Chapter 100
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Unexpected Encounter on the 15th Floor of the Labyrinth
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Labyrinth 14th floor wasn't all that difficult in the end, either.
Of course, the insect monsters all tried to jab their sharp proboscises into my body and suck out my flesh and blood. Most of them were venomous, and plenty could fly, making them an enormous pain...
But in reality, the bugs themselves were incredibly weak one-on-one. Their numbers were the only issue. Sure, they had proboscises that could pierce an intermediate adventurer's skin and venom that could poison them...
-Ting! Ding!
"Ticklish."
Most of the bugs' stingers jabbing at my body couldn't pierce the skin hardened by my [Physical Resistance] and [Body Reinforcement] skills. Especially not where I was wearing armor.
Some spat corrosive fluid to weaken my skin or barely managed to pierce and inject their venom...
-[Poison Resistance Lv.5]
Unfortunately for them, my [Poison Resistance] is a higher level than [Physical Resistance]. Bug venom like theirs is no problem for me at all.
'Maybe the 13th floor was harder...'
It seemed like a disaster for normal adventurers, but for me, aside from the bugs being noisy and gross, it was nothing special.
And so, without much trouble, I reached my goal for this labyrinth run: the 15th floor...
-Splash!
"What is this?"
I'd arrived at a swamp that welcomed me.
Floors 11 through 20 of the labyrinth are called the "forest layers," where dense woods stretch on endlessly.
But that doesn't mean floors 11 to 20 are all the same scenery.
For example, the 12th floor has a massive lake, and the 13th is covered in red soil like loess with ant nests everywhere in between.
And the 15th floor...
"A swamp, huh?"
Trees resembling Earth's mangroves rose thickly amid water rising nearly to my knees.
-Hiss!
"Ugh."
I felt a stinging sensation from my ankle, and when I struggled to lift my foot above the water, I saw a thin thread-snake latched onto it.
Chomp.
-Crunch!
I grabbed the snake clinging to my ankle and shoved it straight into my mouth, tearing off its head.
Munch... munch...
Tastes like mud.
Still, the venom isn't bad. Without an antidote, most adventurers would die right after entering the 15th floor. Not that many get this far without one anyway.
"Hup."
Sucking the venom from the snake's poison gland through my mouth, I scanned the surroundings, grabbed a sturdy-looking tree, climbed onto it, and perched atop the branches.
-Wriggle. Wriggle. Wriggle.
"...What's this?"
As soon as I got above the water, I spotted a wriggling black leech slyly attached to my leg. When did that happen? My senses are so sharp right now. No way it pierced my skin...
First things first, gotta peel it off...
-Rip!
"........."
It was latched on so hard that when I tried to pull it off lightly, a chunk of my flesh came with it. Staring at the leech in my hand, I noticed something.
"...This thing. My mana?"
No matter how I looked at it, the creature in my hand was a leech. The bloodsucking kind that existed on Earth. But the faint mana emanating from it felt exactly like mine.
'...These things swarming the swamp?'
The crazy part was that they weren't really hostile lifeforms, so [Detection] barely picked them up.
They even had some special skill—my mana and blood were being drained, but I hadn't noticed.
"This difficulty is insane."
What the hell right at the entrance? Isn't the gap from the 14th floor too big?
"...No. I don't have to wade through the water, right?"
I wasn't planning to go to the 16th floor anyway... but since I'd reached the 15th, I figured I'd scout around a bit. I grabbed the trees, leaping from branch to branch across the swamp.
The leeches were threatening, but if I just stayed out of the water...
-Croak!
-Wham!
"Guh!"
At that moment, a familiar croak echoed from the swamp. [Detection] reacted, and something shot up like lightning, slamming my side.
'This... damn it... right when I'm airborne...'
I'd just leaped from the tree and couldn't get into a proper guard. I got hit by whatever jumped up and plummeted into the swamp.
-Croak! Croak!
'A frog?'
My attacker was a man-sized frog—with hind legs three times bigger than the front ones.
-Splash!
Unable to resist gravity, I crashed into the swamp, feeling snakes and leeches waiting for prey tear into my body.
Puha!
I desperately pulled my face above water to breathe, frantically searching for solid ground to climb.
-Croak!
-Wham!
"Ngh..."
The frog's croak rang out again. This time, I braced properly and blocked the insanely fast body slam.
'What... speed?'
