Chapter 5
Chapter 5
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Hero Candidate
-----------------------------------------------------------------
'I wonder how he'll move.'
Imagining it was fun.
Maybe it was because she'd recently killed that worm who claimed to be her friend's friend.
Or perhaps for some other reason.
Ermé was incredibly excited.
'You're just making me expect too much.'
Ermé thought as she snapped the neck of a charging man.
From the moment she'd first seen him, she'd thought he was no ordinary person.
He was different from the others.
Just looking at him made her feel this dangerous.
'Someone who could stab my most fatal weak point if I let my guard down.'
An awkward string of words.
But that description fit Yuseong perfectly.
And even with his hat pulled low, his visible good looks were a bonus.
'It'd be great if he could kill Hanul.'
Even as stray thoughts crossed her mind, she kept moving her sword.
Annoying pests.
Judging by their swordsmanship, they seemed to be from that faction.
'Scavenger scum.'
With a contemptuous glare, Ermé began to move.
An extreme sword style that ignored their own bodies and focused solely on attack.
Ermé easily dodged the sword and sliced another throat.
A slash—a human form split open.
And the spraying blood.
But Ermé ignored the blood splattering onto her orange hair and thought.
'If he kills Hanul.'
She might recruit him as a comrade.
A guy who killed sprouts was stronger than expected.
'Probably around Level 2.'
A level considered entry-level for the Labyrinth.
Even his clumsy mana control suggested he'd just hit Level 2.
No, even setting that aside.
Someone who entered the Labyrinth but couldn't level up had virtually no chance of winning.
Why were people obsessed with the Labyrinth?
Because the strange mana from the Labyrinth elevated their power to another dimension.
That was why most so-called heroes had grown weaker than adventurers.
Leveling up was only possible through the Labyrinth.
"Die, you monster!!"
"Who's the monster here?"
Scavengers who fed on others' corpses.
Ermé smirked and casually severed another neck.
Reliable comrades were rare in the Labyrinth.
And those capable of reaching the Demon King's neck while hunkered down numbered only a handful.
That's why she needed to gather comrades. They couldn't just be strong. They had to aim for the top.
'He's too dangerous.'
The current Empire and Kingdom.
They underestimated the Demon King too much. The abundance from the Labyrinth and the mighty warriors it created.
They trusted them blindly.
Even though the Demon King could easily kill them all.
'Well, Yuseong? What will you show me?'
Just 20 seconds after eliminating the most dangerous foes.
The time it took Ermé, in her 'current' body, to dispatch them the fastest and secure her safety.
The moment that time ended, Ermé saw it.
"......What."
Han Yuseong, who had killed Hanul and was now fleeing.
*
'Time to run.'
Hanul had been babbling something.
And he'd confidently blocked my attack, only to die immediately in that ridiculous situation.
But I didn't focus on that.
Who was the most dangerous person here?
'Ermé.'
I knew she was from the title and an important figure.
But I realized something even more crucial.
-This girl here is seriously pretty, right?
-Ooh, she is kinda cute.
-Yeah? And the best part about her is her obsession.
-Obsession?
-She's super clingy with her party members. Because of a bad past, if someone tries to leave her people, she'll stop at nothing.
-Ooh, nice.
-And if they leave anyway, a few days later... they're dead.
-......That's brutal.
-And if she marks someone, she'll torment them until they die.
-What kinda talk is that?
-Her personality, I guess. She messes with people sometimes.
-......I hate that.
-That's what makes it good, sigh, you clueless one.
My friend and I had that conversation back then.
I hadn't reacted much at the time.
Because to me, addicted to web novels, that archetype was actually a plus.
Her personality wasn't great.
But it wasn't happening to me, so what did it matter?
That's what I'd thought.
'But I'm the target?'
Joining her team wouldn't be bad.
But for some reason, the way Ermé looked at me felt a bit dangerous.
And my instincts were pretty sharp about this stuff.
So I tried to run.
'How much distance is left?'
That's when I felt something strange.
Like something hidden here.
'......What?'
An intensely ominous feeling washed over me.
Some kind of trap?
I quickly scanned around and spotted an area with a strong sense of wrongness.
Something like a nail stuck there.
📜 SUB QUEST 📜 Two Paths
>Chapter 1. Light and Darkness.
You have discovered an item belonging to a certain lurking faction.
This item presents you with two choices.
📍 Choice 1: Report it to an Adventurer Clan for fame and fortune.
⚠️ However, you may face concentrated attacks from the lurking faction.
📍 Choice 2: Take it to the lurking faction.
That place is extremely dangerous.
Their goal starts with overthrowing the current system.
But if you succeed there, you might claim half the world.
"......"
This quest was quite grandiose.
The first option: a guaranteed future, but attacked by enemies.
The second: antagonize that force while dealing with internal competition to create that future.
'Simple.'
My motto was to live long and thin.
No reason to pick the second.
'Of course.'
No reason for the first either. Why? Because picking it means the second force attacks me.
I had only one choice.
Simply...
"......"
Hand it to her—the one glaring murderously at my back.
'When the hell did she get here?'
