Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 25

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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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25. The One in a Hundred Thousand Man (8)

“The problem is we lack the ability to attack the Minotaur.”

We can tank but our damage is lacking. The conclusion is insufficient firepower.

The cause was strong monsters like the Minotaur appearing from the 2nd floor, but either way, we lacked damage.

“Sir Lucas.”

Ralph raised his hand enthusiastically. Sir Lucas nodded slightly.

“There should be poison remaining in the undead rats. How about coating our swords and spears to poison it?”

“No. It’ll only damage our precious weapons.”

Unless it’s poison that can deal fatal damage in small amounts, it would just needlessly wear down weapon durability.

‘The idea of using poison is decent though. Since it’s strong against physical attacks, if poison won’t work… fire?’

Serena asked Krom.

“How about sprinkling oil and setting it on fire? Krom, how much oil do you have?”

“This is all there is.”

The oil was just what little was in the lantern and leather pouch.

“Princess, by any chance can you create oil?”

Oil creation is 2nd-tier magic. Since it combines well with fire magic, most decent mages learn it as a basic skill.

“I’m sorry.”

Seeing Serena’s expression, Sir Lucas closed his mouth as if he regretted bringing it up.

If the princess had properly learned up to 3rd-tier magic, we wouldn’t have to struggle like this.

Sir Lucas’s inner thoughts came through vividly.

“It can’t be helped.”

Sir Lucas opened Lavenda’s notebook and drew a map of the 2nd floor. Serena hadn’t seen it all, but he seemed to have surveyed the wide space in that short time.

The 2nd floor he confirmed was shaped like a round lollipop with a winding handle. In the center of the candy was a circular structure where the Minotaur emerged, and there were more passages at the edges, but he hadn’t explored them so didn’t draw them.

“I’m not certain, but there are traps here and here.”

Sir Lucas marked the approximate locations.

“We need to lure the Minotaur to these traps to deal with it or bind its feet. We might find other methods if we check these passages, but we’ll be discovered by the Minotaur before reaching the passages.”

“How about you and I lure the Minotaur while the others check the passages?”

“Too dangerous. We were lucky last time.”

Sir Lucas pointed to the traps again.

“If there are pitfall traps similar to those on this floor, we can drop the Minotaur in and move. For that, we need to check the traps.”

To do that, we’d have to go back down to the 2nd floor.

“We’ve rested enough, so let’s move immediately.”

“Let’s do that.”

“Old woman. Bring the oil and lantern.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Isn’t the amount of oil too little?”

“It would be meaningless on other parts, but if we can set its face on fire, it’ll be useful.”

The Minotaur looked well over 2 meters tall, so it wouldn’t be easy to spray oil on its face.

‘No wait. If it falls in a trap, I can spray its face.’

“Ahh, that’s better than before. Thank you.”

“Please leave it to me from now on.”

Krom twisted his waist while praising Lavenda’s skill.

‘No matter how I look at it, that was a shrimp bend.’

Massage in this world must operate by different principles. Serena smiled and lightly patted the merchant’s shoulder.

***

We greeted the dismembered boss undead rat corpse and descended the steep stairs to reach the 2nd floor. When Serena tried to create light with magic, Sir Lucas stopped her.

“We’ll use the lantern. Instead, Princess, please prepare to create ice immediately when I say so.”

“Understood.”

Since she couldn’t use magic while moving, she had to cast as quickly as possible while stationary. Serena concentrated intently and visualized being ready to use ice creation magic at any time.

Krom, holding the lantern, took the lead. Krom was surprised to see the pillars, walls, and corners broken from the Minotaur’s collision.

He wasn’t surprised by the Minotaur’s power to destroy stone walls.

“They’re half restored.”

During the brief rest on the 1st floor, the pillars, walls, and corners broken from colliding with the Minotaur had been about half restored.

“Is this the labyrinth’s restoration power?”

Ralph was also surprised and flattened, then touched the walls that had risen to ankle or knee height with his hands.

“Oh no.”

Just before reaching the wide space, Sir Lucas groaned as if troubled.

Both Serena and Sir Lucas had expected the Minotaur to be inside the structure and the door to close when the party reached the circular space.

“The door is open.”

The door was already open. The Minotaur was nowhere to be seen. Remembering the Minotaur’s excellent hearing, everyone kept their mouths shut and walked stealthily.

“What do we do? Should we go back?”

“…Princess, please stay here.”

Sir Lucas left Serena with Ralph and slowly moved with Krom toward the central structure with its open door. They intended to examine the interior while the Minotaur was absent.

Krom put the lantern inside the structure and examined the interior, then shook his head greatly.

‘Nothing inside? That’s quite an exaggerated gesture for that.’

With the sound of stone scraping, the floor trembled slightly. The source of the vibration was the structure with the open door. The vibration gradually grew stronger.

