WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 55: You Can't Easily Take the Labyrinth's Treasure

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"Mana?!"

Ancient script was carved into it, and mana flowed through it.

Realizing how incredible it was, the greed of both parties burned even hotter.

The halfling thief from the other party in particular already had eyes gleaming with greed.

"Hey, are you really willing to spill blood over this?"

I answered the warrior who seemed to be their leader.

"You mean we split it evenly?"

"Of course not. We found it first, so we'll give you twenty percent. Give it up."

"Fuck off. We found it first, so what kind of bullshit is that? We'll give you ten percent, so you give it up."

"...So you want to fight."

Despite their fierce attitude, the warrior's party didn't attack recklessly.

"Maxmiller, do we really have to go this far?"

The elf Scout gripping a bow called out to the party leader.

Even with the bowstring drawn, they gulped nervously.

It was only natural.

Setting aside the elves' supposedly gentler nature compared to dark elves.

'We have two mages.'

If they failed to finish us in one strike, they would be the ones finished in an instant.

Even if they won, losing several party members would make escaping the Labyrinth difficult.

Of course, the same applied to us, but...

'I just need to watch out for the thief and the archer.'

They didn't know what spells I had.

I was confident I could win.

"Ian, just say the word. Kill them or not? Kill them or not?"

Elena waited for my orders with a chilling look in her eyes.

Had they been intimidated by her thirst for battle?

"...Phew, fine. Let's split it evenly."

In the end, the other side's leader surrendered.

Bastards.

Why act tough when you weren't ready to spill blood?

At this rate, maybe I should've pushed for sixty-forty.

Still, not everyone wanted to fight like Elena did.

"Half is acceptable, isn't it?"

Hans spoke.

Alejandro, unable to summon his familiar, nodded as well.

"We should accept. We still have a great deal of exploring left to do."

What else could I do?

Listening to the party members was part of being a leader.

Before that, though, I needed to identify the magic placed on the chest.

'I have an idea.'

Just as I was about to nod, the coin suddenly spun.

Whirr.

[Heads/Tails]

What the fuck?

The coin was spinning above the other party's halfling.

'Heads.'

[Tails]

The coin had failed, and trouble began.

"Aaaaaah! I can't take it anymore!"

The halfling thief splashed a trap-disarming reagent onto the chest, then suddenly threw it open.

Clunk!

What emerged from the chest was not treasure, but blue smoke.

The smoke soon writhed, taking the form of translucent skeletons wearing old pirate hats and bandanas, tattered coats, with cutlasses at their sides.

Kihihihihik!

Eerie laughter rang out, and a chill hung over the deck.

[Ah, more greedy people have come.]

It was cold enough to make my bones ache, just like when we crossed the snowfields outside.

Fuck.

I had hoped it wasn't this trap, but it was.

The problem was...

'We can't kill those things right now.'

* * *

"W-what are those?!"

"Ghosts!"

"C-cold... It feels like my blood is freezing..."

There were three ghosts.

Whenever the hollow sockets of the undead stared at the living, my skin crawled.

I knew what they were.

'Treasure Guardians.'

Their appearance, traits, and the areas where they appeared varied, but they all had one thing in common.

They were usually far too strong for the Expedition Party members exploring that floor to defeat in battle.

"Guardians. The aura around them is no ordinary thing. They're undead, and without a Priest, we'll have a hard time defeating them or even escaping."

Alejandro, an experienced mage, calmly assessed the situation.

The words carved into the chest, choice, gold coins, and death, had referred to this.

"Shit, if only Daisy were here... So what do we do?"

Elena scratched her head.

In the Labyrinth, the presence or absence of each class could make a situation far easier or far more difficult to resolve.

'Alejandro made ordinary exploration easier, but without Daisy, we're weak against undead monsters!'

"If they wanted to fight us, they would've rushed us already. The fact that they haven't means they intend something else. The Labyrinth always leaves a clue to solve things, even when they seem impossible."

At Alejandro's words, the skeleton wearing a captain's hat smiled.

[Correct, one-legged old man. If you answer our questions, we shall give you great treasure. But if you answer incorrectly, you will sail with us forever.]

"Q-questions?"

Just as I expected, this was a situation that had to be resolved with wisdom rather than battle.

"C-can't we just refuse...?"

Then the leader of the other party spoke.

What an idiot.

They were saying that here?

As I hurriedly prepared a spell...

[Refuse? Throw away an opportunity as golden as this? Then...]

The skeleton captain grinned and pointed at the warrior before chanting an evil spell.

Guuuurk!

All life force was sucked out of the warrior. The other party's leader collapsed with a thud, shriveled like a mummy.

A translucent soul emerged from the twitching corpse as if in agony.

A-aaaaaah...!

The ghost captain put a collar around the poor warrior's soul and spoke.

[This is what happens.]

"...!"

"F-fuck!"

One person had died in an instant.

No, they had suffered a fate worse than death.

Everyone froze at the horrific sight.

I clicked my tongue.

They were undead, so I had suspected it, but they really were evil-aligned guardians.

[Hehehehe! So? Don't you suddenly feel eager to answer some questions?]

