Chapter 127
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 127
Chapter Title: At the Campsite
-----------------------------------------------------------------
We'd left the 21st floor and returned to the 20th. Adventurers were still combing through the forest on the 20th floor, desperately hunting for ogres.
The moment we stepped off the 21st floor, Hiss and Karona stripped off their sweat-soaked gear and changed into fresh equipment pulled from their spatial expansion magic tools.
"Why are you changing?"
"Huh? This isn't the 21st floor anymore, so we don't need the flame-resistant stuff. It's all guild rentals, so we've gotta take good care of it."
"...It was rented?"
"Of course. Once you hit the 21st floor, the environments get brutally harsh, so gear that can handle it is crucial. But that stuff's expensive. Plus, the requirements change for every floor. That's why we pay the guild a rental fee to borrow what we need."
She grumbled that the rented gear didn't let them perform at their best.
'Come to think of it, they said prep is a huge hassle, right?'
Conquering the "attribute floors" starting from the 21st required even more meticulous preparation than the ones above.
Gear to survive each floor's environment, consumables tailored to the monsters there, storage for all those consumables—which meant it was time to start acquiring spatial expansion magic tools—and not just for one person, but every party member had to carry their share...
'And it's not a one-time thing. You have to prep for every new floor you push into.'
For example, if an adventurer wanted to reach the 25th floor, they'd have to pass through 21 to 24 as well, so they'd need survival gear for all those floors.
That was why the 21st floor marked the end of the line for most mid-tier adventurers.
"The guild even rents out gear, huh."
"Obviously. Though you have to pay for repairs or replacements if it gets damaged. And maintenance fees after each use."
The guild's importance was way bigger than I'd realized. I'd been thinking I should join one eventually, but kept putting it off. Maybe it was time to scout a decent guild and sign up.
They offered skill training, info networks, and now gear rentals too...
"Ian, you ever think about joining a guild?"
"Tough to decide rashly. I fill too many roles."
Most adventurers joined class-specific guilds—rogues to rogue guilds, swordsmen to swordsmanship guilds. But I was... hard to pin down.
"How about swinging by our guild for a tour once we get out of the Labyrinth?"
"Huh? That okay?"
"I just became a rank-1 guild member after getting accepted as my master's disciple! I can at least show a friend around."
"Master?"
"Yeah. An advanced adventurer who'd been away from Labyrinth City came back recently, and I've been learning shadow manipulation from her!"
Hiss proudly demonstrated by manipulating the shadow at her feet.
"That's awesome. Think I could learn it too?"
"Uh... maybe? You'd probably have to join our guild first."
As Hiss and I chatted, Karona—who'd been leading the way—called for a break.
"Time to camp for the night."
Karona found a secluded spot on the 20th floor where people rarely ventured. While she suggested setting up camp and Lena lit the fire, Hiss and I scouted for nearby monsters.
"Fire... Ngh."
-Crackle.
'Hm?'
Lena cast her spell on the piled firewood, sending up small sparks as the flames took hold.
'Did she just wince in pain? Nah, must've been my imagination.'
"I'm really fine..."
"We're fine! Just rest up!"
"We can't waste an honorable warrior on watch duty."
After setting up camp and finishing dinner, they tried sorting night watch shifts, but Hiss and Karona flat-out refused to let me take a turn.
They'd already gotten enough help against the salamander; making me pull watch on top of that would prick their consciences too much.
'Women sleeping while the guy stands watch alone...'
It felt oddly awkward, but they insisted they'd stay awake during my shift anyway, so I eventually accepted their kindness and pitched my tent.
"Lena first shift, then me second, Hiss third..."
I left the three of them to figure out the watch order and picked a spot for my tent, setting it up. I hadn't pitched one since going solo in the Labyrinth—it felt nostalgic.
A quick glance showed the others' tents were identical to mine. Adventurer tents didn't vary much anyway.
"So, schedule after we wake up..."
"......"
"Lena? You listening?"
"...Yeah, I am."
'??'
Lena seemed off, but I didn't pry and headed into my tent. I was just as exhausted, after all.
'Ugh, smells...'
The clothes I'd worn on the 21st floor reeked of sulfur, so I stripped them off in a hurry and stowed them in my inventory. Too late, though—the tent already stank a bit.
I hadn't noticed before, but the whole party smelled the same. I blocked my sense of smell for now—just until I fell asleep.
And that night...
"Krrrkahakak..."
'...What? An ogre nearby?'
