Chapter 47: Necromancer
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 47: Necromancer
Stairs.
There are several ways to descend to a lower floor in the Labyrinth, but the most common and representative method is using the stairs.
It was just like on the 1.5th Floor.
After descending about ten meters, we arrived in a sealed space the size of a boiler room, with a gate floating in front of us.
Unlike exit gates, stair gates don't close no matter how many people pass through.
"The 2nd Floor is on the other side of this," I said.
Our party, which was overwhelmingly powerful by 1st Floor standards, had moved at a speed akin to walking on flat ground and found the stairs in no time.
But the confident atmosphere that had filled our party until now vanished as if it had never been there.
This was because of one important fact.
"Only one person can go through the stair gate every three seconds."
Even someone as blissfully naive as Yernil would have naturally thought of one person.
Sally.
"What if there are marauders waiting on the other side?"
It was a definite possibility.
After all, we had just farmed several pieces of magic equipment.
Remember how the counter staff at the Adventurer's Guild had seen us and guessed we were heading to the 2nd Floor?
The marauders probably had the same thought when they saw us.
Aren't they Caleb's party from the 1st Floor? At this rate, they'll be heading to the 2nd Floor today.
And if they had access to the 2nd-floor elevator, they could have gone ahead to lie in wait.
"So, there's a good chance marauders are hiding on the other side."
And they would likely be waiting for the moment our party was inevitably split up, crossing one by one every three seconds.
"Then... who goes in first?" Yernil asked, her expression anxious.
It was the question weighing on everyone's mind.
If marauders were lying in ambush in front of the 2nd-floor gate, the first person to enter would be the primary target.
Of course, whether that person died or not, the second person would have no way of knowing.
Messages don't work between different floors of the Labyrinth.
So, in the end, we could all be slaughtered, like a flock of sheep walking one by one into an alligator's mouth, completely unaware of the danger.
"The first one..."
Still, the first person to go was in the most danger.
Why?
Because the marauders' skills would be off cooldown, and their health would be full.
"Aimus will go first."
I gave what might have seemed like a heartless order.
This was the standard procedure for moving between floors.
A wizard or priest casts defensive magic on a frontline adventurer with high vitality and defense.
Of course, we didn't have that, but Aimus himself had a defensive skill.
"Use Steel Parasol as soon as you get through. Don't let your guard down."
"Understood."
"I'll be right behind you in three seconds. You don't have to be too nervous."
I said that, but honestly, I was the one who was nervous.
This was definitely different from my first or second time in the Labyrinth.
The sense of responsibility and pressure was on another level.
The first time, Yernil and I were just desperately trying to survive.
The second time, the mission was just to slip into the 1.5th Floor and grab the ossuary, so I was confident it wouldn't be dangerous. Though, as it turned out, it became incredibly dangerous.
But now was different.
I was the leader of this party, and I was the one who had convinced everyone to head to the 3rd Floor.
If anything went wrong, it would be all my fault.
"It's true that I should be in front since I'm the vanguard, but is it okay for you to come second, Caleb? Don't wizards usually go in last?" Aimus asked.
He was right.
That's what I did in the game, too.
But the reason I was going second here was...
"Is this... the responsibility of a party leader? Boss!"
Back Attack was moved.
That wasn't it.
It was simply that if something did go wrong, me going second was the easiest scenario to handle.
Let's assume the first person, Aimus, gets ambushed.
Unless the Labyrinth Master himself came up to the 2nd Floor to greet us, Aimus wouldn't die in just three seconds.
If I entered during that time, I could save him.
But if Yernil or Back Attack went in, I couldn't be so sure.
They might die along with Aimus, which would put me in danger when I entered third or fourth.
It was better for me to go in second, and if it was an emergency, I could just turn back the Hourglass and fight like hell.
"Alright, I'm going in."
Aimus took a deep breath and jumped into the gate.
The edge of the gate rippled once, then began to flash.
Three seconds from now.
"..."
An infernal wait began.
Three seconds felt like three hours.
Will Aimus be okay?
