Chapter 107: Giant Hunt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 107: Giant Hunt
“You two, wake up. It’s time to move.”
I barely managed to open my eyes at the sound of Raphael’s voice. I wanted to sleep a bit longer, but there’s no such thing as oversleeping in the Labyrinth.
Above all, a porter responsible for breakfast must wake up exactly when the rest of the party does.
“Mr. Raphael. Do you know how long it’s been since we entered the Central Section?”
“I’m not sure myself. I just woke up too.”
“Ah…”
According to Raphael, it seemed the Saintess had stayed up all night without waking the night watch.
Thanks to her, everyone else’s fatigue had been somewhat relieved. The Saintess appeared to have spent the time alone in meditation. Apparently, delivering a single massive blow requires an immense amount of Divine Power.
“By the way, you two. You’ve certainly gotten close.”
“Yes, well, since we’re always stuck together…”
“It’s my first time seeing Rosier cling to a man like that. She must really like you.”
“Raphael! What are you saying?!”
“Hahaha. Why are you getting angry, Rosier? Hehe. I guess even the little brat is looking for a man now that she’s of age.”
“....”
Rosier’s face turned beet red at Raphael’s teasing.
Watching her, Raphael chuckled and shared an interesting story.
“Hey Porter, did you know? This girl used to challenge me constantly when she was a kid.”
“She challenged you? Really?”
“Raphael… please, not the childhood stories…”
“What do you mean ‘please’? Hahaha. She had a fiery temper back then. Even though she was tiny, she was so cheeky. She’d keep coming at me even while getting pummeled.”
“Ugh…”
Embarrassed, Rosier covered her face and lowered her head.
“I-I should go get ready.”
She hurriedly made her escape, claiming she needed to put on her armor.
She does have a cute side.
“Hehe. Did she confess first?”
“Ah, well. Haha.”
“She’s an honest girl. A serious one, too. You’ll find her dependable.”
“She certainly is.”
“Treat her well. It’s hard to find a woman like her on the outside.”
“Yes. Thank you for the advice.”
“Don’t mention it. She’s like a younger sister to me. I hope things work out for her. Since you’re a Subspace Pocket user, you’ll make good money. At least she won’t have to struggle with poverty. Haha.”
Raphael’s expression turned briefly sad, as if recalling a moment from the past, before he looked at Rosier with a warm smile. He nodded as if satisfied with something.
“Get yourself ready too. The Saintess wants to have a strategy meeting.”
“Yes. Thank you, Raphael.”
Raphael headed toward the campfire in the Central Plaza.
Sasaro and Paramel were already up, checking their equipment near the fire. The Saintess, who looked as if she hadn’t slept at all, sat before the flames with vacant eyes, chewing on dried beans.
Tension was etched clearly on the party members' faces.
Today, we had to hunt the Cyclops, a mid-boss class monster of the 7th Floor. It wasn't just any monster; it was a mid-boss. It was only natural to be nervous.
Only the Saintess seemed to be lost in thought.
“You’re awake.”
“Ah, Halcy.”
As I was pulling food from my inventory to distribute to the party, Helena approached me.
“Honestly, you two. You were chirping away so loudly.”
“What? Don’t tell me you heard everything Rosier and I were saying?”
“It was entertaining. Telling all those things to an innocent maiden who knows nothing. Hahahaha. You’re quite the shameless pervert.”
“Dammit.”
Helena laughed as she tore into a piece of jerky. This damn old hag heard everything. It was embarrassing, but what could I do when her ears were that sharp?
“Hehehe. This is fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a party hunt like this.”
“We’re going to hunt a giant; what’s so fun about that? We might die.”
“Well, death has always been by my side, so I do not fear it. It’s just pleasant. Going on a raid with young friends like this… it would be stranger if it weren’t fun. It makes me feel young again.”
“That’s a comment that really shows your age.”
“Well, I am actually quite old.”
She seemed to find everything amusing, busy snickering as she looked around at the party.
“Where’s Roy?”
“He woke up four hours ago and has been swinging his sword ever since. He said this body performs much better than his previous one and that he might finally break through the wall of the Platinum Badge this time.”
“Is that so?”
“That’s what he said. It seems he wasn’t very fond of his original body. It’s understandable to be happy when you feel you’ve completely transcended your limits.”
“I suppose so.”
Roy seemed extremely satisfied with the heretic’s body.
I should start getting ready too.
The entity we were facing today was a monster on a completely different level from the heretics. We had to take down a giant that had crawled up from the 7th Floor.
‘The One-eyed Cyclops.’
It possessed an area-of-effect fear skill targeting sentient beings, sorcery, immense strength, and an unquenchable life force. To kill it, we would have to mobilize every means and method at our disposal.
*
“The easiest way is to break its legs.”
Before entering the Garden Section, we held a strategy meeting. Saintess Freya, who had been staring into the campfire, emphasized that we had to crush the giant’s legs.
“We should aim for the ankles, then.”
