Chapter 26: Variant
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 26: Variant
“Nothing detected nearby.”
“Looks like they all left while we were asleep.”
“Phew, damn wolves. They howled all night and finally gave up.”
The beasts that had surrounded the building had moved on to another location.
In the Plaza Section, you can create a safe zone just by blocking the entrance properly. The beasts usually linger around the entrance for a few hours before heading elsewhere.
Of course, this doesn't work against High Orcs. Those bastards will just smash the door down. Hiding in a building and barricading the entrance was a tactic that only worked against beasts.
“Let’s all have breakfast first. How does some light toast sound?”
“Huh? Are you going to bake bread?”
“No. I’m going to take out some I bought beforehand. It should still be warm. Subspace Pockets can maintain temperature, after all.”
“That really is an unbelievably enviable Ability.”
Lewis, who carried an unexpectedly large amount of personal belongings, was incredibly jealous of my Subspace Pocket. He even went as far as to suggest I join him on his next Labyrinth run, saying he’d never experienced such comfort during an expedition before.
“Are you really going to turn down my offer? I think we make a great team.”
“I have a prior engagement. If the opportunity arises again, let’s go together then, Mr. Lewis.”
“Heh. Fine. You’re a young man I quite like.”
Lewis probably didn't know. He didn't know that my "prior engagement" was actually a party consisting entirely of women. If Lewis, a lifelong bachelor, knew the truth, he’d probably be trembling with envy and weeping tears of blood.
“Now, since we’ve finished our meal, it’s time to get moving. High Orcs will start crawling out from this point on. Everyone, stay alert.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“No, ‘Captain’ is a bit embarrassing.”
“Haha. Seeing you lead yesterday, I saw the qualities of a leader in you.”
“Hahaha.”
Rohan laughed heartily at the team's praise. Everyone seemed to be in excellent condition. Since the party was large, everyone had slept better than expected, and having a warm meal instead of hardtack and jerky seemed to have restored a lot of their mental fortitude.
It was a relief. This was much better than a gloomy atmosphere.
“Yawn... Sion.”
“Yeah?”
“Give me that.”
“What?”
“Candy. The ones you always carry around.”
A half-awake Yuria demanded candy. She must have remembered the one I gave her last time.
“Um... do you carry candy around too...?”
“Yes. To eat when my blood sugar drops.”
Yata also seemed interested in the candy, fidgeting as she approached. Even Horaru was starting to glance my way at the mention of candy. Seriously, is this big bear of a guy giving me looks because he wants candy?
“First honey, and now candy. You seem to have quite the sweet tooth.”
“Yes. Sion loves sweet things. Even though he’s a guy, he often goes to feminine cafes. On weekends, if you see him at a dessert shop, he’s always picking out jellies.”
Yuria answered on my behalf to Hachi’s question. She spoke triumphantly, as if to say, ‘I know him pretty well.’
Wait, how on earth does she know I go to dessert shops every weekend?
What? Am I being watched?
Is the guild monitoring Subspace Pocket holders? It’s terrifying. So this is what it’s like when a city big shot (the Guild Master) takes an interest in you.
“Alright. Stop talking nonsense and just eat your candy.”
“Hehe. Thanks.”
“U-um...”
“Ah, yes. I’ll give you some too, Yata. Anyone else?”
“I’m fine, but thank you. I don’t like sweets.”
“I’m alright as well. I’ve had a rotten molar before.”
“Give me one. It’ll be perfect for a palate cleanser.”
“Ooo...”
“I’ll give you one too, Horaru.”
“Ooo-ooo!”
Everyone except Rohan and Hachi took a candy from me. Meanwhile, Yuria didn't eat hers right away but tucked it into her inner pocket. She did the same thing last time I gave her one. If she’s not going to eat it, why did she ask for it?
“What? Why aren't you eating it?”
“Huh? Oh, I’ll eat it later. Why? You want to give me another one?”
“No. I just asked because you didn't eat it after asking for it.”
Yuria huffed and turned her head away. This girl is a real piece of work, even when I give her what she wants.
“We leave in ten minutes. Check your equipment.”
At Rohan’s command, the group quickly checked their gear. Rohan applied resin made from tree sap to the handle of his greatsword to ensure he wouldn't lose his grip. Yuria retightened her boot laces and finished her preparations by wrapping bandages tightly around her hands.
