Chapter 286: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (15)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 286: Labyrinth of Change: Labyrinthos (15)
It felt a bit cruel to break the news to someone who had only just been brought back to life by the power of an Elixir. However, as the saying goes, “it’s better to get the beating over with early.” I figured it was better to tell him the truth and apologize now rather than wait until the shock of his revival had worn off.
To my surprise, the guy—who had initially been glaring at me as if he wanted to kill me—began to nod with interest as the story progressed. By the end, far from being angry, his eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
“…The Ruyi? You mean the Ruyi Jingu Bang, the same class of divine artifact as the Purple Gold Red Gourd?”
“That’s the one.”
“Can I see it? Ah, no. You said the repairs aren’t fully finished yet, so there’s no way to see it right now.”
I was taken aback by how he seemed almost happy rather than furious. When I stared at him in confusion, he scowled as if asking why I was looking at him like that.
“You’re not mad? I used the Dragon Bone, you know. I used the pills, the oil, and the flames too.”
“I would have been furious if you’d just wasted them, but the artifact used them for its own sake. Why would I be mad? Honestly, losing the gourd hurts, but it doesn’t look like there’s a way to get it back right now anyway.”
…This guy isn’t the type to give up so cleanly on anything, especially when it comes to artifacts. What gives?
“In fact, it’s not like it was used on some mediocre piece of trash. If it was used to repair the Ruyi, I’d say it was well-spent.”
I felt a bit bad using her like a lie detector, but I glanced at the Chairperson for confirmation just in case. Surprisingly, she nodded, indicating he was being sincere.
“He’s acting like a bit of a thug, but even if he accepts that, I’m still taking the Elves’ relics. You stole all of them in the first place, after all,” she added.
“…Well, honestly, I was going to ask for those back, but I’ll give up on that part cleanly as well.”
…No, seriously, what is up with him? He’s not this kind of person. Is he planning to backstab me later?
“In exchange—though it feels a bit odd to call it that—there is one thing I’d like to ask of you.”
“A favor?”
“Yes. Earlier, when you were sucked into the gourd… I overheard something while I was being tortured. You entered this place with the intention of leaving from the start, didn’t you?”
…I turned my head to look at Aisha. She flinched and trembled.
“So-hyun, wait a second. Why did you look at me immediately without a single moment of hesitation?”
“It was you, wasn’t it?”
“…It was me, but I feel like I’m being treated unfairly.”
Unfairly, my foot. Ga-eul isn’t even here; of course it was you. Who else in this group would make a slip-up like that?
“Only you knew the plan for the escape, So-hyun, and I was just so shocked when you were suddenly sucked in. I’m sorry.”
…Well, whatever. Even if people heard we were planning to escape, they’d probably just treat it as nonsense, so it doesn’t really matter.
However, it seemed the con artist standing before me had no intention of dismissing it as nonsense.
And of course, at this point, I could guess what his request was going to be.
“If it’s true that you know a way out, could you please take me with you when you leave?”
A strange yearning was visible in his eyes.
“It might not… it might not be too late yet. No, my circumstances don’t matter. Just consider it the price for the artifacts I took. Can’t we make it work?”
…What should I do?
Originally, I had no intention of bailing out my former subordinates. But in this guy’s case, it was hard to call him a violent criminal, so it didn’t seem like there would be a problem if I let him out.
Besides, he wasn’t even caught and sent here; he ran away here on his own feet.
However, it bothered me that in the 1st Timeline, this guy had suddenly become aggressive and fierce in combat starting from a certain point.
It might not be too late yet, he said.
“…Can you make one promise?”
Honestly, I was a bit uneasy, but well… if he tries to go back to being a villain, I can just catch him again. I’d received too much from him to refuse, and frankly, I’d beaten him up a lot more than expected.
Above all, there were a few things I was personally curious about.
“A promise? What is it?”
“Once we’re out, no matter what happens, don’t act like a villain. How about it? Can you promise that?”
“…Huh? I don’t particularly have plans to become a villain.”
