Chapter 89: Labyrinth(1)
Chapter 89: Labyrinth(1)
Lina’s party resumed their pursuit of Nassen.
Just as she’d warned, today’s pace was a grueling forced march.
I know it sounds spoiled, but just being carried was enough to make me miserably nauseous.
“Let’s rest here for a moment.”
Even a forced march required breaks.
That was true no matter how incredible a mana user you were.
Lina took out her canteen to have a drink.
But no water came out. She’d drunk it all. With a look of disappointment, Lina closed the lid.
“Have some of this, Lina.”
Since I’d only been riding on someone’s back, I had barely drunk any water.
In fact, I felt like if I drank anything, it would slosh around and I’d throw up.
Lina awkwardly accepted my canteen.
Why is she being so awkward about it? She used to hand me her own canteen without a second thought.
She even stared intently at the mouth of the canteen.
Is she thinking about something like an indirect kiss? Lina drank from the canteen, holding her lips far from the opening.
“Thank you, Kerry. We’ll rest here for ten minutes, then set off again.”
“As you wish.”
“Yes, Lina.”
The one who looked most comfortable right now was the old crone riding on Lina’s back.
How could she sleep so peacefully up there?
Meanwhile, I was over here on Victoria’s back, dying of motion sickness.
Not that I could voice such a complaint.
I want to sleep comfortably on Lina’s back, too.
But seeing Lina’s newly awkward reactions, I knew that was completely out of the question.
Yeah, no matter how I thought about it, this wasn’t just me being delusional.
I might have been average back in Korea, but in this world, I was a ridiculously handsome guy. The popularity I had in this world was proof enough.
Kerry’s handsome-guy power has shattered Lina’s iron wall!
That was the only way to see the situation right now.
I mean, not long ago, Lina even got a look at the magnificence of my junk.
It might have been covered by my underwear, but its majesty couldn’t be hidden.
To Lina, I’ve now become a well-endowed, handsome stud!
It’s only natural for a woman to fall for a well-endowed, handsome stud.
It was a truth that could be called a law of nature.
There was other evidence that Lina’s iron wall was crumbling.
And that evidence was Natasha.
Before, Natasha had never been wary of Lina.
It was probably because she sensed that Lina didn’t see me as a man at all.
But things were different now.
Natasha was extremely wary of Lina.
So much so that it felt a little blatant, perhaps because Lina was so beautiful.
Natasha wouldn’t leave me and Lina alone together.
Not even for the brief moment it took for me to lend Lina my canteen.
“My husband. I want some water, too.”
“Natasha, you still have water in your canteen.”
“I want to drink the water from my husband’s canteen, too.”
Then what am I supposed to drink?
As if he had no choice, Kerry handed the canteen to Natasha.
She wasn’t even that thirsty, it seemed, as she took a tiny sip before giving it back.
It was obvious she’d only come over because she was anxious seeing me and Lina together.
This jealousy isn’t good. Our party always needs to be happy.
Kerry whispered quietly to Natasha.
“Natasha. You have to get along with Lina. You can’t be mean to her.”
“But… but… Hiiing…”
“Have you forgotten you promised to listen to me?”
At those words, Natasha’s eyes glazed over for a moment before returning to normal.
“…That’s right. I have to listen to my husband… I have to listen to get a reward.”
“That’s right, Natasha.”
The moment Kerry finished whispering, it was as if nothing had happened.
Natasha approached Lina and began chattering away.
Lina seemed a little taken aback by the sudden change in her attitude.
The effects of the obedience training were greater than I could have imagined.
Lina, seeming to enjoy Natasha’s friendly demeanor, was smiling brightly. Good girl. That’s all that matters.
Maybe later… Lina and I will end up in a… serious relationship.
At this rate, I was starting to worry I might end up turning this entire hero party into my personal harem.
“We’ve rested enough. Let’s get moving.”
“My husband. Let me carry you this time.”
“Alright, Natasha.”
“Kerry, I’ve barely carried you at all yet,” Victoria pouted.
If Victoria carried me any longer, my ass might get rubbed raw. She wouldn’t stop touching it.
In the end, I let Natasha carry me, leaving a grumbling Victoria behind.
Letting Natasha carry me was her reward. She’d earned it by listening to what I said about getting along with Lina.
