Chapter 281: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (10)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 281: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (10)
“W-wait, could you hold on for just a moment…?”
I had successfully repaid my debt and, as a bonus, gained a new companion.
I was about to leave since I had no more business here, but Old Man Poison Mist called out to me, trembling.
“What, you got a problem? Or do I look like an easy target just because I’m trying to leave quietly?”
“N-no! It’s not that! A question! May I ask just one question!?”
“Hey, I’m joking. Why are you so scared? I’m in a good mood, so I’ll listen. Go ahead.”
“Just now, you mentioned you were going easy on us unlike the Wild Dog… By Wild Dog, do you perhaps mean…?”
“I mean the leader of those Human Butcher bastards. Did you think I was talking about an actual stray dog? How do you think I found this place in the first place? I came because I have a map. The artifacts that guy carries are famous, aren’t they? Oh, wait, are they?”
The thought occurred to me a bit late—what if the artifacts he possessed hadn’t been revealed yet? Fortunately, looking at Old Man Poison Mist’s face, that didn’t seem to be the case.
The Wildcat girl was also staring at me, shivering.
It wasn’t surprising. It might have looked like nothing because I handled him so easily, but Wild Dog was actually quite strong, even within Labyrinthos.
His individual martial prowess wasn’t bad, and the sheer numbers of the subordinates he commanded weren’t something to be ignored either.
“No more questions, right? We’re busy, so we really have to go. I hope we don’t have to see each other again. Good luck.”
“I—I pledge my loyalty to you!”
“What?”
I turned to leave, but the old man started talking nonsense again.
Well, wait. Is it really nonsense?
Among the criminals remaining in Labyrinthos, it wasn’t that there were none stronger than Wild Dog, but those types rarely moved out of their own territories.
From Old Man Poison Mist’s perspective, it wasn’t unreasonable for him to think I had become the new King of Labyrinthos.
In fact, back in the 1st Timeline, when I crawled out of the Gu and finally killed Wild Dog, the reaction had been similar.
He probably thought I was going to take over Labyrinthos and reign as its king.
He was barking up the wrong tree—and a very distant one at that.
“Get lost.”
I have no intention of holing up in this place.
“We can help you rule this place…!”
“Yeah, I’m sure you could. I know that well. That’s why I told you to get lost. I don’t plan on staying here long.”
He looked at me with an expression that said he couldn’t understand what I was saying. It was so similar to the look he gave me on the day I said I was leaving this place in the past that I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I’m leaving once I’ve finished my business. I told you. I hope we don’t see each other again.”
Both Old Man Poison Mist and the Wildcat girl were now looking at me with more than just fear—it was as if they were looking at some unknown creature. But what did it matter? It wasn’t like we were going to see each other again.
“It’ll be better for you guys too, not having to see a bastard like me again.”
I have no intention of bailing them out this time, so if they want to leech off someone, they should look for someone else.
* * *
After they left, Poison Mist, who had been bowing his head, was finally able to relax his body only after he was certain the man had truly departed.
“What a waste. He’s got a pretty face, he’s strong, and he even took down Wild Dog… but of all things, he’s a lunatic.”
The moment those words left the mouth of Wildcat, who had also been prostrating, Poison Mist reflexively nodded.
Well, being a madman was a given since he was in Labyrinthos.
But to spout such nonsense about leaving this place so confidently…
He probably thought that because he got a map, he could clear this complex labyrinth. But if escaping were that easy, why wouldn’t that bastard Wild Dog have left?
It was truly pitiful to see him think he could escape just because he solved one little problem.
What good was finding the way? There were countless riddles, puzzles with incomprehensible gimmicks, and monsters that couldn’t be defeated unless specific conditions were met.
Conquering this place was an impossible task.
“Keep quiet, someone might hear you.”
“You were nodding your head just now too, Gramps.”
“…That’s because it’s a waste. Anyway, he’ll be quite heartbroken once he fails the conquest. We need to stay close to him then and offer our help.”
“Eh? I mean, I like him, but is there really a need for that? Neither you nor I are at a level where we need someone’s help. Besides, he said he’d kill us if he saw us again.”
“No, I must become of use to him.”
“…Why?”
“Before I met you, I secretly lured them into a trap and sprayed poison on them. The most lethal kinds, the type with no scent or form.”
“…What?”
“But not a single person in the group collapsed; not even one complained of pain. Do you know what that means?”
“That they’re all collectively immune to all poisons?”
“No, no. It’s not a matter of that level. When our eyes met after the trap was triggered, he was definitely smiling. As if he were indulging a pathetic prank, he ‘detoxified’ all of my masterpieces.”
Poison Mist spoke with a voice that couldn’t hide his anticipation.
“Creating a lethal poison is difficult, but detoxifying it is even harder. If only I could obtain his knowledge, I could create even more wonderful poisons—and even more wonderful medicines.”
Perhaps, just perhaps, he could reach the realm of a Poison Human, where his very body became poison, something he had only dreamed of.
“So, we must wait for him to fail his conquest and then stick to him as his closest confidants…!”
“…Hmm, well, as long as his face is cute, I’m fine with it.”
“Now, get ready! I should at least make some medicine that might be helpful! Hurry! Let’s go gather ingredients!”
If they helped him while he was frustrated by his failure, he would soon realize.
That this place wasn’t such a bad place for a person to live!
* * *
“If you tap the wall over here, there’s a spot that sounds hollow. If you break it, there’s a treasure chest.”
I was worried that the labyrinth might have changed and the reward rooms I remembered might have different gimmicks, but fortunately, all the reward rooms I’d found so far were exactly the same.
“…I’m not even surprised anymore. What’s in this room?”
