Chapter 14
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: The Tower Genius Descends the Labyrinth 14
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–I believe.
To Sylbian, those words felt strangely out of place, almost alien.
Trusting someone and leaving himself completely vulnerable? It wasn't something a mage should even consider.
Yet here he was, casually placing his faith in her without a second thought.
'Cherentia, then.'
He had seen countless times how she treated him, and how deeply she valued her comrades.
Even when she noticed things he himself hadn't considered, it made him reflect more profoundly on companionship.
And now.
It was time for him to prove it to her.
"Hesente!"
⟨ Hesente ⟩
Pouring every ounce of mana from his body into the incantation.
A subtle flow of mana began seeping into Cherentia's flesh in an instant.
This was a manifestation of Hesente entirely different from before.
It drastically reduced the spell's duration while overwhelmingly boosting physical capabilities.
As expected, Cherentia accepted his magic without the slightest resistance.
Just as he trusted her, she trusted him completely in return.
"Chen!"
⟨ Chen ⟩
Immediately after, as Cherentia activated Chen once more, her feet swelled slightly.
Her ankles, unnaturally puffed up and brimming with muscle like they were ready to launch her into the sky, prompted her to crouch low, her upper body nearly touching the ground.
"…."
Watching her, Sylbian had an intuition.
The sight he was about to witness.
It would reach the pinnacle of what a honed body could achieve… the ultimate marvel.
KABOOM!!
True to his thoughts, as Cherentia kicked off the ground, the sheer force alone generated a massive shockwave, whipping up powerful gusts in all directions.
Hesente's physical enhancement.
And the extreme reinforcement from Chen.
Layered together, these two forces granted her physical prowess that should have been impossible.
"Kieeeek…!"
The monster, endlessly howling, couldn't comprehend it for a split second.
Swoosh!
Cherentia appeared before it abruptly, moving too fast for any reaction.
Slash!
Amid her wildly whipping black hair, her amber eyes gleamed with the gaze of a perfect predator.
The gremblin desperately swung its claws in response.
But even the monster itself knew.
Shrieeeeeek…!
Five trails cleaved through the air.
Its claws would shatter futilely against those trajectories.
Clang! Slash!
As the monster's instincts predicted, the five trails rent through the air and its flesh completely.
Even Cherentia, who had swung her hand, was stunned by her own strike.
'This power is absurd!'
It was an unprecedented force, one she'd never felt before.
Normally, 'Chen' came with immense strain on the body.
That's why it couldn't be used more than a few times a day unless in dire straits.
Yet here she was, soaring high into the sky, and slicing through the cursed monster's body in one go.
Her claws met no resistance tearing through flesh and bone—an overwhelming might.
Splatter!
Bathed in the monster's spraying blood, Cherentia blankly gazed downward.
"…."
How high had she risen? Sylbian below looked tiny.
And that mage had made her this way.
He'd devised a method she never could have imagined.
That's how they'd achieved this miraculous result.
Whoosh…!
As she slowly descended, Cherentia caught her breath briefly.
"Hoo."
Her body felt light.
Lighter than ever, overflowing with immense power.
It rivaled the superhuman strength of the tribe's elders—a thrill she'd never known.
Thud…!!
Landing on the ground, Cherentia shrugged off the impact rippling through her body and let out a sigh of regret.
"Ah…."
This was the end.
Of the Hesente magic Sylbian had cast on her.
It was miraculous in its own way.
Until now, Sylbian had sustained Hesente for quite a while.
But this time, it unleashed an even greater effect and vanished immediately.
Was this also his intention?
"Cherentia, I knew you could pull it off."
There he was, beaming at her. Cherentia nodded unconsciously.
"…I just did what was natural."
Was it because the exhilarating power had vanished in an instant?
Or because she saw Sylbian smiling brightly at her?
Perhaps both.
Even as strength drained from her body, joy welled up endlessly.
It felt just like the first time she'd mastered Chen and earned praise from the tribe's elders—an overwhelming emotion that was strangely fulfilling.
Stumble…!
As Cherentia swayed unsteadily without realizing it,
Swish.
Sylbian naturally caught her in his arms.
"Ah. Sorry, but… I really have no strength left."
Cherentia murmured blankly in that fleeting moment, her mind hazy.
Having poured out every bit of her power, coherent thoughts wouldn't form.
