Chapter 22: Tier 1 (3)
It's been quite a long time since we entered the Labyrinth.
During that time, the party composed of mercenaries, soldiers, and Elena, explored the Labyrinth smoothly without anyone getting hurt.
Even when mutated monsters, which seemed like they should never be on the first floor, appeared several times, the expedition did not fall into great danger.
In fact, there were no situations where they could be in danger.
This was because every mutant that appeared was promptly killed by Elena with an axe to the head.
That was why.
"How on earth?"
Alta looked at Elena with an expression of utter incomprehension.
According to her knowledge, Elena was weak.
Not just weak, but weak enough to be dubbed a 'failed hero.'
Moreover, she knew of Elena's weakness not just from rumors but from seeing it firsthand multiple times.
It was certain.
"How did she become so strong in just a few months?"
The Elena she remembered was undoubtedly weaker than Alta.
To the extent that without even fighting, everyone could predict the outcome of a fight between Elena and Alta due to the significant difference in their strength.
But the Elena that Alta saw now definitely did not seem weaker than her.
In fact, she seriously had to consider whether she could predict a victory if she were to seriously fight her.
"......"
No, in fact, in Alta's heart, the feeling that she couldn't win even if she fought Elena was growing rapidly.
That was why.
"How on earth-"
Just as Alta was pondering this question to herself again, with no one to hear,
"We've arrived."
The expedition was able to reach the end of the first floor and the Boss room where the floor Boss was located.
The Boss of the first floor of Lartania's territory is a 'Mutant Orc'.
However, that was a fact only known to Kim Hyunwoo, who had already cleared the Labyrinth of Lartania's territory, and none of the expedition members there thought the creature before them was a Mutant Orc.
Even Elena, who had heard about it in passing from Kim Hyunwoo.
"......"
The expedition looked at the creature, which could hardly be called a monster, as the Boss door opened.
The first thing that caught their eye was the pulsating red skin that looked as if it could explode at any moment.
Next, they saw a body even larger than any mutant they had encountered on the first floor thus far.
Lastly, there were two monstrous heads that hardly seemed like they could belong to an orc.
The Boss' chilling scream sent the expedition into a panic all at once.
Despite realizing that they were not the ones being targeted, they all looked as if they had lost their will to fight.
However, Elena, who was directly under the Boss' ferocious gaze, remained calm, despite her face being tense.
Soon, the battle began as the Boss started charging towards Elena with a bellow.
The Boss' fist, which seemed capable of killing with a single blow, flailed wildly in an attempt to kill Elena.
Bang!
For a moment, the soldiers all grimaced at the force that shook the ground, as Elena narrowly avoided the Boss' attack.
The Boss's attacks continued immediately after.
The force in each blow, even though it missed Elena and struck the ground instead, made the soldiers wince.
The soldiers unknowingly made expressions as if their legs were giving out from under them, as they watched Elena, who was dodging the Boss' attacks with almost acrobatic finesse.
Some soldiers even closed their eyes tight, thinking that Elena would get hit by the Boss' attack when it appeared she stumbled for a moment.
However, the expressions of those soldiers...
Bang!
Slowly began to change over time.
Bang! Bang!
The Boss had attacked dozens of times by now, yet Elena not only avoided every single one...
"...Wow."
She was now dodging with a certain ease, markedly different from before.
Thus, the soldiers who had lost their will to fight just moments ago now looked at Elena with expressions of admiration.
The Boss, frustrated by her continuous dodging, gathers its hands and raises them to the sky.
Swoosh!
Elena, who had been dodging all along, didn't miss that brief moment and leapt up to plunge her axe into the eye on the monster's left head.
Crack!
The boss began to convulse with the sound of something bursting.
However, Elena didn't stop there; she climbed atop the orc's head, showing balance that was almost acrobatic, as the Boss' eyeballs began to burst.
The Boss, now blind in all eyes, began to thrash about the Boss room, slamming its body here and there.
And then,
Due to running madly in all directions and causing a rampage, the Boss, covered in wounds, even killed itself by wildly swinging its fists at its own left head.
Crack!
With Elena embedding a pair of axes into its right head, the Boss finally died.
And then.
"Wh-what?"
"She defeated that monster all by herself-"
"Incredible...!"
"They said she had a nickname like 'failed hero,' but this?"
Elena, having single-handedly dealt with the giant Boss and receiving looks filled with admiration and awe from everyone,
"Huff, huff-!"
Unintentionally turned her gaze towards the soldiers at the sound of voices, feeling a strange look from them.
Not the mocking looks she had always received, but ones filled with admiration,even from the mercenaries, not just the soldiers.
"Ah."
Elena felt something stirring in her heart.
After all, this was the kind of look she had always wanted to receive from the world.
