Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 129 - B-Rank Labyrinth: Tower of Trials (5)

Chapter 129 — B-Rank Labyrinth: Tower of Trials (5)

 

Brownmane, the vice guildmaster of the Hyena Guild, never committed robberies that weren’t safe. He only targeted explorers weaker than himself. And whenever he robbed an expedition team, he only did so when his side outnumbered them.

‘This is absurd…’

The essence of banditry was safety.

With that belief, he had always avoided situations that placed excessive strain on either body or mind.

Which was why… despite having eight years of experience as an outlaw, Brownmane was unable to hide his bewilderment.

‘I can’t see anything.’

The already dim underground waterway had become completely engulfed in darkness. Even the Hunter-class Mystery that allowed him to see through darkness couldn’t reveal so much as an inch ahead.

Is this a Cultist-class Mystery?

No. There was no way a Mystery bestowed by an Evil God could possess such ridiculous performance.

Crack!

Brownmane lightly lashed the ground with his whip and shouted.

“Everyone, don’t panic! Gather together! This is nothing more than a cheap trick relying on the power of an artifact!”

At their vice guildmaster’s commanding voice, the Hyena Guild members immediately gathered together and stood back-to-back.

“Use your detection Mysteries and watch your surroundings! They’ll definitely try to ambush us under the cover of darkness!”

As long as they stayed calm, it didn’t matter that they couldn’t see. Most of them belonged to the Hunter class, specializing in tracking and detection. A stealth attack shouldn’t be possible.

“…”

Silence filled the passage. How long had they remained tense?

Thud.

Something flew through the silence and embedded itself in a body.

Then… light returned.

“…Don’t leave me behind!”

One of the guild members was on the floor of the now-bright tunnel, tears streaming down his face as he reached desperately toward empty air.

“Huh? …What?”

The tiger beastman boy had vanished. So had the cultist. So had the assassin. There was no one left before them.

Shhhhh…

Before they could even process their confusion… darkness descended once more.

Thud. Thud.

The same sounds echoed again. Moments later, the surroundings brightened.

“Ahhh… the monster…”

“I-I don’t want to swallow it!”

This time, two guild members writhed on the floor. They stared into empty space while screaming.

The grotesque sight was enough to terrify every Hyena Guild member who had spent their entire careers preying only upon easy victims.

“Do not panic.”

Amid the spreading unrest, one guild member quietly spoke.

Pierre. The Beast Tamer.

A rising talent who had seized control of the Hyena Guild through overwhelming ability.

“We watched all the footage from the Guild War before coming here. Cultist Karr serves several Evil Gods simultaneously. If that’s true… then something like this is entirely possible.”

The logic was about as convincing as saying several dogs could defeat an elephant.

Yet after becoming trapped in Karr’s bizarre tactics firsthand… no one dismissed it as nonsense.

Especially since the calm and collected Pierre was the one saying it.

“And the strange reactions our guild members are showing are probably caused by Assassin-class Mysteries. We should identify the direction the attacks come from and counterattack immediately.”

“…Pierre’s right! Don’t lose your nerve! Stay calm!”

Shhhhh…

Darkness engulfed everything again. Preparing for the assassin to approach through the darkness, Brownmane activated a Butcher-class Mystery and focused every ounce of his concentration on his hearing.

“AAAAAH!!”

But his subordinates’ screams drowned everything else out.

Soon the light returned again… revealing yet more victims. The same thing repeated twice more.

‘Damn it!’

Brownmane bit down hard on his lip. He couldn’t think of any solution. If only the Guildmaster had come with us… He would’ve seen through the enemy’s trick immediately and launched a counterattack!

Slash! Crunch!

The sounds of flesh being cut and bones being crushed echoed intermittently. The agonized screams of the Beast Tamer’s tamed monsters also rang throughout the tunnel.

“Vice Guildmaster.”

The surroundings brightened once again. Only two people remained standing now.

Brownmane… and Pierre.

“It seems Cultist Karr commands Mysteries even stranger than we imagined. For now, it would be wise to retreat.”

“…You’re right.”

