Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 142

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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142. Like a Vigorous Salmon Swimming Upstream Against the Waterfall

 

The Treasure Box Abyss that had disguised itself as a passage instead of a treasure chest didn’t leave its position even after swallowing the goblin.

 

The guide, who had been anxiously watching the monster’s movements with trembling legs, spat out profanity.

 

“Why won’t that XXXXXX XXXX move?”

 

Serena didn’t initially recognize what Olive said as profanity.

 

Since nobles considered elegant sarcasm and indirect insults refined, this was the first time she’d heard direct swearing since her reincarnation.

 

She realized it was profanity from Olive’s tone and tried to infer the meaning, but the words were so unfamiliar that she couldn’t even understand them. It felt like a foreign language.

 

Just as she was about to listen more closely, cool hands and the texture of bandages touched her ears.

 

Ying had covered the Princess’s ears.

 

Similarly, Count Randy also covered Ralph’s ears to protect him before scolding Olive.

 

“Olive. I hate to say this, but it felt like my ears were rotting.”

 

“Like the 6th floor.”

 

At the archer’s words that her mouth was as filthy as the 6th layer sewers, Olive made an embarrassed expression and apologized.

 

“Sorry. I was too angry.”

 

Olive went out to the leader’s chamber alone as if to make up for her swearing.

 

The guide deliberately made noise as she approached the Treasure Box Abyss.

 

The Abyss didn’t budge even though appetizing prey was loitering near its mouth.

 

Olive even put her foot inside the Abyss’s mouth.

 

The party held their breath at the extremely dangerous act.

 

The Abyss still didn’t budge.

 

Not having a death wish, Olive didn’t venture further and withdrew from the Abyss’s mouth.

 

“Why won’t this bastard move?”

 

Olive’s mouth was about to become as filthy as the 6th floor again.

 

Count Randy quickly interjected.

 

“Don’t you have any guesses?”

 

“Usually they change locations after eating one. I’ve always seen it that way, but this time it’s holding its ground. Strange~”

 

“Strange.”

 

Ying also didn’t offer new opinions and agreed with Olive’s words.

 

The party gathered and pooled their wisdom but couldn’t come up with any viable solution.

 

“Combat won’t work. It’s dangerous.”

 

They had expended much stamina and mana fighting the leader alligator, and now fight an even stronger Abyss?

 

Asking Ying to kill them would be a less painful and more comfortable suicide method.

 

In the end, there was only one option the party could choose.

 

Give up this time and retry next time.

 

“What if the Abyss is still holding its ground when we come next time?”

 

“For now, it would be best to go to the lobby and hear other people’s opinions. Grey has extensive knowledge about monsters, so whether it’s combat or a situation where the path is blocked, he’ll give useful advice.”

 

“Ugh~ I thought we were finally getting out of this sewer!”

 

The party returned to the leader’s chamber feeling dejected.

 

Even though prey was streaming out, the Treasure Box Abyss didn’t budge.

 

While Olive monitored the Abyss, the other companions gathered the Alligator Rius’s byproducts.

 

“Moving this before it disappears means confirmed hard labor~”

 

Since they couldn’t use the teleportation room, they couldn’t bring a cart either.

 

To collect the Alligator Rius’s byproducts, they had to carry heavy leather and bones on their backs and go up and down the stairs multiple times.

 

In this situation, the Princess couldn’t be excluded just because she was royalty.

 

Serena shouldered a bundle of leather.

 

It was fine now, but after walking a bit, it would feel heavy enough to dislocate her shoulder.

 

Olive also picked up a pile of bones tied with rope and pretended to wipe away tears.

 

“Right. The labyrinth is originally like this. I forgot because the Princess was here. Sob sob.”

 

The guide kept her senses focused on the Abyss while continuously making groaning sounds with her mouth.

 

“Sob sob. The teleportation room is so nice. Sob sob sob. Now I don’t want labyrinths without teleportation rooms. The Princess has tamed me, so she has to take responsibility. Sob sob.”

 

A situation where they might have to keep going in and out of sewers so filthy they never wanted to set foot in them again if luck was bad.

 

The weight of the leather was already pressing down on the Princess’s delicate shoulders.

 

Serena, whose shoulders were already troubled by the weight of her chest, cursed inwardly.

 

‘Damn unlucky Abyss. Why is it holding its ground there?’

 

Was it trying to prevent the Princess who wanted to travel comfortably to the 1st floor through the teleportation room and soak in the hot springs?

 

But they couldn’t fight a strong enemy when their forces were insufficient.

