—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Lina’s party resumed their pursuit of Nasen.
As she had forewarned, they pushed themselves hard today, making considerable progress.
Honestly, it felt a little indulgent to complain, but even just being carried was making him nauseous.
“Let’s take a short break here.”
Even forced marches required rest.
No matter how powerful a mana user might be.
Lina tried to take a drink from her waterskin.
But nothing came out. She had drunk it all. Lina closed the cap with a sigh.
“Here, have this, Lina.”
Thanks to being carried the whole time, Kerry had barely touched his water.
In fact, he felt like he might throw up if he drank any more.
Lina accepted Kerry’s waterskin awkwardly.
Why was she being awkward? Before, she would casually hand him her own waterskin.
Lina stared intently at the mouth of the waterskin.
Was she thinking about some kind of indirect kiss? She drank, keeping her lips far from the opening.
“Thank you, Kerry. We’ll rest here for ten minutes and then set off again.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, Lina.”
The granny being carried on Lina’s back seemed the most comfortable.
How could she sleep so soundly?
He, on the other hand, being carried by Victoria, was dying from motion sickness.
Not that he could voice those complaints.
‘I want to be carried on Lina’s comfortable back and sleep too.’
But seeing Lina’s changed, awkward reactions, it seemed impossible.
He was certain this wasn’t a delusion of grandeur.
He might have been ordinary in Korea, but in this world, he was incredibly handsome. His popularity here was proof of that.
Kerry’s handsomeness had broken through Lina’s iron wall!
That was the only explanation for the current situation.
After all, Lina had even seen the magnificence of his… manhood recently.
Even though it was covered by his underwear, its majesty couldn’t be concealed.
To Lina, he was now a handsome man with a large… asset!
‘It’s only natural for women to fall for a handsome, well-endowed man.’
It was a truth as fundamental as the laws of nature.
There was other evidence that Lina’s iron wall was crumbling.
That evidence was Natasha.
Natasha hadn’t been wary of Lina before.
Probably because she sensed that Lina didn’t see Kerry as a man at all.
But now, it was different.
Natasha was extremely wary of Lina.
Almost overtly so, given how pretty Lina was. Natasha didn’t allow Lina and Kerry to be alone.
Not even for the brief moment it took to share a waterskin.
“Husband, I want water too.”
“Natasha, you have water in your waterskin.”
“I want to drink the water from Husband’s waterskin.”
Then what was he supposed to drink?
Kerry reluctantly handed Natasha his waterskin.
Natasha took a small sip, as if she wasn’t even thirsty, and returned it.
It was clear she just didn’t want to see Lina and Kerry together.
This jealousy wasn’t good. Their party always had to be happy.
Kerry whispered to Natasha.
“Natasha, you need to get along with Lina. Don’t be mean to her.”
“But… but… sniff…”
“Did you forget that you promised to listen to me?”
At those words, Natasha’s eyes briefly glazed over before returning to normal.
“…Right. I have to listen to Husband… I have to listen well to get rewarded.”
“That’s right, Natasha.”
As soon as Kerry finished whispering,
Natasha approached Lina and started chattering as if nothing had happened.
Lina seemed a little flustered by the sudden change in attitude.
The obedience training was more effective than he imagined.
Lina was smiling brightly, seemingly pleased by Natasha’s friendly demeanor. Good. That’s what he wanted.
‘Maybe later, I’ll become… close with Lina too.’
He worried he might end up turning the entire Hero party into his… harem.
“We’ve rested enough. Let’s set off.”
“Husband, ride on my back this time.”
“Alright, Natasha.”
“Kerry, I haven’t even carried you much yet?”
If he stayed on Victoria’s back any longer, his butt might get chafed from all the touching.
Ignoring Victoria’s grumbling, he climbed onto Natasha’s back.
Riding on Natasha’s back was a reward for her. For listening to him about getting along with Lina.
They hadn’t traveled far when they finally reached the end of Nasen’s trail.
A steep, rugged mountain path. A gaping hole in the middle of it. A cave.
It looked like an ordinary cave, but its true nature was different. Everyone in the party could sense it.
“That’s… a dungeon. Nasen’s tracks lead into the dungeon.”
Kerry used the Eyes of the Goddess.
Shit. He knew a dungeon would be trouble, but sealed skills and fixed stats were ridiculous.
Furthermore, all stats at 10 meant they were practically like ordinary people.
‘Clear a dungeon with the body of an ordinary person? Are they crazy? Who made this dungeon?’
He felt the urge to smash the creator’s head in.
First, let’s consider things one by one.
With skills sealed, magic was obviously out of the question.
Since there was no mention of equipment restrictions, they might be able to use their gear.
“Why would Nasen enter this place?”
“Perhaps it’s the dungeon reward?”
Seeing the rewards, there were plenty of reasons for him to enter.
Especially the Doll Ginseng.
It sounded incredibly good. The fact that it was clearly labeled as a hidden reward confirmed it.
‘The White Witch’s elixir gave me ten years’ worth of mana and this much improvement… if I eat the Doll Ginseng here… wouldn’t that be amazing?’
Perhaps he could finally secure a spot as a proper damage dealer in the Hero’s party.
Lina asked the party, standing before the dungeon entrance,
“What should we do? Shall we enter the dungeon?”
“Let’s go in right now! Let’s go in and tear that bastard to shreds!”
The excited Natasha urged them forward.
He understood Natasha’s feelings. But it was a little scary how she kept saying “let’s kill him” in such a cute voice.
“Calm down, Natasha. I just wanted to hear everyone’s opinion before we enter.”
“I don’t mind entering.”
“I’ll stay outside. Ho ho ho. My knees aren’t good, so dungeons are too much for me.”
