-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“I’ve shown my benefactor such an embarrassing sight.”
“Ahem. Hmm... Oh, no. That’s alright...”
He didn't remember taking off his clothes, but he could easily guess why they were off.
The T-shirt, which he'd carefully worn for a long time despite his meager circumstances, stretching out over time, had finally met its end after the fierce battle with the Goblin.
‘It's not even a cloak, how did it get so torn?’
It wasn't really clothes anymore; it was closer to rags.
His pants were in a similar state. Still, he might be able to pass them off as distressed denim.
He draped the beyond-repair T-shirt around himself like a cloak and put on his pants.
Still, it was better than nothing.
In fact, the space itself was rather chilly. Looking around, it resembled a large cave.
A passage about 5 meters wide and 6 meters long. Luminous stones embedded in the walls brightly illuminated it.
It looked like a dungeon or Labyrinth from a game or similar media.
“...Surely that’s not all you’re wearing?”
“Yes. My clothes were a bit damaged in the battle.”
“...It just got sexier...”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
Did he mishear? Sexier? Who? Him?
‘...I must have misheard.’
He figured he was just tired from everything that had happened today and was hearing things.
He touched the thigh that had been stabbed, through the wildly torn jeans.
‘This potion really works.’
His muscles had been brutally torn, bleeding profusely, but now there was only a slight muscle ache, and new skin had grown without a single scar.
He'd been prepared for twelve weeks of recovery. Checking, he found that most of his other injuries had also completely healed.
Oh, speaking of Goblins, something else came to mind.
“There were a few men who were being attacked by Goblins earlier. Do you happen to know what happened to them?”
“They all died.”
“...What?”
At the sudden bombshell, his body instantly stiffened.
Died? They died? Why?
At the end of the battle, when he had headed towards the men's bags to find an antidote, they had still been writhing, craving the Goblins' pleasure.
How did those guys, who were astounding in more ways than one, end up dying?
“Surely, the Goblins must have finished off the men first—”
“There were no signs of Goblin attack. By the time I arrived, they had all bitten their tongues and committed suicide. Isn't it a common enough occurrence, even in fairy tales, for men who are violated by monsters to become fools unable to endure the pleasure and commit suicide?”
“No, what kind of...”
That's utterly ridiculous.
The words caught in his throat.
His mind was in a whirl, having heard something utterly beyond common sense.
No, it wasn't a story he could accept with his common sense to begin with.
How could it be common sense for Goblins to be alive and breathing, or for new skin to grow instantly with a potion?
But now, he had to accept it as common sense.
After all, he had just fought a life-or-death battle with Goblins and received healing.
With flexible thinking, he forcibly crammed the information—monster violation equals pleasure-induced suicide ending—into his mind.
“That makes it even more remarkable! Not only did a man get dragged into a Goblin den and survive without being violated, but he even annihilated the Goblins in return.”
“I was lucky.”
“Luck is also a skill.”
The Armored Knight praised him, but he truly was just lucky.
Honestly, he still thought it was a miracle he was alive.
If it hadn't been for the explorers' equipment nearby by chance, and if he hadn't received the Armored Knight's help by chance, he would have died long ago.
He didn't want to stay in a place so close to death for long.
He already missed warm meals, a warm home, and his younger sibling asking if he was back.
“Do you happen to know how to get out of this cave?”
“You're thinking of leaving the Labyrinth? No, more importantly, weren't you an explorer? There's no way you wouldn't know that...”
“I was hit in the head right before I was about to be violated by a Goblin, and my memory has been hazy ever since.”
He lied without batting an eye. Who would believe a story that wouldn't even fit the title of a light novel, like 'I was doing manual labor on Earth, touched a magic circle, and ended up in a Goblin den'? He wouldn't believe it himself.
Still, the part about being hit in the head was true.
“Hmm... Indeed. That could be the case.”
