TM-Chapter 50

 [Auto-hunt ON]

In the game Abyss of the Labyrinth, there are special tools that can be used depending on class, status, weapon proficiency, and so on.

For example, grenades for dagger-type rogues, special arrows for archers, and so on.

And for wizards······.

“A wizard tool has dropped.”

It was a transparent, small glass bottle.

A glass bottle with a large eyeball inside that clung and rolled around, sticking to the glass walls.

“Ugh.”

Yernil found it a bit disgusting, but this was quite a valuable item.

“Wizard’s Eye.”

It was something I had used extensively from low difficulty all the way to Turn-Based Master difficulty.

“It’s an item that you can float in dangerous areas to check the field of vision in advance. You can also insert it through small, narrow gaps to observe beyond walls.”

I thoroughly searched Antonelli’s belongings and found several more useful items.

“Soul Binding Jar.”

It was an item exclusive to necromancers, so it was useless to me, but this one item was worth more than Aimus’s contract fee.

“And two pieces of magical equipment.”

A belt and a necklace.

Both seemed to emanate magical power, so they appeared to be magic items, but I wasn’t sure of the details.

I’d have to take them to the Magic University’s appraisal department.

And even two wands.

As expected of a 4th floor wizard.

With this much, it was almost like looting an entire treasure room, wasn’t it?

“Then let’s set off again.”

The bald slave team, Sally’s team, and now Antonelli.

I really had killed a lot of people.

Seeing that I wasn’t even trembling anymore, I had truly changed a lot in just one month.

***

The 3rd floor of the labyrinth was significantly more difficult than the 1st and 2nd floor.

The first factor that made adventuring here difficult.

It was the cold.

“It’s a bit chilly.”

Yernil rubbed her forearms.

The 3rd floor of the labyrinth was a snowy mountain.

Adventurers who had been exploring the sweltering jungle and swamplands of the 2nd floor would be flustered by this harsh cold when they first entered the 3rd floor.

“I should have worn thicker clothes.”

But then your movements would become sluggish, so that won’t do, Yernil.

Being a bit chilly was actually fine.

Originally, as time passed, you’d get frostbite and freeze to death.

The number one cause of death for adventurers dying on the 3rd floor of the labyrinth was freezing to death.

Losing their means of protection against the cold and wandering around until they froze to death.

We had a means of protection against the cold.

“If you go next to Aimus, it will be warm.”

Because I had put a Torch Helmet on him. The 1st-grade combat magic ‘Torch’ drives away darkness, prevents cold, and additionally grants the ‘Clarity’ status.

“You said that just wearing this helmet makes you immune to confusion within a 10-meter radius, right?”

Aimus asked.

“Yes. So everyone needs to stay close to Aimus.”

I could resist confusion because of my high wisdom, but I still had to stick close because of the cold.

Like this, through the torch, we could prevent two of the 3rd floor’s threatening factors.

And the third factor that added to the difficulty.

Intelligent monsters that were qualitatively different from 1st and 2nd floor.

“I hear some sound!”

“It must be Frost Hunters.”

They were dangerous creatures that moved in organized groups and attacked adventurers by finding gaps in their defenses.

“They’re coming.”

Their usual attack method was to ambush from hills and then suddenly…..

“Ice Spike.”

Fire magic or arrows.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

However, Aimus spread his parasol and blocked everything.

Using the torch to prevent confusion and cold while keeping the party clustered in one place was perfect for range defense skills like the parasol.

Combined with Sound Mapping, there was no chance of being ambushed by lurking hunters.

I had configured all the party’s power specifically for the 3rd floor.

“Bark! Bark! Bark!“

Giant snow wolves, freed from the Frost Hunters’ grasp, barked fiercely as they charged toward us.

They were called wolves, but their size rivaled that of tigers.

Moreover, they could run across the snowy ground as if it were solid earth, so they could reach the party in an instant.

“Wolves!”

As Yernil aimed her bow, Backstab jumped in front of her and shouted.

“You provide covering fire on the hill!”

While throwing his dagger.

Crack!

