Conquering the Labyrinth with a Trash-Tier Trait - Chapter 65

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

Chapter 65
“Hide.”
“Understood.”
The Central Swampland was as vast as an enormous lake.
I hadn’t thought a swamp could grow this large.
For some reason, the dense jungle trees that should have surrounded it were absent—the vista opened up suddenly, disorienting in its emptiness.
So we shifted sideways, slipping into the undergrowth more than ten meters from the swamp’s edge.
We pulled the Concealment Cloak over ourselves.
“They won’t come directly this way, will they?”
“I’ve checked multiple times. They’re definitely following the path we took.”
One of the pursuing knights seemed to possess a tracking skill.
When we changed direction, rather than adjusting their angle immediately, they simply followed our footprints—as if tracing the exact route we’d walked.
It made herding the monster much easier, at least.
“You’ll proceed as you said, won’t you?”
“Yes. All you need to do is prepare for contingencies.”
After waiting several hours, those I’d been expecting finally emerged into view.
“There!”
“The Central Swampland?”
“Where is it?”
“Shouldn’t we see it by now?”
“It’s this direction. Wait a moment…….”
The instant I spotted five haggard knights surveying the surroundings.
I summoned the water spirit.
-At last, my moment has come.
‘Yes.’
[Name: Mul Cheol-woo]
[Species: Water Spirit (Lower Grade)]
[Level: 20]
[Stats]
Spirit: 39
[Mana Skills]
Water Creation (Advanced—Lv. 10), Water Bomb (Advanced—Lv. 10), Moisture Control (Advanced—Lv. 10)… and others.
[Innate Ability Slot (Full)]
Deadly Toxic Spore
[Special Properties]
-Additional Information Available.
-Mist Scattering.
A low hum resonated.
The sound of water dissolving into vapor.
Mul Cheol-woo’s body decomposed into vapor, transforming into billowing mist that swallowed the knights whole.
At the same instant.
-Deadly Toxic Spore.
A hissing sound filled the air.
A pale green luminescence suffused the mist.
“What!?”
“Sudden fog!?”
“Careful……!”
Voices sharp with alarm erupted one after another.
“Argh!”
“Cough—cough. Poison! It’s poison!”
Screams tore through the mist.
But I felt a trace of disappointment.
“Cover your eyes and nose, watch your breathing!”
The knights quickly swallowed antidotes or simply endured, displaying their experience with such threats.
-Weak?
‘Ah. The size scaling doesn’t apply, apparently.’
I’d thought that if Mist Scattering enlarged Mul Cheol-woo’s volume, the Deadly Toxic Spore’s second property—the size scaling—would activate. But it seemed that hope was too optimistic.
‘Perhaps because I’m the one maintaining it?’
-Seems that way. Size scaling judges by the original body, not the form. Tch.
But it didn’t matter.
After all, this Innate Ability was designed to hunt tiny swarms of insects in the first place, and right now it served only to draw the knights’ attention away.
In that moment.
Whoosh.
A wind spirit moving overhead poured out crimson liquid.
Splash.
“Ugh!”
“What the—!?”
“Poison again!?”
Poison it was, but not particularly potent.
‘Poison is merely seasoning.’
Merely liquid marinated in the venom of a giant poison toad—ten pairs of eyes from a Swampland Basilisk and the corpses of a thousand Flesh Flies.
‘If the Hidden Quest tip is accurate…….’
This would become bait capable of luring the Jungle Swamp Crowned Millipede.
And so I watched them with hopeful eyes when——
“Damn it!”
“This way!”
“Break through!”
Nothing else changed until the knights began rushing toward our position.
“Hell. Retreat.”
“Yes.”
I backed away while maintaining the Concealment Cloak, though I suspected it wouldn’t hold much longer.
“Prepare for combat.”
“Yes.”
The moment I steeled myself——
Boom.
A sudden explosion-like sound erupted from the swampland.
Reflexively, I turned my head, and a scream tore through the air.
“Gwah!?”
“Ahhhhh!”
In my field of vision, a colossal centipede—easily dozens of meters long—burst through the mire.
Screeeee!
Its form, its size, and the emerald aura spreading in all directions——
An overwhelming terror and killing intent radiated from the creature, so potent that mere sight of it could paralyze a man.
The only mercy was——
Screeeee!
“Ahhhhhh!”
Crunch.
That the monster’s first prey was the knights, not me.
“A worm like that!?”
Bang. Bang.
The knight caught in the creature’s jaws thrashed desperately, then——
“Ahhh!”
Snap.
“Damn!”
“Ralphe!”
“It’s a monster centipede!”
Watching it tear from its maw—that’s when my mind snapped into focus.
[Jungle Swamp Crowned Millipede]
[Lv. 25 (Second Evolution)]
[Skills]
—Downward Strike, Swamp Swimming, Tail Strike, Rampage, Deadly Toxic Breath.
[Innate Abilities 2/2]
—Deadly Toxic, Water Attribute.