"It's fine. It's all over now, so rest easy."
Sylbian held her in a way that let her lean comfortably.
His eyes, meanwhile, fixed on the monster's corpse crashing nearby.
'What a huge haul.'
It had been a dire crisis, no doubt.
Midway through, the situation felt anything but relaxed.
But he and Cherentia had triumphed in the end.
The cursed gremblin was notorious for its cunning, and its corpse was worth a fortune.
The great city of Soren.
As a major city, guards at the main gate conducted inspections.
But one adventurer had just passed through the formidable gate.
Step.
Step….
Sera, the sole survivor of Haksen's party, was exiting the gate.
Her appearance, on the verge of collapse, was far from normal to any onlooker.
"Are they all dead? Really… did everyone die…."
She muttered the same words over and over, as if out of her mind.
The events of that day still burned vividly in her memory.
A sudden midnight ambush.
In the midst of bloody combat with dozens of gremblins, it appeared.
A grotesque monster that was a gremblin yet not quite one.
Only after more than half her comrades had fallen did she realize it was the rumored 'cursed monster.'
That single beast wiped out her entire party without mercy.
Thud!
Muttering endlessly, Sera soon slumped powerlessly by the roadside.
"Heh… hehehe… that crazy bitch… trash of a woman… you… you just survived alone…."
She'd escaped with her life thanks only to the family heirloom return scroll.
But that was it.
All that remained was crushing guilt for abandoning her comrades and bitter disgust at being the only survivor.
Even more despairing was the harsh reality: no way to save her comrades even now.
"Yeah, they're dead… Haksen and everyone… all gone…."
It was too late.
For days, she'd warned the Adventurer's Guild of the quest's dangers and begged for support.
Despite hours pleading with the receptionist, nothing had changed.
The subjugation request had merely been upgraded to gold grade.
All she got was word that finding adventurers to take it would take days.
Shiver…!
Sera stared at her hands.
Even days later, the trembling hadn't stopped for a moment.
Terror, anxiety—she couldn't even sleep properly amid the fear.
Yet here she was, leaving the city.
She didn't even know why.
What meaning was there in venturing out now?
Her comrades were surely dead; why was she leaving?
Perhaps, belatedly, she sought the place where they'd died.
To end her own wretched life there.
As her heart sank endlessly,
"Whoa…."
"What's that?"
"I-Is that a monster corpse?!"
Passersby on the road gasped in shock and awe, one after another.
Sera's listless gaze soon followed theirs.
"Hic!"
She gasped sharply in surprise.
There was an unimaginable pair.
One wore a pristine white robe peeking from silver hair—a noble mage.
The other was a beastkin shouldering a backpack larger than herself.
But that wasn't the point.
The beastkin held a monster corpse in one hand.
Undoubtedly the 'cursed monster' she'd witnessed.
Step!
Sera bolted up desperately, stumbling forward.
Thud!
She fell at first, but ignoring the pain, she scrambled up and rushed toward them.
"W-Wait a second!"
"W-Wait a second!"
Sylbian couldn't make sense of the woman desperately blocking his path.
She looked like an adventurer from her gear.
Yet her face, even at first glance, carried an unsettling air.
She seemed utterly neglectful of herself, battered as if from some great ordeal.
"What is it?"
"H-How did you get that monster corpse? D-Did you not see anyone else!?"
Her frantic questions brimmed with urgency.
From her words, Sylbian vaguely grasped the situation.
"There were no survivors whatsoever when we subjugated this monster."
"Aah…!"
Even seeing the woman utterly lost, he didn't feel at ease.
This was probably commonplace.
–Adventurers and mercenaries.
Their numbers meant threats lurked everywhere.
And the woman before him, adventurer-like, was another victim.
'We saw several skeletons in the cave.'
Plus the overpowering stench of blood—clearly many had died.
Swoosh.
Passing the dazed woman, Sylbian sighed inwardly.
'Doesn't feel like someone else's problem.'
She'd likely lost comrades too.
But that was all.
Offering words or hollow comfort wouldn't solve anything for her.
"Sylbian."
"Yeah, Cherentia."
"That woman from earlier seems to be following us."
At Cherentia's casual remark, Sylbian blankly turned back.
She was right.
For whatever reason, the woman they'd passed was openly tailing them.
Staring at him vacantly with hollow eyes.