This Time It'll Be Different (2)
After walking at a brisk pace for about an hour, I heard the command.
“Halt.”
We had encountered another adventurer party. They spotted us too. They stopped abruptly and began eyeing us warily. In the brief standoff, I quickly assessed them.
‘How many are they, and what’s their gear like?’
A standard party of five: two in the front line, three in the rear. Their equipment looked cheap at a glance—battered shields slung on their backs, arming swords dangling from their belts, tattered robes, and cloth armor. Their faces were tense, devoid of any trace of ease. No need to check their status windows. They were probably just a party that farmed the first floor and was heading back.
‘Still, better safe than sorry…’
Traits: Basic Shield Swordsmanship, Defensive Stance
I relaxed. Most frontliners I had seen so far had Basic Shield Swordsmanship as a given, plus one unique trait each.
‘Do the Sword Guild or training halls teach shield techniques specifically for frontliners?’
Anyway, that wasn’t important right now. I exchanged glances with their leader, signaling we had no hostile intent. The adventurers passed by us without incident.
“Let’s keep moving.”
“Whew, after running into those human hunters last time, I get chills whenever we meet other adventurers.”
“Tell me about it. Most of them are probably just regular adventurers, but after what happened, I can’t help but suspect everyone.”
“Honestly, I think being more cautious is better. It’s a bit tiring, but still.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Better to stay alert than get caught off guard.”
The chatter dragged on. In the end, it was about finding the right balance when dealing with people inside the Labyrinth.
We continued toward the portal.
We walked for several more hours without rest, encountering monster packs and other adventurer parties multiple times. Checking the map, I noticed a large hole in the wall nearby.
“From what I can tell, we’re still a bit short of the portal.”
Since we wouldn’t know if we could rest right after reaching the second floor, I suggested to the two of them that we stop here for the day and rest in a shelter. Though the Labyrinth was shrouded in darkness, making day and night meaningless, humans still had their circadian rhythms. We should rest when we could.
Luckily, the shelter inside the hole in the wall was empty.
‘At least our luck holds in this regard.’
We had never once encountered other adventurers in a shelter before. Yeriel and I spread out our sleeping bags and prepared food for rest, while Lumia cast her alarm spell through her familiar.
“Darkness is my servant. Rise and obey.”
Black Puppet
Black figures began appearing throughout the shelter, starting from the entrance.
“Last time there were only three. You’ve increased the number quite a bit.”
“Yeah. It’s different from ordinary mages’ alarm spells, so I’ve been practicing steadily to make the party safer.”
Lumia explained that this wasn’t just a sound-based spell—it also included some defensive capabilities—and proudly emphasized her usefulness.
“Thanks to you, we can sleep easy. Thank you.”
Lumia looked even more pleased at the praise. After eating, we spent time chatting about trivial things before one by one drifting off to sleep. I should sleep too… so we could reach the second floor quickly tomorrow.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
⋯
Kyaaaak! Kyaaaa!!
An indescribable, inhuman scream pierced my ears.
What the hell?
“Hah!”
I jolted awake reflexively. Yeriel! Lumia! Where were they?
I quickly gathered my wits and looked ahead. The familiars Lumia had placed as alarm spells were screaming, their bodies swelling with dark mana.
“Kugh!”
The screams acted as a mental attack, sowing confusion among the enemies. Lumia stood in front of me and Yeriel, who had just woken up.
“What the fuck is all this? My ears are gonna burst.”
“I’m warning you—don’t come any closer.”
Dark currents swirled around her, as if she were about to unleash magic at any moment.
“What, you gonna cast a spell? Hey, we just want to share the shelter. What’s the problem?”
A muscular man with a scar across his nose bridge smirked.
“Seriously, I don’t get where you get the confidence to be hostile the moment you see us. Forget being wronged—there’s only three of you, right?”
This was insane. How long had it been since I thought our luck was good? I understood the situation instantly.
“Lumia, good work. Fall back.”
“⋯They’re not just after the shelter.”
Lumia whispered in my ear. The familiars’ screams were gradually dying down, and she continued in the gap.
“They clearly approached with some intent. Familiars are sensitive to negative emotions like killing intent or malice because of the dark mana.”
Killing intent or malice?
“Normally they just make noise to wake me up, but reacting this strongly… Be careful.”
From the way they talked, I had a feeling. In other words, their levels seemed similar, and they had twice our numbers. They were pretending to share the shelter, planning to let our guard down and then rob and kill us.
‘Those bastards definitely weren’t planning to just kill us.’
‘Yeriel. When I give the signal, cast buffs immediately.’
—Okay! Leave it to me.
Fortunately, she didn’t answer out loud. I sent Lumia back and stepped forward, quickly scanning the adventurers’ faces while thinking.
‘Six of them—five men, one woman. ⋯What the hell happened to that woman?’
The lone woman’s condition was alarming. Bruises covered her exposed skin. Tear stains streaked her face. Her shoulders slumped, her eyes half-dead. And even from this distance, a foul, rotten stench wafted from her direction.
‘Did they kill other adventurers and drag only the woman around? No, that doesn’t add up time-wise.’
