WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Mordor

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◈ Surviving the Frozen Dark Fantasy as a Genius Mage ◈

Chapter 76: Floor Master

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The habitat of Aberrant Pigs on the third floor.

"Tch. Cheap tricks."

A sinister shadow gleamed amid the rising flames.

Blood dripped from a scaled hand. Vertically slit reptilian eyes watched the flickering traces of a bluish magic circle.

Step...

The being clicked its tongue, then stopped as it tried to trace the remnants of the spell.

"It doesn't matter. The ritual is already complete."

Its gaze turned toward the widening rift and the cluster of stars emerging from within.

It looked beautiful at first glance, but that mass of light would bring nothing but despair and suffering.

Even without its intervention, the rats that had escaped were finished.

This was a warning.

Was the Guild investigating us? No, not for such a petty reason.

Our purpose was loftier and more sacred.

"Fear the Labyrinth."

Fools became drunk on the riches the Labyrinth offered, falling ever deeper under its control until they became its slaves.

But the being knew.

This bottomless abyss was never a gift bestowed upon humanity by the gods.

Some called the being and its people traitors to humanity, but they were wrong. There was only one reason it committed such acts as a member of the Secret Society.

For humanity.

"Beware false greed."

The being spread its wings and took flight.

Crackle!

At the same time, space tore open, and the Floor Guardian emerged from within.

* * *

We struggled to keep our balance amid melting walls and a floor that writhed like a swamp.

"Urgh!"

"Aaaah!"

Before our eyes, the Labyrinth revealed its mystery. No, its grotesque nature.

Rumble!

The once elegant banquet hall collapsed and flowed together with a filthy beast den. Then the Emerald Forest, radiating a chilling light, overlaid them both.

The three regions of the third floor, which looked as though they could never blend together, mixed like paint and gave birth to chaos.

And above us...

"W-What is that...?"

The ceiling had been torn wide open.

It descended along the streams of the aurora flowing like waves.

Its body was so enormous that it looked huge even from several kilometers away. Hundreds of dangling tentacles swayed beneath it, and eyes glittering like starlight gleamed between them.

Oooooooh!

'So it is that bastard!'

A Floor Master.

Also known as a Floor Guardian.

If a Dimensional Guardian from an outer dimension ruled a Secret Dungeon, those things ruled an entire floor.

"What?"

"I've never heard of such a thing..."

My companions were rattled by what I said.

Of course they were.

It was the kind of monster people were better off not knowing about. Once it was summoned, the aftermath was on an entirely different level from ordinary monsters and aberrations.

That was why it had another name...

"The Calamity of the Labyrinth."

Even if it was only a guardian of the lower floors, it was violence beyond our ability to resist.

...

"Then did that monster kill these people?"

Elena's voice was grave, but I shook my head.

"No. It just appeared."

If the Floor Master had killed them, their bodies would have been torn apart so completely that nothing remained.

'They'd been looted clean. This wasn't a monster's work.'

Even so, their smashed armor, swords, and accessories showed the overwhelming difference in strength.

'Which bastard summoned that thing?!'

Klaus's dead party?

The one who killed them?

A dark elf?

Damn it, my head hurt.

No, this wasn't the time to think about that.

"This sword looks useful... Ah."

I shoved aside the orphan Elena, who was diligently looting the corpses, then took black oil from my bag and poured it over Klaus's party's corpses.

"Ian, what are you doing...?"

"Burn them!"

"What?"

"Burn the bodies!"

While Gimlius and Hans hesitated...

"Okay!"

Daisy and Elena recovered only the Expedition Party badges before immediately setting the three corpses on fire.

With the crackling remains of the dead behind us, I spoke to my companions.

"Get your heads straight from now on. If you want to get out of here alive."

It was the first time I had gone from laughing and calling myself a genius to panicking, then becoming this serious.

No, they had probably already realized it after seeing the Labyrinth thrown into chaos and that enormous monster flying in the sky.

This situation was far from normal.

"Okay."

Elena nodded, gripping her sword tightly.

"I'm listening."