I bolted awake at the heavy growling, forcing my heavy eyelids open. I slipped quietly out of the tent, weapon drawn and presence suppressed.
'Where's Lena? She was supposed to be on first watch...'
She was nowhere in sight outside. And the sound was closer than I'd thought.
'What the hell? Did Lena already get jumped? And that horrific noise...!'
I activated <Stealth> and crept forward, equipping the [Berserker's Gauntlets] from my inventory as I zeroed in on the source.
And...
"Krrrkahakak..."
"........."
It was coming from the tent right next to mine. Specifically, Karona's, where she was sleeping inside.
It was snoring. Not a growl.
'Then where's Lena?'
A quick scan of presences revealed Lena's familiar aura patrolling slowly not far off. No idea why she'd wandered away, but at least it wasn't a monster.
"Krrkagaguk..."
'Damn, so loud.'
I sighed in relief, then grimaced at the snoring tickling my ears. I quickly dismantled my tent. With inventory space, setup and breakdown were instant.
'Gotta sleep farther away.'
I could've blocked my hearing outright, but that risked missing an ambush, so I held off on [Sensory Block] and relocated my tent a bit farther from Karona's.
...Not that far, since we were still inside the campsite.
Originally, the tents were lined up like this:
Lena - Hiss - Me - Karona
To dodge the snoring, I'd shifted mine. Now it was:
Me - Lena - Hiss - Karona
I could actually tolerate this.
'There... much better.'
I rubbed my sleepy eyes, grumbled a bit, crawled back inside, and lay down. Hoping I wouldn't wake up again...
...Unaware of the consequences of arbitrarily rearranging tents despite the watch schedule.
"Hoo... Urk."
Lena, on first watch, let out a sigh clouded by tangled thoughts, then winced at the pain radiating from her mana circuits.
The fight with the salamander had strained them—any attempt to channel mana now brought agony. Luckily, it wasn't severe; abstaining from magic and resting would fix it.
But right now, other thoughts tormented her mind more than her circuits.
'Me again...'
After nearly dying to some novice adventurer in that 9th-floor ruin, Lena had spent a while wallowing in self-doubt.
Even before the ruins, she'd doubted her skills, stuck stagnating on the 21st floor for so long. Sure, her condition hadn't been normal, but almost dying to a beginner—and getting saved by a guy, no less...
Her tournament performance afterward had been dismal too. Meanwhile, her close friend Hiss was soaring, unfurling hidden wings, improving by leaps and bounds every day.
She'd tried not to compare herself to Hiss, but today, when crisis struck again, Ian had appeared.
What the hell had happened? In just a few months, his power was on another level entirely. He'd endured the salamander's flames bare-skinned, and even as his clothes burned, his manhood remained unscathed...
'Stop! Don't think about it!'
Recalling Ian's sudden arrival led to that flopping manhood, and Lena shook her head furiously to banish the image.
During her heat after the ruins trip, she'd struggled endlessly to shake that same fixation.
'Men usually disgust me, make me nauseous...'
Was it gratitude for saving her life? Or that incident during heat? Thinking of Ian didn't repulse her like other men.
No. It made her down there itch even more...
-Slap!
Desperate to clear her mind, Lena slapped her cheek hard.
That day she'd met him, she hadn't been able to resist heat and touched his... thing (even her mouth), but no penetration (though he had that day). She couldn't understand why it made her itch like this.
During her time living with Hiss, she'd suffered every time her body heated up. She'd secretly masturbate to cool off, and lacking a proper substitute, she'd even used her staff for weird play.
And now, Ian's dashing entrance, saving her at the perfect moment...
-Drip...
'No!'
Lena startled, realizing she'd unconsciously wedged her staff between her thighs and started rubbing. She dropped it in panic.
'That was... an accident. Yeah, an accident, so it'll never happen again!'
Muttering excuses to no one, Lena walked slowly back toward the distant tents, lost in thought. Clearly, her heart was malfunctioning from the near-death scare.
No way she'd fallen for a guy.
Sleep. Just sleep. She'd wake with a clearer head. Time to switch shifts anyway.
Following the snoring to the last tent in line, Lena slipped inside and shook the snoring Karona awake.
"Nngh... Lena? Already time to switch?"
"Yes."
After waking Karona, Lena stepped out with her, yawned, calmed her mind as best she could, and sought her own tent.
'Here it is.'
Hers was the first one—the outermost.
Too lost in thought to notice the rearranged layout, she'd wandered far. Without realizing, she entered the outermost tent now...
Ian's, where he was sleeping inside.