I was suffering from a lack of sleep.
The night before, I’d fully indulged in the services of my two maids. Being pampered by both of them from both sides at once was pure bliss. If that wasn't the pinnacle of luxury, I didn't know what was.
I’d spent the evening savoring the devoted attention of two women who were willing to fulfill my every whim. Afterward, we had a late dinner, and I’d even kept the Sex Fiend job equipped to enjoy myself a little more before bed.
Perhaps out of habit, I woke up at my usual time this morning. As a result, I hadn't quite gotten enough rest.
Entering a Labyrinth while sleep-deprived was a daunting prospect. If I were experiencing obvious symptoms—like feeling drowsy, heavy-limbed, or slow-witted—I would have called it a day, but the trouble was that I felt just fine. Physically, it was business as usual. It was only objectively, looking at the clock, that I knew I was short on sleep.
I carefully checked in with Roxanne and Sherry, but neither of them seemed to be in bad shape either. I had a feeling that if I skipped the Labyrinth just once, I’d start coming up with all sorts of excuses to stay away in the future. So, I decided we were going in.
We hunted monsters with more caution and focus than usual. The NEET Ants were going down steadily after three magic spells, so everything seemed to be under control.
As we pushed through the ninth floor of the Quratar Labyrinth, we entered a small room.
“Master, a treasure chest!” Roxanne called out.
In the center of the room was a small, raised mound. It was indeed a treasure chest—the first one I’d seen in a while.
“Wait, wait, wait!” I shouted, hurriedly catching Roxanne just as she was about to thrust her scimitar into it.
Easy there, girl. You shouldn’t just rush into everything. The only place where acting without hesitation was encouraged was in bed.
Was Roxanne acting impulsively because she was tired too? No, knowing her, that probably wasn't it. Still, there was always the risk of a Mimic. We needed to be careful.
I stowed my wand and drew Durandal. Once I’d taken a combat stance, I gave Roxanne a nod.
“I believe it’s highly unlikely for a boss to use Mimicry on these lower floors,” Sherry noted.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. I’ve heard they never appear above the eleventh floor. Some people claim that’s only because treasure chests themselves are so rare on the early floors. From the twelfth floor down, the floor boss will occasionally disguise itself as a chest.”
So a Mimic meant facing the floor boss.
While I was listening to Sherry’s explanation, Roxanne drove her scimitar into the chest, slicing the floor open. Silver coins spilled out.
“It’s silver, Master.”
Thirteen silver coins in total. Thirteen hundred Nahl—a somewhat underwhelming sum. I wished we’d find a massive haul for once, but I supposed this was the best one could expect on the upper floors.
Treasure chests contained the gear and item box contents of those who had died in the Labyrinth. Seeing thirteen coins made me wonder if the original owner had been a Level 13 Explorer. An Explorer’s item box capacity was tied to their level, after all.
I offered a brief silent prayer for the soul of the previous owner before taking the coins from Roxanne.
“I’ll fight with the sword for the next round,” I said, prompting Roxanne to continue the exploration. I’d burned through a decent amount of MP, so I might as well recover some while I had Durandal out.
Roxanne led the way, eventually bringing us to a group of four NEET Ants. A whole swarm of them.
“They’re coming!”
“Let’s go!”
I started by delivering a diagonal slash to the ant on the far left. I parried its counter-charge and swung again, finishing it off. I immediately moved to the next one, which Sherry was currently distracting. I circled behind it and landed a solid blow.
Suddenly, an orange magic circle flickered beneath the ant in the center of the group.
That was a skill. NEET Ants had a move that let them spray poison over their targets.
This was bad.
Ignoring the ant directly in front of me, I lunged forward, stretching my arm to the limit to slam Durandal into the one in the center. My posture was awkward and unbalanced, but I didn't have a choice. Durandal’s Chant Interruption triggered, successfully canceling the skill. No poison for us.
Just as I started to feel a wave of relief, pain surged through my leg.
A heavy blow struck my right thigh. The ant I’d ignored had caught me with a powerful back-kick. The shockwave rippled through me, and despite my Plating skill being active, the impact was staggering.
At first, I didn't think it was that bad, but the sensation began to swell and intensify.
Gah!
The shock traveling through my body felt like a giant hand had reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart. It wasn't exactly pain; it was a physical jolt, a crushing pressure as if my heart were being gripped directly.
“Master!”
Roxanne and Sherry were shouting, but their voices sounded muffled and distant.
This was bad. Really bad. I hadn't expected a single kick to be this devastating.