Therefore, feeling her heart fluttering, Elena's thoughts soon turned to the Lord.
In fact, the reason Elena was able to defeat the Boss so quickly was because of the Boss' patterns and weaknesses that Kim Hyunwoo had told her about.
She found herself recalling Kim Hyunwoo's words.
"Remember, if the boss of the first floor is not a Mutant Orc, retreat immediately. But if it is a Mutant Orc, as I said, remember my words."
"Mutant Orcs have low intelligence and can only perform basic attacks. Probably 90% of its attacks will be wild swings of its fists. They might seem threatening, but Elena, you should be able to dodge them easily."
"Keep in mind, you just need to watch for its fists and dodge. Don't worry about anything else. If it looks like it's going to kick, just back off. It takes a long time for it to kick."
"If you keep dodging the attacks, it will become enraged and raise its arms. That's your chance. It takes quite some time for it to bring its arms down after raising them, so use that moment to jump up and burst the orc's eyes."
"If it's too risky, you can jump down, but if possible, blind all of the orc's eyes. Then, the orc will run around the chamber on its own and eventually destroy itself."
"Of course, if the Boss behaves even slightly differently from what I've described, retreat immediately."
Each piece of advice was perfectly accurate without a single mistake.
Elena wondered how the Lord, him, could possibly know all this.
Of course, she knew that Kim Hyunwoo was the person who had built the golden age of Lartania ten years ago.
But even so, that didn't dispel her doubts.
After all, Lords typically do not descend into Labyrinths.
It's the heroes or soldiers affiliated with the domain who do, and naturally, it's the heroes who defeat the Labyrinth's Bosses.
Thus, it was remarkable that Kim Hyunwoo, the Lord, knew the Boss' patterns in such detail.
The advice Kim Hyunwoo gave to Elena was something she thought could only be obtained by descending into the maze and facing the boss personally.
But her doubts were short-lived.
Elena, seeing the soldiers still looking at her with expressions of astonishment, thought to herself without realizing.
"Once again, it's thanks to the Lord."
She didn't know how Kim Hyunwoo knew all this, but one thing was clear.
That she could receive admiration here and now was all thanks to the Lord.
That she had regained her confidence and become so strong so quickly.
That she had been able to deal with numerous monsters easily on her way here.
That she had defeated the Boss of the first floor and received admiration from the soldiers and mercenaries, all were possible because of the Lord, she realized for sure.
That was why.
"Being under the Lord, it might really be possible."
"To become a hero renowned across the continent."
Elena murmured this, genuinely grateful for having met the Lord, and smiled softly.
Alta, who had been staring at Elena's unbelievable feat just a moment ago,
"Indeed."
Recalled the words she had been quietly muttering since entering the Labyrinth and smiled faintly.
A short while later,
Elena, looking at a quite large Magic Stone that appeared simultaneously as the boss of the first floor died and its body disappeared,
"...?"
Soon noticed something had fallen near the boss's foot and picked it up,
"...A bone?"
She soon realized it was a bone.
Not just any bone, but one glowing with a blue light.
"...What is this?"
Elena, pondering over the bone fragment as long as her forearm for a while, suddenly recalled the moment she defeated the Boss.
Earlier, when she had momentarily slipped and was in a dangerous situation, the Boss unexpectedly twisted its left foot, allowing her to completely avoid an attack she would have had to defend against.
Seeing the Blue Bone Fragment that came from the Boss' left foot, Elena remembered that monsters' bodies do not remain in this Labyrinth.
And realized that she had been able to dodge the Boss's attack thanks to the Bone Fragment, the origin of which was unknown.
Elena, after thinking about the Bone Fragment for a while, said,
"Let's go back for now."
Decided to return to the territory with the Blue Bone Fragment.
Upon returning to the territory, Elena first stopped by her room to wash off the fluids that had splattered on her while dealing with the monster.
"...Nothing strange, right?"
Casually checking her appearance, which she hadn't paid much attention to, she headed to the office where Kim Hyunwoo would be to report.
And standing in front of the office, she involuntarily hesitated the moment she reached for the doorknob.
"How about it? I'd like to join this territory if the Lord wishes. Ah, given the size of the territory, the Lord's seat is small, so you might have to remove Elena, her, to recruit me."
The reason was.
"Ah, you don't have to pay me much of a signing bonus since I want to join. That is, if the Lord chooses me, I'm willing to belong to this territory immediately. Similarly, if the contract duration is a concern, feel free to specify."
Because she heard a voice.
"Truthfully, it would be difficult to command a hero of that caliber under these conditions. What do you think, My Lord?"
It was the voice of Alta, who had traversed the Labyrinth with her.
"......"
...Elena swallowed.