Chapter 17: Hidden – 2

As I took the lead, I suppressed my presence while marking the path so the others could follow easily.

“These markings… what are they for?”

“In case we run into others and get separated like last time.”

Of course, we wouldn’t let ourselves be completely scattered.

But it was always good to prepare for the worst.

You never knew what could happen in the Labyrinth.

After walking for a while, Erme suddenly took the lead.

“Erme?”

“I have a good sense for this. Let’s go this way.”

She strode forward confidently.

…But something felt off.

Last time in the Labyrinth, she seemed uncertain and flustered.

‘Why is she so confident now?’

She moved without hesitation, as if she knew the path.

That was what made it strange.

It was almost like she had been here before.

I recalled something.

The Labyrinth was a space where time and space were warped.

No one could predict where they would land upon entering.

No one could tell where the path to the next floor would be.

And yet, Erme’s movements were precise, her expression saying, This is perfect.

Our party followed behind her.

She didn’t hesitate.

“Ten Goblins ahead.”

“Prepare for combat.”

Kieeeek!

“Take this.”

Glasses cast support buffs on me, Erme, and Theresa.

My body felt lighter.

I dashed forward, faster than anyone else, sword in hand.

‘I’ll strike first.’

Two Goblin Archers were firing from the back.

Annoying.

I threw three daggers.

Each one followed a different trajectory.

Clang!

One of the nearby goblins managed to block, but the other two daggers struck the archers’ throats.

I pulled out the Blood-Soaked Dagger from Hidden Space.

Slash!

I immediately cut down a goblin charging at the front.

Maybe because the dagger absorbed blood, its color deepened into an even darker crimson.

No time to admire it.

I was still in the middle of battle.

Two more goblins lunged at me.

The first one swung a club.

I dodged by tilting my head back.

Whoosh!

The club barely grazed my hair.

The other goblin grinned, baring its jagged teeth.

It aimed a rusty, corroded sword at me.

I threw a dagger from Hidden Space, embedding it right in its skull.

Don’t smirk at me like that.

Once I finished off the goblins attacking me, I noticed the others had almost cleared out the remaining enemies.

“That’s some impressive skill. You’ve gotten even stronger than you were two days ago.”

Glasses adjusted his frames as he spoke.

It was true—I had gotten stronger.

‘My swordsmanship leveled up.’

Without realizing it, I had eliminated a lot of my bad habits.

My sword strikes were cleaner, faster, more precise—overall, everything had improved.

“No.”

“No? What do you mean?”

“I didn’t just get stronger.”

At Theresa’s remark, Erme glanced at the fallen goblins.

Then she nodded in agreement.

“Definitely… different.”

“Yeah. You’ve changed.”

“There’s a cleanliness to your movements now. Before, your swordplay felt more… wild.”

“…But getting this much stronger in just two days doesn’t make sense.”

Glasses looked at me with disbelief, while Theresa observed me carefully.

“Save the chatter for later. Let’s harvest resources from the goblins and move forward.”

Erme interrupted, stopping the conversation.

She was right—this was a dangerous place. We could discuss things once we were safe.

After a few more battles, I felt it.

A strange sense of déjà vu.

This place…

An instinct telling me that something hidden was nearby.

Thief’s Pinnacle was guiding me.

Something was concealed in this place.

I turned to Erme.

And she was already watching me.

So this was why she had led us here.

‘She wanted us to end up in this exact spot.’

She knew the layout.

She expected me to find something here.

‘What the hell is she?’

She had strange knowledge.

Back when we first met, she looked at me and said I wouldn’t die to goblins.

Then there was that mysterious money, and the inside information on Volcan.

Could it be that Erme…?

‘No. That’s not the priority right now.’

The important thing was telling the others.

I raised my hand, signaling the party to stop.

“There are some unusual traces here.”

“Unusual traces?”

“Yeah. I think something is hidden nearby.”

“Wait… could this be a Hidden?”

“Hidden?”

“Simply put, it’s something hidden within the Labyrinth. This place is so massive that there are bound to be secret areas. Hidden locations can vary—some lead to different places, while others are just concealed rooms.”

“The ones that transport you elsewhere are riskier, but as long as they don’t send us to a lower floor, it shouldn’t be too bad. With our strength, this should be manageable.”

Erme explained calmly.

Glasses and Theresa still looked uncertain.

Meanwhile, Erme turned her twilight-colored eyes toward me, as if silently asking—

What will you do?

‘If my suspicion about her is correct…’

After a brief moment of consideration, I made my decision.

We’re going.

I nodded.

Theresa and Glasses groaned in response.

“There’s an old saying in the Labyrinth: It’s not the strong who survive—it’s the ones who survive that become strong. Adventurers are told to avoid unnecessary risks whenever possible.”

“……”

“But I don’t want to live that kind of boring life. If safety was my only concern, I would have just become a Support Mage and locked myself in the Magic Tower to study spells. I’m going.”

“…I need money.”

Theresa took a step forward.

“I’ll go too.”

“That’s four in favor, zero against. Decision made.”

Erme smiled, almost like she already knew what lay ahead.

“As expected. Shall we go, then?”

She stepped forward and pressed against an unusual section of the wall—the very one my senses had detected.

Shhhhk.

The wall vanished, revealing a door.

“A Hidden Room?”

“Not sure. There could be a portal inside.”

“A portal?”

“It’s a Labyrinth mechanism that leads to another space. More dangerous, yes—but the treasures inside are usually worth it.”

Erme took a step back and gestured toward the door.

“Hehe, I’m no good with these things.”

A lock was fastened to the door.

So even this kind of thing existed?

The moment I saw it, knowledge of how to unlock it naturally flowed into my mind.

