Chapter 58 - Rules for Survival (1)

"H-how did that woman follow us, nyah? Didn't you say Witch's Forest was safe, nyah?"

Misha shouted, looking sick of the whole thing.

"Persistent bitch!"

I agreed. But to make a rational guess about our situation instead of just hurling insults...

Once we entered Witch's Forest, that fucking bitch wouldn't have been able to pursue us alone. So she must have looked for explorers she could use, playing the poor priestess who'd lost her companions to vicious plunderers.

"Listen, there seems to be some misunderstanding. That woman is a priest of Carui—"

"What! So you're not merely plunderers, but followers of an evil god!"

"No, I'm telling you, it's not us, it's that woman—"

"Offer up your heads and receive divine judgment!"

The dwarf tried talking to him, but the man whose brain had been pickled in divine blessings heard only what he wanted to hear.

"Sir Davis! Bring the hammer of God down upon those wicked people! Only then can my companions' wandering souls relinquish their resentment and return to God's embrace!"

At that bitch Elisa's cry, the opposing explorers all drew their weapons. We did the same. Sometimes, when explorers talked, fists had to come before words.

"Don't worry about injuries! Just focus on slaying the enemy! May Leatlas's blessing be with you!"

At her promise to heal them if they worked like dogs, their leader charged us with his eyes rolling back, shouting that trademark fucking slogan.

"The star that rises at dusk shall guide my way."

Honestly, I couldn't understand why they were going this far to help that bitch. I could understand this seemingly devout believer, but surely the rest of his companions didn't need to—

"Don't hold back! Once we kill them, our team will have a priestess!"

"Raaaaaah!"

Oh, so that was it. They wanted to kill us for practical reasons, not religious ones. Apparently that fucking bitch had promised them all sorts of rewards...

Okay, I had a decent grasp of the situation.

THUD!

Blocking that bastard leader's axe with my shield, I shouted. Time for a little sowing of discord.

"You idiots! Who's leaving the team when the priestess joins?"

These bastards had been a five-person team to begin with. In other words, one of them would have to be kicked out to make room for the priestess. When I pointed that out right off the bat, their leader shouted in alarm.

"D-don't be swayed by his wicked words!"

Wicked words, my ass. From the look of it, he hadn't even considered that part.

"H-huh?"

As if to prove it, the four explorers besides the leader hesitated. Unfortunately, it didn't last long.

"Hmm, well, it won't be me."

"Heh. Can't we think about that later?"

"One of us might die today anyway."

"I don't care about a priestess. Selling their equipment alone would let me laze around for a good year."

Fuck, explorers through and through. Every last reason sounded like something a fucking psychopath would say. All you needed was an excuse and money, huh?

'Fine. At least you're consistent.'

I formed a proper shield wall with the dwarf and assessed the enemy's strength.

'Three melee fighters, two ranged fighters, and a priestess playing dress-up...'

As expected of explorers who'd made it to Witch's Forest, they were practically on par with us. They even outnumbered us by one. There wasn't much to weigh up this time. Even allowing for the fact that Elisa couldn't use her evil god's power while keeping up her act, we were clearly at a disadvantage.

Still, if I had to come up with a strategy...

'Our only option is to catch her off guard and finish her in one hit.'

So I called for our mage.

"Dwalki!"

No lengthy explanation was necessary.

"Ten seconds! Just give me ten seconds!"

He'd gained some experience now; Dwalki answered the moment I called his name. But apparently we weren't the only ones with experience.

"A mage! They've got a mage!"

The other side noticed Dwalki and concentrated their attacks on him. The dwarf and I could handle the three melee fighters, but...

WHOOSH!

It was physically impossible to block the arrows and projectile skills flying at Dwalki as he chanted. Still, I wasn't particularly worried. We were an exploration team, after all. I didn't have to do everything myself.

"Ah, shit!"

Misha deflected the incoming arrow with her dagger, while Rotmiller blocked the projectile Ability with his shield. At that same moment, the spell was completed.

「Leor Wuerv Dwalki has cast the rank-8 attack spell [Ice Spear].」

It wasn't an enhanced Ice Spear, but that didn't matter. Our target wasn't a large monster. This was enough to send her back to God's embrace in a single hit. Provided it struck a vital spot, of course.

WHOOOOSH!

