Chapter 98

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 98

Chapter Title: Hallucination Magic

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"Mom, I'm ba.... Ouch!"

"You! I told you! Not to go out on your own!"

Grabbing Clara's hand and returning to the Temple of Light, Gloria came rushing out from inside the temple. She hoisted Clara up and smacked her on the butt.

"M-Mom! Uncle Ian's right here!"

"Ian, stay quiet."

"Yes, ma'am."

In the face of Gloria's terrifying glare, I promptly shut my mouth. After scolding Clara like that, Gloria sent her inside the temple, let out a sigh, and poured me some tea.

"The guards already reported it to me... They said you caught a criminal in the eastern district? Clara threw a fit and insisted on going with you, so you got dragged into the mess because of my kid. Sorry about that."

"No, if I had stopped Clara in the first place..."

To be honest, I had braced myself for Gloria to blow up at me for getting Clara involved in something dangerous, but surprisingly, she didn't blame me at all.

"...Oh? That tattoo on the back of your hand...?"

"Ah, this?"

As we exchanged apologies and chatted, Gloria noticed the tattoo engraved on the back of my hand.

"That's a demon clan's emblem, right?"

"You know about it?"

Diabolo had up and left without any explanation, so I was thrilled to finally learn something about it.

"Yes. It's a tattoo that only certain high-ranking demons can bestow... Just having the emblem grants resistance to demonic energy, and it also serves as a pass to some facilities that only demons can use."

"I see."

I wasn't sure about the entry pass thing, but resistance to demonic energy alone was pretty tempting. Especially since I might end up fighting demons again, like this time.

"Oh, and... I think it also lets you use demonic energy."

"Demonic energy?"

Her unexpected words made my heart race.

"It's extremely rare, but a tiny number of demons will detach a portion of their own demonic energy and give it to another race. That lets you use a bit of demonic energy... Though they usually don't permanently sever their own power, so the emblem on you is probably..."

Ah, so granting the ability to use demonic energy means permanently detaching their own power?

That would be disappointing. No way Diabolo gave up his power for real.

"Anyway, thank you for playing with Clara today. She's usually..."

'Sigh... I was hoping I'd be able to use [Hallucination Magic].....'

'Huh? What the hell.'

I'd only muttered [Hallucination Magic] in my mind, and suddenly a message popped up saying the skill had activated.

Could this mean...?

"Y-You...?"

"Pardon?"

Suddenly, Gloria spoke in a massively trembling voice, blurting out something random.

"...Ah, no. I thought I saw something that wasn't there for a second..."

"Ah, yeah. I just remembered something—mind if I head out?"

"Y-Yes... Sure..."

Gloria seemed a bit off, but with the system message about [Hallucination Magic] activating, my eyes glazed over. I hurriedly said goodbye to her and left the temple.

Whoa, no way. Did he really detach his own demonic energy and give it to me?

Praise be to Diabolo. Glory to him.

'Wh-What... was that...'

Gloria sat there blankly, staring at the spot where Ian had left, with her now-cold teacup in front of her.

'My husband's face...'

It had been nearly ten years since her husband died without leaving even a single photo behind, and her memories of him were starting to fade. Yet for that one fleeting moment, his deceased face had vividly overlapped with Ian's.

'Why... Why did I see my husband in Ian?'

The problem was why she'd seen her husband in Ian. It vanished like a momentary illusion, as if Ian and her husband had overlapped for just an instant, but Gloria couldn't easily calm her pounding heart.

'Why? Why did Ian suddenly feel like my husband...'

Since it had been such a brief moment, Gloria assumed she'd simply hallucinated her husband overlapping with Ian and racked her brain for a reason.

'Is it because there's no decent guys around, or because he's a man Clara likes so much?'

Why was it that Bella's words kept circling in her mind?

Back at the mansion, I couldn't contain my excitement and tested the skill once more.

'[Hallucination Magic]'

The moment I activated the skill, the air around me began to shimmer like heat haze.

'Holy crap, it really hit level 2?'

It had jumped to level 2 after just one use? Sure, going from 1 to 2 is on the easier side for skill levels, but this was way too fast.

What did that system message say again?

'.......Whoa, insane.'

Is it because the one who gave me this demonic energy was that 'Demon King'? The system itself calling it 'extremely dense'...

'...Maybe it didn't stop at level 2?'

