Near the 3rd-floor entrance of the Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs.
The time rewinded to when Rayos, through words and physical intimacy, had successfully concluded his time with the Queen Ant.
“Well, we should get going soon, right? ♪”
“Yes, let’s deepen our love even more~ ♥ ♪”
“Oh, I’m done for~ ♡ ♪”
“Now, hold me… ♥”
The two (one person and one ant) nurture their love in Ant Language.
After three hours, they reconfirmed their well-being through physical intimacy once more.
On the surface, already…
The Labyrinth Management Bureau was in action, mobilizing dozens of groups composed of many people in a human wave tactic to capture the culprit who incited the familiar.
The first incident occurred in a large room on the 30th floor.
Well, not that it was the first; it was just that floor.
The surviving adventurers panicked, and exaggerated the story.
The first objective of the organized groups:
To discover the culprit and the familiar.
The second objective:
If possible, to restrain both the culprit and the familiar alive.
They would then be judged by a noble on the surface.
The third objective:
If the culprit and familiar resist.
Kill both.
Well, Rayos is in a good mood right now, but if someone mentions capturing the Queen Ant, he’ll fly into a rage.
This would determine the group’s course of action as “Option 3.”
“Well then, shall we depart? ♪?”
“…Ugh… Haaai”
The Queen Ant seemed to want to continue nurturing their love, but Rayos, concerned about the situation on the surface (the Labyrinth Management Bureau), managed to get her to agree. He then began to move.
“…”
“…”
『… (Silent glare) 』
One of the groups was on the stairs directly behind them.
At a glance, there were more than ten people, definitely two parties.
Furthermore, if they could also capture and subjugate them, they would be at least top-tier C-rank, and at most top-tier B-rank.
“H-hello there! ♪ Where were you watching our activities from? That’s a violation of privacy! ♪? Well, since we’re feeling refreshed, we won’t charge you for the sightseeing. We’ll be heading out of the labyrinth now~”
“Could you wait a moment?”
“We have some questions.”
The leaders of the groups—of the two organized parties—called out to them.
“…Y-yes, of course.”
As Rayos hesitated, everyone in the group, except for the two leaders, pointed their weapons.
The mages had already completed high-power incantations, ready to cast at any moment.
The archers had their bows fully drawn, ready to fire.
Combined with long-range skills, their attacks were expected to be as powerful as bullets.
“What is it that you wish to know? We have no idea what you’re talking about—”
“You’re the culprit from the large room on the 30th floor, aren’t you? ”
“Someone saw the familiar you’re with. Denying it is useless, you know? ”
“Won’t you surrender quietly? ”
“It’ll be easier for us, and we can earn favor with the Bureau. ♪”
They pointed their weapons at Rayos, urging him to surrender.
Of course, Rayos had no intention of complying.
“〈Stone Wall〉. Run to the back.”
“Clank clank.”
” “Fire!” ”
“〈Lightning Spear〉”
“〈Fire Spear〉”
“〈Wide-Range, Beginner Physical Ability Enhancement〉”
“〈Great Bow Shot〉”
Rayos immediately created a stone wall to block the long-range attacks and yelled at the Queen Ant to escape deeper into the labyrinth.
The leaders of the group ordered two people to go to the rear and inform the Labyrinth Management Bureau on the surface that the culprit and familiar had fled to the 3rd floor.
” “Let’s chase them! ” ”
“Oooohhhhhh”
Inside the maze of rocky caves on the 3rd floor of the Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs.
Ignoring the monkeys emerging from the black miasma, Rayos and the others, engaging in monster-train tactics, ran towards the stairs leading to the exit of the 3rd floor, trying not to be caught by the pursuers sent by the Labyrinth Management Bureau.
“Well, they’re probably ambushing us, aren’t they?”
“What should we do? If we continue like this, we’ll be attacked from both sides.”
Rayos smiled at the Queen Ant, saying, “Don’t worry~ ♪”
Behind them, a group of over fifty monkeys were chasing them, screeching, “Fight, fight!”
As Rayos and the Queen Ant, with a large group of screeching monkey monsters accompanying them, approached the vicinity of the 3rd-floor exit, they turned a corner.
A barrage of 〈Fireballs〉 erupted.
“Guaaaah.”
“Aaaah—”
Rayos was running at the forefront, intending to shield the Queen Ant from the long-range attacks of those who were likely lying in ambush.
He managed to protect the Queen Ant with his own body.
” ” “Hit them—Ugh?! They’ve monster-trained!” ” ”
” ” ” “Everyone! Don’t die!” ” ” ”
“Oooooooohhhhhhhhhh”
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
The mages rejoiced, thinking they had killed the culprit with fire magic, but that was short-lived.
The culprit had a large number of monsters in tow.
The 3rd floor was a shallow level, and while the monkeys appearing were weak, there were quite a few of them, annoying enough to cause trouble.
The familiar the culprit had used also seemed to have been swallowed by the swarm of monkeys, as it was nowhere to be seen.
While the vanguard desperately bought time, they unleashed concentrated attack magic that wouldn’t cause friendly fire.
