Chapter 51
Level nine of Wolf Fang Labyrinth was the latter half of its undead zone . Aside from the illness zombies, I also encountered another troublesome high-ranked zombie variant .
“That was close!”
While my attention was on the high-ranked zombie in front of me, the three illness zombies behind spat venom at me simultaneously . I turned 180 degrees while slide-jumping to the back and, as there was no other path, dashed up the wall with a wall-run, then went further to the back . I jumped to the opposite wall mid-run and turned around . While I was turning 180-degrees mid-air, I placed my crosshairs on the hopper and squeezed the trigger, spraying fire at it .
Hoppers were high-ranked zombies that first appeared on this ninth level of Wolf Fang Labyrinth . They wore robes with hoods, and they leaped at their opponents with gaping wide mouths ready to bite . They were rather fast, but things would have been okay if it were just them . The venom-spitting illness zombies were troublesome . They seemed to be spitting their venom in order to block my retreat .
[E/N: “Hey, can I borrow your homework?” – “Sure, just change it up . ” *Changes Jacket of L4D Zombie to a robe . *]
I had burned down the hopper, and next were the illness zombies . According to my experiences from previous battles, after they spewed their venom, they wouldn’t be able to do it again for a while . There were three of them, but they couldn’t do anything aside from flinging themselves at me . There was no reason to go that far . I glided my crosshairs and made the fire dance wildly .
Level nine didn’t only have these high-ranked zombies; even high-ranked glass wolf zombies, the dire glass wolf zombies, appeared . They were as fast as the hoppers . As they came towards me, I moved around so as not to be cornered and burned them to ashes . They hadn’t used the magic-charged roar like the dire wolf I rescued Maltsan from had . I wasn’t sure if this was just by chance, or zombies couldn’t use those attacks . There was no way to know unless I researched it at the Archive . I checked through the monster book, but couldn’t find the answer right away .
I continued on and burned down a mixed group of zombies in a small room . Then I noticed a stone box-like object in the center of the room
“Could it be a treasure chest?!”
It looked like a stone chest . I approached it while picking up the mana stones of the zombies I had killed . Under closer inspection, I found out that the lid was covered with detailed carvings . They looked vaguely similar to the carvings on the water flask I had ordered from the Marida Company . The chest was about 1m in length, 60cm in width and height – it was a bit smaller than my Gift Box .
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From what I had researched, the magic tools and weapons a labyrinth spat out were usually found in shrines, or on pedestals in large rooms . Could they also appear in such chests like this? No, maybe this was also a monster? I watched the chest without touching it, but without opening it, I couldn’t really find out anything . I set up the CBS on my left arm so that I could activate the shield at any time . Then I slowly pushed the lid off with my left hand .
Sounds of stones scraping echoed, but there didn’t seem to be any traps . I kept on pushing and the lid fell to the ground . I peeked inside and saw a bare dagger . As I took the dagger out, the chest collapsed into sand . The sand was also absorbed by the labyrinth, and it looked like there had never been anything in the room afterward .
The dagger was more important at the moment anyway . It had a 10cm long double-edged blade and a wooden handle . The blade had a gentle curve to it .
Weapons created by labyrinths like this dagger were probably magic weapons . It didn’t look like the type that consumed mana stones . Did it need magic power? It seemed like I couldn’t use it .
Well, I didn’t plan to wield a magic weapon with an unknown power anyways .
[E/N: i DiDnT pLaN tO wIeLd A mAgIc WeApOn . ]
I couldn’t carry the dagger around with its blade out so I summoned the Gift Box and put it inside . I’d have to consult either Maltsan or Rezmond-san about it . It was the first magic weapon I had found during my labyrinth explorations . Having discovered another fun thing in labyrinth exploration, I went deeper inside .
[E/N: ( ☞◔ ౪ ◔)☞ ]
I had reached the tenth level . There was supposed to be a magic transportation circle here, and even though I couldn’t use these circles, I wanted to see one myself .
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This was also the final level of the undead zone – the labyrinth should become a field dungeon from the eleventh level onwards . The undead didn’t just appear in the undead zone, but the frequency of their appearance would naturally decrease as other monster types appeared . The flamethrower would be relieved of its duty after this level .
I would cover the tenth level and go to check the atmosphere on the eleventh level, then return to the surface . Let’s use the 1-1 a little bit more .
I encountered more labyrinth bats than zombies skeletons on this level . Every time I checked the ceiling at a turn, large numbers of bats would ambush me . These ambushes were troublesome . At every turn, I would lean on the wall and peek around the corner, checking both the route ahead and the ceiling . If there were labyrinth bats hanging down, I would immediately place the crosshair on them and spray the flames without mercy . The flaming fuel didn’t just burn the bats, but also the ceiling . The bats fell from the red blazing ceiling with strange cries, and I moved the crosshair onto the ones still moving to burn them off .
