Chapter 164: Exploration (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 164: Exploration (3)
My just-woken mind froze, stone cold. It was a similar principle to a cooling fan that ran before any work that would severely overheat the computer.
So there's a rat...
My heart started to pound at a low, steady rhythm, and my thoughts accelerated. The Tower of Heavens was an independent floor. Once the color of the portal changed, it was impossible for anyone to follow. No item or cheat code could get around this, to my knowledge.
Did they enter before the color of the portal changed?
The bastard had entered with us from the beginning. Of course, we had also waited to make sure no one followed behind us to be safe, and ran a detection spell in case of a stealth ability before departing.
If they have a stealth ability that's rank two or higher, it's possible we didn't detect them. Ordinary magic can't detect things like that.
Of course, that was just the worst-case scenario. It was unlikely that this guy was really a giant with a rank-two essence. In the end, they even got caught with detection magic. It would be more plausible to assume they had avoided our detection spell immediately upon entry using an item or skill.
The fact that they've just been following us all the way here probably means they're not confident in combat.
Okay, suddenly my courage revived. Given how Raven was calmly briefing me on the situation, she didn't seem too frightened, either. Now. How should we solve this problem?
"I don't think they'll hurt me right away. So think carefully about what move you'll make. My life is in your hand—"
The answer came to me quickly. "Behelahhh!" I called out the name of my ancestral god, quickly got up, and ran straight to Raven.
"You deranged—!"
Raven screamed right into my head out of shock, but this was the best option. Doing something stupid that would end up with her getting taken hostage would cause a real headache. Plus, they didn't know that we'd noticed. By nature, humans were incapable of making rational decisions when they were really surprised.
"Raven! Are you okay!? You appeared in my dream!" Tossing out a possible explanation to make them think even for a second that they hadn't been caught, I ran. Let them get their hopes up. Of course, I couldn't be certain what kind of decision the bastard would make in that short moment.
"Kyaa!"
Thankfully, they did not drop their concealment by the time I reached Raven.
"What is going on!? Is it an enemy!?"
"What... I was having a good rest."
The trio woke up in shock at the nighttime commotion, the second effect I was hoping for, while shouting for my ancestral god. This made it possible for all of us to be prepared, even if the rat ambushed another teammate or tried to take them hostage.
But had she heard my shout in its entirety in her sleep? Missha met my eyes and lowered her head like someone who had been hit in the heart by an arrow. "Appeared in your dream... s-so the two of you are that close, huh? I-I didn't know. Yeah... I didn't know, and I... haha, hah, ha..."
What was this kid saying? Without any preamble, I just yelled, "Prepare for battle! There's a rat in here!"
For adventurers, the sentence, "Prepare for battle," was absolute. On a well-conditioned reflex, the trio immediately drew their weapons and gathered in a tight formation to stay alert to their surroundings. I quickly moved around them.
"Bjorn, a rat? Do rats come out on the fourth floor?"
"...What I mean is that an adventurer is hiding among us."
"I-I see? I was scared it was a real rat!"
Shouldn't you be more scared about the other thing?
There were many things I wanted to say, but I held back. That was not what I should be doing right now. "Raven, where are they?"
"Th-they're gone. I can't sense them with detection magic."
Yes, so you're on detection null mode again.
I didn't know if it was an item or a skill, but if it was an active ability rather than a passive one, there had to be a limit to how long they could use it.
"Keep casting the detection spell until they appear." I sent Raven behind me and gave out orders. "The rat has a stealth ability, so pay attention. They'll definitely show themselves when they attack."
Finally grasping the situation, our team members stood on alert, with serious looks on their faces. Things continued on like that in silence for several minutes.
The bastard still hadn't shown up, but I was sure they were not planning to hold out forever. They probably just needed time to figure out what to do, although they wouldn't be able to come up with anything.
"Mr. Yandel..."
"Don't be nervous. Time is on our side."
In a stone chamber with all four doors firmly closed, there was nowhere to run. Having the Stairway of Destiny available could change up the situation, but that wasn't the case either.
"Just come out. I will kill you painlessly," I muttered into the void.
"I found them!"
"Where?"
"By the door over there!"
So that's where you were.
"Can the effect be lifted?"
"Since I've identified the target, it's possible."
"How long will it take?"
Raven didn't answer. She just extended the wand in her hand.
