Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN)
Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN) - Book 3 Chapter 3.8: Masked Hero

3-8. Masked Hero

Satou's here. I've played around imitating a transforming hero when I was a child but I didn't think that I would really stuck to be one.

◇

I come back to the labyrinth. Covered in blond haired silver masked hero style (lol).

I left the beastkin girls to rest in the inn, so I'm alone. Since Pochi and Tama aren't here I activate the [Trap Release] skill.

Opening the map, I mark the course to where the arm demon should be located.

Alright, with this I won't have to check the map every time I reach a junction.

I proceed for a bit while having the trap discovery skill finds the trap locations. I somehow know where the trap is before the AR indicate it.

I put force to my jump, flying over the trap.

It seems that there are 5 skeleton soldiers in the room ahead. Since pulling out sword is tedious, I just kick them.

The skeleton soldiers are blown away to near the wall in tatters, but they immediately get back up.

"Oh dang, that skill was still disabled."

I open the skill screen on the menu and tap [Fighting]. Not the level but the name. [Fighting Lv 10], the indicator changed from gray to white. I disabled it in order to not beat the people at the downtown back then to death, after I got the abduction skill. It seems that abduction skill has non-killing effect, that's convenient.

I kick an approaching skeleton. The kick hit the torso part blowing it away like it was shot, and sink it into the wall. The skeleton soldier who has lost its torso pauses for a bit, then it flies backward as if being pulled. Many other skeleton soldiers get entangled and destroyed.

I kick the only remaining skeleton lightly. It doesn't get blown away like it was shot like earlier, but it flies to hit the wall while breaking up.

"I should make sure not to forget to turn off fighting skill before I get back to the town..."

Since it'd take a lot of time if I throughly beat all enemies, I decided to fight only the one who blocks my path.

Jumping over the traps, kicking the enemies around, while galloping through the labyrinth.

I got into the life drain trap once, but it only rob a small portion of my stamina.

However, there's a place where I'm forced to stop my feet.

◇

『Thou hast to answer my question if thy wish to continue』

That's what written on the gate. Riddle huh, this is also a labyrinth classic.

『Shonimu is righting the tree, Dareson is eating the fruit, Yurato is planting the seed. Correct our right position.』

Yep, I dunno.

Therefore I decided to do the brute force way.

I take out a sledgehammer from storage, and hit it. Hit. Hit. Hit.

"Is it no good? No wait, I haven't enabled the hammer skill branch."

I allocate points to [Two-Handed Hammer] skill and activate it.

...I somehow understand that it's useless even if I continue to hit it. Is this an effect of the skill too?

I stop minding about it and swing the sledgehammer with all my might!

The handle breaks, and the tips fly to the other end of the room. The door becomes a bit recessed but that's it.

"This door would be a hot sale if I take it home."

I'm considering to ignore the door and just dig through the wall, but referencing the map it looks like it would take some time to finish.

"Should I rely on magic items with unknown effects?"

The frequency of talking to myself increased.

Unfortunately there is no other way around. I have also checked the pit, but there is none that goes to the other side of this door.

I don't have any choice but to deal with the riddle, but this is the type that requires you to know the preamble first.

"Tree, fruit and seed huh... There are some suspicious looking animal pictures, but there are nothing with trees."

I'm at a loss.

"『What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?』, If only it was like that~"

That's right!

I take a pick from Storage, and use it to carve something on the wall.

『What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?』

『It's Man』

>[DeRiddle Skill Acquired]

Thank you Sphinx! I don't know the one who answered that, but thanks for you too!

I'm pouring DeRiddle skill with point to the max, and activate it.

Shonimu, Dareson, Yurato, I still don't know what are they. However I knew which of the suspicious looking animal picture correspond to which name.

And, I somehow know that the tree, the fruit and the seed aren't in this room.

"Skill get, easy victory~ I thought it'd be like that~"

Despite being disappointed, is this sensation thanks to DeRiddle skill?　I understand that there are still more that need to be done to solve this riddle. I don't know concretely how but...

In a game, it's common for key items to be located in different rooms, I search for rooms with strong-looking enemies on the map.

There are 3 blatantly suspicious rooms, furthermore each have enemies clearly higher-leveled than normal.

"Truly game-like eh~"

I try seeing the closest room. The room's floor is depressed except at the center. On the depression, tree root-like creatures are wriggling around.

There's a pedestal in the center of the room, a statue is put on top of it. That's most likely a key item for the riddle.

It seems to be impossible to jump to the pedestal with a single leap. That said, I don't want to land on that wriggling things.

The AR indicate that it's called Wandering Roots, since it's a colony life form it looks like even if I shoot it directly with the magic gun and destroy its external, it still won't die, there'll be no end to it.

That's why I use the molotov bombs I made back then. Since I've activated Fire Resistant skill, my body probably would be fine. If the wig got burned, my disguise will be blown, so I pour the water bottle from the top of my head. With this it won't get burned easily.

