Chapter 20
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Ant Nest? (4)
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Not long after entering the second cave...
We spotted a Giant Ant standing in the center of a chamber, guarding hundreds of eggs.
Everyone held their breath, pressing themselves against the walls of the space to hide.
The Giant Ant visible beyond was a threatening twenty meters tall, its form strikingly similar to an ant, just as its name suggested.
"There's really a Giant Ant...?! Sian was right to listen to..."
"Shh! Monaka, your voice is too loud!"
Victor restrained Monaka, who was fidgeting excitedly from her hiding spot.
Andrei, hidden nearby, flashed me a thumbs-up.
Kind of embarrassing.
Truth be told, I'd been inwardly fretting about whether it would actually be there. Zeke's pressure had pissed me off too.
Zeke was still grinding his teeth at Monaka's reaction.
"On three, we charge in together...! Andrei, prepare your fire magic! ...When I give the signal, Zeke and I strike at the same time!"
Everyone nodded at Victor's words.
Zeke seemed to nod reluctantly as well.
"Alright, here we go! One..."
Everyone stared piercingly at the Giant Ant, holding their breath.
The only sound was the frantic pounding of our hearts from the tension.
Sweat beaded on my skin from the nerves.
"...Two."
I braced myself to leap out.
Monaka gripped her bowstring, twitching in anticipation.
All eyes locked on Victor's mouth.
Then, like a frame from slow motion, time seemed to crawl.
Victor's lips finally moved.
His tongue brushed the center of his upper teeth as he uttered the final word.
"...Three!"
The instant the word left his mouth, Victor and Zeke shot forward like arrows.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
The mad rattling of iron armor and gear echoed through.
True to C-rank veteran adventurers, they swiftly formed up.
"...!"
The Giant Ant jolted in surprise at our sudden appearance.
It rose warily, but it was already too late.
"Andrei! Now!"
At Victor's shout, Andrei completed his nearly finished spell chant.
"...Seal the enemies' movements from here. Fire Wall!"
-Roarrrrr!
A massive wall of flames erupted from the ground, slamming into the Giant Ant's belly.
-Boom!
"Kkiriririk! Kkiririk!"
Unable to react, the Giant Ant writhed in agony from the flames.
Its body flipped sideways.
"Zeke!"
"Got it!"
Victor and Zeke dashed to either side of the overturned Giant Ant, slashing wildly with their swords.
-Whoosh!
-Crunch!
-Slash!
-Stab!
"Kkiriririririririk!"
"Everyone, get down!"
Monaka followed up with rapid support fire.
She nocked, drew, and loosed arrows in a blur.
-Twang! Thud!
-Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!
"Kkiriririri-!"
The Giant Ant let out a bloodcurdling shriek that could pierce eardrums.
But the scream didn't last long.
"Kkiririri... rik..."
Overwhelmed by the whirlwind assault, the Giant Ant's movements ceased.
It was eerily still, impossible to believe it had thrashed so violently moments ago.
Victor and Zeke hacked at it a few more times to confirm, but nothing changed.
""..."""
It was over.
I never even got a chance to step up and guard Andrei.
The Giant Ant lay motionless.
"...It's dead."
As Victor spoke, the tension drained from Monaka, and she collapsed in a heap.
Andrei slumped too, as if his strength had fled him.
"...Everyone, good work."
"Haaaaah... Thank goodness. Thank goodness it's over like this."
Then Zeke spoke up, shaking one leg restlessly.
"Tch, what a letdown. To think we wasted so much time at the entrance agonizing over trash like this."
"Zeke, that's not fair! You were the one trying to bail just now. If not for Victor and Sian, we'd have suffered big time in the third cave because of you?"
"... "
Zeke scowled at Monaka's words.
And lit up a macho right there on the spot.
"Hey! What are you doing? Don't smoke that in front of me! It stinks!"
I wrinkled my nose at the acrid smoke wafting over.
Going off the rails now, huh... Whatever, not my problem.
I headed toward the Giant Ant's corpse.
"Huh? Sian! Where are you going?!"
Ignoring Monaka, I inspected the Giant Ant's body.
Just in case there were any other surprises.
'...'
-Tap-tap-tap.
I rapped my knuckles on the Giant Ant's tough exoskeleton.
But it didn't spring back to life like in some movie.
It was an anticlimactic end, making our earlier worries seem pointless.
'A C-rank party handled it pretty stably, as expected.'
My body felt heavy and sore.
The thing with Hedi a few days ago, and now this adventurer gig— I was worn out.
