Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 291

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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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291. Heuji’s Labyrinth 11th Floor Strategy (1)

The 41st floor captain’s room was clean without a single drop of blood. The blood that High Priest Hazel and Knight Marin had shed had disappeared due to the labyrinth’s restorative power.

Just because the blood had disappeared didn’t mean the memories left in the place had vanished too. Though no one ordered it, everyone who entered the captain’s room fell silent. Each person reflected on what had happened in the captain’s room.

‘The party morale is…’

Not good. They needed to go down to the next floor, but the party’s morale seemed to have been cut in half.

Serena looked at the captain’s room and praised Count Randy and Count Alpha as if she had just thought of it.

“The Count worked hard treating the priests. Even after returning to the lobby, you couldn’t rest and kept making recovery potions, so you must be tired. If you need rest, tell me anytime. Count Alpha, thank you for protecting the patients too.”

They had already exchanged plenty of pleasantries in the lobby. Count Alpha, who had higher political acumen than Count Randy, understood the Princess’s intention and responded courteously.

“I am merely fulfilling my assigned duty.”

The perceptive guide also realized the Princess’s intention and raised her voice.

“Right! We didn’t check if there’s a treasure chest here? Kyaa! A sparkly sparkly treasure chest!”

Olive was delighted to see the color of the treasure chest placed inside the secret door of the captain’s room, then disappointed to find it was already open.

“Aw, what? It’s already been looted.”

Olive clicked her tongue and grumbled.

“Obviously the Prince looted it. Ah~ so predictable.”

Count Randy waved his hand at the disappointed guide.

“Ah, I opened that treasure chest.”

“Huh? You did, Count? This? But it was hidden behind the wall?”

Count Randy chuckled and explained the circumstances.

“I was treating the priests and resting against the wall when it felt different. When I investigated closely, I found hairline cracks and discovered the secret door, so I opened it. It opened when I just knocked on it.”

“Ah, right. That’s what happened. I was so flustered I forgot to report it.”

Count Alpha bowed his head in apology. Since everyone had been in chaos at the time and those who remained in the captain’s room would have been tired, Serena forgave them generously.

“What did you say?”

But there was someone who couldn’t forgive them. Olive’s voice rose sharply and her round pupils grew as large as candy balls. The guide’s nostrils flared and her eyes became alert.

‘Is she angry that they forgot to mention opening the chest? Or because she couldn’t open the chest herself?’

An angry shout burst from Olive’s mouth.

“You don’t just open a secret door as soon as you find it! It’s dangerous!”

Serena reflected on her own complacent thinking.

“Eek.”

Count Randy, startled by the guide’s intensity, gasped and made excuses.

“I didn’t open it without thinking either. Since it was the captain’s room, I judged there wouldn’t be any monsters-“

“Who said there are no monsters in captain’s room secret chambers! Who exactly! There are no absolutes in labyrinths!”

Ying crossed her arms and nodded. She even spoke.

“Olive is right.”

“Uh-huk, I was wrong.”

Count Randy was defeated by both Olive’s intensity and logic, and bowed his head.

Olive also scolded Count Alpha, who was holding his head up stiffly.

“I’m angry at the Black Knight too! Listen everyone! In labyrinths, never touch doors or treasure chests without a guide! Only open them when you’re about to die from lack of food, water, or medicine!”

“It was a reckless decision. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

Count Alpha realized it could have been a situation where not only himself but also the priests could have been endangered, and sincerely repented.

Seeing that both men seemed to genuinely reflect, the guide softened her anger.

“I’m not getting angry for no reason. You defeated the floor captain and found a secret space? Wow, it’s a treasure chest! Then you excitedly open the door and get wiped out by monsters that jump out – there are tons of parties like that.”

As a variation, there were also parties that were fine until the secret space but got wiped out because the treasure chest was actually a monster.

What if monsters had jumped out of the secret space? What if those monsters were strong or numerous?

With immobile patients present, could all the people remaining in the captain’s room have been safe?

Imagining it made Serena’s spine tingle.

“I was overconfident that I could now distinguish mimics. I’m sorry.”

“Hmm, I don’t think that’s right either, Count. Haven’t you seen mimics disguised as walls?”

“What? There are mimics like that too?”

“Ugh. Wall mimics appear too? Thank you for the information, Princess.”

Olive made a disgusted expression at the mention of wall mimics and raised her index finger, wagging it left and right.

“By now you should be getting used to chest mimics, so that’s fine. The problem is that monsters can be hiding inside chests. I don’t make a fuss before opening chests for nothing.”

The more they listened to the guide’s logical words, the lower the alchemist’s and imperial knight’s heads drooped.

“I really did wrong. We were short on superior recovery potions, and when I found the treasure chest, I just…”

“I also thought there would be at most one or two monsters, so we could just defeat them. Complacent thinking, I reflect on it.”

“Hmph.”

Olive, the shortest in the party, looked down at the tops of the imperial knight’s and alchemist’s heads with satisfaction.

“You know Olive got angry because she loves you all, right?”

The guide blew hand kisses and winked at their heads. The two married men’s faces contorted. Olive held her stomach and giggled.

“So? What came out of the chest?”

“A blood-enhancing agent came out. Thanks to it, recovery was fast.”

“That’s fortunate!”

In the end, there were no monsters, and the treasure chest contained a potion that helped with recovery, which the alchemist had wanted. Optimistic Ralph’s face brightened.

“A blood-enhancing agent~ Since it was used up, it’s the same as getting no reward~ But it’s okay since the Prince didn’t loot it?”

