting transferred means you might just wait to die.
Realizing that sparked caution—and burning curiosity.
'What's the difference from descent portals?'
Just trap vs. portal? Both send you down the labyrinth anyway.
'Gotta research portals too...'
No clue where to start. They whisk you away the instant you touch—how do you even check?
"...Sigh. Let's just keep moving."
"Yes!"
I sighed and stepped forward unnecessarily. Once back in Baleros, hit the library or something.
Craaaack!!
I buried the axe in the goblin's neck. Slight snag, but more force turned it into goblin paste.
'Tougher than 1st floor goblins.'
Not unbeatable, but I felt the level uptick.
"Hoo. Hah..."
Three days in the labyrinth already. A bit over two since hitting the 2nd floor.
Jermi gained two levels this run.
Efficiency buff helped, sure, but 2nd floor monsters clearly gave more EXP than 1st floor ones.
"A woman's body is cursed... These rotten fat lumps make me... haa... out of breath every move... hngh..."
Jermi panted roughly, still getting used to fighting in his new body.
Well, big power comes with big price.
Kakchi and I leveled too, but slowly.
'Take it slow. No need to rush.'
"We've come pretty far already. Near the 2nd floor center—want to rest?"
"Rest sounds good."
"Big yes!"
Alternating rest and scouting got us to the 2nd floor center already.
Started at the early 2nd floor, so center in two days. Success.
"This pace? We'll hit the depths in three more days. Insane for two 2nd-floor newbies. Honestly faster than Deluna's party."
2nd floor theme: traps. Aside from those, not much different from 1st.
"Ah. Don't sit the—"
Click.
Shwaaaa!
"Hieeek!"
Jermi triggered a net trap sitting down, dangling mid-air.
Sighed and axed the net free.
"Th-thanks, Big Brother..."
Barring quiet or harmless traps, Kakchi bypassed most of the 2nd floor's main headache—traps.
Monsters like goblins? No big deal.
Honestly, riskiest moment was right after transfer. Nothing since.
Party worked fine on 2nd floor too. Time to aim a bit higher.
Thought about pushing to 3rd this time, but shook it off—too greedy. Step by safe step.
'Please, just end smooth like this...'
If this run ended safe, tons to do back home.
Prep for 3rd, library, bath—been wiping with wet cloths. Diana's warm soup too.
Haven't eaten jerky to save it, but holding the pouch gave weird strength.
We finished our short break and moved on.
"Fuck."
Payback for all those flags.
"Tr-transfer trap..."
Kakchi muttered at the yellow portal stuck in mid-air.
Transfer trap. The one explorers must avoid—we faced it.
"Color says 5th floor."
No plans to peek anyway, but destination made me want to avoid more.
5th floor. No clue how brutal.
Not even touched 3rd, let alone spiking 4th. 5th? Hell no.
"St-still good we spotted first. Just skirt the range and—let's go quick!"
Kakchi started to bolt but flinched. I soon figured why.
Detected seven people. Lucky seven, huh.
But explorers coming wasn't pure bad news. Common sense: 90 out of 100 dodge transfer traps.
"Whoa~ Super lucky~ 5th floor transfer!"
"Skip annoying 3rd and 4th. Nice find."
Shit luck—we hit that 10%. Fearless of transfers.
Folks aiming past 5th or targeting it.
Transfer traps: nightmare for weak explorers, express elevator skipping tedium for others.
Still okay. Ask 'em to wait till we clear range.
"Gasp...! Why the fuck is that demon here...!"
"Someone you know?"
"...All too well."
'Son of a bitch.'
Familiar faces approaching.
Zelvin and Mershi—the reformed explorers who'd tried raping me, got wrecked, and fled.
"Body looks prime. Gonna be fun."
"N-no. Don't touch him."
"What? Why?"
The two paled spotting me, but their crew glared hungrily.
Lust-filled eyes screamed cocks-for-brains.
"Kakchi. Guess your luck ran out."
Yeah. Never relied on luck anyway. Never been lucky.
To get what I want, seize it myself.
I gripped my negotiation tool tight.
People often call this fine conversation aid an axe.