Once I got my reward, I'd head back to the dorms and crash hard.
After some rest, maybe treat myself to some fruit I'd been craving.
Lately, sweets had been calling to me.
"Tch, damn brat. Just standing around watching... Hm?"
Zeke, who'd been muttering while eyeing me crouched down, suddenly approached the wall as if he'd spotted something.
"...No way?!"
He tossed his macho aside in astonishment.
"Victor! Get over here! It's a magic stone!"
"Hm? A magic stone?"
Magic stone?
In this low-tier monster cave?
According to the game info I knew, there shouldn't be any...
The thought had barely crossed my mind when...
A chilling premonition sent goosebumps racing across my skin.
'...No way?!'
My head filled with warning bells.
I whipped around to see Zeke reaching for the magic stone embedded in the wall.
I shouted at him with all my might on reflex.
"Zeke! Don't touch that! Get your hand away right now!"
But Zeke ignored me and touched the magic stone anyway.
In that brief moment as Zeke made contact.
"Wha-?!"
"W-What's that?!"
Victor and Zeke panicked simultaneously.
A sudden change had occurred.
The moment it was touched, an intense crimson glow erupted from the magic stone.
-Fwoooooosh!
"Guh!"
"-! What happened!"
"What is this! What the hell!!"
"I can't... I can't see ahead!"
"...!"
In the chaos, another massive rumble echoed.
The entire chamber of the labyrinth shook violently, as if hit by an earthquake.
-Rumble-rumble-rumble!
Rocks clinging to the ceiling cracked with sharp snaps, plummeting indiscriminately.
-Boom! Crash! Boom!
The fallen boulders piled up impossibly at the entrance we'd just come through, sealing our escape.
"What in the... Guh-!"
Andrei, who'd approached the entrance, was crushed flat by a massive falling rock.
His neck snapped, and his body was mangled in an instant.
Monaka's face drained of color, freezing in horror at the sight.
And moments later...
"Kyaa, kyaAAAAAAAH!"
Realizing Andrei had become a lifeless lump of meat in a heartbeat, Monaka screamed.
"...?! What! A-Andrei...?!"
Victor realized it late as well.
...Our formation had collapsed long ago.
It was pure pandemonium.
Without giving us a moment to breathe, a geometric magic circle had appeared underfoot and activated.
-Shwoooom!
"What do we... what do we do...!"
"... "
"Uh...? Uhhh?!"
Monaka stared blankly into space, her eyes unfocused, half-mad.
The light from the magic stone intensified.
The magic circle, triggered by the stone, swallowed us all in light.
The world rippled once.
My vision flickered.
The last thing I remembered was Zeke's dumbfounded face as he flailed in confusion.
It was hellish carnage.
The surroundings were eerily silent now, making the chaos from moments ago feel like a fabrication.
I steadied my racing heart and slowed my breathing.
A large-scale teleportation magic on a magic stone in a C-rank low-tier labyrinth? Impossible based on everything I knew.
...My surroundings, once I regained my wits, were utterly alien.
Not a sliver of light penetrated; darkness so deep it was impossible to tell day from night blanketed everything.
As my eyes adjusted, the faint outlines revealed a cave-like terrain.
Drips of water echoed from the ceiling.
A profound resonance, as if the depths could swallow you whole.
It was a deep natural labyrinth of layered ancient rock.
Teleported here by magic, it was likely a hidden underground labyrinth inaccessible by normal means.
I patted my waist—thankfully, my sheathed sword was still there.
Without it in this situation, it'd be utter despair.
"...Still totally screwed, though."
Even my quiet mutter echoed amplified into the distance; the silence was that profound.
What now?
I knew how to escape an underground labyrinth.
Find another teleportation magic stone like the one somewhere and use it.
But...
I scanned around.
Dead silence, not a hint of life.
...Everyone scattered, huh.
Too dangerous to search alone.
If a monster pack spotted me moving solo, this place would be my grave.
Underground labyrinth monsters had unknown danger ranks.
So, I needed to find the scattered party members.
Victor, Monaka, Andrei...
Andrei...?
"... "
And Zeke, the idiot who caused all this.
Finding even one more would boost our survival odds.
"Hoo..."
I sighed and drew my sword from its sheath.
Then gazed ahead.
Two branching cave paths.
Invisible ends swallowed by darkness.
Daunting, but one had to lead to the others.
No way to tell which. Teleportation coordinates were random.
...No choice but to move.
I stepped toward the left path.
To rejoin Victor's party as soon as possible.
I surrendered my body to the encroaching darkness and pressed forward.