Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 345

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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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345. Prison Break Veteran (3)

The two who returned from the visitation room immediately noticed the change in their cell.

The X was so large they couldn’t miss it.

“There’s an X on the wall. What happened?”

“I messed up.”

The old woman, who had been cantankerous in life but whose personality had died along with her body, honestly confessed what had happened.

One strike.

Serena wasn’t angry.

She had brought an undead who was essentially new to labyrinth exploration, calling her a prison expert, so making mistakes was only natural.

Rather, she wanted to praise her for recognizing her mistake and waiting quietly in the cell to avoid repeating it.

“It’s not your fault.”

‘It’s a shame we lost the hammer and chisel though.’

Still, the carving knife Krom had brought remained.

Ralph glanced at the Princess, trying to take Krom’s side, then smiled brightly when the Princess forgave her magnanimously.

“That’s right. Thanks to Krom, we also learned that we shouldn’t dig the wall when guards are watching.”

“Of course you shouldn’t do that. I got careless thinking they couldn’t see me. What about that thing drawn on the wall? Is it a penalty point?”

“Penalty point?”

“In the prison I was in, each room had penalty points. Too many penalty points meant disadvantages. Less food or no blankets in winter.”

“The guards did that to manage prisoners easily. Since this isn’t a real prison, that mark is…”

Serena hesitated whether to speak honestly, then decided to deflect.

If the prison expert knew there were only 2 escape attempts left, she might become passive.

“I’m not sure either. It’s probably a penalty point or warning like you think. More importantly, let me tell you why the guards took us away.”

“Right. I was surprised when they suddenly dragged us off.”

“We had a visit with Count Randy and Count Alpha!”

“Oh my. Visits are possible too? This really is a proper prison.”

Ralph was flustered hearing Krom’s colorful profanity. Krom paid no mind and focused on the word ‘visit.’

“So that Count and the pretty Knight aren’t locked up?”

“Right. Olive was imprisoned for habitual theft, Ying for habitual assault in separate cell blocks, but those two are free.”

Learning the whereabouts of their separated party members, Krom had a natural question.

“I get why that bug-eyed thief is locked up. But why is that crippled archer imprisoned? Was she going around beating people when I wasn’t looking?”

“Because of her flicks.”

“Are you mocking this undead right now?”

The undead crone didn’t hide her bewilderment.

Serena explained the labyrinth’s characteristic of focusing only on results and how powerful Ying’s flicks were.

After hearing the full explanation, Krom looked displeased but understood.

“So you’re saying the crybaby Knight that Princess worried about got killed by a flick and they’re in the same cell? Execution in a week? Hmph. What nonsense, trying to execute someone already dead.”

Already dead, Krom felt more fear of contract termination than death, and chuckled.

“That’s not it.”

“Huh? Did I misunderstand something? Please understand, I’m not well-educated.”

“That’s not it.”

Serena shared the surprising fact she’d learned with Krom’s addition to the party.

“Krom. You’re not a prisoner.”

Though dead, Krom rolled her magically functioning eyes to look around.

Plain stone walls emitting cold air without a single decoration. A narrow room without windows, with a toilet so poor she was grateful to be dead and not need it. Tattered mats and barred doors.

Everywhere she looked was a perfect cell and prison. The environment was the worst among all the prisons Krom had been in.

“If I’m not a prisoner, what am I? Death row?”

“Not that either. Your name isn’t on the list at all.”

To expedite the visit, Serena had predetermined what the unimprisoned should do.

Thanks to this, Count Randy and Count Alpha skipped the futile task of investigating prison walls and immediately entered the prison to request visits.

Naturally, they saw the prisoner list posted at the main entrance.

The roster listing prisoners’ names and charges showed no sign of Krom, no matter how hard they looked.

Count Randy suggested Krom might have used an alias due to her criminal background, but still no one resembling Krom was found. The names on the list ended with the 1st attack team.

“Then why am I here? Was I dragged along because I was holding Princess’s hand?”

“In a sense, that’s correct.”

“What? Speak so I can understand.”

“You’re already dead, aren’t you? The mysterious laws of the labyrinth prison mean they cannot punish those already dead.”

“Please don’t be too heartbroken.”

That’s right. Krom couldn’t be a prisoner because she was undead. Laws of the living only apply to the living. Laws of the dead apply to the dead.

Krom sighed seeing the Knight desperately telling her not to feel sad.

“What? I got scared thinking it was something big. Am I dead or alive? Don’t scare dead people over nothing.”

“Are you really okay?”

“I told you. Being dead feels different. There are stubborn fools who won’t accept it, but I’m fine.”

Serena, who had died dozens of times, couldn’t agree with that.

But since the undead party concerned said she was fine, Serena moved to the main point.

“I think that’s why the guards didn’t look for you even when you weren’t in the cell.”

“But I got caught digging the wall?”

Why was she caught digging the wall when her name wasn’t even on the prisoner list?

Krom made an aggrieved expression and pointed at the X mark. Serena thought she knew the reason.

“You’re treated as a summoned creature or possession accompanying our party.”

Krom wasn’t bothered by the Princess treating her like an object.

“Hey.”

“If a prisoner’s summoned creature or belongings were attempting to escape, guards would detect it, right?”

“Ah~ I get it. So I’m like Princess’s tool or lackey right now?”

“Krom is not a tool or servant, but a precious companion!”

Ralph glanced around as if seeking Serena’s agreement, but Serena ignored him.