 

Though they had fought and defeated the floor boss, the party’s retreating figures climbing the stairs after being pushed back by a strong enemy looked as miserable as defeated soldiers.

 

Serena sighed when she reached the stairs.

 

Her personal bag was already heavy, and thinking about climbing to the 5th floor while carrying leather made her shoulders ache.

 

As the Princess was hiding her sigh without showing it to her companions, she noticed a handle attached to the wall.

 

It was the handle that changed the flow of sewer water.

 

Currently, water was flowing toward the leader’s chamber and the waterfall was dried up.

 

Serena recalled when she encountered the Abyss on the 21st floor, the monster had moved in the direction the water was flowing.

 

‘Nothing to lose, so should I try it?’

 

The Princess called out to stop her companions who were climbing the stairs.

 

“Wait a moment. I have something to try.”

 

If she manipulated the handle to change the direction of water flow, wouldn’t the Abyss move?

 

The party immediately agreed to Serena’s suggestion.

 

They had never lost anything by listening to the Princess.

 

They moved the leader alligator’s byproducts to a corner of the leader’s chamber, and the party also scattered here and there.

 

Once all preparations were complete, Olive pushed the handle in the opposite direction.

 

The water that had been flowing toward the leader’s chamber changed its flow to the water reservoir, and the waterfall that had been dry also increased in volume.

 

Twitch.

 

Then the Treasure Box Abyss, which had been completely motionless the entire time, began to twitch and move.

 

‘Yes!’

 

Serena cheered inwardly, but didn’t let her guard down.

 

If the monster that had finally moved attacked the party, they would have to flee quickly.

 

Fortunately, the strong enemy of the 6th floor ignored the prey in the leader’s chamber and followed the water flow, exiting the leader’s chamber and plunging its massive head into the water reservoir.

 

Puaaak!

 

And then something unbelievable happened.

 

The Treasure Box Abyss began swimming upstream against the waterfall’s flowing current.

 

At this extraordinary sight that was unbelievable even seeing it with her own eyes, the guide near the waterfall’s mouth gaped open.

 

It was such an amazing sight that she couldn’t close her mouth even when dirty water splashed from the waterfall into it.

 

A giant tadpole was swimming upstream against the sewage waterfall.

 

Serena also couldn’t close her mouth at this mysterious and bizarre sight.

 

‘What does it think it is, a carp or salmon? Swimming upstream against a waterfall?’

 

Real salmon that swim upstream at least have cliffs hidden in the current.

 

The 6th floor’s waterfall had only empty air without cliffs, yet the Abyss vigorously rode the current up the waterfall.

 

It was even fast.

 

The Treasure Box Abyss that had shocked the party reached the top of the waterfall and disappeared.

 

The companions remained frozen even after the Abyss disappeared, barely breaking free from their stunned state.

 

“What did I just see?”

 

“It was truly an unbelievable sight!”

 

“Truly amazing.”

 

“Amazing.”

 

If it appeared in a novel, they would curse the author for being too unrealistic even for a labyrinth, and if it appeared in a play, the audience would throw stones at the stage.

 

The companions couldn’t take their eyes off the direction where the Abyss had disappeared for a long while after, only moving to the sealed door when the Princess complained of neck and shoulder pain.

 

***

 

The Princess and her party arrived at the Lobby of the 1st Floor of Heuji’s Labyrinth.

 

She wanted to immediately enter the hot spring and rest, but Serena was needed to use the cart.

 

With a heavy heart, Serena postponed her rest and headed back to the 6th Floor.

 

They had to make two round trips with the cart to collect all of Alligator Rius’s byproducts.

 

After moving all the leather and bones, and casting purification magic on the party members.

 

Serena was finally able to rest with peace of mind.

 

While the maid helped undress her master and assisted her into the hot spring, the Mysterious Stranger grated apples to make juice.

 

Serena squeezed out her remaining mental strength to create plenty of ice and drank the cool apple juice.

 

The sweet and tangy juice passing through her esophagus, settling in her stomach, then flowing through her bloodstream felt truly exhilarating.

 

However.

 

‘Something’s missing.’

 

The Princess’s heart still felt empty.

 

‘The juice is delicious, but this isn’t it. After such hard labor…’

 

Black, bitter water.

 

The life essence of modern people, made by adding ice to water brewed from roasted beans.

 

Serena wanted to drink an iced americano.

 

The soul of a commoner who had suffered through hard labor in her past life strongly protested that caffeine was needed after sweaty work.

 

‘Having an iced americano with syrup while soaking in the hot spring would be perfect.’

 

When you think about it, Serena was currently enjoying luxury.

