Chapter 62

Chapter 62

< If Things Go Too Well, I Get Anxious >

My party member characters that I can control in the game don’t get caught by madness.

The ones who become slaves of the Labyrinth Master and appear in the exit room are all NPCs.

At some point, they suddenly poof disappear and appear in the exit room.

I couldn’t figure out the mechanism of that process, so for someone like me who’s a veteran player, it was content that stimulated my desire for challenge.

How do you become an exit boss!

One fact I learned in the process of researching that.

‘When there’s no exit boss in the exit room, if an adventurer gets caught by madness, they appear in the empty exit room.’

So after defeating the exit boss, I would deliberately leave the exit gate alone to keep the exit room in an empty state, and observe the process of adventurers being caught by madness and coming over.

Based on those experiments, I’m certain.

‘Soyul is in this exit room.’

But……

Damn, why am I so anxious?

***

Is there something I missed?

Having arrived in front of the exit room, I trace back the source of this shitty feeling creeping up from my toes.

Let me review the series of processes up to now again.

Monster annihilation using the Monument.

Destroying Antonelli’s soul vessel.

Making Soyul into an exit boss.

Finding the sanctuary based on the time Antonelli appeared and acquiring the urn.

Everything’s fine.

Aimus and Hijikata, whom I sent ahead in case other adventurers might mess with the exit room, are also guarding the door well. No one came looking though.

Everything went as everyone predicted in advance.

There’s no part I missed.

Now I just need to take Soyul and it’s over.

Simple, right?

“……”

I think I finally know the cause of this anxiety.

‘Because things are going too well.’

This was actually closer to an experiment than a strategy.

So when Soyul disappeared, my true feelings popped out.

‘This actually works.’

But what were the chances of this succeeding?

Backstab on the 1st floor.

Antonelli and Gildal on the 3rd floor.

Was Soyul that much of an overwhelming expert?

That’s not it.

Of course, considering the special circumstances of the current 3rd floor, there’s nothing logically wrong with it, and in the game, ‘house-robbing style’ adventurer exit bosses appeared several times.

‘This actually works.’

I’m anxious because things are going too well.

The current situation feels like parents of an exam candidate who just filed a transfer registration in the countryside and abused the rural special admission system to get their child into Seoul National University.

But this labyrinth of unreasonableness and backstabbing abyss that has been tormenting me until now couldn’t filter that out and followed along in the direction I was dangling the bait?

That’s what bothers me.

The fact that Soyul could become an exit boss through the Monster Wave special admission system itself.

I heard developers get anxious even when their programmed software runs well, wondering why it works. That’s exactly what I look like right now.

“Brother, aren’t you going in?”

But at least it’s true that Gildal woke up, it’s true that Soyul poof disappeared, and it’s true that a new pale green urn was created, isn’t it?

Looking at this, ‘Soyul becoming an exit boss‘ is also the most reasonable judgment.

Unless something beyond my common sense is happening.

“Let’s go.”

Let’s not hesitate anymore and check directly.

Whether what’s inside is really Soyul.

Or whether this is as far as the trap the labyrinth dug goes, and when I open the door, something like a surprise monster party will happen.

Click.

I open the door to the exit room.

What’s inside is……

***

It was Soyul.

Like Backstab had done before, she was sitting quietly on a large iron chair.

“Whew.“

A sigh of relief naturally came out.

Did I develop some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder from getting backstabbed by the labyrinth too many times?

A disease of being anxious when things go too well. Really ridiculous.

“She’ll attack when we approach.”

I said, holding the urn.

“When I signal, let’s all rush together and have Aimus and Hijikata subdue her. Then get close enough and just open the urn lid. Then the madness will quickly disappear and she’ll regain her senses.”

“Understood.”

Aimus gripped his iron rod with a tense expression. Hijikata positioned his two-handed sword blade facing forward.

“Let’s go!”

And the moment we all rushed in together.

“Huh?”

“There’s no reaction, brother.”

“……”

We arrived right in front of Soyul, but she didn’t move.

Backstab, Aimus, and Hijikata relaxed and lowered their weapons.

“Is it because she just became an exit boss?”

“All sorts of strange things happened today.”

“This many exceptional incidents overlapping on the 3rd floor at once is probably a first.”

“Should we open the urn?”

Backstab asked.

“Heave-ho.“

Hijikata had already lifted Soyul and held her in his arms.

And I……

“Wait.”

Cold sweat ran down my spine.

Something’s strange.

Something’s twisted. What’s the problem?

“She’s not caught by madness……”

The labyrinth is really a fucking shitty place.

