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The Otherworld Conquest Method of a Reincarnated Porter Chapter 103 Part 2

「Have you guys defeated the zone lords?」

「Yeah, we’ve defeated the leopard-striped newt, the magic goat, the fan eagle, and the giant sand crab. All that’s left is the fire-breathing salamander.」

「I see, then are we going to the fire-breathing salamander zone now?」

「No, it would be too tough for you guys, who have just come to Rotos, to suddenly go against a zone lord, wouldn’t it? So first, we’ll check our coordination while teaching your about various things related to the labyrinth.」

「That’d be much appreciated, but you guys won’t gain anything out of it, will you?」

「It’s fine. Due to certain reasons, currently, we’re not subjugating the zone lords, you see. And we’ll explain the reasons to you in due time.」

Not subjugating the zone lords? It looks like there are some kinds of circumstances. Maybe it has something to do with the recent high fatality rate.

It seems that the plan is to stay in the labyrinth for two or three nights, so let’s buy a lot of fruits and vegetables on our way to the labyrinth. Meat will be procured locally. We will camp in the safe area where many adventurers gather, and since it never rains in the labyrinth, we will use sleeping bags on the ground. It seems that if they have a porter in their party, there are also some adventurers who use tents. I have a one-person tent and a two-person tent. I also have two two-person duckboard beds. If they don’t mind huddling close to each other, the three women should be able to sleep in the two-person tent. Two people on the duckboard bed and one in a sleeping bag, I guess. Who would use the sleeping bag would be up to the women to decide. None of them has a sleeping bag, so we buy one at the general store and finally head for the labyrinth.

The labyrinth is located in the town, surrounded by walls as in other towns. The entrance is downhill, and after about five minutes of walking, it turns into stairs. We walk straight down the stairs for about ten minutes. We have not arrived yet. I can’t tell how far underground we have gone. After continuously walking for a while, we finally see the light of the exit. When we pass through the exit, we find ourselves in a place that looks like a stretch of grassland on the above ground.

「So this is the labyrinth. It looks very different from the Labyrinth of the Dead.」

「Amazing. Nothing is different from the above ground. So this is the labyrinth.」

「…..」

If there is an opportunity, let’s ask Lunamilia about the Labyrinth of the Dead, in which she has raised her level to 20. This seems to be the first time Zofie has been to the labyrinth itself. Like country bumpkins, both of them are looking around the surrounding area.

「It sure is amazing. Even though there is no sun, the sky is really bright. What manner of sorcery is this?」

Scarlett is silent, but she is in astonishment as she looks up at the sky. It is certainly intriguing, but probably not something you can figure out even if you think about it. I am convinced that is just the way it is.

「Alright, then, let’s get going. We’re heading to the meadow where the fan eagle tends to show up and the forest nearby. The fan eagle always flies in the sky, so if it has not been subjugated, we should be able to spot it right away. Listen, that guy will shoot wind magic at you from the sky, but it’s not very powerful. The scary ones are its claws and beak, as they are able to pierce through leather armor. If you get caught by it, you’ll be brought up into the sky and then knocked down from there. This time, our goal is the safe area beyond it, so even if we do find it, we won’t fight it. Now, follow us.」

Following Rock’s instruction, we follow the lead of the four members of Quest. I’m at the tail end. Even as I look around the surrounding area from the vicinity of the labyrinth entrance, I see no signs of enemies. I see the figures of other adventuring parties here and there, but they seem to be going in different directions. After walking for a while, a forest comes into view. As we move toward the forest, monsters immediately show up and charge toward us. They appear to be goblins. There are five or six of them.

「Rock, my comrades don’t have much experience in combat. For practice, can you leave those monsters to us?」

「I see, got it. We’ll be on the lookout for the surrounding area then. If things get dangerous, we’ll step in and help you.」

「There you have it… Luna, Zofie, let’s go. Scarlett, conserve your magical energy.」

「Understood, Sei-sama.」

「Roger that.」

I take out two iron shields from my storage and equip them on both hands. I will act as shield and let the two finish them off.