[Arua Raven has cast the rank-eight support spell Track Down.]
The jewel embedded at the end of her wand started glowing.
Shaaa!
A cloud of blue light appeared, clung to something transparent, and formed the shape of a person. When the cluster of light disappeared, the figure of the hiding bastard was finally revealed—a masked assailant dressed in a tight, dark suit.
"Looks just like a rat. Behelahhh!"
The moment our eyes met, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Rattle.
Apparently making up their mind, the rat slammed the door open and climbed the stairs.
"Bjorn! They'rrre getting away!"
"Don't panic and pack your things for now."
Instead of chasing after them right away, I took care of our stuff scattered on the floor. If there were no one left here, the door would close, and then we wouldn't be able to come grab our things again.
Well, there is the option to leave one person here, but is that necessary?
There was no need to rush. The door the rat had opened was the Stairway of Courage. Until we all went up, no monsters would appear. In other words, they were rats trapped in a cage.
"Bjorn, a rat? Do rats come out on the fourth floor?"
"...What I mean is that an adventurer is hiding among us."
"I-I see? I was scared it was a real rat!"
Shouldn't you be more scared about the other thing?
There were many things I wanted to say, but I held back. That was not what I should be doing right now. "Raven, where are they?"
"Th-they're gone. I can't sense them with detection magic."
Yes, so you're on detection null mode again.
I didn't know if it was an item or a skill, but if it was an active ability rather than a passive one, there had to be a limit to how long they could use it.
"Keep casting the detection spell until they appear." I sent Raven behind me and gave out orders. "The rat has a stealth ability, so pay attention. They'll definitely show themselves when they attack."
Finally grasping the situation, our team members stood on alert, with serious looks on their faces. Things continued on like that in silence for several minutes.
The bastard still hadn't shown up, but I was sure they were not planning to hold out forever. They probably just needed time to figure out what to do, although they wouldn't be able to come up with anything.
"Mr. Yandel..."
"Don't be nervous. Time is on our side."
In a stone chamber with all four doors firmly closed, there was nowhere to run. Having the Stairway of Destiny available could change up the situation, but that wasn't the case either.
"Just come out. I will kill you painlessly," I muttered into the void.
"I found them!"
"Where?"
"By the door over there!"
So that's where you were.
"Can the effect be lifted?"
"Since I've identified the target, it's possible."
"How long will it take?"
Raven didn't answer. She just extended the wand in her hand.
[Arua Raven has cast the rank-eight support spell Track Down.]
The jewel embedded at the end of her wand started glowing.
Shaaa!
A cloud of blue light appeared, clung to something transparent, and formed the shape of a person. When the cluster of light disappeared, the figure of the hiding bastard was finally revealed—a masked assailant dressed in a tight, dark suit.
"Looks just like a rat. Behelahhh!"
The moment our eyes met, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward.
Rattle.
Apparently making up their mind, the rat slammed the door open and climbed the stairs.
"Bjorn! They'rrre getting away!"
"Don't panic and pack your things for now."
Instead of chasing after them right away, I took care of our stuff scattered on the floor. If there were no one left here, the door would close, and then we wouldn't be able to come grab our things again.
Well, there is the option to leave one person here, but is that necessary?
There was no need to rush. The door the rat had opened was the Stairway of Courage. Until we all went up, no monsters would appear. In other words, they were rats trapped in a cage.
"I got everything."
"Then let's go."
I stuffed everything, including my sleeping bag, into my backpack and pursued them. When all of us entered, the stone door closed with a bang. I climbed the stairs in the lead with my shield protecting my torso.
Judging by the look in their eyes earlier, I don't think they chose just any random door.
I was a little nervous. What were they after? Since I had no clues at the moment, I kept my guard up even higher as I ascended. Soon, the stairs ended. Beyond the open door, I could see the next floor, empty. Well, maybe empty was not the right word.
Welp, I didn't expect this...
In the center of a stone chamber of about five square miles, a corpse was melting.
Bang!
Once everyone in the team entered the chamber, the door closed, and a group of monsters appeared.
"Nothing showing up on the detection spell?"
"No."
"Fight assuming that the rat is hiding nearby."
For now, we maintained a defensive formation and cleared out the monsters. This all took about six minutes. When the battle was over, all eyes naturally turned to one place.
