Chapter 136 - Orculus (2)

Emotions are contagious.

Seeing someone close to you cry makes you sad for no particular reason, and seeing them laugh lifts your spirits. Fear is no different. Even if you start out thinking, Come on, surely that won't happen, watching someone beside you fret incessantly inevitably makes you wonder, What if?

That's just how people are built.

"When you keep acting like that, it really does feel as though something might happen."

"S-still, I don't suppose being cautious could hurt..."

With every trace of humor gone from my face, my companions were slowly beginning to appreciate the reality of our situation. I could only welcome that development.

Of course, Rotmiller's words were what clinched it.

"I still can't make sense of it in my head. But for a while now, I've had this feeling that something terribly ominous will happen if we don't listen to you."

Having absorbed a Mimic's Essence, Rotmiller had the Sixth Sense stat. And our Outcast Team had benefited from it in countless small ways.

For him to say something like that out of the blue gave his words an entirely different weight.

"B-Bjorn. Let's stop standing around and get moving, nyah. Okay, nyah?"

"H-hahaha! Yes! That would be best! We only have to push ourselves for one more day!"

It was a little deflating. When I said it, they dismissed it as a mere feeling, but one word from Rotmiller and they were hanging on his every word.

'Well, hearing him say that has made me more anxious too...'

Sixth Sense was just that—a sixth sense. But hadn't our stats skyrocketed across the board since the uninvited guests arrived?

'Whew. I'd better really brace myself.'

It felt as though a layer had been peeled away from the veil concealing the ominous presence. Even while assuming the worst, I'd secretly hoped this would all turn out to be my imagination.

Apparently, that wasn't going to happen.

THUMP!

My heart tightened a little more. But nothing changed. I could only do what was within my power right now.

"Let's get moving again."

We ended our brief rest and resumed moving. Even though I picked up the pace further, every one of my companions followed without a hint of complaint.

We had been running through the maze in heavy silence for some time when it happened.

"Thinking about it now, Bjorn, perhaps you're rather like me."

Rotmiller suddenly spoke to me.

"Like you? What do you mean?"

"I gained this ability through an Essence, but perhaps you've always had good instincts."

Huh. I'd never considered that. It certainly wasn't impossible.

In [Dungeon and Stone], choosing a character randomly assigned their base stats within preset ranges.

'The default range for Sixth Sense was zero to fifty, I think?'

Considering that a Mimic's Essence only provided fifty Sixth Sense, its maximum starting value was remarkably high. Still, it wasn't a primary stat like Strength, so I'd never remade a character just to raise it.

"I've thought this for a long time, but you've always had a certain sharpness about you."

"That's right, nyah! You even fucked up that bitch Elisa back then, nyah. Everyone else was thrown off because she was a priestess, nyah."

Hmm, was that so?

Hearing everyone say it was starting to make me think it really might be true. As I'd said, that was how people worked. It was entirely possible that Bjorn's natural Sixth Sense had been set high.

But this wasn't what I needed to worry about right now.

"Enough of that. Just keep up."

Leaving that question for later, I focused on clearing a path. Everything had its priorities.

And so...

THUD!

A swing of the mace.

FWHOOSH!

A volley of Ice Spears.

SLASH!

We pushed past the decapitated Vykundurths, repeating the process over and over.

How much time had passed?

[05 : 13]

Day twenty-one had already advanced this far. That meant we'd been running almost without rest for a full twelve hours since killing Baphomet.

"Huff, huff, huff..."

The breath pouring from my nose and mouth was hot. The others were surely no different.

I checked my companions' faces one last time. Everyone looked worn out and exhausted. Understandably so. No matter how much their stats had increased, this was their second day without proper sleep.

But the end was finally in sight.

"Just around this corner, and we're there!"

After racing down a long, straight corridor, we reached our destination: an enormous stone chamber instead of another cramped maze passage.

CLANG!

The moment we entered, iron bars dropped across the chamber's three entrances.

"Aaah! We're trapped, nyah!"

"Stay alert, everyone! We don't know what might appear!"

Though rattled by the unexpected development, everyone adjusted their formation and readied for combat. Naturally, all eyes settled on one place. It was the only place something could emerge from.

"... We're not going to get a rank-four monster or anything, are we, nyah?"

An imposing stone door stood along one wall.

「The master of the maze detects challengers.」

Before long, the geometric patterns carved into it began to glow, and the door started opening.

Then...

RUMBLE...

