Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 262

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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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262. Level Up

Breaking bones also requires technique and strength. The Heuaim siblings had no choice but to accept the Effort Priest’s words.

“Did you come this far alone? What about the others?”

“When the tunnel collapsed, everyone scattered in all directions. It seems like Your Highness’s party suffered the same fate.”

“Explain the route you took to get here.”

“Hmm, this very carefully drawn map. Bindo is here…”

The High Priest of Effort referenced the map Seraph had presented and described in detail his awakening location and the route he traveled until meeting the siblings. Seraph drew light lines on the map based on the priest’s words.

“Before hearing your voices, I was moving toward another person’s voice. How about we join up with that voice’s owner first?”

“Who was it?”

“It was a young woman’s voice. Hmm, now that I think about it, it could be a monster.”

The Effort Priest, who had been laughing carefreely, showed slight regret. Whether human or monster, the estimated location of the voice’s owner was close to the trap field Seraph had created. Confirming the identity would be a wise choice.

The Prince, seemingly full of complaints, glared at the traps he had set and his sister, then spoke bluntly.

“You stay here. I’ll go with this bald guy and come back.”

“You want me to stay alone in the labyrinth right now? I can walk, so let’s go together.”

“Honestly, you’re in the way. I won’t abandon you, so stay here.”

Seraph let out a big sigh and muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.

“Hah. Acting like that, yet he keeps insisting on conquering labyrinths.”

Her brother’s sigh struck the pride of the Princess, who secretly prided herself on pulling her own weight. Serena suppressed her slightly rising blood pressure.

“You haven’t properly seen me use magic yet. I’m a mage recognized by a famous labyrinth adventurer and the grandson of the Empire’s Grand Mage.”

“The Empire’s Grand Mage’s grandson? Ah, you mean the 5th Prince. Obviously he’s just trying to flirt with you, and you believe that?”

The face of the flower trash, who had been openly sneering, suddenly became serious.

“Wait a minute. You’ve been saying nothing but stupid things since entering the labyrinth. Don’t tell me you hit your head when you fell?”

His serious eyes examining her complexion made her feel even worse. Serena pressed one hand to her forehead and waved the other dismissively.

“Stop talking nonsense and go bring back the voice’s owner.”

“You’re the one who started talking to me and prevented me from going.”

Seraph, as always, blamed everything on others and left the trap field with the chuckling Effort Priest.

Serena listened to the receding footsteps and cast a mana field spell.

‘Thanks to the mana field, it seems my brain just got shaken and only my ankle broke.’

Without the mana field, she would have been buried alive in the dirt. She would have died, had a private audience with a deity, and rechallenge the 11th layer with a healthy body.

‘Since I’d know the way, I could explore faster, and knowing about the giant earthworm’s existence, I might have prepared countermeasures in advance.’

Preparing for burial would be the top priority.

Thinking this way, dying and regressing was the most comfortable and easy labyrinth exploration method.

Serena chewed the inside of her lips, invisible from the outside.

‘Did he know when he said it, or didn’t he know? Now that we’ve met, I’ll have to probe when he returns.’

The Princess concentrated her five senses and remained alert to her surroundings. She couldn’t let her guard down because of the assassin moles that could approach silently and even launch surprise attacks from walls and ceilings.

Being this vigilant was the first time since struggling to survive in her baby crib. As Serena maintained her alert state, she heard the sound of footsteps on dirt.

‘One, two.’

Two footstep owners approaching the trap field. Had her brother and the priest come back empty-handed, or was it the appearance of monsters or other people?

Serena created ice arrows, hid them nearby, and waited for the approaching presence. Her brother’s pretty face appeared from around the corner. Serena felt relieved and dispelled her magic.

Behind Seraph, the Effort Priest and a pink-haired girl also appeared. Three people total. The footsteps Serena heard didn’t match the number of people who appeared.

The culprit was none other than her brother. Serena looked at her brother walking without making footsteps and grumbled internally.

‘You confused me! Why is a prince silencing his footsteps!’

Proper rulers learn to actively reveal their presence rather than hide it. The loud footsteps of royalty were a symbol of dignity.

But having learned it from who knows where, her brother walked stealthily without sound. He looked just like a thief.

‘This is strange. Our family is a royal house that’s lasted a thousand years.’

The siblings’ maternal family was also a prestigious noble house that had continued for several hundred years, if not a thousand. Why on earth would a prince born from such a family have the qualities of a 5-star thief?

‘There’s no special bloodline for thieves either.’

The Guide would be saddened to know this, but what could be done? There was living proof right there – the Prince.

