Translator: RaidenTL

Chapter 201: Entering the 6th Floor

After hearing that several changes had occurred on the 6th floor following the Cataclysm, I hurried to gather information.

By collecting testimonies primarily from Gold Badge adventurers and cross-referencing them with Olivia’s knowledge, I discovered that three major changes had been added to the 6th floor.

The first was the appearance of Teleportation Traps.

Stepping on one of these traps would instantly teleport you to a random location on the 6th floor. It was the beginning of some truly insane, unfair BS—stepping on one was essentially a death sentence.

To date, only two people had ever stepped on such a trap and survived.

The traps took the form of characters drawn in blood. They were often painted so faintly that they were difficult to notice without a light source or a very keen eye. Furthermore, many fake, non-functioning traps were scattered about, and some were even drawn on walls or ceilings rather than the floor.

The problem was that no one knew who was drawing them.

According to Olivia, these traps appeared suddenly even in the game, and players never found out who the creator was. Since there was a high probability of being warped into a "Monster Room" packed with enemies, it was almost always fatal.

The second change was the emergence of the Flesh Zone.

Originally, the 6th floor was divided into several biomes. These ranged from common monster nests to the Crystal Cave, tunnels where rodent-type monsters crawled out, and Ancient Ruins inhabited by high-risk monsters like Watchers. There were also many hidden locations, such as the Necropolis.

A new area called the Flesh Zone had been added to these biomes.

According to Olivia’s walkthrough, it felt as if several updates had been applied at once. She warned that entering the Flesh Zone would be an unbelievable experience. The terrain itself was a type of monster; it would attempt to attack with bones, spines, and tentacles from all directions. Since the zone's unique monsters were generated directly from the walls, it was essentially an infinite respawn point.

I thought that if I used it as a base camp for my Snake Nest, I could churn out an infinite number of monsters, but I’d need to see it for myself to get a real feel for it.

Finally, the last change: the appearance of Golden Goblins.

While Golden Goblins are generally perceived as "loot boxes" full of rewards, the ones appearing on the 6th floor were monsters equivalent to mid-bosses. They would ambush ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠adventurers on sight and actively use items looted from dead adventurers to launch various attacks.

They even formed groups to attack, and the number of kidnapped adventurers had already reached double digits. These guys were currently the biggest headache on the 6th floor.

It was because of these damn goblins that the adventurers' progress on the 6th floor had stalled. Monsters with intelligence rivaling humans were launching ambushes, committing arson, and engaging in gang rapes around the clock, making it impossible for anyone to sleep.

"Could the ones drawing the traps be the Golden Goblins too?"

"Probably not. As far as I know, goblins have zero knowledge of teleportation formulas. In the game, it was definitely implied that some other entity was spreading malice."

"Hmm."

I wondered if the goblins were the ones behind the chaos, but it seemed that wasn't the case.

"Alright, I've got the gist of it. I've gathered all the useful info, so I'll head down now."

"Don't get hurt. Have a safe trip."

Receiving farewells from Olivia and the maids, I headed toward the Labyrinth. The rest of the party was already waiting for me on the 5th floor. I just needed to enter the 5th floor and then quickly descend to the 6th.

I felt a bit nervous. The thought of descending to a floor I had never visited before made my heart race slightly.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve felt this kind of tension.’

The 5th floor was like my own backyard now. I had pacified all the monsters that appeared there and found all the hidden locations. Since the Villainesses were managing it, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the 5th floor was arguably safer for me than the surface.

But the 6th floor was different. The malice of the Labyrinth would once again move in earnest to kill me, and the absolute peak of unfair BS was about to begin.

To be honest, from the moment I heard about the Teleportation Traps, I had a feeling I’d end up falling into one. Every piece of content in this Labyrinth was hell-bent on killing me. There was no way such crazy bad luck would pass me by.

‘I’ve prepared as much as I can, but I’m still uneasy.’

Carrying that mix of tension and fear, I entered the 5th floor, where my waiting companions waved and greeted me.

"The boss is finally here."

"Welcome."

"Sion!"

I saw the Gladiator Brothers and Lady Leah. Joshua was standing quietly for once, and Ulysses was...

"Th-this is strange."

"What is?"

"My gender isn't changing back...! Shouldn't my body and soul have synchronized by now? Something is wrong. Why am I still in the body of a young girl...?"

"Pops, isn't it similar to being under the Curse of Transformation?"

"Is that so? Maximus, haven't you changed at all either?"

"I've stayed in this form ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the whole time. Since it's a monster's body, I suppose it's like those who are hit by the Curse of Transformation and have their appearance permanently altered. That must be it."

"Ah... Ahhh."

Ulysses looked like he was going out of his mind, clutching his head because he was still female even after a week. It was understandable, considering he had lived his entire life as a man and suddenly became a girl.

—To begin with, Alraunes don't have males. They are a single-sex female species, so it makes sense that the gender is fixed.

"Aha..."

Helena's words confirmed it. Ulysses would simply have to live the rest of his life as a female Alraune.

"Ulysses. Just get used to it. It seems there's no other way."

"But...!"

"It's not like you were using 'it' anyway. You strengthened your thorn vines, so let's just call it an equivalent exchange."

"You! Isn't that a bit much?! I was a man too!"

"Hey, pops. Stop whining and just accept it. Your abilities improved, so it's all good. Why do you keep complaining?"

"Eeeek!!! You damn brat! You're satisfied because you got the body of a badass Undead Imp! I'm not!"

