# 77
77. Labyrinth (2)
"A labyrinth?"
Jenna blinked.
I nodded and continued.
"That means it's no ordinary mansion. The passages will be twisted like a labyrinth."
If it's a normal search mission, it's enough to go around the field a few times, but when it comes to searching in a labyrinth field, it's quite a headache.
'I can't get out if I don't go to the designated place.'
It was most likely the exit.
Or the next floor of the labyrinth. If it was the latter, it meant that the labyrinth itself was a linkage stage. It could have continued up to the 20th floor in one place. Iolka asked.
"Where should I go?"
"Just wait. Until Nerissa returns."
Seeing that Nerissa was out of sight, she seemed to have entered one of the forks first.
Will be back soon in the near future. I leaned my back against the wall and closed my eyes. The three members also loosened their postures.
"This is the first time I've been to a place like this. There are no people and the roads are strange. For other missions, I only had to deal with enemies that appeared in front of me, so it was comfortable."
Jenna pursed her lips.
"I agree. It's not funny."
"Are you doing the mission for fun?"
"How can you not be bored? I thought you would fight a stronger enemy from the 16th floor onwards."
The form of the mission has changed slightly.
If the sub-stages before that were short-term, lasting around 10 minutes at most, the composition changed from the 16th floor onwards. In some cases, they could not come out of the labyrinth for several days while exploring. In the worst case, you could get stuck there and your party would be wiped out.
"Relax your posture, but don't let go of tension. Enemies aren't completely gone. They're definitely here."
"I'm glad if that's the case."
Belquist's sword shone coolly.
And five minutes later, Nerissa returned from the central road.
Nerissa bowed her head at me. I spoke right away.
"How about the front?"
"After going through the middle corridor, it seems that the fork in the road leads to one place. It's not that complicated."
"I'm glad then."
"There don't seem to be any enemies or traps, but something a little strangeβ¦"
Nerissa blurred her expression.
I narrowed my eyebrows.
"wonderment?"
"It's hard for me to judge. Once you go, you'll know."
"Then I'll have to see for myself. Everyone wake up."
Three people got up from their seats.
Nerissa stood at the front, and after that we proceeded in the same formation as before through the middle aisle.
Soon after, the aisle ended.
At the end of the passage is a small circular hall.
As Nerissa reported, there were passages on the left and right, respectively, on either side of the entrance we came out of. The three crossroads were a structure that merged into this place.
'It wasn't a complicated maze.'
If they were in different places, one wrong choice could blow up hours.
The supplies we had were not suitable for long-term missions.
I looked around the hall.
Luxurious ornaments are placed everywhere, and a red carpet is laid on the floor. The scenery reflected through the window was still jet-black. In front of the entrance we came out, there was another hallway leading to it.
And in the corner of the hall someone was lying face down. Nerissa whispered to me.
"This is him. He seems to be conscious, but he doesn't react to this side. His condition is also strange."
"I'll go."
I approached him with my sword hanging down.
He leans his head against the wall so he can't see his face. I knew it was a woman. The distance gradually got closer.
"Uhβ¦ uhβ¦ uhβ¦"
The woman in the maid's uniform was letting out a strange moan.
Even when I approach it, it doesn't even move. The sound that came out of his mouth was like a laugh or a cry.
"Ugh!"
The woman vomited something out of her mouth.
black blood. The thick, cloudy liquid stained the carpet black. The woman groaned and vomited blood repeatedly while lying on her stomach. After watching for a moment, I turned my back to the woman.
"It's okay if you don't touch it first."
First of all, the display window notifying the enemy does not appear.
It wasn't normal, but it still seemed like a harmless NPC to us.
Belquist pointed his sword at the woman.
"Suspicious. Wouldn't it be better to kill her? If you don't want to kill a woman, I'll do it."
"Leave it alone. It's best not to touch anything suspicious."
There is also a chance that it is a trap pattern that causes bad events to occur.
There are times when it works as an advantage, but statistically, in these cases, the possibility of bad things happening is higher than good things.
"Then I understand."
Belquist spoke calmly and turned his sword.
Jenna, on the other hand, was staring at the woman with a pitiful expression.
"You look very distressed. I think you have a serious illness."
"Are you going to help?"
"Well, I can't do that. I also have a three-nosed nose."
I nodded and ordered forward.
This time there was only one aisle. Nerissa was far ahead.
"β¦"
Before leaving the hall, I looked back.
The woman is still lying down. His shoulders were slightly shaking.
'I think I've seen it somewhere.'
I'm not talking about women.
I had seen that symptom of vomiting black blood several times during my Master days.
That condition is called contamination. Among the numerous status ailments, it was a curse that belonged to the worst. When I was a Master, I didn't think much of it, but things are different now. It seemed necessary to investigate when the opportunity arose.
Continue down the hallway.
After walking like that for about 10 minutes, the hall came out again. It had the same structure as the original hall, but no people were visible. Again I saw a passage in the front. Iolka frowned.
"It's starting to get boring."
"Where would the road be?"
Jenna grabs the doorknob in the hall and pulls, but it won't open.
It was the same elsewhere. Jenna clicked her tongue slightly.
"Sheesh."
"Don't complain too much. It'll be out soon."
This labyrinth is not a difficult composition.
It was an obvious straight route. It won't be long before an exit to the next floor will be revealed. But something will happen before that. Nothing can happen.
The strange thing happened when I tried to go through the third hole to the fourth hole.
Nerissa, who was in charge of reconnaissance, approached me with a different expression than usual. There was a look of caution in his eyes. Nerissa spoke briefly.
"The enemy."
Belquist touched his sword.
