Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: I Want to Go to the 2nd Floor (7)
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The Joey Hog Party was a four-person explorer team that primarily operated on the 7th floor of the Labyrinth.
The reason these 7th-floor explorers had descended to the 5th floor and pushed all the way to the hobgoblin village was simple.
A request to retrieve the staff of the shaman hobgoblin that had appeared right in front of their party had turned out to be quite lucrative.
The 5th floor of the Labyrinth was special in several ways.
5th. 10th. 15th. 20th. 25th. 30th.
The floors that were multiples of five, where fountains existed, had unique environments and bizarre difficulty levels compared to the others.
'Ridiculously hard sometimes, boringly easy others.'
In their case, the 5th floor they were on now fell into the former category.
It was bizarrely vast, with five different types of monsters having built a village together in a jumbled mess across the entire floor.
This made it far wider and more complex than other floors, complicating any attempt to conquer it.
As a result, the payout for completing the request exceeded that of hunting typical 7th-floor monsters.
Even for 7th-floor explorers, pushing straight through the five monster villages on the 5th floor one by one was no easy task, so everyone resorted to shortcuts.
'Without the fountain teleport scroll, we wouldn't have taken the job in the first place.'
To be fair, it hardly counted as a cheat. On multiple-of-five floors, it was the standard method.
They tore the fountain teleport scroll and warped to the fountain at the far end of the floor.
A group of about seven ragged explorers was there, guzzling healing water from the fountain, but no major trouble broke out.
Finally, the Joey Hog Party headed toward their destination: the hobgoblin village.
The party consisted of leader and dwarf tank Joey Hog.
Cat beastkin priest Hitollis.
Harpy mage Ramel Royce.
Cow beastkin swordswoman Jubel.
And trailing behind them was Gregor, the 3rd-floor lizardgirl great warrior who'd joined as their luggage carrier this time.
The beastkin swordswoman Jubel called out to Gregor.
"Watch closely. Then go blab to everyone. Let 'em know how badass our party is."
"Yes, ma'am!"
"Kerrrkekekerk!"
A shaman hobgoblin spotted them and let out a deafening roar.
The entire goblin village trembled in response.
Hobgoblins from the 2nd- and 3rd-floor caves grabbed their weapons and rushed toward the warehouses at the ends of their respective floors.
The 1st-floor hobgoblins charged straight into battle.
"If we drag this out, armed hobgoblins from upstairs will swarm us! We need to end it quick before things get messy!"
At the dwarf warrior Joey Hog's shout, harpy mage Ramel Royce nodded and raised her wand.
"I'll start chanting! Cover me!"
Her lips began moving as she chanted. Heat gathered at the tip of her wand.
The shaman hobgoblin didn't sit idle either. Light burst from its staff, spreading across the goblin village.
The hobgoblins grew even more ferocious and reckless.
Dozens—no, more than that—of them charged in a frenzied horde, fearless of death.
Bam!
But their opponents were seasoned explorers too.
"This is manageable? It's just a bit tougher than a 1st-floor goblin den!"
Exhausting. 1st floor? Child's play compared to the 5th. Regretting this request already.
"First time hitting a hobgoblin village, but it's easier than I thought! Should've challenged it back then instead of skipping with scrolls!"
Bullshit. Damn glad we used the scroll then. If we'd come when we were weaker, we'd be dead. Gonna keep skipping the 5th floor forever.
Joey Hog and the cow beastkin swordswoman Jubel traded bravado while ceaselessly swinging their swords and blunt weapons to protect the priest and mage.
The priest provided buffs and heals, and the mage's chant neared completion.
"Everyone, get back! Fireball!"
The 7th-floor mage's wand glowed as a massive fireball plummeted onto the hobgoblins.
When the smell of burning flesh and smoke cleared, only the shaman hobgoblin remained, face twisted in panic.
"Look at that little shit panic."
"Don't underestimate a 7th-floor mage's power."
"Yeah, yeah. You're the best."
With all its minions gone, the shaman hobgoblin had few options left.
The monster turned tail and fled pathetically. Cow beastkin swordswoman Jubel swung her blade, finishing it and claiming the staff.
"Too easy?"
"Right? Way easier than expected. Was the hobgoblin swarm tactic always this weak?"
Even accounting for their earlier whining, it had been surprisingly doable.
No joke—sincerely. There were fewer hobgoblins than anticipated.
"I heard the 5th floor's hobgoblins eat rice cakes all day, so their numbers are insane..."
As they reviewed the unexpectedly anticlimactic battle with glee...
Clang! Kang!
"...What was that just now?"
Familiar sounds of combat echoed from somewhere.
"Kerrrrk! Kekerk!"
"Kekekerkeke!"
Hobgoblin cries rang out nonstop. And there were a lot of them.
Question marks popped up over the Joey Hog Party's heads.
Something was off. They'd clearly taken out the shaman hobgoblin too—where were these cries coming from?
"J-Jubel, ma'am. Over there—"
Gregor pointed with a horrified expression.
Only then did the Joey Hog Party notice where her finger was aimed.
"Holy shit."
The same words escaped every party member's lips.
"Kekekerk!!!"
"Die! Die, you fucking bastards!!!"
They'd forgotten amid the easy victory.
Thinking back, it hadn't made sense from the start. A goblin village with so few troops?
The reason the shaman hobgoblin panicked, why the 2nd- and 3rd-floor hobgoblins never came down even after the fight...
Craaaack!
The goblin village's 3rd floor.
A battle was still raging there.
A fist flying toward my right cheek.
I ducked left to dodge.
Pain exploded against my left cheek. A hobgoblin's punch.
At the same time, agony tore into my side, elbow, legs—everywhere but my arms.