Natasha asked the granny with concern,
“Grandma… will you be alright alone in the forest?”
“You’re finally looking after Granny instead of just your hubby. Don’t worry, Natasha. Back in my day, I lived in the jungle alone for over a month.”
Granny wasn’t incompetent.
With her experience, she would manage in the forest.
If he had known about this dungeon beforehand, he would have left Granny in the village.
But it couldn’t be helped.
‘It would be troublesome if Nasen cleared the dungeon while we escorted Granny back to the village.’
But entering the dungeon as they were was also problematic.
Sealed skills. Fixed stats.
Informing the party would be helpful, but that meant revealing the Eyes of the Goddess, his trump card.
They might interrogate him about why he kept it a secret.
What should he do? If he’d had time to prepare items for the Labyrinth, even just for himself, it would have been fine.
But he had no time to prepare.
“It seems everyone else agrees to enter the dungeon. What about you, Kerry?”
“…”
Lina asked with a serious expression.
Kerry pretended to think while checking the detailed information on the dungeon.
“!”
At that moment, a map of the Labyrinth unfolded before Kerry’s eyes. A map only he could see.
The map indicated the locations of traps, the types of monsters, and even hidden secret passages. It showed everything.
“Isn’t this too overpowered?”
“Huh?”
“Nothing. Sorry, I was talking to myself. Rather… Lina,”
“Yes, Kerry?”
“I agree to enter the dungeon. Of course we should go in. Nasen is in there.”
Of course. Inside the dungeon awaited his Doll Ginseng… no, his bloody revenge.
“As expected of Kerry. Honestly, even I’m nervous about the dungeon, but you seem relaxed. It must be your love for Natasha that gives you courage.”
“?”
“That’s my Husband! I only have Husband.”
Being surrounded by such pure souls made him feel like a scumbag.
Suppressing his twinge of conscience, Kerry continued,
“Entering the dungeon is fine, but…”
“But?”
The party’s gazes focused on him.
Suddenly, he was the center of attention. This wasn’t what he intended.
“I need to use the restroom. It’s best to take care of things beforehand to avoid trouble later.”
“…”
“You’re incorrigible, Kerry. Hehe.”
The party chuckled at Kerry’s anticlimactic words.
This was enough for now.
Kerry discreetly pocketed some paper and a quill pen.
Expensive, high-quality paper that he rarely carried around. The quill pen was the same.
To think he’d use paper and pen so effectively like this!
From now on, it was time to activate his permanent map hack.
Kerry moved away from the party, pretending to relieve himself.
Then, entering a thicket, he began tracing the Labyrinth onto the rough-textured paper with the quill pen.
‘Since skills are sealed, I might not be able to use the Eyes of the Goddess inside.’
That’s why he had to draw the map in advance.
With the holographic map floating before his eyes, tracing it onto paper was a piece of cake.
He had to be meticulous. This map would be his lifeline in the dungeon.
‘Wait… they’ve really made a mess of the dungeon entrance. I’ll have to prepare to tackle this as soon as we enter.’
While tracing the Labyrinth, he also formulated a strategy for the initial stages of the dungeon.
Since he’d used the restroom as an excuse, he didn’t have much time.
Though the party wouldn’t abandon him and enter without him, even if he took a while.
Even if they misunderstood and thought he had constipation, thoroughly mapping the dungeon was crucial.
15 minutes to trace the map, 10 minutes to devise the initial strategy.
It felt like it took about 25 minutes.
Of course, it was just a feeling since he didn’t have a watch.
Would they really think he had constipation?
Kerry hurried back to the party.
As expected, the party looked at him strangely. He wondered if it was just his imagination that they seemed to be looking at him with pity.
“Sorry I’m late. I guess I was nervous about entering the dungeon. Let’s go in now.”
“Yes, Kerry.”
“It’s okay even if you take a long time, Husband. Hehe.”
Good. No one seemed to be making fun of him for supposedly having constipation. They were all angels.
Then, Victoria approached him and whispered,
“When we reach the next town, I’ll get you some good laxatives, Kerry. If you take those… you won’t have to suffer in the restroom.”
“…”
Did they all think he had constipation but were too considerate to say anything because they didn’t want to embarrass him? That was incredibly unfair!
“Um… everyone, I have something to say. I don’t have constipation. Really.”
“…”
“I was really just nervous.”
“I understand, Kerry.”
“It’s okay, Husband.”
“I’m telling you, I was just nervous… please listen to me.”
“…”
He really didn’t have constipation. But no one looked convinced.
[You have entered the Labyrinth dungeon.]
They finally entered the dungeon.
There was no point in trying to explain about the constipation. It only made him feel more pathetic, so he gave up.
Lina stood at the forefront and addressed the party.
“Everyone, be on high alert. There are all sorts of dangers within the dungeon…”
Just then,
[The Labyrinth dungeon casts a curse. Skills are sealed. All stats are fixed at 10.]
“This is… unbelievable… did everyone see that message?”
“I heard such dungeons existed… but I never imagined we’d encounter one here.”
“I can’t control my mana at all. What should we do?”
Lina, Natasha, and Victoria were all mana users.
They were visibly flustered by the loss of their mana.
Kerry was the calmest. Because he knew beforehand.
He wanted to give the party time to adjust, but they had no time to spare.
Whoever designed this dungeon had placed a nasty surprise right at the entrance.
“Everyone! This isn’t the time to panic.”
“Huh? What do you mean, Husband?”
This damn dungeon had unleashed the boss, the Minotaur, right at the beginning.
He had confirmed it on the map, so he was certain.
As the party’s gazes focused on Kerry,
Mooooooooo-
The Minotaur’s roar reverberated through the dungeon. Kerry shouted to the party,
“Follow me! Quickly!”
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