Anyway, Serena warmly welcomed Muffin, whom she was meeting again after being separated for several hours.

“Miss Muffin. I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Lady Serena, you’re safe!”

With the party lacking a front-liner, having a 5-star Priest of Corruption join was incredibly reassuring. Seraph seemed to think the same, as his expression was noticeably brighter.

Serena couldn’t leap over the trap field, so only after Seraph dismantled several traps could Muffin approach, and she showed her ankle first.

“Sorry to start with this kind of question, but do you know how to break ankles?”

“Ugh. What should we do about this, Lady Serena. I’m not confident.”

Muffin shook her head vigorously, saying it was beyond her abilities, and recommended someone else.

“High Priest Hazel specializes in this kind of thing. He’s received many requests from other priests of the land.”

The Order of the Land, empowered by the merciful will of the earth, has priests who actively wander the continent, tending to farmlands and healing people with divine magic.

Hazel, a minority combat-type priest in an order full of healers, had learned how to break bones cleanly, or something like that.

“Priest Rihua is being protected by High Priest Hazel. They should be together. Knight Marin should also be safe since I heard her muttering prayers.”

Muffin said she could sense three people beyond the tunnel wall where she had been staying. Having barely sat down, the Prince got up.

“If it’s High Priest Hazel, he should be able to break through the wall without collapsing the tunnel. I’ll go get him. Muffin, follow me.”

Naturally, only Serena and the Effort Priest remained in the trap field. As soon as Serena judged that Muffin was far enough away, she opened her mouth.

“Did you know this would happen?”

“Hehe, I don’t know what you mean. I’ll try to understand, so please say more.”

“I’m talking about what you said to me before exploring this layer. About trying not to die. Did you say that knowing about these current situations?”

The Effort Priest chuckled.

“I’m sorry. I tried, but I still don’t understand what you mean. If you’re asking whether Bindo has precognitive abilities, Bindo doesn’t have such abilities. If Bindo had predicted this situation, he would have tried to prevent the party from scattering even when the tunnel collapsed.”

There was no sign of lying on the natural bald man’s poor face.

But Serena didn’t withdraw her suspicious gaze.

‘The content and timing of what you said was too perfect!’

This natural bald man had been like this since his first appearance – his timing was too perfect. Anyone would think he was a Priest of Timing rather than a Priest of Effort.

The Princess’s gaze must have been quite piercing, but the Effort Priest didn’t mind at all. Serena interrogated him thoroughly about this and that, but no question received a proper answer – only the same response came back.

“Hehe, there will be no harm to the Princess and Prince.”

“What’s the standard for that harm? Heavenly standards or earthly standards?”

“Hehehe.”

“Don’t just laugh, answer properly!”

Even when Serena personally grabbed his collar and shook him, it was useless. The Effort Priest kept his mouth firmly shut.

‘If this person had taken a vow of silence too, it would have been over in one go.’

As the Princess was catching her breath after getting worked up, she heard approaching footsteps. This time she sensed one person’s presence, but two people appeared.

Having learned it from who knows where, whether self-taught or showing off hidden talent, her brother returned with an expression full of irritation and spite, having perfectly silenced his footsteps. Muffin’s expression wasn’t very bright either.

“High Priest Hazel left his position?”

“No. The path is blocked.”

Seraph took out his map of the 11th layer, 41st floor and explained why he couldn’t bring High Priest Hazel and Priest Rihua.

“I thought High Priest Hazel could make a path and come over, but he says this wall can’t be broken through. We need to find another way to cross over.”

“Lord Seraph has the compass, and pathfinding is also Lord Seraph’s responsibility, so we decided to find a path and go to their side.”

“Get up if you heard everything.”

“Lord Seraph. You still have something to tell Lady Serena.”

Muffin scolded Seraph and delivered good news to the Princess.

“It seems all of Lady Serena’s party members are safe. High Priest Hazel discovered a marker Lady Serena left behind.”

She had been constantly worried that someone might have died or been injured, so this was truly good news. Serena, encouraged by the good news, grabbed her staff and stood up.

***

The tunnel floor is uneven. Trying to walk on such a path with a leg that had suddenly become the wrong length was quite an ordeal.

The more terrible fact was that the tunnel ceiling height was still inconsistent.

Moving while hunched over or with her head down and limping was torture that made her miss walking on all fours. When the tunnel ceiling became very low, her staff also got caught on the ceiling and became cumbersome.

Serena held her pelvis and panted. She could clearly see a future where her pelvis and back would complain of more pain than her broken and mended ankle as time passed. She had no precognitive ability, but it was obvious.

