Chapter 123
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: 7-Man Party (4)
"Ughhh!!"
"Urk!!"
"Blergh!"
Roy, Tanya, and Loren—still unused to portals—collapsed to the ground, dry-heaving. Sia patted Loren on the back, while Claude rubbed Tanya's and Roy's.
Just looking after Tanya alone would've drawn Roy's suspicious glare, so I had to use my head a little.
"It's a cave type."
"Yeah... huh."
The layers were divided into maze-types and cave-types, and this one was a cave labyrinth.
"Since passages have formed, we'll probably see some lizards and bugs."
"You can tell just from the cave forming?"
"Of course."
Hawk answered confidently, his face illuminated by the light pouring from the portal as he eyed the cave walls.
A little time passed, and once everyone had steadied themselves, I gathered them together.
"This exploration's main goal is Loren's combat training, so we'll tweak our scouting method a bit."
Roll roll—
I gathered seven small pebbles from around us and scattered them on the ground, then clustered four of them up front.
"The mobile unit will be Loren, old man Hawk, Sia, and me. We'll advance near the monsters like this."
From those four pebbles, I placed two side by side up front, and the other two in a straight line behind the first pair.
"Even with four of us moving, only Hawk and Loren will handle the monsters. If unexpected injuries pop up, Sia heals; I'll watch the rear, check for traps, guard Sia, and map our path."
I gathered the remaining three pebbles off to the side in the back.
"Claude guards the rear group. When they're about twenty minutes' walk from the vanguard, Hawk and Loren pause. While I head back, Claude—if no combat sounds—advances slowly."
Everyone focused, staring at the pebbles.
"For the next five days or so, we'll move like this to roughly map the terrain. Once we grasp the overall structure, we'll set up a base camp in what seems like the layer's central area, and the vanguard will circle out in all directions."
I finished explaining and looked up. They all seemed to get it.
Claude, who would've normally whined about wanting to kill at least one monster himself, just grinned and nodded at the idea of sticking with Tanya and the rear group.
"This is the basic plan. We'll adjust based on traps, monster conditions, or situations. Got it? Let's move out."
"Yes."
And so, we began our slow exploration.
"Shkreee!!"
"Loren."
"Hyaap!"
Clang—!
Squish!!
At old man Hawk's call, Loren deflected the lizard's short spear with his shield and plunged a dagger into its nape.
"Hey, your dagger swings are too wide. Dial it back a bit. Whoa."
Ching!!
He effortlessly dodged a short spear thrust from another charging beast, flicking it away with the flat of his wrist axe.
"Four! Hyaah!!"
Squelch!
"Grrrk—"
Thud!
An hour into scouting, we'd pushed straight ahead.
The cave's width stayed consistent—neither narrowing nor widening.
Tanya's lantern light was faint, but visible when I glanced back.
After taking down those two monsters, I turned to check the rear again. No lantern light.
"Hold up. The lantern's hard to see, so let's stay alert and rest a bit before moving."
"Loren! Old man! Any hurts?"
Sia rushed over to them.
"I'm fine, Sia."
"Still good to go! Kahaha!! Loren, harvest the mana stones."
"Yes, Master."
"Ahem! That master bit..."
"What? Your mouth's twitching like crazy, old man."
"You little—!"
At first, Loren had been casual with old man Hawk—different races, older guy, bad blood historically. But after Hawk trained him in body control and dagger work, Loren treated him like a master with full respect.
Me? I was chilling in the back, checking the hourglass, mapping, and flirting with Sia.
"Cain..."
"Yeah? What's up."
"Even in the labyrinth..."
"Shh, we'll talk about that later in the sleeping bag."
"Okay! Heehee."
With Loren and Hawk syncing perfectly on monsters, Sia had nothing to do and was clinging to me, begging for labyrinth sex tonight.
I gave her butt a light squeeze.
Squeeze—
Knead knead—
"Eep!!"
"Just hold on a bit, got it?"
"Mmm... heh..!"
I watched Loren grunt as he extracted the mana stone from the lizard's forehead, organizing my thoughts.
As Hawk said, lizards were appearing, so bugs were likely next.
The floor was firm dirt, softer than stone... If caverns or open areas appeared, there might be pooled water or sticky swamps.