Hans and Gimlius regained their composure.

"It seems there's a considerable distance between us and that thing. What if we avoid it and run?"

That would have been ideal, but I shook my head.

The moment a Floor Master appeared, all three regions of the floor merged together. Naturally, the portals scattered throughout each region decreased in number and were randomly relocated.

"If we're lucky, we might find a portal to another floor or a return portal to the city. If we're unlucky, we're finished."

There was another obstacle.

When a Floor Master appeared, it triggered a Monster Wave.

Breaking through all that and finding a portal that had been randomly relocated?

The odds were too low.

That thing had plenty of special tricks as well.

'Three of Klaus's party are dead.'

'The Glacier School mage Iromis and the Priestess aren't here.'

'The Labyrinth is vast. There must be people besides me who know about that thing.'

As I thought...

Rumble!

Dark clouds suddenly gathered around the Floor Master, and a blizzard poured down.

The next moment, a blue beam shot up from the ground like a flash and struck it. Sharp ice crystals scattered in every direction.

Kiiiiiiii!

The creature, which had been leisurely drifting down through the aurora-lit sky, screamed and crashed down.

Boom!

"That was..."

"Someone brought it down! Doesn't that solve the problem?!"

No.

A Floor Master wouldn't die from something like that.

But...

'They're alive!'

My gaze turned toward where the spell had been fired.

Boom!

A blue flame rose into the sky a moment later, and I pointed toward it.

"Everyone, that way!"

Now I could see a way out.

* * *

Huff, huff! Huff!

We ran.

We ran at full speed until our legs almost gave out and our lungs burned.

After passing through an elegant corridor covered in soft carpets, we entered a filthy, revolting food storage room. Beyond that was a pale forest glowing with a sinister light.

Squeeeal!

The ground shook with the furious footsteps of monsters.

Aberrant Pigs, moving plaster statues, undead with grotesque plants growing from their bodies, countless monsters inhabiting the third floor charged at us.

"Get out of the way!"

Elena and Gimlius swung their weapons like mad, carving a path through them.

"Don't fall behind! If we stop, we're dead!"

Whoosh!

Arrows from infected undead and spears thrown by Pig Throwers flew from every direction. Sparks flew from the two's armor and shields, and blood sprayed into the air.

"Hold on! Keep holding on!"

In the distance, I saw other Expedition Party members forcing their way through the horde like us.

But they couldn't withstand the crashing wave. They were swallowed by the monsters.

"Aaaaargh!"

"Hey! H-Help us!!!"

Even as they died, they must have spotted us, because desperate cries for help burst from them.

Daisy flinched at their bloodied, pleading eyes.

"Th-Those people..."

"Focus, Daisy!!!"

This wasn't the time to worry about them.

We could end up just like them at any moment.

"..."

At my shout, Daisy tore her pained gaze away and began reciting a prayer.

"Meia... Please forgive my sins..."

Then...

"Grant us the strength to overcome this trial!"

Daisy's Divine Power spell followed, and the light of Blessing wrapped around Elena and Gimlius.

Their wounds healed, their curses vanished, and strength returned to them.

Aaaah!

Still, even with our desperate struggle, there came a moment when the violent wave pushed us back.

Broken undead clutched at our ankles while dozens of Aberrant Pigs blocked our path.

"Ian!!!"

"Everyone, move!"

Ignoring Elena's bloodcurdling cry, I thrust out my staff.

[Charge]

[Chain Lightning]

Crackle!

The Chain Lightning I fired pierced through and incinerated more than ten Aberrant Pigs.

Squeal! Squeal!

But even more monsters rushed in to fill their place.

I fired spell after spell.

[Ice Spear]

[Lightning Arrow]

There was no thought of conserving spells for later.

If I didn't use them, we'd die now.

That was what a wave was.

"We broke through!"

"Now! Push through!!!"

My head throbbed from the side effects of casting in succession.

But my pathetic stamina was an even bigger problem.

"Huff, huff!"

As I panted, Daisy supported me.

"Ian! Hang in there!"

Clang!

