Episode 17
Episode 17
Splash-
The sound of water splashing as the Gnolls burst out.
I axed the closest one and kicked it away.
The Gnoll let out a "Kee-eek" and splashed back into the water.
"Ambush??"
Hearing my shout, the party sprang up as if ejected.
It was a reflex, but they didn't seem fully conscious yet.
The most shocked was Furball, who had been on watch.
"Kuh-argh!! How!!"
Furball shouted that and swung his club.
Embarrassed that he'd been ambushed on his watch, Furball's assault was ferocious.
While he tied up two of them, I took down another and launched an attack.
The clever bastard, having nowhere to retreat, dove into the swamp to dodge my attack.
However, Furball and I couldn't cover everything.
No matter how reflexively they stood up, there were clearly those who weren't prepared.
"Kuaaagh!!"
A scream filled with pain.
I turned my head to see a Dark Elf with her throat bitten.
I tried to rush over, but the Gnoll shook its snout like a crocodile, tearing out the Elf's throat before tossing her aside.
The Dark Elf was swung around like a doll bitten by a dog before being thrown and splashing into the swamp.
Red blood soon stained the swamp.
"Rael!!"
The Crusader Elf, who had been swinging her sword, screamed.
It was a desolate voice.
She made a move to rush over but stopped, gritted her teeth, and faced the Gnoll in front of her.
Turning my head to our side, I saw Hera confronting a Gnoll while protecting Erion.
I threw two axes in that direction, then drew my sword and charged the other way.
I deflected a Gnoll that was trying to put the Dwarf in its maw, and he said something.
I didn't have time to listen, so I immediately spun around, inflated my lungs as much as possible, and shouted.
"Sit!!"
Hoping they'd react, I channeled the power of Valtern and swung my sword horizontally with all my might.
With a roar that tore through the air, the standing Gnolls exploded.
But surprisingly, they didn't all die.
I don't know how they did it, but many of these crazy Gnoll bastards had ducked.
In fact, fewer died, and the ones who ducked attacked the party members from that position.
"Aaaagh!!"
One of the Elves was attacked by a Gnoll from a crouching position; she was clawed repeatedly, and blood gushed from her arm. I delivered a soccer kick to the Gnoll, but the Elf didn't look good.
"Hold the wound!"
It was Erion who approached the Elf who looked hopeless.
He wrapped a bandage and a stick around the wound, then twisted the stick with all his might.
The gushing blood stopped.
The Elf curled up, trembling, and Erion treated her while his teeth chattered.
Seeing that things were at least somewhat under control, I rushed at the Gnolls.
The first thought that crossed my mind was that if I reset my skills, I absolutely had to pick a single-target skill.
* * *
The battle continued for a few more minutes.
The result was disastrous.
"Rael... Rael!!"
The Crusader wailed, slamming her board.
In front of her lay the corpse of the Dark Elf, her throat torn out and drained of blood.
Perhaps because the Gnoll's teeth were powerful, her expression was filled with pain.
1 dead. 3 seriously injured.
The deceased, as you can see, is the Dark Elf.
The seriously injured are one Elf, one beastman, and one Gnome.
Of the three seriously injured, one had an arm severed, and one lost consciousness from poison. I managed to save the Elf, one of the injured, and treated her, but she wasn't in peak condition. Fortunately, she was a Healer, so combat ability wasn't crucial.
While everyone was sprawled out with minor injuries, a sharp shout rang through the Labyrinth.
"What the hell is going on here!!"
A fiery rebuke spewed from the mouth of the sword-wielding Elf.
Furball, who had been on watch, couldn't lift his head.
"How could we get ambushed!! How!! We set a watch and set up Alarm Magic! Does it make sense that you didn't know they were right in front of us?!"
"Kuh-heung. I'm sorry."
"Is 'sorry' the end of it? Right now? Rael is dead, Rael is dead!!"
"Calm down."
A voice close to a scream.
It's a justified anger, but the timing is bad.
As I cut in, the Crusader glared at me.
"Calm down? In this situation? A person is dead!!"
"Yeah."
"Would you be able to calm down if it were you?!"
At my words, the Elf shouted even louder.
It wasn't a very good move.
I spoke calmly, but clearly, so as not to provoke her.
"What are you going to do if other monsters come now because they heard that voice? In this situation?"
"...! Kugh...!"
"I understand your feelings and I understand your anger. But at least lower your voice."
As soon as she heard my point, the Crusader gritted her teeth and shut her mouth.
She was just emotionally shaken by the death of her friend (presumably), but she didn't seem like someone who didn't know the basics.
When her voice quieted down a bit, I pointed to the swamp.