Though she had chosen an honorable death, a peddler’s profession was still that of a peddler.

‘Krom is even more detestable for showing no signs of drug use.’

Understanding why she was caught, Krom seemed to judge it was okay to move and grabbed the carving knife.

“So I can dig the wall again? I’ll tell you about the prison I was in while digging. Time’s precious.”

“Good. Count Ralph, let us know if guards come.”

“Yes! Understood!”

The undead crone chipped at stone crevices with the carving knife while sharing what she’d seen.

“Found 2 treasure chests. Nothing else. Couldn’t reach the room at the end of the corridor because the sewers were too narrow.”

‘If Krom opens the door from inside, we can open the treasure chests.’

It was disappointing they hadn’t found a way into the opposite cell block yet.

Serena planned to leave the cell after patrol to retrieve the treasure chests.

‘Items that might help with the escape could come out.’

The Princess, who had been lost in thought and distracted with her one eye, was startled to see the wall about half completed.

Scrape scrape scrape. The old woman’s speed at scraping stone crevices matched the pace of automatic tools from her previous life.

“Krom, you’re really good at carving. Have you done similar work before?”

Undead cannot adapt to new environments.

But seeing Krom’s hand movements, she seemed to have done very similar work.

Krom nodded casually.

“I escaped by digging similar ground before. Back then I had to worry about the next cell’s owner and watch the guards, but this place is comfortable.”

“What? Escaping by digging walls or floors is actually possible?”

“Are Heuji’s prisons that shoddy?”

Escape by digging.

Hearing the same story, the Princess and Knight showed different reactions. Krom chuckled.

“That was when the country was in chaos. It’s probably blocked now, so don’t worry.”</Human: You are an ELITE PROFESSIONAL TRANSLATOR for Korean web novels (COMMERCIAL QUALITY).

When society becomes chaotic, those who live outside the law tend to benefit.

Clank.

A guard came to distribute lunch, so Krom stopped working.

The Peddler covered the wall with a mat and leaned against it, whistling through his gapped front teeth.

It seemed to be a habit he’d picked up from digging floors during prison breaks in his lifetime.

The guard set down two plates of steak and disappeared.

Having been told by the Count beforehand that special meals would be served, the Princess and Knight weren’t intimidated by the steak and enjoyed their delicious meal.

While the two ate, the Undead, who didn’t need to eat or sleep, was absorbed in his work when he suddenly stopped.

Krom tilted his head, then repeatedly clenched and opened his fist. His smooth movements gradually became stiff and sluggish. He was running low on mana.

Krom was about to drip blood onto his magical tool but turned away out of consideration for the two who were eating. After replenishing his mana, the Undead resumed his work.

“Did you replenish blood when we were away too?”

“This is the first time. Seems to last about half a day.”

Krom managed to finish digging all the crevices before the next patrol arrived.

“Heh heh heh. Damn fingers. Whenever I tried to do something, they hurt and trembled like I was gonna die. Now that I’m dead, it feels refreshing.”

Since it was almost time for the guard to come, only Krom went over to the adjacent cell.

‘It wasn’t much, but Krom can move through the toilet hole.’

From the toilet hole in the cell where the party was currently imprisoned, they could only move to the right.

It would be very useful if they could also go left from the adjacent cell, and further to the opposite side or cells in other corridors.

As soon as the guard passed by the cell, Serena crawled into the adjacent cell.

Ralph, who had removed his armor beforehand after hearing the Princess’s words, followed as well.

For the first time, truly the first time through all the loops, Ralph entered a different cell and looked around curiously, only to be disappointed.

He hadn’t expected a treasure chest, but everything else was exactly the same as their original cell.

Ignoring the disappointed Knight, the Princess examined the toilet hole together with the Peddler.

“From here, we can go check out the left side rooms.”

“That’s fortunate. I’m counting on you.”

Serena hesitated for a moment, then made a firm decision and spoke.

“I want to go and see too.”

“Princess? You can’t go, so give up.”

Krom cut off Serena’s courage decisively. His firmness was sharper than a guillotine blade.

“I’ve even crawled through the filthier 6th Layer Sewers.”

“That’s not the issue. Princess, your bones are too big.”

‘Ah, it’s because of my build.’

Krom patted her shoulder regretfully.

“If only we could fit your bones through, we could’ve gone to the end room too. Anyway, I’ll go and come back. Are you two going back to the original room?”

“No. I want to check the guard’s reaction when a prisoner is in a different cell versus when a cell is empty.”

“Isn’t that dangerous? Won’t it just add another damn penalty?”

“The guards ignored it when you were in a different cell. It’s worth testing.”

“Got it.”

The first confirmation had been completed earlier. What Serena really wanted to confirm was the latter.

Krom stuck his head into the toilet hole first.

As the Princess saw off the Peddler disappearing with a squelch, she heard the Knight’s exclamation.

“Princess! Look at this! There are stick marks that seem to indicate dates!”

This was something she already knew. Serena nodded halfheartedly.

“They just look like drawn lines, but they’re probably for recording dates! There are 4 lines, so it means someone stayed for 4 days, right? This might be an important clue!”

Her halfhearted nodding stopped, and the Princess opened her one eye wide.

“How many lines did you just say there were?”

“4 lines.”

Serena blinked to moisten her eye, then checked the wall Ralph was pointing at.

The position where the lines were drawn was the same as in Serena’s memory, but there was one difference.

‘Only 4 lines are drawn?’

There were only four diagonal lines. One line that should have crossed through those lines was missing.

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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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