Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Layer Boss
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Layer Boss.
The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a damp cave.
And the familiar darkness was there too.
-Looks like we got separated pretty far this time.
'Seems that way.'
The party finished a brief rest and started moving.
'I wanna see the boss.'
Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck with bosses.
I'd been to plenty of hidden rooms, though.
'That was only possible because of Ermé.'
Unfortunately, once you enter a hidden room, it's hard to get back in.
They keep changing locations, and even the ones you've left shift around.
"Let's hunt bosses whenever we can."
"Sure."
We exchanged a few short words and moved out quickly.
About an hour in, it felt like we'd covered half the distance to the boss room.
"Already? That's faster than I thought."
Ermé looked surprised and nodded.
"By the way, Yuseong, you're weirdly good at finding your way around, aren't you?"
"I'm a thief."
"Oh, right. A thief."
"I was a thief."
"You were a thief."
"......"
Glasses, Teresa, and Rozante reacted in that order.
This was a bit shocking. Ermé hadn't reacted much either, but when I revealed I was a thief, she just made that "oh yeah" face.
I ignored the party and focused on finding the path.
About another hour later, we reached the first layer's boss room.
"......Someone's already been here."
"Well, bosses drop a ton of items. On to the next layer."
We headed down the stairs.
And set out to find the next boss.
"Ah, missing even one boss means we can't catch up to the group ahead at our pace."
"Too bad."
Teresa nodded in agreement with Glasses' lament.
"Shall we head to the next layer?"
"Yeah. No point lamenting here; nothing will change."
Third layer, Arachne room.
From here on, even I had to stay focused.
The spiders could ambush from the ceiling, and their webs could bind the party's feet.
Kieekieek!!
Arachnes charging at us.
Slash.
I cleaved an Arachne in half with my sword. Then I kicked away another lunging from the side.
'......I've really strayed from humanity in all sorts of ways.'
I thought as I watched the Arachne fly backward from my kick.
Come to think of it, it made sense.
The iron balls the old man gave me weighed 0.2 tons total, and I was moving with them on without any mana.
I slashed another charging Arachne while pondering.
Something...
'Feels even easier.'
The Arachnes' weak points stood out more clearly.
And my sword cut them down with fluid, eerie precision.
'......Did my swordsmanship level up?'
My sword felt sharper somehow.
But my body felt much lighter too.
'Is it that?'
After fighting, I got it.
I could overwhelmingly defeat yesterday's me.
I'd grown that strong.
'......Just from one skill.'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Skill: Thunder Authority (A) acquired.] The skill I got yesterday after taking down Celli—no, the demon disguised as Celli.
Its abilities were as follows.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 💪 Skill: Thunder Authority (A)
An exceedingly rare lightning-attribute heart method.
◇ Grants the user lightning attributes.
◇ Enhances mana in the body and allows it to be concentrated.
It's a skill that refines the mana in your body into lightning-attribute mana.
Even Rishiel had praised it as an exceptionally outstanding heart method.
It felt like a good fit for me too.
And so we headed to the third layer's boss room.
"Too late here too."
"The first layer's boss room was a bit far, but the second and third weren't bad."
And yet, the boss room was already cleared out.
"What do we do?"
Glasses looked at me, then at Ermé.
"Hmm... Honestly, with our party's strength, the fifth layer wouldn't be impossible."
"In other words, with our bad luck, it might be risky."
Just as Ermé said.
Every time we skip a layer, something happens.
Even just traversing the labyrinth often led to incidents.
Wasn't the Bone Horse incident like that?
A monster from the deep layers called the "heart" suddenly rampaged.
"The fourth layer might be okay since we'll have some leeway. I'm close to leveling up too."
"......You're leveling fast too."
"That's part of it, but there was the Bone Horse."
"Ah, yeah, that gave a good chunk of EXP."
As Ermé and Glasses talked, I checked my own EXP.
It had filled up more than expected.
By feel, around 70%.
"So, what do we do?"
"Fourth layer should be fine."
If this party can handle the fifth layer...
With my boosted abilities, we could even relax on the sixth.
-It's about time to decide.
'......'
Rishiel said that to me in a meaningful tone.
I didn't deny it.
*
"Then let's head to the fourth layer."
"Yeah."
We ultimately went to the fourth layer. With our strength, staying here when we could handle the fifth would be foolish.
We descended to the next floor.
The next floor was...
'Lizards, right?'
Bipedal walking lizards.
Lizardmen, in other words.
"Unlike the ones on other layers, these guys are a pain."
Unlike the third layer's Arachnes, they used weapons.
This was both an advantage and a disadvantage.
"Because hardly any of them know how to use weapons properly."
"I see. Their low proficiency with weapons works in our favor."
Ermé nodded at Glasses' reasoning.
"That won't be a problem then."
"But that proficiency doesn't apply to me or Yuseong."
"I, I can hold my own a bit."
"Rozante might be fine, but Glasses and Teresa might struggle..."
"Hah, don't worry. I'm not the type to let pride get in the way. If it turns into a 1v1 with a Lizardman, I'll run."
