Chapter 146
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 146
Chapter Title: Labyrinth Mutation
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It started with a small vibration.
-Rumble...
'...What the hell? An avalanche?'
I'd just burst out of the snowfield and was enjoying a fun tussle with the yetis glaring at me when I felt a strange vibration rising from the ground.
At first, I thought maybe some massive monster was nearby, so I scanned the area with my [Detection] and [Scouting] skills, but aside from the yetis I was fighting, I didn't sense any other presences. Next, I suspected an avalanche.
'But there aren't any steep mountains around.'
There were some small hills nearby, but nothing with enough incline to trigger one, so I quickly dismissed the idea.
-Grgrgrgrng...
'...This feels ominous.'
No monsters in sight, the ground wasn't collapsing, and there were still no presences around, but based on my past experiences, I rationally concluded that something dogshit was about to happen.
"Let's head back before whatever it is kicks off."
"Nuunu!"
"No time to play with you."
-Pfuung!
I activated [Limit Break] and the [Berserker's Gauntlets] combo to shake off the clinging Nunu... no, yetis, and bolted across the snowfield with a twinge of unease.
When you don't know what might happen, running is always the best call. I'd only been in the 22nd layer for a short while, so it was a shame, but sticking around felt like asking to get caught in something weird.
"Huff...! Huff...!"
The blizzard grew fiercer, blocking my path, but with my anxiety mounting, I sprinted toward the portal I'd come through. And then...
-Ruuuumble!
"What the fuck!"
The vibrations intensified to their peak, and soon the ice sheets on the floor began cracking with sharp creeeaks. Beneath the split ice yawned an endless crevasse that sent chills down my spine.
'What the hell... a crevasse?'
Luckily, my path ahead hadn't split yet, but this was probably just the beginning. Gritting my teeth, I pushed my speed higher and spotted the shimmering blue portal beyond the cracking ice.
"Good. If I can just reach that...?!"
-Kuguuguung!
And in that instant, the world flipped upside down.
'...Wha...t...'
The sky. The sky was splitting. Or whatever I'd thought was the sky above me was splitting. The mana flows surging around reversed course. Like being sucked into somewhere, the mana swirled violently.
The monsters native to the 22nd layer went berserk. Yetis bursting from the snowfield, frost wolves prowling for prey, frozen golems made of ice...
All of them charged out, howling. Then one by one, they dissolved into black mana.
"This... is... insane!"
Overwhelmed by the spectacle, shaking off the rising dread and awe, I desperately dashed toward the precariously flickering portal.
"Kwaaang!"
"Grroooar!"
Monsters disintegrated into fragments, and at the same time, the black particles—similar to mana but more sinister than magi—mixed chaotically before reforming into new monster shapes.
"Kruuung!"
'...!!!!'
Monsters vanished and were reborn. The entire 22nd layer crumpled and shattered, only to be reborn anew. The structure inverted, the ground and sky flipped, and all mana was sucked away somewhere.
And I'd seen this phenomenon once before, vaguely.
"Labyrinth mutation! What the fuck!"
A periodic event in the labyrinth. The internal structure changes, monster placements shift, existing structures vanish, and new ruins appear.
"Wasn't it supposed to be a whole month away!"
I vowed to give the receptionist who fed me bad info a good smack on the ass if I got out of this, then headed for the shakily flickering portal.
-Grgrgrng!
"Shii...t!"
And in that moment, the barely holding footing crumbled. The remaining ice split, and from the edge, it fully deconstructed and reassembled like being torn apart and rebuilt.
[Limit Break Lv. 4], [Footwork Lv. 5]
I poured every bit of mana and strength into my legs. They twisted and threatened to shatter from the beyond-limit power, but explosive force erupted even stronger, kicking off the crumbling ice toward the portal.
"Almost... there...!"
Enough jump power. No obstacles in the way. I should've reached the portal just fine.
If things had stayed that way.
-Kugung!
"What the hell is this...!"
The repeatedly deconstructing and reassembling ice surged upward, blocking the path between me and the portal. I drew my sword and swung, but my slashes were powerless against the approaching calamity.
-Grgrgrgrng!
Ice assembled. Looking closely, non-ice elements were mixed in. Pillars rose, and the interior shifted.
"Guh... guaaaaah!"
And amid the mana storm where all this unfolded, I held out until the end before losing consciousness.
And then.
When I opened my eyes.
"...Where the hell am I?"
I was inside an unfamiliar building.
