Chapter 11: We Must Save Them Before It's Too Late
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 11: We Must Save Them Before It's Too Late
“First, we need to find someone to go in with us.”
“Should we... go to the Guild...?”
“The Guild is too crowded right now. It’ll be better to look around the Labyrinth entrance.”
The Adventurer’s Guild was currently more chaotic than a marketplace.
I had seen it myself on the way to the relief station. Trying to find adventurers there to help with a rescue mission would be madness. It was actually better at the Labyrinth entrance, even if it was swarming with patients and adventurers.
“I have a Subspace Pocket, and you have the Search and Track Ability, Rien. If we play our cards right, we should be able to find a party to join.”
“Aha... I see... I... I don’t know much about these things... so I’ll leave it all to you, Porter...”
Rien, who had been glaring at me when she was with the Young Lady, had turned into a total pushover now that it was just the two of us.
It seemed having a comrade nearby made a huge difference for her. She was the type to act a bit selfish when she had someone to lean on, but became incredibly fragile when left alone. This type is easier to handle the more awkward they feel.
“By the way, Rien.”
“Yeah...?”
“You’ve looked exhausted for a while now. Drink a bottle of this.”
“This is...”
“It’s a tonic. It’s good to take in emergencies. Though it does have a slight side effect...”
“A side effect...? What kind... Oh.”
“Yes. That kind of side effect.”
It was the same medicine that had caused a persistent erection when I took it in the Labyrinth. By Earth’s standards, it was something like Bacchus, but the Bacchus of this world had a minor side effect.
‘It causes an erection.’
For men, that was the side effect. For women, it was probably...
‘I think they said it makes your sense of touch more sensitive.’
It would be better to say it increases sensitivity. It was a side effect that bordered on being an aphrodisiac, but if you were on the verge of collapsing, one bottle would give you the strength to keep going without passing out. In emergencies, it was better to drink it.
‘Rien has been awake for over a day. It wouldn't be strange if she collapsed at any moment.’
To save the Young Lady and me, she had come out of the Labyrinth only to go right back in. And now, she was grinding away her very lifespan to enter the Labyrinth once more to save the Female Knight and the Priestess.
Rien was clearly overextending herself. So, even with the side effects, it was better to rely on the medicine’s power.
“It might not look like much, but the effects are guaranteed. And it costs 10 silver a bottle. I’m only suggesting it because you look like you’re about to faint, no other intentions. If you collapse in the Labyrinth, who’s going to carry you?”
“That’s... true... I can’t argue with that logic... Fine...”
Rien cautiously took the tonic I handed her. It was much better to endure with the medicine’s help than to collapse. Above all, the side effects would disappear after a few hours anyway.
Gulp.
In the end, Rien downed the tonic I gave her. The effects of the Labyrinth City’s special tonic were immediate. Rien’s half-closed eyes snapped wide open.
“I feel... my body getting hot...”
“That’s the medicine working. Nothing else feels strange, right?”
“It’s... a bit of a tingling sensation...? I don’t know how to describe it.”
Rien’s face flushed slightly. She seemed to find it difficult to put the sensations in her body into words. It didn't seem bad, though. In fact, she looked more satisfied than I expected.
“But... where do they sell this...? The Alchemist Guild...?”
“No. There’s a hole-in-the-wall shop I frequent. The proprietress there is an alchemist. She’s the one who made it.”
“What? Wait... is this an unofficial drug!?”
“Even if it’s made with an unofficial recipe, the effects are good. Besides, if you wanted to buy something similar from the Alchemy Guild, you’d have to pay at least 30 silver. You can buy three bottles of this for that price.”
“...Wow... You really live and die by cost-effectiveness, don't you... drinking uncertified potions like that...”
“It’s thanks to those that I’ve survived.”
The hole-in-the-wall shop—officially known as Lafnel’s Atelier. It was a tiny general store in the eastern part of the Labyrinth City. Few people visited, but the goods were reliable. After all, they were made by an Elf of ‘unknown age.’ In terms of experience and wisdom, she’d probably overwhelm even the elders of the Magic Tower.
“C-could you... introduce me... next time...?”
“Huh? Oh. Sure, why not.”