Their magic power rapidly depleted, and they began to feel dizzy from mana exhaustion.
Barely maintaining consciousness, they took out precious beginner mana recovery potions from their item bags, drank them greedily, and resumed unleashing attack magic on individual targets.
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
“How many are there?!!”
Monkey corpses piled up on the ground, emitting a foul odor, to the point where there was no room to step.
Yet, the number of monkeys didn’t seem to decrease?
And the voices and sounds of combat from the group pursuing them from the opposite direction were absent.
Why?
While surprised by the culprit’s strategy of monster-training to take them down with him, they managed to think a little once they had killed over twenty monkeys.
Of course, their hands and feet were still moving.
If they stopped, they would be in serious trouble.
“Tank (shield bearer)! Don’t let any monkeys escape to the rear.”
“You think you can do it instead of me, Commander!?”
“Magic! Where’s the support magic!?”
“Leader! We’re out of mana potions. We can’t use magic anymore.”
“Spearman! Thrust! Thrust, thrust, thrust…”
” ” “Do we have to be told… We’re already at our limit too!” ” ”
“When will this end…?”
“We want to know that too!?”
The party members complained, screamed, and asked their group leaders about the current situation.
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
The monkeys continued to attack relentlessly, assaulting the four ambushing groups (58 people) without pause.
Inside the maze of rocky caves on the 3rd floor of the Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs.
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
“Ugh, how long is this going to last!? They’re so persistent! Screech!”
They were trying to drive the culprit and the familiar towards the other groups waiting at the exit. It went well up to a point, but suddenly, the monkeys behind them noticed them. Well, it wasn’t a large number, so they thought they could quickly clear them out and pursue. But then, the number was unexpectedly large?! They wanted to say, “No way!” but it was the truth!
“After all, if we had killed the culprit and the familiar, we should have received a signal from behind us.”
However, that signal never came.
“Could it be that they were all wiped out? No, that can’t be.”
They had assigned many B-rank adventurers to that task.
They couldn’t possibly lose. They couldn’t have, right?
Uh, no way…
“Leader!? Don’t just space out!”
“We’re at our limit!”
Ah, their party members were at their limit.
The other parties were probably in the same situation.
“Why are we, who are supposed to be driving them, suffering like this?”
The group that had been tasked with driving the monsters from the entrance had the majority of their members unable to continue fighting due to the monkey swarm. They were forced to retreat to the 3rd-floor entrance. Upon reaching the stairs, they quickly chanted the spell for floor transfer and completely evacuated that level. The rear guard was handled by the party leader, the subgroup leader, and any members who still had some energy left, fending off the monkeys’ fierce attack.
“You better remember this! 〈Floor Transfer〉!”
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
Having escaped, the monkeys were furious.
They sniffed the air, wondering if there were any other prey. The smell of their fallen comrades and the bodily fluids (blood, sweat, saliva) of the group made it impossible to track the source of the smell in the passage. Besides, monkeys don’t have that great a sense of smell. They moved towards the direction of the screeching (fighting) sounds, confirming echoes. It was impossible to return the way they came, as they didn’t remember it.
“Screech? ”
“Screech? Screech.”
“Screech? Screech.”
“Screech Screech.”
Presumably, hearing them from this direction, a large group moved.
Seriously, how many of them were there?
A considerable distance away from the 3rd-floor entrance, in a passage.
On the ceiling.
There was an unnatural protrusion, wasn’t there? ♪
Even if the monkey monsters jumped, or two of them combined their strength for a big leap, they couldn’t reach that protrusion on the ceiling.
Unbeknownst to them, that was Rayos and his companions.
The moment they disappeared around the corner, Rayos used a spare part he had created by modifying his Vessel Body.
He then used illusion magic to create a substitute.
Moreover, he created simple-actioning golem-like creatures (monotonous machines).
Furthermore, he scattered multiple of them on this floor.
The large group of monkeys, engaged in monster-training, was actually an awakened swarm due to the substitutes.
The labyrinth was a maze.
Some of the substitutes were caught up to, ambushed, or fell, and were destroyed.
A few that were lucky enough to survive were killed by the group waiting at the exit.
What remained was the large army of monkeys they had been dragging along.
Once they understood the species, it was a rather uninteresting matter.
“…Is that enough now?”
“Let’s do more like this~ ♥”
Rayos was being held by the Queen Ant, his face pressed against her thorax (exoskeleton).
Yeah, it would be nice if she could become humanoid soon.
However, Rayos rubbed his cheek against the hard thorax with his “mind’s eye” (desires).
…As expected of Rayos, as expected of a man.
“………”
He listened intently, hearing the screeching of monkeys.
“There are still quite a lot of them nearby.”
“Right? ♪ So rub your cheeks against me more ♥”
Several hours later.
A group of monkeys passed directly below them.
Deciding they wouldn’t come back, Rayos and the Queen Ant descended from the ceiling.
“Let’s force our way through to the surface.”
“I’ll go anywhere with you~ ♥”
Which was closer, the entrance or the exit? With their usual “beautiful lady first” approach, they dashed towards the entrance.
