Chapter 116
She is currently in the Witch’s Forest.
with her older sister Daria.
“Ugh… It’s so dizzy…”
“It’ll be fine once you get used to it. So when you get used to it, focus on the sound.”
The reason she came to the Witch’s Forest while hunting with her sister on the 3rd floor was simple.
It’s because I’ve been training as a searcher lately.
He used the last day before the labyrinth closed to enter the Witch’s Forest.
“Even if you don’t become a professional explorer, you have to know how to find your way to the 4th floor.”
“Uh…”
Her older sister is a skilled seeker.
So, on the lower floors, he had already inherited knowledge and know-how to find his way alone.
But the Witch’s Forest was different.
A special terrain where you can only navigate by relying on your senses.
“How do you think it sounds?”
Erwen followed her sister’s instructions and focused on the sound she heard. Other races had to specialize in one ability, whether it was smell or sight, to avoid getting lost in the Witch’s Forest… but…
Throbbing-!
A fairy with naturally developed hearing doesn’t have to do that?
Her sister explained that although it is difficult to walk around this place like the front yard, anyone can do it as long as they find the 4th floor portal.
pounding-!
As soon as I closed my eyes and listened, I recognized small sounds that I hadn’t heard before.
Derived sounds of branches blowing like blades of wind, howling of monsters, friction of sharp weapons, etc.
Examining them one by one, I was able to find a distinctly foreign sound.
pounding-!
A heavy sound like a beating heart.
This must be the pulsating sound of the magic power that my sister was talking about.
“Over there……”
As soon as I pointed to the direction the sound came from, my sister smiled proudly.
“Nice job. Shall we go then?”
Erwen continued to focus on the sound and found his way. There were times when I didn’t even feel the monster approaching because I was so focused on my hearing… But
each time, my sister helped me by my side, so it wasn’t a problem.
how long has it been like that
pounding-!
The wave of magic power grew louder.
Now, even if I don’t really want to hear it, my ears are full. It was a moment when I thought I could turn off the sound.
[You’ve worked hard Rotmiller.]
Erwen frowned at the sudden voice.
I don’t know who Rotmiller is…
“Huh?”
“Why is that suddenly?”
I was used to that voice saying that I had a hard time.
Should I say that it was similar to the voice she longed for as she seemed harsh yet warm?
‘no way……?’
Even though he thought it couldn’t be, Erwen’s legs were already moving.
in the direction the voice came from.
“Erwen? Where… stop…!”
My sister called me something from behind, but I didn’t even hear it and proceeded like a possessed person.
Had it been like that for a minute?
A wide open space appeared, revealing a huge tower hidden in the forest.
A group of explorers stood in front of him.
One dwarf, two humans, one beast.
And… a barbarian.
Of course, it was completely different from the person in her memory.
Like a skilled explorer, he was wearing shiny armor, and his shield was much larger and more luxurious.
Because he was wearing a helmet, his face was not visible.
But…
“Oh man?!”
Erwen instinctively felt it.
That that person is that person.
“mister!!”
Belatedly, he shouted so that the entire forest resonated, but the barbarian did not look back.
As you can see, he had already disappeared halfway into the portal.
So Erwen ran.
With the momentum to follow him and enter the portal right away.
“Erwen!”
Her body, which ran so swiftly that it was incomparable to when she was walking around on the first floor, was stopped by her sister before long.
“…leave it! Come on in—”
“Relax!!”
“Hey man…….”
“Are you going to keep pushing yourself? You couldn’t even see his face properly?”
Erwen was speechless.
It was because he remembered how his actions would reflect later.
But…
“I… I know. Just because I know!”
“What if? The fourth floor is a dangerous place for the two of us. Besides, do you know what kind of people are those who entered first?”
“That’s…”
It was a question I hadn’t thought about.
Because Erwen was already convinced.
However, she did not have the confidence to explain this distinct resonance in her heart to her sister.
So I recklessly gave strength to my arms and tried to release the car.
“Oh, no……!”
The color of the portal changed to red.
It means that now, even if you enter the portal, you will not be able to go to the same place as those in front of you.
“Why! Why didn’t you let me go?!”
“Because that’s natural! Didn’t I tell you that you could be treated like a looter if you went in according to the 4th floor?”
“But… he was an old man…!”
Erwen pursed his lips.
Something raged deep in her heart like a tantrum, but
she let out a long breath and regained consciousness.
‘Yeah, it’s okay. You knew I was alive…….’
I decided to be content with that for now.
If he wasn’t mistaken today, if he really was alive.
‘…I’ll see you soon.’
I’m sure we’ll be able to meet again.
***
「You have entered the 4th floor of the Sky Tower.」
***
What was it?
what is that voice?
It seemed to be calling me for some reason…
‘Could it be Erwen?’
I was startled.
The only person who could call me Mister was her. But that also made little sense.
‘No, to have such a coincidence.’
It was hard to imagine that even such a coincidence would overlap while reuniting with a colleague in this vast labyrinth.
It must have been a conversation between other explorers.
Anyway, nothing to worry about now.
“What are you doing, Bjorn! Get moving!”
A space of about 40 sqm.