The Magic Throwing skill maintained the enchantment of the thrown dagger.

“Yelp! Whimper!“

A snow wolf with a dagger embedded in its head immediately caught fire and began burning up.

The monster’s terrible screams echoed across the snowy mountain.

The wolf wrapped in flames rolled around wildly on the snowy ground, but the fire didn’t extinguish easily.

Swoosh!

Even after the dagger was summoned back to Backstab’s hand.

Pop! Pop-bang!

Triple Shot fired from Yernil’s hand shot down one of the hunters on the hill.

Aimus was still holding up his parasol, blocking arrows and Ice Spikes while keeping watch on the wolves.

Crack!

Backstab took down the frontmost charging wolf with Leap Ambush.

Whoosh!

Flames rose again simultaneously.

Two wolves rolled on the ground screaming and causing chaos, but the last wolf didn’t stop even seeing this.

The monster’s fangs, charging at full speed, were comparable in size to Yernil’s ears.

“Roaaaar!“

Just as those jaws were about to bite Backstab.

Crack!

With perfect timing, Aimus brought down his iron rod from above.

Smashing Gaia.

The wolf’s head was crushed, sending brain matter and bone fragments flying. Backstab, who had been in the path, returned behind me with knife-like timing.

‘Shadow Leap.’

These two definitely had good coordination, perhaps because they were originally from the same party.

Bang!

Yernil shot down the second Frost Hunter.

“Ice Spike.”

The last Frost Hunter activated magic again, but.

“This is quite convenient.”

Aimus’s steel parasol blocked the Ice Spike again.

“When I strike down with it as a blunt weapon, it automatically closes, and when I think I need to block and aim forward, it automatically opens.”

The parasol was quite an efficient defensive skill.

I aimed my wand at the last remaining Frost Hunter.

“Dust Explosion.”

***

I watched to see how well they would do, and it exceeded expectations.

There was no need to even turn the hourglass.

‘It almost feels like I’ve got auto-hunt turned on?’

To think that you 1st floor rookies have grown this much – this party leader is very moved.

Then shall I show these friends the sweet taste of the 3rd floor?

“Look at this. It’s quite large.”

I extracted a brilliant magic stone from the chest of a snow wolf.

“Wow······.”

Shock spread across Backstab’s face.

“It’s really fucking huge.”

“It’s enormous! Could this really be a magic stone?”

Yernil was also amazed.

With the magic stones that came from labyrinth monsters, the craftsmen of Soren made various magical tools, scrolls, special arrows, tricycle fuel, and so on.

So the better the quality and size of the magic stones, the higher the price.

Certainly, you couldn’t see this size on the 2nd floor or below.

We had even skipped the 2nd floor and came straight here from the 1st floor.

So the change in magic stone quality would be even more shocking.

It would be like eating tiny chicken drumsticks and then encountering a turkey leg.

While not just anyone could adventure on the 3rd floor, the income was also substantial.

Based on one labyrinth expedition for a four-person party, the expected profit from the 1st floor was about 25,000 gold.

If the 2nd floor yielded about 50,000, then coming to the 3rd floor, you could pull in at least 100,000.

We would probably make more than that.

Since we’d also be collecting from treasure rooms.

Moreover, this time we had even looted the human treasure room, Antonelli.

We extracted magic stones from all three snow wolves.

And.

“Let’s also extract the Frost Hunters’ magic stones.”

We climbed up the hill.

“When I saw them from far away, I thought they were almost human.”

Yernil said while turning over the Frost Hunter’s corpse.

When I first entered the 3rd floor as a complete Abyss of the Labyrinth newbie in the game, I thought these guys were human too.

Since there were so many demi-human adventurers in the game, I mistook these for something similar and tried to talk to them, only to get a game over.

“The magic stone should be around here.”

Using Backstab’s dagger, I carefully tore and split the white fur on the Frost Hunter’s chest. It felt like cutting white bread with a heated knife.

“It’s C-grade!”

Backstab screamed when he found the magic stone radiating brilliance.

“This is fucking amazing, big brother!”