"Bjorn, that corpse..." Missha trailed off. I thought I knew what she was trying to say, so there was no problem. She was asking if it was real.
I called on the expert. "Raven?"
"It's not fake. I can feel the remnants of mana."
"Simpler."
"It means they just died."
"Could it—"
"It can't be someone else, either. It's faint, but the wavelengths of the mana match perfectly."
...So it is. Goddamn it.
The rat committed suicide before we could even have a proper conversation. That made me uncomfortable. It was like how in a novel, the members of a secret society would take poison before being captured.
It's my first time experiencing this, so I didn't even think of it.
I'd met a lot of scum in the past, but they had all wanted to live until the bitter end. This was my first time seeing one run straight off and implode. It was not like we'd had a proper fight, either.
"...We should check it out first."
I slowly approached the body and removed the mask. However, neither gender nor race could be determined by their features. All the muscles on their face had melted and flowed down the bone like an egg yolk.
"Mr. Yandel, maybe you should remove their clothes just in case."
As instructed by the wizard, I stripped the clothes off the corpse. Then, an even worse scene than before unfolded.
"Like I thought, their whole body melted. It's not acidic, either. Their clothes are intact..." Raven approached without hesitation and poked the corpse with an iron stick here and there to take a look. "The bones are still attached. No abnormalities in the hair, either. Looks like it's a substance that only breaks down proteins..."
Watching her handle the corpse without batting an eye, I couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"
"Pardon? With what?"
"Didn't you vomit when you saw the Corpse Golem—"
"Ahh! That's because the smell of rot hit me mid-cast. I've seen worse things during experiments, so this much is nothing."
"I got everything."
"Then let's go."
I stuffed everything, including my sleeping bag, into my backpack and pursued them. When all of us entered, the stone door closed with a bang. I climbed the stairs in the lead with my shield protecting my torso.
Judging by the look in their eyes earlier, I don't think they chose just any random door.
I was a little nervous. What were they after? Since I had no clues at the moment, I kept my guard up even higher as I ascended. Soon, the stairs ended. Beyond the open door, I could see the next floor, empty. Well, maybe empty was not the right word.
Welp, I didn't expect this...
In the center of a stone chamber of about five square miles, a corpse was melting.
Bang!
Once everyone in the team entered the chamber, the door closed, and a group of monsters appeared.
"Nothing showing up on the detection spell?"
"No."
"Fight assuming that the rat is hiding nearby."
For now, we maintained a defensive formation and cleared out the monsters. This all took about six minutes. When the battle was over, all eyes naturally turned to one place.
"Bjorn, that corpse..." Missha trailed off. I thought I knew what she was trying to say, so there was no problem. She was asking if it was real.
I called on the expert. "Raven?"
"It's not fake. I can feel the remnants of mana."
"Simpler."
"It means they just died."
"Could it—"
"It can't be someone else, either. It's faint, but the wavelengths of the mana match perfectly."
...So it is. Goddamn it.
The rat committed suicide before we could even have a proper conversation. That made me uncomfortable. It was like how in a novel, the members of a secret society would take poison before being captured.
It's my first time experiencing this, so I didn't even think of it.
I'd met a lot of scum in the past, but they had all wanted to live until the bitter end. This was my first time seeing one run straight off and implode. It was not like we'd had a proper fight, either.
"...We should check it out first."
I slowly approached the body and removed the mask. However, neither gender nor race could be determined by their features. All the muscles on their face had melted and flowed down the bone like an egg yolk.
"Mr. Yandel, maybe you should remove their clothes just in case."
As instructed by the wizard, I stripped the clothes off the corpse. Then, an even worse scene than before unfolded.
"Like I thought, their whole body melted. It's not acidic, either. Their clothes are intact..." Raven approached without hesitation and poked the corpse with an iron stick here and there to take a look. "The bones are still attached. No abnormalities in the hair, either. Looks like it's a substance that only breaks down proteins..."
Watching her handle the corpse without batting an eye, I couldn't help but ask, "Are you okay?"
"Pardon? With what?"
"Didn't you vomit when you saw the Corpse Golem—"
"Ahh! That's because the smell of rot hit me mid-cast. I've seen worse things during experiments, so this much is nothing."
"...I see." Her personality was very different from her appearance.
Even the ten-year veteran adventurer Mr. Bear had to turn his head. "Yandel, are you sure they're dead?"