A towering height of roughly four meters. A massive body to match. Menacing horns sprouting from its head. Brown fur so short that every vein and contour of muscle showed through, and hooves beneath legs supporting enormous thighs.

BOOM!

As the stone door opened fully, a beast emerged through it, letting out its distinctive cry.

[MOOOOOO!!]

The final boss of Larukaz' Maze.

"A Minotaur! It's a Minotaur, nyah!"

It was famous enough for Misha to recognize on sight.

* * *

The rank-five monster, Minotaur.

It wasn't a rank-four monster as Misha had feared, but...

'Strictly speaking, it's probably about rank four and a half.'

This wasn't an ordinary Minotaur. It was a named monster with the unique name Larukaz. In other words, an Advanced Mutant variety possessing another creature's skills.

BOOM!

The moment it looked at us and took its first step, everyone noticed something was off. How could they not? This clearly wasn't a skill a Minotaur should have.

[MOO!]

It gave a short grunt and raised its arms.

「Larukaz, master of the maze, has cast [Burning Hide].」

Huge flames engulfed its skin.

FWOOSH!

We could feel the scorching heat even from thirty meters away. Everyone was visibly dumbfounded.

"Huh? Could this thing always use fire, nyah?"

"S-surely not. There was nothing about that in the books."

"Then it must be an Advanced Mutant variety. Like the Baphomet we encountered in the room where this map was hidden."

"Ah! Now that you mention it, it resembles that monster's ability!"

Looking as though something had clicked, Dwalki quickly shared his discovery.

"An Ifrit! It must be an Ifrit's ability!"

Correct. He'd seemed to spend the past few months doing nothing but devouring books about the Labyrinth. Now he was finally looking the part of a mage.

Not that there was time to praise him.

[MOOOOOO!!]

After studying us with an expression that practically said, What the fuck are these people doing?, it charged, its heavy footsteps booming.

BOOM! BOOM!

Bizarre didn't begin to describe the sight of a four-meter beast approaching with its entire body ablaze.

Still, it was nothing compared to Riakis.

"VEHELLLAAAAAA!!"

Instead, I roared and dashed forward, my feet pounding as the distance rapidly closed. The instant I entered its attack range, a gigantic double-bladed axe crashed down over my head.

CRASH!

Hmm. Just about what I'd expected.

Feeling the weight transmitted through my shield, I grinned. It seemed I wouldn't even need [Gigantification]. And as expected, [Burning Hide] was manageable too.

FWOOSH!

Despite the crimson flames flickering right in front of my nose, I wasn't taking much damage. It just felt a little hot.

All thanks to the fire resistance from stage three of the Immortal's engravings.

Of course, staying like this would be another story.

「The character has taken fire damage.」

「Damage increases with duration.」

Fire damage grew stronger as it stacked. Much the same way meat would cook if you left it in warm water for days.

But the solution to that was simple too.

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast rank-eight enchantment magic [Ice Blood].」

「The character's fire resistance increases greatly.」

Dwalki's mana seeped into my flesh, cooling my overheated body. I was a little surprised.

'I never thought he'd cast the spell on his own before I gave the order.'

People really did learn through experience, huh? It felt like only yesterday that he'd been struggling to land even one Ice Spear properly.

"I'll help too!"

"Oh, it's not hot at all anymore, nyah!"

After briefly hesitating at the blazing flames, the dwarf and Misha received their buffs and joined the front line.

Then...

「Hikurod Murad has cast [Lightning].」

「Misha Karlstein has cast [Poisoning].」

We toyed effortlessly with the supposed final boss, shocking it with electricity, slashing its thick hide with swords, and piling on deadly poison damage.

[MOOOOOO!!]

Of course, it thrashed wildly, swinging its fists, feet, and axe with everything it had. It also used its innate skills without restraint.

But nothing changed. It was still far too slow to catch Misha, and it lacked the strength to overpower the dwarf and me.

On top of that, magical support kept coming.

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast rank-eight curse magic [Worsening].」

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast rank-nine curse magic [Dulling].」

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast rank-seven curse magic [Softening]...」

All this magical support came from Dwalki, who would normally have exhausted his mana and been out of commission just casting Ice Blood.

Rotmiller stayed beside him to guard him just in case, but there was never any need. How could the monster reach them when it couldn't even get past a single tank?

CRASH!

It didn't take long. Misha severed its Achilles tendon, sending its massive body crashing to the floor, then ended the battle by driving her sword deep into its brain.

