Chapter 36
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: Labyrinth 9th Floor (3)
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-Crunch. Snap.
"Groooaaar..."
"................"
The moment we caught sight of the massive monster gnawing on Urk corpses, bones and all, every member of our party fell silent in unison. It stood at least three meters tall, ripping through the tough Urk hides we'd found so chewy during the hunt with its jaws. And those brutal fists— one hit would spell instant death.
Our faces drained of color as one. As if on cue, we all held our breath and quietly backed away.
-Slink, slink.
Once we'd put some distance between us and the monster engrossed in its meal, we whipped around without a word and bolted. We ran as quietly as possible, holding our breaths the whole way.
Only when we'd gone far enough that its sounds faded did we finally exhale the breaths we'd been holding, letting out sighs of relief.
"...Looks like it didn't spot us."
"Or maybe it did, but it was too into its meal."
"To think that elf was right... How the hell is a troll from the 10th floor showing up here?"
"There's no such thing as 'impossible' in a labyrinth. Probably some anomaly in the dungeon."
The party members all wore grave expressions as they began conferring.
"No more Urks around... Did that thing eat them all?"
"Trolls go crazy for Urks, from what I've heard. There are even parties that carry Urk corpses as bait when hunting trolls."
"So what now?"
"What do you mean? We steer clear of it and head back to the portal."
No one disagreed that the hunt was over, at least.
"If we report the troll sighting to the Labyrinth Guild, they probably won't hit us with a penalty for failing the request..."
-Groooaaar...
"........."
We clamped our mouths shut again and turned as one toward the passage we'd just fled from. A low growl echoed from afar... followed by the thud. Thud. Thud. of something approaching.
Once more, we cut off our words and fled in the opposite direction from the sound. Away from the portal.
"Damn it, it definitely caught us!"
"No time for that! Run!"
In the end, we sprinted without catching our breath—not even once.
".......This is hopeless."
The same situation repeated itself.
Fleeing from the troll's roars always took us farther from the portal back to the 8th floor. The problem was, no matter how we tried to circle back, the troll pursued us relentlessly, giving us no time to think.
"How the hell does it keep tracking us?"
"Probably our scent. Trolls have an incredible sense of smell—they hunt by smell."
The party members continued grimly. If this kept up, we'd tire out first. Running in armor and with gear was far more exhausting than it seemed.
"This is bad. Keep running like this, and we'll end up on the 10th floor."
"What if we just head to the 10th floor?"
"Trolls live there anyway. And we'd have to come back this way to return to the surface."
"How about holing up on the 10th until it gives up the chase?"
"Trolls are tenacious. The labyrinth's mutation will probably get us first."
We racked our brains, pooling every bit of knowledge we had to find a way out. We'd put some distance for now by sprinting, but it wouldn't last—who knew when it'd catch up.
"Could our party take it down?"
I asked the others, lacking knowledge on trolls myself.
"Our attacks would land, but we can't stop its regeneration. Usually, you bring a fire mage..."
"What about Urn's holy spells?"
"I'm a priest through and through... My offensive options are limited. No chance with the spells I have."
Frustrating. We'd beaten that goblin shaman on the 8th floor, only to hit this wall right away on the 9th.
"Fuck... Doesn't the damn thing have any weaknesses?"
I muttered to myself in exasperation, but Urn unexpectedly replied.
"Fire's the best bet, but it's also weak to poison, from what I know."
"...Poison?"
"Yeah. Thanks to that regeneration, its blood flows incredibly fast. It eats massive amounts to match, so its metabolism is through the roof too. Poison spreads instantly through its body. Of course, catching it that way ruins the blood and heart for materials, so hunters avoid it."
"Then let's use poison."
"Still tough. Poison spreads fast as a weakness, sure—but getting a strong enough one and administering it are the issues..."
-Rumble.
"........."
"We have plenty of poison."
Interrupting Urn, I pulled out the various poisons, toxic herbs, and monster venom glands I'd gathered along the way from my bag.
The party, whom I'd expected to cheer, instead stared at me with uneasy looks.
"...Why do you carry around that much poison?"
"To eat it myself."
"........."
Their eyes, full of trust until the goblin shaman fight, chilled in an instant. What could I do? It was true.
"...Even if we have poison, infecting it is the problem. We'd need to stab it with envenomed weapons or feed it directly..."
"Shoot it with arrows?"
"They won't penetrate."
"Stab it directly?"
"We'd be minced first."
That left feeding it directly...
"Trolls have great noses, remember? It'll smell the poison and avoid it."
"Still, that's the most feasible..."
Cast Sensory Block to trick it? But I doubted the skill would work on that thing...
As I pondered options, my eyes fell on Redrick's backpack—the one stuffed with Urk meat from our recent kills.