Its leaping speed was the fastest I'd seen from any monster so far.
I hurriedly drew my sword and slashed at the grabbed frog's skin.
-Jiggle.
"...No, what the hell!"
As my sword came down, sticky mucus oozed from the frog's skin, gumming up the blade and dulling the strike.
I hurriedly channeled mana to form sword aura, finally splitting the mucus and tearing the skin.
-Croakcroakcroakcroak!
"Stay still, you crazy amphibian bastard!"
-Stab!
I grabbed the thrashing frog by the neck as it flailed its powerful hind legs wildly, drove my sword in properly to finish it, then reinforced my legs with mana, kicked off the ground, escaped the swamp in a hurry, and climbed a nearby tree.
-Wriggle. Wriggle. Wriggle. Wriggle.
"...So damn gross."
Once on dry land, I saw leeches attached all over my body, sucking my blood and mana.
-Rip! Riiip!
I ripped the leeches off with force, chunks of flesh tearing away in response. [Regeneration] activated, white steam rising from wounds all over my body. Seeing flesh rip when pulled suggested there was a proper removal method... but whatever. It trained [Regeneration] too.
"...This difficulty is really insane."
What kind of frog charges like a pro pitcher's fastball... Better to dodge by sound than sight.
'Whew... this far's the limit, huh?'
Looking at it this way, Alensia seemed to have perfectly gauged my abilities. I had unused options, so breaking through this swamp solo was possible...
But from here on, soloing to the 16th would get tough.
Rest a bit, heal with [Regeneration], then head back to the 14th...
"...Hm? Ian?"
"...?"
What? Who around here who could reach the 15th would know my name?
I turned toward the voice and froze, seeing a face I never expected in the labyrinth.
"...Lilian?"
Am I seeing things? This is the 15th floor. Why is Lilian here?
No matter how much I blinked—or even used [Sensory Block] to rule out hallucinations—the pink-haired succubus I'd met days ago at the Cradle of Taste stood before me. In her hand... a whip?
"...Why are you here, Lilian?"
"I wasn't running away... just gathering ingredients..."
"You come into the labyrinth for ingredients?"
"...Well, back before I had my own shop, I'd often enter the labyrinth to procure them myself. Now I buy them or put out requests... but this time, for stress relief."
She didn't sound like she was bluffing. Flapping her cute wings to hover above the swamp without sinking, Lilian looked right at home in the 15th floor's environment.
"...But earlier, did you say something about running away?"
"......No. There's this creepy regular at the shop lately. Came to the labyrinth to dodge them a bit. All that stress was making even bedtime uncomfortable... couldn't run the place properly like that."
Creepy regular?
I was curious, but her expression wasn't great, so I let it drop.
"Anyway, Ian. Impressive. You soloed to the 15th? You were a beginner adventurer when you first came to my shop..."
"You're one to talk, Lilian. You soloed here too."
I thought she was just a famous chef, but soloing the 15th... and she seemed more relaxed than me.
Come to think of it, Miranda said she sometimes came to the labyrinth herself for blacksmithing materials?
Is this the average for production jobs in Labyrinth City?
"How far are you going, Ian?"
"Ah, 15th was my goal, so I was about to head back."
"Oh, then how about forming a temporary party for a bit?"
Temporary party?
"I was gonna grab my ingredients here and head back too. We met like this, so it's fate. I'll treat you to a meal."
"No, I couldn't..."
"Ah, there it is."
As I tried to decline Lilian's offer, her eyes gleamed, and she swung her whip.
-Roar!
'...Flames?'
Magic like flickering flames rippled along Lilian's whip, then shot out with a whoosh, striking a monster hidden in the swamp.
"Greeeeek!"
'That frog?'
Lilian's whip had targeted a monster identical to the one that body-slammed me earlier.
"Greeeek!"
-Zzzap!
Plop, plop...
"Phew... stress relieved at last. Been piling up lately..."
"............"
"Ah, perfect. I came for that Nut Frog's hind legs. Found 'em quicker than expected."
As Lilian's whip swung, it seemed to generate a sonic boom. The intact frog shattered cleanly, leaving only a pair of hind legs. I swallowed hard.
"Shall we go together, Ian?"
"Sure."
...Just to be clear, I'm not scared or anything.
Lilian's cooking is great. I'm looking forward to the meal! Yeah. She's treating me, so I should follow along obediently.