Serena and the Mysterious Labyrinth - Chapter 50

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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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50. Genius Alchemist (4)

Plate armor that didn’t fit properly and couldn’t be worn perfectly? Once it went on Count Randy’s scale, it transformed into custom equipment!

Wooden boxes that were no longer needed as firewood? They transformed into doors and drying racks to partition the lobby and passages! No more clumsily drying bread wrapped in cloaks! Now that there’s a drying rack, we can dry things here!

Damaged equipment became shiny as new! Lacking equipment could be made quickly with just materials, gold coins, and magic stones!

Count Randy was omnipotent. Every time he completed a transaction, people cheered as if Serena was performing a miracle.

The lobby, touched by Count Randy’s hands, transformed into a much more comfortable living space.

‘That would be a complete lie though.’

What determines interior design is ultimately the area of the living space. In a lobby dominated by ten tombs that could house ten people, there was no room for a comfortable living space.

Moreover, the magic stones Count Randy carried were heavily consumed. It was time to restrain the increasingly excited alchemist.

“I’ll try changing this tombstone into a bed.”

‘Let’s just change the bed and stop there.’

Serena decided to change only up to this point and then stop him.

“Strange. These stones and soil can’t be traded.”

Count Randy, who had tried to clear the soil and change the tombstone into a stone bed, was puzzled. Serena, who had been watching hopefully for a bed, was disappointed.

“They belong to the Labyrinth God, so that makes sense. This is enough, so stop now.”

She had watched wondering if they might be tradeable items, but apparently it wasn’t possible.

“This is my first time entering a labyrinth too, but I’ve read a lot of materials. The structure here is really unique. Having tombs is unusual, and the arrangement of the fountain and bread tree is fascinating.”

“At first, only the fountain was here in the center, dear.”

Philia opened her mouth, eager to quickly boast to her husband about the miracle her precious master could now use.

“What? There was only a fountain? Then how did the bread tree and tombs come to be? Does that bonfire really never go out? I’m so, so curious!”

She had planned to boast to her husband, but her husband’s nephew responded enthusiastically.

When Philia blinked her quiet lake-like eyes, Count Randy nodded seriously as if asking her to tell them.

“Lady Serena received all of it from the Labyrinth God! When we were hungry, she received the bread tree, and for the dead old woman, she received a tomb! Seeing us struggle without firewood, she also gave us a bonfire that doesn’t need firewood!”

Philia clasped her hands together and praised her master.

“As expected of Lady Serena! Even the great beings of heaven must recognize Lady Serena’s greatness and cherish her!”

Count Randy was blinded by love, but he wasn’t deaf. He actually glanced at Serena for verification. When Serena nodded slightly, he too excitedly shouted along with his wife.

“How incredible! Princess, you’re truly amazing! To receive the favor of the god who governs the labyrinth while in the labyrinth!”

The fact that Count Randy believed based only on what the two said without seeing the storage show proved that while not completely blind, he was about half-blinded. If Serena was truly one-eyed, Count Randy could be called love-blind.

“What? The Labyrinth God bestowed the bread tree, tombs, and bonfire?”

Unlike Count Randy who was love-blind, Grey doubted Philia’s words. This was the normal reaction.

“It’s hard to believe, but it’s true! The Princess received revelations from the Labyrinth God!”

“That’s right, young master. The Princess has shown us miracles and resolved our difficulties whenever we faced hardships.”

Even with Ralph and the Mysterious Stranger’s testimony, Grey wasn’t swayed. Olive, a labyrinth expert listening to non-labyrinth experts’ stories, couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted.

“You people! The bread tree and tombs are amazing, but there’s something even more amazing that you’re leaving out!”

Ying nodded as if agreeing.

“Speaking of this Princess! Huh? Is it okay to brag about this?”

Olive excitedly started to reveal that Serena was ‘the only Princess who could use labyrinth teleportation magic circles’ but hesitated upon seeing the kid who was from the Empire and even the 5th Prince’s attendant.

“You’ll find out soon enough when we explore the labyrinth together. Just say it.”

“Labyrinth exploration? Come to think of it, you said there was a few days’ difference. Don’t tell me you weren’t just staying here hunting monsters for food, but were actually exploring the labyrinth?”

Count Randy turned pale.

“Lady Serena! Even without Lord Seraph, you should know how dangerous a place the labyrinth is!”

“As you know, Count, I don’t move unless there are unavoidable circumstances. There was such a situation.”

Normally she would ignore it, but seeing 100,000 people trapped, she couldn’t possibly ignore it. She also didn’t want to lose control.

Serena pondered briefly, then gestured to her companions.

“You’ll find out anyway, so it’s better to experience it directly. While we’re at it, let’s gather some alchemy materials too.”

