Chapter 198
'The Bearer of Blood and Madness?'
A familiar demon's name came from the Orc.
Zeke moved closer to the Orc and asked again,
"Are you related to the Bearer of Blood and Madness?"
The Orc, bleeding, shouted,
[Glory to the Bearer of Blood and Madness!]
With that cry, the Orc breathed his last and turned to ash, disappearing.
Zeke frowned as he looked at the Orc's axe left where he had disappeared.
"What Arataso said about the Orcs worshiping the Bearer of Blood and Madness was true."
That meant these Orcs were from the Hero King era, two thousand years ago.
He couldn't understand why an ancient race, whose traces were now hard to find, was in this labyrinth.
'Did someone bind the spirits of the Orcs here like the other monsters?'
If Tyr created this place for training purposes, it made sense to some extent that he would capture their souls here for combat training against the Orcs, who were the main enemies at that time.
'I have no choice but to keep going down.'
As Zeke was about to move, he looked around and saw that the armor and axes used by the Orcs remained where they had disappeared.
―Axe Information―
Description: An axe favored by Orcs.
Unique Ability: None
Special Note: Heavy and sturdy.
―Armor Information―
Description: Heavy armor favored by Orcs.
Unique Ability: None
Special Note: Heavy and sturdy.
Their descriptions were simple, unlike the elf's armor.
Zeke slowly examined the scattered axes and armor.
Although they were sturdy, they didn't seem to have any magic on them, and their size was too large to be practical.
'It's a bit much to put all of this in my inventory.'
Then an idea crossed Zeke's mind.
"Can I sell these in the shop?"
Zeke immediately opened the shop and tried putting up the armor and axe.
[Do you want to sell the Orc's armor and axe?]
Seeing the message, Zeke cheered.
"It's sellable because it's an ancient item. Good. Sell."
[You have sold the Orc's armor and axe.]
[You have gained 20 karma points.]
"Oh, 20 points! Not bad."
The armor and axe were each worth 10 points.
Zeke diligently gathered all the armor and axes scattered around and sold them in the shop.
Zeke earned 1,060 points just from the 31st floor.
"4,834 karma points. If there are more Orcs below, I can earn karma points as well."
It cost 3,000 karma points to unlock the 4th stage of Draconian Skills.
He didn't know what skills were in the 4th stage, but he would need at least tens of thousands of points to unlock them.
"I was wondering when I would accumulate the points, but this is good."
With a satisfied smile, Zeke rested and then tried to go down to the 32nd floor.
But then a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The Inverted Tower adjusts the difficulty of the trial to match the target's abilities.]
[The structure of the Trial Ground is changing.]
[Moving to a hidden stage corresponding to the trials of the 32nd to 50th floors.]
[As the difficulty is arbitrarily adjusted, rewards corresponding to the hidden stage will be given upon clearing.]
"Stage change? Suddenly?"
Zeke's body was momentarily enveloped in a bright light.
As if he had entered a portal, the light disappeared after a while, and when he opened his eyes, the scenery around him had changed.
'What is this place?'
Until now, it felt like a dungeon enclosed on all sides, but this place looked like an ancient city abandoned long ago.
It wasn't inside a structure with all sides blocked.
The ceiling was high, and buildings in a style he had never seen before were densely packed together.
As he came down the stairs and looked around, he wondered if he had perhaps entered the ancient ruins of Thebes.
Then a message appeared before his eyes.
[Hidden stage begins.]
[Survive the stage and reach the designated location.]
[Rewards corresponding to the stage will be given upon clearing.]
"This is the hidden stage?"
Woooong!
Just then, a white light appeared at the innermost part of what looked like ancient ruins.
It seemed that reaching that point was the condition for clearing the quest.
'If I just have to go there, it doesn't seem that difficult, so why is it a hidden stage?'
He was puzzled by the seemingly easy difficulty.
Whoosh!
Something was detected moving between the buildings.
Zeke drew his sword and hid himself.
He watched the unidentified figures and calmed his breathing.
'Are they enemies? Stealthy and swift movements. Those aren't the movements of monsters.'
Whoosh!
Three arrows suddenly struck the spot where Zeke had been standing.
Whoosh!
Zeke, displaying the movements he had learned during his time as a hitman in the Southern Continent, dodged the arrows and quickly moved between the buildings.
He immediately chased after the flickering shadows.
Whoosh!
Closing the distance in an instant, Zeke swung his sword at the shadows.
Clang!
The shadows deflected the attack, wielding misshapen swords that curved like snakes towards Zeke.
'Ugh!'
Zeke felt that the swordsmanship contained in the misshapen swords was no joke.
Their movements were those of professional assassins who had undergone long training.
Zeke continued to chase the shadows and entered the inner city.
However, the scattered shadows had disappeared without a trace.
Zeke sheathed his sword and gritted his teeth.
'They're quick. They didn't seem like monsters. Could there be humans in this labyrinth?'
Since there were ancient Orcs, there could also be humans from that era.
Zeke looked around and found a building that seemed advantageous for defense, then entered.
He took out scrolls and magic stones from his inventory and created simple alarm devices, attaching them here and there.
With the Infinite Stamina skill restricted, maintaining his stamina was most important.
'If those guys are really assassins, this could be a long fight.'
Patience was the first quality an assassin had to possess.
He, too, was a former assassin, so he knew their habits well.
Zeke didn't move recklessly. He set traps and waited for the shadows to approach.
This space was like their home ground, so he needed to move cautiously.
Zeke opened the map and focused on grasping the surrounding space and location.
Even after quite some time had passed, the shadows showed no movement at all.
Zeke realized that they were waiting for him to tire out.
