Chapter 155: A Desperate Struggle to Protect My Dignity
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 155: A Desperate Struggle to Protect My Dignity
Somehow, I ended up falling asleep with the three of them, but...
This is uncomfortable.
To be honest, having people on both sides made it hard to move. To make matters worse, Lady Leah had insisted on crawling into my arms, making it difficult even to breathe.
As I was wondering what to do since sleep seemed impossible, my eyes slowly began to close.
How should I put it? It felt as if I were falling asleep regardless of my own will.
Yes, it definitely wasn't by choice.
"Huh?"
A space I was so familiar with that I was now sick of it came into view.
A pure white void where nothing had been drawn yet, and a circular Colosseum standing there with absurd incongruity.
And...
"You're late, brat."
"What were you doing wandering around when you're just a shorty! Khe-he-he!"
"Kid! Get over here, quick!"
It was the Three Villainesses.
Those women had forced me to sleep.
"Um, could we just skip today? I have to enter the Labyrinth tomorrow."
"Skip? Skip what? You've only mastered Arrow Catching and Weapon Disarmament, you novice."
"Khe-he. The real training hasn't even started yet."
"The big sisters are right. You're still lacking, kid!"
"This is driving me crazy."
The Three Villainesses dragged me along and threw me into the Colosseum—a place I was now all too familiar with and never wanted to see again.
For three months, I had done nothing but catch arrows until I was blue in the face in this very arena.
Thanks to that, I had gained an absurdly broken skill, but that didn't change the fact that it had been agonizingly difficult.
"What are we doing today?"
"Today, we will cultivate your situational judgment and adaptability."
"Situational judgment and adaptability?"
"Khe-he. I'm going to manifest the monsters of the Labyrinth here."
"A bunch of monsters you've never seen before will show up. Hehe."
The best training one could do in a dream was, of course, technical training and improving one's ability to react. There was no point in doing strength training in a dream, after all.
So, while I knew this was a good method, my limbs were already trembling because I knew the pain would be no different from reality.
"I shall let you face the creatures on the 5th Floor that you haven't encountered yet."
"Did you know that Hobgoblins will mount anything, regardless of gender? Khe-he-he-he!"
"My sisters will summon the monsters, and I'll be the one controlling them!"
The three sisters were practically dying of excitement at the thought of putting me through the wringer.
Seeing them so happy made it impossible for me to stay composed. I hated the idea of training so much that, in an attempt to stall for even a little time, I asked them a question I had been curious about.
"Um, excuse me. There's something I've been wondering."
"What is it, brat?"
"Well... I still don't properly know your names."
"Is that so?"
"We haven't properly introduced ourselves."
"Our names. Hmm."
I had always referred to them as the Three Villainesses.
Originally, there wasn't much of a problem with calling them that. They were three-in-one, after all.
Since they were like a trio, I didn't feel the need to think of them as individuals.
However, through training in the dream, I realized there was a need to distinguish them.
"First of all, you're the eldest, right?"
"Correct. Since I was the first."
When she was in her spirit form, the eldest was a grey-colored evil spirit with bandages over her eyes.
"My name is... hmm. Lutred. Yes, I believe that was it."
"Sister, didn't we have epithets too?"
"Epithets?"
"Yeah! What was it? The Rewound One?"
"Khe-he. That's not it. It was 'The Ensnared.' That girl who had the Spiritual Eye a long time ago called you that."
"Was it?"
The eldest's name was finally revealed properly.
The Ensnared, Lutred.
When I met her in reality, not in a dream, she was a grey spirit with bandaged eyes.
She was the eldest of the Three Villainesses and a being who used mage-type abilities.
Seeing how she was proficient in summoning monsters, perhaps she had a talent for being a summoner.
"Khe-he. Then I'm next, the second!"
The second sister, who was always laughing.
In spirit form, she was a pitch-black spirit whose eyes were covered by her hair.
In the dream, her eyes were still covered by her hair, but she looked much healthier than in her spirit state.
"I am 'The Swept Away,' Anies. It's actually kind of nice to introduce myself after all this time!"
She seemed a bit lacking in intelligence, but there was a strong sense that it didn't matter since she was the brawler type.
The eldest was a mage, and the second was a brawler.
Then the third...
"I am 'The Entangled,' Malephina. The youngest!"
In her spirit state, she had been a dark-red evil spirit with pitch-black eyes.
She was the youngest and the villainess who handled healing arts. It was closer to sorcery than healing, though. Regardless, she used strange techniques.
Perhaps she was the person closest to the original form of a Druid.
"Lutred, Anies, and Malephina... Um, can I call you by shortened names?"
"You're the only one who will be calling our names anyway. Do as you wish."
I figured I could call the first one Red, the second one Eni, and the third one Pina.
"But what are those epithets attached to your names?"
"Epithets? Those were given to us by a previous owner of the Spiritual Eye."
"A predecessor?"
"Yes. Someone who died in the Labyrinth a long, long time ago."
"Khe-he. That fellow boldly went down to the 7th Floor and never came back."
"Who knows what he saw, but he gave us these weird epithets!"
