Chapter 136: Orcules (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 136: Orcules (2)
Emotions were contagious. Seeing someone cry could make you sad and seeing someone laugh could make you happy. The same went for feelings of fear. Come on, that won't happen. Even as you were thinking that, you couldn't help starting to get worried yourself when you saw someone else's anxiety persist. That was how humans were.
"It feels like something really will happen just because you keep saying that."
"S-Still, there's nothing wrong with being careful..."
Thanks to my grave expression, my teammates slowly began to see reality. This was a change I couldn't help but welcome.
Of course, Rotmiller's words were the deciding factor here. "My head still isn't connecting the same dots as you are. But for some reason, I have a feeling that something very bad will happen if I don't follow your lead."
Rotmiller, who had absorbed a Mimic's essence, had a Sixth Sense stat. Team Half-Wit had benefited a lot from that ability. The fact that he was saying this out of nowhere would change how much weight the others gave my argument.
"B-Bjorn. We should keep moving, right?" asked Missha.
"H-Hahaha! Right! That would be best! We'll just have to suffer for one more day!"
This was a bit frustrating. They wrote my concerns off as paranoia, but one word from Rotmiller and they would move mountains.
Well, the fact that he's saying that is making me more anxious too...
Sixth Sense was usually literally just a sixth sense. However, with the arrival of our uninvited guests, weren't we now in a situation where our overall stats had risen tremendously?
Whew, I really need to prepare myself.
It felt like a curtain had been torn back and the danger shrouded behind it revealed. Even as I was assuming the worst, deep down I had hoped this would all end up being paranoia on my part. I supposed that wasn't going to happen.
Thump!
My heart tightened a little more, but this changed nothing. I was just doing what I could. "Let's move again."
After a short break, we started running again. Even though I increased my pace even more than before, everyone followed along without a hint of complaint. We ran through the maze in heavy silence for quite a while.
Then, suddenly, Rotmiller spoke up. "Now that I think about it, I wonder if you, Bjorn, are similar to me."
"Similar? What do you mean?"
"I received this ability through an essence, but it could be that you innately have a good sixth sense."
I'd never thought of that before, but the idea wasn't totally out there. Dungeon and Stone was a game where, when you selected a character, their basic stats were randomly assigned a number within a range of default values.
The default range for Sixth Sense was zero to fifty, I think?
Considering that the Sixth Sense stat attached to the Mimic's essence was +50, that meant the maximum default value was very high. It wasn't a main stat like Strength, though, so there was no need to recreate a character to raise this particular stat.
"I've thought this for a while, but you've always had a sharpness to you."
"Right! You beat up that Elisa bitch, too, when everyone else was confused because she was a prrriestess."
Hmm, was that the case? Since everyone else was saying it, I started to believe it could be true. As I mentioned earlier, that was how humans worked. It was possible that Bjorn's Sixth Sense was naturally high. But that wasn't something to ponder right now.
"Anyway, keep following me." I decided to think about this later and instead focused on clearing the way. Everything had a time and place.
Whack!
I wielded my mace.
Shooot!
Dwalkie shot Ice Lances.
Slice!
We continued plowing through the decapitated Vaikundus. After a long while, it was finally past five a.m. on the twenty-first day. Since killing Baphomet, we'd essentially been running almost nonstop for twelve hours.
Pant, pant...
The breaths I exhaled through my nose and mouth were hot. The others had to be in a similar state. I did one final check of how my comrades were faring, and saw that everyone looked exhausted. That made sense—even if their stats had risen, they hadn't slept for two days.
However, the end was now in sight. "If we turn that way, we'll reach our destination!"
After running through a long, straight passage, we arrived at our destination: a huge stone chamber, not a cramped, maze-like hallway.
Click!
The moment we entered it, iron bars came down on each of the three entrances that connected to the stone chamber.
"Ahh! We're trrrapped!"
"Everyone, stay alert! We don't know what's going to come out!"