"That's not something to say while striking a pose."
"Heh."
Anyway, we pressed on. Then we spotted enemies.
"......I sense ten ahead."
"Beginner's luck? Fewer than expected."
"Really?"
"The deeper you go in the labyrinth, the more dangerous it gets endlessly. Below the tenth layer, you need to move like an army or you'll get casualties. That's why clans rest and train for months at a time."
Train like an army?
That sounded horrific.
'Just how many swarm out down there for them to say that?'
Hundreds at once or something?
'......Terrifying.'
I thought that as I drew my bow and nocked an arrow.
Kreek-!
"Impressive."
"What is?"
"After seeing your archery the other day, I wanted to help out, so I tried using a bow. But it required more strength than I thought."
Glasses pushed up his glasses and pulled a crossbow from his inventory.
I spotted strange enchantments on the crossbow he drew.
"I enhanced aim and power with support magic, and eliminated recoil. As for the power..."
Glasses fired at the lead Lizardman.
Thuk!
Tang!
But the iron-sword-wielding Lizardman deflected the bolt.
"......"
"......"
It wasn't powerless.
The Lizardman that blocked it still staggered back a few steps.
But right after his dramatic line, it was just awkward.
I drew my bowstring. The Lizardman reacted and tried to swat my arrow away, but...
Puk!
My arrow pierced straight through it and the one behind.
"......"
"......"
I hadn't meant to, but sticking to the rear support role ended up embarrassing him.
I silently drew my sword.
Glasses cast support spells on me.
My body lightened, my strength surged, and my mana swelled dramatically.
'......About 1.5 times stronger.'
I calmly closed my eyes.
Was it the mana? Even with eyes shut, the approaching Lizardmen's movements felt crystal clear.
'......'
The three vanguard charged forward.
I hurled a synthesis-reinforced dagger from my inventory.
'Shadow Dance.'
Black light clung to the dagger's blade.
Flash!
The daggers burrowed into the Lizardmen's throats in an instant.
Poison would have been perfect, but this was plenty against Lizardmen.
"Whoa, you've gotten even stronger in the meantime."
"......I was impressed earlier, but you're really stronger now."
"Well......"
As we talked, I sensed presences heading our way.
Extremely urgent ones.
'What the?'
Normally I'd assume an ambush, but this was different.
It was like someone desperately fleeing from pursuers.
'......Their pursuers' presence is faint.'
The ones chasing them had incredibly subtle presences.
Rishiel looked toward one side with a puzzled expression.
-Path of the Wind?
What was that?
Before I could ask, the frantic group arrived.
"Get ready. Something's coming."
"Huh? What exactly?"
The closer they got, the clearer it became.
Heavy footsteps.
"Huh, isn't that guy the orc staying at the inn...?"
"Yeah."
No matter how I looked, it was Burkan. But he was different from usual.
Burkan.
Orc hero candidate and Volkan admirer.
His green skin had paled to blue, and he was trembling violently.
His face brightened a little upon seeing us.
"My friend! Big trouble!"
"What happened?"
"Elves! Those crazy pointy-ears are on this floor right now!!"
I reflexively glanced at Rishiel.
She gazed into the distance.
-It's inevitable. It's like racial instinct...
'Well, can't be helped if it's that.'
Though it caused massive trouble for those around them.
'They don't actually kill, right?'
-......
Rishiel went silent for a long time.
"But why are the pointy-ears here?"
"Not sure. Normally they'd raid orc villages to make orc slaves."
"You are an orc."
"Ah, right... No. The elves are raiding the orc village."
"That's weird, though."
Glasses spoke up, puzzled by my conversation with Burkan.
"Aren't orcs supposed to die honorably?"
"You're my friend's party members. To answer: fighting elves isn't honorable."
"What do you mean?"
"They're devils in human form...!"
Burkan shuddered as he spoke.
"Dying on the battlefield is honorable. But those bastards do worse than humans enslaving other races!!"
"W-Worse than humans?"
"They pamper us orcs. From food to beds, they provide everything."
"Isn't that nice?"
"Nonsense! They castrate our instincts from the start! Then they use us for breeding and let us die peacefully in old age."
I thought as I listened to Burkan's speech.
'Sounds pretty good to me.'
Couldn't be worse than humans up to that point.
"But their true evil comes after."
"After?"
"We orcs have lifespans like humans. So they outlive us. They neuter our instincts, keep us from Valhalla! And then they stuff and mount our corpses... Kkh!"
"Such wickedness...!"
The party was horrified.
Frankly, even I was shocked.
'Defiling the dead too.'
Truly vile creatures.
"So, my friend, if I can ask one favor: protect us from those bastards."
"Defiling corpses... Truly vile."
"First time seeing Yuseong this mad."
"Yeah, I figured the worst was herding orcs together, breeding them day and night nonstop, then using their bodies as fertilizer..."
"......"
"On second thought, humans are worse... No, did I befriend the wrong guy?"
What the hell was that, Burkan?