Sir Lucas and Krom looked around and hid behind a nearby stone wall.

When Krom hurriedly tried to close the lantern cover, Sir Lucas stopped him. Meanwhile, the vibration grew stronger and stopped.

Moooo.

The Minotaur emerged from the central structure.

‘So that was an elevator.’

Krom’s vigorous head shaking earlier meant there was no floor inside the structure.

‘Does it use that to move to other floors? Then it’s not a floor boss. Could it be a stratum boss?’

The Minotaur that walked out of the structure looked around. Krom, not wanting to be spotted by the Minotaur, closed the lantern cover.

Then Sir Lucas snatched the lantern and pushed Krom.

“Aigo!”

Krom, who never expected to be pushed by a knight, screamed and fell to the floor. Serena was so shocked she froze in place. Ralph beside her also held his breath.

Snort.

The Minotaur’s ears perked up at that sound and oriented toward them.

“Please save me!”

Not intending to abandon Krom, Sir Lucas opened the cover and emerged on the opposite side holding the lantern with its light restored. He experimentally waved the lantern high.

The Minotaur’s gaze turned to the lantern. Sir Lucas sighed in relief and threw a stone toward Krom, who was quietly crawling away to another location.

“Ugh!”

Krom, hit by the stone, made a groaning sound. Though he suppressed it, it was enough to redirect the Minotaur’s attention.

The Minotaur seemed to pay no attention to Sir Lucas waving the lantern, stamped its feet, and charged at the fallen old woman.

“Aaaaah!”

Krom barely got up and fled with all his might. He tried to go to Sir Lucas, but the knight coldly drew his sword and pointed in the direction Krom should go.

The direction Sir Lucas pointed had traps. Krom quickly changed direction and ran as if rolling. Since he was too slow, collision was inevitable.

“Ugh!”

Just as Ralph had trouble stabbing small rats with his long spear, the Minotaur also failed to gore the short old woman with its horns.

But was he unharmed? No. Krom was kicked by the Minotaur’s foot and rolled around. He seemed to have broken something and couldn’t get up.

“Krom! Sir Lucas, what are you doing!”

All this happened while Serena held her breath. Serena moved her heavy body like someone awakening from sleep paralysis.

“P-Princess! You mustn’t go out!”

Ralph, restless, followed along. Sir Lucas blocked both their paths.

“Sir Lucas! What on earth!”

“Princess, what are you doing! Things were going well!”

“What?”

Serena couldn’t understand what Sir Lucas had said. While Serena was stunned for the second time by Sir Lucas’s words, the Minotaur lowered its head and charged, piercing Krom with its horns.

The Minotaur, running with Krom impaled on its horns, stepped on a trap. The floor collapsed and the Minotaur’s foot got caught, causing it to fall.

“Now’s the time. If Your Highness hadn’t interfered, I could have set its face on fire and finished it off right now.”

The trap wasn’t very deep, though it had spikes. It was shallow enough for the large Minotaur to climb out.

Indeed, the Minotaur quickly regained its posture and escaped from the trap. Krom, who had been caught on its horns, fell down below.

“Damn it.”

Sir Lucas cursed as if regretting the missed opportunity and pushed Serena toward the stairs.

“Grandmother Krom…”

Ralph cast a pitying glance at the motionless Krom before turning away.

***

“If you can’t help, at least don’t interfere!”

As soon as they climbed the stairs, Sir Lucas scolded Serena. After killing someone, his eyes and expression were no different from before.

“Do you know what you just did, Your Highness?”

“You’re one to talk. Do you know what you did?”

“I did what needed to be done.”

“What needed to be done?”

Serena barely held back her curses. This was unreasonable behavior even considering the rigid social hierarchy of a medieval fantasy world.

‘Don’t tell me. Was it your character, not your ability, that was one in a hundred thousand?’

A bastard with a one in a hundred thousand probability of appearing – unscrupulous, nasty-tempered, treating others’ lives like scraps of paper. A bastard who wouldn’t hesitate to kill for his own sake.

Sir Lucas belonged exactly to that type.

“No, really.”

Serena fidgeted with her fingers before pressing her forehead. Her head hurt too much.

“I had a suspicion, but it turned out to be true. When you explored the 1st Floor, you brought Krom along to avoid traps, didn’t you? You used Krom as a shield to detect traps.”

“Of course. Otherwise, why would I have brought that slow old woman along?”

“Is that what Huji’s proud knight should do? Where did you throw away your chivalry?”

“Your Highness’s criticism is unfair. I worked hard to do my job. Besides, that old woman wasn’t an ordinary citizen. She hid it with a scarf, but she had two diamond-shaped tattoos on her neck. That means she’s a criminal who went to prison twice.”

“If she was released and reformed, she’s a citizen. Even if she’s an ex-convict, that’s no reason to die like that.”

