STGB Episode 518

Episode 518

Natives(4)

Hipramagent

According to the village chief’s book, it is at level 2. And has three confirmed active skills.

But two of them don’t really matter.

‘A [Gigantification] ability from a Level 2 monster…?’

How can I ignore it?

What’s more important right now isn’t its other active skills, but the passive that came with it. If it’s something useful to me, then…

I can replace the Orc hero’s essence with its passive

Unfortunately, there’s no record of its passive in the book.

Well, considering its level, it’s understandable that they couldn’t capture it and had to flee.

It must have been difficult to confirm the passive skill.

‘The information has jolted me awake.’

As I ran through various simulations and hopeful thoughts, a sudden realisation hit me.

‘But… what happens if I consume two of the same skill essences? Would only one activate? Or would neither work?’

Hmm, I guess it’s the former.

But if both could be used at the same time, that would be quite interesting too.

It’s not wise to be overly optimistic, so I started to organize the negative possibilities as well.

There was one major problem.

Apart from the fact that the monster is estimated to be level 2…

‘I have no way of knowing if it even drops an essence.’

That’s the peculiarity of this floor.

The monsters here come in two types.

There are the regular monsters that drop magic stones and essences, and then there are monsters whose bodies don’t disappear even after you kill thm.

And according to the chief’s notes, the two types fight each other to the death when they encounter one another.

Because of this, three days after the rainy season ends, the number of monsters drastically decreases.

‘The entire area turns into a field of mana stones.’

The way this species survives is by collecting these magic stones and turning them into life water to drink.

‘Ah, I am getting distracted again.’

I postponed thinking about the Hipramajent for later and concentrated on reading the book for now.

“I never imagined there would be so many new types of monsters.”

The monsters I’ve encountered so far on this floor were just the tip of the iceberg.

From the ones that appear during the rainy season to the various ones that wash up on the island with the tides.

“I might forget, so I’ll have to write everything down separately after I’ve read it.”

And as I sat and read for a long while,

Someone trapped the door.

“Bjorn…….”

“Misha? Weren’t you out with Emily?”

“We just got back……”

Looking at the clock, I realized quite some time had passed.

“Really? Why didn’t you say something earlier? If I had known you were back, I would have closed the book and come out.”

“That woman… she told me to leave you be. Said you were busy and not to disturb you…….”

“Emily did?”

“Yes.”

Misha nodded, opening her mouth cautiously.

“If it’s okay… can we talk for a bit?”

“Of course.”

I left the book open and immediately turned to face her, ready to talk.

When a teammate comes to you alone saying they need to talk, there’s usually a good reason.

“Did something happen?”

“…Not really.”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

“It’s just… ever since we reunited, we haven’t really had a proper conversation…”

“Ah…”

I unconsciously opened my mouth, and Misha muttered bitterly.

“You’re asking why I came.”

For some reason, I felt a pang in my chest, but I also had something to say.

“That day, you were the one who suggested we stay as comrades, right?”

In fact, even after reuniting, it was Misha who drew the line.

So I didn’t try to cross it either.

A relationship with such a long gap needs time.

“Yeah… that’s true…”

Misha dropped those words and then fell silent.

The suffocating silence lingered for a while.

Eventually, I was the one who broke the silence.

“…Is there anything bothering you?”

This was a signal to end the topic.

Misha responded in a bright, cheerful tone.

“Ah, no… It’s just a little strange…”

Well, I can understand.

Floating debris on the sea, monsters claiming to be human, and monsters raining from the sky.

Not to mention the companion of the Great Sage trapped in the labyrinth.

Experiencing all sorts of mysterious things in the newly discovered layer, it’s no wonder it feels strange—.

“It’s just… being back in the Labyrinth with you like this.”

Ah… I thought we were done with that topic?

Despite thinking that, I didn’t interrupt.

“So… don’t worry too much. It’s just that it’s all so strange and… I’m still having trouble adjusting. Just a few months ago, I couldn’t have imagined any of this…”

As she spoke, Misha glanced at me as if checking my reaction.

I chuckled and replied.

