YMDR 12

Chapter 12 …

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Marlin swung the pickaxe into the wall.

Her posture was clumsy, making her work inefficient, but thanks to the overwhelming strength of a tiger beastkin, the excavation progressed quickly.

Still, it was rather harsh labor to make a fourteen-year-old do, so I couldn’t help but feel like an unscrupulous employer exploiting child labor.

“Kar, do thieves normally have to swing pickaxes too…?”

“Take pride in yourself. You’re becoming one of the few thieves capable of handling manual labor with style.”

“How inspiring!”

CRASH!

One particularly powerful swing sent stone fragments flying in every direction before the pickaxe lodged deep into the wall.

Marlin bent over to catch her breath, then stepped closer to the wall, her tiger ears twitching.

“…There’s an empty space on the other side. So there really is a passage beyond this.”

“So you didn’t believe me until now?”

I answered calmly while weaving dense layers of razor-sharp spiderwebs across the corridor we’d come through.

After creating an identical barrier on the opposite side, my head throbbed painfully.

[Remaining Mental Capacity: 25/100]

Exactly the amount of Mental Power I’d calculated.

If I abused Mysteries carelessly now, I’d receive the complete deluxe gift set of mental illnesses.

‘Three more times. That should be about my limit.’

I wasn’t exactly short on Mental Power, but just in case, I closed my eyes and meditated for a while to recover a little.

Inside a labyrinth, only explorers who thoroughly prepared for unexpected situations survived.

“I’m almost through!”

Opening my eyes at Marlin’s shout, I saw a large crack running across the wall.

“Keep digging. Hand me your bag.”

“I’m tired!”

“Just a little more.”

While I slung the leather bag over my shoulder…

I heard the swarm of Fire Ants approaching.

They were already close.

Startled, Marlin gripped the very end of the pickaxe handle and swung with everything a young tiger beastkin could muster.

BOOOOM!

At last…

The sturdy stone wall collapsed.

Beyond it appeared another passage.

Unlike the ant tunnels carved through natural caves, this space was entirely covered in damp earth.

[A passage leading to another region outside the Fire Ants’ territory. The humidity is high, and the soil is moist. The tunnel is narrow with a low ceiling, making travel difficult.]

[…But seriously, could you at least tell me ‘how’ you figured this out…?]

“I did it!”

“Well done.”

I kneaded Marlin’s aching shoulders before immediately giving my next order.

“Hurry inside. Unless you want them to eat you.”

The young assistant turned toward where I pointed and her eyes widened.

Grrr!

Skreee!

The Fire Ant swarm had already reached us.

Having apparently learned the weakness of my handmade traps, some of them began melting the spiderwebs with the flames from their eyes as soon as the leading ants lost their heads.

“Leave the pickaxe. It’s too heavy. You won’t be able to run.”

“O-Okay!”

Even so…

Marlin first threw the pickaxe, killing one Fire Ant, before squeezing into the narrow passage.

Being small, she only had to hunch slightly.

I followed behind, walking with my body bent over.

“Kar! Grab my tail!”

She hurried several strides ahead before stopping and stretching her tail back toward me.

The moment I grabbed it with my left hand, it wrapped itself around my arm and began pulling me forward.

“How is it?”

“Thanks.”

I could clear labyrinths perfectly well alone.

But having companions made every aspect considerably easier.

That was why even high-level explorers usually formed parties.

Unless someone had severe interpersonal issues, there was no reason to shoulder every danger alone.

“Ugh, it’s so cramped!”

The secret passage gradually narrowed.

Eventually even Marlin had to crawl flat against the ground.

It was so tight that moving any other way became impossible.

Grrrr…

To make matters worse…

The Fire Ant swarm crawled into the earthen tunnel after us.

Fortunately, the passage was too narrow for them to rush us all at once.

Instead, they chased me in single file, each one eager to bite into my tempting backside.

“Kar! You do have a way to lose them, right?”

“No.”

“Then we’re going to die!”

Marlin’s tail tightened around my left arm as though urging me onward.

“What a harsh thing to say. Just wait a moment.”

Looking back, I saw the leading Fire Ant finally catch up to me.

