Chapter 94: Three Goals
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 94: Three Goals
“For now, we have three goals.”
The Saintess looked at us with a contemplative expression.
She held up three fingers, showing them to the Inquisitors and me. These were the three objectives she had decided on her own.
“First: Hunt the Giant that has taken up residence in the Garden Section.”
The moment the words left her mouth, Paramel had a near-convulsive reaction.
“Ugh... That’s a bit much...”
“Paramel. Are you scared?”
“Is that even a question, Raphael? Of course I’m scared! You’re probably the only one here who feels a fighting spirit toward that thing...”
“Paramel, I hate to break it to you, but I’m feeling a fighting spirit toward the Giant as well.”
“Ugh... Two crazy people...”
Paramel stared at the Saintess and Raphael in horror.
Sasaro cleared his throat with a dry cough, seemingly in agreement with Paramel. It felt as though Sasaro’s spirit had been dampened ever since the Giant appeared. Given that he kept mentioning how he wanted to retire early and live out the rest of his days, it was clear he wasn't keen on hunting the Giant either.
“It seems Paramel and Sasaro are against the hunt. What about you, Rosier?”
“I will follow the Porter’s opinion.”
“Good. Two in favor, two against. One abstention. That leaves you, Porter.”
“Me?”
“Yes. The outcome depends on your choice. Decide whether we hunt the Giant—our first goal—or simply give up on it.”
Suddenly, I was the one holding the handle of the blade.
Naturally, I didn't want to fight the Giant. Why on earth should I fight that monstrosity in the first place?
Even if that thing was a terraforming monster sent to raise the mana concentration of the 5th floor to make it easier for 7th-floor monsters to ascend... I had no intention of fighting it right now. I came here to hunt heretics, not to kill a Giant.
“I don’t think fighting the Giant is a good idea. If you’re going to fight it, please send me back to the surface first. I came here to pick up heretic corpses, not to fight Giants. Unless, of course, you’re willing to pay me an extra hazard allowance that exceeds the value of my life.”
“Hmm. How about two free resurrections?”
“Excuse me?”
I was instantly intrigued by the Saintess’s proposal.
Two free resurrections?
Wait, does that mean even if I die, she’ll drag me back and revive me? For free?
And what if I don’t die?
There’s no rule saying I have to die during the Giant hunt. If I survive, I’d essentially be gaining two free extra lives for the future. How could I turn that down? Two lives for free.
Of course, there was the possibility of my body being so utterly destroyed that resurrection wouldn't even be an option. But there was also a distinct possibility that I wouldn't die at all during this subjugation. In that case, I’d have two uses of the Resurrection Spell banked for free.
“Ah, wait a second. Two free resurrections... That is quite tempting. Um, Saintess?”
“Yes. Speak.”
“Can I use those free resurrections on someone else? Even if it’s not me?”
“Hmm. Well, sure. Two times. I’ll make it two free uses. As a Saintess, I swear it upon the honor of the Goddess.”
“...Fine. Let’s hunt the Giant.”
“W-Wait a minute...!”
“Good heavens. Hunting the Giant...”
At my decision, Paramel and Sasaro looked like they were about to die.
Well, I had a plan of my own.
‘If I can manage to control the vengeful spirits of the adventurers...’
I might be able to succeed in the hunt using them. Furthermore, I currently had three special scrolls I’d purchased from the Magic Tower.
‘A Teleportation Scroll that allows movement anywhere within the same floor. Object Translocation, which can send an object anywhere within a ten-meter range. And Spirit Summon, which can call forth all nearby spiritual entities.’
If used correctly, Teleportation and Object Translocation could potentially kill the Giant instantly. And if I used Spirit Summon to gather all the vengeful spirits, I might be able to mass-produce a small army.
Combined with the Ring of Intangibility, I felt that if I played my cards right, killing the Giant was actually feasible.
“Good. Then we’ll take down the Giant before we leave the Labyrinth.”
The Saintess grinned and folded one finger down. Raphael also looked strangely pleased.
These crazy battle maniacs.
“Now for the next objective. The second goal is to go below the Layer Division and kill the Blue Apostle, who is presumed to have summoned the Giant.”