These fucking hobgoblins were latched onto my limbs like leeches, biting to drain my stamina.
Dodge one, eat two more. Their numbers were overwhelming; no way around it.
"Die!"
Craaack!
I wasn't just taking hits. I swung my battle axe, severing one hobgoblin's neck.
Red blood sprayed, blurring my vision. I wiped my eyes, but everything turned crimson.
Green goblins mixed with red blood looked brown.
"You shitty bastards..."
At first, it was manageable. They'd discovered me hiding and come in lust-fueled.
Seemed like they wanted to capture me alive then. That's when I thinned their numbers most.
Ten? Twenty?
Couldn't remember exactly, but I'd swung the axe full-force at least thirty times, sending a dozen or so to the afterlife.
But at some point, their vibe shifted. They started swinging fists and weapons like they meant to kill.
Good thing: the weapon warehouse was cramped.
Hard to swing spears or swords freely, and with dozens packed in tight, no room even for proper punches.
So the hobgoblins couldn't grab swords or spears.
I'd already killed the ones with hammers or axes early on—fewer restrictions.
In this chaos, scrounging blunt weapons from blood-soaked corpses on the floor would be tough.
Thus, hobgoblins clung to my breastplate and legs, clawing and biting joints in desperation.
I gritted my teeth and endured.
Crack! Thwack!
I raised my right arm high, smashing hobgoblin skulls like whack-a-mole, continuing the fight.
Then.
Siiiizzle—!
Excruciating pain surged from my quadriceps. My outer thigh felt hollow.
Like lava flowing down my leg.
My head burned hot, heart pounding wildly.
Didn't need to look to know what injury I'd taken.
This crazy hobgoblin had torn into my left thigh with sheer bite force.
My left foot twitched like a cramp. Sensation faded gradually.
Splat!
I lost balance and collapsed onto the blood-drenched ground. Goblins swarmed in a pile-on.
I curled up tight. With my trembling left hand, I yanked a recovery potion from my belt and chugged it.
Fuck. Good thing I'd pulled it from my bag right before the fight.
Hiss—
Working? No idea. Trusting it for first aid.
I pushed up with my right leg, standing.
"Hrgh...!"
Fuck. Endure. Ignore the pain. Stand like it never happened.
As I rose, the hobgoblins sandwiching me like a crushed filling tumbled off.
I stomped the ones that fell behind me, axe-first.
"Hoo, ha."
So damn tiring. No breathing room. Honestly, just gripping and swinging the axe was my limit now.
Vision flickering like lightning. Breathing ragged, heating up.
Head cooling from pain, heart racing hot.
'Ah. Here it comes.'
That thrill I hadn't felt in ages.
I was at death's doorstep.
Fighting a battle where one slip meant death.
Every movement sharpened and strengthened in an instant. Breathing steadied a bit.
But no dramatic turnaround. Enemies still numerous.
Even dumping free points into stats every level-up, the situation remained dire.
'So what?'
What to do was clear.
Swing the axe. Swing and cleave through foes.
That's my job now. Only way to survive.
I lost myself, axe flying.
"Keruk!"
"Ke, keruk! Keruk!"
As I slashed on, I realized I was swinging wider.
Space opening up. Finally saw my surroundings.
"Keruk—"
"Ke, keruk..."
Couldn't read monster faces, but instinct screamed terror.
Hobgoblins recoiled in horror, backing away.
I blankly stared at the floor. Standing on hobgoblin corpses. At least fifty piled up.
My greaves soaked in blood; hobgoblin blood rose to my shins like a river.
Squelch with every step.
Axe fused to my hand. No slipping in blood—like one body.
Squelch—squelch—
I waded through blood-soaked ground, swinging. Maddening pain from left foot.
Ragged breaths, stamina draining—I refused to waver or show it.
Couldn't give them an inch of opening. Any gap, and they'd swarm again.
"Keruk! Kekekekekerk!"
Intimidation worked wonders. Despite overwhelming numbers, unable to take one prey, they fled the warehouse in panic.
Kaboom!
Fleeing hobgoblins ate fireballs, incinerated. Happened in a flash. Sword swings followed.
'Explorers.'
Explorers here for the shaman hobgoblin. Lost in trance, forgotten. Not outlaws, but prepare anyway. Should...
"Ah..."
Body wouldn't move. Not falling, not toppling—just frozen upright.
Eyes drooping. No strength to twitch a finger.
Explorers spotted. Must respond... but...
Eerily familiar sensation.
"What... is this...?"
The Joey Hog Party arrived at the goblin village's 3rd-floor warehouse and stared blankly at the horrifying scene.
Blood everywhere. Walls and floor like they'd always been red.
Only the ceiling resembled brown paper splattered with red paint.
That's when they guessed the room's original color: brown.
Floor carpeted in blood-soaked hobgoblin corpses. Too many to count at a glance.
'No wonder the fight was easy.'
All the 3rd-floor hobgoblins had been drawn here.
The 2nd-floor ones had rushed down at the commotion above.
'If this many forces had teamed up with the shaman hobgoblin?'
The party would've suffered catastrophic losses.
'Hell, could we have even survived?'
Even as 7th-floor explorers, imagining the fight in that tiny space made them gulp.
The bloodbath's aftermath lay before them.
In that crimson space stood a man trampling hobgoblin corpses.
Blood-drenched helm, breastplate, axe—like they'd always been red.
His body was no different.
Limbs covered in goblin claw and bite marks dripped blood.
Impossible to tell whose blood was whose.
But regardless, the Joey Hog Party and Gregor instantly recognized the helmeted man.
"...Isn't that an employee from the Cozy Winter Night inn?"
They were regulars at Diana's inn, after all.