Though caught off guard by the unexpected situation, everyone took formation and prepared for battle. Our eyes naturally settled on one spot in particular, the only place something could come out of—a daunting stone door to one side of the chamber.
"...It won't be a rank-four monster, rrright?"
[The lord of the labyrinth has sensed a challenger.]
Before long, the geometric patterns engraved on the door began to glow, and it opened.
Drrrrrr.
Soon, from the wide-open stone door appeared a monster with an unmistakable scream. It was about thirteen feet tall with an oversized build to match, and a menacing horn sprouting from the top of its head. It had brown fur short enough to reveal all the blood vessels and muscles bulging under its skin, and hooves supporting its thick thighs.
Boom!
"Moooooo!"
"Minotaur! It's a Minotaurrr!"
The final boss of the Labyrinth of Larcaz was a monster famous enough for Missha to recognize it straight away. Well, at least the rank-five monster, Minotaur, wasn't a rank-four monster like she had feared.
Technically it would be something more like rank 4.5.
This guy was different from a regular Minotaur—it was a named monster with the unique title of Larcaz. In other words, it was a high-rank mutant that possessed the skill of another monster.
Boom!
As soon as the monster looked at us and took its first step forward, everyone noticed that it was different. How could they not? It was obvious at a single glance that it had a skill no other Minotaur could use.
"Mmmuh!"
It let out a short breath and raised its arm upwards.
[Larcaz, the owner of the labyrinth, has cast Burning Leather.]
Whooosh!
Huge flames covered the creature's skin. Even from a hundred feet away, I could feel the heat. Everyone froze, aghast.
"Anyway, keep following me." I decided to think about this later and instead focused on clearing the way. Everything had a time and place.
Whack!
I wielded my mace.
Shooot!
Dwalkie shot Ice Lances.
Slice!
We continued plowing through the decapitated Vaikundus. After a long while, it was finally past five a.m. on the twenty-first day. Since killing Baphomet, we'd essentially been running almost nonstop for twelve hours.
Pant, pant...
The breaths I exhaled through my nose and mouth were hot. The others had to be in a similar state. I did one final check of how my comrades were faring, and saw that everyone looked exhausted. That made sense—even if their stats had risen, they hadn't slept for two days.
However, the end was now in sight. "If we turn that way, we'll reach our destination!"
After running through a long, straight passage, we arrived at our destination: a huge stone chamber, not a cramped, maze-like hallway.
Click!
The moment we entered it, iron bars came down on each of the three entrances that connected to the stone chamber.
"Ahh! We're trrrapped!"
"Everyone, stay alert! We don't know what's going to come out!"
Though caught off guard by the unexpected situation, everyone took formation and prepared for battle. Our eyes naturally settled on one spot in particular, the only place something could come out of—a daunting stone door to one side of the chamber.
"...It won't be a rank-four monster, rrright?"
[The lord of the labyrinth has sensed a challenger.]
Before long, the geometric patterns engraved on the door began to glow, and it opened.
Drrrrrr.
Soon, from the wide-open stone door appeared a monster with an unmistakable scream. It was about thirteen feet tall with an oversized build to match, and a menacing horn sprouting from the top of its head. It had brown fur short enough to reveal all the blood vessels and muscles bulging under its skin, and hooves supporting its thick thighs.
Boom!
"Moooooo!"
"Minotaur! It's a Minotaurrr!"
The final boss of the Labyrinth of Larcaz was a monster famous enough for Missha to recognize it straight away. Well, at least the rank-five monster, Minotaur, wasn't a rank-four monster like she had feared.
Technically it would be something more like rank 4.5.
This guy was different from a regular Minotaur—it was a named monster with the unique title of Larcaz. In other words, it was a high-rank mutant that possessed the skill of another monster.
Boom!
As soon as the monster looked at us and took its first step forward, everyone noticed that it was different. How could they not? It was obvious at a single glance that it had a skill no other Minotaur could use.
