Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 14
[Name: Yamel]
[Mage (First Class) Lv. 11]
[Abilities 2/2]
– Explosive Flame. Mana.
[Head of the Yamel Trading Company]
[Must transport the “treasure” properly.]
‘First Class Mage.’
Compared to an adventurer’s status window, this one was remarkably sparse.
In its place, some kind of note had appeared—whether information about his history or a quest objective, I couldn’t tell.
But that alone was enough to piece together what was going on.
‘Treasure,’ he’d called it.
And the Trading Company head’s own words matched that assessment.
“I’m afraid the seal has come loose.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“……Count Dalant entrusted us with something important for Edelin. We sealed it because of its Mana, and the mage Rene assured us it would be safe in Edelin. But looking at the situation now, it seems…….”
I didn’t understand most of what he was saying, but I grasped enough of the situation.
“……What kind of object is it, exactly, that it attracts Demon Beasts?”
“That, I don’t know either.”
“Pardon?”
Just as Kain’s frown deepened, the Trading Company head withdrew a small box from inside his coat.
It was clearly a valuable object at first glance. All four edges of the box’s lid were sealed, but one corner had been noticeably torn away.
“I suspect it’s because of this corner’s damage…….”
“No, if it was that important, you should have kept it better preserved!”
“……I don’t even know when it was torn open. And there’s nothing I can do about it now.”
I watched the back-and-forth between the Trading Company head and Kain, then quietly raised my hand.
“Would it be alright if I examined it?”
The instant I spoke, the Trading Company head’s eyes sharpened.
“If you tamper with this seal…….”
“I only need to place my hand on the box. I have a rather special ability for this sort of thing.”
“……Is that so?”
The Trading Company head, who had worn a skeptical expression, nodded after hearing my words.
I carefully placed my hand on the box and activated my trait.
Hum.
[Sealed Box Containing an Ability Stone]
– An Ability Stone within has been modified and reinforced to draw nearby Demon Beasts and monsters toward it.
– Box damage (seal 5% compromised).
* Monsters sensitive to Mana have a high probability of sensing this box’s presence.
The moment I saw the description, I couldn’t help but stiffen.
“……What is it?”
“What’s wrong, Char?”
My mind raced with possibilities, but I chose to speak plainly.
“Will you trust what I’m about to tell you?”
“At this point, why wouldn’t I trust you?”
Once I received that reassurance, I relayed what the box contained.
The moment the words left my mouth, their expressions shifted.
“Good heavens…….”
“Trading Company head, then his Excellency……?”
The Trading Company head exhaled heavily, while Kain’s face went pale.
“Is his Excellency still unable to let go of his desire for revenge?”
“……I thought it was a gift meant to put the past behind us and deepen friendship with Edelin. It seems I was mistaken.”
The two of them, apparently knowing the circumstances, accepted the situation far more readily than I expected.
“What do we do, sir?”
“……This is a catastrophe. Whether we deliver it to Edelin or not, disaster will strike.”
“Trading Company head…….”
“What would you do, Kain?”
“……I would, as always, simply follow your judgment.”
The Trading Company head smiled bitterly at his response, then seemed to consider the matter for a moment before shaking his head.
“No, this won’t do. We have to dispose of it.”
“Sir?”
“Either way, once I deliver this to Edelin and my identity is revealed, they’ll kill me and the company members. But if I refuse the delivery, Count Dalant will kill us all. There’s no way out.”
“Sir, have you abandoned the company master?”
“……There’s no other way to see it. So we’d do better to find new lives in Edelin and leave this behind.”
I was about to applaud the master’s wisdom.
If only I hadn’t remembered the Quest.
‘That won’t work!’
Panic spinning my thoughts in circles, I suddenly struck upon a better idea.
“What if there were a better way? Would you hear it?”
“What?”
“From you?”
“Yes.”
“……Well, go on. Let’s hear it.”
The master’s expression remained skeptical.
“What if you went to Edelin having accomplished something? That would serve you better in establishing your new foundation, wouldn’t it?”
“How?”
My next words made his eyes widen.
“Simple. Take this to Edelin and tell them the truth—that where you came from…….”
“Dalant.”
“Yes. That Dalant plotted against Edelin, and this is the proof.”
“Hmm.”
