Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 42

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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 42
“Where did you make it, and how? Spill it.”
When Akturos asked that.
For a moment, I saw a terrifying illusion—all my plans shattering to pieces.
Did you think I wouldn’t find out, you bastards?
As I imagined being tortured brutally by him and dying, cold sweat poured down my back.
Whack.
“Ugh!?”
Krang’s finger flicked against my head.
It felt like my skull was being split in two.
“Krang. Honestly. Report.”
Thanks to that pain, my senses snapped back into focus.
At the same time, I understood.
In Akturos’s gaze looking down at me, it wasn’t anger I saw—it was interest.
So I decided to tell him part of the truth.
“……When I was young, I learned from the elves how to make incense. Fortunately, I found the materials here and decided to try it once. The form is a bit different, but the effect is certain…….”
“Oho? What are the materials?”
“Well, that is…… the gall of the Deathfang Serpent…….”
Using the pressure I genuinely felt as an excuse, I lowered my head and clenched my teeth, forcing myself to speak slowly, word by word.
Then I heard a soft chuckle from above.
“……You speak slowly. Is the mixing ratio something you’d rather not mention?”
“No, no! I, I just! I, I’ll tell you everything!”
Though it pained me terribly, my life was more precious, so I had no choice but to speak—I desperately performed this expression, hoping it would look that way.
But then.
“Never mind. I don’t need to know that much. I’m not the one making it anyway.”
“……Yes?”
“From today on, you’ll produce these pills. Daily quota: at least one hundred per day. They will become supplies to realize the ideals of the great Greenskins. Put your hearts into it.”
“…….”
I was at a loss for words at his unexpected statement.
But I saw a gleaming greed dripping from his eyes.
In that moment, a word I’d seen in his status window came to mind.
Bribery.
‘……It’s not supplies, then. Or rather, even if it were supplies, he’d still demand payment.’
Whether that payment was money or something else, I didn’t know.
But it wasn’t entirely bad for me.
Still, I couldn’t let my expression show that.
“……Yes. I understand.”
I performed the most dejected expression I could manage.
“In return, I’ll have proper human food brought to you. Twice every day.”
“Really!?”
Bartus, who had been holding his breath and lying low the whole time, suddenly lifted his head and let out an exclamation.
Whether it was an act or genuine, I couldn’t say, but the timing was perfect.
“Is, is that truly so, sir?”
“It is.”
At the sight of Akturos smiling wickedly, we met each other’s eyes at once and confirmed our mutual understanding.
“Thank you!”
“Thank you!”
Thud. Thud.
We struck our foreheads against the ground, performing expressions of gratitude.
“At last, proper food…….”
……Bartus seemed to have genuine feeling mixed in.
But that hope was betrayed within a single day.
Of course, Akturos kept his promise.
Only.
[Half-Orc Cook’s Homemade Human-Style Dish]
-Clouds the mind and causes hallucinations. Contains narcotics.
(If the frequency of proper dosage exceeds your Stamina stat, results in chronic addiction)
That was the problem—we couldn’t eat it.
“Damn it. I’m already sick of monster meat, and now every time I eat my nerves are on edge.”
It was because we hadn’t eaten carbohydrates and dietary fiber…… no, that wasn’t the important thing.
“In any case, we can’t eat this ourselves.”
“I know. I said I know.”
In the end, those meals were distributed among the inmates crowding around, their throats working with barely suppressed hunger.
* * *
From that day forward, corpses of Deathfang Serpents began pouring into the Slaughterhouse in waves.
“Again? More snakes?”
“Leave them to those ones.”
“I never thought… I’d end up taking orders from a prisoner…”
The orc butchers grumbled, but that wasn’t my problem to solve.
‘I’ll meet the quota they expect, and funnel the rest through the guards as… incentives. You understand?’
‘Okay!’
It had been a smart move from the start—lying to Akturos about how much extract each gall bladder could produce.
Because of it, I’d been fulfilling his quota from the endless stream of serpent corpses, while stockpiling the rest as thirty-fold concentrated Incense Pills.
And there was another piece of good fortune.
[Monster Butchering Level has increased.]
[Monster Butchering (Super Rare—Level 3)]
-When butchering monsters, magical efficiency increases by an additional 30%.
-When harvesting monster meat, meat quality increases by 30%.
-Poison Resistance +3%
As my butchering skill rose, the potency of the gall bladders I extracted climbed higher still.
And with that, we were able to stockpile even more of these… strategic resources.
‘Good. We’re growing stronger. Let’s go.’
“Krang. Your hard work today is greatly appreciated. Here…”
“Hmm. A fine scent. Is this for me?”
“Of course. A token of our gratitude for always looking after us. Sincerity. Please share some with the soldiers outside as well.”
“Outside? To those outside dogs? Why should I? I refuse.”
“If they discover how wonderful this is, won’t they flatter you all the more? And if you’re more comfortable, we’ll be more comfortable too.”
“Oh! You’re clever!”
Hoping the pills would reach the external guard contingent as well, I distributed them liberally among the wardens.
The orc butchers began showing goodwill in return.
“You. Make this.”
An orange Mana Stone tossed carelessly into my hands.
A dramatic shift in attitude from orcs who had previously forbidden any byproducts beyond scraps of meat.
Even if it was only the once.
As I continued juggling everything, a month slipped away.
And then that day arrived.
“Krang. Here…”
“Hm? Good scent.”
“Today I’ve prepared it with special care. You’ll sleep deeply.”
“Good. Very good.”
Starting the night before, we began distributing the thirty-fold concentrated Incense Pills to the wardens.
Every single pill, held back nothing.
“That’s quite a lot?”
“We made plenty today. Take it all, and if you mention it to the outside garrison… you know?”