"Mmmuh!"
It let out a short breath and raised its arm upwards.
[Larcaz, the owner of the labyrinth, has cast Burning Leather.]
Whooosh!
Huge flames covered the creature's skin. Even from a hundred feet away, I could feel the heat. Everyone froze, aghast.
"Uh, can this guy wield fire?"
"O-Of course not. There was no such thing in the books."
"Then it must be a high-rank mutant, like the Baphomet we met in the hidden room on the map."
"Ah! Come to think of it, that looks like another monster's special ability!" Dwalkie's expression lit up and he quickly shared the information he had recalled. "Ifrit! That must be Ifrit's ability!"
That was the correct answer. It seemed he had been reading tons of labyrinth-related books for the past several months—he definitely seemed more like a proper wizard now. But this was no time for compliments.
"Moooooo!"
The creature looked at us as if to say, Who the hell are these assholes? and then charged forward with thundering footfalls.
Boom! Boom!
The sight of a thirteen-foot-tall monster running at us with its entire body on fire was unreal to say the least. However, it was still nothing compared to Riakis.
"Behelahhh!" I shouted and sprinted forward. The distance between us quickly narrowed. As soon as I entered its reach, a giant double-edged ax came down over my head.
Bam!
Hmm, so that's how strong you are.
I smirked at the blow that slammed into my shield. It seemed that there was no need to use Giantization. As expected, I could handle Burning Leather.
Whooosh!
Even though red flames swayed right in front of my nose, it didn't cause me any major damage. Thanks to the Fire Resistance attached to the third stage of the Immortality Imprint, it was just a little hot. Of course, if I continued to stay in this position, that would be a different story.
[You have taken Fire damage. The damage you receive will increase according to duration.]
Fire damage increased in strength as it accumulated. It was a similar principle to how you could cook meat by putting it in hot water for several days. However, there was a simple workaround.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight curse spell Cold Blood. Your Fire Resistance has significantly increased.]
As Dwalkie's mana permeated my burning body, it cooled. I was a little surprised.
To think he cast a spell before I gave the order.
I supposed people could learn through experience after all. It seemed like just yesterday that he had struggled to aim an Ice Lance properly.
"I'll help too!"
"Oh, it's not hot anymore!"
After hesitating at the sight of the fire for just a split second, Hikurod and Missha received buffs and joined the frontlines.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Lightning Attack.]
[Missha Karlstein has cast Toxin Bestow.]
We set off electric shocks, cut through the beast's thick leather with a sword, threw in some deadly poison, and so on. Just like that, we easily handled the creature who filled the final boss role of this labyrinth.
"Mooooo—!"
Of course, it went on a rampage. In a frenzy, it threw its fists, feet, and ax at us, and used its special abilities generously. But nothing changed. It was still too slow to catch Missha, and lacked the strength to take down me and the dwarf.
Through it all, magical support continued.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight curse spell Aggravate.]
"Uh, can this guy wield fire?"
"O-Of course not. There was no such thing in the books."
"Then it must be a high-rank mutant, like the Baphomet we met in the hidden room on the map."
"Ah! Come to think of it, that looks like another monster's special ability!" Dwalkie's expression lit up and he quickly shared the information he had recalled. "Ifrit! That must be Ifrit's ability!"
That was the correct answer. It seemed he had been reading tons of labyrinth-related books for the past several months—he definitely seemed more like a proper wizard now. But this was no time for compliments.
"Moooooo!"
The creature looked at us as if to say, Who the hell are these assholes? and then charged forward with thundering footfalls.
Boom! Boom!
The sight of a thirteen-foot-tall monster running at us with its entire body on fire was unreal to say the least. However, it was still nothing compared to Riakis.
"Behelahhh!" I shouted and sprinted forward. The distance between us quickly narrowed. As soon as I entered its reach, a giant double-edged ax came down over my head.
Bam!
