Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Sole Achievement Born from Repetition
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"Did another one today."
Andrew looked down at the gnoll corpse that had turned into a hedgehog from arrows.
One for two gnolls.
Including the one he'd just pierced through the brainstem for an instant kill, that wrapped up today's quota.
"Michel, how's it going over there?"
"Finished up here too."
Michel dragged over a charred corpse.
The gnoll's body, reduced to a lump of charcoal, was so mangled it was unrecognizable.
"They won't be able to ID this at the Association, will they?"
"No worries. I cut off the ankle before it turned to ash. This'll do."
"You actually managed to grab that from this mess."
"We've both got ten years as explorers under our belts, man. Those rookie days when we couldn't even collect proof are long gone."
Both were average explorers, but they prided themselves on having experience in the upper layers that no one could match.
A pack of gnolls was just routine for them.
"More importantly, any mana stones drop?"
"You think we'd get drops from just two? Anyway, let's get out of here. Time's almost up."
"Oh, right."
Michel nodded at Andrew's words.
They glanced back.
Tents of all sizes were densely pitched there.
"Grrrng."
"Woo woo!"
Gnoll cries echoed from inside the tents.
This was a gnoll nest.
The ones they'd taken down were the sentries patrolling the perimeter.
It might seem dangerous, but they knew from long experience here.
The gnolls held rituals at set times and never left their tents except for sentries until it ended.
That's why they came to the labyrinth during this window, picked off some sentries, and headed back—repeating the process.
"They'll be coming out soon. Time to go."
"Yeah."
They gathered the gnolls they'd killed and their loot, preparing to leave.
As they packed up...
"Finally made it."
A man came walking up.
His sweat-matted hair hung limply over a sunken face as he headed straight for the tents.
"Hold up, what's that guy doing?"
"Heading right for the gnoll nest?"
The man walked without hesitation.
His expression seemed sane, but his actions were pure madman.
Going into a place like that alone.
Even a mid-tier explorer wouldn't enter that pack without a party—it was that dangerous.
That's why they used this trick to just thin the sentries.
"Tsk tsk, he went in."
"One more corpse for the labyrinth."
They had no intention of stopping him.
What happened in the labyrinth was solely the individual's responsibility—their choice.
Maybe the guy was looking for a suicide spot to die, they figured.
Not that they cared about the thoughts of someone about to die.
Boom! Kwang!
"Kwak!"
"Woo woo!"
A commotion erupted.
Dull impacts, sharp metal clashes, crushing sounds, and beastly screams intertwined.
Kuuu!
A massive pillar of fire shot up toward the sky.
They guessed it was magic from the gnoll shaman ruling this nest.
'It's over.'
Whatever happened inside, they concluded the man was surely dead.
But then...
"Even if it's a shortcut, I hate having to wait on that damn demon."
The man emerged from the tents.
His body was covered in blood, no spot unmarred, but on closer look, he was spotless—not a scratch.
And not just that.
His duffel bag was stuffed with mana stones.
Standing out among them...
"That's the gnoll shaman's staff, right?"
"Probably...?"
He strode off into the distance as if it were nothing, after entering a monster nest and coming out unscathed.
Silence fell like after a storm.
After he left, they cautiously approached the nest.
"What the hell."
A mountain of corpses piled in the tents—they stood speechless before the gruesome yet awe-inspiring sight.
...
⚙ CONTRACT INSCRIPTION ⚙ Defeat the enemies who reject me and believe in heresy. Then the Path of Shadows will open. "Damn demon gave me such an annoying quest."
Every regression, I took this quest from the demon, and it always changed.
Sometimes it was offering body parts like an arm—brutal but easy.
Other times, like now, it was fetch quests like "kill this."
For the record, I preferred the former.
Offering body parts meant heading back to heal, but a high-tier priest could fix it clean, if slowly.
More importantly, there was a skill that required offering body parts to the demon as a condition.
If I could get a mid-layer skill now, before even reaching the upper threshold, it'd make the labyrinth ahead much easier.
Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed, but let's think positive.
If my luck was truly rotten, I'd have looped the entire upper layer.
Thanks to the demon's clear order to eliminate heretics, I only needed to hit the west side where religious heteroraces lived.
📜 QUEST PROGRESS 📜 • Gnoll Shaman Eliminated (Complete)
• Gnoll Warrior Eliminated (Incomplete)
• ??? (Incomplete)
'Two left to go.'
I opened the status window to check the quest conditions.
Next up: gnoll warrior.
The labyrinth was vast, but nests and structures stayed mostly the same across regressions. Spot one known spot, and I could pinpoint my location.
Knowing another nest wasn't far north of the gnoll shaman's, I headed there.
How long had I walked?
"Grr."
"Groo."
Low growls mixed with heavy drumbeats.
Unlike other gnolls, they didn't frenzy at the sight of humans.
They just stayed alert, aiming swords and crossbows at me.
Fewer numbers than other packs.
Maybe twenty at most.
But all properly equipped.
Their eyes held battle lust, not the slyness of other gnolls.
And the standout among them...
"Groo."
A red-skinned gnoll rivaling an ogre in bulk, wielding a polearm to match.
Gnoll warrior and his elite gnolls.
Unlike other packs, you couldn't take the leader for morale break or scare them off.
If you encountered them, fists were the only solution.
"Awoo!"
Unlike the others watching warily, they fired first on sight.
Swaek!
Arrows rained with whistling wind.
I eyed the incoming arrows and snatched one mid-flight.
Meanwhile, they formed ranks.
Shields upfront protected ranged support from harm.
Uncommon organization for upper-layer monsters.
And at the vanguard, the red gnoll growled, cloaked in red mana.
'Finally, something with some bite.'
My usual style: dodge attacks, exploit openings.
It worked since I knew labyrinth monsters' patterns inside out.
But this time, I switched it up completely.
Whoosh!
Another volley.
I just watched them come.
Braced to take the hits.
And...
Ting!
The sharp steel tips ricocheted neatly off before me.
"Yip yip!"
The gnolls barked frantically in disbelief, unleashing arrow barrages.
Tick! Ttick!
But the shower fell harmlessly to the ground just short.
Like bullets glancing off tank armor.
"Kwaak!"
Seeing arrows useless, the gnoll warrior bellowed.
He gripped the polearm two-handed and charged.
Earth-shaking march.
Each step quaked the ground, closing distance in a flash.
Then leaped high, raised the polearm overhead, and smashed down with full force.
Red mana surged, turning the strike into a missile's boom.
Enough to shred and pulverize on impact—I countered with a simple motion.
Raised my arm to block. That was it.
Ku-gag!
Roaring clash, shockwave exploding outward.
Gale-force winds gouged earth, hurling nearby trees.
"Fighting mana users definitely feels different."
A stinging jolt ran up my wrist from the hit spot.
But that was all.
No severed arm, not even a scratch.
Blue mana now sheathed my arm like armor.
"Still minor, but way better than past loops."
Regression reset my tough body and skills to zero.
But not entirely from scratch.
Something grew tougher with each loop.
Mana.
Circulating my body, it stayed utterly still—like water's surface unshaken by quakes.
Gone was the raw pre-regression mana, but denser, more solid.
Fruit of countless loops.
I'd crossed death lines endlessly, faced countless foes.
Overcame them all to stand here.
That tempered mind was an unbreakable fortress. The solid wall from loops efficiently absorbed upper-layer monster strikes.
And...
'One hit's enough.'
I punched at the gnoll warrior before me.
He blocked with the polearm's flat—didn't matter.
Crack!
The blade crumpled like paper; my fist pierced beyond to his heart.
'That's two down.'
The weapon had served its role well.