[Gyah, murderer.]
“Don’t be noisy, [Phantasmagoric Needle].”
After thrusting her Estoc into the back of its head, Skull Mask’s body trembled and it soon became quiet.
Although all the monsters had been eliminated, “Twilight’s Sword”‘s fighting forces were also in a catastrophic state.
She had wanted to interrogate it while remaining alert of the surroundings, but unfortunately, they were not able to gain any useful information.
When Yuika asked about the Labyrinth Boss — the Tyros Dragon’s location, species, Status, Gifts, and the like, Skull Mask started showing signs of suffering.
[L, Lord Mother……. Mo, Lord Mother…… is, is is is……]
Bound by [Phantasmagoric Needle], it looked like it was trying to form words, but not just its voice, its entire body was shaking, and it seemed unable to speak properly.
Soon, something like black smoke emitted from Skull Mask’s body.
[Ah, eh? What is this?]
A phenomenon that occurred when a monster ceased to exist after its magic core was extracted.
Its limbs crumbled and faded away.
[Oi oi, is this the end?…… Ah, I got it.]
While in the process of dissipating, Skull Mask said in an inappropriate, flat tone.
[This is that feeling of not wanting to die. Isn’t that right?]
Then, Skull Mask vanished.
All that was left was a magic core, equipment and hair.
Having anticipated information from Skull Mask, Yuika couldn’t help but frown.
“Darling. Do you know what exactly just happened?”
Rowe shook his head.
“This is just my guess but, the lord of the Labyrinth is the guardian who protects the Labyrinth Core, so leaking information related to that might be taboo for monsters.”
“In that case, I started from the wrong question, huh?”
Labyrinths are so shrouded in mystery that there is a whole field devoted to studying them. They might have lost a precious sample for chasing truths through careless interrogation.
However, the purpose of “Twilight Sword” is not to unravel the mysteries of Labyrinths, it was to clear Labyrinths.
Refocusing, Yuika ordered Magikan to appraise the drop items in the Demon Atelier.
“–As for what is usable, this appears to be all.”
Saying that, Magikan held up in his hands two bracelets and a mask.
Both were possessions of Skull Mask.
From the Demon Atelier, connected by a passageway, was another small room — a cavern-like area where weapons, armour, and other tools were displayed in a cramped space.
Most of them were in the super heavy category, requiring Strength of 40 or more, and even the relatively light ones were “Sealed” with powerful cursed Gifts, and also couldn’t be used.
To give examples of curses, just by using one of those Sealed Gifts, you could be put into a coma, become paralysed, suffer mental damage exceeding your sanity value, have your Strength and Magic Power continually decrease or have your life span reduced just be equipping those items — indecent things.
The boots with [Shift], an extremely rare item, had complicated conditions for activation, and if the required magic power — exceeding the limits of what humans had — is not supplied, you will be transported randomly. Before you realised anything, you could find yourself in stone.
According to Magikan’s explanation, the bracelets were Sealed with the Gifts of [Enemy Search] and [Tracking]. They detected the Demonic Spirit of monsters and Divine Spirit of humans respectively, and although they are highly useful, every time they were used, they would require the equivalent of magic power for 1 cast of intermediate magic. They were thus not too usable.
Skull Mask’s mask had a passive Gift called [Herculean Strength] Sealed within.
It had the exceptional effect of raising the user’s Strength by 30%.
“However, there is one, unfortunate curse attached to it.”
[Abysmal Luck]–
The probability of the wearer’s Gifts activating is lowered to the extreme.
Active Gifts would fail with a very high possibility, and magic Gifts were almost certain to Collapse.
“That peculiar Dark Smith was not in possession of any Gifts. That being so, even when it wore this mask, there would have been no influence.”
“What’s up with that? It’s useless…….”
Berii sighed in disappointment.
“This one is for the Sherpa to use.”
Saying that, Magikan handed Rowe the skull mask.
“……Me?”
“You too, are exactly the same as that Dark Smith.”