“It’s so pretty!”

Yernil jumped up and down too.

“How much is this worth?”

“Big brother, this is my first time seeing C-grade, it’s insane!”

It was certainly excellent.

Although the size was somewhat small, the magical power was quite substantial. Even I was pleased, so Backstab and Yernil had every reason to be excited.

As expected, only Aimus was level-headed······.

“T-this can’t be······.”

The monk’s eyes went mad with greed.

“Caleb! Just one of these would cover our eldest child’s school tuition!”

Where did all the teachings of Mountain Dalai go, brother?

“Let’s go catch more! This is really insane! There was a reason you wanted to come here! Caleb! Let’s go quickly! Let’s catch more quickly!”

“We’re rich, big brother!”

Backstab chimed in.

“Let’s go! Let’s go catch more!”

Yernil shouted excitedly.

And as she was about to run ahead, I quickly grabbed her.

“Yernil.”

This was the most dangerous time, when they were this excited.

“What we need to be most careful of on the 3rd floor isn’t monsters, cold, or confusion.”

The biggest threat was something else.

Traps.

On the 1st and 2nd floors, I could somehow find them with my eyes. If I examined the ground until my eyes fell out.

But from the 3rd floor onward, that wasn’t the case.

Because snow had covered the trap switches.

“We must move only after Backstab has detected them.”

“Ah….Yes…..”

Yernil’s ears drooped slightly to the side after being scolded while jumping around excitedly.

“Backstab, please find the way.”

“Ah, don’t worry, big brother!”

Backstab ran ahead patter patter and quickly found something.

“There’s something here.”

I figured as much.

There were bound to be traps near areas where Frost Hunters roamed.

“······Move.”

Using telekinesis magic, I gently swept away the snow, revealing a black button underneath.

‘Oil Floor Trap.’

If you stepped on it, the ground would sink 8 meters down, and oil will smeared on the walls and floor, making it impossible to climb out.

According to the setting…..

“If you fall in there and get captured, the Frost Hunters will take you and slice you up alive to eat.”

“…..Gulp.”

Yernil swallowed her saliva.

And clung slightly to my shoulder.

“C-Caleb, I’ll stick right behind you.”

“Let’s do that.”

That’s the carry position, Yernil.

But there was no need to be discouraged.

“Let’s make some money.”

My real purpose for coming to the 3rd floor was because of the monument, but before that, from a capitalistic perspective, shouldn’t I recoup all the investment costs?

Do you know how much I spent outfitting you all?

“Let’s go.”

Caleb Party Auto-hunt ON!

***

Thud!

A two-handed sword cutting horizontally through the air delivered critical damage with its momentum.

To a Frost Hunter’s neck.

Thump!

The Frost Hunter’s head that fell to the ground rolled tumble tumble across the snowy ground before stopping at webbed feet.

“Gatpapapar! My toes are toasty warm from the blood!”

Gadozumi, a Gatpa tribe thief, laughed while gently catching the monster’s head with his foot.

“Since I’m cold-blooded, my feet get cold even with warming magic! Gatpapapar!“

“Wear shoes, you idiot.”

A fox poked her head out from behind.

She was so enchanting that she could drain a person’s soul and liver completely – Soyul, a Yoho tribe shaman who had already reached the 3rd floor at a young age.

“Gatpa don’t wear shoes! Just like foxes don’t hide their tails!”

Gadozumi pointed at Soyul’s bottom. In the back of her tight pants, through a small hole in the middle of the belt loops, three fluffy tails were swaying.

“My tails don’t feel cold. But you got frostbite on your feet before, didn’t you?”

“That’s because I’m Gatpa!”

During their bickering.

“Phew.”

Swordsman Hijikata wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“This is getting tedious. It’s already the third day, and I wish we could find the inter-floor stairs soon.”

Hijikata extracted magic stones from the corpses.

“But about Caleb’s party. Are they safe?”

Soyul asked.

It had been three days since they replied to Caleb’s Message Transmission.

“Gatpapyapya! Those guys honestly pushed themselves a bit too hard!”