"Urgh!"

Behind us, Hans held up his shield and blocked the monsters' projectiles.

He couldn't stop them all. Thorns and arrows were embedded in his thighs and arms.

"Hans!"

"Just look ahead and run! I'll be fine!"

'Just a little... A little farther...'

As we pushed through the increasingly dense forest, I gritted my teeth and thought.

The Emerald Forest was home to undead and spore-type monsters.

But it also contained structures such as abandoned watchtowers and castle walls. In a situation like this, they were effective at holding back monsters.

'Even if the map has merged, the structures that were already here won't disappear.'

'The signal flare came from over there. If it were me, I'd gather there.'

Just as expected...

Rustle!

When we pushed through the brush, a broad clearing and a small castle wall appeared.

"Who goes there?!"

A sharp shout rang out beyond our sweat-blurred vision, followed by weapons being raised.

"They're people! Save them!"

Once they saw that we weren't monsters, they turned their spears and swords toward the monsters chasing us.

Crunch! Clang!

Squeeeal!

Whew.

We were alive.

For now.

* * *

At the heart of the merged Emerald Forest.

When we reached the place where the signal had gone up, countless Expedition Party members already on the third floor had gathered there.

"Where's an earth mage?! We need more walls here!"

"Fire! Start a fire! The torches are dying out!!!"

"Anyone have potions? Even low-grade ones are fine! I'll pay for them!"

They had gathered around the old castle wall that had originally stood in the Emerald Forest, building new walls, tending to the injured, and holding back the monsters.

"Oh! So many Expedition Party members have gathered!"

Gimlius exclaimed as he pushed up his bloodied dwarven helmet.

"I feel a little safer now."

Hans also sank to the ground with a sigh.

Humanity's will to survive was remarkable.

At a glance, there were hundreds of strangers gathered in one place, fighting back against the monsters.

But I clicked my tongue.

'Tch.'

Most of the people gathered here were only at the third-floor level.

They might be able to withstand the wave, but they were no match for the Floor Master.

'Those people...'

After healing my wounds with a potion and wetting my throat, I looked around.

Then, seeing a heated argument break out nearby, I led my companions toward the center of the wall.

"We need to deal with Klaus, Durin, and Agio's bodies!"

"How are we supposed to get there when a wave has broken out?!"

'So they were alive after all.'

They were clearly the strongest and most influential people here.

Among the Expedition Party members arguing were Iromis, the Glacier School mage and Golden Lion Clan member we had met before, and the Priestess.

Only three bodies had been there, so I had hoped the other two were alive.

'I guess the mage had some kind of method.'

That was a relief.

Our chances of getting out alive had risen again.

"Don't worry about the bodies. I already took care of them."

"Wait, who are you...?"

I stepped between them as they argued.

The Expedition Party members frowned, as though this were a meeting only approved people could join, but...

"A Magic Tower mage!"

They saw the Magic Tower emblem embroidered on my robe and Iromis's reaction, then fell silent.

"You are..."

"I hadn't wanted to see you like this, but we meet again, Senior Iromis."

"Ian. I'm glad you're alive."

He said that, but there was a trace of disappointment in Iromis's eyes as he greeted me.

I felt the same.

'Are these people all we have?'

As I considered it, Iromis asked me a question.

"Let's return to what you said earlier. Klaus... You burned the bodies of our dead companions?"

"Yes. If we left them there, they would become corrupted and rise again."

Iromis flinched and his eyes widened.

"...Do you know about the third floor's Floor Master?"

Of course I did.

I knew every one of its vicious traits.

I knew exactly how fucked our situation was.

"Isn't it the Star Watcher?"

Once Iromis realized that I knew about the Floor Master and had dealt with the bodies of his dead companions, relief spread across his face. We had avoided the worst outcome.

"...This will make things easier. Come with me."

Iromis made room for our group, which had only just begun exploring the third floor.

"Hold them back!"

An allied force formed to fight the suddenly awakened Floor Master.

No, it was an alliance struggling to survive while clinging to a thread of hope.

Footnotes:

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