Chapter 90: Labyrinth(2)
Chapter 90: Labyrinth(2)
The ground trembled with a deafening thud.
Seriously, what kind of madman puts a boss right at the dungeon entrance?
When I first saw the Minotaur's location on the map, I couldn't help but curse.
"Everyone, hurry this way!"
Moooooo-
Worst of all, it wasn't just one Minotaur.
They appear based on the number of people. Right now, there were two Minotaurs in the dungeon.
"Kerry-nim! What is that sound?"
"I don't know the details, but I have a bad feeling about it. It might be an enemy we can't handle in our current state."
It was just a guess, but the Minotaur probably wasn't something we were meant to fight and win against.
Besides, we could just ignore it. There was only one way to clear this labyrinth, after all.
The goal was simply to climb the altar towering in the center.
That was both the exit and the location of the Doll Ginseng.
Thud— Thud— Thud—
When I glanced back, a monster with the head of a bull was chasing our party.
Its eyes were bloodshot. Did it have mad cow disease or something?
"So that's the dungeon boss."
"Should we fight it, Husband?"
"No. It's too much for us right now. Just follow me."
I already had a plan to shake off the Minotaur in this early section.
As long as the party trusted and followed me, everything would be fine.
Kerry shouted as he fled with the others.
"I think there's an arrow trap just ahead. They'll shoot out from the walls, so keep your eyes peeled as you pass."
"What? An arrow trap? Husband, how do you..."
"This is not the time for questions, Natasha. Let's do as Kerry says for now."
Just as Kerry instructed, the party focused their attention on the walls.
"I'll go first."
Lina ran ahead.
Just because our stats were the same didn't mean our accumulated experience and skill were.
The moment Lina threw herself forward, holes began to pop open along the walls.
It was the arrow trap Kerry had mentioned.
Arrows shot out from both sides.
One from the left wall aimed at her torso. One from the right wall aimed at her legs.
Lina moved and dodged them without even looking.
I had no idea how she did it. She simply let the arrows flow past her like water.
I got a good look at how the arrow trap worked.
'But fuck, how am I supposed to copy that?'
I was no master like Lina.
Seeing Kerry hesitate in front of the trap, Lina shouted.
"The trick is the sound, Kerry-nim! You'll hear a click right before the arrows fire. If you focus on that sound, you should be able to dodge them."
Even with her kind explanation, I couldn't do it! If you can't, you can't. Not everyone was a master like Lina.
"Kerry. It's all right. Come to my side. Let's go together."
Victoria came up beside me.
The sight of her large shield was somewhat reassuring.
"Please take care of my husband!"
"Don't you worry. Go on ahead."
Natasha ran through the arrow-filled corridor.
Like Lina, she dodged every single arrow with nimble movements.
No way. That didn't look like something you could dodge so easily.
It was hard to believe Lina and Natasha both had the same 10 points in all stats.
Natasha did a few backflips and landed where Lina was waiting.
Only Victoria and Kerry remained.
"I'm counting on you, Victoria."
"You have nothing to worry about."
So reliable. Truly the party's tank!
Victoria and Kerry passed through the arrow trap together. There was none of the flair that Lina or Natasha had shown.
But Victoria was expertly blocking the arrows with her shield.
Sparks flew from her shield with a ting each time an arrow struck. Phew. Terrifying.
Victoria deflected every single arrow from both sides. So dependable.
"It's over. A rather dull trap, I must say."
She calls this dull? To Kerry, the hero party just looked like a bunch of monsters.
"Let's start running again. The Minotaur is getting closer."
"Right, Lina-nim."
The pursuing Minotaur let out a roar.
The party ran ahead.
Kerry glanced back, curious to see how the Minotaur would get through the trap.
The moment the Minotaur reached the trap, arrows rained down on it.
Mooooooo!
“...”
The Minotaur just took the arrows with its bare body and kept running.
It wasn't without damage; blood trickled from the spots where the arrows hit.
I could see roughly how we were supposed to beat this thing.
It seemed we could defeat the Minotaur by using the labyrinth's traps.
There was no need to charge that behemoth with our measly 10 points in all stats.
Kerry recalled his memories and shouted.
"There's another trap up ahead!"
"Husband! How in the world do you know that?"
"I'll tell you later, Natasha. For now, just do as I say!"
"What kind of trap is it this time, Kerry-nim?"
"I think it's a pitfall trap. Let's jump on the statues on either side to avoid stepping on the floor."
The party followed Kerry's instructions.
They crossed the pitfall trap by stepping on small statues of Minotaurs.
Falling into that trap would have caused all sorts of trouble, but thanks to Kerry, that wouldn't happen.
Moooooo!
Just as Kerry passed the trap.
The Minotaur came charging. Why was that bull bastard so fast? Wasn't this completely broken?
But now, there was no need to worry.
The Minotaur made a reckless charge. The moment its hooves hit the floor, the ground opened up.
The Minotaur roared as it fell into the pit.
Uuuugh-mooo!
"Did we get him?"
"No, Victoria. That's a dangerous line..."
"What's wrong with saying 'Did we get him'?"
“...”
Just then, the Minotaur's hand shot up from the pit.
"See! This is your fault, Victoria."
"What? I mean, how is this my fault?"
Even if I explained it, Victoria wouldn't understand.
It didn't matter. The condition for clearing the dungeon wasn't to kill the Minotaur, but to reach the center of the labyrinth.
"Let's just run before it climbs back out."
"Kerry, why don't we just finish it off here? It's immobilized right now."
"No. I doubt the dungeon is designed to be that easy."