“Having ‘no plans’ isn’t enough. I need a certainty.”
Because if you do become a villain, I might have to kill you next time.
“…Understood. I swear that no matter what happens, I will never become a villain. I’ll continue to live as an adventurer.”
“Is that so? Then that’s enough.”
I don’t know exactly why you’re so obsessed with the outside world, but let’s just consider this paying off a debt from my past life on top of the price for the artifacts.
* * *
In truth, the method to clear Labyrinthos is quite simple.
You have to defeat Icarus (an amorphous monster that only appears under special conditions), the Minotaur (the dungeon boss), and the hidden boss monster. Then, you combine the items dropped by them to craft the escape-only item, ‘Ariadne’s Thread.’ That’s it.
So, if it’s that simple, why has no one cleared it until now, and why has no one ever escaped?
That is also quite simple.
It’s because meeting all three of those monsters is nearly impossible.
First of all, the dungeon is incredibly complex and shifts chaotically, which acts as the primary hurdle.
As for Icarus, since reward rooms are hard to find, you eventually have to hunt an endless number of regular monsters to collect Wax Wings.
Even if you collect the Wax Wings, he doesn’t just appear. You have to know the specific summoning method, and the conditions for defeating him are tricky.
To top it all off, the Minotaur’s boss room is a place where you’re likely to starve to death before you even arrive if you don’t have a pathfinding artifact. And as if that weren’t enough, ever since this place started being used as a prison, the dungeon has been crawling with villains who were famous on the outside.
I mean, is it even possible to raid a dungeon normally under those conditions?
Ever since that Wild Dog bastard created the Human Butcher, the newcomers have all been dying off, and those who survived have adapted to the dungeon in their own way. No one even has the will to clear it anymore.
However, none of these were problems for me, a regressor.
The method to cure my Master’s constitution—the primary reason I came here—can only be obtained by defeating the Minotaur. So, let’s take care of Icarus and the hidden boss first.
“…So, can we really summon him by doing this?”
“If you don’t believe me, feel free to back out.”
“It’s not that I don’t believe you, it’s just… how on earth do you know such things? I tried all sorts of things to escape myself.”
Hmm, I see.
Unlike my party members, who were filled with faith and trust in me, our resident con artist seemed to find me untrustworthy.
Actually, that’s the normal reaction.
What kind of crazy person claims they can solo-clear Labyrinthos—a place that remains an unsolved mystery to this day—and gives out instructions as if they’re a walkthrough? It would be weirder to follow those orders without a word.
In other words, from the perspective of someone who doesn’t know what I’ve pulled off so far, it was a perfectly valid thing to say.
“If you don’t know, just stay quiet.”
“It’s no wonder you lost your artifacts to my junior. You have no tact, you can’t keep your mouth shut, and your face isn’t as good as his either.”
…That last one was just a personal attack.
“Um, Cadet Kang So-hyun. It’s not that I’m anxious, but could I get what I was promised first? It’s inside there, right…? No, I can wait for the artifacts, but could I at least get the diary first…?”
“I am ready, disciple.”
“Woof!”
Well, the Chairperson looked incredibly anxious but was doing exactly what she was told. My Master, who played a crucial role in this subjugation, was ready, and even the cute wolf was prepared.
Preparations were complete.
“Alright, everyone, get ready.”
As I set fire to the Wax Wings I had pieced together, the surroundings began to be dyed in darkness.
“It’s a bit of a waste. If we followed the legend, those wings might have allowed for flight.”
“They do.”
“…Ah, really? You say that so matter-of-factly.”
Well, when I met you in the 1st Timeline, it was a bit further in the future, and you were flying around wearing them yourself.
It was quite annoying to deal with when we were fighting.
…Come to think of it, if we hadn’t fought back then, I might not have been able to escape.
It was something I remembered because I was angry while fighting that guy. In the original myth, the reason Icarus lost his wax wings was that he fell in love with the sun and tried to get closer, causing the wax to melt from the heat.