Hachi took out his scriptures, closed his eyes, and recited a holy incantation. Lewis also muttered spells while clenching and unclenching his fists. Yata, the healer, gripped her self-defense staff tightly and bowed her head in prayer to the Main God. Horaru stroked his ancient wooden staff and prayed to the Mother Earth Goddess for safety.
I made sure I could immediately pull out whatever was needed for the situation. In a critical moment, I had to be prepared to take out and throw an item at the exact right timing. Humans are creatures whose minds go blank in desperate situations. I had to envision the worst-case scenarios in advance.
Even yesterday, if Yuria hadn't told me to throw the oil bottle, I wouldn't have thought of it until the very end.
“Phew. Ready.”
“I am finished as well.”
“Then let’s go.”
With that, everyone was finished. It was time to step back into the darkness. I brought a torch to the campfire we had lit in the center of the empty building. The thick oil on the tip of the torch caught fire.
Whoosh.
We had obtained the flame that would light the darkness of the Labyrinth. Rohan, the leader, checked the faces of the party members.
“Horaru. How are you feeling?”
“Good. I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. The bodies we need to recover should be near here. Let’s do our best until the end. When we get back up, let’s all have a drink.”
“Heh. Sounds good.”
“Is Mr. Rohan buying...?”
“Of course, Yata. I’ll definitely buy.”
We strengthened our resolve. From the area where High Orcs crawl out, we expected to see more High Orcs than beast-type monsters. Therefore, our plan was to drive a pack of beasts into a High Orc colony nearby and recover the bodies amidst the chaos. We would avoid the High Orcs as much as possible, pit the beasts against the Orc groups, find the bodies, and get out.
Since Hachi and Rohan’s party had dealt with the Chimeras on the first day, we only had to worry about the Orc packs. High Orcs were naturally more dangerous than packs of beasts. They were highly intelligent, used weapons, and set traps.
Still, according to Rohan, we were almost there. If we could just recover the bodies hidden nearby, we could just run for our lives after that. Rohan said he knew the location of a Transfer Stone. We would just have to sprint from the hidden location of the bodies straight to the Transfer Stone.
Shring.
Yuria, standing at the front, drew her sword. Currently, Yuria had the strongest individual combat power in our party. That was why, although Rohan was the leader, Yuria took the vanguard. Rohan and Lewis followed behind her, while Hachi protected Yata, Horaru, and me in the rear.
—Bark! Bark!
After wandering for a bit, we heard the sound of dogs barking in the distance. Garums. They were tearing into the meat of a dead beast. It didn't look like one of their own kind. It seemed they were scavenging the carcass of a Gulun.
The timing was good. It was said that Guluns and Hatis were so ferocious that they were difficult to commune with. Among the three types of beast monsters, Garums were the least difficult. Finding a pack of Garums from the start was a stroke of luck.
The atmosphere was good. It seemed the Goddess of Fortune was smiling upon us.
“Um bahara. Mera.”
Immediately, Horaru used the Voice of Empathy. In the windless Labyrinth, Horaru’s melody flowed through the air like a breeze.
“Four, five... hmm. All six have been successfully communed with.”
Horaru now had six Garums under his control. Normally, one would have to strike their heads to shock their brains and render them senseless, but Horaru succeeded in controlling all six with considerable focus and without causing any physical trauma. He was a high-level Druid with significant skill.
“It’s a race against time from here on. Everyone ready?”
“Yes.”
“Phew. Let’s do this.”
“Good. Sion, take that out.”
“Yes...”
I took a glass bottle containing beast blood out of my inventory. It was a ‘Throwable Blood Bottle’ I had prepared yesterday. It was the result of draining blood from the Gulun carcass I had stored in my inventory. I had intentionally put it in a cheap, easily breakable glass bottle.
Horaru threw these toward the pack of Garums he was controlling. Six bottles in total. It was time to drench the Garums in blood. Then, other beasts would flock to the scent of blood, and we would send the Garums toward the High Orc colony.
The beasts in the Plaza Section were crazed for the scent of blood. That was why, whenever a battle broke out, all the creatures in the vicinity would gather, drawn by the smell of gore.
Crash!
The blood bottles thrown by Rohan fell and shattered among the Garum pack. Simultaneously, the blood inside splashed everywhere. It was beast blood. That blood was evenly smeared over the Garum pack under Horaru’s communion.
Awoooo—!!!
There was a reaction. The howling of wolves. A pack of Hatis had caught the scent. Soon, every beast in the vicinity would smell the blood. They would come swarming.
“They’ll be here soon. Horaru, let’s begin.”
