Can I Hold Your Hand?
3rd floor.
Ian, who had entered that place, was glaring at the portal as if he could bore a hole through it. The wand in his hand was trembling and emitting a bizarre grinding noise. As if it had become his very heart, it vibrated rapidly, stimulating his nerves. The wand's mana crystals were already filled to three.
Ian's eyes grew cold. The moment the mantis descended, he planned to shatter it with maximum output. Activating this spell would leave him unable to use magic for a while, but that didn't matter. Right now, the only thing that mattered was victory.
"If I can just land it..."
To settle it in one go, Ian focused all his senses. The opponent would definitely show an opening the instant it crossed the portal. He wouldn't miss that gap... He gripped the trembling wand tightly.
But... that chance never came.
He waited for a long time, but the thing didn't appear. The portal was utterly silent.
"Hoo..."
Ian let out a deep breath to calm his emotions. If it wasn't showing up,
"Shiro, are you okay?"
He needed to take care of Shiro's injury first.
"Yes, I'm fine."
She said that, but her face didn't look good at all. Her already pale complexion had grown even whiter.
"Let me see the wound."
Ian slowly removed the armor from her shoulder and arm. Along with the heavy texture under his fingertips, the wound was revealed. When he washed it with water, blood surged out without stopping. The injury was serious. Fortunately, no armor fragments had dug in, but stopping the bleeding was the priority now.
"Shiro, bear with it even if it hurts."
Ian urgently pulled a potion from his bag and applied it to Shiro's wound. It was one Arcia had given him. Sizzle— A burning flesh sound rang out, and a stinging smell assaulted his nose. Shiro winced and curled up with a pained groan.
"Nngh..."
Ian soaked bandages in the potion and wrapped the wound. It was less effective than direct application but lasted longer.
"Are you alright?"
Aymdel, who had been guarding the portal, approached with worried eyes. There was a guilt in them, as if she felt responsible for things going wrong because of them.
"Yes, I'm okay now."
Shiro's face looked much better than before, but she wasn't fully recovered.
"What do we do?"
Aymdel asked Ian, her voice trembling slightly.
"Hmm..."
Ian pondered for a while too. Given Shiro's condition, they had to head back. But the mantis was on the 2nd floor. Going back in that situation was too dangerous, and pushing forward meant not knowing what monsters they'd face. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.
"I'm really fine."
Shiro, watching the two, cautiously stood up. Her color had definitely improved. She seemed fine to move right away. But Ian could feel her fingertips trembling faintly.
"Shiro, sit down and rest a bit more first."
Ian stopped her and looked around. 3rd floor. The area around the portal was surrounded by trees. And instead of a stark ceiling, a blue sky stretched out. Unlike before, the space felt a bit refreshing... He could even hear small animal chirps from the forest.
Here, he could probably find some cave or something to tend to Shiro. The problem was...
Ian cautiously glanced at Aymdel.
"Ah..."
Feeling his gaze, Aymdel shrank back slightly.
"Don't worry about us. Our boon is a bit special..."
Those words only weighed heavier on Ian's heart. How could he not worry about his comrades?
"For now..."
As he spoke, BOOM! A massive impact sound rang out, as if the entire world was shaking. It boomed like thunder, silencing every sound in the forest in an instant. The animals in the woods left behind an eerie stillness, as if frozen.
Whoosh! A sound like something falling followed, and BOOM! the ground shook violently again. Ian looked toward the source, but nothing was visible through the dense trees.
BOOM! The sound continued from afar. This much vibration from a distance where he couldn't even see it...
As Ian stared blankly, Aymdel spoke up.
"It's Airgon."
Her voice had lowered a bit.
"The 3rd floor layer boss. I heard no one's defeated it yet..."
Her words pierced deep into Ian's heart. The layer boss he remembered was definitely different.
"It's that..."
Aymdel winced slightly at the loud noise and continued.
"The sound is that huge, but when you get close, there's nothing there, they say."