[Enthralled by appetizing scent.]
[Hidden Quest]
—Defeat the Jungle Swamp Crowned Millipede.
—Reward: Random Stat +2, Level-up Points +2.
It was the first time I wasn’t glad to read an unexpected Hidden Quest through my Trait.
‘Second Evolution, and a Giant Monster besides. Damn.’
Its massive frame was itself a formidable weapon.
A Giant Monster ranks one tier above even Elite or Boss Monsters.
In other words, an Elite Giant Monster is equivalent to a mid-sized Boss Monster, and a Giant Boss Monster is?
‘Beyond what the tier appears to be.’
A Giant Monster emerging from a Hidden Quest can’t just be Elite.
It’s the kind of creature whose very presence on the eleventh floor defies logic.
But even so.
‘I’ve traded blows with a third-tier Special Class before.’
That thought stilled the trembling in his limbs.
“Scatter!”
“Defense holds the line—everyone else, strike together!”
Apart from the knight who’d been crushed outright, the others struck by the creature’s blow were merely thrown back without serious injury—a detail that steadied his resolve even further.
‘We can do this.’
Tap.
“Brother…!?”
“Stay here. Preserve yourself!”
And with that, he left the Concealment Cloak with Max and charged forward.
‘Come. Wind.’
-Got it!
Whoosh.
Crack.
The moment he drew the wind spirit into his body, he felt it accelerate him, sensation sharpening into crystalline clarity.
Whooomp.
While the centipede’s awareness was still fixed on the knights alone.
Snap.
At this newfound speed, he moved like lightning itself, driving his spear deep into the creature’s flank.
Squelch.
Shriek!?
The moment the centipede’s head swung toward him.
Whoosh!
He wrenched the spear free and dove aside—and the creature’s head plunged straight down into the space where he’d been standing.
Boom!
‘It works!’
A single successful strike was enough to flood him with confidence.
“Hahahaha!”
“That one…!?”
“What? That white-haired bastard!?”
And yet, even in the chaos.
Screech!
The fact that the centipede still fixed its attention first on the knights—that was encouraging.
Boom!
“Think you can block twice!?”
The shield-bearing knight caught the Downward Strike of the Giant Centipede’s head head-on.
Crash-crash-crash-crash.
The ground beneath his feet cratered, yet the knight somehow shunted the monster’s head back—a feat that defied physics entirely.
And in that opening, two knights surged toward the centipede.
But absurdly, one of them was charging straight at him instead.
“You—is this your doing!?”
Tsk.
The speed and ferocity of the spear thrust coming at him like lightning were nothing to dismiss.
And his perception was sharp enough.
But his own speed was faster still.
Whoosh.
“Hah! Let’s kill the monster first!”
He sidestepped the knight’s thrust and called out as he passed—and the knight’s face went rigid.
Screech!
Crash-crash-crash-bang!
“Ugh!?”
“Hack!?”
The centipede suddenly rolled across the ground and convulsed its entire body—and all the knights who’d been closing in were flung backward.
‘An opening. Perfect!’
Splash.
Whoosh.
Crack.
I thrust my spear in once more through the gap, then dodged—and a knight rushed past me from the side.
Whoosh.
Clang.
Cruder than my movements, less fluid, but it was unmistakable—he was aiming for the centipede, not me.
“Good choice!”
I called out my praise, yet why did his expression darken?
Three more knights charged in from different angles.
And through their line—
Boom.
The centipede’s head suddenly slammed into the ground.
Rumble.
It had driven its skull so deep the earth itself shook.
‘What in the—?’
The moment unease flickered through me, I stepped further back.
Crash!
The green swampland exploded outward, and a massive wave of murk engulfed the entire battlefield.
Slam-slam-slam-slam.
“Gasp!?”
As I barely dispersed the viscous wave of swamp, I saw it.
‘No—’
Behind that green wave loomed an enormous, blood-red columnar body.
And as that body swept past the knights who’d evaded the swamp wave, it crashed down upon them.
Boom!
The shield-bearer facing the brunt of it went flying, his entire torso crushed—but his sacrifice broke the creature’s Tail Strike.
Instead of laying waste to dozens of meters in all directions, the blow shattered only the unfortunate trees in its path.
Through the dust, the wild-eyed knights hurled themselves at the monstrous centipede.
“Die!”
“Perish!”
While spears, swords, and greatswords carved wounds across the creature’s body, I too lunged forward and drove my weapon home.
Whoosh.
Shriek!
The monster centipede, now fully clear of the swamp, reared its head and let out an inhuman wail—then fixed its gaze on me.
‘Damn—’
Had the bait lost its effectiveness?
I was about to retreat.
“Hold your ground, white-hair!”
“You—!?”
“Fall back and you die first!”
The bloodthirsty threats from the scattered knights pinned my feet in place.
No—the real problem was my position, trapped at their rear.
‘If I dodge here, it’ll slip back into the swamp.’