I couldn't tell the party, but even if we killed the Minotaur, it would just respawn after a certain amount of time.
It was a fucking shitty design.
"Fine. I understand. I'll follow your lead for now, Kerry. Where to next?"
"Even I'm not sure about that..."
Actually, I knew perfectly well. But if I acted like I knew too much, it would be hard to explain later.
"Let's try this way. I have a feeling something good will happen if we go this way."
"...Alright."
The party ran down the path Kerry had pointed to.
It was a relief that they followed him so readily. The labyrinth was not a pleasant place.
It was filled with the musty smell of an old cellar.
But even in the labyrinth, there was hope.
Even now, if I looked up toward the sky, I could see a tall altar bathed in a bright light.
My Doll Ginseng is up there!
The party navigated the labyrinth according to Kerry's directions.
Kerry made excuses to rest now and then, using the time to check the map and confirm the route.
As long as I remembered the traps, finding the way with the map wasn't difficult.
We passed a few more traps.
At the end of the path, we finally arrived at the first rest area.
"This is... quite beautiful, Kerry."
"Yes, it is."
"Husband, what is this fountain?"
Before the party stood a beautiful fountain.
Clear water flowed endlessly from it.
"Is this another trap, Kerry-nim?"
"Well... I don't know everything."
A lie. I knew everything. This fountain was a rest stop, a place to rest your body and quench your thirst.
The Minotaur wouldn't come here either.
"I'm thirsty. I think I'll have a drink."
Kerry approached the fountain and scooped up some water with his hands.
"!"
"H-Husband, no! Spit it out! It could be poison—"
Before Natasha could finish her sentence.
Kerry drank the water down. Of course, he only did it because he knew it wasn't poisoned.
"I already drank it, Natasha. Besides, I was too thirsty to hold back."
The party fussed over Kerry, asking if he was okay.
Natasha, of course, but also Victoria with her grave expression, and even Lina approaching with wide, surprised eyes... it made me feel a little bad.
After a short while, the party's excitement began to calm down.
Then Kerry spoke.
"I think this water is safe to drink. If it were poison, something would have happened to me by now, but I'm perfectly fine."
“...”
The party suddenly stared intently at Kerry. Lina, with a serious look on her face, spoke up.
"Don't tell me, Kerry-nim... did you test if the water was safe with your own body?"
What kind of nonsense was she spouting with such a straight face? Why would I ever do something like that?
"Husband... is that... really what you did?"
"Come to think of it, Lina is right. I've never seen Kerry do anything so rash. It would be difficult to clear the dungeon without water to drink... so you drank it first for our sake. Isn't that right, Kerry?"
“...”
I was at a loss for words.
This was all Lina's fault. Did she think I was some great saint from the history books?
Testing for poison with my own body? I wasn't that kind of great man. No, I wasn't that kind of sucker.
"...Anyway, the water seems fine, so please, drink up."
“...”
I had changed the subject because I had nothing else to say, but it seemed to have been the final blow that confirmed their misunderstanding.
Natasha finally burst into tears.
Victoria's eyes welled up as she sternly warned me never to do that again.
Lina was the same.
I had to endure a lecture from her the entire time the others were drinking.
'...I'd rather be running through the dungeon than deal with this.'
While Kerry was getting an earful from Lina.
Natasha, who seemed to have calmed down after drinking some water, approached.
"By the way, Husband... how did you know about the traps?"
A chance to escape Lina's lecture!
Kerry answered immediately.
Lina, also curious, stopped her lecture and stared at me.
"Back when I was an adventurer, I learned a few tricks from someone who specialized in rogue work. Since then, I've developed an eye for it, and while I'm no expert, I can at least imitate what they do."
Of course, it was all a lie.
In the first place, Kerry never worked with rogues—or thieving bastards, as they were called. Every last one of them was a motherless son of a bitch you couldn't even associate with.
There was a widely known rumor in the industry that if you partied with a rogue, your valuables would inevitably go missing.
That's why rogues were looked down upon and called thieving bastards.
"There must be some great trick to it. I couldn't see a thing no matter how hard I looked. In any case, that's amazing, Kerry."
"A trick... I'd love to hear about it sometime, Kerry-nim."
“...”
Lina wanted to hear the trick. That was a fucking problem.
"Well, I say it's a trick... but I don't know the details myself. It's about half luck, really."
I figured I'd have to pretend not to know and get it wrong when we came across an easier trap later.
The party rested enough at the fountain.
It didn't seem to be ordinary water; drinking it restored some of our energy. We had rested enough. It was time to move.
The Doll Ginseng was waiting for me.
"Let's get moving."
"Yes, Kerry-nim."
Before I knew it, Kerry was leading the party. It was only natural, since he seemed to know the dungeon best.
Lina gave me her characteristic look of complete trust. Suddenly, the pressure was immense.
Just then, a loud noise came from somewhere.
Moooooooooo!
"This crazy bull! Won't you get lost?"
That was definitely Nassen's voice.
I glanced to my side and saw Natasha grinding her teeth. Where was that sound coming from?
The sound echoed within the labyrinth, making it hard to pinpoint.
But one thing was certain: it was quite close.
Kerry took out the trump card he'd been saving.
"Kerry-nim, is that..."
"A Magic Storage Orb. This one contains a tracking spell. It's impossible to wield mana in here, but..."
"...you're saying it might be possible to use the mana already stored in the orb. As expected of you, Kerry-nim."
Kerry nodded. He didn't know if it would work or not. But there was no harm in trying.
Kerry squeezed the Magic Storage Orb tightly in his hand.
At the same time, the Magic Storage Orb began to emit a faint light.