Serena opened the wooden door Count Randy had made and left the lobby. Count Randy panicked and first ensured his wife’s safety.

“Stay here, dear. I’ll protect Lady Serena.”

“If you’re going to the 5th floor, it’s safe, so I want to come along.”

“5th floor?”

Upon hearing the floor number, Count Randy nearly fainted. Grey, forgetting his earlier fear when he learned it was a labyrinth, was delighted.

“Right! You said you were attacked by poison spiders on the 5th floor!”

“Should I stay here with Grey young master?”

“No! I want to come too!”

Grey escaped from Lavenda’s protective grasp and ran to Serena. The child looked back and forth between where he had been standing and where he arrived after running, then blinked.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, I just ran faster than I expected.”

“You don’t usually run around and play, do you?”

“No. Reading books is the most fun!”

Perhaps because he had an alchemist uncle and Grand Mage grandfather, Grey was an indoor scholarly type.

‘He’s not very fearful.’

Grey didn’t startle or get scared even when seeing the half-dissolved undead rat corpse collapsed on the 1st Floor Captain’s Room floor.

Only after seeing others enter late and frown with disgust did he pretend to be scared by closing his eyes.

That pretense of fear ended immediately when Serena activated the teleportation magic circle and moved to the 5th floor. The child opened his gray eyes wide and stared at the Princess.

“How did you do that?”

For smooth labyrinth exploration ahead, Serena spoke with appropriate embellishment.

“Since entering the labyrinth, God has been giving me revelations. Hints for labyrinth exploration, or trials. Actually, when exploring the 5th floor boss, God wanted me to participate in the boss battle. Perhaps this is a reward for completing that trial.”

By laying this groundwork, there would be fewer opposing opinions when Serena wanted to observe or participate in dangerous battles ahead.

“No way, how is this possible! This is the first time I’ve heard of such magic circles in labyrinths!”

“Ahem. This is the real awesome ability the Princess received from the Labyrinth God!”

“Is this possible in other labyrinths too?”

Grey asked with dilated pupils, showing how surprised he was. It was honestly a bit scary.

“Since it’s an ability given to overcome this misfortune, I think it will disappear once I escape.”

“No way! Princess, you have to explore labyrinths with me!”

“There you go saying nonsense again!”

“But it’s such a waste!”

Olive suggested exploring labyrinths with Serena again but got scolded by Philia. Philia, energized from meeting her husband, fiercely pressed Olive.

Olive, who would normally grumble back and forth at Philia, just listened with pursed lips, perhaps because she had received two daggers from Count Randy.

“Aunt is right. Her Highness the Princess will become the consort of our 5th Prince. Right?”

What would have sounded strange if she had continued to mistake Grey for the 5th Prince’s servant now sounded like an innocent child’s story, close to the 5th Prince, after the misunderstanding was cleared.

But Serena felt an ominous feeling.

‘Strange. I feel like prey that’s been perfectly targeted by a hunter.’

Could it be that marrying the 5th Prince would force her into labyrinths?

Serena resolved never to marry anyone from the Empire, even if not the 5th Prince.

“Her Highness and the 5th Prince match so well. They were like a pair of mandarin ducks. The 5th Prince was so excited even before meeting Her Highness. After meeting her, he was all excited saying she was more lovely than he had imagined.”

Grey suddenly started going on about the 5th Prince in front of Serena like an old person anxious to match young people.

To prevent the child’s unnecessary expectations, Serena changed the subject. She pointed to the recently dead and fresh Labyrinth Rat Leader corpse.

“Could the skin, meat, and bones of that Labyrinth Rat Leader over there be used as alchemy materials?”

Count Randy had been clinging to the teleportation magic circle but reluctantly turned his head when Serena called.

“Yes, that’s possible.”

Count Randy took out his golden scale, set it on the flat floor, and signaled to those who would do the heavy lifting. Ralph, Ying, and Olive lifted the large frog corpse onto the small golden plate. The large frog corpse settled onto a small plate the size of Grey’s palm.

“Really amazing.”

“Wow, it’s still fascinating to see again.”

After adding one more gold coin to complete the scale transaction, the Labyrinth Rat Leader corpse that had been missing its hind legs transformed into neatly tanned frog leather, dressed meat, and bones.

The quantity was considerably reduced compared to doing it by hand, but in a situation without craftsmen and precious equipment, this was the best option.

Ralph, unable to overcome his curiosity about alchemy, courageously asked a question.

“Why do you add the gold coin?”

“If this weren’t a labyrinth, I would have paid a fee to someone like a tanner or hunter to handle it. Think of it as wages.”

“If you think of it as butchering fees, it’s too expensive. I thought it was convenient, but the magic stones and gold coins disappearing is tremendous.”