An inexplicable unease swept over him. This world felt more and more alien. Whoosh—BOOM. Fortunately, the sounds gradually grew quieter and moved away from their position.
Ian thought this was their chance. Whatever it was, the forest had become completely silent thanks to it.
"We should move now."
They needed to get away from the portal. Portals were usually relatively safe spots in the labyrinth. But not now. The moment it became known their party was weakened, adventurers turned into looters.
"Lidoem."
"Yes."
"Take the front for a while."
"Yess~"
They quickly reformed their formation. With Shiro not at full strength, Lidoem had to tank.
"Ahh... A man calling my name... ha..."
Even in this situation, her crazy talk came out, but Ian was getting a bit used to it now.
"Aymdel, please guide us."
From here on, it was Aymdel's turn as the pathfinder. Deep in this dense tropical rainforest, you couldn't even tell front from back without her boon. Without it, they'd lose even the portal's location.
"To the nearest portal?"
From the 3rd floor, there were multiple options.
"Yeah, for now. We'll recover when we find a good spot to rest."
With that, Ian stepped into the jungle. And soon after, he started missing the 2nd floor labyrinth.
The trees tangled together as if to block the path, and the ground grabbed at his ankles with mud and moss. The air was so humid his whole body was soaked in sweat.
"Huff... huff..."
His breath came up to his throat. Even breathing felt hard.
"Hoo..."
"Ha..."
The rest of the party didn't look great either. Strangely, though, Shiro seemed fine. Her complexion was noticeably better than at the start.
"Shiro, you okay?"
"Yes!"
She answered briskly, like usual.
"Probably because of the boon."
Shiro's boon was Beast's Night, which transformed her body like a beast's. This might be her home ground.
"I feel so comfortable here."
Ian thought it was a relief.
"Good thing. But Shiro..."
Ian hesitated mid-sentence.
"Yes?"
Shiro turned to him with a bright face.
"Can I hold your hand as we go?"
"Yes?!"
Shiro's eyes widened round.
"Because of my boon..."
Using his Queen's Toy boon, Ian could share her boon by holding hands.
"Ah! Sure!"
Shiro, who already vaguely knew about his boon, understood and offered her hand.
"Thanks."
Ian carefully took her hand. The moment he did, the world changed. All his senses sharpened. Smell, hearing, touch—all came alive keenly. It felt like opening eyes he'd had closed until now.
"Whoa..."
An exclamation slipped out unwittingly. No ears had sprouted, but this was bearable even if they had.
Shiro smiled brightly and said,
"Let's go."
Excited, she strode into the jungle. Ian followed, led by her hand.
How far had they gone?
"Ian, something's over there."
Shiro pointed into the dark forest and said. Ian peered intently. After staring for a while, something flickered.
"Looks like a corpse."
Shiro spoke first. As she said, there was a body tangled tightly in tree roots.
"Probably... got done in by a Grave Wood."
Aymdel continued lowly.
"It disguises as a tree, then attacks when you get close."
"...That tree looks like the monster."
Shiro pointed at the tree entwining the corpse.
"Come to think of it... the smell's different."
Ian followed her gaze and wrinkled his nose. Amid the earthy scent, a faint fishy rotten sweetness mixed in.
"We two can handle this much. You two rest."
Aymdel took Lidoem and stepped forward. As the two approached slowly... one of the roots on the ground twitched ever so slightly.
Creak—
Aymdel raised her bow at a safe distance, drew the taut string, and released. Twang! The arrow embedded in the tree, and Kieeeek! The tree's middle split vertically, letting out a grotesque scream.
"Here it is!!"
Lidoem, not missing the moment, kicked off the ground and charged. Her massive greatsword plunged deep into the gaping maw—slit.
Squelch!
A single strike. The tree drooped limply, oozing sticky fluid from the stabbed spot.
The forest fell silent again, as if nothing had happened.
"...It's done."
Lidoem said, and
"Not yet."
Ian replied. Thanks to Shiro, his sharpened senses caught something off.