The SSR Spearman (Doesn’t) Hide His One-Shot Damage - Chapter 34

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 34

‘What?’

Peripheral stimulation?
No way…
Did the Labyrinth get provoked because James just bolted off screaming like a wild deer?

[Warning! – A powerful flow of mana has been detected nearby!]

Gulp!

At that very moment, a single stream of red liquid shot up from atop the City Wall in the distance.
It surged upward like a waterfall, then sank back down quietly, only to rise again after a brief interval, over and over.

[Warning! – In response to peripheral stimulation, the Labyrinth has begun to expand its domain…]

In no time, the sky was turning a crimson hue.

“…”

Uh, this is looking pretty bad.
I can see the signs of a Labyrinth stampede.

‘…Why is this damned world always this ridiculously difficult?’

That bastard Great Mage, what kind of Guardian Magic did he put on this place to make the world harder like this?!

“Everyone, be careful! The Labyrinth may go berserk, so we need to get ready right away!”

I shouted to the party at once.

“S-Setanta, what do you mean by that…?”
“If we keep dragging our feet like this, the Labyrinth could grow even larger! We’re better off going in right now. The longer we wait, the less we know what shape it’ll take!”

That’s right.
A special event that appeared now and then with low probability even in the original game.

The Labyrinth goes berserk and starts devouring everything around it,
and a high-difficulty environment that would normally not show up for several more chapters takes shape…
This is the truly horrifying event.

‘But that doesn’t mean there’s no way to counter it.’

Once you enter the Labyrinth, the environment settles down to a certain degree from that very moment.
In other words, if we rush into the Labyrinth right away, the difficulty problem gets at least partly resolved.

‘…But in the original game, the Labyrinth stopped at the moment the Hero entered it.’

So will it stop at the moment I enter, then?
Ah, whatever. Hero Rat is already bound to me as a Familiar, so it shouldn’t matter much.

“Let’s go, now!”
“…Very well. I’ll do as you say.”
“M-me too, I’m ready, Setanta!”

Amid the screams erupting from every direction,
Ailin and Rian, their faces stiff, nodded as though steeling their resolve.

Right then, in the middle of all that.

“…?”

Hecate looked at us, puzzled.
Her blue eyes wavered, stunned, as they swept over me, Ailin, and Rian.

“Are you serious? You’re going back there again…?”
“….”
“Into that awful Labyrinth, of your own free will? Did you two hit your heads or something?”

[Hecate finds you puzzling!]

Ding!

[From now on, this Hero will watch your actions even more closely.]

A suspicious system notification popped up on top of everything.

Patroclus and Achilles were too rattled by the chaos to pay any attention to us.
Hecate, on the other hand, must have been eavesdropping on our conversation the whole time.

“So why on earth do you want to go into that Labyrinth? Are you going there to die? Some new way of killing yourselves?”

Grab!
Hecate seized the hems of Ailin’s and my clothes.

“Why, though? I don’t get it.”
“….”
“I just… I don’t want you two to die….”
“…It’s for the people. If we clear the Labyrinth, that red erosion will disappear too.”

I gave her the official reason, at least.

‘Technically, it isn’t a lie.’

If I clear every Labyrinth and reach this game’s ending…
Then I’ll be able to save those people.

“….”

Amid the noisy chaos of the world.
A pair of eyes, slightly different in color, the blue of a moonlit night sea, fixed on me.

“You’re saying you’ll give up your lives… to save the citizens of the Empire?”

Then that gaze slid over to Rian.
And finally lingered on Ailin for a long moment.

“…Liar.”

And before long, that night-sea blue began to tremble.

“You’re lying, all of it.”
“….”
“You two… you’re hiding something, aren’t you?”

Amid the loud shouting and the piercing screams brushing past our ears.
It was a brief moment of stillness.

Gwul-luk-!

Far off in the distance.
A red liquid welled up from the crimson ground and began, little by little, to crawl toward us.

“…!”

Gradually it bubbled and reshaped itself, until at last it formed the outline of a colossal red hand.
Just like the Great Mage’s hand I had seen before.
An old man’s hand, with five shriveled fingers.

“What, what is that…!”
“Aaaah! Aaaaaaaaah!”

The hand stretched out from the Labyrinth, swept through the air a few times, and then—
…Kkeuduk!
In the next instant, it snatched up one of the people who were fleeing.

“Ah, ah…! Kyaaaaaaah!”

Gguluk, gguluk-.
The one caught in the red hand was pulled into it in an instant.
Into the red liquid.
Without a trace.

‘…So they’ve been abducted by the Labyrinth.’

A civilian with low curse resistance would have begun mutating the moment the Labyrinth swallowed them, most likely.
It’s a pity, but we have to assume they’re dead.

‘Of course, there’s no reason for us to avoid that thing.’

For us, who were already set on entering the Labyrinth, that hand was practically an escalator.

“Let’s go. Toward that giant hand.”

I pointed at the hand made of red liquid.
The enormous hand writhed as it dragged itself across the ground, and it was thoroughly disgusting to look at.

“Ugly as it looks, it’s just a boarding platform. Touch it and you can get into the Labyrinth.”
“….”
“Alright, let’s move out!”

And then I signaled the party to set out.

“Wh-what… this is absurd!”
“Hm?”
“We have to save them! People are being abducted into the Labyrinth by that hand right now…!”