What was with her? One moment she was distrustful because it was unofficial, and the next she was asking for an introduction. Maybe I’d take her there once this chaos settled. No, I had thought I’d never see her again after this was over, but since we kept getting entangled, it felt strange. Was I trying to cut ties too coldly?
“For now, let’s start looking for teammates.”
“Right... okay.”
Before entering the Labyrinth, Rien and I needed to find adventurers of at least intermediate rank to accompany us. I was a porter with low combat power to begin with, and in Rien’s current state, we couldn't expect her to do much more than guide the way.
The problem was that most intermediate adventurers had already received orders from the Guild and entered the Labyrinth for rescue operations. Therefore, those remaining at the Labyrinth entrance were either those who had just been rescued or those who had escaped on their own.
Anyone capable of rational thought would have already gone to the Guild or a relief station, so those still at the entrance likely had some lingering attachment to the Labyrinth. If I could persuade someone suitable among them, maybe I could drag them along.
I figured I could tell them that if they helped us rescue the Female Knight and the Priestess, we would help them rescue the teammates they had left behind.
“Are you planning to head into the sewers?”
“No... we’re... finished... It’s all over... damn it... damn it all... I just want to die...”
“Ah.”
The place was full of people whose spirits were broken. The Labyrinth entrance was as crowded as the Guild, but among them, very few were willing to go into the sewers to find missing teammates. Most of the rescue teams had already gone inside, so finding someone new to go in was like trying to pluck a star from the sky.
Above all, if your mental strength dropped too low in the Labyrinth, your heart would break. Such people would exhibit abnormal behavior until they left the Labyrinth and regained their composure. Entering the Labyrinth with people acting like that was a suicide mission.
‘Fail. Another fail. Damn it. There’s no time.’
As expected, putting together a team for the Labyrinth on short notice wasn't easy. Everyone was out of it. Should I wait for a rescue team to come out? Going back in with a rescue team that had just brought out a patient was one option. However, there was no telling when a rescue team would emerge.
It was a waste of time to just sit and wait at the entrance. Every second was vital in the Labyrinth. I couldn't afford to waste time. Just as I was considering putting up a bounty for the task, someone spoke to us.
“Wait, did you say you have a Subspace Pocket?”
It was a slumped adventurer. A blonde warrior whose heart was half-broken. However, looking at his eyes, he wasn't completely gone. He was just in despair; he hadn't lost his mind to the point of acting erratically.
“Yes. I have a Subspace Pocket. And she has the Search and Track Ability.”
“A Subspace Pocket... can it carry corpses too?”
“Of course.”
“Then... can that Search and Track Ability find the location of the dead?”
“It... it should be possible...”
“Fine. I’ll go down with you to find the people you’re looking for. In exchange... help us get into the Underground City and bring back the bodies of our teammates. If you agree to that, I’ll go in with you right now.”
He was a Silver Badge adventurer. He was obviously weaker than a Gold Badge adventurer who could go deeper than the Underground City, but a Silver Badge meant he was strong enough to move around the Underground City. He should be able to navigate the upper levels without much trouble. As long as we didn't get screwed over by bad luck, we should be able to rescue the Female Knight and the Priestess.
The problem was the condition this man set.
‘Go down to the Underground City? Is he crazy?’
It was impossible right now. Both Rien and I were at our limits.
“If you’re planning to go down to the Underground City today, we can’t do it. Both the Witch here and I have reached our physical limits. And while I might be okay, the Witch has only gone through mana adaptation once. The Underground City is too much.”
“I see...”
The man pondered for a moment before speaking again. It felt like he was compromising with himself.
“Understood. It doesn't have to be today. Tomorrow is fine. The important thing is recovering the bodies.”
If tomorrow was okay, it was a deal worth taking. It was a relatively simple task: go down with an experienced person who had navigated the Underground City and just bring back the bodies. And by tomorrow, the chaos would have died down a bit, so we could find more people to go with us.
This was important. If we gathered more people tomorrow to start the body recovery, we could significantly raise our reputation with the Guild.
“And we don't necessarily need the Witch’s Search and Track. I have a general idea of where the bodies are. But it was impossible to bring them out.”
He wiped his face with his hand. He seemed to be regretting something.
“I need a Subspace Pocket. I have to bring back six bodies. My friend and I can’t do it alone. The rescue teams won't help with transporting corpses.”