“Grrr. Hehehehe. Of course.”
Fortunately, no suspicion was raised.
‘Stupid greenskin bastards.’
‘I hope they all pass out completely.’
But I couldn’t be certain.
‘There’s nothing more we can do. This much should count as doing our best.’
‘That’s right.’
‘At least Krang and the other wardens will be unconscious. That alone should be enough…’
‘…to settle the score for everything until now.’
‘Yes.’
We faced each other and smiled, waiting for night to fall.
That night.
The night of the final battle—labor resumed once more.
As I began butchering and working with Spirit Wedges simultaneously, I made a proposal to Illumina.
-Illumina. There’s something I want—a promise, rather.
-What is it?
“After you’re freed, I’d like assurance of our safety. Until we escape.”
“You doubt me, after all this time teaching you Spirit Magic? Now, of all times?”
“No, it’s just… I’m timid by nature. My worries grow so large I feared I might bungle everything.”
Silence followed.
A moment of holding back a racing heart.
“…Yes. That’s more human of you.”
Her voice carried a mocking edge.
“Fine. I swear it. I’ll see you both safely away.”
Relief was just escaping my lips when a single word Silvanya had spoken suddenly echoed back to me.
“…Then swear it by the World Tree.”
“What?”
“I’ve heard that a great elf cannot break an oath sworn by the World Tree.”
“How dare you!?”
The Dark Elf—who had already broken such an oath once and fallen into Corruption—flared with rage.
If she broke her promise again, she would simply cease to exist.
But today was her day of freedom.
‘A perfect time to make a deal.’
Illumina, bristling with frustration, soon accepted my terms anyway.
“Tch. Fine. Good. I swear by the World Tree. I will see you both safely away.”
“But only if you two cooperate faithfully and attempt no treachery!”
Illumina seemed offended, but it didn’t matter.
In fact, we’d just shown her how desperately we needed this.
‘Even if she was doubting us before, this should have swept those doubts away.’
Regardless of feeling, trust had deepened.
Which meant it was time for our final work.
‘We absolutely cannot be caught. Understand?’
‘Of course.’
Bartus and I exchanged glances, then bent to our cooperation once more, beginning to craft the last Spirit Wedge.
“A water wedge goes there. Adjust the Mana ratio like this……”
Following Illumina’s instructions, I added one more secret element to that Spirit Wedge.
A special, hidden Mana pattern that Silvanya had taught me—woven in among the rest.
Even I couldn’t manage it alone; I needed Bartus’s cooperation.
‘Be careful. If we’re discovered, Illumina will kill us the moment she breaks free.’
‘You watch yourself. Your pattern is more complicated anyway!’
‘Are you really sure about this?’
‘About what?’
‘Walking this road when there’s a safer way to live?’
‘I can’t let loose a calamity on the world just to save myself. No regrets.’
Damn him.
Bartus had made a heroic choice.
He never even mentioned that Silvanya wouldn’t let us live if we didn’t take this path.
‘Besides, you put your life on the line first. I can’t back out now. Right, Char?’
That’s how heroes are made, I suppose.
‘…Let’s do our very best.’
‘Yes.’
With nothing but that resolve, we poured everything into the work again.
Fortunately, Illumina seemed oblivious to what we were doing.
Creating Spirit Wedges was grueling work that drained consciousness and Mana to their limits.
And we had followed her instructions faithfully all this time.
“Humans! You’re losing focus!”
“Do it right!”
“Already exhausted?”
After more than a hundred days on nothing but meat and water, our bodies had grown strange and weak.
Fatigue had accumulated to a breaking point, and managing two tasks at once kept our nerves razor-sharp.
Then, in that moment—
[Monster Butchering has leveled up.]
The instant the Butchering skill jumped again, reaching level four—
Click.
The final Spirit Wedge seated itself perfectly into place.
‘Ha……’
In that instant, all strength drained from my body.
“At last…….”
Illumina’s snow-white eyes snapped open, and a savage smile bloomed across her face as her voice spilled out.
“What!?”
“A witch……?”
The moment every eye among the Greenskin butchers swung toward her.
Crack!
The roots of the World Tree split open at her center, and the dark elf trapped within was freed.
“Hahahahahaha!”
The moment Illumina’s exultant cry tore through the air.
Brilliant flash.
‘No!?’
Snow-white flames erupted from her in all directions, sweeping across everything.
Taru and the Greenskin butchers didn’t even have time to scream before they were torn away.
But I watched as the flames curved deliberately around me and Bartus, and I exhaled in relief.
Then.
A deep hum.
Crackling.
As I saw a massive surge of magical power ripple across the upper reaches of the World Tree’s roots, Illumina’s expression crumpled.
“What is this……?”
She stood there thinking for a moment, then something clicked—and her eyes fixed on me.
“Char, just now at the end—what did you……?”
My chest lurched.
“Screech! A witch!? You dare attempt to escape!?”
A savage roar echoed from the hole in the root ceiling above.
Then a massive green figure dropped down with a heavy thud.
“Akturos!?”
“I’ll drive you right back into the World Tree!”
Boom!
Akturos’s arrival was a fixed variable in both Illumina’s and Silvanya’s plans.
Illumina had no choice but to abandon her doubts and face him directly.
‘We slip away in the chaos.’
‘Understood.’
The moment I exchanged a glance with Bartus and moved—
Crash!
Snow-white flames and blood-red light crossed in a deafening collision.
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.
Boom!
Shockwaves poured down from the blazing torrent of light too fast to track clearly, bursting against an invisible barrier spread before us.
‘……Damn?’
‘What the hell?’
Caught in the wake of a battle we couldn’t even comprehend, we couldn’t move a single step forward.

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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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