 

Bathing in a hot spring in the labyrinth, drinking fresh fruit juice while being attended to by two beauties – what greater luxury could there be?

 

Moreover, the Chicken Golem had also entered the hot spring and stayed close to Serena, providing animal therapy.

 

But humans are cunning and their desires endless, so the Princess’s soul, having grown accustomed to luxury, craved even greater extravagance.

 

Perhaps it was because she was tired.

 

With both the commoner’s soul and the Princess’s soul crying out for iced americano or cola, Serena was going crazy.

 

‘Ugh, let me get it together! Maybe I should look at the products.’

 

The Princess told the two beauties attending her that she would close her eyes because they were tired, then closed her right eye and opened her left.

 

Currently, Serena possessed 17 Death Coins, 16 Shop Coins, and 2 Limited Coins.

 

The Limited Coins were as good as nonexistent, so she erased them from her mind.

 

‘I do need to recruit people though…’

 

Recruiting people in the labyrinth was very different from normally hiring people.

 

She had to provide food, clothing, and shelter, and consider human relationships too.

 

‘The assault team’s fatigue is accumulating, so we do need more assault team members.’

 

The problem was that the probability of getting someone suitable for the assault team was very low, and even if such a person was recruited, there was no guarantee they would get along well with the current members.

 

‘If I accidentally recruit a child, sick person, or elderly person, it would just waste resources.’

 

It was a harsh thought, but unavoidable.

 

Serena stared at the 17 Death Coins she had, then gave up on recruiting people.

 

‘It’s still okay. Let me collect more Shop Coins and think about it when I need specific job classes.’

 

The Princess switched from the recruitment window to the product window.

 

Mysterious treasures that could only be obtained in the labyrinth and reflected human desires spread out in the world visible through her left eye.

 

Among food, clothing, and shelter, food was somewhat resolved, leaving clothing and shelter.

 

‘Isn’t there something like a tree that produces clothes?’

 

There was an automatic loom, but it wasn’t satisfactory.

 

‘It would be nice to have something like a washing machine too.’

 

Serena was thinking of a primitive washing machine, but the product window showed the latest washing machine she had seen in her past life.

 

Delighted, she checked the product price – only 1 Shop Coin.

 

The price was also affordable.

 

‘The electricity and water will be taken care of automatically, right?’

 

Serena was about to purchase the washing machine without hesitation when she paused after reading the product description.

 

‘You have to insert money to wash? It’s a coin-operated washing machine?’

 

One gold coin per wash.

 

It was outrageous profiteering.

 

‘This won’t do.’

 

The biggest obstacle for Serena and her party in conquering the labyrinth was the cut-off supply line.

 

Therefore, they were self-producing various daily necessities and equipment through the alchemist’s alchemy, but alchemy and trading required cash.

 

Cash could only be obtained from the labyrinth’s treasure chests, so they were conserving the money they originally had.

 

‘It’s fortunate Count Randy carried a lot of cash befitting his reputation. Otherwise, I’d be asking Olive to lend me the money I gave her as a contract fee.’p>

Fortunately, Count Randy, who was overflowing with money, carried a lot of cash as befitted his reputation.

 

But since they were using cash as consumables, Count Randy’s wallet would eventually run dry.

 

‘Sorry, Lavenda.’

 

The Princess was sadly giving up on the washing machine when she discovered a vending machine.

 

The price of a vending machine that could purchase beverages and snacks she had enjoyed in her past life was only 10 coins!

 

Naturally, cola was included in the beverage list.

 

It was natural since a vending machine without cola couldn’t exist.

 

‘If I can’t have americano, how about cola?’

 

Serena’s eyes rolled as she was about to purchase the vending machine, then she paused.

 

‘This one needs money too?’

 

10 coins was the vending machine installation price.

 

To get the beverages and snacks in the vending machine, she had to insert cash into the machine.

 

‘Damn. It costs 10 coins and it’s not even free? Really, the nerve.’

 

Both were items from another world, with automatic cleaning and facility maintenance and infinite inventory, so it wasn’t exactly profiteering.

 

But for the Princess who had to conserve cash, it was like sour grapes hanging high.

 

‘Sigh. The happiest time after reincarnation was when I didn’t need to worry about money.’

 

The Princess missed the past when she didn’t even realize she was being extravagant while being extravagant.

 

It wasn’t even that long ago, but it felt as distant as her past life.

 

As salty moisture gathered in the Princess’s eyes, a new product caught Serena’s attention.

 

‘This is!’

 

Serena decided on a new facility to install in the lobby.

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