Chapter 91
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: Loren Bus
Twelve days had passed since I'd openly fucked Tanya right next to Roy, and August 1st—the day of the layer redistribution—had finally dawned.
As we'd discussed, for the next two days after that, whenever Tanya finished up at the store, I'd drag her around the city to parks or secluded spots for some thrilling outdoor sex, pumping her full of semen each time. She loved it so much that it even made me feel a swell of pride.
I'd also stopped by Sion's shop, but she wouldn't even open the door for me—just tossed out some medicine. It was a bit disappointing, but I'd heard how vicious beastkin could get during their heat cycles, so I didn't make a fuss and just took the meds and left.
Of course, I slipped in a bit more money than usual.
In the meantime, I'd tried helping out with Loren's training in various ways, but she still seemed far from ready to wield a sword.
Instead, Frank, Claude, and I started doing rotation battles against her—three against one—with Loren only using her shield. She didn't get so much as a scratch and held her own against all three of us without budging an inch.
Frank, with his frontline experience, even shared various tips on shield combat. Mornings were packed with intense training, and afternoons were free time for everyone.
We'd have lunch, then I'd visit Camella to check her anal expansion progress over tea time, flirting with her the whole way. Every other day, I'd drop by the guild to chat with Mion. Days passed smoothly like that until the day before the redistribution, when Mion suggested a date.
"Um... Last time, you told me to pick where we go, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. Mion."
"T-tomorrow evening, then!"
Her flustered look as she bit her tongue while declaring the date was adorable.
We followed the date course she'd planned, had a great time, and when I gave her a kiss on the forehead in front of her house, her legs gave out and she collapsed. It was hilarious.
And today was Loren's first exploration—and the day our party returned to the labyrinth.
*Clank!*
"Ready, Claude?"
"Of course, Cain."
Man, he looks so handsome no matter what. If he didn't act like such a morning bird, wearing his armor properly like that would just make me want to smack him.
Well... my face isn't ugly either—it's more a matter of taste—so no real jealousy. Still, Claude has that heroic knight vibe from king-and-heroes stories, which is a little enviable.
After some playful banter, Claude and I finished gearing up and stepped out front of the inn.
"Cain!"
"Hey, Cain. Leader..."
Loren and Sia were already waiting out front, chatting together.
Sia stood as usual in her oversized robe covering her chest, leaning on her staff. Loren wore the custom armor we'd ordered last time, shield in hand, and actually looked pretty tank-like.
Of course, the pointed ears of an elf in frontline gear felt a bit off.
"Let's go."
I led the way, with Loren snorting excitedly—a mix of tension, thrill, and anticipation—as we headed to the layer transfer hall.
"Whoa! This is the layer transfer hall!!"
"You've never been here even though explorers can visit without diving?"
"Nope!"
Loren puffed out her chest proudly as I glanced around at everyone.
Sia now had decent stamina, so she carried a small backpack, and we'd all upped our pack sizes to carry more gear.
If Loren could tank reliably, we figured we could haul extra without hindering combat.
"Anyway, let's head in for the briefing. Hurry up."
Claude, itching for his first labyrinth run in ages, wore an excited grin. Sia gripped her staff tightly, her face tense.
I took everyone's hands and stepped into the portal.
"Gaaargh!!!"
"Sis..."
"S-Sia!! Quick, the Blessing of Recovery!!!"
"Sis, Recovery doesn't work on this..."
"Wh-what...? Urp!!!"
As expected, even tough Loren couldn't handle the horrific sensation of entering the labyrinth via portal.
She puked up sounds you wouldn't imagine from her pretty face, begging Sia for Recovery. But Sia explained it wouldn't help, and Loren's face went pale as death.
"Let's rest until Loren recovers. We need to brief anyway."
"Yeah."
*Click!*
I flipped the hourglasses on my belt and started scouting the layer around our entry point.
The straight, uniform passages were dimly lit by glowing stones embedded in the walls.
"Hmm... Maze type this time."
"Cain, doesn't maze type take longer to clear the layer?"
"Nah, it's middling at worst."
"Really?"
Layer layouts change every entry.
There are two main types: cave style, like when I entered with Tanya, Roy, and Robin; and maze style, like now.
Monsters vary slightly by type, and cave layers have random portal spots to the next—sometimes found in under a week, sometimes taking a month if unlucky.
Maze layers have a fixed square overall shape.
With a skilled mapper and solid combat, you can find the exit portal in a week—three at most.
Easy navigation, but the downside is lots of man-made traps.
"Still, solid terrain. More skeletons than greenskins, probably."
"Charge possible?"
"You maniac, going for that shit again?"
"No, now we've got Loren..."
"Hold up."
Even with Loren still panting on the ground, Claude drew his sword to charge. I yanked him back and waited.
"Hoo... That was awful..."
"You good now, Loren?"
"Huh? Oh... yeah, Cain."
"Alright, everyone gather up. Briefing time."
Plenty of light right by the portal, so the party huddled around me as I outlined our strategy.
"We've got three weeks' rations. This dive isn't about farming monsters for cash—it's to get Loren to layer 2. Focus on mapping and pathing. And..."
"And?"
I paused, looking at Claude, who stared back tensely.
"It's Loren's first real fight, so let her get her combat senses sharp. Claude, no charging ahead."
"Huh?"
"What do you mean 'huh'? If you hadn't gone wild last dive, we wouldn't have scrambled back in a panic. Remember?"
"Yeah..."
"Rest we'll cover on the move. Formation, everyone."
Loren up front with shield, Claude diagonal behind her, Sia behind him, me at the rear. We lit the lantern and slowly advanced into the dark passage.
"Ugh..."
"What's up, Loren? Too dark?"
"No... I can't sense any spirits here."
"None at all?"
"Nope, none."
She'd been grunting since our first steps. I thought it was the dark, but no.
No spirits? Explains why so few elves in labyrinth city despite all the humans and demi-humans.
"Well, doesn't matter much since you can't use spirit arts anyway, Loren."
"True... but the emptiness is so eerie, it keeps bugging me."
"Yeah, the absence of what should be there creates dissonance. Gotta adapt."
"Got it."
She rolled her neck side to side, refocused, gripped her shield, and eyed ahead as we moved slowly.
About five minutes in, forks appeared on both sides.
"Halt."
"Hoo..."
Loren's tension slowed her pace a bit; took time to gauge strides.
*Scrape... scrape-scrape...*
"Good."
"Right?"
"Yep."
Before reincarnation memories, this body learned the right-hand rule from Hawk for mazes.
Handy for mazes with entrances/exits, but labyrinth mazes don't. Instead, use it to map the outline and pinpoint likely portal spots.
Pulled my notebook, roughly calculated steps from portal to fork, sketched it, and headed right.
"Loren, stop!"
"Ack!"
*Crunch!*
Spotted the pressure plate trap on the floor and yelled, but tense Loren reacted late.
Arrow? Dart? What—
*Whirr!*
"Ballista!! Big one's coming, Loren. Don't have to block—just shield yourself!!!"
"Got it!!"
*BOOM!!*
*SKREEE!!*
A fierce whoosh echoed from afar, followed by a deadly whine.
"Raaagh!!"
*CLANG!!*
*BOOM!!*
"Kyaa!!"
I'd yelled to Loren but grabbed Sia and rolled aside just in case. A massive clang rang from her shield.
"Deflected a ballista?"
I looked up at Claude's stunned words. A nearly two-meter iron bolt was embedded in the wall.
*Rustle!*
"Insane."
"Heh! H-how was that, Cain!"
Huh... We thought we'd bus Loren quick to layer 2, but I might need to rethink that.