12. Amazing

“Hey.. are you sure it’s okay..?”

“Yes. I told you.”

The female explorer patted my shoulder as I chewed on the leader’s corpse.

“Hey.. do you want to eat this instead..? It’s jerky….”

“No. I have to eat this. It’s not because I like it. It’s not because I’m hungry either.”

“Then..?”

“It’s because of the skill. Just bear with it.”

“Oh.. should I wait then?”

Isn’t it unnecessary to wait? It’s all over anyway.

“Thank you. But I’m really fine. Go ahead with your business.”

“We, we came to catch the direwolf leader… We’re done with our business too…”

“Then shouldn’t you be returning?”

“But you…”

“No, I’m really fine.”

Condition? It’s in an incredible state, unlike ever before. The tough hide of the leader can be torn apart with fingers, without a knife. I felt it for sure.

‘The injured muscles have healed from what I ate.’

The increase in muscle strength is greater than before, and I can definitely feel the leader’s muscles filling my body.

“Then shall we go?”

“Yes. You can go.”

“Uh, uh…”

“Oh, if you have time, could you find my pouch around here?”

“Huh? Oh, got it!”

Strength surges from my body. It’s in a very excellent state. I’m extremely hungry, and I definitely feel that the raw things I ate before sleeping have disappeared from my stomach.

But still, it’s a bit tough. I’ve gotten used to the smell of blood, but that doesn’t mean raw meat tastes good. It’s dry without fat, making my throat choke.

“Here, this is your pouch, right?”

“Thank you.”

“That… are you going to eat more?”

“I’m about to get up. It doesn’t taste good.”

“The taste… isn’t it natural that it wouldn’t be good…?”

Yukhoe is delicious, so what’s the difference? Is raw beef tasty too?

“Are you heading back now?”

“Yes. But if I go back with you, I can’t reach the lead grade.”

“Uh… I think you’ve already surpassed the lead grade by the time you caught the direwolf leader…”

“Hmm.”

Is that so? That might be true.

Anyway, enough of the leader’s mukbang. I’m no longer hungry, and my body feels better than ever.

I touched my left eye just in case, but there wasn’t much difference. It feels like it’s the eye of a regular creature, not the leader’s eye.

It’s still 8 o’clock, which means the day hasn’t changed yet. But since the sun has set, that unusually excellent sense has returned. No, it feels even sharper than before.

“Are you heading back?”

“We need to head back too. Other explorers have already gone to report the subjugation of the leader. We stayed here to protect you.”

“Oh, is that so.”

Thanks for telling me that.

“I plan to return before the day changes. How long does it take to get to the portal from here?”

“It takes about 3 hours. Since it’s night, take it slow…”

“Then, is it okay if I go first?”

“F-first?”

I lightly bounced on the spot. I only intended to bounce lightly, but I floated nearly a meter into the air. It felt like I was in zero gravity.

With these leg muscles… I can shorten the 3 hours significantly.

“Sorry. I have to leave early. Take your time. Be careful.”

“Huh? W-wait!”

Before her outstretched arm could reach me, my body shot forward at an incredible speed.

‘Insanely fast..! Crazy speed!’

The sensation of cutting through the wind was on a whole different level than before. Comparable to Rubica. Isn’t it? Still, it’s an incredible speed.

“Huff! Huff!”

But side effects followed.

‘My lungs can’t keep up.’

My muscles fatigue much faster than before. The reason my muscles can’t exert strength is probably due to an issue with oxygen supply.

If it were the specs of that leader guy, he would have used these muscles much better. What’s the difference? If it’s about oxygen supply…

“Lungs.. Ah, it’s the heart.”

Right. Trying to use the muscles of a direwolf leader with human lungs and heart, it seems I can’t meet the oxygen demand.

After running for about three minutes, I’m out of breath. At this rate, it’s actually a penalty.

In the end, I slowed down to a jog and headed towards the portal. Even so, the speed is much faster than when I used to sprint at full speed, clearly feeling the power of the magic-infused leader’s muscles.

At this rate, isn’t it about 40 km/h?

“This is it..!”

Running towards the portal at an incredible speed, the base appeared relatively quickly. Even though I took short breaks to catch my breath in between, this much time reduction is impressive. It seems training is needed to use the leader’s muscles properly.

As I approached the base, the guard at the front waved a torch and spoke to me.