Also, as time passed and the monsters regained their stability, attacks resumed. The 5-star monk Muffin took charge of all combat.

“Hup!”

Kieek!

“Hah!”

Sizzle!

Glory to the holy Decay of the heavens. Though they had entered the 40th floor range, most monsters still became incapacitated with a single decay punch.

The Assassin Mole’s ambush attack was lethal, but Serena maintained her mana field while walking, allowing her to block the first surprise attack.

An assassin’s attack is usually a one-hit kill. Their first attack is their last attack, and the fate of an assassin who fails that is miserable.

Serena looked down at the Assassin Mole corpse whose fine fur had rotted beyond recognition, and the Miner Lizardman whose rock-hard scales had rotted into a mushy mess.

Muffin’s strength was never in doubt from the beginning.

‘But she seems to have gotten stronger?’

The first time Serena witnessed Muffin’s strength was when facing the 3rd Layer floor boss. Back then, Muffin had defeated the floor boss, a giant condor, by landing multiple decay punches and kicks.

Next, on the 5th Layer they encountered, Muffin also defeated the floor boss, a giant tree, by landing multiple punches.

Based on Serena’s experience, the scale defense of the 11th Layer Miner Lizardman was superior to the feather defense of the 3rd Layer Condor Leader.

‘But she took down the lizardman in one hit?’

“Lady Serena, what’s wrong? Are you tired?”

“I’m still fine. It seems like Miss Muffin’s martial prowess has improved from before.”

“Oh, that? You’re right that I’ve gotten stronger.”

Muffin was aware that she had become stronger. Readily acknowledging Serena’s words, Muffin clenched and unclenched her fist.

“At first I thought I got stronger from accumulating real combat experience, but High Priest Hazel said that wasn’t it.”

“If not that, then what?”

“The grace that Decay bestowed upon me has grown stronger. Something about heroes who endure trials receiving rewards.”

Muffin lacks priestly knowledge compared to her abilities. Serena and Muffin simultaneously gave looks asking if the other priest had anything to say. The High Priest of Effort chuckled.

“Heh heh heh, High Priest Hazel speaks truly. Priest Muffin worked hard, so the heavenly Decay granted a reward.”

“I would have preferred flowers or water over decay though.”

Muffin complained to her deity as always. Serena cast an envious glance at the 5-star priest who was already strong but had become even stronger, and would grow stronger still.

‘So priests can level up. I’m jealous.’

Serena herself wasn’t an official priest, but was at least an apostle of the Labyrinth.

‘Don’t I get anything? Oh, there are coins.’

Though modest compared to leveling up, she was receiving shop coins each time they descended a floor of the Labyrinth. It was just disappointing that it was for lobby enhancement rather than ability enhancement.

Perhaps concerned about the prince pouting alone, the Effort Priest preached about the importance of effort as always.

“Heh heh, don’t be disappointed that you’re not a servant of the great ones dwelling in the heavens. The celestial beings grant power to those who strive and overcome trials. So make an effort before giving up.”

The High Priest of Effort smiled brightly.

“In fact, there exists one who achieved difficult Achievements as a mere earthly being and received all manner of blessings.”

“There’s such a person?”

“Of course. The heroes who appeared in the past are proof. There’s a hero alive right now too. The heavenly Effort favors that hero more than bald Bindo.”

Everyone showed interest at the mention of a hero breathing and living in the same time period, not a past hero who died and left traces in history books.

“There’s such a hero on the continent right now? Who is it?”

“Heh heh heh.”

Just as the Effort Priest was about to reveal the hero’s name, sharp claws of an Assassin Mole burst from the wall.

Muffin ruthlessly trampled the claws that had slowed down after getting caught in the mana field. The Assassin Mole’s front paw instantly rotted and crumbled. Muffin cast decay magic on the fleeing mole and grumbled.

“Ugh! What kind of hardship is this because of Lord Seraph!”

“Hmph, you were happy too when you saw the treasure chest.”

“Ugh. Because of that damn treasure chest, we’re causing trouble for Lady Serena’s party, and Lady Serena got hurt. What if Lady Serena had been seriously injured!”

“She didn’t die, so it’s fine!”

Though Muffin always grumbled at Seraph, she usually didn’t engage in real arguments, so it was unusual for her to protest so strongly to Seraph. Seraph, clearly guilty of wrongdoing, only showed irritation and didn’t glare at Muffin.

Serena had been quietly listening to their conversation, but then heard something that absolutely shouldn’t be overlooked.

“Was the tunnel collapse Seraph’s fault by any chance?”

The prince looked around frantically for somewhere to hide or escape.

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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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