“Indeed. That’s exactly the kind of thinking a naive princess would have. The way she trembled every time I looked at her suggested she had many undiscovered crimes.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about. How could you use a perfectly living person as bait?”

“Then should I die instead?”

“What?”

“I fought monsters and willingly stepped into dangerous places to serve Your Highness and fulfill my duty. Your Highness uses me to survive, so why can’t I use one lowly old woman to increase my survival chances?”

Sir Lucas looked down at Serena as if she were utterly pathetic.

“Your Highness, get a grip. This is the Labyrinth. I’m not here on a picnic with a criminal old woman, a dim-witted guard, a foreign masseur, a countess with nothing but her face, and a princess whose mind is confused but suddenly chosen by a god to perform miracles.”

Serena instinctively knew. If she hadn’t demonstrated the miracle of the bread tree, she would be dead by Lucas’s hand right now.

“This isn’t the Royal Palace where Your Highness played queen of high society, laughing and strolling around – this is the Labyrinth. A crazy labyrinth where Minotaurs appear on the 2nd Floor! Do you understand?”

Serena gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. This was the first time in this life she had experienced such humiliation.

‘Though saying that, my family was too messed up!’

Strangled by mom, beaten by dad, a stress-relief target for grandfather. Her only sibling caused trouble constantly due to lack of affection. The cousin she met as an adult kept trying to pat her head. Getting oil in her hair.

“S-Sir Lucas.”

Ralph, whose face had been pale after witnessing Lucas’s atrocity, intervened.

“Sir Lucas did wrong. A knight shouldn’t do that.”

“Good heavens.”

Lucas exclaimed at the squire’s courageous words.

“Now even a mere soldier insults me. This is all because of Your Highness.”

“I’m not trying to insult you! I’m just!”

“How dare you!”

Lucas kicked Ralph’s knee and slapped his face. He said to praise his mercy for not drawing his sword while hitting his face with gauntleted hands.

“Ugh…”

“If this weren’t the Labyrinth, your head would have been severed.”

Ralph staggered after being beaten until his nose was flattened. However, his eyes remained unwavering and clear.

“Sir Lucas, you were wrong.”

“Do you want to die?”

“Phew.”

Serena made up her mind.

Lucas’s skills were valuable, but his character had too serious a flaw to travel together.

Serena had to conquer the Labyrinth to save the citizens of Heuji City, and if things were already like this, it was obvious what would happen later.

“Lucas Viren. You’re fired.”

“What?”

“Leave my party. We burdens will step aside. Do as you please.”

Serena expelled Lucas Viren from the party. Wasn’t this the beginning of an expulsion story – when a party leader who fails to recognize or underestimates ability expels a capable party member?

Lucas was capable and even though Serena acknowledged his ability, she was kicking him out because she didn’t like his personality, so Lucas was perfectly positioned to start his own expulsion story as the protagonist. It was a perfect fit.

‘Thank you for watching Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth so far. From now on, the saga of Lucas, expelled from his party and rising to success, begins. Something like that.’

As if he never expected to be told to leave, Lucas snorted.

“What did you just say? Do you still not understand reality?”

“I understand. I understand, so let’s act separately. I don’t need a knight like you.”

They say you get what you pay for, and Lucas, recruited for free, had serious character issues.

‘Is character DLC (downloadable content)? Do I have to buy it separately?’

If it were actually sold separately, she’d want to purchase it.

“I’ll share the bread from the bread tree. You don’t want to die either, so you won’t damage the bread tree.”

“Are you aware of what nonsense you’re spouting? Even if the remaining four of you attack together, you can’t handle me. What if I monopolize the bread tree? Can you stop me?”

“I’ll stop you.”

Ralph said in a nasal voice and raised his wooden sword.

“Ha! This is ridiculous.”

Lucas looked at Serena and Ralph mockingly and laughed.

“I’ll give you one last chance. Say it again.”

“You’re expelled.”

“I’ll stop you.”

“How dare you insignificant fools!”

“Princess! Run away!”

Lucas’s sword slashed Ralph’s throat. Serena tried to run but was caught by her long hair.

Lucas’s sword pierced Serena’s stomach. The princess’s slender waist was cut in half by the knight’s sword.

Her entrails spilled out and Serena’s upper body tilted and fell to the floor. Still, it hurt less than being gored by the Minotaur’s horns.

Her vision blurred, then she saw clear crimson eyes.

“If I die like this, what happens to Sir Lucas and the bread tree?”

Sir Lucas could disappear for all she cared, but the bread tree was too precious. The Labyrinth God only smiled again this time.

“See for yourself, child.”

“Then a different question!”

The Labyrinth God immediately answered the new question. Having gotten the answer she wanted, the princess opened her remaining eye.

She could see Lucas and the bread tree clearly too.

Serena had much to think about, so she tapped the statue again and again.

The princess, having finished her thoughts, smiled brightly.

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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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