The resolve to fire magic at a person rather than a monster. The time to put that resolve into practice had come far sooner than expected. What choice would Dwalki make?

BOOM!

Putting my concerns to rest, the Ice Spear flew straight toward Elisa's head. Unfortunately, it didn't hit. This was why explorers were trickier than monsters.

"Whew, that was close. Are you all right?"

"Y-yes! Thank you for saving me!"

They'd known a spell was coming, and that it would probably target their priestess. So there was no reason they couldn't block it. An explorer heading beyond the third floor to the fourth would have the reflexes for that much.

'... Whew. Humans really are the most annoying bastards.'

This wasn't easy. Just as Rotmiller and Misha had successfully protected Dwalki, the enemy wasn't going to obligingly fall to our attacks. It was time to make the final call. We'd tested the waters enough...

"Dwalki! Use Voice Control!"

"A-all right!"

My firm command left no room for questions, and Dwalki began chanting the requested spell without protest. Voice Control. Put simply, a handy spell that enabled team voice chat. Now the enemy couldn't hear us talking among ourselves.

I glared belligerently at our opponents and shouted.

"Murad!"

"What is it?"

"Let's run!"

"Hahaha! What an excellent idea!"

Thankfully, the dwarf, who held command in emergencies, agreed with my judgment. Well, he had that much sense. Even if we won, it would likely be a hollow victory that left us battered. By then, that fucking bitch would have no qualms about using the dark god's power either. Stubbornness would only lead to a bleak future.

"Misha! When we're ready, take Dwalki!"

"Got it, nyah!"

"Hikurod, use that item when I give the signal!"

"Will do!"

Misha and the dwarf nodded without argument. That left Rotmiller, who would play the most important role, but he didn't need any separate instructions. He knew exactly what to do.

"When I move, everyone stay close behind me!"

This guy really was the only one I could count on. Anyway, that seemed to cover everything...

"Now!"

The moment I gave the signal, Misha finished preparing to flee by slinging the physically weak Dwalki over her shoulder. At the same time, the wristguards the dwarf wore blazed with light.

「Hikurod Murad has used [Guardian's Wristguards].」

No. 3112, Guardian's Wristguards. In the game, they provided a constant 5% damage reduction, along with an activated effect whose power increased according to the damage reduced. As for that effect...

「Forcefully pushes enemies away and temporarily grants immunity to all harmful effects applied to allies.」

Area knockback and debuff removal. As befitted a Numbered item in the 3000s, it took precedence over field effects.

「The status ailment [Directional Dyslexia] has been removed.」

「The status ailment [Auditory Hallucinations] has been removed.」

「The status ailment [Hallucinations] has been removed.」

「The status ailment [Pain Enhancement] has been removed.」

The moment the three melee fighters pressing us were flung back, my warped vision returned to normal, clear and bright. Of course, it wouldn't last long. I didn't know how much of a beating he'd taken so far, but...

'Twenty seconds at most.'

That estimate even accounted for the dwarven trait that increased Numbered item effectiveness by 1.5 times. Still, it would be enough to buy us time to escape.

"What are you waiting for? Run!"

Whew. Why did it feel like we'd spent this entire expedition getting chased out of one place after another?

* * *

A Scout. The person who detected enemy movements first and guided teammates along efficient routes. What qualities did someone need to become one? The answer was exceedingly simple.

'Prior knowledge of the Labyrinth and data accumulated through experience.'

Those two things alone were enough to find your way on the first and second floors. Naturally, the same went for the third floor, a sort of open world where the terrain didn't change. But things were different from the fourth floor onward. Or, more precisely, starting in Witch's Forest, where the portal to the fourth floor was located.

「The activated effect of the Numbered item [Guardian's Wristguards] has expired.」

「Field Effect - Witch's Forest has been applied.」

Compasses stopped working, people lost all sense of direction, and the only landmarks were trees that moved as if alive. From here onward, Scouts needed special abilities to navigate.

"This way."

Rotmiller's main ability was Smell. He'd built up that stat through Essences and could accurately find the way to the fourth floor even in this bizarre forest. Apparently, once Smell reached a certain threshold, you could smell mana and use it to navigate? I didn't quite understand, but that was roughly how it worked.

However...

"Their Scout seems quite capable too. They're closing in on our exact position."