Jenna loaded an arrow into her bow and Iolka caught her breath.
"I'll be in the next hall."
"Yes. The number is seven. He wears armor and is armed with a sword, spear, and crossbow."
"You join me too."
Nerissa drew her sword and stood beside Jenna.
I looked back and said.
"Ambush the enemy as soon as you enter the hall. Xena and Nerissa will be the archers, and the other three will be the swordsmen and spearmen. From now on, don't make any noise until the battle begins."
The four nodded.
A slight tension appears on his face. I proceeded down the aisle, slowing down my steps as much as possible. The end of the aisle was right in front of me. I heard someone talking there.
I lifted my shield-clad left hand and folded my fingers one by one.
It was a signal to inform the timing of the charge.
'three. two.'
The last finger folded.
'one.'
The cheers do not scream.
I sped up and got out alone. My eyes met a man who was leaning against the wall drinking a canteen. My image was reflected in his eyes.
[Human Soldier Lv.14] X 7
An enemy message was displayed.
'bingo.'
I threw the dagger I was holding in my left hand.
hooked
The dagger pierced the soldier's neck.
The soldier collapsed without even screaming.
The throat of the soldier who was about to aim the spear next to him spurted blood.
Belquist, who moved quickly, swung his sword. Just as Belquist cut off one's head, he turned around and pierced the other's chest. Blood flowed along the trail of the sword.
ping!
An arrow hit the right eye of a soldier who was loading a crossbow.
Even the arrow feathers were stuck, so there must have been a hole in the brain. The soldier fell into a standing position. A second arrow flew almost simultaneously and pierced the other crossbowman's heart.
I didn't even need me to organize the seven people.
Belquist and Nerissa, who had burrowed into the ranks of soldiers, fell one by one every time they drew their swords. After that, Zena's arrow aimed for an opening.
I quickly looked around the hall.
This was not the small hall he had been through so far, but a large hall of similar size to when he was summoned here for the first time. In the front there was a staircase leading to the upper floor.
'There is a gate in the back.'
Belquist's sword pierced the chest of the last one.
As soon as I confirmed that he had stopped breathing, I threw the glass marble placed on the display case down the stairs.
Crackle!
The glass marbles hit the transparent walls and shattered and shattered.
"Iolka. Prepare the 1st stage fire magic in the direction of the gate."
"yes?"
"If you want to do it, do it."
"Ah, okay."
Iolka nodded her head urgently and recited the start language.
The flames began to envelop Iolka's entire body. Each time he murmured the incantation, the flames surrounding his body grew thicker. Belquist and Nerissa took a step back.
rattle!
There was a loud noise and the door to the hall opened.
Dozens of soldiers waiting outside the door rushed in all at once.
[Human Soldier Lv.14] X 18
[Human Knight Lv.17] X 5
Iolka's eyes flashed red.
γIgnite!γ
End of the chant.
A group of soldiers were covered in flames in a straight line. A soldier who was directly hit by the flames was roasted and burned. Acrid smoke and the smell of burning flesh rose.
"Belquist, Nerissa. Right!"
Flames swept through the center of the formation.
The enemy was scattered left and right. Following my directions, Belquist and Nerissa moved to the right. Waiting in advance on the left side, I hit the head of the knight who was rushing out with my shield.
puck!
staggering knight. I thrust my sword into the gap in his armor. The feeling of bones being pierced and intestines being torn was transmitted to the fingertips. The knight fell without a word.
Next to the knight, a soldier stabbed a spear at me.
I ignored him and stuck the tip of my sword into the neck of the soldier behind him. The soldier who was about to stab the spear was pierced through the head by an arrow and fell face down.
It would have been a little annoying if they attacked us with formation, but Iolka's flames completely cut off the enemies. Me and Jenna shot down the soldiers struggling in the flames one by one.
The situation on the right is the same.
Belquist and Nerissa hadn't mastered Fire Resistance yet, but it wasn't difficult for them to deal with isolated enemies either. The bodies of the soldiers piled up one by one.
"Kuaaa!"
The knight whose body was on fire swung his sword.
I blocked it with my shield and swung my sword hard. The iron plate, bent by the heat, was cut and blood spurted from the inner flesh.
this guy is the last one
The 23 newly appeared enemies were annihilated in less than five minutes. I immediately threw the dagger down the stairs. The dagger thrown this time got lodged in the carpet on the stairs.
"End of situation. Repair it."
I wiped the blood from the sword on the curtain.
Iolka hesitantly approached.
"How did you know?"
"What
do you mean?" "A second enemy appears
."
The other members are also looking at me curiously to see if they feel the same way.
After confirming that the blood on the sword is gone, I put it in the scabbard.
"It's a simple confirmation. I just used the characteristics of the wall."
Neither the body nor the object touched by the hand cannot pass through the transparent wall.
The stairs in the hall were an obvious passage to the next floor, but the wall was sagging.
"When the first enemy was annihilated, the wall remained intact . Wasn't it?"
A question mark appeared on all four faces.
I smiled lightly.
"You don't have to force yourself to understand it
. "
After finishing the maintenance, I looked at the stairs.
The end of the stairs leading up was covered with
darkness
.
However, it is in the form of a staircase, not an exit.
It meant that similar missions would be repeated on the next floor.
I looked at the party members and said,
"I'll have to prepare a little before coming to the 17th floor.
" It seems to be."
"Is it your taste to smash everything?"
"To be honest,"
I laughed and went up the stairs.
As I reached the top of the stairs with my toes, a message came to mind.
[Stage cleared!]
[' Belquist (β β )' 'Nerissa (β β )' level up!]
[Reward β 50000G]
[MVP β 'Iolka (β β β )']