If they encountered a group of monkeys along the way, Rayos broke through them by brute force with the Queen Ant.
Although the experience gained was minimal, the Queen Ant’s stats slightly improved.
“Screech!? ”
“Hmph. Get out of the way, 〈Formic Acid〉.”
” ” “Screechy giggity?!!!” ”
“I’ll use 〈Wind Blade〉 and 〈Rockfall; Stake〉 too.”
” ” “Screech? Screechy—” ” ”
Despite the monkeys’ resistance, Rayos and the Queen Ant pushed through and arrived near the entrance of the 3rd floor. Rayos immediately grabbed one of the Queen Ant’s limbs and chanted the floor transfer spell.
“Screech! Screech! Screech! ”
The monkeys, enraged at their prey escaping, let out angry screeches.
However, inwardly, they thought it was good that they were gone, as they couldn’t have won against them anyway.
But what about putting up a brave front to others?
Inside the entrance of the Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs.
Groups organized by the Labyrinth Management Bureau were lined up, preparing to re-enter the labyrinth.
“Ah!”
Almost everyone exclaimed upon seeing the Queen Ant.
“Oops~~”
Unforeseen.
With so many people (about 100), magical attacks would be difficult while protecting the Queen Ant.
“Kisha! Clank clank.”
I’ll fight too!
Sensing Rayos’s feelings, but not wanting to be a burden, the Queen Ant crouched down, digging her limbs into the ground.
“!”
Seeing this, the members of the groups…
charged forward.
Thinking they might spray formic acid or use some kind of feint.
To deal with whatever happened, each party member formed a formation.
“〈Smoke Screen〉 〈Gentle Breeze〉”
Rayos combined dark magic and wind magic. The basic strategy for group battles: using a blinding smoke screen to cause friendly fire, they chose to escape in the ensuing chaos.
“Let’s run!”
“Sha! (Yes!)”
“Ugh, dissipate the smoke screen!? Lay down suppression fire in front! Don’t let anyone pass behind! Cough, cough. In any case, long-range attacks to the front!? ”
The leader, while issuing orders to avoid friendly fire, commanded the mages, archers, and scouts (thieves) to attack the culprit and familiar from a distance.
“Did we get them?”
“No one got through behind us, right?”
“Confirm the corpses.”
“W-wait. The smoke hasn’t cleared yet.”
“Let’s wait a bit for corpse confirmation? ”
The mages, who had drunk beginner mana recovery potions, swept away the smoke and dust with light magic and wind magic.
And then…
“T-they’re dead, right? We did it! We defeated the culprit and the familiar! ”
Seeing the mangled bodies of Rayos (his head was unrecognizable, and his body was covered in burn marks; the Queen Ant’s corpse was, to say the least, dismembered, with some parts completely charred) lying on the ground, the members of the organized groups let out a triumphant roar.
They divided the bodies and submitted them to the Labyrinth Management Bureau. Messengers were dispatched to other groups within the labyrinth to inform them that the incident had been resolved. While waiting for all groups to assemble, they were given free time. The Labyrinth Management Bureau provided a small treat for everyone present.
” “Yeah! ♪” ”
” “Hahaha! ♪” ”
“I’m so tired~ ♪”
“Me too~ ♪”
Everyone got drunk on what they called the “wine of victory,” even though the alcohol content was low.
“Hey, hey… ♪”
“Let us join you~ ♪”
The leaders of other groups emerging from the labyrinth joined the feast one after another. The Labyrinth Management Bureau confirmed the number of participants and damage reports, waiting for all groups to gather.
All groups had assembled about three hours later.
” ” ” “You took your time! ♪?” ” ”
” “We were persistently bothered by monsters…” ”
Cough.
“Well, thanks to everyone’s efforts, the wicked culprit and the familiar they used have been successfully defeated. On behalf of the Labyrinth of Medicinal Herbs Management Bureau, and indeed all Labyrinth Management Bureaus across the country. I would like to express my gratitude and offer a reward to all participants in this endeavor.”
” ” ” “Oooooooohhhhhhhhhh” ” ”
The official amount of the reward from the Labyrinth Management Bureau was a significant difference, comparable to cashing in materials. They could buy a house, purchase new equipment, build connections with nobles, or even buy beautiful slaves on the black market.
They had received a large sum of money! ♪
They were glad they chose to be labyrinth explorers rather than adventurers. Raising their drinks from the table, handed to them by the staff, they…
“Cheers~ ♪♪ Cheers~ ♪♪ Cheers~ ♪♪”
They exchanged congratulatory words.
The celebration continued until late at night. Most passed out on the ground near the labyrinth entrance, clutching their sake bottles.
It’s said that the majority of the women, with heavy heads and tired legs, staggered to their inns.
” ” ” …Ugh! Oh-roro… ” ” ”
“Are you okay!?”
The onlookers, aware of the commotion, became “wolves” sent to accompany them.
Some succeeded, some failed, leaving behind traumatic memories that disillusioned them with women. There were also a minority who purely took the women to their inns.