Retreating was disgraceful. But being beaten unconscious by the very people they had intended to rob was even more disgraceful. Now was the time to withdraw.

“…Wait.”

Just as he turned to flee, the horse beastman vice guildmaster froze.

“Stop.”

Another Pierre stood in the opposite tunnel.

“Oh ho. So that’s the Transformation you used during the Guild War.”

The Pierre standing beside Brownmane raised an eyebrow.

“It’s remarkable. You’ve taken my appearance perfectly. It’s like looking into a mirror.”

“What a ridiculous thing to say.”

The Pierre standing farther down the tunnel smiled faintly.

“You’re Cultist Karr.”

“I’ll admit your acting and Mystery are flawless.”

“You’re truly shameless, Cultist Kar.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“Have you heard the rumor that Sister Ires, the victim of your impersonation, has been grinding her teeth waiting to complain if she ever meets you?”

“Haha. Then you’d better avoid her as much as possible.”

Listening to the two Pierres converse so casually… Brownmane felt his head spinning.

He had no idea. Which one was the real Pierre… and which one was Cultist Kar?

‘…Stay calm.’

No matter how convincing it looked, Transformation was still ultimately a Cultist Mystery.

There had to be some flaw.

After calming himself and observing… he finally noticed a slight difference.

The Pierre beside him wore his usual expressionless face. The one standing at the end of the tunnel wore a faint grin.

“You’re the fake!”

Crack!

His whip lashed out, coiling around the Pierre standing in the tunnel. Sharp barbs immediately sprouted from it.

“…Quite painful.”

Even as the whip tightened around his neck and the barbs dug painfully into his flesh… the attacked Pierre, merely grinned.

That only convinced Brownmane further that he had chosen correctly. He had learned from the Guild War footage that Cultist Kar actually enjoyed pain.

“Pierre! Finish him!”

“Understood.”

The Pierre standing beside him drew his weapon.

Not his usual axe… but a crescent-shaped dagger.

“…Huh?”

“Hm. So you noticed?”

Brownmane finally realized what was happening. He swung his whip toward the Pierre beside him…

CRUNCH!

Rosalia descended from above. Her axe kick struck Brownmane squarely on the head. A perfectly landed blow. The horse beastman vice guildmaster couldn’t endure it. He collapsed unconscious.

“…”

As Rosalia straightened herself, Karr released his Transformation, returning to his true appearance. Then he gave her two thumbs up.

“Big Sis is the best.”

 

***

 

 Kirururuk!

The tiny monster with oversized ears darted wildly through the air. It moved far too quickly for the eye to follow.

Whoooosh!

Then… without warning… it dove straight downward with another headbutt.

“…Ghk!”

Pendrick barely managed to throw himself aside. But he was just a fraction too slow. The headbutt grazed his shoulder. That alone shredded muscle and flesh.

“…Are you alright, Pendrick?”

“No problem. It stings a little!”

Pendrick smiled brightly… but anyone could tell he was in terrible condition.

The same went for everyone else. Every single member had suffered at least one severe injury.

Without Lucius… they would all have died already.

“…It’s coming again!”

However… after repeatedly risking their lives, they had finally become accustomed to the enemy’s blistering speed.

Whoooosh!

The monster dove once more. After such a prolonged battle… they had grown familiar with its movements. And all it ever did was charge in a straight line.

“I can see it now!”

Bartimir, the target this time, threw a punch. A fist imbued with the profound principles of Rock Crushing Martial Arts collided head-on with the monster’s headbutt.

Crack!

The result… was defeat for the demon.

His petrified hand shattered apart. But because he had met the attack directly… the monster was also left dazed, slowly drifting backward.

“Where do you think you’re going?!”

Marlin emerged from hiding and slashed with her dagger.

Brites Dagger Art.

Her swift, stealthy strike sliced through one of the monster’s ears.

Kiruruk!

The difference in strength prevented it from suffering serious damage… but it lost its balance and tilted sideways.

Ding.

Lucius rang his bell. Layer after layer of barriers appeared, surrounding both the monster and the team. An aggressive use of barriers… to prevent the enemy from escaping.

