Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 59

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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 59
“Jungle monsters? I’ve lived here a long time, so I know them well. Never actually caught one, though. Ha ha.”
“Well, most of the extermination quests are original dungeon quests, and from the look of it, it seems the dungeon doesn’t dislike monsters that much, does it?”
“Along those same lines, we’re asked to exterminate Greenskins from time to time too. So shouldn’t Greenskins also be classified as monsters and be targets for extermination? Ah, that’s not my personal view—just what a lot of people think. Ha ha.”
Max talked far more than I’d expected.
And it seemed closely tied to how his pace had grown more hesitant the closer we got to the Jungle.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“Me!? Scared!? That’s—ha. Ha. Ha! Even though I’m supposedly so fearless my father worries about it!?”
“Right. Then let’s move faster. There are too many insects here.”
“Is, is that so? I hadn’t noticed yet. Is it because of your spirits? Ha. Ha ha. Ha.”
I’m realizing anew that a Spirit Summoner enjoys an almost total convenience when it comes to day-to-day living.
Especially in terms of environmental adaptation.
The ferocious heat and humidity of Golden Acre and the Jungle zone below it pose no real problem.
Water spirits drink in the moisture, fire spirits absorb the heat, and wind spirits bring cool breezes—all solved.
Mana is consumed, though.
‘But the relief from mental stress is worth far more than that.’
Even maintaining the lowest-grade spirits is enough for this level of environmental adaptation, so the mana cost isn’t really that high.
The very thing Golden Acre dreads most in a quest’s starting conditions poses little obstacle to me.
‘Long live Spirit Summoners, truly.’
Yet in that moment, Max was dripping with cold sweat.
“Want me to make the wind stronger? Let’s hurry.”
The moment I urged him on, Max’s true feelings surfaced.
“Sir… really, it’s just the two of us going? Isn’t this a quest to catch three Elite Monsters!?”
Right.
[Hidden Tip!]
Ten pairs of Marsh Basilisk eyes and the corpses of Flesh Flies.…
I’m planning to catch far more than that, but for now I played dumb.
“And?”
“Sir, since you’ve only just arrived, you may not know—but naturally, Elite Monsters of equal rank are supposed to be stronger than adventurers!”
“I know.”
“And from the 11th Floor on, Elite Monsters are evolved creatures, so they definitely have combat traits or special properties. Plus, you can’t be sure what abilities they’ll have, which is why normally you’re supposed to form a party of at least four or five people who can handle as many different situations as possible—but……”
“And?”
“……can the two of us really do this? Sir, this doesn’t feel right. Could you think about it one more time?”
“So you are scared after all.”
“No! Of course not! Scared about what!? This is just being careful. Ha. Ha ha.”
His overly loud voice made me let out a quiet laugh.
“Let’s try it for now, and if it looks like we can’t do it, we’ll turn back. We’ve come this far—be a shame not to give it a shot.”
“……Really?”
“Yeah.”
Beyond the power of being a Spirit Summoner, my Cleansman’s Underwear and the autonomous breathing from the Deep Sea Harmonizer, plus the Advanced Boots that got my name attached through synthesis—all of it provides a comfort as though I were indoors, no matter how irritating the Jungle environment gets.
But there’s one thing I can’t do anything about.
Whiiing.
“The bugs here are annoying, so let’s finish this as fast as we can. You want to come back and forth often?”
Whoosh.
Burning writhing insects to death one by one consumed more mental energy than wasted mana.
“No. Of course not.”
“Good. Then let’s go.”
The moment we stepped into the Jungle, a series of filthy greetings began.
Marsh rats and snakes that suddenly burst out were actually easier to deal with.
The real nuisance was.
“Sir!?”
“Yeah. I see them.”
Whiiing.
Screee.
Bzzzzzz.
Shriek.
Giant mosquitoes, poisonous spiders, army ants, and more.
These weren’t mere pests—they were insectoid monsters attacking in force.
Just when you thought you’d catch a break, another wave of insects came right after.
‘Ugh, what a pain.’
Without the spirits’ senses to warn us, there were plenty of insects stealthy enough to approach without any hint of their presence.