Hmm, so that's how strong you are.
I smirked at the blow that slammed into my shield. It seemed that there was no need to use Giantization. As expected, I could handle Burning Leather.
Whooosh!
Even though red flames swayed right in front of my nose, it didn't cause me any major damage. Thanks to the Fire Resistance attached to the third stage of the Immortality Imprint, it was just a little hot. Of course, if I continued to stay in this position, that would be a different story.
[You have taken Fire damage. The damage you receive will increase according to duration.]
Fire damage increased in strength as it accumulated. It was a similar principle to how you could cook meat by putting it in hot water for several days. However, there was a simple workaround.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight curse spell Cold Blood. Your Fire Resistance has significantly increased.]
As Dwalkie's mana permeated my burning body, it cooled. I was a little surprised.
To think he cast a spell before I gave the order.
I supposed people could learn through experience after all. It seemed like just yesterday that he had struggled to aim an Ice Lance properly.
"I'll help too!"
"Oh, it's not hot anymore!"
After hesitating at the sight of the fire for just a split second, Hikurod and Missha received buffs and joined the frontlines.
[Hikurod Murad has cast Lightning Attack.]
[Missha Karlstein has cast Toxin Bestow.]
We set off electric shocks, cut through the beast's thick leather with a sword, threw in some deadly poison, and so on. Just like that, we easily handled the creature who filled the final boss role of this labyrinth.
"Mooooo—!"
Of course, it went on a rampage. In a frenzy, it threw its fists, feet, and ax at us, and used its special abilities generously. But nothing changed. It was still too slow to catch Missha, and lacked the strength to take down me and the dwarf.
Through it all, magical support continued.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-eight curse spell Aggravate.]
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-nine curse spell Slowdown.]
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven curse spell Weakening.]
Normally, Dwalkie's magic support would've ended with him getting knocked out from mana depletion after casting Cold Blood alone. Rotmiller was at Dwalkie's side right now guarding him just in case, but the monster couldn't even get past a single tank. How would it get all the way to Dwalkie?
Bam!
It didn't take much time. Soon, Missha cut the monster's Achilles tendon, sending its huge body to the ground. The battle ended with her sword driven deep into its brain.
[You have killed a Minotaur. EXP +5]
[Higher-class mutant bonus. EXP +1]
The creature's body suddenly turned into a halo of light and dissolved. The first thing I did was check the time. It was 5:21, less than ten minutes since I last checked. For some reason, I felt a strange sense of regret at the realization.
How nice it would be if everyone was still like this even outside.
If there was a final form of Team Half-Wit, it would probably look like this: a high-stability configuration of two tankers, a close-combat damage dealer who moved boldly and took advantage of that stability to land constant blows, a wizard who possessed high-level long-ranged and one-off damage spells and could support the team no matter the situation, and a scout who wasn't a burden even in battle.
...What am I thinking?
Pointless musing like this wasn't my style, especially when I hadn't even dealt with our actual problem yet. I shook my head to clear my mind and began reprioritizing. What did I need to do right now to save even a little more time?
Quickly take what we need and get out of here.
Shaaaaaa!
The light completely dissolved, and everyone let out a sigh.
"Oh..."
"Nothing again."
The Minotaur did not drop an essence. Well, even though it was a high-ranking mutant, it wasn't a rift guardian, so that was more realistic. Welp. If a yellow essence had come out, it could have been quite useful through the second half of the game.
But the real reward is something else.
I tried to shake off my disappointment and examined our surroundings.
Clunk!
As if to announce that the boss battle was over, the bars blocking the passageways went up again.
"And the portal? Why didn't a portal open?"
"Could it be that this place is different from a rift?"
"M-Maybe there's another monster aside from the Minotaur."
The trio couldn't hide their bewilderment and threw out various theories. I was about to say something, but Rotmiller spoke up first. "I have a feeling there might be something in there. Why don't we check it out?" As expected, this man was a natural seeker.