"To defend the watchman a little... I don't know if you saw it because the ambush was so sudden, but those bastards came through the swamp."
"... Through the swamp?"
"Yeah. I saw them grabbing legs from inside earlier. They must have come slowly while submerged in the swamp to avoid being detected."
Since the Alarm Magic was only set on the legs, it wouldn't have gone off.
Furball's sense of smell wouldn't have picked it up since they were submerged in the swamp.
It was purely by chance that I heard the sound of air bubbles. If the Gnolls had been a little further away, I wouldn't have heard it, and we might have all been killed in the ambush.
"Th... that's possible?"
"Is it for real? I've never heard of such a thing in my life."
Hearing something she'd never heard of in her life, the Elf forgot her anger and opened her mouth. The Dwarf was skeptical, and Furball, who had been on watch, said dejectedly.
"It's true. *Sniff.* I was just smelling, but I didn't notice anything at all... I'm not trying to shirk responsibility, it really didn't smell. *Sniff.* I kept smelling, but I couldn't catch it. Only the smell of the swamp."
"What kind of..."
"Are you asking us to believe that?"
Complaints spewed out quickly in low voices.
It was understandable.
If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I would have told them not to talk nonsense too.
Even we think it's a low probability.
Even we think it's an absurd situation.
But it actually happened.
"Is that really possible?"
While the party members were whispering to each other.
Listening to Hera's whisper, I pressed my forehead with both fingers.
"You know it too. It's not like there are no intelligent monsters."
"I know that, but this is the 16th Floor."
"Yeah. That's what makes it more troublesome."
How could monsters capable of that level of intelligence appear on the 16th Floor?
Besides, seeing that not a single one of the submerged ones was armed, it seemed they had even taken off their equipment to lighten their bodies for the ambush.
Monsters displaying this level of intelligence, in my opinion, were only found at 'at least' the 40th floor.
Usually, monsters only used their heads this much if you went to the Deep Layer.
So, it wasn't a situation where I could rashly punish the watchman for failing to keep guard.
Who on earth would expect a situation like this?
The Party Leader seemed to think the same, as the Dwarf was lost in thought.
"Still, it's a fact that the guard failed, and because of that, Rael died...! Are you telling us to just let this slide?"
"I get that. Are you trying to discuss the guard failure in this situation? Right after being ambushed by the enemy? When nothing is over yet?"
"That's exactly why we need to deal with it now. If we let it pass, we'll forget."
"You're just covering for him because your race is the one on watch!"
"I didn't let such emotions intervene. I'm trying to look at it as objectively as possible."
The voices going back and forth were low but intense.
I could feel the anger and hatred for losing or injuring party members flowing from their gritted teeth.
In a situation that was basically a fight, even if the voices were low, I made my presence known and approached to ask.
"Discuss such matters later. What's important is now. What are you going to do?"
"What do you mean, what are we going to do?"
"I'm asking whether you're going to keep going or not."
The most important issue.
Whether to proceed further or not.
It was a topic that naturally silenced even the voices filled with anger. While everyone fell into deep thought, I said.
"For the record, I think it's better to return."
"... For what reason?"
"The damage we've taken compared to the path we've traveled is too great. If things stay this way, returning is the right calculation."
The risk is too great if we continue.
Because we have to take two patients who can walk on their own but have no combat ability.
If we had been at the full 15 members from the start, maybe.
But we're not at 15, we're at 12, with 1 dead and 2 seriously injured? This is practically a disbanded party.
And they're saying we have to complete the mission and come back to the 16th floor in that state.
Honestly, I don't know.
On the other hand, going back is at least easier than proceeding.
It's not like we have to go for days, and if we walk through the night, we should be able to get out before the next night comes.
Which side to choose was, at least to me, self-evident.
"Let's go back. We can come back again if we return."
"You want us to just leave like this?"
"I think that's the right thing to do."
The Elf Crusader's question.
But the reason words of agreement didn't come easily was likely because they had their own circumstances.
"Rael is dead, and you want us to just leave without achieving anything? On such a simple mission... I can't go. Right, Silvar?"
"Hmm."
The Elf Healer called Silvar nodded, even with her arm bandaged.
Her resolute will to go no matter what stood out.
The degree varied, but the other party members felt similar.
The beastmen seemed to be against it, but they couldn't say anything since they were the ones who had committed the sin in the first place.
"You guys might be able to go, but I can't. There's so much riding on this party. And a lot I need to pay back."
"Think again. Money can be earned in other ways."
"How? I came in here because I couldn't earn it. Not for any other reason."