“Right. But it won’t just wait for ‘bugs’ to approach its ankles. Unless you can hide well enough to evade its gaze or a decoy draws its aggro perfectly, you have to assume you’ll be crushed to death the moment you enter its attack radius.”
“Does that mean ranged attacks are the only answer?”
“Ranged attacks aren't the answer either. Ordinary arrows can’t pierce its hide, and even if they do, it’s hard to inflict a significant wound. As for tearing it apart with magic, giants are famous for having incredibly high magic resistance.”
“This is driving me crazy.”
Sasaro sighed and buried his face in his hands. He probably felt like this was a disaster to deal with in his later years.
“Actually, the best weapons for dealing with a giant are siege weapons.”
“Siege weapons?”
“Yes. That’s what it said in the texts I’ve read…”
Paramel shared the most effective giant-hunting methods from his memory. He explained that treating a giant like a castle siege could minimize casualties.
“The problem is, we can’t bring siege weapons into the Labyrinth…”
“It would be impossible through normal means.”
However, for me, it was possible.
At this point, our opinions split into two.
First, we find a way to take down the giant ourselves.
Second, we bring siege weapons down to deal with it.
“The question is whether we can prepare siege weapons immediately or not.”
“Labyrinth City is far removed from war. There’s no reason to build or maintain siege weapons.”
“If you unleash about three Platinum Badge adventurers, they are siege weapons.”
“Then wouldn’t it be faster to just bring some Platinum Badges down here?”
“Among the current generation of Platinum Badges, all the ‘sane’ ones are retired. They won’t want to step foot in the Labyrinth again.”
“In the end, we have to catch the giant ourselves. If we drag this out too long, there’s no telling what kind of scheme the Saint in Black will pull.”
The Saintess reached a conclusion.
She was right; we had to deal with the giant swiftly. If we delayed any further and the Saint in Black or the Yeti Chieftain managed to tame the giant, it would be a catastrophe.
“Raphael and I will attack the giant’s legs. Paramel, give Raphael your full support. Sasaro and Roy, take care of the trolls and heretics that will be nearby.”
“Yes, Saintess.”
The Saintess would take the right leg, while Raphael and Paramel took the left. Sasaro and Roy were tasked with handling all enemies other than the giant. Rosier was to do her best to protect me.
“Halcy. What is the extent of your magical ability?”
“Me? Well, I can do just about anything that needs doing.”
“I mean, specifically, how far can you go?”
“Hmm. What kind of magic do you want?”
“Magic that can destroy the giant’s eye.”
“There are about seven spells that could destroy the eye in a single blow. Of course, this body lacks sufficient mana, so I’d likely collapse immediately after casting.”
“....Pardon?”
The Saintess looked at Helena as if she were talking nonsense.
“Mr. Porter.”
“Yes?”
“Is this person perhaps a braggart? To be able to use seven different 9th Circle spells… that would mean her magical skill surpasses even a Tower Lord.”
“Uh, well. It should be possible.”
“Can I trust her?”
“Yes. You can trust her.”
“Hah. This is absurd. Putting a Platinum Badge soul into a heretic’s body… the difficulty level just plummeted.”
The Saintess smirked.
We had two definite Platinum Badges and four Platinum-level interrogators. Furthermore, we had a swordsman who, though only a Silver Badge, was overflowing with zeal.
“And we have a porter with scrolls.”
“Me?”
“Yes. You have a role too. You’ve already done the work of ten people just by bringing a Platinum-level mage to our side, but if things go sideways, we’ll have to rely on your scrolls.”
“Ah…”
The three scrolls I possessed.
Spirit Summon, Teleportation, and Object Translocation.
Using Spirit Summon against a giant would be meaningless. The scrolls the Saintess was referring to must be Teleportation and Object Translocation.
“If things go wrong, do your absolute best to kill the giant.”
“Will I… be able to do that?”
“By the time you have to move, I’ll likely be half-dead, and the rest of the party won’t be in good shape either. You’ll have to kill the giant, recover our bodies, and escape the Labyrinth.”
“...That’s insane.”
“Oh, of course, with Halcy and me here, there shouldn’t be much to worry about. I’m just assuming the worst-case scenario, so don’t be too scared.”
“That’s right! Don’t be scared. I’ll be the one to kill the giant.”
“Raphael… you’re overconfident…”
“Paramel! You’re the one who lacks motivation!”
Looking at the confident Raphael, I felt like things might actually go well.
“Alright, let’s go. We’ll likely have to run fast. Since the forest is burnt down, the giant will spot us much sooner.”
The Garden Section, once lush with trees and all sorts of plants, was now mostly filled with ash and dust. Since all the terrain features had burned away, making cover impossible, it was better to run toward the giant as fast as we could.
If the distance was too great, the monster would hurl boulders or fragments of collapsed buildings like a catapult.
Whoosh—!!!
“Holy crap! It’s already throwing things!!!”
A massive boulder came flying through the air.
The giant hunt had begun.