Chapter 26. Subjugation of the Earth Dragon (3)
‘No guide is needed for the upper levels.’
Step, step.
The upper level of the Labyrinth Village had a simple structure.
Even when faced with a fork, simply following the descending path would eventually lead you to the mid-level.
As long as you had a decent sense of direction, getting lost wasn’t a concern.
‘But from the mid-level on, a guide is absolutely necessary.’
It wasn’t that the labyrinth was complicated.
From the mid-level, the terrain of the Labyrinth Village began to shift constantly.
That’s because when the Earth Dragon coiled deep in the lower levels twisted its massive body, ceilings would collapse and new paths would form as a result.
So without a guide, it was virtually impossible to reach the deeper levels.
Only guides could interpret the subtle patterns created by the Earth Dragon’s movements.
‘Of course, I’ve studied those patterns in my own way too…’
After nearly 200 playthroughs of Loel, I had accumulated a vast amount of data.
Thanks to that, I could roam the lower levels of the Labyrinth Village without a guide.
I was confident that my navigation skills surpassed most professional guides.
On average, if I explored the lower levels 10 times, I’d safely return 9 out of 10.
‘But what if this time, I’m the 1 out of 10 who gets caught in a cave-in?’
There’s nothing to say.
In the game, I could just hit Retry and call it bad luck, but here, a single mistake meant death.
That’s why even a 10% chance couldn’t be ignored.
I had to find a safe method to reach the lower depths—by any means necessary.
‘…And I’ve arrived.’
The place I had come to secure that “safe method” was right here.
“Where… is this place?”
Adelia looked around with wide, startled eyes.
Gravestones and tombs stood in all directions.
This was the Old Cemetery of Labyrinth Village, which appeared when you followed the boundary line between the upper and middle levels.
‘Much more eerie than it looked on the monitor.’
Whoooosh…
As the name implied, the Old Cemetery had been neglected for a long time.
Cobwebs covered the gravestones, and weeds had grown thick over the graves.
‘According to the game’s lore, this place used to be bustling just ten years ago.’
The reason it was abandoned was simple.
The weakening of the magical barrier had caused monsters to attack more frequently.
Eventually, the residents had no choice but to abandon it, though it broke their hearts.
‘And as a result…’
Graaaaaar—
‘…The Old Cemetery became a haven for the undead.’
Ssssssshhhhh.
In places where the ancient god Elder’s touch no longer reached, evil energy settled easily.
Unmaintained graves, abandoned corpses, and the foul remnants left behind by them…
It was the perfect breeding ground for the undead.
“Adelia.”
Dark figures crawled out of the graves.
Rotting flesh barely clung to exposed bones, and empty eye sockets glinted with a blind bloodlust for the living.
The undead who had returned from death began to slowly approach us.
Rumble…!
The ceiling and ground trembled.
A wave of undead surged forth endlessly.
Yet I didn’t so much as flinch. I simply gave the order.
“Wipe them all out. Not a single one left.”
“Yes.”
…Adelia’s holy aura was, after all, their natural predator.
* * *
‘All cleaned up in an instant.’
I looked down at the mountain of corpses.
No matter their numbers, they were still low-tier monsters acting purely on primal instinct.
The wave of undead had been shredded like paper before Adelia’s turquoise aura.
Murmur, murmur—
After the battle, Adelia began her usual ritual of appeasement.
It was to soothe the souls of those who had become undead unjustly.
How much time had passed?
Once her prayer ended, Adelia slowly turned her gaze toward me.
“It’s done.”
“…Yeah. Good work.”
With that, our preparations were complete.
Confirming that everything was in order, I took the lead and began walking through the cemetery.
It was now time to find it among the silent graves.
‘Adventurers don’t come around here.’
Undead were troublesome monsters.
Cut off their arms, legs, even heads, and they’d still cling on.
Unless one wielded holy aura, they would have to endlessly battle waves of corpses.
That’s why adventurers avoided the Old Cemetery.
‘Which is why no one knows what treasure is hidden here.’
The environment of the Labyrinth Village was harsh to the extreme.
No sunlight, suffocating air, and a musty smell.
Still, people chose to live here not just because of the barrier.
There was another reason:
The soil of the Labyrinth Village was exceptionally fertile.
‘The Earth Dragon’s secretions and bodily fluids contain special properties.’
Every time it squirmed, nutrients from underground were pulled up, enriching even the upper-level soil.
Thanks to that, any crop grew well in this dirt.
Labyrinth Village’s agricultural products sold at high prices as specialty goods.
‘And what thrives especially well in such fertile soil is…’
Step.
I stopped walking.
Then, with a grin, I thought to myself—
‘…Things like that.’
Right on cue, Adelia spotted something in the soil and her eyes widened.
“Huh?”
Then, with a gasp close to a scream, she shouted:
“M-Mandrake…!”
As expected from someone of a holy noble lineage—she recognized the rarest of elixirs instantly.
That’s right.
Mandrake.
