Survive the labyrinth with EX-grade traits

It was a spirit.

I instinctively felt that the light in front of me was a spirit, based on the mark on its forehead.

Even without the trait, I could easily distinguish between monsters and spirits after visiting the spirit world.

‘This is a bit strange.’

I didn’t feel any fear or hostility from this spirit towards me.

The middle-level spirits, let alone lower-level spirits, had shown fear or avoided me because of Chaos’ energy.

I kept an eye on it, but nothing was visible.

‘It’s not even an upper-level spirit, so it’s strange that it can speak.’

I tried to think calmly about this unusual phenomenon.

Soon, the spirit spoke first, before I could lower my voice to respond.

─Hehe. I can hear the sound of your eyeballs rolling from here.

The tone was more carefree and free-spirited than arrogant… I frowned at the light-hearted tone.

The spirit continued without paying attention to me.

─I knew you were thinking, ‘What kind of monster is this, and why is it talking to me?’

No. Not at all.

The spirit made a wrong guess, but I didn’t bother to correct it, as the conversation would have become unnecessarily long.

─Don’t worry. Even though it looks a bit strange, this is a spirit that has made a contract with me.

“⋯.”

─It’s just delivering my words as they are. The one you’re talking to is not a monster or anything, but an ordinary adventurer, so rest assured.

So, to summarize this long-winded speech…

The one speaking is not the spirit, but the low-level or mid-level adventurer who is hiding behind it.

The adventurer also has a reason to clear the path or chase away the so-called Oxynos Clan that is occupying the area, so he’s proposing to cooperate.

‘In normal circumstances, I would have questioned why I should accept such a suspicious proposal. But now, I’m in a hurry.’

If I ignore the proposal and turn back, as Demern suggested, I don’t know how many more people are hiding.

Similarly, I don’t know how much territory they have occupied.

So, if I assume that I’m leaving this area and going west via the center, it will take at least a day or two.

‘Even if I escape, what if my companions are in danger without me, and I waste time because of the roadblock and can’t help them?’

Grrr.

I whispered to the spirit waiting for my decision.

“It doesn’t seem like a trap, so let’s work together. What do I need to do?”

─Good. Since you’ve decided, I should reveal myself. Then, slowly follow the spirit behind me.

Sparkle.

The spirit sparkled as if telling me to follow it, and headed somewhere.

Just in case, I followed it without lowering my guard.

Sasaak.

I walked into a side path in the forest.

Soon, a large clearing appeared, with trees cut down and bushes cleared.

───

[Martin Reitz]

[Strength: C-] [Agility: C-] [Endurance: D] [Health: D+] [Mana: C+] [Luck: D+]

[Possessed Traits] (Collapse)

Water-Colored Archery
Path-Reading Eyes
One Language
Light Body
Low-Level Spirit Magic
High Wind
Paralysis
Sun and Moon Seven Kills

───

───

[Water-Colored Archery] [P]

The hunter goddess Elias summoned the user, Martin, and passed on her special archery and water-colored magic.

The user, who inherited too much talent from her, will demonstrate great talent in archery and mana manipulation in the future.

─When wearing a bow-type weapon, there is a strong correction to attack power and mana manipulation ability.

─The growth rate of archery skills increases significantly.

─Mana increases by three levels.

─Cannot wear metal armor.

───

[Sun and Moon Seven Kills] [A]

The user has learned one of the techniques of the hunter goddess Elias and incorporated it into his own archery.

The user’s rank is far below the technique, so there is a penalty when casting.

─After casting, you can shoot seven arrows made of mana without arrows.

─Each shot greatly reduces health, but in return, the power increases sharply.

─There is a high probability of falling into a strong exhaustion and a low probability of passing out for 24 hours after using all seven arrows.

─If you cancel the technique without using all the mana arrows, a one-week cooldown is applied.

───

“⋯!”

A foreigner, not just a foreigner, but a foreigner with a halo.

Brown ponytail, blue eyes, and a longbow on his back.

The spirit that asked me to join forces to drive out the arrogant guys was none other than the foreigner, Martin Reitz.

‘Wow, I can’t believe I’m seeing a foreigner on the 4th floor. How many times is this now? I finally realize that it’s not just Koreans who come here.’

Martin Reitz, whose nationality I didn’t know, patted the spirit and waved at me.

“Hey! Come on! Pixie, you’ve worked hard too.”

I was startled for a moment, but then I heard a skinny guy with a hooded mask behind me complaining.

“⋯Just one more person joining won’t make a difference. Why don’t we just wait a little longer and then snatch it?”

“Mick, you can’t say that to his face. Apologize.”

I was about to say something, but the nun scolded the guy, so I held back.

“No, I mean… I was just disappointed because my expectations were too high. If you’re going to ask someone to help, why not a party? There have already been several parties that came and left.”

The masked man’s excuses finally ended after Martin mediated.

“The nun is right. We proposed to cooperate first, so we can’t make the other person feel bad. Mick, apologize.”

“Yes, yes. I’m sorry. I just vented my frustration from the past two days on you. Forget what I just said, and let’s work together.”

[Chaos wants to give him a slap.]

The man in full armor and a closed helmet spoke in a deep voice.

“Let’s stop the small talk. Martin, shouldn’t we come to an agreement? It could be problematic if we change our minds later.”

Martin nodded in agreement and asked me.

“So, what’s your name? Is it okay to speak informally? You don’t seem much older than me. You can speak informally too.”

No. I’m not that naive to relax my guard and speak informally with a foreigner I just met.