He should be, right?
No matter what kind of conventional trouble occurred, it wouldn't be easy to kill Aimus while he had his Steel Parasol.
I had prepared Aimus with a complete set of countermeasures for any unforeseen accidents that could happen when crossing the gate.
What if something beyond common sense happened?
I couldn't say the possibility was zero, but worrying about that was a bottomless pit. I mean, the probability of the actual Labyrinth Master coming up the stairs and camping the 2nd-floor gate wasn't technically zero.
But I couldn't afford to worry about things like that. Time and mental energy were limited resources. It was better to review and prepare for more realistic problems.
Two seconds.
There was also a chance that even if marauders were there, they wouldn't touch Aimus.
That's how it worked in the game when the difficulty increased.
In other words, if a well-armored vanguard who could tank came through first, they would save their skills rather than waste them on someone they couldn't kill.
It was a strategy to save their main skills' cooldowns and unleash them on the damage dealer who came through second.
Since this was developer difficulty, if there were marauders, they might use such a strategy.
One second.
It didn't matter. Even if they tried to attack me the moment I entered, it would be difficult to break through Aimus's parasol.
And since I had the Hourglass, if Aimus was unharmed, I could even turn the tables on them.
Zero seconds.
The light from the gate stabilized.
"I'm going."
I leaped forcefully into the gate.
*
I hadn't expected this.
"What is this?"
"I didn't do it."
Of course you didn't, Aimus.
How could you have done all this by yourself in three seconds?
"Four bodies."
There were four corpses in front of the gate.
They were most likely the bodies of marauders. Judging by their position, it looked like they had tried to rob someone and gotten utterly destroyed instead.
Fwoosh!
Yernil, who came through third, was startled when she saw the scene.
"Wh-what is all this!"
"Maraud—"
"Is that a parasol!?"
Ah. So that's what you were surprised by?
"It's the Steel Parasol," Aimus explained calmly.
It was a skill granted by the armor he wore.
Just as Yernil's Triple Shot required a bow, Steel Parasol required a 'staff' or 'spear'.
A massive, three-meter-diameter magic shield would form at the end of the long weapon, looking just like a parasol from the side.
"That's why the skill is called Steel Parasol."
"I see... Huh? Aaaah! A body!"
"..."
This time, she was horrified by the corpse.
So you're sensitive to sounds, but a little slow when it comes to deathly quiet—no, literally dead and quiet—corpses?
"Are these marauders' bodies?" Back Attack frowned as he came through the gate last.
"Seems like it," Aimus replied nonchalantly, closing his parasol. "Either that, or they're the bodies of people the marauders killed."
I doubted it.
I didn't rate Aimus's second possibility very highly.
Marauders' main goal was to strip items off people and sell them on the black market, so they were obsessed with 'killing adventurers cleanly'.
It was similar to how hunters are careful not to damage the hide when hunting animals.
That's why Sally's party of marauders used undead and combat dolls to frighten naive adventurers, then approached them pretending to help.
But these guys had been mercilessly torn apart.
Corpse #1, a Lizard who looked like a Fighter.
I guessed he was hit by something like a giant axe, which sliced through his armor and body. The attacker probably used a skill like One-Strike Cleave.
Corpse #2, a human woman who looked like a Ranger.
Her carotid artery had been severed by a sharp blade. And judging by the gash on her back, she was likely hit by a rogue-type's leaping ambush.
So far, it made sense.
But then there were corpses #3 and #4.
'Tumor Erosion.'
A Tier 2 necromancy spell that causes tumors to grow wildly on the body, eating away and destroying normal tissue.
And...
'Soul Echo.'
The pupils of corpse #4 were misaligned, like a cross-eyed person's.
The possibility that this corpse was cross-eyed to begin with? Very low. Because it was an Avian, a race of birdfolk. Specifically, a raptor, famous for its excellent eyesight.
His focus was off because he'd been hit by a Soul Echo spell, which had driven him mad. In that state, he was probably...
'Cell Suicide.'