So, I tried setting fire to them to melt his wax wings, and that satisfied the condition, causing Icarus to pop out.
— The conditions have been met. The amorphous monster, ‘The Fallen Wraith,’ is being summoned.
Yeah, just like that.
An amorphous monster with no fixed shape. And to be precise, ‘The Fallen Wraith’ is an undead type, and honestly, it looks pretty disgusting.
The creature’s first attack pattern is to use its melted wings to soar into the sky and then scatter high-temperature wax like slime.
“As expected, it tries to fly as soon as it appears.”
First, the Chairperson stops this by creating a gust of wind.
The creature seemed flustered when its attack was blocked immediately upon appearing, but as expected of a high-rank special monster, it began to respond calmly.
It moved straight to its next pattern.
The next pattern involves crashing to the ground and then charging while splattering blood.
For this part, Aisha, who can defend with her armor without needing to touch the creature directly, can handle it.
The creature seemed to think it would win in a contest of strength and boldly engaged Aisha, but since I’d used reinforcement on her—and she already had excellent physical abilities—it wouldn’t be easy to overpower her, even for a high-tier species.
Having its next attack blocked as well, the creature immediately moved to its third pattern.
Etherealization.
This is a technique where Icarus temporarily shifts from an undead type to a ghost type. While the species that use Etherealization are somewhat rare, it’s a technique listed in textbooks and classified as a monster’s talent.
Which means it can be nullified by Baek Seol’s talent.
It even has a cooldown, so if we block it just once at the start, we don’t really have to worry about it after that.
After beating it up for a while, the final pattern emerges. The creature pours out its resentment and curses toward the sun, creating a massive mana orb.
This is the annoying part of dealing with him.
If it were a simple mana orb, we could just deflect it. But because it’s a monster buffed by the dungeon, unless you match the exact attribute, you have to use far more mana than what was used for the orb just to neutralize it.
Well, so.
As for the exact attributes needed to remove the mana orb: first, you need intense heat or Yang energy to substitute for the sun. Next, you need a purification-type attribute.
And wouldn’t you know it, I just happen to have my Master here, who possesses Plum Blossom internal energy with extreme Yang properties and uses the swordsmanship of the Mount Hua Sect, a branch of Taoism.
The moment the plum blossoms blooming along the sword sliced through the mana orb, I felt like I saw Icarus make a despairing face, as if asking how such a thing could happen.
Well, it was probably just my imagination.
Where would an amorphous monster even have a face? Right?
For a moment, the screams of the monster that had been a source of terror in the dungeon for years echoed through the halls.
The fact that those screams sounded somewhat indignant must surely be due to my imagination.
Haha.
— The resentment of Icarus, who met his end in Labyrinthos long ago, has been laid to rest.
Hmm, it took exactly four minutes from summoning to disposal.
In the 1st Timeline, he appeared in the middle of a fight, and the con artist and I had to go through all sorts of hell to take him down.
As expected of a mid-boss level creature, it dropped some decent items, but the most important thing was something else.
I was worried it might not drop, but I successfully obtained the material for the escape item.
‘Icarus’s Regret.’
Now, if I combine this with the ‘Broken Spindle’ dropped by the monster ‘Failed Theseus’—who can be met by satisfying special conditions just like Icarus—I’ll get the escape item, Ariadne’s Thread.
“Alright, is anyone hurt or exhausted? Let’s not waste time and move immediately to catch Theseus.”
“Was Labyrinthos always such an easy dungeon…? I tried every possible method to escape…?”
“Hey, your mumbling is getting annoying, so let me give you a piece of advice.”
“…Yes?”
“Questioning what our junior does will only make you tired. The kid isn’t exactly normal.”
“I see. It certainly seems that way.”
Between Baek Seol making a rather rude remark and the con artist agreeing with her for some reason…
It was truly a cruel thing to say.
They have no idea how hard I worked to figure these things out in the last timeline!
Though, honestly, it does feel a bit like I’m getting a free ride this time.