[Combat Ended]
[Numerous insects have been eliminated.]
[Enemy level too low. No experience gained.]
What irritated me most was that these petty attacks, draining both Mana and mental stamina, didn’t even help with leveling up.
Still, there was one saving grace.
“This is really convenient, going around with a Spirit Summoner.”
Max’s expression, which had looked fearful right before we entered, was steadily growing more at ease as time wore on.
“I’ve heard most people avoid this quest not just because of the search itself, but because of this environment and these insects. But…….”
“Never mind that. Over there.”
“……Excuse me?”
“In that direction—there’s a toad several times the size of a man. Looks like a giant poison toad.”
“O-over there?”
“Yeah. About two hundred meters.”
“T-two hundred meters? The forest is this dense—how could you possibly……?”
“Spirits.”
“Ah…….”
Max’s eyes were shining bright, and I could practically read his thoughts: ‘Spirits really can do anything.’
Well, that wasn’t entirely wrong, but the reason I could detect this far was thanks to a new trait.
-Spirit Command Range +100m
The distance limit from my body is fifty meters for lower-tier spirits and a hundred for minimal-tier spirits, but this trait extended that reach.
For reconnaissance, even a minimal-tier spirit was more than sufficient.
-You deliberately lower their rank, then act shocked when it gets pissy. The body should feel that.
-Quiet. Fire. This is more efficient for scouting. Increasing the range where they can move freely is better, isn’t it?
-It’s better, sure, but—
Right. No problem.
Besides, I could observe through my spirits’ eyes directly, surveying all four directions, so I could ‘observe’ even beyond the spirits’ detection range.
That’s how I spotted both the giant poison toad nearly two hundred meters away and the two people maintaining a distance of roughly three hundred meters behind us.
-They’re not even trying to hide. Arrogant bastards.
-Overflowing with confidence. Heh.
‘Are those idiots not planning to conceal themselves at all?’
Watching people in steel armor following us into a jungle zone made me laugh despite myself.
And yet, seeing how they didn’t sweat a drop and kept pursuing in our direction without hesitation, it was clear they had some real skill.
‘Let’s see what happens.’
For now, it’d be better to hold back on my abilities and observe their reactions.
“Hyung?”
“Hmm?”
“Is there something behind us? You mentioned that direction earlier?”
“No. Let’s go.”
“Yes! This time I’ll show you what I’m made of!”
Had the variety of spirit abilities given him confidence?
The guy who’d been hemming and hawing about Elite Monsters, evolutions, and combat traits earlier was now charging forward with vigor.
Pat. Tap-tap.
As we drew closer to what seemed to be the giant poison toad, the sounds of insects faded entirely.
With no trace or sound of the swamp rats, snakes, and poison toads that occasionally jumped out, tension rose naturally.
And then we saw it.
A monster toad the size of an enormous boulder, its back covered in lumpy, bulbous growths.
[Giant Poison Toad]
[Lv. 13 (1st Evolution)]
[Skills]
-Tongue Lash, Sticky Tongue, Crush, Poison Breath.
[Innate Ability 1/1]
-Toxic Spore Spread.
[Hungry.]
Crrooooak!
Bang-crash!
The moment it registered us, a whip-like tongue shot out from its maw—and Max’s shield met it head-on.
“Behind me, sir……!”
Oh, not bad?
Clang. Thud. Thud!
Max managed to block the tongue attack, which clearly packed considerable force.
Then—
Splurch.
“Ugh!?”
The tongue adhered to one of his shields began pulling his body forward.
“This—this bastard!”
Crack.
Ripple.
The moment he swung his other shield at it, that one stuck to the tongue as well.
“Brother!”
Through it all, Max held his ground without budging an inch, locked in a tug-of-war against the creature’s massive frame.
‘Does it have a skill that anchors it to the ground? Or is that monster lighter than it looks?’
Even as the thought crossed my mind, I stirred the fire spirit with a light hand.
Whoosh.
Screech!!!
The giant toad convulsed and retreated as I tried to burn its tongue clean off.
And then—
Boom.
It suddenly launched itself skyward.
Its massive, boulder-like body rose dozens of meters in what seemed like an impossible sight.
