Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 318

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

318. Ghostly Voice (2)

Opening the door would start the battle with the Ghostly Voice. The Ghostly Voice would enter the lobby, and they would inevitably have to fight in the lobby.

Spirit monsters are basically immune to physical attacks.

Fortunately, most people in the lobby had magic weapons, but one spell was more efficient than ten sword strikes.

It would be fortunate if magic and attacks hit the Ghostly Voice, but realistically it was impossible.

Then attacks that missed the monster would destroy the lobby, specifically the facilities and supplies in the lobby.

What if a fire arrow aimed at the Ghostly Voice hit the Bread Tree? There was an orchard on the 5th Floor and it would be restored by the Labyrinth’s recovery power, but wouldn’t it still be sad?

Also, the facilities installed everywhere could interfere with combat. The eternal campfire blazing in the center of the lobby was a good example.

‘Let’s put away what needs to be put away.’

Serena stored the facilities purchased from the shop in the warehouse. Long-term storage wasn’t possible, but they could be temporarily stored during the brief battle.

Without any sound effects, the facilities in the lobby disappeared.

When the installations suddenly vanished, people understood why the Princess had bought time and waited quietly.

Items that people had made themselves and couldn’t be stored in the warehouse were moved to a corner of the lobby by Low.

‘Just in case, should I put away the tombs too?’

The tombs purchased from the shop had a function to prevent buried corpses from becoming undead, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

After putting away the set of 10 tombs, the lobby became incredibly spacious.

‘Good.’

The battlefield was ready too. When the Princess nodded, Ralph prepared to open the door.

“Wait!”

Someone stopped Ralph again. It turned out to be the Guide who had voluntarily entered the magic circle since he had no magic weapon to face the Ghostly Voice.

Olive snapped her fingers and pointed at the Chicken Leader.

“I have a good idea! Hey! Last time when the Princess used corpse explosion magic, the chicken bones all crumbled and couldn’t even be restored! What if the Bandaged Child uses corpse control to move this guy near the Ghostly Voice and then explodes it? Wouldn’t that make it easier to catch? Hey?”

‘Is that so?’

It was quite a plausible argument. Serena left the judgment to Grey. Grey also looked tempted but then shook his head.

“When Uncle Low used explosion arrows, the Ghostly Voice ran away. It’s better not to use explosion-type attacks.”

“Is that so? Got it. Hey.”

Olive, who suspected Grey’s true identity, accepted the expert’s opinion without objection.

Neet was slightly disappointed to miss her chance to be active, but at the same time seemed to relax as the tension left her grip on her staff.

Serena looked at the crystal skull staff that Neet had been gripping firmly, then looked at the empty space where the tombs had been.

‘Come to think of it.’

Actually, the empty space wasn’t perfectly empty. There was a trap lurking there that was the natural enemy of mages.

‘If we step on it while fighting, it’ll be more dangerous than a landmine. That was close.’

Serena closed her right eye and opened her left eye to store the mana absorption floor she had purchased for a whopping 10 shop coins in the warehouse.

As she was about to put the mana absorption floor in the warehouse, a strange question flashed through her mind. Conveniently, there was an expert right next to her who could resolve the question.

“Grey.”

“Do we have to wait again? At this rate, it’ll be troublesome if the Ghostly Voice seduces Willow again.”

“This is an important question. The source of undead movement is mana. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

Grey expressed his intention to swing his staff at the Princess if that was the end of her questions.

“Then do the Labyrinth’s monsters also fall victim to the mana absorption traps in the Labyrinth?”

“Of course. Luring monsters with traps to wipe them out is basic among basics. Huh?”

The old man’s eyes widened as he realized the Princess’s intention behind the question.

Serena laid the mana trap floor she was about to put in the warehouse near the door.

“Will it work?”

“It’s definitely worth trying.”

The foreign Grand Princess he had come to teach temporarily in his later years had fixed thinking patterns, but she was also the owner of creative and flexible ideas that could surprise even an old man who had seen everything.

Grey tried to keep his rising corners of his mouth in place.

