184 – Labyrinth
I don’t know what kind of conversation Luna and Ellie had, but Luna, who opened the door to the waiting room and came out, looked no different than usual, so I was a little relieved.
Luna, who came closer to me, looked up at me with a somewhat relieved expression and said.
“I will cheer for the game… !”
“Yes. Thank you.”
Contrary to my worries, the conversation with Ellie seems to have gone well. If she was Luna, who is shy and usually mild-mannered, she would be unknowingly bullied by Ellie, she was a little worried….
Maybe she was pretending to be okay for a while, so I glanced at her expression. Luna, as usual, had a pretty smile with puppy-like innocent eyes. Was she a fool
“I’ll wait in the club room after the game. Let’s have dinner with the members today.”
Seeing that Luna seemed to be wagging her tail, she raised her hand and stroked Luna’s head.
“Yes. I’ll go soon.”
As I stared at Luna, who seemed hesitant and unwilling to move even in response to my answer, she unexpectedly kissed my cheek and headed for the arena.
She turned her body and looked at the door to the waiting room with a satisfied look on her face. What I need to do now is to convince Ellie to join my plan. Even if she doesn’t help, she should at least not get in the way of my plans in the second game.
Perhaps persuasion might be surprisingly easy, I thought. It was unlikely that Ellie would turn down her request to bully her. Wouldn’t it rather be a coquettish laugh?
***
I could feel Oliver, who was on my team from behind, approaching me with his armor flapping.
“Eunis, can you see something?”
However, all Eunice could see was the darkness of the labyrinth and the light from the shock-absorbing artifact in her chest. Eunice, who thoroughly investigated the second match, the labyrinth, tried to secure the most important view first.
There is a danger that the monsters in the labyrinth will come to see the light, but the existence of the sight can help you escape the anxiety and fear of the thick darkness.
“No, start with your eyesight-“
Before Eunice could finish her words, something like a golden curtain swept through the labyrinth. The film that had penetrated even Eunice and Oliver’s body pierced the hard wall of the labyrinth like smoke and disappeared in an instant.
Eunice, realizing that something powerful magic had been used, nervously instructed Oliver.
“Be careful. An enemy might appear soon, or it could be a monster in the labyrinth. They say there are many new things added to this triathlon. You never know what will come out.”
Eunice knelt down, put down her staff and tore the hem of his skirt. Using fire elemental magic, he might have been able to light the labyrinth. However, Eunice mainly used earth elemental magic. It is not compatible with the labyrinth surrounded by thick walls.
“I will make a makeshift torch. Give me some cover.”
At that, Oliver nervously grabbed his greatsword and wary of his surroundings. It was Oliver, who left without even swinging a greatsword in his first match. Because of that, he looked a little depressed even before the game started.
In a labyrinth where enemies may appear somewhere, fraud is an important law. It is a place where monsters can pop out even if you have just passed by. Eunice opened her mouth for Oliver, who has not yet shaken off his depression in this place where mental power is rapidly consumed.
“You know that there are many things you can get from this labyrinth, right? In addition to the extra points, the artifacts to use in team fights are also very important. If we stick to our plan here, we can make up for the mistakes we made in the first game.”
Eunice made a makeshift torch using the oil and flint obtained from the annihilation battle, and raised the torch high to light the surroundings. The light pushed the darkness away. Oliver, whose face was exposed in the light, let go of his stiff expression and finally let out a sigh of relief.
Clack-Oliver, who had slapped himself on the cheek with a loud slap, said, shaking his head.
“Sorry, I’m out of my mind. I’ll protect you properly this time.”
Eunice nodded her head with a reassuring smile.
“Okay then, let’s take a look around.”
Oliver took the lead and cleared the way. Due to the use of a two-handed greatsword, the torch was held by Eunice in the back. It was unavoidable that the pace was slow, but it was a choice that could not be helped for safety.
“Are there a lot of strange patterns on the walls?”
Oliver looked curiously at the pattern painted on the wall. Eunice followed suit and checked the pattern, but it was the first time she had seen it.
‘Is this a new addition? Until now, there was no record of anything like a pattern on the wall in the labyrinth….’
Because it might be a hint about the labyrinth, Eunice decided to remember them for now. It was easy to memorize because of his excellent memory.
“For now, keep moving forward….”
“Eunis.”
Oliver interrupted Eunice.
“The enemy.”
As soon as he finished his words, a squeak echoed through the walls of the labyrinth. Step by step- I heard countless small footsteps, and the red eyes drew closer, shining in the darkness of the labyrinth.
It was Oliver who reacted first. The massive greatsword slashed the bodies of the charging enemies, reflecting the torches burning red. It looked similar to a rat, but was about half the size of an adult male and was a blood-sucking vampire rat.
After splitting the enemy, Oliver swung his greatsword without hesitation, believing in the defensive power of his armor. However, the structure of the labyrinth was not suitable for wielding a huge sword. The greatsword that cut through the vampire rat’s body was stuck in the wall of the labyrinth.
Oliver, who used a greatsword, practiced in a terrain similar to his second game, the Labyrinth, in preparation for such an event. However, in a situation where the enemy rushed right in front of him, he unknowingly, reflexively swung the greatsword so that it could exert the greatest power. This was due to lack of practical experience.
Perhaps it was firmly embedded in the wall, and even when Oliver hurriedly tried to retrieve the sword, it did not come off.
Aiming for that gap, the vampire rat rushed at Oliver like throwing himself. In a split second, Oliver gave up his greatsword and tried to switch to martial arts. But he pushed the greatsword away from the wall with an earthy hand protruding from it. Oliver immediately grabbed the hilt of his sword again and slashed at the charging vampire rat.
“Thank you!”