“Wait, Char. Are you saying we should continue bearing this danger while carrying it, sacrificing our company members along the way?”
“That won’t be necessary. We know the source now.”
“What?”
“This box. If we take it and fall behind the rest of the company, they’ll come to no harm, will they?”
“We?”
“I lack confidence going alone. The captain will join me.”
Both Kain and the master let out hollow laughs.
“It’s a kind offer, but Captain Kain is hardly in any state to fight…….”
“Isn’t there an Ability Stone from defeating the werewolf? If Captain Kain absorbs it, he’ll be fine.”
“……What?”
Both men stared at me in surprise once more.
“How would I know what Ability it holds? Besides, my injuries haven’t fully healed yet.”
“And whether Kain’s constitution can even accommodate it is……?”
“It’s entirely possible. I can tell.”
Just now, when I’d grabbed hold of the master while standing beside Kain, I’d finally seen his information as well.
[Name: Kain]
[Great Sword Warrior Lv.19]
[Abilities 2/3]
—Regeneration. Defense.
[Guard Captain of the Yamel Trading Company]
[A devoted subordinate of the Yamel Trading Company master, possessing absolute loyalty to him.]
And.
“Captain Kain can absorb one more Ability Stone.”
“You can truly discern that?”
Of course—the dungeon dwellers here had no way of knowing how many Ability slots remained.
“I’m merely repeating what you said: why would you distrust me now?”
Naturally, I’d already confirmed the werewolf’s Ability Stone as well.
[Blessing of Moonlight]
[Strength +9, Vitality +10, Agility +9, Physical Resistance +4, Magical Resistance +3, Mana +3]
[When the moon is visible, all physical stats increase by 10. All recovery abilities increase by 10. Clarity of mind dulls slightly.]
Ten might seem modest, but it applied to every stat.
That is, not only physical abilities like strength, vitality, and agility, but also mana and resistances.
Even a novice would gain the physical capacity of a first-class warrior or higher.
And on top of that, recovery abilities.
‘It’s too large an effect to call it merely a red Ability Stone effect. Is that why the penalty is attached?’
Yet even that penalty—dulled clarity of mind—was only slight.
An Ability Stone bearing a power any warrior would covet.
‘Looking at it again, I hate to give it up.’
But there was work to be done.
“Absorb the Ability Stone, and once the sun sets, Captain Kain and I will fall behind with the box. Does that work for you?”
“Why are you willing to go this far?”
The quest, obviously.
“I thought that if it’s you, Master, you’d reward us fairly for what we accomplish.”
The Master, whose expression had been stern all along, let out a soft laugh.
“Right. I’ll reward you properly. Just come back safely.”
And so the plan for what lay ahead was decided.
* * *
Before that night arrived, there were two more attacks.
One was a flock of birds.
One was a swarm of snakes.
Both assaults came from beasts moving with a few Demon Beasts in their midst, but we fended them off easily enough.
Naturally, no experience points came our way.
And when the sun set.
“Let’s go.”
“Right.”
Kain began to slip around behind the Trading Company with me.
“I’ll trust in your leadership, sir.”
“Of course you will.”
Kain’s expression, now that he’d absorbed the Blessing of Moonlight, was visibly improving by the minute.
With Kain as he was now, I thought, he might even handle two werewolves.
‘Unless they’ve got something stronger than that in reserve.’
I’d turned the problem over in my mind all day long, and I hadn’t come up with anything better than the idea that had struck me on impulse.
Surely there wouldn’t be a continuous stream of threats capable of putting a level-twenty Dungeon Delver in serious trouble on Dungeon Floor 2.
Thinking it through that way made it an excellent plan.
But that certainty evaporated in less than an hour.
“Behind!”
“Aaaaagh!”
Bang-bang-bang!
The Flame Spear, which I’d used to drive off the wasp swarms in daylight, spun wildly and deflected the charging waves of rats.
I wasn’t even thinking about spear techniques or any clever applications.
Everything around me was swarming with rats, wasps, and snakes, all rushing in at once.
‘What the hell is this!’
To be fair, none of them individually posed much of a threat.
It was just that their numbers were absurd, an endless tide.
‘They don’t even touch each other. They’re only attacking us.’
I’d assumed the Demon Beasts were drawn to us because of the Ability Stone’s power.
But this was different.
‘There’s something controlling them. There has to be.’
