Manuke FPS Chapter 194

Published at 31st of May 2022 06:59:06 AM

After secretly seeing off Ophelia’s group as they left the Labyrinth, I walked down the clearly man-made tunnel. 

The wood that reinforced the walls seemed old. Much of it was decayed and discolored. However, when I touched the wall, it seemed as if there was a recently dug spot. It was narrow, less than 3m in height and a little over 2m in width. Anyone going in would have to go in a single file to enter. 

There was indeed a magic ore vein in the mountains. That was one of the reasons why monsters gathered here. Though, I hadn’t heard that they began to dig up the magic ore veins. But seeing the tunnel, it may have formally been a mine. Though… If it was an old mine, why was there a new tunnel?

As I went through the tunnel, I arrived in a dim area where the only light was the white light grass. Not a slight smudge of light could be seen before me. It was the entrance to the labyrinth. The mine had become a labyrinth, which was confirmed by the system mapping what had once been nothing here. This includes the surrounding area. As I recognized what this was and looked again, the small space looked like it’d become a little wider. 

Looking back on my experience so far, there should’ve been a transfer circle in this area… There it was. There was only one transfer circle here… Someone had gone in already, as I suspected with the tunnel. According to the General Guild, the transfer circle to the lower levels only appears once the first gatekeeper is killed. So, someone had already defeated the gatekeeper on the 10th level. 

The request from Bergman was to secretly support the party in their conquest of this labyrinth and report on it. Similarly, there was another situation I heard of. That was of the Phantom Thief group Nekoyanagi and the possibility of their base within the labyrinth. There was no doubt that the ground was the ones who went down to the 10th level before me and Ophelia’s group, enabling the transfer circle. I did not know how much of the labyrinth had been cleared, but if anyone wanted to use it as a base, the gatekeeper room is normally quite large. There was also the spring room on the 8th floor. Those two spots would be the best locations for a base. 

As I walked into the labyrinth, which was larger than the previous tunnel, I assumed that someone other than me was there. I pushed on with my search as my sound sensor picked what sounded like quadrupeds. Three of them, backed by the dots emerging on the edge of the mapped area. 

I took a knee, and readied the grenade launcher-ax as I waited for the dots to come closer. Once they entered my field of view, I fired it. Along with the familiar pop, the grenade followed a low parabolic trajectory. At the same time, I turned the weapon around to prepare for melee combat and charged in after the explosion. 

I confirmed the situation once I jumped in. Most of them were already incapacitated by the grenade’s splash damage – with the closest one being the most hurt. 

Switching the ax to my left hand, I pulled out the PSS from its holster in my waist and fired a five-round burst. The enemy was quickly dispatched with a headshot. Not stopping, I slid-jump toward the last forest wolf and slit its throat with my ax. 

“Fuh–”

I let out a relieved sigh, turned around, and headed to the one closest to the point of detonation. I fired twice as a coup de grace. While I reloaded, I stared at the wolf as it sank into the floor, wrapped in black mist. I felt that the engagement distance was extreme given the current loadout. At this range, I needed either a combat rifle or an SMG. But the Sasanqua members would recognize me with those types of weapons. 

There should be something… Something I could use that wouldn’t give out my identity… Let’s see. Activating the TSS, in the firearm inventory, I scrolled to a classification I’d never used before – Laser weapons. The light particles converged, forming the supply box before me. I opened it and extracted a VMB original Phase Rifle. 

Similar to conventional rifles, there was a slot to load an energy pack at the bottom of the barrel and a dedicated optic. The capacity of the energy pack, which was shaped like a dry cylindrical cell, was 1000. It could be charged up to 100 with each shot. Upon pulling the trigger, it shot a laser that could instantly kill someone. And when it killed someone, it only consumed 90 of 100. 

In other words, I could shoot up to 11 fully charged shots with a single pack. It could also be used to shoot less powerful lasers at the cost of 30. The features of laser weapons were ammunition management and their no-travel-time shots. In in-game application, pulling the trigger, the reticle would shrink to the minimum size. This judged that the shot hit its target. 

That should make for an overpowered sniping weapon, right? Well, to balance it out, VMB systems allowed players to hear an alarm, whenever they were targeted by this weapon. A warning message would appear in their FOV. This would allow them to deploy the CBS or another physical shield. 

Since we were not in-game, the power of the Phase Rifle was still unknown, but if I locked onto an enemy, they shouldn’t receive a message. Besides, even if a member of Sasanqua saw me use it, it used a unique sound and shot a red beam. It could easily be mistaken for a regular magic attack rather than be familiar to Schwartz skill [Arms] that they were familiar with. 

The number one factor for why I had refrained from using it so far was their steep CP cost in regards to their ammo. But in addition to the winning price for the great mana core and the sales from the store, I had more than enough money to spare.  

Three spare packs were collected from the supply box, conversely, I stored the minigun and its ammo. With that, I was reequipped. 

From here, I could map the floors in full. I would only move on once each floor was 100% mapped. This was because I’d be in deep trouble if I didn’t have a firm grasp of the labyrinth and the possible locations where I could hide from Ophelia’s group and Nekoyanagi. Even more so to avoid Sasanqua. Battle would be unavoidable as I couldn’t introduce myself as Shwartz or Shaft.