Those fucking bastards were still managing to follow us. I couldn't even sense their presence, of course, but if Rotmiller said so, I believed him.

'So it all comes down to who reaches the fourth-floor portal first...'

As I took stock of the situation, Rotmiller announced what seemed to be the same conclusion.

"We'll pick up the pace now."

Now it was a race against time. If we arrived first, we could avoid an unnecessary battle. But if they caught us before then? We'd have no choice but to fight until one side was fucking dead.

'The problem is, everyone's exhausted...'

Life didn't always go the way you wanted. Especially when you were exhausted and struggling.

"Miss Karlstein, hand him over here!"

Trying to spare Misha, the dwarf decided to take Dwalki from her. That was where things went wrong.

"Ah!"

Handing Dwalki over while running to save even a little time had been a mistake. Misha lost her balance and fell. Fortunately, the dwarf had already taken Dwalki and slung him over his shoulder like a sack, but...

"A cramp! I think my foot's cramped up, nyah! I can't move it, nyah!"

A cramp, my ass. She'd obviously hurt her ankle in the fall.

"Don't try to move. Stay still."

I stopped immediately and lifted Misha by the scruff of her neck. It happened just as I slung her over my shoulder.

'Fuck? What now?'

The light vanished, and deep darkness covered my vision. The dwarf with the torch had been right in front of me.

"B-Bjorn?"

"... Be quiet."

First, I calmly opened my backpack and took out a torch. Working by touch, I lit it and fitted it into the slot in my helmet. Sure enough, the teammates who'd been beside us mere seconds ago were nowhere to be seen.

"Don't tell me we've lost them, nyah!"

Misha cried in shock.

I answered. I didn't want to believe it, but...

"It... looks that way."

We'd fallen behind in a matter of seconds.

"Then what are you doing, nyah? Hurry after them, nyah!"

Realizing what had happened, Misha urgently pressed me to move, but I chose to stay put. After all, how was I supposed to know where they'd gone?

"That way, nyah! They definitely went that way, nyah!"

That was only how it looked to our eyes. You couldn't rely on sight in Witch's Forest. Heading off in the wrong direction and getting farther from the team would only waste time.

"Staying put is our best option in a situation like this."

I needed to trust my companions and my own judgment. Rotmiller was a smell-based Scout, wasn't he? He'd have noticed we were missing by now, and he would surely come back for us soon.

"Um, Bjorn...?"

Ah, uh, hmm... That was certainly how it should have gone...

"How much longer do we have to wait, nyah?"

A minute passed, but the companions who'd gone ahead didn't return. Damn it, what was going on? Should we keep waiting? Just as my doubts were deepening...

"Aaagh!"

A faint, brief scream came from the darkness.

"Bjorn! Did you hear that, nyah? That was definitely Murad's voice, nyah!"

I couldn't be certain, but it did sound like him. Unless something else had gone wrong, they would have come back for us by now. Still...

"They must be in trouble, nyah. We have to go help right—"

"Keep your voice down."

"Why, nyah?"

"Because we could be in danger too."

Making noise wasn't a good idea. We still didn't know what had happened over there. If they'd simply run into monsters, they would have had enough breathing room to come find us.

"Isn't that all the more reason we should go help—"

Even if I wanted to help, there was no way to do it. A continuous sound at a steady volume might have been different. But I couldn't find the right direction after hearing a single deathlike scream. That was the kind of place Witch's Forest was.

"Mmph! Mmph!"

So I covered Misha's mouth with my hand and concentrated on listening.

"...miller... bitch... here."

"...buy... opening..."

"But... leaving... can't...!"

"At least... Scout... take out... they can escape...!"

"..."

"...now! Run...!"

A few more faint voices, like dying cries, reached me after that. Then, at some point, they stopped altogether. In this forest, I couldn't hear even the faintest breeze.

"..."

Stillness settled around us, but I stood rooted to the spot for another five minutes or so, waiting. Our missing companions never returned.

It was too soon even to say whether they were alive or dead, but one thing was certain. No matter how much longer we waited, they weren't coming back. Which meant—

"We're fucked."

I'd been stranded alone with a Therianthrope girl. In a Labyrinth crawling with monsters and plunderers. Worse, we were right in the middle of Witch's Forest, where we couldn't even find our way out without a Scout.

Fuck.