Wire…

I recalled what I had stored in Bag 2—a general store pouch, a Soulstone, and Obsession of the Villainess.

From there, I pulled out a wire.

‘Good thing I bought this just in case.’

Click.

As soon as I inserted the wire, the lock clicked open effortlessly.

“…Is it supposed to be that fast?”

“Well, if nothing else, I guess this proves he really is a Thief.”

Glasses and Erme commented, but I ignored them and pushed the door open.

‘No traps…’

Inside was an empty room—nothing but a bare space.

The only notable detail was that the walls had deep blade marks scattered across them.

“There aren’t any traps inside.”

“Alright, then let’s take a quick look around.”

Erme stepped inside, smiling brightly.

Rumble!

The moment all of us entered, the door shut behind us.

A pitch-black space.

I immediately drew my sword, preparing for anything.

“…Doesn’t seem like a trap.”

“Yeah, looks that way.”

“Can any of you see anything?”

“…More or less.”

Glasses sounded uneasy in the darkness.

“Can’t you just summon some light?”

“I could, but if there’s no enemy and we can see, I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Oh?”

“We don’t know what kind of Hidden Room this is. There are cases where summoning light could trigger a trap—like the ceiling suddenly collapsing.”

What kind of death trap is that?

I glanced at Erme, and she nodded in confirmation.

“There are rooms like that. Turning on a light isn’t always the best idea. More specifically, some traps react to magic, but this room doesn’t seem to be one of those. Still, we should be careful.”

“Got it.”

I silenced Erme before she went into full explanation mode and focused on examining the blade marks on the walls.

‘There’s definitely a way to solve this.’

I stepped closer.

No traps, but…

What should I call this?

A mechanical mechanism?

It wasn’t magic, swordsmanship, or mana-based—it was something purely scientific.

‘A place like this exists in the Labyrinth?’

It felt strange.

Not impossible, but definitely unexpected.

“Did you figure something out?”

“There’s some kind of mechanism here.”

“A mechanism?”

“Yeah. Step back for a moment.”

If my guess was right…

Thief’s Pinnacle had given me information.

And these blade marks.

I exhaled and swung my sword precisely where the cuts were.

Sring!

I hit something.

And with a deep rumble, a section of the wall slid open.

“Looks like that was the right answer.”

“…How the hell did you do that so fast?”

Erme stared at me, looking dazed.

I ignored her and took the lead.

This kind of thing…

‘It’s oddly exciting.’

But I forced myself to stay calm.

This could still be a trap.

As much as I’d prefer staying in the back, I was the best at detecting things.

We moved in formation.

Me and Erme in the front, Glasses in the middle, and Theresa at the rear.

The reason was simple.

To protect Glasses, our Mage, in case of any sudden threats.

After descending for a while, another door appeared.

“…The Labyrinth really is a strange place.”

Glasses muttered as he examined the surroundings.

The path kept leading downward.

“…At this rate, this might be a Hidden Floor.”

“A Hidden Floor?”

“A floor that exists between the usual ones. For example, if this is the 1st Floor, this could actually be Floor 1.5.”

“…That’s a good thing, right?”

“Of course. If we’re the first to discover Floor 1.5, then there’s probably a Boss here.”

“A Boss…?”

“The 1st Floor normally has Hobgoblin Duelists. The 2nd Floor is the Arachne’s Nest…”

“Then 1.5 would be…?”

At Glasses’ words, Erme responded firmly.

“If this were really Floor 1.5, it’d be difficult for us to handle—”

She paused, glanced at me, then shook her head.

“…Actually, never mind.”

“If this really were a hidden floor, we would’ve already encountered Hobgoblins at the entrance.”

“…Huh. I guess that makes sense?”

“Yes. And Marcel, the information you have seems a little distorted. That floor has already been cleared.”

Marcel narrowed his eyes at Erme.

His expression clearly said—How do you even know that?

I remained silent, scanning for traps, while Theresa followed behind me with a blank stare.

“…Feels strong.”

“I agree.”

Even from outside the door, we could feel it.

Whatever was inside… was extremely powerful.

A heavy, skin-prickling pressure radiated from behind the door.

‘What the hell is in there?’

A sensation commonly referred to as killing intent.

For a brief moment, my body froze.

But at the same time.

‘Is this Aura?’

Knowledge suddenly surfaced in my mind.

Aura.

A power separate from magic.

A force that could be described as pure battle energy.

A power that allows the user to intimidate their opponent, depending on their capability or latent potential.

And whatever was inside this room… was naturally radiating that kind of force.

A strong one.

My body instinctively tensed.

No.

Rather than tension, my body felt light.

“…Yuseong?”

“What?”

“…Are you enjoying this?”

“No.”

“It’s just… you look way too excited.”

…What?

There’s no way I’d.

I suddenly realized.

I was smiling.

‘…Did being trapped in this savage world turn me into a barbarian too?’

I sighed.

“Opening the door.”

“…Alright.”

Creeeak.

As the door swung open, a massive figure came into view.

It wielded an enormous greatsword, its silver skin glistening under the dim light.

It stood around three meters tall, its hulking frame exuding raw power.

If a goblin could evolve, this is what it would look like.

“A Hobgoblin Duelist?”

“No. This is a Hobgoblin Champion—a rank higher. Be careful, it’s strong.”

KUUOOOOOOHH!!

At Erme’s words, the Hobgoblin Champion let out a deafening roar.

Glasses froze in place.

“Damn it…! This pressure…! S-sorry, I can’t move right now!”

A stun effect?

“Buff us once you recover.”

I pulled out the Blood-Soaked Dagger.

The sword Erme had bought for me was stored safely in Bag 1.

Instead, I drew Whisper of the Wind.

Without hesitation, I charged at the Hobgoblin Champion.