NOVEL NEXT Chapter 59
“Help me?!”
“Ugh…”
The dying adventurer’s cry for help echoed as he lay sprawled on the floor.
All I could muster in response was a hollow chuckle.
“Is there any reason we should save you?”
Right. He probably fled out of a desire to survive.
Our party might have simply gotten dragged into this mess due to bad luck.
‘But… if he ran away just to survive, and had no ill intent towards others in the process, does that mean he bears no guilt even if he put us in mortal danger? That doesn’t add up.’
What if I were just an ordinary adventurer like anyone else?
With lower stats and not enough mana to run, what if I got hit by an Earth Golem’s roll?
Even if he was just focused on saving his own skin, the fact remains that this jerk nearly got us killed.
‘So, now he wants to live despite everything? What a shameless brat.’
Besides, thinking back to the Golem’s behavior earlier, he practically invited death upon himself.
That golem was furious about retrieving something that this idiot stole out of sheer greed.
‘I’m not that nice of a guy who would just save someone dying right in front of me. Especially if they’ve already caused us serious trouble.’
I had no good reason to waste a potion or healing on this piece of trash.
Analyzing the situation.
I impulsively reached for my sword but collected myself and turned away.
Anyway, he’s a goner. No need to get my hands dirty for him.
“If it weren’t for you, we might have all died. So just get lost—”
“—Treasure!!!”
“What?”
At the loud shout, I turned to see him glaring at me with eyes wide open, like he just saw a ghost.
“I-I know the location of the treasure chest my party stumbled upon! Please, save me! I swear I won’t betray you!!”
“How can we trust you?”
“I’m dead either way, you see? Ugh… why would I lie and kick away the ladder to my escape… please believe me. Really, ugh. Waaaaah.”
He couldn’t finish his sentence before violently coughing up blood.
Damn it, I shot a quick glance at Yeriell and Lumia.
“Let’s hear him out. If it’s nothing worth our time, we can just leave him behind after.”
“Okay! I’ll start with a heal right away.”
Nodding.
“Can you drink this? Open your mouth wide if you want to live.”
He looked like he was about to pass out, so I quickly pulled out an extra basic potion, opened the cap, and shoved the bottle into his mouth.
“Be healed by the light!”
Swish!
A warm light enveloped him gently from Yeriell’s staff.
As I directed the light toward him, the internal damage from being hit by the Golem started healing slowly.
Crackle—
I could hear sizzling sounds too, indicating that the potion’s effect was kicking in.
Pop!
“Gah, haah! I’m alive!”
As healing finished, he spit out the potion bottle.
It seemed unbelievable that he survived, as he panted and wiped his face in relief.
I figured it’d be wise to gather information while we were at it.
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[Jacob]
[Strength: E] [Agility: D-] [Durability: E-]
[Health: E+] [Mana: E-] [Luck: D-]
[Abilities] (Collapse)
Beginner Dagger Skills
Beginner Dismantling Skills
Presence Concealment
Light Footsteps
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[Presence Concealment (D)] [A]
A skill learned from the rogue guild in a port city.
It lightly conceals the user’s presence, making them less noticeable.
— Detracts significantly from chances of drawing attention from weaker opponents before an attack.
— Reduces the likelihood of being detected while fleeing from spots outside of enemy sight.
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[Light Footsteps (D)] [P]
It was ingrained in him by a mentor who noticed his potential in footwork.
With a passionate learning attitude, he attained a trait one rank higher than usual.
— Increases agility by two ranks if it’s D rank or lower.
— Slightly muffles footstep sounds.
— Provides a minor boost to all evasive actions involving movement.
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He’s the quintessential rogue. Feels like a superior version of Creave I met before.
“Back with us, are you?”
“Y-Yes! Thank you for saving me! And I-I’m really sorry for putting you in danger back there. I couldn’t think right while trying to survive!”
“No need to ramble. Everything you said earlier is true, right?”
“Of course. If I were lying, you’d either kill me or leave me behind. Either way, my party is dead, and I’m left here with no way out.”
You didn’t just escape alone; your whole party died?
“Your friends are all dead? How did you end up alone?”
