Chapter 12: Let's Hold Hands When Times Are Tough
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 12: Let's Hold Hands When Times Are Tough
"It's this way."
Rien pointed in the direction we needed to go.
Using that as a baseline, I provided precise directions through Mapping. It was a system where she used Search and Track to determine the direction of the rescue targets, and I used my Map Creation to find the actual path forward.
"Monsters ahead."
Hachi, the bald monk who had been keeping his eyes closed, sensed their presence. Seeing how he focused on sound with his eyes shut, he likely possessed an auditory-type Ability.
"Filthy rats..."
At Hachi’s words, Rohan—the warrior whose spirit had been broken—drew his sword and stepped forward. As the energy of purification enveloped his body, the foul aura emitted by the approaching enemies was washed away.
It wasn't a buff cast by Hachi, nor did it look like the Blessing of Purification used by paladins. In that case, it had to be an Ability.
‘I’m a bit jealous of purification-type Abilities.’
Like a warrior responsible for the vanguard, Rohan had his own self-buffs. A purification self-buff was especially useful in the sewers, considering the rats crawling out of the muck were revoltingly filthy.
"That mister... he's stronger than I thought..."
Rien’s eyes widened at Rohan’s skill. Contrary to his pathetic first impression, Rohan lunged alone into a pack of over seven Ratmen. Then, without a single scratch on him, he slaughtered every last one of them by himself.
It was the swordsmanship of a veteran. The way he ruthlessly carved through the rats proved he was more than qualified to be the team’s vanguard. He might have seemed mentally unstable, but his skills were the real deal.
‘He certainly lives up to being a Silver Badge adventurer.’
Without a single wasted movement, he accurately slashed the vitals of the approaching enemies. Even if the monsters on the upper floors were considered weak, I hadn't expected him to charge in so fearlessly. I suppose an adventurer’s badge doesn't lie. It meant he had enough skill to survive the Underground City.
"Silver Badge adventurers are definitely strong. You have to be at that level just to set foot in the Underground City."
"Just how... how dangerous is the Underground City?"
"It’s absurdly dangerous. The variety and number of monsters increase significantly."
"Ugh... I really hate the Labyrinth..."
Rien might decide never to enter the Labyrinth again after this experience. Those who are consumed by fear are eventually devoured by the Labyrinth itself. If you're afraid, it's better not to enter at all. There is nothing more dangerous than a teammate acting erratically because they've been overtaken by terror.
"Squeeeak!!!"
"Kieee—"
Soon, the approaching rats recoiled, overwhelmed by Rohan’s momentum.
"Scram, you vermin."
As Rohan growled a threat, the Ratmen began to flee as if they had encountered a tiger. They must have realized they stood no chance for now. They would likely return later with a larger swarm. That was just the kind of monsters they were.
"There are so many of them... it's disgusting..."
Watching the Ratmen, Rien instinctively grabbed my sleeve. It seemed she found the rats biologically repulsive and loathsome. It certainly would be grotesque to see strange midgets that were neither human nor rat swarming through the sewers.
Still, it was distracting to have her constantly tugging on my sleeve. It would be better to just hold hands.
"Um, Miss Rien. It’s hard to walk if you keep pulling my sleeve."
"S-sorry..."
Despite her apology, Rien didn't let go of my sleeve. Her eyes were trembling. She was terrified by the sheer number of those rats.
‘If I leave her like this, her mind is going to snap soon.’
That couldn't happen. Rien needed to guide us. If she lost her mind here, we wouldn't arrive in time. Just as I had held the Young Lady, I felt the need to help her recover her mental state.
"Ah...!"
"Do you feel a bit more at ease now?"
"Uh... yeah... sorry..."
"Don't mention it. Let's walk like this for a bit, just until you feel stable."
"Okay... thank you..."
I firmly grasped Rien’s trembling hand. Immediately, her shaking subsided noticeably. Fear has a way of receding just by having someone hold your hand. Over the past six months, I had learned various ways to provide comfort and stabilize someone's mind. Simply feeling another person's warmth can do wonders for one's mental state.
A hug would have been best, but that was impossible while we were on the move. So, I settled for a light hand-hold. I wasn't doing this to flirt. It was because the guide needed to be of sound mind for us to head in the right direction. Besides, if I could restore her mental strength just by holding her hand once, it was a bargain. And it wasn't like a promising witch would ever lose her heart to a mere porter like me anyway.
"Um... Porter..."
"Yes?"
"Those... rat-people?"
"The Ratmen?"
"Yeah. Are there... always this many of them?"
"Ah, yes. There are quite a lot. There are probably more rats in the sewers than there are Horn Rabbits in the Breeding Grounds."
The first floor of the Sewer Zone was a Ratman den. These vermin, roughly the size of medium-sized dogs, attacked intruders and lived off their corpses. They possessed night vision, allowing them to track enemies in the dark.
While their claws and teeth weren't instantly fatal, they carried a mild toxin that slowed a person's movements as wounds accumulated. They even carried foul diseases and parasites; purification was mandatory after fighting them. If you neglected it, you might end up infested with rat fleas or lice.
Above all else, there were so many of them. Their numbers grew so rapidly that it was impossible to guess how many offspring they produced. If the sewers weren't cleaned regularly, they would form a legion in an instant. Once they organized into a legion and started hunting adventurers, things got messy. The Labyrinth City had already experienced such disasters several times.