There was no other way to think about it.
“Hold the line!”
Crack!
“Even in the Demon Beast Forest!”
Bang!
“There are limits!”
Bang!
“To numbers!”
Thud.
“There must be!”
Crack!
There was logic to what Kain was saying.
As long as the beasts weren’t spawning infinitely from nowhere, there had to be an end.
The problem was that while he seemed to recover his strength with every swing of his sword, I was tiring quickly.
“Aaaaaagh!”
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
I wove flames around the spear and feinted in all directions, watching my Mana drain away steadily.
‘I can’t keep this up.’
I won’t last at this rate.
I need to find whoever’s controlling them—the Mind Controller. That was the thought, but among the beasts filling every direction around me, I couldn’t spot anything that stood out.
In the end.
“Damn it all!”
Acting on instinct, I hurled the Sealed Box far into a distant corner of the forest where the beasts were less visible.
“Wait!”
Even as Kain cried out in shock, my focus remained fixed on the box’s trajectory.
‘It’ll show itself. It has to.’
If another Demon Beast or animal consumed that Ability Stone, it would be utterly lost.
Even the Dungeon city could destroy an ingested Ability Stone, but never retrieve it.
‘Can the Mind Controller really govern even the instincts of the beasts it commands?’
That was the gamble behind the move.
Thud.
Rolling, rolling.
The box tumbled across the ground.
The moment I felt the consciousness of the beasts surrounding us shift toward it, doubt crept in — ‘Did it work?’
Then.
A shadow streaked through the opposite forest, charging straight for the box.
“Kain!”
“I see it!”
Even as I shouted, I bolted forward—and Kain surged ahead of me.
He collided with a human-shaped creature, tattered and filthy, with wild eyes.
Crash!
Shriek!
Serpent’s eyes, scaled skin, lizard legs, lion’s tail, bear claws.
A nightmare—various animals grafted onto human form, wailing with inhuman rage.
It kept the box in view while hammering against Kain relentlessly.
Bang! Bang!
Boom-boom-boom-crash!
Despite the utter absence of technique in its movements, it matched Kain almost blow for blow.
‘Damn it.’
I’d thought about this during the day as well.
If this were a normal quest instead of a Perfect Clear, how would it have gone?
Probably I’d have helped Kain and the guard contingent fend off the attack adequately, the trading master would have abandoned the box, and that would have been the end.
‘Then the Mind Controller would’ve appeared, taken the box, and vanished.’
So this was a problem I’d created myself.
A hurdle only I could overcome.
Hoping Kain would simply win for me would be nothing but foolishness.
‘I’ll finish this myself!’
Whoosh.
I poured maximum Mana into the Volante Movement Technique, surging into a rapid acceleration.
Gripping the spear, I took my stance.
Thud-thud-thud-thud.
Hummmmm.
Aware of the charging momentum and the spear’s vibration, I gathered my strength.
Kuuuuuung.
Closing the distance to mere feet, I planted my forward leg—and immense weight crashed down through it.
That weight transformed wholly into force, merging with my Mana as it erupted from the spear’s point.
“Die!”
Boom!
[Resonance Spear’s Level has increased…….]
[Volante Movement Technique’s Level has…….]
Even without the System’s voice, I felt that single strike was the equal of anything Kain could deliver.
Crack-crack-crack-crunch.
The creature’s bear claws and serpent-scaled hands seized my spear shaft.
Squelch.
Though my remaining force still tore into its flank, it wasn’t a mortal wound.
‘Damn it all…….’
In that moment of despair.
Shriek!?
Flash.
Slice.
The serpent eyes and forked tongue twisted toward me in malice, then split cleanly in two.
And beyond them stood Kain, holding a silvered Great Sword.
“Well done, Char!”
Crackle-crackle-crackle.
Whirrrrr.
Snap-snap-snap.
With Kain’s voice, the beasts that had been pursuing us scattered in all directions.
[Battle Concluded]
[Mind Control Beast defeated. Contribution Rate: 33%]
[Acquired a large amount of Experience Points.]
[Level increased.]
The experience bar shot up nearly a hundred percent at once, and my level rose.
The maximum gain from a single battle.
And then.
Gleam.
Thump.
A nail-sized red crystal and an orange crystal the size of a fist fell from the body of the Mind Control Beast.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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