Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: 1st Floor (3)
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Quite some time had passed since they entered the labyrinth.
In that time, the party made up of mercenaries, soldiers, and Elena had explored smoothly without a single injury.
Even when those aberrant monsters—ones that absolutely shouldn't have been on the 1st floor—kept appearing one after another, the expedition never faced any real danger.
No, they never even got into a situation where danger was possible.
Because every time one of those variants showed up, Elena would bury a hand axe right in its skull, dropping it dead.
And so.
'How in the world...?'
Alto stared at Elena with a look of utter disbelief.
As far as she knew, Elena was weak.
Not just ordinarily weak, but flop hero weak—the kind of reputation that stuck like a curse.
She'd even witnessed that weakness firsthand multiple times, not just hearsay.
That was definitely the case.
'How did she get this strong in just a few months?'
The Elena in Alto's memory was unquestionably weaker than her.
To the point where no one needed to see them fight to predict the winner—the gap was that obvious.
But the Elena Alto was seeing now? She didn't look weak at all. Not even a little.
If anything, Alto had to seriously wonder if she'd come out on top in a real fight.
"..."
...No, truthfully, a growing conviction was taking root in Alto's heart: even if they fought, she'd probably lose.
And so.
'How in the—'
As Alto wrestled with her unanswerable questions yet again,
"We're here."
the expedition reached the end of the 1st floor—and the boss room door at the same time.
The 1st floor boss of Lartania territory was a mutant orc.
Of course, only Kim Hyunwoo—who had cleared Lartania's labyrinth back in its prime ten years ago—knew that. No one in the expedition staring at it now thought of it as a mutant orc.
Not even Elena, who'd heard a rough rundown from Kim Hyunwoo beforehand.
"..."
The moment the boss door swung open, the expedition gaped at the monster before them—so grotesque it barely qualified as one.
The first thing that caught the eye was its throbbing red skin, pulsing like it might burst any second.
Next came its body, even more enormous than any variant they'd seen while exploring the floor.
And finally, those two monstrous heads that hardly screamed orc.
■■■■■■■■-!
The boss's chilling shriek sent the entire expedition into panic.
Even though they knew they weren't the ones fighting it, they all looked like they'd lost the will to battle.
But Elena—who met the boss's feral gaze head-on—kept her face tense but composed as she stared it down.
Soon after, the battle kicked off as the boss bellowed and charged at her.
Its fists—massive enough that one solid hit would spell instant death—swung wildly to crush her.
Boom!
The earth-shaking force made the soldiers blanch as one, but Elena dodged by a hair's breadth.
The boss's onslaught continued right after.
Each missed swing slamming into the ground was enough to twist the soldiers' faces in disgust.
They watched in awe as Elena evaded with near-acrobatic precision, their legs trembling despite themselves.
Some even squeezed their eyes shut when she seemed to slip for a split second, bracing for the hit.
But those soldiers' expressions...
Boom!
...slowly began to change as time wore on.
Boom! Boom!
Dozens of attacks in—by rough count—and Elena hadn't taken a single one.
"...Whoa."
Unlike at the start, she was dodging with actual room to spare now.
So the soldiers—who'd lost their fighting spirit just moments ago—now stared at her in admiration.
■■■■■■■■■■-!!!!
Frustrated at her endless evasion, the boss clasped its hands together and raised them skyward.
Shwick!
Elena seized the brief opening. She leaped, slamming her hand axe straight into the left head's eye.
Crunch!
Something burst with a wet pop, and the boss went berserk.
But Elena didn't stop. Perched atop the orc's head, she balanced with supernatural poise even as it thrashed, popping more eyeballs.
■■■■■■■■-!!!!
Blinded in seconds, the boss rampaged blindly, smashing its own body against the walls and flailing punches everywhere—including at its own wrecked left head.
And so.
After careening wildly enough to cover itself in wounds, it finally punched its own left skull to pieces.
Crunch!
Elena finished it by burying a pair of hand axes in the right head. The boss went limp, utterly slain.
And then.
"Wh-what the hell."
