Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The Hidden Item of the Deep Floors

Was this how a cicada felt when clinging to an old tree?

I pressed myself as close to the cliff as possible and looked to the left.

A red light had shot down from above and begun scanning the cliff area.

It was a Titan that had appeared at the top of the cliff along with the message that the Labyrinth had sensed something.

“B-Boss? Wasn’t the cliff supposed to be safe!?”

“It was.”

“Why are you using the past tense in such an unsettling way!?”

The Great Labyrinth Library contained everything about the relevant floor, including its destruction conditions, clear conditions, Hidden Items, Hidden Monsters, and so on.

But that only referred to static things or records of events that had already occurred.

The Labyrinth was a vast, living, breathing organism.

In that sense, perhaps it was only natural that variables dynamically caused by the Labyrinth would not be written there.

“It’s coming. Hold your breath.”

“Huuuuuup!”

I stopped breathing as the light came near.

It must not touch us.

The instant it touched us, the Titan’s club would come flying from above.

The light passed Aris and barely brushed past my back.

That was close.

If it had been Deok-man’s deluxe body, he would have had no way out and would have been beaten with a club.

“Boss.”

“What?”

“I’m so scared!”

“Me too.”

My back was already damp.

By the way, this was unusual.

Poporu was usually more cowardly than anyone else, but today he was acting so dignified...

Ah, he had fainted.

I swept a hand over my chest as the light moved away to the opposite side.

Fortunately within misfortune, the Labyrinth had not fully noticed my existence.

It had merely sensed something and taken a slight alert posture.

‘Is it because I haven’t damaged the floor?’

If I had touched the monsters or terrain, a bigger variable might have appeared.

So let us hurry.

Before another variable appears.

“Aris. Wake Poporu up.”

“Yes! Hey, wake up! You crybaby seal!”

Smack, smack!

“Dduak?!”

After getting slapped across the face a couple of times, Poporu’s eyes snapped open.

Poporu wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I was crossing some river, du. It was a river that looked as if I would be happy if I crossed it, du.”

Gulp!

He was saying something terrifying far too casually.

That sounded like a river he absolutely should not cross!?

I reached out and massaged Poporu’s plump arm.

Compared to when we had set off, Poporu had become quite haggard.

We had been resting periodically, but accumulated fatigue could not be helped.

“Boss, your complexion doesn’t look good either?!”

Of course, the same went for me.

My arms, legs, back, and shoulders ached so much that the sensation had started to grow faint.

“You massage too.”

“Yes, sir!”

While doing a relay massage, I glanced down.

Because we had come such a long way, it was dizzyingly far below.

Now that we had come this far, turning back was not an option.

“I shall go, du!”

“Let’s go!”

With a burst of spirit, we began climbing the cliff again.

Ding.

This was Basement Floor 100 of the Labyrinth, which no one had reached yet.

Because of that, I had thought there would be no Constellations watching, but apparently that was not the case.

Uh, what? How did you people get in here! Floor 99 shouldn’t have been cleared yet?!

When we ignored them, the irritated Constellation increased the exclamation marks.

I’m asking you! What are you people!!!

After staying quiet, Aris stuck out her short, stubby middle finger toward the chat.

I had let her play with my phone, and the first thing she had learned was how to insult people.

Well, the Constellations would not know this was an insult, so it did not matter...

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!

How dare you flip off someone like me!! Hey, what are you, steamed bun! Where do you live, punk!! Come up here!!

They had said Constellations sometimes watched reality, even if they could not interfere. It seemed that had been true.

Someone flipped off the short-fused Constellation?!

What is with that tone! Are you trying to help me or pick a fight?!

Obviously, I’m trying to pick a fight!

Where do you live too, you bastard!!

While they bickered among themselves, I moved quickly.

“Boss! The entrance! It’s the entrance!”

An excited Aris pointed to one side.

There was a cave hollowed out in the middle of the cliff.

It was truly in a ridiculous location.

I had come here after seeing the records in the Great Labyrinth Library, but how on earth had the person before the Regression found that?

DING!

[The Labyrinth senses the intruder’s presence more clearly!]

This insane Labyrinth.

It could not endure even a moment and had to bring up another message.

Before the notification sound had even fully scattered, heavy footsteps rang out.

Earlier, there had been one.

But not now.

At least ten or so.

The moment those things stuck their heads out, being discovered would only be a matter of time.

“Poporu. Climb onto my shoulder.”

“My lord, du! I still have not connected the rope, du!”

“It’s fine.”

I cut the rope connected to the safety device.

In any case, if I slipped and fell, it would end with the parachute. If I was detected, it would also end with the parachute.

Aside from entering the cave before it was too late, this would ultimately be a parachute ending.

Uh, uh, uh, uh! Look at them! They’re climbing the cliff without equipment!

They must be crazy enough to want to die!

He’s going to fall! He’s falling!!

What is this insane thrill! Crunch, crunch!! This is the perfect popcorn moment!

After using Evil Eye to identify the relatively easy and sturdy path, I reached out.

There was no time to tap the stone bridge before crossing it.

I just had to go.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Boss! They’re here!! They’re here!! Booooss!!”

“Ddurk.”

“Whoa, you crazy seal! Don’t faint!”

I heard smacking sounds from behind me, but I had no time to care.

Rock fragments began falling over my head.