"Geez. You're pretty now, so you're easy on the eyes. A young Alraune is much better than a shriveled-up old geezer. Right, everyone?"

"For once, I agree with my brother."

"I like your current look better than the hunchbacked old man with age spots, too."

"Even you, Leah!"

When even Leah said she preferred the young and supple Ulysses girl over the ugly old man, Ulysses fell into a state of total despair and wailed. He was making such a fuss over losing something he wasn't even using.

"Now, Ulysses. It seems everyone is satisfied with your current appearance. For the sake of party morale, please live as an Alraune."

"Kuaaaaah! No one empathizes with my pain!"

Well, at least since she was pretty, her throwing a fit was tolerable to watch. Normally, I would have frowned at Ulysses's tantrums, but today, thinking of it as a young girl acting out made it bearable.

"Ho ho. My, my. Seeing the trivial agonies of an organic being brings a smile to my face."

"Wait, Joshua. 'Organic being'? You were human too."

"What a repulsive thing to say. I have already shed my weak, mortal flesh and obtained an immortal mechanical body."

"Huh... What's wrong with this guy now? He didn't use to speak so formally. His tone is weird, too. What's the deal?"

He used to speak informally to me. Now, he was suddenly using polite speech as if drawing a line, all while disparaging organic beings. He was an organic being himself just a week ago.

"I'm not really sure why he's acting like that either."

"That bard bastard lived in a machine body for a few days and went full machine-supremacist. He's lost it."

"He used to be cheerful. Now he feels cold."

"Since my heart does not beat, it is only natural that I become cold."

"I see your literary sensibility remains?"

"Even with a cold mechanical brain, one can still recall the thoughts of one's youth."

Joshua had become a more pedantic and cynical machine-man. It was strange to see the once loud and laughing Joshua wearing a cold, mocking sneer over the past few days.

"Well, at least everyone seems healthy, so that's a relief."

Yes, they were a bit touched in the head, but being noisy was better than the alternative. If they were sickly and bedridden, I wouldn't have been able to bring them along to the Labyrinth.

"First of all, once we descend to the 6th floor, we will head to the Necropolis as quickly as possible. Our goal isn't making money, so we'll avoid encounters with monsters as much as we can. Our guide, as you can see, is Lady Leah."

"Is she a guide with reliable skills?"

"I believe she'll be more than enough. She's been professionally trained in scouting."

"What about her combat power? I heard she hasn't even reached Gold Badge rank yet."

"She's strong enough to take down a Minotaur on her own."

"That should be sufficient ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for the 6th floor, then."

"As long as we don't go to the Ancient Ruins, we should be fine."

I established the general plan of action with the party. Our goal this time wasn't to conquer the 6th floor. Our objective was to find the path to the Necropolis, obtain the sarcophagus Prodo requested, enter the hidden sanctuary of the Necropolis, and acquire the relic of the Saintess from two generations ago.

"Alright, then. Let's head down."

"I hope we can make it back up safely."

"Please, let us drop into a normal place."

We stood before the transfer stone, praying for a safe return, and descended to the 6th floor.

"...."

"Th-this place is..."

"Shh."

I knew it.

To drop us right into the Ancient Ruins the moment we entered... This was insane.

"Keep your voices as low as possible. We can't use torches. We have to get out of here quickly."

"Okay..."

Lady Leah immediately began searching for a path. We had to escape the Ancient Ruins as fast as possible.

The moment a Watcher spotted us, the monsters of the Ancient Ruins would swarm us in droves, and their difficulty level was substantial. They were hard to kill, and some individuals even used sorcery. Some even spread curses, so one wrong move could leave us wandering around with everything from the Curse of Transformation to all sorts of bizarre ailments.

"....."

"Shit..."

Watchers were flying through the air. They were tentacled monsters with massive bodies covered in eyes and mouths. If they caught us, it was over. Those crazy sentinels were the monsters that had killed the most adventurers on the 6th floor.

"It passed."

"Let's move again."

Without further conversation, we moved quickly with Leah in the lead. If I had intended to conquer the Ancient Ruins, I would have brought Rosier and a large number of other adventurers. With just us, a full conquest was difficult.

Unless, of course, I turned this place into a Snake Nest and started churning out troops.

"I think we're almost out. If we take the right path from here..."

Fortunately, Lady Leah's pathfinding skills were better than imagined. By following her guidance and moving swiftly, we managed to escape the Ancient Ruins.

"Phew. Dammit. This is the first time in my life I've started the 6th floor in the Ancient Ruins."

"Me too."

"It is an exceptional occurrence."

"It's the malice of the Labyrinth. It's trying to kill me."

"Damn. To think the boss is someone the Labyrinth has a personal grudge against."

The party laughed at Maximus's remark. Everyone already knew that the Labyrinth had it out for me. Yet, they didn't seem particularly afraid. Perhaps because we were all in the same boat, everyone was full of spirit.

It was reassuring to have such companions.

"Good. Let's keep moving."

We decided to put more distance between us and the ruins before taking a breather and started moving again.

Or rather, we tried to.

Wuuuung—!

"What the hell...!"

Suddenly, my body felt weightless, and I was teleported to a location away from the rest of the party. I must have accidentally triggered a Teleportation Trap. This was a nightmare.

And what was even more horrifying...

‘This is the Ancient Ruins.’

I had been sent back, all alone, to the very place we had just escaped.

I was truly screwed. I was stranded alone in the most dangerous place on the 6th floor.