In that moment of decision.
-I’ve got this.
‘Right.’
Thump.
As Poong Cheol-woo and Ttang Cheol-woo made the exchange, my body hardened and grew heavier, my skin taking on a deep brown hue.
“Here I come!”
Shriek!
I leveled my upraised spear at the charging centipede’s head.
Breath.
‘From the lower jaw toward the crown.’
Aiming at its weak point from below, teeth gritted—
Suddenly, something struck the creature’s accelerating head from the side.
Thud.
A round, rolling form—something like a human-sized ball delivering a sweeping blow.
‘Max!?’
His attack nudged the centipede’s head only slightly to the side, and—
In that instant, my spear drove into the creature’s temple.
Whoooosh.
The spearhead caught the centipede’s momentum full-on, tearing through its side of the head with a sickening sensation.
Crash!
‘Ugh!’
The tremendous impact sent my body sliding backward.
Even though I’d glanced the blow, my entire frame tingled with shock.
Crack.
‘Damn it.’
My left wrist was definitely gone.
Even with Battlescar’s Leather Armor’s defense and Ttang Cheol-woo’s resistance added together.
‘I was going to take that head-on?’
If I hadn’t transformed into Ttang Cheol-woo, I suspected my hand gripping the spear would have shattered or crumbled outright.
Pop-pop-pop-boom.
Whoosh.
As something burst repeatedly from the centipede’s abdomen as it passed me by.
A surging energy suddenly permeated my body and began to heal me.
Crack.
‘What!?’
My dislocated wrist snapped back into place on its own, and my health seemed to recover slightly.
A moment later, I remembered the spear’s option.
‘Holy Spore!’
It was an artifact’s power that had rarely found use against weaker monsters.
Shriek!
The centipede’s head, turning back toward the swamp, swiveled to fix its gaze on me again.
From the deep gash, pale green foam bubbled and festered, visibly worsening.
Strange—I could distinctly feel my own Mana in it.
The centipede’s crimson eyes locked onto me, yet now I felt no fear whatsoever.
“Max! Fall back!”
“Yes!”
The moment I charged forward, the three knights holding position behind me surged in a beat too late.
It was crystal clear they meant to use me as their shield.
‘Fine by me.’
I didn’t mind.
I’d used them already, and I meant to use them again.
-Switching.
-…Yes.
Crack.
Poong Cheol-woo instead of Ttang Cheol-woo.
Since a direct confrontation wouldn’t work, speed was my only option now.
Shriek!
“Hah!”
Crash!
I evaded the centipede’s Downward Strike and swept my spear across its flank.
Whoosh.
Slice.
Watching pale green Mana spores seep into the torn wound.
I thrust the spear in repeatedly, one strike after another.
Stab-stab-stab.
The vibration and rotation of the Shatter Spear shattered the centipede’s carapace like candy, carving deep wounds.
“Hraagh!”
“Hah!”
Boom.
Crack.
The knights seized the opening, their attacks methodically stacking damage.
‘We can do this.’
I scanned the battlefield with the other three elementals, landing strike after precise strike multiple times over.
Then, suddenly.
Shriek-shriek-shriek!
The monster centipede convulsed, letting out a terrible cry into empty air.
Fssssssssss.
Green smoke billowed from its mouth, rising as if to swallow the very sky.
‘Why upward……?’
The moment doubt flickered through my mind, I saw the green miasma that had cloaked the blue sky begin to settle all at once.
Front, back, side—vast stretches of land were being drenched wholesale in green fog.
‘……Damn!’
Even as I watched, I threw myself toward the creature’s head.
Crash!
Because I trusted in the purification function of my undergarments.
Hiss!
Still shrouded in green smoke, I drove my spear straight through its eye socket.
‘All of it, come forth!’
Crack-crack-crack.
I manifested my four-element spirit weapon once more.
Whoooooosh.
Screeeech!
In that instant, the giant centipede erupted into a Rampage again, thrashing across the ground.
I tried to withdraw the spear.
Zing.
‘Tch.’
My movements lagged because my head had begun to spin slightly.
Bang.
Crack-crack-crack.
Bang. Bang!
‘Ugh!’
In that spinning world, I took blow after vertiginous blow, gasping for breath.
The one blessing, at least, was this:
Whoosh.
The purification function, though half a beat late, washed the poison from my body.
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop.
And Holy Spores burst in succession, healing me as I was battered about.
And the spear, lodged deep as it was, drove further and further into the centipede’s skull with each collision and jostle.
In the end.
Screeeeeech!
Still impaled on the spear, the monster centipede reared its head high and let out a terrible cry toward the heavens.
I felt instinctively that the stiffening spreading through its body was its final, desperate thrashing.
‘……That was far more dangerous than I’d thought. Damn.’
And then, in that very moment.
“Well done, trash.”
Whoooosh.
Along with a voice I’d heard somewhere before, I saw a cold blade bite deep into my forearm.

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