Chapter 22
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Layer 1
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“L... let's go in...”
“Sis, you okay? Should we rest a bit before heading in?”
“N... nooo...”
I caught the quick glance and smile Robin exchanged with me in that instant, but after seeing someone right nearby turn into a monster and get turned into mincemeat in seconds, it'd be weirder if she was okay.
After a bit of dry heaving, with Tanya's face looking drained, I thoroughly explained to her, Roy, and Robin that bad luck like that only happens if you're really cursed. Once I'd reassured them, we stepped into the layer transfer hall.
“Phew... Brother Cain, the monsters on Layer 1 are manageable, right? Right?”
“As long as you don't push yourselves too hard, they're totally doable.”
“Alright! Sis!! Just trust me!!”
“Ahaha...”
“...”
Robin was putting on maximum bravado while keeping an eye on Tanya. Roy's face had gone completely pale again. And Tanya's legs were shaking. The three of them followed me into the hall.
“Whoa... Is that the portal?”
“Yeah, just pick any glowing one and step through.”
In the vast cavern, with no other facilities around, hundreds of red and grayish-white portals dotted the space. People were coming and going through them.
“Hey, what's with the ones that turned gray?”
“Sis, be honest. You're really planning to seriously explore the Labyrinth?”
“Ehehe... Oopsie! I dozed off a bit during class~”
I asked Tanya in a skeptical tone, and she dodged with some cutesy act.
“When a party enters a portal, it turns gray like that until they return, and no one else can go in. Once you're inside the layer, the portal there turns gray too, and it takes at least three days before the color changes back and you can return here.”
“Ah.... So once we go in, we can't come right back out? We have to stay for th... three days?”
Tanya said, her face falling.
“Yeah. So you either wait it out until then and ride the portal back here, or you explore and find a portal to the next layer.”
In truth, the portals reactivate after 24 hours, letting you return. But I lied just in case—better safe than sorry if something goes wrong.
The three of them nodded like they got it. Clearly, they hadn't listened during orientation from the start.
“Huh? Then what's that one?”
Pazzzzt—
The spot Tanya was pointing to had a portal that just shifted from gray back to red. But no one came out of it.
“What else? The party that went in got completely wiped.”
“Ah...”
“...”
“...”
Honestly, given their attitudes so far, I was more worried about them surviving to come back out at all, never mind looting anything.
I glanced back, and Robin and Roy had tense looks on their faces again from the story.
“For now, just receive your blessings. Since all your stats are at 1, they won't make you fight monsters right away. We'll focus on mapping and basic scouting methods first, so don't worry.”
“I'll just trust our Cain!”
“Brother! Teach us some fighting too!!”
“...”
“Oh, there's an open portal over there. Let's go.”
The portals near the entrance were crowded, so we had to walk quite a ways in before finding an empty one. We approached it with the three of them.
“Here we go. Might feel dizzy.”
“... Gulp!”
I heard a loud swallow from someone as we all stepped through the portal together.
Claude's been doing fill-in parties occasionally, grabbing gear or potions here and there. What could go wrong?
“Uweeeck!!!”
“Urp!!”
“B-Bro... Me too... Urp!!!”
The sensation of passing through a portal feels like... the bladder-tingling drop of a rollercoaster mixed with the floaty stomach-drop of an elevator. A shitty little combo.
I was used to it by now, so no big deal. But the three of them, with stats like regular civilians, hit the floor puking the moment we entered the Labyrinth.
“Hiiing... Cain, it's haaard~”
Grab!
Tanya, who'd already emptied her stomach watching that monsterization death earlier, recovered fast and flung herself into my arms.
A floral scent wafted over me. I hugged her back, and while Roy and Robin were busy hurling, I slipped my hand under her robe and gave her ass a quick squeeze.
It filled my hand nicely—soft yet firm, wrapped in thin hot pants.
“Eek! Heehee.”
She was slender, like a pretty Western model compared to the thick-hipped Korean girls from my past life. As I kept kneading her ass, she startled for a second, then met my eyes and grinned.
“Sis, stick to my left side.”
“Huh? Whyy??”
“Gotta fight if a monster shows up.”
“Ah... Got it!”
She latched onto my left arm quick at the mention of monsters. Meanwhile, Roy and Robin got up, patting each other's backs after finishing their puking.
“It's dark...”
“...”
With our backs to the grayed-out portal, Robin peered into the pitch-black passage ahead. His voice trembled a bit—nerves.
“Hmm... Sis has no gear, so wanna hold the lantern?”
“Huh? Lantern?”
“Yeah. With a small party like ours, the rear guard or pack mule holds the lantern from behind to light the way. It's bright enough even from back there.”