As the alchemy boom subsided, Olive coldly faced reality. Ralph also hardened his expression after witnessing one gold coin disappear into thin air.

“Then should I pray for gold coins and magic stones to come out of the boxes ahead?”

“No. My stamina and mental strength have limits too, and honestly I take quite a hefty commission, so it’s better to receive finished products from boxes.”

Olive, who had squeezed next to Ralph to listen along, nodded vigorously.

“I see! Yo! Then shall we go to the 2nd floor too? Yo? That would be a waste. Yo?”

“You mean the Minotaur? Hasn’t it rotted quite a bit?”

“The heart is a bit of a waste~ but the hide should still be usable, right? Yo? Money’s tight but we’re short on equipment right now.”

Olive looked at Serena with sparkling eyes as if asking her to inquire on her behalf.

“Count Randy. Even if it’s started to decay, would a boss-level monster corpse still be useful as materials? It’s a Minotaur.”

“It would depend on the degree of decay, but it seems possible. But a Minotaur appeared on the 2nd floor?”

Count Randy answered while raising his eyebrows in surprise. His gaze naturally turned to his nephew. Grey nodded enthusiastically.

“Exactly, Uncle! They said both a Floor Boss and Stratum Boss appeared together on the 5th floor too!”

“Right~ Undead on the 1st floor, a small unarmed Minotaur as a strong enemy on the 2nd floor, Floor Boss and Stratum Boss combo on the 5th floor. Crazy, just crazy. The difficulty is insane~”

Olive sang about how insane the Labyrinth’s difficulty was. She shuddered as if being poisoned by spider venom was shameful.

“No, seriously! A frog suddenly appeared and startled me, then this bastard swung on spider webs which startled me even more, so I forgot that the spider didn’t disappear after the frog died! These small mistakes determine life and death!”

“If we hadn’t luckily met Gray Young Master, we would have all died! Young Master, thank you so much!”

“It wasn’t luck, the Labyrinth God must have arranged our meeting to help Lady Serena! When I prayed earnestly, I met you too. I said that Lady Serena’s earnest wishes come true!”

“I also earnestly wished to meet my wife!”

“Darling!”

Philia had been praising Serena but resumed showing off their marital bliss.

The party moved the neatly organized frog materials to the 1st Floor Lobby and headed to the 2nd floor. When the teleportation magic circle activated, Count Randy and Grey were surprised and stuck out their tongues again despite having experienced it once before.

Olive continued the frog topic.

“No, seriously. Why a frog?! That big guy sitting among the spider webs going ‘ribbit’ made all the tension disappear and my mind went blank!”

Olive seemed truly embarrassed about nearly dying from failing to notice remaining enemies. She kept grumbling about why it had to be a frog.

‘Right. Why was it a frog?’

Serena agreed. If a Minotaur had appeared again instead, it would have been difficult but believable enough to accept.

But suddenly a frog appeared, swinging and bungee jumping, filling her head completely with frog thoughts and making her completely forget about the spider that had appeared throughout the 2nd stratum.

The answer came from the know-it-all Count Randy.

“There are poisonous spiders that live symbiotically with frogs. Thinking of it that way, it’s not such an unexpected combination.”

“There are combinations like that? Yo? Sigh, I just shouldn’t let my guard down no matter what happens. This time it was really my fault!”

“Agreed.”

“Right, Zero. When I let my guard down, you should at least keep your wits about you. You have more experience than me.”

“Forgot.”

Ying said she thought it was suspicious that the spider remained without disappearing even after the frog died, but forgot due to being surprised by the teleportation magic circle.

“Right. Anyone would forget after seeing that magic circle. Understandable.”

“I should have noticed since I was bitten after the frog died. I’m sorry.”

“There’s no end to regret and self-blame. Since it ended safely, let’s stop here.”

Before a reflection session involving all three including Ralph could begin, Serena stopped it.

In truth, the self-blame and reflection should have been Serena’s to bear. It was fortunate that it was a poison she could detoxify, but she had nearly lost all three main combat forces.

‘I need to be more careful when saving.’

Instead of saving immediately whenever something happened, she might need to leave appropriate intervals.

Serena made this resolution repeatedly while gazing thoughtfully at Ying, who had finally gotten arrows but only gained two stars to become 4-star.

For Olive, it was understandable that she only gained one star to become 4-star since her lockpicking tools were market-level equipment rather than Labyrinth-specific gear.

‘What is Ying lacking?’

She had given arrows to an archer who had none, so why weren’t all five stars filled? She had drawn a guaranteed 5-star, so why did that damn star remain unfilled by one?

Serena watched with all sorts of questions as the Minotaur corpse transformed into bones and hide.

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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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