“Ooo.”
Horaru asked the blood-stained Garum pack to run forward. We were escalating the commotion. Once the scent of blood spread, the beasts would naturally gather where the scent was strongest, and the High Orcs would find it difficult to look elsewhere while dealing with the encroaching beasts. While the two groups fought, we could just watch the show and go about our business.
“Run!”
We dashed forward. We couldn't fall too far behind. We had to maintain a certain distance from the Garum pack Horaru was controlling to reap the maximum benefit.
—Kuaaaa!
The cry of an Orc. The death throes of beasts.
“They’re fighting!”
“We need to keep the battlefield as far away from us as possible.”
“Ooo...! W-wait... focus...!”
Horaru stopped in his tracks while running. He closed his eyes and began to remotely control the Garums.
“Heave...!!!”
Hachi hoisted Horaru onto his back. We kept running. Since the commotion was happening far away, we just needed to handle our task and get out.
“Near here. I remember this! We’re almost there!”
Rohan finally identified the exact location where the bodies were hidden. He said he remembered the layout of this area.
“There! That building!”
Rohan pointed his finger at a dilapidated building. We found it. Finally, the building where the bodies of his comrades were hidden...
“Gah...!!!”
Hachi collapsed, coughing up blood. Horaru, who had been on his back, had eyes stained red, and his sharp claws were tearing into Hachi’s back.
It was an incomprehensible situation. Horaru was supposed to be controlling the Garums, so why...
“What is this...!!!”
Rohan tried to rush toward Horaru to save Hachi. At that moment, something flew toward us.
Boom—!!!!
Dirt and dust billowed up. A massive High Orc with dark-red skin stood up from the spot. It let out a bloodthirsty roar as it looked around at us.
“Krrruaa...”
A bone-chilling terror. The High Orc’s two eyes scanned Yuria and Rohan at the front. As if appraising prey. As if evaluating opponents.
At the same time, Horaru began to go berserk. Horaru’s eyes were strange. He was possessed by something.
“Kuaaaa!!!!”
Front and back. A High Orc and a bear beastman consumed by madness.
There were two things I couldn't understand. First, High Orc skin is reddish-brown. The giant monster that appeared before us was different from the appearance of High Orcs I had heard about. Second, there are no monsters in the Plaza Section that possess people. The entity that had driven Horaru into madness must be a new type of monster that shouldn't be in the Plaza.
And so, the conclusion... No, there was no conclusion. It was over.
The moment I reached that desperate judgment, Rohan’s body flew through the air.
Crrraaaaash—!!!!
Rohan was slammed into one of the buildings in the Plaza Section and lost consciousness. Yuria immediately lunged toward the dark-red High Orc. Her sword slashed the Orc’s arm. However, it wasn't a fatal wound.
Yuria was struggling. She was holding her own, but she wouldn't be able to defeat that monster alone. She needed help from the other party members.
But there was no one to help Yuria. Lewis, the Earth Mage, was using magic to neutralize the maddened Horaru. Yata was pouring healing magic into Hachi while letting out tearful screams. Rohan, who had barely regained consciousness, tried to force himself up but collapsed forward several times as if his legs had given out.
It was just me. I had to help Yuria. If I aimed for that Orc’s eyes with my slingshot, I could surely create an opening.
However, before I could act, a greater darkness approached us.
“Was the beast hunt enjoyable, intruders from the surface?”
The darkness. It was him. The monster that had shaken Horaru’s mind.
The aura emanating from him was substantial. If the party hadn't fallen apart, we might have stood a chance. But in our current state, I thought it would be difficult. He had intelligently targeted Horaru to neutralize Hachi and, by extension, broke the party. He even used the Continental Common Language, despite being a monster.
Had the Labyrinth ‘learned’ from adventurers? Just as adventurers conquer the Labyrinth...
I didn't know. All I knew was the phenomenon occurring before my eyes. For some reason, my eyes began to ache. Just before I was consumed by despair, the pain in my eyes forcibly awakened my mind.
‘That... what on earth is that?’
The mysterious entity was an old High Orc draped in Gulun hide. A High Orc with pitch-black skin. An individual holding a staff decorated with beast skulls.
It was a type I had never seen before. I had never even heard of such an individual existing. A new monster. A higher-tier individual or a mutation of the High Orc that appeared after the Great Cataclysm.
“Variant.”
A massive High Orc with dark-red skin and an old High Orc with pitch-black skin. Two Variant High Orcs had revealed themselves before us.