It was proof that a Titan had come nearby.

Clang! Clang!!

I took a chisel out of Poporu’s bag and drove it into the cliff.

Then I climbed on top of it and put strength into my feet.

Uh, uh, uh, you don’t mean...?

Don’t do it! You’ll die!

“Suuuuuu.”

Right now, even hesitation was a luxury.

I hurled myself toward the cave.

Waaaaaaaah! He’s falling!!

Aaaah! I can’t watch!

He’s flying! Flying! He’s a pigeon!!!

“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!!!”

The Constellations’ chat rose without pause, and Aris’s scream hammered my eardrums.

Ordinarily, those would have bothered me, but not now.

The only thing I could see right now was the entrance of the cave growing closer.

I stretched my hand toward it.

THUNK!

The instant I felt my fingertips catch, I pulled my body up and pushed myself inside.

I could not even do a single pull-up in reality, so all hail stats, truly.

Bzzzzzz.

Had even one second passed since I entered?

Several red lights swept past outside the cave.

We had barely made it safely.

“Haa... Haa...”

I lay spread-eagled and caught my breath.

At how quiet my two friends were, I turned my head.

Poporu had fainted earlier, and Aris had ended up foaming at the mouth as well.

[You have entered a Restricted Area of the Labyrinth! The Constellations cannot peek into this place!]

[Constellation communication is disconnected!]

This was the first piece of good news I had heard since entering the Labyrinth.

It had been ridiculously noisy, so this was welcome.

After catching my breath enough, I rose.

I laid Aris and Poporu side by side and covered them with sleeping bags.

Since they had fainted anyway, let them rest a little.

Step.

I moved deeper into the cave.

Basement Floor 100 of the Labyrinth, the starting point of the Deep Floors.

What exactly was the Hidden Item concealed here?

Rustle.

I narrowed my eyes at the scent seeping into my nose.

A floral fragrance...?

It was something that did not match the bleak cliff area at all.

How much farther had I walked?

“Who are you?”

A clear yet beautiful voice reached me.

---

Somewhere in the 50s floors of the Labyrinth.

A party made up of explorers slipped through a collapsed floor.

“Huh...”

Everyone who arrived below opened their mouths.

Sharp mountain peaks beneath the Labyrinth.

It was a sight they had never imagined.

“They said the Labyrinth is a world where all kinds of things are mixed together... I guess it was true.”

“Exactly. I’m glad we followed the records. This is a place that wasn’t discovered even before the Regression.”

“Let’s go in for now. There don’t seem to be any monsters.”

They slowly moved forward and examined their surroundings.

It was a place with a mysterious atmosphere.

Although they were definitely here for the first time, it strangely did not feel entirely unfamiliar.

“It feels as if we have entered a martial arts novel.”

“I know, right? It would not be strange even if a martial artist holding a sword appeared right now.”

While each of them offered their impressions, the man at the front turned around.

“It seems this is not merely a feeling.”

The others quickened their steps and stood beside the man.

Then they lifted their heads and stared at the inscription engraved on the massive stone monument.

The characters looked extremely similar to classical Chinese.

They did not know which world they came from, but thanks to the System, reading them was not difficult.

Mount Hua.

“Could this possibly be the Mount Hua Sect from those martial arts stories?”

“Of course not, but...”

The ones who trailed off looked at the rugged mountain terrain surrounding them.

Judging only by the environment where it was located, this was Mount Hua itself from a martial arts novel.

After finishing filming and recording, they went inside.

Before long, a broad space appeared.

At the very center stood a massive stone monument.

“Something is written there.”

They approached and read down through the inscription.

Mount Hua is a peak of natural peril, and its energy is like a blade, making it a land where none may remain unless they polish the sword. Those who polished the sword here were called the Mount Hua Sect.

Even within the proud history of the Mount Hua Sect, there was one whose name rose highest, yet her true name, said to have been buried together with her sword when she left the secular world, remains unknown to this day.

Her sword was powerful, yet not rough. According to what has been passed down, when she swung her sword once, three plum blossoms bloomed in the air.

The first blossom severed the opponent’s sword, the second broke their momentum, and the third cut their heart meridian.

The elders of Mount Hua evaluated her in childhood as follows: a child who could make plum blossoms of unsurpassed beauty bloom with a sword, yet carried a sharply honed blade in her eyes and heart.

How much time had passed after she stood at the peak of the Mount Hua Sect? She told the people of the Mount Hua Sect: Plum blossoms bloom more beautifully amid trials and solitude, so this Exalted One shall leave Mount Hua in order to bloom in full profusion.

In the winter before the plum blossoms bloomed, she vanished without a trace.

Regarding her, who never returned, the Mount Hua Sect and the martial artists of the world began calling her the ‘Plum Blossom Sword Venerable’ with one voice. And they firmly believed that she certainly existed somewhere.

The flower of the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable, blooming in full profusion, that was.

The party members who had read the stone monument looked at one another’s faces.

The question they currently held was the same.

Was the content written on this stone monument real?

If it was real, might the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable also be staying somewhere in this Labyrinth?

---

Was it because I did not answer?

The voice rang out once more.

“This Exalted One shall ask once more. Who are you?”

As I moved a little closer, the owner of the voice slowly revealed herself.

Evil Eye read her information as if it had been waiting.

Plum Blossom Sword Venerable.