It wasn’t long after the party started running again.
Finally, the chase after Nassen was over.
A steep mountain slope. In the middle of it, a gaping hole. A cave.
It looked like an ordinary cave, but its true nature was different. Everyone in the party could feel it.
“That’s… a dungeon. Nassen’s tracks lead inside.”
Kerry used the Goddess’s Eye.
[Dungeon Name - Labyrinth]
[Grade – Epic]
[Summary - A dungeon structured like a complex labyrinth. It is filled with monsters and traps.
Special Trait: Skills are sealed inside the Labyrinth. All stats are restricted to 10.]
[Party Size - 1/10]
This is fucked. I get that dungeons are supposed to be a pain in the ass, but sealing skills and fixing stats is just bullshit.
And all stats at 10 meant we’d be no different from ordinary people.
Clear a dungeon as a normal person? Are you insane? Seriously, who the hell made this dungeon?
I had a sudden urge to smash in the head of whoever created this place.
Alright, let’s take this one step at a time.
Skill sealing. That probably meant no magic, obviously.
There was no mention of equipment, so we might still be able to use our gear.
“Why would Nassen go in there?”
“It must be for the dungeon reward, don’t you think?”
[Clear Rewards - Minotaur’s Axe, Minotaur’s Hide, Minotaur’s Horn, Hero Grade or higher equipment, Doll Ginseng (Hidden Reward)]
Looking at the rewards, there were more than enough reasons for that bastard to go inside.
Especially the Doll Ginseng.
Just by the name, it sounded amazing. The fact that it was kindly labeled a hidden reward confirmed it.
The White Witch’s Elixir gave me ten years’ worth of mana and this much growth… If I eat the Doll Ginseng on top of that… it’d be fucking awesome.
I might even be able to secure a spot as a proper damage dealer in the hero party.
Facing the dungeon, Lina asked the group.
“What should we do? Shall we enter?”
“Let’s go in right now! Let’s go in and tear that bastard to shreds.”
Natasha, thoroughly excited, urged them forward.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand her, but hearing her talk about killing someone in that cute voice was a little scary.
“Calm down, Natasha. I just wanted to hear everyone’s opinion before we go in.”
“I have no problem going in,” Victoria said.
“I shall remain outside. Hohoho. My knees aren’t what they used to be; a place like a dungeon is too much for me,” the grandmother chuckled.
Natasha asked, her voice filled with concern for the old woman.
“Grandmother… will you be okay in the forest by yourself?”
“So you finally spare a thought for your granny instead of just your husband. Don’t you worry, Natasha. In my younger days, I once survived in the jungle for over a month by myself.”
The old crone wasn’t useless.
With her years of experience, she’d be able to survive in the forest somehow.
If I had known about this dungeon in advance, we would have left her in the village.
But there was no helping it now.
If Nassen clears the dungeon while we’re taking the old woman back to the village, we’ll be in trouble.
But entering the dungeon as we were was also a problem.
Skills sealed. Stats fixed.
It would be helpful if I could somehow tell the party, but to do that, I’d have to reveal the Goddess’s Eye, my trump card.
They might even interrogate me, asking why I’d hidden it all this time.
What should I do? If only I had some time to prepare items for the Labyrinth, even just for myself, it would be fine.
But right now, there was no time to prepare anything.
“It seems everyone else agrees to enter the dungeon. What about you, Kerry?”
“…”
Lina asked with a serious expression.
Pretending to think, Kerry examined the dungeon’s detailed information.
[Details - Displays the map of the Labyrinth dungeon.]
“!”
In that instant, a map of the Labyrinth unfolded before Kerry’s eyes. Of course, it was a map only he could see.
The map showed where every trap was located and even listed the types of monsters.
It revealed everything, right down to the hidden secret passages.
“Isn’t this a little too broken?”
“Pardon?”
“Oh, no. Sorry. I was just talking to myself. More importantly… Lina.”
“Yes, Kerry.”
“I also agree to enter the dungeon. Of course we have to go in. Nassen is in there.”
Damn right. My Doll Ginseng is waiting in that dungeon… I mean. Bloody revenge is waiting.
“Spoken like the true Kerry. To be honest, even I’m nervous about this dungeon, but you seem so composed. Your love for Natasha must be giving you courage.”
“?”