「Let’s go!」

The group of goblins is falling apart, and we confront the two on the lead. Their aggro seems to be focused on me, who is standing on the front, and they hit me with the stone they have in their hand. I block the attacks with my shield and then shield bash them in the gut.

Closing in swiftly, Zofie attacks the flank of the goblin on the left. With bodily fluid leaking from the wound, its aggro is shifting to Zofie, but the goblin’s movements are slow. Lunamilia, who arrived a beat later, throws a swing at the other goblin’s side face with her magical energy-imbued metal rod, and along with a dull thud, its head bursts open. She must be unable to adjust her strength, as that was one outrageous attack, completely overkill.

「Luna, you’re putting too much magical energy into it. Doubly to save your strength, you need to hold back a little.」

「Yes, Sei-sama.」

Zofie seems to have successfully defeated the goblin with a thrust to the throat.

「Alright, using the same tricks as before, let’s deal with the remaining four. I’ll hold the front, so Luna, attack when you see an opening. Zofie, you do hit-and-run attacks. You can get behind the enemies if you want.」

「Yes, Sei-sama.」

「Roger that.」

Charging at the four goblins while letting out a cry, I attract their aggro, while Luna and Zofie use that opening to attack them. Without spending too much time, we manage to safely defeat them without suffering any injury, then take out the magic stones, and that is the end of it.

「Mm, you’ve got a pretty good cooperation.」

Rock’s evaluation is also favorable. Well, I doubt you can become a bronze-rank adventurer if you struggle against goblins.

「I’d appreciate it if you could let us take care of the small fry like this one. I think it’s going to serve as a good experience.」

「Got it. Still, Lunamiliea sure has incredible attack power, doesn’t she? If a broad-leafed demon tree appears, I’d like to leave it to her.」

「Is it an opponent that even you guys would have a hard time with?」

「Yeah, as you can see, we’re all equipped with swords. Needle-leafed demon tree is weak to slashing attack, which is fine, but against broad-leafed demon tree, the most effective attack is heavy attack. Slashing attack isn’t very effective against it, so we encounter one, our only option is to run away, you see.」

If you don’t have a porter in the party, you can’t carry multiple weapons, and thus have no way to deal with different types of enemies, which is inconvenient. And people must have an aversion to leaving their valuable weapons in the hands of a daily-hired porter they don’t know very well.

「Ent can be used as material for staff and arrows, so it sells at a high price, you see. However, the encounter rate is very low. Since it mimics a tree, it’s hard to find, and most of the time catches you by surprise.」

A monster that mimics a tree, huh. I wonder if you can detect it with magical energy perception. Well, it’s pretty draining mentally to always use magical energy perception as you walk, so it might be hard.

「Oh, it seems to be a rat snake.」

As we walk through the meadow again, Rock spots an enemy. It is a thick blue snake about five meters long.

「Alright, we’ll take care of this one too.」

If there is only a single of it, I doubt it would pose much problems. As I did before, I hold my shield in front of the snake’s head. The rat snake sticks out his tongue and threatens me. Appraisal!

Rat Snake, Rank 14

It is a pretty strong foe. Thank goodness there is only one of them. The rat snake moves backward and coils itself. And suddenly, it leaps at me vigorously.

「Whoa?! That startled me.」

「Calm down, Zofie. It’s not that great of an attack. Just watch out for the fangs and cut off the head.」

I knock down the leaping rat snake to the ground with my shield. Then, Lunamilia closes in from the side and throws a powerful swing at it as usual, but the snake is merely blown away, showing no signs of suffering any damage.

「Luna, it looks like a metal rod has bad compatibility against it. If you’re going to do it, try to crush it to the ground.」

Zofie then makes several slashes at the rat snake’s neck, and while it is crawling around on the ground, its head is crushed under the critical hit from Lunamilia’s metal rod, completing the subjugation. Lunamilia’s precious clothes are covered in blood, including those of the goblins from earlier, but I wonder if it is going to be okay.