The flamethrower, with its 40m range, was an effective weapon during solo labyrinth explorations, when one didn’t have to worry about secondary disasters . I didn’t pay attention at first, but even after continuous spraying within the labyrinth passage, the oxygen level didn’t seem to decrease at all .
Using flamethrowers within closed spaces like caves would consume oxygen and cause a shortage of it . Even without being hit directly by the flame, living creatures could still be killed by the deficiency of oxygen . This was another effect of flamethrowers, a cruel one .
I refilled the 1-1 while I waited for the flames to die down to collect the stones . As I was about to move on, I heard something rush in my direction . I had generally remembered the footsteps of different zombies, and these steps were from a group of dire-glass wolf zombies and a hopper .
I readied the flamethrower and focused my crosshair on the route ahead while also breaking into a run . After various battles, I had come to the conclusion that the best way to deal with this type of mixed group was to charge straight into them .
The first to come into view was two dire glass wolf zombies . The hopper was coming later, as expected .
[E/N: “As Expected . ” Fuck you . You would have said the same thing if the hopper came first . “As expected” is up there next to “What” In gear grinding . ]
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I glided the crosshair and sprayed a wave of flames on the wolf zombies . They were rushing straight at me, but split outwards to the left and right when they saw the flames coming . However, the flames covered the entire passage and couldn’t be avoided . The zombie wolves were swallowed up by the fire in one go and stopped moving . From behind, the hopper leaped over while avoiding the flaming fuel scattered about the passage .
“Hey!”
I held the flamethrower’s nozzle in my right hand, activated my CBS on my left, and knocked the hopper to the wall . My powered suit didn’t just enhance my legs strength and jumping ability, but also increased my physical power in general .
[T/N: That was why he could do those anti-physical strafe jumps . He had a powered suit . ]
[E/N: That has to be the most bullshit reason ever, you know you can move forward, backward, or side to side . ]
If I had been carrying small arms, I could have shot the hopper down mid-air . But with the flamethrower, it could have become a hurling ball of fire barreling towards me, so I couldn’t do that . And if I let it move freely, it would jump in from an unexpected distance and cause trouble . With this, I could stop the hopper’s movement and create a more manageable situation .
Before the hopper could get up, I pointed the flamethrower at the wall and sprayed flames at it . I watched the hopper burn black and made sure that there were none following . I still felt bewildered by all the behaviors and reactions that were different from the games, but I could do it . I had been managing well, and I was getting more confident at this .
I broke through the small and large rooms, and suddenly a gate supported by white stone pillars appeared before my eyes . It had the same design as the one in Emerald Demon Labyrinth, but there was a wolf-head humanoid monster sitting on the throne . Was it the Dungeon Master of this labyrinth…?
I passed the gate and entered the large room where the Gatekeeper had once been, and saw a transportation magic circle at the center .
“So this is a transportation circle…”
Despite knowing it was futile, I still took out the combat knife from the sheath on my thigh and gave my finger a shallow cut . I dribbled some blood on the circle, but it didn’t seem to record my biometric info at all .
“It’s really no good . ”
It couldn’t be helped . My explorations would be easier if I could use these circles, but letting my inability to use them get to me was just a waste of time .
I headed to the stairs leading down towards the eleventh level deep inside the room . Starting from the eleventh level, labyrinths would begin to imitate their surroundings and become field dungeons, where the scenes could be mistaken as real nature . But the scene in front of me was very different from the forest east of Wolf Fang Labyrinth .
There was indeed a forest, and even some paths that could serve as passages through it . However, the atmosphere was completely different from that of a forest . It was clad in a dark mysterious mist that brought about the magic forest atmosphere with just a glance . The size of a field dungeon varied depending on the level, and if I strayed from the forest paths, it seemed like I wouldn’t meet some invisible wall . The walls seemed to be at the actual edges of the level, and could be discerned clearly .
I couldn’t see the walls and didn’t know the actual size of the forest . I was concerned about the forest paths, but my exploration ended here this time . It would continue after I completed my mission with the Marida Company’s trade caravan .
I went back to the tenth level, summoned the Dorchester in the Gatekeeper room, and took a lunch break . Unlike a Spring, there was no water source to drink from here, so no monsters would enter this room . I might have been spotted by some other adventurers who teleported through the magic circles, but let’s cross that bridge when we got to it .
I ate my meal on the chair in the car’s living space, checked my equipment and replenished it, then left an hour later . I increased my pace and reached the surface in one go, so I returned earlier than expected . I had to get my equipment for tomorrow onwards ready .