Just as it opened its massive mandibles to clamp onto my ankle…

I activated the Mystery Lidni had just bestowed upon me.

‘Whoooosh.’

A sensation like a thin membrane spread across my entire body.

The Fire Ant bit down.

Not content with merely using its jaws…

It also spewed fire from its eyes, burning me at the same time.

“…Hmm.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Just keep moving. Don’t look back.”

Gritting my teeth, I pulled out one of the spiderweb needles I’d prepared in abundance for Marlin and stabbed it straight into the Fire Ant’s forehead.

One wasn’t enough.

Neither was the second.

Only after the third did the creature finally collapse.

As soon as its jaws relaxed, I yanked my foot free.

Despite having been bitten and burned…

My ankle appeared completely unharmed.

‘The performance is certainly impressive.’

[Veil That Defers Wounds — First-Tier Mystery. So long as your Mental Power endures, no attack shall instantly damage your body.]

A Mystery that prevented injuries by consuming Mental Power.

Reading only the description made it sound like an invincible defensive skill.

In reality…

All it did was dramatically slow the rate at which damage accumulated.

The pain itself never disappeared.

It offered no protection against the various status ailments caused by agony.

And although one’s body looked perfectly intact from the outside…

The injury merely progressed slowly beneath the surface.

Carelessness could still easily result in a gruesome death.

Which was exactly why I’d prepared healing beforehand.

‘First one.’

I drank one of the Health Recovery Potions purchased from the exploration shop…

Then continued crawling forward.

Before long…

Another Fire Ant bit into my thigh.

I dealt with it the same way and drank another potion.

[Are you truly certain this method is acceptable? It must surely be agonizing.]

It definitely hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes.

I’d nearly rolled around crying my heart out.

But what did pain matter?

As long as I stayed alive.

Pain could be endured.

Death could not.

If I died…

I wouldn’t get to enjoy fascinating labyrinth explorations like this ever again.

Crunch.

Another Fire Ant sank its jaws into my thigh.

I stomped on its head to push it away…

Then cured it of the disease known as life through needle therapy.

After that, I gulped down yet another refreshingly cool Health Recovery Potion.

My head pounded.

My lower body burned and throbbed from bites and flames.

Yet…

I remained perfectly alive.

[Next time… I sincerely hope you attempt a safer and more moderate strategy….]

I waved the floating text away and continued crawling until the assistant ahead suddenly leapt to her feet.

“Kar! There’s an open area ahead!”

Marlin climbed up first, then reached down and pulled me after her.

Above us stretched a broad passage extending far ahead.

“We’re almost at the end.”

From the leather bag, I took out the seashells we’d purchased from the exploration shop.

I slapped one onto Marlin’s face, covering her mouth.

Then attached the other to my own before lifting my exhausted assistant into my arms.

Grrr!

The persistent Fire Ant swarm quickly caught up.

But now…

The chase was over.

“Hold on tight.”

Recalling the incredible speed the Lurker Ghouls had displayed…

I burst forward like an arrow.

“Wah?!”

The monsters that had been snapping at our heels vanished behind us in an instant.

Speed impossible for me under normal circumstances.

The power of Ghoul’s Agility was being displayed to its fullest.

“Kar! Careful!”

Even I could barely control my own speed.

I nearly stumbled several times.

Only my Agility had increased.

My Strength remained unchanged.

Carrying Marlin made maintaining balance difficult.

Still, I simply kept running without mentioning the reason.

“We’ve completely shaken off the Fire Ants! We’re safe now!”

Looking behind us, Marlin cheered and thrust her fist into the air.

Such a premature conclusion.

Exactly what one would expect from a rookie explorer.

“Marlin. Can you swim?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Why do you think?”

The tunnel’s end came into view.

Before Ghoul’s Agility expired…

I poured every last ounce of strength into one final leap.

For someone belonging to the Cultist class…

It was an unusually high jump.

Beneath my feet spread an enormous underground lake filling a vast cavern.

Splash!

“Gyaaaah!”

The moment we plunged into the freezing water, Marlin flailed wildly.

Then her eyes widened.