At Oliver’s cry, Eunice didn’t answer and immediately used her magic again. As the hard floor rippled like a swamp, the vampire rats that were rushing at it panicked and slowed down, causing them to lose their balance. Oliver rushed in without missing the chance and drove his greatsword into the heads of the sucking rats.
The head of the last vampire rat exploded. Oliver swung his greatsword, which was clotted with his blood and brain fluid, and peeled away the filth. Then, as if trying to make up for his earlier mistake, he eagerly bent down and picked up a small red cube that had fallen where his body had disappeared.
“Looking at the cube falling, I guess we can exchange it this time too.”
Eunice changed the topic and reacted greatly to Oliver showing the cube with a shy expression.
“Is that so? There might be an exchange in the labyrinth, so I’ll take a good look around. I had a lot of trouble in front of you. Oliver.”
From nob le mt l dot com
Noticing Eunice’s kindness, Oliver took his cube and burned his will to do better next time.
As we continued to move forward, the labyrinth began in earnest. A crossroads appeared.
“Where should I go?”
Oliver handed over his choice to Eunice. It wasn’t about avoiding his responsibility, it was about trusting Eunice. Even if the path was wrong, Oliver would swing his sword silently.
Eunis carefully checked the fork in the road, but there was no significant difference. There was no smell or sound on the dark road. He didn’t know where he was now, so his choice of location depended on pure luck.
“Let’s go left. When there is a fork in the road, you only move in one direction.”
It was the best choice I could make in the current situation. If you’re lucky, you might join another academy if you’re lucky.
Oliver nodded his head without much comment and went ahead on the road to his left. Oliver, who had been walking along carefully listening to him, stopped abruptly.
“Eunis…. Doesn’t it smell like sea water?”
It was a sudden remark, but Eunice, knowing that Oliver was from the island, believed Oliver’s words and accepted them sensitively, even though she couldn’t smell her.
“It might be the smell of the naga minions you saw in Extermination.”
At Eunice’s words, Oliver sniffed and hesitated.
“I see… ? It seems a bit different from the fishy smell.”
It’s important to get the artifact as soon as possible, but I feel like giving Oliver a big sigh for wasting his time in a strange place…. Eunice endured it.
“Because there is no change right now…. But like Oliver said, you have to be careful.”
Oliver nodded at Eunice’s words and moved on again. Soon after, they stopped again. What stopped them was a large cork board covering one of the walls.
As Eunice approached the torch, she confirmed that the name [Request] Was written at the top of the corkboard.
“This looks like a request used by mercenaries… ?”
Why is this here? Eunice checked the request form sparsely attached to the cork board.
[Eliminate monsters in the labyrinth – 100 monsters / 80 points reward]
[Subdue the mimic in the labyrinth / Reward 100 points]
[Find the lost party in the labyrinth / Reward 40 points]
.
.
.
Eunice’s eyes lit up after reading the request. He was not in the traditional triathlon.
‘Did it be made for publicity by the adventurer’s guild?’
Oliver, who was looking at the request form, said, pointing to the one that gave the most points.
“Do you think one of these will be enough to turn the tide?”
Oliver was delighted with the extra point, but Eunice felt a bit uneasy.
“The time limit for the second match is two hours. If you do something wrong because of the request, you may not be able to escape the labyrinth.”
The most important goal is to escape from the labyrinth. There was no point for escaping, but there was a reward for taking an item to use in the next group fight.
When Oliver put on a sad expression, Eunice tore out a piece of request from the crock board.
[Subdue the mimic in the labyrinth / Reward 100 points]
“This might be possible if you’re lucky. You should check the box anyway you find it, right? If you can’t find it in time, just give up.”
It was not written that there would be a separate penalty even if the request failed. Then, it is right to choose the one that has the possibility of both sides.
“Yes. Okay, you know, I’m pretty lucky too. You will be able to meet Mimic.”
At Oliver’s words, Eunice joked to lighten the mood.
“Isn’t it possible to meet a mimic only if you are unlucky?”
“Is that so? hahahaha.”
As we were exchanging such silly jokes, I heard someone’s footsteps in the distance. Oliver erased his smile and raised his greatsword in the direction of the footsteps.
Tadaktadak- The sound of footsteps is short. Opponent was running. In the dark, the light of the shock absorber artifact was faintly visible.
What Oliver finally saw was Ross, a member of Transcendence Academy who eliminated him in one blow. For some reason, he seemed to be alone without a partner.
I wanted to walk around the lightless labyrinth without a single torch, but I realized that I was using magic when I saw that my eyes were shining golden.
Seeing Eunice and Oliver blocking the aisle without slowing down, Oliver took a long breath.
Kang-!
Ross, who lightly blocked the well-timed heavy blow of the greatsword with his spear, passed Oliver without sacrificing his momentum.
In preparation for a counterattack, Oliver, who was taking a defensive stance with the side of his greatsword, belatedly swung his greatsword at Ross’ back, but the distance was already wide.
“Eunis! Danger… ?!”
Embarrassed, Oliver hurriedly shouted, but for some reason, Ross just passed Eunice and didn’t even look at her. Even Eunice, who had finished preparing to use her defensive magic, just stared at Ross’s back as she disappeared into the darkness with a dumbfounded look on her face.
“What, what… ?”
While Eunice was tilting her head with a puzzled expression, Oliver suddenly hugged Eunice roughly.
“What, what are you doing… !”
A show of affection in a game where everyone can see, no matter how attractive you are, this is too public….
But Oliver threw away even his greatsword and ran frantically after Ross, holding Eunice in his arms.
Seeing Oliver’s expression as if he didn’t have time to answer, Eunice turned her head and looked behind him through the gap between Oliver’s armpits. And he shouted with all his might on Oliver’s behalf.
“Moon, run… !!!”
Many monsters were running frantically behind Oliver.