"She took down that monster solo—"
"Incredible...!"
"They called her a flop hero or something, right? That?"
Having soloed the colossal boss, Elena basked in eyes filled with awe and reverence.
"Huff... huff—!"
Panting raggedly, she glanced at the soldiers at the sound of their voices—and caught unfamiliar gazes there.
Not the mocking stares she'd endured forever, but ones brimming with genuine admiration.
And not just from the soldiers—from the mercenaries too.
"Ah."
Something stirred deep in Elena's chest.
This was the kind of gaze she'd always craved from the world.
Her heart raced unbidden, her thoughts drifting to her lord.
The real reason she'd felled this boss so swiftly? Kim Hyunwoo's tips on its patterns and weaknesses.
She recalled his words without thinking.
'Remember: if the 1st floor boss isn't a mutant orc, retreat immediately. But if it is, like I said, keep this in mind.'
'Mutant orcs have low intelligence—they only do basic attacks. Ninety percent will be wild haymakers. They look threatening, but you can dodge them easy.'
'Key point: just watch its fists and evade. Ignore everything else. If it winds up a kick, back off quick—it takes forever to swing those legs.'
'Keep dodging, and it'll rage out, raising both arms. That's your window. It pauses way longer before slamming down—jump up and blind it.'
'Too risky? Bail. But if you can, blind both eyes. It'll thrash into the walls and self-destruct.'
'Obviously, if it acts even a little off from what I described, get out fast.'
Every piece of advice had landed perfectly.
Elena couldn't fathom how her lord knew all this.
Sure, she knew he'd built Lartania in its heyday ten years back.
But that didn't explain it.
Lords didn't delve into labyrinths personally.
Only territory heroes and soldiers did—and bosses fell to heroes.
For Lord Kim Hyunwoo to know the boss patterns this intimately? Bizarre.
His advice felt like insights only gained fighting it firsthand.
But the question faded quick.
Looking at the soldiers still gaping in awe, she thought,
'Thanks to the lord again.'
She didn't know how he knew—but one thing was crystal clear.
Every bit of admiration she was getting right now? All because of him.
Regaining her shattered confidence.
Growing this strong.
Clearing hordes en route here.
Felling the boss and earning cheers from soldiers and mercenaries alike.
All possible only because her lord existed. She knew that for sure.
And so.
"Maybe it's really possible under him."
'To become a hero whose name shakes the continent.'
Elena murmured it to herself, smiling faintly with genuine gratitude for meeting him.
Alto—who'd watched her impossible feat—recalled her quiet mutterings since entering the labyrinth and smiled softly.
"...I see."
As the 1st floor boss died and its corpse vanished, a hefty magic stone appeared. Elena eyed it.
"...?"
Then she spotted something by its foot, scooped it up.
"...A bone?"
It was a bone, alright.
Not ordinary—glowing faintly blue.
'...What's this?'
Staring at the forearm-length fragment, Elena's mind flashed to the boss fight.
Earlier, when she'd nearly slipped into danger, the boss had suddenly twisted its left leg—letting her fully evade what should've been a blocked attack.
Seeing the blue bone from its left foot, she remembered: labyrinth monsters left no corpses.
This mystery bone had saved her dodge somehow.
After pondering it a while,
'Head back first.'
Elena decided to return to the territory with the blue bone fragment.
Back at the territory, Elena stopped by her room first to wash off the monster fluids splattered from the kills.
'...Nothing weird, right?'
She gave her body a quick once-over—nothing she'd fretted much about before—and headed to the office for her report.
Hand on the doorknob, she froze without warning.
"What do you think? If the lord wants me, I'd join this territory in a heartbeat. Oh, but the territory stone's small due to the size limit, so you'd probably have to drop Elena to recruit me."
The reason?
"Ah, since I'm volunteering, you don't need a big signing bonus. Just say the word, and I'm yours. Same with contract length—name your terms."
A voice.
"Frankly, it's a steal for a hero like me at these conditions. So, what'll it be, lord?"
Alto's voice—the one who'd delved the labyrinth with her.
"..."
...Elena swallowed hard.