Patroclus bolted forward on pure reflex.
I hadn’t even called for him, either.

‘What…?’

He really ran without so much as glancing back.
Naturally, it was to save those people.

“P-Patroclus! What do you think you’re doing?!”
“Patro…? Hey! It’s dangerous over there!”

Because of that, Achilles and Hecate also ran after Patroclus.
Just like that, the three from the Rom Federation found themselves charging straight toward the red palm.

“Stop right now, Patroclus-uuu!”
“Patro, stop, you lunatic-aaaaaah!”

And then, just as they were about to catch up to Patroclus.

Squelch-.
The red palm had quietly spread over their heads.

“Huh?”

…Splat!
In one swat, the three from the Rom Federation vanished.

“….”

All three had entered the Labyrinth.
Ahead of us.

‘That’s ridiculous…’

I tilted my head and glanced back at my party. Ailin and Rian were wearing expressions of mild disbelief.

‘No, wait… is this actually a good thing?’

I’d been wanting to bring Hecate along as a Labyrinth guide anyway.
If we went in now too, and slipped her into the party without much fuss…
We could clear the Chapter 2 Labyrinth with no trouble at all.

“Let’s follow them right away! We’re going in now!”

If there was a time lag in entry, we might start out in a completely different place.
I hurried toward the red palm with my party.

Screams filled every direction.
We ran, and ran, and ran some more, until at last we drew close to the red hand.

Vwoosh-.

“….”

Then the Great Mage’s wrinkled, crimson, enormous palm blotted out the blood-red sky.

…Splat!

We sank into the Labyrinth of blood.

.
.
.

[Entering the Labyrinth.]

[Warning! – The dungeon environment is extremely harsh compared to your current level.]

[Calculating disparity…]
…
…….
[Special Judgment: High-Difficulty Dungeon]
[Estimated Survival Rate: 19.83%]

[TIP – In High-Difficulty Dungeons, the final reward is greatly increased!]

* * *

‘Is this labyrinth another High-Difficulty Dungeon judgment?’

[Special Adjustment – The probability of obtaining a rare reward is greatly increased!]

[Warning! – If Resistance falls below a certain value, Mutation will progress.]

‘Well, the Mutation is fine, of course.’

I looked around.
Red floor, red walls, and a red ceiling.
The space was a little darker than the First Labyrinth, and still a bloody red that made my head spin.

“Setanta, we’re here again…”
“…”

Rian shivered violently.
Ailin, without a word, drew the Iron Wood Sword from her waist.

‘Hm?’

But Hecate wasn’t there.
Nor were Patroclus and Achilles.

‘Did it take them a while to get in, so their starting point was different from Hecate’s group?’

A resource so precious it couldn’t be traded for anything… no, a Hero.
That Hidden Route-exclusive New Character absolutely cannot die here.

‘I need to go find them as fast as I can.’

Sure, they have an SSR healer and even an SSR dealer right beside Hecate.
But the dealer with them is none other than Achilles, a Trash-Tier 0-level… that’s what worried me.

‘I wonder if he’ll go and hurt his ankle again somewhere and cause trouble.’

Squeak?
Just then, the Hero Rat poked its head out with a pop.
I took the Hero out of my pocket and gently set him down on the labyrinth floor.

“Charles, can you track by scent? See if there are any people nearby.”

…Squeak?

『What? All I smell is blood.』
『And Setanta! I agreed to cooperate with you, but I am not your hunting dog…!』

“Concentrate a little. Rats have a good sense of smell, don’t they?”

『Setanta, you bastard! Treating me like a dog!』

Squeak, squeee!
The Hero squeaked in displeasure.
Sniffing the floor, it bustled about, roaming every corner of the Labyrinth.

『Ugh, it really does just smell of blood! And a faint stench of rot on top of it!』
『This spot, in particular, smells the strongest……!』

And then.

『Huh?』

*Chiik……?*

The Hero Rat froze in place, as though it had stumbled upon something strange.
As if it had spotted something strange.

“Charles? What is it?”

『…….』

The Hero didn’t move an inch.
Beyond the flickering silhouette of the rat, something seemed to be lying there……
The surroundings were so dim that I couldn’t make out the objects clearly.

“Rian, could you cast a buff that enhances night vision?”
“Yes, Setanta! I’ll prepare the spell right away!”
“Ailin, please keep watch over Rian nearby. I have something to check on for a moment.”
“……Very well.”

*Sbrung-.*
With the Longsword already drawn, I walked toward the spot where the Hero Rat had stopped.
As the distance closed, the blurred outline gradually began to come into sharp focus.

And what I found there was—

“……?”

A severed arm.

A ruby ring glinted on one of its fingers.
A roughly severed arm lay there.

‘What is this?’

A strange sense of déjà vu crept over me.
……Wait.
Could this be?

‘Wasn’t this the Ruby Ring Patroclus wore at the dinner table?’

I tucked the Hero Rat back into my pocket, then reached out and prodded the severed arm.
Tap.

“…….”

……It’s cold.
If it had been severed just now, it should still be warm.

‘Why is that?’

Even as I froze like ice in that moment—

Ding!

[Special Gimmick activated!]
[Due to Time Distortion, an error of 1 to 48 hours has occurred in the entry time.]

“…”

A system message appeared, one I had never seen before in my life.

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