It was a rude way of putting it, but it was true that Rowe had no active or magic Gifts.
And being a Sherpa that had to carry heavy loads, it was a job that required Strength.
Rowe stared at the back of the mask he had received.
It was a mask that had just been worn by a purple-skinned, Lesser Demon. To put it on just like that, he was naturally hesitant.
Rowe retrieved a cloth from his luggage, wet it with water, and carefully wiped the back of the mask.
The mask didn’t have any treads attached, and he didn’t understand how he was to wear it.
Bringing it close to his face as a try, he felt the surface absorbing into his skin.
“…….”
It didn’t fall off after he released his hand.
His vision was not obstructed.
And there was a definite sensation of power surging.
“……How is it, Yuika?”‘
After asking Yuika who was next to him, the beautiful black-haired Adventurer showed signs of thinking for a bit while looking at him, then made a strange suggestion.
“That coat has a hood, right? Can you try putting it on?”
“Hah?”
He did as he was told and wore the hood.
“–Pfft.”
After a moment’s pause, Berii spat as though she couldn’t hold it in anymore.
“Y, you. That — where did this reaper come from!”
Berii rolled over with laughter while straining to breathe.
The long coat that Rowe wore was made from Dark Cloth, a drop item from the Lich. Pitch-black without any shine, there was something like a blast mist faintly shimmering on its surface.
Combined with the hood and the skull mask, he completed the look of an extremely ominous god of death.
Perhaps because of his slender physique, he also resembled a lanky and frail looking reaper.
“Berii. Is that something strange?”
“N, neck, don’t tilt your neck!”
Berii’s body was bent over as she roared with laughter.
If you were to look, Magikan was lying on his back in the air while making strange noises, and Nuuk had his hands on his face while frowning…. but you could see the whites of his teeth.
Rowe, unable to see himself, had completely no idea why they reacted in this way. He was even instead impressed by the fantastic performance from both the long coat and mask, as well as from combining them into a set.
Grabbing the mask and applying some force, although there was slight resistance, he was able to remove it.
“Yuika?”
His fiancée had her back to Rowe.
“……Not laughing.”
“……?”
“I’m not laughing at you, Darling!”
She must have been forcing herself to hold it back because both her hands were clenched and her shoulders were lightly shaking.
After waiting for all the members to calm down, they prepared to leave.
As for Rowe, his Strength had increased dramatically thanks to the mask, and he was to carry a super-heavy class weapon that had been stored in the Demon Atelier. Of course, they made sure to confirm there was no cursed Gift Sealed.
“In the end, this is Just in case.”
Yuika reminded Rowe.
“Darling’s Adventurer level is not higher than 7. Your Strength and Explosive Power is not a match for the monsters in a deep layers. So, don’t do that again — I don’t want you to be reckless like back then.”
“I understand.”
Rowe, who had family to protect, didn’t have a self-sacrificial spirit.
He would not have fought by himself if there had been no need.
A huge rucksack on his back and shouldering a Greatsword that required 45 Strength.
Magikan laughed, “hyohoho”, and teased.
“Sherpa. From external appearances alone, you look the strongest among us.”
“It’d be good if monsters could be bluffed, yeah?”
They returned once to the Dungeon Oasis on the 50th Floor, recovered their strength and magic with rest and potions, then started their Labyrinth exploration again.
Since there were no monsters that were being controlled, they used Nuuk’s [Enemy Search] to carefully ascertain the number of enemies before deciding to engage in battle.
By the time they returned to the Demon Atelier after 1 day, the number of monsters had recovered to 20.
After equipping those monsters with weapons from the Demon Atelier, they entered a passageway at the back.
At the end of that was the spiral path which led to the 53rd Floor.
The colour of the Luminescent Moss changed.
From a pale purple to a pale sapphire blue, which created a tranquil atmosphere.
Without sound, there was a gentle flow of air.
The dense magic particles raised goose bumps on skin.
“Darling. This is–.”
Yuika declared with conviction.
“–the lowest Floor.”
–