*Swoosh!*
The Armored Knight plunged her hand into thin air. To his eyes, the Armored Knight's right hand suddenly seemed to vanish.
‘What in the...’
Was it an ability like an inventory? His common sense kept crumbling.
The Armored Knight calmly withdrew her hand from the air, a scroll unfurled in her grasp.
“Here. We are here now. This is the deepest part of the Labyrinth's first floor. The escape portal, on the other hand, is here. In the central part of the first floor.”
“Roughly how long would that take, in terms of walking time?”
“It took me about four hours. If you encounter monsters along the way, it'll take longer.”
“...Are ‘monsters’ referring to those Goblin-like creatures?”
“That's right. On the first floor, there are only Goblins as monsters.”
Four hours. He thought it wasn't too far, but he was wrong.
Considering the need to be wary of monsters and potential battles, it would be a journey requiring considerable stamina.
“If you're going to wander the Labyrinth, you should take a map. Take this. I have a few spares. Oh, and take this antidote too. Goblins handle poison, so it'll be useful in case of an emergency.”
The Armored Knight rolled up the map of the Labyrinth's first floor and tucked an antidote inside. He didn't particularly refuse.
“Thank you. Not only did you save me, but you've given me these items too. I don't know how I'll ever repay you.”
“Oh, it's nothing. Just a bit of pocket change.”
He bowed his head to the Armored Knight, who chuckled and waved her hand dismissively.
At the same time, a small question arose in his mind. Were explorers usually this kind? Adventurers and explorers in media were usually depicted as extremely selfish.
“Could you at least tell me your name? I truly wish to repay your kindness.”
Besides, accepting things so readily often backfired. He had taken them because he needed them immediately, but couldn't they turn into a debt later?
He had to repay her before that happened. And to do that, he needed to know her name.
“...My name. A name, hmm...”
The Armored Knight hesitated in an unexpected way. It was as if she was reluctant to reveal her name.
“...White Royal Knight. Mm. That's my name.”
“White Royal Knight Mm?”
“...No. Without the 'Mm'. Just White Royal Knight.”
‘How can someone's name be White Royal Knight?’
As expected, the name she gave was clearly a pseudonym. He just accepted it. It wouldn't be polite to pry.
“Yes, White Royal Knight. If we meet again, I will surely repay your kindness someday.”
“Are, are you already thinking of leaving?”
“Yes.”
“...Ah. I-I see...”
‘What was that about?’
Just a moment ago, she was the magnanimous Armored Knight, but now she looked like a little child saddened by a friend leaving.
“...I hope we meet again someday.”
“...! Y-Yes! I look forward to it too!”
When he gave a moderate reply, she reacted with an intense response.
He was flustered by the sudden reaction, but he just let it be. He was mentally exhausted and didn't want to think too much.
“Here, your axe and helmet you used during the battle. I brought them.”
“Ah. Thank you.”
He gripped the axe and put on the helmet. Wearing the helmet that covered his entire face narrowed his vision and made breathing difficult, but what could he do?
To increase his survival rate even slightly, he absolutely had to wear the helmet. The impact from when he was hit in the head by a Goblin still hadn't faded.
“Well then, I'll really be going now.”
He bowed to the Armored Knight once more, just as he was about to truly leave.
“While I'm seeing you off, let me give you a piece of advice.”
The Armored Knight said quietly. In that strange atmosphere, he unconsciously turned back to look at her.
“...You. Always wear your helmet. Always.”
...
***
*Thwack!*
On the way to the escape portal. He had already taken his fifth Goblin's head.
“These bastards just keep showing up whenever they get a chance.”
Had about two hours passed by his internal clock?
He didn't have a watch, so he couldn't tell exactly how much time had passed, but his internal clock, honed by manual labor, judged it to be about two hours.
*Grrrroooowl—*
His stomach roared, demanding why he wasn't eating when it was long past mealtime.
‘I'm hungry too. I said I'm hungry!’