"Oh, rrright! There's still that area left."
"Let's go. Maybe there's a portal open in there."
Soon, we went through the door the Minotaur had appeared from. Of course, the portal—which had opened at the starting point—couldn't possibly be here, but no matter how much of a rush we were in, we should still take the loot. This was something you couldn't buy with money.
"This... seems like a very spooky place."
There was a crypt beyond the door. And, like the mini-boss room, there was a summoning circle on the floor.
"I sense great mana from this object," Dwalkie murmured.
"Then it would be best to take it with us."
I put the jewel in the center of the magic circle into my backpack. Then, without hesitation, I turned back and headed outside. I also dismissed Dwalkie's suggestion to investigate the room further, claiming it was creepy. That was because I already knew this was the only reward that was in there.
"Whew, what a headache. The portal isn't here, either."
"Right?"
"Rotmiller, it looked like there was a blue dot in the center of the map earlier. Is there any chance that a portal opened there?"
"Actually, I was thinking that too. I have a strong feeling about it." Was this the Sixth Sense of a scout? I came out of the crypt where the Minotaur had been trapped with that thought in mind.
Then, a strange man's soft voice rang out from the passageway right in front of us. "See, I knew it."
The final boss's lair was always generated at a random location in the maze. As soon as we had gotten the map, we rushed here and defeated the final boss in less than ten minutes.
It probably doesn't matter how he got here already, though.
What was done was done. There was no way he'd found this place by accident, though; he must have had a relevant ability. Even in a place where the Guide characteristic was useless, essences, items, and other abilities could still be used.
"Look, old man. Didn't I tell you? If we didn't cut off another arm, we might've missed it."
Shoving my questions aside for the moment, I focused on what was right in front of me.
Thump!
My heart was pounding wildly. When I first became aware of the existence of our uninvited guests, I had thought that if there were five of them, they'd likely be active on the sixth floor. If there were four, the seventh; three, the eighth. It wasn't possible, but if there were only two of them, they'd have to be active on the ninth floor. This was a conclusion I had drawn based on the changes to my stats. So which assumption ended up being right? It looked like it was time for me to find out, whether I liked it or not.
"Hey, barbarian, shouldn't you say thank you? You were able to take that thing down easily thanks to me." The man was covered in burns, not only on his face but also on his slightly exposed wrists.
An old man in black, priestly clothes began to beg. "Please take the item you want and let them go."
I didn't know why, but a middle-aged man with his arms cut off was following behind them, his face blank. There were a total of three people.
Goddamn it.
I scrapped all the plans I had made in case we ran into them, from plan A to plan D.
"Hey, why isn't anyone talking?"
The gut instinct I had developed after encountering all sorts of sons of bitches was telling me this wasn't the kind of guy those strategies would work on.
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-nine curse spell Slowdown.]
[Riol Warb Dwalkie has cast the rank-seven curse spell Weakening.]
Normally, Dwalkie's magic support would've ended with him getting knocked out from mana depletion after casting Cold Blood alone. Rotmiller was at Dwalkie's side right now guarding him just in case, but the monster couldn't even get past a single tank. How would it get all the way to Dwalkie?
Bam!
It didn't take much time. Soon, Missha cut the monster's Achilles tendon, sending its huge body to the ground. The battle ended with her sword driven deep into its brain.
[You have killed a Minotaur. EXP +5]
[Higher-class mutant bonus. EXP +1]
The creature's body suddenly turned into a halo of light and dissolved. The first thing I did was check the time. It was 5:21, less than ten minutes since I last checked. For some reason, I felt a strange sense of regret at the realization.
How nice it would be if everyone was still like this even outside.
If there was a final form of Team Half-Wit, it would probably look like this: a high-stability configuration of two tankers, a close-combat damage dealer who moved boldly and took advantage of that stability to land constant blows, a wizard who possessed high-level long-ranged and one-off damage spells and could support the team no matter the situation, and a scout who wasn't a burden even in battle.
