Chapter 189 – The Horned Woman and the Half-Elf

The moment I checked the name of the district written in ancient language, I felt a sense of anticipation.

If it’s a teleportation laboratory, it’s a place where space movement is researched.
If you have any research data left, that’s great! Among modern wizards, you will be able to get a clue about space magic for the first time.
I’m already throbbing at the thought of flashing forward through enemy lines to take a picture of an incomparable pair.

It is the birth of a genius wizard who writes in front flashes.

“Mongma-sama. Is it so clean here? I can’t see anything like dust in the room. Did someone clean it?”
“There are only ghouls, but someone cleans it up.”
“But the shelves are shiny. The air is fresh and there’s no trash in sight. It’s like someone’s keeping it up all the time.”
“It’s clean… It’s cleaner than my house.”

The moment we passed through the long brick passage and entered the laboratory, we felt puzzled. A pure white room with not a speck of dust in sight. Despite being a labyrinth that was built more than 500 years ago, the laboratory was clean. I’ve never heard of ghouls cleaning.
Are there really people living in the labyrinth?

“Let’s scatter for a while and look around the lab. If you see something like research data from the ancients, take it right away. Even if you bring one, you can earn gold coins by submitting it to the Mage Tower.”
“Uh, gold coins? You can earn gold coins by taking some research materials?”
“It’s research data on space magic that has been practiced. If you’re a wizard, you can’t help but covet it. When you go to work at the adventurer’s guild, you use teleport and arrive in a second. Wouldn’t you be attracted to it too?”
“Wow-!”

After hearing my explanation, Kate lit her eyes and started searching the lab. The rest of the party members also scattered and searched every nook and cranny of the laboratory. Of course, I remembered that we had paired up before we set off, and we split up and started exploring. Be aware that missing accidents will happen.

“Rebecca sister! Do you see something over there?”
“I can’t see it. The only thing in the cabinet is a white gown? This isn’t research material.”
“But first of all, take care of everything! If you sell it, it might turn into money.”

However, as we meticulously explored the laboratory, we were soon disappointed. Multiple storage boxes such as cabinets. Under tables and chairs. A magic lamp illuminating the inside of the room. Lastly, a wide table that seems to have been used as a laboratory. I’ve checked all those points, but nothing comes out.

“I’m going to tear down the floor and ceiling for a moment-.”

I tried tearing down the wall made of pure white tiles, but it didn’t make any sense. There are no research materials on space magic or luxurious research equipment anywhere. As if someone had deliberately removed all valuables.

All she got was a few white gowns.
You can put on a gown and pretend you’re a mad scientist. No, it’s a different world, so it’s a crazy wizard.

Hehe!
Mad magician of madness!

I tried to hit a trivial drip, but I managed to hold it in.

“…Let’s stop the search here. It’s like there’s no dust, and things are completely empty. Maybe someone robbed this lab recently. Maybe a ghoul robbed it.”
“I heard that ghouls can’t clean before.”
“It’s different if it’s a ghoul mage. He’s got some intelligence. If there’s another entity of the same type, he might have been managing the lab until recently.”

The culprit is a ghoul mage. With a lack of clues, that’s probably all I can guess.

The only being with intelligence in the labyrinth.
Couldn’t the ghoul mage have been managing the laboratory consistently for 500 years? Like noticing that intruders had appeared and hiding everything in the lab.

Then it makes sense that the lab is empty. Certainly, unlike other areas of the labyrinth, there are traces of being burned by someone.

It was time for us to finish our exploration and move forward. Someone’s footsteps echoed in the passage leading to the lab.

Took-.

Tuduk ㅡ.

“Mo, are you an adventurer?”

At first, I thought they were adventurers just like us. Even if they came by a different route, adventurers who overlap with us might appear. But after a while, the moment the sound of footsteps approached the lab, we encountered a ghoul.

“It’s a ghoul! It’s carrying a bunch of papers!”
“What is that bastard?”

A ghoul wearing a white robe over his rotting body! However, unlike the ghouls I’ve met so far, he’s holding a pile of papers with both arms. Even looking at the top page, it was a document with complicated magic formulas written on it.

Judging from the fact that he was wearing a gown, it was clear that he was managing the lab. It is identical to the gown found in the cabinet. I don’t know, but I felt that I must catch him.

“Once overpowered!”

We rushed forward, ready to fight at once. However, unlike a warlike ghoul, he did not readily respond to the battle. He sprinted away from us, clutching a pile of papers.

“Brautkváma-!”

The ghoul ran while shouting in a clear voice. Because it was a ghoul with unreasonably high physical specs, its running speed was unusual. I couldn’t easily close the distance with the ghoul.

“Are you fancy for a ghoul-! Hagalaz! Blizzard!”

While running at the head of the group, he hit the ground with his cane. Bang-! The staff that created a shock wave lifted me into the sky and sent me flying at high speed. It was only after using the wind pressure of [Blizzard] As a propelling body that it was possible to catch up with the ghoul.

“Magic Missile.”

I tried to snipe the back of the ghoul’s head with a magic sphere. However, the moment the spell was completed, countless projectiles flew towards me.

“Ugh?!”