The Labyrinth portal had opened today. It made no sense for them to have entered last month and stayed only on the first floor for over a month. Guild-managed slaves were rented for a set period after payment to fill party gaps. Acts like unjustified violence or sexual demands against slaves were strictly prohibited. Why? Because until they met the criteria to be freed from slave status, they remained guild property.
Then… it was likely either a notarized personal slave or an illegal slave obtained from the 8th district.
‘Figures. These scum. Anyone can see they’re not here just to share the shelter.’
I had nothing to say about slavery itself—I had once turned Hans into a slave and transferred him. But regardless, seeing five men brutally abuse one woman made their intentions crystal clear.
Yeah. That was how adventurers were. For every decent one, there were plenty of vicious, low-quality bastards in this line of work. Could all the people trying to make money and grow stronger by hunting monsters in the Labyrinth really be good?
“You the leader? Cut the crap and share the shelter. In cave-type floors with shelters like this, it’s an unspoken rule that up to two parties can share by agreement. Don’t you know basic common sense?”
He pointed at Lumia as he spoke.
“What kind of education did your party member get from the guild that she attacks us on sight? We should get compensation for mental damage, don’t you think?”
“Exactly. We just came in because there was a shelter and approached because there were people.”
“Treating people like monsters is going too far!”
This bullshit was excessive.
“Do you not know what ‘agreement’ means? Your intentions are obvious, so just leave without causing trouble.”
“Pfft. ‘Leave without causing trouble,’ my ass.”
Chaos declares it will definitely kill that bastard.
The man who had mocked me shrugged.
“You don’t look like mid-floor adventurers at all. What kind of guts do you have when you can’t even afford to buy slaves?”
Chaos shakes its head, saying there are always guys like this whenever we enter the Labyrinth.
Since talking was pointless, I ignored him and quickly read his status window.
Traits: Intermediate Demolition, Thick Skin, Developed Muscles, Magic Resistance Imprint, Leaping Strike
Magic Resistance Imprint
◈ A high-grade imprint received through a connection with a high-ranking enchanter. It increases magic resistance at a small cost.
◈ Constantly applies intermediate magic resistance.
◈ Mana decreases by one stage as the cost of the imprint.
Lightning would only serve to draw his attention. Thick Skin and Developed Muscles were endurance and strength traits.
Leaping Strike (C) — Uses innate strength to leap high and deal massive damage in the enemy’s midst. Those hostile to him must beware the merciless downward strike after leaping.
◈ Can use the skill ‘Leaping Strike’.
◈ Mana corrects leaping power during activation.
◈ Strength increases by one stage during activation.
◈ Shockwave applies at landing point after activation.
Judging by his stats and traits, he was roughly at the level of a mid-floor adventurer I had seen before.
‘It’s the first floor, and they have twice our numbers, so I guess they have reason to be arrogant.’
“This bastard ignores us when we talk nicely. You know what? If we just drown you all, there won’t be any trouble back in the city.”
He grabbed the double-bladed axe slung on his back.
⋯At that moment, my eyes met the woman’s behind him. Her lips moved silently.
Her mouth shape… ‘Run away’?
⋯Hah. Fine. I had been patient long enough. I would save the woman, take her to the portal, send her to the city while we went to the second floor, and kill the rest. Twice the numbers? We could handle it. No—we would definitely win.
Swish.
I covered my face with one hand in feigned annoyance and sent my left hand behind me. A covert signal.
“May light dwell in his sword, and wind in his body.”
Yeriel immediately cast buffs with her chant.
Divine Weapon: Strength increases by one stage for one hour.
Haste: Agility increases by one stage for one hour.
“Buffs? Hey! Shoot!”
The die was cast. Arrows and daggers flew toward me in an instant.
Clang, clang, clang!
“Kgh.”
I drew my greatsword, seeing the trajectories, and blocked them all with the broad blade. Aside from being pushed back slightly, there was no damage to my body.
‘Lightning.’
Crackle!
“Shit, he’s a magic swordsman!”
To create even a brief opening despite his magic resistance, I dropped weak lightning bolts around Carrix. Anyone would be startled if lightning suddenly struck in front of someone wielding a greatsword.
Bang!
I kicked off powerfully with mana-infused strength, bypassing the flustered Carrix to target the ones behind him.
‘The basics of combat: eliminate troublesome ranged attackers first if possible.’
“What the—!”
I charged straight at the skinny man who looked like an archer. I swung my greatsword down with the force to split his skull, mana-infused, from above.
Splash!!
“Dennis!”
Ron casts ‘Double Pierce.’
The thief near the archer charged with daggers drawn, but it was futile. I spun halfway, burst mana from my arm, and slashed diagonally upward with sudden acceleration, severing the arm he had extended to stab.
Thud. The thief stared blankly at his fallen arm.
“Uh, ugh, aaaaagh!!!”
“Why are you crying? If you were going to stab someone, you should’ve thought about dying too.”
Slash.
“Y-you insect bastard—!”
Carrix casts ‘Leaping Strike.’
Seeing the red circle spreading beneath my feet, I quickly retreated. Thud. Boom—!! With a deafening roar, he landed, and I gripped my sword while watching him.
Damn it. We were almost at the second floor—did they really think I’d be dragged around on the first floor again? Discounting the woman as combat ineffective, three adventurers remained. I would strike first before they could. These damn adventurer bastards.
This time would be different.