“Below the Layer Division?”
“Yes. Below the Layer Division of the underground city.”
“Hah...”
Originally, our target was the heretics above the Layer Division. Clearing them out and finishing the first subjugation campaign was the original goal of this Labyrinth run.
“After seeing this Giant summoning incident, I don’t think it’s right to just kill the small fry and head back up. We can’t give them even a moment’s respite.”
“So? We’re really going down?”
“Yes. Let’s change our course to taking out the three most important figures first, then we can hunt the remaining grunts at our leisure.”
The Saintess wanted to prioritize the high-value targets.
“No matter how many grunts there are, they can’t summon a Giant. I believe it’s our top priority to deal with the ones responsible for it. We don’t know what other atrocities they might commit.”
She was certainly right. After witnessing something this insane, it was only natural to be on high alert. No matter how many underlings we killed, as long as the key figures remained alive, we wouldn't know when they might summon another Giant.
Whether the summoning was intentional or a mere accident, now that we knew they were capable of it, we needed to eliminate the primary targets as quickly as possible.
“But Saintess, who exactly are these three villains? And what is this 'Blue Apostle'?”
“According to what the Church has identified, there is the Red Apostle, who presides over the ‘Ability Extraction Ritual’—extracting abilities from adventurers and injecting them into heretics; the Blue Apostle, who summons monsters from the Deep Layers; and the Green Apostle, who likely handles the indoctrination and mental manipulation of the heretics. These are individuals who were active even thirty years ago.”
The Red Apostle, who kidnapped and tortured adventurers to steal their abilities and distribute them to heretics.
The Blue Apostle, who committed acts of terror by summoning monsters from the 6th floor to the surface, turning the city into a wasteland.
And the Green Apostle, who turned kidnapped people into heretics and oversaw their education.
These were the three Apostles the Church had identified. And on top of them, there was likely a new bastard responsible for the infinite respawning of heretics, plus a third party with the technology to perfectly control monsters.
“Killing all the heretics is important, but if we miss even one of those three, it’ll leave a bad taste in our mouths. We must kill all three and bring them up. If we can’t get all of them, we must at least catch two.”
The plan was to shift the priority from a total sweep of heretic grunts to the assassination of key figures.
I agreed. Fighting them today had made it clear. There was no point in killing the idiots who only knew a bit of sorcery or fired off basic dark magic. We had to crush the true experts to stop this endless cycle of bullshit.
The problem was that these three, as befitting key figures, were gathered below the Layer Division of the underground city.
“Um, Saintess. You do realize that the area below the Layer Division is a maze that changes every day, right?”
“I am aware. But the light will guide us.”
“The light...?”
“Yes. These are people I have killed once before. I can track their locations using the 'Book of Sinners.' Even if they are resurrected, the person doesn't change. I can find them with my ability.”
“Aha.”
The Book of Sinners, one of the Saintess’s abilities. With it, she could roughly pinpoint the Apostles' locations. She could find them one by one, and the most urgent issue right now was the location of the Blue Apostle who had summoned the Giant.
“I started tracking them while I was meditating earlier. I already have a rough idea of where they are.”
Fortunately, the Saintess had already located the Blue Apostle.
“We must catch the Blue Apostle who summons monsters from below during this Labyrinth run, no matter what. If we fail, there’s no telling what state the underground city will be in the next time we enter.”
The Inquisitors all nodded.
“Sigh. I suppose so.”
I couldn't help but agree. Whether the Giant crawling up was the heretics' intention or not, the fact that they could pull monsters from the lower floors up was dangerous in itself.
“Then let’s make finding and killing the Blue Apostle our top priority.”
“The problem will be getting down below the Layer Division.”
“Correct. To get below the Layer Division, we need to find an entrance. Excluding the Garden Section, which is difficult to access because of the Giant, and the Central Section, which has no path down to begin with, we must find an entrance in the remaining four sections.”
“Saintess, exactly which direction is the Blue Apostle in?”
“They are below the Lake Section.”
Of course, the Blue Apostle had taken up residence below the new section we had the least information on. To catch him, we had to go down under the lake.