"It looks that way for now."
"Then I'm going to take a break over there. Cheese is my favorite food."
"Cheese?"
"If I look any longer, I don't think I'll be able to eat cheese ever again."
That was a rather valid reason, so I told him to do that. Then Ainar and Missha left for similar reasons.
"Ch-cheese? I don't know what that is, but it's probably delicious."
"Bjorn? I don't think I'll be much help eitherrr..."
Yes, there was no reason for all of us to go through the trouble. "You both go and rest." I focused on my conversation with Raven. "Is it poison?"
"Yes. I don't know which alchemist made it, but it's a very unusual poison. The components of the potion are released through the sweat glands as soon as it's consumed, and it melts the skin."
"Perfect to commit suicide."
"That's right. Especially if you have to hide your identity."
The feeling of discomfort grew. Who the hell was this bastard? They didn't seem like a regular plunderer at a glance.
Click.
I took off the gear they were wearing. It was loot, but I thought that it might be able to help me infer their identity as well. "There's no identity card."
"...That's strange."
It wasn't just strange. Without an identity card, you could not pass through the checkpoint back in the city.
Were they sent by the Dragon Slayer?
If this person were from the underground city, it would make sense that they didn't have an identity card. With that thought in mind, I rummaged through their expandable bag. The items I managed to produce weren't many—just some exploration supplies and food.
"Wow, this guy must be an expert. There's everything from sleeping plants to basilisk paralysis poison." The rest were all consumables for battles against other people. Among them were items rare enough for even Raven to covet.
This bastard really planned to kill someone.
Although I hadn't exchanged a single word with this masked person, the thought gave me chills. It was a wicked plundering method to use the distinct characteristics of the fourth floor. If it weren't for Raven, this situation could have ended with us in big trouble.
"But what were you doing at that time?"
"...I was cleaning myself off."
Oh, that's right. "Why didn't you do it while everyone was awake?"
"...Excuse me, this is only my second time in the labyrinth. It hasn't even been a month since I met Mr. Urikfried."
Right, this was still an adjustment period for her. Since she was so on the ball, I hadn't even thought about it. Anyway, Raven finally realized how she looked right now in her thin dress. She frowned and took clothes out of her subspace to put on.
"Tell me next time. I'll pitch you a tent or something."
"It's fine. I'm an adventurer now. I don't plan to make a fuss about something like that."
"If you say so."
Afterward, I exchanged a few more words with Raven while examining the corpse, but nothing much came out of it. After covering the masked person who had been turned into pudding with a cloth, we gathered in a corner and all went to sleep.
Of course, we decided to take turns on watch just in case. The first watch was mine. As I was reviewing what had happened today in the silence, I heard a groan from Raven's sleeping bag. Was she having a nightmare? I was wondering if I should wake her up when Raven slowly opened her eyes.
"...Mr. Yandel."
"Are you awake? Don't worry and go back to sleep. I'll guard the area."
"It's not that. I want to ask you something." When I told her to go ahead, Raven paused before finally blurting, "If I hadn't used the detection spell back then, what would have happened?"
Her tone was completely different from her usual dignified one. Then I realized that no matter how calm she acted and how well she appeared to control her emotions, there was no way she wouldn't be shocked by something like that.
"You want an honest answer?"
"Yes."
"If we were unlucky, we all would have died. If we were lucky, it would've ended with one or two of us dead."
There was a moment of silence. "Is... exploring the labyrinth always like this?"
I smiled bitterly and nodded. "Yeah."
Not knowing when or where you'd meet a scoundrel, the fact that your life could disappear at any moment, that was adventuring.
"Don't worry, though. It's not always difficult and terrible things."
I didn't know if it would comfort her, but I told her about Team Half-Wit: how Dwalkie had been discouraged after running into a plunderer for the first time, and the beautiful scenery Rotmiller had shown us on the third floor to cheer him up.
"My seniors told me that that's a meaningless phenomenon caused by mana supersaturation," Raven whispered, chuckling. I wondered if this was how traditional wizards saw the world. "Still, I hope I see it next time."
"Okay, next time I'll wake you up before twelve."
It wasn't long before I could hear the sound of easy breathing from Raven's sleeping bag. That was how the eighth day came to an end.
"...I see." Her personality was very different from her appearance.