Three mana bullets floated around Grey, and two flame arrows appeared around Serena. After confirming that the mages were ready, Ralph vigorously opened the door.

Kiiiiik-!

The Ghostly Voice entered the lobby, scattering cold air, death energy, and corruption.

Kik! Kyaaak!

Then it suffered and retreated as its spirit form was disrupted at the spot where the mana trap floor was laid.

Kiiiiik-!

The Ghostly Voice, having reorganized its spirit form, entered the lobby again.

Kiik! Kyaaaak!

The Ghostly Voice couldn’t enter the lobby this time either and retreated outside.

Serena clenched her fist and cheered inwardly.

‘It’s working!’

Grey also gave up trying to keep his mouth corners fixed and chuckled.

“Mana absorption traps have minimal effect if you pass without stepping on them, but they work well on wraith-type creatures!”

Kiiiik-! Kyaak! Kiiiik-! Kyaak!

The Ghostly Voice repeated entering and retreating like a bugged monster in a game, unable to enter the lobby.

A suddenly appearing ghost is an object of fear, but if it pops out every second and disappears without doing anything, it becomes an object of annoyance rather than fear.

Ralph, who had been tensely on guard, lowered his shield. Even seeing the defenseless knight, the Ghostly Voice couldn’t enter the lobby.

Kiiiik! Kyaak! Kiik! Kyak!

“If it were a real Ghostly Voice, it would have already run away, found a detour, or tried to seduce the Prince or someone else. But this one isn’t real, it’s a Labyrinth Ghostly Voice, so…”

Even though it was a fake monster, Low couldn’t bring himself to say directly to its face that it was just strong but stupid and couldn’t even enter the lobby, so he trailed off.

Kik! Kyak! Kik! Kyak! Kik! Kyak!

The Labyrinth Ghostly Voice repeated the same actions like a bugged monster in a game. It was pitiful beyond annoyance.

“Is it okay to leave it like this?”

Ralph actually seemed to feel sorry for the Ghostly Voice, frowning as he asked Serena. Grey answered instead of Serena.

“It’s a small amount, but it’s continuously having its mana absorbed, so if left alone like this, it will lose all its mana and disappear. Hmm, since it’s come to this, I’d like to observe how long it lasts. Will it last until morning?”

“Don’t let your guard down, young master! This method worked because that’s a Ghostly Voice, but if it were a different ghost, it would have come through the door or wall! Hey!”

Grey relaxed and showed his curiosity as a scholar. Olive, who disliked undead, spoke seriously and stated the correct view.

The Hunter nodded seriously as if agreeing with the Guide’s words.

“Olive is right. It worked because it’s a Ghostly Voice that can only enter through open doors, but if it were a different wraith, we couldn’t have been this relaxed.”

“Cough. Since it’s pitiful, can’t we put it out of its misery quickly?”

“I agree with Neet!”

Though it was fake, Neet felt sorry seeing the Ghostly Voice suffer and asked the two mages.

Serena waved her hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Now I’ll attack the Ghostly Voice with magic. Unlike now, it might be able to move, so don’t let your guard down.”

“Yes!”

Ralph firmly gripped his shield that had lowered slightly.

Serena shot a flame arrow at the bugged wraith.

She didn’t use her specialty ice arrow because the Ghostly Voice had strong cold resistance as it died from freezing.

The arrow made of fire hit the Ghostly Voice’s body. Part of the Ghostly Voice’s spirit form scattered as the monster screamed.

Kyaaaak!

The Ghostly Voice identified Serena who had attacked it and entered the lobby to attack. Then it was blocked by the trap and retreated again.

‘Sometimes bugged monsters that can’t move get unbugged when hit. But not this one.’

If the Ghostly Voice was this stupid, it was courtesy to kill it quickly.

“Lady Lavenda is suffering!”

“Really, Your Highness. I’m right here.”

“Huh? Lady Lavenda is here. Then who is the Lady Lavenda calling me from over there, kyaaaak! It hurts, it hurts!”

“Oh my, your wrist muscles are quite tense too.”

