NOVEL NEXT Chapter 105
I regained my senses for the first time near the northern end.
‘Since the connection of the earrings isn’t continuing, it’s reasonable to exclude this side for now.’
Unless they deliberately chose to come from the north after falling right in the middle.
It was best to give up on the thought of running into them by chance.
Assuming my separated companions aim for the nearby settlement…
I had to move at least three to four times faster than them and check the settlements in each direction first.
‘I can’t check every inch of the 4th Floor. If I did, at least a week would pass in a breeze.’
In the end, I had no choice but to chart an optimal route based on the elements I possessed.
North-East-South-West.
No need to overthink it; I decided to head east and sweep through like drawing a rectangle.
From my current position: North → East → South → West.
Day 1.
I continuously infused the magical energy surging from my heart into my legs and feet.
Fwoosh!
The formless magical energy spread from beneath my feet, accelerating my running motion.
Enhancements to my agility and fatigue reduction, propulsion adjustments, and more.
While others might struggle with the limited magical energy used through their traits, skills, magic, or equipment, for me, it was practically an unlimited resource without any restrictions.
‘If using magic didn’t require separate management or concentration, I would have been halfway flying around by now instead of just running mindlessly.’
Damn it. I wish I had a movement ability like the whirlwind of the dead Isaac.
Regardless of my internal complaints, the fact remained that I was steadily running.
The scenery surrounding me whipped past in an instant.
[I’m worried that if Chaos keeps running like that, it might spread even faster.]
‘It’s fine. I’ll manage, so don’t worry.’
There was only one issue: the noise that echoed with each step.
As I stomped down hard while expelling magic from the soles of my feet, noise inevitably occurred.
In the quiet woods, it echoed especially loudly, naturally drawing the attention of surrounding creatures.
“Kiyaa!!”
A horde of goblins blocked my path as I ran.
‘Right. I was wondering why not even a monster came out while going straight through the woods.’
I was even short on time to speak or swing my sword.
“Kerak!”
The leader, a large, dark-skinned hobgoblin warrior, swung his sword at me.
Bam!!!
“Gehek.”
I pushed my shoulder into the trajectory of the strike and knocked the sword off, then charged straight into him.
Perhaps because I hadn’t stopped running until now, the hobgoblin, hit by my shoulder tackle, flew back like a deer struck by a truck.
Bouncing off a tree and foaming at the mouth, he lay motionless—he was dead on the spot.
“Kiyaaah!”
Mistakenly believing they had stopped me with their leader’s sacrifice, several mutated goblins charged in with ripping screams.
Each attack was so predictable that I didn’t even need to rely on Chaos.
Whoosh. Hwoong.
Switching to my great sword, I spun like a windmill.
Shwaac!!!
I focused delicately only on dodging facial attacks while pushing through with raw force.
‘How do you think I survived all this time? Trials and higher species are merely variables to deal with; if I get hurt by these pathetic goblins, I might as well give up on being an adventurer!’
Epusio. Grielops. Pool Serpent.
Without them, I would have graduated from the 4th Floor long ago.
Ping─ Ting!
“Kiie?”
I saw a goblin archer at the back of the group looking bewildered.
The arrow had struck precisely in my heart area as intended, but… well.
There was no way a short little goblin like that could scratch my armor.
By the time I slaughtered the dozen or so goblins charging at me, only two archers and one notably small individual remained.
…Wait a minute.
A undersized mutated one that was only a head shorter?
It’s self-destructing!
The instant I saw the glint in the mutated one’s eyes, I swung my sword as if wielding a baseball bat.
In the blink of an eye, the little guy turned red and exploded in a violent collision with the two remaining archers.
BOOOOM!!!
With the loud bang, the body parts scattered.
The mad mutated one’s self-destruction instantly transformed its kin into bone fragments.
‘So this is that self-destructing goblin. Seeing it in action is a bit creepy.’
A goblin self-destruct that, when heavily damaged or on the brink of death, explodes after a few seconds, causing area-of-effect damage.
The sheer ferocity of it wasn’t mistaken; it was emphasized as a warning among goblin-type monsters for a reason.