“Let’s look for an entrance in the Lake Section.”
“Ah, wait a moment.”
“What is it, Porter?”
“Well, this is just a guess, but I think there might be another faction besides the heretics.”
Before entering the Lake Section, I shared my theory with the Saintess and the Inquisitors. My suspicion was that some group with the technology to control boss-level variants had joined forces with the heretics.
“True. It is a bit strange for mere heretics to possess the technology to dominate a Watcher of the 6th floor and control variants. It’s not just pulling them up; it’s controlling them.”
“Entities that entered through a transfer stone connected to somewhere other than the Labyrinth City... But a normal person would collapse, unable to adapt to the mana levels of the underground city...”
“As Paramel said, it would be difficult for anyone who hasn't undergone mana adaptation starting from the 1st floor.”
“Wait a minute. I have a category in mind...”
Paramel pulled out a notebook and began searching for something.
“This is... an old record... Ah, here it is. It’s recorded that demi-humans from the No Man's Land, or the barbarians beyond the Boundary Line, have incredibly high mana adaptability.”
“Wait, does 'barbarian' refer to someone like me?”
“Ah, no. These are people who live much further away than the Barbarians. They are a race closer to monsters than humans. They practice cannibalism... and are described as those who wield the mysteries beyond the Boundary Line. They are called Yetis, or Snowmen.”
Yetis. Furry monsters. Snowmen who lived even further away than the Barbarians.
‘But what is the Boundary Line?’
I’d heard of the No Man's Land a few times and had a rough idea. It was a place called the land where humans cannot live—an uncharted territory untouched by humanity. The Boundary Line was likely one of those uncharted frontiers.
“Hmm. If a transfer stone is connected to such a place, it’ll be quite a headache.”
“The heretics and the Yetis might have formed an alliance. Since they both worship Ancient Gods, they might feel like kindred spirits...”
“Understood for now. Let’s worry about the third party after we kill the Blue Apostle. Their ability to control monsters is quite troublesome as well.”
With that, we had discussed the first goal of hunting the Giant and the second goal of assassinating the Blue Apostle. That left the final goal...
“By the way, Saintess. What is the third goal?”
“That is the most difficult goal of all. Getting out of here alive with all our limbs intact.”
“Ah...”
“Isn't that always the hardest goal in a Labyrinth run?”
I couldn't help but agree with the Saintess. Getting out of the Labyrinth with a sound body and a sane mind—that was indeed the most important objective.
“Now then. Let’s rest for a bit before moving to the Lake Section. I’m a bit tired after meditating longer than planned. Closing one’s eyes doesn't necessarily relieve fatigue, after all.”
We decided to take a short break before heading to the Lake Section. The Saintess judged it best to rest properly for about half a day before moving.
During the break, Paramel busily recorded things in his notebook, while Raphael lay down and snored. Sasaro and Rosier leaned against the wall to catch some shut-eye. The Saintess went to tend to the barrier she had erected around the Garden Section. She was the one who suggested resting, yet she was the busiest.
It was quiet. Everyone was spending their time in their own way. A silence settled over us.
‘Well, while I’m resting, I might as well test this out.’
Before resting, I decided to try the newly added Mana Removal function of the Bracelet of Growth. If mana was truly removed, would I undergo mana adaptation?
‘Oh...!’
As I closed my eyes and concentrated, the unpleasant, sticky sensation clinging to my skin vanished, replaced by a feeling of refreshment. It was that clear, open feeling I usually felt when exiting the Labyrinth. The mana floating around me had completely disappeared.
‘Ugh...’
And then, following the refreshment, came the pain.
Mana adaptation.
‘Level 8.’
I had entered the next stage. In terms of level alone, I was now at a level where I could descend as far as the 7th floor. Being Level 8 meant I could now withstand the mana of the 7th floor.
‘The headache... and an ability...!’
I had been worried I might not get an ability, but as soon as the mana adaptation finished, knowledge flooded into my mind. Information about the newly acquired ability was inscribed into my brain.
“This is...”
The effect of the Ability Fixing Bracelet had activated properly.
[Spirit Chain]
A new ability had been added to enhance my Spiritual Eye.