A plant monster that absorbs death energy to grow, and the highest-grade elixir in the game.
There were three of them growing here, taking root.
‘And these aren’t just any mandrakes.’
Grown in the fertile Labyrinth Village soil and saturated with the yin energy exhaled by the undead.
They were top-tier items you couldn’t find anywhere else.
Adelia couldn’t hide her awe at the unexpected discovery.
“How did you know mandrakes were hidden here… Ah!”
Something dawned on her as she turned to me in amazement.
“You must’ve received a divine revelation this time!”
“Yes.”
I replied without changing my expression.
A revelation?
Why would I need that when I had game knowledge?
‘Besides, isn’t game knowledge the same as divine revelation in the end?’
Both gave you foresight. Same result.
“…”
…But I shut my mouth.
Damn.
Was it just me, or was my thinking getting shameless?
‘Anyway.’
I planned to use the mandrake to explore the deep levels of the labyrinth.
More precisely—as bait to lure a guide.
Adelia still seemed half-skeptical after hearing my explanation.
But she didn’t question me further.
She’d seen enough abnormal events by now to keep her doubts to herself.
“Make sure to block your ears. One misstep and your mind could break.”
Crunch—!
Just before I pulled it, I clutched the leaves with both hands and warned Adelia.
Though it looked like a simple herb, the mandrake’s root was a beast shaped like a human.
Its scream when pulled from the ground could drive a person mad. In the worst cases, it could even kill.
That’s why precautions like earplugs were essential.
“Huh?”
Then Adelia flinched and looked at me.
“Wait… What about you, Sir Gaon?”
“It’s fine. A mere monster’s cry can’t affect me.”
She frowned slightly and asked again.
“What did you say?”
“…”
Nice. Her soundproofing must be working well.
She even stuffed cotton inside her earplugs earlier…
Well, that means I can pull it without worry now.
“Hrgh.”
Taking a short breath, I pulled the mandrake with my full body weight.
Squelch—!
The root, deeply embedded in the earth, emerged.
And then—a scream tore through the air.
The mandrake’s signature shriek.
It echoed through the entire tunnel, shaking the surroundings.
“Gghhh…!”
Thud!
Adelia dropped to her knees.
Even with all that noise protection, she still let out a groan of pain.
Understandable.
The mandrake’s cry was among the strongest mental attacks.
Ding—!
[Your MAX mental resistance resists the mandrake’s roar.]
Oh, of course…
Unlike Adelia writhing in pain, I was completely fine.
Thanks to the passive effect of the Soul of the Swordmaster, which blocked all mental attacks.
‘…Aside from a slight ringing in the ears, I’m good.’
I grabbed a handful of dirt and wrapped the mandrake tightly with high-quality silk I had prepared.
The second mandrake was packaged the same way, then locked in a chest.
Click.
With the sound of the latch, the two mandrakes quieted down—fooled into thinking they were still underground.
‘And now, the last one…’
My ears hurt, but I had to wait.
Wait for it to arrive.
■̓̓̊̓͝&͂̾͞■̛̄̐@͗̃̈̃̀́͞͞#̎́͐͠■■҇̾̌̒̑́─̐͒̉͡─́͂̾͐̓̕─́́͋͡!͌̊̾͛̿͝
The mandrake’s scream echoed endlessly through the tunnels.
Loud and sharp enough to reach not only the upper and middle levels, but possibly even the lower depths.
But I didn’t worry about attracting unwanted attention.
In a place like the Labyrinth Village, there weren’t any adventurers brave enough to follow such a horrid scream…
‘…And most wouldn’t even recognize a mandrake’s cry in the first place.’
But there’s always an exception.
Someone was bound to come.
‘For example…’
EEEEE-AWWWW!
‘…Like that one.’
A donkey bray rang out from afar.
The faint sound of hooves grew louder, followed by the frantic voice of an old man gasping for breath.
Finally, the guide who would lead us to the Earth Dragon’s deepest lair appeared.
The breathless old man, Dangno, looked horrified.
His gaze flicked between me and the donkey.
“Haah, haaah…”
Chew, chew.
The clueless donkey munched on the remaining leaves as if nothing had happened.
The sound of a top-tier mandrake being crushed echoed through the graveyard.
“No way…”
After a long silence, Dangno finally spoke.
“Don’t tell me that stupid donkey ate your mandrake…?”
His eyes sparkled with both resentment and terror at the consequences.
I nodded and drove the point home.
“You know how much a top-grade mandrake is worth, right?”
“…Ah.”
Thud.
Dangno’s face turned pale.
A mandrake grown in Labyrinth Village soil and infused with undead energy—its value was astronomical.
Just one of those would be worth several months’ profits for a major merchant group.
Oh, but of course…
‘…It’s still a dirt-cheap price for hiring the best guide.’
Heh.
I grinned inwardly.
Now Dangno had no choice but to guide us to the Earth Dragon’s lair.
‘And who knows…’
This debt might even bind him to us well into the late-game.