「Minotaur defeated. EXP +5」

「Advanced Mutant variety kill bonus. EXP +1」

Its body was already dissolving into drifting motes of light. The first thing I did was check the time.

[05 : 21]

Not even ten minutes had passed since I'd last checked. For some reason, that fact stirred a peculiar sense of regret.

'If only everyone could stay like this outside.'

If the Outcast Team had an ultimate form, this would probably be it.

A highly dependable two-tank setup. A melee damage dealer who could act more aggressively thanks to that security and deal steady damage. A mage with powerful area and single-target damage who could also provide support as needed.

And a Scout who wasn't a burden in combat.

'... What am I thinking?'

Pointless sentimentality wasn't like me. Especially when none of our real problems had been resolved.

I shook my head as if to shake those stray thoughts away. Then I considered what I needed to do right now to save even a little time.

'Grab what we need and leave as quickly as possible.'

Just as I was reaffirming that goal...

WHOOOOSH!

The drifting light scattered completely, and everyone let out their own sigh of disappointment.

"Ah..."

"Nothing again, nyah."

The Minotaur hadn't dropped an Essence. Well, Advanced Mutant variety or not, it wasn't a boss we'd encountered inside a rupture. This was the realistic outcome.

Tsk. If a yellow Essence had dropped, it could have been quite useful even into the late game.

'... Still, the real reward is something else.'

Forcing down my disappointment, I checked our surroundings.

CLANK!

As though announcing the end of the boss battle, the bars blocking the passages had risen again.

"The portal? Why hasn't a portal opened, nyah?"

"Does this work differently from a rupture?"

"P-perhaps there's another monster besides the Minotaur."

The three of them poured out guesses, unable to hide their confusion. Just as I was about to speak, Rotmiller beat me to it.

"I have a feeling there's something in there. Why don't we take a look?"

The man really was a born Scout.

"Oh, right, nyah! We haven't checked there yet, nyah!"

"Let's hurry over. There might be a portal open inside."

We passed through the doorway the Minotaur had emerged from. Of course, the portal would have opened at the starting point, not here...

But however pressed for time we were, we had to take this. It was something money couldn't buy.

"This place looks... extremely suspicious."

Beyond the door lay a cave. Like the miniboss room earlier, it had a summoning circle drawn on the floor.

"I can feel tremendous mana coming from this object."

"Then we'd better take it."

As Dwalki murmured, I tucked the gem embedded in the center of the magic circle into my backpack. Then I turned around and headed out without a backward glance.

When Dwalki suggested we investigate further, I dismissed the idea by saying I had a bad feeling. After all, that was the only reward here.

"Whew, this complicates things. I didn't expect there to be no portal here either."

"You're telling me, nyah."

"Rotmiller, I think there was a blue dot in the center of that map. Is there any chance the portal opened there?"

"Actually, I was already wondering the same thing. I've got a strong feeling about it too."

Was this what a Sixth Sense-based Scout was like?

As I was thinking that and stepping out of the cave where the Minotaur had been confined...

"See? I told you this would happen."

An unfamiliar man's low voice reached us from the passage ahead.

* * *

The final boss room spawned at a random location in the maze. We'd raced here as soon as we acquired the map, then defeated the final boss in less than ten minutes.

But...

'How they got here already isn't important.'

It had already happened. They couldn't possibly have stumbled across us while wandering around. They must have had some ability for it.

Even if the Guide trait was useless here, Essences, items, and all sorts of other abilities still worked.

For now, I set aside the question of what it was.

"Look, old man. I was right, wasn't I? If we hadn't offered up another arm, we might have missed them."

I focused on what was in front of me.

THUMP!

My heart pounded violently.

When I'd first realized the uninvited guests were here, I'd made an assessment.

If there were five enemies, they were sixth-floor explorers. If there were three or four, seventh-floor explorers. And if, however unlikely, there were only two...

'Eighth floor.'

That was the conclusion I'd drawn from the change in my stats.

So what was the truth? Whether I wanted to or not, it was time to find out.

"Hey, barbarian. Shouldn't you thank me? You must've had an easy time killing it thanks to me."

A man covered in burn scars, not only on his face but even on the small stretch of exposed wrist.

One.

"I beg you. Please, take only what you came for and let them go."

An old man in black priestly robes, pleading pitifully with him.

Two.

"..."

And a middle-aged man following them in a daze, both arms severed for reasons I couldn't fathom.

Three in total.