The skeleton captain cheerfully shrugged.

"W-we'll answer them!"

The deadly riddle they couldn't refuse had begun.

[There are two questions in total. If you get even one wrong, we shall chain every one of you and sink you below. First question.]

Three illusions appeared before the captain.

A treasure chest overflowing with gold.

A famous sword glowing red as if it had absorbed countless people's blood.

And an old nautical chart with nothing drawn on it.

The ghost captain spoke.

[We wandered the seas our whole lives. We plundered hundreds of ships seeking gold, and took countless lives to obtain a famous sword capable of cutting anything. We opened sea routes and drew countless maps to find the treasures of legend!]

A crewman snickered.

[On our final voyage, we obtained all three.]

[I ask you.]

[Which of these three treasures was most valuable to us brave seamen?]

'This question...?'

'No, I need to be cautious first.'

My eyes lit up as I stepped forward and asked.

"How much time will you give us for each question?"

[One hour.]

A translucent Hourglass floated above the ruined ship.

It was a sudden and deadly situation.

Everyone's breathing grew ragged, and cold sweat ran down their faces.

"Fuck! This is all because of that halfling bastard!"

Elena glared furiously at the halfling from the other party.

"You stupid bastard! Why did you do something like that without discussing it first?!"

The halfling's own party members felt the same.

"Ugh... S-sorry! I wasn't trying to open it... My hand just moved on its own..."

The halfling flinched and clawed at their head.

'They were bewitched.'

It had to be one of the spells placed on the chest.

Malicious magic that bewitched those with weak self-control more easily.

"Everyone, calm down. Fighting among ourselves won't gain us anything in this situation."

Someone might lose their mind and blurt out the wrong answer, so I stepped in.

"Ian is right. Still, isn't this a question with a set answer? At times like this, we need to pool our wisdom."

Alejandro spoke.

"If we're talking about what's most valuable, isn't it obviously the treasure?"

At Elena's mutter, Hans gave his opinion.

"Value is relative. To some, gold ornaments may be more precious than anything, while to others, a meal of bread they can eat right away may matter more."

"With questions like this, the one that seems worthless is usually the answer."

The elf archer from the other party offered a different view.

"The map?"

"But what if they mean literal material value? Then it would be gold."

"A famous sword might be something you couldn't obtain even with money."

...

Alejandro asked the ghost captain.

"Are questions allowed?"

[Of course!]

"Where does the blank map show a route to?"

[Anywhere. It is a treasure map that can take you anywhere!]

"Possibility..."

Alejandro stroked his chin, then looked around at everyone as if he understood.

"Listen. They said they gained immense wealth and power. But look at them now. Cursed, trapped in a treasure chest, and reduced to acting as gatekeepers. If we were in their position, what value would the treasures we obtained still have after death?"

"Then..."

"The answer is possibility. It must be the map that holds the possibility of doing anything."

"That sounds plausible..."

"Y-you're sure, right?"

He was right.

I knew because I had answered this question in the game.

I checked carefully in case there was some variable, but that was the answer.

"It's the map."

"If Ian says so, then it must be right!"

The moment I added my opinion, Gimlius accepted it without hesitation.

Hans nodded as well.

"..."

Alejandro frowned as if he didn't like that reaction.

After reaching a decision, we looked at the other party.

Their new leader seemed to be the elf. The female elf archer approached and said,

"The map is correct. It's the only one that's fundamentally different."

It seemed their side had reached an agreement as well.

Phew.

At least they weren't all blockheads.

"The answer is the map."

I stepped forward as the representative and gave the answer.

...

Creeeak!

The ghost captain, who had been turning their head three hundred and sixty degrees in a grotesque motion, clapped.

[Correct!]

[Hehehehe!]

[Hahahahaha!]

[You're smarter than you look!]

We were drenched in cold sweat, but the ghosts laughed cheerfully.

The pirate captain opened a liquor bottle rolling across the old deck and drank from it.

Rotten liquid flowed through the gaps in their empty ribs as the next question appeared.

[Then, the second question.]

[Choose one, cooperation or betrayal.]

Whooooo!

A gust of wind blew, and the thickening fog separated our party from the elf party.

We could neither hear nor see them.

Each party was completely isolated.

In that state, the ghost captain spoke.

[If both of you trust each other and choose cooperation, all of you shall leave this place safely with the treasure.]

[But if one side chooses cooperation while the other chooses betrayal, the betrayers shall take the treasure for themselves, while the foolish ones who chose cooperation shall become eternal slaves.]

The ghost captain pulled the corners of their mouth into a grotesque smile and drove the point home.

[Even if both sides go mad with greed and choose betrayal, it will be the same. The treasure shall be destroyed on the spot, and all of you shall be trapped here as sacrifices to the deep sea.]

"...This is insane."

Gimlius cursed.

Even Alejandro, who had remained calm, opened his eyes wide.

"..."

'Fuck.'

I felt the same.

'It's the Prisoner's Dilemma.'

I had wondered why things were going so easily...

"This is a fucking awful question."

Wasn't this a question with no correct answer or solution?

Footnotes:

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