He quickly rolled on the ground and spun his staff to blow a blizzard in all directions.
Dududuk! The projectiles barely lost their power and crashed to the floor. The identity of the projectiles aimed at me were dozens of arrows.

I almost ended up in a beehive after charging recklessly.

“Luke! Is everyone hurt?”
“Except for the rub on my thigh, I’m fine.”
“Suddenly, an arrow flew in front of me!”

The party belatedly ran around me as I fell to the ground. Rebecca tried to pursue her ghoul, who fled from her distance, but I stopped her.

“I just chased it and it’s a big deal. I saw that the arrows here were not shot by people, but fired from the wall. A trap was set.”

If you look around, you can see traps on the walls of the labyrinth. When the ghoul ran, it didn’t react, but when I tried to pass, the trap was activated right away. If you don’t deal with the trap and chase after it, you’ll have an accident.

I had no choice but to let go of the ghouls who were doing pantyhose. Of course, any pursuit was possible. We have halflings that can be called biodetectors.

“Allie. Can you distinguish the ghoul footprints properly? I’m talking about the ghoul who ran away with the papers.”
“Yes? Yes! It’s possible! I memorized the shape of my footprints and the length of my stride. Unlike other ghouls, it’s less decayed, so it doesn’t smell like rotting corpses.”
“Let’s deal with the traps and go after them. Now it’s the halflings’ turn.”

The time has finally come to use Ally, who has been playing and eating for so long. Halflings are sensitive and have an excellent ability to dismantle traps. She believes it will be easy for Ally to break through the trap area if she steps out.

“Euhhaha! Just trust me. When it comes to dismantling traps, our halflings specialize! Follow the tempo-!!”

Allie chuckled and lunged forward like her crazy bitch. She must be believed to be a halfling, but somehow she feels uneasy, like a child left at the water’s edge.
I guess Kate felt the same way as me.

“Wait, Ally. I’ll put a shield on you just in case you don’t know. Stay there.”
“If you give me a protective shield, I’ll bow and accept it! After all, the nun is the best!”
“Almighty Baldur, protect the lamb with a divine shield-.”

Soon, a translucent barrier covered Ally’s small body. It is the sacred spell of the nuns to protect party members.
It’s like putting a condom on a halfling.

After a while, we got to see the effect of the barrier. That means that Ally almost got lost.

Shoot ah-!

“Kyaaaaah

Boiling oil poured from the ceiling and hit Ally. If the barrier hadn’t stopped it, halfling fry would have been born.

“What happened! You said dismantling traps was your specialty.”
“Hee, heehee. My hands are rusty from touching tools for too long. A complicated trap could fail while dismantling it. Just like now-!”

I thought the trap area would be eaten raw thanks to the halflings! After all, things in the world don’t come easily. Although Ally has been successful several times in disarming her traps, she has occasionally failed due to mishandling of her tools. I kicked her tongue and supported Allie with magic behind her back.

Kurrureung!

Stones rolled from the front, rain of arrows rained down, spear blades gushed out. Traps determined to kill people are triggered one after another.

“Liquid ring!”

Remotely control the magic waves to protect Allie’s surroundings. Each time the shield was about to break, Kate recast the barrier spell.
With our fervent support behind her, the halfling saved her life.

“Te, follow the tempo oh oh oh-!!”

Eventually, after struggling for about three hours, they succeeded in breaking through all the traps. The exhausted Allie was picked up by Brute and moved. I had to chase after the ghouls that ran away immediately without a break.

Hehe. It’s the right way! Ghoul footprints are stamped that way.”

After that, she continued to move at a brisk pace with her party. As we moved while dealing with the ghouls that intermittently blocked our way, we arrived at another area before we knew it.

[Facility Management Office]

It is a large office with desks. A large portrait hanging on the wall of the office catches my eye. It was a picture of a middle-aged man wearing a pure white gown. It’s surprisingly similar in appearance to the ghoul holding the papers we encountered earlier.

“What? It looks like a ghoul that escaped? You mean it looked like this when it was alive? It looks just like a toad.”
“I don’t know how he turned into a ghoul. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Arriving at the labyrinth office, we couldn’t go any further. I can’t see the passage leading forward.

There is only one way back, so I don’t know where the hell the ghouls landed.
It was also thanks to the disappearance of the road that I was able to have a leisurely conversation while looking at the portrait.

“Allie. Is it true that the ghoul ran this way?”
“I’m sure. The ghoul footprints have stopped in the middle of the office. The smell of rotting corpses has also stopped here.”

The blurry ghoul footprints really stopped in the office. The ghoul carrying the papers vanished from the office.
It’s not a detective story, is it a trick to hide a body? We need a detective who can shout Q.E.D.

“No, where the hell did you hit the pants? Does it make sense that it suddenly disappeared?”
“The corpse has evaporated!! It’s a fantasy trick!!”
“Haa… Let’s search the office first. There might be a secret passage or something.”

We had no choice but to stop and search the office. There were antiques in the office that could make money, so I didn’t miss it. However, discovering the secret passage was not easy.

Quite a long time had passed since the ghoul holding the research materials had been lost.

It was night and it was time to go to sleep.
The moment I was about to end the search, a familiar woman’s voice rang from the passage leading to the back.

“Delia! Where are you! Answer me if you’re listening!”