“…We’ve finally got our chance.”

Pendrick sheathed his single-edged sword into the Hall of Swords… and grasped Astrimia’s hilt. Karr’s assignment had only forbidden him from using Astrimia until reaching the tenth floor.

Now… they were on the tenth floor.

“Asmi!”

“Mm!”

Starlight Aura flowed into the turquoise blade. Black internal energy enveloped his arms and legs, using the method taught by Hughestis, the dog beastman martial artist.

Pendrick charged. Astrimia blazed with shimmering Aura as he swung.

Ragign Gale Swordsmanship. First Wind—Whirlwind.

KRAAAAAASH!!

Pendrick’s full-powered diagonal slash cleaved through the monster amidst a roaring gale.

Kiruk…

The monster’s body split cleanly in two… before dissolving into smoke.

Marlin, clutching her swollen ankle, cautiously asked,

“…Did we defeat it?”

“Marlin. Your labyrinth knowledge really is lacking.”

“What now?”

“Don’t you know there are monsters that revive if someone says things like that?”

“R-Really? I didn’t know!”

Fortunately… the nightmare of the bisected monster reviving never occurred.

— Excellent!

At last… the booming voice believed to belong to Fist King Graik echoed through the sky.

— To think you’d conquer the tenth floor in only seven days!

— You will become the future stars of the Northern Continent! Congratulations!

Bartimir plopped down onto the ground and grumbled.

“Instead of just congratulating us… How about giving us a present?”

— Very well!

“…Huh?”

Bzzzzt.

A gray-brown gate materialized in the middle of the prairie.

Rumble…!

A massive stone monument and a treasure chest rose from the earth beside it.

— Inside that chest is the Trial Emblem!

The booming voice continued.

— While wearing it, the training speed of every kind of discipline increases by roughly twenty percent! Use it well!

“…Uh… Thank you?”

Pendrick bowed. The voice overhead grew even louder.

— It’s nothing! Don’t thank me so much!

“…It really does have its own consciousness?”

— And beside it stands the Stone of Records! Touch it, and you’ll be able to learn one Mystery possessed by any enemy you’ve encountered so far!

The hidden reward of the Tower of Trials.

Lucius’ eyes widened.

“It truly is a reward worthy of all our hardships.”

“…Amazing. So this is how Karr always felt?”

Marlin smiled brightly… before immediately shaking her head.

“…No. I don’t think that’s right. What I’m feeling now… this sense of accomplishment… must be fundamentally different from what Karr feels.”

“So what if it is!”

Bartimir lightly tapped the top of Marlin’s head before walking over to the Stone of Records and placing a hand on it.

“Oh… So this is…”

Watching him, the others also approached and placed their palms upon the stone.

Images of every enemy they had fought… along with information about the Mysteries they wielded… flowed into their minds.

“…Hm?”

While happily examining the detailed information, Pendrick’s eyes suddenly widened.

Astrimia, resting in his arms, tilted her blade slightly.

“What’s wrong, Pendrick?”

“…”

He remained silent for a moment before quietly whispering,

“The Mystery Saint Seraphina used to eavesdrop on every conversation inside the temple… its name was Heaven’s Ear, right?”

“That’s right. Why?”

“It’s… on the list.”

Bartimir, who had already made her selection, answered instead.

“The monster we fought at the end possessed the Mystery called Heaven’s Ear.”

“Really? That’s an interesting coincidence.”

“A coincidence… is it?”

“Why? Isn’t it normal for monsters to learn the same Mysteries as intelligent races?”

“That’s true. But…”

Bartimir looked upward with a strange expression.

“Apparently… Heaven’s Ear is an innate Mystery possessed only by the monster called the Sky Wide-Ear.”

“…What?”

What did that mean?

Why did Saint Seraphina possess Heaven’s Ear, a Mystery supposedly exclusive to a specific monster?

As Astrimia trembled in confusion, Bartimir chuckled and turned toward the gate.

“If we ask Mom, he’ll probably tell us immediately. So let’s not overthink it.”

B-Rank Labyrinth. Tower of Trials.

“Conquest compleeeeeete!”