“Aah... Roy! Lantern!”
“...Y-Yeah..”
Roy pulled a lantern and oil from his backpack and handed them to Tanya.
“Th... This...”
“Fill it with oil like this...”
Whoosh—!
The portal's glow was dim and grayish, but it was still brighter than the dark Labyrinth passages lit only by faint glowing stones embedded in the walls.
I sat with the three of them around me and showed them how to use the lantern.
“Roy, pass me some parchment and a quill.”
“Y-Yes! Here!!”
“Roy, you're holding a shield, so tank position up front... Robin up front too. Tanya-sis has a dagger, so rear guard and mapping.”
“Cain? Wh... what's mapping?”
“Mapping is...”
None of them seemed serious about exploring the Labyrinth, but I played dumb and kindly explained to Tanya why mapping matters and sorted out roles while getting us organized.
“No monsters come right up to the portal area. Let's finish prepping and head out.”
“Brother! What kinda monsters are on Layer 1? Haha...”
Robin had loosened up a bit and drew his sword as he asked me.
“Let's master scouting first, then handle them as they come.”
“Ah! Right...”
“Cain, you're a rogue type, right? Don't stray from me, okay?”
“Sigh, got it, sis. You heard the mapping explanation, yeah?”
“Mhm... I'll try!”
With roles assigned and formation set, we were ready to scout.
Roy up front. Robin to his right.
Me and Tanya in the rear, relying on her lantern light as we stepped out of the portal zone into the dark passage.
Step step—
We walked until the portal's light was just a faint glow if we looked back. Everyone had gone quiet.
Lots of monsters are sensitive to noise, but they were all too stiff with tension. To loosen them up, I started chatting with Tanya.
“Monsters on Layer 1 are pretty dumb.”
“Eh?”
“Think of them as wild animals... dumber than wolves.”
“Really?”
Wolves are pretty clever among beasts, so Tanya tilted her head.
“Yeah, wolves are sharp for animals.”
Robin muttered from up front, backing me up.
“Right. Layer 1 monsters vary, but none have smarts that'd annoy you.”
“Gotcha! Anything else, Cain?”
Kerrrk—
“Shh, sis—kill the lantern. Everyone, freeze.”
“Ah! U... uh-huh.”
Kreeek—
A low cry echoed from afar. I ordered Tanya and halted Roy and Robin.
“Monster nearby. Hold still till your eyes adjust to the dark.”
“...”
The other three had heard it too and froze in tense stances.
“Still some distance, so don't panic. Watch the faint glow from the glowing stones in the walls, and scan the deep shadows. Roll your eyes around.”
Due to how the Labyrinth reshuffles, the first monster encounter marks the real start of mapping.
Monsters move around, but spotting one usually means you've hit a passage leading to terrain—a small clearing, a big cavern with multiple paths, or a scouting spot.
If a fight breaks out, others might hear and swarm. And with the lantern lit? Combat gets way harder.
So we killed the light, stopped for dark adaptation, and waited.
“Huu...”
“Don't tense up.”
“Mhm... Eek!”
Tanya dove into my arms the second the lantern went dark. I slipped my hand through the gap in her robe, gently stroking her ass and waist.
She'd been trembling at the thought of fighting, but my touch seemed to calm her.
I teased the bare skin between her hot pants and armor a bit naughtily. As her breathing hitched, I saw Roy and Robin's eyes adjusting—they were looking around. I eased Tanya out of my arms.
“It's a goblin.”
“Goblin?”
“Yeah, kid-sized, but aggressive.”
“Heard of 'em. Brother, they aren't weak though, right?”
“Not weak. One alone is weaker than an average adult man.”
“Then...!”
“But they run in packs.”
I explained we had to stay tense since we didn't know if this goblin was scouting solo or part of a group nearby.
“So...”
“Usually, they eat the men and use women as breeders till they drop dead birthing goblins.”
“Eek!!”
Info on layer-specific monsters has been compiled over centuries.
Goblins were pretty much like the ones from my past life's subculture stuff.
There are tales of all-female explorer parties getting captured, gang-raped silly, and barely one escaping alive. But I skipped that detail.
“Phew... I'll scout ahead first.”
“Cain... You sure?”
“Yeah, Level 3. More than enough.”
I patted Tanya's head as she shivered at the 'breeder' bit, then moved forward.
“Robin, Roy—be ready to bolt back to the portal if needed. No monsters come there, got it?”
“Y-Yes... Brother... Gulp!”
“...Wh... what about you?”
“Goblins aren't a big threat. If there's too many, you guys are at risk, so I'll check it out.”
Time to test my boosted Technique stat too. I headed lightly toward the goblins.