It was ghostly.
She'd taken out fifteen people and appeared behind me in an instant.
'I absolutely cannot defy her.'
With that thought, I pointed at the nail with my hand.
"I wasn't running away."
"............I just found something weird."
Really.
Believe me.
With that look in her eyes, Ermé glanced at me and approached the nail.
"Wow, you struck gold. I didn't expect those lunatics to be up to this already."
"You know those guys?"
"Promise to join my party, and I'll tell you."
That needed some time.
I sighed inwardly and nodded.
"Oh? You're really joining?"
"I don't know what you see in me to say that."
I gave Ermé a sullen look.
'No choice now that I'm this far in.'
I needed distance from the underworld lurkers.
I didn't want their raids, so cooperation was necessary.
'Dumping it and running isn't bad.'
But looking into those eyes, that seemed tough too.
Ermé's gaze had already turned greedily possessive toward me.
'Objectively, I've done a lot.'
Killed Hanul, found this weird thing.
Now joining the party, things had to change a bit.
"I don't know much about the Labyrinth. Can you teach me?"
"Of course. I'll teach you everything from one to ten."
Ermé beamed.
"I might look like a delicate flower raised in a greenhouse, but I know a lot too, you know?"
No, not a greenhouse flower—more like something grown on human blood.
'What a blood ghost would look like.'
That's why I ran.
How does she slaughter three out of ten in the blink of an eye?
And she was smiling while doing it.
She couldn't be anything but terrifying.
"So, what do we do with this?"
Ermé pointed at the nail and asked me.
"You take it."
"Feels like you're passing me the troublesome stuff...... Ha, but only someone who can treat them like that..."
Her eyes brimmed with interest.
I ignored her gaze and played dumb.
"Anyway, shall we get going? Staying here's awkward; we need to set up camp ahead..."
"Hm......"
Camping.
Such a scary word.
Even in modern times, it was a hassle.
Looks romantic, but bugs at night and tons of annoyances.
"Well, the carriage inside looks clean, so there tonight?"
Ermé gave a meaningful smile.
Spending the night there alone with this woman...
'Kinda horrifying.'
But I couldn't not sleep.
If my guess was right, tomorrow we'd walk nonstop to the Cradle.
'What rotten luck.'
All I could do was lament.
*
The Demon King.
That being was the impure king born from demons.
Leading each demon tribe, an invader breaching the Middle Realm for personal glory.
Thus, the Demon King was strong.
Humanity had no choice but to unite against such a mighty foe.
So humanity and other races pooled their strength.
The Heroes joined them.
Warrior Hero.
Mage Hero.
Thief Hero.
Priest Hero.
"These days, they call them Sword Hero or Saintess based on weapons, but."
They were called that in the old days.
"But at some point, the story changed."
That time coincided with the Labyrinth's appearance.
The Labyrinth appeared suddenly, brimming with immense mana.
Right in the middle of the Empire.
"Well, pretty far from the capital, so no big issues."
All the mages headed there back then.
Warriors too. And while researching the Labyrinth, they discovered one thing.
"Leveling up. When you level up, your soul grows stronger."
"Soul?"
"Yeah, simply put, it's like expanding your vessel."
"Hmm."
So they set up leveling like that, roughly.
"Anyway, the Empire built a village near the Labyrinth. Now, centuries later, it's a massive Labyrinth City."
"Labyrinth City."
"It's a real city. Population-wise, bigger than the Empire's capital."
Hard to grasp from talk alone.
I compared to my past life's memories.
Like Busan having more people than Seoul.
'That's shocking.'
Truly shocking.
"Anyway, that's why you'll see plenty of unpleasant sights there."
"Unpleasant?"
"The ugly ends of humans who fell off cliffs? The fates of those without Gifts, or fools who got cocky with good ones and ruined their lives."
"......"
Fair enough.
The Labyrinth was where you could gain a fortune overnight.
But accordingly...
'It's where desperate, life-risking people gather.'
Chatting like that, we soon reached the [Cradle].
The Cradle's entrance had quite a line.
"Moths gathered as expected."
"Obviously."
I nodded at Ermé's words.
The Adventurer's Guild had announced a massive Labyrinth deployment, after all.
"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself properly."
"Introduce?"
"Yesterday was a fake name. I'm Ermé. Sword Hero candidate swordsman. And the future owner of the holy sword. Nice to meet you."
"......Aren't you telling me too much?"
"You don't seem the type to blab anywhere."
True.
No one spills dangerous secrets like that unless you're on death's door.
"I'm Yuseong. Han Yuseong. Thief by trade. Not a Hero candidate."
"Really? I'd hoped you were."
"So, how do you become a Hero candidate?"
"Simply put, at least two A-grade Gifts, or one S-grade."
"......"
I recalled my Gifts.
Two S-grades.
One A-grade.
'Am I a Thief Hero candidate?'
It made sense thinking about it.
I'd picked Thief Hero on the easiest difficulty.
Heard there was some difficulty adjustment too.
'I chose Very Easy for an easy ride.'
And this is the payoff.
I wore a hollow expression.
Don't do me like this.