Chapter 29: If You Smile, Good Luck Will Come

After that, we steadily navigated through the labyrinth.

And we did so.

Without hitting the time limit, quite comfortably.

Today’s MVP was Tina.

“To the right!”

“Are you serious?”

“Hmm… Honestly, it feels like the left…”

“Then let’s go right.”

Her predictive power was downright catastrophic.

With a sprinkle of exaggeration.

It was as if she could pick 39 out of 45 lottery numbers.

And if you bought the remaining 6, you’d hit the jackpot with that accuracy!

Of course, occasionally her ‘ego craving proper praise’ would pop up.

And she’d deliberately give the opposite advice.

But honestly, it was all over her face.

When Tina lied.

A mischievous little smile would curl at the corner of her lips.

At first, she seemed like a bratty Meskgaki.

But the more I watched her, the more I realized there was no one as adorable as her.

Alright. Time for some fun.

“Ucha.”

I unleashed my ultimate move in the art of entertaining kids.

I gave her a piggyback ride.

“Kyaaah, kyaaah…!”

Tina’s satisfaction was through the roof!

·Of course, even though we could find the right path with precision.

The labyrinth was still inside the tower.

Naturally, it wasn’t always a peaceful place.

“Kyaaah!”

“Spiders. They’re coming from the front. Four of them.”

If you let your guard down even a little.

Spiders would come crawling out, shooting webs everywhere.

And.

“Ugh…!”

If you got hit by the occasional spit from the spiders, you’d immediately start hallucinating from the poison.

If this were a newbie party’s first run, they’d probably be knocked out cold, drenched in poison.

But who am I?

Whoosh

“Thank you, Ark.”

A veteran transmigrator.

Of course, I was prepared for this.

Our number one alchemist’s primary task was to craft antidotes.

Yawn….. You’re quite energetic this early in the morning……

This dawn, when I went out for a walk, I woke up Ellis, who was sleeping in just her underwear, and dragged her out.

Then I locked her in the alchemy workshop and ordered her to mass-produce antidotes.

Without pay.

There’s a saying, right?

Labor sets you free……..

No.

Let’s pretend that saying doesn’t exist.

I feel like a mustache might sprout on my philtrum if I keep going.

Then, as much as you die, you give birth…………?

*Ahem*, ahem. That’s not it either.

Anyway, thanks to that.

Our party was able to properly counter the poison thanks to the post-poison antidotes.

“Ark! Dodge it!”

Ugh.

Wow… one spiderling………… two spiderlings………….

Splat… Sizzle… Groan…

“Hehe… woo… joah………….”

“Ark? I’ll open the lid for you. Here, don’t spill it.”

Mama…………… mama………….. woo………….. mama…………..

“Ugh.”

Damn, the poison’s insane.

The drug’s insane too.

For a moment, my brain completely short-circuited, turning me into a babbling mess.

But thanks to Yohena’s timely first aid, I managed to snap back to normal.

“Be careful, Ark. Thankfully, it’s not a harmful type of poison.”

“Arf! Master, be careful, arf!”

Sometimes, even a single drop could trigger the poison’s effects.

Even just being near a poison gland would make me feel dizzy and disoriented.

It wasn’t painful or stinging, just, well.

Hard to describe, but, uh.

Hallucinations would appear, and, uh.

…I think I understand why people do drugs, uh.

Hmm. 

Anyway.

“Huuuh… kuuuuh…”

“Ah, Ari!”

Just now, Ari seemed a bit disoriented.

So I quickly shoved a potion into her mouth.

“Kuh, ugh, kuh! Ugh, seriously…”

Ari whined.

I wanted to ask what hallucination she saw.

But I held back with superhuman self-control.

It was like when you’re under anesthesia before an endoscopy.

You just blurt out whatever in a daze.

“We need to come up with a plan.”

I need to farm materials hard and craft an anti-poison artifact.

For my own sake.

…But it’s an equipment item.

Will it work on me too? It should, right?

Honestly, the poison itself isn’t the threat.

It’s more about the risk of me slipping up and saying something wrong when I’m poisoned.

“Eek…! Arachne… you wretched spider bitch…!”

“Hey. Watch your language.”

The deeper we went into the area.

The weaker Tina’s spiritual pressure became.

Of course, her performance was still solid.

But it felt like someone was watching us break through and spraying webs in real-time—

“Ark, be careful!”

—Like this.

There was no room to let our guard down.

They mostly targeted my ankles, sneaking up quietly.

“How dare you target my master! Outrageous!”

“Outrageous, arf!”

Whether the heroes were dodging with their physical skills or if they were really only targeting me.