I ignite the molotov with the igniter magic tools (Tinder Rod). I casually throw five ignited bottles, and after checking that it's burning nicely, I jump into the fire!

"Like I can!"

Impossible impossible impossible!　Even if I know that my body won't burn, it's still impossible.

Comparatively the live trees are burning nicely. I can see that the smoke isn't coming here, I wonder if there's air vents somewhere?

Since it's tedious to just wait, I check other locations.

The second room is like a square.

In the slightly-lower floor-level in the center, a 3 meter great-majin look-a-like monster is there. The AR indicate that it's a Stone Golem. Level is 40. It has [Physical Damage Halved],[Spirit Damage Invalid] unique skills.

"Standard golem is usually taken care by crossing off the E from EMETH so it become just METH, was it?　There's nothing like that written, the letters itself are different anyway~"

Physical damage halved huh... that mean half of it still works right.

I maximize spear skill points and activate it.

I take out a steel spear from the storage.

After getting a good aim, I throw the spear!

The spear strikes the Stone Golem diagonally, passing through it and piercing through the earthen wall until its base.

A moment later, the stone golem crumbles from the place where the spear pierced through, demolished in single blow.

"It's an overkill~"

There's a blue gem in the mouth of the stone golem. This seems to be 『Fruit』.

The third room is a room with a treasure chest in the center.

Traps are laid all over the room up until the treasure chest location, there's only one safe path until there.

Though it's already easy as long as it has one.

I hang a black rapier on my waist, safely go through the traps and get in front of the treasure chest.

"Who~ah, the treasure chest was a mimic!"

Yes, the monster in this room is a dungeon regular, Mimic.

While I equip the rapier, the treasure chest is about to attack by opening its mouth, so I consecutively thrust the rapier. It feels like destroying a furniture rather than a living being.

>[Continuous Attack Skill Acquired]

The Mimic evaporates while leaving out purple smoke. I involuntarily step back and my foot almost got caught up by the trap. Dangerous, dangerous.

Underneath the place where the mimic was, there's a black stone. This one seems to be 『Seed』.

When I get back to the first room the fire has been extinguished, thin and white smoke is rising from the cinders.

The Wandering Root has evacuated somewhere, it's nowhere to be seen.

This is fortunate, I collect the statue from the pedestal. This is probably 『Tree』.

It doesn't seem that a boulder is going to crash down even if I took the statue.

I leave DeRiddle skill to place the collected item on the right position, then the door silently opens.

So that the door won't close when I'm going back, I stab a suitable great sword on the floor.

From there, there was nothing worth to talk about until the target room, I ran through.

◇

"This is the place where the arm demon should be..."

If he's not revived then I'm going back to indulge on lazing around~

An altar-looking thing is situated on the depth of the room.

I'm closing on it...

The candlesticks around the altar are suddenly lit with blue fire.

"Fuhahahaha! I appear!"

A magic circle with purple light emerges from the altar along with the arm demon's voice.

On the center of the magic cirlce, the arm demon relaxedly rises, no, its whole body has been revived.

"Muhha~~! In perfection I, am revived!"

"As usual, what an idiotic way of talking."

"Mumumumu! You bastard! Silver mask! I, struggle!"

The demon roars, and black aura is rising from its body. It seems to be some kind of support magic. The AR indicates that it's [Physical Damage 90% Cut].

"Unpreparedness is one's greatest enemy! I, do my best!"

The demon roars again. Purple lights are emitting from its nails, horn and tail. The AR indicates that [Physical Attack Power 300% Up].

"Is it fine now?"

I put the sheath of holy sword on my waist while listening the demon. I wonder if it's also called sheath for western swords?

Returning my consciousness which went astray to the demon.

"For showing that allowance, it's my turn now! I, dash forward!"

The demon attacks while dashing!

While leaving purple afterglows, the demon stab the poisonous claw with its right hand, but I duck from the attack and counter with iai flash, slashing from the bottom up.

The blue light track is beautiful like always.

The holy sword tears through the meat smoothly without any resistance, severing the bones.

"Gunununu! I, unyielding!"

The demon who has its arm cut, use the rotating tail to strike instead. Come to think of it, I was blown away by this tail the first time.

If I don't let my guard down, this isn't a problem. I cut the tail with a single stroke of sword.

"No way! You bastard! You must be a hero! I astonished!"

The demon shows its back after using its tail to attack, I cut it into three pieces from behind...

Yep, I'm alright. After defeating so many insects, I got accustomed to it.

"This can't be! Mao-sama... I, regret..."

After making sure that the demon's HP is 0, I collect the cut tail and arm and put them on the main body. It's troublesome if it resurrects again like before. Let's cremate it.

I set fire by throwing the rest of the molotov bomb to its body from a bit far.

I monitor the corpse until it's burned down from a place away. Probably because its existence is already thin, it has been burned out leaving only ashes in only 5 minutes .

Having finished my business in the labyrinth, I leave it behind.

>Title [Labyrinth Traveler] Acquired