“Don’t worry, I’m not worried.”

Misha let out a small laugh.

“What does that mean?”

“It’s the truth. Compared to how things were with Erwin, this is absolutely nothing.”

Seriously, that used to be terrifying.

Although she’s improved somewhat, she and Amelia used to butt heads constantly.

“So stop overthinking and just do what you want. Everyone becomes friends through fighting.”

I was about to share some stories about Erwin and Amelia, but was stopped mid-sentence.

“By the way, what’s that book?”

“Huh? Oh, this… It’s a book written by the village chief. It contains information about the monsters he’s encountered while living on this island.”

“Ah, really? That’s great. It’ll be a huge help for our exploration.”

Although the topic had shifted, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

I was about to share some stories about Erwin and Amelia, but was stopped mid-sentence.

“By the way, what’s that book?”

“Huh? Oh, this… It’s a book written by the village chief. It contains information about the monsters he’s encountered while living on this island.”

“Ah, really? That’s great. It’ll be a huge help for our exploration.”

Although the topic had shifted, the atmosphere wasn’t bad.

‘I heard from someone that you’re a traitor. What’s that about?’

In the end, I couldn’t ask that question today either.

***

Day One, Day Two, Day Three…

Time flew by quickly since we arrived in this village.

Our daily routine was straightforward: I spent my days conversing with the chief or reading through the books he had written, all to gather information.

Amelia would explore the village with Erwin, looking for hidden facilities or locations

Versil would take Auyen and Misha around, investigating their way of life, culture, organizational structure, and military strength.

And Aynar…

“I’m off!”

She’s wandering around like a kid on a field trip.

“Where are you going today?”

“This morning, I’m doing mock battles with Itapia. Then I’ll stop by the blacksmith to watch them make weapons. After that, I’m meeting Kagudidi to check out the underground warehouse. He said I’d be surprised by what’s there, so I’m looking forward to it!”

How on earth did she manage to make so many friends in such a short time?

I just couldn’t understand it.

“Miss Pheneline, you’re… amazing. You look different, and you don’t even speak the same language, yet you’ve become so close.”

“Ah, you flatter me! And what’s so important about language? Warriors like us can communicate just fine with body language!”

“R-really? Even so, I don’t understand how you can make such detailed plans without even talking…”

“That’s because you lack sincerity! Mage, stop reading books all the time! Try looking into someone’s eyes and focusing on what they’re saying! Then you’ll hear their true feelings!”

“Ah, yes…”

A barbarian lecturing a mage—a strange sight.

But since Einar was the only one who could make friends without speaking the same language, I let him be.

“Ah! I’m running late! I’ll be back!”

“All right, don’t cause any trouble. Make sure you tell me what’s in the underground warehouse when you get back!”

“Got it!”

As soon as Aynar rushed out in the morning, the others would trickle out to do their own tasks.

And when evening comes, everyone gathers at the house provided by the village chief and shares what happened during the day.

“Today, I found a peculiar place. It’s about 15 minutes from the chief’s house. It looks like an ordinary home, but there are guards everywhere. I think we could sneak in, but I wanted to hear your thoughts first, Yandel.”

“Don’t push it. We need to be careful, at least until the rainy season ends.”

“The Silver Lion Clan… it’s worse than I thought. The relations between those who escaped and those who were left behind are deteriorating.”

With that, our daily meeting would end, and we’d all return to our rooms to sleep.

That was our routine lately.

Of course, even a fixed routine can change sometimes.

Day 4 of the Rainy Season.

After devouring the Chief’s books, I finally left the house to wander around the village. As the only one fluent in the ancient tongue, I couldn’t just sit around.

During my stroll, I reunited with Marupichichi again. Most villagers avoided talking to me, but fortunately, this one treated me the same as before.

While chatting, I heard a legend that circulated in the village.

[Did you know? A long time ago, a giant dragon lived on this island!]

A giant dragon, huh…

Day 5.

I was introduced to Aynar’s friends, but unfortunately, I couldn’t become as close to them as she was.

They all seemed wary of me.

Even though Aynar could joke around with them using just her fists.