...What am I thinking?
Pointless musing like this wasn't my style, especially when I hadn't even dealt with our actual problem yet. I shook my head to clear my mind and began reprioritizing. What did I need to do right now to save even a little more time?
Quickly take what we need and get out of here.
Shaaaaaa!
The light completely dissolved, and everyone let out a sigh.
"Oh..."
"Nothing again."
The Minotaur did not drop an essence. Well, even though it was a high-ranking mutant, it wasn't a rift guardian, so that was more realistic. Welp. If a yellow essence had come out, it could have been quite useful through the second half of the game.
But the real reward is something else.
I tried to shake off my disappointment and examined our surroundings.
Clunk!
As if to announce that the boss battle was over, the bars blocking the passageways went up again.
"And the portal? Why didn't a portal open?"
"Could it be that this place is different from a rift?"
"M-Maybe there's another monster aside from the Minotaur."
The trio couldn't hide their bewilderment and threw out various theories. I was about to say something, but Rotmiller spoke up first. "I have a feeling there might be something in there. Why don't we check it out?" As expected, this man was a natural seeker.
"Oh, rrright! There's still that area left."
"Let's go. Maybe there's a portal open in there."
Soon, we went through the door the Minotaur had appeared from. Of course, the portal—which had opened at the starting point—couldn't possibly be here, but no matter how much of a rush we were in, we should still take the loot. This was something you couldn't buy with money.
"This... seems like a very spooky place."
There was a crypt beyond the door. And, like the mini-boss room, there was a summoning circle on the floor.
"I sense great mana from this object," Dwalkie murmured.
"Then it would be best to take it with us."
I put the jewel in the center of the magic circle into my backpack. Then, without hesitation, I turned back and headed outside. I also dismissed Dwalkie's suggestion to investigate the room further, claiming it was creepy. That was because I already knew this was the only reward that was in there.
"Whew, what a headache. The portal isn't here, either."
"Right?"
"Rotmiller, it looked like there was a blue dot in the center of the map earlier. Is there any chance that a portal opened there?"
"Actually, I was thinking that too. I have a strong feeling about it." Was this the Sixth Sense of a scout? I came out of the crypt where the Minotaur had been trapped with that thought in mind.
Then, a strange man's soft voice rang out from the passageway right in front of us. "See, I knew it."
The final boss's lair was always generated at a random location in the maze. As soon as we had gotten the map, we rushed here and defeated the final boss in less than ten minutes.
It probably doesn't matter how he got here already, though.
What was done was done. There was no way he'd found this place by accident, though; he must have had a relevant ability. Even in a place where the Guide characteristic was useless, essences, items, and other abilities could still be used.
"Look, old man. Didn't I tell you? If we didn't cut off another arm, we might've missed it."
Shoving my questions aside for the moment, I focused on what was right in front of me.
Thump!
My heart was pounding wildly. When I first became aware of the existence of our uninvited guests, I had thought that if there were five of them, they'd likely be active on the sixth floor. If there were four, the seventh; three, the eighth. It wasn't possible, but if there were only two of them, they'd have to be active on the ninth floor. This was a conclusion I had drawn based on the changes to my stats. So which assumption ended up being right? It looked like it was time for me to find out, whether I liked it or not.
"Hey, barbarian, shouldn't you say thank you? You were able to take that thing down easily thanks to me." The man was covered in burns, not only on his face but also on his slightly exposed wrists.
An old man in black, priestly clothes began to beg. "Please take the item you want and let them go."
I didn't know why, but a middle-aged man with his arms cut off was following behind them, his face blank. There were a total of three people.
Goddamn it.
I scrapped all the plans I had made in case we ran into them, from plan A to plan D.
"Hey, why isn't anyone talking?"
The gut instinct I had developed after encountering all sorts of sons of bitches was telling me this wasn't the kind of guy those strategies would work on.