I can’t predict anything until the very last moment.

“She doesn’t have the Labyrinth Master’s seal on her forehead!”

Reanimated as a Lich, Antonelli had it, Gildal had it, Backstab had it.

But Soyul doesn’t.

“What the hell is this……”

The three people blinked in confusion. So did I.

My head goes blank.

No matter what scenario I apply, I can’t make sense of the situation……

“Huh?”

Backstab disappeared!

“Backstab!”

I look around, and I saw Backstab thud, sprawled outside the exit room door a few meters away.

“What the hell is this shit!”

He quickly corrected his posture. But……

Whoosh!

This time Aimus flew away and collapsed together with Backstab.

“What, what is it!”

Panicked, Hijikata held Soyul tightly with one hand while grabbing his two-handed sword with the other.

And when it became his turn.

‘It’s spider web!’

I finally saw it.

A very thin spider web that had stuck to Hijikata’s back contracted with tremendous tension, pulling both Hijikata and Soyul together.

Outside the exit room door.

“Caleb!”

Hijikata, who had tumbled outside, shouted.

And just as Backstab and Aimus were about to run to me.

Slam!

The exit room door closed.

“……”

Right.

This is correct.

My labyrinth wouldn’t be solved so easily.

The one who took Soyul wasn’t the Labyrinth Master.

I think I know whose urn this is too.

I quickly picked up that jar rolling roll roll on the floor.

“Come out.”

Fortunately, it’s not something dangerous like a surprise monster party.

I won’t know the details until I talk to them, but.

If it’s someone I can communicate with.

“Come out. Spider Doctor.”

Tap tap tap, the sound of spider legs crawling could be heard from the ceiling of the exit room.

***

Thud!

What fell in front of me was a monster as huge as Gildal. The lower half had the appearance of a spider, and the upper half was a gentleman in a suit.

He wore an old-fashioned shirt and a cravat decorated with fancy lace, and a bowler hat.

Tap tap, brushing the dust off his black jacket, the Spider Doctor bowed his head to me.

“Nice to meet you, Caleb. I wanted to meet you, so I played this prank.”

Pitiful Spider Doctor.

That’s the character on the 3.5 floor flag.

He wasn’t crying like in the picture though.

“Were you the one who restored Gildal’s soul?”

“That’s right. Isn’t it fortunate that the master of the 3rd floor wasn’t a whale that only eats all day or a bird of prey with a ruined personality, but me? Really lucky that it was a doctor well-versed in ancient healing magic and medicine.”

The Spider Doctor pointed to himself.

“Even in our era, magic to separate mixed souls again required extraordinary skill. I can do that. When the fox fire came flying, I casually mixed in magic from up in the tree.”

“Why did you help Gildal?”

“It’s repayment. Because you activated the Monument magic, I was freed from the curse.”

Isn’t this usually what you look like when you’re cursed?

“Originally, I was part of the labyrinth’s 3rd floor. My soul was chopped into very small pieces and was in the ‘eyes’. But now it has moved to the urn.”

He pointed to the urn in my hand.

I see.

He didn’t have a body before.

“Caleb.”

The Spider Doctor gets to the main point.

“You’re the first 3rd floor adventurer to try to backstab the Labyrinth Master. You didn’t succeed though.”

“……”

“It was very impressive. Since it’s something adventurers have never attempted before, you were anxious about handling it directly, so you decided to experiment indirectly using Soyul? Even if problems arose, Soyul would take the hit so you’d be fine, right?”

“That’s not it.”

Who do you think I am, some Antonelli?

Compared to insane experiments like harvesting urn souls, praying ‘I hope Gildal lives’ is a common story in the labyrinth.

How many people have begged to save their party members in the labyrinth until now?

“The only problem that could happen to Soyul was becoming an exit boss at most, and that was actually what we wanted.”

“Don’t misunderstand. I’m not criticizing you. Rather, I want to applaud you. In this battlefield called the labyrinth, someone eventually has to take the role of commander, and it’s usually people like you who do it.”

“……”

“Gildal, Soyul, Hijikata or Gadozumi, your party members. People like this are all just chess pieces. The knights who play the grand game are people like you. I’m saying it was impressive how you moved the piece called Soyul.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Please find my real body. Then I’ll tell you a secret about otherworld possessors.”

The Spider Doctor boasted.

“It’ll be a very tempting story.”

***

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Aimus pulled on the door several times, but it wouldn’t open.

Crash!

Even ramming it with his body was the same.

“What the hell is this shit really?”