“That’s my husband! I have no one but you.”
Being with these pure souls was somehow making me feel like a piece of trash.
Soothing his aching conscience, Kerry continued.
“Entering the dungeon is fine. However…”
“However?”
The party’s attention focused on him.
Suddenly, all eyes are on me. This isn’t what I wanted.
“I need to use the restroom. Better take care of business beforehand so there are no problems later.”
“…”
“You’re really something else, Kerry. Hehe.”
At Kerry’s anticlimactic announcement, the party let out a few chuckles.
For now, this was enough.
Kerry secretly grabbed some paper and a quill pen.
It was precious paper, so expensive he only carried a few sheets. Same for the quill.
Who knew the day would come when paper and a pen would be this useful!
It was time to activate my permanent map hack.
*
Pretending to relieve himself, Kerry moved far away from the party.
Then, hiding in the bushes, he began to trace the Labyrinth onto the crappy-textured paper with his quill.
It said skills would be sealed. That means I probably won’t be able to use the Goddess’s Eye inside.
That was why Kerry had to draw the map beforehand.
Since it was floating right in front of his eyes like a hologram, he just had to place the paper over it and trace. A map was whipped up in no time.
Be thorough. It’s no exaggeration to say this will be our lifeline in the dungeon.
Wait a minute… they’ve set up some real bullshit at the entrance. We’ll have to be ready to deal with this as soon as we go in.
As he traced the Labyrinth, he also calculated how to tackle the initial part of the dungeon.
He didn’t have much time, given his excuse.
Well, it wasn’t like the party would abandon him and go in if he took a little longer.
It was more important to draw a detailed map of the dungeon, even if it meant they’d think he was constipated.
It felt like it took about 15 minutes to trace the map and another 10 to plan the initial approach.
Roughly 25 minutes in total.
That was just a guess, since I didn’t have a watch.
Are they really going to think I’m constipated?
Kerry hurried back to the party.
When he returned, the looks he got were, as expected, strange. It was probably just my imagination that they seemed to be looking at me with pity.
“Sorry I took so long. I guess I got nervous thinking about entering the dungeon. Let’s go in now.”
“Yes, Kerry.”
“It’s okay if you take a long time, my husband. Hehe.”
Hmm. As expected, no one in the party was giving me shit for being constipated. They were all angels.
Just then, Victoria sidled up and whispered in my ear.
“When we get to the next town, I’ll get you some good medicine for constipation, Kerry. If you take that… you won’t have to suffer in the bathroom anymore.”
“…”
Wait, don’t tell me they all think I’m constipated but aren’t saying anything because they think I’d be embarrassed. That’s so damn unfair!
“Um… everyone, I have something to say. I’m not constipated. Really.”
“…”
“I was just nervous, that’s all.”
“We understand, Kerry.”
“It’s okay, my husband.”
“I’m telling you, it was because I was nervous… Hey, is anyone listening to me?”
“…”
I’m really not constipated. But no one looked like they believed me.
*
[You have entered the dungeon ‘Labyrinth’.]
We were finally inside.
There was no point in trying to explain away the constipation thing. It felt like I’d only make myself look more pathetic if I kept talking, so I gave up.
Lina took the lead and addressed the party.
“Everyone, stay on high alert. In a dungeon, there could be any number of dangers…”
It was then.
[The Labyrinth of the dungeon casts a curse. Skills are sealed. All stats are fixed at 10.]
“What? This is absurd… Did everyone else see that message?”
“I’ve heard of dungeons like this, but… I never imagined this would be one of them.”
“I really can’t control my mana. What do we do?”
Lina, Natasha, and Victoria were all mana users.
With the mana they relied on gone, they were visibly flustered.
The calmest one here was Kerry. Of course, he already knew.
He wanted to give the party time to adjust, but there was no time for that now.
Because whoever designed this dungeon had set up some real bullshit right at the entrance.
“Everyone! This is no time to panic!”
“Huh? My husband, what do you mean?”
This damn dungeon had unleashed its boss, the Minotaur, right at the entrance.
I had confirmed it on the map, so I was certain.
Just as the party’s eyes focused on Kerry, a sound echoed.
Moooooooooo—
The roar of a Minotaur thundered through the dungeon. Kerry shouted to the party.
“Everyone, follow me. Quickly!”