Gadozumi burst into laughter again.

“No matter how outstanding rookies they are, skipping the 2nd floor and coming straight here was overkill. Papa!“

“Is that so? I think someone like Caleb would have calculated all the risks before coming.”

Hijikata had a different opinion.

“Hmm. Hijikata’s right that they would have prepared for the 3rd floor. But the problem is the 4th floor wizard. From that message, it seemed like they had a conflict with a 4th floor wizard?”

Soyul was worried about that part more than anything else.

“Caleb is the person who discovered the sanctuary resurrection method, so he’s a benefactor to us. I hope he didn’t die.”

She said.

“If he fought a 4th floor wizard, it wouldn’t have been easy.”

“Even if he survived, the 3rd floor adventure itself isn’t easy! It would be better to go back to the 2nd floor. Papa.”

Gadozumi was still concerned about Caleb’s 3rd floor adventure itself.

Even the parties considered the best on the 2nd floor, like Lil Dragon Aaron or Virtanen, couldn’t overcome the wall of the 3rd floor.

How much more so for Caleb’s party, who were active on the 1st floor until recently – no matter how well prepared they were, wouldn’t the 3rd floor be too much for them all at once?

“How about sending a Message Transmission now telling them to go to the 2nd floor? Are they already dead?”

Gadozumi said.

“Well. Honestly, it seems a bit meddlesome too. Like you said, it might already be too late.”

Hijikata scratched his head and took the lead.

“We don’t have the luxury to worry about other parties. Our business is urgent too. Let’s find the inter-floor stairs.”

It had already been three days since riding the elevator down to the 3rd floor of the labyrinth, but still hadn’t found the inter-floor stairs.

Hijikata’s party, experienced on the 3rd floor for quite a long time, roughly knew the locations of the inter-floor stairs.

However, the problem was that the terrain changed every time the labyrinth opened.

“There’s one staircase near the monument.”

The problem was not knowing where the monument was.

“Once we find the stairs, we’ll collect the urn first.”

“Yeah.”

“Gatpapapar!“

Hijikata continued through the 3rd floor with Soyul and Gadozumi.

Having entered through the elevator, they started from a random position on the 3rd floor of the labyrinth, explored various routes, and finally reached a shocking discovery.

“What the hell is this······.”

In front of the stair gate leading to the 2nd floor.

The corpse of a wizard was lying there.

The cold of the snowy mountain prevented the body from decomposing even after three days, and while the face was unrecognizable, there was some information that could be gleaned from the clothing and markings.

“4th floor······Wizard······?”

Soyul’s voice trembled.

“Look at this.”

Hijikata showed a note that had fallen beside the corpse.

It was something Hijikata had sent long ago.

[This is Hijikata. Who is Antonelli? He’s not from our party.]

“Caleb killed him.”

“A 4th floor wizard?”

Soyul’s mouth fell open.

“What happened here? Papapa!“

Patter patter!

Hijikata followed the footprints on the snowy ground for several dozen meters.

When they climbed up the hill, another scene unfolded.

“What the······.”

The corpses of Frost Hunters and wolves.

Three of each.

“Is this Caleb’s party?”

Following the trail further, increasingly shocking scenes appeared one after another.

“What the hell is this······.”

It was a sight that could almost be called a massacre.

They had actually ‘hunted down’ the Frost Hunters. Gadozumi, who carefully examined those footprints, smacked his forehead.

“It looks like the Frost Hunters were running away and got caught. Papa!“

“The hunters ran away?”

“Papapa! Now who are the hunters?”

“No way······.”

“Wasn’t this Caleb’s party’s first time on the 3rd floor?”

Soyul was also extremely surprised.

“What kind of party is this?”

Hijikata, who had stayed on the 3rd floor for a long time, had seen many newcomers more outstanding than themselves.

Adventurers who entered the 3rd floor later than Hijikata but went down to the 4th floor first.

But none of them had ever pulled off this insane stunt on their first run through the 3rd floor.

‘A monster party has appeared on the 3rd floor.’