“Above!!”
Max shouted and hastily dodged backward.
I leaped upward instead.
Tap.
“Brother!?”
And then—
Croak…?
Meeting my eyes in mid-air, the creature opened its mouth, and I drove the spear in lightly.
Straight into the glabella—the weakest point revealed by the Beast Butchering skill.
Spurt.
“…Uh?”
Watching the light fade from its eyes, I kicked off its head and flipped backward, landing clear.
Thud.
[You have hunted the Giant Toad.]
[You have gained experience.]
As the creature hit the ground with a loud crash, I touched down lightly and saw Max staring at me with his mouth hanging open.
“What? Why that look?”
“…Oh, n-no. I just… thought you only knew how to use Spirits well, so…”
“You worry too much.”
I gave a light chuckle, but it crystallized something for me.
Even for an Elite Monster, anything of the 1st Evolution tier was no real match for me.
That certainty stung a little, though.
‘At this rate, I can’t even tell how good this gear really is. Sigh.’
And party combat practice seemed impossible too.
One of my original goals was already blurring, but I decided to worry about that later.
“How about we grab some food here?”
“Ah!? Yes! Of course.”
“I’ll get a fire started. Cook over there.”
I told Max—who’d insisted I needn’t worry, promising proper cooking instead of bland rations—to set up while I got to work.
“What will you be doing, brother?”
“Me? I’m going to butcher this.”
“…Pardon?”
“What, never seen someone use Butchering before?”
“No, it’s just… I heard that most adventurers won’t touch monster corpses unless Essence Stones or Mana Crystals drop, or unless it’s a really expensive cut.”
“Why waste it? It’s all money. This is an Elite Monster, after all.”
Especially when I’m broke right now.
“…Right. I suppose so, but…”
I kindled the spirit’s flame in front of the perplexed Max, gathered the moisture from the air and poured it into his pot, then set about butchering methodically.
Now the joints and weak points were unmistakably clear, even without invoking the trait.
I sliced cleanly, then—with help from the wind and water spirits—transported and drained the meat.
Looking at the remains through the lens of their traits, the only saleable parts of the giant toad’s corpse were its tongue, the poison glands harvested from the bumps along its back, and the sinews from its hind leg muscles.
But once I’d carefully carved everything up and sorted it all, I found something unexpected.
[Giant Toad Hind Leg Meat]
-Nutritious and rich in flavor.
-Processed with Mana using high-tier Butchering skill, quality improved by nearly 40%.
“Hm?”
Frog meat. I’d heard of it, sure, but I’d never actually eaten any before.
“Max.”
“Yes!?”
“What are you cooking?”
“Just a meat stew, sir. I didn’t bring much kimchi, I’m afraid.”
“Think you could try adding some of this?”
With a whoosh, I sent the meat on the wind.
Max’s face went pale the moment about a pound of hind leg meat arrived before him.
“…Can we even eat this? It’s a poison toad, isn’t it?”
“I extracted all the poison. It’s fine.”
“Still, there’s no need to—”
“It’s delicious. Let’s give it a try.”
“…This? From whom?”
“Just trust me.”
I handed the meat over to the hesitant boy and finished the butchering, dismantling the remaining parts and organizing everything.
The moment I packed the hind leg meat and whatever else was worth selling into Kyle’s Belt.
With another whoosh.
All the miscellaneous scraps combined into a single object, then suddenly transformed into an orange stone the size of a fist.
“What!?”
[Toxic Spore Spread]
-Strength +11, Stamina +10, Agility +8, Physical Resistance +11
-Releases toxic spores from the entire body, spreading them in all directions.
-Targets poisoned by the spores become hosts, transmitting toxic spores in every direction.
For its grade, the stat bonuses and Innate Ability were frankly terrible, but it was definitely an Essence Stone.
‘Normally these should drop right when you kill it…? Ah!’
The cause of this strange situation came to me at once.
The Reaper’s fourth privilege.
[4. Essence Extraction: When you completely dismantle a hunted target, you can draw out its essence.]
‘This is what it meant?’
A dry laugh escaped me—but it was the good kind of laugh.

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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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