The Ghostly Voice tried to seduce Prince Willow again. It was better to quickly eliminate it before the Prince was charmed again.

The Ghostly Voice, which had accumulated damage from the trap and couldn’t dodge any of the magic prepared by Serena and Grey, showed signs of disappearing.

The Ghostly Voice gathered its last strength just before disappearing.

“It’s a death wail! It can cause instant death if you’re unlucky, so cover your ears!”

The screams that wraith and specter types let out before dying a second time have an instant death effect.

Fortunately, the technique itself had a low instant death probability, and even that low probability could be resisted if one had sufficient mental strength and stamina.

Unless one was seriously injured during combat or had considerable mental and physical weakness, it was an attack that caused ear pain rather than instant death.

However, a 1 percent instant death probability in a game and a 1 percent instant death probability in reality had a difference greater than heaven and earth.

If unlucky, one could fall victim to the low probability and die a horrible death, so it was wise to cover one’s ears before hearing the scream.

Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiak-!

The Ghostly Voice screamed to its heart’s content and then completely scattered. The spirit had been annihilated. In response, a notification window appeared in the world the Princess saw with her left eye.

[You have defeated a formidable enemy. The probability of getting a dud from the limited shop roulette has decreased.]

‘A formidable enemy? Not a Stratum Boss? The Snow Snake was also a formidable enemy?’

Serena first informed her party that a formidable enemy had been defeated.

People who confirmed the Ghostly Voice’s annihilation shouted in victory.

“We won! It’s all thanks to the trap that the Princess requested from the Minotaur God for Neet!”

“Olive thought that trap floor was useless~ Who knew it could be used like this~ Olive was very, not just a little, surprised! Yo!”

“The Princess must have planned everything!”

Ralph sent Serena a pure gaze without a hint of doubt. It was a misunderstanding that made her shoulders feel heavy.

But the heavier her shoulders became, the higher Serena’s authority rose. Serena smiled with the intention of letting them interpret it however they wanted.

‘I thought it was a 10-coin rip-off, but it could also be used for lobby security. Not bad?’

Serena was also secretly pleased to learn a new use for the trap floor that had been exclusive to Neet.

“But the Minotaur God also informs us that the Ghostly Voice is a formidable enemy. Can there be two formidable enemies in one stratum?”

“Yes. If you’re really unlucky, there can be more than five sometimes. Yo.”

“I see. We shouldn’t let our guard down just because we defeated a formidable enemy.”

“But when there are that many formidable enemies, they make themselves known from the moment you enter the stratum. Yo. Unless you deliberately seek them out, they’re hard to encounter.”

“Meeting the Ghostly Voice was unlucky.”

Serena clicked her tongue inwardly. Ever since entering the Labyrinth, she felt like only the probability of bad events occurring in her life had increased.

‘It’s fortunate that I can regress and make it never happen. But it’s still difficult.’

Still, there was no major damage this time. It was truly fortunate.

“Is everyone safe?”

The Princess suppressed her desire to grumble and asked about her party’s well-being with an elegant smile. At least everyone who had been outside the magic circle was safe.

Even while thinking that those who had taken refuge inside the magic circle would naturally be safe, she asked deliberately. This was also part of what a leader had to do.

We are all safe.

It was a question with a predetermined answer, but the wrong answer came back.

“Kyaaaaaaak! Ying! Ying isn’t breathing!”

Lavenda screamed so loudly it could shake the lobby. Serena looked toward the corridor, thinking the Ghostly Voice might be pretending to be annihilated while waiting for a chance to counterattack.

“Ying’s heart isn’t beating either! Ying! Get a hold of yourself!”

This time Prince Willow’s voice could be heard, and the content was truly absurd.

But what was even more absurd was.

“Zero? Hey, Zero. Is this for real!”

“Wh-what? He collapsed after hearing the ghost’s scream and isn’t breathing. Is he really dead?”

“Ugh.”

“Everyone step aside. I’ll stimulate his heart.”

“There’s a stimulant here!”

It was the Archer, collapsed on the floor without moving a muscle.

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