12-2 Part 1
The Mysterious Book Says to Descend
the White Stake, Seventh Pillar Labyrinth
- No Problem -
Translator : PolterGlast
「I'm Zanshi, looking forward
to working with you today.」
「I-I'm Kachua! This is my
first time doing something like this, but I'm looking forward to working with
you!」
I think showing too serious of an attitude will actually
make them look down on you, but that's probably just Kachua's
personality. Unlike the adventurers residing in the Imperial Capital,
the folks in Ratatosk were aggressive in both a good and bad sense.
「Heh, nice to meet ya, rookies.」
「I don't care what you do, just don't
screw up.」
「If you drag us down we'll abandon
you, remember that.」
「Y-Yes!」
The labyrinth brings wealth, but the danger to your life
jumps up correspondingly. On top of that, there are many migrant workers from
outside, so there was no fraternizing from the start in this job where you
wager your life.
「Oi you, what did you do with your
sword?」
「Sword? I don't have a sword, but I
have something else here, I fight with this.」
「Hoh, an axe user, that's rare...」
「Well, something like that. It's a
slightly unusual weapon; I'll show it to you when a battle starts.」
It seems wrapping the tip of the Shovel in a bag was
the right answer. They probably never even imagined that the inside of the wrap
was shaped specifically for digging holes.
They maintained a mild attitude until we arrived at the
labyrinth and I revealed the tip of my steel Shovel.
◇ ◆ ◇ ◆ ◇
「It's a freaking shovel!!」
「Don't mess around, you idiot! Our lives
are on the line, do you understand that, you idiot!!」
「Uuu... Naturally, it turns out like
this... I mean, Shinza?!」
Good grief, what a bunch of guys who can't appreciate a good
thing. So I rushed forward and plunged into a pack of goblins that had spawned
deep in the labyrinth.
It's different from that time I fought in Corin Village.
My current self has both strength and agility. Destroying the enemies' crude
daggers, punching down their low-hanging faces, sometimes digging up paving
stones and throwing them, while receiving covering fire from archers like Kachua,
I annihilated the enemies as the sole vanguard.
Slow. Weak. Immature. It seems goblins can no longer serve
as my opponents.
「Do you have any complaints? Even if
the Shovel is a substitute for a sword, there's no problem, right?」
「Th... The shovel, is strong...」
「Wh-What the hell is that... What the
hell are you?!」
That's right. The Shovel is stronger than a sword. At
least in my world, the Shovel is the strongest weapon.
「I'm surprised... But as long as
you're strong, I don't care what you use. Alright, let me introduce myself
again, looking forward to working with you, Zanshi.」
「Ooh, that's true too!」
「Ou, come to think of it, we can take
it easy with this!」
「Wait, these guys switch gears fast?!」
The Labyrinth of Stakes is apparently based on 12-person
formations. A group of 12 descends into one pillar every 4 hours, rotating 4
times a day.
「Yeah, I use a lot of slightly
unorthodox tactics, but I don't intend to drag you down.」
「No, I think it's more than just a
little...」
Thus, we began our full-scale labyrinth exploration. The
White Stake Labyrinth continued as a mysterious space with white stone walls
and paving stones.
It seems this is the inside of that stake. Monsters and
treasures drift into the massive space spreading beneath the stake, and humans
defeat them to acquire the treasures. That is the Labyrinth of Stakes.
When we reached the 3rd underground floor, an ogre-type
holding a giant wooden mallet appeared leading the goblins.
「Watch out! Man, that shovel is
strong, or rather, isn't that fighting dirty?!」
「Shut up, this is our chance! Beat
'em to a pulp!」
So I made a small pitfall, and the ogre tripped and fell
into it, so leaving the back to the others, Kachua and I hunted the
goblins.
「Alright, victory! Well done, Zanshi!」
「Holy crap, with you here it's super
easy! If a big one comes, we're counting on you again, you shovel bastard!」
「These people sure are energetic...」
「Yeah. But adventurers are generally
like this.」
When the dead ogre crumbled into ash, it changed its form
into treasure. Is this gold ore mixed with a large amount of gold? The big guy
acting as the carrier put it into the wooden box he carried on his back.
Perhaps the bottom would fall out if it were cloth.
◇ ◆ ◇
As we crispily cleared out the enemies together and reached
the 5th underground floor, another somewhat big shot
stood in our way.
「It's a gargoyle!!」
「Damn it, if we fight that thing our
swords will be ruined, are we retreating, Leader?!」
「Kuu, to be this unlucky after coming
this far... You're right, rather than fighting that, we have no choice
but to—」
It was a moving stone demon statue two and a half meters
tall. It is certainly a natural enemy for those whose only skill is striking
with swords or maces.
「Alright, retreat—」
「I'm good against those kinds of
things, leave it to me.」
「Go get 'em, um, Zanshi!」
Ignoring the adventurers who chose to slowly retreat, I, who
had been standing still staring at the opponent, charged at the gargoyle before
my eyes. I was waiting for a guy like this. With the Shovel that doesn't
show its efficacy against flesh and bone but pierces even iron, I sliced off
the gargoyle's extending arm.
「So strong?!
Or rather, don't screw
with me, what's up with that shovel?!」
「H-He cut stone... This guy, he's a
master of the shovel... he's a total weirdo.」
「No, that's weird, right! Cutting a
gargoyle, this is absolutely weird!」
「Oi oi... Don't tell me it's an
instant kill... Alright, no retreating. Oi Tank, get ready.」
When I put a little effort into it, the gargoyle had both
its arms and legs, and its neck severed, turning into ash. As if buried in that
ash, countless jewels seemed to have been born.
「This is amazing. Glad we didn't
retreat.」
「Hahahahahaha! Seriously amazing,
you're the best, Zanshi!」
「There's a whole bunch of 'em! Even
split among 12 people, this is quite a haul! There's a whole bunch of 'em!」
「Oi, if you pocket any I'll fucking
kill you, you bastard!」
The mercenary bunch threw the jewels into the wooden box the
Tank was holding. There was a guy with sticky fingers among them, but he was
punched down as soon as he was caught.
「Somehow, the adventurers here are
rough...」
「Yeah, the drunks at the Imperial
Capital guild are starting to look like cute young ladies.」
「No, that's not true... Those guys
say perverted things to me...」
That might be the destiny of such a male society. I also
helped pack the jewels into the Tank's wooden box, and then urged them to go
further in.
「You want to go to the 7th
underground floor? You're strong but you're weird...」
「Ah, I get it! She said she'd let you
do her if you made it to the 7th floor, right! Eeh?」
「Uwe...」
Kachua looked
disgusted at those words. Well, I don't dislike that kind of stupid thinking.
Unfortunately, the reality is a request from a bizarre book, not a woman.
「Am I wrong? Ah, don't tell me that
partner is this Kachua?!」
「What the heck, if that's the case
just say so!」
「To be young... Uwa, it's so naive I
feel like puking, dahahahaha!!」
What a noisy bunch. You're wrong. I just want to spend a
fulfilling excavation life with something called 30x Shovel.
「Wh-Wh-Wh-What are these guys
saying?! If you say anything weirder than that, I'll shoot you in the ass in
the next battle!!」
「Calm down, Kachua. Their
rough vibe is rubbing off on you.」
Pushing up my silver-rimmed glasses like a character in a
story would do, I moved further ahead. The adventurers, driven by greed,
started saying they wanted the guaranteed reward sleeping on the 10th
underground floor.
They say you can almost certainly get something that turns into money there. Normally they don't go that deep because it's dangerous, but they told me they could do it if I was there.
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