The moment I came to, I checked my body's condition. All limbs attached... head fine... eyes, nose, mouth all there...
"Did I survive?"
And the bone-chilling cold still brushing my skin meant I was still in the 22nd layer. Guess I didn't make it through the portal...
"...Then again, maybe it wouldn't have mattered if I did."
If this was a real labyrinth mutation, the 21st layer was probably the same mess even if I'd crossed.
Crevasse appeared here with the ice splitting, so maybe a volcano erupted on the 21st? Who knows. I'd have to experience a mutation firsthand to say for sure.
With no issues on my body and all my gear and inventory intact, I decided to scout the surroundings first.
"...So where the hell is this? Looks like inside some building..."
I remembered getting caught in the structural shift at the end, but there'd only been ice and snow—how did a structure suddenly appear?
And if I hadn't been ejected outside the labyrinth but was still inside...
"No way... am I inside a ruin?"
The vibe reminded me of the ruins on the 9th layer, so I guessed this was inside one.
If I'd been swept up during the mutation when ruins spawned on the 22nd layer, that would explain being inside... maybe? No clue. Close enough.
No point sitting still, so I searched the area.
'Right now, it's a narrow room-like space. A slightly frozen door. And a bookshelf rotted to bits.'
I pulled out a book from the shelf, but the paper was too decayed to read. I stored the whole shelf in my inventory, drew my sword, and cautiously opened the door.
-Kkii... gii... gek...
Probably freshly generated ruins, but the door was covered in dust and heavy rust like it'd been abandoned for ages. Forcing it open, a slightly colder chill seeped through the gap.
"...Kkii... gek?"
"Knew something like this was coming."
I spotted the blue-glowing armored figure patrolling the revealed hallway and sensed clear hostility via [Detection], readying for battle.
"Shaaaa..."
"Hm?"
-Kaang!
I parried the heavily rusted sword swing with my own and locked eyes with the glint in the armor's gap, twitching an eyebrow.
"...Undead?"
"Sshaaaak..."
No sign of life even if you scraped its eyes raw—the frozen knight exhaled icy breath and swung repeatedly.
-Kaang! Kakaang!
I'd planned to block lightly at first, but seeing it twist its trajectory mid-raise, I got serious.
'...This guy...'
I deflected its sword, then kicked its leg into the opening, toppling its balance. I thrust into the staggering body.
-Kakakagak!
But it blocked my sword at an impossible angle despite losing balance, so I detonated the mana in my blade, flinging its rusted sword away and slashing the exposed gap, cleaving armor and all.
-Shk!
The armor split clean through and froze in place. But even in victory, I couldn't hide my unease.
"What kind of skills are these? You sure you're undead?"
The rapid combos, defending even off-balance... nothing like the undead I knew.
"Let's see..."
Shoving aside my suspicions, I flipped the fallen armor to inspect inside.
"What? It's empty?"
I'd suspected from the weird arm movements, and sure enough, the armor was mostly hollow. There was a half-shattered skull in the helmet, but it seemed the armor itself was the body, not some separate flesh.
"What do you even call this? Living armor?"
A pretty intriguing monster. Rusty and worn, but maybe the armor was usable, so I stored the whole thing in inventory. It fit, thankfully.
Its level seemed manageable anyway...
-Clank. Clank.
"Yeah, felt too easy."
Hearing the metallic sounds from the hallway, I drew the sword I'd just sheathed. Three pairs of blue glows lit up beyond.
"Right, this level's just trash mob tier, huh?"
"Saaaa..."
Like well-trained soldiers, they advanced in perfect formation, and I clicked my tongue. First, check the important stuff.
[Sensory Block]
Activating the skill drained a bit of mana. Blocking the sense of life energy, like against undead before.
'That do it?'
-Clank. Clank.
'Nope.'
The skill worked, but whether they didn't track by life energy or some other reason, they approached me the same even under [Sensory Block].
"Never goes easy, does it."
Grumbling, I infused my sword with mana, making it blaze with flames, then charged, smashing the front knight with a parry combo.
These guys were no match even without [Sensory Block] anyway...
-Fwaaak!
Shattering one suit, a hazy form burst out and clung to me.
"What the...!"
[Curse Resistance Lv. 5]
"Wha...t?"
The moment it touched me, it bounced right off.
"......Huh."
I smashed the other two clinging armors, and the same hazy forms emerged, tried to latch on, but got repelled by [Curse Resistance].
"...Curses too, huh."
They really come in all varieties.
......Not like I can talk, with all my resistances.