"Sia, lantern not heavy?"
"Nope! Super light!"
At my words, she flexed her slim arm like showing off biceps, but only soft flesh puffed up adorably.
"Walking without your staff now."
"Yeah! Trained hard!"
"Good girl."
Pat pat pat—
"Heehee!"
Her stamina had improved a ton from intense workouts for training, and she barely tripped anymore.
I'd worried when she said no staff this time, but it was unnecessary.
"Hmm..."
"Old man, what's wrong?"
Hawk approached us after Loren finished harvesting, stroking his chin with a sigh.
"Nah, just never seen a passage stretch this straight before."
"Really? Huh... yeah, no bends, perfectly straight."
Only two fights total—and even accounting for that, an hour straight was odd, as Hawk pointed out.
"Old man, like this...?"
Scribble scribble...
I sketched a small square spiral converging inward from the outer edge on the parchment's mapping end and showed Hawk.
"Not this structure, right?"
"No way—that's mostly maze layers. A cave type with passages like this is unusual."
Got it. Time to call the others.
"Sia, flash the lantern twice if you see Tanya's light, okay?"
"Yep!"
Sia set her pack down, adjusted the lantern, and squinted into the distance until the rear group's faint lights appeared.
About five minutes by feel, and the lights flickered dimly far off.
"There!"
Sia shouted, covering and uncovering the lantern to signal.
"Flash flash..."
"Flash flash..."
As prepped, Sia muttered while blinking her lantern cover at intervals.
The distant lights responded in kind, then grew brighter faster.
"Good, Sia. Sit and rest."
"Okay!"
We rested until Claude, Roy, and Tanya caught up.
"First off, the passage shape's off—we need to stay cautious."
"Mm... old man, any ideas?"
"Kid! If I knew, we wouldn't regroup like this!"
"Ah."
Claude's dumb remark.
"Cain, this cave feels artificial—not natural. Like, maybe no big caverns like that last one we scouted."
"Right. Could be, could not. We don't know where our portal is on this layer yet, so no certainties."
"Then..."
Roy, scared but eyeing Tanya's belly, forcing an opinion.
"Sis, tired?"
"Hehe, this is nothing, Sia."
"Amazing!"
"Hehehe! Sia's stamina's improved too. Amazing."
"Really? Hehe!"
Loren sucking up to the wife, innocent Sia.
Clap!!!
"Until we hit a bend or fork, everyone moves together. The cave's too man-made—might be a mix of cave and maze terrain."
"Hm... yeah... could be."
Hawk nodded at my take.
"Roy, Tanya—monsters nearby might scare you, but bear with it. For everyone's safety, just in case."
"Yeah, got it."
"Tanya, trust only me!"
"Claude's so reliable~."
"Hahaha!!"
"Huff...!"
Like the first time with Tanya, she snuggled into Claude more than Roy.
The difference? Roy's reaction—no anger, just panting.
"Don't stray too far—fifteen meters back, you three follow. Vanguard resumes original formation."
We set the plan, reformed, and moved out.
"Call it here for today."
"Whew... four hours straight?"
"From the first straight stretch to this second bend—similar distances."
Hawk peered at my mapped route.
"This... really spirals around?"
"Maybe?"
Fewer fights than expected.
Fifteen combats total, 1-3 lizards each.
No patrols, traps—just a straight tunnel-like cave for ten hours.
"Base camp at the bend. Watch shifts, just in case."
At my order, they set up camp. Hawk, Loren, Claude handled heavy lifting; Sia, Roy, and I prepped food and sleeping spots.
We blocked the outer side of the L-bend with barricades, tents diagonally lined from the corner point.
Claude's solo tent outermost, then Tanya/Roy, me/Sia, Loren opposite us, Hawk at the far end.
Bam!!!
Kaboom!!!
"Height good?"
"Nice, Loren. Here."
"Thanks, leader."
Packs were too narrow for blocking, so Loren drove tent stakes like pegs into the sides. Claude handed him large cloths for barricades.
After setting those, Claude returned, saw my tent layout, grinned, and thumbs-upped.
Eight hours of Tanya's roasting had him smitten—with his girlfriend-pregnant Tanya.