A stone chamber with a tightly closed door on each wall.
Tower of Heaven.
This is the first ordeal as soon as you enter. In other words, monsters pour out.
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-!]
seven 9th grade, three 8th grade, one 7th grade.
Monsters that appear on the 3rd floor attack us in groups regardless of their habitat. This is why I used to call this place the ‘Tower of Training’.
Because there are so many types of monsters, it’s easy to get experience points, and you can deal with combinations of patterns you’ve never experienced before.
‘The Orc Shaman, the Stone Golem Living Armor, and the Durahan…’
From the beginning, a terrible combination came out.
「The Living Armor has cast [Armed Reinforcement].」
The Living Armor that is worn on top of the Dullahan body as if it were a host.
「The Orc Shaman has cast [Frenzy].」
「Durahan’s physical resistance increases by 3 times for 10 seconds.」
Even so, the extremely high physical resistance of Dyurahan almost turned to stone, and in the meantime, the Stone Golem uses [Suppression]. Use and spray debuffs.
“Behel—laaaa!!”
While Misha and Rotmiller were clearing out the level 9 mobs, the dwarf and I made a shield wall to block Dullahan.
It was a tough combination, but with two tanks, it was easy to hold on.
‘Even if the physical resistance is high, it doesn’t mean anything to us.’
Our main dealers are Dwalki and Misha.
Not to mention the magician Dwalki, Misha also properly rides the ice test tree, and her cold damage has risen dramatically.
“Hmm, was this really that easy?”
He was only wearing a meat shield, but when the battle ended in an instant, the dwarf tilted his head.
“I guess we’ve all gotten stronger!”
“Whoops, the one you just wrote was a new spell you learned this time. How was it?”
Originally, no matter how many tanks you try, it doesn’t show.
On the other hand, the dealership was a job that showed off even a little bit of growth.
By the way, the searcher is……
“Keuheumheum.”
Well, in the first place, it’s almost out of power.
It is safe to say that the seeker has done his job just by bringing him to his destination on time.
Monsters aren’t the only ones on the 4th floor.
「The ordeal has been completed.」
As soon as all the monsters died, the tightly closed door opened wide.
Each door had a unique pattern engraved on it.
Courage wisdom destiny perseverance.
Normally, I would have opened the Stairs of Courage and fought random monsters
…
We first took the Stairway of Wisdom.
The Tower of Heaven’s difficulty increases every time you pass an ordeal, but the Stairway of Wisdom was a route where you could climb all floors at once.
With all our power, we had to go up to the 20th floor before we started to get a taste for hunting.
“I chose the Stairway of Wisdom.”
For that reason, we walked through darkness like the abyss.
The road was complicated, there were traps, and monsters appeared occasionally, but there was nothing dangerous as long as there was a professional explorer, Rottiller.
Kwaaang-!
After about an hour of reaching the 6th floor, the door they came in was locked and the monster attacked.
Unlike the 1st floor, there were three 7th graders, but there was no particularly dangerous situation.
Unlike before, the combination was on the poor side.
“Hmm, I don’t think there’s a stairway to wisdom this time.”
After the hunt, he had no choice but to take the Stairs of Courage. Yes, fate has so many variables, and patience… Everyone shook their heads in unison.
‘Well, to do that, it’s easier to fight monsters a few more times.’
I don’t know if it’s a game.
In this reality patch, all trials of patience were trials to avoid.
It reminds me of hot, cold, sad, and fucking memories.
“I chose the stairs of courage.”
Anyway, I climbed the stairs and reached the 7th floor.
A monster appeared and that was it.
The battle ended easily, but there was no sign of opening the tightly closed doors.
It was natural.
If you choose courage, you have to wait 4 hours even after killing all the monsters.
“Now then, let’s rest and recharge our courage!”
It’s a dwarf joke anyway.
Since we were tired from running through the Witch’s Forest, we had a break without much regret.
There was no particular need for a wake-up call.
Monsters do not regenerate, and once the color of the portal changes, other explorers cannot enter.
“Whoa, then let’s go!”
After sleeping for 4 hours, we woke up and took the stairs of wisdom once more and climbed the tower.
In terms of the number of floors, it means that we reached the 12th floor before we knew it.
But what else is this?
[Ahh!!]
We froze as we saw the single monster sitting in the center of the stone chamber.
coo-!
Huge body over 4m.
Huge fangs protruding from the mouth.
Grey-white leather covered over the bulky muscles.
And even the hunchbacked vertebrae and deformed shoulder bones.
“Troll…?”
“Why is he here…”
Troll.
A monster that is classified as a top-notch bastard among the 5th grade.
If Deathspind was a ‘newbie cutter’…….
that bastard played the role of a ‘keyboard breaker’ against mid-level gamers.
‘This bastard is coming out of here?’
I also have quite a few memories of making shotgun sounds on the keyboard because of this bastard.
But is it because of that memory?
Swear words flowed out of nowhere.
“Nimiral.”
Somehow, even after meeting Hans, things went smoothly.
Was it all because of this?
‘Fuck, I didn’t know it was a monster this time.’
In the labyrinth, it’s not just looters to be wary of.