The eldest was called The Ensnared, and the second was called The Swept Away.
Finally, the youngest was called The Entangled. Could these be clues related to the curse that bound the Three Villainesses to the Labyrinth City?
Judging by the epithets alone...
It seemed like the eldest was ensnared, and the second and third were swept away and entangled along with her.
Since these women themselves couldn't remember their exact past, I had to piece it together like a detective.
"Anyway, let's get started with the training."
"Wait, wait a second. I don't even have a weapon yet?"
"We're starting with bare-handed combat. How are you going to cope if you're in a situation where you can't draw a weapon?"
"I have my Inventory, so I don't really have to worry about—"
"You stupid shorty!"
Whack!
The second sister, Eni, smacked me on the head.
"Gwaaaaah!!!"
"Do you think your Ability is omnipotent? You're underestimating the Labyrinth."
"Indeed. As the second says, there are times when your Ability won't work."
"What? What do you mean..."
"You brat. You really don't know anything. Among the monsters, there are those that interfere with the use of magical power, or even those that seal your Abilities."
"What? Really?"
"Khe-he. There are all sorts of bastards. Why do you think brawlers prioritize personal skill over Abilities?"
"That's..."
"Hey, do you remember the Watcher you fought?"
"Uh, yeah, I remember."
The 6th-floor monster that the heretics had released into the city. Moira had missed it while dealing with other monsters, and it had flown straight into the restaurant where I and my party were.
Back then, I almost died trying to save Lady Leah.
The memory of barely surviving by dumping everything out of my Inventory was still fresh in my mind.
"But curses don't work on me."
"Curses might not work. We know you use our binding spell as a curse shield."
"Aha... so you knew."
"Yes. Curses won't matter. But what if they use a technique similar to a curse but in a different way?"
"Then..."
"Mana Evaporation is a technique that can be used even with standard magic. Can you open your Subspace Pocket when all the mana in your body has vanished?"
I couldn't answer.
To open the Subspace Pocket, one needed at least a tiny amount of mana.
Without mana, that was it.
"All sorts of strange things appear in the Labyrinth."
"Khe-he. Have you realized the importance of personal skill now?"
"Yes. I've realized it."
"Good! Khe-he! Sister! Let's start!"
"Hihihi! I can't wait!"
Eni and Pina were excited.
And Lutred, the eldest, held out her hand and began to manifest the monsters.
"Three Hobgoblins."
Normal Goblins were runts.
They were about the size of a child between late elementary and the first year of middle school.
However, Hobgoblins were different. Born of the Labyrinth, Hobgoblins were as large as adult men.
Although they had the stigma of being weak monsters even on the 5th Floor because of Dungeon Trolls, High Orcs, and Werewolves, in reality, they were responsible for the deaths of the most adventurers.
First of all, they were the most numerous, they knew how to cooperate, and they possessed strength exceeding that of an adult male. If you were surrounded, you were as good as dead.
"To be fair, we'll start with both sides unarmed."
"Khe-he. Struggle for your life, shorty."
"If you get caught, it's instant rape!"
"Shit..."
Before I knew it, the Three Villainesses had moved to the spectator seats and were watching me with laughter.
The Hobgoblins in front of me spread out wide to the left and right, slowly approaching me.
Neither I nor the Hobgoblins had weapons. However, there were three of them.
I've never properly learned bare-handed combat.
I had learned weapon arts from Gon, but I had never formally studied unarmed fighting.
Still, I knew how to fight to some extent. And this time, Shaka's Remnant was properly activated.
Let's do this.
Soon, one Hobgoblin lunged at me.
Its intention was likely to grab me, surround me, and then attack.
"Hyaaah!!!"
With a shout, I drove my fist into the Hobgoblin's jaw.
If I just beat them before they caught me, it would be fine, right?
Crap...! It didn't go down!?
Normally, humanoid creatures have similar weaknesses to humans, so hitting the jaw should rattle the brain and knock them out.
But this thing endured it.
This is insane!
Even while staggering, it continued to charge at me and finally grabbed both of my shoulders.
"Gwaaaah!! Let go!!!!!"
I absolutely could not be caught. Seriously, my dignity was in danger.
I had to struggle like a madman, fighting desperately to escape from them.
*
Early dawn.
Yuria felt a presence and stirred awake.
"Mm? Sion... when did you wake up?"
"Just a moment ago."
"Yaaawn. I see... Huh? What's with that expression? Is something bothering you?"
"It's nothing."
Sion, who had already slipped out of bed, was standing by the window, staring at the distant mountains.
About two months.
That was the amount of time he had spent in the dream.
During those two months, Sion had to experience far too many things.
Surely, his survivability had increased drastically.
"Yeah. That's enough."
Sion recalled the sensations engraved into his body.
Training in the dream was certainly revolutionary.
However, the trainers in charge were far too cruel.
Sion shed a small tear as he remembered the countless deaths he had experienced in the dream.
Fortunately, he hadn't lost his male dignity, though there were several close calls.
Those memories would make Sion stronger. He had become strong.