“Why can I breathe? Oh… I can even talk!”

“It’s because of these seashells. They’re tools that allow underwater breathing and speech. Be grateful to the sages of the Enchantment School at the Bibliophile Mage Tower for developing such remarkable technology.”

Without this preparation…

You would either drown… Or be forced to retreat.

It was exactly the sort of meticulous player-torturing design the developers loved.

As I relaxed my body and drifted downward, I spoke.

“Wouldn’t you rather swim yourself instead of clinging to this frail Cultist?”

“I can’t.”

“Then stay here.”

“I’m leaving.”

“Just swim already.”

“How can you be so cheeky?”

With my assistant clinging to my back like a backpack…

I slowly descended.

Although the underwater surroundings were dim…

I knew the route well enough.

After swimming downward for a while…

I spotted an opening in the wall near the lakebed.

‘We’ve arrived.’

Flailing my limbs, I swam through the opening and surfaced again.

Visibility immediately improved.

Watching schools of brightly colored fish leisurely swimming past us…

Marlin smiled brightly.

“This is the first time I’ve ever seen fish.”

“Want me to take you to an aquarium next time?”

“With Abel too!”

“Of course. Though it’s in District One… So I doubt the Harmony Church will approve our leave.”

Chatting idly…

We emerged from the water.

Outside lay the shore of a lake.

“Why does an ant nest labyrinth lead to a lake?”

“The Fire Ant colony just happened to connect its tunnels to a natural cave linked to the lake.”

A Hidden Area connected to a completely different environment from the labyrinth itself.

A rather uncommon type.

“There’s the exit.”

At the edge of the lake, where scattered trees grew…

A crimson gate shimmered into existence.

[The hidden exit of the Fire Ant Nest. Once again, your bizarre knowledge has proven correct!]

Stepping onto solid ground…

I noticed a single red ring lying near the gate.

[First-Tier Artifact — Ember of Glory]

[Allows the user to produce a faint flame. Not a bad reward.]

A fairly useful artifact.

I bent down to pick it up…

But the aftereffects of excessive Mental Power consumption overwhelmed me with dizziness, nearly making me collapse.

Marlin, equally exhausted, lay beside me staring blankly at the sky before speaking.

“The sky… It’s completely covered in dark clouds.”

She was right.

The weather outside the Fire Ant Nest wasn’t clear.

The sky wasn’t merely overcast.

It had become pitch black.

“Remember what I said? That labyrinths are imitations of reality? This place is the Western Continent of the distant past.”

An age when evil gods possessed power equal to the righteous gods.

This labyrinth recreated the era when the cult of one particular evil deity flourished.

I reached into my bag and took out the ancient relic I’d found in the garbage dump.

A heavy black rectangular block of metal.

This wasn’t a simple ingot.

It was…

‘A pedestal.’

[I know exactly what you’re planning. Absolutely do not do it!]

“I am.”

I brushed away the unusually large floating text with my hand before approaching the tallest tree on the lakeshore.

Near its roots was a small hollow.

Peering inside…

Just as I’d expected…

A carefully carved statue rested within.

A stone eagle with its wings spread wide in flight.

This Hidden Piece…

Was the single greatest reason I’d come to the Fire Ant Nest.

[An ancient idol depicting the majesty of Su’eje, the filthy Sovereign of the Skies. Representing that disgusting evil god in such a manner is an insult to eagles.]

The Evil God of Violent Thunderclouds and Filthy Authority.

Su’eje.

This was an indispensable item for becoming a Cultist of the Filthy Skies.

It was also one of the preparations necessary to alter the curse bestowed upon me by the God of Nature.

[Throw away that relic of those followers of that filthy deity immediately!]

“Don’t worry. I have absolutely no intention of changing my faith. Lord Lidni can rest easy.”

The moment I connected the statue to the pedestal…

The eagle began emitting black light from its eyes.

It looked magnificent.

After storing the completed idol away…

I extended my hand toward Marlin, who was still sprawled on the ground, and smiled.

“Let’s go.”

E-Rank Labyrinth.

Fire Ant Nest.

Perfectly cleared.