“I prefer formal speech. Please call me Ahren.”

“Okay? Well, it doesn’t really matter if you speak formally or informally. As you heard, my name is Martin.”

He gestured to his companions.

“It would be good to briefly introduce ourselves and move on. Do you all agree?”

The three of them agreed without much thought.

So, I heard the information of the four, including Martin.

“My name is Mick. It’s a common one-letter name, so it’s easy to remember, right?”

Mick, a man with a strange dialect and a sarcastic tone, was a thief with an average D+ rating.

His specialties were trap dismantling and throwing.

“I’m Marianne, a mid-level priestess of the Church of Light. Although our cooperation is temporary… please take care of me.”

‘Did Yeriel say she was a low-level priestess?’

Marianne, with her half-closed eyes and gentle smile, was an impressive priestess.

I could understand why Martin called her a nun.

“Call me Dietrich.”

Dietrich, an unusually quiet man with an average C+ rating as a vanguard.

He didn’t seem to like personal conversations.

Anyway, it was easy to figure out just by looking at them.

It was useful to be able to cross-check the information I heard from their mouths with the status window.

‘There’s no attempt to deceive or trick me.’

“I’m an average C-grade with a specialty…”

After exchanging information about my stats and traits, Martin snapped his fingers.

Thwack!

“Okay! Let’s start the negotiation.”

His long explanation began.

“Mick eavesdropped on the enemy’s conversation using stealth, and it turns out that the special species they’re targeting is none other than the Golden Goblin.”

‘The Golden Goblin.’

The Golden Goblin.

I remembered hearing about it during Sena’s attribute lecture.

A goblin-type special species that appears in layers below the 5th floor with a certain cycle and a low probability.

It’s a goblin with a large black bag and golden skin.

It’s characterized by its agile movements, high defense for a goblin, and random consumables that it sometimes takes out of its bag.

Finally, if it’s not caught within a certain time, it casts a technique called ‘Dimensional Leap,’ which is very annoying.

In summary, the key is to catch it before it teleports, enduring all kinds of interference and breaking through its defense.

Martin shrugged and said,

“You may not know this, but that group is not even a proper clan. They’re just a small group of about thirty people scattered around.”

So that’s it. The group that gathered at the whistle was not all of them. If I hadn’t stopped and charged, it would have been a headache.

“As far as I know, they’re mostly low-level adventurers with an average E or D rating, except for the clan leader’s party. The problem is Demern…”

Martin sighed and crossed his arms.

“He’s a very thorough and ruthless archer. He served as a ranger in some rugged mountains, and his specialty is not only archery but also close combat, which he uses to overwhelm his opponents.”

“How do you know such detailed information about a clan that doesn’t seem very famous?”

I asked because I was curious, as I didn’t have any information-gathering traits like Martin.

“Well, you know, archers are a bit ambiguous in a party, right? They’re useful, but not essential.”

Martin laughed awkwardly.

“Haha! That’s why I know all the famous archers who are working alone. I’ve been in the labyrinth city for two years now.”

He said that he had known about the clan with an archer as the clan leader, and it just so happened that the situation matched.

It was just a coincidence.

“I’m glad we get to fight them now.”

Martin’s eyes lit up as he said that with a vanguard or two and a magician, they could take on the clan.

When I roughly estimated their strength, I arrived and saved the day.

Mick, who was standing next to him, clicked his tongue and added.

“We could have fought them if we had just joined one more party, but three parties have already left. They were just bastards.”

Clap!

Martin clapped his hands to refocus everyone’s attention and waved his index finger.

“Let’s clarify one thing. Ahren, your goal is to clear the path and head west, and…”

He pointed his index finger at himself and me alternately.

“Our goal is to fight them and claim the Golden Goblin.”

So, to summarize what they wanted to say in their negotiation…

Unless it’s a zone that has been certified by the guild and a specific layer has been occupied and controlled, any use of force to interfere with other adventurers is illegal.

In other words, these guys deserve to die.

However, due to the characteristics of the labyrinth, there is no proper way to record it using expensive magical tools or other methods, and there are no adventurers capable of stopping them.

So, you and I have to destroy the clan, and we can share the equipment and consumables of the dead clan members.

If the Golden Goblin appears while fighting them, we’ll catch it and split the profits, but…

If it doesn’t appear by the end of the fight, we’ll give up our rights to the special species and leave immediately.

I agreed without hesitation.

“For me, clearing the path is the most important thing. As soon as we defeat them, I’ll leave without changing my mind.”

Mick gave me a thumbs up, and Dietrich suggested.

“Brother, you’re hot-blooded! With an average C-grade, the vanguard problem is solved! You’re a lucky charm!”

“It’s decided, so let’s start with the ambush and ranged attacks to weaken them.”

Martin nodded and briefed the group.

“Okay. First, Mick will infiltrate the enemy’s territory from a safe distance and assassinate the weaker ones.”

“What’s next?”

“As soon as Mick sends a signal, I’ll cover him with my shots and protect him. Dietrich will then infiltrate the enemy’s territory. Ahren, you will be in charge of close-range defense and attack with lightning magic when the situation allows.”

Martin took out his bow from his back and said.

“Remember, staying alive is the top priority. Mick, go!”

“Leave it to me!”

Mick ran silently, and Martin drew his bowstring and aimed his arrow.

Some people wanted to control and profit from the situation.

Others wanted to take the opportunity to defeat the strong and gain the benefits for themselves.

Or perhaps they just wanted to pass through and kill everyone in their path.

The battle began with each person’s intentions.