I forced myself to land a second strike on the ant to my left, using Durandal to absorb some HP. But it didn't help. I felt no better, and a cold sweat broke out over my skin. The crushing sensation in my chest was only getting stronger.
Why?
My heart felt like it was being twisted in a vice. My legs gave out, and I collapsed to my knees. It took every ounce of my willpower just to endure the sensation. Violent tremors shook me, reaching all the way to the top of my head.
My vision blurred, and my mind felt hazy, as if I were burning up with a high fever.
“...!”
Sherry appeared in front of me, saying something I couldn't understand. My entire being was focused on surviving the shock; I didn't have the mental capacity for anything else.
For some reason, Sherry’s face drew closer. Her lips pressed against mine. I felt her tongue slip into my mouth.
What are we doing in the middle of a fight?
Without thinking, I accepted her. I opened my mouth and let her in, tasting her soft, familiar tongue. Then, something small rolled from her mouth into mine.
She pulled away, and I tried to follow her, but the object in my mouth was in the way. I swallowed it just to clear the path and then latched back onto her lips.
I tangled my tongue with hers, clinging to her as if she were my only lifeline. In that moment, I forgot everything else and focused entirely on the taste of her. Interlocking our tongues felt like it was the only thing keeping the crushing shock at bay.
And remarkably, the sensation did start to fade.
It seemed a kiss from Sherry worked as well as any sedative. The pressure enveloping my body began to lift. The pain receded, the lethargy vanished, and the fog in my mind cleared. My heart, finally liberated, beat with a steady, strong rhythm. The heat left my face, and the tremors subsided.
My logic returned.
Wait... what was I doing?
“Are you all right?” Sherry asked, breaking the kiss.
“Y-Yeah. I think so.”
“I gave you an Antidote Pill. It seems the NEET Ant’s attack was poisonous.”
Poison?
So that was it. I’d been unlucky enough to be inflicted with poison by a physical strike. That crushing sensation had been the effect of the toxin. It had been an incredible, terrifying shock to the system. If I’d been left alone, it probably would have killed me.
But there was no time to dwell on that. My head was clear now, and the battle wasn't over. Two NEET Ants were still standing.
I looked around and saw Roxanne holding both of them off. She was parrying them with perfect precision. I gripped Durandal and lunged back into the fray.
I caught the ant facing Roxanne with a side-slash. My body still felt a little heavy, but with every hit, the lingering dullness faded. I was likely healing the residual poison damage through HP absorption. These things weren't much of a threat as long as I could hit them with Durandal.
We finished off the remaining ants in short order.
“Master, are you truly okay?” Roxanne asked.
“I’m fine now. Sorry for the scare. I made you both worry. Let’s head back to that small room.”
I felt okay, but I wanted to double-check my condition in a safe spot. I gathered the Poison Needle drops and retreated to the room where the treasure chest had been.
“You should be safe here,” Sherry said.
“You both saved me. Thank you. Roxanne, you did a great job managing the monsters, and Sherry, if you hadn't given me that medicine, I would’ve been in real trouble. Thank you. Seriously.”
Since it was my first time, I’d been completely unprepared for poison. I hadn't even realized what was happening to me, let alone thought to take medicine. If I’d been alone, I would have been done for. The Labyrinth really was a terrifying place.
“It’s no trouble at all. I only did what was expected of me,” Roxanne said, standing tall and proud.
“Y-Yes...” Sherry added, looking down bashfully. Well, I suppose delivering medicine mouth-to-mouth carried a different kind of embarrassment than a regular kiss.
“Still, I wish I’d been the one to do it. Sherry’s had all the turns lately,” I heard Roxanne mutter under her breath.
Ah, that was right. I’d had Sherry give me medicine the same way once before when I’d run out of MP. This was the second time.
“Let’s take a breather and have some water. Get your cups out.”
“Yes, Master.”
I pulled a small bucket from my rucksack and filled it using Water Wall.
“Roxanne.”
“Yes? What is it?”
“I’m still feeling a bit shaky. Would you mind giving me some water... mouth-to-mouth?”
Roxanne’s eyes lit up as she held her cup to her chest.
After we left the Labyrinth, I headed to the Adventurer Guild on my own. It seemed the Antidote Pill really did flush the poison out completely. Between that and the HP I’d recovered with Durandal, I felt perfectly fine.
I continued my sequence of warps through the guild. Today, I made it as far as the town of Zabil. According to Sherry, this was the furthest border city in the Empire. From here, I would be able to reach Pelmask.
Standing in the Zabil Adventurer Guild, I began comparing the notices on the board with the notes in my hand.