086. Drifters #1
Somewhere in the Ancient Labyrinth. Inside a prison made of mud. Nineteen drifters were trapped in a place where the damp air hung heavy.
"Sob... hic..."
"Mom..."
"P-please... spare me..."
The people sobbed pathetically. They were all ordinary folks from a planet called Normalia, similar to Earth, with no special abilities whatsoever.
They had originally arrived in this world as a group of thirty-five. But they weren't all close acquaintances. College students, families, couples—various people enjoying a picnic in a park had been suddenly swept into a dark portal and washed up in the Ancient Labyrinth as drifters.
That's how they'd ended up here with thirty-five. But now, only nineteen remained. What happened to the other sixteen? They died, of course. Eaten by the Pigkings holding them captive.
The reason these nineteen were still alive? The Pigkings were just keeping them as emergency rations.
[Shiiiik.]
The Pigkings prowled around the mud prison, their breathing echoing. The sobbing humans clamped their mouths shut at the sound. Drawing attention meant becoming the next meal.
They'd die eventually anyway. But everyone hoped their turn would come as late as possible.
[Shihihik!]
The Pigkings smacked their lips at the sight of the humans, greed gleaming in their eyes and sleazy grins on their faces.
Soon, the mud prison door creaked open. Even damper air rushed in, and the Pigkings' ragged breaths echoed inside, heightening the drifters' terror.
Nine. The word dropped like a bomb, turning the prison into pandemonium.
"Eek!"
"S-spare me!"
"Don't push, you bastard!"
"I don't wanna die!!!"
A college-aged guy elbowed the face of the person next to him. Blood poured from the man's nose, but no one cared. Everyone thrashed desperately to avoid being dragged off by the Pigkings.
No one volunteered to sacrifice themselves.
"Y-you go! You're old anyway—no time left!"
A young woman grabbed a middle-aged lady by the hair and yanked her back. Some crawled to the corner, others hurled a young boy toward the Pigkings. Some just trembled helplessly, while others clung to Pigking legs, begging for mercy.
Amid the chaos, one man bravely tried to protect his lover—not sacrificing himself, but shoving her behind him and glaring at the Pigkings.
But he regretted it instantly.
Thud!
His lover shoved him from behind, sending him tumbling toward the Pigkings. Pale-faced, he turned around.
"B-babe, why...?"
She averted her eyes and scurried to the corner.
Blood, tears, and sweat mixed in the frenzy. People trampled and shoved each other to survive. Glasses shattered on the floor, clothes tore, flesh ripped. Friends and family became enemies. To live, they discarded their humanity.
The Pigkings watched the ugly spectacle with delight.
[Shishik!]
Finally, the Pigkings selected their nine meals. The thrown child. The man protecting his lover. The trembler. Those forced into sacrifice, too weak to resist—they were excluded. The ones the Pigkings picked were humans who'd fought tooth and nail to survive.
"Aaaagh!!"
"Honey! Save me!!!"
"B-babe! Help! Sorry for pushing earlier—it was a mistake!"
The chosen ones' desperate screams filled the prison. They were dragged out, and as the door slammed shut, darkness fell inside.
Relief, guilt, betrayal, and fear mingled on the survivors' faces.
Pigking habitat. A short distance away. Seven people watched from hiding as the Pigkings hauled humans from the prison for slaughter.
Drifters from SageWorld. One was called a hero. Another, a sage. The remaining five were elite students from the Academy, a talent-training institution, on a monster extermination field trip under the hero and sage's guidance.
Then they'd been caught in a dark portal and dropped into the Ancient Labyrinth.
"Hero! We have to save them now!"
A student cried out, watching the people dragged toward the Pigkings.
"......"
The hero said nothing, just clenched her teeth and fists.
Frustrated, the student called to the sage. "Sage!"
"...You know it too. The monsters here have power beyond common sense."
The sage was right. They'd already felt the monsters' overwhelming strength firsthand—and realized they couldn't beat any of them.
By Kang Geon's standards: the hero was B-grade, the sage C-grade, the students D-grade.
(Side note: the hero was a woman hailed as humanity's strongest in SageWorld.)
"Haa."
After agonizing internally, the hero sighed and stepped forward.
"No choice. Sometimes you have to fight even knowing you'll lose."
"Hero...!"
She took another step. "Especially me—I can't ignore people in danger."
She turned to her companions. "I'm a hero, after all."
"As expected of the hero...!"
"So cool!"
"Right! That's a hero's duty!"
"I'm moved, hero."
"Hero..."
Turning back, she strode forward. "Honestly, this is suicide. So don't follow."
But even so—
"No, hero! We'll fight with you!"
"I can't ignore those in peril like you do! That's why I joined the Academy—to save the weak!"
"Better to die than turn away from the suffering."
"Hero, don't treat us like trash. I'm always with you."
The hero was touched. I sure have good companions, she thought.
"...If that's your will."
The students and sage followed at a distance.
The hero stepped before the Pigkings, took a deep breath, and shouted, "Hey, you pigs!"
"Release those poor people now!"
"Or my magic sword will judge you—"
Bam!
The hero lost. In one second flat. One Pigking charged, slamming her head into the ground.
Her companions reacted swiftly.
"Crazy! How's a pig that fast?!"
"R-run!"
"...Wh-what about the hero?"
"Who cares!!! Ditch and bolt!"
"Sorry, hero..."
They bolted—casting speed spells, not looking back.
The Pigkings didn't bother chasing. Too lazy, and they had rations left.
Abandoned, the hero watched them flee. Fuckers...
Labyrinth Day 46.
—［Pigking discovered. Very many.］
Iris, out on a solo morning scout, reported in. Another Pigking nest.
—［Drifters presumed discovered.］
"Hm? Drifters?"
—［Very weak individuals. High probability of drifters.］
"Zoom in on the screen."
—［Confirmed.］
Iris zoomed in. Inside the mud prison, eleven trembling people came into view.
Ten F-grades. One B-grade. Actual threat levels—no nerf, since Iris wasn't holding back her severed arm or anything.
"Hm. Guess I'll check it out."
"Me too, yang?"
"Merino, you stay here."
"Yang!"
I stood up.
"Kids. Let's go."
"Yangyang!"
"I said stay."
"Yang!"
I headed to the drifters' location with my SS-grade monsters in tow. Time to meet some drifters—and stock up on Pigking meat.