“Phew.”
If you don’t know, you get caught.
I repeated that saying I had read in my book once more in this battle.
[Chaos praises you, saying you’ve grown tremendously compared to when you first fought naked in the labyrinth.]
“Heh. That’s true… but still far from enough.”
I didn’t even have time to collect the aftermath.
I turned my back on the grotesquely killed bodies.
‘Speaking of which, I worry for Lumia, who will feel pain every day, and El, who just keeps sleeping. I need to move faster.’
Fwoosh!
I began clearing anything that blocked my path, whether it be trees or monsters.
*
“Ugh. Aah.”
Suddenly, Lumia stopped walking and clutched her head.
“Lumia! Are you hurt? Do you need healing?”
“No. I’m fine. Just a little—Ugh!”
She intended to reply that she was okay and not to worry at Yeriell’s concern, but as her headache intensified, she had no choice but to let out a groan and slump down weakly.
“By the light, heal her!”
A gentle light enveloped her body, and at last, Lumia removed her hands from her head and sighed.
“I heard that Arin’s curse would gradually purify, but it would bring pain once a day… I didn’t expect it to be this intense.”
“Don’t worry! I’ll heal you every day whenever you feel pain.”
Seeing Yeriell clench her little fists, Lumia smiled faintly.
“Thank you. I don’t know how long it will take to purify completely, but I feel reassured thanks to you.”
“Heh. We’re companions, after all. It’s especially during times like this that we need to help each other!”
Yeriell looked down at El, who was fast asleep in her arms.
“I wish she could get better with some healing or purification… I can’t even guess what made El fall asleep.”
Since the time everyone passed through the trials and the path to the sanctuary opened, El had been sleeping soundly without waking.
Arin had stepped forward as the representative of the party and asked the transcendent Adeleia if she knew anything, but all that returned was a formal response saying the servant demon was in perfect condition and would wake up in due time.
“She didn’t wake up even after being shaken awake. From what I heard last time, she seems to be in a deep sleep at first glance, so it’s best to leave her be for now.”
Veronica urged the group.
“Alright then, since she’s fine now, let’s move again. Lumia, is there anything we should be aware of on our way to the destination?”
With the spare maps, compass, and Lumia’s own senses taken from the backpack, there should be no problem finding the way to the portal.
As long as other adventurer parties didn’t try to ambush us, we seemed likely to escape smoothly.
“Although it will still take a few days to arrive, there’s nothing particularly concerning marked on the map.”
“Then we just have to watch out for monsters and adventurers. Let’s take a break and depart. To the western settlement.”
After a brief rest, we resumed our movement.
*
Day 2.
Damn it. The way east turned out to be a total bust.
While running nonstop, I tried sending telepathy every few minutes, but of course, there was no response from Yeriell. Silence reigned in my mind.
After registering Solas, my overall stats had risen a notch to a C+ rating in stamina.
Thus, even while skimping on rest with quick naps, I had run all day, yet it was in vain.
The fact that ordinary low-level parties covered that distance in days made my efforts feel pointless.
‘Sigh… The saying goes, you can’t be full on the first meal. Instead of moping, let’s run. Just run.’
[Chaos clenches its fist and encourages you to keep your spirits up!]
[Chaos is jumping up and down to cheer you on!]
Just cheering is good; there’s no need to bounce around… it’s kind of cute.
My next target is the southern settlement.
I spread out the map and burned the marked terrain and routes into my memory.
Forests, plains, and giant trees.
‘Alright. Let’s see how far I can run until I’m exhausted and collapsed.’
Thud!
I gritted my teeth and pounded the ground.
…
An hour passed.
Seeing a party of average E-rankers battling a group of monsters, I dashed past them without restraint.
With three hobgoblins, it seemed the fight would take a while, and it would be better to slip through than have to deviate the route by dodging them, even if I had to eat a few insults.
Slash!
“Kiaaak!”
The venue fell silent for a moment upon the scream of the hobgoblin being cleaved in two.
“Hey! Didn’t you learn in guild training that suddenly intervening could get you killed?”
