Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Dynamite

I stared at the three or four monsters approaching.

The monsters were preparing to attack in different stances.

If this had been the beginning of the floor, I would have been cautious, but now it was fine.

Because on the way here, I had already grasped the mechanism and timing of their attacks through Evil Eye’s Motion Analysis.

On top of that, there was Motion Detection, which delivered information in real time.

Even if I wanted to, I could not get hit by those attacks.

Whoooosh!

Using the First Blossom Step, I slipped my body into the gap in the incoming attacks.

Then I drew the Clear Stream Blade gently.

The Clear Stream Blade cut cleanly through the monster’s flesh and came out the other side.

DING!

[You have successfully landed five attacks in a row! The Clear Stream Blade’s Unique Effect, Blue Mountains and Flowing Water, activates!]

[The effect of Blue Mountains and Flowing Water stacks! Agility Stat increases!]

A smile formed on my face as my body became lighter once more.

I did have to pay a little attention to keep the stacks from breaking, but the effect was good enough to make that worth it.

Slash! Slash!

I continued cutting down monsters and advanced.

At first, the sensation of cutting something alive had felt a little strange.

But had they not said humans were animals that adapted?

Now, I had become completely used to it.

To the point that I almost mistakenly thought I had some talent for cutting things down.

SPLAT!

I steadied my breathing as a monster split in half and collapsed.

I shook off the blood clinging to the blade and raised the Clear Stream Blade.

I realized it once again.

The power of gear was incredible.

I had only equipped two or so pieces of Labyrinth-exclusive equipment, yet things had become this much easier.

If I set up a proper full set, it would probably be truly amazing.

“Dduaaaaaagh!!”

Along with a thunderous shout, three monsters collapsed at the same time.

Even when there were no monsters, Poporu kept shadow boxing without pause and continued building stacks.

Thanks to that, his fists had now reached the point where they were nearly invisible.

Did he feel my gaze?

Poporu, who had been swinging his fists, met my eyes.

When I stuck out my thumb, he showed the happiest expression in the world.

I was glad he seemed to like the gauntlets.

“Booooss!!!”

“My lord, du. A honeybee is flying this way, du.”

“Looks like she woke up.”

At first, Aris had fought with the Constellations, but at some point, she had begun nodding off.

I wanted to make use of her somehow, but this had been a continuous sequence of beating things down, so there was not really anything to make her do.

SCREECH!

Aris, who hit the brakes noisily, panted roughly.

“Kuhhek!”

When I quickly gave her water, Aris pointed toward the wall ahead.

“An ambush...! It’s an ambush!”

“An ambush?”

“There are monsters swarming beyond the wall!”

I examined the wall Aris was pointing at.

Hey, you steamed bun!! How could you say that! You’re ruining the fun!

The one who kept nodding off does something useless the moment she wakes up!

There are always ones like that from time to time. Ones who don’t know when to butt in and when to stay out of it.

The Constellations’ criticism poured down like rain.

No wonder they had been quiet. It seemed they had been waiting excitedly for us to fall into the ambush.

Well, from the viewers’ perspective, that side probably would be more entertaining.

Even if you noticed that, what are you going to do about it?

Exactly! What are you going to do with only one person and two creatures?

“Hey, lousy Constellation! Who are you calling a creature?”

“That is correct, du! Will you not address us properly, du?! Do you want to be beaten up, du!!”

“Like this seal said! You should call us two people and one creature!”

“That is correct, du! Two people and... du?”

Poporu, sensing that something was strange, looked at Aris.

He had thought they were finally on the same side after so long, but that was not it.

That cowardly traitor of a steamed bun!

“Hmmm.”

While the two demons and the Constellations argued, I quietly examined the wall.

It looked at least fifteen meters high, so how were they planning to cross over?

The monster that appeared on Floor 10 was the Goblin Warrior.

Those things were not particularly good at climbing walls, nor were they agile, so getting over this would be impossible.

GRAB!

“Ow, ow, ow!”

I grabbed Aris’s head and pulled her over.

If I left her alone, she looked ready to fight forever.

“Can you look a little more closely? I want to know whether all the monsters are the same type.”

“I’ll try!”

Aris covered one eye with her short, stubby hand.

A moment later, a blue eye pattern appeared over it.

It seemed to be the activation effect of Sky View.

“Huh?! There are guys that aren’t out here! The ones lying in wait out front all have melee weapons, but most of the ones hiding in ambush have bows or throwing weapons like daggers!”

Information on Floor 10 of the Labyrinth had spread to some extent because it was part of the earliest section.

I had never heard that anything other than Goblin Warriors appeared.

Which meant?

It meant the Labyrinth had recognized my existence and had subtly changed things.

Since the difficulty had risen last time without a System message as well, I was not particularly surprised.

“How many are there?”

“It looks like there are easily over 500? They’re lined up from here to the very end! Oh! And a red aura is leaking from all the ones gathered there! Looks like we have to beat those bastards up to destroy the Labyrinth!”

Give up quietly and leave, you stupid idiot! Even if they simply rush you, you’ll get crushed to death, won’t you?!

[A Constellation who looks detached quietly nods.]

That annoying Constellation is right. It would be wise to withdraw here.

Hey, who are you calling annoying! You old fossil!

I rebuke you, gal! How dare a fluke who has not even lived a thousand years!

‘Wait, wait, wait.’

Aris di Carsia, the Demon of the Evil Eye, quickly rubbed her plump chin.