Thanks to the guide’s genuine concern for both of them, the party’s morale, which had been low, rose considerably.

Heuji’s Labyrinth 1st Attack Team maintained a harmonious atmosphere while simultaneously not letting their guard down as they descended to the 42nd floor.

***

Olive worried whether Seraph had looted all the tunnel treasure chests. But whether the Prince’s group and the labyrinth had split paths, the group had to fight the 42nd floor captain who was still alive and well.

The 42nd floor captain was a miner lizardman party, just like the 41st floor.

The bodies of the miner lizardmen, who boasted scales and hide as hard as stone, were sliced cleanly as if water had been sprinkled on corpses.

It was the power of the scale-weakening potion that Count Randy had made and applied to the party’s weapons.

[You have defeated the floor captain. 1 shop coin has been awarded.]

“Let’s keep going like this.”

Next to the stairs leading to the next floor was a rare-grade treasure chest. Olive’s eyes sparkled seeing the unopened treasure chest.

“Olive go!”

A simple-shaped iron key came out of the treasure chest. Even though it was new from the chest, it was slightly rusted.

“A key~ Can’t some weapons come out soon?”

The guide grumbled while adding the rusty key to her keyring.

Perhaps because they had thoroughly paid their dues on the 41st floor, the 11th floor strategy went smoothly. Places with giant caverns swarming with miner lizardmen like on the 41st floor appeared occasionally, but they managed to pass through all of them undetected.

Also, thanks to Serena informing them about wall mimics, the guide could detect and eliminate monsters disguised as walls blocking the path. Thanks to this, they could choose relatively good paths in the complex and winding tunnels.

The giant worm, the biggest variable and disaster of the 11th floor, was already dead. The party arrived at the 43rd floor captain’s room smoothly with equipment and strategies tailored to monsters appearing in tunnels.

Since they had split paths with Seraph and the labyrinth, they would have found quite a few treasure chests if they had taken side paths, but this was the result of focusing on finding stairs first.

“Is everyone’s stamina okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m okay too.”

What particularly helped preserve the party’s stamina was the magic magnet. Count Alpha’s face was bright, as he had consumed more stamina managing his bulky and heavy axe in narrow tunnels than during actual combat.

Needless to say, Serena, who had struggled to manage herself in the tunnels, was the same. Since she didn’t need to hold her staff and had both hands free, she could walk while touching walls to conserve stamina.

“Wah. I want a magic magnet too.”

Olive whined about wanting a magic magnet, but her expression and eyes were cautious as she opened the captain’s room door.

In the captain’s room, a lizardman with a different build from the miner lizardmen the party had seen so far was waiting for the attack team.

He was a head taller than Count Alpha, who had the best physique in the party, and his entire body surrounded by rock-hard scales was burly like a minotaur. Along his back, sharp stones protruded along his spine, extending to the tip of his long, thick tail.

The weapon he held was a spear that could make full use of his long arms, befitting his large frame. Even a newborn puppy would be scared of his appearance.

‘He looks strong.’

“It’s a rock lizardman. Since it has high earth attribute defense, I’ll focus on defense. The scale-weakening potion works, so attack aggressively.”

“Yes!”

Count Alpha left the attacking to Ralph and expanded his magic shield. The knight with extensive monster knowledge also warned the alchemist, magic princess, and archer in the rear.

“Rock lizardmen use earth attribute sorcery. If the ground moves or dirt falls from the ceiling, dodge immediately.”

As soon as Count Alpha finished speaking like rapid-fire rap, the Rock Lizardman opened its massive mouth wide and roared.

Krararararark!

I suppose lizards cry “krwawawa,” but since it wasn’t a real dragon, it lacked weight and depth. But there must be a reason for making loud noises before fighting.

Ying aimed her crossbow at the Lizardman’s gaping mouth. The Rock Lizardman couldn’t finish its roar and closed its mouth, swinging its spear. Ralph’s sword was blocked by the spear shaft.

Olive secretly threw a dagger. The Lizardman trusted its hard scales and ignored the dagger, only to pay dearly for it.

Kreuk!

The dagger coated with the Genius Alchemist’s scale-weakening potion pierced through the rock-hard scales and embedded in the Lizardman’s shoulder. The Lizardman screamed but still focused on blocking Ralph’s sword.

When Olive threw another dagger, the Lizardman struck the floor with its tail. A stone wall rising from the floor blocked the dagger.

“Wow. It’s like a deep floor boss.”

While blocking the Young Knight’s attacks and dodging or deflecting incoming arrows and daggers, the Rock Lizardman’s reason remained as solid as a rock deeply embedded in the earth.

Rather, as if multitasking suited its nature, it didn’t stop at just blocking Ralph’s sword but began attacking Ralph.

The sharp spear stabbed at Ralph’s face. The Lizardman’s long tail swept at the Young Knight’s legs as he deflected the spear with his shield.

The spear rushed again at the spot where the knight landed after jumping to avoid the tail attack. Ralph lightly tilted his head to dodge the spear and quickly drew his dagger to attack the Lizardman’s hand gripping the spear.

It was such a good attack that Serena clenched her fists, but unfortunately the dagger wasn’t coated with scale-weakening potion, so it only left a small scratch.

The golden opportunity had passed, but it was still okay.

“What I desire is.”

Serena looked at the Formless Mage connected to Olive’s dagger and wrapped around the Rock Lizardman’s body as she continued chanting her spell.

“Lightning that follows the line.”

Various chain lightning effects she had seen in games from her previous life took control of the Princess’s mind.

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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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