If my guess is right, then this demonic energy from Diabolo doesn't just enable [Hallucination Magic]—it gives experience bonuses to demonic energy-based skills.

'Power's still weak, though...'

Even at level 2, the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hallucination manifesting as a shimmering haze in front of my eyes was unstable enough to vanish if I blinked a few times and focused. But the potential was endless.

...For now, it's just a hypothesis, but it seems like it'd pair well with my [Sensory Block].

'Wait, but what's this 'target' mean?'

The activation message before the level-up said it inflicted hallucination on a target, but back at the temple, I hadn't hallucinated myself...

.....Did it hit Gloria? Come to think of it, she seemed weird right at the end...

'...She'll be fine.'

The duration seemed ridiculously short, so she should be okay. Probably.

No, Gloria of all people? As a former Advanced Adventurer, her resistance would be sky-high. No way she'd fall for something like this.

"It's been resolved."

That was the news Alensia brought back to the mansion.

"Resolved?"

"The investigation revealed some ominous relic in the lake on the 12th floor. It possessed power unfit for that stratum, and a Labyrinth Guild executive personally retrieved it."

I'd asked Alensia to gather info on the 12th floor. This was what she reported today.

"A relic?"

"Yeah. Apparently, it was a relic similar to the one you found in the ruins—spreading curses. Now that the anomalies in the forest stratum are all gone, you can rest easy."

'.........A relic?'

I recalled that 'voice' I'd heard on the 12th floor.

"A relic... Yeah, probably."

The 'voice' had been identical to the one from the relic 'book' in the 9th-floor ruins. So it wouldn't be strange if another such relic appeared on the 12th...

'....But was that really from a relic?'

For some reason, my instincts told me that voice had come from deep within the Labyrinth itself.

With the Labyrinth Guild and Alensia both declaring the issue fully resolved, I decided there was no point dragging my feet anymore—I'd head into the Labyrinth.

No sense wasting more time.

I needed to test out this [Hallucination Magic] I'd stumbled into, too.

With that in mind...

"Alensia, how far do you think my strength can take me in the Labyrinth?"

Alensia had seen my level 5 [Swordsmanship] and [Mana Manipulation], so she'd have the best grasp of my abilities. I asked her seriously. The 12th floor would've been easier without that crazy anomaly.

"Assuming no variables crop up, your skills could solo up to the 15th floor. With a well-matched party, you might even push to the 20th as a group."

".....That high?"

I'd asked in all seriousness, but Alensia rated me higher than I'd imagined.

"The fact you can fire sword beams already puts your [Swordsmanship] on par with the 20th floor. Adventurers maining [Swordsmanship] average level 5 on the 20th, 6 on the 25th, 7 on the 30th, 8 on the 35th... That's the norm."

"What about you, Alensia?"

"I learned from my master... so I've got level 9 [Swordsmanship]."

Damn, my [Swordsmanship] growth was crazier than I thought? Sure, the Sword Saint bumped me from 3 to 5 in one go, but still...

"Of course, the Labyrinth throws all kinds of variables at you, so subtract about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two floors from the reachable stratum for safety."

"Hmm......"

"You probably have skills even I don't know about. Everyone's got an ace up their sleeve... That's factoring those in."

I pondered Alensia's words for a moment. Then I decided.

"Alensia, I'll head into the Labyrinth."

"Good. Why not form a proper party this time? Grab four or more, and you could easily hit past the 15th..."

"Solo."

"......What?"

I looked at Alensia with unwavering eyes and stated it clearly.

"I'm going solo."

My performance varies a lot between solo and party play.

In a party, I stick to my role—frontliner, rogue, or tank—so I only use role-appropriate skills. I have to seal my main [Sensory Block], and since party members could get poisoned, [Poison Arts] is sealed too...

Intermediate Adventurers carry small spatial expansion magic tools, so inventory's fine, but the bracelet's 'swap' function is obviously sealed.

So yeah, I can't fight at full power in a party...

'Even on the 12th floor...'

If I'd been solo, I could've blitzed through the undead with [Sensory Block] without worrying about Hiss and escaped unscathed.

'Better off alone.'

That's the conclusion ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠after serious thought. Teaming with half-baked randos has no upside compared to going solo.

"Shall we?"

Drawing my familiar red longsword, I stepped alone into the portal to the 11th floor.