Even the ten-year veteran adventurer Mr. Bear had to turn his head. "Yandel, are you sure they're dead?"
"It looks that way for now."
"Then I'm going to take a break over there. Cheese is my favorite food."
"Cheese?"
"If I look any longer, I don't think I'll be able to eat cheese ever again."
That was a rather valid reason, so I told him to do that. Then Ainar and Missha left for similar reasons.
"Ch-cheese? I don't know what that is, but it's probably delicious."
"Bjorn? I don't think I'll be much help eitherrr..."
Yes, there was no reason for all of us to go through the trouble. "You both go and rest." I focused on my conversation with Raven. "Is it poison?"
"Yes. I don't know which alchemist made it, but it's a very unusual poison. The components of the potion are released through the sweat glands as soon as it's consumed, and it melts the skin."
"Perfect to commit suicide."
"That's right. Especially if you have to hide your identity."
The feeling of discomfort grew. Who the hell was this bastard? They didn't seem like a regular plunderer at a glance.
Click.
I took off the gear they were wearing. It was loot, but I thought that it might be able to help me infer their identity as well. "There's no identity card."
"...That's strange."
It wasn't just strange. Without an identity card, you could not pass through the checkpoint back in the city.
Were they sent by the Dragon Slayer?
If this person were from the underground city, it would make sense that they didn't have an identity card. With that thought in mind, I rummaged through their expandable bag. The items I managed to produce weren't many—just some exploration supplies and food.
"Wow, this guy must be an expert. There's everything from sleeping plants to basilisk paralysis poison." The rest were all consumables for battles against other people. Among them were items rare enough for even Raven to covet.
This bastard really planned to kill someone.
Although I hadn't exchanged a single word with this masked person, the thought gave me chills. It was a wicked plundering method to use the distinct characteristics of the fourth floor. If it weren't for Raven, this situation could have ended with us in big trouble.
"But what were you doing at that time?"
"...I was cleaning myself off."
Oh, that's right. "Why didn't you do it while everyone was awake?"
"...Excuse me, this is only my second time in the labyrinth. It hasn't even been a month since I met Mr. Urikfried."
Right, this was still an adjustment period for her. Since she was so on the ball, I hadn't even thought about it. Anyway, Raven finally realized how she looked right now in her thin dress. She frowned and took clothes out of her subspace to put on.
"Tell me next time. I'll pitch you a tent or something."
"It's fine. I'm an adventurer now. I don't plan to make a fuss about something like that."
"If you say so."
Afterward, I exchanged a few more words with Raven while examining the corpse, but nothing much came out of it. After covering the masked person who had been turned into pudding with a cloth, we gathered in a corner and all went to sleep.
Of course, we decided to take turns on watch just in case. The first watch was mine. As I was reviewing what had happened today in the silence, I heard a groan from Raven's sleeping bag. Was she having a nightmare? I was wondering if I should wake her up when Raven slowly opened her eyes.
"...Mr. Yandel."
"Are you awake? Don't worry and go back to sleep. I'll guard the area."
"It's not that. I want to ask you something." When I told her to go ahead, Raven paused before finally blurting, "If I hadn't used the detection spell back then, what would have happened?"
Her tone was completely different from her usual dignified one. Then I realized that no matter how calm she acted and how well she appeared to control her emotions, there was no way she wouldn't be shocked by something like that.
"You want an honest answer?"
"Yes."
"If we were unlucky, we all would have died. If we were lucky, it would've ended with one or two of us dead."
There was a moment of silence. "Is... exploring the labyrinth always like this?"
I smiled bitterly and nodded. "Yeah."
Not knowing when or where you'd meet a scoundrel, the fact that your life could disappear at any moment, that was adventuring.
"Don't worry, though. It's not always difficult and terrible things."
I didn't know if it would comfort her, but I told her about Team Half-Wit: how Dwalkie had been discouraged after running into a plunderer for the first time, and the beautiful scenery Rotmiller had shown us on the third floor to cheer him up.
"My seniors told me that that's a meaningless phenomenon caused by mana supersaturation," Raven whispered, chuckling. I wondered if this was how traditional wizards saw the world. "Still, I hope I see it next time."
"Okay, next time I'll wake you up before twelve."
It wasn't long before I could hear the sound of easy breathing from Raven's sleeping bag. That was how the eighth day came to an end.