Since even the Party Leader, who should be judging coldly, was like this, the only thought that came to mind was that we were stuck.
Leaving them behind and leaving on our own didn't make sense either, so I wiped my face with both hands.
"Let's do this."
"How?"
"If even one more person becomes incapacitated, we return immediately. Anytime, anywhere."
At my words, the Party Leader's expression stiffened.
But I had no intention of conceding.
Honestly, completing the mission was already difficult in this state.
If it had just been one death, maybe, but one person lost consciousness from poison and one lost an arm. Two are incapacitated, but since the headcount is filled, the burden of the Labyrinth is practically the same.
But what if one more person is gone?
From then on, it was just like going to commit suicide.
It was even more so considering that the mission target, the 'Hyantes Flower', always blooms in the deepest part of the 17th Floor.
"If this condition isn't accepted, we'll just return on our own, the three of us."
"Ahem... Alright. If it's to that extent."
The Dwarf nodded and looked around at the other party members.
There were eyes burning with anger, but most nodded like the Party Leader.
"Then let's say that's the policy going forward. What do you think we should do from now on?"
"Hmm."
"Since you were right about the watch, I want to follow your opinion today."
A concession at a strange point.
I wanted to say let's just go back if that's the case, but obviously that wouldn't work.
"Let's just move immediately from now on."
"It's night?"
"At the point where a fight like this has already happened, there's no guarantee that an ambush won't come if we rest here again. It's best to move as quickly as possible and rest in a Safe Zone."
When I made the suggestion, the Dwarf looked back at the party members.
There were dissatisfied expressions and some who weren't, but no further opinions were voiced.
"Then let's do that."
Everyone stood up from their seats.
The Crusader stood up after looking at the Dark Elf's corpse in a daze.
* * *
To escape the night quickly, the party marched at a faster pace than usual.
Usually, the Guide would lead and the others would follow, but this time, the Guide and I stood on a similar line.
It was a way to break through as quickly as possible.
"You... see the path well."
"I have experience."
Experience, my ass.
I didn't have a Guide, so I ended up like this after putting points into related skills.
What the hell is a Paladin doing with skills like Trap Detection and Pathfinding? If I had the skill points I spent on these, I could have leveled up several other skills.
It's not for nothing that I was happy when I got the Reset Coin.
"Is it something that can be done with just experience?"
"I think I have a talent for it. Anyway, it's a good thing."
The night we spent pushing through while having that conversation was, as expected of its reputation, not easy.
"Prepare for battle!!"
We encountered monster groups twice, which we hadn't met even once on the way here. One was a small group of monsters, and one was a small group mixed with medium-sized monsters.
It wasn't a scale that would be a burden usually, but because it was night and we had incapacitated party members, we couldn't defeat them easily, so a few suffered minor injuries.
It was fortunate that no one was seriously injured.
"It seems to be poison. First, I'll suck it out..."
Erion did his part diligently.
Despite having detox potions or magic, he performed traditional (i.e., scientific) treatment first.
The reason was quite logical.
"Because such potions can be used in emergency situations."
An answer he came up with on his own, even though I hadn't taught him separately.
Just looking at what he's shown so far, it was worth recruiting him. Of course, I'd have to see what happens when he's cornered in a crisis.
And only after walking for a few hours like that were we able to arrive in front of the magic circle leading to the 17th Floor.
"There isn't much of the night left, but... let's rest for a little bit. Even if we catch some sleep for an hour or two, it'll be better."
I don't know if it's consideration for beginners or to prevent bug play.
In the early part of the Labyrinth (at least up to the 5th floor), the area near the magic circles moving between floors was set as a Safe Zone.
Of course, it wasn't a permanent Safe Zone; it was only a Safe Zone from the moment the party stepped in until they left. It meant you couldn't go in and out.
"Then, good night."
"Yeah."
Since it was a Safe Zone, we didn't set a watch, and while everyone just took off their equipment and went to sleep.
I quietly reflected on what had happened earlier.
Gnolls that know how to use their heads appeared on the 16th Floor.
This is something that hasn't happened before.
And the fact that something new has happened that didn't exist before means something has changed. Whatever that may be. Whether it's in a realm we can know or not, a change has definitely occurred. How and in what direction that change will come, I couldn't know for now.
I just have to keep it in mind and prepare.
When I finished my thoughts and closed my eyes to sleep, I suddenly remembered what happened earlier.
The dead Dark Elf.
The Elf Crusader left the corpse there.
It was natural since we couldn't take the body and there was no ground to bury it here.
But when the Labyrinth closes, where do the dead and their souls go?
I didn't think the day I'd know would ever come.
No, it shouldn't come.