“W-Well, out of the four treasure chests, we opened two first and took some items while the Golem was curled up in the corner without moving, you see?”
He sighed heavily.
“But when one of my party members touched a peculiar orb placed right between the chests, it just sprang to life and slaughtered everyone in an instant.”
“And you still swiped that orb and ran? Seriously?”
“Damn it, I would have just bolted or died right there alongside my friends if things had gone normally!”
Tears welled in Jacob’s eyes as he rubbed them fervently.
“But when I saw everyone die in an instant due to that monster, I couldn’t just stand by!”
He hung his head and continued, “So I thought I’d get some revenge! I grabbed the precious item I was obsessed with and ran.”
And now he’s in this pitiful state.
The Great Labyrinth really is full of surprises.
If only he hadn’t touched the orb and had just looted the items, he might’ve been safely back home with a pile of cash by now. What a shame.
“Can you lead us there now?”
“Yes, I can! We marked the path every hour, so if we go back the way we came and move forward, we should reach it in a day or two!”
Great, then let’s go check out that fork in the road where he ran away earlier.
I allowed Jacob a moment to tidy up his backpack, which was upturned and spilling its contents after the Golem flipped him over.
“Then let’s go, keep up with me!”
With confidence, Jacob started leading the way, and we followed.
*
“Here it is!”
“Shh, quiet.”
“Ah, sorry.”
After a day of diligently walking with Jacob, we finally arrived.
Luckily, the monsters we encountered were just a couple of Cave Goblin packs and one giant bat.
They posed no threat at all, allowing us to pick up the pace while dispatching them.
‘Is this really it?’
What should I call this place?
This path seems to end here, leading to a dead end with no route forward.
Let’s see, the Golem was still curled up against that corner of the dead-end wall.
There were two opened chests and two remaining.
Ah, right! He said they opened items first before touching the orb.
‘Well, two chests isn’t too bad!’
The chests weren’t locked.
Clunk!
Inside were two differently colored potions and a pair of gauntlets.
One was a mid-tier potion. The other one was… Earth’s Resilience?
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[Earth’s Resilience] (C)
A bottled essence of the earth’s power temporarily enhances the wearer’s defensive abilities.
Those who drink it will experience firsthand what it feels like to be sturdy like an ancient tree, unbreakable like rock.
— Grants strong resistance to crushing damage for 30 minutes.
— Provides a slight increase in defense for 30 minutes.
— Reduces the damage taken from piercing-type attacks by half for 30 minutes.
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[Darkness-Infused Stone Fist] (D)
This gauntlet, merely sturdy, has absorbed the darkness of the cave.
The wearer must keep in mind they may suffer from darkness during combat in exchange for strength.
— Allows the user to perform rock-breaking with significant mana consumption.
— Provides slight enhancement to damage taken from close combat attacks.
— Offers slight damage reduction from incoming melee attacks.
— Before it can be removed, it may occasionally inflict random negative statuses during combat.
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Definitely worth coming this far.
I could use the potions myself.
Though the gauntlet isn’t exactly a fighter’s favorite piece of gear, I could always sell it later if I hold on to it for now.
There’s a severe penalty for wearing it, and I have no desire to be up close and personal with a brawler.
“Any good loot in there?”
Yeriell approached with a smile and asked.
“Definitely. This adventure paid off. If the first chest yields this much, I can’t wait to see what the last one contains!”
Just as I was saying that and approached the last remaining chest…
…huh?
[A dark essence of chaos has escaped, revealing a hidden space.]
A shining black point appeared on the wall near the chest.
What should I do? Should I poke it?
Crossing my arms in contemplation, I called the girls over.
“My trait detects a hidden space behind the wall. It says we should press this point here.”
I looked at both of them and asked, “We don’t know what’s in there. Should we just let it be and be satisfied with what we have?”
“Hmm. Since we came this far, I think it’s fine to take one more step forward.”
Really?
“Think about it, when we leave, we’ll return to the city through the portal at the village… I have no idea how many times we’d have to enter the Labyrinth before we see an opportunity like this again.”
That indeed makes sense.