And then she made a judgment.

‘This is an opportunity!’

Poporu, the seal demon who had popped out from a cliff without so much as a turn signal.

Though he looked like a plump sausage someone had taken one bite of and thrown away, he had been performing quite well lately.

Even today, he had been running through several floors and beating up monsters.

Because of that, Aris felt an immense sense of crisis.

What sort of crisis?

It was not the crisis that Poporu might steal her position as Boss Ryu Jin’s No. 2.

She did not care about something like that.

Whether she was No. 2 or No. 200, what did it matter?

What Aris worried about was the imbalance in Magic Stone distribution!

If she failed to perform like this, Ryu Jin might feed Poporu more Magic Stones than her.

‘That absolutely cannot happen!’

It would be one thing if they all could not eat, but she could never allow herself to eat less than that strongman sausage.

Right now, Boss Ryu Jin was facing a desperate crisis.

If she performed properly here, she could earn a massive amount of points in one shot.

‘Total concentration breathing!’

She inhaled deeply and operated Evil Eye at full power.

Aris confirmed the terrain features and monster placements spread out before her and began formulating a strategy.

‘If they all come out at once, there’s no answer. Even if it takes a long time, we pull them little by little and deal with them! Perfect!’

She could already picture it.

The beautiful sight of Boss Ryu Jin, moved by this strategy, pouring Magic Stones only for her!

With sparkling eyes, she turned around.

She needed to hurry and tell Boss about this perfect and brilliant tacti—

Ah?

Aris wrinkled the bridge of her nose.

Something was in Ryu Jin’s hand.

“Boss?”

“What?”

“What is that strange-looking thing?”

Ryu Jin let out a low groan.

Since it was a weapon I had drawn, I strongly wanted to defend it.

But I decided not to.

Because objectively speaking, it really was strange.

[Mad Miner Otan’s Dynamite / Grade: S+]

Otan, who traveled all over the world and blasted open countless mine shafts! Thanks to him, there were fewer mines untouched by his hand than those he had worked on!

When opening coal mine tunnels, Otan always used palm-sized handmade dynamite!

Handmade dynamite that collapses the ground by dissolving its bonds with the minimum explosion!

The problem was that in ground built up over many long years, there were many variables, so no one knew in which direction it would collapse!

However, this was not a problem for Otan. Otan was a mad miner whose brain had been broken by dopamine!

He enjoyed the thrilling excitement of not knowing when or where it would collapse, and expressed great gratitude each day for surviving once more!

Unique Skill: Ground Decomposition

It does not matter how many layers are stacked or what material they are made of! It decomposes and collapses them no matter what!

Otan, the mad miner who used the “mad” in miner, left these words!

What is the problem? It is fine as long as it does not collapse toward me, is it not? If it does collapse? Well, then I go! Pahahahaha!!

I swallowed dryly without realizing it.

What was this genuinely insane bastard?

He could have planted the dynamite and run away, but he insisted on standing beside it?

What was attached at the very bottom was even more of a masterpiece.

Miner Otan died during his 371st blasting when a wall collapsed.

The fellow miners who witnessed it said this: That bastard was art even when he went!

Aris, who approached, placed her hand on the dynamite.

Then she shook her head and opened her mouth.

“Shouldn’t we throw this away quickly? It feels like it’ll bring bad luck.”

Had even three seconds passed after she finished speaking?

Aris’s eyes shook violently.

Ryu Jin, with an indifferent face that made it unclear whether he had heard her or not, was shoving the dynamite into the wall.

What are you guys doing again?

Hahaha, what is that weird-looking thing? Is it some kind of sticker?

“Boss! What are you going to do if you use that for no reason and it collapses this way?! If that happens, we’ll be surrounded by 500 of them, beaten down in a gang attack, and wiped out!”

It was a logical deduction hard to believe had come from Steamed Bun Aris.

Certainly, if it collapsed this way, we were doomed.

Because we had descended floor after floor without rest, neither Poporu’s stamina nor mine was intact.

But how was that a problem?

“It’s fine as long as it doesn’t collapse this way.”

“Ah?”

Aris opened her mouth.

That was certainly true.

True enough to get someone beaten!

“You’re not a god, Boss, so how are you supposed to control that! It said there are countless variables in the groun—Uh, uh, uh!!”

Hissssss!

Ryu Jin lit the dynamite without caring.

But why was that?

He should have dodged immediately, but instead of doing that, he stood beside the wall that was about to collapse.

“My lord, du! It is dangerous, du! You must come this way, du!”

Uh, uh, hey newbie! Hurry up and run! At this rate, you’ll be buried under debris and become a squid!

We want something fun. We don’t want it to suddenly turn into a horror show!

Ryu Jin stared at the burning dynamite.

There were two possible outcomes.

It would collapse this way, or it would collapse that way.

The moment I moved away from here, the probability would become fifty-fifty.

But if I held my position?

Hisssss...!

“Waaaaaaah!! Boss is going to become dried filefish!!!”

“My looooord, duuuuu!”

Crazy, cover your eyes!! It’s going to become a horror movie!

He’s a total psycho!

It would go that way.

Unless those lousy monsters had higher luck than me, that was.

BAAAAAANG!!!

A tremendous roar rang out, and cracks spread across the entire wall that had looked so firm.

And before long.

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, RUMBLE!!!

The roughly collapsing debris of the wall began swallowing the things that had been beneath it.