Accessing the GPS from the TSS, I confirmed the group was still on their way to Drangrage. In other words, there was plenty of time to spare. I would return to the Capital tomorrow for a report, but afterward, I’d spend my time exploring the labyrinth. 

While I explored and pondered future plans, a small room appeared on the map. There, four dots were inside. Kobold judging from the footsteps. 

I can finally test the Phase Rifle. 

There were a lot more things to check. The power of a fully charged shot, whether it’s the no-travel-time projectile was applied here, the power of a minimally charged shot, etc. Four targets wouldn’t be enough to test all that though. I readied the rifle and headed into the room, prepared to attack at any moment…

I killed the four inside and reviewed my experience using the phase rifle. First of all, the charged shot was more damaging than I thought.  While its size was comparable to ARF category, its damage was comparable to the sniper rifle category. 

The laser had no travel time, like in the game. The moment the trigger was pulled, a red light flashed, and when my vision returned; there was a clean circular hole in the target’s body, in addition to that, the laser pierced anything in its path. The firing was only a slight vibration. The light effect was the same. Even the minimum charge was similar to a 7.62x51mm NATO Bullet. I also checked the charge time required for a full shot. In my calculation, the intervals were still good enough for a multiple combatant fire. 

I continued my exploration through the night until morning. By then, I’d mapped down to the 4th floor. Summoning the LVTP in a small room I secured after calculating the spawn timer, I ate a bento and returned to the Royal Capital. There, I found myself in the basement of Daikokuya, my secret base in the capital’s second district. 

I looked around for a bit, noting that there was no particular change. There still was some time until the opening of the store. I needed to do something first before Amy and Presera arrived. 

While I changed avatar sets to Schwartz, I moved to the office. What I was about to do was draw the map for the labyrinth – let’s call it the mine dungeon for convenience’s sake from what I’ve mapped so far. 

Even if the labyrinth conquest was proceeding smoothly, it would not be possible to hold a harvest festival in the Devil’s mountains, as it was the buffer zone between the two kingdoms. Besides, it was also close to the Drak Kingdom’s border. If a lot of adventurers and workers approached the border to bring out the labyrinth’s resources, it may end up provoking a response. A small unit with the smallest number of people possible being dispatched was much easier. However, labyrinths were unpredictable and there was the Nekoyanagi. 

With an accurate map of the labyrinth, sending reinforcement would be easier. And I could plan out an escape route in the event I encountered Ophelia’s group. 

The map didn’t take long to draw. When I checked the time, it was almost time for those two to show up. I thought I should move, I heard the sound of the front door being opened.

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“Hello there.”

“Store manager–! We’re here–! 

I could hear the energetic voices of Amy and Presera at the front door. There were four people in total, so the others must be Alm and Silvara. I immediately went down to the first floor and greeted them on the first floor. 

“Welcome. The products are all prepared, so can you two please clean the store?”

“Yes!” (x2) 

Amy and Presera moved to the side immediately. Alm and Silvara came close to me. They always stood guard at their own position but… 

“What is it” 

“We were given an order slip from the master of the Commerce Guild.”

“He said to deliver it immediately once the items were available.”

“Order slip?” 

Reading the paper that Alm brought to me, it turned out to be a large order of Shaft Wine to be served at the upcoming celebration of the Third Prince Ark’s birthday and coming of age. 

So it’s time already – 

Prince Ark was supposed to spend some time after his coming of age to find a girl who is excellent at magic. In this event though, the candidate has already been chosen. The third daughter of Duke Barga – Lapitilica. She participated in the Emerald Demon Labyrinth conquest as a member of Sasanqua. I was there as well as a mapmaker on request. Afterward, I spent some time with her again as Shaft. I acted as her bodyguard until the time when the candidate for Prince Ark’s bridge had been solidified. 

Along with this celebration, she would be officially recognized as the top candidate for the prince’s bride. And my wine was chosen for that occasion. It just gave a sense of superiority. 

“Alright. I have some stock in the basement. Let me bring it here in a bit.”

“No need. The boxes downstairs are unmarked and all in similar-sized boxes. It’ll be a problem if you take the wrong one.”

“I see— Although I don’t really mind helping…” 

While saying so, Silvara’s light of sight turned to the basement stairs. I’ve kept everyone away from it. Telling them that it was the shop’s warehouse as well as my workspace. But it seemed to have made it out as some sort of secret room… Which made it even more interesting. 

It was impossible today, but perhaps I’d let them into the basement after I removed the transfer circle. Hopefully, that’d nip their curiosity… 

Before opening the store, I took out a large amount of wine that had been moved from the GIFT BOX and repacked it into a wooden crate as I went back and forth from the basement and sales floor. 

Alm helped stow the wooden crates onto a carriage waiting on the street, and Silvara delivered it to the Marida Trading Company. However, the amount is not enough to fulfill the order. So I guess I’ll just prepare it once the stuff with the Mine Labyrinth has settled. 

Chapter end