“Understood. If you help us today, we will help transport your teammates’ bodies tomorrow.”
“Good. Very well. We have a deal.”
It wasn't a bad deal. If I could farm monster parts or other adventurers' corpses in the 5th Floor Underground City during the recovery, I could make a decent profit. Honestly, the reward the Young Lady would give me later was already more than enough to justify going to the Underground City. Since the Young Lady would take care of my payment, I just had to go in and pull the bodies out.
“Only the two of us survived. The rest are all down there. For the record, I’m a Warrior and he’s a Monk. The two of us are more than enough to handle the upper levels.”
A warrior whose heart seemed broken from losing his comrades in the Labyrinth. And a bald monk with slanted eyes who looked like he had a story of his own. As he said, they seemed perfectly capable of navigating the upper levels. They lacked a healer, but we had relief supplies, so we could make do with those for now. Since we weren't going down to the Underground City today, we could find a healer tomorrow when we headed down there.
“Let’s go. Before it’s too late.”
We had everything we needed. All that remained was to save the two of them before time ran out. The four of us stepped back into the Labyrinth. A deep darkness greeted us.
“Rika. Rika, please answer me. Rika...?”
The Priestess called out piteously to her comrade, the Female Knight.
...
But there was no answer. Only silence reigned. The scent of death was thick. The smell of blood stung the Priestess’s nose, but she called the knight’s name once more.
“Rika. Please, just say something. Rika... don't leave me alone. Please.”
The Female Knight still didn't answer. She couldn't. She was already a cold corpse.
“Ah... Aah...”
When no answer came, Erika fell into deeper despair. Her faith wavered. The wick of her heart was about to snap. Hope had long since vanished, and a thick darkness began to fill its place.
The malice of the Labyrinth wrapped around Erika’s body. Mana slowly filled her lungs. The end, which had been briefly delayed, climbed up to her throat and whispered to her.
Give up now.
No one is listening to your prayers.
[There is no Goddess here.]
So just give up and become one with the Labyrinth.
Those whispers echoed continuously in Erika’s ears.
“No. No. No. That’s not true. No.”
The Priestess covered her face. She hadn't been able to save the Female Knight, who had died from her wounds. The fact that she was about to die like this without having done anything filled her with deep guilt, self-loathing, and frustration.
Her mind was cracking. Her mental state was on the verge of collapse. She asked herself:
Was her divine power insufficient? Or was her faith lacking? No, everything was simply not enough. She could only beg the Goddess for mercy and salvation. She prayed and prayed, begging for her life from someone who would not listen.
Things were approaching, drawn by the scent of death. If she delayed any longer, monsters would swarm, attracted by the lingering scent of the knight’s demise. This was the 4th floor of the sewer zone, in the upper levels of the Labyrinth. A place where corpse-eaters were most numerous. A place known for such a low corpse recovery rate that if a party was wiped out here, resurrection was considered impossible.
Rats, slimes, and the insects of the sewers. Those who had caught the scent of the knight’s corpse would come flocking. They would devour the body and kick away any chance of resurrection. This was a place where God did not exist.
The Priestess wept silently. If the body wasn't properly preserved, even resurrection would be impossible. Resurrection was not an absolute power. It was a crude process of forcibly dragging a soul back and stuffing it into a relatively intact physical vessel. For that to happen, the corpse had to be well-preserved. A body torn apart and scavenged by monsters could not be brought back by any means.
“Please, Goddess. Grant us salvation.”
Her strength spent, the Priestess could no longer even cast Holy Light. In the Labyrinth, where she couldn't see an inch in front of her, she couldn't even check the knight’s condition properly. The porter had been the one carrying the torches. There were no tools left to produce light.
There was no light, and no hope. All that awaited was suffocation from mana poisoning or death by the monsters that would soon arrive. Her breath was slowly being cut off.
Rattle! Rattle!!
The entrance to the room where the dead knight and the dying priestess were hiding began to rattle. They had arrived. The monsters had come to feast on the corpse after catching its scent.
“Ah...”
Terror filled the Priestess’s eyes. She squeezed out the last of her strength to offer a prayer. Soon, the entrance to the room burst open. The things that had been outside came flooding in.