Backstab brushed off the spider web stuck to his back.

“What kind of spider web…… Is it a Venomic Spider? This is ridiculous.”

“Caleb!”

Hijikata pounded on the door frantically.

“Say something! Brother!”

“Can he even hear our voices from inside……”

The three people clung to the door, pulling, pushing, kicking, and causing a ruckus.

However, the door remained firmly locked and wouldn’t budge.

“Let’s send a message to Yernil and Gadozumi first. We should let them know about the situation here.”

Hijikata said.

“Got it!”

Backstab took out a message transmission wand and notebook from his bag.

And just then, Soyul woke up.

“Ugh……”

“Soyul!”

As soon as Hijikata ran over, she asked.

“Where’s Gildal?”

“He woke up.”

“Really!?”

“But weren’t you captured by the Labyrinth Master? You don’t have the Labyrinth Master’s seal.”

“I don’t know. The moment I shot the fox fire, my body suddenly floated……”

Soyul touched her nape.

“Did something bite me? It was pitch black so I couldn’t see anything. But where’s Caleb? He said he’d come get me.”

“He’s inside here.”

Aimus thump thump pounded on the exit room door.

“Can’t you do something with magic?”

“I’ll try. Ecstasy……”

Just as Soyul was about to cast magic while holding the fox orb.

“Fox fi-!”

Backstab quickly covered her mouth.

Because the exit room door had creak opened.

“Caleb!”

People rushed over to greet him.

“Are you okay?”

“What happened?”

“……”

Caleb didn’t say anything particular.

“I’m fine. Let’s go. Soyul. You should meet Gildal now.”

***

Soren City was in a state of emergency.

Because of the shocking news brought by the 2nd floor adventurer party Virtanen.

“A Monster Wave broke out on the 3rd floor!”

The Labyrinth Association was turned upside down and immediately began summoning 5th floor and above adventurers left and right.

“Still, thanks to you guys coming out quickly to inform us, we might be able to save a few parties.”

The Labyrinth Association’s clerk was organizing Virtanen party’s information.

The gate connecting to the 2nd floor had already been occupied, the numbers were in the thousands at each occupation point, no one knew the reason the wave started yet, etc.

“It seems like there’s a missing wizard in your party? Did that friend also fall victim to the wave?”

The clerk asked Virtanen.

He was talking about Antonelli.

“That’s not it. I’ll file a separate report later. More importantly, please send support to the 3rd floor quickly.”

“We’re contacting each institution – the temple, university, adventurer guild – so let’s wait for now.”

“There’s a benefactor of our party on the 3rd floor.”

Virtanen’s eyebrows furrowed.

“That kind of thing is common in the labyrinth. A bit less than enemies though.”

The clerk wrote documents without much concern.

Crash!

It was around then that someone burst through the entrance of the Labyrinth Association.

It was a Halfling wizard.

“I’ll go to the 3rd floor!”

He shouted.

For someone volunteering to handle the accident that occurred on the 3rd floor, he was an overwhelmingly powerful individual.

“Aren’t you…… Professor Meldini?”

The clerk’s eyes narrowed.

Then the door burst open again and another adventurer rushed in.

He was……

“Bernard?”

The Paladin clenched his fist and shouted.

“Lord Nataniel has given me a new revelation! Go down to the 3rd floor to rescue your benefactor and set things right to spread Nataniel’s name widely……”

“Clerk!”

Meldini rushed past him to the front of the counter.

“Can the elevator be used right now? You’re not going to stop me from going, are you?”

“No, if you’re going Professor, we’d naturally be grateful…… You should form a party first……”

“My beloved disciple is on the 3rd floor!”

“Gasp!“

Suddenly, Virtanen screamed upon discovering something.

Four patients had come through the 2nd floor exit gate.

“Y-you guys!”

They weren’t 2nd floor parties. If they were 2nd floor parties, there’s no way Virtanen wouldn’t recognize their faces.

“Are you 3rd floor adventurers?”

“That’s right. Hah. We really almost died.”

But the real reason Virtanen was surprised was different.

Virtanen had already met the refugees who came up from the 3rd floor to the 2nd floor once before.

But these weren’t the faces he saw then.

They were people he was seeing for the first time.

What that means is……

“Wasn’t the gate coming up to the 2nd floor occupied? Did you break through it?”

“Ah.”

The adventurers delivered shocking news.

“The wave stopped. Some 3rd floor party activated the monument, wiped out all the monsters, eliminated the cause of the wave and ended it. Then they brought us to the 2nd floor with a Torch Helmet.”

No one there could understand it.