But he had no food. All he had were his helmet, an axe, the map and antidote from the Armored Knight.
‘Just a little longer. He said it'd take two more hours to get there.’
Another three hours passed. He had walked for a total of five hours. An hour longer than the Armored Knight had said.
‘What is it? Why isn't it showing up?’
But the escape portal was nowhere in sight.
He unfolded the map again and examined his starting position and the area where the escape portal was marked.
Straight, left, left, straight, right, left, straight.
“...Huh?”
Only then did he realize something was wrong.
He had only gone straight so far. Straight, straight along the long, long passage.
But according to the map, there were four forks in the path to the escape portal, and two more straight sections.
In other words, he hadn't even reached the first fork yet.
– *It took me about four hours.*
Four hours, by the White Royal Knight's standard.
How many hours would it take by *his* standard?
*Grrrroooowl.*
His internal clock screamed.
“...I'm screwed.”
Perhaps something more dangerous than monsters had arrived.
***
He had simply thought that only monsters were dangerous.
After all, people only truly perceive the dangers right in front of them, don't they?
Since the first thing he encountered after falling into this insane place was Goblins, he thought that if he could just manage to defeat them, he'd be able to escape the Labyrinth safely.
But he was wrong.
It was vast. Too vast.
This Labyrinth was impossibly vast.
“Damn it. Fucking hell.”
After a long time, upon finally encountering the first fork, an expletive reflexively burst from him.
Nine hours.
It had taken a whopping nine hours to reach the first fork.
The first passage, which had the lowest scale ratio among the three straight passages drawn on the map.
It had taken him a full nine hours to traverse just one passage.
*Grrrroooowl.*
It was long past mealtime, but with nothing in his stomach, his gut screamed.
Was it just hunger? His throat felt parched. Water. Or, in fancy terms, H2O. He desperately craved hydration.
Until now, he had managed to collect and swallow saliva to moisten his throat, but now even that wouldn't come.
He had been transferred to the Labyrinth right after a day of manual labor, fought Goblins in a bloody battle, and then walked for nine straight hours without proper rest.
He hadn't had a proper meal, couldn't even drink water. And to top it all off, he was sleepy.
The worst situation.
He was physically nearing his limit, yet there was still a long way to go.
A day, no, perhaps even several more days.
“This is just too much.”
“Krrrk, krrrk!”
“Oh, for god's sake.”
A hideous Goblin approached, its grotesque form swaying.
These bastards were the most infuriating. The reason he couldn't get proper rest was precisely because of them.
It would be so much easier if he could just walk through the Labyrinth with peace of mind, but constantly being on guard against Goblin attacks was incredibly draining, both mentally and physically.
Even when he tried to take a short break, they would inevitably approach, lurking and looking for an opening to pounce.
“Are you alone?”
“Krrrk, krrrk!”
The one fortunate thing was that, unlike in the Goblin den, they were acting individually.
“Alright. Come here.”
“Keh-krrrk!”
*Thwack!*
He easily dodged the attack of the foolish creature charging with a knife held awkwardly, and brought his axe down, making an axe-flower bloom on its head.
The sequence of dodging the attack and striking with the axe flowed as naturally as water.
He felt himself gradually growing accustomed to the process of slaughter.
How many had he killed so far? He didn't know for sure, but it was probably well over ten.
“Just a little more strength.”
Complaining wouldn't change anything. He silently quickened his pace again.
***
“......”
A chill ran down his spine. A dagger plunged into his chest.
*Thud, thud.*
After passing two forks and entering the beginning of the second straight passage.
While walking, he heard several footsteps ahead.
He instinctively knew those footsteps were much heavier than a Goblin's.
– *On the first floor of the Labyrinth, there are only Goblins as monsters.*
If so, the owner of these footsteps was...
-------------------- Wanna support me personally, or suggest a series i should pick? you can do all of this and more at my ko-fi https://ko-fi.com/vinez --------------------