...hit with a Tier 3 necromancy spell. And since he was in a Soul Echo state, his soul was likely harvested as well.
Wait a minute.
'Someone with Tier 3 necromancy is on the 2nd Floor?'
Necromancy itself wasn't evil. I had used necromancy to adventure in the Labyrinth with the undead Back Attack, after all.
The Magic University actively researched necromancy and encouraged it as a branch of magic.
Of course, the Temple, whose main business was resurrection, hated it, but it wasn't legally forbidden.
And if the corpses were marauders, then the necromancer was likely a proper adventurer.
The strange thing was...
'Why are they on the 2nd Floor?'
With this level of skill, they could easily be on the 4th Floor.
"Caleb. Aren't we leaving?" Yernil asked.
"...Let's go."
This was ominous.
Something felt fucking ominous.
The traces of this battle were definitely 'outside the realm of common sense'.
*
If the 1st Floor was like an old fortress made of stone floors and walls, the 2nd Floor was a 'swamp'.
The monsters that appeared fit the theme perfectly.
'Vodyanoy.'
Bipedal monsters that looked like anthropomorphic frogs.
They were strong, and their jumping ability was so good that they could leap over Aimus's frontline defense and get behind me, making them tricky opponents.
Still, they weren't enough of a threat to our party.
And right now, far from being a threat, there wasn't even a battle to be had.
'I think I know how Meldini felt following me around in the Berten estate while I was playing the game.'
In the direction we were headed, the Vodyanoy had been completely wiped out.
They were either sliced up by an axe, had their vitals pierced by a dagger, or were annihilated by high-level necromancy.
A procession of floating amphibian corpses stretched along the swamp.
"This is... rather gruesome."
"What the hell is going on?"
"This is scary."
The tension in our party was naturally rising.
I was no different.
I couldn't even imagine what kind of insane 4th-floor wizard would come down to the 2nd Floor to slaughter amphibians.
What was their purpose?
Maybe their goal wasn't the 2nd Floor at all. Maybe...
'Fuck.'
The trail of amphibian corpses led right up to the stairs.
My ominous deduction was getting very close to the truth.
"Let's hurry inside."
I rushed my party members, who were already anxious from seeing one unsettling sight after another.
"We have to go, now."
I had to catch that crazy necromancer. There was no telling what kind of trouble he might cause.
*
"Whoa!"
"Wh-what is it!"
When we crossed the gate to the 3rd Floor, we found living people instead of corpses.
But they weren't marauders.
"Birtanen!"
It was you?
After I crossed the gate behind Aimus, Birtanen, Jikal, and Emma appeared.
Aimus, his guard raised, was pointing his parasol at them.
Birtanen's party was a little startled, but they relaxed when they saw me come through right after.
"Caleb! You made it to the 3rd Floor!"
And with that, a small piece of the puzzle fell into place.
Among the corpses we saw earlier, the one sliced by an axe was Birtanen's handiwork.
The one killed by a dagger was Jikal's.
And Birtanen's party had been desperate to recruit a wizard for a while now. It seemed their new addition was that crazy necromancer.
"Birtanen! Jikal! Emma!"
As soon as Yernil came through, she jumped up and down with joy.
"It's been a while, Yernil!"
"Wow! I almost didn't recognize you!"
Emma and Jikal greeted her warmly as well.
"What's this? You all know each other?"
Back Attack, the last to arrive, looked on with interest.
I didn't care about any of that.
Only one thing was on my mind: that necromancer.
"Caleb! This is the new wizard who joined our team. His name is Antonelli."
He was a clean-cut human male who looked to be in his early thirties.
"A pleasure to meet you, Caleb. I've heard about you. The chantless, high-speed caster, right?"
I ignored his outstretched hand and asked my question.
"Why is a necromancer with Emma?"
"Ah..."
My question must have been a bit aggressive, because Birtanen looked flustered.
"I became interested in necromancy after reading the report Sir Bernard submitted. The Temple gave me permission to research it, and our team happened to need a wizard," Emma quickly answered.
