Chapter 99: Immediate Profit

Two sets of footsteps echoed in the pitch-black darkness, pounding against the stone pavement.

No sunlight penetrated, and there was no sign of moss or any other source of light. Their only reliance was the flickering flame they held in their hands.

The torch revealed a far from beautiful sight. Stained tracks of dried blood, walls covered in mold, the fleeting shadows of rats darting by.

The stench was unbearable. A blend of mold, animal musk, and rotting blood. The worst possible fragrance concoction.

Lutz felt nauseous the moment he set foot in the labyrinth. Even after twenty minutes inside, he hadn’t grown accustomed to it.

“Even if they say this is the devil’s asshole, I believe it,” Lutz remarked, furrowing his brow. The foul odor seemed to have seeped in, regretting that he had opened his mouth.

“Has Ricardo gotten used to it already?”

“I’m enduring it with sheer determination.”

He said that no matter how many times he came, he never got used to it.

“I heard that criminals and bandits have taken refuge here. Are those guys sane?”

“Be cautious. It’s not only monsters that will attack you.”

“They’re planning to strip adventurers naked and send them back to the surface, huh?”

“Or maybe they’re after our flesh.”

Ricardo’s tone didn’t sound like a joke. Lutz wondered what experiences he had as an adventurer. He didn’t feel the need to delve deep into the man’s past.

Suddenly, Ricardo’s footsteps came to a halt. He deftly drew the sword sheathed on his right side with his right hand.

Lutz sensed the approaching presence a moment later and tightly gripped “Shirayuri” with both hands.

A single dog charged straight at them. It had no flesh or skin from its neck up, only a skull.

They were creatures that couldn’t eat. However, they were constantly driven by a burning hunger. Those who were attacked would be torn apart by sharp teeth and fangs, with flesh spilling out from under their jaws.

The Skulled Dogs leaped. Ricardo remained composed. With a torch in his left hand and a sword in his right, he dodged their attacks with agile movements and tore through the torso of one of the dogs.

The dog, without vocal cords, let out a soundless scream as it collapsed on the spot. It trembled in a futile struggle, but there was no hope for survival.

Another Skulled Dog attacked from behind. It moved in an irregular manner, running along the wall, but Lutz was prepared for it. No matter what move it made, its destination was his own flesh. Since he had a lantern hanging from his waist, both hands were free.

The swung axe struck the exposed skull. Simultaneously, the creature’s body burst into flames.

“What happened?” Ricardo exclaimed, wide-eyed. As the burning beast continued to smolder, Lutz stabbed his blade into the body of the defeated creature that Ricardo had felled.

The undead creature, unable to die, breathed its last within the flames. When the flames subsided, all that remained were ordinary dog bones.

“Are we cremating them?”

Ricardo muttered. Lutz had heard that his axe was designed with tombstones in mind.

“I quite like dogs.”

Lutz said he wanted to offer them a makeshift memorial as a gesture of remembrance.

Could these two have died as dogs rather than monsters? If that were the case, it would be good.

Lutz and Ricardo resumed their exploration. Perhaps due to the increase in adventurers, they didn’t come across any treasure chests, and encounters with monsters were scarce.

“The first floor is nothing special,” Ricardo said, seemingly unconcerned.

As they descended a long staircase, the foul stench and chill intensified. The scenery illuminated by the flame was no different from before.

It became increasingly unclear whether they were progressing or going back. It was understandable that adventurers would go mad in the labyrinth.

“The key to exploring the labyrinth is not to lose sight of yourself,” Ricardo said firmly.

Lutz realized that he was truly an experienced adventurer. The contrast between his current self and the perverted figure obsessed with the enchanted sword “Tsubaki” was stark.

They were attacked by monsters a few times even on the second floor, but they repelled them all.

“You’re quite skilled. Why not consider becoming an adventurer permanently?”

“Please spare me. I’ve just come to realize how difficult being an adventurer is. I’m too exhausted even to take a deep breath. Well, I could, but I’d definitely throw up.”

The two laughed while trying to keep their mouths shut as much as possible.

A figure appeared ahead. Ricardo raised the torch high, revealing what seemed to be a human slowly approaching them.

“Is it an enemy?” Lutz asked.

The adventurer-like man walking with his head lowered seemed to be injured, as blood was smeared all over his chest. He dragged a long sword with his right hand. There was nothing in his left hand. He neither held a torch nor carried a lantern like Lutz.

“Lost soul or ghost, which do you think?” Ricardo asked in a tense voice. Walking through the labyrinth without a light source, he couldn’t be considered a normal opponent.

Dropping the torch on the spot, Ricardo slightly unsheathed his sword. The sickening stench was partially neutralized by a slightly sweet fragrance.

“Can I help you, brother? If you come any closer, I’ll kill you without question!” Ricardo said, his hand resting on the hilt, in a stance reminiscent of iaido. Whether the man could hear him or not, he continued to approach steadily.

The man suddenly raised his head, revealing beautiful eyes.

Not eyes that resembled gemstones, but actual gemstones. It was as if gemstones had been forcibly shoved into his eye sockets, shattering his eyeballs.

Blood continued to flow from both eyes, and his face contorted in agony.

“Uaaah, aaaaah!”

Letting out a yell reminiscent of the undead, he rushed forward, wielding his sword accurately toward Ricardo, even though he shouldn’t have been able to see.

Ricardo unsheathed his demonic blade “Tsubaki.” The sweet fragrance grew even stronger, and the surrounding temperature dropped abruptly. A boundary of sweet death was erected; anyone who stepped into it would be driven to self-destruction with their own weapon while drowning in pleasure.

However, the man didn’t stop. He swung his sword fiercely, aiming for vital points.

“Uooh!”

What happened to his slow and deliberate movements when he first appeared? Ricardo could only defend against the successive attacks. Was the enemy truly strong, or was it the consequence of leaving the battle against a formidable foe to “Tsubaki”?

He thought he was going to be killed. At that moment, a figure slipped in from the side.

The man, who had been focused on fighting Ricardo, took Lutz’s axe straight to the head. His head split in half, and his chest was torn open. Then, he burst into flames. The man’s entire body burned. Lutz kicked the burning man away and shouted.

“Sheathe Tsubaki!”

Regaining his senses, Ricardo hurriedly sheathed his sword. It was about to be a situation where they would have forced the man who had saved them to commit suicide.

Lutz felt a pain in his left arm and checked. The armlet he had borrowed from Gerhart, which provided mental resistance, had a crack in it.

“…Let’s apologize together,” he said.

“Sure, I’ll even grovel.”

The two looked down at the burning corpse and the two gemstones. Soon, the flames subsided, leaving behind white bones and the two gemstones.

“Could it be that these gemstones made their way into the market…?” Lutz said, trembling from the chill.

What were these gemstones? What was that man? How did it come to this? There were too many unanswered questions. Lutz cautiously picked up the gemstones with a cloth and placed them in his bag.

“Let’s return to the surface for now. This isn’t a problem that two guys on a leisurely stroll can solve.”

Ricardo nodded with a detached expression in response to Lutz’s suggestion.

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