“An Elixir, a few ancient gold coins, and a special item called Wax Wings used to summon Icarus are in the chest.”
“Disciple, what about this puzzle?”
“The order is Sun, Wax Wings, then Fall. If you solve it, you can get another pair of Wax Wings inside.”
Hmm, not bad. I only skimmed the ones on the way to find that con artist bastard, but the rewards I’d already gained were substantial.
Even though this place had been created a long time ago, it seemed the rewards remained because the pathfinding was so hellish and the puzzles were difficult even if you found the way. Fortunately, I remembered most of the answers that the con artist bastard had struggled to solve.
— Ah, this is… the structure is very similar to a puzzle I solved before~ One little mistake and a poison needle will…!
— Shut your trap and just solve it. I’m only letting you solve it because you begged, but these things are useless to me.
Uh, well. Thinking back, I feel a bit bad.
But at the time, those things really were useless to me.
To be precise, they might have been useful even then, but checking on Seo-ha’s safety after getting out was so important that I had almost no room to care about treasures or dungeon gimmicks.
…How was I supposed to know the structure was such that you couldn’t escape the dungeon even after killing the boss?
“So-hyun, how do I solve this one?”
“Ah, you don’t solve that. It’s a Mimic. It’s also called a trap monster.”
“What? What does that…!?”
“You’re screwed, Aisha.”
“Aaaah…! The treasure chest is eating a person…! Save me!”
“That’s why I told you. Don’t just touch things recklessly.”
As I was approaching to save Aisha, I noticed the reaction on the compass had become stronger than before.
“…Huh? You’re not going to save me!?”
“Just wait a second. You’re not even in much danger because of your armor.”
My current target is the con artist bastard himself.
In other words, the signal from the artifact getting closer meant that he was approaching this way of his own accord. This was quite a departure from the personality I remembered.
He had an excellent ability to sense presence, so he usually avoided meeting people at all costs.
Even in the 1st Timeline, meeting him had been a coincidence—or rather, more like an accident.
“…Are you really not going to save me!?”
Aisha, grumbling as she escaped the Mimic on her own, threw the Mimic that had been clinging to her as if it were a nuisance. By sheer coincidence, the direction she threw it was perfectly aligned with the direction the compass was pointing.
“Gah!?”
Not long after, a scream erupted from the direction the Mimic had flown.
“What is this!? Where did a Mimic suddenly fly from!?”
It seemed my first meeting with our con artist bastard in this timeline wasn’t going to start on a very good note.
* * *
A short distance away, we found a man resisting the Mimic.
The man, who had a strangely delicate and frail impression, was desperately holding onto the Mimic’s open jaws with both hands. He was trembling as if he were at his limit, looking quite pitiful.
It was a strange thing.
How could I feel absolutely no joy at seeing him again after such a long time?
“A-ah! Hey! You people over there! Please, help me!”
“What should we do? Is that person also a Human Butcher or something? I don’t smell any blood on him.”
“No, I don’t think we need to save him.”
Aisha looked a bit guilty since he’d been hit by the Mimic she threw, but there was no need for that.
Considering his personality and skills, it was impossible that he couldn’t avoid a Mimic. Rather, it was more likely that he had intentionally lunged at it.
“H-hey? Please, just help me once! I’m weak, so I can’t hold on much longer!”
“Why should I help you? Who knows what kind of personality a guy I just met in a criminal’s den has.”
“T-that’s true! But this is fate! I might be able to help you with something later!”
“I don’t think so.”
“U-uh…! Even though I’m not good at fighting, I’ve traveled a lot, so I can disarm most traps! I’m also good at chores! I’m an all-around errand boy who’s good at everything from cooking to laundry to cleaning!?”
“Really? I’m pretty confident in those too. Is that all?”
As the conversation between him and me continued, the expressions of my companions became filled with doubt.
In particular, the Chairperson, who could see through lies, had a very peculiar expression. It was understandable; she had probably never met someone who lied as naturally as they breathed.
“I-if you help me now, I’ll provide you with unlimited useful information!”
By now, you’ve probably realized, but surprisingly, not a single word he’s said so far is the truth.
Usually, liars who are somewhat good at it hide lies within the truth, but amazingly, this bastard is a liar to the bone, someone who has told more lies than truths in his life.
He’s actually decent at fighting, fairly confident in physical labor, has failed trap disarming dozens of times by just guessing, and his cooking, laundry, and cleaning are truly disastrous.
I’ve made him do all of it, so how could I not know?
I thought he might be like that.
“Please, just save me…!!!!”
This bastard hasn’t changed one bit.
* * *
The way I met this con artist bastard in the 1st Timeline was when I was sprawled out, exhausted from trying to challenge the dungeon’s gimmicks every day to escape after killing Wild Dog.
— Ah…! Someone’s collapsed! This is bad! Here, drink some water! Don’t worry! I haven’t put anything in the water.
Perhaps mistaking my lying down out of sheer annoyance for collapsing, he had approached me with a canteen, pretending to be flustered.
— Get lost.
— Don’t worry. I don’t need anything in return. Saving a life comes first.
His face clearly looked like he was lying. His tone was that of someone acting, no matter how you looked at it.
But funnily enough, I didn’t think he was lying.
— Ah, honestly, who would lie so blatantly? You look exhausted. If you’re suspicious, I’ll just leave the canteen and back off, so please drink.
He really did seem to leave only the canteen and depart. I slowly reached for the canteen, turned it over, and spilled a bit of the contents on the ground.
And of course.
The ground melted with a sickening hiss.
— Ah, you didn’t drink it. You looked like you had some decent artifacts.
— …Are you insane?
Come to think of it.
Our first meeting in the 1st Timeline had been quite terrible as well.