“Stop. Hey, are you okay?”

My whole body is covered in blood. My gambeson is tattered, and my pants are full of holes and soaked in blood. To others, I must look like a half-dead corpse walking around.

Of course, his face was brimming with vitality.

“Yes. It’s incredibly fine.”

“Incredibly fine, you say…?”

Crazy. His whole body was brimming with energy. He covered a distance that was supposed to take 3 hours in just 30 minutes. Even after that, he still had enough strength left to run the same distance again.

“Are we going to the surface?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

The return stone can send you to a point one level above, or to a base every 5 levels.

So, since this is the 5th level, we can go straight to the 4th level or the surface.

If I use the return stone on the 6th or 7th level, I can’t go straight to the surface. I have to come back to the 5th level first, then go to the surface.

“There, it’s done.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

A portal with a slightly paler hue than the one leading down the labyrinth opened. He stepped inside and tightly closed his eyes.

* * * * *

“Hey, are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine. This isn’t my blood.”

“I see… But your clothes are all torn.”

“It’s fine.”

It was 9 PM, so there were hardly any people trying to enter the portal. The guild’s first floor was bustling with adventurers guzzling mead and beer, boasting about their exploits.

“Oh my…”

“Hello.”

Dahlia, who was sitting at the guild desk with her chin resting on her hand, widened her eyes in surprise when she saw me. Well, to be honest, I do look a bit like a sick person.

“Uh, ahem! One bronze-ranked explorer. You’ve returned?”

“Yes.”

She handed me a piece of paper, and I filled in the maximum reached floor as ‘5’ on the far right before returning it to her. Seeing that, she widened her rabbit-like eyes again. Then, with a smile, she took the paper from my hand and said,

“Good job. You reached the 5th floor alone.”

“Yes. It seems so.”

“I was worried because it’s a dangerous time, but how are your injuries?”

“No injuries. This isn’t my blood.”

“Then whose…?”

“Maybe the blood of the direwolf leader.”

At those words, Dahlia looked up, then to the side. She scanned me up and down again, then closed her eyes.

“Wait a minute. No way….”

“No way? Did something happen?”

“Well… I heard that the direwolf leader on the 5th floor was taken down solo. They said it was an explorer with unidentified black hair….”

“That might be me.”

“Lying is bad. They traveled for 3 hours and arrived just 10 minutes ago.”

Dahlia turned her head to the side with a pouty expression. No, I really did take it down.

Well, it is a story that’s hard to believe even for me. How could someone who had been wandering around the 3rd floor until the 6th labyrinth expedition reach the 5th floor and take down the leader on the 7th expedition?

Just as I was wondering how to explain it to Dahlia, a loud voice came from the side.

“Hey, hey!! That’s the corpse guy!”

“What is it?”

A male explorer in rough armor pointed at me and spoke. Dalia, who heard him, looked at me again in surprise.

“Mr. Gelden? Is it true?”

“Yes! This is the corpse that was lying with that direwolf leader!”

“I’m very much alive.”

“That’s quite amazing!”

Dalia’s face, rarely, showed great confusion. Until just now, she seemed merely surprised, but now she looked incredulous. This is quite rare.

“Really..? I told you to hang in there, but to this extent…”

“Indeed. Dalia’s encouragement is very effective.”

The guild also monitors and manages the leader entities. They are too powerful to appear on the lower floors, so low-ranking explorers are helplessly killed by them once or twice a month.

To protect beginners, the guild identifies the location and activity range of these entities, guiding them to areas relatively far from the portal, or subduing them if they get too close to the portal.

Just like you shouldn’t encounter a raid boss while walking on the road in a game, there is no such system in the labyrinth, so high-ranking explorers take on that role.

“That’s amazing! It hasn’t happened in four years.”

A senior guild employee, who had been watching from the side, approached while munching on a pie and placed her arm on the seated Dalia’s head.

“What do you mean?”

“A bronze rank single-handedly subduing a leader entity.”

“Did that happen four years ago too?”

“Yes, it did. You’re quite something.”

Of course, it hasn’t been cross-verified yet. After coordinating information with other explorers who protected me and others, if it is confirmed that I single-handedly subdued the leader entity, my rank will be promoted.

“I’ll come back tomorrow. I need to go quickly.”

I should quickly greet everyone at the inn and then stop by the appraisal center before 10 o’clock. I need to make sure of my physical condition.