As expected, a black-haired warrior wielding axes in both hands got angry, but it was right that I intruded.
“Calm down. You seem in a hurry; just carry on your way. I’ll have a quiet word with this guy.”
“Why am I the one to blame? This guy is the real culprit, right? Why would you even be alone without a party, ah.”
Sizzle.
A scruffy-haired front-liner, likely the party leader, glared at the angry warrior with twin swords.
“…If you’ve noticed, step back.”
What? Usually, in these situations, it’s normal to share the blame with your party members, isn’t it?
‘Realizing the huge difference between the split bodies and the equipment? How cold. Seems like this person has a trait similar to caution.’
“Apologies for intruding during your fight. You take care of the corpses over there, then.”
Somehow, I felt like I would see that leader again, but the urgency drove me to turn my back and leave.
If we crossed paths again, I might as well check my status screen then.
*
Day 3.
The south also yielded nothing.
Just like the east, there was no response to the telepathy.
“Uugghhh!!!”
Overcome by the rising wrath inside me, I involuntarily shouted out.
[Chaos calms you down with soft words.]
If I had aimed for the west first instead of the east from the start…
I wouldn’t have had to get myself into an exhausting situation of climbing trees and grabbing quick naps for a few hours.
My mouth was filled with a barrage of curses stemming from my frustration, but I bit them back before spilling them out.
‘Even if I’m angry, I chose to go east first. That was a decision I made, not anyone else.’
Going too far in self-reproach and self-denial is worse than better.
Pouring out my uncontrolled rage for one mistake would be just a meaningless act.
“Alright. Maybe it’s for the best. If it’s not there either, I can just turn back north. If it’s not there, it only means the others have already escaped, which is actually better.”
If I succeed in joining a party, I’ll have enough supplies, so after taking a short break, I’ll head to the 5th Floor.
If I can’t find them even after searching the 4th Floor, I’ll consider that they’ve already escaped and return to the city.
I began kneading my feet that were beginning to numb from the magical energy and headed west.
About two hours passed.
Ping─
Just as I was running desperately again, a red line was shot from the tree above.
‘It’s an arrow. The target is not me but the front.’
…In other words, a warning shot!
Calculating what kind of attack it was in the slowed-down world, I stopped immediately.
Reading the situation!
As expected, arrows shot from above pierced just a few steps ahead.
A figure dropped lightly from the tree and began whistling.
Fwoosh—
Soon enough, a party emerged that looked like three separate groups merged, with most of them being ranged attackers wielding bows or crossbows. But that wasn’t what mattered.
A middle-aged man adorned with a feathered hat stepped forward from the crowd.
“This area is currently occupied by our Oxynos Clan.”
Without warning, a warning shot is fired, and now it’s claimed territory? A clan?
He chuckled and added, “We’ve gathered intel indicating the emergence of special species is imminent. We’ll be sticking around for at least a week longer, so it’d be wise for you to take a long detour.”
What kind of mad nonsense is this?
“I need to pass through this way urgently. What if I—I could pay a toll to cross?”
“Haha! Oh, dear friend. Nobody knows whether our target will show up in days or right now. You think we’ll let you pass after all this trouble just to receive a handful of coins? Wake up and go back.”
With his threat to use force if I lingered around any longer, I mentally calculated my options.
────
[Demern Kalhof]
[Strength: C+] [Agility: C+] [Durability: C-]
[Stamina: C] [Magic: C] [Luck: D+]
[Traits] (expand)
Intermediate Archery
Steel Mountain Ranger
Eagle Eye
Weak Point Detection
Rapid Shot
Wolf’s Time
────
…This guy alone seems manageable, but there are about 15 members of this clan behind him.
I concealed my irritation and retreated a bit.
‘Damn it. Should I take a long detour through the center and head west? No, but that negates the speed I’ve built so far.’
In the moment I decided to use everything—scrolls, potions, and all usable items I had to burst through the blockade…
A flash.
—Hey, good-looking friend. Why don’t we team up to drive those arrogant strong men away? If you’re interested, just nod your head.
A faintly glimmering blue spirit presented itself before me.