'This is a very classic tactic. They'll probably make their move around dawn.'
Although the concept of time wasn't accurate inside the labyrinth, they would be waiting for Zeke's stamina and concentration to wane.
However, Zeke, who was used to this tactic, was rather at ease.
Even without Infinite Stamina, he could endure for about a week without sleep.
As Zeke continued to hold out, it was the shadows who became anxious.
About 48 hours into the standoff, Zeke sensed presence approaching the building he was in.
Zeke drew his dagger, stood up, and assessed the situation.
However, it wasn't the shadows who were approaching the building.
Growl!
A dozen Hellhounds were approaching the building, baring their fangs.
The Hellhounds, as if following someone's orders, scattered in an orderly fashion, displaying organized movements.
Zeke was surprised to see this.
'They're controlling Hellhounds? Those monsters are impossible to tame.'
Although they looked similar to dogs, Hellhounds were classified as high-risk monsters.
He could understand if it was just one, but a pack of Hellhounds was so dangerous that even Ogres avoided them.
Just like well-trained hunting dogs, the Hellhounds jumped into the building.
At the same time, the traps Zeke had set on the first floor were activated.
Whoosh!
A thick, poisonous mist arose. He had combined scrolls that created mist and pre-made Hydra venom in potion form to create traps that generated poisonous mist.
Groan!
Even Hellhounds couldn't withstand the Hydra's venom.
As the poisonous mist spread, the Hellhounds that had entered the building foamed at the mouth and collapsed.
Soon, the bodies of the dead Hellhounds turned to ash and disappeared, just like other monsters.
Although the Hellhounds were dead, no message appeared saying he had gained experience points, unlike when he burned the boss monster with the Elemental Sword.
'This is tricky.'
The rule that he would only be rewarded if he directly confronted the enemy with his own body was strictly enforced.
When the Hellhounds that entered the building didn't respond, the shadows that had been watching the situation began to reveal their presence again.
Zeke leaned against the wall and waited for them to make a move.
Eventually, the shadows moved first towards the building where Zeke was.
Zeke tried to grasp the enemies' movements through the map, but they weren't displayed on the screen.
Rustle!
Although he couldn't confirm it on the map, Zeke sensed the shadows stealthily approaching from the 1st floor, the rooftop, and the sides.
Zeke held his breath and waited for them to come further inside.
'Just a little more.'
And when the shadows infiltrated deeper, he activated the traps he had set beforehand.
Crash!
The explosion scrolls attached to the magic stones detonated all at once.
The entire building began to collapse from the impact.
The shadows were startled by the explosion and quickly retreated.
This was exactly what Zeke had aimed for.
Whoosh!
Zeke's movements, as he stealthily infiltrated with his dagger, were superior to even the assassins of the Murderer's Guild.
Thud!
Zeke's dagger pierced the neck of a masked shadow.
The shadow collapsed without a single scream.
Soon, the shadow also turned to ash and scattered, leaving behind a misshapen sword. At the same time, a message appeared before Zeke's eyes.
[The cursed soul of the ancient Dark Elf warrior is released from the Fighting God's Domain.]
'Dark Elf?'
It was a name he had never heard before.
Just then, other Dark Elves swarmed towards Zeke.
Whoosh!
An archer positioned on top of a building fired arrows at Zeke.
As Zeke dodged the arrows, another Dark Elf behind him reached out a hand towards Zeke.
"■■ ■■■ ■■■...."
With a strange, echoing pronunciation, Zeke suddenly felt his body become heavy and dizziness wash over him.
'Damn it. A curse.'
He didn't expect the assassin to use curse magic.
Since Steadfast mental Defense and Curse Reflection weren't working, Zeke quickly rolled his body and retreated.
He took out the status ailment recovery potion he had bought beforehand, put it in the automatic slot, and drank it.
Soon, the curse was lifted, and his mind cleared.
Arrows flew towards Zeke again.
He didn't want to use Teia's Hercyon because it would quickly deplete his stamina and put him at a disadvantage in battle.
'Then...'
Zeke took out the shield he had made from the Black Scorpion's shell from his inventory.
He had made it as an experiment and didn't expect it to be useful like this.
Zeke held up the Black Scorpion Shield and charged towards the Dark Elf warriors.
Clang! Clang!
The hard Black Scorpion shell deflected the Dark Elves' arrows.
Zeke struck the elves with his shield.
Bang!
Since the shield also had the curse effect of weakening stamina, the Dark Elf hit by the attack staggered and collapsed.
Zeke immediately activated the hidden device on the shield and stabbed the fallen Dark Elf warrior with the poison needle coated with the Black Scorpion's venom.
Thud!
The Dark Elf warrior, stabbed with the poison needle, convulsed and soon died.
Swoosh
The dead Dark Elf warrior disappeared, leaving behind a misshapen sword.
Zeke didn't even glance at it and drew Bahamut while holding the shield.
The Dark Elves were wary as they saw Zeke take the stance of Agamemnon's Golden Swordsmanship.
As the standoff continued, one of the Dark Elf warriors stepped forward in front of Zeke.
"■■■ ■■!!"
Like the Orc language, he couldn't understand the Dark Elf language.
'System, translate. No, from now on, automatically translate any language I don't understand.'
Soon, the system translated the Dark Elf language into the continental common language.
[Hateful humans! I don't know how you got in here, but you won't get out alive!]
Zeke looked at the Dark Elf shouting at him and said,
"Dark Elf. Were you also trapped here for two thousand years like the Orcs?"
Seeing Zeke speak their language, the Dark Elves looked bewildered.
Meanwhile, the Dark Elf warrior who had shouted at Zeke opened his mouth again.
[Two thousand years? What are you talking about, human!]