“I agree. It sounds too wasteful to pass up this chance just because it carries potential danger.”
[Chaos whispers in agreement with their opinions.]
[Chaos remarks that adventures cannot be about playing it safe all the time.]
True. So, with concern for the party’s safety, I deliberated, but in the end, I made my decision.
Let’s go in—whatever happens will happen.
I placed my hand on the black spot on the wall and pressed it firmly, not needing to put in much force, but suddenly, it sank in smoothly.
Accompanied by a clattering noise, the wall moved as if it had some mechanical device installed.
Clunk!
Grind—
“What did you just touch? There’s a hidden space here?!”
Ignoring Jacob’s startled voice, I focused on the slowly opening wall.
Kaboom!
Finally, the hidden space behind the wall was fully revealed.
It was a pitch-dark space, so I extended a torch to illuminate it.
‘It’s bigger than I expected.’
It was as large as or possibly larger than this dead-end room we stood in.
“Phew.”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped inside to find an area resembling a bug’s breeding ground.
Cocoons?
Could it be, after giant centipedes and huge bats, we’re dealing with spiders here?
That wasn’t all.
‘These cocoons are abnormally large. Do they feed on the same monsters? Or could it be…?’
Right. There were cocoons the size of adults, almost like human-sized.
No idea what’s in them, but… damn it, I hoped I wasn’t thinking what I feared I was.
Pushing aside that chilling sensation, I struck the nearest cocoon with my sword.
Slice!
“Ugh.”
“Ugh… Ugh—”
“Ugh. No way.”
“Looks like they’ve already moved dead bodies here and stuffed them into the cocoons.”
Lumia, usually steady, analyzed while I wrinkled my brow and examined the exposed corpse.
It was a brown-haired adventurer with curly hair. Her face still wore a look of despair and terror even in death.
Looking down, even in a lifeless state, her body was grotesquely melting away, corroded by some poison or acid.
‘What kind of monster could commit such a horrifying act?’
“How could this be?! Monsters are using adventurers as food by turning them into cocoons?”
“No, that’s not it. It looks like they kept bodies here for some other purpose. Look closely.”
As Lumia pointed out the neck and the part connecting to the head, I saw it.
‘A hole. Did they inject poison or something?’
There was a hole the size of my palm there.
Could they have injected some kind of flesh deteriorating poison?
If not, maybe it was to suck something out of their bodies?
“This corpse… it’s Mendel. He was the archer of my party!”
Jacob, who had been covering his mouth to stave off the nausea, shouted in horror.
This feels wrong. We need to find something to grab and get out of here.
Just as I was about to order them to search the surroundings without straying from me, the moment happened.
[Chaos tells you to look straight ahead.]
“Ka-ka. Little rats scuttled in, huh? How did you get in here?”
“…!”
A talking Goblin?
No, this isn’t just a regular Goblin at all.
Crackle.
“Ugh.”
As his form emerged from the deep shadows, Chaos reacted.
[Named entity detected.]
[Fetching limited information.]
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[Memory Eater Grielops]
A mutant born with enough intelligence to be almost unthinkable for a Goblin.
Rejected by his tribe due to his exceptional intelligence, he was eventually outcast.
Knowing that continuing to wander alone would lead him to a swift death at the hands of adventurers, he fled into nearby caves to survive desperately.
One day, while enduring hardships with a group of Cave Goblins, he discovered a hidden space in the cave due to a massive pull.
Within lay ancient knowledge inscribed on Parchments, feeding on the dead to gain knowledge and experience.
For reasons unknown, he could read the Parchments and acquired forbidden knowledge, now walking the path of a merciless alchemist no one can thwart.
[Possessed Traits] (Locked)
Cleverness
Memory Eater
Intimidation
Earth Slam
Rapid Regeneration
Crouching
Quick Step
Flexible Body
Mana Affinity
Flame Mastery
Divine Ray
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What the hell. Is he like a budget Epusio?
“Foolish adventurers. What a feast! The prey crawled right into my lap. Heaven is on my side!”
Slush. Slap. Splat—
A vile grin stretched across Grielops’s face as his body began to morph, accompanied by horrific sounds.