"And Antonelli doesn't use magic that turns corpses into undead. As long as I'm not traveling with undead, I find it manageable."
"He doesn't use undead magic?"
"No."
Antonelli smiled faintly.
"I don't have any such magic."
What a joke.
Who the hell did he think he was trying to fool?
"Combine Soul Echo and Tumor Erosion, and you get Raise Dead Body."
Antonelli's smile twitched.
"Why did you join Birtanen's party while hiding a spell you possess, even claiming you don't have it?"
"..."
"..."
"Whoa, h-hold on a minute."
As the atmosphere grew tense, a flustered Birtanen stepped between us.
"I think there's been some kind of misunderstanding. Caleb, just calm down for a second."
"This is no time for that, Birtanen!" I snapped at him in frustration. "Anyone can see he's incredibly suspicious!"
"It's true that Antonelli was a 4th-floor wizard! But he couldn't find a new party..."
"Do you really think that makes sense? At a time when the University is shoving even slaves into the Labyrinth because they're short on wizards?"
"Um..."
"You were so desperate to find a wizard that you weren't thinking straight! You wanted to get to the 3rd Floor quickly, didn't you? That's why you made a mistake!"
You foolish dwarf!
You're so damn calculating when it comes to money, so why did you screw up here?
It was obvious.
They had no magic equipment, their funds were tight, and they were stuck, unable to get to the 3rd Floor.
That rich kid Avison was probably their last chance for the party to grow to the 3rd Floor.
When that failed, they must have gotten desperate, fearing that a 3rd-floor party might poach Emma and their own party would disband.
So, while they were trying to find any way to get to the 3rd Floor and make some money, that crazy bastard came along, dangled some bait, and they bit, didn't they!
"Logically, if a 4th-floor wizard is looking for a new party, they should join a 4th-floor party. At the very least, a 3rd-floor one. So why did he join Birtanen's party?"
"W-well..."
Birtanen hung his head, looking ashamed.
"He said... with our skills, we could handle the 3rd Floor... that we should try it together..."
You have to be most careful of the ones who approach you with such kind words.
And while Birtanen might not know, I knew the real reason this guy had approached them.
"Antonelli! Let me guess, shall I?"
The reason a wizard with a necromancy build would go out of his way to join a 2nd-floor party and bring them to the 3rd Floor.
"You're trying to get to the 3.5th Floor."
Judging by his expression, I was right.
Shit.
If this guy joined a 3rd-floor party, its members would likely refuse to go to the 3.5th Floor.
They knew it was dangerous. Besides, they weren't that desperate for a 4th-floor wizard.
But Birtanen's party had no choice but to be dragged along. If he strongly persuaded them to check out the inter-floor town, they would have no choice but to follow.
And I could guess the reason he wanted to go to the 3.5th Floor, too.
"Hijikata told me. His friend was captured by the Labyrinth Master on the 3rd Floor and went missing."
That's why that swordsman had tried to interview for our party's vanguard position.
Antonelli must have known about that.
And he must have also known about the Sanctuary of Souls in the inter-floor town. Whether through the Magic University, the Temple, or Remus's party.
The 3.5th Floor Sanctuary holds ossuaries containing the souls of adventurers!
"A necromancer couldn't possibly resist the temptation. You're planning to harvest the souls from those ossuaries, aren't you?"
Of course, necromancy wasn't evil, nor was it illegal.
The problem was...
"If you do that, it will trigger a monster wave."
"..."
"All the adventurers on the 3rd Floor will die. Are you doing this knowing that? You need to get permission from the Adventurer's Guild before attempting such a unique operation. Did you get it?"
Of course he hadn't.
Who in their right mind would approve it?
"Did you consult with the University or the Temple? Did you even properly research the predicted outcome before doing this?"
Of course he hadn't done any of that.
I aimed my wand at Antonelli.
"Answer me."
At the sudden, murderous shift in atmosphere, both parties froze.
Birtanen, Jikal, and Emma looked as if they'd been hit over the head.
Behind me, Yernil quietly nocked an arrow to her bowstring.