"...You said trolls go crazy for Urks, right?"
We pulled the Urk meat from Redrick's bag and laid out my toxic herbs. The party voiced their concerns in unison.
"Wouldn't it be better to just run? Even Urk meat—if it smells poison, it won't touch it."
"I agree. What if we toss plain meat, let it eat while we escape?"
"We don't have enough. It'll scarf a few bites and chase us right after. It's memorized our scent too, from how persistent it is."
We hadn't hauled whole Urks—just stripped meat—so our supply was limited. It wouldn't buy much time as bait.
"And... will the toxicity be enough? Trolls have fast-spreading poison as a trait, but not weak bodies that any poison works on. We need something potent."
"I'll mix the poisons to amp up the toxicity."
"Can you even do that? Botch it, and the poison weakens—or the smell intensifies."
Mixing and enhancing poison was possible with Venom Crafting. The smell was the issue, though...
[Poison Cooking]: Enhance or weaken toxicity in dishes. Increases stealth of poison during cooking.
I'd trust this new skill. I hadn't tested it properly yet, but it promised enhanced stealth for the poison, lowering detection risk.
"You sure it'll work? We should use this time to widen the gap..."
"Ugh, just trust me. You got any better ideas?"
I brushed off the fretting Urn and unpacked ingredients. To trigger the skill, it needed to count as 'cooking' somehow.
I squeezed the juices from the toxic herbs into a pool. Thanks to Alensia's lectures on poisons, I knew these well. The skill assisted too.
[Venom Crafting Lv.1]: Bonus to all poison-handling actions.
All poison-handling actions. Among my skills, ones with 'all' were rare gems. As described, the poisons blended smoothly now, growing stronger and stealthier.
I smeared the thick, dark concentrate over the meat. Then I added spices from my bag, turning it into something resembling a 'dish.'
[Poison Cooking] effect active. Toxicity enhanced. Poison stealth enhanced.
[Cooking Lv.4] effect: Dish flavor deepens.
The skills triggered successfully. The faint herbal stench faded amid the spices. Better than expected? Cooking effect seemed minor.
Created stealthy, lethal poison. [Stealth Lv.3]: Stealth bonus to all actions.
Right, Stealth too. Passive, so I'd ignored it, but now a level-up message. 'All actions' included hiding poison?
Unexpected bonus—perfect.
"How's it look?"
"...Incredible. The herbal stench and foul odor from those toxic herbs are gone. Barely any visual change... How'd you pull that off?"
-Grrr... Groar...
No time to explain—the delay in prep brought the troll's growls close. We hurriedly packed up and placed the poisoned meat chunks in plain sight.
"Just leave it like this?"
"If you masked the scent well, it'll charge in and devour it thinking it's just Urk meat!"
Not banking on that alone, we fled to the opposite side. Praying it'd work.
"Grar?"
The troll, pursuing the mingled scents of humans and Urks, halted at the tantalizing aroma wafting from the passage's center.
It carried a hint of human, but matched the prey it'd been devouring.
"Sniff. Sniff."
It scooped up the nearby meat chunks and sniffed closer.
Faint grassiness...? Something off? Couldn't tell if safe.
"Grar..."
After a moment's hesitation, it nibbled an end—ready to spit if wrong.
"...!!! Grar! Grar!"
Delicious! Same as recent meat, but deeper flavor!
It shoveled the rest in, chewing ravenously. Just as good.
"Grar-cha! Grar-cha!"
More! That scent matched the humans it'd chased. Eating them would taste the same?
Abandoning its leisurely pursuit, it accelerated, annoyed by the fading trail before—but now closer.
"Groooar! Gruk... Slurp..."
Anticipation made saliva drool nonstop. It chased the scent, drooling. Then, suddenly, the scent stopped retreating, pooling in one spot.
Heading there, it found the four prey from the meat huddled together.
"Grrrar..."
It wiped the drool, preparing to eat. But wiping didn't stop the flow.
"Grar?"
Red. Fishy. Hand stained red, familiar metallic tang. Other hand confirmed—same red saliva.
Hunger fading, it finally assessed itself. Not just mouth—red fluid seeped everywhere.
Any farther, and it'd be the portal to the 10th floor.
We waited in a narrow spot to hinder its movements. The arriving troll was obviously off—no denying it.
Drool poured from mouth and ears, eyes unnaturally dilated, veins bulging wildly. Poison spread fast, sure—but this severe?
Even so, through the deadly toxin, it'd chased us to the end.
I set aside my useless bow and drew my sword, telling the party.
"Think we can take it now?"
Redrick—who'd grumbled about the plan—hoisted his shield, stepping forward.
"Totally doable."