Did the chief give them some kind of order?

I pressed them several times, but I never got an answer

Day 6.

In the morning, the leader of the Silver Lion Clan came and asked if they could join the exploration. I firmly refused.

In the afternoon, the other groups of the divided clan came with the same proposal.

I refused them as well.

Day 7.

Having completed the village survey, I stayed at home to prepare for the exploration.

After today, the rainy season would be over.

While I was preparing for tomorrow, the chief called us. There was no particular discussion, just words of encouragement.

Day 8.

Or rather, Day 21 if I count from the start of the exploration.

By now, the novelty of the village had worn off, and we returned to the island above.

The island, filled with grotesque corpses, was beautiful.

Especially since it was full of mana stones everywhere.

If not for the fact that essences disappear after 30 minutes, we’d probably find them scattered around by the dozens as well.

The chief told us to leave the mana stones where they were, for the patrol team to collect. But there’s no way I’d pass that up when there was money to be made.

I gathered as many as I could without drawing suspicion.

Day 22.

The island was still full of monsters, so we kept the village as our base and explored the surrounding area.

That’s when I found an essence. I literally just… found it lying around.

It must have dropped when two monsters were fighting.

No idea what it came from, but surviving the rainy season suggests it’s probably a decent rank.

I put it straight into a test tube.

At one point, we crossed paths with the Silver Lion Clan, who had left the village for the first time

Their expressions were not good.

Day 23.
We returned to the village for the night, then headed back up to the island in the morning. The Silver Lion Clan stayed behind again.

Apparently someone in their group died the day before.

They said they wouldn’t leave the village until the island was somewhat “cleared.”

Meanwhile, we gradually expanded our area of activity.

Day 24.

Even the village began sending out patrols to collect the scattered mana stones.

Strangely, my stomach hurt.

How much could all that be worth?

Day 25.

By now, the island had returned to roughly the same state as before the rainy season—like how it looked when we first arrived.

We’d spent days searching the island since the rainy season ended, but sadly, there was no sign of Hipramagent.

Did it die fighting other monsters?

When I asked the chief, he said that quite a few monsters leave the island by sea.

Day 26.

With nothing left to do on the island, we left and set sail.

Day 27.

Before sunset, we discovered another island.

But can you really call it an “island”?

A vast expanse of silver waves. A huge tree rising out of the sea.

In terms of area alone, it was much larger than the monster island.

The height was even more impressive.

I wonder if all the islands here are like this.

Day 28.

After spending the night on the boat, we entered the tree island.

As soon as we landed and tied the boat to the roots of the trees, branches grew out of the bark and monsters appeared.

A new kind of monster, not mentioned in the chief’s book.

After a quick vote, we ended up calling them “Nanari.”

Day 29.

After wandering around the roots all day, I discovered a knot-hole bigger than most caves.

When we entered inside, it stretched down incredibly deep, leading somewhere.
Could this be… a path?

I couldn’t tell, but as we cautiously explored, new monsters kept appearing.

The combat difficulty was quite high.

We recovered quickly using potions, but Aynar was seriously injured once.

Day 30.

While continuing the exploration carefully, I started seriously considering when the labyrinth would close.

The first underground floor, the archive.

When will this place close?

Surely I won’t have to live here forever like the chief, right?

If that were the case, it would be a disaster.

We can’t survive by drinking magic water like them.

We need meat to chew and swallow.

…Should I start rationing food now?

Day 35.

After six days of navigating the winding cave, we finally found an exit leading outside. The area beyond the exit wasn’t much different from the roots.

On a human scale, it would be about the size of a calf.

How long would it take to reach the top?

Anyway, although it was supposed to be an exit, it was more like a window to the outside, so we returned to the cave to look for another exit.

Unfortunately, we didn’t find any other exits that day.

Everyone looked exhausted, so we set up camp and turned in early.

And then…

“…”

As if awakening from a deep dream, I suddenly opened my eyes.

[The character’s soul resonates and is drawn to a specific world]

For some reason, I was in my own room.

“What the—why did I suddenly end up here?”

I was genuinely taken aback.

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