It felt really creepy.

Earlier, I almost twisted my ankle because I let my guard down.

The fierce life of a sunfish.

If I don’t stay sharp, a killer tackle could come at any moment.

“But, it’s really creepy………….”

I completely agree with Yohena’s words.

It felt like we were inside some giant tentacle, with the webs squirming and blocking our path.

I just wanted to set it all on fire…….

……..

……?

Fire?

Why didn’t I think of that until now?

It’s common sense, right?

“Saha?”

“Yes, Ark. What is it?”

“Can you use Hammerfall even if there’s no enemy?”

“…? You mean summon the flames?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, I can.”

As soon as Saha lightly tapped the ground with her hammer.

A brilliant flame roared to life.

Having fought alongside her a few times, I already knew that the flames she summoned wouldn’t harm me.

Slap!

“…Ark. Don’t do that.”

Yohena smacked the back of my hand as I tried to stick my fist into the fire.

Ouch.

But how can I resist a flaming fist?

Since I’m powerless, this is my way of living vicariously.

Anyway.

“Saha, can you blast those webs with maximum firepower?”

As soon as I finished speaking.

Everyone had an exclamation mark pop up above their heads.

You feel it too, right, heroes?

Saha gripped the hammer’s handle tightly and swung it down hard on the webs that had just descended to block our path.

Whoosh!

“Delicious……………!”

Tina’s eyes sparkled.

She’s at that age where she loves stuff like this.

Soon.

Sizzle—-

Along with the smell of burning hair.

The thick webs began to melt away.

“Oh…!”

“Ark! You’re so smart!”

“Master! You’re the best, arf!”

Ah.

Webs burn in fire.

Ding

It’s common sense.

Plain and simple.

…Such an obvious common sense.

Including me, all six of us here.

Are we all idiots?

I buried that reasonable suspicion deep in my heart for a moment.

“Tina, just point the direction. Up? Down?”

“Hmm… Up?”

“Right? Left?”

“Hmm… Left!”

“Saha.”

“Understood.”

If there’s no path, make one.

The labyrinth arsonist is here.

***

“Kyahahaha, kyaruru, kya, kyahahahahahaha…………!”

Somewhere on the 15th floor.

In Arachne’s domain, a breathless laughter kept erupting.

The webs that filled the great labyrinth ‘Labyrinth’.

And the ones that sometimes squirmed as if alive, hindering the hero party.

They were, of course, Arachne’s meticulously crafted creations, part of her very body.

Compared to the mental anguish of seeing her masterpiece burn and melt away.

The sensation she felt as the webs burned was merely like being bitten by a mosquito.

That’s right.

A mosquito bite.

“Kyaruru, kyahahaha, kyahahahahahaha……………! My, my webs…………! Kyaru, kyaruruhahahahaha…………!”

In human terms.

It was like sticking your foot into a sealed space with hundreds of mosquitoes to finally feel that overwhelming itch!

Arachne lay on the floor for a while.

Unable to get up, she just writhed and twisted her body, forced into a laughing fit.

“Kyahahaha…………… Bu, burn…………! Kyaru, kyahahahahaha! You, you dare…………!”

But at least there was one silver lining.

Somehow, they always found their way, even though it made no sense.

The heroes were breaking through the labyrinth in a straight line toward the exit, except for areas blocked by indestructible walls.

So Arachne fervently prayed that the heroes would quickly pass through the area.

And end this unbearable itch.

[11th floor, 4th area has been breached.]

“Huuuh……………, huuuh……………, heuuuh…”

Perhaps her prayers reached the goddess, no, the demon lord.

Finally freed from the itch.

Arachne, regaining the luxury to breathe and think.

Shuddered as she recalled the horrifying sensation.

And with great effort, she steadied herself, wobbling as she regained her balance.

And then.

“This is………… cheating……………! It’s………… impossible…………!”

She vented her frustration.

Because.

Across all parallel dimensions.

The only heroes who came up with and executed the utterly ‘unconventional and brute-force’ idea of burning the webs.

Were the heroes of this dimension.

Originally, such ‘unconventional’ methods shouldn’t work within the tower’s laws.

In other words.

It could clearly be interpreted as a ‘violation of the rules.’

“Proposal………… to the………… demon lord…………”

As Arachne reached out to operate the panel.

[11th floor, 5th area has been entered by enemies.]

“No………… noooooo…………!”

A chill ran down her spine as Arachne made a pained expression.

But it was an unavoidable fate.

“Kyaru, kyahahahahahaha…………… kyahahahahahahahaha……………!”

Another fiery blaze erupted, and Arachne’s laughter burst out uncontrollably once more.