To deal with them before they could form a legion, the Guild frequently issued sewer cleaning requests. Regardless, Ratmen were quite troublesome monsters for a novice party at the entrance of the Labyrinth. They weren't hard to kill, but they were tedious and filthy in many ways.
"Aren't you going to take the Ratman corpses?"
"They aren't particularly useful. Their hides are too filthy to be used for much."
"They really are useless monsters that only have numbers on their side..."
I could find a use for them if I really tried, but I didn't particularly want to touch such filthy things. Besides, Ratmen were cannibals; if we left the corpses behind, they would eat their own.
‘A full Ratman doesn't take risks.’
A Ratman with a full belly from eating its kin wouldn't risk attacking an adventurer. Therefore, the more corpses we left behind, the lower our encounter rate with the Ratmen would naturally become.
"Look, there is a Transfer Stone."
"Let's go in."
We soon found the Transfer Stone on the first floor. As expected, the Priestess and the Female Knight were not there. We had to go to the next floor. I wondered if they would be on the second.
*
"On the second floor, you have to watch the ceiling and the walls."
"Right... because of the Slimes, right?"
"Yes. They specialize in ambushes."
I continued to explain the dangers of the second floor while still holding Rien’s hand. A Slime was a monster that was essentially a living trap. Unlike other monsters, they made no noise as they crawled along walls or ceilings, dropping onto an adventurer’s head the moment they drew near.
If a Slime latched onto your head, you could die of suffocation in the worst-case scenario. Because they clung on instantly and blocked the airway, those who didn't know how to respond were likely to die on the spot. Once a comrade was lost, the party would be swarmed by rats drawn by the scent of death, and as the number of allies dwindled, the structure of the Labyrinth ensured you would eventually be left alone.
"Then... what if... what if my head gets swallowed...?"
"You know Slimes have a core that acts as their center, right? You just have to grab that with your hand and rip it out."
"Is that all...?"
"Yes. That’s all it takes, but in the heat of the moment, people panic and suffocate before they can act. Ultimately, experience in actual combat is what matters most."
"Ah... so it's hard to react in a real situation..."
Knowing the solution is useless if you can't apply it.
"Hmm?"
Splat!
No sooner had I finished explaining the countermeasure to Rien than a Slime waiting on the ceiling dropped onto Hachi’s head. I wondered how a Silver Badge adventurer would handle it.
Schloop!
"Whoa... so that's how you pull it out... He did it so... easily..."
"Yes. That’s how you do it. Mr. Hachi is clearly experienced; he pulled it out in one go. You’ll be fine too, Miss Rien, as long as you can calmly grab the core."
As soon as the Slime landed on his head, Hachi reached in, grabbed the core, and yanked it out. Since the mucus that makes up a Slime’s body naturally follows the core, the game is essentially over once you have the core in your grip.
Crackle!
Hachi crushed the core in his hand. Immediately, the Slime mucus that had been clinging to his hand in an attempt to reclaim the core lost its elasticity and spilled onto the floor. It was dead, its core destroyed.
"We should collect this. It needs to be stored in a glass bottle. Though we don't have time for that right now."
"You collect Slime mucus too?"
"Yes. The mucus is actually the most important part of a Slime. It’s the reason adventurers even bother coming into the filthy, stinking Sewer Zone."
Slime mucus was used in a vast array of applications. The Alchemist Guild loved it as a catalyst, and the Adventurer’s Guild was always buying it in bulk.
"It’s essential for making detergents and bleach."
"Aha..."
It was used in small amounts for the shampoos favored by nobles and was a near-essential ingredient for making bleaching agents like lye. It wasn't an exaggeration to say Slime mucus was one of the core commodities of the Labyrinth City’s economy. After all, finding Slimes in a natural environment was quite difficult.
"They don't seem to be... on the second floor either..."
As we moved forward, clearing out Slimes and Ratmen, we reached another Transfer Stone. This meant the Female Knight and the Priestess weren't on the second floor either. The situation was starting to get serious. Surely they weren't actually on the fourth floor?
‘There’s a high probability they are.’
I could feel the thick malice of the Labyrinth.
"Let's go down."
As we descended via the Transfer Stone, my heart began to throb. It wasn't a pleasant flutter. My heart hammered against my ribs as I imagined the worst-case scenario.
‘Perhaps...’
The thought occurred to me that we might not even find their bodies. We were moving as fast as we could, but it might already be too late. One cannot stop the flow of time. No matter how fast we descended, if the two had already been killed by monsters...
‘No. If I act rashly out of desperation, we’ll die too.’
Rohan and Hachi were silently carving a path. We were currently clearing the Labyrinth with two vanguards and no healer or long-range attacker. No matter how skilled these Silver Badge adventurers were, and no matter if this was only the upper levels, those two were already doing their best.
Pressuring them further wouldn't make our progress any faster. All I could do now was pray that the Female Knight and the Priestess were safe. No, I didn't even dare hope they were safe.
‘I just hope their bodies are intact.’
The cost of resurrection would be covered by the Young Lady’s family, so that wasn't a concern. The real problem would be if the bodies were so damaged that resurrection was impossible. I had to take comfort in the fact that Rien’s Search and Track was still picking up the Priestess’s location.
If Rien’s Search and Track lost its direction, it would mean the Priestess was damaged beyond recovery. As long as the spell was active...
I could afford to feel... just a little bit of hope.